Sharing best practice in early years: continuous provision for real

High Needs Funding: An overview of the key issues

The SEND and Inclusion Strategy sets out our commitment to learners with high needs, however, we know that in order to support our learners appropriately we have a financial challenge. 

Nationally, there is currently an estimated £600m overspend on the High Needs element of the Dedicated Schools Grant. This latest report, from the Education Policy Institute, sets out some of the factors behind this.

Along with other local authorities, Warwickshire is forecasting a significant overspend on the High Needs Block based on current trends, in terms of rising demand and complexity of need. This is being monitored by Schools Forum, and a task and finish group consisting of head teachers, SENCOs and LA officers has been established to explore different ways to address the current situation.

Findings from the task and finish group will be shared at the Headteachers' Conference on 12 June, setting out a series of recommendations for the best ways to sustain the work of the local area high needs system and local offer going forward. 

Exploring faith views and climate change: event for primary pupils

Rugby Inter Faith Forum, in conjunction with Coventry and Warwickshire SACREs and Bilton CE Junior School presents:

An event to explore the role of religion and worldviews in addressing climate change and care for the environment 

Thursday 13 June 2019, 9.30am - 11.30am at Bilton CE Junior School, Rugby

This is an excellent post-SATs project for Year 6, or a challenge for Year 5 pupils. Prior to the event, pupils will be asked to prepare a faith perspective on the topic of climate change and care for the environment which will be exhibited on the day.  The event will also challenge pupils to put forward their views as part of a debate around the following statement:

"Religion is an essential factor in motivating individuals to protect the environment and address climate change."

For more details see the attached flyer or email the RE Facilitator for Warwickshire jenniferjenkins@warwickshire.gov.uk

Free CPD for Primary School RE Subject Leaders and Coordinators

Thursday 23 May 2019, 4.30pm - 6pm at North Leamington School

Focus of the session: RE and the Arts

Religious Education (RE) subject leaders and coordinators from all Warwickshire primary schools are invited to the next twilight meeting on Thursday 23 May 2019, 4.30pm - 6pm at North Leamington School, Sandy Lane, Blackdown, Leamington Spa, CV32 6RD. 

These sessions are organised by Warwickshire County Council in partnership with the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE) and are completely free to attend. They provide an excellent opportunity for teachers and subject coordinators of RE to:

• seek advice and support from the RE Facilitator
• receive updates on local and national developments in RE
• network with other RE coordinators
• develop subject knowledge

The focus for this particular twilight session will be RE and the Arts.

How to book

To book your place, please email your details (name and school) to sacre@warwickshire.gov.uk by Friday 17 May at the latest.

 

Technical support with Widgit InPrint 3

We are aware of some schools currently experiencing issues with Widgit InPrint 3.

If you are a WES supported school, you are advised to contact WES directly for guidance.

If your school does not subscribe to the WES support service, you are advised to contact your technician, who will then be able to contact the Widgit Tech team.   

The difficulties with Widget InPrint 3 could be due to the programme being incorrectly installed or an incomplete set of resource packs (if you only have the Example Files you haven't got all of the free resources you should have).

Additional support

For support with other aspects of Widgit, for example, how to make specific resources, contact Janet Dobbie - sip@widgit.com 

Alternatively, help sheets and the full manual are available on the Widgit website

Philosophy and Ethics Course

Free tennis course and £500 kitbag for primary teachers

She Rallies is about creating more opportunities for women and girls in tennis and was set up and run by Judy Murray (Andy Murray's Mum). This is the third year of running it.

The course is FREE, its only two hours and all the lesson plans are online for teachers to access afterwards.

Once the course is complete teachers can apply for a kitbag worth £500, one kitbag per school.

There are two courses running:

• Wednesday 15 May, 4-6pm. Location to be confirmed.

• Tuesday 21 May, 2.45-4.45pm at Warwick Tennis Club.

Any teachers interested can contact liannesupperstone@hotmail.com

This course is for all primary age children and no experience from teachers is necessary.

This course is not endorsed by Warwickshire County Council

Cabinet approves £1.92m towards schools Capital Programme

WCC's Cabinet has approved the addition of £1.92 million to the Education (Schools) Capital Programme 2019/20.

This addition to the programme will deliver a range of improvements to existing schools, including special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support, which will help to support the growing population and to boost provision in-county, reducing the need for young people to receive education outside of Warwickshire.

The money received will be allocated between a number of existing schools around the county. In Nuneaton and Bedworth, Exhall Grange School and Science College will receive a further £360,000 following their initial funding in July 2018 to create 44 additional places for learners with SEND. The extra funding will allow for the refurbishment of an existing building, enabling the relocation of the Learning Pod, currently in Coleshill, onto the main school site.

In North Warwickshire, The Coleshill School will receive £1.06 million to expand the school with a new classroom block to support the increased pupil rate, allowing for an additional 150 places across the school over the course of five years (30 per year). The new classroom block will be a three-storey building, with a ground floor dining facility and associated outdoor landscaping.

In South Leamington, plans for a new all through school will receive £100,000 from received developer contributions for a new standalone primary and secondary school provision to accommodate the increase in population, anticipated as a result of developments across the area. Warwickshire County Council is working with Warwick District Council to bring forward a suitable site that would allow for the provision of a new all-through school, providing opportunities to link with the proposed Country Park and provide community sports provision. The £100,000 will be used to support the outline planning application.

£400,000 has been earmarked to support the increased demand for SEND pupil provisions at schools across the county, for example to create a disabled toilet or ramp to ensure that mainstream schools are accessible for children with special educational needs. Again, this will enable many vulnerable young children to remain in Warwickshire to receive their education.

The funding allocated to this capital programme will put Warwickshire in a better position to address increased demand across the county, in particular the increase in the number of young people with Education, Health and Care Plans. A flexible allocation will allow modifications to existing schools so that they are fit for purpose and will enable as many of our children and young people as possible to be educated in their own schools and within Warwickshire. 

New DfE teaching vacancies service

Following the national launch of Teaching Vacancies on 8 April, the Secretary of State for Education, Damian Hinds MP, is now calling on all state funded schools to sign up to the Teaching Vacancies service, to cut down on up to £75 million spent yearly by schools to advertise teaching jobs, investing it back into teaching.

There has been a phased roll-out of the new website across the country, starting with a pilot in Cambridgeshire and the north east of England last June, with some areas added towards the end of 2018, and the West Midlands in April 2019.

The DfE has reported that the free Teaching Vacancies website, advertising full, part-time and job-share roles, is now being used by over 40% of schools in England, and over 5,000 jobs have been listed since launch. If your school does not have an account to list your jobs, details of how to apply for one are on the sign-in page.

Schools are encouraged to use and share this selection of marketing collateral to increase awareness of the service. In addition, the DfE will be producing a series of infographics with testimonials from advocates of Teaching Vacancies with supportive quotes. If anyone has a testimonial they would like to share this can be sent to justine.hunter@education.gov.uk.

Changes to NQT induction

Following the publication earlier in 2019 of the new Early Career Framework, the DfE has made some changes to the induction programme for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs).

These important changes are outlined in the attached briefing paper.

Latest Quarterly Labour Market Bulletin

Can-do approach creates brilliant link between Specialist School and hotel chain

A groundbreaking internship scheme involving two Warwickshire specialist schools and MacDonald Hotels & Resorts (Ansty Hall) has proved a spectacular success. Three students from Exhall Grange Specialist School in Bedworth and Woodlands Special School have been benefiting from a 12-month supported internship at the hotel since starting last September and become valued highly-valued members of the team.

Following the resounding success of the initiative, more pupils are expected to join the programme later this year.

Read more in the latest edition of Warwickshire Means Business.