Celebrating Warwickshire’s Family of Schools
OFSTED Inspections: Reflections on Safeguarding
We are very grateful to one of our headteacher colleagues in a maintained primary school who has had an OFSTED inspection this month for sharing some thoughts about what schools might like to double check is in place in their setting. This should not be seen as a definitive list and schools must of course make sure they have the correct procedures in place at all times, however, we hope these thoughts provide a useful focus.
Please download the document here.
FREE Road Safety Resource for Brake Road Safety Week
Warwickshire County Council’s Road Safety Education Team are helping to spread road safety messages to Warwickshire primary schools as part of National Road Safety Week and the Safe and Active Schools programme.
This year's theme is Road Safety Heroes and Warwickshire's very own Road Safety Superheroes will be coming to a screen near you!
This Road Safety Week will see the launch of two brand-new highly engaging short films, ideal for use in a whole school assembly.
The first film focusses on road safety and has been designed to have something for all ages. Children will be invited to complete missions to become a safe travel team. They will think about how they travel to school, learn the Road Safety Code, and think about what to wear to keep themselves safe when they travel. They will also think about things that distract them from being safe and how to travel safely in a car. Once all missions have been completed, the children will be encouraged to talk about what they found out as a class or school.
The second film, to be shown later in the week, focusses on putting the safe behaviours children have learnt into action and travelling actively. Children will meet our Active Travel Superheroes who are in an active travel race against Calamity Carbon, in his car, to get to school on time. This film demonstrates the benefits of travelling actively whilst engaging children of all ages in thinking about how they could travel.
To request these two fantastic resources, please complete the form.
For further information or to request these resources via email, please contact roadsafetyeducation@warwickshire.gov.uk
Pupil from Stratford-upon-Avon awarded Warwickshire’s Young Poet Laureate 2021
Warwickshire County Council is delighted to announce the position of Young Poet Laureate 2021 has been awarded to Daniel Wale, a pupil from King Edward VI School in Stratford-upon-Avon.
The Laureateship is a unique opportunity for the successful candidate to develop their writing skills and take part in events and activities across the county under the mentorship of a professional poet. This year’s winner, Daniel, will be mentored by multiple slam champion Jasmine Gardosi, who is a Birmingham Poet Laureate finalist and recent winner of the Out-Spoken Prize for Poetry. Her work has also appeared on Button Poetry, at the Tate Modern, Glastonbury Festival, BBC Radio 3's The Verb, Radio 4 and BBC Asian Network.
Daniel, who has also been named as one of this year’s Foyle Young Poets of the Year, was crowned Warwickshire’s Young Poet Laureate winner following a virtual selection day in October. Four high calibre candidates from King Edward VI School, Rugby High School, and Stratford Girl's Grammar took part in a 90-minute workshop with stand-up poet Johnny Fluffypunk, who shared creative tips and advice about how to successfully deliver poetry performances. The candidates then each took part in virtual interviews in front of a judging panel, which consisted of delivering a poetry performance and answering a series of questions, including sharing their ideas about the Young Poet Laureate role. The day culminated in the judges selecting Daniel as Young Poet Laureate 2021.
Daniel delivered his first onstage poetry performance, alongside Coventry’s Poet Laureate Emilie Lauren Jones, at Coleshill Library’s Poetry Evening on 3 November. The event kicked off with four open mic spot poets, several of whom are already members of the library's Poetry Group. The performances showcased a mixture of thought provoking and fun poetry, and, after a short interval, Daniel and Emilie performed their own poetry pieces. The event was Coleshill Library’s first adult attended event since the COVID-19 lockdowns took place, and was attended by a mixture of library staff and the poets’ friends and families. Previously in October the four shortlisted candidates were also provided the opportunity to attend the Leamington Poetry Festival.
Read more here.
National professional qualifications framework
Find out how to access national professional qualifications (NPQs) training and support for school teachers and leaders.
Read more here.
NEW-LOOK 'Education Settings' web pages!
Our Education settings web pages have had a style refresh. Just click on the picture below to take a look.
The web pages are designed especially for education settings with the content maintained by subject matter experts.
New features of our pages include:
Please explore for yourself and share the resource with your teams!
The Secondary NQT+1 Programme
The NQT+1 programme is designed to build on skills learnt during PGCE and NQT years by giving teachers in their second year the opportunity to reflect on their practice, observe and share practice. Each session will be held in a different school and facilitated by outstanding teachers and SLEs with an optional learning walk prior to the session.
Session One – Classroom Based Action Research
Venue John Taylor High School
Date 18th November 2021
Time 16.00 – 17.30
Session Two – Subject and Curriculum
Venue Arthur Terry School
Date 13th January 2022
Time 16.00 – 17.30
Session Three – How Pupils Learn
Venue Arthur Terry School
Date 17th March 2022
Time 16.00 – 17.30
Session Four – Professional Behaviours
Venue John Taylor High School
Date 12th May 2022
Time 16.00 – 17.30
Session Five – Presentation of Project and Celebration Event
Venue John Taylor High School
Date 16th June 2022
Time 16.00 – 17.30
NQT+1 Conference with Caroline Bentley-Davies
Venue John Taylor High School, Training Centre
Date 3rd December 2021
Time 09.00 – 15.00 (exact timings tbc)
This is at a cost of £225 for all of the after school sessions and the conference. If you would like to do either of these separately then this is available at a cost of £150 for the after school sessions or £100 for the conference.
Find additional details on this programme: "The secondary nqt+1 programme flyer"
and more info about the conference: NQT+1 Conference
If you would like to book a space on this programme, then please email j.taylor-perks@jths.co.uk and confirm the name, school and email addresses of the delegates. Also confirm whether they would like to undertake the afterschool sessions, conference or both.
Specialist Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics - Primary Teachers Programme
Origin Maths Hub are offering primary schools in Solihull, Coventry and Warwickshire the opportunity to participate in this free programme.
- This programme is a fantastic opportunity for primary teachers to enhance and develop their mathematics subject knowledge and pedagogy.
- Teaching mathematics for mastery approaches are explored, relevant for both Key Stages 1 and 2.
- Teachers will receive support with their subject knowledge on big topics, representations and connections in mathematics; so that they are better placed to help children to make effective progress (especially important following missed learning opportunities during the pandemic).
- This programme is completely free to participating schools; and several teachers from the same school are welcome to take part.
Find out more.
NPQ Live Webinar Event – 25th November 16:00-17:00
On the 25th November, the Department for Education (DfE) will host a webinar for teachers and school leaders wanting to learn more about the recent reforms to National Professional Qualifications (NPQs).
All teachers and leaders are welcome to the webinar, particularly given that as a part of the government’s long-term education recovery plan, all teachers and leaders employed in state-funded schools, as well as 16 to 19 organisations, can now access fully funded scholarships to undertake NPQs.
The new and updated suite of NPQs are also available to applicants from non-state-funded schools and organisations.
The webinar will cover:
- The new, updated suite of NPQs. This will include the specialist and leadership NPQs;
- The funding available to schools to help teachers and school leaders access these qualifications;
- Course content, including assessment and time commitments;
- How to sign up.
There will also be the opportunity to submit specific questions about the reformed suite of NPQs to the DfE. Also, a recording of the webinar will be made available following the event.
To sign up to the information webinar, please click here.
To find out more about the new, updated suite of NPQs, go to GOV.UK.
Stop & Think project – maths and science attainment in Years 3 and 5, September 2022-July 2023
Warwickshire primary schools are invited to take part in a study testing a new maths and science programme called ‘Stop and Think’. The study is being funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).
What is ‘Stop and Think’? Stop and Think is a software programme developed by neuroscientists at Birkbeck University which uses quizzes and games to help pupils learn counterintuitive concepts in science and maths. In a previous study, pupils who used the programme had higher attainment in science (+2 months progress) and in maths (+ 1 months progress).
Further information: Please find further information here: information sheet
Next steps If you would sign up to this project please email stopandthink@bi.team or book in a call here.
Make a pledge for a greener Warwickshire
Warwickshire residents are being encouraged to make a pledge to help make a greener, more sustainable, Warwickshire.
Warwickshire County Council is calling on all residents to show their support for a new campaign that aims to raise awareness of the impact that individuals have on the planet’s changing climate.
Residents are encouraged to pledge to do one thing to reduce their own carbon footprint – the amount of CO2 they are responsible for as individuals – over the coming weeks, months and years.
Residents are encouraged to think of their own pledges that will help to make a difference. Some possible examples could be:
- I pledge to use active travel (walking/cycling) for journeys under 3 miles;
- I pledge to recycle more of my waste packaging;
- I pledge to buy my gas and electricity from suppliers providing 100% renewable energy;
- I pledge to improve the energy efficiency of my home.
Residents are encouraged to take a picture of themselves holding their pledge and Tweet it to :@Warwickshire_CC or to @Warwickshire County Council on Facebook using Hashtag: #WarksClimatePledge. Alternatively, pictures can be sent to: climateemergency@warwickshire.gov.uk
These pledges will be used on the Warwickshire Climate Emergency Website, in the media and as part of climate change events in 2022.
Read more here.
Applications open for Reception and Junior School Places
Please note that the deadline for Reception and Junior school places comes round very soon after Christmas (15 January 2022), so if you could please send out a reminder to your parents and carers this term, that would be much appreciated. This applies to children born between 1 September 2017 and 31 August 2018 for Reception, and any child currently in Year 2 at an infant school who want to move to a junior school.
All applications received by the deadline of 15 January will receive a school offer on 19 April next year, which is National Offer Day. Any applications submitted after the 15 January deadline will only be considered after this, meaning the child is much less likely to be offered a place at a preferred school.
Applications should be made online at: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/school-admissions-appeals.
Schools and Academies Show, 17 to 18 November
The Schools and Academies Show takes place at the NEC Birmingham on 17 and 18 November.
Hear from Baroness Barran MBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for the School System). DfE and ESFA have worked with the organisers to put together a full programme of speakers and workshops for this free face-to-face event.
Further information is available here.
Warwickshire County Council unveils Children and Young People Strategy 2021 – 2030
Warwickshire County Council has launched the Children and Young People Strategy 2021 - 2030 which has the Child Friendly Warwickshire programme at its heart.
Warwickshire County Council Cabinet has approved a new Children and Young People Strategy which outlines the council’s commitment to ensuring children and young people have a voice and are supported to be the best they can be.
The strategy’s goals and ambitions were shaped by feedback from a survey completed by over a thousand young people across Warwickshire and will be the council’s approach to working with partners, families and communities between now and 2030 to help youngsters reach their potential.
The strategy reflects the exciting new Child Friendly Warwickshire programme which is bringing the county together in a collective effort to ensure our children and young people are heard, safe, happy, healthy and equipped with the skills to lead the best lives they can.
The council-led child friendly programme will help to deliver the strategy, ensuring a whole council approach and bringing partners and communities on board to help make Warwickshire the best place for children to grow up and learn.
The priorities of the strategy and Child Friendly Warwickshire have been chosen as critical measures for success as these are the things young people said were most important to them. In early 2021, over one thousand young people took part in the Child Friendly Warwickshire survey and their feedback highlighted the things that would make them feel that they live in a child friendly county. These are:
- Be heard – have a voice to shape where they live
- Be safe – have secure, safe and stable home lives
- Be healthy - have access to the health services they need
- Be skilled - have the opportunity to enjoy the learning they need - leading to the achievements and employment they want
- Be happy – enjoy access to activities and entertainment with safe, secure, green and clean areas in which to play.
Read more here.
'One Stop Scholarship' and Groundwork UK
£15,000 bursary and more on offer through the 'One Stop Scholarship' and Groundwork UK
If you have any pupils who have been offered a place on a university degree course relevant to Online, Technology or Sustainability please click on the link below to find out more.
Groundwork UK are involved in the “One Stop Scholarship” scheme, which is now live until the end of January 2022. Information on the scheme can be found here: https://www.groundwork.org.uk/apply-for-a-grant/national-grants/one-stop-scholarship-programme/
The One Stop Scholarship Programme will support young people, who are self-supporting or from low income backgrounds, through University. Candidates will receive financial support and real life work experience throughout their studies while working towards a graduate role at One Stop.
Who is eligible?
To be able to apply, applicants must:
• Have been offered a place on a university degree course relevant to Online, Technology or Sustainability
• Live within two miles of a One Stop store in England and Wales
• Attend a state school
Computing hub and access to free CPD and resources
Please click on the link below to find out more about the Birmingham and Central Midlands Computing Hub and what it can offer regarding teaching computing.
This covers CPD and resources for use in the classroom.
All resources and online CPD are available at no cost to any teacher.
There is information for both primary and secondary schools.
Please click here.
Science learning partnership and access to bursary funded CPD and resources
Please click on the link below to find out more about the Central Midlands Science Learning Partnership and what it can offer regarding teaching science.
This covers CPD and resources for use in the classroom.
All resources are available at no cost to any teacher.
F2F and remote CPD is bursary funded.
There is information for both primary and secondary schools.
Download here more info.
Pupils celebrate Roast Dinner Day with Educaterers this National School Meals Week!
Schools that have their meals provided by school caterers, Educaterers, were treated to a tasty roast with all the trimmings yesterday (Wednesday 10th November) in celebration of national Roast Dinner.
The ‘Food for Life’ scheme recognises the fantastic work that schools and school caterers do to provide healthy school meals, great lunchtimes, and food education.
Wednesday’s special lunch included options of Red Tractor roast sliced British beef or vegetarian sausage toad in the hole, both served with delicious gravy, roast potatoes, and seasonal vegetables.
The UK Foodhall Ltd supplied Educaterers with the roast beef, which was a slice of prime silverside from Scotland, fully assured for British provenance by the Red Tractor scheme. The company specialise in school catering and supply ingredients to over 18,000 schools in the UK.
Educaterers hold the ‘Food for Life Served Here’ Silver Catering Mark in recognition of the fact that their school catering teams serve local, fresh food made with quality ingredients, prepared and served in a way that takes school pupils’ health and well-being seriously.
It also holds the Gold Catering Mark with Brownsover Community School in Rugby, Warwickshire, for going the extra mile to provide healthy school meals and give pupils a great lunchtime experience.
This week is also National School Meals Week, which has been running for 30 years and is organised by LACA, The School Food People, to promote the importance and benefits of choosing a nutritious school lunch at mealtime.
Read more here.
Mental health and emotional wellbeing support for children and young people in Warwickshire
This has been another tough year for many, with COVID still present in our communities and many children and young people experiencing a detrimental impact to their mental health and wellbeing. As we know the winter months can often be challenging for young people, with the longer nights and colder weather, we wanted to take the opportunity to recap the support available for anyone who might be feeling anxious, depressed, stressed or worried.
There are lots of agencies across Warwickshire that can provide support for children and young people and their families and some information is included below for you to use in your next school newsletter. Please share this information as a reminder to those who might be looking for support and are unsure where to go.
Find here more information.
Year 4 Reading Celebration 2022
Warwickshire Schools Library Service (WSLS) are delighted to invite your school to take part in our Year 4 Reading Celebration 2022 (#Y4RC22). We run this in partnership with Warwickshire Libraries. It is a lovely way to celebrate reading and support Government objectives and your own work encouraging reading for pleasure in schools.
This initiative is open to ALL schools, including those that do not currently subscribe to WSLS.
For more information and to sign-up please click on the following link. Or email schoolslibraryservice@warwickshire.gov.uk
