Ridgeway and Round Oak Schools amalgamation approved

On 14 May 2020, Warwickshire County Council’s Cabinet approved the amalgamation of two existing special schools in Warwick - Ridgeway School and Round Oak School.

The decision was made following a public consultation which ran from 9 March to 3 April 2020. It brings central Warwickshire in line with other parts of the county by joining the primary and secondary schools together to form one all-through special school based across the two school sites.

In response to feedback received during the consultation, the Council consulted with pupils and parents to come up with a new name for the school.

The Evergreen School, as it will be known from September 2020, will be situated on the two existing sites, with primary aged pupils mostly based at Deansway and secondary aged pupils at Brittain Lane.

Evergreen School’s newly appointed headteacher, Nick Evans, who is excited by the new challenge said:

“Our focus is on developing an outstanding all age curriculum framework that meets the individual needs of the pupils as outlined in their EHCPs, that can be delivered over the two sites. I am eager to support the County Council’s vision in supporting SEND provision in mainstream schools and resource bases, building on the outreach support that Ridgeway School has been able to offer over the last 12 months.”

“The school is now full for September, which is fantastic news as there has been an increased demand for special school places due to property development over the last few years in central Warwickshire.”

Evergreen School is currently in the process of preparing for September and developing a new website.

New service offer to academies and MATs from WES

Warwickshire Education Services (WES) has launched their new service offer to academies and multi-academy trusts for September 2020. The service offer provides a number of new services, including:

GEMS Compliance Audit

New audit of an academy's compliance against the DfE's Good Estate Management Guide for Schools (GEMS) providing:

• Position reports for individual academies and trust
• Action plans for individual academies and trust
• Presentation for SLT detailing the overall estate position relating to compliance

Employee Wellbeing Support Service

For only £10 per person, this service offers unlimited counselling and therapy sessions for staff based on the assessed, individual requirement and is supported by a 24/7 helpline for employees.

HR Consultancy Service

WES have enhanced the range of services available for bespoke HR consultancy support. HR Consultancy Support is available for subscribing and non-subscribing schools and can be purchased upon request.

Schools Library Service (SLS)

• The new Reading for Pleasure subscription supports wider reading within your school and provides access to a range of SLS reading events.
• The new Pods subscription for psimary Schools provides you with an annual provision of reading for pleasure books.

If you would like to discuss any of these services please contact James Long on 01926 418175 or email jameslong@warwickshire.gov.uk

All academy subscriptions will need to be processed through the WES website by 13 July 2020.

Schools Forum elections

Schools Forum elections for headteachers (or senior leadership representatives) and governors opened last Friday 19 June 2020. This is a great opportunity for you to make a difference in Warwickshire schools.

The role of The Schools Forum is to act as a consultative body with regard to a range of funding decisions as listed in the Warwickshire Schools Forum Terms of Reference and the Education and Skills Funding Agency publication 'Schools Forum Powers and Responsibilities'. 

If you are elected to Schools Forum you will be required to serve for a period of two years.

Elections will take place for representatives from primary schools, secondary schools and special schools, both maintained and academies.

The term of office for successful candidate’s will start in the summer term 2020. Meetings are held in Warwick, usually on a Thursday starting at 1pm and finishing around 3.30pm.

Future meetings dates

1 October 2020

3 December 2020

14 January 2021

18 March 2021

Further information and nomination papers

To view further information about the election process and for nomination forms please click the links below:

For mainstream headteachers

For mainstream governors

For special school headteachers

For special school governors

Deadline for nominations to be submitted is Friday 17 July.

For any queries, please email Neill Butler at schoolfunding@warwickshire.gov.uk.

Would you like to contribute to evidence-informed school improvement across the West Midlands?

The Staffordshire Research School is expanding its team and is looking to recruit a number of Evidence Leads in Education (ELE).

ELEs will be designated by Staffordshire Research School, supported by the Education Endowment Foundation and will contribute to evidence-informed school improvement across the West Midlands region.

Successful candidates will continue in their current roles, work in partnership with the Staffordshire Research School and be deployed to work with and support other schools, in agreement with their Headteacher.

Applications are welcomed from primary and secondary colleagues who have the capacity and commitment to support right across the West Midlands. 

Deadline for applications is Friday 3 July 2020.

Read more information about applying to become an ELE (pdf)

ELE application form (word)

WES service delivery update for all schools