Securing the Best Start to Life
Early Years Designated Safeguarding Lead Network Meetings
To join the next Network meeting please use the reoccurring link below:
DSL Network Meeting Reoccurring link
19 October 2023 - 6:30-7:30pm
These Network meetings are relevant for all schools with EYFS, it would be lovely to see you there.
Looking after children and those in Early Years settings before and during cold weather
The weather is certainly getting colder, and this weather pattern is likely to continue for the next couple of months and into the new year.
To help providers in providing care for young children in periods of cold weather, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) with engagement from the Department for Education (DfE) has produced guidance for those who work in or manage schools or early years settings.
This guidance offers advice on looking after children attending these settings during cold weather.
The guidance outlines:
- Health risks to children and young people from adverse cold weather
- Actions to take before and during adverse cold weather in relation to:
- Building and premises
- Children
- Staff
- Further information and resources
Click here to read a copy of this Guidance.
Measles guidance
Measles cases are rising across the country, with over 102,000 children starting primary school in England being at risk of catching the disease. We are asking you to share key messages from the NHS about measles / MMR and how to get vaccinated.
The Back to school MMR Guidance from the NHS includes information to share, as well as example social media posts which can be found here: NHS Vaccine Poster and NHS MMR Poster.
Measles is highly infectious and if left unvaccinated nine out of ten children in an early year's setting can catch the disease if just one child is infectious. Please share these resources with colleagues, parents, and where suitable, community organisations to increase awareness and encourage parents to get their children vaccinated.
Supporting Inclusion for SEND and Vulnerable Groups
SEND conference sets out the priorities for Warwickshire!
A Warwickshire special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) conference brought together stakeholders from across the county last week to contribute to shaping a new Warwickshire strategy for children and young people with SEND.
The conference, themed "Developing the SEND & Inclusion Strategy 2024-2030", provided a platform for SENCOs, school leaders, experts working across education, health and social care, parents and carers, and young people with SEND from across the county, to share their knowledge, experiences, and ideas aimed at improving the lives of individuals with SEND.
Attendees engaged in discussions and listened to thought-provoking presentations, with interactive elements throughout the day providing important opportunities to reflect, as well as share and capture ideas. The event was an excellent opportunity to gather initial feedback and is the first step in a wider process to engage with stakeholders to develop the new strategy before this goes out to public consultation early in 2024.
Key highlights of the SEND Conference included:
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Diverse perspectives: The conference welcomed a diverse group of attendees, including educators, policymakers, SENCO’s and representatives from Warwickshire Parent Carer Voice and IMPACT, the Young Person’s Forum for SEND, creating a rich tapestry of insights and perspectives to contribute to the new Warwickshire strategy for children and young people with SEND.
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Working Together Charter in action: Professionals and partners provided valuable insights into the work being undertaken in Warwickshire, looking at how we are working together using the four cornerstones approach to partnership working. This focused on the latest local data, evidence, views and available resources and how these can be used to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND. Whilst recognising there is still a lot of work to be done, an important opportunity was taken to reflect on what is working well.
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The voice of young people: Members of IMPACT delivered a compelling presentation, sharing feedback collected on behalf of their peers about young people’s experiences of school. The audience were invited to engage in a multi-sensory activity while listening to them speak, as they rubbed different coloured chalk into piles of salt. The young people’s key messages were symbolised as the salt took on the colour of the chalk: that every interaction is an intervention, small things make a big difference and, ultimately, if children and young people do not feel safe, they cannot be expected to learn.
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Key priorities: Participants worked together to identify key themes for the 2024-30 strategy, how they would prioritise these and how impact could be measured. Thoughts were captured and will be used along with other feedback to inform the development of the new strategy which will go out to public consultation in 2024.
One of the key outcomes of the conference was the commitment of participants to work collaboratively to contribute to the new Warwickshire SEND and Inclusion Strategy for children and young people with SEND. With fresh ideas and renewed enthusiasm, Warwickshire County Council anticipates making significant strides in improving SEND education and inclusivity in the coming years.
For more information about the SEND support available for families in Warwickshire please visit the SEND Local Offer.
Have your say on proposed changes to school funding arrangements for 2024-25
As part of an annual consultation exercise, primary and secondary maintained schools and academies in Warwickshire are being asked to share their views on proposed changes to school funding arrangements for 2024-25.
This is a reminder to schools that there is still time to respond to the consultation, details of which were shared with headteachers via email in September.
The Schools Block continues to be ring-fenced with one exception which allows the local authority to move up to 0.5% of the Schools Block to other funding Blocks, after consultation with schools and after approval from the Schools Forum.
As set out in the 2024-25 School Budget Consultation document, there are two proposals being put forward that schools are being asked to provide feedback on:
- Moving up to 0.5% of funding from the School Block to the High Needs Block in 2024-25. This equates to £2.255m.
- Moving up to 0.25% of funding from the School Block to the High Needs Block in 2024-25. This equates to £1.127m.
Schools are being encouraged to share their views by completing the online form before the deadline of 5pm on Monday 6 November 2023.
Feedback will then be taken to Schools Forum on Thursday 16 November 2023 for a decision.
You can also access the form by scanning the QR code below on your phone or other device:
Celebrating Warwickshire’s Family of Schools
Smoke and vape support for Warwickshire secondary schools
A universal smoking and vaping toolkit has been developed for all secondary schools in Warwickshire.
Created in partnership with Trading Standard, Education and service providers, the WCC Public Health team developed the toolkit to help guide your school on what you can do to address both smoking and vaping. This includes current legislation and guidance, how to implement smoke free and vape free policies, and teaching resources.
Access the toolkit here - https://schools.warwickshire.gov.uk/smoke-free-vape-free-support-schools
Background
This toolkit has been produced in response to feedback from schools in Warwickshire about current vaping challenges in schools and it is also part of our wider tobacco control work programme.
In line with the latest Government announcements on preventing smoking and vaping, our ambition is to prevent children and young people from smoking and vaping.
This toolkit complements the existing smoking and vaping support for schools which is provided by Warwickshire Children and Young People Drug and Alcohol Service (CYPDAS) and provides you with how to signpost children and young people to support available to them - https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/cypsmokeandvape
Feedback
We are really keen to ensure this toolkit meets the needs of your school community and therefore welcome all feedback to enable us to adapt and evolve the resources available. Please direct all feedback to – phadmin@warwickshire.gov.uk (FAO CYP smoke/vape project team).
WLS Training
Warwickshire Legal Services are holding their annual training for schools on 14th November 2023. This year, the event will take place at Warwick Racecourse and will run from approximately 9:15am – 3:30pm. The training will include:
- The role of schools in the admissions process (whether or not they are admission authorities);
- The circumstances in which admission authorities are permitted to refuse an application;
- The rights of parents, including the appeals process and what to do when parents disagree with each other;
- How appeal panels work and what they consider, plus the role that schools need to play in the process;
- Specific circumstances (e.g. infant class size, challenging behaviour, selective schools etc).
There is no cost to attend the event and lunch and refreshments will be provided. To sign up, please compete the sign-up form here.
Warwickshire 'Schools Mental Health Network
Warwickshire 'Schools Mental Health Network' for 2023-2024 will be up and running soon - the first network meeting is due to take place online on 24.10.2023 1.30-3pm.
Warwickshire Educational Psychology Service will be leading the facilitation of the network, with a series of FREE mental health sessions for ALL Warwickshire educational settings.
Senior Mental Health Leads and other key school staff (SENCO's / Pastoral) are invited to attend the network meetings. These are an opportunity to explore a range of mental health topics and celebrate good practice across Warwickshire.
Sarah Healy, Specialist Senior EP noted 'we are delighted to be offering a mixture of online and face to face opportunities for staff to come together and explore mental health topics, share good practice and network with one another'.
The mental health topics being covered are anxiety, low mood, eating disorders, problem gaming and social media, Emotionally Based School Avoidance, self-harm and ASD girls and SEMH.
Gemma Gough, Specialist Senior EP said, ' The mental health network meeting in January will be a half-day conference and will shine a spotlight on mental health topics that Warwickshire schools have requested support with.'
For further information please see the attached flyer in order to register your interest or see the flyer on the Educational Psychology Service website and register your interest via the QR Code.
Children in care: Guide for school governors
This week, the charity Become, has published a short guide for school governors on all things children in care, other school leaders may also find it helpful and of interest.
Read more
Update from the School Admissions team
The School Admissions team have updated the hours in which their phone lines are open. You can contact them on the phone number specifically for schools to use (01926 414111) - on Mondays from 10am – 3pm, and on Tuesday to Friday from 9.30 am – 3pm.
Warwickshire County Council Occupational Health and Employee Assistance Programme Update
Warwickshire County Council has recently gone through a tender exercise to procure a suitable Occupational Health (OH) and Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) supplier. We are pleased to announce that Duradiamond Healthcare Limited (trading as Health Partners) were the successful bidders and have been awarded the contract from 1 October 2023 through to 30 June 2025, with the opportunity to extend the contract for a further two years. Duradiamond will commission Vita Health Group to deliver the EAP, meaning there is no change in suppliers or services as these are the incumbent suppliers.
The OH Service is only available to WCC maintained primary and secondary schools.
All schools can access the EAP if they subscribe to it. This can be viewed within the WES subscription services on the WES system.
Required updated information will be provided on WCC Health & Safety Documents for Schools website.
Expanding your EAL teacher toolbox CPD
Please see attached flyer for the Expanding your EAL teacher toolbox to ensure your lessons are inclusive and accessible for all programme which we will be delivering at the John Taylor Teaching School Hub.
Please see below for a short marketing video of this programme.
https://jttshub.co.uk/cpd-and-staffordshire-research-school/#EAL
There are three sessions on the programme, which will all be hosted at the Hub, c/o John Taylor Free School, Dunstall Road, Barton under Needwood, DE13 8AZ. This will be at a price of £150 per person for the programme.
Dates
Session 1 Tuesday 24th October 2023 13.30 – 16.30
Session 2 Thursday 23rd November 2023 13.30 – 16.30
Session 3 Tuesday 23rd January 2024 13.30 – 16.30
If you would like to book a place on the programme then please email j.taylor-perks@jths.co.uk.
Opportunity to become a Language Hub Partner School
Lawrence Sheriff School (together with Sidney Stringer Academy in Coventry) are excited to have been named by the Department for Education as Co-Lead MFL Hub Schools. The main aim of the programme is to increase the number of pupils who study languages to GCSE and beyond.
The ability to speak other languages is an asset for pupils, both professionally and personally. Research shows that there are clear educational, personal, cultural, social and career benefits in being able to communicate confidently in another language. As a country, we need more and better language skills which add value and widen opportunities for individuals, communities and society.
The programme’s ethos is ‘Collaboration, Creativity and Collegiality’. Initially, we will work closely with colleagues from secondary Partner Schools to spread best practice ensuring high quality language education, deliver bespoke CPD and increase access to home, heritage and community languages. Primary schools will join the programme in the near future. There is also a specific drive to promote the study of German.
If you would like to become a Language Hub Partner School, please use this form to express your interest by 12pm on Wednesday 18th October.
https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=_oivH5ipW0yTySEKEdmlwjOJAS5ypRRCs7OWMPQV2TNUNVJGQ0hHUlo0Q0ZGMFBQSkpSVEw0UEIyNSQlQCN0PWcu
The programme is managed by the National Consortium for Languages Education (NCLE), the Goethe-Institut and the British Council. You can find links to all of these organisations below.
Recycled aluminium donations needed for exciting art project
Local visual arts organisation Pangaea Sculptors' Centre is turning recycled aluminium into sculpture in a dramatic event taking place at the Pump Room Gardens in Leamington and needs your help.
Come and watch sculpture making in action as a team of artists melt down your aluminium donations and turn them into a piece of sculpture as part of Meltdown: From Trash to Treasure, on 4 November 1 - 5 pm.
Schools - If you'd like to arrange your own in school aluminium collection point / bin that would be great. The Pangaea team can then collect the donations on Friday 26 October.
Parents/ Families - Please drop off your unwanted aluminium into the aluminium foil covered wheelie bins in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, between 13 - 26 October at:
1) BID Leamington, 35c Park Court, Park St., CV32 4QN and
2) Foundry Wood, Princes Drive (next to the Railway Wagon at the entrance, 10 - 4 pm).
For larger items that won't fit please email
admin@pangaeasculptoracentre.com and they can collect.
Pangaea are looking to collect 75kg of aluminium in total and need your help! Please give it a clean and strip off any non-metal parts, if relevant. Collect with your children - a great way to get them engaged with sustainability and recycling.
How can you tell what metal is aluminum? Aluminium is generally dull in colour, matt and with a slight texture (as opposed to stainless steel, for example, which is relatively shiny). It is soft and so will scratch easily with a key. It is resistant to corrosion and rust and it is non-magnetic so the easiest way to test for aluminium at home is with a magnet. Examples of aluminium include drinks cans, food tins, some curtain rails, railings, lamp bases, ends of lighting tubes, metal edging strips on construction boards.
Save the date and look out for further announcements on the event details soon. Follow this project on social media @pangaeacentre
DfE approved - Supporting All Children with Social & Emotional Learning
Updates from Tudor Grange teaching school hub
NPQs
Tudor Grange Teaching School Hub is working in proud partnership with the Shires Mat to run NPQ sessions in Warwickshire and Worcestershire. More information can be found on our website: https://teachingschool.tgacademy.org.uk/national-professional-qualifications-npqs/shires-mat-partner-hub/
The final deadline for registration for the Autumn cohort of NPQs is the 18th October 2023. This is the last year of confirmed funding, so apply soon to avoid disappointment! Register for an NPQ here: https://www.tfaforms.com/5042230?tfa_23=tudor
Appropriate Body
The deadline for registering your ECTs for the September cohort is 18th October 2023. After this we cannot backdate their inductions to the start of the academic year, which may result in them having a longer induction period. Please ensure that all ECTs are registered with the DfE as well as with an Appropriate Body.
Return to Work workshop for maternity, adoption and shared parental leave returners
Tuesday 17th October, 09:30-11:00
Fully-funded for colleagues in the West Midlands with the promo code WM23 on Eventbrite.
Are you (or a member of your team) preparing to return to work following a period of maternity, adoption or shared parental leave?
You might be absolutely ready to get back or worried about leaving your baby and managing it all. No matter how you're feeling, The MTPT Project's Return to Work workshop will make sure you've got all your ducks in a row at home and at school before your return.
Join us as we share your legal entitlements as working parents, answer common questions about returning to work, provide you with the space and tips to set boundaries and plan logistics, and introduce you to other colleagues in the same position.