Director's Message - 8th February 2021
Dear Colleagues,
Actions:
Action | By |
Catch Up Funding Reports on website | Immediately |
Operation Encompass - please sign up to this initiative | February half term break |
Schools Safeguarding Audit | 5th March |
Message from Head of Education Improvement & Partnerships - Abi Preston
It has been lovely getting to know some of our Hillingdon Headteachers over the last few weeks. I am keen to get to know you all over the coming months. If any Headteachers would like to discuss any concerns you may have at your schools or anything else, I am happy to arrange a video call. You can contact me by emailing apreston@hillingdon.gov.uk.
Please can we ask that if any schools, whether maintained or academy, have to close for any reason, that you inform the Education Improvement team as a matter of priority. You can either inform your Education Advisor or email education@hillingdon.gov.uk.
Ofsted monitoring visits
A number of schools have now received their 2 day monitoring visits from HMI under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 (as amended). Audrey from Field End Junior School recently experienced a monitoring visit and she has kindly prepared this document [92KB] to share with our LBH Headteachers outlining the key lines of enquiry she experienced during her visit. Thank you to Audrey for sharing this information and well done to the schools who have completed their visits to date.
LEAP
LEAP will not be available for the next two weeks whilst we transfer new content over. If you need access to anything, as a result of LEAP being under construction, please contact the Education Team.
Ofsted Myths
Ofsted have recently published a myth buster in relation to remote learning. This is a short guide, which draws on findings from their interim visits, research and literature review, aims to provide some useful tips.
South Ruislip community testing site opens Monday
Hillingdon's community lateral flow testing sites continue to expand and the fifth site will open in South Ruislip on Monday 8 February. There are also testing sites in Uxbridge, Hayes, Northwood, Harlington and will expand to other sites in Harefield and Sipson during the next few weeks.
Sites are open for local communities, key workers and anyone who is unable to work from home during the current lockdown. They are open between Monday and Friday, with some sites offering evening and weekend appointments. The lateral flow tests are specifically for people who do not have any COVID-19 symptoms. More information, check availability and book a test: https://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/community-testing
Community Lateral Flow testing - South Ruislip [372KB]
Supplier relief for schools
The DfE have published new guidance on supplier relief for schools. This guidance is aimed at helping maintained schools and academy trusts understand how they should support suppliers through the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This guidance covers two important areas:
- helping to determine if you are a contracting authority - and therefore whether this guidance applies to you
- to provide you with some overarching principles and guidance on how you may choose to review and respond to supplier requests for support
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supplier-relief-for-schools/supplier-relief-for-schools
National Tutoring Programme webinar
The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) makes high-quality tutoring available to schools to help disadvantaged pupils whose education has been most affected by school closures, through Tuition Partners, delivered through the Education Endowment Foundation; and Academic Mentors, by Teach First.
NTP is hosting an information webinar for all state-maintained schools on 10 February at 4pm, where schools can hear directly from Tuition Partner organisations and learn more about the tutoring available.
Schools in your community can find out more and find tutoring in your area on the NTP website or by contacting the team at info@nationaltutoring.org.uk. https://nationaltutoring.org.uk/
Sign-up: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XqYiNt8dRsqKQxtLUHVsHw
Catch Up Funding - Publish on Websites
Schools must publish details of:
- how it is intended that the grant will be spent
- how the effect of this expenditure on the educational attainment of those pupils at the school will be assessed
Read further information on the coronavirus (COVID-19) catch-up premium
Governors' emails
Using a secure school email address will help you to meet the GDPR requirement to prevent a data breach and respond to subject access requests quickly. Given the sensitive nature of governor email conversations and minutes, it is sensible for all email traffic to come from school email addresses. GDPR means you should be doing everything in your power to prevent a breach of personal data. This means the use of secure school email accounts by all governors is strongly advised.
A school-based email account will help ensure that:
- Personal data is kept encrypted and secure, as you will have more control over the email service and settings used
- Any requests to see data contained in emails can be fulfilled quickly, as you will be able to access these accounts more easily
Internal Audit Reviews for Primary and Secondary Schools
The Council's Internal Audit (IA) team will be conducting a Thematic Review of Governance and Financial Management in Schools as part of its 2020/21 Q4 Internal Audit Plan. The review is due to take place at the beginning of March and will require assistance from some schools. Please note due to the pandemic, the IA team will be contacting Headteachers and Finance Officers of schools involved, to make suitable arrangements for the review to be conducted remotely. The audit will be identifying and assessing controls that are in place to manage key risks around governance and financial management. The nature of a thematic review means that results will be collated from all of the school visits and summarised into key themes, enabling an overall assurance opinion to be given.
Schools Safeguarding Audit
Here's the link for this year's Schools Safeguarding Audit. This is to be completed by all schools.
S175/157 School Safeguarding Audit 2020/21
Please see Safeguarding Audit [30KB] and Audit Action Plan Feb 2021 [45KB] guidance on completing the Audit including requirements, aims and instruction to support completion. There is also an action plan attached that needs to be returned alongside completion of the audit. The Audit should be completed online and the action plan returned via email to hives@hillingdon.gov.uk by Friday 5th March 2021.
Evolve Advice Ltd - Educational Visits Coordinator (EVC) training
Further to recent queries from schools with regards to advice and guidance for Educational Visits and Health & Safety, Evolve Advice Ltd will be providing Educational Visits Coordinator (EVC) training on the 19th March 2021.
Evolve Advice Ltd will be able to provide maintained community schools support with educational visits and to sign off any of your overseas, residential (if they do not hold a quality badge) and adventurous visits.
For more information on this training and to book a space, please click here. The closing date to secure a place is of 12th March 2021.
Safeguarding
The Ask for ANI (Action Needed Immediately) codeword scheme has been developed to allow victims of domestic abuse to access support from the safety of their local pharmacy.
If you need any training, advice or guidance on domestic violence, you can contact our Domestic Abuse Lead for Education - Stella Anaxagorou. Stella is also an Independent Domestic Violence Adviser (IDVA). She can also offer support if you are concerned about a staff member who may be a victim of Domestic Violence. You can contact her as follows:
Tel: 07547951687 Email: sanaxagorou@hillingdon.gov.uk
Regards,
Dan
