Update on Prevent in Warwickshire
In January, we appointed Geoff Thomas as the new Prevent Officer for the County, following the departure of Helene Heath who we thank for all her hard work in post.
Many of you will already have met and had the benefit of listening to Geoff sharing his knowledge and expertise about this agenda. Geoff has been involved with Prevent for over 12 years, having led on Prevent in Dudley, Coventry and now Warwickshire. Geoff has also served as the Chair of the Dudley and Coventry Channel Panels as well as being a current member of Warwickshire Channel Panel. He brings extensive experience of partnership working in this area, supporting schools and engaging local communities.
Geoff provides a range of training support on this agenda and the current range of options is outlined in the document below:
Prevent Update: New training opportunities
This training can be accessed by:
- booking individuals onto the corporate training programme;
- linking with the Education Safeguarding Service training courses;
- arranging on-site courses delivered by Geoff specifically for your school staff.
If you have any queries on Prevent, whether that be deciding on the right training option, booking onto a course or questions about wider Prevent issues such as risk assessments, Prevent procedures or resources then please contact Geoff Thomas on 01926 855020 or email geoffthomas@warwickshire.gov.uk
Free CPD - enhance your RE subject knowledge
Please share details of the sessions below with your RE Subject Leaders and Coordinators. The sessions are completely free to attend. For any queries please email: sacre@warwickshire.gov.uk
Funding bids are now open to help improve mental health
Warwickshire County Council is pleased to announce that funding bids are now open for community asset organisations, including schools, to make physical improvements to their buildings to make environments more mental health friendly.
Research suggests that the physical environment can both positively and negatively impact upon our mental wellbeing. Making small changes to physical environments can make a big difference to the lives of people with mental health problems and positively impact on their overall experience of support.
Examples of positive changes to the environment include the following (this is not an exhaustive list):
- Making places light and airy
- The creation of quiet, private rooms / areas away from noisy areas e.g. chill-out and refocus room (this may include equipment for people to use in these areas)
- Including use of colour – muted tones are reported to be relaxing
- Creation and display of co-produced art
- Giving areas a homely design through the use of natural finishes, tactility and texture
- The creation of sensory rooms with items such as optic lamps, bubble tubes, scenic pictures, comfortable furniture, music, aromas, flavours and sensory objects
- Creating or developing green spaces
- Improved signage at venues to create a welcoming and non-stigmatising service entrance
- Quality and improvement of the environment
Applications are open until midday on 14 October.
To find out more information about the funding and how to apply, visit https://in-tendhost.co.uk/csw-jets/aspx/ProjectManage/8218
SEND and Inclusion Quality Mark
There has already been quite a lot of interest in the SEND and Inclusion Quality Mark that was launched at the start of September.
This is an opportunity for primary and secondary settings to audit and develop their SEND provision and gain recognition from the LA.
Copies of the SEND and Inclusion Toolkit as well as guidance for primary and secondary settings can be found at: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/sendocs in the Training and Guidance section.
Northern Warwickshire Physical Activity Project
An exciting project is due to start this term within primary schools in northern Warwickshire, to upskill teachers, providing new ways to get their pupils active. Research shows that 1 in 3 children are overweight by the time they leave primary schools (Public Health England). Also, that increased activity in children leads to increased academic performance, happier more motivated and confidence pupils as well as stronger school engagement.
The project aims to upskill teachers in how they can create more active lessons, specifically in maths and English, giving young people the opportunity to become more active in lesson time. Also, there will be an opportunity for pupils and teachers to attend a resilience workshop run by Youth Sport Trust Athlete Mentors with the aim of encouraging understanding of physical activity and how it relates to wellbeing. This will enthuse both staff and pupils to become more active.
The pilot project is in partnership with North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth Area Analysis Group, Youth Sport Trust and Warwickshire Education and has been funded by Think Active.
If your group of schools would like to discuss a similar opportunity or for more information, please contact Emma.Sadula@coventry.gov.uk
Primary SENCo Network Meetings
Free to all Warwickshire schools. Interest in these meetings is already high so please confirm your place via the link below:
BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE
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