Education Noticeboard

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

It is always fantastic to be able to start one of these updates by talking about the achievements of the young people in Telford & Wrekin.

The Young People’s Forum, a fantastic consultation action group with participants aged 11-18, have launched the Young Person’s Year of Wellbeing. This took place as part of the Our Future in Mind Mental Health Summit, held this week.

This is a fantastic achievement, where the members of the Forum have helped shape this ongoing event, which can raise awareness of mental health issues for other young people across the borough.

There are several key pieces of information shared this week, so please take a look. These include the launch of the Telford Crisis Support Winter coats and shoes project, a new model school Alternative Provision Commissioning Policy and updates from the Safeguarding Team.

Wishing you all a great week!

Simon

Simon Wellman
Director of Education & Skills

Young People’s Forum launches Young Person’s Year of Wellbeing in Telford and Wrekin

On World Mental Health Day, the Young People’s Forum (a council-driven consultation action group for 11 - 18 year olds) launched the Young Person’s Year of Wellbeing campaign. The campaign aims to encourage young people across the borough to take action to enhance their wellbeing, through simple, small changes to their everyday life.

The campaign was launched as part of the Our Future in Mind Young People’s Mental Health Summit organised by the Young People’s Forum at Telford Minster Southwater, on 10 October 2023.

Over 60 young people from borough secondary schools attended interactive workshops at the Summit, where they received valuable advice on addressing issues that could affect their wellbeing, such as body image, managing anxiety, loneliness and others.

Councillor Kelly Middleton, Cabinet Member for Healthy, Safer, Stronger Communities and Partnerships said: “We want Telford and Wrekin to be a place where young people are happy, healthy and have an influential voice. Through our Young People’s Forum, we found out that improving mental health is top priority for young people across the borough, following the pandemic’s impact. As such, we have been developing a “Young Person’s Year of Wellbeing” campaign, with support from the Young People’s Forum, that is launching on World Mental Health Day.

“This campaign will give young people across the borough practical tips and advice they can relate to and use in their day-to-day life to enhance their wellbeing. This can include taking regular walks, improving sleep, limiting social media use, connecting with friends and family more often. These may all seem like small things, but they can make a noticeable difference to how young people feel. The campaign will also help young people and their families to find out how to access mental health support services in the borough, when they need them.

“I encourage all young people across the Borough, their parents and carers to join this campaign. Sign a pledge online, we will then email you regularly with motivation, tips and information you can easily put into practice. This is your year to feel happier, healthier and more empowered to take action for your wellbeing.”

Rae Anyidoho, a representative from the Young People’s Forum and the elected Member of Youth Parliament for Telford and Wrekin said: "Over the span of a year, the Young People's Forum has been holding discussions around what young people in our borough believe to be the biggest issue, and what areas needed the most support. After lengthy conversations and a national ballot taking place, mental health was what came out on top.

“So we created the local Our Future In Mind Mental Health summit, which aims to increase awareness around the services that young people could access in Telford. As part of this, the Young People's Forum have had the chance to work closely with the council in order to shape the Young Person’s Year of Wellbeing campaign which we are launching as part of the summit.“

To join the “Young Person’s Year of Wellbeing” campaign visit the Telford.gov.uk website.

To find out more about the Young People's Forum, get in touch with the council’s team at cpt@telford.gov.uk or visit the council’s website.

Winter coats and shoes project 2023

Telford Crisis Support have launched their Winter coats and shoes project, with the aid of funding from Telford & Wrekin Council.

The project is planned to run until 6 March 2024, with help offered by referral only.
Please enter the following (case sensitive) password when prompted: xjoufsdpbut

Please note the following:

One application is required per child.
Please do not share publicly for schools’ academies and partner organization use only.
On submission of a request a confirmation email will be sent to you, please ensure your specified email address is correct and retain a copy of this email for verifying items on receipt and ensuring they are distributed accurately.

For more information on support services offered by Telford Crisis Support please visit their website. Alternatively Clothing Coordinators Debbie Hughes and Jaden Osbourne can be contacted by sending an email to clothing@telfordcrisissupport.org.uk or by calling/texting 07878 296958 (10am-3pm, Monday - Friday).

Updated Pupil Premium Education Endowment Foundation Resources

The Education Endowment Foundation have published three important new resources designed to support school leaders in maximising the impact of their Pupil Premium spending, including actionable, time-saving advice on:

Structuring spend
Updated Pupil Premium Guide will support Senior Leaders championing the structured use of Pupil Premium spend. The five-point plan will help sustain your strategy as you incorporate it into wider school improvement planning.

Diagnosing and defining disadvantage
Now, more than ever, Leaders need to make the best choices with the resources we have, engaging with and using high quality, robust external research evidence. Governors and Trustees, who support and challenge senior teams to ensure this conversation remains live throughout the year, can make use of a strategic discussion tool.

Taking a tiered approach
Taking a tiered approach to Pupil Premium spending will help school leaders balance the essential ingredients of an effective Pupil Premium plan: high-quality teaching, targeted academic support, and supporting wider strategies. This sits at the heart of our updated Evidence Insights tool which complements the DfE’s Menu of Approaches.

More information can be found on the Education Endowment Foundation website.

Changes to Keeping Children Safe in Education webinar (SG 204)

All those who have a responsibility for Child Protection and Safeguarding must have an up-to-date knowledge of the relevant guidance and legislation to help ensure that safeguarding in their school is effective.

A webinar is running, which will provide an overview of changes to Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021 and other guidance, including from Ofsted and the Department for Education.

Delegates will:

understand the changes to Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021 and the impact this has on schools
be aware of important changes to other safeguarding guidance and legislation, including Ofsted Inspecting Safeguarding and Managing Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment between children
develop an awareness of how changes to guidance and legislation impacts on local authority and school policy and procedures
know what action needs to be taken in school to help meet the requirements of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021.

Please note: This is an additional date which has been added due to the popularity of the sessions which ran on 6 September 2023. Delegates who have already attended this year do not need to attend this session.

The cost of this training is £94 per person (with 10% discount per person for two or more bookings from the same school); schools outside Telford & Wrekin are invited to book places at a cost of £112.80 per person.

To book your place/s please send a completed booking form to cpdschoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk.

Let’s Talk PANTS! Insight sessions – 19 October 2023

The NSPCC and Telford & Wrekin Council invite you to join one of three free sessions to learn all about Talk PANTS, a simple conversation to help keep your child safe from sexual abuse. It will cover how you can use it in your setting and how you can encourage parents and carers to Talk PANTS at home too.

Please download the flyer for further details of the Let’s Talk PANTS sessions, which are taking place as follows:

Thursday 19 October from 9.30am to 10.30am: KS1 and KS2 (in person)
Thursday 19 October from 11am to 12noon: SEND (in person)
Wednesday 22 November from 6.30pm to 7.30pm: Early Years (via Microsoft Teams)

Bookings can be made by sending an email with your name, email address and school name to: cpdschoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk.

Model school Alternative Provision Commissioning Policy

A Model Alternative Provision Commissioning Policy is available for schools to download and use where they don’t have a suitable existing policy. This policy defines the roles and responsibilities where schools commission Alternative Provision directly for their young people. This applies to both registered and unregistered Alternative Provision.

This builds on the work of the Alternative Provision Directory, which can be found on the Telford.gov.uk website.

A key element of a school’s role in commissioning Alternative Provision is to ensure that this meets the needs of the student, both in terms of safeguarding and quality of education. The school’s quality assurance of this will be tested by Ofsted during inspection. The commissioning policy therefore also includes a Quality Assurance Framework. Most schools will have developed their own quality assurance framework for Alternative Provision, however, this becomes complicated for Alternative Provision providers where schools use a plethora of different frameworks. It is hoped, therefore, that if the majority of schools use the same framework this will not only make this process simpler for providers but will also facilitate the sharing of information between schools.

Telford African & Afro-Caribbean Resource Centre: Workshops in schools to celebrate Black History Month

Black History Month is in October and many pupils and staff have expressed a desire to learn more about key figures and events in history that have an impact on our world today. This cross-curricular topic not only covers many elements in History but addresses many fundamental Spiritual, Moral, Social, and Cultural development (SMSC) and Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PHSE) aspects of the curriculum.

Telford African and Afro-Caribbean Resource Centre (TAARC) are offering workshops to schools, (please see flyer for costings) to promote awareness of a shared British history. The aim is to provide staff with the opening for difficult discussions in class around racism and hate crime, as well as to develop pupil’s understanding of wider issues in the media and local context around equality and diversity issues. This supports schools’ development of pupils’ understanding of Fundamental British Values and the protected characteristics as defined in the Equality Act 2010. The theme for this Year’s workshops is the 75th Anniversary of Windrush and will focus on Life in the UK today.

For more details, including costings, please download the TAARC flyer.
All workshops are to be booked directly with TAARC.

Thinking of becoming a School of Sanctuary?

On Wednesday 8 November 2023, at 9.30am, the doors of Wombridge Primary School will open its doors to schools who would like to follow in theirs and Millbrook’s footsteps in becoming a School of Sanctuary.

The school have worked hard on ensuring their curriculum embeds Equality and Diversity, has a strong focus on British Values, and ensures all children feel welcome, safe and have a true love for learning at their school. On their appraisal day children told visitors about how proud of their school, and their experiences before coming to the UK.

Wombridge Primary School would like to invite Staff and Governors of schools who are interested in becoming a school of sanctuary to tour their school ,and to ask questions as they share their journey and evidence portfolio to those considering becoming a school of Sanctuary.

For more information on becoming a school of sanctuary please visit the City of Sanctuary website.

If you would like to attend the opening morning, please contact the school or email Multicultural.Development@telford.gov.uk to confirm you attendance.

PODS: Challenges at Home sessions

Parents Opening Doors, with support from the Principal Educational Psychologist Team, are holding Challenges at Home sessions, aimed at family members who have a child or young person (aged 0-18) who are undergoing, on the pathway to or waiting for assessment for Autism.

The sessions are for families to discuss home and life concerns – emotions, behaviour, social, anxieties, routines etc.

Daytime sessions:
18 October 2023, 23 November 2023, 14 December 2023
9.30-11.30am
PODS Hub, Central Park
Book a session

Evening sessions:
18 October 2023, 23 November 2023, 14 December 2023
6-7.30pm
Microsoft Teams (online)
Book a session

For more details, or ongoing dates into 2024, please download the flyer. You can also contact Jayne Stevens on 0777 534 2092 or by emailing jayne@podstelford.org.

Free training: Talk With Tales for Children (TWiTCH)

Free sessions of Talk with Tales for Children (TWiTCH) are available, starting in September 2024, and running to July 2025.

TWiTCH is a professional development programme to promote high quality adult-child interactions in early years settings.

Talk with Tales for Children (TWiTCH) trains Practitioners on how to use story time as a daily opportunity for complex language interactions between children and adults. It also supports the use of teacher/child talk through language games to develop children’s thinking and reasoning skills and the language to express complicated thoughts and ideas.

For more information please download the programme overview.

To express your interest in this free fully-funded programme, please complete the registration form.

Booking open: Early Years Professional Development Programme 3 – January 2024 cohort

The Early Years Professional Development Programme (EYPDP) is an exciting opportunity for Early Years Practitioners to improve their understanding and skills in supporting the development of the most disadvantaged children between the ages of 2 and 4. This training covers the following:

Speech, language and communication.
Early mathematics
Personal,Social and Emotional Development

It would be good for those new to working in the Early Years Foundatin Stage (EYFS), Teaching Assistants and Practitioners wishing to update their knowledge.

Funded by the Department for Education in England and delivered by Education Development Trust, the EYPDP is a tailored professional development programme and forms part of the government’s Early Years Education Recovery Plan which aims to address the continued effects of the pandemic on young children.

The training is available to eligible Practitioners across all participating Local Authorities in England. There will be staggered start dates across the 2023/25 period with a total of four cohorts, the next of which is due to start in September 2023. Participants will receive high quality, evidence-based Continuous Professional Development (CPD) to support them to improve outcomes in the three areas listed above.

More information is available on the Early Years Professional Development Programme website, or by downloading the programme flyer.

Queries can be emailed to Lisa.seymour@telford.gov.uk.

National Adoption Week: 16-22 October 2023

National Adoption Week 2023 is an annual event dedicated to raising awareness about adoption and celebrating the families that have been formed through this beautiful process. It provides an opportunity to highlight the importance of adoption and to encourage more people to consider adoption as a way to build their families. During this week, various events and activities take place to support prospective adoptive parents, adoptees, and birth parents and to showcase the positive impact of adoption on individuals and communities.

Participating in National Adoption Week allows you to support and celebrate the beauty of adoption. Here are some meaningful ways to get involved:

Spread Awareness: Share information about adoption and its positive impact on social media, blogs, or within your community.
Attend Adoption Events: Look for local adoption-related events, workshops, or webinars to attend.
Support Adoption Organizations: Donate to or volunteer with adoption agencies and support groups that assist adoptive families.
Share Adoption Stories: If you’re an adoptive parent, share your adoption journey and experiences to inspire others.
Advocate for Adoption-Friendly Policies: Advocate for policies and legislation that make the adoption process smoother and more accessible.
Consider Adoption: If you’ve thought about adoption, take the first steps in exploring this loving path to parenthood.

For further information visit the Coram BAAF website.

Recycle Week: 16-22 October 2023

The 20th annual Recycle Week will take place 16-22 October 2023. The theme for this year is The Big Recycling Hunt and the campaign is a week of action which focuses on “missed capture”: the items that can be recycled but are commonly missed in the home.

This year is all about inspiring children, families and whole communities to get involved. The campaign will have two distinct elements:

For schools – encouraging the country’s children to partake in fun activities throughout Recycle Week.
A focus on local authorities, partners and brands to share the message.

Recycling week allows children of all ages to be informed about recycling. Whether it is helping your young learners know about how paper, glass, plastic, aluminium, steel and other materials can be recycled or if it is exploring composting fruits and vegetables, it’s an engaging and exciting way to bring everyone together.

Primary schools in England and Northern Ireland can sign up for The Action Pack to receive all the latest information and details of how you can get your school to take part.

Free education resources are available online:

Veolia resources
Twinkl
Recycle Now

Show Racism the Red Card: 23 October 2023

Wear Red Day is an annual event created and organised by the charity Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC). The day is an opportunity to wear red in support of calling racism out.

SRtRC use the high-profile status of football and football players to help tackle racism in society and sport today.

The aim of show racism the red card is to:

Raise awareness of diversity.
Foster tolerance and social cohesion.
Reduce physical and verbal violence linked to racism.
Make society aware of the negative impact of racism on individuals.
Create high-quality, comprehensive, and transferable educational materials.

There are a number of free resources available online to support schools and settings with this topic:

Red Card Educational Hub
Twinkl
School Wellbeing

National Care Leavers Week: 25 October-1 November 2023

National Care Leaver’s week will take place between 25 October to 1 November 2023 and it’s a time to recognise that leaving care can be difficult.

Unlike most young people who can rely on the love and support of their family long after their teens, care leavers are expected to be independent once they turn 18.

Care leavers in Telford & Wrekin have the support of a dedicated team to support them, they can be contacted via email to TWCareleavers@telford.gov.uk or by calling 01952 385817.

There are number of events on for care leavers over the next few weeks. More information of these is available to download.

There are a number of free resources available online to support schools and settings with this topic:

Break
Telford & Wrekin Care Leavers local offer

CPD courses to October half-term 2023

As always, the CPD Booklet can be viewed on the Telford Education Services.

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.

Absence Management of Employees (HR course)	Monday, October 16 2023	2.30pm to 5pm
Literacy Pathway	Monday, October 16 2023	Full day
ELSA Training - part 6 (FULL)	Wednesday, October 18, 2023	9am to 3pm
Messy Mathematics in an Outdoor Learning Environment (EY 341)	Wednesday, October 18, 2023	4pm to 5.30pm
Let’s Talk PANTS KS1 and KS2 Insight Briefing	Thursday, October 19 2023	9.30am to 10.30am
Let’s Talk PANTS SEND Insight Briefing	Thursday, October 19 2023	11am to 12noon
Raising Awareness of Prevent (SG 101)	Thursday, October 19 2023	3.30pm to 5pm
Meeting the Statutory Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements of the EYFS (EY 009)	Thursday, October 19 2023	4pm to 5.30pm
Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) Webinar (SG 204) – additional date added	Monday, October 23 2023	5pm to 6pm
Exploring & Creating Resources to Enhance Vocabulary during Story and Song Time in the EYFS (EY 342)	Tuesday, October 24 2023	1.15pm to 4pm
Designated Teachers & Governors for Children in Care Network (compulsory school age) (GO 503)	Tuesday, October 24 2023	4pm to 5.30pm
Literacy Pathway	Tuesday, October 24 2023	Full day
Managing Absence (AST 002)	Wednesday, October 25 2023	9.30am to 11.30am
ELSA Training - part 6 (FULL)	Wednesday, October 25 2023	9am to 3pm
The Role of the Early Years Practitioner in Supporting and Enhancing Play (EY 008)	Wednesday, October 25 2023	1.15pm to 4pm
Safeguarding Induction Training for Governors - part 1 (SG 103)	Wednesday, October 25 2023	5.30pm to 7.30pm
Effective Circle Times in the EYFS (EY 302)	Thursday, October 26 2023	1.15pm to 4pm
Leading Good Autism Practice (EPS 108)	Friday, October 27 2023	9am to 3pm

Train to teach in Telford with Severn Training and Schools Alliance

Severn Training and Schools Alliance (STSA) is based in Telford and offer Primary (4-11) and Early Years (3-7) PGCE Lead School Partner Route initial teacher training, with their partner, the University of Chester.

Now recruiting for September 2024, if successful in gaining a place trainees can look forward to a training year which will include two contrasting placements in Telford schools in two different key stages, and curriculum and academic training sessions with their whole cohort delivered in Telford by trainers who are not only experts in their particular field but familiar with Telford & Wrekin schools. Many STSA Associate Teachers secured permanent employment within Telford schools following successful completion of the course last year.

Candidates need to have a degree, plus GCSE 4-9 or equivalent in English, Maths and Science to apply, and successful completion of the course provides candidates with Qualified Teacher Status and a PGCE.

Interested or know someone who may be?
STSA hold weekly online information sessions, each Tuesday evening during term time from 5.30 – 6.30pm. This informal session will give you the chance to have all your questions answered. For more details visit the STSA website, email the team on stsa@taw.org.uk, or telephone 01952 387237.

This entry was posted by Claire on Wednesday, 11 October 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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