Director's Message - 15th March 2021
Dear Colleagues,
Please see our weekly Education Executive Summary [49KB] round-up of schools' guidance update.
Action | By |
Book your school's Educational Visits Coordinator (EVC) virtual training for Friday 19th March - click here | Today, 15th March |
Complete the FSM New Claimants template attached and return to: WinterGrant@hillingdon.gov.uk | Friday 19th March |
SEND Survey for Children in Mainstream Settings with a Specialist Setting named on the EHCP | Monday 22nd March |
Coronavirus (COVID-19) workforce fund claim form | Wednesday 31st March |
Ensure the following documents are available on school websites:
| Immediately |
Matters the council are currently looking into. For these matters, we will be in touch when we know more:
Views on keeping children back a year (summer born)
Resolved | We have liaised with the Head of Access to Education, Laura Palmer, in the council regarding this matter and she has asked that schools contact her to discuss any potential children where it is felt that children should be kept back a year. There are significant implications for children in the future, should this be agreed, so it is vital that this is discussed to ensure it is the right decision for these pupils before proceeding. Please contact Laura Palmer lpalmer@hillingdon.gov.uk with details of any cases you think this may apply to. |
Vaccinations for staff | Please see below. There are no further updates on this for staff in SRPs and who are 1:1s. We will inform schools if we hear any updates. |
Use of schools used as polling stations | We are awaiting a final list of schools and sites being used for polling stations in the forthcoming elections. The Democratic team have managed to find some further alternatives and these schools will/ will have been contacted. Lists should be finalised shortly. |
SEND Survey for Children in Mainstream Settings with a Specialist Setting named on the EHCP
Following discussions with Headteachers recently, the SEND team & Education Improvement team have devised a survey for schools to complete to notify us of individual children who are in mainstream settings with a specialist setting named on the EHCP. Please complete this survey for each individual child who this applies to, in order for the SEN team to make plans to find suitable settings for these children. Please complete the survey by Monday 22nd March.
Please click here to take the survey: SEND Survey - EHCPs with Specialist Settings
Coronavirus (COVID-19) workforce fund claim form
The coronavirus (COVID-19) workforce fund for schools and colleges online form is now live and can be found here: https://form.education.gov.uk/service/workforce-fund-claim
The deadline to submit your claim is23:59 on 31 March 2021. Guidance has been published to help you complete the form and can be found here:
Easter Break - Free School Meals / Holiday Activities & Food Programme
The Government has recently announced that the Winter Grant Scheme has been extended to cover the two-week break for the Easter period. This means that eligible families will receive food vouchers via the LA for this period.
We are aware that as family circumstances change more children will become eligible for benefit related free school meals. To ensure that all eligible families receive their vouchers please email additional information to WinterGrant@hillingdon.gov.uk, using this FSM New Claimants template [20KB] .
We are also delivering a Holiday and Food Activities programme this Easter for eligible families. Further details will be sent to schools this week on the programme. This is a pilot programme funded by Government grant and will operate from a number of locations across the Borough.
London COVID Response Cell - Schools Resources
Please find resource pack [1MB] provided on behalf of London Covid Response Cell Group to support with Lateral Flow Testing and FAQ [336KB] .
Home self-testing service launches in Hillingdon for households with school children
Households and families with school-aged children can now access COVID-19 home testing kits. The 'community collect' service launched this month to households with primary and secondary school and college age children, as well as those providing childcare and in support bubbles. Testing kits are to be used twice weekly, meaning people can self-isolate faster if they test positive.
Home-testing kits can currently be ordered online for home delivery at www.gov.uk/coronavirus or can be collected from Topping Lane PCR test site near Brunel University. Kits will also be available for collection shortly from the borough's seven asymptomatic testing sites. Find out more at www.hillingdon.gov.uk/community-testing.
Children in secondary school or college will be supplied with home tests by their school once they have completed their three supervised tests. The same applies to school staff.
Psychological First Aid Training (PFA)
People that care for or work with children and young people that have been affected by COVID-19 (or other emergencies or individual crises) will be able to access a new, free online
Psychological First Aid Training course. The online course, developed by PHE, offers training on how to provide practical and emotional support to children and young people affected by emergencies or crisis situations. See attached documents for more information on the course and FAQs.
Funding for School Trips - Culture Mile's School Visits Fund
The Culture Mile's School Visits Fund is available to all schools and other education providers, where there are more than 30% Pupil Premium children on roll. You can receive up to £600 towards the cost of a visit to a wide variety of inspiring venues in the Culture Mile Learning partnership. Schools can find out more by clicking on this link:
Culture Mile School Visits Fund - Home
Last day to book Evolve Advice Ltd - Educational Visits Coordinator (EVC) training - 19th March 2021.
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 this Friday 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 today.
Secondary Students Taking Risks in Hillingdon
We have received complaints recently from concerned members of the public about some secondary school pupils in the borough who are gathering in large groups outside of take away restaurants or shops. They are reportedly standing close together in large groups without masks. They are not allowing other pedestrians to walk on the pavement at a safe distance. Please can we ask secondary schools across the borough to ensure children are aware of this issue and the requirement to maintain safe distances from each other and members of the public to help prevent unnecessary risks of contact outside of school hours.
London Careers Festival Registration Now Open - 28th June - 2nd July 2021
The London Careers Festival connects pupils with the world of work through a range of webinars, activities, and resources for primary, secondary and post 16 young people. The aims of the festival are to:
- Support schools to meet their Gatsby benchmarks
- Connect students with employers from a range of sectors
- Inspire students and fuel their imagination
- Discover and develop students' fusion skills
- Explore apprenticeships, further education, and career opportunities
In this year's festival, there will be skills and careers events that will explore a very wide range of industries such as: Tech, STEM, Art, Media, Business, Law, and many more. The event is taking place between 28th June-2nd July 2021; however, you can register your interest and confirm attendance from 15th March. Please see www.londoncareersfestival.org.uk for more information, where resources are available all year round.
Kind regards,
Dan
