Notice: 1 July 2021

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

Included in this update:

It is wonderful to be able to share with you all the achievement of Telford College, with their Silver Award win at the annual Pearson teaching Awards. It was great to be part of their ceremony and the foundation team and young people involved were rightly thrilled with their achievement. Good luck to them as they now move forward as nominees for the GOLD award which will be determined in November.

This week our Children’ Services have launched the new Family Safeguarding Model. This new way of working builds upon our existing outstanding services and will enable greater involvement and support for our families through difficult and complex issues. Further briefings will take place for schools and settings in the new academic year.

A new celebration of South Asian Heritage Month is approaching. The Multicultural Development Team, in conjunction with external partners, have pulled together free resources for school use and these are available to download.

Included is a revised school improvement protocol. Appreciating that the end of term is rapidly approaching we have asked for your comments so that we can finalise our arrangements and determine how we will work with you during the next academic year.

Additionally there is a reminder of the pre-exclusion hotline resource, a request to return books and topic boxes to the multi-cultural development resource library and information about the steer clear campaign to educate young people on knife crime.

Please don’t forget about the Leader and Cabinet Members’ Young Person Grant Scheme. We are keen to support our young people to overcome barriers to participate in education, employment or training.

Enjoy the rest of your week

Simon

Simon Wellman
Director: Education and Skills

Telford College recognised in teaching profession’s ‘Oscars’

The Foundation Team from Telford College has been selected from thousands of nominations to win a coveted Silver Awards at the Pearson National Teaching Awards, an annual celebration of excellence in education. The team members have been honoured in the FE Team of the Year category for their outstanding commitment to changing the lives of the children they work with every day.

Principal Graham Guest paid tribute to the team, saying: “We are thrilled with this richly deserved recognition. Our Foundation Learning team is precisely that – a team. Learning at Telford College has always been about much more than what happens in the classroom – and the Foundation Learning team epitomises this.

“Foundation students require additional support to prepare for the world of work, and Telford College teaches vital life skills such as compassion, developing confidence, and much more.

“The team has overcome many obstacles during lockdown. For example, they created work experience opportunities around the college campus, developed an online shop, and built a programme of virtual visits and guest speakers.

“The work the team have put in is clearly evident in the smiling, confident faces of our students. Right across the entire college, we are seeing evidence of the excellent levels of teaching, guidance and support for our students.”

Telford and Wrekin Council leader, Councillor Shaun Davies, has shared his congratulations to the college for the achievement and has said: “This is amazing news for Telford College. My warmest congratulations to the students, parents, carers, governors and staff who work so hard to make the college the success it is.

“Our young people in the borough are assured a bright future with such a high performing college delivering such brilliant results.”

Winning the Silver Award also means that the Telford College Foundation Learning Team is now shortlisted to win one of just 15 Gold Awards later in the year, in a programme which will be broadcast on the BBC.

Pre-exclusion hotline: 07816372459

The hotline continues to be used by a number of schools. The team are able to provide immediate telephone support and offer instant in school support to discuss the potential exclusion.

The hotline has been used really well, supporting schools before an exclusion occurs, in order to prevent it from taking place. Restorative conversations and direct work with a young person and/or colleagues have prevented a number of fixed term exclusions over the past few weeks. For those schools that have gone ahead with issuing an exclusion, the offer of support, with the reintegration meeting, has proved useful in preventing further exclusions.

The Hotline is manned by the current Behaviour Support Advisory (BSAT) Team and will bring their expertise to supporting schools. There will be two duty members per day and this will allow contact in addition to support for schools and individuals.

Please remember to use the Exclusions Hotline and share this information with colleagues, as the team are ready to support you.

For more information with regards to the team, please contact BSAT Team Leader (Darren Lennon) by email at Darren.Lennon@telford.gov.uk.

A new way of working with Telford and Wrekin families so that they can stay together

A new way of working with borough families so that they can stay together, when safe to do so, is being launched in Telford and Wrekin.

The aim is to improve outcomes for children and provide support for their families, offering tailored support to parents to enable them to create sustained change for themselves and their children with the aim to keep more children safely at home.

Other authorities who have adopted the family safeguarding model have reduced the number of children requiring long-term care away from their families, which is the best outcome for all.

Following a successful bid, Telford & Wrekin Council is one of a number of local authorities to implement the Family Safeguarding Model through the Department for Education’s Strengthening Families, Protecting Children programme. The new programme went live on 28 June 2021.

This builds on the Council’s record of working with children and young people, rated as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2020.

Cllr Shirley Reynolds, Telford & Wrekin’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People, Education and Lifelong Learning, said: “As an ‘outstanding’ authority for children’s services, we are continuously looking at ways to further develop and strengthen our offer of support to children and families in our borough. The introduction of Family Safeguarding will do just that.

“By working with a wide range of local partners, we want to bring a positive impact to our community, positive outcomes for our families especially to those who experienced domestic abuse, mental ill-health or substance abuse – so that they can stay together and children can remain safely at home.”

The council is hoping the new model will help keep more families together.

The new service allows social workers and their so-located partners to focus on the entire family and to provide much-needed support for children to remain safely at home, improving children’s outcomes.

It focuses on parents’ mental health, substance misuse and domestic abuse through the creation of multi-disciplinary teams, investment in skills development to create change, improved information sharing and collaborative case recording in one place on a family record.

Parents and carers in crisis will be able to access support from one team and one point of contact as social workers work alongside partners including psychologists, mental health workers, domestic abuse and recovery practitioners.

Cllr Shirley Reynolds highlighted: “The Family Safeguarding approach is based on a strong partnership foundation and this model will only strengthen this further, through a multi-disciplinary way of working with our colleagues in health services, justice system and many others.”

Linda Massey, Independent Reviewing Officer at Telford & Wrekin Council added: “For me the Family Safeguarding model is a real uplift and way to move to a more positive relationship with our families and our local community. I look forward to implementing the changes and seeing the impact on the children and parents we work alongside.”

Family Safeguarding Model in practice
The Family Safeguarding Model was initially designed by Hertfordshire County Council to tackle the challenges around children’s safeguarding.

Kae, a parent in Hertfordshire, was a long-standing heroin user and had experienced the removal and loss of two children previously. She was pregnant, had serious offences for theft and soliciting, and had experienced long-term serious domestic abuse and suicide attempts, when she came to the Family Safeguarding team of Hertfordshire Council in September 2016.

"When I came into contact with the Family Safeguarding team, I was scared they would take my baby away. But instead, they listened to me and got other experts involved, a recovery worker and mental health worker and they helped me a lot.

“They gave me the opportunity to turn my life around. I didn't think there was light at the end of the tunnel, but with their support, I was able to tackle my demons and keep my baby.”

Borough schools lose £420,000 due to Pupil Premium funding allocation

Schools within the borough will lose £420,000 of Pupil Premium funding, due to the government’s decision to use school census data from October 2020 instead of January 2021, as has been the norm in previous years. This is additional funding allocated to schools to help disadvantaged pupils close the attainment gap between them and their peers. Children who are eligible for support are often those who access Free School Meals (FSM).

At the end of March, Council Leader Shaun Davies and Cllr Shirley Reynolds (cabinet member for children, young people, education and lifelong learning), together with Primary and Secondary Heads in Telford and Wrekin, wrote to Gavin Williamson, the Secretary of State for Education, to raise concerns about the government’s decision to change the date at which Pupil Premium funding is determined.

The letter to the Secretary of State for Education highlighted that 325 additional children in the borough qualified for Pupil Premium in January 2021 when compared to October 2020 and that the government’s decision leaves these children without much-needed support at a challenging time.

Following the Council’s request, the Government hasn’t reconsidered its decision.

The Department for Education recently admitted that, nationally, schools will miss out on around £90 million in pupil premium funding - despite previously insisting they would not lose out from a change to the way it is calculated.

Cllr Shirley Reynolds, cabinet member for children, young people, education and lifelong learning, said: “Together with Primary and Secondary Heads in Telford and Wrekin, we have done all we could to urge the government to reconsider its decision and revert to the usual January 2021 school census data to determine Pupil Premium.
“We are very disappointed that despite our efforts, Telford and Wrekin schools will lose over £420,000 funding, with hundreds of children in our borough without much-needed support.”

Council Leader Shaun Davies added: “At a time when so many families continue to struggle financially, the government has implemented a change leaving disadvantaged children to fall further behind.
“All throughout the pandemic our Council has been supporting thousands of borough families under financial strains with a wide variety of schemes, such as: food vouchers during school holidays, free breakfast boxes delivered through our community groups, coats and shoes during winter for children who need them, laptops for learning from home during lockdowns and many others.
“We will continue to help these families in need as we know the pandemic’s impact is still present.”

Mandie Haywood, Headteacher at Old Park Primary School (who signed the original letter to the Secretary of State on behalf of Primary Heads within Telford and Wrekin) said: “Across the borough’s primary schools, we have seen an increase in Free School Meal uptake, as the pandemic continues to affect many families.

“We are now being given less resources from government for these families, at this still difficult time. Throughout the pandemic, we have been working closely with the Council so families under financial pressure can get extra support in a range of ways and we are aiming to continue to do this.”

Krissi Carter, Principal at Burton Borough School (who signed the original letter to the Secretary of State on behalf of Secondary Heads within Telford and Wrekin) said:
“Also across the borough’s secondary schools, the number of pupils eligible to claim Free School Meals has increased between October 2020 and January 2021, as many families have seen their income significantly reduced.

“It is unfair for the Government to leave these children without additional support. We are working with the Council to make the most of the existing support schemes in place to help these families – such as with food vouchers during school holidays, holiday activities ideas to support with their wellbeing, all of these have made a really positive difference.”

South Asian heritage month art competition

Recent events have highlighted the ever increasing need for pupils to understand about our shared history. South Asian Heritage Month begins on 17 July 2021, to ensure that no child misses out we are encouraging schools to start their events earlier in July. South Asian Heritage Month is a new celebration having been created out of a desire to learn more about South Asian culture and history that has an impact on our world today. This cross-curricular topic covers many elements in history and addresses many fundamental spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSC) and personal, social health and economic (PHSE) aspects of the curriculum as a whole.

The Multi-cultural Development Team (MDT) are working with the Telford and Wrekin Interfaith Council (TWIFC) to deliver free 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 five key themes:

Identity
History
Creatives
Sports
Health and 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 and Wrekin.

The MDT team are and working with TWIFC to deliver free support packs to all schools. TWIFC are running an art competition and all entries will be displayed in Wellington Library throughout July and August. Links to both resource packs, and information about the competiton are below:

South Asian Heritage Month primary resource pack

South Asian Heritage Month secondary resource pack

Connecting Communities - Art Competition

Pupil’s work, photos and contributions for the competition will be displayed on the council website, and those of our two partner agencies: South Asian Heritage and Inter-faith Telford.

Schools should ensure that the correct permissions have been requested for any artwork or photographs submitted, to be used online and in any future council showcases or publications.

Please visit the Multi-cultural Development Team Website for more information on how individual schools can plan and develop staff knowledge, detail is available upon request.

Return of books and topic boxes from the multicultural development resource library

In February 2020 the Multicultural Development Team’s library of resources moved to Wellington Library. Telford & Wrekin Libraries planned to resume the lending service in September 2020 but Covid-19 delayed our plans until September 2021.

Ahead of the restart, we know that there are books and topic boxes that teachers haven’t been able to return. We would love to have them back, so if you have items in cupboards or classrooms that need to be returned please can you either

Take them to Wellington Library during normal opening hours or
Email multiculturallibrary@telford.gov.uk to arrange a collection.

Any relevant items are identified with a Multicultural Development Team label.

Thank you for your patience over the past year. More details about borrowing items for the Autumn term will follow in due course or you can email any queries to multiculturallibrary@telford.gov.uk or visit the website www.telford.gov.uk/libraries.

Steer clear programme

The Steer Clear team work with young people aged between 10 and18 who they believe could be exposed to knife crime, and the harm associated with it.

They will strive to educate and support each referred young person, whilst tackling knife-related crime, in order to protect our communities from harm.

This voluntary programme is completely free. By getting in touch, you could help keep a young person safe from harm and assist in preventing the criminalisation associated to it.

For more information, download the poster or email the team at steer.clear@thechildrenssoceity.org.uk

Revised securing school improvement protocol

Following the Interim arrangements put in place last year due to the COVID pandemic, we are consulting on a revised version of the Securing School Improvement Protocol for the academic year 2021/22. Head teachers and Chairs of governors of all maintained schools and academies are invited to respond to the proposed changes by 16 July 2021

Telford & Wrekin Council is committed to working in partnership with all schools, academies and free schools to ensure that every pupil receives a good quality education and achieves excellent outcomes. Our aim is to facilitate a culture of working together so that we can develop a first class education provision for all children and young people in the borough.

This draft protocol outlines the strategies that will be used by the local authority (LA) to ensure that all schools are monitored effectively, that early identification of emerging issues is noted and acted upon, and intervention, where needed, is timely and well planned.

The key changes to the new proposed protocol are as follows:

A commitment to developing a culture where the outcomes of every child or young person in Telford and Wrekin are a collective responsibility of all schools and academies working in the borough
An emphasis that an effective self-improving school led system of support is vital to effective school improvement in the borough and an acknowledgement of the role that a range of other school improvement partners will play.
An outline of the borough wide school improvement priorities for the academic year
A new classification system for the risk assessment of schools based on a ‘traffic light’ approach to identify the level of challenge and support that maintained schools will receive.
Revised criteria for classification aligned to the new OFSTED framework.
An offer of a school improvement discussion and/or visits to individual academies to explore their contribution to borough wide improvement.

The full draft policy is available to download.

Please submit any feedback by 16 July 2021 using the online feedback form.

Registering your Early Career Teacher (ECT) for the full induction programme: September 2021

As we approach the end of the school year we are understandably receiving queries about what to expect in the next few weeks in order to prepare for the Early Career Framework programme with STEP, Shropshire and Telford Education Partnership (starting in September 2021).

Registering your ECTs and mentors

The Department for Education (DfE) will shortly give you access to input the details of your Early Career Teachers (ECTs) and Mentors on the DfE online service (at which point the Best Practice Network will be able to communicate with the ECTs and Mentors about their programme in preparation for beginning). It would be useful to include the ECT/Mentor’s personal email address so that they can ensure they receive everything they need in time for their start in September.

Next steps

Once ECTs and mentors have been registered on the DfE online service, BPN will contact them to request them to complete a follow-up form in order to collect information about their dietary requirements, any special requirements, home address, phase, and subject etc. to assist in arrangements for their face to face training.
ECTs and Mentors will be allocated to groups and sent their training dates and locations.

Communication

Communication will generally be directly with the ECT/Mentor. Before the programme starts in September, ECTs and Mentors will receive information about their training dates. Information about how to access the virtual learning environment will follow at the beginning of the programme.
If you have any questions the BPN team will be happy to support you and can be contacted via emailo to cpd@bestpracticenet.co.uk .

Registering with Best Practice Network/OLP

Schools have until 30 July 2021 to register with their chosen Lead Provider. In order to access ECF training provided locally through Best Practice Network there are two steps for schools:

Register your school with BPN/OLP via the online link. You will be asked who directed you to BPN/OLP so you need to choose STEP, Shropshire and Telford Education Partnership from the dropdown list provided.
Access the DfE portal to select your mode of delivery (Full Induction Programme) and input your Early Career Teacher and Mentor details (details of this will come to schools directly from the DfE but can also be accessed directly. You will need to select ‘Full Induction Programme’ (this is the fully funded route provided by the DfE via BPN/OLP and STEP, Shropshire and Telford Education Partnership.

Schools will be sent a welcome pack in the next few weeks which should support them further. Any queries can be emailed to lyndsie.barnard@bestpracticenet.co.uk

Out of hours emergency contact list

As the summer break approaches, now is the time to check that your key holder contact details are correct and up to date on the Emergency Contact List (ECL).

Each school has a designated ‘Editor’ who has access to your school’s individual page within the ECL. This is usually the School Business Manager, but may also be the Headteacher and/or a designated School Administrator. Editors should log into the school’s page and check that all key holder emergency contact details are up to date before the end of term.

If staff members have left or changed job roles, or if you are not sure who has access to edit your individual school’s details, please email Esther.McDermott@telford.gov.uk for further assistance.

SEND Newsletter: June 2021

The SEND Newsletter - June 2021 has been published on the SEND Local Offer.

Some of the highlights this month include:

Pupil Voice - Questionnaire for secondary school pupils: Moving from Year 6 in Primary School to Year 7 in Secondary School (Transition)
We would like to encourage secondary schools to share this survey with your SEND students to give their views on Transition from Primary School – Secondary School.
Aiming High: Strategic Board for SEND – June 2021
Aiming High the strategic board for SEND met during June to review and update the SEND Action Plan (SEND Action Plan - Local Offer).
Voices – Co-production Project
Find out the latest news on producing a Co-production Charter for SEND in Telford & Wrekin.
Save the Date – SENCo Network Meeting
Please save the date in your diary for the next SENCo Network Meeting on Tuesday 13 July 2021.
SEND Local Offer - Preparing for Adulthood
The Preparing for Adulthood section has been updated on the Local Offer with a new look and additional information, please take a look.
And much more…

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 email alert.

Save the date: Next SENCo Network Meeting

Please save the date for the next SENCo Network Meeting on Tuesday 13 July 2021at 4.00pm-5.00pm on Microsoft Teams.

This will be the last SENCo Network Meeting for this term and the agenda will cover:

Local Authority Updates
SEND Reviews
Unified Banding Model
Ofsted & CQC Ready
Updates from all the SEND Services

Invitations will be sent to all Primary, Secondary & Special School SENCo’s. if you would like to express an interest in attending this session or if you have not received invitations to previous sessions please contact us by email at: SENDandInclusion@telford.gov.uk to ensure your invitation.

Speech, language and communication resources survey: Educational settings

As part of the Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust and Clinical Commissioning Group processes the Speech and Language Therapy Service working with parents and partners including both Local Authorities is looking at ways to redesign and improve services for children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). As part of this redesign the Speech and Language Therapy Service are completing a survey of the toolkits currently used in schools, pre-schools and nurseries for children with SLCN, and specifically what is being used to identify, support and track these children. This work has been requested by the system wide meeting for children’s SLCN. Please let them know if you would like to join the leadership of this project or know more about it.

There are many different screening tools and packages currently being used locally and others that are available. This survey will enable them to compile information about frequently used tools, their ease of use, and what users think about their impact. This will help them share information and make decisions about the most helpful tools to use locally and how these might support the improvement of services for children with SLCN, educators and parents.

Please complete the survey from the Speech and Language Therapy of the toolkits currently used in schools, pre-schools and nurseries for children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

SLCN toolkit survey

Please be honest about any issues you have using these tools and any real positives, especially about how they support planning strategies and activities into a child’s learning.

The Speech and Language Therapy Service would like to thank you for your time in completing this survey and helping us to improve services that will support children with speech, language and communication needs.The results of the survey will be available through your Local Authority and PODS and PACC.

Please complete the SNAP survey by Friday 9 July 2021.

Grants of £500 available for young people

The Leader and Cabinet Members' Young Person Grant Scheme is a monetary award to support children and young people living in the Borough of Telford and Wrekin between the ages of 15 and 25 years old in one of the following categories:

Education, training and / or employment
Equipment
Travel
Enterprise funding.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of young people across the country and the council hopes that the grants will offer some hope of a brighter future to residents aged 15-25 in assisting them to take the next steps in their career. A grant of up to £500 is available for young people who live in Telford and Wrekin, who are seeking support to help get them into education, employment or training.

The money is available to each applicant who can demonstrate how the funding could successfully help them overcome barriers that are currently preventing them from accessing education, employment or training. It is also available to those seeking to start up their own business but need that initial investment.

Applications are open now and will close on 26 July 2021. For more information or to submit an application please visit the website. Further terms and conditions can also be found online. An A4 poster can also be downloaded, and printed for use.

CPD courses for school staff, senior leaders and governors

Unless noted as ‘face to face’, all courses continue to be delivered online using Microsoft Teams. We hope to move towards a more blended approach as the restrictions around Covid 19 are eased, and when it is safe to do so. Online courses continue to be charged at a lower rate to reflect savings made by not using external venues.

Details of all of our courses can be viewed in the CPD Booklet - available on the Telford Education Services website. The new 2021-22 CPD Booklet will be published on this site in the next few days.

Course bookings with a course code are made by sending a completed CPD booking form via email to cpdschoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk.

Other courses and briefings without a course code can be booked by sending your email address name and school name to cpdschoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk

Virtual School Conference Attachment Awareness and Trauma Informed Schools (CPD 620)	Friday 2 July 2021	9.00am to 12.15pm
Teaching children with SEND - meeting the need (LSAT 508)	Tuesday 6 July 2021	4.00pm to 5.30pm
EYFS: Areas of Learning and Development Session 3: Physical Development (EY 308)	Tuesday 6 July 2021	1.00pm to 2.30pm
EYFS: Areas of Learning and Development Session 3: Physical Development (EY 309)	Tuesday 6 July 2021	4.00pm to 5.30pm
Racist Incident Reporting System: (IRIS) training (book via email)	Tuesday 6 July 2021	3.30pm to 5.00pm
NQT Induction Tutor/ Mentor - Initial Training (CPD 520)	Wednesday 7 July 2021	4.00pm to 5.30pm
RADY Launch for Secondary Heads / Senior Leaders	Wednesday 7 July 2021	9.30am to 11.30am
ELSA Conference (EPS 106) Face to Face (FULL)	Wednesday 7 July 2021	9.00am to 3.00pm
MAPA Refresher (BSAT 212)	Thursday 8 July 2021	9.00am to 12.30pm
Youth Mental Health First Aid (PSS 001)	Monday 12 July 2021 & Tuesday 13 July 2021	915am to 4.00pm
Teaching children with SEND - meeting the need (LSAT 508)	Monday 12 July 2021	4.00pm to 5.30pm
Designated Safeguarding Leads Refresher (SG 107)	Thursday 15 July 2021	2.00pm to 3.30pm

This entry was posted by Claire on Wednesday, 30 June 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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