Education Noticeboard

Education Noticeboard - 26 May 2022

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

Included in this update:

Executive Director update

Good afternoon colleagues

We have reached the end of another busy half term and I just wanted to say a big thank you to you all for your continued hard work, and give you a few updates from me from across our broader Children’s Services. Yesterday I chaired our Children’s Services Performance Board with David Sidaway our Chief Executive also in attendance. We are now in a position to be able to utilise a wealth of data to help identify our priorities across the whole of Children’s Services and it is excellent to see that Children’s Safeguarding and Education and Skills are working collaboratively to link data in order to identify any “out of sight children.

We have also finally signed off our refreshed Corporate Parenting Strategy which is wonderful. Being a corporate parent means doing everything we can for every child in the council’s care – and every care leaver – to give them all of the opportunities that other children get. This includes everything from keeping an eye on their progress at school, to looking after their health and wellbeing, to preparing them for life as independent adults – and supporting them when they get there. We need to be ambitious for the children in our care, encouraging them to dream big and take chances even if they don’t feel like that’s been an option in the past. Pulling together our new Strategy has been a huge piece of work and has had a lot on input from our children and young people who wrote ‘Our Promise’ which focuses on 7 key areas:

The Strategy will be shared more broadly in the coming weeks and it would be greatly appreciated if you would take the time to read through our Strategy and listen to feedback from our children in care and care leavers – as we all have an important role to play in achieving our aspirations for our children and young people in Telford & Wrekin.

Linked to this, our Fostering Service and Partners have just concluded a fantastic week long programme of activities to celebrate Foster Carer Fortnight. Foster Care Fortnight is The Fostering Network's annual campaign to raise the profile of fostering and show how foster care transforms lives. This is absolutely acknowledged by our services, recognising the devotion and commitment that our Foster Carers have and the positive impact that they have both for our children and young people and within our communities.

I also recently took part in reviewing applications for our 2022 Leader and Cabinet Member Young Person’s Grant Scheme and what a high standard of entries we have received this year – from support for enterprise proposals to support with higher education or requests of support for furthering Education, Employment and Training opportunities. It was really great to see and I would like to say a big thank you to those who supported young people in making applications and providing references. We are now planning for the awards event where we will have the opportunity to meet with some of our brilliant awardees face to face and celebrate their success!

Many of you will be aware that the final report of The Independent Review of Children's Social Care was published this week. We are now in the process of looking at the review and its recommendations and what this means for us all and for the children and families of Telford and Wrekin and will update further in due course. In line with this, we are also focusing on the Schools White Paper. Opportunity for all is an ambitious plan to ensure that every child is given the support that they need in education, to help every child to reach their potential. As we all know at this point, education is the great leveller and every single child should have to opportunity to access what they need to fulfil their potential and build strong foundations for their future.

Leading on from this, today is ‘Thank a Teacher Day’ on Thursday 26 May 2022. Everyone working in education have gone above and beyond for the children and young people in the borough, and thanks are due to these amazing educators for the incredible work that they do. You should all be very proud!

Wishing you all a fantastic half term. Hopefully there is some sunshine, as we join in with the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations!

Jo Britton
Executive Director: Children's Services

Arthog celebrates 60 years of evolution

Arthog, the outdoor education centre in Wales owned and run by Telford & Wrekin Council, celebrates 60 years since being opened as an adventure destination for tens of thousands of school children where they take part in outdoor pursuits and challenges that they are unlikely to tackle at home or school.

The centre at Arthog has a special place in the hearts of many Telford & Wrekin people (with memories made for life and skills nurtured) and it continues to go from strength to strength, providing a huge enrichment for every generation.

What does the future hold for Arthog?

We want it to continue for at least another 60 years!

We are committed to investing in this centre to ensure it provides for future Telford & Wrekin generations.

Read more on the Telford & Wrekion Newsroom.

Watch Arthog celebrating its 60th birthday in a short video on YouTube.

Redhill pupil wins two first place medals at the County Athletics Championships

A year 6 pupil from Redhill Primary Academy won two first place medals at the recent County Athletics Championships. Harriett Anslow, age 11, took top place in the 100m and 200m races, and 2nd place in the 800m as well as winning the long jump event with a jump of 4m 18cm. The school are very proud of Harriett!

Share your Platinum Jubilee celebrations

After 70 years of service to the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Her Majesty the Queen will become the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee.

There are many celebrations taking place in our schools and settings across the borough over the next few days.

Telford & Wrekin Council would love to know how your school or setting has celebrated this milestone event, and to share your photos of children with their Queen’s Platinum Jubilee gifts - sent to schools this week.

How you can share
Send your pictures and brief description on what you have done to celebrate, to education.noticeboard@telford.gov.uk for inclusion in the Education Noticeboard. You can also email jubilee@telford.gov.uk.
Share on social, using #jubileetelford and tag Telford & Wrekin using @TelfordCultureEvents and @TelfordWrekin.

All photos received will be considered as having permission for us to share on our social channels.

More information available online.

Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – commemorative medal and information for schools

Telford & Wrekin Council are delighted to present every school age pupil in the borough a commemorative gift to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, celebrating the 70th year of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne

Week commencing 23 May 2022, schools will begin receiving a delivery of commemorative medals which we would like you to give to your pupils on behalf of Telford and Wrekin Council to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Alongside the medal, there is a letter explaining the purpose of the gift and we would ask that you share this with parents via your usual communication channels on behalf of the council.

There will be a number of leisure activities taking place during the May Jubilee half term week so please also share the attached flyer with parents.

Thank you as always for your support.

Jubilee May half term activity flyer

Jubilee celebration letter to parents

Any enquires contact Rebecca Carey, School Performance Team Leader by email at rebecca.carey@telford.gov.uk.

Helping children in Telford & Wrekin take part in life enhancing activities

Telford & Wrekin are currently developing plans to launch their 10 by 10 work in September 2022.

Further information about the scheme can be found online and if you haven’t already you can sign up to the 10 by10 newsletter.

Over the coming weeks more information will be released, including details about the offers and opportunities that parents and children can take up right now.

An example of one of the activities featured is learning to ride a bike.

Learning to ride a bike is one the 10 life enhancing activities we want to help children to take part in by the time they are 10.

Ivy's story
Ivy is 8 years old and has been riding her bike without stabilisers for three years now.

Ivy told us: "My favourite thing about riding a bike is how there are no restrictions. You can go wherever you want. I like to look around at the world while I’m doing it. I like to go with my dad and my brother and we went out lots during lockdown. It helped me to not feel sad; without riding a bike I wouldn’t have had anything to do. Riding a bike makes me feel energised and happy. I am so glad I learnt to ride a bike."

There are many opportunities and offers in Telford & Wrekin for children to ride their bikes.

Visit the Bike Hub

Telford Bike Hub is now open and is bringing cycling back to the heart of Telford Town Park. They offer bike hire in a range of sizes at affordable prices as well as training courses.

Bikes 4 Kids

Bikes 4 Kids is a local charity set up to assist children in getting access to bikes and cycling. The charity collects old and new bikes to distribute to children of all ages, who may not be able to afford a bike of their own.

Learn to Ride Shropshire

Learn to Ride Shropshire offers one to one sessions for personalised training at a time and date and place to suit you. Suitable for all ages and all abilities including special needs.

Wrekin Riders

Wrekin Riders BMX Race Club is a community run club based in Dawley where riders from beginner to expert level ride for fun or competitively.

Find a BMX or cycle trail to use for free

Telford has a number of well-maintained BMX and Cycle trails for public use.

Webinars for schools on attendance best practice

This is an update from the Department for Education

In line with the publication of new attendance guidance, there is a series of effective practice training webinars to support schools and multi-academy trusts to meet the new expectations.

Details on upcoming webinars are below. Click on the link of the webinar you would like to join to register:

Setting an effective school attendance policy, hosted by Jayne Lowe, DfE attendance adviser – Thursday 9 June – 4 to 4:45pm
Effective attendance coding practice and day-to-day processes, hosted by Star Academies Trust – Thursday 16 June – 4 to 5pm
Working with families, local authorities, and other partners effectively to maximise attendance, hosted by Sapientia Education Trust – Thursday 23 June – 4 to 5pm
Analysing absence and attendance data to target improvement efforts, hosted by Unity Schools Partnership – Thursday 30 June – 4 to 5pm

All webinars will be recorded and shared as part of the DfE commitment to improving attendance good practice for schools and multi-academy trusts.

Excess COVID-19 testing equipment

This is an update from the Department for Education

Following an announcement on Tuesday 29 March 2022 that regular asymptomatic COVID-19 testing in all educational and childcare settings is no longer recommended, the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) e-mailed all settings directly, using the GOV.UK Notification Service, to provide further details about what schools and settings should do with excess COVID-19 testing equipment.

Some ATS (onsite) test kits and self-test kits may be suitable to be returned to UKHSA. If you have four or more unopened, undamaged cartons of test kits, you should email UKHSA to arrange a collection. All requests for collection must be submitted by Friday 10 June 2022.

You may still have smaller quantities of unused ATS or self-test kits left in your setting, as well as PCR test kits, which are not eligible to be returned. You may wish to retain this stock and note it in your contingency plans. DfE has published guidance on emergency planning and response for education and childcare settings.

Test kit stock which has passed the expiry date should be disposed of through your normal municipal waste. If you need to dispose of more than one carton of LFD test kits, i.e., more than 1,260 ATS tests or 390 self-test kits, you must inform your waste contractor.

If you have any queries about how to return or manage your excess stock of COVID-19 testing equipment, please email UKHSA or call 119 for advice and support.

Early years COVID-19 recovery programme

Settings are encouraged to check if they meet the criteria for Department for Education (DfE) funded support for your early years providers.

Currently, eligible settings include those who have:

been judged as Requires Improvement (RI) or Inadequate in the last 3 years
high numbers of children in receipt of EY Pupil Premium
high numbers of children with SEND needs
high numbers of children taking up the disadvantaged 2-year-old offer

Even if your setting does not meet the above areas for eligibility you may be able to access the support.

The Early Years Experts and Mentors programme will provide bespoke support, face-to-face and virtually, to help meet individual settings’ needs and priorities. The offer to settings will include leadership support, coaching for leaders, mentoring for practitioners and whole-setting support, depending on need. The pilot of this programme is underway, and will be rolled out across England from September 2022.

For more information about the DfE funded COVID-19 recovery programme, please download the briefing for settings and watch the 10-minute recorded webinar.

School improvement arrangements: Telford & Wrekin maintained schools - next steps

As many colleagues will already be aware, Michelle Parker, Quality Assurance Specialist will be leaving her post at the end of the academic year. Michelle has made a huge contribution to the School Performance Team over the last few years, and previously to that as an Attached Adviser to many of our schools. This event, coupled with changes to the way statutory funding has devolved to support this function, has offered Telford & Wrekin an opportunity to work with schools to reform the way the Local Authority (LA) fulfils statutory functions going forward.

Thanks are given to colleagues who responded to the consultation before the Easter break. There were 10 responses received, with some positive suggestions about how the LA can fulfil this role in the future. For those colleagues who would still like the opportunity to respond, the consultation link is still live, and feedback is still welcome.

As a reminder the LA statutory duties currently remain and are summarised as follows :

monitor performance of maintained schools including governance,
broker SI provision,
intervene in maintained schools as appropriate.

These statutory duties are set out in Part 4 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 with additional SI expectations set out in the Schools Causing Concern (SCC) guidance.

In order to continue the discussion about how the Local Authority will fulfil its role in the future we would like to set up a working group to develop the model further. If you would like to be part of this working group then please contact Liz Smith, SDM for Achievement and Enrichment via email: liz.smith@telford.gov.uk.

Stay and Play summer work opportunities

Telford & Wrekin’s children with disabilities play scheme is looking for people aged 16 plus, who can attend a week’s training and then work up to another 4 weeks. There is a competitive salary. The role would suit anyone already working in health and social care or thinking of a career change. Applications are also welcome from more mature people who may be looking to get back in employment full or part time to support their CV.

My Options - Young People's Services
Play Assistant - Summer Stay and Play Scheme
£9.90 per hour (£11.08 inc holiday pay) - Scale 1
Full & Part Time Positions Available

“Be aspirational and think beyond the obvious to enable people to reach their full potential.”

Can you make a positive difference to someone’s life? Do you have good communication and listening skills, and feel passionate about supporting other people to live a more independent and fulfilling life?Highly motivated people are needed to support in the delivery of the Summer Stay and Play for Children and Young People with Additional and Complex Needs.
The successful applicants will deliver fun and exciting play opportunities for 3-18year olds with additional and complex needs, ensuring all their needs are met including personal care and support during meal times.
The ideal applicant will have experience or an understanding of working with children and young people in a similar setting. In particular working with children and young people with additional and complex would be desirable.
If you are thinking about a course or career with children and young people this is an excellent opportunity to build up your CV. College and university students are encouraged to apply and spend a summer having the greatest time of your life with our children. If you have brought up your own family and are ready to give back to your community and get paid, we can offer you that opportunity. This could be your starting point into working for the Council.
This is an exciting opportunity for you to join a team who are passionate about providing excellence in care and support for our customers, and you will be a key part of the team.

If you would like to discuss this opportunity further please call 01952 381317 or email YPS@telford.gov.uk

Everyone working at the Stay and Play scheme this year will be contracted to work a set working pattern each week. This will mean that you will need to be able to commit to that working pattern.

In addition to the training week, you’ll need to commit to a minimum of two days per week and although we would prefer you to work the four weeks of the scheme, we can be flexible and accommodate requests to work just part of the scheme.

For further information on the role please view the job description and person specification on WMJobs.

Published: Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) – 2022

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) – 2022 has now been published.

The over-all aim of KCSIE
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of KCSIE as:

protecting children from maltreatment
preventing the impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development
ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care, and
taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes
related to any child under the age of 18 Years.

Victims and Alleged perpetrator(s)
KCSIE ’22 uses the term ‘victim’ to refer to those who have been subjected to abuse. But recognises that not every victim will view themselves as such. The document also uses the term ‘alleged perpetrator(s)’ and where appropriate ‘perpetrator(s).’ Though they caution the use of this term as in some cases the abusive behaviour will have been harmful to the perpetrator as well.

Disclosures by Children
This year the document introduces the idea that children may not feel ready or know how to tell someone that they are being abused, exploited, or neglected, and/or they may not recognise their experiences as harmful. For example, children may feel embarrassed, humiliated, or being threatened. This could be due to their vulnerability, disability and/or sexual orientation or language barriers. This should not prevent staff from having a professional curiosity and speaking to the DSL if they have concerns about a child. It is also important that staff determine how best to build trusted relationships with children and young people which facilitate communication

Child-on-Child Abuse
Because abuse by children can happen at any age the term Peer-on-Peer has been changed to Child-on-Child. This catch-all term relates to sexually harmful behaviour, and the various forms of bullying.

Domestic Abuse (DA)
This year a new description of Domestic Abuse has been included. KCSIE recognises that DA can encompass a wide range of behaviours and may be a single incident or a pattern of incidents. That abuse can be, but is not limited to, psychological, physical, sexual, financial, or emotional. Children can be victims of domestic abuse. They may see, hear, or experience the effects of abuse at home and/or suffer domestic abuse in their own intimate relationships (teenage relationship abuse). All of which can have a detrimental and long-term impact on their health, well-being, development, and ability to learn.

Role of governance
Governance members are now required to receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection (including online safety) training at induction. This training should equip them with the knowledge to provide strategic challenge to test and assure themselves that the safeguarding policies and procedures in place in schools and colleges are effective and support the delivery of a robust whole. This training must focus on their strategic role and not on operational procedures.

Acknowledgement of Human Rights
This year clarification on the application of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (the Convention) that are deemed to apply in the UK. It compels public organisations to respect and protect an individual’s human rights when they make individual decisions about them.

Under the HRA, it is unlawful for schools and colleges to act in a way that is incompatible with the Convention. The specific convention rights applying to schools and colleges are:

Article 3: the right to freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment (an absolute right)
Article 8: the right to respect for private and family life (a qualified right) includes a duty to protect individuals’ physical and psychological integrity
Article 14: requires that all of the rights and freedoms set out in the Act must be protected and applied without discrimination,25 and
Protocol 1, Article 2: protects the right to education.

Being subjected to harassment, violence and or abuse, including that of a sexual nature, may breach any or all of these rights, depending on the nature of the conduct and the circumstances.

Website Filters and monitoring

This edition strengthens the schools and colleges responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and provide them with a safe environment in which to learn online. Schools and colleges should have appropriate filters and monitoring systems in place and regularly review their effectiveness. The document directs us to ensure the leadership team review the online risk and reports and escalate concerns when identified.

Mobile phone use, should be carefully considered and leaders should consider how this is managed on their premises and reflect this in their mobile and smart technology policy and their child protection policy.

Where children have unlimited and unrestricted access to the internet via mobile phone networks (i.e., 3G, 4G and 5G). This access means some children, whilst at school or college, sexually harass, bully, and control others via their mobile and smart technology, share indecent images consensually and non-consensually (often via large chat groups) and view and share pornography and other harmful content.

Transferring pupils/learners
Where children leave the setting, the designated safeguarding lead should ensure their child protection file is transferred to the new school or college as soon as possible, and within 5 days for an in-year transfer or within the first 5 days of the start of a new term to allow the new school or college to have support in place for when the child arrives.

The designated safeguarding lead should ensure secure transit, and confirmation of receipt should be obtained. For schools, this should be transferred separately from the main pupil file. Receiving schools and colleges should ensure key staff such as designated safeguarding leads and special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCO’s) or the named persons with oversight for special educational needs and disability (SEND) in a college, are aware as required.

Staff training
All staff must undergo safeguarding and child protection training (including online safety) at induction. The training should be regularly updated. Induction and training should be in line with any advice from Telford & Wrekin Safeguarding Partnership.

In addition, there is a requirement that all staff should receive annual safeguarding and child protection training. Then to continue to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively staff should receive updates, including online safety (for example, via email, e-bulletins, staff meetings) as required, and at least annually.

Children who are lesbian, gay, bi, or trans (LGBT)
Extended the information included in this edition of KCSIE about schools and colleges responsibility to ensure children who may be LGBTQ+ have a trusted adult who they can be open with.

The document acknowledges that children who are LGBTQ+ may be targeted. Homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia are not phobias, they are not fears; they are forms of discrimination of or hate towards LGBTQ+ people or those perceived to be LGBTQ+. This must not be tolerated.

Part 3 – Recruitment & Selection
Criminal history and suitability to work with children information should only be requested from applicants who have been shortlisted.

As part of the shortlisting process schools and colleges should consider conducting an online search as part of their due diligence on the shortlisted candidates. This may help identify any incidents or issues that have happened, and are publicly available online, which the school or college might want to explore with the applicant at interview.

Single Central Record

Leavers information should be deleted from the SCR.
Confirmation of enhanced DBS must be obtained from supply agencies.
Where an agency worker has a disclosure on their DBS the school/college must obtain a copy of the certificate so that the decision to continue with the agency contract can continue.
Where a trainee teacher is salaried it is the role of the setting to ensure all pre-employment checks are completed. Where a trainee teacher is fee-funded then the setting must obtain confirmation from the training provider that all checks are completed.
Section 128 prohibition from management checks should only be undertaken on those staff with a management role – principal/head teacher, deputy/assistant head teachers and governance members.
Childcare Disqualification Regulations 2018 apply to individuals working with children aged 5 and under, including reception classes, but also apply to those working in wraparound care for children up to the age of 8, such as breakfast clubs and after school care.

Alternative provision
Where a school places a pupil with an alternative provision provider, the school continues to be responsible for the safeguarding of that pupil and should be satisfied that the provider meets the needs of the pupil.

Schools should obtain written confirmation from the alternative provision provider that appropriate safeguarding checks have been conducted on individuals working at the establishment, i.e., those checks that the school would otherwise perform in respect of its own staff.

Part 4 – Allegations made against/Concerns raised in relation to teachers, including supply teachers, other staff, volunteers, and contractors
Clarification on the process for sharing low-level concerns – schools/colleges are required to have policies and processes to deal with any concerns (including allegations) which do not meet the harm threshold, referred to in the guidance as ‘low-level’ concerns. It is important the appropriate policies and processes should manage and record any such concerns and take appropriate action to safeguard children.

The head teacher/principal should be the ultimate decision maker in respect of all low-level concerns, although it is recognised that depending on the nature of some low-level concerns and/or the role of the DSL, the head teacher/principal may wish to consult with the DSL and take a more collaborative decision-making approach.

Low-level concerns which are shared about supply staff and contractors should be notified to their employers, so that any potential patterns of inappropriate behaviour can be identified

Potential patterns of concerning, inappropriate, problematic, or concerning behaviour should be identified. Where a pattern of such behaviour is identified, the head teacher/principal should decide on a course of action, either through the disciplinary procedures or where a pattern of behaviour moves from a low-level concern to meeting the harm threshold, in which case it should be referred to the LADO.

Consideration should also be given to whether there are wider cultural issues within the school or college that enabled the behaviour to occur and where appropriate policies could be revised, or extra training delivered to minimise the risk of it happening again.

Part 5 – Child on Child – sexually harmful behaviours
This section has been re-written to reflect the change in name, and the complexity and severity of the issues.

Sections are now included on the support to the victim and alleged perpetrator, and the need to consider any additional children including siblings that may be involved.

Appendix C – the role of the DSL
As in previous versions the role of the DSL should be explicit in the DSL job description.

Sufficient time, funding and training should be provided to allow the DSL to undertake the role.

The DSL should be physically available during normal school hours – but notes that in exceptional circumstances the availability may be via Teams or mobile phone.

Hold the responsibility to ensure that children who have or have had a social worker maintain academic and attendance standards.

The DSL needs to understand the role of the ‘Appropriate Adult’ within a police investigation.

A webinar on the changes to KCSIE 2022 and how to implement these will be available held on Thursday 8 September 2022 at the following times:

1-2pm
3.30-4.30pm
5.15-6.15pm.

To book please email cpdschool.improvement@telford.gov.uk citing course code SG 204.

The cost is £85 per delegate for settings subscribing to the Safeguarding SLA and £102 per delegate for all other settings. There is a 10% discount for two or more bookings from the same setting.

Queries can be directed to Scott Thomas-White, Education Safeguarding Coordinator, via email to educationsafeguarding@telford.gov.uk.

South Asian Heritage Month 2022

Recent events have highlighted the ever increasing need for pupils to understand about our shared history. South Asian Heritage Month (SAHM) begins on 18 July 2022 but it is hoped that schools will start their events earlier in July to ensure no child misses out.

South Asian Heritage Month is a new celebration, created out of a desire to learn more about the South Asian culture and history that has an impact on our world today. This cross-curricular topic not only covers many elements in history, but also addresses many fundamental SMSC and PHSE aspects of the curriculum as a whole.

The Multicultural development Team (MDT) are working with the Telford & Wrekin interfaith Council (TWIFC) to deliver free workshops, resources and support, specifically for primary and secondary schools, to celebrate South Asian Heritage Month.

The resources provide staff with the knowledge and resources to plan, deliver and support pupil’s knowledge and discussion of issues around South Asian Culture, heritage and history by focusing on the five key themes of identity, history, creatives, sports and health & well-being.

There is also the opportunity to explore key questions that may arise from recent events and provide a greater knowledge of the diverse cultures in Telford & Wrekin.

Free workshops will be delivered to schools, which include Bhangra, Bollywood dance, arts and crafts as well as encouraging pupils to reflect on rich diversity of Telford and consider how we see equality in action. This runs alongside the Kabaddi workshops and free CPD sessions on offer to all schools. The central theme of equality & diversity underpins the South Asian Heritage Month.

Pupil’s work, photos and workshops will be displayed on the council website and also our two partner agencies website and media posts on the South Asian Heritage website and the Interfaith Telford website.

Schools are requested that any work or photos of any events taken in school around SAHM that you wish to share, that the school is aware that the school is responsible for ensuring that work produced and any photos taken on the day have permission to be used in online and further Council, TWIFC and South Asian Heritage publications.

A South Asian Heritage Month resource pack is available to download.

Please visit the Multicultural Development Team website for individual schools to plan and develop staff knowledge is available upon request. If you would like any further information please contact the Multicultural Development Team.

Working with Malayalam speaking children

As part of PCC funding for the South Asian Heritage Month, the Multicultural Development Team (MDT) are pleased to offer a free webinar to all schools to support their understanding of Malayalam speaking children. This is open to all school staff - as this is on Teams there is no limit on the number of staff who can attend this webinar.

The session will provide information on:

The background of Malayalam children here in the UK.
Patterns of migration and living/ working in the UK.
Key issues pupil may experience and strategies to support.
The Indian education system and parental expectations of education; religion, culture and important festivals.

Key Outcomes
Delegates will gain a deeper understanding of the Malayalam community that will enable them:

to work more effectively with Malayalam-heritage pupils
an awareness of barriers to learning and additional factors
to build positive relationships with parents of the Malayalam speaking pupils
to promote understanding and celebration of the Malayalam community culture in school.

For more information please download the working with Malayalam speaking families and children flyer.

Home to school travel assistance

Telford & Wrekin looks to support parents and carers to make arrangements for their children and young people, to travel safely to their allocated school or post-16 provider, and schools are asked to assist with promoting the information to enable them to do this.

If parents/carers are unable to transport their child or young person, and if they meet the eligibility criteria listed on the council’s website, then travel assistance can be provided.

For assistance to be in place from September 2022, applications must be received by the council by 30 June 2022. For applications received after this date, a guarantee cannot be made that assistance will be in place for the start of the new term.

If a child is over the age of 16, and parents/carers have already received transport assistance, then please ask them to re-apply by 30 June every academic year.

For more information please ask them to visit the Telford & Wrekin website.

SEND Newsletter – May 2022

The SEND Newsletter - May 2022 has been published on the SEND Local Offer. Discover all the current news and information about Special Educational Needs and Disability in Telford & Wrekin.

Please take a look at the SEND News section on the Local Offer to see the full list of articles.

SEND Local Offer – SEND News

To make sure that you don't miss future updates, subscribe to the SEND Newsletter.

Autism lead professional training

Gratitude is expressed to everyone who bought into the new drive for the Autism Education Trust training across Telford & Wrekin schools. There was a huge response and there is now an autism lead professional in almost 80% of schools across the borough.

The next step of the programme of professional development is to deliver training to classroom practitioners plus all additional staff. This will consist of two training inputs: The Good Autism Practice (GAP) is for classroom teachers and Making Sense of Autism (MSA) is for all additional school staff.

The Autism Standards document was distributed during the LGAP training last term, and is the document that will help you to evaluate your school. Many attendees completed an action plan at the training, and this should continue to support you in your role. The benefit of engaging in additional training will be to further equip your staff in understanding autism and how to not only adapt the curriculum, but to also adapt learning environments to further include young people and be able to understand the perspective and experiences of the young person. A positive outcome of this training will be an increase in attendance in schools as well as an increase in attainment levels, alongside improved experiences of positive mental health and wellbeing.

Jo Jenks (SENDCo, Coalbrookdale and Ironbridge CE Primary school) wrote: "In order to develop our knowledge and, more importantly, our understanding of Autism, we recently received the Good Autism Practice and Making Sense of Autism training for all the staff in school. This training has enabled us as a school to reflect upon our approaches and strategies when working with autistic children. It has given all staff the knowledge of the key areas of differences, and how these impact learning. Following the training, we have carefully considered our learning environments and have made simple adaptions so that all the children in our school experience a positive education that supports their wellbeing."

To access GAP and/or MSA training, please make direct contact with Michael Lane via email to michael.Lane@Telford.gov.uk. Either an EP or LSAT staff member will then be allocated to you.

Soundpots early years music network meeting

Early Years practitioners are invited to the Soundpots Early Years Music Network to be held on 23 June 2022 from 4pm to 5.15pm.

Soundpots is an award winning and ambitious programme of Early Years music delivery and training. To date the project has worked with thousands of children and provided training and mentoring to hundreds of Early Years practitioners.

Agenda

Welcome and News
Soundpots Hello Song
Feel the Beat
Recent Experiences
Discussion in Breakout Rooms
Challenges and Barriers to Music Making
What do you shine at?
Soundpots Conference Content
AOB

This session is fully funded and free to attend.

If you would like to attend please email citymusicservice@stoke.gov.uk stating the name of the person attending, their email address and setting.
For up to date information about our events and future network meetings please go to the Telford Music Facebook page.

Queries can be sent to Tracy Hall, Team Leader, via email to Telford.music@telford.gov.uk.

Developing an inclusive approach to music making

The Music Partnership, with support from Youth Music would like to invite you to attend a fully funded online CPD session on Thursday 9 June 2022 at 4pm.

Through the medium of song, some of the inclusive and differentiated approaches are explored that are used to deliver music to students in a Special School setting will be explained and demonstrated. The song covered will be ‘What about us’ from Pink.

Global communication theory, Makaton, communication in print, instrumental and vocal work will all be explored through this piece.

Resources will be available to revisit, practise, and use to support your own inclusive practice and to enable your school to take part in a virtual performance.

This session is fully funded and free to attend.

If you would like to attend please email lisam.wilson@entrust-ed.co.uk stating the name of the person attending, email address and setting

For more information see the developing an inclusive approach to music making flyer.

For up to date information about our events and future network meetings please go to the Telford Music Facebook page.

Queries can be sent to Tracy Hall, Team Leader, via email to Telford.music@telford.gov.uk.

Train to teach in Telford

Severn Training and Schools Alliance still have places available for their teacher training programmes starting in September 2022.

Severn Training & Schools Alliance are the local provider for Primary (4-7) and Early Years (3-7) teacher training via the School Direct route, which takes you from graduate to qualified teacher in just one academic year. The entire course is Telford based and includes placements in a wide variety of Telford schools, including special settings for those with a specific interest in pursuing a career in that sector. Applications are taken via the national Apply system.

What do former trainees say about the courses?

“An exhilarating year with fantastic support from course tutors, STSA staff and school based mentors.”

“It’s been amazing to make the transition from teaching assistant to confident teacher in just one year!”

To find out more visit the STSA website, or contact the team via email on stsa@taw.org.uk.

National Children's Gardening Week

National Children’s Gardening Week celebrates the fun that gardens hold for kids. A number of exciting activity ideas are available on the Children’s Gardening Week website:

Children's Gardening Week

30 days Wild

30 Days Wild is The Wildlife Trusts' annual challenge where everyone is encouraged to do one wild thing a day throughout the month of June.

You can sign up to receive a free pack - either through the post or via email (business pack only available digitally) - and receive lots of fun activity ideas to keep you inspired throughout the month.
Please note that only the individuals and families pack contain wildflower seeds, but don't worry - the others contain lots more fun stuff! Resources are also available in Welsh.

For more information and to request a pack, visit the 30 Days Wild website.

30 Days Wild

This entry was posted by Claire on Thursday, 26 May 2022.

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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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