Celebrating Warwickshire’s Family of Schools
Help make Warwickshire be the best it can be – what’s important to you?
Warwickshire County Council wants to understand what is important to the people who live, work and study in the county as it continues with its ambition to make Warwickshire the best it can be. The Council has launched a survey to capture this feedback which will feed into the development of a new Council Plan.
Complete the survey!
Creative Health Warwickshire showcasing event
Warwickshire County Council (WCC) are pleased to invite health and social care professionals to the Creative Health Warwickshire Showcasing Event on 7th October 10.00-11.30am, which will officially launch WCC’s Creative Health suite of mental and physical health and wellbeing programmes.
Please find the flyer with full details attached, including how to book your place for the event. An agenda of the event will follow once registered.
For any further questions about this event, please contact Tanya Khera-Butler at TanyaKhera-Butler@warwickshire.gov.uk
Free Mathematics professional development opportunity for teachers of year 5-8
Please see this opportunity linked here. The session is suitable for both primary and secondary teachers of Year 5 to Year 8, as well as school mathematics leaders/heads of department who have responsibility for curriculum development.
Restorative and Relational Practice Training Sessions for Schools
Restorative practice encourages those who work with children and families to focus their time on building quality relationships that inspire positive change. Focusing on relationships; encouraging fair process and offering high support and high challenge, we want to share this relational approach to working with families, colleagues and partners.
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Primary School Sessions
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Secondary School Sessions
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Mon 20th Sep @ 3.30pm
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Mon 27th Sep @3.30pm
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Thurs 7th Oct @ 3.30pm
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Tues 12th Oct @ 3.30pm
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Wed 20th Oct @3.30pm
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Wed 3rd Nov @ 3.30pm
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Wed 10th Nov @3.30pm
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Tues 16th Nov @ 3.30pm
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Tues 23rd Nov @ 3.30pm
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Thurs 2nd Dec @ 3.30pm
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Mon 6th Dec @ 3.30pm
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Tues 14th Dec @ 3.30pm
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Wed 12th Jan @ 3.30pm
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Click here to book
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Click here to book
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To learn more or for a discussion about how Restorative Practice could benefit your whole team, school or organisation please contact us at: restorativepractice@warwickshire.gov.
Previous feedback includes:
“I really want to put into practice the language of Restorative Practice rather than behaviour management. I want to model it and share it with other staff”
“The window of tolerance supported my understanding of how past experiences may influence individual responses. The use of affective statements will provide a framework for providing a more restorative approach to challenging”
“The impact of isolation on pupils”
“I have taken away the 3 steps of restorative conversation and how to deal with some behaviours presented in class. I have found the whole session informative and very interesting and come away with some thoughts about how I can integrate what I have learnt into my role as a teaching assistant.”
“The reduction of incidents, the understanding of the children on their feelings and how to talk about them”
“Check in and check outs are a great way to open up the relationship building opportunities”
“Interesting ways of changing the ethos of the school”
Music Programmes funded by WCC to reduce impact of Covid-19 for youngsters in South Warwickshire
Please see this article by Claire Thomas
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My name is Clare Thomas and I run SPARK Youth Music. We are a not for profit community interest company that strives to improve the mental health, confidence and self esteem of youngsters aged 8-16 by placing them in bands and teaching them how to play instruments, perform in gigs and record in a studio. No prior experience is necessary.
More information on what we do can be found on our Facebook page @sparkyouthmusic
Warwickshire County Council have awarded us funding for 2 groups of youngsters to take part in our SPARK band programmes this year for free. These 2 groups of youngsters are:
- those who are self harming/at risk of doing so (eg suffering mental health issues such as anxiety and depression) - this programme will run in Stratford upon Avon (although there is scope for youngsters to attend the programme in Kenilworth if this is a more convenient location for them)
- those who have suffered a significant bereavement in their lives - this programme will run in Kenilworth (although there is scope for youngsters to attend the programme in Stratford if this is a more convenient location for them)
To be eligible for a funded place a youngster needs to currently be receiving professional mental health provision from a third sector organisation, mental health charity, NHS organisation etc. SPARK needs to have a designated contact from the mental health organisation that is supporting the youngster, that we can refer back to if we have any concerns regarding their welfare.
I am attaching the 2 posters for the programmes: Stratford and Kenilworth. Please can I ask for your help in recruiting participants for our programmes? We know there are many young people in Warwickshire who can benefit hugely from what we do but we need to reach these families to make them aware of these opportunities and really hope you can work with us on this.
Council’s Schools Twitter account re-launch
Following a period of inactivity, we are pleased to be re-energising Warwickshire County Council’s Schools Twitter account - @wcc_schools.
Heads Up is still the key digital communication channel with schools and education settings in Warwickshire, however we know it is important that we utilise other channels that are available to us to improve our digital presence with schools and in our communities and to be more active and engaged in our relationships with our residents, partners and stakeholders on all things education-related.
The Schools Twitter account, currently with just under 4,300 followers, has the potential to add significant value to our residents. By adding value, we can help parents and carers to find the information they need quicker, empower people to help themselves, build trust between communities and efficiently answer service-related questions.
We are really keen to work with schools and settings to do this, and would encourage any of you who don’t already follow our account to do so - @wcc_schools and to like and share our messages with your audiences, as this will help us to have maximum impact and help our communities access the information they need.
When it comes to sharing important messages from a national or local perspective, we can help to make your job easier, if you follow us you can simply retweet our content rather than creating your own, for example details of the school admissions process and deadlines or the latest Public Health messages about Covid vaccinations.
It’s also important for us that we can help to share all the excellent things going on across all of our schools and settings in Warwickshire with a wider audience so we will be regularly checking our feeds to like and retweet your content too. If there’s something you’d specifically like us to share please tag us in your tweet (@wcc_schools) and use our hashtag #BestWarwickshire to shout about the excellent things you are doing and help to raise the profile of education in Warwickshire.
We have carried out an audit of who we follow on our account and think we are following you, but if that’s not the case please send us a message on Twitter and we’ll add you.
Information on respiratory syncytial virus information
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. In older children and adults, RSV may cause a cough or cold, but in younger children it can cause bronchiolitis.
We are seeing a number of cases of RSV and respiratory conditions in primary and secondary care. We hope that this video will help you to learn more about the common symptoms and to understand when your child might need medical help and when you can manage the symptoms at home.
Common symptoms include:
Cough – Often a sign of viral infection and doesn’t often affect the chest. If your child is taking fluids, peeing and is otherwise well, with no difficulty breathing (see video), this should settle on its own in two to three weeks.
Bronchiolitis – A viral chest infection in babies less than a year of age. Most babies get better by themselves but the infection can get worse around day 4.
If your baby is taking less than half her normal feeds or isn’t wetting her nappy, or if your baby’s chest and tummy are seesawing (moving abnormally in and out), they need to be seen by a doctor.
If your baby looks grey or blue or stops breathing, call 999 immediately.
Wheeze – Common in toddlers where a viral infection goes to their chest – the wheezy sound is caused by their airways tightening in response to the virus. If you think your child sounds wheezy, they need to be seen by a nurse practitioner or doctor to see if your child will get better with an inhaler. Most children can be managed at home after this. However, if your child is struggling to breathe, they need to come to the Emergency Department and if their face is grey or blue or they stop breathing, call 999 immediately.
This advice also applies if your child is asthmatic.
Croup – If your child makes a loud, barking cough like a seal, they likely have an infection called croup. The sound is caused by the virus causing swelling and narrowing to the upper airway. Bring your child to the Emergency Department where they will be given medicine to reduce the swelling.
COVID-19 (coronavirus) – This new virus causes many symptoms in children which are similar to other common viral illnesses. Most children get better on their own. To date, very few children have become seriously unwell with the virus.
If your child has a continuous cough or fever or can’t smell anything, arrange for your child to get a coronavirus test and self-isolate until you know the result https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test.
Information: lead school applications for the DfE Behaviour Hubs programme now open
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Deadline for applications is 9th October
Following a successful initial cohort, we are now looking to welcome a further 28 Lead schools and 8 Lead multi-academy trusts (MATs) to join the Behaviour Hubs programme.
Behaviour Hubs is a 3-year programme, funded by The Department for Education (DfE) that pairs schools and (MATs) with exemplary behaviour practices, called Lead schools or MATs, with Partner schools or MATs who want and need to improve pupil behaviour.
We are looking for ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ schools that demonstrate excellent behaviour culture to join the programme - and your support in identifying these schools is particularly appreciated. We are also looking for MATs with exemplary behaviour practice across schools in their MAT, who are invited to apply alongside an eligible school.
You can download the stakeholder pack for Lead school and MAT recruitment which contains an email template for inviting schools and MATs to apply, as well as the full eligibility criteria for Lead schools/MATs and other information about Behaviour Hubs you may find useful.
To ensure the Behaviour Hubs team can follow up with any schools or MATs you recommend, please let the team know who you contact by emailing behaviourhubs@educationdevelopmenttrust.com.
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School Attendance Coding - Updated 24th September 2021
The Autumn term has brought additional challenges relating to the coding of absence as case numbers rise and some parents/carers are concerned about sending their children to school. Schools are in the best position to understand the needs and challenges faced by their families. The scenarios below should help with how to code absences but each case should be assessed on its individual circumstances.
If you have any specific questions regarding COVID-19 related absence, that are not covered below, please feel free to email the Warwickshire Attendance Service on was@warwickshire.gov.uk.
It is important to remember that the challenges of COVID-19 related absence are a national issue and it is anticipated that recorded attendance levels could be lower this year due to changes with the use of the X code.
Remote education
If a pupil is not attending school because their attendance would be contrary to government guidance or legislation around COVID-19, we expect schools to offer them access to remote education. Schools should keep a record of, and monitor engagement with, this activity, but this does not need to be tracked in the attendance register.
The DfE are collating the use of the X code and any schools bulk coding pupils as X will need a clear rationale why.
Sub-Codes
The Department of Education (DfE) has issued updated sub-codes for use with COVID-19 absence. These are optional but can be used to support the DfE data submission. Management information software suppliers are implementing these changes at their earliest convenience and support will be available via your MIS/ICT provider.
Where schools are using these sub-codes, they will still need to consider on an individual basis whether Code X is the appropriate code for a given non-attendance as outlined above and utilise the DfE guidance available here.
DfE guidance can be found here. Guidance is also available from the WCC website and can be found here.
School Improvement Team Who’s Who, September 2021
We are pleased to let you know we have now a school improvement team in box schoolimprovement@warwickshire.gov.uk . We will increasingly use this to communicate relevant information with you. Please feel free to contact us using this email address or you can contact individuals directly as detailed below.
Please note:
School Improvement team members:
Ofsted to review two education catch-up reforms
Please find this update from Ofsted here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ofsted-to-review-two-education-catch-up-reforms
'Breaking the Glass Ceiling to Good': free training for senior leaders in Warwickshire schools
Tuesday 30th November, Virtual Session, 9.30 - 3.30
Warwickshire School Improvement Team have commissioned Sonia Gill to deliver this high-quality training to up to 30 schools.
The course is for headteachers, who may also include up to 5 of their senior leaders.
Further details of the day are attached here.
Each school will also receive a copy of Sonia's book: 'Journey to Outstanding'
The LA will also make a payment of £250 to each of the schools allocated a place as a contribution to supply cover
If you would like to take up this opportunity please send names and contact details of all staff in your school who will be attending to schoolimprovement@warwickshire.gov.uk
A Zoom link will be shared nearer the time
Please note that the 30 schools will be allocated places on a 'first come, first served' basis
English as an Additional Language (EAL) network meetings
Please see these flyers as EMTAS provides a range of support for schools including termly EAL network meetings. These network meetings are offered at no additional charge and available to ALL Warwickshire schools and settings, they provide excellent opportunities to receive:
- advice and support from our specialist EAL in-service trainers and advisers
- updates on local and national developments in EAL
- network with other EAL practitioners
- develop subject knowledge
- access and signposting to EAL resources
Primary
Secondary
Latest from the EEF: Teaching and Learning Toolkit updated
The Toolkit is designed to support teachers and school leaders who are looking to improve learning outcomes in their setting, particularly for disadvantaged children and young people. In the past decade, it has become one of the most popular educational resources, with 70% of school leaders now using it to inform their decision-making.
The EEF Toolkit does not make definitive claims as to what will work to improve outcomes in a given school. Rather it provides high quality information about the approaches that are likely to be beneficial based on existing evidence of what has proven effective in other classrooms. The Toolkit also signposts specific guidance reports, tools and programmes which can provide further support in making meaningful changes in schools.
An up-to-date grasp of the research base has never been more important as school leaders look to devise and enact long-term recovery plans in the wake of the pandemic. This latest version is the result of a fresh look at the evidence base, and as such, the findings have been updated in line with the most recent, highest quality research.
Attendance Network
There has been a huge response from schools on the to the attendance network which WCC are piloting during Autumn term 2021. As an update the first attendance network will be held as follows:
Attendance Network Meeting 1 – Wednesday 20th October- 3.30- 4.30 – Microsoft teams.
This will be informed by the “AEWM (Association for Education Welfare Management) national conference) which is taking place the previous week. This will provide us with the shared best practice from the national networks.
We will send a team’s invitation to all the contacts we have been provided with by Monday 4th October.
If you have not already done so please complete the following form to ensure your school gets an invite. https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=BqqwiCdZu0uok4nMJxOsgvyk1LrRdrJJheJRxXb6FvpUNFcxSkFNR1dIOTFZOEZQTlk4U1pOUUU5TS4u