August Exam Day Collections
A request for your continued support in supplying the Local Authority with your school's/college's high level exam result figures on both examination result days in August.
We will be emailing your exam day contact (week beginning 10th July) to provide guidance on making your returns.
We ask that you provide your results back to us on both days, if possible by 11am.
We are aware that the results posted by schools and colleges in August will not be complete or accurate, but early information about results is important. In the past the LA has used the opportunity to celebrate the general success of Warwickshire students and teachers in the press and other media. Please be assured that we do not make public any results for individual schools or colleges, and always refer enquiries to the schools/colleges themselves.
We do understand that on both result days in August you will be busy dealing with students, and are clear that is your first priority. This process should take very little time to complete and we look forward to receiving your return.
For any students that do not achieve the grades they require or have not yet secured a post-16 destination. Please contact Prospect Services on Tel: 01926 461600 Prospects can help by providing free independent careers guidance and support. Further information can also be found at http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/stayinginlearning
Do you have a maintained nursery class/reception class in your school?
Are you fully aware of the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Guidance and what the law says about Early Years Qualifications?
Maintained schools must have a school teacher leading the learning in their nursery and reception classes.
The Department for Education has confirmed that maintained schools are currently required to have 'school teachers' for nursery and reception classes, as laid out in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework. The latest version of this Guidance was published on 3 March 2017 and took effect from 3 April 2017.
The qualifications that enable an individual to be deemed a 'school teacher' are set out in the Education Act 2002, the Education (School Teachers’ Prescribed Qualifications, etc) Order 2003 and the Education (School Teachers’ Qualifications (England) Regulations 2003.
The School Teacher's Pay and Conditions Document places a duty on head teachers to ensure that each class or group timetabled for core and foundation subjects and for religious education and each class or group in the foundation stage has a teacher assigned to teach it.
The assigned teacher is responsible for the progress of the pupils in the class/group over the course of the academic year. Assigned teachers may be assisted in their work by other teachers and/or by support staff, some of whom may carry out "specified work", and are deployed on the timetable to take that class/group for particular activities or lessons.
The EYFS sets out the qualifications of the other staff that are required in nursery provision in schools. There must be at least one other member of staff holding a full and relevant Level 3 qualification working alongside the teacher.
The DfE qualification finder should be used to determine whether staff have full and relevant qualifications. The qualification finder on the DfE website can be accessed at: http://www.education.gov.uk/eypqd/
Foundation Stage Units
All of the rules relating to qualifications and ratios in the Early Years Foundation Stage apply, however as nursery or preschool children will be integrated with children on the school role in the Reception class calculating the staff can be a little more complicated. Schools must determine ratios within mixed age groups guided by all relevant EYFS ratio requirements and by the needs of individual children. In exercising this discretion, the school must comply with the statutory requirements relating to the education of children of compulsory school age and infant class size legislation.
Academies, Independent Schools and all other Private and Voluntary Providers are not required to have a teacher with QTS, but may choose to do so.
Clarification on footnote 39 (EYFS Statutory framework 2017 page 25)
Some schools do not have a maintained nursery class, but run Early Years provision instead under section 27 of the Education Act 2002. This enables maintained schools to set up and run community facilities and services which benefit pupils or their families. Governors make decisions about whether or not to operate this type of provision, based on its financial viability and local demand, in consultation with the local authority.
The EYFS states – ‘Where schools have provision run by the governing body (under section 27 of the Education Act 2002) for three- and four-year-olds who are not pupils of the school, they can apply: a 1:13 ratio where a person with a suitable level 6 qualification is working directly with the children; or a 1:8 ratio where a person with a suitable level 6 qualification is not working directly with children but at least one member of staff present holds a level 3 qualification.’
Maintained nursery classes form an integral part of the school, and cannot be discontinued without following the formal procedures required to change the age range of a maintained school. This will include a period of formal consultation with parents and other local interested parties including neighbouring schools and early years’ providers and the local authority.
Schools can contact Sara Haigh Local Authority Early Years Adviser (sarahaigh@warwickshire.gov.uk) for advice and guidance.
Something to look out for…
On March 3 2017 the early years minister Caroline Dinenage launched the Early Years Workforce Strategy setting out how the DfE plans to support the early years sector to remove barriers to attracting, retaining and developing the early years workforce. Commitments contained in this strategy include consulting on allowing those with Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS), and its predecessor Early Years Professional Status (EYPS), to lead nursery and reception classes in maintained schools. The Early Years Workforce Strategy document can be found here.
Funding of Nursery Classes
Schools will be aware that the Government has introduced a new Early Years Single Funding Formula which makes some changes to the way that all early years’ providers are funded.
With effect from April 2017, a new universal rate of £3.77 per hour will be paid for all Warwickshire providers, with the exception of Special Schools. This is equivalent to the rate previously paid to Private Voluntary and Independent (PVI) providers but less than the hourly rates previously paid to schools.
Schools need to bear in mind however that a technical adjustment to the previous local formula (preventing double funding of management costs for the nursery) has now been removed – this benefits schools by providing some additional funding via the schools budget.
Schools must consider the budget for the nursery class as part of the whole school budget, rather than in isolation with reference only to the published hourly rates, as these do not reflect all of the available funding.
Cyber Safe Warwickshire
Warwickshire's Cyber Crime Advisors have recently launched a brand new website for people to get the latest news, advice and information about online safety and cyber crime.
The site can be found via www.cybersafewarwickshire.com and contains a dedicated section which young people can access for information of importance and use to them.
Information and contact details for reporting any cyber crime issue, and where to access relevant support is also found on the site. You can also follow the site on social media; on Facebook (Cyber Safe Warwickshire); Twitter (@CyberSafeWarks); and Instagram (cyber_safe_warks).