I CAN EYSEND Partnership - Free training for Speech, Language and Communication

As part of the EYSEND Partnership, I CAN is pleased to be offering training to early years SENCos, managers and early years practitioners to enable excellent support for SLCN in early years settings.

The training is provided at two levels – core and in-depth. You may choose to start with the core training and move to the in-depth, or if you have had previous SLCN training, you could move straight to the in-depth training. Full details of how to access both levels of training are described below.

Core Training Webcasts:

This training consists of two pre-recorded webcast modules that you can view at a time to suit you; on your own or in small groups. The webcasts last 90 minutes each and include opportunities to reflect and consider application to your own early years setting. There is a participant pack to download for each module which you can find below.

They will introduce you to Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) in the early years. They will help you take initial steps in exploring the impact of SLCN on young children and identify and support SLCN in your early years setting. You can then book a follow-up live coaching webinar to help you implement what you have learnt.

Core Training Follow Up Webinar:

After watching the two core training webcasts, you can attend a follow up coaching live webinar which will help you apply learning from modules 1 and 2. You will also be provided with information on how to access your certificate.

In-Depth Training Live Webinar:

Once you have completed I CAN’s core training, or if you have previous training in supporting SLCN in early years settings (or you are already more knowledgeable in supporting SLCN) you will be able to access our In-Depth Training: Ensuring Quality Support for SLCN in Early Years Settings.

Click Here for further information

Module One Participant Pack

Module Two Participant Pack

National Association for Special Educational Needs (nasen)

Children's mental health week - Warwickshire support

Next week (1 - 7 February) is Children's Mental Health week and this year's theme is 'Express Yourself'. The week is encouraging everyone to find creative ways to share feelings, thoughts, or ideas. This could be through art, music, writing and poetry, dance and drama, photography and film, and doing activities that make you feel good.

WCC is also taking this opportunity to raise awareness of support available to help young people to look after their mental health.

Schools are encouraged to be open and explore topics of mental health and emotional wellbeing with pupils and have been provided with new resources for teachers to effectively do so – this is in addition to wider support schools may already provide. 

RISE is a family of NHS-led services providing emotional wellbeing and mental health services for under 18s in Coventry and Warwickshire. If you are worried about a child’s mental wellbeing visit cwrise.com or call 08081 966798 to speak to a qualified mental health professional.

ChatHealth is a free service that enables 11 – 18 year olds across Coventry and Warwickshire to send confidential SMS text messages to School Nurses who will provide impartial advice and support: 

• For Warwickshire, text 07507 331 525 
• For Coventry, text 07507 331 949 

Download ThinkNinja, a free app for children and young people to build resilience, manage their emotional health and to fulfil their potential. 

Parent Carer Support Pathway

As you may already know the way in which we offer support to parent carers across the county has changed. From the 27th January 2021, we will host new webpages that will detail information about this new offering, which will be renamed: the Parent Carer Support Pathway.

So, what has changed?

We will be offering a wellbeing conversation as part of the assessment – a practitioner from the Children’s with Disabilities Team will carry this out with you. This conversation will lead to better informed decisions and allow us to identify your needs and tailor available support that help you, your child and your wider family members.

Importantly, the parent carer support pathway can be completed as a standalone assessment or in conjunction with an assessment of your disabled child’s needs.

Accessing the assessment

If you already have an allocated social worker and have already completed a social care assessment or parent carer assessment – please make contact with your named social worker.

How can the Parent Carer Support Pathway help me?

The wellbeing conversation may result in signposting to an appropriate local provider. For instance, if you are experiencing health or mental health needs, a referral can be made to adult services for support in your own right.

It may be that providing an agreed one-off financial payment for a specific outcome in order for you to purchase a service, piece of equipment or access an activity could help to support you in your caring role and improve your wellbeing.

The important thing to remember is access to the parent carer support pathway and a wellbeing conversation has no restrictions. It is not time limited and can be accessed as often as is required. If your needs change following the agreed outcome, parents are encouraged to contact us.

Next steps

Download the poster here.

The new web pages are now live on the Warwickshire County Council website. Please go to www.warwickshire.gov.uk/carers/parent-carer-support-pathway

Autism Internship Programme with the Civil Service

Ambitious about Autism is the national charity for children and young people with autism. They provide services, raise awareness and understanding, and campaign for change. Through TreeHouse School, The Rise School and Ambitious College they offer specialist education and support.

An exciting three-week work experience opportunity in the Civil Service is being offered to young people with autism, aged between 18 and 25 who have achieved a minimum of 2 GCSEs (or equivalent) in English and maths at Grade A*-C (or 4-9) or above.

The programme will provide you with the chance to experience the Civil Service first-hand, gaining insight into the workplace. As part of the experience, you will also be able to participate in developmental coaching sessions and other activities.

The Civil Service has a key role in supporting government to develop and implement its policies as effectively as possible, helping to bring innovative solutions to some of the biggest issues facing society. Through the programme you will find out what it is like to work inside this important organisation. Please apply if this area of work interests you.

The programme is likely to be based in London (if face to face) or online (if working from home), you will be asked your availability for either location in your application form. Remuneration will be paid at £300 or £350 per week (depending on location, before tax). Travel and lunch will not be reimbursed. 

If you are interested in this opportunity, please complete one of the application forms below:

Civil Service - Application form for PC users (Word Document)

Civil Service - Application form for MAC users (PDF Document)

Securing Good Transitions: A Resources Pack to support the Next Steps of Key Stage 4 Pupils with SEND

Strong transition and careers advice and guidance in schools is essential for all learners, yet in this time of national crisis it can feel impossible.

Curriculum design has had to change significantly, classroom delivery has had to change immeasurably, but out of this have come some of the most innovative adaptions and flexibilities we have ever seen. Everything is possible, we just have to re-think, re-group and share best practice.

This webinar will explore why it is essential that we focus on positive transitions for our learners with SEND, both during this pandemic and after. How to use these resources to support best practice and remain high aiming and truly learner focused. And what the impact will be, both in the short and long term for this cohort across each of our schools.

Date: 4th February 2021

Time: 16:00

Register here

Free Maths Professional Development Opportunity for Teachers of KS4

Origin Maths Hub are offering secondary schools in Solihull, Coventry and Warwickshire the opportunity to participate in a free work group.

 work collaboratively to analyse, deconstruct and trace a challenging GCSE topic through the curriculum.

develop a deeper understanding of topics, common misconceptions and how to build a more sustained understanding for pupils.

explore strategies to improve GCSE teaching in the short term, but also consider impact on longer term curriculum design and teaching.

All of the above will also include exploration of  online/remote learning strategies and ideas.

Origin Maths Hub are also offering a Challenging Topics Work Group which will be spotlighting the topic of 'Trigonometry': how to make it meaningful and explore problem-solving strategies.

Participants and their schools will:
Identify misconceptions and plan a series of lessons to support students in the topic area.

Use and evaluate appropriate pedagogies to teach the topic area.
Work with their departments to unpick and analyse topics to inform collaborative planning and development of schemes of work.

Please note, this isn't a subject knowledge enhancement programme but instead focuses on development of pedagogy in the topic area. 

 Who can apply?
This Work Group is suitable for all secondary school teachers of GCSE Mathematics.

 When will the Work Group sessions take place?
Sessions will be starting soon and dates will be confirmed shortly.

Message from Ofsted - IDSR release

An update on Team Teach training

Due to the latest lockdown, a significant amount of Team Teach training courses have been postponed. Following advice taken from Team Teach National the following catch-up plan has now been released. If circumstances change again Team Teach are in a position to respond accordingly. We are building capacity with new tutor training which will enable us to catch up on all postponed courses from Summer 2021 onwards.

All 6 hour foundation training booked in Spring and Summer term will be postponed to Autumn term 2021.

Spring term 2021

Priority will be for those schools which are due to refresh. We have developed the training programme so that we are able to deliver refresher training on Teams, on the theory aspects only. There is no requirement to deliver the physical elements of the training for refreshers. The training on Teams will cover everything your staff need in order to maintain their accreditation. We will pick up any physical requirements for individual schools as soon as we are able to.

Schools will be contacted.

Summer 2021

Priority will be for those schools which are due to refresh. We hope that we will be able to resume COVID secure face to face training. Schools which this affects will be contacted.

Vanessa Gilbert (Strategic Lead for Team Teach Warwickshire) has been in touch:

"We appreciate that you and your staff may be anxious about undertaking this training in the future. We have taken advice from Team Teach National and please be reassured that all training will be delivered adhering to all COVID secure requirements. Thank you for your patience and understanding."

Please contact Julia Jessup (juliajessup@warwickshire.gov.uk) for further information

RSHE - Relationships and Health Education Train the Trainer Programme Secondary

Tudor Grange Teaching School is one of the three schools in the West Midlands region commissioned by DfE to provide free teacher training to support secondary schools in preparing for the statutory changes to the RSHE curriculum from September 2020.

This programme will be delivered through an introductory webinar with access provided to digital resources and is aimed at PSHE/ RSHE Lead teachers in the primary phase.

Cohort 4:
Spring term 2021

• Introductory Session - Thursday 4th February 2021 at 1:30 pm or 4:00 pm
• Access enabled to downloadable digital resources.
• Follow up Q & A session – Thursday 4th March 2021 at 4.00 pm

Delivered via TEAMs, the live introductory session will last approximately 1.5 hours and will support schools with implementation of the statutory guidance. Following attendance at this introductory session, access will be enabled to a library of PowerPoint presentations which cover the modules
identified by the DfE. A further Q&A session will be held on Thursday 4th March 2021 to answer key questions and enable networking opportunities amongst participants. You will be sent an on-line evaluation form to complete at the end of the course.

More information can be found here.

Please click here to reserve your place.

Next phase of £1.5bn college capital funding programme launched

Colleges have been told how they can now apply for the next phase of the government’s £1.5 billion capital funding scheme, with applications for the fund due in by 15 March.

The Department for Education has today reopened applications for the Further Education Capital Transformation Fund, first announced by the chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak at his March budget.

To access the full article please click here.

For full guidance and the application form - click here 

New School Emergency Planning Guidance

The CSW Resilience Team has updated the guidance and templates available to support schools with emergency planning and business continuity. The updated documents encourage schools to use the resources released by the Department for Education, along with updated local guidance and templates produced by the CSW Resilience Team.

The new documents can be found on our website: Resilience Team - Schools Support

The release of the new national resources and updated local guidance and templates means that the CSW Resilience Team will no longer support and update the EASEE package.

Learn from home with our HS2 educational content.

With many parents supporting children who are learning at home during the current time, HS2 has developed a range of interesting curriculum-linked projects to work on at home. These include shorter activities ideal for families supporting younger children with learning at home and pre-planned lessons that secondary school teachers could set students as part of their curriculum learning.

The online resources were created as a result of us being unable to visit schools to deliver our regular programme of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) workshops because of Covid-19 restrictions and also schools being less able to take students 'off-curriculum' for career-themed activities due to the disruption caused by the pandemic.

For more information and to download guides and worksheets please click here to access the educational content web page.

Community Equipment – we need your help

Warwickshire is looking for any spare community equipment that you may have had from hospital or your GP. Nationally there appears to be shortage of this equipment – so we just want to ensure we have enough to go to those people who need it.

It could be anything from walking frames through to crutches. The complete list of equipment we are looking for includes:

· Wheeled trollies

· Wheeled or mobile tables

· Perching stools

· Crutches

· Walking Frames (with or without wheels)

What to do

If you have had any of the above then we are asking that you or a friend or family member bring them to one of the local drop off points below.

Health and Social Care staff

If you are a key worker who visits people in their own homes – then please check to see if they have any unused equipment that they no longer need.

Where to take equipment

The unused equipment can be dropped off at any Fire and Rescue Service station in Warwickshire

National Apprenticeship Week 2021

National Apprenticeship week will be taking place from the 8th – 14th February 2021. 

To shine a light on the incredible work being done by apprentices and employers across the country, the annual week-long event will be celebrated on a virtual platform, highlighting the benefits of apprenticeships and how they positively impact employers.

North Warwickshire & South Leicestershire College (NWSLC) will be taking part in celebrating apprentices of all ages and backgrounds, and the work they have completed with their employers. The week will consist of showcasing inspirational opportunities as well as;

• More about apprenticeships for apprentices and employers
• Industry insights
• Employer talks
• Online webinars – ‘Become an apprentice – here’s how’
• Past apprentice case studies
• Facebook live sessions
• Daily prize draws – T&Cs can be found here
• Support for employers
• The perfect chance to talk to our Apprenticeship Team about Apprenticeships – what’s available, how to get a work placement, view current vacancies and more!

Register here to join in.

As part of this week long event the college will be holding a Facebook Live session on Tuesday 9^th February at 7pm. Students and Parents can access this easily by going to the NWSLC Facebook page.

In addition to all of this if you have students in year 10 to year 13 who are interested in completing an apprenticeship, they are invited to join the Webinar session. This session will offer more generic information to students. Such as what apprenticeships are available and how to apply. 

Warwickshire Police Cadet Recruitment

Interested in Policing and keen to make a difference in the community - 

Recruitment is open from 1st January to 28th February 2021

To become a Warwickshire Police Cadet you must live or go to school in Warwickshire, aged 13 to 16 years old on September 1st 2021.

As a Cadet you will

• make new friendships and take part in fun and exciting activities
• support your own community through volunteering and social action projects
• challenge yourself to learn and develop new skills
• attend weekly meetings to learn about policing and issues that affect your community
• attend personal safety training, learn about first aid and search techniques and take part in team-building and social activities
• be trained in leadership and conflict resolution
• develop to become a positive role model and advocate for your younger peers
• be part of volunteering activities to prevent crime in your community, such as talking to the public to give them security advice including downloading tracking apps onto smart phones or registering valuables
• gain an insight into British policing

There are two units in Warwickshire, one in Nuneaton that covers North Warwickshire and one in Leek Wootton Warwick which covers South Warwickshire.  The Junior scheme is for Cadets aged 13 to 16 years still at secondary school and a senior scheme for cadets aged 16 to 18 years.  To apply to become Senior cadets you must currently be a year 11 student when applying and would be a cadet for 2 years, whilst in further education.

Please contact us at cadets@warwickshire.pnn.police.uk or follow us on Twitter if you need any assistance or have any further questions.

For further information please click here.

Click this link to download the application form

National Apprenticeship Week 2021 - Your Future Career in Apprenticeships

The Employability & Skills team at Warwickshire County Council have pulled together a number of resources to support pupils and parents across Warwickshire ahead of National Apprenticeship Week 2021 (8th – 14th February 2021).

The ‘Your Future Careers in Apprenticeship’ pack includes:

• A guide to apprenticeships With information on what an apprenticeship is and the different levels of apprenticeship, where to find further info and useful websites

• A list of training providers & selection of businesses offering apprenticeships This includes a small selection of businesses who have taken part in Future Careers Filming: Digital Marketplace offering apprenticeships in Warwickshire

• Your Future Careers in Apprenticeship films Taken from WCC's Future Careers Filming: Digital Marketplace project

• Apprenticeship week activities A list of Apprenticeship Week activities taking place virtually across training providers and local businesses

• An Apprenticeship Directory Showing apprenticeships offered across Warwickshire’s training providers

• An Amazing Apprenticeships Resource pack

• A National Apprenticeship Week interactive student guide

If you have not yet received a pack or would like to receive the above then please email Nikita Takhar – nikitatakhar@warwickshire.gov.uk

As always any further useful resources will be continued to be shared with career leaders and on Warwickshire Skills Hub social media –

• www.linkedin.com/warwickshire-skills-hub
• www.twitter.com/skillshubwarwi1