Coronavirus (COVID-19) National Testing Programme: conditions of grant from August 2021

Conditions of grant funding from August 2021 for the national roll-out of rapid mass testing for coronavirus (COVID-19) in schools and colleges.

These conditions of grant funding cover the roll-out of rapid mass testing from 23 August until 30 September 2021.

The document sets out the:

• scope
• eligibility
• allocations and payments approach
• terms of the funding

Check for more info here. 

Implementing the early years foundation stage reforms

Promoting autism inclusive attitudes

This resource is developed as part of the Whole School SEND Autism Resource Suite and provides a range of activities which can be used within an educational setting for developing positive attitudes towards autism.

You can download the booklet here. 

KOOTH Update - October 2021

Please click here to download the poster and all the useful links. 

Do you want to know what's on KOOTH in October? Click here and find more info. 

Download the posters here :  1    2   3

Teacher Pay and Conditions 2021

The Department for Education (DfE) has now published the 2021 School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) which comes into force on 22 October 2021 (backdated to 1 September 2021). 

Please see the LGA webpage for Teachers Pay 2021 for all the information you need to understand the proposed changes for Teachers Pay 2021 which include a pay pause for qualified teachers pay and a £250 pay award for unqualified teachers earning less than £24,000 (FTE). 

Consultation is currently taking place with local trade unions. Based on the current timetable, the pay award for eligible unqualified teachers is due to be implemented in the November payroll run and backdated to 1 September 2021.   

Proposed changes to the assessment of GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022

A joint consultation published by Ofqual and the Department for Education on proposed changes to the assessment of GCSEs, AS and A levels in 2022.

Find more here. 

Contingency arrangements: GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA

Consultation proposals for contingency arrangements for the award of GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA qualifications in 2022.

For more info please click here. 

Teaching mathematics at key stage 3

Guidance for teaching mathematics at key stage 3 to help pupils progress through the national curriculum.

This guidance is for:

• school leaders
• teachers and other school staff
• governing bodies

You can use this guidance to help plan teaching the statutory mathematics curriculum for key stage 3. It builds on the non-statutory guidance for primary schools, and aims to:

• identify the significant ideas that are needed for pupils to progress in their study of mathematics
• demonstrate how pupils can build their understanding of these concepts across key stage 3, in the context of the wider curriculum

Teachers may find this guidance helpful in planning and prioritising the curriculum during coronavirus (COVID-19) recovery.

This guidance is intended to support teaching. It can be used alongside other high-quality plans and resources, including textbooks.

The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics has produced a range of resources to support teachers of mathematics which complement this guidance. In addition, NCETM has produced resources supporting teachers with the specific pandemic-related factors affecting students as they start secondary school. This includes:

• checkpoint materials to help assess understanding in year 7, and lay the foundations for key stage 3
• training materials addressing the transition between year 6 and year 7
• videos and resources to support the teaching of key topics in key stage 3 maths

Further support for maths teachers is also available through our maths hubs programme.

Find more info here. 

Teaching mathematics in primary schools

Guidance for teaching mathematics at key stages 1 and 2 to help pupils progress through the national curriculum.

This guidance is for:

• school leaders
• teachers and other school staff
• governing bodies

You can use this guidance to help plan teaching the statutory mathematics curriculum in primary schools in England. This guidance:

• identifies the core concepts that are needed for pupils to progress in their study of mathematics
• demonstrates how pupils can build their understanding of these concepts from year 1 to year 6

The guidance links to non-statutory guidance on teaching mathematics at key stage 3.

Short videos that introduce and summarise this guidance are also available.

Teachers may find this guidance helpful in planning and prioritising the curriculum following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This guidance is intended to support teaching. It can be used alongside other high-quality plans and resources, including textbooks.

The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics has produced a range of resources to support teachers using this guidance. This includes:

• ready-to-use training materials
• a suite of 79 PowerPoints focusing on the ready-to-progress criteria
• additional training materials addressing the transition between year 6 and year 7

Further support for maths teachers is available through our maths hubs programme.

Find more info here. 

Maths Hubs newsletter

Please find here the latest issue of Maths Hubs newsletter. 

NPQ - Deadline Day 12th October!

The NQT+1 programme is designed to build on skills learnt during PGCE and NQT years by giving teachers in their second year the opportunity to reflect on their practice, observe and share practice. Each session will be held in a different school and facilitated by outstanding teachers and SLEs with an optional learning walk prior to the session. For more details please download the flyer here. 

The deadline is approaching for application on our November cohort of NPQs.

Applicants have until Tuesday 12^th October to apply and then the 15^th October to ‘onboard’ with Ambition and the DfE. 

Find here registration instructions for anyone wishing to participate in an NPQ however any issues then please contact j.taylor-perks@jths.co.uk

There are some issues with the Form so if you are interested in applying, please provide Jeanette Taylor-Perks- Teaching School Coordinator at www.jttshub.co.uk  ( j.taylor-perks@jths.co.uk) with the following information:-

• Name
• TRN
• Email address
• School
• The NPQ you wish to study

Headteacher Wellbeing - Further opportunity to join James Pope's Network Support Sessions

Dear Colleague,

As part of our continued commitment to supporting headteacher wellbeing and following excellent feedback from Warwickshire headteachers who joined James Pope/HeadsUp4HTs Network Support Sessions last term, I am delighted to be able to open this opportunity up to a further cohort of interested headteachers.

You may remember that James spoke at our Spring Term Headteacher Conference and held a follow up webinar to provide more detail about keeping yourself well as a leader and the successful model of support and coaching that HeadsUp4HTs run for Headteachers nationally.  The webinar is attached here for those who need a reminder or who missed it and are interested this time round.

This latest round of Network Support Sessions will run for a period of 6 weeks from early autumn term. They will be weekly sessions that:

• are for headteachers only (officers at Warwickshire County Council do not attend the sessions and are not aware of which headteachers join the groups)
• are a safe, open and transparent space
• provide the opportunity to reflect on your challenges and successes
• allow you to receive support from peers and provide support to others
• will take place outside of normal school hours in order to ensure that you have the dedicated time you need, free from distraction.

Please indicate if you would like to join these sessions (or not) by completing the google form 

Once James and his team know how many Headteachers are participating, HeadsUp4HTs will structure the groups and will be in touch to let you know the next steps.

From here on your relationship will be with your network groups and with HeadsUp4HTs – we just wanted to get you started on the process of self-care. However, we are always here to support Warwickshire headteachers (you can find below some of our Headteachers' quotations regarding their experience in these sessions) in any way we can so do please keep in touch.  Please also remember our Listening Ear service and look out for our upcoming Peer Coaching Directory.

With very best wishes

Margot Brown

School Improvement Lead Commissioner

'Breaking the Glass Ceiling to Good': free training for senior leaders in Warwickshire schools