Hello again and welcome once more to Heads Up.

For those who have not yet come across me, I am Duane Chappell, Strategy and Commissioning Manager for SEND and Inclusion.  It is my pleasure to take the reins this week and do the introduction and how timely that I do so, given that OFSTED and the Care Quality Commission have just published their joint report on SEND provision in Warwickshire.

You were all contacted yesterday, at the time that the report went live on the county council’s website, to give you the link.  As has been the case in many local authorities, the report was not without some areas for improvement which is not unexpected given the breadth of what it covered.

But it also had some positive findings such as the drive and commitment of leaders in Warwickshire and a recognition that the Change Programme knows what needs to be addressed and how it should be done.

So, as we said yesterday, in order to address the issues raised in the report and continue to build on the SEND Change and Inclusion Programme, a written statement of action will now be co-produced with education, health, social care and Warwickshire Parent Carer Voice to demonstrate how all partners will work together to improve services for children and young people in Warwickshire.   Schools and their leaders will be an integral part of that process and I urge you to get involved and be part of the process.

 As you can imagine, SEND and the inspection have been occupying much of my headspace this week but there has of course been so much more going on – much of it around Covid.  Rates of transmission of the virus are increasing among the school age cohort of our communities so next week will see the deployment of a mobile testing unit in Rugby, where numbers are currently highest, so that we can offer some support to schools in the area.

Another area that we have been focussing on is you, our head teachers. We know that the pressures of the last 18 months and the long hours are bound to take their toll on anyone, and it is frustrating to see rates of transmission rising after all the hard work put in to keep schools and settings safe. None of that hard work, planning, risk assessing, and implementation went to waste.  One can only imagine how bad the scenario might have been had schools and settings not been so thorough and diligent. But, nonetheless, we are concerned about the effects on yours, and your staff’s, mental health.

In last week’s Heads Up, we added, once again, the document with all the support services for head teachers’ mental wellbeing as well as the short biographies of counsellors who specialise in educational matters.  They can provide up to three free one-to-one sessions with you to allow you to discuss the issues that are concerning you. Please do consider the offer if you feel that you need that emotional and moral support.

We also included the link to the James Pope Network Support sessions.  The google form is there for you to express an interest and once we have an idea on numbers, we can get on with organising the sessions. These will be a real opportunity for you all to share your experiences and concerns and collaborate, outside of the demands of the working days, with your peers and will hopefully add another support network for you to draw upon.

As Ian invariably says at the end of his introductions, take care of yourselves and take the opportunity over the weekend to get some rest and relaxation.