Hello and welcome to our penultimate Heads Up of this academic year. Next week will mark our final edition of the year and please do send us any news or information you would like to see featured before the end of term.
Ofsted and the CQC announced at the start of this week that they are to perform a Local Area Inspection in Warwickshire next week and you can read more about this in an article on the topic. We have been working hard to facilitate the visit next week and part of this effort involves setting up a series of open meetings for the Inspectors and encouraging people to attend to engage in the dialogue. There are sessions for Headteachers and Special Educational Needs Coordinators, people working in Early Years settings and people working in colleges and Further Education Settings. You’ll see we that we have created some flyers to advertise the meetings and please feel free to share these with anyone who you think might be interested in attending.
The end of term is drawing near and it’s understandable that thoughts are turning towards the summer holidays. You may remember previous mention of the Holidays and Activity Food programme and we have an update on it in this week’s edition of Heads Up as the free summer activity programme will be available for children and young people Warwickshire.
In the past few weeks there have been passing references to the ongoing Euros and it is only fitting that I continue that theme by remarking on the tense, nerve-wracking finale to England’s semi-final with Denmark on Wednesday. I know many of you will have been watching and will be making plans for the final this weekend. It’s an opportunity for history to be made and I’ll be willing on the players with optimism and belief that this is their moment for glory. The Italian side that England is set to face is steely, brimming with talent and will offer quite the challenge.
If you’re watching the game this weekend then please remember to observe all COVID-19 precautions as cases are continuing to rise in Warwickshire and across the country. If you need a reminder about COVID-19 resources then please consult our link directory here. The Primer Minister announced his intention to review the changes to COVID-19 restrictions on Monday July 12 with a view to easing restrictions by moving to Step 4 of the Government’s roadmap. You may find this government document, released yesterday, called ‘What parents and carers need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges during COVID-19’ helpful when faced with queries for your educational setting about what Step 4 means for educational settings. Our Education Covid Response Team (education-corona@warwickshire.gov.uk) remain on hand to answer questions you might have and we will be monitoring the situation next week.
Have a good weekend,
Ian