31 March 2025

Dear Colleagues,

Please forward this email to the leads in your settings or team members who might be interested in the content, so they can follow up the relevant offers. Thank you in advance.

We hope you have a restful Easter break when it comes.

Reminders:
Governors can sign up to attend Introduction to Understanding Schools Finance & Governors Responsibilities here	On 28/04/25 6 pm
Headteachers, Governors and SENCos are invited to attend a SEND Finance Workshop at the Council Chamber, Civic Centre. Please sign up here. last few places available	On 06/05/25 1 - 3.30 pm
Governors can sign up to attend Introduction to Understanding Governor responsibilities in Suspensions & Exclusions here	On 07/05/25 6 pm
Headteachers or deputies should attend Head Teachers' Termly. Agenda with link to join will be shared nearer the time.	On 10/06/25 10 am - 12 pm
Headteachers or deputies should attend Head Teachers' Termly. Agenda with link to join will be shared nearer the time.	On 10/06/25 10 am - 12 pm
Governors can sign up to attend the Governors Networking Event -An in-person event at the Civic Centre. Governors Networking event Registration Form	On 18/06/25 6pm
Schools' Forum meeting papers can be accessed here	Ongoing
Emergency closures of all schools must be reported to education@hillingdon.gov.uk	Ongoing
Notification of Critical Incident can be found here	Ongoing
Education Services contacts can be found here	Ongoing
Hillingdon LEAP can be accessed for information and guidance for all settings	Ongoing
HLP Course Booking	Ongoing

For Action All Schools:

Schools Forum Decisions & Outcomes

Schools Forum Meeting Date: 25.03.25

Agenda Item	Subject	Decision	Action
4	Request to agree proposed bulge places	Forum voted against approving the additional funding for 30 secondary bulge places for 2025-26	Closely monitor capacity for secondary places

SEND Top Up Funding in Budgets

You should all have received your mainstream budget allocations from the Finance team. You will notice an estimated top up funding line, called 'HN Top up - SEN (CONTROCC)'. This line should be treated as an estimate for a number of reasons:

children can join and leave the school during the year
needs relating to individual children can vary throughout the year

This year, the new mainstream banding framework will be implemented further and, therefore, schools should have extra caution when looking at the estimated top up funding as this can create further uncertainty until all children are on the new framework.

Governors Newsletter

Half-Termly-School-Governors-Update-Spring-Issue-2/pdf

Prevent

The Regional Prevent Education Coordinators regularly share regional updates through their newsletters, which include information on:

regional trends and risk updates
new training, guidance and resources
updates or changes to the implementation of Prevent
relevant news, blogs or other content

You can sign up to receive the newsletters here.

Hillingdon LDIS

The Hillingdon LDIS (Local Drug Information System) is an e-mail system designed to receive, assess, and share information concerning novel, potent and adulterated/contaminated drugs as well as uncommon but especially dangerous substances such as fentanyl. The system provides information to professionals in the local area and can issue public facing alerts if required. The LDIS is designed to create a shared awareness of these drugs to professionals and plays an important role in preventing drug related deaths both within treatment services and the wider public.

Please see: LDIS - Leap

Please retain this information should you require it as part of your safeguarding duties.

Mentally Healthy Schools - Anna Freud Centre

Mentally Healthy Schools was originally developed in partnership between Anna Freud, Young Minds, Place2Be and The Royal Foundation as a legacy project of the Heads Together campaign. From 1 April 2020 Anna Freud took full responsibility and ownership of the development and delivery of the Mentally Healthy Schools website including all content and quality assurance of associated resources.

Targeted support : Mentally Healthy Schools

FREE Thrive Webinar - From Red Pill to 80/20: Decoding Netflix's Adolescence to Support Mental Health in Education

More and more young people are being exposed to harmful online narratives around masculinity, relationships and self-worth. From incel culture and the manosphere to red pill ideology, these digital spaces can shape how boys see themselves and interact with others - sometimes with devastating consequences.

As educators, how can we spot the warning signs? How do we create safe spaces for young people to talk about these issues? And how can we equip them with the tools to develop a healthy sense of identity and belonging?

Join Thrive for their FREE upcoming webinar on 8 April 4 pm:

From red pill to 80/20: decoding Netflix's Adolescence to support mental health in education

Join Viv Trask-Hall, Thrive's Head of Product & Innovation, in conversation with Lewis Wedlock, academic, mental health professional, and masculinities educator, for a crucial discussion on how online subcultures - such as the incel community, manosphere, and red pill ideology - are shaping the way young men think about identity, relationships, and masculinity.

Using Netflix's Adolescence as a springboard, this fireside conversation and Q&A will help educators better understand the online influences affecting their pupils and equip them with the knowledge and confidence to support important conversations and young men's wellbeing in school.

Click here to sign up

WCL Mind - CYP Postvention Service

The CYP Postvention service is for:

Anyone up to the age of 18 living in Hillingdon
Has been bereaved by suicide - no limit to how much time has passed since the loss
Bereavement by suicide includes - losing someone you know or witnessing a suicide

The service offers

1:1 emotional support with a CYP Postvention worker
Can be online, phone or text
Can be in person in schools or the office in Westminster
CYP can self-refer or anyone else can refer them

The WCL Mind website is soon to be updated to include a webpage specifically for the CYP Postvention service, so for now the service is under Suicide Bereavement Support - West Central London Mind. Referral form can be found on this webpage until the new CYP webpage is available.

Jamie Oliver Good School Food Awards

Nominations for the Jamie Oliver School Food Awards are now open!

The awards celebrate the amazing catering teams, beautiful canteens, holiday programmes, campaigners and unsung heroes who go the extra mile to make sure Britain's schoolchildren are well nourished.

So, if you know of a school food hero who's changing things up, creating incredible food for the canteen, teaching kids about food education, inspiring students about sustainability, or fuelling them properly to get active in the playground, nominate them now! The application deadline is 12 April. So if you know of a school food hero who's changing things up, creating incredible food for the canteen, teaching kids about food education, inspiring students about sustainability, or fuelling them properly to get active in the playground, nominate them now! The application deadline is 12 April.

www.jamieoliver.com/schoolfoodawards

Please share with parents / carers

Hillingdon Celebrates 60 Years

This year marks the 60th anniversary of Hillingdon becoming a London borough.

The council has organised a series of family-friendly activities across our heritage sites and libraries so everyone can celebrate the Diamond Jubilee. Find out more here.

Please share with parents / carers

Uxbridge Library Relocation

The Council's new enhanced Uxbridge Library is just three weeks away. Ahead of its relocation, the High Street branch will close on 31 March before the new library opens just up the road on 11 April. Click here to find out more.

For Action Secondary Schools / FE:
Post 16 Prospectus 2025/2026 So far Harefield, Guru Nanak, Uxbridge College, Rosedale, Hewens, Park Academy, Swakeleys, Douay Martyrs, Northwood, Green Corridor and Orchard Hill have signed up for next year's version of the prospectus - a chance for your school to highlight your post 16 opportunities to all young people in the Borough. This time however we are making the resource much more accessible to young people by moving the resource to its own URL- which will enable young people to use their phones/tablets to view the site. we will also be advertising businesses such as Babcock International and others for young people to not only access educational pathways after year 13, but also industry related. Last year just under 3,000 young people visited the resource - record hits for Hillingdon and almost double of Croydon and Luton. White Label Media are the agency that we use to create this fantastic resource. Charges are £300 (+ VAT) for each page you would like to use, which is usually just the one! If you would like to be featured in the Post 16 Prospectus please register your interest HERE.
Power Hour Sessions Post 16 Partnerships have created a host of 'lunch and learns' to help our internal colleagues understand and learn any developments that impact young people alongside school colleagues. Some of the themes are: Who and what are Axis and how can they support your provision? Topics include serious youth violence, child exploitation and MISPER. Hillingdon Healthwatch - Speaking about issues that affect CYP Mental Health, barriers to accessing support aligned with population groups that are at a higher risk of health inequalities and discrimination, and their recommendations for the future. Adapting Careers Advice for SEND - hear stories from young people with SEND around lived experience of careers advice and gain an understanding on how we can bridge any gaps/barriers. There are also three lunch and learns aimed at sixth form/college students around pathways for Higher Level Technical Qualifications, Year 14 pathways at Global Academy and apprenticeships at the Council. Please can you share this with careers advisors, head of years, deputy heads, SENDCo's, pastoral support or whoever you feel would find these types of sessions helpful and request that they complete this form to register: Power Hour Registration
Student Placements Hillingdon's Children's Centres are now offering six student placements for pupils in year 10 and/or year 12 who would like to gain experience working with young children and their families. For more information, please see this document and contact Laura Healy at lhealy@hillingdon.gov.uk: Student Placement (PDF, 101 KB)
KISS (Sexual Health and Wellbeing) Offer to Young People KISS is currently offering workshops and assemblies to secondary schools on the following topics: Our lives online (online safety) (Year 7 & 8) Consent (Year 9 - Year 13) Child Sexual Exploitation (Year 9 - Year 13) Sexual Harassment (Year 11 - Year 13) To book a workshop or assembly, please complete this FORM They are also running drop-in visits to secondary schools, seeing pupils in Year 11, 12 and 13 where they can speak to a sexual health advisor and access contraception. Schools can contact shwb@hillingdon.gov.uk to discuss booking a drop-in slot. KISS drop-in information can be found here: KISS Information Poster (PDF, 2 MB). Please display this in your setting. KISS runs fortnightly LGBT groups in South Ruislip. There are currently two groups running aimed at 13-16 year-olds and 16-19 year olds. These groups are referral based; however young people can self-refer to the groups. This poster can also be shared with young people: LGBT Poster (PDF, 419 KB) For more information on any of our offers, please contact KISS at shwb@hillingdon.gov.uk

For Action Secondary Schools / FE:

Post 16 Prospectus 2025/2026

So far Harefield, Guru Nanak, Uxbridge College, Rosedale, Hewens, Park Academy, Swakeleys, Douay Martyrs, Northwood, Green Corridor and Orchard Hill have signed up for next year's version of the prospectus - a chance for your school to highlight your post 16 opportunities to all young people in the Borough.

This time however we are making the resource much more accessible to young people by moving the resource to its own URL- which will enable young people to use their phones/tablets to view the site. we will also be advertising businesses such as Babcock International and others for young people to not only access educational pathways after year 13, but also industry related.

Last year just under 3,000 young people visited the resource - record hits for Hillingdon and almost double of Croydon and Luton.

White Label Media are the agency that we use to create this fantastic resource. Charges are £300 (+ VAT) for each page you would like to use, which is usually just the one!

If you would like to be featured in the Post 16 Prospectus please register your interest HERE.

Power Hour Sessions

Post 16 Partnerships have created a host of 'lunch and learns' to help our internal colleagues understand and learn any developments that impact young people alongside school colleagues.

Some of the themes are:

Who and what are Axis and how can they support your provision? Topics include serious youth violence, child exploitation and MISPER.

Hillingdon Healthwatch - Speaking about issues that affect CYP Mental Health, barriers to accessing support aligned with population groups that are at a higher risk of health inequalities and discrimination, and their recommendations for the future.

Adapting Careers Advice for SEND - hear stories from young people with SEND around lived experience of careers advice and gain an understanding on how we can bridge any gaps/barriers.

There are also three lunch and learns aimed at sixth form/college students around pathways for Higher Level Technical Qualifications, Year 14 pathways at Global Academy and apprenticeships at the Council.

Please can you share this with careers advisors, head of years, deputy heads, SENDCo's, pastoral support or whoever you feel would find these types of sessions helpful and request that they complete this form to register: Power Hour Registration

Student Placements

Hillingdon's Children's Centres are now offering six student placements for pupils in year 10 and/or year 12 who would like to gain experience working with young children and their families.

For more information, please see this document and contact Laura Healy at lhealy@hillingdon.gov.uk:

Student Placement (PDF, 101 KB)

KISS (Sexual Health and Wellbeing) Offer to Young People

KISS is currently offering workshops and assemblies to secondary schools on the following topics:

Our lives online (online safety) (Year 7 & 8)
Consent (Year 9 - Year 13)
Child Sexual Exploitation (Year 9 - Year 13)
Sexual Harassment (Year 11 - Year 13)

To book a workshop or assembly, please complete this FORM

They are also running drop-in visits to secondary schools, seeing pupils in Year 11, 12 and 13 where they can speak to a sexual health advisor and access contraception. Schools can contact shwb@hillingdon.gov.uk to discuss booking a drop-in slot. KISS drop-in information can be found here: KISS Information Poster (PDF, 2 MB). Please display this in your setting.

KISS runs fortnightly LGBT groups in South Ruislip. There are currently two groups running aimed at 13-16 year-olds and 16-19 year olds. These groups are referral based; however young people can self-refer to the groups. This poster can also be shared with young people: LGBT Poster (PDF, 419 KB)

For more information on any of our offers, please contact KISS at shwb@hillingdon.gov.uk

Warm regards,

Abi Preston

Director of Education & SEND

Children's Services, London Borough of Hillingdon, Civic Centre, Uxbridge UB8 1UW