Another opportunity to join a supportive group of fellow heads with HeadsUP4HTs
You can download the poster here.
Funding to help schools with high energy bills
The Department for Education (DfE) has announced that schools and colleges in England will be allocated a share of £500 million of funding to spend on energy efficiency upgrades, helping to save on bills during the winter months and manage energy consumption.
The funding will help make schools more energy efficient during the cold period and increase winter resilience for future years. Improvements could include installing better heating controls, insulation to reduce heat loss from pipes or switching to energy efficient lighting.
This is in addition to the Government’s Energy Relief Scheme which is supporting schools and colleges this winter and will run until the spring.
DfE has also published new guidance to support schools to maximise energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and improve sustainability and resilience this winter and beyond.
Announcement:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/investment-to-shield-schools-from-high-energy-bills-and-boost-to-budgets
Guidance:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energy-bill-relief-scheme-help-for-businesses-and-other-non-domestic-customers
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-fe-college-estate/energy-efficiency-guidance-for-the-school-and-further-education-college-estate#department-for-education-frameworks-and-standards
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-buying-for-schools
Relationships, conflict and resolution: The next episode of ‘In Safe Hands – Safeguarding Conversations with the Headteacher Coach’ is now live!
Carl Lewis, Headteacher Coach for Safeguarding at Warwickshire County Council (WCC) is back with a brand new podcast episode all about relationships, conflict and resolution.
Joined by Julia Kenny, Delivery Lead for Governor Services at WCC, Carl discusses maintaining positive, professional relationships and dealing with challenging situations and conflict with parents and carers in school settings. This discussion helpfully follows on from the Staff Code of Conduct Policy which was recently sent out to schools and Julia provides some helpful advice on avoiding conflict an how to deal with challenges when they do arise.
Listen to the latest episode:
In Safe Hands – Safeguarding Conversations with the Headteacher Coach publishes a new episode every month. Each episode shares 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.
We hope you’re enjoying listening to the podcast and you find it helpful to listen on the go at a time that’s convenient for you. Hopefully the information shared so far has been useful, if you have any feedback or ideas for topics, please do email educationsafeguarding@warwickshire.gov.uk.
Never miss an episode - don't forget to follow In Safe Hands and listen on either Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Podbean.
Teacher Networks Dance Event - January
Join the team at Motionhouse for the Spring Term meeting of the Coventry & Warwickshire Secondary Dance Teacher Network.
The arts offer a wealth of diverse and fulfilling careers. Our ‘Introducing Young People to Careers in the Dance Sector’ event will offer insight on opening up the minds of your students to a world of opportunities in the arts beyond performing.
Find out how to encourage uptake of dance and arts subjects in your school to enable students to discover new skills and equip them to consider career possibilities. The event will demonstrate a range of games and activities to explore roles in the sector as well as hearing about how the whole Motionhouse and Ascension teams play an integral part in bringing performances to their audiences.
Open to all teachers, support staff and trainee teachers based in Coventry & Warwickshire. Light refreshments will be available and there will be plenty of opportunity for networking and peer support.
For further information about the Coventry and Warwickshire Teacher Networks email: teachernetworks@rsc.org.uk
Facebook (3) Coventry & Warwickshire Teacher Networks | Facebook
Twitter https://twitter.com/cwteachnetworks?s=20&t=DN8G5un9zKxDiANju82OcQ
Download here the Teacher Networks Dance Event poster
Warwickshire’s Virtual Library Offer
Check below what you can do online with Warwickshire libraries:
- Download eBooks & eAudio to your smartphone, tablet, pc or laptop.
- Download eMagazines and eNewspapers to your smartphone, tablet, pc or laptop.
- Listen to classical music in the Naxos Music Library.
- Search various encyclopaedias, dictionaries and other useful reference sources like the Times Digital Archive and Encyclopaedia Britannica.
- Practise for your Driver Theory Test.
- Practise for your UK Citizenship Test.
…and all for free with a current Warwickshire library card!
If you haven’t got a library card you can join online straightaway at: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/jointhelibrary
If you want to know more about the Virtual Library Service you can email Andrew Button at : andrewbutton@warwickshire.gov.uk
Warwickshire Heritage Learning is now LIVE! New workshops, branding and classrooms for Warwickshire Museum Education Service.
The Heritage and Culture Warwickshire education team are excited to launch their new and redeveloped workshops, classrooms spaces at St John’s House, and loan boxes along with the launch of a new name - Warwickshire Heritage Learning.
Schools can experience a brand-new way of learning with a range of immersive and creative workshops that will inspire students and bring the past to life. The subscription loan box service combines real museum objects and virtual learning workshops, making classrooms part of Warwickshire Museum, with the children as the curators of the museum.
Along with the new drama-based workshops, schools will enjoy their school trips in new look spaces at St John’s House, Warwick. The first floor has been redeveloped into fantastic learning spaces, with digital resources, along with two dedicated lunch rooms.
For more information visit the Warwickshire Heritage Learning website.
Take a look at our digital brochure
Free, festive activities for eligible children and young people throughout the school break
The Government’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme will be available once again this December throughout the county, coordinated by Warwickshire County Council (WCC).
The government funded programme enables children and young people nationwide to enjoy fun activities with friends during holiday periods, whilst learning and developing new skills. The Warwickshire HAF programme will be running over the school Christmas holidays and is aimed at families who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals.
There are a variety of local holiday clubs involved, all of which help young people to be social and learn new things by taking part in enriching activities from sport to music, dance, drama, art, cooking, den building, animal welfare and much more.
Applications are now open to register children in free holiday clubs programme over the Christmas holidays, places are free for those who are eligible for free school meals. A unique HAF code is created for each eligible young person, which can be redeemed with approved activity providers. Eligible families will need to complete a brief online form to ensure we have correct details of how a HAF code is sent to families. All details can be found on Search Out or by calling the Family Information Service on 01926 742 274 for more information.
The HAF programme supports Child Friendly Warwickshire ambitions to help children thrive. The activities give children a chance to be happy, healthy and heard while they learn new skills in safe environments. Christmas holiday activities will mainly be available from Monday 19th – Thursday 22nd December.
Warwickshire County Council is working with local schools, voluntary and community organisations, and childcare providers to provide the HAF programme. These free places are funded by the Department for Education, visit the government website for more information on the national programme.
Keeping Warwickshire’s young people in education, employment or training
It’s great news as 16 and 17-year-olds continue to thrive in Warwickshire.
A recent publication from the Department for Education (DfE) has shown that, once again, Warwickshire is one of the most successful Counties in the country for ensuring its 16 and 17 year old residents are either in education, employment or training.
The DfE requires all local authorities to collect and report information about a young person’s post-16 activity on a monthly basis. Warwickshire’s numbers of young people either not in education, employment or training (NEETs) are currently standing at less than both the regional (West Midlands) and national averages.
This year, Warwickshire has 1.7% of 16 and 17 year olds in a NEET situation (down from 2% in 2021) and 1.7% whose activities were not known (down from 2% in 2021). This gives a combined score of 3.4% (down from 3.8% in 2021) which compares to the West Midlands average of 5% and the England average of 4.7%.
This marks a trend in which Warwickshire has been excelling in recent years and the county is now placed amongst the highest performing areas of England, based on comparable local authority areas (size/population etc). Since 2017, Warwickshire has consistently reported significant improvement in the reduction of the numbers of young people who were NEET, including those 16 and 17 year olds whose activity is not known.
All local authorities are required to collect and report information on a young person’s post-16 activity, so that the government can publish a national reports and an overall scorecard.
The DfE can then monitor those 16 and 17 year olds who are not taking part in education, employment and training, (known as NEETs). The department also introduced a new headline measure in 2016 to include those young people whose activity is not known.
More information about Warwickshire’s support for NEET children in Warwickshire can be found online: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/neet