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

Welcome back! Hopefully each and every one of you had some much needed rest and managed to spend some quality time with loved ones.

As schools reconvene, with it will be a rise in cases of flu and COVID-19, as well as the continued presence of Scarlet Fever. With this in mind the Health Protection Hub have provided some back to school advice for schools, alongside a helpful link which can be shared with parents and carers.

It is nice to start the first Education Noticeboard of the New Year with News Stories across the borough. Telford College are making a push towards helping young people see the potential of apprenticeships, pupils from Williams Reynolds were delighted to be asked to open a new community library and there is the opportunity for schools to benefit from educational sessions facilitated by Ricoh.

There is also information on SEND short breaks, a link to the latest edition of Talking Early Years and Childcare and information about upcoming events. These include the annual Virtual school conference and a number of events which will feed into National Apprenticeship Week.

Hoping your first full week back, as schools and settings, has been a good one.

Best wishes

Simon

Simon Wellman

Director: Education & Skills

Telford College helps students through tough financial times

Telford College is providing more financial support than ever to help students with the cost of their education.

The level of financial support given to students this year has risen by around 30% through a combination of bursaries towards course fees, public transport passes, and subsidised meals. The message being given by the college to families who are finding things tough with the rising cost of living is: Speak to us, as we may be able to help.

So far this year Telford College has more than doubled the amount of money spent on supporting students with free meals while at college. More than 12,000 free breakfasts have been issued to all students since September – and the initiative has now been extended to cover the spring 2023 term.

Telford College also helps students to cover the cost of public transport, and has seen a 36% increase in bus passes offered to eligible students. The team there are currently analysing student travel needs with the aim of providing extra bus routes in and around the town - starting with an additional trial pick up for students in Madeley and Woodside in January 2023.

The college has also increased the number of laptops provided to students who are unable to access technology or the internet while studying at home, by around 16%. The laptops and dongles have been financed through a college fund which is set aside to provide support for disadvantaged and vulnerable students.

Graham Guest, Telford College principal and chief executive, said: “We want students to know that, if they are struggling to cover the cost of coming to college, there is support available. We have a number of schemes on offer to those that qualify, which can cover anything from travel expenses and childcare fees to course materials, college meals, exam fees, educational visits, and more.

“There are also a significant number of our courses which are free. For those in genuine need, we are determined to do everything we can to remove barriers to education.”

New community library at the Park Lane Centre opened by William Reynolds pupils

The children at William Reynolds Primary School and Nursery were absolutely thrilled to be invited to the opening of the local community library at Park Lane Centre on 2 December 2022. They attended to cut the ribbon and have a sneak preview of the space.

The community library was important to the children because last year their School Council asked their classes what changes they wanted to see in the local community, as part of the Safer and Stronger Communities project. A whole school vote took place and once the votes had been counted, the School Council wrote a letter to local councillors to share their ideas.

Children across the school share a passion for reading so it was no surprise when the library idea had so many votes. The local councillors kept in touch with the school since receiving their letter and followed up and implemented some of the other ideas the children had to make their community safer.

In the summer term, the school were asked to send book titles and authors that they would like to see in the library. When the school received confirmation from local councillors Rae Evans and Kelly Middleton that the library was going to open soon, the children were so proud. The collaborative efforts of children across the school have made a positive change to their local community – something that will benefit the whole community for many years to come.

It was important for the children to recognise how their achievement was linked to one of the five fundamental British Values – democracy.

Democracy allows everyone to have their voice heard so our children have been instrumental in ensuring that their voice has benefitted the local community. If they had not written to the local councillors, the library would not have opened. Well done to all the children at William Reynolds Primary School and Nursery for making such a positive difference to our local community!

New Term, New Bus Routes for Schools

Pupils at five schools and colleges will start the New Year with a brand new bus service – costing £1 per single journey.

Pupils set to benefit from the new council-funded 101 service include those attending Charlton, Ercall Wood, Telford Langley schools along with Telford College and Lawley academy from Monday, 9 January.

The service is also available for wider public use throughout its timetable connecting people from Madeley, then Dawley, Lawley before travelling on to Wellington and the Princess Royal Hospital.

STEM opportunity with Ricoh UK

Ricoh are looking for up to three Telford & Wrekin schools to participate in an educational and fun session around renewable energy – a very important and relevant topic. This fantastic opportunity will see them work with Ricoh Japan and their Hydropower Station prototype.

What the session would look like:

The session would be 1.5 – 2 hours long.
Topics covered would be renewable energy, sustainability and the Hydropower Station prototype.
The aim would be for there to be a short educational presentation, followed by a fun challenge/task which will be developed with Ricoh’s learning and development department.
The session is likely to be most suitable to year 8 and 9 pupils, but Ricoh are happy to take guidance on this regarding curriculum and exams.

Interested schools and settings should contact Sue Marston via email to sue.marston@telford.gov.uk.

Lightmoor Village Primary School Children in Need efforts raise over £900

For children in Need this year Lightmoor Village Primary School, and their local community have managed to raise £911.60.

As part of this, their Headteacher set herself the challenge of running 18 miles from her home in Shrewsbury to work at Lightmoor Village Primary School, dressed as SpongeBob Square pants. Radio Shropshire covered the event, following Mrs Cowan and then meeting her at school. The story even got onto the television on the local news! The support from the local community and pupils of the school has been amazing!

Our Deputy Headteacher also pledged to do 100 sit ups every day throughout whole month of November, and the school made a video to document the journey.

Both of these are featured on the school website, and were shared on social media.

The total was £833 after these event- however following this, this a year 2 pupil at the school was so inspired that he ran 2km every day for the rest of November and raised £78.60 which was added to the final total.

Back to school advice – January 2023

With flu and COVID-19 circulating, high numbers of Scarlet Fever cases and the likelihood of diarrhoea and vomiting outbreaks, the Health Protection Hub have provided some public health information for educational settings.

It is recommended that the following link is sent out to all parents: Back to school advice.

Within the setting, in order to reduce transmission of these illnesses your controls are:

Exclusions
It’s important that children and staff do not attend the setting if they are too unwell and have a fever. The exclusion periods for common illnesses are as follows:

COVID-19 - 3 days after test for children and 5 for adults, providing well enough and no fever.
Scarlet fever/Strep A – at least 24 hours after commencement of antibiotics.
Diarrhoea and vomiting (D&V) – 48 hours after cessation of symptoms
Chickenpox – at least 5 days and until blisters have crusted over
General undiagnosed respiratory illness – exclude any affected individual who has a high temperature and are unwell, until they no longer have a high temperature and are well enough to attend.

Ventilation
Letting fresh air into indoor spaces can help remove air that contains virus particles and prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections.

If there are areas of the setting identified that may have poor ventilation, there are several simple things that can be done to improve ventilation.

These include:

partially opening windows and doors to let fresh air in
opening higher level windows to reduce draughts
opening windows for 10 minutes an hour or longer can help increase ventilation – where possible this can happen when the room is empty in between lessons, for example you should always balance the need for increased ventilation while maintaining a comfortable temperature.

Handwashing
Hand washing is one of the most important ways of controlling the spread of infections.

Settings should ensure that staff and students/children have access to liquid soap, warm water and paper towels. Bar soap should not be used.
All staff and pupils should be advised to wash their hands after using the toilet, before eating or handling food, after playtime and after touching animals.
All cuts and abrasions should be covered with a waterproof dressing.
Alcohol hand gel can be used if appropriate hand washing facilities are not available but should not replace washing hands particularly if hands are visibly soiled or where there are cases of gastroenteritis (diarrhoea and vomiting) in the setting. Alcohol hand gel is not effective against norovirus.

Cleaning
Effective cleaning and disinfection are critical, particularly when food preparation is taking place.

In the event of an outbreak of infection, we would recommend enhanced and more frequent cleaning, to help reduce transmission – for example twice daily cleaning of areas (with particular attention to door handles, toilet flushes and taps) and communal areas where surfaces can easily become contaminated such as handrails, with hot, soapy water and an appropriate disinfectant. Milton is recommended especially when you have outbreaks of D&V, used in accordance with the instructions.

Respiratory Hygiene
Covering the nose and mouth during sneezing and coughing can reduce the spread of infections.

Spitting should be discouraged.

Anyone with signs and symptoms of a respiratory infection, regardless of the cause, should follow respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette, specifically:

cover nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing and sneezing, and dispose of used tissue in non-healthcare risk waste bin and perform hand hygiene
cough or sneeze into the inner elbow (upper sleeve) if no tissues are available, rather than into the hand
keep contaminated hands away from the mucous membranes of the eyes and nose
carry out hand hygiene after contact with respiratory secretions and contaminated objects and materials.

Vaccinations
Promote the flu vaccine to staff and parents. Flu can be very unpleasant and in some cases can lead to more serious illness (and is a complicating factor if children subsequently pick-up a Strep A infection). Eligible children include:

those aged 2 and 3 on 31 August 2022
all primary school-aged children
some secondary school-aged children.

Further information is available on the NHS website.

If you require any specific advice, or to advise us of an outbreak, please send an email to HealthProtectionHub@telford.gov.uk to access assistance.

SEND Activities in Telford

A booklet is available to download, which contains details of activities being ran in the local community for children and young people with disabilities to socialise and have fun whilst discovering new hobbies and interests.

Short break activities in Telford

Queries can be sent via email to shortbreaks@telford.gov.uk.

Early Years and Childcare Newsletter

The most recent issues of the Early Years and Childcare Newsletter is now available to download.

Talking Early Years and Childcare

West Midlands TIAAS Digital Learning Event – 20 January 2023

A collaboration between The West Midlands Combined Authority, WMVS (West Midlands Virtual Schools) Children in Care Foundation, The Attachment Research Community (ARC), the West Midlands Violence Reduction Partnership and Barnardos.

This is a free digital event, in which professionals from education, health and criminal justice settings can connect, learn, and discuss everyday issues surrounding Trauma Informed and Attachment Aware Schools (TIAAS).

The event will showcase examples of best practice and the positive outcomes that using them can achieve, as well as the work of the Trauma Informed coalition, working in close partnership with the West Midlands Violence Reduction Partnership.

For more details, including a sign up link, please download the event flyer.

In the meantime please do get in touch with the Virtual School if they can support and assist further with our vulnerable children.

Telford & Wrekin Virtual School Conference 2023

Telford & Wrekin Virtual School is pleased to announce their 4th Annual Conference, supporting all young people with a social worker and previously Looked After Children. The event will take place Friday 9 June 2023 from 8:30am to 4pm. This year the theme is Relationships, Connection and Role Models.

Who should attend?
This conference is designed for Designated Teachers, Designated Safeguarding Leads and Nominated Governors for Children in Care.

About the conference
The conference will provide you with an opportunity to develop links with the Virtual School, Health and Social Care colleagues and with other Designated Teachers, Designated Safeguarding Leads and Nominated Governors, as we work together to increase the progress that Telford & Wrekin Children in Care make in school and beyond.

Even if there are currently no Children in Care at your school, it is important that you remain up to date with processes and expectations, should a child join you. In addition, Ofsted is looking quite closely at the relationship schools have with the Virtual School, and information gained at network meetings has proven very useful to many schools during inspection. Educational outcomes for children in care and children in need are a key priority for Ofsted in the West Midlands region and inspectors have told us that they will be looking closely at how a school prioritises work with these children when making inspection judgements.

Keynote speakers

Mary Anne Hodd – Director and founder of Vital Voice
Mary-Anne Hodd is a Care Experienced trainer and consultant, a PGCE Psychology teacher and the founder of The Guarantor Scheme. Mary-Anne is passionate about connecting psychology and lived experience, where the child’s voice is the vital one in the room. Mary-Anne supports understanding of what it means to be in care, to be understood beyond our trauma, proudly contributing to the ever-changing narrative of what it means to be care experienced.

Nick Budge – Department for Education Children in Need Delivery Team Leader
As the Department for Education Children in Need Delivery Team Leader, Nick is responsible for the delivery of the Virtual School Head extension to children with a social worker. His role includes national oversight for the funding and delivery of this programme as well as working with local authorities to gather evidence on progress to inform future policy and delivery decisions. Nick works closely with the evidence and practice programme, which includes social workers in schools and designated safeguarding lead supervision to help shape delivery and sharing of emerging practice. Nick also contributes to the development of a range of wider education and school related policies to ensure proper strategic fit with the programme. In addition, Nick has a particular interest in the importance and use of data to support evidenced based decision making.

Nick Barwick – Director of Insight Wellbeing Services
Nick founded Insight back in 2015 where it was a small company offering support to foster carers and children in care. It has now grown into a service which offers mentoring, training and motivational talks, and consultation to local authorities working with care leavers. Nick grew up in the care system and feels very fortunate to have had only one foster family during the 9 years he was in care. He believes this security, stability, and consistency has played a huge role in who he is today

Workshops
Delegates will have the opportunity to attend two elective workshops during the day – please download the event flyer for full details, and indicate your preferences on the attached booking form.

Pricing
£120 for 1 delegate
£180 for 2 delegates
£60 for each additional delegate, up to a total of 4 per school

Early Bird discount: Save £20 per delegate, if booked before 14 January 2023.

Booking your place
Schools booking by 14 January 2023 are guaranteed two places, with priority being given to the Designated Teacher/Designated Safeguarding Lead and the Nominated Governor for Children in Care. Any 3rd or 4th delegate places can be requested, with these names placed on a reserve list with allocation to be confirmed by 25 May 2023 –so please act quickly to secure your places. (maximum 4 places per school).

To book, email your completed booking form, indicating your workshop choices and dietary requirements, to cpdschoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk.

If you have any questions regarding this event, please don’t hesitate to contact the Virtual School directly, via virtualschool@telford.gov.uk.

The UK’s biggest apprenticeship assembly is back

The UK’s biggest apprenticeship assembly is back!

Why attend?
Join over 100,000 viewers, from students and education providers to high-profile employers, in tuning in to The Big Assembly during National Apprenticeship Week.

What's covered?
From 11:10am on Tuesday 7th February 2023, we’ll be myth busting, shedding light on the amazing opportunities available, and our panel will be answering questions LIVE from those watching.

How you can get involved?
The Big Assembly is all about inspiring the next generation of apprentices and you can help us achieve this by:

Following and sharing our content using the social media links below.
Distributing our poster (attached) to all relevant stakeholders.
Providing video content highlighting your apprenticeship provision.

Please download the poster for more information.

The Apprenticeship Employment and Skills Show – 16 March 2023

The Apprenticeship, Employment and Skills Show 2023 is back on Thursday 16 March 2023. The event will take place at The International Centre, Telford 12noon-7.30pm, with the 12noon-12.30pm slot available exclusively for SEND students as a quieter time before the event gets too busy.

It’s the largest event of its kind this side of the NEC in Birmingham and aims to promote local apprenticeship opportunities to people across Telford, Shropshire and the West Midlands. It is completely free to attend.

Apprenticeships are a great way to build the workforce of tomorrow and are now seen as a very viable alternative to university. The show is also a great opportunity for businesses to showcase careers and jobs that exist now and in the future.

Please make sure this date is in your diary and reserve a slot for your school – we very much look forward to seeing you and your students at the show in 2023.

Places can be booked online.

Telford & Wrekin Post-16 Website

It’s that time of year when our year 11 cohort are applying for their Post-16 destinations.

The Telford 16-19 website has information on the local offer, including the new T levels, almost 300 A-levels, BTECs and apprenticeships across six schools and colleges making Telford an inspirational hub for learning, opportunity and achievement.

Please utilise this information with students to help them make informed decisions on their Post-16 destinations and link to the prospectus from your websites.

Telford 16-19

World Braille Day

World Braille Day has been celebrated annually on 4 January since 2019, serving as a symbol of honour for the Braille system that has helped educate the visually impaired.

This date is internationally observed as World Braille Day to commemorate the birthday of French educator Louis Braille.

Louis Braille was blinded at the age of three after an incident involving a stitching awl. He accidentally stabbed himself in the eye while poking leather with the awl. He lost his sight after the infection spread to both pupils.

Braille is a system created that he created by useing a sensory military code called night writing, developed by Charles Barbier, to create words that a blind person can decipher by touching.

Braille is not a language, it is a system of tactile symbols, consisting of raised dots organised into cells. The cell has a matrix consisting of six dots in three rows and two columns representing alphabetic, numerical, musical, mathematical and scientific symbols.

There are 63 different combinations of these dots, which means braille can be translated into different languages – there are Braille codes in 133 languages.

Free resources are available online:

Twinkl: World Braille Day
Livewell Telford
Sightloss Shropshire

Schools Pre-Inspection Data and Insight Team’s communication

Please find a link to the Schools’ Pre-Inspection Data and Insight Team’s updated inspection data summary report (IDSR) below:

Ofsted - Inspection Data Summary Report

The following data has been added:

Absence data for 2021/22 (autumn and spring terms)

For further information please see the IDSR guidance on the GOV.UK website.

If you have any questions, please email the team at School.Performance.Data@ofsted.gov.uk.

This, and all future updates to the IDSR will also be announced on the IDSR News Page.

Updates from DfE

Careers boost for young people

Primary school pupils to benefit from careers support and change to law will give more young people access to advice about technical education. Read more in the press release here.

An opportunity to place your CPD course bookings

Happy New Year to everyone!

Thank you for your enthusiastic participation in our courses during the Autumn Term 2022 – we look forward to continuing to support your CPD needs in the Spring and Summer Terms of 2023.

The CPD Booklet continues to be available on the Telford Education Services site.

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 (unless stated otherwise).

Managing Employee Performance (Performance Management) To book, please send an email to: co-operative.admin@telford.gov.uk	Monday 9 January 2023	2.30pm to 5pm
Designated Safeguarding Leads Refresher (SG 107)	Wednesday 11 January 2023	9.15am to 4pm
Raising Awareness of Child Protection (SG 108)	Thursday 12 January 2023	3.30pm to 5pm
Teaching and Delivering Outstanding EAL Provision for New to English Pupils and Advanced Bilingual Learners in Primary Schools (CPD 712)	Tuesday 17 January 2023	3.45pm to 6pm
Absence Management of Employees To book, please send an email to: co-operative.admin@telford.gov.uk	Wednesday 18 January 2023	2.30pm to 5pm
An Introduction to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EY 001)	Wednesday 18 January 2023	4pm to 5.30pm
Developing a Communication Friendly Environment in the EYFS (EY 307)	Thursday 19 January 2023	9.15am to 12noon
Safety Intervention Refresher Training (formerly MAPA Refresher Training) - CPI accredited (BSA 212)	Thursday 19 January 2023	8.45am to 12.30pm
Newly Appointed Safeguarding Governor Induction Training - part 1 (SG 103)	Monday 23 January 2023	5.30pm to 7.30pm
Developing the Behaviour Policy (PSS 103)	Tuesday 24 January 2023	4pm to 5.30pm
Online Safety – a Safeguarding Responsibility (CPD 609)	Tuesday 24 January 2023	4pm to 5.30pm
Designated Teacher for Children in Care Network Meeting (Post 16) To book please contact virtualschool@telford.gov.uk	Wednesday 25 January 2023	4pm to 5.30pm
Establishing Yourself as a SEND leader, for new and returning SENCOs (LSAT 302)	Wednesday 25 January 2023	4pm to 5pm
Child Development: Supporting self-regulation development and positive behaviour outcomes with children in the EYFS (EY 313)	Wednesday 25 January 2023	9.15am to 12noon
Newly Appointed Designated Safeguarding Leads' Training (2 days) - part 1 (SG 102)	Wednesday 25 January 2023	9.15am to 4pm
The Strategic Role of Governors (GO 601)	Thursday 26 January 2023	4pm to 6pm
EAL and SEND? (CPD 601)	Thursday 26 January 2023	1.15pm to 4pm
Safety Intervention Training (formerly MAPA training) - Part 1 CPI accredited (BSAT 201)	Thursday 26 January 2023	8.30am to 4pm
Newly Appointed Designated Safeguarding Leads' Training (2 days) - Part 2 (SG 102)	Thursday 26 January 2023	9.15am to 4pm
Awareness Raising of Emotion Coaching – level 1 (PSS 0041)	Tuesday 31 January 2023	4pm to 5.30pm
Taking the Chair - Part 1 (GO 504)	Wednesday 1 February 2023	4.30pm to 6.30pm
Cover Supervisors - preparing for the role (PSS 010)	Wednesday 1 February 2023	3.30pm to 5pm
Safety Intervention Training (formerly MAPA training) - Part 2 CPI accredited (BSAT 201)	Thursday 2 February 2023	8.30am to 12.30pm
Listen with Lucy (EY 023)	Thursday 2 February 2023	1.15pm to 4pm
Accredited Safer Recruitment Training FULL	Thursday 2 February 2023	9am to 4.30pm
EAL & Maths (CPD 603)	Tuesday 7 February 2023	3.45pm to 6pm
Preparing for Statutory Assessment at the End of KS2 (CPD 504)	Wednesday 8 February 2023	9am to 12.30pm
Meeting the Statutory Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements of the EYFS (EY 009)	Wednesday 8 February 2023	4pm to 5.30pm
Preparing for Statutory Assessment at the End of KS2 (CPD 504)	Thursday 9 February 2023	9am to 12.30pm
The Importance of the Early Years Foundation Stage in Schools (GO 603)	Thursday 9 February 2023	5.30m to 7pm
Raising Awareness of Prevent (SG 101)	Thursday 9 February 2023	1pm to 2.30pm
Managing Sexual Violence & Sexual Harassment in Schools (SG 201)	Thursday 9 February 2023	9.30am to 12.30pm
Taking the Chair - Part 2 (GO 504)	Wednesday 15 February 2023	4.30pm to 6.30pm
Supporting SEND in the Classroom for Early Career Teachers (Part 1) (LSAT 502)	Wednesday 15 February 2023	1.15pm to 4pm
Newly Appointed Safeguarding Governor Induction Training - Part 2 (SG 103)	Wednesday 15 February 2023	5.30pm to 7.30pm
Behaviour Support Intervention Refresher Training - Non-accredited (BSAT 302)	Thursday 16 February 2023	8.45am to 12.30pm
Meeting the OFSTED requirements and developing reading strategies for EAL learners at KS2 (CPD 714)	Thursday 16 February 2023	3.45pm to 6pm
Early Career Teacher Network (combined event) (CPD 720)	Thursday 16 February 2023	4pm to 5pm (with optional informal drop in 3.30pm to 4pm + 5pm to 5.30pm)
Understanding Children’s Development in the EYFS – Milestones, Theories and Approaches (EY 314)	Thursday 16 February 2023	9.15am to 12noon

Motivational interviewing for education settings – access your school’s free place

Motivational Interviewing Training will be delivered by the Education Safeguarding Team and is aimed at school staff who work directly with families open to the family safeguarding model.

Wednesday 1 March 2023 - 9.30am to 12.30pm
Wednesday 22 March 2023 - 9.30am to 12.30pm
Wednesday 3 May 2023 - from 1pm to 4pm

This training will provide an overview of Motivational Interviewing, including how, as partners, we can model this strengths-based approach within the Family Safeguarding Model.

The key principles are as follows:

Engagement with the client, rather than doing something to them – i.e. change cannot be forced or pushed on to someone. It has to be internal for the client in order to be meaningful and long term.
Rolling with resistance (NB this is not rolling over or being passive).
Expressing empathy.
Avoiding Conflict.
Developing discrepancy in the client’s thinking.
Supporting self-responsibility.

Please note that this training is limited to one free place per school, school nursery, academy and independent school.

Key Outcomes
Delegates will:

gain an understanding of the spirit and principles of motivational interviewing
gain a practical understanding of the cycle of behaviour change, and how it can encourage positive thinking about change
be able to use key motivational interviewing techniques in the context of conversations, both formal and informal.

To book your school’s free place, please send a completed CPD Booking Form to cpdschoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk.

This entry was posted by Claire on Tuesday, 03 January 2023.

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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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