30th October 2023

Dear Colleagues,

We hope you had an enjoyable half term break.

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

Head Teachers' Termly Meeting - 7^th November 2023 10 am - 12 pm

All Headteachers and Deputies are invited to attend. Please see  agenda below  with link to join the meeting.  We look forward to seeing you.

Head Teachers' Termly Agenda - Autumn 2023 (PDF) [75KB]

OAP Checklist

Several services in Hillingdon have joined experiences and knowledge in creating a resource for schools called the Ordinarily Available Provision Checklist for schools. There will be modified version for Early Years settings and Post-16 settings available shortly.

Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP) can be defined as the provision made for children whose special educational needs can be met from the resources generally available to the school or setting. This will apply to all children without an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), but children with an EHCP will also benefit from this type of provision in addition to the provision written in their plan.​ 

The OAP Checklist is a compact and substantial toolkit of the original OAP. OAP currently is being reviewed by Teams in Hillingdon. ​ 

Please see both documents here on LEAP. There will be an opportunity to discuss the OAP Checklist at the Headteachers' Termly meeting next week. 

Supporting Ukrainian Children: Introducing the Ukrainian Team's Initiatives

We are excited to introduce a vital initiative, the Ukrainian Team of London Borough of Hillingdon, that is dedicated to offering support and guidance to displaced Ukrainian children who have faced significant challenges in their young lives.

To ensure that these children receive the care and education they need to thrive, we are committed to providing a range of comprehensive services that prioritise their welfare and well-being. The team of Programme Manager, two Participation officers and five Education Support Workers from St. Mary's Ukrainian School are working on a bilingual support project for displaced children from Ukraine. There are already 10 Ukrainian supplementary schools at various locations, including the newly opened School in Hillingdon at Oak Wood School UB10 9HT (others are Cardinal W14 8BZ, Tadpoles SW10 0AY, Holland Park W114UH, Ukrainian Catholic University W11 3SW, Wilberforce W104LB, Richmond TW107NL, Kingston KT3 3HN, Tunbridge Wells TN2 4PY, Woking GU22 9AL).

The Ukrainian Team is driven by a mission to create a safe and nurturing environment for displaced Ukrainian children. Our goal is to empower them with the tools they need to build a brighter future. To achieve this, we have designed a comprehensive approach that includes several key components:

• Data Collection: To understand the unique needs of each child, we will develop a standardised data collection form. This form will help us gather essential information, including age, language spoken, educational background, and special needs. Importantly, we will ensure that all data collection respects privacy laws and regulations, and we will obtain informed consent when necessary.
• Needs Assessment: Every child is different, and we recognise this. We will conduct comprehensive needs assessments for each child, taing into account factors such as language proficiency, trauma, disrupted education and any specific needs or disabilities. To ensure accuracy, we will engage experienced professionals, including social workers, psychologists, and educational experts.
• Language Support: Together with the schools we can offer language support programs for non-English-speaking children, ensuring they can fully engage in their education.
• Trauma-Informed Care: Many of these children have experienced trauma during their migration. To address this, we will provide access to counselling and mental health support. Furthermore, we will train educators and support staff to be trauma-informed and culturally sensitive.
• Community Engagement: We understand that parental involvement is crucial to a child's development. As such, we will involve parents and caregivers in the educational process and ensure they understand the available resources and support systems. We will also organise community events, workshops, and support groups to foster integration within the community.
• Monitoring and Evaluation: To track the progress and effectiveness of our educational programs, we will establish a robust system for ongoing monitoring and evaluation. This ensures that we can adapt and refine our approach as needed.

At the heart of our work lies a commitment to the well-being of these children. All our actions will be in strict compliance with relevant laws and regulations. Ethical considerations, cultural sensitivity, and privacy protection will be of utmost importance throughout the entire process. We believe that by providing a comprehensive and compassionate approach, we can make a positive impact on the lives of displaced Ukrainian children and contribute to their successful integration into our diverse and welcoming community.  Your support and partnership will be invaluable in making a difference in the lives of these young children.

Please see resources here on LEAP: Support for Refugee and Asylum Seeking Children inc. Ukraine

For any enquiries, concerns, or immediate assistance please do not hesitate to contact the Programme Manager, Iuliia Tsekhotska-Koc at email itsekhotska-koc@hillingdon.gov.uk or mobile 07591337712.

Together, we can create a brighter future for these children.

The Ukrainian Team

FREE Anna Freud Seminar - How Education Staff Can Support Students Seeking Refuge and Asylum

The first Anna Freud Schools in Mind seminar of this academic year is taking place on Tuesday 14th November, and will look at helping education staff respond to trauma in children and young people who are seeking refuge and asylum.
 
The seminar will be run with experts from the UK Trauma Council, which has recently developed a toolkit to support educational communities to recognise and respond to trauma. The webinar will feature some of the council's key learnings from their work with experts in this field, including those with lived experience of arriving in the UK to seek asylum.
 
Book your place now

Letter from Secretary of State for Education to all Schools

Please read this here.

Resources Related to the Situation in the Middle East

Please see this briefing from Stacey Burman, our SACRE consultant, to be forwarded to RE leads and leads involved in facilitating this work.

Inspection Data Summary Reports

The latest school IDSR are now available HERE. Schools should be reviewing their published data. It is the first line of call for lead inspectors before inspections. 

SEND & Inclusion Newsletter

Please see HERE for the latest SEND & Inclusion newsletter.  Please share this link with your staff.

SEND Advisory Service (SAS) Secondary Network Group

The SAS Team would like to invite secondary settings to meet once a half term to provide an opportunity to network, build relationships and discuss key topics or challenges within your settings.

This would help the Local Authority to understand how best to support your settings and share information regarding current services on offer. If you would like to attend, please complete this FORM.

Post 16 Prospectus

It has been 6 weeks since the Post 16 Prospectus was launched and I have enjoyed getting out to some schools and hearing the thoughts from the students of what they enjoy about it, as well as more things they would like to see; which will be planned into next year's version.

I am interested to see how the prospectus is being used in schools as well as how it is being shared with students - with some schools using the document as a careers whole class activity. Could you please therefore complete this FORM so that the Local Authority can see the ways in which the document is being shared.

Mike Pearson,Post 16 Partnerships Co-ordinator

Free World Book Day Author Events with Hillingdon Libraries

Please see event information here:  Headteacher briefing WBD 2024 (PDF) [351KB]

You can contact severett@hillingdon.gov.uk or call 01895 556262 to book.

Learn Hillingdon Updates

How Learn Hillingdon ACE Can Support your TAs and Volunteers

Sadly, the majority of us have struggled with mathematical concepts at some point in our lives and for most of us it was one of the subjects we loved to hate. A recent poll for Sky News found that 31% of 2,000 adults surveyed struggled with basic math problems, 29% would avoid doing any maths and 54% of the UK's working age population has low numeracy skills.

So how can Learn Hillingdon ACE support your teaching assistants and classroom volunteers?  With a short course called How to Support Children with KS1 and KS2 Maths which aims to:

·        Identify a range of approaches and methods to support children in Maths

·        Develop strategies to help combat barriers children in Maths face

·        Demonstrate how to make maths fun

·        Examine the fear and challenges which children experience whilst learning Maths and how to overcome these.

This course is 3 weeks of 2 hours, and we can deliver it at your setting. It is also fully funded, so there will be no cost to you or your staff.  For more information, please contact ccross@hillingdon.gov.uk

"Learnt that maths should be fun - in my day it was torture!" Learner feedback

"100% I will use it in the future. It gave me the opportunity to be more confident to share these ideas in school. It was amazing." Learner feedback

Reminder - Adult Community Learning

We are here to support schools to grow a talented workforce.  We have lots of professional development qualification courses to support your support staff including:

• Understanding Autism Level 2 Certificate 
• Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences Level 2 Certificate 
• Understanding Specific Learning Difficulties Level 2 Certificate 
• Understanding Safeguarding and Prevent Level 2 Certificate 
• Understanding Domestic Abuse Level 2 Certificate 
• Understanding Children and Young People's Mental Health Level 2 Certificate 

Most of these qualification courses are delivered online (via google meet) in the evening, please contact tdonnelly@hillingdon.gov.uk for more information or check out our website.  We still have some places available on Level 2, 3 and 4 for teaching assistance and early years professionals. 

Support Staff Vacancies

Remember to send us a copy of any job adverts for school support staff, so that we can share this directly with our learners by contacting zwilson@hillingdon.gov.uk.

DfE Grant Funding to Train Senior Mental Health Leads

A grant of £1,200 is available to train a Senior Mental Health Lead (as of September 2023). Eligible schools and colleges can now apply for a 2^nd grant if they previously claimed a grant and their trained lead has since left. 

Take up of the grant in Hillingdon so far has been 51%, compared to 58% across London and 60% nationally.

Previously, a large number of schools signed up to express an interest but did not complete form 2 to receive the grant. This process has now been reset for year 2. If you would like to sign up for training and receive the grant, you will need to complete both forms below.

·       Link to form 1 to confirm eligibility and reserve the grant

·       Link to form 2 to upload evidence of course booking and trigger grant payment

Schools who applied in year 1, but no longer have the senior leader in school, can apply for the grant again for a new senior leader.

This flyer has been updated to reflect this change to the DfE grant offer:  SMHL flyer - October 23_24 (PDF) [213KB]

Full details of the grant and how to apply can be found here. 

Promoting Good Behaviour in Schools Webinar

Creating a culture with high expectations of behaviour is a priority for the Government. Establishing calm, safe and supportive environments conducive to learning benefits both staff and pupils.

Join the DfE's Lead Behaviour Advisor, Tom Bennett OBE, for a free 60-minute 'Behaviour in Schools' webinar at 4 - 5 pm on 13th November 2023.

The webinar will focus on the updated Behaviour in Schools guidance and the statutory Suspension and Permanent Exclusion guidance as an essential tool to support all schools to improve and maintain high standards of behaviour. It will provide an opportunity for school leaders and workforce, local authorities and governors to improve their understanding of the legislation, policy and practice on managing behaviour and in carrying out their functions in relation to school exclusion.

Please register using this link and share among your staff.

Just Launched - A Brand New Series of Schools Resource Management (SRM) Webinars

The DfE have launched a new series of free-to-attend School Resource Management (SRM) training webinars.

Delivered by Entrust on behalf of the Department for Education (DfE), this is the fifth series of SRM webinars. With previous webinar series having received overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees, they are back again this year with fresh content designed just for schools. The webinars are open to school business professionals, headteachers, senior leadership teams, curriculum leads, governors and trustees, estates staff, HR and IT staff at both maintained schools, academy trusts and local authorities.

They will cover a range of areas within SRM, all designed to help you plan and use your resources more effectively. You will be shown how to achieve your core strategies by creating a holistic and proactive approach to strategic planning including financial, workforce, digital and estates, helping you direct your resources in a way that most impacts pupils in your school or academy trust.

This year's webinar series includes modules on:

• Integrated curriculum financial planning (ICFP) practical examples
• Funding and financial management
• Strategic financial planning
• Procurement: compliance and maximising value
• Strategic estate management
• Strategic workforce planning
• Staff wellbeing and engagement
• Getting the right technology in place

The webinars are delivered live so you can interact and ask questions throughout.  You can choose which modules you would like to register for, however we recommend you join all webinars, so that you can gain a full understanding of SRM and how to successfully implement it in your school or trust.

Don't miss out on this new content. Sign up here now!

Brilliant Parents

Please see the latest update from Brilliant Parents:  Brilliant Parents Autumn Update Newsletter (PDF) [688KB]

Information from NHS NW London

Flu Vaccination

As all school-aged children are eligible for the flu vaccine this autumn/winter, NHS NW London has created two short videos explaining how the vaccine is given, and why it is important.

• An animated video with Dr Andrew Steeden, GP borough lead for West London
• A talking-head video with Dr Niamh McLaughlin, NW London Maternity Children and Young People Clinical Lead

The UK Health Security Agency has also published a blog: 5 reasons to vaccinate your under-5s against flu and printable posters and leaflets aimed at parents on their website (multiple languages available). 

Accessing NHS Services

With the support of primary schools across northwest London, the local NHS is empowering young children to understand and look after their own health.  

Winter is often a time of particular pressure in the NHS and there are more coughs and sniffles around in the colder months.  NHS North West London are running a campaign to raise awareness of the different NHS services that are available, and when it is the right time to use them. This will help people get the right care when they need it and alleviate pressure on A&E.

A worksheet is part of the 'Aggie the Alien' series can be found here on LEAP  Aggie is an animated character who has been created to engage young children in public health messages in a simple and fun way. This worksheet can be used in class or sent home with your newsletter for home learning. A letter for parents and guardians is also in the LEAP link. This provides context to the worksheet and guidance on accessing NHS services and will help parents and guardians to support on the worksheet.

Aggie the Alien has been designed to feature in seasonal campaigns, sharing relevant public health messages throughout the year. If you have any feedback, please complete this  survey  or email nhsnwl.communications.nwl@nhs.net.

HLP Early Years - Develop Mathematical Subject Knowledge and Pedagogy

SKTM - Early Years Teachers - NUMBER (PDF) [889KB]

Apply HERE.

If you have any queries about this event, please contact: admin@lcwmathshub.co.uk

FREE Primary Tennis Teacher Training CPD - Sign-up now!

The LTA has organised a FREE Primary Teachers Tennis CPD which will take place at Dr Triplett's CofE Primary School on 9th November.

The course is open to all primary school teaching staff. Therefore, please do circulate this to staff in your schools.

Each teacher who attends will receive a pack with resources including lesson plans, certificates and more, and each school is *eligible to receive a £250 voucher which can be redeemed on either 10 hours of term-time tennis coaching or on tennis equipment.  This can be redeemed any time, whether you want to deliver tennis now or in the Spring or Summer Terms.  No matter what your experience is, the course will provide you with the tools and confidence to give tennis a go in school!

Details are:

Date:  Thursday 9^th November

Time: 4 - 6 pm 

Venue: Dr Triplett's C of E Primary School, Hemmen Lane, Hayes UB3 2JQ

Open to ALL primary school teaching staff

To register please:

1.     Create your LTA Youth Schools Advantage account - Register for Advantage (lta.org.uk)

2.     Using the login details created above, book your place on the course here - Primary Teacher Training Course

London Mental Health Youth Board

The London Mental Health Youth board are looking for interest from young people aged 16- 25 who are interested in joining the board. Please contact shelbydavies@cityoflondon.gov.uk to sign up.

You can find information in this flyer to share with your students:  Key information on London MH Youth Board (PDF) [205KB]

Regards,

Abi Preston

Director of Education & SEND

Children's Services, London Borough of Hillingdon, 4E/07, Civic Centre, Uxbridge UB8 1UW