Heads Up 4 November 2022

Securing the Best Start to Life

Extra support available for Warwickshire parents and carers who are applying for Reception and Junior School Places

The application process for Reception and Year 3 Junior School places is now open, and families who have children who are due to apply for these places by the deadline of 15 January 2023 are being given extra support to get ready for making their school place application.

For most parents and carers, applying for a school place is a simple process. However, to help increase the number of children who are offered a place at one of their preferred schools, Warwickshire County Council have produced a useful video full of advice and guidance for parents and carers on how to make their school choices and submit their application.

For those people who want to learn more, or ask questions of the school admissions team, they are also holding two online webinars in early December, which are open to everyone and free to join. These will take place on Thursday 1 December and Tuesday 6 December, both at 7pm.

Please share these links with any parent or carer who may have younger children due to start in Reception next year, or those with a child in Year 2 at an Infant School.

New Foundation Years vodcast on online safety

Foundation Years is pleased to share with you their latest vodcast taking a look at the topic of online safety in the early years. In our ever-increasing digital world, young children have access to devices, both at home and in early years settings. This often causes concern over the amount of screen time young children have, the negative impact of this and the risks associated with young children using devices.

Towards the end of the vodcast, a number of free resources that can help managers and practitioners in this area, which you can find below:

• Safeguarding children and protecting professionals in early years settings: online safety considerations (for managers and practitioners)

• Keeping children safe in education 2022

• Smartie the Penguin

• Little Bird’s Internet Security Adventure

Early years practitioners play an essential role in helping young children learn the foundations of safe online behaviour, supporting parents and children to recognise the value of technology and use it safely. In this vodcast, Gill Holden, Principal Officer of the Early Childhood Unit at the National Children’s Bureau, speaks to Sue Asquith, an Early Years Consultant, to discuss this and offer some practical tips for practitioners working with young children.

Click here to watch the vodcast.

Supporting Inclusion for SEND and Vulnerable Groups

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service Fire Safety Education Program For children with SEN

Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service (WFRS) are committed to providing the highest standard of fire safety education to all of our children across the County.

Please find here the new and updated details of WFRS SEND resource box and plan for specialist school delivery. I would like to encourage school leaders to visit the booking form link so that we can reach out to all Warwickshire children with this important advice.

Warwickshire remains committed to improving the lives of children and young people with SEND

The latest updates on the improvements being made to services for children and young people with special education needs and disabilities in Warwickshire.

In July 2021, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out a joint inspection of special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) provision in Warwickshire.

On 23 September 2021, the inspectors issued their findings. Whilst several areas were commended, including the commitment of area leaders to improve the outcomes for children and young people with SEND, the report also highlighted five areas of weaknesses that the local area needed to address, particularly waiting times for autism assessments and the quality of the online local offer.

Since the release of the report, Warwickshire County Council and Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board have been working together with a range of partners to improve the delivery of services provided, with the support of Warwickshire Parent Carer Voice, the Parent Carer Forum.

Key updates from the latest review meeting with the Department for Education and NHS England in October 2022 are as follows:

Area 1: Autism waiting times and support for families:  

More assessments are being carried out and waiting times for assessments are reducing.
A new e-booklet for Neurodivergent individuals and their families has been published on the Dimensions website and an online information portal is being developed which will provide essential information, advice and support for families.
A new model is being trialled to improve the process of assessment and diagnosis for children in years 5 and 6.
The all-age community support service for neurodivergent individuals is being recommissioned and has an anticipated start date of 1 April 2023. It will provide a single point of referral for diagnosis and ensure individuals are supported whilst awaiting an assessment. 
A review of Speech and Language Therapy and a skills audit of mental health staff supporting children and young people have been carried out and the findings will be used to improve services.

Area 2: Communication and engagement with parent carers:  

A wide programme of communications and events continues including:

Parent carer webinars - the most recent focused on the Health Visiting Service,  Early Conversations and Speech and Language provision. Future events to include SENDIAS, Preparation for Adulthood and the RISE service.
A Young People's Local Offer event recently took place and a Young People's Forum - IMPACT, has been created to capture the voice of children and young people. 
A You Said We did update has been published on Warwickshire’s Local Offer website and a Live Feedback Form has been developed to capture the views of parent carers and practitioners on SEND services.

Area 3: Inclusion in schools:  

An Inclusion Framework for Schools being trialled across 17 Rugby schools continues to go well. Training is being delivered to schools to help them support children and young people with SEND.

An Inclusion Charter for schools is being co-produced with school leads, parent carers and children and young people. The charter will outline the vision and commitments to inclusion in schools and settings. Contact, the charity for families with disabled children, has helped to facilitate this work based on the Four Cornerstones approach to co-production. 

Area 4: Workforce development:  

Following a review of the current offer, an exciting free training programme is being offered by Warwickshire County Council to schools including mental health first aid, restorative practice, and autism awareness training initially. The training will help to provide a better understanding of how to meet the needs of children and young people including those with SEND. All the courses offered are free to professionals working within a Warwickshire school. 

The Lost at School pilot is going well, with 35 schools now on board to help change how we support young people with concerning behaviour and unmet need.

Area 5: SEND Local Offer webpages:  

The SEND Local Offer webpages provide information about local services and support for families with children and young people aged 0 to 25 with SEND. There has been a 60% increase in visitors to the webpages and flyers to promote the service have been shared with GPs, schools and other community venues.

Gabrielle Stacey, from the Department for Education said:

“Warwickshire continue to work with determination and pace on improvements following their Ofsted/CQC SEND inspection in July last year. They are making visible progress against all of the key concerns, with mitigation plans or appropriate and achievable deadlines in place where they have encountered unanticipated risks or delays. This work is underpinned by a shared aspirational vision for children and young people with SEND in the local area, and a strong and continually improving relationship with their Parent Carer Forum.

“Improvements in coproduction are leading to deep and sustainable culture change within the Local Authority and there is recognition that further improvements are needed within health to ensure this is consistent across the partnership. Collaboration between all partners involved in the work is evident and the local area is playing to its strengths to maintain pace and ensure ongoing improvement.”

Elaine Lambe from Warwickshire Parent Carer Voice said:

“It is good to see the progress of the Written Statement of Action work has been recognised externally. The challenge now for the system is to keep up the momentum and to make sure that the changes make a positive difference that can be felt by families on the ground.

“We will continue to work collaboratively with the local authority and the Integrated Care Board to ensure the voice of families is consistently heard and listened to."

For more information on Warwickshire’s Local Offer, please visit the Local Offer webpages or the Local Offer Facebook page.

Celebrating Warwickshire’s Family of Schools

WCC - Green Book - Pay Award 2022

We are pleased to advise you the 2022 pay award for colleagues on Green Book terms and conditions can now be implemented.

Under the terms of the National Constitution, we are able to proceed with this uplift given that two of the three recognised Trades Unions have now reached agreement with the National Employers.  The agreement will see an increase of £1,925 to all spinal points. All increases are subject to backdating to 1 April 2022. There are some other details in the agreement, relating to annual leave, the details of which we are working through. We will update you about these in due course.

For schools who use WCC as their payroll provider - The payroll team are now working hard to get these changes processed in time for the November payroll which will also include the reversal of the National Insurance increase from 6 November 2022. There is a lot of work to do on this in a short timeframe so please be mindful of that if you are making requests of the payroll team. Thank you for your co-operation.  

For schools who use an alternative payroll provider - You should approach your payroll supplier directly about progressing this award. A revised pay scale is attached.

Pay Award 2022-2023 Scales

If you have any queries, please contact our Customer Service Team by calling 01926 418614 or by logging your query via the HR Service Desk.

Meeting for Finance/Business Managers of academies regarding the Local Government Pension Scheme

Warwickshire Pension Fund - 2022AGM

Our Annual General Meeting this year will be held on Friday 4th November at Northgate House in Warwick, Cape Rd, Northgate, South Side, Warwick CV34 4JH.

Tea and coffee will be available for attendees at the venue prior to the meeting from 9.30am onwards, the meeting will commence from 10am.

Hymans Robertson, the Fund's Actuary and Investment consultants will be available in the afternoon to talk to individual Employers about their valuation results. If you would like to book a meeting with Hymans, details on how to do this will be sent by email once the 2022 draft valuation results have been published.

Hymans will be providing information in the meeting with regard to this year's valuation, as well as a brief update from Border to Coast Pensions Partnership - Border to Coast Pensions Partnership is one of the largest pension pools in the UK.

The Heads of our Investment and Administration teams will also provide updates on what the teams have been working on in the last year and what is coming up on the pension's horizon.

Please note this meeting is primarily aimed at Officers responsible for Finance and governance of statutory requirements for the Local Government Pension Scheme.

This will be our first face to face meeting for a while and we would like to catch up with as many of you as possible at this event. A buffet lunch will be provided in order to give you the opportunity to network with other employers in the Fund and members of the Pensions team.

So that we can confirm numbers and prepare for any dietary requirements, I would be grateful if you could confirm attendance by completing the following Microsoft Form: https://forms.office.com/r/DdKu6Lrgkf

If you are unable to attend the presentation, slides will be available on the employer area of our website after the meeting.

We look forward to seeing you on 4^th November but if you have any questions in the meantime, please email pensions@warwickshire.gov.uk

The second episode of ‘In Safe Hands – Safeguarding Conversations with the Headteacher Coach’ is now live!

In case you missed the launch of Warwickshire County Council’s (WCC) new podcast aimed at Headteachers, the first episode was published back in September with the idea that headteachers can listen on the go at a time that is convenient for you.

We know it’s not always easy for you and wider school staff to find the time to keep informed about what WCC is doing to keep children safe in Warwickshire. So our very own Headteacher Coach for Safeguarding, Carl Lewis, hosts the podcast each month with an array of special guests. Each month, a different theme will be covered to complement the information sent out to headteachers and education settings in Warwickshire, but the topics may also be of interest to other professionals.

The podcast will share some of the work the Council is doing to keep children safe in Warwickshire, talking to passionate people about what they do to generate discussion and dialogue around good practice and how to support colleagues, families and young people.

Episode 2 has just launched and this month Carl is joined by colleagues around the Council to discuss Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in schools and Warwickshire more widely. Listen to the new episode below, or start at episode 1 if you need to catch up!

Never miss an episode - don't forget to subscribe to In Safe Hands and listen on Podbean or Spotify. The podcast will be available Apple Podcasts very soon.

If you would like to share any feedback about this podcast, please email educationsafeguarding@warwickshire.gov.uk.

Warwickshire’s Aspiring Headteacher Programme

Dear Headteachers,

There is still time to apply to Warwickshire’s Aspiring Headteacher Programme.

As you undertake your teacher’s Performance Management meetings this term, maybe, as part of those meetings, you are thinking about…

Succession planning
How to motivate and retain great senior leaders
Targeted training for your senior leaders who aspire to lead in Warwickshire

Well, why not tell them about this fantastic programme …

Warwickshire’s Aspiring Headteacher Programme is an innovative programme intended to support senior and experienced middle leaders who aspire to headship in a Warwickshire school. This course is appropriate for school leaders who have a minimum of 2 years senior leadership experience and are considering applying for a Headship, in Warwickshire, in the next 2 years.

The programme will consist of approximately 7 sessions, delivered via a mix of online and face to face sessions. The programme will be hosted by Debby Hughes (Former Headteacher of High Meadow Community School, Learning Improvement Officer for Warwickshire LA and Visiting Fellow for Ambition Institute – NPQSL) and there will be a range of guest speakers inputting into the sessions, including local headteachers, key colleagues from LA services as well as some national speakers.

The programme will run over the course of 2 terms, starting in January 2023, and will cover themes such as:

Leading the organisation - moral imperative, vision, innovation in the curriculum
Leading teaching and learning – curriculum, CPD, preparing for Ofsted, using data and closing the gap
The school as a business - finance, HR, legislation and policy
Applying for headship and working with governors

This programme is fully funded by Warwickshire County Council and is being organised by the Gateway Alliance.

For more information, please see the programme flyer

Action: To apply, please complete the form as soon as possible.

Or contact Helen Martin (helen@gatewayalliance.co.uk)for more information

Admission Webinars for School Professionals

You are invited to two further webinars from the school admissions team this term. The first, taking place on Wednesday 23 November at 10am, is an update on the Fair Access Protocol in Warwickshire and the implications of this for your school. It’s free to sign up and all are welcome.

The second event is specifically for early years professionals and will discuss the ways that you can support parents and carers to successfully apply for their child’s Reception school place before the deadline of 15 January 2023. Taking place on Wednesday 7 December at 11am, it’s also free to sign up, so please do share with any colleagues that might be interested.

Each event will be recorded and shared soon afterwards with anyone that registered. Delegates will have the opportunity to ask questions during the event, but if you’d also like to submit any questions in advance, you can also do so here.

We look forward to seeing you at either event.

Post-16 capacity fund for 2023 to 2024

Schools that operate sixth forms are among the organisations eligible to apply for DfE capital funding to expand provision for 16-18 year olds:

Guidance: How eligible providers of 16 to 19 education can apply for capital investment to accommodate upcoming demographic increases in 16- to 19-year-olds.

Deadline is 11 November 2022.

Mental Health First Aid in Schools- Course Opportunity

Training for the course is accredited by Mental Health First Aid England and will be delivered over a half-day at St Benedict’s School on Tuesday 8^th of November.

Any school can book and more sign-up information can be found below via the QR code or link.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=BqqwiCdZu0uok4nMJxOsgjm6dsyZeVpMiF4aGhzXZSlUREYyTzY1WjVYNlQ5U01ZSVdRUkpLNDdHMS4u

Warwickshire Safeguarding Partnership: Safeguarding Week 21-25 November 2022

Warwickshire Safeguarding Partnership is pleased to announce the launch of a week of online bitesize learning events taking place from the 21^st-25^th November 2022. These free multi-agency learning events aim to place the spotlight on a variety of topics, namely:

Victim Blaming Language
Preventing Online Grooming
Cuckooing/Home Invasion
Professional Curiosity
Financial Abuse
Impact of Drugs and Alcohol
Child Exploitation
Preventing Harm/Death by Fire

These training events are linked to learning from Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews, Safeguarding Adults Review and learning from National Reviews.

To view the full programme or to book your place on one of these sessions, please do so via the Warwickshire Safeguarding website.

Welcome to your vote week

The Electoral Commission have a range of resources to help you get involved with Welcome To Your Vote week, which runs from 30 January – 5 February 2023. They want to show young people that politics and democracy impacts everything around them, from how long they stay in education to the rules of renting, from 5G availability to how often bins are collected.

Discussing these topics, and encouraging young people to think about how they can make their voices heard, can help them to become engaged voters and citizens for years to come.

To help you run workshops, lessons, events or assemblies, they have free, impartial lesson plans, classroom activities, videos and quizzes, each supporting you and your young people to discuss democracy, politics and their vote. Access the resources here and you can also sign up to their newsletter for educators to be the first to hear more about their plans and new resources.

Free Visit Leader training offer to Maintained Schools (where WCC are the employer)

WCC are offering free visit leader training via Juniper Education to schools where WCC is the employer for one nominated member of staff per school.

To access the training please emma.nicklin@junipereducation.org with the following details:-

Nominated staff members’ name
Nominated staff members email address
School details

The staff member will then be sent the login details to access the training.

Special Offer - 50% off Visit Leader training for all staff in Maintained schools during November 2022

WCC are also offering all maintained schools where WCC is the employer a special offer in November giving these schools 50% off for their staff group to undertake the Visit leader training via Juniper Education.

This offer needs to be purchased in November 2022 and training must be completed by 1^st April 2023.

Schools wishing to access this offer should email emma.nicklin@junipereducation.org for further details stating the November offer. The school will be set up with the access and passwords required and issued an invoice.

Free Opportunity - Developing Core Maths Pedagogy 2022

Maths Hubs and AMSP are offering secondary schools and post 16 settings the opportunity to participate in this free online Work Group.

Free Professional Development - Mathematics and SEND

Free Secondary Mathematics Subject Knowledge Programme 2022

Would you, or someone in your maths department or school, like to improve your secondary mathematics subject knowledge? Find more here.

Forest School Leader Award Level 3

Please find here L3 Forest School Course Info 2022

Child Friendly Warwickshire's Autumn newsletter is out now

In this edition we’re celebrating reaching 100 Friends, encouraging local young people to consider joining the Youth Council, and sharing information about becoming a foster carer, National Adoption Week and increasing support for young people. You'll also find a spotlight on friends of the programme and what they’ve been up to, plus information on managing a new school year and what’s on during October half term. As always, don’t forget to tell us about any great child-friendly activities you’ve been doing or if you have something planned!

Read the full newsletter here and subscribe to receive future editions here.

If you have any ideas for partnership working or if you or someone you know is doing something to be more #ChildFriendly, please let us know by emailing childfriendly@warwickshire.gov.uk. You can find out more by visiting the CFW website or searching the #ChildFriendlyWarwickshire on social media.

Year 4 Reading Celebration 2023.

Warwickshire Schools Library Service (WSLS) are delighted to invite your school to take part in our annual Year 4 Reading Celebration 2023. We run this in partnership with Warwickshire Libraries. It's a lovely way to celebrate reading, supporting Government objectives and your own work encouraging reading for pleasure in schools.

This initiative is open to ALL schools, including those that do not currently subscribe to WSLS.

Further details are available by clicking on the following link. Please fill in the form if you would like to take part.

Please complete this form by Friday 11^th November 2022.

Please email schoolslibraryservice@warwickshire.gov.uk if you need any further information or have any question.

Events programme and training offer by Little Sutton English Hub

Working together to improve school attendance

Pupil absence in schools in England: autumn and spring terms - 2021/22

On 20^th October 2022, the DfE released data that looks at pupil absence in the autumn and spring terms 2021/22, including by reason and school types.

Data is given on pupil absences as well as where a pupil was recorded as not attending in circumstances relating to coronavirus (Code X).

For the autumn and spring terms 2021/22, this category should mostly have been used to record where a pupil was absent from school with symptoms of COVID-19 whilst awaiting the results of a test. This differs to previous years when this code was also used where pupils were advised to shield, were quarantining after returning from abroad, were in class bubbles advised to isolate and where pupils were not expected to attend in person during periods of national restrictions (during which, schools were expected to provide remote education).

Throughout the pandemic, schools were advised to record pupils with a confirmed case of COVID-19 as absent due to illness (Code I).

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england-autumn-and-spring-terms

You can view featured tables, or create your own tables from the open data using our table tool

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england-autumn-and-spring-terms

Reminders

There are some really useful effective practice attendance webinars produced by the DfE in conjunction with schools, with good or improved attendance, sharing their good practice.
Attendance resources are available on the Education Huband Teaching Blogs
Sign up to share your daily attendance data with the DfE. 65% of schools In England are now sharing. It will become a requirement at some point this academic year.
Schools can now use a public data dashboard to compare themselves with up-to-date national, regional and local authority figures for pupil attendance and absence in England. This will be updated every 2 weeks. You can sign upto take part in research and give feedback to help the DfE develop the reports.
New guidanceis now in place on the role of schools, trusts, governing bodies and local authorities.
The code ‘X’ code can no longer be used in the attendance register to record COVID-19 related absence.

Contact Us

If you wish to discuss any issues relating to school attendance, please feel free to contact the Warwickshire Attendance Service:

was@warwickshire.gov.uk