Statutory School Census - 2017/18 Academic Year

The statutory school census dates of the 2017/18 academic year are as follows:

The data collected via these returns are used by the DFE for funding purposes, to inform policy decisions, underpins Analyse School Performance (previously RAISEonline) and school performance tables.

It is therefore vitally important that you are satisfied with the accuracy of your schools’ return before uploading it to the LA, and that it is returned by the prescribed deadline.

Prior to each census ICT Development Service will up-load census documentation to the Warwickshire Learning Platform (WeLearn365) which can be found at: http://bit.ly/midaspages and on the download site http://wsd.we-learn.com/downloads. These will assist you in preparing and running your census returns.

If you have any technical queries regarding the SIMS system and generating the return please contact the ICT Development Service Desk on (01926) 414100.

If you have any other questions about this data collection, please contact Michelle Ali, Insight Service on 01926 742169 or by e-mail insight@warwickshire.gov.uk

Thank you for your continued support with these collections.

Insight Service
Performance, Resources Group

Changes to exclusions guidance from September 2017

The DfE has released updated guidance on exclusion for maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units.

When does the new statutory guidance come into force?

The new guidance comes into effect from 1 September 2017. Any exclusion issued before 1 September 2017 which is still subject to review would need to be considered under the 2012 statutory guidance.

Does the new statutory guidance change the exclusions process?

Whilst the new guidance makes changes to certain aspects of the exclusions process, the legal framework for excluding a child remains as it was before; the legislation and regulations (The School Discipline (Pupil Exclusions and Reviews) (England) Regulations 2012) remain unchanged.

What is the key change we need to be aware of?

The new guidance places a much greater emphasis on the role of governing boards in the exclusions process. Where required to do so, the governing board must meet to consider the exclusion by the head teacher – which is nothing new. However, the new guidance makes very clear that the focus of the Independent Review Panel (IRP) must be on the decision of the governing board, rather than the head teacher. It is therefore essential that governors actively consider the facts, test the evidence, properly consider all relevant policies, and check whether all procedures were followed given that it is their decision that will be scrutinised at the IRP stage. At least one member of the governor panel will need to attend any IRP in order to explain the decision taken by the panel and answer any questions.

How should we prepare for this change?

Given the focus of the new guidance, we recommend that school leaders and governors read through and understand the new exclusions framework to ensure they are prepared for the greater focus on their decision-making. If they do not apply the correct legal tests or fail to follow due procedures, they risk their decision being quashed by an IRP and will have to re-take the decision with a presumption of reinstatement, or face a £4,000 fine.

Schools will also have to review any exclusion letters that they send out as the guidance requires some additional information to be sent out to parents following exclusion.

What other changes have been made?

The new guidance has also made changes to clarify some of the existing rules and procedures such as converting/extending exclusions, the process for reconsideration of the governors’ decision and adding further guidance on the funding that follows a permanently excluded pupil. 

A new Annex B contains non-statutory guidance for head teachers providing

• advice on the procedures that need to be in place before excluding a child
• and the process to follow after an exclusion

A new Annex C contains an additional FAQ section for parents, which answers some key questions that parents are likely to have.

Is there any change to the role of the SEN Expert?

Most of the provisions around Special Educational Needs (SEN) experts remain the same and parents are still able to request a SEN expert at the IRP stage regardless of whether the school believes the child has SEN. The new guidance now allows the SEN expert to provide advice to the IRP in writing, if parents agree. However, parents still have a right to request the SEN expert attends the hearing and are able to request an adjournment until the SEN expert can attend if the hearing is in progress. This suggests that the apparent flexibility is unlikely to be of much use to local authorities/trusts organising IRPs.

There is also a useful article in The Key (subscription required) which summarises the changes.

Deadline for checking performance tables data

Is your school compliant with SEND requirements?

Prior to Ofsted calling desktop checks are made to ensure school websites comply with statutory guidance.  If you are a maintained school there is a checklist available on the Department for Education site:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-maintained-schools-must-publish-online

Academies and Free Schools need to check their funding agreements to find out what they are required to publish.

A recent audit and several school inspection reports have found gaps in relation to Special Educational Needs. 

Special Educational Needs and Disability Requirements (SEND)

You must publish an SEN Information Report, which details your school’s policy for pupils with SEND.  The LA has produced a checklist to help ensure your report complies with the statutory guidance:

 In particular schools must include:

• the admission arrangements for pupils with SEND;
• the steps taken to prevent pupils with SEND from being treated less favourably than other pupils;
• details of your school’s access facilities for pupils with SEND;
• the Accessibility Plan, showing how you are planning to increase access over time for pupils with disabilities;
• the name and contact details of the SENCo;
• a link to the Local Authority’s Local Offer site: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/send
• how parents contact the SEND Information and Advice Service: https://www.family-action.org.uk/what-we-do/children-families/sendias/warwickshire-parent-partnership-service/

Our recent audit found that many Access Plans have not been reviewed and updated for several years, were not resourced and did not cover the three required areas, that is, how the school is:

• increasing the extent to which disabled pupils can participate in the curriculum;
• improving the physical environment of schools to enable those with disabilities to take better advantage of education, benefits, facilities and services provided; and
• improving the availability of accessible information to those with disabilities.

For more advice and to access a Model Accessibility Plan:

http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/schoolsdisabilityequality

Including children with medical needs

Our audit also showed that some schools have not responded to the DfE guidance “Supporting pupils at School with Medical Conditions”, which came into effect from September 2014:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3

Please ensure that your school has a policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions that is reviewed regularly and there is a named person with overall responsibility for policy implementation and ensuring that sufficient staff are suitably trained.  For a summary of what is required please see:

Our Disability Equality webpage has further advice, however, you will also find the following site available with valuable advice and several model policies and templates:

http://medicalconditionsatschool.org.uk/

It is vital that Health Care Plans are in place for pupils with medical needs and that these are regularly reviewed.  Any concerns about pupils who need health care plans or reviews, please contact Warwickshire’s School Health & Well Being Service on 03300 245 204 or via warwickshireSH&WBService@compass-uk.org.

Have your say: Warwickshire SEND Information, Advice and Support Services Survey

For the attention of Headteachers and SENCO/Learning Support leads.

Deadline for responses - Friday 29th September 2017

This is an opportunity to give us your opinion on Warwickshire SEND Information, Advice and Support Services (this independent service is also known as SENDIAS in Warwickshire and used to be called Parent Partnership).

Warwickshire County Council is looking to re-tender these services after four years. We want to look at what works well and what could be done differently in the future.

We want your help with this so we tender for the best services to meet the changing needs of children and young people with SEND and their families.

We have valuable feedback from people who use SENDIAS currently. However we want to find out what you think and feel is important for the next four years. This includes people who don’t use SENDIAS services at the moment.

Who is this survey for?

• Young people with SEND aged 25 and under
• Parents/carers of children and young people with SEND
• Professionals who work with them.

Please click on the link to the short survey below and give us your views:

SENDIAS Survey

Please note the survey closes on Friday 29 September 2017.

Home to School Transport Consultation

Warwickshire County Council is considering a number of changes to the current Home to School Transport Policy. Parents/carers, children and young people, professionals and other members of the public are being asked to comment on the proposals.

Full details of the proposals can be found at:

www.warwickshire.gov.uk/ask

All schools have been sent an email and a letter about the consultation along with a poster to display, please let the Education Transport team know if you haven't received yours by calling 01926 412929.

There are a number of different ways to participate in the consultation.

Our preferred option is for you to complete the online survey at:

www.warwickshire.gov.uk/ask

You can also contact us in one of the following ways:

In Writing – send your views to: transportconsultation@warwickshire.gov.uk

In Person - You can also attend one of the drop-in sessions detailed below in order to ask questions about the proposals;

The consultation runs from 7 September until midnight on 2 November 2017.

General Data Protection Regulation – Is your school / academy trust ready?

Significant changes to the law on data protection will be coming into force on 25 May 2018.

Every organisation in the UK, including schools / academy trusts, will be required to comply with the new legislation – known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

To help organisations prepare for the changes, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has put together a 12-step guidance note which we recommend all school leaders should be aware of.