Early learning resources from BBC Bitesize

BBC Bitesize has put together a really useful list of fun and educational early learning resources covering the following areas:

• Maths
• Literacy, Language and Communication
• Understanding the World
• Expressive Arts and Design
• Wellbeing and Development
• Physical Education and Development

It's been made in collaboration with learning experts so can be used by parents, as well as teachers, to create simple and engaging learning opportunities with younger children.

You can find the resources on the BBC Bitesize website here.

Outstanding result for Harbury Pre School

Congratulations to all the staff at Harbury Pre School who recently received ‘Outstanding’ judgements across all of the four inspection areas - leadership and management; quality of teaching, learning and assessment; personal development, behaviour and welfare; and outcomes for children. 

Ofsted stated: 

"The manager and staff are extremely passionate about the work that they do.They know each child very well in this inclusive setting. They ensure that all children receive the right support early to help to narrow any gaps in their development so that they quickly catch up."

"Children develop strong independence skills. They learn to manage their ownpersonal care needs from a very young age."

"Opportunities for children to develop their physical skills are continually well promoted. Children have fun and happily take on challenges, such as walking along balance beams and climbing over structures. They willingly try and try again, and staff are quick to celebrate their achievements."

"Children develop positive relationships and make friends easily with others whoattend. They work together on chosen tasks."

"Children receive a very high quality of education. Staff have a clear understanding of each child's learning needs. Accurate assessments of their development are used routinely to plan precisely for what they want children to achieve next. Parents regularly receive these detailed plans for activities which show what the staff intend for children to learn. Parents say that these plans help them to talk with their children about what they have learned. Parents speak very highly of the care their children receive and report that their children are making remarkable progress while attending."

"The environment is bright and full of stimulating resources and experiences which draw children in. Children access the resources that interest them and regularly seek to involve staff in their play. Children form strong attachments with their key persons and other staff. Staff model communication skills exceptionally well. They use their skills to ask open questions that challenge children to think and give ample time for a response. Children are becoming skilled talkers and use eloquent language to express themselves and talk through what they are doing."

"Children are offered a wealth of additional experiences while attending the preschool."

You can read the full report for Harbury Pre School on Ofsted's website here.

Black Lives Matter

Responding to Racism resource for schools

We have kindly been given permission to share this Responding to Racism resource with all Warwickshire education settings which has been adapted for non-church schools from a document originally created by Coventry Diocesan Board of Education (DBE).

It contains guidance on:

• what staff can do as educators
• what schools can do
• what to teach pupils
• what families can do

There is also a useful audit tool to help settings evaluate what their response might be to the Black Lives Matter movement.

View the Responding to Racism resource (pdf, 1.18MB) 

Changes to RISE - Mental health support for young people

The contact number for the RISE Children and Young People Crisis Team has changed.

For urgent calls for children and young people who are experiencing a mental health crisis contact the Rise Crisis Team between 8am - 8pm on 02476 641799 or call 0300 200 0011 outside of these hours. 

If someone you know is struggling and needs help now, help is available.

For more information please see the CW Rise website: https://cwrise.com/need-help-now

New subject knowledge enhancement for RE teachers

Warwickshire Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE) were pleased to be awarded some money from the Westhill Foundation to plan and implement a programme of RE subject knowledge enhancement for teachers in Warwickshire and Coventry.

Live RE subject knowledge CPD sessions

The programme includes a 'live event' for each of the main religious traditions in the Warwickshire Agreed Syllabus. Teachers are invited to attend a CPD session at the place of worship, which involves a tour and talk from a representative of that faith, all designed to boost their knowledge about each religion.

This project is ongoing, with the Sikhism and Islam sessions having already been completed and the Judaism session planned next, though delayed by the Coronavirus pandemic. Coventry has been fortunate to be successful with ongoing funding so that the other principle traditions of Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism, can also be covered. There is also planning in place for sharing Humanism with teachers in a similar way. SACRE will be in contact with RE Leaders with booking details once the project resumes.

RE Subject Knowledge Films

This project is also supported by a series of RE subject knowledge films based on each religion which are created in conjunction with each live session and made available afterwards. These are designed for CPD purposes, with a view to them being used at staff meetings to enhance the RE subject knowledge of all teachers in a school, or for individual study.

Accompanying each film is a ‘Road Map’ with suggestions for resources and approaches to use in the classroom to ensure effective teaching of each tradition. These materials are designed for use by teachers to enhance subject knowledge and not as teaching tools.

You will also find a useful document explaining how the films and road maps might be used for CPD in schools, and some additional guidance on how this might be done during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Sikhism and Islam films are available now, along with the resources listed below, on the Warwickshire SACRE website.

The resources you will find are*:

• Sikhism subject knowledge video
• Islam subject knowledge video
• Using the SACRE RE subject knowledge enhancement films for CPD
• Using the SACRE RE subject knowledge enhancement films for CPD during the coronavirus pandemic
• RE Islam road map
• RE Sikhism road map
• Islam session image bank
• Sikhism session image bank

Additional films and resources will be produced and shared with teachers as more live sessions are held in 2020-21.

*All of the above resources can only be accessed with a password which can be requested by completing this form. Only Warwickshire and Coventry schools will be supplied with the password.

Summer Reading Challenge 2020 - now online!

The Summer Reading Challenge has taken place in libraries across the UK for 20 years, giving children the chance to continue their reading for pleasure over the long summer holidays. Free incentives help them achieve the goal of reading any six books of their choosing and enjoy fun activities related to the year’s theme in their local libraries along the way.

With the current closure of public libraries, The Reading Agency has re-designed the challenge this year to work online, with a special website where families can securely join their 4-11 year olds and children can download the activities that will keep them going.

The welcome theme of 'fun and humorous books' was chosen long before the pandemic and the characters that help the children through are:

• Bamboozle the panda
• Izzie the octopus
• Lily the frog
• Merry the giraffe
• Snook the penguin

Helping to promote the challenge are many high profile children's authors including much-loved Jacqueline Wilson who said:

"I feel the Summer Reading Challenge is extra important this year! How sensible to have a Silly theme.  We've all had to deal with serious and scary issues, so it's time for a bit of fun. There are so many comical and crazy children's books to cheer us all up. Let's get reading and get happy!"

Warwickshire public libraries want to help you to encourage your pupils who are now in school and those still learning at home.

Please have a look at the further information attached below. To help schools to communicate with parents, Warwickshire Libraries have provided a letter explaining all about the challenge that you can download below:

Summer Reading Challenge Frequently Asked Questions

Letter to send out to parents

If you would like any further information please contact libraryevents@warwickshire.gov.uk

Young black men (YBM) and black parents sought for new project

Coventry and Warwickshire Mind has received funding to develop a Young Black Men’s mental health project.

The Young Black Men’s project will target Mind's services to young people between the ages of 11 and 30 years old who live across Coventry and Warwickshire and identify as being a young black man growing up in today’s society.

Mind is looking for a group of young men to participate, to help shape the project and help them to understand what impacts on building better futures with the aim of bringing about positive change. They are also looking for black parents to get involved so they can understand from a parent's perspective what support would help young black boys and men with their mental health.

Find out more about the Young Black Men's project on CWMind's website here.

Railways anti-trespassing competition for 11-18 yr olds

There are many statistics associated with lockdown. One that has worried many is this – in the first month of lockdown, trespassing on Britain’s railways increased by 25%.

With the prospect of a long summer ahead the Community Rail Partnerships (CRPs), who work with communities across the UK and rail industry to promote railway safety messages to everyone, have launched a competition to help raise awareness amongst young people of the dangers of trespassing on our railways. 

The competition is open to all 11-18 year olds across the UK. There are six categories and entrants are asked to share the anti-trespassing message by either:

• making a video
• writing a song/rap
• producing a storyboard / writing a script 

The competition is backed by the rail industry and prizes are up for grabs for each category, including a GoPro Hero8 bundle.

There are two key elements that entrants must remember – the video must be made from the young person’s home or garden (not at a railway or railway station) and must not show any violence.

Karen said:

We want young people to show off their creativity to get the message across to their peers that being on the tracks in potentially deadly. And in order to spread the message to as many young people as possible, we are suggesting that young people (over 13 years old) share their video or song on social media and we have a category for the entry with the greatest social media impact!

The deadline for competition entries is 30 September 2020.

View the full Anti-Trespassing competition details here

View resources and key facts about trespass on the railways here

WCC looks to reduce isolation for those with a learning disability

Warwickshire County Council is supporting Learning Disability Week, in order to raise awareness of feelings of isolation and loneliness for those residents with a learning disability.

The theme for Learning Disability is the importance of friendship during lockdown. The issue of isolation has been an important issue for the council to combat, which as seen it introduce virtual alternatives to many of its front facing services.

Isolation may be particularly hard for someone with a learning disability. With this in mind the council will be joining forces with its partners, to showcase a range of online resources and some of the services that are available for people to access. 

Read the full story here

Schools Forum elections

Schools Forum elections for headteachers (or senior leadership representatives) and governors starts on Friday 19 June 2020. This is a great opportunity for you to make a difference in Warwickshire schools.

The role of The Schools Forum is to act as a consultative body with regard to a range of funding decisions as listed in the Warwickshire Schools Forum Terms of Reference and the Education and Skills Funding Agency publication 'Schools Forum Powers and Responsibilities'. 

If you are elected to Schools Forum you will be required to serve for a period of two years.

Elections will take place for representatives from primary schools, secondary schools and special schools, both maintained and academies.

The term of office for successful candidate’s will start in the summer term 2020. Meetings are held in Warwick, usually on a Thursday starting at 1pm and finishing around 3.30pm.

Future meetings dates

1 October 2020

3 December 2020

14 January 2021

18 March 2021

Further information and nomination papers

To view further information about the election process and for nomination forms please click the links below:

For mainstream headteachers

For mainstream governors

For special school headteachers

For special school governors

Deadline for nominations to be submitted is Friday 17 July.

For any queries, please email Neill Butler at schoolfunding@warwickshire.gov.uk.

Celebrate Armed Forces Week 22-26 June

This year's Armed Forces Week begins on Monday 22 June and is a chance to show some much deserved recognition to the whole of the Armed Forces community.

Each day is dedicated to celebrating a different part of the military:

• Monday: launch and Global Armed Forces
• Tuesday: Innovation
• Wednesday: Reserves Day
• Thursday: Veterans
• Friday: Cadets

While celebrations and events have now become virtual, there are still plenty of ways you can show your support for the Reservists, Veterans, Service Families and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers within your organisations.

Read more about how to get involved with Armed Forces Week on the Gov.uk website here.

Historical Recipes from Educaterers

Staff from Warwickshire-based Educaterers have taken a step back in time to have a go at cooking up historical recipes from the Warwickshire County Record Office collections in their spare time.

Educaterers staff have been busy providing school meals to vulnerable children, the children of key workers and those year groups that have now returned to school.  Following the huge interest generated by the posting of Educaterers’ school lunch recipes on social media during lock-down, staff are now sharing an interesting selection of heritage recipes from the county’s archives.

The first recipe attempted was by Development Manager Philippa Dadswell who made almond cheesecakes from an 18^th Century recipe found in the records of Warwick Priory.

With an increasing number of people enjoying cooking at home, Warwickshire County Council’s Heritage and Culture service are sharing a different heritage recipe a week via the council’s social media channels; including 'creame with aples' (today’s apple and custard tart), 'chocolate fruit fudge' and a 'cucumber catchup' from Mrs Bunny of Baginton in the 19^th Century.

If you want to try making the heritage recipes yourself at home, follow the Twitter account @OurWarwickshire and look out for the weekly recipe posts with the hashtags #homecooking and #HeritageRecipe.

Click here to read the full article

Make sure students don't miss Virtual Open Week - 22-26 June

Hopefully you will have already seen the information shared in Heads Up over previous weeks about the West Midlands Virtual Open Week running from 22 - 26 June.

Colleges throughout the West Midlands have come together to provide a week of live, interactive and informative sessions to show what they offer, the courses they provide and how young people can take advantage of these opportunities.

The Virtual Open Week is being managed through Launchyourcareer.com, an intuitive online platform which takes young people on a journey of career discovery and is free for schools and students to use. 

What do schools need to do to get involved?

If you are new to Launchyourcareer.com, you simply need to follow the link below and you will be guided on how to register your school. If your school is already registered, then you don’t need to register again.

Register your school on Launch your careers.com

What do students need to do to get involved?

For your student to access the events all they need to do is register at launchyourcareer.com and click 'Get started' on the homepage. If students register to lauchyourcareer.com and assign themselves to the school, their information will be shared with you via your advisor dashboard.

They'll be invited to take part in a quiz to learn about their preferences and their personality animal, explore their interests and make choices about their career options. Once they have selected their potential ideal career from the career page, they will be able to register.

Every student who has registered to the platform will have access to the event information via their student dashboard from Monday 15 June. Please note that the event itinerary is based upon an individual’s career interest.

If a student is already registered they do not need to do anything as the itinerary will automatically appear on their student dashboard, however some of these students may wish to reflect upon their ideal career choice in the lead up to the event (via their student dashboard) if they have been registered for some time.

This handy infographic from Launchyourcareer can be emailed to students to explain how they can register and get started.

The event is free for schools and young people to attend and a great opportunity to explore what colleges have to offer. 

Opportunities for young people not in education, employment or training

Young people aged 15-24 not in education, employment or training who are looking for support can access a whole range of opportunities remotely through Pet-Xi.  

(Click the image below for full size version)

Armed Forces Week

Armed Forces celebrations in Warwickshire begin today, by hoisting the prestigious Armed Forces Day flag in Shire Hall. This year, due to Covid-19 restrictions, members of Warwickshire County Council will not be able to attend. 

Armed Forces Day, which this year takes place on Saturday 27 June 2020, is an annual national event that gives communities the opportunity to show their support for the men and women of the Armed Forces including currently serving troops, service families, reservists, veterans and cadets.  

Due to continuing nationwide restrictions brought about by Covid-19 pandemic, all physical Armed Forces Day and Reserve Day events have been cancelled, but there are still plenty of digital ways you can get involved and show your support. 

• On Tuesday 23rd June at 2.00-2.30pm, Lt Col Matthew Longcake, Commanding Officer of 37 Signal Regiment Redditch, will give an insight into the work on how local reserves units have stepped up in the response to Covid-19 and how they have played their part in Op Rescript. Register for this event online here 

• On Wednesday 24th June at 2pm-3pm Armed Forces are holding a webinar “Joining the Reserves- A presentation by the Armed Forces" which is aimed at those who are interested in finding out more about the Royal Navy Reserves, Army Reserves or Royal Air Force Reserves.  The training, skills and experiences gained in the reserves can be used to improve performance in the workplace and can enhance skills in areas such as leadership, team work, communication and decision making often in challenging situations and environments. This special event will feature presentations from the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force- this is a great opportunity to learn more and ask questions about whether reserve service is for you. Register by emailing wm-reed@rfca.mod.uk  and receive a calendar invite, or use the link here. 

• On Thursday 25th June at 2.30pm-3.30pm will take place an “Army Engagement Team live virtual broadcast event”. A multimedia presentation on our British Army.  You can access and register for the live broadcast here. 

For information on events taking place on Armed Forces Day, visit the Armed Forces Day website: Armed Forces Day events Warwickshire or the Armed Forces Community Covenant (AFCC) Website

For information on events taking place on Armed Forces Day, visit the Armed Forces Day website: Armed Forces Day events Warwickshire or the Armed Forces Community Covenant (AFCC) Website: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/armedforcesnews