Notice: 8 July 2021

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

Included in this update

Let’s start with the good news! Many congratulations to Telford Priory School, who have been shortlisted for the School Music Award at the annual Education Business Awards. I would like to wish them the best of luck for the final, which takes place today. The University Of Wolverhampton Centre in Telford has also been recognised for its work in boosting the opportunities of mature students, with The Office for Students choosing to showcase them as a successful case study. It is great to see this positive contribution to support a new generation of adult learners. Internally, Telford & Wrekin have some good news too having scooped up the prize for Co-operative Council of the year, following a public vote. Many thanks to those who voted for us! it is a great acknowledgement of our collective achievements over the past year. In addition the council has been shortlisted for a prestigious MJ national award, this time Local Authority of the year. We look forward to finding out if we have won, later in the year.

A number of updates from the Department of Education have been included this week following the updated COVID-19 guidance that was published after the Secretary of State’s speech. We have included some headlines below regarding the key changes and we have also set up a survey to gather any questions you may have. In collaboration with the Health Protection Hub (HPH) we intend to generate a list of frequently asked questions (with answers) to support your implementation.

As for the remainder of this term, it will not have escaped your attention that COVID-19 case numbers are significantly increasingly in our settings and schools. The number of staff and children self-isolating is also increasing day-on-day. The HPH continues to support you at this time but given there is no immediate change to how schools and settings manage COVID-19 we ask that you once again remind everyone that there is a need to robustly stick to your COVID-19 control measures. We know that the majority of cases in the borough are now the highly transmissible Delta variant and this has led to an increase in outbreaks across settings.

Also included in this Education Noticeboard is a reminder about the Leader and Cabinet Members Grant, please do encourage any young people that may benefit to apply. There are details of walk-in COVID-19 vaccination clinics for 18-39 year olds and information on vouchers for children who are eligible for free school meals to support them over the summer break.

You have worked incredibly hard throughout the year and I do hope you get to enjoy some great end of term activities. I hope the rest of your week is a good one!

Finally to sign off my message this week there is only one possible way…

COME ON ENGLAND!!

Simon

Simon Wellman
Director: Education and Skills

Telford Priory School nominated for school music award

The Telford Priory School is one of five schools shortlisted for a national award.

The Education Business Awards are held annually, and their School Music Award is presented to the educational establishment that can demonstrate a commitment to improving the quality of musical learning through the provision of a first class teaching environment.

The awards will be held live, online, on the 8 July 2021. Registering to watch can be done by filling out an online form, and is free to UK schools.

More information is available by visiting the Education Business Awards website.

University Centre Telford hailed a success by English universities’ regulator

The work of University Centre Telford in boosting opportunities for mature students has been hailed in a report from the English universities’ regulator, the Office for Students.

The university centre is the first of the University of Wolverhampton’s regional learning centres, based above Telford’s Southwater library, and was set up in a joint project with Telford & Wrekin Council.

University Centre Telford has recently been showcased as a successful case study in an Office for Students (OfS) Insight brief that looks at the current surge of mature applicants to further and higher education following a decade of decline and the type of support needed to ensure their success.

Councillor Shirley Reynolds, Telford & Wrekin Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People, Education and Lifelong Learning, said: “We have built a strong partnership with the University of Wolverhampton and it is great to see our successes acknowledged.

The OfS report, ‘Improving opportunity and choice for mature students’, highlights the success of the University Centre Telford: “It is based on a model of collaboration using a whole-community integrated approach aligned with local economic and social needs, including higher skills to drive the local economy. It aims to increase awareness of higher education for all, enable progression routes and offer relevant courses locally.”

The report adds: “The centre plays a key role in community engagement, working to engage and nurture prospective and current learners through bespoke information, advice and guidance, tasters, lectures and participation in community and Telford-wide events.

Paula Harrison, University Centre Telford Coordinator said: “During the pandemic, learning has been essential in addressing the wellbeing of the communities who make up Telford, and the centre has played a key role.”

University of Wolverhampton Vice-Chancellor, and Professor of Lifelong Learning, Geoff Layer, said: “It’s great for the University’s hard work in lifelong learning to be recognised in such a positive way by the OfS. We are proud to be working in partnership with Telford & Wrekin Council to provide higher education and skills to residents in the area, right in the heart of Telford.”

He said mature students now make up around 40 per cent of the University of Wolverhampton’s student community.

After a decade of decline, national data from UCAS shows that full-time undergraduate mature applicants from the UK rose by 24 per cent this year to 96,390, with applications for nursing from students aged 35 and over increasing by 39 per cent.

It is thought to be due to people looking to improve or change their skills following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Visit the University of Wolverhampton's website for more information about the opportunities available for mature students University Centre Telford.

The Centre offers a range of part-time University courses as well as bespoke Information, Advice and Guidance for people wanting to progress to HE and progression programmes to help students on their journey.

“The council and university both recognise we have a unique opportunity, right now, to help improve the skills of a new generation of adult learners and enable them to study full time.

“This centre provides many opportunities for our residents to make use of the university’s educational offer. It is based right at the heart of Telford and is helping increase the number of people going on to higher skills and Higher Education in the Telford and Wrekin area.”

Telford and Wrekin named co-operative council of the year

Telford and Wrekin Council is celebrating winning a national award, after a public vote saw them go head-to-head with co-operative councils from across the UK.

The award was announced on the eve of the Local Government Association (LGA) Virtual Annual Conference, the largest event for local authorities from across the UK.

Telford and Wrekin Council works for and in partnership with its local community with a vision is to ‘protect, care and invest’ to create a better borough.

These values drove its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw it support more than 22,000 households with vulnerable residents; recruit and engage more than 1,100 volunteers and work in partnership with 80 community groups.

The council also has a strong track record of supporting the development of community groups. Its Capacity Building Fund provides them with start-up and development grants to enable them to nurture resilient communities.

Supporting community-led initiatives to improve residents’ health, wellbeing and social welfare by connecting them to community services run by the council or local charity or community groups is key the Council’s approach to working with its community.

Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council Councillor Shaun Davies said; “Thank you to everyone who voted for us. This award is incredibly important to us because it demonstrates the support we have from our community and the people we strive to support every day.

“From the votes we achieved, it proves that people are happy with the Service we provide and really do listen to the feedback we get and even more importantly, take that feedback and turn it into action.

“The award adds to our growing list including and ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted inspection for Children's Services, ‘Outstanding' CQC Inspection 2020, Armed Forces Gold Award 2020

“Co-operative values underpin how we deliver our services – and work for and in partnership with our local community, every day. This award is incredibly important as it recognises the way we work for, and in partnership with our communities to ‘protect, care and invest’ to create a better borough.

“Co-operative Council values are based on self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity and members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.

“That’s why we’re an exemplar of what it means to be a co-operative council.”

The Co-op of the Year Awards 2021 are organised by Co-operatives UK – the network for Britain’s thousands of co-operative businesses – and sponsored by The Co-operative Bank.

The Co-op Council Award category is sponsored by the Co-operative Council’s Innovation Network. The CCIN is the fastest growing network in local government, driving public sector policy and best practice using the Co-operative Values & Principles.

Rose Marley, CEO of Co-operatives UK said; “Huge congratulations to Telford and Wrekin Council. Taking a partnership approach to supporting the communities it serves is what co-operation is all about.

“The way the council has mobilised to support people during the COVID-19 pandemic has been collaborative, inclusive and empowering. It’s an inspiring example of co-operative values being put into action by everyone involved.”

Cllr Sharon Taylor OBE, Chair of the Co-op Council’s Innovation Network, who sponsored the awards said; “Huge congratulations to Telford & Wrekin Council on becoming the Co-operative Council of the Year 2021.

“This award provides an opportunity to highlight the innovative ways that co-operative councils have supported their communities throughout the pandemic, putting the co-op values and principles into practice.

“In Telford & Wrekin they live their vision of protect, care and invest to create a better borough and the co-operative values underpin how the Council works for and in partnership with their local community. They are a worthy winner of this award.

“As Chair of the fastest growing network in local government, I was delighted to see so many of our leading councils being shortlisted this year, congratulations to all the nominees”.

Telford and Wrekin Council finalist for Local Authority of the year

Telford & Wrekin Council has been shortlisted for 'Local Authority of the Year' at this year's prestigious MJ Awards which recognises outstanding achievement in local government.

his shortlisting follows the announcement earlier in the week that the council had won Cooperative Council of the Year.

In one of the most challenging years faced by local government and the country, this achievement has been possible thanks to the support and partnership of many local organisations, partners, council staff and volunteers, as well as local communities. They have all come together to support each other throughout the pandemic.

The council has seen off huge competition in one of the most memorable and challenging years ever for local government.

Council leader, Cllr Shaun Davies, said: "This is a real achievement for the council, its employees, councillors and partners. This shortlisting recognises the response to the pandemic by the council over the past 15 months.

“As a cooperative council, in everything that we do, we’re committed to listening to and involving our local residents in developing our plans to protect, care and invest to create a better borough.

“Over the last year, we have increased our engagement with our residents, carrying out a wide range of consultations, including a residents’ survey that all residents of Telford and Wrekin were invited to take part in.

“It’s great to have our efforts and achievements recognised as they have been this week. This reflects the support we have had from our residents and communities throughout the pandemic.

“Our residents’ survey last summer told us that our residents believe we have done a good job during the pandemic and that they have felt supported by us. This was reflected in the fantastic number of votes we received to be voted Cooperative Council of the Year which was announced earlier this week.

“We strive to go above and beyond to make sure local people and communities were supported and assisted throughout. We have been with them every step of the way and our resident survey, last summer, backs this up.

“Our strong response to the pandemic was only possible because of our solid foundations: our outstanding Ofsted rating for children’s’ services, exceptional adult services, the value for money we achieve time after time, offering the lowest council tax in the region, as well as our established partnerships (including valuable community partnerships).

"I am so proud of the work of our council, our staff, our volunteers and our partners – this shortlisting is the recognition they all so richly deserve.

"The next step is for us to be judged by local government experts and influential commentators from both the private and public sectors.

"We look forward to the awards ceremony later in the year when we will find out if we've been successful. Regardless of the outcome it is fantastic for us to have got this far given the stiff competition we have faced."

The MJ Awards have been held every year since 2004 and are one of the major, annual events in the public sector calendar.

Headline changes to COVID-19 guidance, from the Department for Education

New COVID-19 guidance has been released for early years settings, schools, SEND and specialist settings and further education providers from the Department for Education (DfE).

The table below shows headline changes from the guidance (however please refer to the guidance for specific details):
What has changed	What needs to stay
Bubbles are no longer necessary, including for summer provision. For early years, it is no longer necessary to keep groups apart.	Regularly review and update your risk assessments.
Assemblies can resume.	Remote learning for those who are self-isolating and well enough to learn.
No longer required to make alternative arrangements to avoid mixing at lunch.	Ensure good hygiene and regular hand washing – the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach continues to be very important.
Contract tracing will be conducted by NHS Test and Trace and not settings.	Regular cleaning of areas and equipment.
From 16 August 2021, children under the age of 18 years old will no longer be required to self-isolate if test positive as a close contact, but will be advised to take a PCR test.	Keep occupied spaces well ventilated - while maintaining a comfortable temperature.
Face coverings not advised for pupils, staff and visitors - either in classrooms or in communal areas including on dedicated school and public transport.	Follow public health advice on testing, self-isolation and managing confirmed cases of COVID-19 - those who test positive with LFD should isolate and get a PCR test.
Most staff in schools will not require PPE beyond what they would normally need for their work.	Staff should undertake twice weekly home tests including during the summer where provisions are open
Settings to create outbreak management plans.	Secondary schools and FE providers to retain a small asymptomatic testing site (ATS) on-site until further notice so they can offer testing to pupils who are unable to test themselves at home.
For early years, parent and child groups can operate as normal without restrictions on attendance.	Asymptomatic testing - Secondary schools and FE providers to conduct two LFD tests before start of term. Pupils then test twice weekly.
It will not be necessary to stagger start and finish times for schools and colleges	Those who test positive with LFD should isolate and get a PCR test.

A printable version of the COVID-19 guidance table is available to download, Please note these changes apply from 19 July 2021.

Do you have any questions about the guidance? If so, please complete the short feedback questionnaire and we will compile a set of frequently asked questions (and answers).

COVID-19 Guidance: Feedback Questionnaire

Education recovery: Curriculum guidance

An update from the Department for Education

The Department for Education (DfE) have published non-statutory guidance which provides information to help schools decide how to prioritise elements, within their curriculum, for education recovery.

The suggestions in the guidance are based on the good practice evident in many schools, some of which are included in the featured case studies.

Education Recovery: Curriculum Guidance

COVID-19 restrictions in education settings to end at Step 4

An update from the Department for Education

Further COVID-19 restrictions in education settings will end from Step 4, the Education Secretary has confirmed. 

As part of Step 4, expected to take place on 19 July 2021, ‘bubbles’ will end for all children under 18, social distancing will no longer be necessary, and schools will not need to stagger start and finish times, though they can continue with existing arrangements until the end of term if they wish. 

The lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in schools is in line with the general removal of restrictions for England at Step 4. Schools may choose to continue with these measures until the end of the Summer term. 

From 16 August 2021, the legal requirement to self-isolate for contacts of a positive case will end for everyone aged under 18, and for adults who have been fully vaccinated.  This means that from the autumn term, only those who test positive will need to self-isolate.  From Step 4, NHS test and trace will carry out contact tracing in all education settings rather than being run by the school or college. Those identified as close contacts will be advised to take a PCR test, and only need to isolate if they test positive. Children must self-isolate if they have symptoms of COVID-19 or a positive test result.  

Testing for close contacts under 18 will be split into two categories. All Primary, Secondary and College age children should take a single PCR test. Early Years children should only take a PCR test if a member of their household tests positive.  

Protective measures will remain in place for the autumn term in all education settings including practicing good hygiene, ventilation, and regular testing until the end of September to strike a balance between relaxing restrictions and minimising further disruption to children’s education. Two onsite tests should be taken by each secondary school and college student on return, followed by twice weekly testing at home. The Government will review testing requirements by the end of September. 

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: "I am incredibly grateful to everyone working in education and childcare for their tireless work to make the best of what has been a very challenging situation. While the pandemic is not over, we are moving into a new phase of managing COVID-19, from strict rules and towards personal responsibility. The measures we will have after summer strike the right balance as we learn to live with the virus so children can get on with their lives and education in the best possible way."

Education settings will continue to have an outbreak management plan and work with local health teams, as is standard practice. Local Directors of Public Health may advise a setting to temporarily reintroduce some control measures in the event of an outbreak.  

All school trips, drama, music and sporting activity will be able to resume in line with the relaxation of restrictions across society from Step 4.  

Education settings still operating over the summer will continue to test twice a week, with asymptomatic test kits still available to families over the summer break. 

In line with measures for wider society, the Government will be recommending that face coverings will no longer be necessary in any education setting and social distancing will no longer be necessary, including in schools and colleges. This differs from Step 3 of the roadmap, where face coverings were no longer recommended for pupils and students in classrooms or communal areas.

All education staff are urged to get both vaccine doses if they have not yet done so, helping further reduce any potential disruption as a result of self-isolation. From Step 4, there will also be no restrictions on in-person teaching and learning in universities. 

Further detailed guidance has been published to enable schools and colleges to plan for how they will operate from September.

Grants of £500 available for young people

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

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

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

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

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

Pre-exclusion hotline: 07816372459

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

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

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

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

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

School inspection handbook for September 2021

The updated guidance (which comes into force 1 September 2021) outlines Ofsted’s awareness of the pandemic’s impact on schools, including the difficulties in implementing the new curriculum.

Throughout the inspection, inspectors will assess how the school adapted and prioritised the curriculum from September 2020. Inspectors will look at how subject leaders and teachers have identified pupils’ gaps in learning and new starting points, and how they have responded to them in their curriculum planning.

Although some pupils may be engaged in remote learning, inspectors will not judge the quality of remote education between March and August 2020 and this will not impact on Ofsted’s judgement of the school’s quality of education.

Throughout the inspection, inspectors will discuss the decisions that school leaders have taken and how they have implemented them. They will seek to understand how school leaders have adapted their school development plans as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rationale.

Where the school is directly deploying tutors to support education recovery from the pandemic, inspectors will consider how their deployment supports the aims of the school curriculum. Use of tutors will be integrated into the evaluation of quality of education and leadership and management and will not be inspected in its own right.

The COVID-19 pandemic increased safeguarding risks. Inspectors will consider how school leaders adapted approaches to safeguarding to ensure all pupils were safe and that:
• vulnerable pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), were prioritised for face-to-face education in school
• safeguarding procedures remained effective for those receiving remote education, as well as those attending school.

Inspectors recognise that practices around personal development may have changed because of the pandemic. Consequently, they will seek to understand the decisions around the steps taken. Inspections will be carried out on site and face-to-face meeting will remain the usual method. However, it may be pragmatic to carry out some elements of the inspection through video/telephone call. This will be agreed with the head teacher at the start of the inspection. It will usually only be used to involve governors/trustees and others with leadership responsibility in the inspection who are unable to attend the school site.

The full and updates inpection handbook is available to download from the Ofsted website.

Please contact Michelle Parker, Quality Assurance Specialist, with any queries by email to Michelle.parker@telford.gov.uk or by telephone on 07989 655439.

COVID-19 local support grant: Vouchers for children eligible for FSM

Vouchers with a value of £60 per pupil are being sent out to all eligible families to support them over the Summer break. These will be sent by email to all of the parents with email address on file from 12 July 2021. The communication to parents includes addresses they can contact if they experience any problems with the voucher.

In the unlikely event that a parent contacts school with queries regarding the vouchers, or if they have not received one and should have, please direct them to winterfunding.grant@telford.gov.uk for support.

If a query relates to problems downloading the voucher or where it can be spent please refer them to either the Telford & Wrekin Council website (which contains a frequently asked questions section), the voucher provider on 0344 693 9901 or ask them to complete the Select Your Reward online contact form.

There are a small number of children where parent email addresses are not held, and for these children schools will be requested to distribute the vouchers to parents, as appropriate. Schools will receive these vouchers for children without email addresses from 9 July 2021.

Many thanks again for your support with this distribution which will help children and families over the summer break.

For more information please email winterfunding.grant@telford.gov.uk or visit the Telford & Wrekin Free School Meal Voucher website.

Child employment online petition

In Telford and Wrekin Council we recognise that young people really value the benefits that having a part time job brings, and the skills the young people acquire whilst carrying out the job go a long way in helping them preparing for working life or their next steps in education. Our local employers also tell us how much they value the contribution our young people make to their businesses, whilst also expressing frustration at the limitations of the legislation.

100-year-old acts (The Children and Young People’s Act 1933/1963 and the Factory Act 1920) legislate how Local Authorities and businesses operate when employing children. The last Government review in this area was in 2000, when the EU Directive was put into effect in the Children (Protection at Work) No. 2 Regulations 2000. It is difficult to navigate the legislation which can be inflexible and is unsuited to modern employment opportunities and business operating hours.

Kaye Strangwood, Child Employment Officer for the council, is a member of the National Network for Children in Employment and Entertainment (NNCEE) and is currently involved in a working party to review the regulations surrounding child employment. As part of this initiative the NNCEE has launched a petition calling on the government to review and update the legislation on children under 16 working in part-time jobs such as paper rounds, shops and cafes etc. She would really appreciate it if you could support them and sign the petition and also share with friends and families and ask them to sign as well. They need 100,000 people to sign the petition for the Government to hold a debate in Parliament on the issue!

Please sign the petition and start sharing it:

Child Employment Online Petition

Ofsted handbook changes in relation to sexual violence and harassment

On Monday 28 June Ofsted updated their Education Inspection Handbook clarifying, amongst other things, how inspectors will assess how schools and colleges tackle sexual harassment, abuse and violence among children and young people.

Inspectors will expect schools and college leaders to assume that sexual harassment, online sexual abuse and sexual violence are happening in and around their school, even when there are no specific reports. And to have put in place a whole-school approach to address them.

More information about the updates made to the Education Inspection Handbook is available online on the Ofsted website.

From a Safeguarding perspective, inspectors will pay close attention to how school leaders adapted their approaches to safeguarding during the pandemic to make sure that: vulnerable pupils were prioritised for face-to-face education in school: and whether safeguarding procedures remained effective for those receiving remote education, as well those attending school.

There is now a new section in the handbook, specifically around sexual harassment, online sexual abuse and sexual violence. (Paragraphs 306 -310)

Paragraph 306 sets out how inspectors will handle allegations and instances of sexual harassment, online sexual abuse and sexual violence by checking that the school has:

appropriate school-wide policies in place that make it clear that sexual harassment, online sexual abuse and sexual violence (including sexualised language) is unacceptable, with appropriate sanctions in place
school’s policies are reflected in its curriculum
staff with appropriate knowledge of part 5 the government’s ‘Keeping children safe in education’ guidance
all pupil concerns are taken seriously and they are supported to report concerns about harmful sexual behaviour freely
that comprehensive records of all allegations are kept.

Inspectors will expect schools to be alert to factors that increase vulnerability or potential vulnerability such as mental ill health, domestic abuse, children with additional needs, and children from groups at greater risk of exploitation and/or of feeling unable to report abuse.

The full handbook, in use from September 2021, is available for download from the GOV.UK website.

Any queries should be sent to Nick Cunliffe, Education Safeguarding Coordinator, by email to Nick.cunliffe@telford.gov.uk or telephone on 01952 382123.

Keeping children safe in education

The Government publication 'Keeping children safe in education 2021' provides statutory guidance for schools and colleges on safeguarding children and safer recruitment. The guidance is for information only and does not come into force until 1 September 2021. The full guidance is available on the GOV.UK website. Schools and colleges must continue to use ‘Keeping children safe in education 2020’ until then.

This guidance applies to all schools and colleges and is for:

head teachers, teachers and staff
governing bodies, proprietors and management committees.

It sets out the legal duties you must follow to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18 in schools and colleges.

All school and college staff should read part 1 of this guidance. Part 1 of the guidance is also available as a standalone document.

‘Regulated activity in relation to children: scope’ describes work that a barred person must not do.

Published guidance on disqualification under the Childcare Act 2006 is also available on the GOV.UK website.

Statutory guidance sets out what schools must do to comply with the law. You should follow the guidance unless you have a good reason not to.

Further detailed information can be found at by visiting the sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges guidance on the GOV.UK website.

Consultation opportunity: Telford & Wrekin SEND co-production charter

Just over a year ago, Parents Opening Doors (PODS) Parent Carer Forum introduced the local authority (Telford & Wrekin Council) and the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group (STW CCG) to a project that would improve and embed co-production in all special educational needs and disabilies (SEND) services. The Voices project, supported by Genuine Partnerships, is designed to create change in the way co-production is used.

In Telford & Wrekin the project was jointly funded by PODS, the local authority and the STW CCG, ensuring that all partners have been fully involved and engaged to create a Co-production Charter.

What is Co-production?
The definition of co-production by Genuine Partnerships is:

“Co-production involves children, young people, families, practitioners and partners working jointly together in an equal and reciprocal relationship.”

Locally this means that we will work together as equal partners in service development to improve outcomes for everyone.

How the project worked?
Focus Groups collected the views from parents, carers, young people, schools and settings, local authority education and social care teams and health professionals working across STW CCG. The groups discussed the local areas strengths and weakness in four different areas:

Welcome and Care
Value and Include
Communication and Working in Partnership.

Two reports were compiled from all of the ‘Voices’ captured at the events, and these would ultimately contribute to the Co-production Charter.

In March 2021 a ‘virtual event’ was held that invited all who had been included in the focus groups to learn more around co-production and to look at the principles behind successfully embedding co-production into all SEND services.

Message from PODS
"We are excited to have developed this draft charter with our parent carers and wider families, and partners across health, social care, education and voluntary sector. The Telford & Wrekin co-production charter values our families as genuine partners and aims to ensure that children and young people have positive experience throughout their lives. Thank you for all your involvement so far and we look forward to 'Making a difference' together".

The SEND Telford& Wrekin Local Offer Co-production Charter is available to view online.

SEND Telford & Wrekin Local Offer Co-production Charter

Your views are important, please tell us what you think. You can submit your feedback using the survey link or you can share your thoughts by email. Any feedback can be sent by email, to PODS at info@podstelford.org or Telford and Wrekin Council to localoffer@telford.gov.uk

The closing date for the consultation is: Friday 6 August 2021.

The Launch of the final Co-production Charter will take place in the Autumn Term.

SEND drop-in: Wrekin locality

The first special educational needs and disabilieis (SEND) Drop In for the Wrekin Locality will be on:

Thursday 15 July 2021
3.30pm - 4.30pm.

The drop in will give you the opportunity to ask questions and catch up with the SEND Officer and Coordinator for your locality. Meetings will be held as a virtual drop in and will have a representative from each of the SEND Services. This will give you the opportunity to ask for advice and support for your students.

All SENCo’s from the Wrekin Locality will be sent an invitation to attend.

For more information please send an email to SENDandInclusion@telford.gov.uk or visit the SEND Local Offer website.

Speech, language and communication resources survey: Educational settings

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

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

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

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

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

Please complete the survey by Friday 9 July 2021.

Speech and Language Therapy Service Survey

Free music tuition: Opportunities fund

In our update in November 2020 we advised schools that there would be a new system, the Opportunities Fund, which would be available to pay for one year of music tuition (30 sessions) for children eligible for Free School Meals. The lessons have to be taken in a small group and as long as the maximum level of lessons is not exceeded can be over two academic years. This system came into effect from September 2020.

The Opportunities Fund is available to academies as well as to maintained schools and provides a fairer distribution of support across the borough and is delivered by Telford and Wrekin Music.

We will shortly be writing to those parents who are currently accessing this funding to remind them of the current system and that if they have reached the 30 lesson limit to contact us to discuss how, if appropriate, lessons can continue.

The impact of COVID-19 has meant that whilst music tuition has restarted in some schools, other schools have struggled to find suitable spaces for this to continue safely. Music can have a positive impact on wellbeing as well as developing skills which can enhance the ability to learn. We are therefore keen that as many young people as possible have access to music tuition and, where appropriate, support for this from the Opportunity Fund. If, as a school, you have been unable to restart music tuition, please talk to Tracy Hall, the Team Leader for the Music Service, to explore alternative ways of delivering this tuition.

Please contact Tracy Hall, Music Team Leader, with any queries by email to tracy.hall@telford.gov.uk or by telephone on 01952 380986.

Autism spectrum condition training

We are having a huge drive on increasing the understanding of Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) within Telford and Wrekin schools, to increase inclusion. We would like all schools to co-work with us to achieve this whole-borough vision. To support this co-work, and make achieving this vision a reality, we are funding a free place for one member of your senior staff 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 a Lead for ASC 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 a 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 AET links to the Ofsted framework for inspection, and therefore will support each school when engaging with Ofsted Inspectors.

Next Steps
We ask that you work with us and that all schools sign up one member of staff for the ASC Lead training. Please identify the member of staff who is, or will be, the autism lead in your school and ask them to sign up to just 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.

Dates and Contact Details
The dates are as follows:

13 October 2021
3 November 2021
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 to CPDschoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk. To book on the ASC training please complete a booking form.

Once your member of staff has received the ASC Leading Good Autism Practice (or LGAP for short) training, I would encourage them to then begin to organise the delivery of whole school training. This can be achieved by contacting Michael Lane (Senior Educational Psychologist and ASD Lead) who will co-ordinate the allocation of training staff to schools.

CPD courses for school staff, senior leaders and governors

Details of all of our courses can be viewed in the CPD Booklet, which is available on the Telford Education Services website. The new 2021-22 CPD Booklet will be published on this site later this week.

All courses continue to be delivered online using Microsoft Teams to the end of this term. However, we plan to move towards a more blended approach as the restrictions around COVID-19 are eased, and when it is safe to do so. Online courses continue to be charged at a lower rate to reflect savings made by not using external venues.

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

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

This table shows a list of CPD courses for school staff, senior leaders and governors.
Course	Date(s)	Time
Youth Mental Health First Aid (PSS 001)	Monday 12 July 2021 and Tuesday 13 July 2021	9.15am to 4pm
Teaching children with SEND - meeting the need (LSAT 508)	Monday 12 July 2021	4pm to 5.30pm
Designated Safeguarding Leads Refresher (SG 107)	Thursday 15 July 2021	2pm to 3.30pm

Early Career Framework: Register your new ECTs now

If you have appointed a new Early Career Teacher (ECT) for September 2021 and have not yet completed your registration forms with the Telford and Wrekin, for the appropriate body package, please send an email to schoolimprovement@telford.gov.uk and our Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) / ECT administrator will send you everything you need.

Arriva school bus travel information for academic year 2021-22

Arriva would like to share information about the options that they offer to help parents and carers get their child to school safely. This information is separated into two letters.

The first letter is for primary schools, and specifically aimed at year 6 pupils who will shortly be moving onto secondary school and may be taking a bus to school for the first time.

The second letter is for secondary schools, to remind students who travel to school on an Arriva bus to organise their travel for the next academic year.

Please download the relevant letter for distribution to those pupils they apply to.

Arriva bus travel- Secondary

Arriva bus travel- Year 6

Learn about Lemurs with Hoo Zoo

Join Hoo Zoo on YouTube from 9am on 13 July 2021 for the first video in their 'Learn about.....' series.

These videos are being put together with the expertise of local children's author Sarah Griffiths and Just Teach.

With content aimed specifically at the EYFS, KS1 and KS2 curriculum the aim for these videos is to be a fantastic aid to learners and teachers alike.

Hoo Zoo would love to receive any feedback that you may have on this video via email to info@hoo-zoo.com.

Walk in vaccination clinics for 18-39 year olds

Please share the details of these COVID-19 walk-in clinic with parents and carers.

Telford International Centre, 8am to 7.30pm
Age 18-39 (first dose only)
Thursday 8 July to Sunday 11 July- no appointment needed.

Information about more local walk-in clinics is available online:

Vaccination Clinics

This entry was posted by Claire on Wednesday, 07 July 2021.

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