Coronavirus (Covid-19): kits for schools and FE providers

Making an order for additional coronavirus tests 

Schools and FE providers should order additional test kits if they have run out or are running out of test kits. 

From 16 September, you can order additional tests kits online. Kits will be supplied in boxes of 10. 

You will be able to make a new order for test kits 21 days after you receive a delivery confirmation email telling you that your previous supply of test kits has been sent. 

Schools and FE providers will need a Unique Organisation Number (UON) to place orders for test kits.

This will be emailed to you by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on or before 16 September.

After this date, please call the Test and Trace helpdesk on 119 if you have not received your UON. 

Risk Assessments: Visitors in Schools

Schools are eager to welcome service providers safely back to their premises.

They also want to be assured of the safety of their school community.  Services too, wish to return to schools and be assured of the safety of their staff.

Please ensure that arrangements for 'visitors in school' are included in your risk assessments. 

Please continue to work in partnership with service providers, to share Risk Assessments and plan together for the safe delivery of services.

School Attendance Coding

Following the return to school, one of the many challenges is ensuring that the attendance register is coded correctly. 

This has been made more challenging by the additional use of the code 'X' for Covid-19 for related absences, pupils returning in phases and pupils being sent home due to having Covid-19 symptoms.

To support schools with this challenge, the Warwickshire Attendance Service has created some supportive guidance, designed to identify which code to use for specific circumstances.  It would be beneficial for you to provide this guidance to staff directly involved in attendance coding to support the correct use of codes.  

Representatives from the Warwickshire Attendance Service will available at the next Local Authority, Head teachers, Early Years reps and Consortia Chair meeting to answer any additional questions you may have in relation to school attendance.

Coding Guidance

The Warwickshire Challenge

Warwickshire County Council (WCC) is committed to supporting young people to overcome the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. Many disadvantaged children and young people will have suffered with poor mental health or will not have been able to participate in remote learning due to not having access to technology. In response to this WCC have developed The Warwickshire Challenge.

The Warwickshire Challenge is a programme of 50+ suggested activities for Key Stage 3 pupils to complete to provide experiences and activities related to culture, sports, work experience and life skills. Activities range from learning to iron a shirt to trying a new sport to going to the theatre.

Challenges fit into the following five areas:

• Enterprise
• Emotional Wellbeing
• Engagement
• Enjoyment
• Energy

Young people will be able to achieve a Bronze Award in Year 7, Silver in Year 8 and Gold Year 9.

The Challenge is designed to be available to all pupils in Key Stage 3 regardless of their schools involvement. We hope to develop an App young people will be able to use and log their completion of the challenges.

Young people in receipt of Free School Meals will be sponsored through the programme to help fund them to access the challenges where there are associated costs. We will all also establish mentors to support and encourage young people who may need additional support to engage. These may be adults or post 16 students, all mentors will be trained.  

We will work with local business to raise awareness, invite them to offer volunteering opportunities and to sponsor pupils, support as mentors or offer discounts to young people participating the Challenge.

We expect to run an initial pilot after half term and will role out the programme later in the year.  

If you have any suggestions, would like to be involved in an initial pilot of the challenge please do get in touch with us, we’d love to hear from you.

Lead officers are Sophie Thompson (sophiethompson@warwickshire.gov.uk) and Debbie Hibberd (debbiehibberd@warwickshire.gov.uk) . 

How lock-down has affected children’s lives at home

Since schools closed to all but a few students in March, millions of children have had to stay at home. While schools started to open in the weeks leading up to the summer holidays, many children did not return to school and will not until September. Given this unprecedented interruption to learning for many children, and with the underlying threat of further lock-down, the Children’s Commissioner’s Office has undertaken preliminary research on the state of home environments and family relationships.

Please click here to read the full article.

Save the date - Autumn Term Headteachers' Conference

Save the Date! 

The focus of this term’s conference will be the SEND & Inclusion Change Programme which will include a keynote speaker on SEND & Inclusion and updates from the Council.  We hope you will be able to join us. 

Wednesday 21^st October 2020, 10.00am – 11.30am 

To be held virtually on Microsoft Teams 

An agenda with further details will follow. 

Equality and Inclusion Partnership (EQuIP)

EQuIP is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation working across Warwickshire to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion across all sections of society.

We would like to remind schools of the services they can offer schools in dealing with all aspects of equality and diversity.

This can include wok with individuals as well as work across the school. Some aspects of their training and work with individuals is free to schools, as part of the Warwickshire Hate crime Charter, which Equip helped to develop for Warwickshire.

Please click here to find out more about EQuip.

National Professional Qualification for Headship

The Griffin Teaching School Alliance will be running The National Professional Qualification for Headship; a nationally accredited programme for those who are, or are aspiring to become, a headteacher or head of school with responsibility for leading a school.

The programme incorporates :

• Personal learning and reflection;
• Self-study of revised modular materials;
• A whole school development project and written assessment;
• A partner school placement and written assessment;
• Support through the programme by a sponsor from your school .

The course start with an introductory session on Friday, November 13th 2020 from 10 until 12.

For further information please use this link to access the flyer.

National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership

The National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership is a revised, nationally accredited programme offering the opportunity to consider your school leadership through discussion and debate with your peers and coach. 

The programme incorporates

• personal learning and reflection;
• self-study of online modular materials;
• a whole school leadership challenge;
• support through the programme by a learning coach from your school;
• evaluating the leadership of teaching 
• learning and the skills needed to close achievement gaps.

The course start with an introductory session for delegates and coaches Thursday Nov 12th 2020 - 3.30pm until 5pm

For further information please use this link to access the flyer.

School gate messages

Parents need to maintain social distancing when dropping off or collecting their children. We have produced a suite of social media messages which we will be pushing out.

Please find below attached these messages to download and share on your social media accounts to remind parents of the ways in which they can help.

• Parents/Carers - keep a safe social distance at the school gates.  Let's do the right thing. - Download it here.
• Parents/Carers - please wear face coverings at the school gates if you are able to. Let's do the right thing. - Download it here. 
• Parents/Carers - if you want to keep in touch with other parents, please use social media. Let's do the right thing. - Download it here. 

Accelerating Reading Skills: Closing the Gap

Warwickshire Educational Psychology Service is providing a series of live Webinars for primary and secondary school staff and other professionals. This training is free to access as part of our work virtually supporting schools.

This training is limited to 2 members of staff per school and all 3 sessions must be attended.

Please find here what the training sessions will provide.