Letter from National Policing lead for hate crime following New Zealand terror attack

We have been asked to share the attached letter from ACC Mark Hamilton (National Policing Lead for hate crime and the National Police Chiefs’ Council representative) that was sent to members of the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group following the attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand last week.

ACC Mark Hamilton has asked that this be shared as widely as possibly with Muslim communities so please do circulate through your contacts. To make this as easy as possible to share, there is a PDF version as well as a PNG version (in two parts) which can be shared more easily on Twitter, Whatsapp etc.

Sharing messages like this offers reassurance on Government action in the light of the events in Christchurch. 

Letter from ACC Mark Hamilton (pdf version)

Letter from ACC Mark Hamilton Part 1 (png)

Letter from ACC Mark Hamilton Part 2 (png)

Alternative Provision free school given green light to competition stage

Warwickshire County Council (WCC) and the family of Warwickshire schools received a very welcome boost on 11 March 2019, when the Secretary of State gave the green light to proceed to the next stage of the process for an alternative provision free school bid. The next stage involves engaging with trusts in an open competition stage. 

The pupils who will attend the alternative provision school will be some of the most vulnerable young people in Warwickshire, including those who are suffering ill-health, are teenage parents, have been severely bullied or have been excluded.

The school will offer the following for 11-16 year olds:

1. Short-stay provision (maximum 6 to 12 week placements) for permanently excluded students or hard to place students who need to be supported whilst they await a school place.

2. Part-time provision offering a hybrid between mainstream and alternative/vocational options for those students who cannot cope in mainstream full-time but can access the core.

3. Full-time provision for those students who do not meet the assessment criteria to access an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) but who require a smaller setting to get their education. They will have access to GCSE and vocational qualifications, employability skills, personal development, and therapeutic programmes that address their behaviour and Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs.

The free school will sit alongside existing provision in Warwickshire, adding to the menu available and increasing the offer to our most vulnerable young people.

The details of the agreed specification for the school is available here.

You can find the proposals for all new schools in Warwickshire, including the alternative provision free school, here.

Widening support for home-educating families

We were delighted to welcome back home-educating families from across Warwickshire for our second Home Education forum last week. 

We launched the forum with a session on child development and emotion coaching, followed by guest speakers from our local colleges to talk about the dedicated programmes and support they have on offer for home educated children. The SEND Assessment and Review Service spoke about support available to families of children with SEN (Special Educational Needs).

All speakers were warmly received and feedback has been really positive. Comments from the attendees included 'it was exciting to hear about what is available from colleges for home educated children' and the forums have been 'very helpful'. 

We are working to widen the scope of additional activities and opportunities that could be made available to home educating families. We have now launched a Home Education Facebook page and will be moving the forum around the county to encourage more families to connect with us. 

Currently, there are almost 500 children across Warwickshire who are educated at home.

For further information please contact Annette Firman: annettefirman@warwickshire.gov.uk

More information about home education for parents and carers is available on our webpage: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/homeeducation

Ofsted: Stronger partnerships needed to tackle knife crime

Ofsted published new research last week looking at knife crime and how education settings in London protect children from this kind of violence. 

The report, Knife Crime: Safeguarding children and young people in education, recognises that although schools have a valuable role to play in tackling this issue, they do not have the ability to do this alone, with the suggestion that strong multi-agency partnerships are needed to counter the complex problems behind the rise of knife crime.

Research was carried out in 29 schools, colleges and pupil referral units (PRUs) in London and found inconsistencies with the way the issue was dealt with across the area. 

Recommendations include more guidance for schools on how to deal with knives and teaching about the risks, and the need for greater clarity around managed moves.

You can read the press release and a summary of the report here.

Overview & Scrutiny Committee Children & Young People meeting on Tuesday 12th March

Samren Reddy (a Member of Youth Parliament), George Towl (Deputy Member of Youth Parliament), Charity Miller (Children in Care Council) and Umar Teerab (Care Leavers Forum) delivered a presentation on the engagement and participation of children and young people to elected members of the Children & Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday 12 March.

Their presentation was warmly received by members of the committee. It focused on the contribution of children and young people and how this aligns with the Participation and Engagement Strategy 2019 - 2023

The young people updated the committee on children and young people’s priorities which fall under five key outcomes within the Participation and Engagement Strategy. These are as follows:

• Keeping healthy
• Be safe
• Have fun and do well
• Take part
• Think about the future

In respect to schools and colleges children and young people are primarily concerned about bullying, work experiences opportunities careers advice and learning important life skills.

The four youth groups supported by Warwickshire County Council employees Shinderpaul Bhangal and Cheryl Jones include:

• Members of Youth Parliament
• Warwickshire Youth Council (WYC)
• Children in Care Council (CICC)
• Care Leavers Forum (CLF)

For more information contact shinderpaulbhangal@warwickshire.gov.uk

Relationships and health education: new requirements from 2020

Draft statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education has now been published following a 12-week consultation.

From September 2020, primary schools (including all-through and middle schools) will need to provide:

• Relationships education
• Health education

The changes will also affect secondary schools, detailing more on topics like staying safe online and sexual relationships and sexual health. 

The government wants pupils to leave school prepared, in the widest sense, for adult life. The content of the regulations and guidance should reflect an effective balance between ensuring that children are taught the knowledge they require to thrive in a modern world, and ensuring that schools have flexibility to design and plan subject content within the wider curriculum in subjects such as Citizenship, Science, PE and Computing to meet the needs of their pupils.

To summarise, at primary level, pupils should learn about subjects including families, friendships and online relationships. At secondary level, topics will be built on from primary and include sexual relationships and sexual health.

Some of the proposals also include lessons on sexting, female genital mutilation (FGM) and mental health. 

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