Education Noticeboard - 29 February 2024
Welcome to the Education Noticeboard. A round-up of news, guidance and key updates for education settings. Included in this update:
- Director Update
- Volunteer Roles – Education Admissions Appeal
- Ready, set go! Top litter pickers needed for the Great British Spring Clean
- DfE Childminder Mentor Programme
- School Admissions – National Offer Day for Secondary Schools 2024
- Forest School Level 3 Training
- Careers Labour Market Information Booklet for Telford
- Telford & Wrekin Music delivers music lessons to over 3,000 children every week
- Early Years SEN Conferences
- Supporting The Home Learning Environment Conference
- CPD courses to the end of the Spring Term 2024
- CPD Prevent Duty Requirements for Education Settings
- Reducing Parental Conflict Webinar
- Big Walk and Wheel 2024
Director Update
Dear all,
I hope you are all having a good week.
There are some interesting items in the noticeboard this week. We are looking for volunteers to join our independent appeals panel, which deals with primary and secondary school admissions and exclusion reviews. If you would like to be involved with this process there is further information and contact details below.
There is also some important information regarding some free online mentoring for early years childminders from DfE and for the first time in three years there is an opportunity to participate in Level 3 training for the Forest school.
There is also a reminder to sign up for the Big Walk and Wheel 2024! which takes place from 11th – 22nd March, to show your support for making more active journeys to school.
Enjoy the rest of your week
Best wishes
Simon
Simon Wellman
Director: Education & Skills
Volunteer Roles – Education Admissions Appeal
We are looking for volunteers to join our Independent Appeal Panel which deals with primary and secondary school admissions and exclusion reviews.
The admissions panel considers appeals from parents or carers whose children have been refused admission to their preferred school. Our independent panel members consider the cases put forward by parents and schools and decide whether or not the appeal should be upheld.
You can find out more about this role: https://www.telford.gov.uk/info/20026/school_admissions/802/school_admission_review_panel_members
Ready, set go! Top litter pickers needed for the Great British Spring Clean
Dear colleagues,
We’d like to invite your school to get involved in the Great British Spring Clean, the nation's BIGGEST mass-action environmental campaign, that takes place between Friday, 15 March and Sunday, 31 March.
We’re calling on #LitterHeroes across the country to clear litter from streets - what is good for our environment is good for our mental and physical health too. Plus, there are some great prizes up for grabs too!
Telford & Wrekin Council, with help from street champions, volunteers, community groups, businesses and partners, will be holding litter picks across the borough and we sincerely hope you can join us.
We’ll be on hand to help with equipment so taking part couldn’t be easier!
Competition time!
- Why not join us and arrange a litter picking activity along a pre-planned route near your school between 11-22 March.
- Ten students have one hour to collect as much litter as they can during this set time, separating general waste from recyclables.
- Share your photos/videos on your social media or school newsletters, we can help share the good news to!
Winners:
- The winning schools (one primary, one secondary) will be those that have collected the most rubbish at the end of their one hour activity (measured by the number of fully filled rubbish bags)
- Winners will be announced after the Easter holidays and awarded with prizes. We will confirm the prizes over the coming weeks.
Council’s support
We will:
- Provide your school with 10 litter pickers and blue and clear bags for disposing of the rubbish collected
- Arrange for the rubbish to be removed as early as possible after collection.
- Promote those taking part and use as case studies
- Award prizes to the winning teams.
Interested?
If you have any questions or would like to register to join in with the litter challenge please email us at pride.officer@telford.gov.uk
The Great British Spring Clean is a campaign by Keep Britain Tidy - a leading independent environmental charity that works to inspire, educate and enable everyone in this country to value the environment on their doorstep.
We look forward to seeing your bags of litter soon!
DfE Childminder Mentor Programme
Free online mentoring for early years childminders covering topics including:
- Understanding child development
- Planning an effective curriculum
- Supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
- Supporting children with English as an additional language (EAL)
- Building strong relationships with parents and carers
“Taking part in the childminder mentor programme has really boosted my confidence…I feel empowered to engage, motivate and support children in my care in their learning and development.” –Childminder
To find out more visit: DfE Early years Childminder Mentor Programme - Request for support (office.com)
The closing date for requests for support is 17 March 2024.
School Admissions – National Offer Day for Secondary Schools 2024
Tomorrow (Friday 1 March 2024) is National Offer Day, when parents find out which secondary school their children have been offered a place at.
Applicants from Telford and Wrekin will be able to log onto the Parent Portal from midnight in order to view their school allocation.
During the morning, we will also be sending out emails to all applicants who live within the borough and have applied on time. The email will confirm their allocated school and what to do next if they want to be considered for a higher preference school or a school not previously applied for.
Those who applied late will not be allocated a school place on National Offer Day, but will be informed that their children have been added to the waiting list for a place at their preferred schools and we will contact them as soon as a place becomes available.
All secondary schools can now view their offers list on the SAM portal and primary schools can view their leavers list. The guidance below shows how to view your lists which are to remain confidential until tomorrow (1 March).
If you need any further information or advice, please contact the School Admissions Team at admissions@telford.gov.uk.
Forest School Level 3 Training
We now have dates for local Level 3 courses in Forest School leadership. The courses will run from The Field Studies Council site at Preston Montford, nr Shrewsbury. It has been at least 3 years since the last opportunity was offered particularly at a local location within central Shropshire. The first flyer gives you further information on what is entailed on the course and the second flyer gives the dates of the three courses being delivered. Should you need any further information please contact either Vicki Wood who is running the courses 01299 250253 or myself Alan Braybrooke, LA Outdoor Advisor: alan.braybrooke@telford.gov.uk 01952 387378
If you are interested in anything other than the L3, such as our L1 training, please get in touch.
Careers Labour Market Information Booklet for Telford
Telford and Wrekin council have produced a booklet to support career exploration in Telford with links and videos to support young people in their future training and employment aspirations.
Please share with colleagues and use in your lessons
Telford & Wrekin Music delivers music lessons to over 3,000 children every week
Learning to play an instrument is also one of our exciting 10 by 10 activities where we are encouraging children to try a new activity which could help them to discover new talents that they might not expect.
A huge well done to the 300 children from schools across the borough who came together this week to perform at the Telford Recorder Festival where they got to showcase their musical skills.
Before the concert we caught up with Redhill Primary School to see just how much the children enjoyed rehearsing. Watch the video here - https://youtu.be/av40ui-VKRo
Find out more about the 10 by 10 programme in Telford and Wrekin below.
Early Years SEN Conferences
The Best Practice Network Early Years SEN Conference will bring together educators, parents and professionals for a day filled with workshops, keynote speakers and networking opportunities.
For dates and locations, and to book your free ticket, please go to: Early Years SEN Conference | Best Practice Network
Supporting The Home Learning Environment Conference
Monday 11 March 2024
‘Parents [and carers] play a key role in children's learning. They are experts on their own children, and they
are a child's first and enduring educators, (National Children’s Bureau -NCB, 2010).
As a strand of the Family Hub programme, we have been utilising interventions and approaches that are evidenced based to support children’s Speech, Language, Communication and Literacy at home. This is your opportunity to learn more about these tools and the importance of the Home learning environment from a range of national speakers.
Speakers from National Organisations include:-
Speech and Language UK – Louisa Reeves Director of Policy and Evidence, Talk Boost and more.
National Children’s Bureau – Making it REAL (Raising Early Achievement in Literacy)
NASEN – Alex Grady, Supporting children with SEND.
NSPCC – ‘Look, Say, Sing and Play’ and ‘Talk Pants’
Who should attend- professionals working with Early Years Children 0 – 5, parents/carers, Voluntary Organisations who support families, Strengthening Families teams works, Social Workers, Health professionals,
including SALT, Health visitors and community nursery nurses, schools, and EY settings.
Venue: Mercure Telford, Forge Gate, Telford, TF3 4NA
Times: Arrival for 9:30am - Start 10:00am, Close 3:30pm
Cost – Funded, a buffet lunch will be provided.
Booking via talkingchildcare@telford.gov.uk
CPD courses to the end of the Spring Term 2024
The CPD Booklet for the remainder of the 2023-24 academic year can be viewed via Telford Education Services.
As always, courses can be booked by completing and returning a CPD booking form to cpdschoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk (unless denoted differently)
|
Literacy Pathway |
Monday, March 04, 2024 |
Full day |
|
Safer Recruitment Administration (HR course) |
Monday, March 04, 2024 |
3pm to 5pm |
|
Wednesday, March 06, 2024 |
5.30pm to 7.30pm |
|
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Designated Teachers & Governors for Children in Care Network (compulsory school age) Please contact virtualschool@telford.gov.uk to request a place |
Wednesday, March 06, 2024 |
4pm to 5.30pm |
|
EAL & Maths (CPD 603) |
Wednesday, March 06, 2024 |
1.15pm to 3.30pm |
|
Understanding Nurture (PSS 101) |
Thursday, March 07, 2024 |
9.15am to 12noon |
|
Literacy Pathway |
Thursday, March 07, 2024 |
Full day |
|
Accredited Safer Recruitment Training (HR course) |
Thursday, March 07, 2024 |
9am to 4.30pm |
|
‘Lunch and Learn’ webinar focused on domestic abuse (see article in Safeguarding section) |
Monday, March 11, 2024 |
12noon to 1.30pm |
|
St Giles' Trust SOS+ Training (SG 207) |
Monday, March 11, 2024 |
1.30pm to 3pm |
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CSE Termly Briefing for EY, KS1 & KS2 |
Monday, March 11, 2024 |
10am to 11.30am |
|
Restorative Justice (PSS 003) |
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 |
4pm to 5.30pm |
|
Improving EAL pupils' writing through Oracy, grammar and tier 2/3 vocabulary acquisition (CPD 727) |
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 |
1.15pm to 3.30pm |
|
Primary Computing Update (CPD 512) |
Tuesday, March 12, 2024 |
4pm to 5.30pm |
|
Behaviour Support Intervention Training - Non-accredited (BSAT 301) |
Wednesday, March 13, 2024 |
8.30am to 4pm |
|
A new webinar: Prevent Duty Requirements for Education Settings - completing the Annual Risk Assessment using the DFE template to support your audit (see separate article in Safeguarding section) |
Wednesday, March 13, 2024 |
1.30pm to 2.30pm |
|
A new webinar: Prevent Duty Requirements for Education Settings - completing the Annual Risk Assessment using the DFE template to support your audit (see separate article in Safeguarding section) |
Wednesday, March 13, 2024 |
4pm to 5pm |
|
Raising Awareness of Prevent (SG 101) |
Thursday, March 14, 2024 |
3.30pm to 5pm |
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Taking the Chair - part 4 (GO 504) |
Thursday, March 14, 2024 |
4.30pm to 6.30pm |
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Let’s Get Communicating And Reading In The Outdoors (EY 343) (see separate article) |
Thursday, March 14, 2024 |
4pm to 5.30pm |
|
A new webinar: Reducing Parental Conflict (repeated at 1,30pm) (see separate article in Safeguarding section) |
Friday, March 15, 2024 |
9.30am to 10.30am |
|
School Attendance Surgery (AST 005) |
Friday, March 15, 2024 |
10am to 12noon |
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A new webinar: Reducing Parental Conflict (repeated at 9.30am) (see separate article in Safeguarding section) |
Friday, March 15, 2024 |
1.30pm to 2.30pm |
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Equality & Diversity: Meeting the OFSTED requirements of teaching of protected characteristics (CPD 728) |
Tuesday, March 19, 2024 |
1.15pm to 4pm |
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Assessment - termly update (CPD 502) |
Tuesday, March 19, 2024 |
9.15am to 10.45am |
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Assessment - termly update (CPD 503) |
Tuesday, March 19, 2024 |
4pm to 5.30pm |
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Designated Safeguarding Leads Refresher (SG 107) |
Thursday, March 21, 2024 |
9.15am to 4pm |
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Exploring & Creating Resources to Enhance Vocabulary during Story and Song Time in the EYFS (EY 342) |
Thursday, March 21, 2024 |
9.15am to 12noon |
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Early Years Coordinators Termly Update (EY 007) |
Thursday, March 21, 2024 |
4pm to 5.30pm |
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Safety Intervention Refresher Training (formerly MAPA Refresher Training) - CPI accredited (BSAT 212) |
Thursday, March 21, 2024 |
2pm to 4.30pm |
|
SENCo Workshop – Transition |
Thursday, March 21, 2024 |
4pm to 5.30pm |
CPD Prevent Duty Requirements for Education Settings
This new webinar will take delegates through the requirements placed on leaders and governance under the Prevent duty, looking at the template risk assessment produced by the DFE to support you in undertaking your Prevent Duty annual risk assessment.
The webinar will provide advice on what you may wish to consider as part of this duty to reduce the likelihood of individuals being radicalised and to prevent education settings becoming permissive environments for extremism and radicalisation.
This webinar will take place twice on Wednesday 13 March 2024 (please note: delegates only need to attend one session) - 1.30pm to 2.30pm, repeated at 4pm.
Following the session delegates will:
- be familiar with the requirements for an annual risk assessment under the Prevent Duty
- understand the risks within education settings
- be able to complete a robust risk assessment to demonstrate the approach taken by leaders which fulfils their responsibilities under the Prevent duty
The cost for up to three delegates per school is a total cost of £80 per school.
To book your place/s please complete and return a CPD booking form to cpdschoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk
Reducing Parental Conflict Webinar
The Education Safeguarding Team has secured funding to enable us to offer FREE TRAINING AND TOOLKIT for the Amity ‘Reducing Parental Conflict toolkit’.
The toolkit contains many resources that may be helpful to all practitioners who work with children and families where the conflict between parents is having a detrimental impact on the child / children. The resources in the toolkit can be used flexibly and can be tailored by each setting to meet their own needs, working directly with families where there is conflict.
Each webinar is offered free of charge and will take place as follows:
Friday 15 March 2024 from 9.30am to 10.30am, repeated
Friday 15 March 2024 from 1.30pm to 2.30pm
Following the training delegates will:
- understand the causes and impact of parental conflict on children
- be aware of the relationship toolkit resources that can be used to support staff in addressing and reducing the impact of parental conflict on children
- receive a free electronic version of the toolkit following their attendance at the webinar
Bookings can be made by simply sending an email stating the delegate’s name, school and email address to: cpdschoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk
(As this event is free of charge a completed booking form is not required on this occasion).
Big Walk and Wheel 2024
It's not too late to sign up for the Big Walk and Wheel 2024! This year marks the 15th anniversary of the walking, wheeling, scooting and cycling competition. There are daily prizes to be won and new for this year, the Active Travel and Road Safety team have a choice of prize for the Telford & Wrekin school with the most active journeys recorded.
Taking part in the competition is a great way to encourage behaviour change and to demonstrate to parents that your school is committed to supporting healthy choices.
To register, simply go to the Big Walk and Wheel website and click the register now button. The competition takes place over 2 weeks and its quick and easy to register your schools daily journeys.
If you need any further support please get in touch via email Helen.Smith2@telford.gov.uk