HEADS UP

Celebrating Warwickshire’s Family of Schools

Headteachers Induction Programme 2021 -2022

Final call for new headteachers to sign up for the Headteacher Induction Programme.

The programme is designed to support those new to headship and recently appointed headteachers who are new to Warwickshire by providing key updates and introducing them to colleagues within WCC who will be able to support them and their schools.

It runs over 6 sessions (4 full days and 2 half days), with a combination of face to face and virtual delivery.  The cost of the programme is £545 which includes presentations, venue cost, lunch (on full day, face to face sessions) and refreshments (at face to face sessions).  The first session is 22 September 2021.

The sessions will cover the following:

  • Introduction to Warwickshire
  • Managing the Organisation including (but not limited to) Finance, Legal, Managing the Media, Emergency Planning, HR and Payroll, Early Career Framework teachers, Health and Safety
  • Ethical Leadership and Vulnerable Learners
  • School Improvement
  • Experiences of headteachers who have been in post for 1 - 2 years
  • Feedback from Ofsted Inspections within Warwickshire
  • Healthy Schools and Staff & Headteacher wellbeing.

To ensure that we are able to accommodate all applications, please ensure that places are booked by Wednesday 15 September 2021 by contacting Lynn Handford at governors@warwickshire.gov.uk.

The New Admissions Code and Fair Access Protocol

As you will be aware, the DfE has published a new School Admissions Code, which came into force on 1 September 2021. There are some critical changes for your school to act upon, so please take some time to ensure that they are fully understood, shared and implemented as needed. 

The key changes are: 

  1. Improvements to, and additional detail for, the in-year admission process of vulnerable children, including the effectiveness of Fair Access Protocols (FAP) and changes in the FAP criteria.   
  1. Children adopted from state care outside of England now have equal admissions priority as those children who were previously looked after within England. 
  1. Clarification of which address to use for the admission of service or Crown servant children.  

It is the responsibility of all schools to ensure they understand the full details of these and various other additional updates and clarifications. The full document is here.   

The introduction of this new Admissions Code means that a new Warwickshire FAP will need to be developed. We’ve outlined the process for this below. In the meantime, we will work to the FAP adopted in 2019 (WCC FAP 2019), recognising that this means there will be a period when we have a crossover between the current FAP and the regulations outlined in the new Admissions Code.  

Within this context, we’d like to draw your attention to the requirement within the new Admissions Code that schools in essence cannot refuse admission for any child unless they can evidence that they have “significant challenging behaviour”. This is defined in paragraph 3.10 of the new Code as: “[behaviour] where it would be unlikely to be responsive to the usual range of interventions to help prevent and address pupil misbehaviour or it is of such severity, frequency, or duration that it is beyond the normal range that schools can tolerate. We would expect this behaviour to significantly interfere with the pupil’s/other pupils’ education or jeopardise the right of staff and pupils to a safe and orderly environment”. 

In practice, this means that parents or carers may exercise their right under the new Admissions Code to insist a school admit their child, even if they meet the criteria outlined in our existing FAP 2019. If a parent or carer does exercise this right, your school must admit the child in line with the current legislation.  

Creating a new Fair Access Protocol for Warwickshire  

The creation of a new FAP will be co-produced with school leaders and parents. A Development Group has been established to lead the work, with membership drawn from the representatives nominated by the Ethical Inclusion Partnership Steering Group on behalf of secondary and primary school headteachers. Their meetings are scheduled for: 

  • 14 September 2021 
  • 5 October 2021 
  • 9 November 2021 
  • 14 December 2021 

During this period, please take every opportunity to engage with your network/consortia reps to ensure your views are heard.  

The draft FAP 2022 will be finalised by 11 January 2022, after which it will be circulated to all Warwickshire schools for agreement. It is our intention that the new FAP will be adopted by April 2022, at which point the previous version will no longer be used.  

If you have any questions about either the new Admissions Code, or the Fair Access Protocol, please email us at fapandassessmentgateway@warwickshire.gov.uk 

 

 

Educational Visits Update

Juniper Education are commissioned on behalf of Warwickshire County Council to provide advice, guidance and support to all our maintained schools undertaking education outside of the classroom activities. Ensuring that visit planning and execution is undertaken within the framework of legislation and accepted national best practice.

Current DfE guidance

Given the likely gap in COVID-19 related cancellation insurance, if you are considering booking a new visit, whether domestic or international, you are advised to ensure that any new bookings have adequate financial protection in place.

From the start of the new school term, you can go on international visits that have previously been deferred or postponed and organise new international visits for the future. (see full guidance)

Free EVOLVE training – Zoom webinars

Juniper Education are offering all maintained schools where WCC is the employer and subscribing schools a free one hour Zoom webinar to Visit Leaders.  The session will provide an update on latest DfE advice and guidance and review the features on EVOLVE to help to upskill staff on content requirements for robust H&S / Safeguarding on Educational Visits.

Register in advance for this webinar:

Zoom Webinars:

22/09/2021  15:30 – 16:30: To Register go to: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dOxb9yRcRxiDSvTQDQ-_7g 

OR

30/09/2021  14:00 – 15:00  To register go to: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pllnU8ALTqS3Rk_zRqbb7Q 

Alternatively, Juniper can deliver whole school Zoom EVOLVE training at a time and date to suit your school needs. There will be a fee for this of £185 per school – no maximum number - Please contact michelle.keady@junipereducation.org if you would like more details.

Training requirements for Educational Visits Co-ordinators and Visit Leaders

All EVC’s should be formally trained with update training every 3 years.

EVC’s should provide Visit Leaders with annual training (formal or informal).

Visit leader training can be in-house led by the EVC or by the Educational Visits Adviser (Juniper). Any CPD Visits Training should be logged on the staff ‘profile’ on your EVOLVE system  (Access for all WCC Maintained and subscribed VA and non-maintained schools)

Juniper Education provide an M-learning Visit Leader Training module.  For maintained schools where WCC is the employer and subscribing schools please visit https://junipereducation.org/educational-visits/ for more details and applicable charges.

For non-maintained and non-subscribing schools, the Educational Visits and Visit Emergency CPD m-learning training modules are also available to you. For more information and charges please contact: michelle.keady@junipereducation.org 

Links

For general information on the Educational Visits Support Service for maintained schools where WCC is the employer and subscribing schools visit the Juniper website  

For updated advice and guidance on School Visits go to your Juniper EVOLVE site. Current Advice and Guidance is constantly updated on the homepage.

All schools in Warwickshire also have access to OEAP National guidance

If you do not currently subscribe to this service, are a non-maintained school and are interested in how Juniper could support you to ensure you meet your statutory requirements please contact: educational.visits@junipereducation.org or look at the Juniper Website for more details.   

Teacher Pay 2021

Please see the LGA 'one stop webpage' for all the information you need to understand the proposed changes for Teachers Pay 2021. This month the National Employers Organisation for School Teachers (NEOST) will submit a response back to Government on the proposals that include a pay pause for qualified teachers pay and a £250 pay award for unqualified teachers earning less than £24,000 (FTE) for 2021. It is anticipated the final STPCD 2021 will be published in October. 

For action by 30 September 2021: 16 to 19 tuition fund 2021 to 2022 form

Post 16 providers are reminded to submit the 16-19 tuition form submission by the deadline of 30th September. 

The 16 to 19 tuition fund was first provided for the 2020 to 2021 academic year and is being extended beyond 2021 to 2022 for a further two years into the 2023 to 2024 academic year.

The fund provides additional funding for schools, colleges and other 16 to 19 providers to help with the disruption to learning caused by coronavirus (COVID-19).

It’s for small group tuition in English, maths and other subjects that have been disrupted, including vocational and/or academic learning.

The 16 to 19 tuition fund is ring-fenced funding for schools, colleges and all other 16 to 19 institutions who receive annual funding allocations from ESFA for the provision of 16 to 19 education.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-tuition-fund-2021-to-2022/how-to-complete-the-16-to-19-tuition-fund-2021-to-2022-form

Primary Consortia and Secondary Area Networks, September 2021

Please find attached the latest list of the Primary Consortia and Secondary Area Network groups with details of the current chair, schools in each group and the WCC Link Officer.

Please also find attached a paper outlining the role of the chair of the consortia and area networks for your information.

 

Restorative Practice Training Session

Restorative practice encourages those who work with children and families to focus their time on building quality relationships that inspire positive change. Focusing on relationships; encouraging fair process and offering high support and high challenge, we want to share this relational approach to working with families, colleagues and partners. 

Primary School Sessions 

Secondary School Sessions 

 

Mon 20th Sep @ 3.30pm 

Mon 27th Sep @3.30pm 

Thurs 7th Oct @ 3.30pm 

Tues 12th Oct @ 3.30pm 

Wed 20th Oct @3.30pm 

Wed 3rd Nov @ 3.30pm 

Wed 10th Nov @3.30pm 

Tues 16th Nov @ 3.30pm 

Tues 23rd Nov @ 3.30pm 

Thurs 2nd Dec @ 3.30pm 

Mon 6th Dec @ 3.30pm 

Tues 14th Dec @ 3.30pm 

Wed 12th Jan @ 3.30pm 

Click here to book  

Click here to book  

To learn more or for a discussion about how Restorative Practice could benefit your whole team, school or organisation please contact us at:  restorativepractice@warwickshire.gov.uk 

Previous feedback includes: 

“I really want to put into practice the language of Restorative Practice rather than behaviour management. I want to model it and share it with other staff”  

“The window of tolerance supported my understanding of how past experiences may influence individual responses. The use of affective statements will provide a framework for providing a more restorative approach to challenging”  

“The impact of isolation on pupils” 

“I have taken away the 3 steps of restorative conversation and how to deal with some behaviours presented in class. I have found the whole session informative and very interesting and come away with some thoughts about how I can integrate what I have learnt into my role as a teaching assistant.” 

“The reduction of incidents, the understanding of the children on their feelings and how to talk about them” 

“Check in and check outs are a great way to open up the relationship building opportunities” 

“Interesting ways of changing the ethos of the school”.

Sign-up for conference on transitions in education: 7 October

A conference on the transitions that children and young people experience throughout their education is to be held on 7 October.

The event is being organised by Warwickshire County Council to look at best practice in the county and to engage with people working in educational settings to discuss the topic.

'Transitions can range from big milestones to smaller changes in setting or routine. We are considering all the transitions Children and Young people experience from birth to 25 such as moving from a childminder to primary school or moving from secondary school to college.

Good transitions contribute to feelings of safety and acceptance which, enables children and young people to feel ready, willing and able to make the most of new situations.

This conference will look at best practice in Warwickshire and bring together educational professionals and those that work alongside educational settings for the discussion an and opportunity to collaborate across the county.

Sign-up to the conference here: https://forms.office.com/r/fNHAHN7L1B

Warwickshire Prevent Newsletter

The local Prevent Partnership produces a Newsletter to outline local developments regarding Prevent. The current edition contains updates regarding 

Educate Against Hate

Prevent Training Offers which are free and available to all school staff

Online Safety guide particularly suitable for parents and carers

National developments around extremism

If you have any queries on these or any other matters please contact Geoff Thomas on 01926 412432 or email geoffthomas@warwickshire.gov.uk

 

Free Maths Non-Specialist Programme – Improve your maths knowledge and pedagogy

This new, free programme for this academic year is designed to support non-specialist teachers teaching maths in a secondary school to develop specialist knowledge for teaching mathematics.

The programme focuses on the subject knowledge, pedagogy and classroom practice required to teach maths with skill and confidence - thus enabling teachers to better understand, teach and support pupils in maths in the classroom.

Please see this link to find out more.

RE Autumn Bulletin 2021

Please see the latest RE bulletin linked here.

Warwickshire Schools Library Service network meetings

Did you know that Warwickshire Schools Library Service run network meetings for Primary and Secondary schools? 

This is a great opportunity for staff to gain support and share ideas and knowledge. We will also share useful links and resources and we have had guest speakers at some of our meetings! We are currently running these virtually and they are open to everyone. We are aiming to have a hybrid model with a mixture of virtual and face to face meetings. The meetings are particularly useful for librarians or teaching staff with responsibility for reading and/or the library. These meetings are hosted by Warwickshire Schools Library Service (WSLS) and all schools within our region and surrounding areas are welcome to attend.

Our next Virtual meetings are:

Secondary Network Meeting: Thursday 16th September 2021, 3pm-4pm

For more information or to sign-up for the Secondary Network Meeting, please email us at schoolslibraryservice@warwickshire.gov.uk

Primary Network Meeting: Tuesday 28th September 2021, 3.30pm-4.30pm.

The theme for this meeting will be:

'Planning for the Year Ahead: Reading Calendars and Embedding Reading for Pleasure across the Curriculum.'

The session will also give you the opportunity to ask questions, network and share ideas/experiences with other teachers and librarians. We will also share lots of useful links, book recommendations, resources, training and CPD opportunities.

Please more information and to sign-up for the Primary Network Meeting please click on the following LINK

For more information or to register for one of the meetings, please email us at schoolslibraryservice@warwickshire.gov.uk

 

Warwickshire Music Service strikes the right chord

It’s great news for children and young people with a love of music as Warwickshire Music is now offering free music groups and ensembles for the county’s schoolchildren for the academic year.

As the service looks to return its presence in schools and Music Centres across the county to pre-pandemic levels, the waiving of fees comes as an added incentive for budding musicians across the county.

Starting from this term, there will be no charge for music groups and ensembles – collective music groups which allow the children to showcase their developing skills - for the academic year. 

This means as pupils return for the new academic year, as we emerge from over 18 months of inactivity in group music making opportunities due to the impact of the pandemic, there is a wide range of bands, orchestras, choirs, guitar and steel pan groups to meet interests and the ability levels of all students across Warwickshire led by the Service’s world class team of Warwickshire Music teachers.

All area and county music groups and orchestras will begin again this term with further details of the ensembles available across the county and practice times and locations here. Or at https://www.warwickshiremusichub.org/join-a-group

Warwickshire County Council’s portfolio holder for Children, Families and Education, Cllr Jeff Morgan, said;  “What great news for our youngsters that there will be this free opportunity to showcase their talents, develop and make friends with their peers after such a long time.

“I’m pleased that so many of our young people, from all corners of Warwickshire, get involved in this. The benefits to confidence and learning cannot be overstated. Now that the cost has been waived for a year, I hope that ensures that many more budding musicians get the chance to showcase their skills, make new friends and enjoy the benefits of working together to create outstanding music.”

Here’s a bit of proof that Warwickshire’s schoolchildren didn’t lose their musical ears during lockdown, a virtual performance that shows how much our children value the transformative power of music. Listen and enjoy:

More information about the Warwickshire Music Service can be found online: https://www.warwickshiremusichub.org/

Forest School Level 3 Training in Warwickshire

Level 3 Forest School Leader Award Training will be available at the Revel Primary School, Monks Kirby - Starting this winter.

Forest School Level 3 Leader Award

Instead of the course running as a solid block it will be spread over 8 weeks with the participants attending every Monday during this time. This is following the feedback  received from schools and participants.  

If your school or any of your staff feel they could benefit from Forest Schools in your setting please get in touch.

The course dates are:

  • Mon, 15 Nov '21   
  • Mon, 22 Nov '21   
  • Mon, 29 Nov '21  
  • Mon, 6 Dec '21   
  • Mon, 13 Dec '21   
  • Mon, 10 Jan '22   
  • Mon, 17 Jan '22   
  • Mon, 24 Jan '22   

The Cost of the Level 3 Leadership award in Forest Schools £850 pp

To Book on to the course please follow this link.

Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service

Do you know a voluntary group that deserves recognition for the work it does? Why not consider nominating it for a national award?  

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS), is an annual award, acknowledging the outstanding work delivered by volunteers who benefit their local communities. It’s the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.   

The closing date for nominations is midnight on 15 September 2021. For more information on how to make a nomination visit:  
www.warwickshire.gov.uk/news/article/2361/recognise-warwickshire-s-exceptional-volunteers-by-submitting-a-nomination-for-the-queen-s-award-for-voluntary-service  

Originally set-up in 2002 to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s Golden Jubilee, the next successful QAVS nominees will be awarded in 2022, which is both Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and the 20th anniversary of the QAVS. 

Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Lieutenancy have created a short video to support residents with information about QAVS, why the Award is important, and how to submit a nomination:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YzaOXmpB2Y   

Kooth Eventbrite sessions

Please see this poster with information on how to sign-up for upcoming Eventbrite sessions.

Sessions include: 

  • A session for professionals working with young people in the West Midlands, providing information
    around the Kooth service and how to effectively signpost young people to Kooth
  • A session for parents and carers living in the West Midlands, providing information around the Kooth
    service and how parents/carers can support their young people to access Kooth
  • A session for 18-25 year olds living in the West Midlands, providing information around how Kooth
    can provide this age range with support around their mental wellbeing.

Heritage Education is running in person workshops again this Autumn

Heritage Education are pleased to welcome back schools to St John’s House, Warwick, this term for all your favourite workshops and a couple of new ones.

Come and enjoy their Victorian workshops at St John’s House. Experience a Victorian Schoolroom, work in their Victorian laundry, play with Victorian toys, try on Victorian costume or explore how rich and poor people lived in Victorian times. Workshops cost £3.50 per child per workshop and you can enjoy three workshops during your visit. Visit Victorians at St John's page to find out more information.

Or why not bring your pupils to experience their new Great Fire of Warwick workshop and re-imagined Anglo Saxons and Ancient Romans workshops, using immersive techniques to encourage creativity and enquiry led learning? Workshops cost £7 per child. Visit Key Stage 2 page to find out more information.

They are running all workshops at St John’s with new covid safety procedures, including making sure only one school is on site at a time and an increased cleaning schedule. Any workshops that used to be delivered at Priory House are now delivered at St John’s, taking advantage of the increased space and facilities available for extra safety.

They are also able to visit schools again to deliver their popular Stone Age to Iron Age, Ancient Egyptians and Toy and Games workshops. Workshops range from £6 per child (Toys and Games) to £8 per child (Stone Age to Iron Age; Ancient Egyptians).

Remember you can also visit Cross Hands Quarry and spend the day in the open air at our Rocks and Fossils workshop (£6 per child).

To find out more about any of these workshops or to make a booking please call 01926 412069 or email heritageeducation@warwickshire.gov.uk.

HertiageEducation

Warwickshire County Council launches consultation on future bus services

Warwickshire residents are being asked to share their views to help shape an ambitious plan for the future of bus services in Warwickshire.

Warwickshire County Council (WCC) is working closely with bus operators to develop the Warwickshire Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) aimed at encouraging more people to travel by bus.

In March, the government published a National Bus Strategy which set out a framework for recovery from the pandemic and a vision for future bus service improvement across the country. It has earmarked £3 billion towards improving bus services throughout England.

The BSIP will set out Warwickshire's ambitions for bus service improvements and will be used by Government as the basis on which to award funding which, if successful, will benefit people living, working and travelling in Warwickshire. 

WCC is engaging with groups and individuals across the county to get their views, including: residents; bus operators; public transport user groups; rail stakeholders; business groups; voluntary groups; hospitals and emergency services; Borough and District Councils; Parish and Town Councils; Warwickshire MPs; Highways England and neighbouring local authorities.

Councillor Wallace Redford, Cabinet Member for Transport and Planning said: “For many, buses are a lifeline to employment, education, medical appointments and leisure, and are essential to the economy. Working with our partners, we are committed to ensuring our bus services are the best they can be.

“We want to hear from as many residents as possible to help shape our BSIP and make sure that it reflects our communities right across the county. We're keen to hear from people who already use buses and from those who currently don’t. We also want to hear from public, private and voluntary organisations who have an interest in making our bus services work better.”

Have your say - how to take part

The closing date to complete the survey is Sunday 19th September 2021

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