Welcome

Welcome to Heads Up this week. I hope the first week of term has gone smoothly and those of you who are new to Warwickshire are finding your feet.

For any new headteachers to the county or anyone just new to headship, our Governor Services team provides a full induction covering everything from safeguarding to learning improvement support, through to media relations and finance. The first session will be held on 30 September at Honiley Court Hotel, with further sessions taking place throughout the autumn and spring term. If you’re a new head and are yet to book on you can contact governors@warwickshire.gov.uk for further information.

As we welcome many new headteachers to the Warwickshire family of schools, we would like to take this opportunity to ensure that the contact information we hold is up-to-date so that we can communicate key messages with you quickly and efficiently. I would therefore encourage you to respond to this request from the Insight Team as soon as you are able, to ensure you don’t miss anything of importance from the education team. 

Looking ahead to the rest of September, we will be welcoming colleagues from Hampshire County Council on 17th to exchange ideas on school improvement and support. We also welcome colleagues from across the country to our peer review of SEND services.

Preparations are also underway for our Autumn Term Headteachers Conference, which is taking place at Stoneleigh Park on 22 October. We will launch our renewed approach to Early Help in support of the safeguarding and wellbeing of children and young people. There will be practical advice and support, together with sharing of great family support practice. We will also be hearing from Ivan Humble whose fascinating story shows how restorative narratives have the power to transform lives: not only supporting people to move on from harm or trauma, but also building a climate of tolerance, resilience, hope and empathy. Please remember to register your attendance using the online registration form.

We can share news, pictures, practice and articles in Heads Up and Twitter (@wcc_schools). Our Heads Up publication is produced every Friday during term-time.  Please email any articles and photos to headsup@warwickshire.gov.uk.

With best wishes

Ian Budd

Assistant Director for Education Services