26th June 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.
Ongoing reminders: |
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Please see information shared on LEAP on UFSM here | Ongoing |
Education Contacts can be found on LEAP here | Ongoing |
Finance Information Sharing & Networking Sessions
The Education Improvement Team are pleased to be running the following sessions to support schools. The sessions are for Headteachers, SLT and governors and will be held online via MS Teams from 4.30 - 5.30 pm.
Sessions are:
- Tuesday 4th July - Overview and setting the scene
- Tuesday 11h July - Re-structuring process with Bob Charlton from Schools HR
- Tuesday 18th July - Forward planning - pupil number forecasting
- Tuesday 12th September - Cost cutting whilst keeping the quality of provision as good as possible
- Wednesday 20th September - Grant / Procurement / Income generation
- Tuesday 26th September - Sharing resources / Marketing
Please sign up HERE. MS Teams links to join will be sent by email shortly before each session.
Data Team Updates
School Census - Progress
The school census has closed. Thank you to all the schools that submitted their returns to Hillingdon, we have processed and approved them all. Only 3 of these schools are waiting for DfE Authorisation. The DfE's issues with these schools revolve around the content of Return Level Notes. We are requesting the DfE to review the new notes and authorise those returns.
11 of the 48 academy returns have not been authorised by the DfE. We are not involved in the processing of these returns and only know they have not met the DfE's requirements.
We are about to start the process of checking for duplicates. This is where we either have the same person with a different UPN at 2 schools or vice-versa the same UPN but different person. If your school has any of these issues, we will contact you.
As soon as all returns are authorised, we will load all the data into Nexus. Schools will be able to see their census data in Perspective Lite both in tabular and infographic formats. The infographic format is excellent for governor reporting. Only your school can see your data. Please make use of this facility.
Perspective Lite/Broadcast Plus
We have completed the purchase of Broadcast Plus, this software service is an add-on to Perspective Lite.
Between now and end of term as well as early September, we will be holding presentation and demonstration sessions of both Perspective Lite and Broadcast Plus. Next year it is our intention to use Broadcast Plus instead of S2S and encrypted emails for schools to submit their assessment scores to us. Last year S2S caused so many issues that we decided not to use it again. We had hoped to adopt Broadcast Plus as a replacement this year, unfortunately timing conspired against us.
Now that Broadcast Plus purchase has been completed, we will start the process of billing each school £99 for 3-years use of the new service.
As schools submit their assessment scores to us, we upload them to Nexus. Within Nexus we validate the scores and can generate reports for each school. Alternatively, your scores are available in Perspective Lite for you to report upon. Once you have reviewed the reports and approved the data, please send us authorisation to submit your data to COLLECT.
Perspective Lite - User Management
Several schools have asked us how they can setup new users within Perspective Lite. The document linked below explains how this can be achieved. We do not expect Headteachers to be solely responsible for Perspective Lite user management. It is easy to allocate permissions staff, including managing users (add, change, archive, and delete).
How to Manager Users in Perspective Lite (PDF) [244KB]
The Data Team
**Save the Date** Headteacher Conference Autumn 2023
We are delighted to announce our Autumn Conference 2023 will take place on Thursday 5th October at Oak Wood School. Further details to be released soon, in the meantime please add this date to your calendars. Please also share this date with any new headteachers starting in September.
SEND & Inclusion Induction Event for Newly Appointed Education Professionals
Service leads from the Educational Psychology Service, SEND Advisory Service and the SEND Statutory Team will be hosting an event to share information and an overview of the SEND processes within Hillingdon.
On: 11th September 2023
Time: 1.00 pm - 3.00 pm
Venue: Committee Room 6 - Civic Centre, Uxbridge UB8 1UW
Newly appointed SENCOs, Inclusion Leads, Childminders, Headteachers or Nursery Managers are invited, in addition to any other relevant professional colleagues.
Please book a place for any relevant staff who will be joining in September, or those who have joined you recently here.
Post 16 Partnerships
It has been great these past few weeks speaking to some of you and learning about various pathways that students can take Post 16 and some of the fantastic opportunities that are available to pupils. Hopefully, the Careers Leads will have found some of the information useful via LEAP and email communications for some of these. For example, Apprenticeship and Industry Led Paths - Leap (hillingdon.gov.uk) will show some of the companies that can offer various pathways and Post-16 Mental Health Resources - Leap (hillingdon.gov.uk) for any resources/advice on Post 16 Mental Health. I will be continually updating LEAP and will provide links to key updates through this Weekly Update.
14-19 Strategy
We are proud to be part of such a fantastic project in the form of the 14-19 strategy and look forward to our next meeting in July where we will be discussing this further. We are passionate about the participation of all of our students in Hillingdon and look forward to working together to plan ahead. Thank you to those who have accepted the invite for this meeting on the 6thJuly at Queensmead School @ 9 am and special thanks to Nathan at Queensmead School for letting us use your school for our meet.
Please do let me know if you have not received the invite and I will re-send, my email is mpearson@hillingdon.gov.uk
The Post 16 Prospectus
Thank you all for your input/interest with the Post 16 Prospectus - we are very pleased that this will be running for its second year. We will be showcasing some other opportunities for students Post 16 and Post 18 which includes the role of Sector Based Work Academies - where students can gain work experience at an industry alongside training with a provider, with the prospect of a guaranteed interview. These schemes are a great way for students to experience the world of work, whilst also receiving support around employability from both the training provider and the Department of Work and Pensions.
We will also be highlighting the different levels of qualifications that students can take within further education from both an Academic and Vocational point of view-(Level 1 to 8) which will give students further understanding of the different paths they can take in education. Thank you to the EDT with their support with this piece of work.
Mike Pearson, Post 16 Partnerships Co-ordinator
Autism Education Trust (AET) Exclusion Support
The Department for Education is funding the School Exclusions service through the AET, to provide information and advice to parents, when an autistic child or young person is excluded from school or is at risk of exclusion; and to support professionals in early intervention strategies and good practice to avoid the need for exclusions. The website contains guidance but also how to access the AET exclusion service. https://www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk/exclusions
The LA's SEND Advisory Service (SAS) provide person-centred support for children and young people who are thought to have emerging SEND. Please don't wait until exclusion feels like the only option. Early Intervention is paramount. We offer a wide array of universal and targeted training, and 1:1 referrals can be made through the Stronger Families Hub. Stronger Families - Hillingdon Council
SORTED Substance Use and Misuse Support - Parent Webinars
Following positive feedback from the parents webinar for year 6, two additional dates for parents to attend have been added.
Please promote to your parents/carers by sharing the letter below.
Parent Webinar- Year 6 Substance Use and Misuse Transition Support (PDF) [197KB]
Summer Activity Programme
Please find the link below to the Hillingdon Summer Activity Programme.
Activities will run from Monday 24th July to Friday 25th August and will include a range of fun sessions, including creative arts, sports and games.
Bookings open on 26th June. Please use this link to book for any families you think would benefit and to view eligibility criteria - Summer Activity Programme - Hillingdon Council
Food Waste Competition
The Recycling Team are running a competition aimed at children aged 5 to 11 and it is about using their creativity to find and design alternative containers for storing food waste at home. The purpose is to educate children and their families about food waste recycling, reducing the amount of good food that is being thrown away, which also helps with saving money.
We are also inviting schools to become involved with this competition by encouraging children to take part at home and at school. We currently have 22 schools in Hillingdon recycling their food waste and this competition is a great way to get children involved.
Further information can be found on our website https://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/food-waste-competition. Deadline to apply is 14th July.
food waste competition poster PRINTABLE (PDF) [397KB]
Reminder - Raising the Awareness of School Staff about Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Children
June is Traveller History Month!
To celebrate this and to support our schools, we are offering staff an online training course on cultural awareness of Gypsies and Travellers in the UK. This course is free of charge and is designed to develop your knowledge and understanding of these communities.
This comprehensive learning package on cultural awareness of Gypsies and Travellers in the UK was written and developed with national charity, Friends Families and Travellers. Informative and interactive, it is comprised of four modules covering Gypsy and Traveller history and culture, the main challenges for these communities, what can be done to help these groups access services, such as those in healthcare, and how to improve their participation in other areas such as education.
We would like you to ask all staff to undertake this training. Raising awareness of staff in schools was identified as a key recommendation in research Hillingdon Council commissioned into the experience of GRT children. This should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Learning Zone accounts:
School staff should already have access to our learning portal - Learning Zone. Learning Zone usernames are your school email address and forgotten passwords can be reset on the login page.
If a member of staff has not registered for a Learning Zone account previously, please complete this form to request an account (Learning Zone Access Request for Schools (office.com)). Please check with your school administrator if you already have a Learning Zone account.
Click here to log in and access Gypsy and Traveller Cultural Awareness eLearning module.
Once you have completed and passed the entire programme, you will be able to download your certificate, if you want it for your own records.
Please share with staff/parents/carers
Help with Holiday Childcare Costs
Working families with children aged 0-11 years old (up to 16 years old if the child has a disability) can get help with their childcare costs through Tax-Free Childcare. With a Tax-Free Childcare account, families could save up to £2000 per child per year. Tax-Free Childcare can be used for approved childcare including holiday clubs, after school clubs and childminders. Find out more about eligibility and how to apply: Get Tax-Free Childcare: step by step - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Shaping the Future of Uxbridge Town Centre: An invitation to participate
As part of London Borough of Hillingdon's master planning process, Professor Monica Degen and Dr Louise Rondel from Brunel University London are carrying out research with members of the community about Uxbridge town centre and their views on the future of the area. They are particularly keen to speak to secondary school and college students about their experiences of the town centre and their ideas to improve the high street for their uses and needs. This would take the form of focus groups with between 4-8 students, or it could be integrated as part of a larger class activity in collaboration with their teacher. The feedback gathered from the discussion groups will form part of a report to be delivered to the council to inform the future look and feel of Uxbridge town centre.
If you would like to be involved in this initiative, please contact Monica and Louise directly at: monica.degen@brunel.ac.uk and louise.rondel@brunel.ac.uk
