Celebrating Warwickshire’s Family of Schools
Free webinar: Spotlight on supported internships
National Development Team for Inclusion is holding a free webinar from on Supported Internships, Thursday 18 May, 10.30am-12noon.
Supported internships are study programmes for young people, aged 16 to 24, who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and want to move into employment, but need some extra support. This free webinar is particularly designed for all parents (including foster and adoptive parents) and representatives from parent carer forums.
It is organised by the national Internships Work programme, funded by the Department of Education, in partnership with the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi) and Family Fund.
For more information : https://www.ndti.org.uk/news/webinar-spotlight-on-supported-internships
Behaviour Strategies with Moat House School
Parents and Carers Invited to Grammar School Webinar
Parents and carers of children currently in Year 5 who are interested in applying for a Warwickshire grammar school place are invited to join the WCC school admissions team at an online webinar on Tuesday 9 May at 7pm. 
The event is specifically for those parents and carers of children who want to join a grammar school in September 2024.
Called “Applying for a Warwickshire Grammar School Place”, it will give them the opportunity to hear about the process for registering their child for the 11+ test and the test arrangements themselves, as well as what to do next when submitting their application for a secondary school place. There will also be an opportunity for them to ask questions during the event.
Anyone wanting to join the webinar should book a place online at: https://bit.ly/40zCpsl
Any parent or carer not able to join us on the evening will be able to watch a recording shortly after, when it will be shared on the Warwickshire County Council school YouTube channel: http://bit.ly/3H13ddk
Crossing a road can really ruin a text!
Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership are working together to improve the safety of all road users on Warwickshire’s roads.
As part of a wider focus on vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, and cyclists, partners want to raise awareness of the dangers of being distracted and potential consequences. Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership are planning to run a campaign encouraging 11 – 16-year-olds to put their mobile phone away when walking and cycling and to focus on the road and their surroundings.
Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership recently conducted a Public Attitude Survey which highlighted that 8% of respondents admit to always using a hand-held device when walking, 38% often use a device and 28% sometimes. Only 7% of those asked stated that they never use a hand-held device when walking. These results evidence that hand-held devices, such as mobile phones are putting people in danger as they use them on the move – texting, looking at social media etc.
Launching September 2023, we are asking Warwickshire secondary schools to support the campaign by placing the ‘Walking can really ruin a phone’ poster on footways within the school grounds, close to school exits to act as a reminder of the dangers of using their devices whilst walking, cycling, and crossing the road.
Mobile phones create distractions and put young people and other road users at risk and this campaign aims to raise awareness of the dangers.
This campaign would be funded by Warwickshire Road Safety partners, and there would not be a cost to individual schools.
If your school would like to express an interest or find out more, please email: roadsafetyeducation@warwickshire.gov.uk
It’s not rocket science #StopSitText #DontWalkAndText
Little Sutton English Hub April Newsletter
Please find here the latest newsletter from the Little Sutton English Hub which includes information about the CPD opportunities available this term.
Get involved with the Coronation Big Lunch
Eden Project Communities have produced some lesson plans, resources and a photo competition to help schools take part in the Coronation Big Lunch and Month of Community.
With free parking throughout the Coronation weekend, Warwickshire’s Country Parks and greenways are set to be the perfect destination to commemorate this historic event. The team of Education rangers have organised Coronation-themed trails at each of the sites, and Kingsbury Water Park and Ryton Pools Country Park are hosting Big Coronation Lunches, taking the celebrations into the great outdoors.
Coronation celebrations in Warwickshire
Child Friendly Warwickshire competition winners
The winners of Child Friendly Warwickshire’s 2023 competition have been announced!
Children make their voices heard and win prizes to help their school become more child friendly.
Earlier this year Warwickshire young people were asked to get creative and show what being child friendly means to them through an art medium of their choice. The aim was to help children and young people to learn more about Child Friendly Warwickshire, contribute to discussions about helping to make the county more child friendly and become advocates for positive change.
The competition challenged children and young people in Warwickshire to think about what the Child Friendly Warwickshire outcomes mean to them, and suggested how each of us can take action to be more child friendly.
The competition entries included creative submissions including videos, essays, poetry, photographs, paintings and even a sculpture and winners were chosen in three age categories.
James Plant (Bishop's Tachbrook CofE primary school) with a video.
Watch the video here:
& Sreenidhi Karthikeyan (Paddox Primary School) with a drawing:
Koray Dogan & Heidi Steventon (Woodside C of E Primary School) joint entry with their painting:
& Leanne Nikisha Fernandes (St Anthony's Catholic Primary School) with her video.
Watch the video here:
Lucy Aratoon (Southam College) with a painting:
Each young person that entered had the chance to win £2,500 for their school or college to spend on projects related to the five Child Friendly Warwickshire outcomes and important themes identified by Warwickshire children and young people in a recent engagement with them:
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Increased climate change awareness
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Better access to mental health support
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More open green spaces
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More opportunities and careers advice
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Access to more clubs and activities
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Increased cost of living support
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Safety in Warwickshire
Read more: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/news/article/4127/child-friendly-warwickshire-competition-winners-
To find out more about Child Friendly Warwickshire, visit: https://www.childfriendlywarwickshire.co.uk/
Do you know the laws surrounding employing children?
April is Child Employment Month, which aims to increase awareness of the law and ensure more young people are working safely and legally.
Many young people benefit from part-time working, and Child Employment laws exist to safeguard the education, health and welfare of compulsory school age employees. There are concerns that a lack of awareness and understanding of the law is leaving young people vulnerable to exploitation and injury.
This year, the National Network for Child Employment and Entertainment (NNCEE) is reminding businesses that employ children aged between 13 and 16 years old that they need permits to comply with employment laws. These permits are free of charge from the local council where the young person works. Permits for children working for Warwickshire employers can be found here.
Under byelaws regulating the Employment of Children and Street Trading by persons aged under 18 years old, introduced over 50 years ago, teenagers aged between 13 and 16 years old can take part in various types of light work. No child aged below 13 is allowed to work in England unless it relates to entertainment and performance projects.
Popular jobs for young people include paper rounds, shop work, waiting tables, washing up and hairdressing work. However, there are jobs which are prohibited for young people of compulsory school age, including working in a kitchen, garage or factory, on a building site, unsupervised sale of alcohol and telephone sales.
There are also strict regulations regarding hours of work – no child may be employed before 7.00 am or after 7.00 pm on any day. No child may work for more than 4 hours without a break of at least 1 hour and no child can work for more than 2 hours on a Sunday between the hours of 7.00 am and 7.00 pm. During term time, no child can be employed for more than 12 hours per week and there are also other guidelines for the number of weekends and hours during holiday times that children can work.
Young people of compulsory school age are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage and it is therefore important they are paid fairly.
Employers must ensure that they have carried out all obligations in law and also are aware of any risks and other necessary safety procedures before they employ a child. Any contravention of any Statute Law or Regulation governing the employment of school aged children (and there are over 200 such laws or Regulations) could invalidate the insurance policies the employer may have. Children working without a permit may not be covered by any form of insurance, regardless of the policies that the employer has in force. Employers who breach this legislation are risking the safety of young people and can face fines of up to £1000.
Employers who breach the regulations can be prosecuted and fined. A list of these regulations can be found on the NNCEE website.
You can download a leaflet about child employment here.
For further information please contact childemployment@warwickshire.gov.uk, or visit the WCC Child Employment webpages or NNCEE website.
Teaching for Mastery in Maths 2023
Primary Teaching for Mastery: Readiness and Development Work Groups available
Readiness - Programme will prepare schools for implementing a teaching for mastery approach across their maths teaching, ready to join the Development programme next year to begin implementing Teaching for Mastery approaches.
Development - Work Group will support schools to develop a teaching for mastery approach for their school, working with a Mastery Specialist that will lead work groups and make a termly bespoke visit to each school. Schools will also receive a £1000 grant to support full engagement with the programme.
Secondary Teaching for Mastery: Development Work Group
This Work Group will give participants the opportunity to develop a deep understanding of teaching for mastery and for them to try out approaches in their own classroom. Two teachers from the maths department will act as Mastery Advocates and will attend work groups and be supported by a Mastery Specialist on bespoke visits. Schools will also receive a £2000 grant to support full engagement with the programme.
More 18 to 24 years olds needed to be the ‘Voice of Warwickshire’!
Warwickshire County Council is looking for a new cohort of residents to join its residents’ panel, called ‘Voice of Warwickshire’. It’s had a fantastic response since its launch in 2021 when it gained over 800 members - but the Council wants more people aged 18 to 24 years old to sign up. 
‘Voice of Warwickshire’ was formed to give people an opportunity to share their views, so the County Council can listen to the voices of as many people as possible.
Warwickshire County Council wants their decisions and priorities to be informed by the views of a representative group of residents, to help them to understand their needs and improve how they work with communities in tackling the various challenges that Warwickshire faces.
People who sign up will be helping the County Council deliver the new Council Plan, focusing on big issues in Warwickshire, like education, health and wellbeing, climate change and sustainability, community safety, transport, economic growth, inequalities and inclusion, and more.
To be eligible to take part, people need to be 18 or over and live in Warwickshire. The County Council is asking people to sign up initially for 12 months.
Once they’re registered as a Voice of Warwickshire member, around 4 times a year Warwickshire County Council will ask them to give their opinions, mainly using online polls and short surveys.
If they are unable to participate online, the County Council would still like to hear from them and will be able to arrange another way for them to share their views. The closing date for registering has now been extended to 21st May 2023.
People can sign up to be a Voice of Warwickshire member by either:
The County Council will then ask them to provide some basic information about themselves in the first instance.
A digital flyer that you can share in your school newsletters and online, or print out as a poster to display in school, is included.
'Cash App'
A Warwickshire Secondary School recently contacted Warwickshire Trading Standards with a safeguarding matter after finding a 14 year old pupil in possession of a large amount of money. The child reported that he had 'earned' the money by signing his friends up to a payment app called 'Cash App' operated by Square.
The app can be downloaded from Apple's App Store and Google Play. The child stated that all his friends had to do was to provide a mobile number and bank account details to sign up and all parties then received a cash bonus (no age ID required).
Trading Standards has raised the issue with the Financial Conduct Authority (the Regulator), as they believe that in the UK, children, and young people under the age of 18 should not be able to sign up to the service. Something to be aware of.
Future volunteers invited to attend the Warwickshire CAVA Volunteer Fair at Market Hall Museum on Thursday 11 May
Warwickshire residents with an interest in volunteering are invited to find out all about the many great opportunities across the county at a special Volunteer Fair at Market Hall Museum in Warwick.
The free event, which takes place on Thursday 11 May, aims to encourage an increase in volunteering across the county as well as support The Big Help Out, an official Coronation initiative.
The Volunteer Fair, which is hosted in partnership with Warwickshire Community and Voluntary Action (WCAVA), will showcase a variety of volunteer and trustee roles available across Warwickshire that people can get involved in, and encourage everyone to lend a hand and make a change to help their local communities. The Fair will be a drop-in event between 10:30am – 1pm, and will have plenty of friendly and welcoming volunteers from a variety of organisations in attendance. Each volunteer will be more than happy to chat with visitors about their roles, and help each person to find out about the many different ways to get involved.
Volunteering has many benefits that can help those who participate, as well as being able to help others. It provides opportunities to meet new people, increase self-confidence, and try something new. Volunteers can also gain and develop new skillsets which are great to enhance your CV, broaden your horizons, and to discover new passions and interests.
To find out more about the WCAVA Volunteer Fair ahead of the 11 May, please email suzanna@wcava.org.uk.
The Big Help Out campaign aims to get more people volunteering who traditionally have not considered it, or who may have experienced barriers or challenges to doing so in the past, and there are plenty of ways alongside the WCAVA Volunteer Fair that people across the county can get involved.
Warwickshire Country Parks will be open across the County with free car parking for the whole Coronation Weekend, and on the Monday 8 May there will be the opportunity to meet local country parks volunteers to find out what they do and how you too can get involved in outdoor volunteering across the county.
Thousands of volunteering opportunities are already available to find on The Big Help Out app, which is available to download for free from the AppStore or Google Play. People can use the app to search for nearby volunteering opportunities, to organise and register their own volunteering events, or download free content from The Big Help Out toolkit to spread the word and show support.
To explore the many volunteering opportunities available in Warwickshire online, visit:
To find out more about the Coronation in Warwickshire, visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/coronation
The Mobile Community Pantry
The Community Pantry is a collaborative project between Feed The Hungry, Cadent and Warwickshire County Council.
Feed The Hungry is a humanitarian aid charity that works internationally, regularly feeding over 430,000 children around the world.
The purpose behind The Community Pantry project is to help people move beyond an immediate point of crises, particularly with regards to food access, in an empowering and community-led way.
Please download the flyer for more details.