Celebrating Warwickshire’s Family of Schools
Deadline for requesting exam access arrangements for 11+
If you have any Year 5 children who are applying for a grammar school place for 2022 and who will want to request exam access arrangements for their 11+, such as extra time or assisted software, please ask them to register for the test by 7 June.
Any requests received after this date may be automatically refused. The deadline for all other 11+ registrations is 30 June. Parents should be directed to www.warwickshire.gov.uk/admissions to create an account and further information about the 11+ can be found at: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/grammar-schools-11-test.
Summer Head Teacher Conference: Celebrating positive achievement and moving forwards.
Please make sure you put the date in your diary and allow yourself some much-deserved development time.
Wednesday 16th June, 9.15am-12.00pm via Microsoft Teams.
This term’s conference has been put together by the School Improvement Team to celebrate the positive achievements of the past year and celebrate the hard work and commitment you have given to the children, families and young people of Warwickshire. They have arranged speakers who will be thought provoking and interesting to listen to.
They are delighted to have secured Richard Gerver as one of the keynote speakers:
“Richard Gerver has been described as one of the most inspirational leaders of his generation. He is an award-winning speaker, bestselling author and world-renowned thinker.
Richard began his career in education, most notably as headteacher of the failing Grange Primary School. In just two years, he famously transformed the school into one of the most acclaimed learning environments in the world. He was celebrated by UNESCO and the UK Government for its incredible turnaround.”
They are also delighted to be joined by Caroline Bilton of the Education Endowment Foundation, with a focus on oracy in all phases and what current research tells us. They were also lucky to secure Claire Cookson from the DFN Foundation who will present up to date knowledge around career focus across all age ranges.
They hope this will give you a much-needed chance to pause and reflect. They look forward to seeing you there.
An agenda with further details will follow in due course and please contact stephenheight@warwickshire.gov.uk if you have any questions.
Early Career Joint Framework briefing
Please find this flyer linked, advertising the upcoming Early Career Joint Framework briefing on
DATE: 9th June 2021
TIME: 16:00-17:30
To register for the event click here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/
tZIudemvrT4pE9RU5vz5f5T2C2z5or7JrfMT
Carers Week (7th -14th June 2021)
If you have a caring responsibility and want to hear from others who share your experiences then get involved in the conversation this Carers Week, 7-13th June 2021. Keep an eye out across our social media channels for details. For information go to https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/carers #makecaringvisible
Three Warwickshire schools in TES Schools Awards 2021 shortlist
TES have announced the shortlist for their school awards 2021 and three Warwickshire schools have been announced in the shortlists across three categories.
Congratulations to the following schools:
Community and Collaboration award- Hartshill School
Environmental Champion of the Year- Kate MacRae, Michael Drayton Junior School
New Teacher of the year- Nick Clark, The George Eliot School
The lists and further information is here: https://tesawards.co.uk/tesschoolsawards2021/en/page/shortlist
Department for Education blog post on the removal of Letters and Sounds 2007 from the Department’s list of validated phonics programmes
A new post, “The removal of Letters and Sounds 2007 from the Department’s list of validated phonics programmes – teachers’ questions answered” has just been published on the The Education Hub blog.
The way in which phonics is taught in schools has evolved significantly in the last 10 years. A key upcoming change in recognition of that evolution is the removal of the widely used 2007 Letters and Sounds handbook from and from the Department’s list of validated phonics programmes.
Read the new post: https://dfemedia.blog.gov.uk/2021/05/17/the-removal-of-letters-and-sounds-2007-from-the-departments-list-of-validated-phonics-programmes-teachers-questions-answered/
Free news literacy programme available to Warwickshire schools
NewsWise is a free news literacy programme for upper KS2. Comprising a fully-planned English and PSHE unit of work, NewsWise (run by The Guardian Foundation, National Literacy Trust and PSHE Association) equips young people with the skills they need to understand the news, safely navigate it, and tell their own stories.
While their resources are free for everyone to download and use, they offer schools with high rates of free school meals the opportunity to take part in their full package, giving them access to a free fake news workshop, CPD for teachers and opportunities to interact with real journalists. The full package is still free.
They have space for three schools across the West Midlands, for either this term or next.
To participate, schools must have >17% pupils having FSM.
Keep COVID-19 out of classrooms
Now that we are mid-way through the Summer term, regular COVID-19 testing is the new norm.
While it may feel repetitive, testing at home every 2-3 days is key to identifying positive COVID-19 cases and keeping COVID out of our classrooms.
As we approach exam season, it’s key that we stay as safe as possible from COVID-19 to help ensure exams can go ahead, this means that along with regular testing we:
- Keep our hands clean
- Wear a face covering – latest face covering guidance available here
- Keep our distance
- Self-isolate and get a NHS/PCR test if we have symptoms.
If you get a positive COVID-19 home test result, isolate and confirm your result with an NHS/PCR test within 72 hours. To book this visit www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or call 119. If you then get a negative NHS/PCR test, you can stop isolating and return to school.
For more information about where to collect at home tests for pupils, visit www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests
A range of resources for schools are available on the Stay Safe CSW website, including resources to support key COVID-19 behaviours and mental health support for young people. Please visit www.staysafecsw.info/home/warwickshire-resources/1
Domestic Abuse Bill - Training open to all providers
Refuge has been commissioned by Warwickshire County Council to deliver a series of twenty webinars on the forthcoming Domestic Abuse Bill, to embed a holistic approach to domestic abuse across the county and send a message that domestic abuse is everyone’s business. These webinars will be delivered across April, May and June using Microsoft Teams.
The webinars have been designed to give a brief overview of each element of the Bill to enable Warwickshire County Council and partners to prepare for the new measures and duties associated with the Domestic Abuse Bill. This will be an interesting and engaging training, designed to ensure that participants:
- Understand the key features of the DA Bill
- Understand the intentions behind the Bill
- Understand the changes to practice that the Bill will engender
- Understand how the measures incorporated in the Bill will impact victims
- Understand how Warwickshire specifically is responding to the DA Bill
To book onto a session please go to the following website: https://www.talk2someone.org.uk/latest/domesticabusebill/
