LA Education Weekly Update

18 May 2026

Dear Colleagues,

This bulletin is intended for all educational settings supporting children in Hillingdon, including maintained schools, academies and independents. 

We would be grateful if you could share this briefing with relevant leads within your setting or with team members who may have an interest in the content, so they can follow up on the opportunities outlined.  

We hope that you and your teams have a restful half-term break, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued dedication to supporting our children and young people.

Reminders:

Useful Links:

• Hillingdon LEAP can be accessed for information and guidance for all settings 
• Please contact education@hillingdon.gov.uk with any queries 
• Critical Incident Notification can be found here
• Emergency closures of all schools must be reported to education@hillingdon.gov.uk 
• Education Services Contacts can be found here 
• Education & SEND Policies can be found here 
• EYES/Establishment Portal information can be found here
• Governors can access LA training here 
• Hillingdon Learning Partnership 
• Schools' Forum meeting papers can be accessed here. If anyone would like to attend meetings, they are welcome to do so.  

All Schools/Settings:

RISE Info & Next Steps 

Please find attached the latest RISE universal offer for London schools. We will continue to share any further updates as they become available. RISE advisers will be joining us to visit a number of Hillingdon schools in the near future to observe and celebrate the excellent work taking place across our settings.

RISE London May 2026 (PDF, 315 KB)

Summer Census 

The Summer School Census will open on 21 May 2026 and close on 17 June 2026. The test version will close this Friday. At present, it appears that no schools have utilised the test system to upload data and identify or resolve any potential errors or queries in advance. As we approach the assessment period, this may place additional pressure on your data teams, as they will be required to manage the submission of Foundation Stage Profile (FSP), Phonics and KS2 results alongside the completion of the census. 

If you have any queries, please contact msherman@hillingdon.gov.uk 

FSM Changes for the 2026 to 2027 Academic Year

From the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit attending these schools will be entitled to receive a free meal. The DfE have made this a legal requirement through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 and intend to lay additional regulations extending this duty to maintained nursery schools. 

Going forward, there will be 2 categories of benefits-based free school meals: 

• Targeted FSM, which continues to be based on the existing threshold, covering pupils who are in households in receipt of Universal Credit with annual household earnings of £7,400 or less

• Expanded FSM, a new category covering pupils who do not qualify for targeted FSM, but who are in households receiving Universal Credit 

Ever 6 FSM Cohort - pupils who are, or have been, eligible for FSM over the last 6 years are part of the 'Ever 6' FSM cohort. This is used for disadvantage funding and accountability purposes. Following the expansion of FSM, Ever 6 FSM will be based on Targeted FSM. 

We have permanently extended free school meal eligibility to children in all households with no recourse to public funds (NRPF). Families will be able to provide a letter from the Home Office or local authority confirming Section 4 of the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999 support or an ASPEN card. You should record eligible free school meals pupils who qualify through the NRPF criteria in the termly school census, in the same way as all other free school meals pupils. 

Please refer to the following DfE guidance for more information, including ending transitional protections and rechecking eligibility. 

School Food Standards: Updating the Legislative Framework 

This consultation makes proposals for updating the School Food Standards and the DfE are seeking views. The Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014 (known as the School Food Standards) provide the legislative framework to ensure schools in England provide children with healthy food and drink, and to make sure that children have the energy and nutrition they need across the school day. 

The existing standards have been in place for over ten years and no longer align with current dietary advice. It is recommended that a lead governor or trustee is appointed with designated responsibility for school food. Click  School Food Standards: updating the legislative framework - Department for Education - Citizen Space. Closes on 12 June. 

H&S Amber Safety Alert: Asbestos in Sand Products 

Following recent news stories and alerts by other organisations regarding asbestos found in consumer products, Hillingdon Council has issued an amber safety alert to all community maintained schools which requires action to be taken by the school by 29 May 2026.  

All other Hillingdon schools should take note of the alert :  OHS 0151 - AMBER alert re Asbestos in sand products (PDF, 125 KB)

Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership Training 2026/27

Safeguarding Partnership Training 2026-27 (PDF, 269 KB)

Counter Terrorism: Prevent & Protect 

We live in uncertain times and there is a constant need to protect staff and pupils for all possible scenarios, including possible terrorist attack. This could happen in school or while on a school trip. The government has a range of support resources to educate staff on how to protect themselves and pupils. If you haven't done so before, please take some time to see what is available and share with staff who organise school trips. 

• Protective security and preparedness for education settings - GOV.UK 
• School and college security - GOV.UK 
• Act for Youth: RUN HIDE TELL | ProtectUK 
• RUN HIDE TELL | ProtectUK 
• ACT for Education | ProtectUK 

Schools and Nurseries can also access free training from LBH. Click on the links below to sign up a member(s) of staff. The Awareness must be attended first:   

• First Course to attend Webinar ACT Awareness Including SCaN (See, Check and Notify) Training 2026-2027 
• ACT (Action Counters Terrorism) Operational Training 2026-2027 

Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) 

We are pleased to share an update on the success measures from Year 2 of the PINS programme. PINS is a DfE‑funded programme that supports mainstream schools through a whole‑school, needs‑led approach, bringing together education, health and parent‑carer expertise to strengthen inclusive practice, early intervention and Ordinarily Available Provision for neurodivergent pupils. 

PINS was led by the London Borough of Hillingdon, working in partnership with Brent, Harrow and the City of Westminster, alongside health partners and parent‑carer forums. The evaluation confirms clear, measurable impact across all six PINS domains, comparing baseline self‑evaluation with post‑intervention outcomes. 

The strongest improvements were seen in: 

• Environment and Communication (+64%) 
• Readiness to Learn (+45%) 
• Leadership and Culture (+40%) 
• Teaching and Learning / Adaptive Teaching (+23%)  

Importantly, 100% of participating schools strengthened a shared understanding of what good universal mental health provision looks like, supporting earlier, needs‑led responses within mainstream settings. 

Overall, PINS is evidencing real system benefits: increased staff confidence, more consistent Ordinarily Available Provision, stronger partnerships with parent carers, and delivery within budget. It provides a strong example of Hillingdon‑led partnership working delivering the SEND Reform ambition in practice.  

Thank you to schools, local authority colleagues, health partners and Parent Carer Forum for your continued collaboration and commitment. 

PINS Y2 final (PDF, 1 MB)

Childcare Funding Training

The Families Information Service is hosting an online information session on childcare funding on Wednesday 24 June from 10 - 11 am.

The objectives of the session include:

• understanding the different childcare funding streams for children ages 0-11 years
• knowing how parents access the funding
• learning where to signpost parents and get answers for yourself

All families are eligible for free childcare from the term after the child turns three years old. Some families are eligible for free childcare from the term after the child turns 9 months old.  Some families accessing government support may be eligible for free childcare from the term after the child turns two years old. This session will help you become aware of what is available. Please not that this session does not cover using the funding portal, provider agreement, charges, etc.

Please reserve your space via the Learning Zone: Course: FIS Childcare Funding 2026

If you have any issues reserving your space please contact familyhubtraining@hillingdon.gov.uk.

Service Children Newsletter 

Please see the Service Children Newsletter May 2026 (PDF, 2 MB) from the Stronger Schools Officers for Service Children with details about Summer Term network events, The SCiP Alliance listening tour and drop-in clinics and a new funding opportunity.  You can also register to attend two free bitesize online CPD sessions lasting 30-40 minutes, with the opportunity to ask questions afterwards, run by Dr Lucy Robinson.  

• Session 1 - Tuesday 23 June 2026 at 1:30 pm - Service Children an Introduction (about service children's key experiences of mobility and separation, diversity of the cohort such as young carers and EAL and their educational experiences)

• Session 2 - Wednesday 1 July 2026 at 1:30 pm - Service Pupil Premium (All about SPP, its purpose, eligibility, best practice examples, communicating with parents and further resources)

Please register by completing this form: https://forms.office.com/e/UfkhuPgDvT 

You can continue to access our Toolkit for schools (PDF, 2 MB) which collates a large variety of organisations, charities, government information, wellbeing support and moving and transition resources that can be used to support Service children. 

Southlands Creative Writing Competition 2026 

Schools are invited to support student participation in the Southlands Arts Centre Creative Writing Competition 2026, which is aiming to significantly increase entries from young people across Hillingdon this year. 

New for 2026: 

• Free entry for Under 18s when submissions are sent via a school email 

• 7 sponsored free places available for students from low-income households 

This competition offers an excellent opportunity for students to develop creativity, confidence, and self-expression through writing. Schools are encouraged to promote the competition and submit entries directly. The Under 18 category will be judged by Gatlin Perrin, author of Dirk Jones is NOT the Chosen One. 

Full details and entry information: Creative Writing Competition 2026 - Southlands Arts Centre 

Your support in sharing this opportunity with staff and pupils will help ensure more Hillingdon students can take part.

Primary Schools:

School Food Survey 

Providing primary schools with support around school food has been a focus area over the current academic year. Please complete this short survey which will help Hillingdon's School Food Working Group evaluate further support that may be required.  

School food  - Fill in form 

Secondary Schools / FE:

Learning Together for Mental Health Programme

Learning Together for Mental Health (LTMH) is a whole-school, multicomponent intervention that aims to improve academic outcomes, mental health, feelings of belonging and engagement for students, as well as to reduce bullying and foster a positive school climate. The programme combines staff training in restorative and relational practice, student wellbeing survey to identify needs and Place2Be facilitated action groups to strengthen relationships and school culture. 

Place2Be is delighted to be partnering with the EEF and leading researchers at Ipsos, Anna Freud, UCL, and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to evaluate the programme. 

Register your interest to learn more about it and to have the opportunity to take part: Learning Together for Mental Health 

Warm regards, 

Abi Preston 

Director of Education & SEND 

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