Notice: 11 February 2021

A round-up of news, guidance and key updates for education settings.

Included in this update:

Director's update

Dear colleagues

Welcome to this week’s edition of the education noticeboard.

This week we join the Job Box Team in celebrating the amazing work carried out by employers and apprentices across the country as part of National Apprenticeship week, please do take a look at the Job Box Website for further information and resources.

The Attendance Support Team have published the Autumn Term 2020 - 2021 attendance data which shows that all of the school attendance rates were higher than the national average of 86% for the Autumn Term 2020-21. This is incredibly impressive and I would like to join the School Attendance Team in expressing my utmost gratitude to you all for such an amazing achievement.

In other news, our Early Years Team have been researching ways in which to help parents and carers to support remote learning for children who are not currently accessing provision as a result of the Covid pandemic. These ideas are now available to download.

Following the government’s revision of criteria for workplace testing in sectors which remain open during lockdown, early years business with more than 50 employees can now register for rapid workplace testing kits, please see the article for full details.

Finally, I would like to thank you all for your extraordinary efforts at this time.

Best wishes to all

Simon Wellman
Director: Education and Skills

Good news stories

Take a look at some of the activities schools and settings have been up to for Children’s Mental Health Week.

Download the activities that St Lawrence Primary have been up to

If you would like your school or setting to be featured on the Noticeboard, or if your students have been taking part in an exciting project, please tag in @TelfordWrekin on social media and we will share your post.
Alternatively, you can send a copy of the full story via email to education.noticeboard@telford.gov.uk.

Template email for staff identified as positive through home testing awaiting a confirmatory PCR test

Following a positive LFD test administered at home, pupils and staff cannot be officially asked to self-isolate until this has been confirmed through a positive PCR test.

However the HPH advise that it is prudent to ask those who would be identified as contacts not to attend school until the results of the PCR are known.

With very few exceptions a positive LFD will always lead to a positive PCR result.

Download the template which can be used to inform contacts

Extra Laptops and Tablets

The DfE has announced that they have purchased more laptops for schools and you should hopefully have received an email to this effect.

For maintained schools: On 13 January I changed the permissions on the Department for Education Get Help with Technology website so that each school would be able to log onto this website to order extra data or 4G routers. You should have received an email from the DfE that evening, giving you details of how to log onto this site.

Visit the GOV.UK website to get help with technology

This change of permissions means I no longer have access to be able to order devices for your school – only you can do this.

For academies: Access to the Department for Education's Get Help with Technology website will have initially been sent directly to the Academy Trust; this may then have been delegated to individual schools.

When the laptops are available for your school you will receive an email from the Department for Education (DfE). Once received, you will be able to follow the links on the website to order the number of devices specified in the email.

When you get to the ordering page, you will be presented with a number of options. For the vast majority of schools, the devices I have ordered for you previously are known as an ‘Unsecured Windows Laptop’. I would recommend you order this one. If you order the ‘DfE Restricted Windows Laptop’, it will be locked down with DfE software to restrict use and would therefore be difficult to configure for school network use.

If you have any problems or questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me via email to andy.cooke@telford.gov.uk.

Safeguarding – Telford and Wrekin Section 157 / 175 Audit

Thank you to all of those schools who have completed and returned their annual safeguarding audit.

The 157 / 175 safeguarding audit applies to all ‘schools’ and ‘colleges’ (in the borough of Telford and Wrekin) as defined by the DfE in ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education 2020’. The template for completion was sent out to all schools last term.

The audit should be completed by the Headteacher or Principal and the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), in consultation with the school or college governor, trustee or proprietor with responsibility for safeguarding, and the wider school / college safeguarding team.

The audit, including supporting evidence together with any actions plans, should be reviewed by the Chair of Governors / Trustees / Proprietor prior to submission. The outcomes should be shared with the full governing body/trustees/proprietors, discussed and minuted during the 2020 - 2021 academic year. It is expected practice for the full governing body / trustees / proprietors to have sight of the audit itself at least once per year. We recommend governors / trustees / proprietors sample appropriate evidence to test out the findings of the audit and to seek assurance.

The arrangements for completing the 2020 - 2021 Education Safeguarding Audit are that the audit should be completed and submitted to the Telford & Wrekin Safeguarding Partnership via email to the education safeguarding in-box, no later than Friday 19 February 2021. If there are any issues in relation to meeting this deadline, please contact us so that we are aware and can support you as necessary.

Please email all completed audits to educationsafeguarding@telford.gov.uk.

For advice in relation to the completion of this audit, please contact Nick Cunliffe at educationsafeguarding@telford.gov.uk or telephone 01952 382123.

Safeguarding Concern – Use of Teams

Information from ICT Service Delivery.

A safeguarding concern has come to light – in that someone external to your school can send an invitation to a child’s taw.org.uk email address and then meet, using audio and video, with a child using Microsoft Teams.

To confirm, it is by design that Microsoft Teams users from separate organisations are able to meet, but it is recognised that this may not be an appropriate configuration for all organisations, especially in education settings.

In response to the above, Telford & Wrekin Council’s ICT Service have introduced an optional rule that schools can apply to their students which will cause invitations usually received by Outlook and Teams to not reach students if the sender is external to the taw.org.uk network.

If you would like this new rule to be applied to your students, please ask your ICT Technician to add your ‘TAWxxxSTUDENTSG group to O365_BlockCalendarInvites’ in Active Directory.

Alternatively, please log a new call with ICT via ICT Self Service to request this rule to be applied for your students.

For any queries regarding safeguarding, please contact the Education Safeguarding Team.

Early Help Assessment and Support Plan Training

This course is designed to support practitioners to produce high quality Early Help (EH) Assessments when working with children and families. Coverage will help introduce the redesigned EH assessment and how to effectively incorporate it when assessing strengths, needs and risks within the child and family setting.

This training will be held virtually via ZOOM from 9.30am to 1.30pm:

Friday 12 February 2021

Friday 19 March 2021.

The requirement to join the course is that you have firstly complete the Ollie - online Early Help Assessment and Support Plan Training.

You must also have read all the documents prior to attending, as we will be using these throughout the session.

To access the half day ZOOM training please book via Ollie using the link below.

Book your place on Ollie

You will receive access to all the necessary documents for pre-course reading when you book on to the course through Ollie. You will also receive your ZOOM invitation direct from the trainer, Ted Daszkiewicz (you may need to check your junk email).

By the end of the training you will:

Be introduced to the Telford and Wrekin Thresholds Guidance Document and EH Assessment and Support Plan Guidance.
Understand how the new EH assessment fits into integrated working.
Interpret informed consent as part of the assessment process.
Understand the principles required for producing high quality EH assessments.
Be able to interpret information gathered and produce high quality outcome driven action plans, incorporating the difference between actions and outcomes.
Understand the importance of recording / evidencing risk and vulnerability in children and families.
Know how to effectively review EH assessments within the context of a ‘Team around a Family’.
Be able to appropriately target staff.

This training is suitable for members of the children and families workforce who work in the Telford & Wrekin Safeguarding Partnership area, who work predominately with children and young people, and / or their parents / carers, who could potentially be involved in the assessing, planning, intervening and taking part in multi-agency processes where there are Early Help concerns.

All Telford & Wrekin Safeguarding Children’s Board (TWSCB) courses are booked through Ollie (an electronic learning management system).

If you already have an Ollie account, please visit the Ollie website and search for the course under ‘Adults and Children’, select ‘Enrol Me’, ‘Classroom Event’ and ‘View all sessions’. Please note that our course titles are prefixed with ‘TWSCB’.

If you are not a member of staff with Telford & Wrekin Council, nor have an existing Ollie account, you should complete an account request form. Once your account is set up, login details will be sent to your email address by the Ollie Team. This is not an automated process, but we aim to respond to requests within five days.

Your account will last for 12 months from activation. After this time, if you require further access you will have to request your account to be reactivated.

You should check your browser settings to allow pop-ups from the site to ensure the courses load correctly.

Visit the TWSCB website to view the account request forms or by requesting a form from ollie@telford.gov.uk.

A full user guide is available at the login page. If you have any queries please email the Ollie Team at ollie@telford.gov.uk.

Supporting Remote Learning for Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

The Early Years Team have been undertaking some research and have found more ideas to help parents / carers support remote learning for children who are not accessing their early years, nursery or reception provision due to the COVID pandemic.

Download the ideas for supporting remote learning in the EYFS

Please contact Lisa Seymour for more information.

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Remote Learning Offer

These sessions will be led by Lisa Seymour and Rebecca Carey and will provide an opportunity for EYFS colleagues to discuss what they are doing (including lessons learnt from the national lockdown) and to hear the approaches taken by other schools.

Working together, we would like to discuss:

how you are building and sustaining relationships with parents about their child’s learning
the methods you are using to help children learn
your approach to providing feedback about learning
how you are monitoring the quality of your provision
full school opening and your plans.

The sessions are being held as follows (you only need to attend one):

Session A: Tuesday 23 February 2021 from 1.15pm to 2.15pm
Session B: Wednesday 24 February 2021 from 1.15pm to 2.15pm
Session C: Wednesday 24 February 2021 from 3.30pm to 4.30pm.

As well as EYFS practitioners, this is also an opportunity for Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTAs) and Teaching Assistants (TAs) to discuss their work and involvement – please share this information with your colleagues.

To book your place/s, please send the following information by email to cpdschoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk (there is no need to complete and return a booking form on this occasion):

your school name
your name
your email address
which session you wish to attend (A, B or C).

Rebecca Carey – School Performance Team Lead

Early Years Settings Register

There is a new government drive to increase workplace testing in sectors open during lockdown, to detect coronavirus (COVID-19) in people who are not showing symptoms.

All government departments are being tasked with ensuring targeted, rapid testing is set up in all key workplaces to ensure vital public and economic services can continue.

The criteria for joining the workplace testing programme has been revised to include businesses with more than 50 employees, thus boosting the availability of rapid testing further.

Visit the GOV.UK website to register to order coronavirus tests for your employees

Lisa Seymour – Early Years and Childcare Team Leader

Telford and Wrekin School Attendance

The Attendance Support Team is very grateful to all our schools for submitting attendance and persistent absence (P/A) data in January for the Autumn Term 2020 - 2021. We appreciate how difficult everything has been and how you have worked so hard to support pupils, often with DfE guidance requiring changes at very short notice.

We are delighted to share the overall attendance data Borough averages and can confirm that all school attendance rates were higher than the National average of 86% for the Autumn Term 2020 - 2021.

From the data that you sent I can confirm that overall, Telford schools achieved 95.06%

Secondary 93.46%
Primary 95.90%
Special 90.24%

These impressive attendance figures were achieved during the most difficult term, with many parents experiencing anxiety about sending their children to school. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to you all for a sterling effort.

If you have any queries regarding school attendance please contact the team via email to School Attendance Team.

The Music Partnership – Spring Newsletter 2021

The Telford & Wrekin Music Team’s latest Spring Newsletter is now available. Within this edition you will find the latest information and support offer for our region, together with case studies, feedback and details about music projects that have taken place.

If you do have any questions regarding any of its content, please do not hesitate to contact us via email to Telford & Wrekin Music Team.

Arthog Opportunities Fund - April 2021 to March 2022

The Arthog Opportunities Fund is provided by Telford & Wrekin Council to provide financial support to children and young people across the Borough, to help them to access the benefits of the Arthog residential outdoor education provision.

Throughout ongoing financial challenges, including those caused by the Coronavirus restrictions, the Council remains committed to sustaining value for money and an accessible Outdoor Education Service. This is in contrast to the continued national trend that has seen Outdoor Education being outsourced, discontinued or scaled back, despite its recognised benefits. In addition, Telford & Wrekin Council is continuing to invest in the Centre’s facilities and educational resources in a progressive improvement plan.

As one of only a few councils nationally who still offer any remissions scheme, we feel it is essential to work in partnership with schools and provide funding to supplement schools’ Pupil Premium Grant funding, in order to enable children from low income households to have the opportunity to benefit from these services. Remission places were replaced by the Arthog Opportunities Fund in January 2020 to ensure a fairer, more flexible and financially sustainable, approach.

The Arthog Opportunity Fund is now allocated on schools’ Free School Meal numbers, for all Telford and Wrekin children and young people in both maintained schools and academies.
Each school’s Fund is calculated on a formula, based on the ratio of numbers on role to Free School Meal numbers, to provide the discount.
Telford and Wrekin schools will receive their allocation from the Arthog Opportunity Fund in the form of a discount off their booking, and this will be reflected in the invoice for the course booking.
Schools will have flexibility over how they use their Arthog Opportunity Fund allocation to best meet the needs of their children and young people, and the extent to which they supplement this with Pupil Premium Grant and / or other sources of funding.
The Arthog Opportunities Fund can be used on any length of course, and at any time of the year, including weekends and school holidays - taking place between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022.

To confirm your discount, please check directly with the Centre, either by telephone or via email to Arthog Outdoor Education Centre.

The Arthog Opportunities Fund for April 2022 to March 2023 will be published in January 2022 with the annual booking round.

For any other queries regarding outdoor education provision, Arthog residential provision and Arthog Outreach, please contact Jo Barnett - Outdoor Education Service Group Manager.

Educational Visit Leader Training

Getting Ready to Get Going Again – Education Visit Leader Theory Training

26 February 10am - 12pm.
18 March 3pm - 4pm.

This course is designed to support and inform staff who lead or are learning to lead educational visits. No previous experience is necessary.

The course covers the planning, approval and emergency procedures that Visit Leaders must follow in their setting including:

benefits and perceived barriers to visits
legal expectations
visit planning, leadership and evaluation (including risk assessment)
action points to follow up on after the course
who to contact for further advice.

Certificated through the Outdoor Education Advisors Panel.

Free of charge for T&WC SLA Establishments / Otherwise £40 per participant.

To book please email EdVisits@telford.gov.uk.

National Apprenticeship Week - 8 to 14 February 2021

Job Box celebrates National Apprenticeship Week 2021

National Apprenticeship Week 2021 takes places 8 to 14 February 2021 and aims to shine a light on the amazing work being done by employers and apprentices across the country.

This week-long celebration is an opportunity to showcase the benefits of apprenticeships for young people, and also for local businesses and organisations.

Telford & Wrekin Council employs over 100 apprentices who work in a range of roles across the organisation, thus supporting young people throughout their apprenticeship and also securing further employment within the Council.

The Council’s Job Box Team have put together a library of information and resources on the Job Box website in celebration of National Apprenticeship Week.

This includes a timetable of live events and workshops, organised by both the careers team and other local organisations. The events cover a range of different subjects, from tips on finding the right role to the best interview techniques.

Cllr Shirley Reynolds Cabinet Member for Children, Young People, Education and Lifelong Learning said ‘In normal times we would see our annual Apprenticeship Show take place at the Telford International Centre, attracting thousands of young people and local businesses from around the Borough. Whilst we are sad this cannot happen in the current situation, we are delighted to bring you a whole range of information through the Job Box website’.

‘Apprenticeships are for all ages and offer opportunity to study at all levels, from level 2 up to degree level, in a range of sectors. For many, the apprenticeship route is not such an obvious choice, but for those who are motivated to get started in the job market an apprenticeship is an excellent way of gaining essential experience, earn while you work and gain a nationally recognised qualification.

We hope people will take the time look through the online resources which explain more about the benefits of the apprenticeship route.’

Visit the Telford Job Box website for more information on apprenticeships.

For more information, please contact the Telford Job Box Team on telephone number phone 01952 328888, or via email to Telford Job Box.

West Midlands Employers – Wellbeing Magazine

The Local Authority (LA) is a member of West Midlands Employers and they have produced a Wellbeing Edition of their magazine – The Pulse.

This issue serves as a toolkit of new ideas and tips on how you can improve your own wellbeing and resilience.

A healthy workforce is good for any organisation; the key aims of this comprehensive publication are therefore to allow professionals who work in local government in the West Midlands region to thrive by learning and developing the appropriate wellbeing skills and knowledge base to help you thrive in your personal and work life.

This wellbeing edition of The Pulse includes sections on:

Mental Wellbeing - articles and resources to help you improve your mental health, both day to day and when things get tough.
Emotional and Spiritual Wellbeing – in this section we explore how an emotional or spiritual approach to your wellbeing can help when things get tough.
Physical Wellbeing - this section includes lots of resources to keep your physical wellbeing on track.
Financial Wellbeing - tips and advice to help you manage your personal finances.

Also included are Case Studies, which showcase some of the great work going on around the region to provide you with inspiration and ideas to take into your own workplaces.

Read the latest edition of The Pulse

This can be shared with all staff within your school.

CPD Courses

Visit the Telford Education Services website to view the CPD booklet. Unless stated otherwise, the majority of courses are running online at the current time and bookings can be made by sending a completed CPD booking form via email to cpdschoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk.

This table shows all of our CPD courses.
Creative approaches and new ideas for sharing stories within the EYFS (EY 301)	Tuesday 23 February 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
Teaching children with SEND - meeting the need (LSAT 508)	Wednesday 24 February 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
Taking the Chair (GO 504)	Wednesday 24 February 2021	4.30pm to 6.30pm
Developing the role of teaching assistants in supporting SEND (LSAT 507)	Wednesday 24 February 2021	1.15pm to 4pm
Teaching and delivering outstanding EAL provision for 'new to English' pupils and advanced bilingual learners in secondary schools (CPD 711)	Thursday 25 February 2021	3.30pm to 6pm
Understanding Nurture (PSS 101)	Thursday 25 February 2021	1.15pm to 4pm
Sharing responsibility for SEND: including teachers and parents (LSAT 506)	Thursday 25 February 2021	9.15am to 12noon
The Importance of the Early Years Foundation Stage in Schools (GO 603)	Thursday 25 February 2021	5.30pm to 7pm
Primary Science and Design and Technology Subject Leader Update and Development meeting (CPD 517)	Tuesday 2 March 2021	2pm to 5.15pm
Promoting the performance of disadvantaged students (GO 505)	Tuesday 2 March 2021	4.30pm to 6.30pm
Early Years and Childcare Partnership Hub leads meeting (EY 305)	Tuesday 2 March 2021	1.30pm to 3.30pm
Governors' Responsibilities for Exclusions (SG 104)	Wednesday 3 March 2021	5pm to 7pm
Raising Awareness of Child Protection (SG 108)	Wednesday 3 March 2021	9.30am to 11am
Youth Mental Health First Aid - Part 1 (PSS 001)	Wednesday 3 March 2021	9am to 3pm
Primary ICT Coordinators' Update (CPD 512)	Wednesday 3 March 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
English as an Additional Language (EAL) Network Meeting (CPD 526)	Thursday 4 March 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
Safer Recruitment Administration (currently full)	Thursday 4 March 2021	3pm to 5.30pm
Youth Mental Health First Aid- Part 2 (PSS 001)	Thursday 4 March 2021	9am to 3pm
Newly Qualified Teacher Development Group: Supporting and Accelerating your Progression (CPD 522)	Thursday 4 March 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
AET: Leading Good Autism Practice - Part 2 (EPS 107)	Friday 5 March 2021	9am to 12noon
New SENCo: Establishing Yourself as a SEND Leader - Part 1 (LSAT 302)	Monday 8 March 2021	9.15am to 12noon
Weaving Literacy and Mathematical Development into a Broad EYFS curriculum - Part 1 (EY 304)	Monday 8 March 2021	1.15pm to 4pm
New SENCo: Establishing Yourself as a SEND Leader - Part 2 (LSAT 302)	Tuesday 9 March 2021	9.15am to 12noon
Developing Early Years and Childcare Provision - supporting school sustainability and child outcomes (EY 113)	Tuesday 9 March 2021	9.15am to 12noon
Designated Safeguarding Leads' and Safeguarding Governors' Termly Update (SG 106)	Wednesday 10 March 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
School Duties under the Equality Act 2010 and How to Write an Effective Accessibility Plan (LSAT 304)	Wednesday 10 March 2021	9.15am to 12noon
Raising Awareness of Prevent (SG 101)	Thursday 11 March 2021	3.30pm to 5pm
When Belonging Needs Are Met: The building blocks of self-esteem and their impact on children’s academic attainment and emotional wellbeing (EPS 206)	Thursday 11 March 2021	1.15pm to 4pm
Management of Actual or Potential Aggression (MAPA) Refresher (BSAT 212)	Thursday 11 March 2021	9am to 12.30pm
Weaving Literacy and Mathematical Development into a Broad Early Years foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum - Part 2 (EY 304)	Monday 15 March 2021	1.15pm to 4pm
Assessment - termly update (CPD 502)	Tuesday 16 March 2021	9.15am to 10.45am
Assessment - termly update (CPD 503)	Tuesday 16 March 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
Governors’ Responsibilities for SEND (LSAT 212)	Tuesday 16 March 2021	5pm to 7pm
Early Years Coordinators' Update (EY 007)	Wednesday 17 March 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
Newly Appointed Designated Safeguarding Leads' Training (2 days) - Part 1 (SG 102) (currently full)	Wednesday 17 March 2021	9.15am to 3.30pm
Meeting the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) profile requirements for English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners in EYFS (CPD 715)	Wednesday 17 March 2021	1.15pm to 4pm
Newly Appointed Designated Safeguarding Leads' Training (2 days) - Part 2 (SG 102) (currently full)	Thursday 18 March 2021	9.15am to 3.30pm
Management of Actual or Potential Aggression (MAPA) - Part 1 (BSAT 201) (currently full)	Thursday 18 March 2021	8.30am to 4.30pm
Employee Investigations Training (please book with Human Resources)	Thursday 18 March 2021	3pm to 5.30pm
Breaking Barriers in Maths with Numicon (LSAT 406)	Friday 19 March 2021	9.15am to 12noon
Understanding Early Language Development 2 to 4 years (EY 112)	Monday 22 March 2021	1.15pm to 4pm
Recently Qualified Teacher Development Programme (CPD 507)	Tuesday 23 March 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
Forest School and Outdoor Learning for Practitioners Working within Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) (EY 201) (outdoor - face to face)	Tuesday 23 March 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
Cover Supervisors - preparing for the role (PSS 010)	Tuesday 23 March 2021	1.15pm to 4pm
Restorative Justice (PSS 003)	Tuesday 23 March 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
Designated Safeguarding Leads Refresher (SG 107)	Tuesday 23 March 2021	10am to 11.30am
Emotion Coaching: helping children to regulate their emotions - Part 1 (EPS 207)	Tuesday 23 March 2021	9.15am to 12.30pm
Taking the Chair - Part 3 (GO 504)	Wednesday 24 March 2021	4.30pm to 6.30pm
Teaching children with SEND - meeting the need (9 part course) (LSAT 508)	Wednesday 24 March 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
Emotion Coaching: helping children to regulate their emotions - Part 2 (EPS 207)	Wednesday 24 March 2021	9.15am to 12.30pm
Assessing and monitoring progress in EAL (CPD 701)	Wednesday 24 March 2021	3.30pm to 6pm
Designated Teachers and Governors for Children in Care Network (GO 503)	Thursday 25 March 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
Management of Actual or Potential Aggression (MAPA) - Part 2 (BSAT 201) (currently full)	Thursday 25 March 2021	8.30am to 12.30pm
Emotional Based School Refusal: Using applied psychological principles (EPS 203)	Monday 29 March 2021	9.15am to 12.15pm
Creating an Engaging Curriculum which excites, inspires and develops the learning of English as an Additional Language (EAL) pupils (CPD 716)	Wednesday 31 March 2021	3.30pm to 6pm

For any enquiries about any of our CPD courses please send an email to cpdschoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk.

This entry was posted by Admin on Wednesday, 10 February 2021.

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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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