Welcome to the new term and to the first edition of Heads Up for the 2017-18 academic year. 

This edition will focus on ‘new beginnings’, as we welcome new colleagues both at the local authority and in our schools and settings. We are also pleased to see more new schools opening their doors to pupils this month. You can read about our new starters and schools in our Schools and Settings news section.

I would like to congratulate all staff and pupils in our schools and settings for an excellent set of examination and assessment results this summer. A summary of the provisional headline results is in this issue.

Some more good news that I am pleased to share with you is that Warwickshire has been successful in the first round of bids for additional funding through the Strategic School Improvement Fund. You can read more here and we will keep you informed of progress and any further developments.

At the end of August we said farewell to Jane Spilsbury, who has taken up an opportunity to join Ofsted as one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Schools (HMI). I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jane for the excellent work she has done in Warwickshire and wish her well in her new role. Hayley McDonagh has taken up post as Interim Service Manager for Learning and Performance and will be the main point of contact for School Improvement related issues. Hayley can be reached via hayleymcdonagh@warwickshire.gov.uk. Sarah Mills will also be leaving the authority on 25th October to take up a new role in Coventry. We would like to congratulate Sarah on her new role and thank her for her contribution over the last couple of years.

As most of you will know, this will be my last ‘Heads Up’ as Head of Education and Learning, as I move to become Strategic Director of the People Group. I am pleased to welcome Christine Malone to the authority. Chris will join us on 25th September and comes with a wealth of experience of working in the education sector with her most recent experience as Strategic Lead for Education Quality in Oxfordshire. You can read more from Chris as she introduces herself in this issue .

As you know, Ofsted identified a number of challenges for children’s services, particularly round early help and I expect working with schools on developing our early help offer will be an important part of my new role. I look forward to working with you all in this context.

Remember that for the latest information and news, you can follow the @wcc_schools Twitter account.

Best wishes for the new academic year.

Nigel Minns

Head of Education and Learning