Director's Message - 4th January 2021
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome back to all of our schools. We hope you have had a well-deserved break over the festive period despite the pressures on schools.
As many of you would have just heard, the Prime Minister has confirmed a National Lockdown in England. This will require Hillingdon schools to remain closed until the February half-term, expect for vulnerable and critical workers' children. All other pupils will receive remote learning. Pupils in exam years will not be able to return to school as previously planned and the DfE will work with Ofqual to provide guidance on the 2021 exams.
The highlights for this week are:
Reporting Covid cases to the Council's Public Health Team
There is a new streamlined reporting form for schools to use. Schools should report all confirmed cases to the Council's Public Health Hillingdon Team by completing this online form. Please include your school contact information and then select "Public Health" enquiries. This will ensure that schools are prompted to supply the necessary information to trigger support. There is no need to contact Hillingdon's Covid Community Hub anymore. As normal, schools must report all cases through their DfE daily attendance return.
PHE Resource Toolkit for mass testing
PHE has created a resource folder for all schools to access to support implementation of testing. It includes: the handbook, training guide, checklists, consent forms, data protection FAQs for parents, privacy notices, workforce planning tool and testing signage. Schools are able to access documents directly via the PHE Folder - Google Drive. This is a live folder and regularly updated and also accessible via LEAP. The Clinical Standard Operating Procedure for schools can also be accessed using the following link.
Vulnerable andCritical worker parents / carers
Vulnerable children are expected to attend full-time on-site provision where it is appropriate for them to do so and this should remain a priority for educational providers. Critical worker parents or carers are able to notify schools that their children require full-time on-site provision, and schools should make this available. Please refer to the guidance listing the vulnerable and critical worker categories for further detail - Vulnerable and Critical workers who can access schools or educational settings.
Support with technology during this contingency implementation
Schools have access to further additional devices being supported through the DfE to ensure that disadvantaged families have access to remote learning. The guidance is regularly updated and schools can keep up to date on offers here. Schools should now re-survey families to identify any new children that may have remote learning barriers. Schools can also apply for government funded support to access G Suite for Education or Office 365 Education. Get funding and support to set up a digital education platform has information to help schools choose and apply for the most appropriate platform for them.
Ofsted visits for the Spring Term
Ofsted plan on resuming monitoring inspections of schools judged inadequate at their previous inspection and some schools graded as requires improvement. These will not result in a grade. Emergency inspections of schools will continue as they have done throughout the pandemic, in response to any serious concerns raised with Ofsted. See January 2021: maintained schools and academies for more information. Routine inspections, which result in a school being awarded a new grade or being confirmed in its current grade, will resume in the summer term.
Full Covid-19 DfE guidance
Please continue to access our full update on Covid guidance, including how schools should continue to ensure protective measures via our FAQs on LEAP and email the Education Team via education@hillingdon.gov.uk for any support. Our team is on hand if you need any advice or guidance. Abi Preston is now full time in the role and looking forward to meeting school leaders.
Regards,
Dan
