Education Noticeboard: 4 November 2021

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

Director Update

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all having a good start to this half term. It’s another busy week for us all and this is reflected in the size of the noticeboard! I know most have now picked up on the recommendations we have provided to manage COVID-19 as our numbers continue to be high. There is a small amendment to the letter distributed earlier in the week whereby we clarify that all settings should consider now what additional measures they should take to help manage infection. Further details can be found below.

I suspect that you are engaged in much conversation and debate with regard to tackling climate change with COP26 happening in Glasgow right now and dominating the news over the next couple of weeks. Telford and Wrekin Council are taking steps to reduce our carbon emissions and we have already done so by 58% since 2018/19. We know our children and young people are exceptionally aware of the climate challenge and are passionate about the future of our planet. Many initiatives are happening across our schools and settings and there is information about a FREE Eco-Schools Webinar included below. I really hope many of you can take part. Please let us know about any of your eco initiatives which we can showcase in the noticeboard.

Have a great rest of the week all.

Best wishes
Simon

Director: Education and Skills

Information for schools and colleges on asymptomatic COVID-19 testing

This is an update from the Department for Education

Thank you for continuing to encourage staff, students and pupils to test twice-weekly at home. This is a key part of reducing transmission of COVID-19 in secondary schools and colleges and reducing case rates across settings.

To help pupils understand the importance of testing and to encourage greater uptake, we recommend you think about the best ways of engaging your students in regular testing. The Department for Education (DfE) have provided a toolkit to support you in encouraging pupils and students to test regularly. The toolkit provides strategies, best practice case studies and online resources to help increase participation levels. This includes sending GOV.UK automatic text reminders to test, working with student groups to encourage testing and incentivising testing through reward schemes.

It is recommended that you use the start of this term as an opportunity to re-emphasise the importance of testing.

Students who find it especially challenging to test using lateral flow devices (LFDs) should be treated sensitively and signposted to additional support which is available to all students.

Recommendations regarding additional COVID-19 controls in educational settings

Please note that the letter for educational settings has been updated since the initial publication on Tuesday. For your ease of reference the amendments have been highlighted within the letter.

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you had a restful half term. Today our public health team have released a number of recommendations for schools and educational settings to help control the spread of COVID-19 infection. The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to remain very high in Telford & Wrekin, with continued week-on-week increases during the first half term. The vast majority of positive cases are in school aged children and young people. It is important we take proactive steps to reduce the spread of infection, to bring cases down and minimise further disruption to education.

There are two main additional controls proposed:

That children who are household contacts of positive cases take a daily LFT test for a period of 7 school days in addition to the PCR test they will have been recommended to take. This includes primary aged children (reception onwards) but not those in early years settings.
That there is consideration of implementing COVID-19 precautions that were in place in schools and settings during the last academic year.

It is important to note the following:

The Department for Education (DfE) contingency framework allows local authority public health teams to recommend controls as part of their outbreak management responsibilities.
The recommendations are advisory, not compulsory but are aimed to help settings reduce the transmission of the virus and support outbreak management.
Schools and settings can determine if they want to implement all or some of the measures dependent on their individual circumstances, COVID-19 infection rates and potential impact on the quality of teaching and learning.
This advice will reviewed at least fortnightly. Decisions about stepping down the measures will occur if the overall number of cases reduces.

A letter has been provided, which should be downloaded for full details:

COVID-19 management letter for educational settings - 4 November

Please note that the letter for educational settings has been updated since the initial publication on Tuesday. For your ease of reference the amendments have been highlighted within the letter.

A template letter has also been produced for schools and settings to adapt to explain these recommendations to parents. This is also available to download:

COVID-19 letter to parents for educational settings

Simon
Simon Wellman
Director: Education and Skills

Walk-in vaccination clinics for 12-15 year olds

Walk in COVID-19 vaccine clinics for young people aged 12-15 years old are being held at Southwater 1 on Friday 5 and Saturday 6 November 2021. Parents are asked to accompany their child, to ensure that parental consent is sought.

Friday 5 November 2021, 1pm - 4.30pm
Saturday 6 November 2021, 1pm - 4.30pm

Plea for good news stories

If you have a good news story, that you think others would be interest in, please send it through to us. It might be a competition winner, some charity fundraising or an awareness event. Whatever it is, please share it with us.

All we need is a brief piece of information, dates if it is an event, links to any websites which are relevant and a photograph if you have one. Send it all through to education.noticeboard@telford.gov.uk and we will do the rest.

Pre-exclusion hotline – 07816372459

The pre-exclusion hotline has been working very well and this has best been used when a school is considering an exclusion, whereby a member of the BSAT team has been able to offer immediate intervention to to discuss the exclusion in more detail and offer a preventative solution. This support is available for both the individual child and their school.

One example of this was a school who telephoned the pre-exclusion hotline requesting support.

Contact was made as a child had got themself into trouble swearing, telling staff that they were going to kill them. The issue was that there had already been a fixed term exclusion. The school noticed that the child has complex needs and has previously utilised alternative provision.

The school felt that information provided to them by a primary colleague did not evidence the complex needs and support that was previously provided. As Local Authority (LA) officers, the Behaviour Support Development and Advisory Team (BSATs) were able to check the protocol system to see the extensive support that had previously been provided and were able to discuss this with the school.

An immediate visit was planned which allowed for the team to support the child and discuss the reasons for their behaviour using a restorative approach. An offer of a restorative justice session with the child, the teacher involved and the school supported the school to prevent the exclusion. Following this, school wanted to hold a series of support sessions from BSAT which were then traded through the service.

In this instance, the ongoing support has allowed the team to check in weekly with the child and that they have remained in school and are now doing well. This demonstartes that with the right support at the right time, exclusions can be prevented.

The Pre-exclusion Hotline number is 07816 372459.

The ever changing landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic – the return to school and onwards

Dr Jane Park and Julie Lewis-Smith from Telford and Wrekin Educational Psychology Service explored pupil’s views of returning to school during COVID-19 as part of a collaborative project led by Nottingham City and Southend EPS services.

The full report analyses the views of 5268 children, 150 of which were children from Telford and Wrekin. Using online questionnaires, the researchers explored the children’s experiences of education during COVID-19 and their transition back to school environments.

The data from the questionnaire suggested that the majority of Telford & Wrekin children felt safe returning to school and that school was a safe place to be, with most indicating that they knew they had adults or friends that could talk to. The results also indicated that most children believed they were supported in their learning. Telford & Wrekin results compared favourably to the national picture:

83% of children from Telford & Wrekin said their return to school was okay, easy or really easy (compared to 80% nationally).
84% of children from Telford & Wrekin shared they felt okay or great being at school (compared to 81% nationally).
85% of children from Telford and Wrekin definitely agree or agree that there is an adult they can talk to at school (compared to 80% nationally).
84% of children from Telford & Wrekin definitely agree or agree they have a friend to talk to if there is a problem (compared to 79% nationally).
86% of children from Telford & Wrekin definitely agree or agree that school is a safe place to me (compared to 79% nationally).
84% of children from Telford & Wrekin definitely agree or agree that they feel supported in their learning (compared to 79% nationally).

A further qualitative analysis of the children’s views showed several key themes of how children experienced school during COVID-19 and within their everyday life. The main findings of how children made sense of the pandemic include that adults contributed to their feelings of safety, how their relationships with their friends supported them, the impacts of the pandemic on children and staff wellbeing, their experience of learning online and in school, as well how the physical environment changed as a result of the lockdown.

Children also discussed how the pandemic impacted their experiences of inequality and how this impacted their experiences. The children also spoke about their everyday experiences with school. Through exploring psychological frameworks, several suggestions and implications are discussed to support children through their continuing transition back to school.

The full report highlights the next steps to using the pupil’s views and to promote further support for children as they continue throughout school, including the view of how children think practice could be improved to promote wellbeing, promoting 21st century skills within the curriculum, supporting children through trauma informed practice and how relationships are key to enriching children’s lives.

The full report is available to download:

Telford & Wrekin Pupil Voice Report

Winter Happy Healthy & Active Holiday Grant champions needed

Telford & Wrekin Council have recently launched the winter funded Happy Healthy & Active Holiday (HHAH) Programme. The programme has been supported through a grant from the Department of Education to support the provision of activities and information for children 5- 16 years, including Special Education Needs and Disabled Children, on income related Free School Meals to enjoy a happy healthy holiday.

They are particularly interested in hearing from schools who might be interested in supporting this programme for children and young people up to the age of 16-years who are in receipt of income-related free school meals.

It is requested that schools identify a lead for the HHAH to act as champions. Please could you provide a name and contact details of a lead for your school to the HolidayActivityHub@telford.gov.uk inbox.

The Happy Healthy & Active Holiday programme offers free holiday clubs including healthy food and enriching and physical activities for children who receive income-related Free School Meals (FSM) across the borough.

To make this provision possible support is sought from organisations with relevant experience who can make this Christmas one to remember for local children.

For more information about the Happy Healthy & Active Holiday grant visit the website.

Queries can be sent by email to HolidayActivityHub@telford.gov.uk.

Telford & Wrekin Safeguarding Partnership newsletter

Available to download is the latest edition of the Telford & Wrekin Safeguarding Partnership (TWSP) Newsletter:

TWSP Newsletter – 20 October 2021

Articles include:

Multi Agency Children & Young People Crisis Resolution,
Regional Child Protection Procedures for West Midlands.
West Midlands Regional Adult Safeguarding Policies and Procedures.
Upcoming Multi-Agency Training.

Positive environments where children can flourish

Ofsted has updated its guidance to schools when they are inspecting how schools approach physical interventions, restraint and the restriction of liberty.

The guidance has been updated to explain the importance of protecting and promoting children’s rights; recognise that restraint negatively impacts children’s mental health and well-being and highlight the importance of taking positive steps to understand children’s communication, and to identify triggers for and problem-solve difficult situations by taking positive steps to defuse situations. The advice includes information about how inspectors will explore the culture of the residential setting or school through an understanding of the role of leaders in overseeing staff practice and outcomes for children.

The publication 'Positive environments where children can flourish' is available to download on the GOV.UK website.

Ofsted have just issued a termination warning to a Special School for children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs.

Safeguarding at the school was inadequate, inspectors found that:

There are too many incidents of poor behaviour in lessons that resulted in physical intervention from staff. Too often, interventions include dangerous moves, such as holding pupils to the floor. Leaders should review their approaches to supporting pupils’ behaviour so that such interventions are no longer needed.
Leaders do not ensure that incidents involving physical intervention are followed up appropriately. As a result, pupils do not feel safe, or confident that they are listened to. In addition, leaders do not scrutinise records of incidents.
Records do not show whether physical interventions are necessary or proportionate.

Queries can be directed to Nick Cunliffe – Education Safeguarding Coordinator by telephone on 01952 382123 or by sending an email to nick.cunlifee@telford.gov.uk

Reminder about term dates and holidays for academic year 2022-23

Enquiries usually begin during the Spring Term from staff who work in educational settings about future term dates and holidays. These are being shared with you at this early opportunity for the academic year 2022-23.

There are three Local Authority (LA) suggested PD days:

3 January 2023
24 & 25 July 2023.

Schools should add two further PD days or of course select all five of their own.

Schools are cordially requested to send a copy of all agreed PD days to attendancesupportteam@telford.gov.uk.

The template for your website is available to download.

Confirmed Telford & Wrekin Holiday Model 2022/23

Reminder to complete the educational setting attendance form for schools and colleges

Schools and colleges are asked to continue completing the educational setting status form from promptly during the autumn term. Please complete the form each day by 2pm.

As previously mentioned, some changes have been made to the form to align with the latest guidance for schools and colleges, however this does not impact the way that you complete it.

Further information on completing the educational setting status form, including an updated set of attendance sub-codes, can be found in our guidance.

Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) and Elective home Education (EHE) requirements

The updated Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021 came into force on 1 September 2021 and has a specific section on Elective Home Education, which reads:

165. Many home educated children have an overwhelmingly positive learning experience. We would expect the parents’ decision to home educate to be made with their child’s best education at the heart of the decision. However, this is not the case for all, and home education can mean some children are less visible to the services that are there to keep them safe and supported in line with their needs.
166. From September 2016 the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 were amended so that schools must inform their Local Authorty (LA) of all deletions from their admission register when a child is taken off roll.
167. Where a parent/carer has expressed their intention to remove a child from school with a view to educating at home, we recommend that LAs, schools, and other key professionals work together to coordinate a meeting with parents/carers where possible. Ideally, this would be before a final decision has been made, to ensure the parents/carers have considered what is in the best interests of each child. This is particularly important where a child has special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), is vulnerable, and/or has a social worker.

Please download the Telford & Wrekin template for the procedures a school must follow if a parent expresses a preference to Electively Home Educate their child.

Any queries can be sent by email to Karen Towers – EHE Advisor, Karen.towers@telford.gov.uk or Nick Cunliffe – Education Safeguarding Coordinator, nick.cunliffe@telford.gov.uk.

Implementing the Early Years Foundation Stage reforms and supportive guidance

The Department for Education (DfE) have provided a range of resources to help implement the Early Year Foundation Stage (EYFS) reforms including a revised EYFSP handbook, ‘What to Expect in the Early Years Foundation Stage’ a guide to support practitioner engagement with parents/carers and a revised version of ‘Celebratory approach to working with children with SEND’.

Videos on implementing the EYFS reforms
The DfE has published a small suite of videos on the GOV.UK website with direct messages from DfE, Ofsted and early adopter schools on their experiences in delivering the EYFS reforms and how they have changed their approach to delivering the EYFS, including when completing the EYFS Profile assessment. DfE and Ofsted provide a summary of the reforms and the new expectations for early year’s curriculum and assessment, school leaders of early adopter schools share their experiences of the EYFS reforms and how they implemented them in their school, and reception teachers in early adopter schools who share how the reforms have impacted their assessment practices and what was important in their assessments during the early adopter year. View the videos on the GOV.UK website:

Implementing the early years foundation stage reforms

Blogs
Two blogs have also been published from leaders of early adopter schools discussing their experience of implementing the reforms to the EYFS and how they impacted their practice, as well as sharing key tips based on their experience. The first is from Sarah Charlton, Head of Early Years at Ark Priory Academy in West London and the second, is from Kate Pounder, Early Years Lead at Caldicotes Primary Academy in Thorntree, Middlesborough.

EYFS profile handbook
DfE also published the 2021/22 EYFS Profile handbook to provide guidance for teachers on assessing children’s development at the end of reception year. As part of the EYFS reforms, DfE has streamlined all guidance on the EYFSP into one document. The Assessment and Reporting Arrangements (ARA) will no longer be published for the EYFSP, with all guidance and information now in the EYFSP Handbook.

What to Expect in the EYFS
DfE has published a new guide for parents, produced by Sheringham Nursery School and Children’s Centre. 'What to Expect in the Early Years Foundation Stage' (formerly ‘What to Expect When’) guides parents through what to expect with their child’s development. It aligns with the new Development Matters to help practitioners engage with parents about their child’s development.

A Celebratory Approach to Working with Children with SEND
DfE has also published a new guide for practitioners, produced by Pen Green Children’s Centre - 'A Celebratory Approach to Working with Children with SEND – Giving additional support in the Early Years' (formerly 'A Celebratory Approach to SEND assessment in the Early Years') to help practitioners who may be supporting children who require additional help or children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

Please direct any queries to Lisa Seymour – Early years and childcare team leader. She can be contacted by telephone on 01952 385424 or by sending an email to Lisa.seymour@telford.gov.uk

SEND newsletter – October 2021

The SEND Newsletter – October 2021 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 email alert.

Funded Autism Spectrum Condition training

Currently underway is a huge drive on increasing the understanding of Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) within Telford & Wrekin schools, to increase inclusion. All schools are asked to co-work towards achieving this whole-borough vision. To support this co-work, and make achieving this vision a reality, a funded place is being provided for a one member of senior staff from each setting to attend the ASC Lead training, during the forthcoming Autumn Term.

Why does my schools need an ASC Lead?
A lead autism practitioner is needed in every school in Telford. The ASC Lead can then drive planning the support and provision for children with social communication needs, across the school.

What impact will the ASC Lead have in my school?
Having an ASC Lead will enable all young people to have an increased sense of belonging to their school and promote inclusion. This is essential because it will increase the holistic development of each young person identified with ASC.

In addition, if requests are made for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), schools will be able to demonstrate levels of interventions linked to the graduated response. Furthermore, the acquired skills across all school staff will assist with the presentation of young people to the emotional health and wellbeing panel for consideration to be placed on the ASC pathway. The content of the Autism Education Trust (AET) links to the Ofsted framework for inspection, and therefore will support each school when engaging with Ofsted Inspectors.

Next Steps
Schools are asked to sign up one member of staff for the ASC Lead training. Please identify the member of staff who will be the autism lead in your school and ask them to sign up to one of the dates below. The autism lead will need to be a senior member of your team who is able to oversee the development of policy and practice.

The dates are as follows:

10 November 2021
17 November 2021
24 November 2021
1 December 2021
8 December 2021

To book a place on a course, please send a completed CPD booking form by email to CPDschoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk.
The booking form is available online.

Once your member of staff has received the ASC lead (Leading Good Autism Practice, or LGAP for short) training, they are encouraged to then begin to organise the delivery of training with other staff throughout the school. This can be achieved by contacting Michael Lane (Senior Educational Psychologist and ASC Lead) who will co-ordinate the allocation of training staff to schools. He can be contacted by sending an email to Michael.lane@telford.gov.uk

Transport Commissioning and Fleet Transport Services restructure

Telford & Wrekin has recently launched a consultation on restructuring of the Transport Commissioning and Fleet Transport Service areas which will continue throughout this year. This potential restructuring looks to ensure that we are best placed to respond to changing demands and continue to provide essential transport services to all clients.

It is anticipated that there should be minimal impact on education services over this period, although as the restructure progresses it may be necessary to adjust staffing allocations particularly on in house fleet vehicles, however every endeavour will be made to keep disruption to a minimum. Should schools have any concerns, please contact Kim Anderson - kim.anderson@telford.gov.uk or Matt Powell - matt.powell@telford.gov.uk.

Virtual School CPD Opportunities

The Virtual School would like to share with you some upcoming CPD opportunities.

Firstly, This term’s Network Meeting for Designated Teachers (DTs) and Nominated Governors (NGs) will be held via TEAMs on 11 November 2021, from 4:00pm.

There is a jam-packed line up, focusing on the work of ARC (Attachment Research Community), which includes guest speakers Andy Wright, Chair of Trustees for ARC, as well as Jon Hickman, previously of North Birmingham Academy, winners of the ARC Attachment Award for secondary schools for its work around attachment and trauma awareness. Both of the guest speakers will offer their unique perspectives on the potential positive impacts of developing trauma and attachment informed practices, as well as speaking authentically about the challenges and pitfalls along the way.

This meeting also aims to give you further details of the ARC Pathway; a useful self-evaluation and school development tool to support you in your work to reflect upon attachment and trauma-informed policy and practices, as well as useful tools and guidance on improving and evidencing the impact of your Pupil Premium Plus spending.

If you haven’t yet booked your place for your school’s DT and/or Nominated Governor, please find further details in the CPD Booklet.

ARC Conference

A reminder to sign up to the Attachment Research Community (ARC) Conference 2021. Taking place on 24 November 2021, this is an exciting event, and will support you on your journey to becoming an attachment and trauma informed school.

The theme is ‘relationships, resilience and returning to school and will be an insightful, single day, conference discussing attachment and trauma awareness in schools, the impact of COVID-19, one year on, upon students and professionals and the importance of inclusive behavioural policies that help to build successful relationships and resilience within schools.

For full; details, including pricing, please download the full conference details:

ARC Conference 2021

Culture Cares Conference

The Culture Cares conference 2021 will take place on Tuesday 16 November 2021, 10am – 5pm and can be attended in person at Derby Theatre or online.

The event promises insightful, lively and vital conversations, presentations and workshops on how arts and culture are creating pathways in the lives of care experienced young people.

For full; details, including booking details, please download the full conference details:

Culture Cares Conference 2021

New distance learning careers leader training offer

The new distance learning Careers Leader training offer through the Warwick University Postgraduate Award in Careers Leadership provides an exciting and even more accessible way of accessing the funded Careers Leader training offer.

Registrations are open for the first cohort throughout October, and the first cohort will join the virtual campus on 1 November 2021.

This new distance learning Careers Leader training offer enables Careers Leaders to learn and engage with the funded Careers Leader training offer at their own pace, allowing Careers Leaders to:

Combine work and study, engaging with activities and materials when it suits their schedule within the Warwick Virtual Campus.
Access the course and learning at any time, and progress through the workrooms within the Virtual Campus at a pace to suit them.
Interact with other Careers Leaders and tutors to share practice, learn collaboratively and to receive feedback, whenever they choose to come into the Virtual Campus

If you have any queries please contact the team via email to careersleaders@careersandenterprise.co.uk.

To find out more about all of Careers Leader training courses visit their website.

CPD courses for school staff, senior leaders and governors

The 2021-2022 CPD Booklet continues to be available on the Telford Education Services site and we look forward to receiving your bookings.

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 are usually booked by sending your email address name and school name to cpdschoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk.

Please note: with effect from Monday 27 September 2021 the majority of training was moved to online training delivery to support business continuity in schools. This will continue after half term (unless specified as ‘face to face’).

New Head teacher Induction	Tuesday 9 November 2021	4pm to 5pm
Disadvantaged young people – RADY	Tuesday 9 November 2021	5pm to 6pm
Autism Spectrum Condition Training (EPS 107)	Wednesday 10 November 2021	9am to 4.30pm
Supporting SEND in the classroom for newly qualified teachers (LSAT 502)	Thursday 11 November 2021	1.15pm to 4pm
Designated Safeguarding Leads Refresher (SG 107)	Thursday 11 November 2021	9.15am to 3.15pm
Designated Teachers & Governors for Children in Care Network (compulsory school age) (GO 503)	Thursday 11 November 2021	4pm to 6pm
Primary ICT Coordinators' Update (CPD 512)	Tuesday 16 November 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
Teaching Children with SEND: Meeting the Needs. Session 2: Ready for Learning: Supporting the Social and Emotional Needs of children with SEND (LSAT 508)	Tuesday 16 November 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
Early Career Teacher Network (CPD 720)	Tuesday 16 November 2021	4pm to 5pm
Child Development: Supporting Children’s Cognitive development in the EYFS (EY 311)	Tuesday 16 November 2021	9.30am to 11.30am
Autism Spectrum Condition Training (EPS 107)	Wednesday 17 November 2021	9am to 4.30pm
Early Talk: Supporting Communication and Language - Part 1 (EY 316)	Wednesday 17 November 2021	9.15am to 12noon
Managing Employee Capability (Performance Management)	Thursday 18 November 2021	3pm to 5.30pm
Management of Actual or Potential Aggression (MAPA training) - Part 1 (BSAT 201)	Thursday 18 November 2021	8.30am to 4pm
Governors’ Responsibilities for SEND (LSAT 212)	Thursday 18 November 2021	5pm to 7pm
Red Book Training	Friday 19 November 2021	all day - TBC
Safeguarding Arrangements for School Leases	Monday 22 November 2021	5.15pm to 6pm
EYFS: Areas of Learning and Development Session 6: Knowledge & Understanding of the World (EY 308)	Tuesday 23 November 2021	1pm to 2.30pm
EYFS: Areas of Learning and Development Session 6: Knowledge & Understanding of the World (EY 309)	Tuesday 23 November 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
Assessment - termly update (morning) (CPD 502)	Tuesday 23 November 2021	9.15am to 10.45am
Assessment - termly update (twilight) (CPD 503)	Tuesday 23 November 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
Autism Spectrum Condition Training (EPS 107)	Wednesday 24 November 2021	9am to 4.30pm
Raising Awareness of Prevent (SG 101)	Wednesday 24 November 2021	9.30am to 11am
Early Years Coordinators – Termly Update (EY 007)	Wednesday 24 November 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
Management of Actual or Potential Aggression (MAPA training) - Part 2 (BSAT 201)	Wednesday 24 November 2021	8.30am to 12.30pm
Child Development: Personal and Social development in the EYFS (EY 312)	Wednesday 24 November 2021	9.15am to 12noon
Safer Recruitment Administration	Thursday, November 25, 2021	3pm to 5.30pm
Managing Sexual Violence & Sexual Harassment in Schools (SG 201)	Thursday, November 25, 2021	9am to 12noon
EAL and SEND? (CPD 601)	Thursday, November 25, 2021	1.15pm to 4pm
Making the Most of CLEAPSS	Tuesday 30 November 2021	4pm to 5pm
Bright Ideas and Inspiration – for your breakfast, holiday and out of school provision (EY 303)	Tuesday 30 November 2021	9.15am to 11.15am

Farmington scholarships

Applications for the 2022/23 Farmington Scholarships are now open.

Scholarships are available to teachers of Religious Education and associated subjects in UK secondary, primary, and special needs schools. Head teachers who wish to undertake research into either religious education or values education are also eligible to apply.

Scholarships cover the cost of tuition, essential local travel and, by negotiation with the school, the salary of a replacement teacher up to point 6 of the main pay scale. Scholarships last for a maximum of 30 days and can either be taken at a local university or can be home-based with a local tutor.

A leaflet is available for download:

Farmington scholarships leaflet 2022/23

Further information and an application form can be found on the Farmington website.

The closing date for applications is Sunday 30 January 2022.

Any enquiries about the Farmington Institute, or its Scholarships, should be addressed to Kay Webb – Administrator of The Farmington Institute. She can be contacted by telephone on 01865 271985 or by sending an email to farmington@hmc.ox.ac.uk

Carbon reduction targets? Eco-schools can help you meet them

As world leaders prepare to meet in Glasgow for COP26, Keep Britain Tidy invites you to attend their free 'Every school an Eco-School' webinar and learn how the Eco-Schools programme can help you deliver carbon reductions in your borough.

With just under 25,000 schools in England, schools collectively have the power to prevent an estimated 625,000 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. That's where the Eco-Schools programme comes in. It provides a blueprint for engaging schools en-masse and has a track record of prompting students to drive carbon-saving actions.

Scaling change - Every School an Eco-School
There are lots of ways schools – and boroughs – can make changes, and food is just one of the ways that schools take action as a result of joining the Eco-Schools programme.

An average primary school introducing one meat-free day a week could see 3,770 meat-based meals swapped for plant-based alternatives each year. As a result, just one school could save 2,865kg of carbon emission, and 1,546 m3 of water, each year.

If every school in your borough took that one simple action, how much carbon would you save?

Lean about the Eco-schools programme

Join the FREE Eco-Schools Webinar
Register for your place on the Eco-Schools webinar and learn how the Eco-Schools programme can help deliver transformational change in carbon emissions across your borough. 

The session will take place on Monday 15 November 2021, from 3pm- 4pm.

Speaking at the session are:

Allison Ogden-Newton, CEO of Keep Britain Tidy
Lee Wray-Davies, Eco-Schools Manager for England
Lee Jowett, Sustainable Schools Coordinator, and Councillor Adam Clarke, Leicester City Council
Graham Frost, representing the National Association of Head Teachers, and Head Teacher at Robert Ferguson Primary School
Paul Akin, Chair of NEU's Climate Change Network.

Saving young people money on trains

The Telford teen travel card offers a week’s discounted travel for £15 - a saving of £3 a week.

Cabinet Member for economy, housing, transport and infrastructure, Councillor David Wright said; “We really want young people to know about this money-saving offer. Buses also offer young people that first step of independence – a chance to choose where to go without their parents help and it’s vital we support and enable the future of the town to fulfil their ambitions."

To apply, simply complete the application form – you’ll need to provide:

•A passport style photograph
•Proof of age document such as birth certificate

Please allow 10 working days for your application to be processed and your Teen card to be posted to you. Cards are free unless a replacement is needed due to loss or damage at a cost of £10. Cardholders must always show the travel card when purchasing tickets.

Councillor Wright added: “The number of young people qualified to drive has fallen to the lowest level on record according to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). This has massive implications on their ability to find and travel to work or access education and training.

“Along with the bus improvement plan, we’re working hard to ensure we’re doing all we can to encourage bus use. Measures like cheaper and simpler fares, improved bus shelters, clear timetables and information and wider route coverage are all things we are looking at in our bus improvement plan to change the way buses operate in Telford and Wrekin.

“Using the bus more will also help us to achieve our carbon neutral target by 2030, a fully loaded bus can take 50 cars off the road, helping to reduce congestion and reduce the impact on the environment.”

For more information on the teen travel card, visit the website. There is also a poster available for download.

Arriva also offers an additional option to save and purchase tickets through a direct debit scheme for college students, details can be found on their website.

This entry was posted by Claire on Wednesday, 03 November 2021.

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