Education Noticeboard

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

Included in this update:

Director Update

Dear colleagues

The Easter break is in sight! I am sure that you are all looking forward to some much needed downtime over the Easter period and possibly an abundance of chocolate! Before that though, one last Education Noticeboard full of updates for you.

A couple of news stories to share; children from Grange Park took part in an exciting trip to Buckingham Palace to plant a tree in the Queen’s garden and the Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, Shaun Davies had a great time during his visit to Donnington Wood Junior School. It is great to share news from you, so please keep emailing them through.

The DfE have provided some COVID-19 related updates. Also included is a letter from the Secretary of State regarding the education of children arriving from the Ukraine.

Take a look at the 10 by 10 article as we have launched the website today. There will be plenty more to say about that when we return in the summer term.

All that remains for me to say is I hope you do have time to rest and relax. It has certainly been a very busy term and once again you have all been superb!

Best wishes
Simon

Simon Wellman
Director: Education & Skills

Shropshire pupils are chosen to plant a tree in Queen’s garden

The Queen’s daughter-in-law, the Countess of Wessex, has planted an elm tree in the garden of the Buckingham Palace, as part of the Queen’s Jubilee tree planting initiative.

The countess was accompanied by Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) chairman Sir Nicholas Bacon, QGC lead forester Gerrant Richards, and six children from Grange Park Primary School in Telford.

Thousands of families, schools and community groups have planted Jubilee trees across the UK to create a canopy of green in tribute to the monarch’s 70 years of service to the nation. The tree planting will commence again in October 2022 until the end of the Jubilee year.

The Queen’s Green Canopy will meanwhile move into a conservation phase, and dedicate a network of 70 Ancient Woodlands and identify 70 Ancient Trees in honour of the head of state.

During her reign, the Queen has planted more than 1,500 trees across the world.

Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council visits Donnington Wood Junior School

Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, Councillor Shaun Davies made a recent visit to Donnington Wood Primary School. He said:

“What a pleasure it was to spend time with children and teachers from Donnington Wood Church of England Primary School who welcomed me into their school assembly with Cllr Jim Lavery, one of the local councillors for the area. Our local schools are one of my favourite places to visit to meet some of our young people and our next generation and it was a great to finally be there in person.

"I was asked some excellent questions during the visit - from how can I become a councillor to why are bills so expensive! Questions like these are so important to help our young people understand more about what the council does and to talk about things which the children may see or hear in the local news at the moment. There were also some impressive comments around public transport and renewable energy – it’s fantastic to see that climate change is at the forefront of our young people’s minds.”

Sean really enjoys being out and about in local schools - if you would like to invite either him or a member of cabinet to visit your school/setting please email Nicola.woodley@telford.gov.uk.

Ofsted delight as Telford College makes UK education history

Telford College has received a ‘Good’ rating from watchdog Ofsted – making UK further education history in the process.

It is the first time a merger of previously under-performing further education and sixth form colleges have ever been given one of the regulator’s top two grades in a first official inspection.

The news comes just weeks after Telford College’s financial health was officially upgraded to ‘Outstanding’, and completes an incredible five years of improvement, innovation and expansion.

In its inspection report, Ofsted has praised the college for adapting the curriculum to meet changing skills needs, and for helping students to boost confidence and self-belief in a safe and stimulating learning environment.

Principal and chief executive Graham Guest described the news as ‘a magnificent achievement’.

“It is the latest milestone on what has been an incredible journey for the college over the past five years, and is richly-deserved reward for all the hard work of staff, and students,” he said.

Telford College was formed in 2017 from the merger of New College Telford, and Telford College of Arts and Technology – both deemed by Ofsted as either ‘inadequate’ or ‘requiring improvement’.

An 11-strong team of Ofsted inspectors spent a week at the campus in February to assess the current quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management.

The report said: “Leaders and managers have worked well since the merger to ensure that the curriculum offered by the college, including for learners who have high needs, closely reflects the skills needs of the local, regional and national economies.

“Teachers carefully design learners’ programmes to meet their individual needs, and they benefit from one-to-one support in specialist individual rooms. As a result, learners are prepared well for their next steps.”

The inspectors said it was clear that students and apprentices were proud to be part of Telford College and ‘highly motivated to achieve’, displaying ‘positive attitudes to their learning’.

They also recognised the way students develop their confidence and self-belief through ‘effective encouragement and support from college staff’.

The report praised the college’s ‘effective arrangements’ with the Telford-based Learning Community Trust, which it said was helping to smooth the transition from school to college for young people.

“Staff create inclusive environments that meet the needs of learners. This is achieved by experienced teachers and support staff who take time to understand individual learners’ needs.

“Their course helps them to develop their confidence and self-belief through effective encouragement and support from college staff. As a result, learners develop their character, resilience and confidence.

“Learners on access to higher education courses discuss how they have gained enough confidence to share their own opinion and justify it in a group situation – which they would previously not felt confident enough to do.”

Ofsted said the college also worked well with stakeholders and employers to understand changing skills needs – and used this information well to tailor the curriculum and respond swiftly.

Mr Guest, who took over as principal to oversee the merger, said: “We are absolutely thrilled that Ofsted has recognised the dramatic transformation since the merger, and the exciting plans we have for continued innovation and improvement.

“It’s an endorsement of the quality education we deliver. Our A level provision is now rated in the top 10% in the country, and 94% of our students receive an offer from their first-choice progression destination.

“And with our financial health now also officially recognised as being outstanding, we are in a fantastic position to continue expanding and evolving. These are incredibly exciting times for Telford College.”

Updates following the government’s next steps for living with COVID-19 announcement

On Tuesday 29 March 2022, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, set out the next steps for living with COVID-19 in England from Friday 1 April 2022. Most of the COVID-19 specific guidance for education and childcare settings will now be withdrawn from GOV.UK.

Guidance specific to education and childcare that settings should now refer to includes:

New and updated UKHSA guidance for the general population, which will also be relevant to education and childcare settings, includes:

You can access a webinar giving an overview from DfE and UKHSA officials on the changes announced on Tuesday 29 March 2022, that come into effect from today, Friday 1 April 2022, and what this means in practice for education, childcare and children’s social care settings.

We are aware that some education settings are currently experiencing high levels of staff absence. Where a setting is facing acute disruption, including due to workforce absence, it can continue to request an Ofsted deferral. Ofsted will continue to look carefully and sensitively at each request and will make their decision on a case-by-case basis.

We also wanted to draw your attention to the education staff wellbeing charter, which is a declaration of support for, and set of commitments to, the wellbeing and mental health of everyone working in education. The charter is co-created with the education sector and sets out the shared commitments to promote and protect the wellbeing of staff.

Updated NHS COVID-19 symptoms list

The NHS COVID-19 symptoms in adults and symptoms in children have been updated.

Adults and children who have symptoms of a respiratory infection, including COVID-19, should follow the UKHSA guidance. Children and young people who are unwell and have a high temperature should stay at home and avoid contact with other people, where they can. They can go back to school, college or childcare and resume normal activities when they no longer have a high temperature, and they are well enough to attend.

An update on the DfE COVID-19 helpline, including Easter opening hours

From Friday 1 April, the DfE COVID-19 helpline will become the Department for Education (DfE) incident support helpline, with the existing number 0800 046 8687, and will continue to be available to answer your questions relating to COVID-19.

The helpline will be closed on the Easter bank holidays, Friday 15 April 2022 and Monday 18 April 2022.

An update for schools on children and young people arriving under the Ukraine Family Scheme and Homes for Ukraine

The Secretary of State for Education, Nadhim Zahawi, has written a letter to local chief executives and directors of children’s services. The letter confirms that all school-aged children and young people who arrive from Ukraine will have the right to access suitable education and childcare whilst in the UK.

The Secretary of State for Education has reminded local authorities, that they are able to use flexibilities to admit above the published admission number and exceed the infant class size limit, as well as using the in-year Fair Access Protocol to ensure all school-aged children can access suitable education.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has published:

guidance for local authorities on the Homes for Ukraine scheme
a frequently asked questions resource
a welcome pack for families arriving in the UK from Ukraine.

We have also updated the guidance on school access rights for pupils from overseas and are adding some questions and answers to DLUHC’s Homes for Ukraine frequently asked questions page.

10 by 10 initiative: Telford & Wrekin website launch

Telford & Wrekin Council has launched a website to encourage children in the borough take part in 10 life-enhancing activities by the time they are 10.

Called '10 by 10,' the campaign promotes children’s participation in the following activities:

1.        Join in competitive sports
2.        Play an instrument
3.        Learn to swim
4.        Take part in drama and performing arts
5.        Visit the seaside and the countryside
6.        Experience museums, galleries and heritage sites
7.        Take part in camping trips and overnight residential
8.        Learn to ride a bike
9.        Take part in debating
10.      Use a library

Council Leader Shaun Davies said:

"We are very ambitious for all our children in the borough and want our children to have a great start in life.

"The 10 by 10 campaign will help our children to thrive, especially those that might not otherwise benefit from essential extra-curricular activities.

"A happy and fulfilling childhood is so important, and this is why I am delighted that we are the first council in the UK to launch 10 by 10.”

Councillor Shirley Reynolds (Labour), Cabinet Member Children, Young People and Families, added:

"Learning to swim, riding a bike, playing a musical instrument, visiting museums, participating in drama can be eye-openers for our children and set them up for new life opportunities.

"We don’t want children in our borough to miss out on these opportunities during their primary school life.

"For this campaign, we will be working with partners to make a diverse range of activities accessible for children to enjoy.

“If you think your organisation can help provide activities or be part of the 10 by 10 then please get in touch with us, email 10by10@telford.gov.uk ”

Parents and carers can find out more about the campaign and the activities their child can get involved in by visiting www.telford.gov.uk/10by10.

The website will be further developed over the coming months and updated with new activities. A ‘10 by 10’ award scheme will launch in September 2022.

To receive updates about the 10 by 10 initiative, subscribe to the “10 by 10” newsletter.

National Child Employment Raising Awareness Month

During the month of April Local Authorities up and down the country will be joining together to raise the profile of children of compulsory school age working part-time legally.

Child Employment
The Law governing child employment exists to ensure that children are protected and not exploited if they have a part-time job while still of compulsory school age.

Employment of children is governed by Law and Local Byelaws. It is the responsibility of employers of children to ensure that:

no child under 14 years of age is employed (a child of 13 may be employed in one of the permitted types of employment listed in the Byelaws)
no child is employed in a prohibited occupation
children are employed for the correct number of hours; and
children are dressed and equipped suitably for the job indoors and out and children are employed only in light work.

The employer must notify the Local Authority (LA) within 7 days if employing a child by submitting a completed application form (EC1). On receipt, provided the LA is satisfied that the employer is lawful and that a child’s health, welfare and ability to access their education is not jeopardised, an employment permit will be issued to the employer. The child/parents will also be issued with a copy of the permit.

Children are considered to be employed if they assist in a business which operates for profit, if they are paid or unpaid. This also applies to an employer’s own children.

It is the sole responsibility of the employer to ensure a child has an employment permit and that the child is employed only in accordance with the details and hours shown on the employment permit.

An employer must produce details of any child in their employment when required to do so by an authorised officer or a police officer.

If a child does not hold an employment permit they will not be covered by Employer’s Liability Insurance.

Employers can be prosecuted for employing children illegally.

The LA may at any time revoke a child’s employment permit if it has reasonable grounds to believe:

that the child is being unlawfully employed, or
that their health, welfare or ability to take advantage of their education is
suffering or likely to suffer as a result of the employment.

Hours and Days of Work

Not before 7am or after 7pm.
Not before the close of school hours on any day which he is required to attend school.
Maximum of 2 hours on a school day comprising: (1) one hour beginning not earlier than 7.00am before the commencement of school hours and a further period not exceeding one hour between the end of school and 7.00pm. (2) a period not exceeding two hours between the end of school and 7.00pm.
On Saturdays maximum 5 hours if under 15 years old and 8 hours if 15 years old.
Maximum of 12 hours per week during term time.
School holidays 25 hours maximum per week if under 15 years old and 35 hours per per week if 15 years old.
Sundays – 2 hours maximum between 7am and 7pm.
Every child must have at least 2 consecutive weeks without employment per year and these must fall within a period in the year in which the child is not required to attend school.
The child must have a minimum of 1 hour break after a 4 hour period of working on one day.
A child must produce their employment permit for inspection when required to do so by an authorised officer of the authority or a police officer.

Permitted employment of children aged 13
A child of 13 may not be employed except in light work in one or more of the following specified categories:

a) agricultural or horticultural work.
b) delivery of newspapers, journals and other printed material.
c) shop work, including shelf stacking
d) hairdressing salons.
e) office work
f) in a café or restaurant.
g) in riding stables, kennels and catteries.

Prohibited Employment
No child of any age may be employed :

a) in a cinema, theatre, discotheque, dance hall or night club, except in connection with a performance given entirely by children*
b) to sell or deliver alcohol, except in sealed containers
c) to deliver milk
d) to deliver fuel oils
e) in a commercial kitchen (includes the kitchen of any hotel, cook shop, fried fish shop, eating house or refreshment room)
f) to collect or sort refuse
g) in any work which is more than three metres above ground level or, in the case of internal work, more than three metres above floor level
h) in employment having harmful exposure to physical, biological or chemical agent.
i) to collect money or to sell or canvass door to door
j) in work involving exposure to adult material or in situation which are for this reason otherwise unsuitable for children
k) in telephone sales and canvassing
l) in any slaughterhouse or in that part of any butcher’s shop or other premises connected with the killing of livestock, butchery, or in the preparation of carcasses or meat for sale
m) as an attendant or assistant in a fairground or amusement arcade or in any other premises used for the purpose of public amusement by means of automatic machines, games of chance or skill or similar devices
n) in the personal care of residents of any residential care home or nursing home

* This does not prevent children taking part in performances under the provisions of a licence granted in accordance with the Children and Young Persons Act 1963 and the associated regulations.

Risk Assessments
Employers before employing a young person, must have carried out a risk assessment.

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 and Health & Safety (Young Persons) Regulations 1997 state that every employer shall, before employing a child, provide a parent of the child with comprehensive and relevant information on:

a) risk to his/her health and safety
b) the preventative and protective measures, and
c) the risk notified to him/her in accordance with regulations 9 (1)(c).

Penalties
Where a child is employed in contraventions of Sections 18 and 20 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 or of the provisions of any Byelaws made thereunder and in force, the employer and any person (other than the person employed) to whose act or default the contravention is attributable shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding Level 3 on the Standard Scale (currently £1,000).

Section 559(1) of the Education Act 1996, imposes restrictions or prohibits a particular employment. Section 559(2) of the Education Act 1996 empowers the LA to issue a notice on an employer or parent/guardian to provide information relating to a child’s employment where it has not been possible to ascertain this. Failure to comply with notices issued under Section 559 of the Act is an offence which carries a fine of up to Level 1 on the Standard Scale or imprisonment for a term of one month, or both.

Any queries can be emailed to Child.employment@telford.gov.uk, or phoned through on (01952 3) 85223.

School Attendance updated Guidance April 2022

On 4 April 2022 The Department for Education (DfE) updated their guidance on recording absence. This guidance sets out how schools should record where pupils are not attending school for reasons related to coronavirus in the 2021/22 academic year. Schools are no longer advised to record pupils who are not attending school for reasons related to coronavirus using Code X (not attending in circumstances related coronavirus).

Please refer to the GOV.UK website for current guidance on recording absence.

Authorised Absence from school due religious observance for Eid Ul Fitr

The dates of Eid differ and this information is supplied by colleagues in the Multi-Cultural Development Team. Pupils may also be absent from school following Bank Holiday Monday on Tuesday 3 May 2022, authorised R code. Ultimately it is the Headteachers decision on how many days the school will authorise, but please be aware of the dates that may fall into Eid:

Eid-ul-Fitr :

Sunday 1 May 2022 or Monday 2 May 2022 (Tanbank/ King Street Mosque).
Monday 2 May 2022 or Tuesday 3 May 2022 (All other mosques).

Home to School Travel Assistance

The Council looks to parents and carers to make arrangements for their (child)ren and young people to travel safely to their allocated school and or post 16 provider, where possible.

If you are unable to transport your child or young person and if you meet eligibility criteria listed on the Council’s website, the Council can provide travel assistance.

If you are applying for your travel assistance from September 2022, all applications must be received by the Council by 30 June 2022. Applications received after this date cannot guarantee that travel training or travel assistance will be in place for the start of the new term.

If your child is over the age of 16 and you have already received transport assistance, please re-apply by the 30 June every academic year.

For more information, visit the Council’s website.

Fully funded training and resources for the Talkboost key stage 1 and TalkBoost key stage 2 programmes this June

The Learning Support Advisory Team (LSAT) announce further fully funded training and resources for the Talkboost key stage 1 and TalkBoost key stage 2 programmes this June – sign up now!

Please download the fliers, for more information:

Talkboost key stage 1 flier

Talkboost key stage 2 flier

School Improvement Arrangements (SIA) consultation

Since 2017, the Local Authority School Improvement Monitoring and Brokering grant has been allocated to Local Authorities (Las) to support them in fulfilling their statutory school improvement functions. The Department for Education (DFE) consulted on and then implemented changes to this grant which will result in allocations being halved from April 22 2022 and removed completely from April 23 2022. However the LA statutory duties currently remain and are summarised as follows:

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

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

The school Forum recently agreed to de-delegate funds to plug the gap for 22-23 but with an understanding that further conversation would take place to clarify the offer, review quality and streamline partnership arrangements.

Feedback from maintained schools will now allow us the opportunity to:

refine and improve processes while continuing to fulfil statutory role
review the quality of both the monitoring and brokerage roles of the LA
clarify the role of the LA and other partners in improving the effectiveness of our schools and how this interfaces
explore with schools alternative approaches to fulfilling this statutory role effectively and efficiently

The consultation opens on 17 March 2022 and closes on 8 April 2022.

SIA Consultation

Emotional Health and Wellbeing Panel – Updates

In order to address the waiting times for the Emotional Health and Wellbeing (EHWB) panel the following has been put in place:

There will be 2 Emotional, Health and Wellbeing panels held in April, if your referral has been allocated at either of these panels you will have received an email.
All referrals sent into the EHWB inbox between 17 March 2022 and 31 March 2022 will be forwarded to BeeU for triage to inform decisions for appropriate pathways.
Please note that each pathway will have their own triage process where they will look for specific areas or dimensions contained in the referral. If there are gaps in information or insufficient evidence at the time of referral then it is possible that your referral will not be accepted for further assessment at this time.
BeeU will contact schools and families directly by letter to inform them of the outcome of these decisions. Any queries regarding this should be directed to BeeU on Tel: 0300 124 0093 (option 2 or 3)
Due to high demand on the BeeU service they are unable to provide you with a specific date when you will hear direct from the pathway, however they hope that this will be by the end of April 2022 (approximately 4 weeks).
Any referrals sent requesting advice from the panel in addition to, or separate from, a neuro developmental assessment will still additionally be offered a date to present at panel for advice. Please confirm of you wish to take up this slot.
We will send out emails this week informing schools whether previously received referrals will be heard at the April panels or passed directly to BeeU.
For the moment please continue to send referrals to the Emotional Health and Wellbeing Panel Inbox, until the new BeeU referral route is established.
On your referral form please indicate clearly whether you are seeking a referral for an ASD assessment, an ADHD assessment, BeeU mental health services, or advice form the EHWB panel.

A new referral form is available to download from the SEND Local Offer.

Autism Lead Professionals training

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

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

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

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

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

The costs of the training packages are:

GAP £300
MSA £100

GAP is a 3 hour session which can be delivered in one whole or via twilight sessions.
MSA is 1 hour and can be delivered via twilight or otherwise depending upon your schedule.

The aim is to accept and commit to all the training by July 2022 so please take the time to assess your training needs before you make contact. If you have questions, please liaise with your link EP and/or your LSAT link. If you have not undergone the initial leadership training with AET and would like to receive the training, you can also make contact using the email address above.

Shout Out for SEND – Young Persons Forum

Shout Out for SEND (SOS) is a group of 11-25 year olds who meet every month to ensure they have the chance to have their voice heard and to influence the decisions in Telford & Wrekin SEND and the Information Advice and Support Service (IASS service).

The SOS group met up during February, face-to-face, and Sarah from the Telford Youth Forum came along with a video of the candidates for the Youth Parliament and the SOS Group had the opportunity to vote and put their paper in an official ballot box. The group shared how great this was, as they had never done an official ballot before!

The next Shout Out for SEND Group will take place on Tuesday 12 April 2022, 2pm-4pm at Hazeldine House.

To find out more information you can call Telford & Wrekin SENDIASS on 01952 457176 or email info@iass.org.uk.

Shout Out for SEND on Facebook:
You can find out more about the group by joining the SOS Facebook page.

Search for Shout Out for SEND on Facebook and request to ‘Join Group’ (young people will need to be over the age of 13 to access this Facebook Group).

It is requested that this information is shared with any students who may be interested in attending the group.

The SOS Group would be happy to visit your school or setting to talk about the aims and objectives of the group with your students, including how school councils can work with the group to share their views:

SEND Local Offer – SOS Group

Basic drug and alcohol awareness training

The aim of the basic drug and alcohol awareness training is to gain awareness of the issue as well as the risks and effects associated with misuse, the law and prevention measures.

The course is aimed at anyone who may come into contact with individuals with alcohol/drug misuse issues who wish to gain confidence when working with these people.

The course includes information on:

• Types of drugs and routes of administration.
• Alcohol consumption, its consequences and UK Drinking Guidelines.
• The physical and psychological effects of drugs and alcohol.
• Recognise signs and symptoms of substance misuse.
• Treatment options available to drug and alcohol users.

The course will take place on Friday 29 April 2022, 9:30am – 12:30, online.

To register visit Eventbrite: Basic Drug & Alcohol Awareness Training Tickets Eventbrite

Any questions can be directed to Scott Thomas-White, Education Safeguarding Coordinator, by sending an email to Educationsafeguarding@telford.gov.uk

CPD courses for school staff, senior leaders and governors

A detailed list of CPD courses to the end of the Summer Term 2022 will appear on the Noticeboard directly after Easter. In the meantime, the CPD Booklet continues to be available on the Telford Education Services site.

The CPD team would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your participation in events so far this year, and to wish you a really enjoyable, peaceful and healthy Easter holiday.

‘Think Bricks’ Therapeutic Approaches Course to support children’s mental health

‘Think Bricks’ empowers and inspires young people to creatively build symbolic models to help to communicate their thoughts and feelings. The box of specially selected metaphors allows young people to convey their own personal feelings, thoughts, hopes and wishes in a powerful and constructive manner. On a one to one basis, or in small groups, children can explore and find solutions to personal issues. Children will really open up and find it easier to talk once they have built their models.

This inspirational workshop will teach participants to coach children and young people in a therapeutic way using hands on learning to get children talking!

Course Leader:
Claire Osbourne M’ED (Special Education – Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties) is a Therapeutic Coach and Lego Education Academy Certified Trainer with more than 30 years experience in education, working with young people who are presenting with social, emotional, and mental health challenges.

Date:
Thursday 12 May 2022, 10am – 3pm

Location:
Ramada Hotel, Telford Town Centre

Cost:
£195 per person

Additional information:
All training includes a ‘Lego® ‘Think Bricks’ resource kit and all the resources to enable delivery of the intervention. Limited additional kits can be ordered.

Water is provided, but please bring your own lunch or you can purchase from a choice of local cafés.

To book a place on this training:
Please send an email to claire@thinkbrickseducation.co.uk.

For more information please visit the Think Bricks website, or Facebook page.

Level 4 and Level 5 Certificates in Primary School Physical Education Specialism

A bespoke primary school physical education qualification for primary ‘school staff’ (PE Coordinators, teachers and/ or teaching assistants with a sporting bias) developed by the Association for Physical Education (AfPE) and Sports Leaders UK.

Please note: Due to the pitch of the course (Level 5; equivalent to foundation degree) and the nature of the content this course is predominantly targeting current practitioners, preferably with QTS status.

Why?
Much has been stated about the importance of the current physical education and school sport premium funding and the ability of schools to, not only evidence actions, but also show impact. This qualification is an ideal vehicle for demonstrating an investment in the improvement of teaching in physical education as well as upskilling current staff.

Content
The qualification enables delegates to understand the requirements of the primary school physical education curriculum. They will acquire the knowledge and skills that underpin 'good or better' teaching and learning within primary school physical education. Candidates will also review and evaluate the PE, physical activity and sport programme at their host school, identifying potential ways to improve policy and practice.

Tutors/ Assessors
The tutor, Chris Jew, is an experienced physical education specialist, known and regarded across the county. His background is in the leading of Physical Education, being the leader of a School Sport Partnership and a current School Games Organiser for East Shropshire. This will be his seventh year of delivery of this course.

Delivery
The average learning time for this qualification is 141 hours. This is broken down as follows:

6 days attendance at a Shropshire based delivery centre. (42 Guided Learning Hours). This is provisionally equally mapped across the three terms during the academic year 2021/22. The initial session is planned for October.
In-school development work (99 nominal hours). This will involve a series of assessment tasks to be completed by the delegate via a portfolio of evidence. There will be at least one external assessment of teaching a ‘good or better’ physical education lesson.

Commitment

School: The release of staff for 6 days throughout the academic year. The ability for SLT to support and mentor, where appropriate, allowing opportunities/ time for the delegate to apply skills and knowledge within the school day.
Delegate: An understanding of the need to meet the nominal required guided learning hours, to complete all assessment tasks and to be proactive in further developing knowledge and skills at their home school.

Costs
The total delegate cost, including course fees to Sports Leaders UK (£200), is £1300 per delegate (frozen cost from 2021-22). This covers the delivery days, internal verification and the external assessment and remote support via the course tutors/ leaders.

Certification
All delegates will be internally verified by Trusted Sports’ Partnership staff and externally verified via the awarding body and on successful completion of this qualification delegates will be able to assist and develop the raising of standards within primary school physical education teaching.

Awareness Raising
At this initial stage the aim is to continue raising awareness and to gauge potential interest from local primary schools in Telford & Wrekin as recruitment is underway for the seventh year of delivery. Feedback from current delegates is that the course is both demanding and challenging yet on completion allows for a step change in the delivery of high quality PE.

Application Timeline
May 2022: An expression of interest is currently being sought. To register or confirm interest please email Chris Jew, by return, stating candidate’s name and home school.
September 2022: Candidates will then be asked to enrol on the course before the end of the first half-term in autumn so all is ready for the initial October delivery date.

For further information, please refer to the Sports Leaders’ UK website and / or contact Chris Jew, PE and Sport Manager – Trusted Sports’ Partnership via email: chris.jew@oldburywells.com or telephone mobile: 07704 710536.

Cool Kids: Free online information session

Cool kids are offering schools two places on a free session, which is part of the Cool Kids movement programme. It is recommended that a class teacher/SENCo attends this session, if they have not already done so but the session will also be valuable to any member of staff.

The session aim:

To provide basic understanding of sensory motor development and why it is important to children in school
Understanding developmental stages of lying on the back, tummy, rolling, creeping and crawling
Understanding the underlying principles of the Cool Kids Programme
Identify pupils who would benefit
Deliver the programme effectively
Incorporate strategies successfully in the classroom

Places are limited, allocated on a first come first served basis and must be booked in advance .The next available session is on Tuesday 26 April 2022, 1pm – 3pm. The session will be completed online via TEAMs, and a link will be sent via email once a place has been confirmed.

Please contact Occupational Therapy by calling 01743 450800 (option 2) to book your place, and provide an email address so that joining instructions can be sent to you.

This entry was posted by Claire on Wednesday, 06 April 2022.

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