Supporting Inclusion for SEND and Vulnerable Groups
Change your thinking, change your world! Warwickshire students reach potential through grit and determination!
The programme which involves 34 secondary schools from across the county has been commissioned by Warwickshire County Council and delivered by the charity Grit Breakthrough Programmes. As part of the programme students taking part were linked with a Grit trained life coach from the local community who met with their students fortnightly for up to six months. The project, which also included a five-day intensive personal development workshop, supported young people to radically change their thinking by transforming the negative and destructive beliefs and opinions they have about themselves and their lives.
80 Warwickshire students have benefitted from the programme so far, including Liam who in his own words explains “I was going off the rails.”
There were days when Liam didn’t go to school at all, just hung around the streets with a crowd of other young people getting involved in anti-social behaviour. Even when he was in school, he spent his time arguing with teachers, getting kicked out of lessons and fighting with other students.
Coaching was a revelation, Liam now had someone who in his own words “helped me get stuff off my chest.” Someone who spoke to him like an adult. But also, someone who “said it straight,” someone who cut through.
The intensive programme has made a massive difference to how Liam sees the world and his place in it. It made him question the decisions he was making, decisions about being late, about getting kicked out of lessons. It made him ask, “Do I really want this for my life?” He saw what he needed to change, what needed to change now.
He is staying focused. Already he’s studying hard to catch up on work he’s missed. “I’m writing pages instead of a sentence.”
He is starting to put his hand up in class, answer questions, get work done. “The teacher says I’ve done a u-turn.”
And at home, life has transformed. “Mum is really proud and happy.” They don’t argue anymore because, “there is nothing to argue about anymore.” It feels so good.
“Grit,” says Liam, “has been so influential. It has helped me so much to make better choices. I’d recommend it to anyone.”
Continue read here.
Written Statement of Action
Following approval by Ofsted and CQC in January of our Written Statement of Action, delivery is now well underway all areas over the next 18 months:
- Autism waiting times and support for families: Additional investment of over £2.5m/year ongoing and £5.4m one off is helping to increase capacity for diagnosis and additional support. Work underway includes recruitment of neurodevelopmental posts, improving the self-help offer, planning an Autism conference in April in Warwick (and a conference in Nuneaton later in the year), and redesigning community support services. A gap analysis for speech and language services starts in February and a skills audit of Rise & CYP mental health services starts in April.
- Communication and engagement with parent carers: A programme of events is underway including monthly webinars - the last event was on the Graduated Approach. There's also a monthly SEND newsletter https://mailchi.mp/warwickshire/warwickshire-send-feb22 and Local Offer Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/WarksLocalOffer Restorative Practice training has been delivered to nearly 100 staff (and is also available for schools), and a forum for young people with SEND is being set up. To register to be involved visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/ypvoice
- Inclusion in schools: Thanks to the 17 schools in Rugby who are helping test out a new approach to help meet needs of children and young people with SEND in mainstream schools. So far, staff have received training & are carrying out whole school SEND Audits (online) with peer-to-peer review and support. Targeted training and support will follow next. The learning from this trial will be used to roll out support inclusion across all mainstream schools, with the support of 'change champions'. Please email schoolimprovement@warwickshire.gov.uk to nominate a change champion for your school.
- Workforce development: Four Head Teachers from across the county are part of a Working Group with partners from education, social care, health and parent carers to develop a programme of support to improve the knowledge, skills and understanding of staff in mainstream schools. The aim is to increase the confidence of staff in meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND, which will in turn increase the confidence of parents and carers and improve outcomes. We are also working with the NASEN Whole School SEND team and they have free training and resources online so please consider signing up: https://www.sendgateway.org.uk/
- Local Offer webpages: The new local offer webpages were launched in October 2021 and visits to the site have increased by 50%. Briefing sessions are being delivered to professionals and coffee mornings in our communities.
Please email Rachel Barnes, Change Delivery Manager at WCC for more information on any areas of the Written Statement of Action at sendchange@warwickshire.gov.uk
If any parent carers who would like to find out more about Warwickshire Parent Carer Voice (our local Parent Carer Forum for SEND) then please email the chair, Elaine Lambe: warwickshireparentcarervoice@gmail.com
Celebrating Warwickshire’s Family of Schools
‘Eat, sleep, teach…pause: Re-thinking how to do the everyday, every day’ conference led by Mark Creasy
The conference includes three sessions which will give you time and space to consider your own practice and the changes you can make to achieve great results with less effort, stress and risk of burnout.
Session 1 – Games for learning & starting the learning off
Session 2 – Making every minute count, not counting every minute
Session 3 – Taking control of what’s out of your control: playtime & lunchtime, home learning and working with parents
This event will specifically support those RQTs within the first years of teaching who due to the pandemic, may have missed out on high quality face-to-face CPD and the opportunity for wider professional dialogue to reflect on good practice in Learning and Teaching.
DATE: Friday 25th March 2022
TIME: 09:30 - 15:30
VENUE: Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth
COST: £90 per person (Offer ends on Monday 28th February 2022!)
For more information and to book your place please check here.
Be aware that, if you have a Gateway Alliance account, please ensure you log-in before you book online.
Or contact Lisa on 02476 347697 or email: info@gatewayalliance.co.uk
First aid in schools, early years and colleges
Please check here the guidance for employers in early years, schools and colleges on first aid provision.
Computing At School
The aim of Computing At School (CAS) is to promote and develop the teaching of computing in schools by supporting teachers. One way to achieve this is to provide teachers with a local forum (CAS Community) to share ideas and mutual interests. These CAS Communities form the foundation of much of the work of CAS. CAS Community meetings are for teachers, run by teachers.
They seek to provide the opportunity:
- for teachers to meet in a relaxed and informal atmosphere with refreshments
- to share ideas and resources
- to receive informal training
- to gain mutual support from discussing teaching methods with colleagues.
- Community Leaders organise and facilitate regular community meet ups, usually one per term.
Community Leaders are amazing! They have huge knowledge, expertise, and passion for computing education. They are on hand to support you to connect with others, to share your knowledge, expertise and passion – and to discover new things about teaching computing.
If you would be interested in becoming a CAS Community Leader, please contact Karen Dadd (karen.dadd@lawrencesheriffschool.com) or Tim Wilson (tim.wilson@bcs.uk)
You can also find out more about the role here .
Learn - Explore - Debate - FOR SCHOOLS: Getting the new EYFS and EYFS profile right in schools
Join the Department for Education (DfE) and the National Children's Bureau (NCB) to Learn - Explore - Debate the key early years policy and practice developments that matter to school-based staff.
The agenda has been developed in partnership with the DfE and will include a focus on:
- Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP)
- Early Years Education Recovery Programme
- Ofsted inspections under the revised framework
Who should attend?
These events are aimed at school-based early years practitioners in England, including those working in nursery and reception classes, as well as headteachers, school leaders and governors. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis. In order to offer the opportunity to attend to as many schools as possible, we are initially restricting bookings to one per school so please check with colleagues before booking.
Please find more information here.
School Rebuilding Programme
The School Rebuilding Programme is undertaking major rebuilding and refurbishment projects at school and sixth form college buildings across England prioritised according to their condition.
Responsible bodies should follow the guidance on how to nominate a school for the next round of the School Rebuilding Programme. This includes information on:
- how to register for and use the online portal
- deadlines for nominating
- the qualifying criteria
- what evidence you need to submit
Academy Trusts may be interested in nominating schools for the DfE Rebuilding Programme.
Information is available on the DfE website.
Hard-Hitting Crime Awareness Day at Avon Valley School
Students from The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College took part in an awareness day which focused on the consequences and impact of drugs, county lines, gangs and knife crime.
Once again, The Avon Valley School welcomed Paul Hannaford, an award-winning drugs awareness speaker, whose life experiences bring an insight to the real consequences of drug addiction, knife crime, gangs and county lines. Paul delivered his talk to all students in year 9, year 10 and year 11 and spent time working with students in small group sessions.
Alongside Paul Hannaford the school also welcomed police officers and PCSOs from Rugby Police Station. The team, who form part of the local safer neighbourhood team, arrived early to set up a knife arch which is used as part of Operation Sceptre, a nationwide campaign aimed at tackling knife crime. As the students arrived at school they had opportunity to see the arch in operation as they passed through the arch. The police staff remained on site all day running group talks during which students had opportunity to ask questions about crime, the law, and the role of the police.
The school’s headteacher, Alison Davies said, “Our aim for the day was to raise awareness about the dangers and consequences of dr
ug and substance abuse, as well as knife crime. Paul Hannaford, who has worked with us for a number of years, is an excellent speaker. The students always listen to what he has to say and are shocked by his life story; this goes a long way towards reinforcing the work already completed by the students in this area. We are also very grateful to the staff from Rugby Police Station for spending the day with us and for interacting positively with our students.”
Advanced Notice – Consultation for New Fair Access Protocol
We are in the final stages of compiling the new Fair Access Protocol (FAP) which will bring it in line with the new Admissions Code 2021. The Microsoft form which will be incorporated into the protocol is being trialled internally and will go out to the schools who have helped to coproduce it for testing this week.
The consultation for the new FAP will be sent to all schools on Friday 4th March and will run for 5 weeks, ending on Friday 8th April. Analysis of the results will then commence, and comments will be responded to. The final version will go to Cabinet on Thursday 16th June. Once ratified, the document will be circulated to all schools prior to the summer holidays and will be adopted and in place for 1st September 2022.
Make it easier to run your school with WES
Warwickshire Education Services (WES) have launched their services for maintained schools in the county for 2022/23, offering specialist services that can help you to raise pupil attainment, improve operations, develop staff and resources, and ensure legal compliance.
WES are unique amongst service providers, as schools’ investment with the Service is directly re-invested in the pupils of Warwickshire.
The past two years have been challenging for schools and COVID is continuing to impact. Warwickshire schools have stepped up time and again to maintain education and learning for children and young people.
WES Services have worked hard to ensure that schools’ services continue to be delivered throughout the pandemic and they are committed to continuing to support schools, pupils, and staff with essential services into 2022/23.
The WES brochure gives an overview of the WES services available to schools, and key changes to their service for 2022/23 can be found here.
Full details of all subscription services are available on the WES website. As well as services in the brochure, WES can arrange packages tailored to individual schools. Contact details are here.
Warwickshire Libraries are open this half-term with plenty of great children’s activities including Adventures in Storytelling
The fun activities range from interactive ‘Adventures in Storytelling’ and getting hands on in Lego Club, to enjoying reading through the Book Bears scheme and taking part in Stories and Dragons sessions.
From Monday 21 – Friday 25 February, Warwickshire Libraries will be hosting a number of fun interactive storytelling sessions with Pyn Stockman which are suitable for children aged 4-11 and their families. The story follows three horses, three bags of gold and three heroes as they embark on a quest to settle an argument to find the best gift in all the world. Warwickshire children can join in the storytelling during the sessions and follow the characters’ adventures to far away kingdoms over mountains and sunlit seas, explore marketplaces and uncover wild woods to find magical items that will keep the whole family captivated. To book a place on one of the 'Adventures in Storytelling' sessions, select one of the dates below:
Warwickshire Libraries will also be hosting a number of fun events and activities for pre-school and school aged children. These range from Rhyme Time, Story Stomp, and Lego Club to special Stories and Dragons themed activities. To find out which activities are happening at your local library this half-term and how to book, visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/childrensactivities.
For younger children there is the opportunity to get involved in the free Warwickshire Book Bears scheme. Children under five collect a stamp every time they visit the library, and after six stamps they earn a certificate. If they collect all ten certificates, then they will receive a Library Book Bear soft toy as a reward. To find out more you can ask about the Books Bears scheme at your local library.
Parents, carers, and guardians who would like their children to enjoy regular access to reading can join Warwickshire Libraries as members for free. As a child or adult library member, book titles are available in-person at a local library, through the online library catalogue, or by browsing the BorrowBox collection which includes a great range of eBooks and eAudiobooks.
Save the date – Spring Term Headteachers' Conference
Save the Date!
Spring Term 2022 Headteachers' Conference
Wednesday 9th March 2022 (9.30am – 12.00pm)
To be held virtually on Microsoft Teams
Details of the conference will follow in due course.
One week left: Could one of your pupils win £2,500 for your school to spend on climate change projects?
Warwickshire County Council is inviting school pupils in Coventry and Warwickshire aged between 4 and 19 to submit their ideas on what it means to be a climate change hero as part of the Young Green Shoots competition.
To apply, pupils must answer the following question:
What does being a climate hero mean to you?
Climate heroes do both big and small things, from planting a huge forest to turning off the lights when they aren’t needed. And anyone can be a climate hero – it could be somebody famous, a government, a business leader, a local council, or it could even be you! Show or tell us how your hero will protect the environment and fight climate change.
Submissions can either be a short piece of writing or a drawing by the deadline of 27 February. Please submit the work by emailing childfriendly@warwickshire.gov.uk with name, age, school’s name and address.