COVID Local Support Grant - Summer Holiday Food Support

COVID Local Support Grant - Summer Holiday Food Support (Warwickshire Local Welfare Scheme)

The DWP recently announced that they will be extending the COVID local grant support for one final time to help families get back on their feet as the economy recovers and the vaccine rollout continues.  

During the Summer school holidays, parents/carers of children in Warwickshire schools/settings who are eligible for benefits related FSM will once again be receiving an automatic Huggg supermarket voucher for food support.  

The limitations in our funding allocation means that we will be supporting 5 days a week (in comparison to the previous 7 days).  This means each eligible child will be receiving £93 Huggg voucher, which equates to £15 per week plus the additional teacher training day.  

The Local Welfare Scheme do not need schools to send them any updated pupil information, as they will be using existing information. They receive regular updates to the FSM pupil list and these have been (and will continue to be) added to our distribution lists.  

On 7th July, as previously, an email will be sent to schools with detailed information and a letter to send to parents/carers.

Letter to schools addressing transmissions from Dr Shade Agboola and Ian Budd

Dear colleagues, please see this letter issued today from Dr Shade Agboola and Ian Budd on transmissions of Covid-19.

Warwickshire Team Teach Summer Term Update

As we draw near to the end of this academic year we wanted to give you the latest Warwickshire Team Teach updates.

Fortunately we have been able to begin to deliver training again and are very appreciative to these schools for their support and flexibility.

We are pleased to let you know that we will be restarting 6 hour initial Open course training in November. So for any current accredited schools who wish to book places please contact Julia on juliajessup@warwickshire.gov.uk

We have reviewed the cost of training and have decided that for the next academic year (2021/22) there will not be a price increase.

The work to catch up on postponed training continues to progress well. By the end of academic year 2021/22 we  aim to be fully caught up and no longer needing to extend accreditation; thank you for your understanding.

We have a well-established process within Warwickshire for schools to book Team Teach training. As well as our reminders to book your refresher training you may also receive a reminder email directly from Team Teach National. There is no need to respond to this please just contact us as usual to book.

Julia Jessup Team Teach Coordinator (juliajessup@warwickshire.gov.uk)

Vanessa Gilbert Team Teach Strategic Lead (gilbert.v@welearn365.com)

Thank you as always for you continued support. Have a good last few weeks and a great Summer.

Vanessa and Julia

Preparation for Headship: Free WCC cpd for Senior and Middle Leaders

Warwickshire’s Aspiring Headteachers Programme is a new and innovative programme intended to support senior and experienced middle leaders who aspire to headship in a Warwickshire school. This course is appropriate for school leaders who have a minimum of 2 years senior leadership experience and are considering applying for a Headship, in Warwickshire, in the next 2 years.

The programme will consist of approximately 5 sessions, primarily online twilights, plus a face-to-face launch day. The programme will be hosted by Darren Barrow (Schools Sustainability Lead Officer and Headteacher at St John’s Primary School, Kenilworth) and there will be a range of guest speakers inputting into the sessions, including local headteachers, key colleagues from LA services as well as some national speakers.

The programme will run over the course of 2 terms starting in autumn 2021 and will cover themes such as:

• Leading the organisation - moral imperative, vision, innovation in the curriculum
• Leading teaching and learning - using data and closing the gap
• The school as a business - finance, HR, legislation and policy
• Applying for headship and working with governors

This programme is fully funded by Warwickshire County Council and further details will be made available in due course.

ACTION: 

If you are interested in securing a place on the first cohort of this fully funded programme, starting in the autumn, please complete this expression of interest form as soon as possible. 

The Aspiring Headteachers Programme is being organised by the Gateway Alliance on behalf of Warwickshire LA. 

If you have any queries, please contact Helen Martin on martin.h@welearn365.com.

Have your say on the face of Child Friendly Warwickshire

The famous Warwickshire bear is having a makeover – and children and young people are being invited to vote for their favourite version to select a logo for the ambitious Child Friendly Warwickshire programme.

Three radically different looking bears appear in the new logo designs inspired by feedback from a wide-ranging survey of children and young people conducted earlier this year. The new logo will give a visual identity to Child Friendly Warwickshire, which has at its heart the aim of ensuring the voices of young people are listened to.

With input from a young designer and the Warwickshire Youth Council, a selection of six potential designs have now been narrowed down to three and opened-up to a public vote.

The original survey engaged more than 1,800 people aged between four and 17-years-old in February and March and included a question on imagery associated with a happy childhood in Warwickshire – from which the designs have been inspired.

Child Friendly Warwickshire is engaging business and community groups as well as council services to work together to enrich opportunities for children and young people. It is an open invitation to organisations of all kinds to ensure it is a safe place full of great opportunities for children.

Please encourage children and young people to vote in the poll today: https://www.menti.com/k8rrbpq79r

For more information please email childfriendly@warwickshire.gov.uk

COVID-19 vaccination available at this weekend’s walk-in clinics

Local health and care leaders are asking people across Coventry and Warwickshire to roll up at a pop-up vaccination clinic and roll up their sleeves to get their vital first or second doses of the vaccine this weekend.

Dr Sarah Raistrick, local GP and Chair of Coventry and Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Groups said:

“Last weekend our clinics proved a huge success, with us vaccinating over 8,500 local people. We’re hoping to repeat that again by offering more pop-up clinics in more locations to make it easy for everyone to have their vaccinations at a place convenient for them.

“What we did see last weekend was people turning up for their second vaccination with too short a gap after their first. We are pleased so many people understand the importance of having both jabs, but to ensure the most effective protection, we do have to turn people away if their first dose was less than eight weeks ago.”

No appointments are needed for this weekend’s pop-up clinics, anyone wanting their vaccination can drop by at a time to suit them. The clinics are open to anyone aged 18 and over who is eligible for their first vaccination and to those people aged 40 and over who need their second dose and had their first jab more than eight weeks ago. The clinics that are available to those 18 to 39 or 18 and over are also open to carers aged 16 and those aged 16 and over and are in a clinically at-risk group.

The following pop-up clinics will be up and running:

• The Methodist Church, Warwick Ln, Coventry CV1 2HA, will be offering vaccinations on Friday, 2nd July from 3pm to 7pm to people aged 18 to 39.
• The United Reform Church at 2 Chapel St, Nuneaton CV11 5QH, will open on Friday, 2nd July to vaccinate anyone aged 18 and over between the hours of 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm.
• The Acorn Pharmacy Community Pharmacy, Unit 2 Remembrance Rd, Coventry CV3 3DP will be open from 9am to 6pm on the dates below for anyone aged 40 and over to drop-by and have their vaccination:

                                                                     Wednesday, 7th July

                      Friday, 2nd July                      Thursday, 8th July

                      Saturday, 3rd July                   Friday, 9th July

                      Saturday, 10th July

• In Leamington Spa, the Lisle Court Medical Centre, Brunswick St, Leamington Spa CV31 2ES will be offering a walk-in clinic on Saturday, 3rd July, from 2pm to 6pm for anyone aged 18 and over.
• Coventry Transport Museum, Millennium Place, Hales St, Coventry CV1 1JD will be open on Saturday, 3rd and Sunday 4th July from 10am to 3.30pm. You can either turn up without an appointment and wait to be seen or book on 0300 303 1919. Vaccinations are available to everyone aged 18 and over.
• In Abbeygate, at Unit 17, Abbey Street, Nuneaton, CV11 4HL, Pharmcy2U will be offering 18 to 39 year olds, their vaccinations from 8.30am to 7pm on Saturday, 3rd July.
• Bedworth Civic Hall will be open for anyone aged 18 to 39 to drop-in from 8.30am to 7.30pm on Saturday, 3rd July. You can either turn up without an appointment and wait to be seen or book on 0300 303 1919.
• The large vaccination centre at Stoneleigh National Agricultural and Exhibition Centre will be open for anyone aged 40 and over to walk-in on Saturday, 3rd and Sunday 4th July from 10am to 6pm.

More information about all pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinics can also be found at the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust website at: https://www.covwarkpt.nhs.uk/our-news/more-dropin-clinics-this-week-2310 and at: Vaccination drop-in clinics - Happy Healthy Lives

Across Coventry and Warwickshire there are a huge range of other clinics you can make an appointment to go to, from GPs, pharmacies and larger vaccination centres or you can book an appointment through the National Booking System.

Your local GPs have grouped together into networks to make sure all patients registered with a GP are invited to have their vaccination at the right time. They will contact you direct.      Vaccination appointments are also available at Bedworth Civic Hall, High St, Bedworth CV12 8NF by calling 0300 303 1919.

There are also two large vaccination centres, at Stoneleigh and University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust, two hospital hubs at Warwick Hospital and George Eliot Hospital and a number of pharmacies across Coventry and Warwickshire offering people aged 18 and over their vaccinations. Appointments need to be booked through the national booking system, which can be reached at: www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination. If you cannot use the website, you can phone 119 free of charge, 7am to 11pm, 7 days a week. You can ask someone else to do this for you and interpreters are available on request or you can use text phone 18001 119 or the NHS British Sign Language interpreter service at www.interpreternow.co.uk/nhs119

A full list of pharmacies offering vaccinations are listed on the booking system and you can select the one most convenient for you.

More information about all COVID-19 vaccination clinics can be found at: Vaccination sites - Happy Healthy Lives

Local people are asked not to attend pre-booked appointments or walk-in clinics if they have any symptoms of COVID-19, including a new continuous cough, a high temperature (above 37.8) or a loss or change to your sense of taste or smell. If you do have symptoms, you must self-isolate and book a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test by ringing 119 or visit: Testing for coronavirus (COVID-19) - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Pupils premium allocations 2021-2022

On 24 June DfE published the pupil premium allocations for 2021 to 2022.

As part of the pupil premium allocations and conditions of grant for 2021 to 2022, schools are now required to:

• demonstrate, from the next academic year, how their spending decisions are informed by research evidence (condition 7)
• use the strategy statement templatesto publish their pupil premium strategy (condition 8)

Updated templates for use in the 2021 to 2022 academic year, will be published by July 2021.

Gateway Alliance CPD & Networks

The Gateway Alliance CPD subscriptions provide a cost-effective way for schools to access a wealth of high-quality professional learning opportunities for all key groups of staff within school.

Subscribing before the start of the academic year provides the best possible value for money for schools. 

Through our subscriptions we offer access to the best new and innovative practice from leading national and international speakers, authors and educational thought-leaders. 

Our networks are facilitated by a range of experienced trainers and consultants working alongside school practitioners, providing a fantastic opportunity for colleagues to learn together, network and share practice.

Our programme for 2021-22 will be a really great mix of both face to face and online sessions and full details of speakers, dates and venues will be published early in the autumn. 

Offers & Discounts*:

• Early Bird - subscribe before the end of term (22nd July) and receive a 10% discount
• Small Schools - receive a 10% discount (20% if they subscribe before 22nd July)
• Recommend a Friend - recommend a new school and you receive a £50 voucher (per school) and they receive a 20% introductory discount

Please take a look at our CPD subscriptions and to subscribe either visit our website or contact Lisa in our office on Tel: 02476 347697 or Email: info@gatewayalliance.co.uk

Or, to talk through your CPD requirements in more detail, please contact Helen Martin on Tel: 07906 961083 or Email: martin.h@welearn365.com

Free virtual poetry workshops in summer

Students may be interested in young people's workshops being hosting over the summer holidays.

More information and registration for the sessions can be found by emailing libraryevents@warwickshire.gov.uk.