Checking your 2022 entry admission arrangements

Your school will have received an email from the Admissions Service in the last week or so, asking you to check your 2022 entry admission arrangements.

Own admission authority schools (e.g. Academies and Voluntary Aided schools) have a legal duty to comply with the School Admissions Code (2014) to make sure that the admission arrangements are agreed and published by the relevant deadlines.

At the same time, schools maintained by the local authority have a duty to make sure that they have up-to-date information about their school admission processes for all years published on their website.

We are keen to make sure that all Warwickshire Schools are compliant with these requirements, so the Admissions Service is following up with any school where this isn’t the case (emails will be sent from schooladmissionconsultation@warwickshire.gov.uk). So, if you could please revisit your admission arrangements and check that all is in place for 2022, that would be much appreciated.”

Online Safety Leaflet

We have prepared a guide to help keep young people safe online. Over the last year, during the pandemic, colleagues will be aware that more people have spent time at home online, with more extremist and conspiracy content than before seeking to target vulnerable individuals.

This leaflet provides very practical guidance specifically to help parents and carers keep the household safe. We would be very grateful if you are able to assist in making this widely available by sending it, or linking the information through your own organisation If any school would like to organise training for either staff, or for parents, on this topic then please contact Geoff Thomas - geoffthomas@warwickshire.gov.uk

Preparation for Headship: Free WCC cpd for Senior and Middle Leaders

Warwickshire’s Aspiring Headteachers Programme is a new and innovative programme intended to support senior and experienced middle leaders who aspire to headship in a Warwickshire school. This course is appropriate for school leaders who have a minimum of 2 years senior leadership experience and are considering applying for a Headship, in Warwickshire, in the next 2 years.

The programme will consist of approximately 5 sessions, primarily online twilights, plus a face-to-face launch day. The programme will be hosted by Darren Barrow (Schools Sustainability Lead Officer and Headteacher at St John’s Primary School, Kenilworth) and there will be a range of guest speakers inputting into the sessions, including local headteachers, key colleagues from LA services as well as some national speakers.

The programme will run over the course of 2 terms starting in autumn 2021 and will cover themes such as:

• Leading the organisation - moral imperative, vision, innovation in the curriculum
• Leading teaching and learning - using data and closing the gap
• The school as a business - finance, HR, legislation and policy
• Applying for headship and working with governors

This programme is fully funded by Warwickshire County Council and further details will be made available in due course.

ACTION: 

If you are interested in securing a place on the first cohort of this fully funded programme, starting in the autumn, please complete this expression of interest form as soon as possible. 

The Aspiring Headteachers Programme is being organised by the Gateway Alliance on behalf of Warwickshire LA. 

If you have any queries, please contact Helen Martin on martin.h@welearn365.com.

 

Summer schools: updated funding allocations and guidance

30 Warwickshire secondary schools have signed up to the DfE summer schools programme securing £1,523,552 for Warwickshire. There are 27 schools who have not yet signed up with £668,945 funding available to them to access.

Further information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/summer-schools-programme/summer-schools-guidance

The deadline for schools to sign up is 30 June.

Warwickshire Adult and Community Learning are recruiting sessional tutors

Warwickshire Adult and Community Learning provides a diverse range of learning opportunities to adults across the county. They are seeking skilled and enthusiastic teachers to teach groups of adult learners in community venues across the county. They are looking for sessional tutors within their Community Learning provision and their Active Learning Programme, the latter of which focuses specifically on supporting adults with learning disabilities.

They are interested in the following subject areas but would welcome applications from other areas too:

• Languages (French/German/Italian)
• Sewing
• Art
• Family History
• Music/Singing
• Drama
• Gardening Skills

You can find the full advert on WM Jobs. The closing date for applications is 28^th June 2021.

https://www.wmjobs.co.uk/job/96287/sessional-tutors-adult-learning/ 

For more information on our provision for learners with learning disabilities, please contact Lucy Whittington on 07394913258 or lucywhittington@warwickshire.gov.uk

For more information on our Community Learning provision, please contact Karen Gaytten on karengaytten@warwickshire.gov.uk

Guide to Registering your Early Careers Teacher (ECT) for the Full Induction Programme (FIP)

Please find some information compiled by Coventry and Central Warwickshire Teaching School Hub.

Gathering all the information required is not as streamlined as we would like; this is a programme with new systems, which will, with time, become more familiar for us all!

Further information and updates about the details of the programme itself will follow once the registration process has been undertaken. Contact: tshub@lawrencesheriffschool.com Follow them on Twitter: @coventry_hub       

Please follow the steps below to complete the process quickly and easily once you have appointed at least one ECT:

1. Complete this Expression of Interest Form or email us at tshub@lawrencesheriffschool.com to register your interest.
2. You will then receive an Onboarding email, which, once you have responded to, will enable you to be registered with our Lead Provider, UCL.
3. Schools are also required to register on the DfE ‘Managing training for early career teachers’ service'. This is linked to the funding that will be given to schools. Schools should already have a username and password for signing in to DfE online services use this video for guidance. First step: Create an account and register the name of the Induction Lead/Coordinator/Tutor and how you wish to access the Early Career Framework. When prompted, choose 'Use an approved training provider'. No further action is required at this point if you have already completed steps 1 and 2 above. UCL will inform the DfE that you have chosen them to be your training provider. Second step (from July): The Induction Lead can register the name of your ECT(s) and Mentor(s) before induction commences. Once all of the above steps are complete, you can be secure that you have signed up your ECTs for the fully funded induction programme.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Follow Educaterers on Twitter

Warwickshire-based school catering company, Educaterers, which provides meals to many pupils in our Warwickshire family of schools, is now on Twitter and can be followed @educaterers. 

The company serves up over 120,000 nutritious tasty meals a week in over 200 schools, many of which are in Warwickshire, but the company also has contracts with schools in Coventry, Birmingham, Leicestershire, and Oxfordshire.

Some schools enjoy sharing their Educaterers school lunch experiences on Twitter, particularly on special themed menu days or if they have achieved an award working with their school catering team, so Educaterers will be sharing these, plus any national or local media coverage that features the schools.

Recent examples include a special Euros football-themed lunch to mark the England vs Scotland game, which featured Wolvey Primary School and received national catering coverage, and that Educaterers and its schools maintained their Soil Association Food for Life awards, including a gold award for Brownsover Community School.

Educaterers will also be posting regular 'did you know' facts from their Food Story, which describes the journey of their food from farm to fork.

To find out more, follow @educaterers on Twitter, visit www.educaterers.co.uk or email contactus@educaterers.co.uk. 

Changing schools in September? Advice for parents and carers

September is the most popular time for a change of school. Of course, there are those children starting school for the first time or moving up to secondary school. But there are also many other families who choose the start of the new school year as the best time to move children in other years too, perhaps because of a change in family situation, or a house move. Joining a new class in September avoids disrupting the school year, and it’s a fresh start for everyone.  

So, if you expect your child to be switching schools in September, and there aren’t any formal support or transition activities in place, what can you do to support them? Here’s our top 3 tips: 

1. Talk about the move with your child. Give them as much information as is appropriate for their age, answer all their questions and involve them in some of the planning. Try to be positive about the move, even if it wasn’t your choice or if you have reservations.   

1. Go and visit the new school or area. Covid-19 might mean that access to the new school is limited, but you can still take your child to visit the school from outside. You could walk around the neighbourhood or visit the local park. Or spend some time looking at online information about the new school; visit their website or follow their social media accounts.  

1. Check the place is confirmed. Once you’ve had your offer of a school place and told the School Admissions team that you want to accept it, you’ll need to contact the new school and agree a date for your child to join them. You’ll also need to let the existing school know that your child is leaving, so that they are no longer on their register. Don’t forget that most schools will close completely for the school holiday, so this will all need to be done before term finishes in July. 

Finally, if you want your child to move schools in September but haven’t yet started the process, you will need to act fast. The deadline for applications is 7 July. Any applications received after this, including through the summer holidays, are unlikely to be processed until the start of the autumn term, due to the unavailability of schools for much of the summer break.  

 

WCC Part Time Timetable Protocol

This guidance sets out the legal framework in relation to the rights of all statutory school aged children and young people to receive full time education appropriate to their age and irrespective of their needs. It is intended to assist schools and education settings in ensuring compliance with statutory guidance and to ensure that they do not inadvertently exclude a pupil illegally. 

As well as the potential impact on educational standards, a part-time timetable can present a significant safeguarding risk if not managed appropriately.  Evidence shows that children and young people from vulnerable groups are more likely to be in receipt of a part time timetable than their peers and in turn are more likely to be subject of safeguarding concerns. Every school must adhere to the statutory guidance provided in the most recent version of Keeping Children Safe in Education. This applies particularly to children on part-time timetables. 

This guidance is designed to support all schools to ensure they work within the legislative framework and outlines WCC expectation of all schools.  

Part time protocol - https://api.warwickshire.gov.uk/documents/WCCC-205639421-369.docx

Notification of a Temporary Reduced Timetable - https://api.warwickshire.gov.uk/documents/WCCC-205639421-368.docx

Grab a jab at this weekend’s walk-in COVID-19 vaccination clinics

Across Warwickshire the NHS have several COVID-19 vaccine walk-in clinics taking place this weekend!

Open to anyone aged 18 and over, come and get your 1st dose, or 2nd dose if your first dose was 8 or more weeks ago.

Where to walk-in:

• 25th, 27th & 28th June, 8:30am-7:30pm at Bedworth Civic Hall, High St, Bedworth CV12 8NF.
• 26th June, 10am-2pm at Amaddiyha Muslim Association, Riverside, Adelaide Rd, Leamington Spa CV32 5AH.
• 26th & 27th June, 10am-6pm at Stoneleigh NAEC, Stoneleigh, Kenilworth CV8 2LZ.

Find the latest walk-in times, dates and locations here: www.happyhealthylives.uk/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccination/vaccination-drop-in-clinics/

No need to book, just turn up! #GrabAJab

For more information visit:

www.warwickshire.gov.uk/news/article/2205/grab-a-jab-at-this-weekend-s-walk-in-covid-19-vaccination-clinics