Celebrating Warwickshire’s Family of Schools
Nuneaton students encouraged to complete survey on life aspirations
Warwickshire County Council's School Improvement Team has a live survey for school pupils of Nuneaton to complete to find out more about their career and life aspirations.
This is part of the work for the Nuneaton Education Strategy and will help support schools and colleges in giving the right advice to pupils!
There are three surveys.
For primary pupils: https://forms.office.com/r/i4LAiv3pdd
For secondary pupils: https://forms.office.com/r/KNsLryiC8i
For post 16 students: https://forms.office.com/r/9NLwCr3XB9
Each survey has £50 voucher prize draw attached to it. The closing date is the 7th May.
Sign up to the Reducing Parental Conflict E-Learning!
Warwickshire Count Council is rolling out its Reducing Parental Conflict Practitioner e-Learning training offer (funded by the DWP)
Latest reports suggest that lockdown has led to an increase in parental conflict. This can affect children’s outcomes in the long term, so there is a real strategic focus across the public sector to continue to provide support for families as we come out of lockdown. Reducing Parental Conflict (RPC) Training has been developed to help you to identify, discuss and equip parents to reduce and resolve conflict.
This training is designed to support anyone working with families in building awareness and developing the confidence, knowledge and skills to work with parents to reduce conflict and drive more positive outcomes.
About the e-Learning
The e-learning has been designed and tested by a wide range of specialists and stakeholders to ensure it provides a sound and rounded grounding in the area of reducing parental conflict and the 4 RPC modules. Each module takes approximately 45 minutes to complete and the e-learning can be repeated or revisited as often as you like and is accessible for 6 months.
Who is this training for:
These modules are designed as part of an awareness programme exploring the evidence base for parental conflict and its impact on children. The e-learning is open to a wide range of participants including teachers, frontline practitioners, senior leaders, voluntary groups and service designers or commissioners working in a variety of roles across Local Authorities and associated organisations.
What you’ll learn:
The awareness you will gain from the course will lead to greater identification of opportunities for early intervention.
Module 1: Understanding parental conflict and its impact on child outcomes
Module 2: Recognising and supporting parents in parental conflict
Module 3: Working with parents in conflict showcasing a series of tools that can be used to work with parents, encouraging behaviour change and promoting positive communication
Module 4: The role of supervisors and managers in managing people to address parental conflict
To register your interest for you or your colleagues please click on this link Reducing Parental Conflict - E-learning Booking Form
Reminder about budget submissions
Please note that Budget Submissions for 2021x22 need to be submitted to the Local Authority by the 3rd May 2021. If you have any questions please contact your named finance officer in the first instance.
Designated Teacher CPD
There has been an increase in the number of children looked after (CLA) during the pandemic, for a variety of reasons. It has been heartening to see so much flexibility and many many examples of enhanced support and going the extra mile for such children in schools and settings.
To help maintain and enhance the very best educational experiences and opportunities for our CLA, CPLA and other vulnerable children, it is important that your DT maintains a good CPD portfolio, to support our children and those working with them in your settings.
Each setting is required to have a named DT - designated teacher for children looked after and previously looked after. This person needs to be an experienced and senior member of the teaching staff, ideally Deputy Heads of primary schools and Deputy or Assistant Heads for secondaries.
To promote knowledge and understanding to impact on practice and outcomes in your settings, Warwickshire Virtual School offers a comprehensive CPD package for DTs. Our training offer for the next 12 months is now available on our website, https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/virtualschool. We are offering a mix of Microsoft Teams and face to face training opportunities. Places are free to all Warwickshire DTs, from Early Years to Post 16, and for any DTs from other LAs where Warwickshire CLA are on roll.
WCG is first college group in the country to be granted a duo of degree awarding powers
WCG has become the first college group in the country to be granted a duo of degree awarding powers.
The college group - which has sites across Warwickshire and Worcestershire – will now be able to design and award full three-year honours degree courses and has pledged that all of its degrees will have a technical or professional focus.
It has been granted Bachelor Degree Awarding Powers by The Office for Students, as well as having its Foundation Degree Awarding Powers now extended indefinitely.
A very small number of UK colleges hold Degree Awarding powers but WCG (formerly Warwickshire College Group) is the first in the country to receive this new status of Bachelor Degree Awarding Powers.
The first three-year Honours degree courses will be offered from September 2021 and include BA (Hons) in Games Art, BSc (Hons) in Computer Networks and Cybersecurity, BA (Hons) in Digital Film Production and BA (Hons) in Counselling and Psychotherapy.
In 2014 WCG became was one of the first colleges in the UK to hold Foundation Degree Awarding Powers, allowing students to study at Level 4 and 5 with WCG, often topping up to a full Honours degree in the final year with a Level 6 award from a partner university.
Students will now be able to study with WCG and complete either a Foundation degree or an Honours degree awarded directly by WCG.
WCG prides itself on offering qualifications and apprenticeships aligned to key industries and jobs, and now it can apply this to its own degree courses.
The college has been running higher education for over 30 years and these powers are awarded following a rigorous assessment process spanning several months. The college is also now able to work in partnership with other institutions to award foundation degrees.
The college group will use the new powers to help support the Government’s latest skills policy and focus degrees on developing highly technical individuals and support the up-skilling of individuals in professionally focused subject areas.
Angela Joyce, CEO of WCG, said: “It is a great honour for our college group to have been awarded these powers and it will enable us to deliver further on our commitment to develop well-rounded, skilled individuals to support economic growth locally, regionally and nationally.
“As a college group we have prioritised the expansion of our strong links to industry and we will continue to do so in our new three-year Honours degree courses, with every course boasting a great connection with businesses in the associated industries.
“Previously we could develop and deliver qualifications to Foundation degree level, meaning that students seeking to top up to an Honours degree were required to transfer to an award with a partner university – though in almost all cases we have been delivering these ‘top-up degrees’ on behalf of the universities right here in our colleges.
“But with the new Bachelor Degree Awarding Powers students joining us for these subject areas can be certain of being able to complete a full Bachelor Honours degree, wholly developed and delivered by us.
“We look forward to curating our own degree courses, which will be ready for September, that will respond to the priorities of businesses in our area and contribute to bridging the skills gap identified by Government.”
To find out more about Higher Education courses at WCG visit www.wcg.ac.uk/study.
OFSTED regional update, summer term schedule
Further to the OFSTED updates Warwickshire County Council's Educations Service's shared at Tuesday's Headteachers meeting, please find attached a set of slides provided by Wayne Simner, regional HMI. The team is very grateful to Wayne for sharing these so promptly.
Please find the slides here.
News and guidance on Ofsted Inspections and Education Inspection Framework
Ofsted Inspections
Registered early years providers
On-site EIF inspections of registered early years providers will begin from 4 May. Ofsted will prioritise providers:
• judged less than good at their last inspection (including those who received an interim visit in the autumn term)
• that registered recently but have not been inspected whose first inspection is overdue
• that were not inspected in the last inspection cycle due to the pause in routine inspection Maintained schools and academies
Ofsted have confirmed that the full programme of graded school inspections will resume in autumn 2021. From 4 May, some inspections under the EIF will restart and will take place on site. These include section 8 monitoring inspections of schools graded ‘inadequate’, and those graded ‘requires improvement’ at their last 2 consecutive full inspection
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Education Inspection Framework.
Ofsted's new education inspection framework (EIF) applies to maintained schools and academies, non-association independent schools, further education and skills providers and early years settings.
The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has undoubtedly affected how education settings operate. It’s within this context that they have published an updated inspection handbooks. The changes cover how they will inspect early years providers, schools, further education and skills providers and non-association independent schools.
MFL Networking News
This is an excellent opportunity for MFL teachers to take part in a workshop led by Gianfranco Conti. Gianfranco is Founder and CEO of the Language Gym and is a very difficult man to pin down as his sessions are in demand worldwide.
Places on this workshop are limited and priority will go to members of our networking group.
The session will be via Teams and a joining link will be circulated closer to the time.
Gianfranco Conti, PHD, Educational Consultant, and Author
OVERVIEW OF CURRICULUM DESIGN
This workshop will focus on the all-important Curriculum Design process by outlining a framework for the procedures involved from start to finish rooted in Gianfranco's review of the relevant literature.
This will involve taking the attendees through key steps in the Curriculum Design process and showing concrete examples, based on his approach, Extensive Processing Instruction.
Delegates will consider:
- The key components of curriculum design.
- The procedures involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of a course.
- Acquisition-enhancing strategies (e.g., recycling, spaced retrieval practice, interleaving, universals, fluency training) and their application to curriculum design.
Join him on 14 June at 3.15 where the MFL Networking Group will be hosting author of the Language Teacher Toolkit, and educational consultant, Gianfranco Conti who will be delivering a workshop on curriculum design.
Any MFL teachers out there who want to join please contact catts@thepolesworthschool.com.
Crimestoppers funding available for preventative workshops in Drugs, Knife Crime and County Lines
Crimestoppers has funding available at the moment for preventative workshops for students on topics including Drugs, Knife Crime/Joint Enterprise and County Lines (3 sessions). You can book 1-3 sessions.
Unfortunately no area appears to be immune from these issues.
For example the Drug awareness session, will cover terminology, classification, name referred to as, the consequences and effects.
Crimestoppers has worked with Year 7’s and above and can tailor these sessions to suit the age range. They can do virtual or in person sessions.
If you wish to book a session, please email Andrea.Accison@crimestoppers-uk.org and copy in merciasupportforschools@dpw.gov.uk.
Opening School Facilities Funding, closing date on 9am Tuesday 4th May 2021
Think Active are inviting Warwickshire Schools to apply for Opening School Facilities funding to open their facilities for afterschool, evenings, weekends and holiday use to enable more children and young people to be physically active.
Funding will be prioritised to:
- Support schools with a high percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals.
- The least active
- Provide opportunities for pupils with SEND to take part in activities.
- Schools based within Think Active's targeted areas: North Warwickshire, Nuneaton & Bedworth, North Solihull and Coventry.
To apply and for more information:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SQWXGJD
Pease note the closing date is 9am Tuesday 4th May 2021
If schools are interested in the funding but not sure what your offer would be, please complete the application form as next steps includes conversations with schools so we may be able to help shape an offer that is suitable for the children in your school and local community.
Resource on Understanding Screen Addiction and Responsible Digital Use
You may be interested in this resource on Understanding Screen Addiction and Responsible Digital Use
- How technology use has changed over the years (72% of adults now consider smartphones their most essential device)
- The impact of COVID-19 on screen time use and digital behaviours (smartphone usage in the UK surged by 30% during lockdown)
- Understanding screen addictions and how our devices affect our brains and change our behaviours (e.g. dopamine-driven reward loops)
- Helpful tips and useful advice for tackling device addiction, managing gadget and internet use, and creating healthier digital habits.
You can check out the full guide here - https://www.comparethemarket.com/broadband/content/screen-usage-guide/
Free, safe and anonymous digital counselling and support service for children and young people
Warwickshire County Council has commissioned Kooth, a free, safe and anonymous digital counselling and support service for children and young people. Kooth is a safe and confidential way for young people to access emotional wellbeing and early intervention mental health support. The service is available to all young people across Warwickshire aged 11-25 years.
Kooth.com is an award winning and innovative online mental health and wellbeing support service, accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), which will support and complement the existing offer operated by Rise - a family of NHS-led services providing emotional wellbeing & mental health services for young people across the county. Rise already provide a well-established 24/7 telephone service providing crisis support to young people across Warwickshire. Kooth will deliver digital self-help resources and online counselling to further extend the local offer.
Fully trained and qualified counsellors and emotional wellbeing practitioners are available from midday to 10pm, and from 6pm to 10pm at weekends, 365 days a year to provide a much needed out-of-hours service for emotional support in an accessible way. Sessions can be booked in advance or they can drop in for one-to-one instant text-based chats.
The service also encourages peer to peer support via moderated discussion forums, and self-help through reading or submitting content. Children and young people have 24/7 access to magazines with wellbeing articles, personal experiences and tips from young people and the Kooth team, as well as giving members the opportunity to write in a daily journal to track feelings or emotions and promote a positive mental health and wellbeing.
Staff can register for free to sign up to learn more about Kooth. Each session will provide an overview of the service, sign up process, features and activities available, risk management and safeguarding procedures as well as a live demo of the site and an informal Q&A session. Eventbrite Kooth Information Session (School staff-Warwickshire)
Help requested with research on deliberate self-harm in schools
As part of the implementation of the Warwickshire suicide prevention strategy, Warwickshire County Council is undertaking research on deliberate self-harm in schools to better understand the challenges faced by young people, parents and professionals. This questionnaire is aimed at professionals working in schools who may come into contact with young people who are self-harming.
This research will help to guide the self-harm support and training offer in the future. Please could you share the link to the form (https://forms.office.com/r/pHaFXMAMFN) with staff within your school setting and encourage them to complete it. The questionnaire will take approximately 15 minutes to complete and will close on Friday 28th May 2021.
A separate questionnaire will be coming out to DSLs and Headteachers via email for you to complete.
New look Parent Carer Support Pathway
We are writing to you to inform you of changes to the way in which we support parent carers throughout the county.
As an educational lead for children whose parents are receiving such support from Warwickshire County Council, we wanted to provide you with information about the new way in which we intend to provide help and also the rationale behind this decision.
We would welcome your support in sharing this information with parents either by email or through your school newsletter. We also have a poster that may prove helpful.
What has changed?
We are offering the new look Parent Carer Support Pathway to all those who care for a child with a disability.
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 the parent. This conversation will lead to better informed decisions and allow us to identify the parent’s needs and tailor available support that will help them, as well as their 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 the disabled child’s needs.
Accessing the assessment
If the parent already has an allocated social worker and has already completed a social care assessment or parent carer assessment – they should contact their named social worker.
How can the Parent Carer Support Pathway help?
The wellbeing conversation may result in signposting to an appropriate local provider. For instance, if the parent is experiencing health or mental health needs, a referral can be made to adult services for support for the Parents’ themselves.
It may be that providing an agreed one-off financial payment for a specific outcome in order for the parent to purchase a service, piece of equipment or access an activity could help to support them in their caring role and improve their 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 the parent’s needs change following the agreed outcome, parents are encouraged to contact Warwickshire County Council either by email childrenwithdisabilitiesteam@warwickshire.gov.uk or by calling 01926 413737 (option 4).
Next steps
Further information and clarity can be south by going to the new webpages on the Warwickshire County Council website. To access these please go to https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/directory-record/6501/parent-carer-support-pathway
Thank you for your continued support.