Hello and welcome once again to Heads Up. I hope that the Easter break gave you a chance to refresh and recuperate after such a challenging Spring term. It certainly did the overall picture in Warwickshire good and the new term has started very well.
Attendance among pupils this week has been very good. All of our schools and settings are fully open after the holiday which is a very encouraging starting point. Out of the 153 schools who have reported their daily attendance, there was a 95% pupil attendance rate. This rises to nearly 98% for Primary schools.
This is a really strong performance – one that would be expected in pre-coronavirus times - and reflects the diligent work by schools, at the end of last term, where we were seeing strong responsive steps to tackle and minimise outbreaks.
One thing that we have collectively learned during the last year is to take things week by week, so this excellent level of attendance has not happened by chance. It is a consequence of vigilance and diligence.
On the subject of the Easter holidays, the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, which the county council worked with partners at speed to set up, enjoyed an excellent take up and there has been fantastic feedback from participants’ families. There is clearly a need for this type of programme, and I am delighted to say that this will continue in future school holidays with a comprehensive 4-week programme in the summer.
The Easter HAF programme was mainly online, as it had to be, but getting our children out in the fresh air over the summer will be a wonderful boost to their physical and mental wellbeing. My thanks go to the team who worked so swiftly to provide our Easter’s offer and are working to make sure that summertime activities are even more varied.
In the last Heads Up before the break, I mentioned the Teaching School Hubs. Thanks to Dr Peter Kent, Headteacher of Lawrence Sheriff School, who joined our lunchtime leaders call on Tuesday to outline how the hub supporting his area – the Lawrence Sheriff Teaching School Hub – will be operating and working. Warwickshire is served by three separate hubs and, in the coming weeks, we will be joined by representatives of the other two Teaching School Hubs in the county to give further details of plans for their areas.
Safeguarding is at the forefront of all of our thinking at all times when working with children and young people. Thanks again to all schools and settings which have responded to the Annual Safeguarding Audit. We will use that information to form the basis of a management summary to support your Safeguarding planning. Additionally, an updated Local Authority Safeguarding Model Policy will be prepared, including the legal checks, and distributed to schools this term.
Finally, you will have seen that Matt Biggs is joining us as service lead for Education and Early Years. Matt has been having a number of briefing meetings prior to his taking up the post on May 4th, so we look forward to welcoming him to the team!
Matt will pick up the work of Kim Garcia, who stepped in to cover and include the Education and Early years portfolio last June along with his other leadership work supporting our COVID response, transformation process and Education strategy. Kim will be known to many of you and I will take some time next week, to acknowledge the enormous contribution that he has made in a tremendously challenging period, when Kim steps away from a long and successful career in local authorities, central government and national Education roles and hopefully enjoys some well-earned R&R.
Which leads me nicely to the point where I make my weekly plea to you all to get some rest and relaxation over the weekend. I’m looking forward to some decent weather and to getting out into the fresh air. I hope you do likewise.
Take care all and see you next week.
Ian Budd