Deadline 18th Jan - Statutory Spring School Census
***Important message to all Warwickshire schools***
The second statutory school census return of the 2018/19 academic year will take place on Thursday 17th January. Deadline for submission to the Local Authority (LA) is Friday 18th January.
As in previous years, the 2019 spring school census will be used in the calculation of the pupil premium and the early years block of the dedicated schools grant. The Department for Education (DfE) will also be sharing a provisional extract of year 6 data to the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) on 7 February which will be used to populate the system for registering pupils for the Key Stage 2 national curriculum tests. Where census data has not been returned, the STA will be reliant on schools to manually enter these pupils into the pupil registration system to ensure they are correctly registered for the Key Stage 2 tests.
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, the ICT Development Service (MIDAS) 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
Commissioning Support Unit, Resources Directorate
Ofsted launches consultation on new framework
Ofsted's long awaited consultation on the new Education Inspection Framework was launched on 16 January by Her Majesty’s chief inspector, Amanda Spielman, in a speech to the Sixth Form Colleges Association.
The proposals will affect how Ofsted inspects schools, early years settings and further education and skills providers.
The revised framework has a stronger focus on whether pupils are being taught a broad curriculum, rather than concentrating so heavily on performance data, and also includes for the first time a separate judgement for behaviour.
Ofsted are seeking views on the proposals before the final inspection framework is published in summer 2019, for implementation from September 2019.
Alongside the consultation, a number of other materials have been published:
- These slides set out Ofsted's approach to working towards the new framework
The consultation runs until 11.45pm on 5 April 2019.
We would encourage as many of you to respond as possible. There are various ways that you can send in your comments, including a downloadable questionnaire and an online form.
REMEMBER that Amanda Spielman will be joining us at our Headteachers' Conference on 21st March so make sure you come along to find out more....and you'll still have time afterwards to submit your response by the deadline. We'll be sharing an agenda and booking details in a couple of weeks time.
Support for the budget setting and monitoring process
Warwickshire County Council officers have been working with schools in recent months who have found themselves in unexpected budget deficits.
In order to support all schools in the budget setting and monitoring process, we have put together a visual summary that sets out the key actions and monitoring responsibilities for the local authority and for schools. This clarifies what is expected in the "Scheme for the Financing of Schools" (Section 48 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998).
The process covers four topic areas:
• Budget planning
• Termly reporting
• Annual returns/year end
• Cash flow issues/deficit recovery
Please could we ask you to share this summary with the appropriate members of staff in your school as well as your Governing Bodies and encourage them to follow this process.
We hope that you find this visual reference useful and that they will help to improve financial planning.
For any queries please contact Neill Butler (WCC Finance) on 01926 412240 or email neillbutler@warwickshire.gov.uk
Complex complaints management course
Warwickshire Governor Services are offering this course (free to subscribing schools) on dealing with complex complaints. Course details are outlined below.
Course Overview:
As more schools deal with protracted, persistent or serial complaints this course aims to provide delegates with the skills and processes to manage them effectively.
Target Audience:
Governors, head teachers and individuals who have responsibilities for complaints handling in schools.
Course Aims:
- To outline the key elements of a school complaints procedure
- To explore the steps and stages through the process
- To highlight specific issues to look out for and alternative avenues of support
- Consider the impact of complaints on schools
- Looking after yourself
The course will be led by Julia Kenny and Amanda Gardiner from Warwickshire Governer Services.
Date: Monday 11th March 2019
Venue: St Michael’s Centre, Church Lane, Budbrooke, Warwick, CV35 8QL
Time: 9.30am – 12.30pm
To reserve a place on the course please contact Governor Services on 01926 745120 or email governors@warwickshire.gov.uk
Please note for non-subscribing schools there will a charge of £100 per delegate