Peer Review of Early Help Offer

Please see the following update from Social Care and Support:

Following on from the Ofsted inspection and findings in May, we have invited the Local Government Association (LGA) to conduct a Peer Review across our Early Help Offer.

The review will focus on our relationships with partners in relation to their role in providing Early Help to children and families. 

The review will help us gather partner perceptions on what is working well, but also the barriers that may need to be addressed and the further support required to improve the effectiveness of the early help offer in improving outcomes for children and families across Warwickshire.  

The Peer Review will last for three days from Monday 13 November - Wednesday 15 November.

As part of the week, the team will review our key documentation and performance data, and meet with officers and partners.

At the end of the event the Peer Challenge Team will present their findings, detailing areas of strength and improvement. Their observations and findings will be incorporated into future service delivery through the Children and Families Transformation Programme and will directly influence the 0-5 work-streams.

How you can get involved?

• We recently sent out a short survey to partners to gather partner perceptions on our Early Help Offer, which hopefully you all had a chance to complete.
• As part of the review two School Focus groups have been arranged and are well represented.  If you would like to attend please contact Rebekah Dryhurst (rebekahdryhurst@warwickshire.gov.uk), alternatively you can share your thoughts and comments with colleagues attending from your area. 
  • Primary Schools : Monday 13 November 3.15pm - 4.45pm
  • Secondary Schools : Tuesday 14 November 2.30pm - 4.00pm

Warwickshire Child Sexual Exploitation Training

In February 2017 the UK Government and National Crime Agency upgraded Child Sexual Exploitation to National Threat level.

Warwickshire Child Sexual Exploitation Team wants to support all education providers to have the knowledge and confidence to identify the signs of CSE and respond appropriately if they have concerns about a child or situation.

We deliver FREE half & full day multi-agency training with the Warwickshire Safeguarding Children Board for all professionals in Warwickshire and you can access the training via the WILMa website: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/wilma

For dates and more information please see this flyer.

We understand that it can be problematic for schools to release staff for multi-agency training and are therefore also offering FREE CSE Awareness Sessions for all Warwickshire education providers. We can deliver directly at your school or premises and offer a number of options to suit your needs.

Please contact Kate Shipley on kate.shipley@barnardos.org.uk or 07702 338667 for any queries.

Information on Children Missing Education

Children who are not in receipt of full-time education may be described as children missing education (CME). Such children are at significant risk of underachieving, being victims of harm, exploitation or radicalisation, and becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training) later in life.

The majority of children missing in education are found but increasing numbers are presenting as vulnerable – these children are continually monitored until they are engaging with education.

We work in partnership with schools and other services to ensure we collectively take key actions for a child who is CME including home visit(s). Each case is treated on its individual merits ensuring informed decisions are made about what actions to take.

Through data sharing protocols with the majority of our schools, we have been able to strengthen the work we do around the monitoring and tracking of vulnerable children. This work includes day to day support for the work of the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH).

Schools will have received recent advice from the DfE around the supporting evidence and documentation they will require from the local authority before a child is removed from roll as a child missing education.

For further advice or guidance on children missing education or to make a referral contact the service by:

Phone: 01926 736323

Email: cme@warwickshire.gov.uk 

For further information see www.warwickshire.gov.uk/childrenmissingeducation

Key Documents:

Statutory Guidance on Children Missing Education, Department for Education

2017 School and College (key stage 4 and 16-18) Performance Tables Checking Site

PREVENT WRAP3 "Train the Trainer " for Designated Safeguarding Leads

Many Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) previously attended a Train the Trainer course delivered by Police Prevent officers in order to deliver the original WRAP programme to school staff.
These workshops are now being provided to support Designated Safeguarding Leads to use the new online WRAP 3 programme with groups of staff to ensure staff are appropriately trained and informed about the Prevent agenda.

This half-day WRAP 3 Train the Trainer course will enable DSLs to deliver the Workshop to Raise Awareness on Prevent 3 (WRAP 3) programme to school staff.

For more information please see attached outline of the course and flyer and booking form. Please book your place asap as places are limited. Please indicate whether you want morning or afternoon.

Techno Centre, Coventry
18th October 2017
9:00-12:00 OR
12:45 – 15:45

Rugby College
22nd November 2017
9:00-12:00 OR
12:45 – 15:45

Chess Centre, Nuneaton
18th January 2018
9:00-12:00 OR
12:45 – 15:45

Pound Lane, Leamington Spa
27th February 2018
9:00-12:00 OR
12:45 – 15:45

Please see flyer for dates and venues. I have attached below links with directions.

Directions to the Chess Centre, Nuneaton

Directions to Rugby College

Directions to Pound Lane

Directions to Coventry Techno Centre

Education safeguarding posters

The Warwickshire Safeguarding Children Board has updated its posters for schools and other settings to demonstrate their commitment to safeguarding. Please click the links below to view or download a copy of each poster:

• Everyone’s responsibility poster 2017

• Child abuse happens poster_2017 

• This school poster 2017

• This organisation poster 2017

• Listening Culture poster for schools 2017

• Listening Culture poster for early years 2017 

Staff changes within Education and Learning

Safeguarding and Intervention

As you will be aware, Hayley McDonagh has now taken up the role of Interim Service Manager for Learning and Performance for the next academic year following the departure of Jane Spilsbury at the end of August. Hayley's previous role of Safeguarding and Intervention Manager is now being shared between three very experienced colleagues:

1. Anne Brennan - Safeguarding Ofsted complaints (1 day per week).  Anne joins us from Coventry City Council (annebrennan@warwickshire.gov.uk).
2. Margot Brown - School Improvement Fund Bid (2 days per week). Some of you will know Margot from her previous headship at Priors Field Primary School and through her role as consortia and Area Analysis Group chair.  Margot will support the roll out of the School Improvement Fund bid and oversee the role of the LIOs allocated to each consortium (margotbrown@warwickshire.gov.uk).
3. Dave Smith - supporting Category C and D schools/schools causing concern (2 days per week). Dave is a former primary headteacher and experienced school improvement professional. His brief is primarily LA maintained schools but he will have an overview of all category C and D schools, including secondary schools (davesmith@warwickshire.gov.uk).

Access and Organisation

In last month’s Heads Up we informed schools that Sarah Mills, service manager for Access and Organisation will be leaving the authority later this month to take up a new role in Coventry. 

John Edwards is the interim service manager who has been appointed to cover Sarah’s role, initially until Christmas, and who is already in post to ensure a smooth handover when Sarah leaves us on 25 October. John was previously the Strategic Commissioner for Education Services in Worcestershire with responsibility for a wide range of education functions including early years and childcare, pupil place planning, school admissions, school transport including SEND transport and school capital programmes.

Structure Charts

The structure chart for Education and Learning is here. Please find links below to structure charts for the teams within Education and Learning:

Access and Organisation - John Edwards, Interim Service Manager

Learning and Performance - Hayley McDonagh, Interim Service Manager

Vulnerable Learners - Pat Tate, Service Manager

Update on the National Funding Formula

Local Authority Multi Academy Trust (LA MAT) Update

The Council's Joint Managing Directors have explored in detail the possibility of Warwickshire developing a Local Authority Multi-Academy Trust(s).  This work was undertaken following the publication of the ‘Education Excellence Everywhere’ white paper in March 2016, and the Council's Cabinet Paper of October 2016. 

Very helpfully, Head Teachers and Warwickshire Schools have given considerable time and engagement to this work, and in particular expressed direct views through the headteacher reference group.  Nationally, the policy context has been less than clear and at the same time it has become apparent that there are mixed appetites and/or perceived benefits to be gained from a LA MAT(s). Consequently, recommendation will be made to Cabinet in December 2017 that, given the change of emphasis nationally, the Local Authority should not, at this point in time, pursue establishment of a LA MAT.  The Cabinet paper will emphasise Warwickshire's continued support for both maintained schools and academies, and recommend that the focus should now be on the strengths of the current mixed market.  The Council's commitment to the Warwickshire 'Family of Schools' remains as strong as ever and we hope this will simply be seen as a pragmatic position.

Our thanks to all who contributed to this evaluation.

New Exclusions Guidance

What you need to know

New guidance launched by the DfE has clarified the rules on how schools must implement any fixed-term or permanent exclusions that they make. With evidence of disproportionately high rates of exclusions amongst the most vulnerable learners, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities, there is now a stronger emphasis on monitoring the experiences of certain groups of pupils.

Schools have a statutory duty not to discriminate against pupils on the basis of certain protected characteristics, which includes all those that schools know or suspect have disabilities of any type. Schools should also give particular consideration to the fair treatment of pupils from groups who are more vulnerable to exclusion - these include children looked after and those with EHC plans. The guidance strengthens expectations that schools will now need to take into consideration, for example the duty to ‘comply’ with the Equality Act 2010 and not just have regard to it.  Schools maintain responsibility for the decisions made throughout the exclusion process and where cases are subject to independent review or disability discrimination tribunal, schools must be able to demonstrate evidence based decision making that is robust, lawful, reasonable and that a fair process was followed.

It is vital that schools make all the reasonable adjustments that they can to support those with disabilities and/or special educational needs before taking any decision to exclude. This includes, where necessary, seeking and following expert advice and expending additional resources to support children.

It is also important that the processes followed by the school in investigating the exclusion, including in particular the Governing Body Disciplinary Committee stage where this is relevant, is done in a fair, open and transparent manner. It should be ensured that parents have access to all the evidence being used to justify an exclusion, that decisions are full and frank as well as being given as soon as possible, and that the child/young person themselves are given the opportunity to put their side of the story forward.

The offer of Early Help to the families of the most vulnerable pupils and the existence of the inclusion of good quality assessments and multi-agency work is also now considered to be a necessity.

The new DfE guidance focuses more on the experience of the child and clearly outlines expectations regarding openness and transparency in particular and in relation to the concerns at the high number of exclusions for vulnerable pupils.

Stronger emphasis on the need to ensure that all exclusions remain lawful has prompted Warwickshire to conduct a review across the county, findings have suggested the need to offer specific training which all schools will be encouraged to attend. Training will focus on areas such as the requirement for appropriately trained and experienced panel members, a focus on roles, responsibilities and boundaries and the importance of evidenced based decision making.

To ensure that they remain compliant with the new exclusions guidance, it is important that Warwickshire schools address training needs now. If you have any concerns or require advice applying the new DfE guidance prior to attending training, it is strongly recommended that you contact Warwickshire Legal Services on 01926 412361 or schoolenquiries@warwickshire.gov.uk at your earliest opportunity.

Exclusions Line - 01926 738353

exclusions@warwickshire.gov.uk

Department for Education Statutory Guidance on Exclusions

Further consultation on Ofsted short inspections

Ofsted is running a further consultation on proposals to change the short inspection process. This follows on from the Short inspections of good schools, the initial consultation that ran between 15 June and 18 August 2017.

Ofsted are now seeking views on the following proposals:

• Where there are serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, inspectors will continue to convert short inspections to a full inspection, usually within 48 hours.

• Where inspectors are not completely confident that the school would receive its current grade following a section 5 inspection, Ofsted will publish a letter setting out the school’s strengths and areas for improvement. A section 5 inspection will still follow, but “typically within 1-2 years”. This is the case where: 
  • Inspectors feel the school is no longer meeting the requirements for ‘good’, but the standard of education remains acceptable and there are no safeguarding or behaviour concerns. This will give schools time to address any weaknesses and seek support.
  • Inspectors feel the school may be improving to ‘outstanding’. This is to give schools time to consolidate strong practice (in this scenario, requests for earlier inspections will be considered).

If approved, these changes would take effect from January 2018.

Full details of the proposals are set out in the Short inspections of good schools: maintained schools and academies document.

The consultation period closes at 23:45 on 8 November 2017. 

2018 School Induction Dates

We sincerely apologise for the delay in confirming the school induction dates for 2018.

The dates have now been agreed and are the provisional dates which were originally sent to schools some time ago:

Central Area: Wednesday 27th June 2018

Southern Area: Tuesday 3rd July 2018

Northern Area: Thursday 5th July 2018

Eastern Area: Tuesday 10th July 2018

Following feedback that was received when the dates were originally circulated, it has been agreed that in subsequent years (starting in 2019) there will be one induction date for the whole county, rather than one date in each area. This date will be set by the School Organisation and Planning Team.

Key School Admission Dates for October

11+ results distributed

11+ results letters were sent on Friday 13 October 2017 to parents/carers of students that sat the Warwickshire 11+ test between 09 and 29 September 2017. A copy of the letter has been sent to all Warwickshire grammar, primary and junior schools.

Secondary 2018 applications closing date

The closing date for on time secondary school applications is 5pm on Tuesday 31 October 2017. All primary and junior schools have been contacted by our service to check that the list of current year 6 students is correct. Schools with access to SAM can view how many are yet to have made a secondary school application by viewing the Secondary 2018 Leavers Report. Taking into consideration that late applications will not be considered until after offer day on 01 March 2018, it would be appreciated if you could assist in chasing families with outstanding applications.

Parents can apply online at: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/applyforschool and will receive the offer of a school place on 01 March 2018 by email. As of 06 October, 4227 applications have been made by Warwickshire residents.

Reception and Junior 2018 process open

A letter and information leaflet was sent to all Warwickshire residents due to start school or transfer to Junior school in September 2018. It would be helpful if all infant schools with access to SAM could check that their Junior 2018 Leavers Report. If there are any changes that should be made to your list please inform our service. As of 12 October, 2624 reception and 665 junior applications have been made by Warwickshire residents.

Admission arrangements consultation period

In accordance with the school admissions code we are now entering the consultation period for 2019/20 admission arrangements. All own admission authority schools must determine their admission arrangements each year and should have received correspondence from our service in relation to this recently, if not please contact our service for the information to be resent.

Dedicated school phone lines

Please be reminded that we have a dedicated line (01926 414111) for all schools due to the high volume of calls received by our general number. There is also a dedicated exclusions line: 01926 738353.

Updates on starters and leavers

We endeavour to keep our data up to date and therefore appreciate if you could continue to send our service the details of students that have started at your school and the details of those that have left, including where they have gone if possible.

School Transport Consultation

Further to the article in last month’s Heads Up edition, the home to school transport consultation is still open and runs until 02 November 2017. Full details on the consultation can be found at: https://askwarks.wordpress.com/

Please ensure you have read through these 7 proposed changes. Any comments are welcomed and there are a number of ways you can submit comments, all of which are detailed on the consultation page. It would be helpful if you could include information on the consultation in your next newsletter. Please be advised that anyone currently receiving transport was advised of the consultation in writing on 04 September 2017.

Education and Learning e-Comms survey for schools

This is your opportunity to give us feedback on the way the Education and Learning team, and the County Council more widely, communicates with schools.

'Heads Up' has been in circulation for just over a year now and has seen a significant rise in the number of subscribers during this period.  The online newsletter is now used as one of the main communication channels with schools and includes regular contributions from a wide range of County Council services, as well as from our partners including Public Health and Warwickshire Police.  One of the key aims of 'Heads Up' is to provide a more regular method for sharing information with schools as well as attempting to reduce the number of separate communications and publications.

Our @wcc_schools Twitter account is another channel of communication that we have tried to build on during the past year as we know so many of our schools and settings, students and parents are also busy tweeting!

We are always looking for ways that we can improve our communications with you, and would greatly value your feedback to help us do this.  We would therefore be grateful if you would take the time to complete a brief survey which should take no more than 5-10 minutes.

The survey is available at the link below until Friday 22 December 2017:

Education and Learning e-Communications Survey

New Education and Learning Calendar

We are pleased to introduce a new online calendar containing information on events, meetings and training organised by Education and Learning in Warwickshire. You can view the calendar at this link, and below:

Subscribing 

The calendar is in the format of a google calendar, which means you can subscribe to it on various calendar software packages. When you subscribe, the calendar will stay up to date if there are changes made to the events.

We strongly recommend you subscribe to the calendar using the methods in the document linked below, rather than importing individual/multiple events into your calendar. Subscribing will allow events to remain up to date, while importing does not.

If you have any queries, do get in touch on schoolpartnerships@warwickshire.gov.uk.  We will do our best to help with any issues you have subscribing, but cannot advise on the individual configurations of schools' calendar software.

Find instructions for subscribing to the calendar here.

Ofsted - News and Updates

Further Consultation on Short Inspections 

Ofsted are running a further consultation on the changes to the short inspections. You can find more information here.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

School Inspection Update

The new edition of Ofsted’s School Inspection Update provides details of how inspectors are being instructed to approach school performance data.

Ofsted Inspectors have been reminded:

• not to compare results from last year to this for the new GCSEs
• results for GCSEs and A levels have been stable overall and small fluctuations at school level should not be over-interpreted
• to consider whether decisions made by school leaders are in the best interests of pupils
• to use assessment data as a starting point for discussion rather than the only piece of evidence
• not to focus on single measures with small cohorts
• to treat data from Key Stage 2 teacher assessments with caution

Inspectors are also reminded to look out for evidence that schools may be trying to ‘game the system’, for example by entering pupils into qualifications with significant subject overlap or moving pupils to other settings.

Ofsted have reformed their inspection dashboard into a new style Inspection Dashboard Summary Report (IDSR) which focuses on trends in school performance over the previous three years.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ofsted handbooks updated

Ofsted have released updates to the School Inspection Handbook and the Handbook for short, monitoring and unannounced behaviour school inspections. More information is available here.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ofsted Inspectors: conflicts of interest policy and procedure

Those who work on behalf of Ofsted must not put themselves in a position where previous employment, personal relationships or private interests conflict, or could be perceived to conflict, with these values. Ofsted’s approach to all potential conflicts, whether real or perceived, is to:

• always disclose
• declare a conflict of interest
• agree arrangements to manage the conflict
• prohibit activity where necessary

View the Conflicts of Interest policy and procedure

Ofsted handbooks updated

Ofsted have released updates to the following handbooks:

School inspection handbook

The school inspection handbook (updated 13 October 2017) provides guidance for inspecting schools under the common inspection framework, with a mythbuster document on common misconceptions.

Changes listed include:

• Changes to the Outcomes for pupils section reflecting changes to GCSE grades and data reports (a new IDSR)
• updates to Clarification for schools section and mythbuster document around myths and misunderstandings
• clarification of arrangements for meeting relevant members of the governance structure and inclusion of chief executives or equivalents in inspections of academies in multi-academy trusts
• and new content explaining what happens to schools that receive the ‘requires improvement’ and ‘inadequate’ judgements.

Handbook for short, monitoring and unannounced behaviour school inspections

The handbook for short, monitoring and unannounced behaviour school inspections (updated 13 October 2017) provides guidance for Ofsted inspectors carrying out school inspections under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

Changes listed include:

• to the Short inspections of schools section reflecting the outcomes of a recent consultation
• clarifications to the sections on Monitoring inspections
• clarifications about engaging with those responsible for governance and inclusion of chief executives or equivalents in inspections of academies in multi-academy trusts
• and updates reflecting changes to data reports (Analyse School Performance and the new inspection data summary reports or IDSR). 

PE and Sport Premium for Primary Schools

The DfE has released the PE and sport premium funding amounts for 2017 to 2018 in Primary Schools. Most state primary schools receive this money (for years 1 to 6). Due to the levy on soft drinks, the rate of funding for the PE and sport premium has doubled when compared to 2016.

In the 2017/18 academic year the amounts are now:

• Schools with 16 or fewer eligible pupils receive £1,000 per pupil (previously this was £500 per pupil)
• Schools with 17 or more eligible pupils receive £16,000 and an additional £10 per pupil (previously this was £8,000 and £5 per pupil).

The funding must be used to:

• develop or add to the PE and sport activities that the school already offers
• make improvements now that will benefit pupils joining the school in future years.

The Department or Education (DfE) and Education Skills and Funding Agency (ESFA) list some possible uses, which may include:

• Hiring qualified sports coaches to work with teachers
• Supporting and involving the least active children by running or extending school sports clubs and holiday clubs
• Providing existing staff with training or resources to help them teach PE and sport more effectively
• Running sport competitions or increasing pupils’ participation in the School Games (a national competition)

Funding cannot be used to “teach the minimum requirements of the national curriculum” or “employ coaches or specialist teachers to cover planning preparation and assessment (PPA) arrangements”.

Payments for maintained schools are made to local authorities, which then distribute the funding to schools. The ESFA and DfE have not yet published the payment dates for 2017/18. We will update schools as soon as we are aware of the payment dates.

Click here to find out more.

Schools Causing Concern - Statutory Guidance

This statutory guidance, applicable to both maintained schools and academies, was updated in August 2017, to clarify the use of writing data at Key Stage 2 in determining whether a warning notice should be issued to a school. Warning notices can be issued to schools that although not judged as inadequate by Ofsted or have not met the formal coasting criteria, are still giving Local Authorities or Regional School Commissioners (RSC) cause for concern.

A warning notice can be issued to schools on two grounds, one of which is Performance Standards and Safety. The August 2017 update clarified that: in 2016 and 2017, if a school's performance at KS2 has dropped below the floor standard, or met the coasting definition, based on performance in Writing alone, the Local Authority or RSC should not intervene or issue a warning notice, except where the extent of the change in performance cannot be explained by the impact of the changes to primary assessment arrangements in these transitional years.

View the updated Schools Causing Concern guidance.

Analyse School Performance Service – (formerly RAISEonline)

The DfE launched an updated and improved version of Analyse School Performance (ASP) in July 2017 as a replacement for the RAISEonline service.  The new ASP service will be a “sister service” to the DfE performance tables. 

At the end of September, Key Stage 2 data will be available in ASP – this is provisional data for 2016 / 2017.  Breakdowns of data such as disadvantaged pupils will be added at the end of October along with Key Stage 1 and Phonics data for 2017.  Provisional Key Stage 4 data will be available towards the end of November.

The service now includes 2017 Question Level Analysis (QLA) and named pupil data for those with appropriate access levels.

QLA data enables primary schools to assess how well their students performed in different areas of the curriculum.  It also supports secondary schools in identifying strengths and weaknesses for their year 7 cohorts.

Additional reports have now been added to the service as well as enhancements made to the usability following user feedback and includes improved printing and navigation functions.

Each school, local authority, multi academy trust and diocese ‘should have’ someone already designated as the Secure Access Approver.

The DfE has released a Guide to Getting Started Video to help users navigate the new service.

Inter Faith Week 2017

Inter Faith Week 2017 in England, Northern Ireland and Wales will take place from Sunday 12 - Sunday 19 November.

Inter Faith Week:

• Highlights the good work done by local faith, inter faith and faith-based groups and organisations
• Draws new people into inter faith learning and cooperation
• Enables greater interaction between people of different backgrounds
• Helps develop integrated and neighbourly communities
• Celebrates diversity and commonality
• Opens new possibilities for partnership

Inter Faith Week is one of the major programmes run by the Inter Faith Network for the UK (IFN), the national umbrella body that works to promote inter faith understanding and cooperation between the faith communities of the UK.

The IFN would like to encourage as many schools as possible to take part in Inter Faith Week in 2017, as this is an excellent way for schools to bring pupils of different faiths and beliefs together to talk, to understand and to learn, so as to promote increased religious literacy.

There are various free resources available for schools thinking of getting involved:

• The Inter Faith Week Toolkit has ideas for marking the Week, complete with helpful checklists for organisers. It can be downloaded at: www.interfaithweek.org/toolkit.

• Specific examples of the ways in which schools have participated in past years, as well as tips and pointers for developing activities, can be found at: https://www.interfaithweek.org/resources/school- activities

• A flyer for the Week can also be downloaded here: www.interfaithweek.org/ flyer

• IFN has also published a short, illustrated report on Inter Faith Week 2016: Stories from 2016, Inspiration for 2017. The report can be downloaded here: www.interfaithweek.org/resources/inter-faith-week-stories-from-2016-inspiration-for-2017. It contains examples of activities organised by schools last year, and will hopefully inspire you to take part this year.

The IFN asks schools to register online if they are planning an activity so that the lead you are taking will encourage others. Schools can register their activities online at: www.interfaithweek.org/submit. Events will be published on the Inter Faith Week website.

IFN’s Trustees hope that schools will join the many faith, belief and inter faith bodies, local authorities, community and voluntary organisations, businesses, emergency services, SACREs, colleges, universities, chaplaincies, sports organisations and others who will be taking part this year.

If you would like any further information, or to discuss a possible event, please email david.hampshire@interfaith.org.uk or tel: 020 7730 0410.

Warwickshire Youth Parliament and VOX

WCC releases single for Hate Crime Awareness Week

For Hate Crime Awareness Week 2017, Warwickshire County Council has teamed up with Coventry-based ‘The Voice’ star Letitia George and ‘Let It Shine’ star Jordan Charles to create a powerful music single, called Love Instead of Hate (Give it a Try), showing the true pain caused by hate crime.

The single, which has been produced in Warwickshire by music producers Neil Williams and Chris Welch, aims to raise awareness of hate crimes and increase the public reporting of them through a new website (www.reporthatenow.com) after a recent study suggested 3 out of every 5 Hate Crimes are not reported to the police.

The song, Love Instead of Hate, was initially inspired by poetry written by Stephen Crowshaw, a Nuneaton and Bedworth Police officer. Stephen’s lyrics were shared with Rugby-based music producer Neil Williams who immediately volunteered his time and considerable expertise to produce the track. Neil was able to very quickly form a team to work on the music, which featured Stourbridge Producer Chris Welch, Singer Songwriter Jordan Charles and Singer Letitia George all who gave their time and expertise to the project for free.

A music video has also been produced by Warwickshire County Council to accompany the single and featuring the acting talents of young people from Rugby school Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College.

Recycling and Composting Assemblies and Workshops for Primary Schools

Warwickshire Waste Partnership has developed assemblies and workshops to inform children how to recycle, what happens to their waste, and composting.

Activities can be adapted to meet the needs of the school and age of pupils.  We can offer assemblies to the school and specific year groups along with classroom sessions on making paper pots and planting seeds, the compost game, various film footage relating to composting, and general advise to the school on ways recycling could be improved in school.  Please note that the paper pot session is most suited to Year 5 & 6.

Wipeout Waste at Lunchtime

Take part in the waste reduction challenge and hold a Wipe out Waste at Lunchtime day at school.

Composting Workshops

If your school is keen to get composting, contact us to arrange a series of compost specific workshops or assemblies. We can also visit to give you advice on how to set up a compost bin, and explain in more detail what you need to do to compost successfully.

Composting SOS

Or maybe your school is already composting? Is it not very successful? Then contact us to arrange a compost SOS. In the compost SOS sessions, we can work with a member of staff or an Eco-club or class group. Your current compost bin will be assessed and advice is given on how to improve the composting process.

These are free sessions but in return all we ask is that a flyer promoting our compost bin offers are placed in all children's book bags to go home to parents.

We wish to offer this opportunity to Warwickshire Primary Schools on a Tuesday or Wednesday, from November 2017 until July 2018.  Places are limited, so if you are interested, please email me at your earliest convenience to waste@warwickshire.gov.uk to discuss your requirements and to arrange a suitable time to visit school.

Ruth Payne

Waste Projects Officer

Schools Library Service: Bringing resources into your school

Many schools opt in to the Schools Library Service (SLS) to bring high quality books and other resources into school to support the curriculum and reading for pleasure.

However, not all staff are aware of the benefits of borrowing resources in this way to supplement material purchased for school to use year on year.

The time saved as well as precious pounds can be invaluable in hard-pressed schools. SLS staff respond to requests from teachers and fill boxes for termly or annual loan afresh every time according to the needs of the pupils in school.

Subscribing schools also get free advice on library-related matters and discounted further services including CPD, re-furbishment and maintenance work and purchase of new books.

Subscribers can save thousands of pounds by borrowing. Ring 01926 413462 or email schoolslibraryservice@warwickshire.gov.uk for a no obligation discussion. 

Find out more on the Schools Library Service Website.

Warwickshire College Group opens STEM Centre

Warwickshire College Group (WCG) have opened a STEM Centre at their Royal Leamington Spa College.

The College's vision is to support local and regional primary and secondary schools in getting young people excited about science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM subjects).

WCG would like to work with schools to provide activities that directly enrich and support teaching; they can also bring their equipment into schools.

To find out more about how WCG can develop a programme to suit your school's needs, please email stem@wcg,ac.uk. 

Further information is contained in this leaflet.

Wastebuster Programme for Primary Schools

Warwickshire County Council, Waste Management is offering all Warwickshire Primary Schools the opportunity to become Wastebusters!  The Wastebuster programme is a step-by-step guide that has been designed to support schools that would like a simple way to work towards a whole school approach to wastebusting.

Whether you are thinking of getting your recycling system up and running, making savings through sustainable procurement, or working towards an Eco-Schools award, this guide will provide helpful guidance and sign-posting to materials and resources to help your school go green.

The programme aims to:

• Support practical steps towards waste reduction
• Integrate environmental topics to support curriculum learning 
• Gain or maintain Eco-Schools awards 
• Improve Ofsted requirements for community engagement 
• Help promote your school ethos 

Resources available to teachers:

• Assemblies and activities for waste and eco-themed weeks or days
• A year planner and accompanying resources linked to national days and weeks to support eco-team activities across the whole academic year - a wide range of cross-curricular teaching resources including videos, topic info-packs, worksheets, games, activities and more...
• A children's site where pupils can independently explore, play and learn

ESFA Bulletin

Schools may be interested in subscribing for Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) e-bulletin, which is issued weekly in term time.

The bulletin provides the latest information and actions from Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) for academies, schools, colleges, local authorities and other post-16 providers.

Warwickshire Music - supporting YOUR music

Against a backdrop of school budget cuts it is exciting to announce that Warwickshire Music has increased:

• Instrumental tuition in schools
• Instrumental individual tuition at music centres
• Music Centre activities
• County group activities

What is clear is that, despite considerable budget and curriculum pressures schools, parents and young people value music education and love taking part in musical activities.

It is also clear that many schools in Warwickshire are raising their commitment to music education to new levels and forging growing and long lasting partnerships with Warwickshire Music.

This article highlights very succinctly the extraordinary benefits that music education can bring to your school.

Warwickshire Music would be delighted to support your vision for music in your school.

Jeremy Dibb

Director

Warwickshire Music

Visit the Warwickshire Music Hub website.

Governing Board Membership Annual Update

We have sent a copy of our current GB membership records to all clerks and have now begun the process of updating the replies you have returned.

Please can we ask all clerks to review the information we have sent and then complete and return the GB Membership form to us so that we can complete the task?

Thank you to Clerks who have already returned their documents!

A Polite Request to Clerks and Chairs

We actively recruit governors for schools throughout Warwickshire and when we receive an application form we will forward it to the Clerk and Chair of a school that the candidate has expressed an interest in supporting. 

Please can we ask that either the Clerk to Governors or the Chair of the Governing Board acknowledges receipt of the email and application form and responds to it within two weeks of receipt?  If we haven’t received a reply within the two weeks we will assume there are no vacancies and forward the applicant’s details to another school / governing board.

We have recently had examples of schools taking 2 months to reply to either Governor Services or the applicant and we feel this is unfair to the applicant and reflects an unprofessional image of Governance in Warwickshire. 

Patch (Area) Meetings 2017-2018

All venues for the 2017 / 2018 Patch (Area) Meetings have now been confirmed:

Autumn Term 2017

Tuesday 7th November - The Stoneleigh Room, Aylesford School and Sixth Form College

Thursday 9th November - 6th Form Centre, Nicholas Chamberlaine School (Bedworth)

Tuesday 14th November - The Ark, Brooke School (Rugby)

Thursday 16th November - The 6th Form Common Room, Stratford School (Stratford Upon Avon)

Spring Term 2018

Tuesday 24th April - The 6th Form Common Room, Stratford School (Stratford Upon Avon)

Thursday 26th April - The Ark, Brooke School (Rugby)

Tuesday 1st May - 6th Form Centre, Nicholas Chamberlaine School (Bedworth)

Thursday 3rd May - The Stoneleigh Room, Aylesford School and Sixth Form College

All meetings start at 7.00pm and finish at 8.30pm.

Governors and Clerks are invited to attend any of the meetings but if you are planning to attend, please contact governors@warwickshire.gov.uk or telephone 01926 745120 to reserve a place.

GIAS (Get Information About Schools) Formerly Edubase

GIAS replaced EduBase on Monday 18th September.

All existing account details (managed through Secure Access) continue to be valid in the new service and provide the same access levels. Guidance  is available within the ‘Get information about school system’. Further support is available by completing a Service Request Form.

Analyse School Performance Service – (formerly RAISEonline)

The DfE launched an updated and improved version of ASP in July 2017 as a replacement for the RAISEonline service.  The new “Analyse School Performance” service will be a “sister service” to the DfE performance tables.

At the end of September, Key Stage 2 data will be available in ASP – this is provisional data for 2016 / 2017.  Breakdowns of data such as disadvantaged pupils will be added at the end of October along with Key Stage 1 and Phonics data for 2017.  Provisional Key Stage 4 data will be available towards the end of November.

The service now includes 2017 Question Level Analysis (QLA) and named pupil data for those with appropriate access levels.

QLA data enables primary schools to assess how well their students performed in different areas of the curriculum.  It also supports secondary schools in identifying strengths and weaknesses for their year 7 cohorts.

Additional reports have now been added to the service as well as enhancements made to the usability following user feedback and includes improved printing and navigation functions.

Each school, local authority, multi academy trust and diocese ‘should have’ someone already designated as the Secure Access Approver.

A Guide to Getting Started Video has also been released to support the updates.

Safeguarding Update

Free Home Office Training: Prevent & FGM Information

A reminder for all governors, trustees and school staff that free e-learning training on Prevent is available from the Home Office via this link.

A further free online training resource on recognising and preventing female genital mutilation (FGM) is available via the Home Office website via this link.

Section 5B of the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 (as inserted by section 74 of the Serious Crime Act 2015) places a statutory duty upon teachers along with regulated health and social care professionals in England and Wales, to report to the police where they  discover (either through disclosure by the victim or visual evidence) that FGM appears to have been carried out on a girl under 18.

Emergency Adrenaline Auto-Injectors (AAIs) – often known by the brand name ‘EpiPen’

From October 1st 2017, schools are allowed to buy spare adrenaline auto-injectors for use on children with serious allergies in emergencies, following a change in the law. Until now, AAIs could only be obtained on prescription and this could mean that there was no spare in school if the child forgot theirs.

There have been two serious cases over the last year where coroners said that delays in administering adrenaline 'may have' contributed to the deaths of children in school.

To reflect this change the Department of Health have issued guidance to schools.

• Supporting pupils with medical conditions at schools
• Guidance on the use of adrenaline auto-injectors in schools
• Further information about Anaphylaxis

Run, Hide, Tell: Terrorism advice for young people

Warwickshire Police are supporting the @TerrorismPolice campaign helping young people stay safe if caught in a weapons attack.

More information can be found here.

Browne Jacobson GDPR Webinar

Browne Jacobson, in partnership with the NGA, recently delivered a webinar on the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

Whether your school is an academy, a maintained school, or part of a multi-academy trust, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will apply to you from 25^th May 2018.

If you were unable to attend the live webinar you can watch a recording of it here.

PE and Sport Premium for Primary Schools

The DfE has released the PE and sport premium funding amounts for 2017 to 2018 in Primary Schools. Most state primary schools receive this money (for years 1 to 6). Due to the levy on soft drinks, the rate of funding for the PE and sport premium has doubled when compared to 2016.

Schools will now receive £1,000 per pupil (if there are 16 or fewer in a school) or £16,000 (with 17 or more pupils) and an additional £10 per pupil. This money can be used for a range of sporting and exercise activities, but cannot be used to “teach the minimum requirements of the national curriculum” or “employ coaches or specialist teachers to cover planning preparation and assessment (PPA) arrangements”.

Click here to find out more

Monitoring and Evaluating the Pupil Premium, PE and Sport Premium

Governing boards and trustees are responsible for ensuring that this money is well spent.  As part of a regular monitoring and evaluation schedule all governors should ensure that they know “how effectively leaders use additional funding, including the pupil premium, and measure its impact on outcomes for pupils, and how effectively governors hold them to account for this.” (Effectiveness of Leadership and Management - Ofsted School Inspection Handbook, page 38)

• It would be worthwhile for governors to undertake a value for money exercise to check on the effectiveness of their Pupil Premium funding.
• How is your board ensuring the funding is used to make additional and sustainable improvements to the quality of PE and sport offered?

Schools Causing Concern - Statutory Guidance

This statutory guidance, applicable to both maintained schools and academies, was updated in August 2017, to clarify the use of writing data at Key Stage 2 in determining whether a warning notice should be issued to a school. Warning notices can be issued to schools that, although not judged as inadequate by Ofsted or have not met the formal coasting criteria, are still giving Local Authorities or Regional School Commissioners (RSC) / cause for concern.

A warning notice can be issued to schools on two grounds, one of which is Performance Standards and Safety. The August 2017 update clarified that: in 2016 and 2017, if a school's performance at KS2 has dropped below the floor standard, or met the coasting definition, based on performance in Writing alone, the Local Authority or RSC should not intervene or issue a warning notice, except where the extent of the change in performance cannot be explained by the impact of the changes to primary assessment arrangements in these transitional years.

Updated guidance can be viewed here.

Ofsted – News and Updates

School Inspection Update

The new edition of Ofsted’s School Inspection Update provides details of how inspectors are being instructed to approach school performance data.

Ofsted Inspectors have been reminded:

• not to compare results from last year to this for the new GCSEs
• results for GCSEs and A levels have been stable overall and small fluctuations at school level should not be over-interpreted
• to consider whether decisions made by school leaders are in the best interests of pupils
• to use assessment data as a starting point for discussion rather than the only piece of evidence
• not to focus on single measures with small cohorts
• to treat data from Key Stage 2 teacher assessments with caution

Inspectors are also reminded to look out for evidence that schools may be trying to ‘game the system’, for example by entering pupils into qualifications with significant subject overlap or moving pupils to other settings.

Ofsted have reformed their inspection dashboard into a new style Inspection Dashboard Summary Report (IDSR) which focuses on trends in school performance over the previous three years.

Ofsted Inspectors: conflicts of interest policy and procedure

Those who work on behalf of Ofsted must not put themselves in a position where previous employment, personal relationships or private interests conflict, or could be perceived to conflict, with these values. Ofsted’s approach to all potential conflicts, whether real or perceived, is to:

• always disclose
• declare a conflict of interest
• agree arrangements to manage the conflict
• prohibit activity where necessary

To view the Conflicts of Interest policy and procedure click here.

NGA Learning Link Information

The NGA Learning Link replaces the GEL system that we have offered as part of an additional service to schools.

All previous GEL users should now have been migrated onto the Learning Link system if this hasn’t happened, please contact the NGA so that they can investigate and arrange for you to be added to the system.

All governors at schools who subscribe to Learning Link can sign up via the Learning Link self-registration page if they aren’t already registered.

Director of Public Health Annual Report 2017

'Everyone in Warwickshire Counts: Valuing the Vulnerable' is the title of the Director of Public Health Annual Report 2017.

Released Wednesday 6 September, the Director of Public Health’s report informs local people about the health of their community, as well as providing necessary information for decision makers in the local public sector on health gaps, health inequalities and priorities that need to be addressed. 

The theme of this year’s report is vulnerability and its impact on health and wellbeing.

Read the report at: warwickshire.gov.uk/publichealthannualreport

Health and wellbeing is generally reported as good compared to England. This is to be celebrated – however it does mask significant variation in different areas across the county (see pages 8, 9, 10 of the report).

There have been some improvements in core areas:

• The rate of teenage conceptions continues to fall from 22.9% in 2014 to 19.5% in 2015
• Physical inactivity in adults has reduced from one in three down to one in four
• However there are areas where health outcomes have deteriorated; for example hospital admissions as a result of injuries in childhood (0 to 14 years) are at a higher level than the national figure.
• Life expectancy has been rising – but while it is good that we are living longer, much of the additional time is spent in poor health – around 12 years for men and 16 years for women. Years spent in poor health impact on families and workplaces, and increase pressure on health and especially social care services.

A hard copy of the report has been sent to every Headteacher in Warwickshire. The report is also available to read online at warwickshire.gov.uk/publichealthannualreport

What do you think of the report? We welcome your feedback: surveymonkey.co.uk/r/dphannualreport2017

Read the press release.

For more information please contact phadmin@warwickshire.gov.uk 

Flu vaccination campaign and infection guidance

Flu vaccination campaign

Public Health would like to ask for your support with this year's flu campaign - please find a factsheet for frontline staff, which we would be grateful if you might share as widely as possible. 

Please find all of our poster/campaign resources here: 
warwickshire.gov.uk/flu 
coventry.gov.uk/flujab

You can also find information about our targets here.

New Infection Control Guidance

Please also see here for newly published infection control guidance for schools and childcare facilities.

With winter looming, and the winter vomiting bug "Norovirus" starting to circulate, may we recommend Chapters 3,4, 6, 9 and Appendix 3 in particular.

Soil Association Food for Life - New Event

Would you like to demonstrate that your school is doing fantastic work to improve pupils’ health outcomes, behaviour and attainment? Food for Life in Warwickshire provides a package of support including resources, training and advice to create a culture of healthy eating and great food education …and thanks to Public Health Warwickshire the FFL Awards package, which usually costs £500, is available for all schools in the county absolutely free until 2019.

Here are just some of the many benefits of FFL:

• Pupil Health and Wellbeing: Independent evaluation of our programme demonstrates our unique, whole school approach makes a positive contribution to pupil health and wellbeing with many schools reporting a clear impact on their Ofsted report in terms of pupils' personal development and wellbeing.
• Ofsted: FFL shows that you are meeting Ofsted’s Common Inspection Framework requirement to support children and learners to keep themselves healthy. “Schools who are working towards or have gained their Food for Life Schools Award will already have started to collect evidence of a positive food culture in action.” (Ofsted)
• School Food Standards: FFL award holders demonstrate they are meeting DfE’s mandatory School Food Standards.
• Training, support and resources: We offer a wealth of resources, specialist support and training, developed and delivered by experts.
• Curriculum: FFL supports national curriculum requirements on cooking and uses food growing and food linked education to enhance the curriculum and foster enterprise skills.

Feedback from a teacher at FFL school in Warwickshire:

“The pupils thoroughly enjoy the gardening and other FFL activities. It has been noticed that it has had a calming effect on pupils who struggle with behavioural issues. It has influenced attainment by actively engaging pupils through first-hand experience, creating a high level of engagement and deeper understanding. Children are more engaged in writing and maths when FFL activities are involved, such as instruction writing about how to make chutney. The pupils are consuming more fruit and vegetables, talking about what they are eating and encouraging others to eat them as well.”

If you would like to find out more about Food for Life and how to enrol then please book a place on our New Schools Event by contacting Local Programme Manager, Valerie Meehan, at vmeehan@soilassociation.org or call 07736 888462 to arrange an alternative appointment if you are unable to attend.

Our next New Schools Event is on Wednesday 8th November 2017 from 3.30pm to 4.30pm at:

Cotesbach Educational Trust,

Main Street,

Near Lutterworth

LE17 4HX

We hope to see you there!

Choose How You Move - Active Travel

This recently launched campaign across Coventry and Warwickshire aims to get people to travel differently to work or to school, using more sustainable and active travel options, and to leave the car at home!

Walking or cycling is good for health and wellbeing, and helps reduce air pollution.

The website http://warwickshire.gov.uk/activetravel helps people plan journeys, and gives tips and advice on a variety of active travel options. It also has animations on active travel and will soon have case studies of people who have made the change to more active travel.

We particularly want to work with schools to increase walking and cycling to school and to reduce car idling outside schools which can add to pollution levels.

Please share the website link and also encourage people to visit our Facebook and Twitter pages:

Twitter @ChooseMoveCW

Choose Move Facebook

We really want to start some conversations about active travel that lead to change, even if it's only doing a journey differently once a week, little changes make a big difference.

Kenilworth School designated a Teaching School

We hear from Kenilworth School and Sixth Form, who share some excellent news:

We are delighted to have been designated a Teaching School by the NCTL and we look forward to working with many local schools to provide unique professional development opportunities for teachers.

In the next few weeks we will be producing an exciting programme of CPD opportunities which will promote leadership, diversity and school development.

We will be looking to underpin all CPD opportunities with coaching and mentoring.  At present we have introduced a coaching programme for all teachers at Kenilworth which has enabled them to develop their pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning, resulting in improved student outcomes.

One of our specific focus areas will be supporting primary schools by offering training and advice for non-specialist teachers in the core subjects as well as in music, science and modern languages.

Our links with initial training providers are strong, in particular the University of Warwick, who contribute to making our School Direct partnership the success that it is.  Our Teaching School will further develop these areas to introduce further opportunities for aspiring and experienced teachers.

As a National Support School, we have gained successful experience of school-to-school support for other local schools and we have undertaken short placement and reviews in key areas of leadership. Our new designation will allow us to build on this experience.

If anyone is interested in finding out more about our Teaching School priorities or would like to contribute to our programme, we would be keen to hear from you.  Please contact either Hayden Abbott or Deborah Talbot by phone (01926 859421 ext 1103) or email h.abbott@ksnadmin.ksn.org.uk or d.talbot@ksnadmin.ksn.org.uk.

Teaching Schools in Warwickshire

Avon Valley Students Work with stars on Hate Crime awareness video

Talented students from The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College have been involved in an exciting project which has seen Warwickshire County Council team up with both Coventry-based ‘The Voice’ star Letitia George and ‘Let It Shine’ star Jordan Charles, to create a powerful music single, called Love Instead of Hate (Give it a Try), which aims to show the true pain caused by hate crime.

The music single, which has been produced in Warwickshire by music producers Neil Williams and Chris Welch, aims to raise awareness of hate crimes and increase the public reporting of them through a new website, www.reporthatenow.com, launched after a recent study suggested 3 out of every 5 hate crimes are not reported to the police. The song, Love Instead of Hate, was initially inspired by poetry written by Stephen Crowshaw, a Nuneaton and Bedworth Police officer.

The music video produced by Warwickshire County Council to accompany the single was recorded at The Avon Valley School, Rugby, and features the acting talents of eight students all identified as talented in the performing arts.

Dan Phelan, Achievement Leader, said “This was a really exciting project, and something our students do not normally get to experience. As you will see in the video the shoot was quite messy as it involved black paint and colourful powder, however the students loved every minute of it. I’d like to say a huge thank you to Warwickshire County Council, the producers, and artists for involving us in this video, which I hope will be very successful”.

The school’s headteacher, Alison Davies, said “I am incredibly proud of the students who were involved in this project. I was fortunate to be able to watch the video for the first time with students who were involved and their reaction to the finished video was wonderful.”

View the video here.

UK Reading expert visits Boughton Leigh Infant School

One of the UK’s leading experts on teaching children to read visited a Rugby infant school where pupils follow the literacy programme she devised.

Ruth Miskin OBE was at Boughton Leigh Infant School (BLIS) in Brownsover for a regional meeting with head teachers and teachers.

All BLIS pupils follow her Read Write Inc phonics literacy programme which is designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers.

Before getting down to formal business, Ruth took time out to meet pupils and talk to them about their learning.

She is pictured above with a child from each class and Head teacher Andrew Moorcroft.

£101,000 awarded in Skills for Education grants to schools

34 secondary-age schools received Skills for Employment grants worth up to £3,000 in June 2017. Match-funded by schools, the grants are being used on a range of approved careers and employability projects, ranging from provision of one-to-one careers interviews for young people, to funding a school’s preparation to achieve a national Careers Quality Award. This is the fourth round of such grants awarded since 2015.  The total value of this type of grant awarded to schools is more than £400,000. It is estimated that around 20,000 students have received careers or employability support funded by the grants. Here’s a summary of one school’s evaluation report on its 2016/17 grant-funded activity:

30 year 11 students at most risk of becoming not in employment, education or training (NEET) were supported with up to three one-to-one interviews, some of which also involved their parent(s). All went on to choose a positive post-16 destination, while two were offered jobs with apprenticeships by local businesses. 39 vulnerable year 8 students and their parent (s) took part in interviews to help choose their GCSE options. The school is in the final stages of achieving accreditation for the national Careers Quality Award.

New STEM and work experience offers

New STEM and work experience network at HORIBA MIRA Technology Park

Nuneaton-based Japanese automotive engineering consultancy HORIBA MIRA is creating a new work experience network for local schools, colleges and other businesses. The project is being supported with a County Council Skills Challenge grant worth £36,497.

Work experience placements will not only be offered at HORIBA MIRA, the global provider of pioneering engineering, research and test services to the automotive, defence, aerospace and rail sectors, but also at other businesses on the HORIBA MIRA Technology Park.  Firms will work with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) teachers and careers leads in schools and colleges to provide opportunities for students.

‘There is a real shortage of young people entering Engineering and other STEM related careers”, HORIBA MIRA Technology Park Skills Manager, Torin Spence, told us.  “By bringing together the industry leading companies on the HORIBA MIRA Technology Park with local young people, schools and colleges we want to be able to show what the Automotive Engineering sector is like in 2017 and inspire local young people to choose engineering as a career path.’

Atkins STEM and Work Experience Offer

One of the world's most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies, Atkins Global (Birmingham division) is one of Warwickshire County Council’s main contractors. As part of its payback to our community, the company offers an extensive work experience programme and recruits young people in a range of roles to be apprentices. It also has 34 STEM ambassadors who visit schools.

For more information on the HORIBA MIRA and Atkins offers please e-mail skillsformployment@warwickshire.gov.uk or call 01926 418027.

New resources for teachers and pupils

A range of new resources are available on the Warwickshire Skills for Employment site including:

• 9 Learner Journeys showing real careers routes young people in our schools followed last year. There are also short videos of 3 of the journeys
• A new Powerpoint slide pack showing job vacancies and the skills required in 2016
• Free Engineering UK materials to use with pupils.

You can also find a list of FREE resources available to schools for careers and education guidance here.

2018 Skills for Employment Conference - 7th March

Our annual Skills for Employment  breakfast conference will take place on 7^th March 2018 at Stoneleigh Park.

Details will be sent to key contacts in schools in December 2017.

The Outstanding Teacher Programme

Please click here for details and dates for the Outstanding Teacher Programme, offered by the Community Academies Trust Teaching School.

Designed by OLEVI and facilitated by our experienced school leaders and teachers at Higham Lane School and The Polesworth School, the Outstanding Teacher Programme (OTP) gives good and outstanding teachers a set of high level skills and strategies that enable them to become consistently and sustainably outstanding. Utilised in the London and City Challenge Projects and endorsed by the National College, the OTP has gained a national reputation for raising standards in teaching and learning.

The course runs on dates from 2nd November 2017 to the 13th February 2018.

Prices are from £350 + VAT per delegate.

Email s.tocker@thepolesworthschool.com for more information and to book.

Warwickshire Child Sexual Exploitation Training

In February 2017 the UK Government and National Crime Agency upgraded Child Sexual Exploitation to National Threat level.

Warwickshire Child Sexual Exploitation Team wants to support all education providers to have the knowledge and confidence to identify the signs of CSE and respond appropriately if they have concerns about a child or situation.

We deliver FREE half & full day multi-agency training with the Warwickshire Safeguarding Children Board for all professionals in Warwickshire and you can access the training via the WILMa website: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/wilma

For dates and more information please see this flyer.

We understand that it can be problematic for schools to release staff for multi-agency training and are therefore also offering FREE CSE Awareness Sessions for all Warwickshire education providers. We can deliver directly at your school or premises and offer a number of options to suit your needs.

Please contact Kate Shipley on kate.shipley@barnardos.org.uk or 07702 338667 for any queries.

'Analyse School Performance' Sessions

Do you want to become confident with ASP?

The Griffin TSA are running two phase specific sessions which will provide a brief overview of the new data management system that has replaced RAISEonline.

As part of this we will highlight some of the key reports that will feed into inspection and other accountability conversations during the coming year. The sessions will be led by Dr Peter Kent.

Secondary colleagues: Thursday 9th November

Primary colleagues: Thursday 23rd November

Refreshments from 2.15pm, sessions to start promptly at 2.30pm and will finish at 4.30pm. 

These will take place at Lawrence Sheriff School, and cost £10 per person attending.

For more information see this flyer.

To book contact christine.blay@lawrencesheriffschool.com.

Griffin Teaching School Alliance - NPQs for Headship and Middle Leaders

The Griffin Teaching School Alliance would like to highlight the following training opportunities:

For more information on both of these courses and to book your place please contact:

christine.blay@lawrencesheriffschool.com

01788 843789

National Professional Qualification for Headship

The National Professional Qualification for Headship is a nationally accredited programme delivered by trained facilitators from Lawrence Sheriff School. The newly reformed NPQH qualification is for those who are, or are aspiring to become, a headteacher or head of school with responsibility for leading a school. 

See this flyer for more details.

Sessions will be held at: Lawrence Sheriff School, Clifton Road, CV21 3AG and local partner schools.

The course costs £1,800 (including externally verified assessment)

National Professional Qualification for Middle Leadership

The National Professional Qualification for Middle Leadership is a nationally accredited programme, delivered by trained facilitators from Finham Park 2 and Lawrence Sheriff Schools. The newly reformed NPQML will help you to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence that you need to lead a high performing team in a school and improve classroom practice.  The course is for those who are, or are aspiring to become a middle leader with responsibility for leading a team.

See this flyer for more details.

Sessions will be held at Finham Park School 2, Leigh Court, Torrington Avenue, Coventry, CV4 9XZ starting on Thursday November 2^nd

The course costs £750 (including externally verified final assessment)

Shires TSA - NPQs for Senior and Middle Leaders

Please see the following flyers for details of National Professional Qualifications in Senior and Middle Leadership, offered by the Shires Teaching School Alliance:

Download the above flyer for the NPQML Course.

Download the above flyer for the NPQSL Course.

Science Leaders event - 'Getting to grips with the new GCSE grades'

The Community Academies Trust Teaching School is offering the following event for free to all Science Leaders:

'Getting to grips with the new GCSE grades'

North Warwickshire/South East Staffordshire Science Leaders' Networking Hub

As an ex science teacher herself, Sarah Old, Senior Manager in the Standards Team responsible for the Science A Levels and GCSEs for Ofqual, has some experience at the chalkface. More recently, she has been involved in the development of these qualifications and is now evaluating the reformed programme as the first awards have been made.

This is a rare opportunity to grill OFQUAL on the impact of the new GCSE in Science.

This free event is open to all Science Leaders.

WHEN: Wednesday 8th November 2017, 4.00 pm

WHERE: The Polesworth School, Dordon Road, Polesworth, B78 1QT

See this flyer for more information.

If you wish to book or contribute to this or future networking events, please contact The Community Academies Trust Teaching School at m.borders@thepolesworthschool.

Teacher Training in Warwickshire - New event

Maths leaders event: 'Problem solving in the secondary maths classroom'

The Community Academies Trust Teaching School is offering the following event for free to all maths practitioners:

'Problem solving in the secondary maths classroom'

North Warwickshire/South East Staffordshire Maths Leaders' Networking Hub

Join the Maths Networking Hub and Fiona Kitchen from the Future Maths Support Programme in the first of our termly “TeachMeet” style networking events. These events provide a valuable opportunity to network with other local colleagues with a focus on improving the progress of all our students.

Fiona Kitchen is the Area Co-ordinator for the national Future Maths Support Programme (FMSP). The FMSP supports the development of Higher Level Problem Solving skills including support for teachers helping students prepare for STEP, AEA and MAT examinations

This free event is open to all maths practitioners.

WHEN: Wednesday 22nd November 2017, 4.00 pm

WHERE: The Polesworth School, Dordon Road, Polesworth, B78 1QT

See this flyer for more information.

If you wish to book or contribute to this or future networking events, please contact The Community Academies Trust Teaching School at m.borders@thepolesworthschool.

Warwickshire's Autumn Term 2017 Headteachers' Conference

Headteachers are invited to attend Warwickshire County Council's Autumn Term Conference which will have a focus on 'A whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing', and include key updates from the Local Authority.

Please see the provisional agenda with the programme for the day and confirmed speakers.

This is FREE for all Warwickshire schools and settings (LA maintained, academies, free schools, nursery schools, special schools and FE and sixth form colleges).

Tuesday 7 November 2017, 10am - 3pm (Registration and refreshments from 9.30am)

The Riding School, Stoneleigh Abbey, Stoneleigh, Kenilworth, CV8 2LF

Lunch will be provided.

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With an opening keynote from Professor Des Hewitt: "Teacher and Pupil Wellbeing in Schools: mindfulness and 5-a-day for wellbeing".

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Phil Kelly, headteacher of Higham Lane School in Nuneaton will share his experiences of managing whole school and staff wellbeing and lessons learned following the incident at his school last term. 

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There will also be an opportunity for attendees to take part in ONE of the following breakout sessions:

"What makes an Emotionally Intelligent Classroom?" - Victor Allen, Author and consultant on Emotional and Social Intelligence

"Strategies for Measuring Wellbeing and the Impact of Interventions" - Dr Rina Bajaj, Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families

"Principles of Nurture Provision: a leadership approach" - Helen Stollery, Head of Quality and Standards, Nurture Group Network

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**BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL**

If you would like to attend, please confirm your booking and select your preferred breakout sessions using the online form at the link below, no later than 31st October 2017.

Autumn Term Conference Booking Form 

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For any queries please contact schoolpartnerships@warwickshire.gov.uk or phone 01926 742075.

Agreed Syllabus for RE Launch Event - 20th November

Please note that this event is aimed at schools who did not attend one of the earlier syllabus launch events in July.

This one-day conference will introduce teachers to the new Warwickshire and Coventry Agreed Syllabus. It will focus on practical classroom ideas and strategies, enabling teachers to get to grips with the new syllabus and how it applies to schools.

The conference will take place on Monday 20th November 2017, 9.30am-3.15pm (with registration and refreshments from 9.00 am). A vegetarian buffet lunch will be included.

The venue is: Gurdwara Sahib, Tachbrook Park Dr, Leamington Spa, CV34 6RH

Dress: all visitors to the Gurdwara will need to dress modestly and keep their heads covered so please bring something suitable with you e.g. a hat or scarf.

The event is free for one delegate per school or setting.

Please see the event programme for the schedule and more details of the day.

Bookings can be made through this Google form.

For any queries, please contact sacre@warwickshire.gov.uk

New Education and Learning Calendar

We are pleased to introduce a new online calendar containing information on events, meetings and training organised by Education and Learning in Warwickshire. You can view the calendar at this link, and below:

Subscribing 

The calendar is in the format of a google calendar, which means you can subscribe to it on various calendar software packages. When you subscribe, the calendar will stay up to date if there are changes made to the events.

We strongly recommend you subscribe to the calendar using the methods in the document linked below, rather than importing individual/multiple events into your calendar. Subscribing will allow events to remain up to date, while importing does not.

If you have any queries, do get in touch on schoolpartnerships@warwickshire.gov.uk.  We will do our best to help with any issues you have subscribing, but cannot advise on the individual configurations of schools' calendar software.

Find instructions for subscribing to the calendar here.

2018 Skills for Employment Conference - 7th March

Our annual Skills for Employment  breakfast conference will take place on 7^th March 2018 at Stoneleigh Park.

Details will be sent to key contacts in schools in December 2017.