9th May 2023

Dear Colleagues,

Please find our weekly briefing below and share with colleagues who can respond on behalf of your school or setting.  Many thanks.

Summer School Census

The summer school census is couple of weeks away.  Dates for the summer census are:

• Census reference date: Thursday 18/05/2023
• Return Submission Deadline: Wednesday 14/06/2023
• Attendance data: 01/01/2023 - 09/04/2023
• Exclusion's data: 01/08/2022 - 09/04/2023
• Alternative provision placement data: 19/01/2023 - 17/05/2023
• Free school meal eligibility data: started on or before 2023-05-18 where the free school meals end date is either not present or between 2023-01-20 and 2023-05-18 (inclusive) 20/05/2022 - 06/10/2022

A document named "How to Upload Your School Census Return" is attached below, along with various DfE guidance documents.  Please forward these to your School Business and Data Managers for their review prior to completing and submitting your return.  The key point is to prepare your return, upload it to COLLECT and resolve all errors and queries before submitting it.  Also please take time to run the COLLECT errors reports to ensure all duplicates have been resolved - same person/different UPN and same UPN/different person duplicates can impact your funding.

Please contact your MIS supplier prior to the census date to ensure you have the up-to-date software and reference data.

It is the responsibility of each school to correct their COLLECT errors.  Just because your MIS system indicates no errors does not mean that COLLECT will not find any.  Please do not expect the LA to resolve your errors, it is your data, your pupils and your statutory return. 

If you need help, we can be contacted on SchoolCensus@hillingdon.gov.uk.  This email address is monitored by four staff members.  It can also be used for escalations.

How to upload your School Census return (PDF) [337KB]

Summer 2023 Census Guidance (PDF) [266KB]

2022-23_School_Census_Validations_V1.8 (Excel doc) [138KB]

Data_Needed_on_the_school_census_22_23_v1.1 (Excel doc) [43KB]

School_Census_Notepad_entries_2022_23_v.1.2 (Excel doc) [48KB]

Collect_guide_for_schools_July-2019 (PDF) [2MB]

School_census_business_and_technical_specification_2022_to_2023_v1.4 (PDF) [2MB]

FAO Reception Class Teachers - EYFSP Moderation and Agreement Trials

To support consistency and accuracy of assessment judgements against the Early Learning goals and the completions of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile, the Early Years Quality Team are providing two sessions for Reception Teachers to engage in professional dialogue and discuss and agree judgements. Whilst any goals can be discussed, the focus will be upon PSED, C&L and Literacy. There is no requirement to bring any physical evidence of children's attainment, but if you wish to bring examples of children's work or observations that may support discussions you are very welcome to.

• Wednesday 24^th May 10:00 - 11:30 am - Nanaksar Primary School. Springfield Road, Hayes UB4 0LT
• Wednesday 24^th May 1:30 - 3:00 pm - Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Uxbridge UB8 1UW

To book a place at either session, please email shynds@hillingdon.gov.uk with the session you would like to book and the name and school of the attendee/s.

Free School Meals & PP Explained

Following on from the Cost of Living, survey we have put together the documents linked below you can share to explain FSM & PP and a list of organisations who can support families. The process for applying for Benefits related FSM for children with no recourse to public funds is different. The Department for Education provide a self-declaration exemplar template that can be used with families, if you don't have your own version. It is also included here:

FSM and PP Explained (PDF) [127KB]

Organisations that can support children with cost of living crisis (PDF) [150KB]

You can also find these on LEAP: Support for Families 2022/23 - Leap (hillingdon.gov.uk)

September Guarantee  

It's that time of year again when the Post-16 Team needs your help to collect data for the September Guarantee. 

The Local Authority has a duty to ensure all 16 & 17 year-olds have an appropriate offer of education, employment, or training (EET) by the end of September when they would enter Year 12 or Year 13.  

Schools are required to share Year 11 and Year 12 intended destinations with the LA in support of their own statutory duty to deliver careers guidance as well as to support 'Raising the Participation Age' (RPA) and the September Guarantee. 

From May 2023, schools, colleges and further education provisions will be asked to share data on the intended destinations of their Year 11 and Year 12 students in order for the local authority to identify and support those without a suitable offer and are at risk of becoming NEET. 

Please click here for further information on how to provide the data and timescales.  

Open Evenings for Post-16 & Secondary Transfer

Dates for this year's secondary open evenings can be found here: Open Evenings for Post-16 & Secondary Transfer - Leap (hillingdon.gov.uk)

Please share with staff/parents/carers

Interested in Fostering for Hillingdon Council?

If you're interested in becoming a foster carer - or know someone who is - Foster Care Fortnight, from 15th to 28th May, is the perfect chance to find out more about it.

Foster Care Fortnight is a national campaign which raises awareness and understanding about fostering and the positive influence it can have on young people's lives. The campaign hopes to build support for fostering, challenge stigma surrounding children in foster care and encourage more people to come forward to foster. 

Hillingdon council's fostering team is looking for people who can provide different types of fostering and is encouraging people to consider fostering or raise awareness among family and friends. You can foster short-term or offer a child Respite on weekends or during school breaks.

People from all backgrounds can foster, the minimum age is 25, and a spare bedroom is needed for any child fostered over the age of 2. We support and guide you in the fostering role and you receive a generous allowance, among other benefits. 

Want to find out more?

We are holding 2 information sessions at the Civic Centre on:

• 9th May 2023, from 2-3pm and
• 16th May 2023, from 5-6 pm

There is no need to book, just come to the Civic Centre Main Reception (High Street, Uxbridge) and you will be shown to the meeting room.  We will present a short program and a foster carer will be in attendance who can answer any questions you may have.

We are also holding 'drop-in' sessions just outside Waitrose in Ruislip on:

• Friday 19th May and
• Friday 26th May from 9am to 5pm. Stop by and talk to our team members on the day.

We would be grateful if you could please include this item in your e-communication with parents/ carers or via any other means you feel appropriate, and kindly share with staff.

If you think you could foster, please call the Fostering team on 0800 783 1298,  Email   fosteringrecruitment@hillingdon.gov.uk or visit  www.hillingdon.gov.uk/fostering

** We would also be interested in hearing about any summer fairs where we can set up a stand at your school or venue. Please contact Sladjana on 07508908103 if you can offer us space **

Fostering 2021 6pp A5 Leaflet Final (PDF) [3MB]

Reminder to share with students/parents/carers

Hillingdon Youth Offer Consultation - Have Your Say on Youth Services  

Young people, families, carers, partner agencies and community organisations are invited to have their say on new proposals for the youth offer for Hillingdon.   

The borough's current offer is mainly a static, single-use buildings-based model. Attendance rates have dropped, and young people have told the council that they would prefer services to be closer to home and in different formats.   

The proposed new youth offer sets out the council's commitment to creating a wider programme of more modern, relevant, flexible and digital services for young people to receive the support they need, in their communities, to help them reach their potential.  

The strategy outlines plans for an offer underpinned by the needs and wants of the borough's young people, working with them to co-produce services that are dynamic, culturally aware, more efficient, and accessible - both digitally and at a range of locations across the borough.   

Detached street-based youth work will continue and be supported with outreach youth work and more flexible location-based sessions and activities at a range of buildings within local communities, including schools, sports facilities, community centres and family hubs. The plans also include increasing access to outdoor learning and volunteering opportunities.  

To view the strategy and have your say, visit www.hillingdon.gov.uk/youth-offer-strategy before Monday 5th June.   

Plant-based Cooking in Schools May Online Workshop

This is an invite to the May 2023 online School Plates Plant-Based Cooking in Schools workshop. These sessions are aimed at caterers or anyone else who is interested, from individual schools. There will be demonstrations on how to prepare simple, inexpensive, nutritionally balanced, and most importantly, tasty, plant-based recipes that children will love! School Plates is the flagship programme of ProVeg UK delivering menu change in UK schools to improve the health of our children and the planet.

The next workshop is on the 10th of May at 3pm. You can register here 

Here are the registration links the upcoming workshops:  June September October  November

Here are the links to previous workshops: May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 January 2023 February 2023  April 2023

We also wanted to tell you a bit more about the School Plates Awards.  There is no cost to enter, and the consultation and the awards themselves are also free.  Each time they change, you are invited to send in your menus for scoring, to work towards completing a checklist of actions toward Bronze, Silver, and Gold School Plates Awards. Two annual School Plates Champions will be announced at the end of the year, with a category for caterers subject to national school nutrition standards, and a separate category for those who are outside of these guidelines. This is ProVeg's way of rewarding you for the positive steps you are taking to make menus healthier for children and our planet.