Education Noticeboard

Education Noticeboard - 6 July 2023

Welcome to the Education Noticeboard. A round-up of news, guidance and key updates for education settings.

Included in this update:

Director update

Dear colleagues,

As you will have no doubt seen, this week our recent OFSTED/CQC area inspection of SEND has been published. Whilst we know there will always be more work to do can I say a huge thanks to you all, our brilliant early years settings, schools and post 16 provisions for your continued support.

This was a system inspection and without your sound contribution we would not have achieved the outcome that has been awarded. We are very aware that we have more demand coming through the front door and collectively there will be discussions, in the very near future, to consider the way in which we are able to manage increasing complexity of children’s needs, but let’s not underplay the fantastic result of this inspection for Telford and Wrekin.

The majority of our children and young people have a positive experience of the SEND system across our borough and that is a judgement formed on how we and you work closely with our children and young people with SEND. A heartfelt thanks to you all.

In other news, earlier this week pupils from across Telford & Wrekin schools visited AFC Telford and took part in the LEGO League Explore programme final, an event which was partly sponsored by the council.

A reminder about the Happy Health Active Holiday scheme is available for eligible children and young people of our borough across the holidays. Please do help to promote the scheme to families you feel would benefit.

Please check out our new CPD booklet, for 23/24, which has now been launched. The link to access this online has been included.

Finally there is some information included about our adult Learning Courses from Learn Telford.

Wishing you all a great weekend when you get there!

Simon

Simon Wellman
Director: Education & Skills

Ofsted and CQC Publish Report of Telford SEND Services

Ofsted and CQC publish report of Telford SEND services

Ofsted and CQC have published their findings following a recent inspection of special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) services in Telford and Wrekin.

According to the report, the ‘passion and determination’ of local organisations is leading to positive outcomes for children and young people with SEND in the area.

The inspection report goes on to highlight that children and young people with SEND are visible, valued and included in the Telford and Wrekin community.

The report outcome stated that the local area partnership’s arrangements typically lead to positive experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and that the local area partnership is taking action where improvements are needed.

This is the highest possible outcome that can be achieved under the new inspection framework.

The review looked at how well Telford & Wrekin Council, NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, health providers, and education settings identify, assess, and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND and improve their experience and outcomes.

The next full area SEND inspection will be within 5 years.

Telford and Wrekin are the first local area partnership in the West Midlands to be inspected under a new SEND inspection framework.

Key findings, our response and our next steps

Enabling and supporting some of our most vulnerable children to be healthy, happy, and safe and achieve their full potential is a priority for us and we are delighted with the feedback that families feel involved and listened to.

We have worked hard to strengthen our local partnership and develop a joined-up approach to SEND.

It is particularly heartening to hear that children and young people value the range of services and activities on offer and the care and support we have put in place is making a difference to their lives.

However, whilst we have made some really positive progress, we know we have more to do, and we will continue to work with all our partners to develop the support available and raise awareness of what’s on offer to improve the experiences and outcomes for families.

The report identifies several areas where progress has been effective including Education, Health and Care Plans, the implementation of the ‘belonging strategy’, the approach to absence levels and educational progression and transition, listening to and acting on the views of parents and carers, multi-agency support for speech and language and communication needs, and social care support.

The report sets out what else we need to do to ensure that children and young people’s needs are addressed in a timely manner going forward and recommends that leaders in NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin work closely with partners to improve the governance, monitoring, and oversight of diagnostic pathways for children and young people with SEND.

Working in partnership, we are committed to improve our pathways, including neurodevelopmental, mental health and speech and language therapy assessments, to support children and young people both with their physical and mental health needs.

We are reassured that the inspectors considered the plans in place across NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and our health providers to be sufficiently comprehensive to make progress in these areas.

It is our intention to keep evaluating what we do as a partnership and listen to families to ensure we continue to improve and apply the learning across the whole of the county.

In response to the report’s recommendations, we will update the strategic plan for SEND which will be published later this year.

Read the Ofsted and CQC report.

Watch a video about the report on YouTube.

Telford youngsters discover their superpowers at LEGO league event

School children from across Telford and Wrekin came together at AFC Telford for the final of the second LEGO® League Explore programme, sponsored by Telford & Wrekin Council and Morris Property and supported by Capgemini.

The programme was aimed at students aged six to nine years old and introduces a scientific challenge to help develop new skills and inspire a love of learning while having lots of fun with LEGO.

Learning starts here with high quality Learn Telford courses

Telford & Wrekin Council is launching a new programme of high quality learning courses for adult learners from September 2023.

Learn Telford offers a wide range of courses for people aged 19 or over, for all abilities, which are delivered at venues and community centres across the borough.

Courses include Maths and English, ESOL (English for speakers of other languages), Access to HE Health and Access to HE Education, Post Compulsory Education (PCE) and family learning. Community learning courses are also available which include arts and crafts, horticulture and gardening, cooking, health and wellbeing, getting online and computing.

All courses are designed to fit in with people’s personal commitments and there are lots of benefits to signing up for one. They include new skills, increased employment opportunities, confidence building, reduced social isolation and improved wellbeing.

Current learners on Learn Telford courses are full of praise for them and many have learnt new skills for the workplace or a course has enabled them to move on to new career path.

Liam Fletcher, who is on the Access to Higher Education – Education course, said: “This course has expanded my knowledge which I can apply within my workplace. At times the workload may seem high but the tutors are always there to support you as and when you need it.”

Becky Giles, a student on the Post Compulsory Education course, added: “I’ve learnt a massive variety of things on this course. It’s a good background for a lot of professions not just teaching.”

Councillor Eileen Callear (Lab), Telford & Wrekin Council’s Cabinet Member for education, employment & visitor economy, said: “It’s never too late to start learning whatever stage of life you’re at. Our Learn Telford courses are a great way for adult learners to get back into learning something new and achieve new skills and qualifications. The courses take place across Telford and Wrekin and are really flexible - helping people to secure new employment or change career path completely.”

Find out more about Learn Telford courses and how to sign up for one by visiting the Learn Telford website.

Happy Healthy Active Holidays: Summer 2023

Our booking system is now open for Summer Holiday Activities. Please visit the Telford.gov.uk website to register for Happy Healthy Active Holidays.

Eligibility Criteria:

Reception – Year 11 benefit related FSM Children.
SEND Children.
Referral in by schools/services for vulnerable/at risk students that may benefit from the scheme.

If there is a child/children that you feel would benefit from this scheme, that doesn’t qualify for FSM but can be included as part of the 15% allocated funding (download the criteria for more information) for our vulnerable and deprivation areas, please provide us with their details by emailing holidayactivityhub@telford.gov.uk and using the Code SUMMER23.

The Happy Healthy Active Holiday booklet for Summer 2023 is also available to download.

Most recent National Attendance data to support your attendance analysis

On a fortnightly basis the Department for Education (DfE) is now publishing attendance data extracted from Wonde in a national data dashboard which enables schools to compare their data to that of the emerging national picture.

Within the data it is possible to identify figures for your type of school, (Primary, Secondary, Special) and separate data for authorised and unauthorised absences. It also enables schools to identify the current level of persistent absence nationally, and again compare their data to that of national. If your school is not currently doing so, we would urge that you regularly compare this level of data.

In comparing your data, remember that the national data is for statutory school aged pupils, and you will need to ensure that you are comparing like for like.

The most recent data release covers the academic year to date up to 16 June 2023.

The data shows that the attendance rate across the academic year to date nationally was 92.6%. The absence rate was, therefore, 7.4% across all schools.

By school type, the absence rates across the year to date were:

5.9% in state-funded primary schools (4.3% authorised and 1.6% unauthorised)
9.2% in state-funded secondary schools (5.8% authorised and 3.4% unauthorised)
13.1% in state-funded special schools (10.0% authorised and 3.1% unauthorised)

Across the year to date, 21.8% of pupil enrolments missed 10% or more of their possible sessions and are therefore identified as persistently absent.

By school type, the persistent absence rate across the year to date was:

17.1% in state-funded primary schools
27.3% in state-funded secondary schools
38.6% in state-funded special schools

For more information visit the GOV.UK website: Pupil attendance in schools

Best Practice Network: The Early Headship Coaching Offer (EHCO)

The Early Headship Coaching Offer (EHCO) is an unassessed Department for Education (DfE) fully funded targeted package of support aimed at new headteachers who are in their first five years of headship. The closing date for applications is 25 July 2023.

The structured, support programme is based on the best available evidence about what makes an effective Headteacher. It is available for all new eligible headteachers regardless of phase or context. This is a supportive programme that is personalised and flexible, practical and self-led. The delivery of the programme is shaped by a Skills Audit supported by a Leadership Coach to help participants decide which content areas will be most beneficial and have the biggest impact on participants’ practice. The programme takes place over four terms.

Participants will receive 1-2-1 coaching from a leadership coach who will help to address and overcome challenges, set goals and prompt reflection on how to develop leadership skills. All leadership coaches are experienced and well placed to offer insights into early headship.

Benefits for participants

This programme will support new school leaders to develop further, creating professionally aware and well-informed leaders who can approach challenges effectively and lead school teams cohesively.

‘Core business’ insight from expert practitioners.
Leadership coaching.
Connecting with other new headteachers – opportunities to develop regional networks.
School leader powerful conversation.
1:1 Impact review.
Flexible, blended learning to integrate into the working week.
Builds on the ten NPQH Content Areas and Headteacher Standards.
Personalised learning pathways tailored to participants’ priorities.
Peer led support network.

For full details as well as how to apply please see the link below:

EHCO | Early Headship Coaching Offer | Best Practice Network

Save the Date – SENCo Network Meeting

An additional SENCo Network Briefing has been arranged for Wednesday 12 July 2023 at 4pm – 5pm.

Please save the date in your diaries.

The briefing will be virtual on Microsoft Teams, invitations to the meeting will be sent today (Thursday 6 July 2023).

If you would like to update or add your contact details to the invitation list, please email SENDandInclusion@telford.gov.uk.

Animal contact in school – factors to consider in risk assessments

Factors to consider in situations where third party organisations are employed to bring animals into school.

For visits out of school to visitor attractions involving animal contact, such as petting zoos, refer to the Industry Code of Practice. chapter 7 gives specific advice to teachers.

For keeping animals as pets in school, refer to the safe management of the environment section of this guidance for more information:

Co-ordination between the school and third party organisations prior to the event – checking their risk assessments and insurance, ensuring everyone knows who will do what in terms of control measures, what each party expects from the other etc.
The minimum age at which actual contact with the animals is permitted. Note that the younger the child, the higher the chance they will contaminate themselves, the more vulnerable they are and the more difficult they are to deal with if they do develop any infectious disease after contact.
The type of animal being brought into school, considering the specific risk from the animals under consideration. For example, looking at the guidance for preventing and controlling infections it suggests that reptiles are not suitable as pets in children and young people settings, as all species can carry salmonella.
Whether the event/contact with the animals can take place indoors, or whether it needs to be outdoors.
Handwashing - ensure all individuals have access to liquid soap, warm water, and paper towels. Bar soap should not be used. Alcohol hand gel is not effective against some organisms that cause gastroenteritis, such as Cryptosporidium. Ensure the children clean their hands as soon as possible after touching the animals. All cuts and abrasions should be covered with a waterproof dressing. Educate children and young people on why hand hygiene is so important - consider using e-bug to teach children about this and other aspects of infection prevention and control.
Cleaning – ensure that any surfaces that may have been contaminated by the animals are suitably cleaned before the children return to them, using appropriate products and methods.

Health Protection Hub
July 2023

Learn Telford Newsletter: June 2023

The Learn Telford Newsletter for June is now available:

Learn Telford Newsletter - June 2023

Virtual work experience

Over the next few weeks we have a large number of students out on work experience. Not all students have been successful in finding a placement, so why not encourage them to try virtual work experience?

What is virtual work experience?
Also referred to as online, remote or e-experience, virtual work experience gives students the opportunity to complete work placement from home. For the majority of online work experience opportunities all you need is access to a laptop/computer and a stable internet connection.

Virtual placements share many similarities with traditional, in-person placements but their online nature allows participants to work with organisations across the country, even the globe.

While traditional, in-person placements often exclude a large number of students and graduates, owing to the limited number of placements available and the practicalities of taking part, the increased accessibility of virtual work experience means that opportunities are open to all.

Take a look here.

‘Your Guide to making the most of Work Experience’ – a resource for students preparing to go out on a placement, with supporting teaching resources.
Employer Insights – ideal for KS3 as a short activity to help them consider different employers and roles. These could also be used to add context in subject lessons, all helping towards Gatsby Benchmark 4. Cornerstone Employers for West and Central London will be creating insights for the new academic year, to be added to their existing profiles on the platform.
On-demand Virtual Work Experience programmes – these are ideal for students who are not going on physical placement, or to provide a short project for students not otherwise engaged in the curriculum.

For more information contact Mark Purcell, Youth Employment Support Team Leader, via email to Mark.Purcell@telford.gov.uk.

Parent feedback celebrating a local childminder

"My son Chester has been going to Muxton Explorers for almost a year now. From the moment I met Sue I knew I could trust her with my child (something I don’t do easily!) Chester hadn’t been left with anyone other than grandparents so I was a little nervous but from the very first day she made him (and me!) feel at ease and he absolutely loves going to Sue’s house!!

Sue keeps parents up to date on a private Facebook page and I love seeing what Chester and his pals have been up to that day! She makes sure they not only have lots of fun but that are constantly learning and developing skills. Crafts, baking, cooking, celebrating special events, water play and messy play! She keeps them busy!

The children have been lucky enough to have chicken eggs arrive at Sue’s and they watched them hatch and cared for the little chicks. They are now watching and learning about how live caterpillars turn into butterflies!

She also completes a daily mile with the children, they are always out and about exploring, no matter the weather!

She is honestly the most wonderful, warm and caring childminder ever! And I feel so very lucky that my son gets to spend his precious early years with Sue whilst I’m working. I couldn’t wish for a better childminder!

Thankyou Sue!”

If you are interested in registering as a childminder, please contact talkingchildminders@telford.gov.uk.

The 2023-24 CPD Booklet has now been published

The 2023-24 CPD Booklet has been published and is available on the Telford Education Services.

The courses will be uploaded onto Ollie over the summer holidays, but, as always, the majority of courses can be booked by completing and returning a CPD booking form to cpdschoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk.

For courses run by the HR team, please either book via Ollie or by sending an email to HRhelpdesk@telford.gov.uk.

We would like to thank you for your participation in our courses during 2022-23 and we very much look forward to continuing to work with you and support you during 2023-24.

Fully Funded National Professional Qualifications from the Shropshire and Telford Education Partnership

The reformed suite of NPQs is available for teachers and leaders in Shropshire and Telford who want to develop their knowledge and skills in specialist areas of teaching practice. There are:

4 leadership NPQs in senior leadership, headship, executive leadership and early years leadership.
4 NPQs for teachers and leaders who want to develop their expertise in specialist areas of teaching practice.

If you are interesteded in receiving high quality training to develop your middle and senior leaders then please consider registering on one of the following programmes:

Specialist NPQ's:

NPQ in Leading Teacher Development (NPQLTD)
The NPQLTD is available for teachers who have, or are aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading the development of other teachers in their school. This may be responsibility for the development of all teachers across a school or specifically trainees or ECTs.

The aim of the NPQLTD is to provide teachers with essential knowledge, skills and concepts that underpin successful leadership of teacher development.

NPQ in Leading Behaviour and Culture (NPQLBC)
The NPQLBC is available for teachers who have, or are aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading behaviour and/or supporting pupil wellbeing in their school.
The aim of the NPQLBC is to provide evidence which underpins successful leadership of behaviour and culture and provides participants with an understanding of how to put new approaches into practice.

NPQ in Leading Teaching (NPQLT)
The NPQLT is available for teachers who have, or are aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading teaching in a subject, year group, key stage or phase.
The aim of the NPQLT is to provide the participant with expertise and approaches that, through working with their colleagues, enable their school to keep improving, and contribute to a culture in which staff and pupils are all able to thrive.

NPQ in Leading Literacy (NPQLL)
Leading Literacy for teachers who have, or are aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading literacy across a school, year group, key stage or phase in their school.
The aim of the NPQLL is to provide teachers with essential knowledge, skills and concepts that underpin successful leadership of Literacy.

Leadership NPQs:

NPQ in Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL)
The NPQEYL is available for leaders qualified to at least Level 3 with a full and relevant qualification who are, or are aspiring to be, managers of Private, Voluntary and Independent nurseries, headteachers of school-based and maintained nurseries, or childminders with leadership responsibilities.
The aim of the NPQEYL is to provide teachers with essential knowledge, skills and concepts that underpin successful leadership of Early Years Leadership.

NPQ in Senior Leadership (NPQSL)
The NPQSL is available for teachers who are, or are aspiring to be, a senior leader with cross-school responsibilities.
The aim of the NPQSL is to enable participants to develop the relevant expertise and provide approaches to enable continuous improvement across the school.

NPQ in Headship
The NPQH is available for those who are, or are aspiring to be, a headteacher or head of school with responsibility for leading a school; or for those who are a headteacher or head of school with responsibility for leading a school and are in the first 24 months of headship.
The aim of the NPQH is to enable participants to gain an understanding of the expertise and approaches required to set an ambitious vision for their school, as well as learning how to establish a culture where staff and pupils can thrive.

NPQ in Executive Leadership
The NPQEL is available for those who are, or are aspiring to be, and executive headteacher or have a school trust CEO role with responsibility for leading several schools.
The aim of the NPQEL is to develop flexible expertise than participants can use to respond to challenges in a range of contexts, as well as being able to identify and address persistent and common school leadership challenges.

Length and content:
All Programmes last between 12-18 months with a face-to-face session, online content and formative and end of programme summative assessment.

How will I be assessed?
Formative assessment takes place throughout the programme, helping you to understand the progress you are making, and facilitators to adapt your learning experiences.
There are two success criteria for the successful completion of your course:

• Participation in at least 90% of the course.
• Successfully pass the summative case study assessment.

The summative assessment requires you to answer three questions in response to a case study. The assessment will give you the opportunity to demonstrate how you would deploy the knowledge, skills and understanding gained through the NPQ to lead and implement a specific aspect of change. The assessment windows are set at the start of your course and there is an 8-day period to complete the assessment.

To book your place for 2023-2024 or find out more, please visit the STEP website or contact Gemma.Hargreaves@leadinglearning.co.uk or Cavelle.PriestleyBird@leadinglearning.co.uk.

State-funded education settings: report trade union facility time by 31 July 2023 deadline

This is an update from the Department for Education

To meet the 2017 Trade Union Facility Time Publication Regulations, all public sector education settings are legally obligated to report their data about trade union facility time usage and representative activity annually.

You can use the GOV.UK online trade union facility time reporting service, to do this quickly and easily.

Employers with more than 49 employees, who do not employ at least one trade union representative, should submit a nil return.
Employers with less than 49 employees do not need to submit a return.

If you require additional support, the facility time guidance, provides further detail, or you can email facilitytime@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

The deadline for reporting facility time is Monday 31 July 2023.

Access the newly redesigned school attendance monitoring tool before September 2023

This is an update from the Department for Education

Attendance in the first week of September sets pupils up for the year. We know that schools, trusts and local authorities will already be identifying pupils who need additional support to attend well.

Schools voluntarily sharing daily attendance data with us will be able to access the redesigned monitor your school attendance tool from week commencing 10 July.

These changes include:

pupil attendance codes to the start of the academic year
indicators for termly trends
data visualisations for quick insight
a weekly view of pupil attendance
fixes to some data quality issues and loading times.

If you’re already sharing data, log in to your Wonde portal to share child in need (CIN), child protection plan (CPP) and pupil leaving date. Please agree, even if you do not currently record all this data in your management information system.

You can also sign up for our September webinar.

Support for pupil premium and recovery premium planning for the next academic year

This is an update from the Department for Education

The guidance and conditions of grant for the pupil premium and recovery premium have changed over the last few years.

To help schools understand the changes and plan for the next academic year, we are hosting a webinar on Monday 10 July from 4pm to 4.30pm. This will include a refresher on guidance, pupil premium strategy statements and the menu of approaches.

Book your place online.

Contribute to the DfE survey on wraparound childcare

This is an update from the Department for Education

We have committed to investing £289m over two academic years, from 2024, to help schools and local areas set up or scale up wraparound childcare, so it is available to all primary aged pupils who need it, by September 2026.

‘Wraparound childcare’ is childcare for school-aged children outside of normal school hours, such as breakfast clubs or after school childcare.

We are keen to hear from primary schools already providing wraparound childcare on how provision is staffed, as well as those not currently providing provision, on any potential barriers.

Please get involved and share your views by completing our short survey by Monday 24 July 2023. (This will only take 3 to 5 minutes to complete).

Contribute to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework consultation

This is an update from the Department for Education

We have launched a consultation to gather your views about proposed changes to the EYFS framework, which sets out the standards that education and childcare providers must meet for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5.

The proposed changes aim to offer providers increased flexibility and alleviate known burdens. This will support them to deliver the new entitlements announced at the spring budget. The proposed changes will allow providers more choice over how they operate and make it easier for them to deliver the EYFS.

Please get involved and share your views on the proposed changes before the deadline on Wednesday 26 July 2023, so we can gather a broad range of views to help us reach well-informed decisions.

Flu vaccination programme 2023 to 2024

This is an update from the Department for Education

This autumn term, primary-aged school children in England (from reception to year 6) and secondary school children (year 7 to year 11) will be offered a flu vaccination in schools. This can help protect children against flu, reduce absence and reduce transmission within the community – including the likelihood of teachers catching flu from pupils.

We are grateful for the support of schools in hosting vaccinations, as this makes it more accessible to pupils, resulting in higher uptake levels.

A local school-age immunisation provider will contact your school to agree a date for the vaccination session and the best approach for implementing the programme.

Further information is available for schools and for schools to share with parents and more secondary school resources will be added.

Guidance, and other school-based routine immunisations, will be updated in the coming weeks.

Take action on mental health and wellbeing in preparation for the autumn term

This is an update from the Department for Education

If you haven’t already done so, please claim your grant to train your senior mental health lead.

The training develops your mental health lead’s knowledge and practical skills to embed an effective whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing in your setting, which supports attendance, behaviour and learning.

The training includes:

developing your universal and targeted support offer
identifying mental health and wellbeing needs and monitoring the impact of support
approaches to plan and lead change aligned to the work of your designated safeguarding lead/special educational needs co-ordinator
engaging students and developing positive relationships with parents, families and carers.

Take five minutes to claim a £1,200 training grant. Choose from approximately 100 courses (beginner, intermediate and advanced levels), tailored to the needs of your setting and use the funding for supply cover if needed.

This entry was posted by Claire on Wednesday, 05 July 2023.

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Every week during term time we publish a new update for the education community. It includes essential briefings and specialist information about education.

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