Hello and welcome once more to Heads Up.

Many months ago, prior to the pandemic, I mentioned ‘Structured Kindness’ in an introduction.  It is a concept of engagement which seeks to empower some of the most vulnerable children and young people to be the best person they can be.  It places a child or young person at the focus of their own development but with a backdrop of kindness from adult mentors that manages their stress and gives them the mental strength and stability to learn effectively.

Thinking of that gives me pause to reflect on how Warwickshire’s more vulnerable children and young people have been supported during the pandemic which will have exacerbated the already challenging circumstances that some of our young people face. Structured kindness is a specific theory but, essentially, it means putting the child, particularly more vulnerable children, at the heart of what we do.

Looking through some of the news contained within this issue, I’m really pleased to see that our efforts to support some of our most vulnerable children and young people show no signs of stepping down.

Our Holidays and Food activity programme – the HAF, as it is known - started last summer and continued to provide healthy food and stimulating activities through the Easter holiday, despite the lockdown limiting the scope for this.

You will have seen a letter from Marcus Rashford MBE last week announcing that it will run again for four weeks over the summer holiday and I have been pleased to hear from colleagues that over 70 providers are lined up to make sure that some of our more vulnerable children have a really attractive and enriching offer for the forthcoming summer holiday with more activities taking place outdoors, pending any further restrictions (and the weather).

Free School Meals have been provided not only during term time but also in holidays. This support for the forthcoming holidays, paid for by the COVID funds, is still being worked through by the Warwickshire Local Welfare Scheme and we expect to be able to provide you with details next week about how eligible pupils will receive food over the holiday.

The Government’s Summer School Programme is also available for schools to sign up to and identify pupils who might benefit from some additional tutoring. Typically, this is for year 6 pupils transitioning to year 7. Vulnerable children are among the most likely to have seen their education suffer as a result of the various lockdowns and this scheme is an excellent resource in redressing that.

So far, 30 Warwickshire schools have signed up to the DfE summer schools programme securing £1,523,552 for Warwickshire . For the schools who have not signed up yet there is £668,945 funding available to them to access. The deadline for schools to sign up is 30 June so, if you’re interested, please make this a priority.

Among our most vulnerable children are those with an Education Health Care Plan and the SEND and inclusion Change Programme continues to gather pace. Two requests from me.  You will see that we have some focus groups coming up which will examine how we can best support young people with SEND in mainstream schools. There are a series of focus groups and I would urge you to see if anyone at your school or setting can get involved and be part of that discussion bringing their expertise to the table.

Also, on the SEND and Inclusion Change Programme, there is a second parent carer webinar.  Details are contained within and, again, I would be pleased if you or any of your colleagues could join us and help inform the discussion.

Finally, please can I ask you to look out for an email from my admission colleagues sent last week which gives you an update on the 2022 entry admission arrangements? As you know, there is a legal duty for schools to publish their admission arrangements and we’re keen to make sure that all of Warwickshire schools are compliant in time for the next academic year.

I would end by saying enjoy the weekend and look to catch some of the football but I did that last week and then England played Scotland. This week, I’ll just keep it simple and say have a good weekend.  Take care and see you next week.

Ian Budd