Support for Early Years improvement

Warwickshire Teaching School Alliance (TSA) is working in partnership with Warwickshire County Council to provide a vehicle for quality improvement, support and advice across the early years sector and to facilitate the objectives of the Education Strategy. Early Years Aspiration Networks will meet five or six times each year with an agenda based on the areas mentioned above as well as local needs identified by data analysis and Ofsted feedback.

The meetings will be facilitated and supported by maintained nursery schools and Warwickshire TSA members. The meetings will take place
across 14 localities linked to school consortia areas. The venue for each meeting will rotate to support the sharing of good practice.

A phased roll out is beginning now, with most networks to be up and running in 2019. These Aspiration Network meetings will build upon the very strong early years meetings that are already in place.

For further information please contact Amanda King - head1002@welearn365.com or Michelle Hutton, TSA Coordinator - hutton.m2@welearn365.com

Public consultation on Warwickshire SEND and Inclusion Strategy 2019-2023

On 12 November a public consultation was launched on the new Warwickshire Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Inclusion Strategy.

The Strategy sets out a new vision for learners with SEND and aims to turn high aspirations for our learners with SEND into a reality. All children and young people need to be equipped to live as adults in a diverse and challenging society. Whatever their ability, they need to have the opportunity of employment, to be able to take part in their local community, to assess and take appropriate risks and to live as independently as possible.

Responses to the consultation are invited from a range of partners and stakeholders including parents and learners, Warwickshire County Council colleagues, health and social care professionals, schools, colleges, early years providers and parent and carer groups. However this consultation is public so anyone interested in the strategy is able to comment.

Feedback from the consultation will inform the final vision and key targets in the Strategy, and if approved it will be implemented from 1st April 2019.

The draft Strategy is available in full online at https://ask.warwickshire.gov.uk/communities-group/send-and-inclusion-strategy-consultation/

How can I take part in the consultation?

The consultation will run between 12 November and 21 December 2018. 

Online: The main way to feedback is via the online questionnaire that can be accessed from Warwickshire County Council’s online consultation hub www.warwickshire.gov.uk/ask.

Information leaflet: All educational settings will receive hard copies of an information leaflet and encouraged to share this with parents and learners. The leaflet and other supporting documents are available on the consultation hub.

Children and young person's survey: An online children and young person's survey is also available for settings to use, as well as a widget symbol version of the strategy in PDF format. Both are available here: https://ask.warwickshire.gov.uk/communities-group/send-and-inclusion-young-peoples-survey/

In writing: If you would like to respond to this consultation in writing you can do so by emailing educationstrategy@warwickshire.gov.uk

Drop-in events: There will be an opportunity to comment face-to-face at one of six consultation events, details below:  

Friday 16th Nov	9.30am - 12pm	Alveston C. Of E. Primary School, CV37 7BZ
Monday 19th Nov	6pm - 8pm	Exhall Grange School and Science College, CV7 9HP
Wednesday 21st Nov	1.30pm - 4pm	The Queen Elizabeth Academy, CV9 1LZ
Wednesday 28th Nov	9.30am - 12pm	North Leamington School, CV32 6RD
Tuesday 11th Dec	2.30pm - 5pm	Higham Lane School, CV10 0BJ
Friday 14th Dec	9.30am - 12pm	Oakfield Primary School, CV22 6AU

Contact Details

For further information on this consultation:
Email: educationstrategy@warwickshire.gov.uk
Tel: 01926 745105

Virtual School designated teacher training

The four training courses listed below are for designated teachers who are new to the role or those who have missed the training in previous years:

Attachment Awareness	23 Jan 2019	9am – 12pm
Emotion Coaching	23 Jan 2019	1pm – 4pm
Understanding Trauma	5 Mar 2019	9am – 12pm
Developing Resiliency	5 Mar 2019	1pm – 4pm

All of the above courses will be held at Bulkington Village Centre.

A new one-day course open to all designated teachers is also available:

'Inclusive responses to behaviour that challenges'

First date: Pound Lane Learning Centre - 4 March 2019 from 9:30am - 3:45pm  

Second date: Bulkington Village Centre - 19 March 2019 from 9:30am - 3:45pm

This day will combine both theory and evidence-based problem solving activities. The core focus will be in regard to promoting the social, emotional and mental health of Children who are Looked After (CLA) and Children Previously Looked After (CPLA).

To book please phone 01926 742018 or email: virtualschool@warwickshire.gov.uk

Closing the Gap training

Teaching children to take charge of their own learning

Key points of 2019 Ofsted Inspection Framework

Colleagues from Education and Learning recently attended a session organised by the Griffin Teaching School Alliance for headteachers on the Ofsted Inspection Framework coming in 2019.

The presentation was given by James McNeillie HMI, Assistant Regional Director for the West Midlands and he was happy for us to share some of the key points below with all Warwickshire headteachers. Copies of the most up to date slides are available at: https://www.slideshare.net/Ofstednews

Key messages from James McNeillie HMI:

1. Ofsted’s working hypothesis for the judgements in a section 5 inspection are: quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management.
2. Ofsted are proposing to keep the four graded judgements as they are now.
3. Ofsted believes that the current exemption from routine inspections for outstanding schools should be reconsidered by the Department for Education.
4. The curriculum will be at the heart of the new framework – but there will not be any ‘Ofsted curriculum’.
5. Ofsted are proposing that we will consider including any ‘off-rolling’ within the judgements we make.
6. Early in the spring term, Ofsted will be launching a full consultation on the new framework, including draft handbooks.
7. The new framework will be piloted in the spring term in schools willing to volunteer. These will be 'friendly' pilots with no changes to the school’s overall effectiveness grade. 

There has been a good initial response to volunteers willing to pilot the new framework however if you are interested in being involved please email sophiethompson@warwickshire.gov.uk. We will keep a list of any schools interested and pass this on to Ofsted if they require any more schools to take part in the pilot.

The role of the teaching of reading

Some key points for schools to consider in relation to the role of the teaching of reading when considered on inspection. These will be tailored to the specific issues identified in the school:

• How does the school teach pupils to read? How do leaders know it is working?
• What is the content of the phonics programme and how do leaders know it is effective?
• How have leaders created experts in the teaching of reading?
• What is the headteacher's role in the teaching of reading?
• How do leaders ensure that pupils make speedy progress in reading? How do leaders ensure that pupils do not get left behind in reading?
• How is pupils' language comprehension developed in Early Years and Key Stage 1?
• How do teachers make sure that pupils read words accurately?
• How do teachers ensure pupils build fluency in reading?
• How do leaders ensure that pupils read widely and often?

Helping to support School Business Managers

We are currently exploring networking opportunities for School Business Managers to share expertise and provide support.

We would like to gather information on current and future support requirements in the area and to enable us to do this it would be helpful if schools could answer four brief questions on our online survey.

Please follow the link below to complete the survey:

School Business Manager Networks

For any queries please contact sarahtaylor@warwickshire.gov.uk

Destinations data good practice guide

The Department for Education (DfE) has recently published a guide on using destinations data for school leaders, school staff and governing bodies of all maintained schools, academies and free schools. 

The good practice guide has been produced to support schools in using destinations data and destination measures to provide careers guidance and improve outcomes for young people in schools.

Read the guidance document here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-use-destinations-data

Interim cover for the new role of Assistant Director of Education Services

Following on from recent communications with regards to Chris Malone's pending departure, I am pleased to announce that Paul Senior  has been appointed as the Interim Assistant Director of Education Services on a full time basis for approximately six months. Chris' last working day with Warwickshire will be the 6th December and in the interim period, Chris and Paul will be working together to ensure a smooth handover of operational responsibilities for business continuity purposes.

I am also pleased to share that we have been fortunate to secure, in an advisory capacity, the support of Dr. Peter Kent from Lawrence Sheriff School to work alongside Paul and local education leaders to progress delivery of the Warwickshire Education Strategy. Peter's role in working with education leadership will be critical to ensure that the co-produced and jointly owned Strategy now moves to implementation.

Whilst Peter is known to most of you, it is good to know that Paul has extensive experience of working within local government education, children and adult services. He has worked in a variety of local authorities on a local and national level, including facing significant challenges in the education policy and strategy area. Paul has also worked for various government departments including the Department for Education and the Prime Minister’s Innovation Unit leading on national strategic projects.

It is never easy managing change and transition of leadership and I know you will join with me in giving support to Paul and Peter in making this interim arrangement work. We are fortunate to have two such strong and established leaders to see us through to the appointment of a permanent Assistant Director of Education.

Monica Fogarty

Joint Managing Director