26th April 2021

Dear Colleagues,

Please see our weekly   Education Executive Summary [247KB]   round-up of schools' guidance update.

Matters the council are currently looking into. For these matters, we will be in touch when we know more:

School Menus Steering Group

Following the school catering survey we ran last term, we are looking to establish a group of professionals (Headteachers, Public Health & NHS) and potentially extend this to some parent representatives to support this agenda.

If you are interested in joining the group, we would like to invite you to attend the first meeting of this group to look at ways we can support children across the Borough to develop healthy eating, ensure school caterers provide suitable meals to promote healthy eating and also discuss some ideas the group have as to how to engage schools with this agenda.

We have arranged to meet on 11^th May from 10-11am for the first group meeting.

If you are interested in attending this group, please email LBH Education - education@hillingdon.gov.uk and an invite will be sent to you. Thank you to those who have confirmed previously that they will be attending - invites have recently been sent to those Headteachers shortly also.

Head Teachers Termly Meeting

The Head Teachers Termly Meeting for Summer  has been scheduled for the 17^th June 2021 2pm to 4pm.

This will be a Microsoft Teams meeting, to attend please Click here to join the meeting

 Head Teachers Termly Agenda 17.06.2021 [130KB]

Meeting with North West London Teaching Hub - Tuesday 4^th May 2021 at 4-5pm via Teams.

Further to the recent announcements about the new Regional Teaching School Hubs, I am sure you have heard that the Twyford Church of England Academies Trust were awarded the contract for North West London (Hounslow, Ealing, Harrow and Hillingdon).

They will be expected to play a significant role in delivering:

• school-based initial teacher training (ITT)
• the Early Career Framework when it is available nationally from September 2021
• the new specialist national professional qualifications (NPQ)
• leadership NPQs
• appropriate body services for early career teachers

The new Early Career Frameworks reforms, for Early Career Teachers (previously NQTs) are statutory from September 2021 and there are 3 approaches to enable the delivery of an ECF-based induction. Schools can choose:

• a funded provider-led programme
• to deliver their own training using DfE-accredited materials and resources
• to design and deliver their own ECF-based induction

A letter will be sent to all schools next week from Nick Gibb detailing the changes and the requirement for schools to choose which option they wish to proceed with. There will be some further information sent to schools in the interim over the next week also.

Dame Alice Hudson, from Twyford Church of England Academies Trust, would like to meet with Headteachers (or CPD leads if unavailable) to share a presentation that will detail the implications for Hillingdon schools and how their Regional Hub plans to support the new reforms on Tuesday 4^th May 2021 at 4-5pm via Teams.

There will be an opportunity for questions during this meeting.

Click here to join the meeting

Congratulations to Warrender Primary

We are thrilled to hear that Warrender Primary School has become the first primary school in Hillingdon to be awarded a distinction for the afPE Quality Mark. Warrender Primary School has also been added to the Roll of Honour list on the afPE website, which in turn means that the afPE has signposted our school to the Department for Education as a model of best practice. Congratulations to the team at Warrender for this fantastic achievement!

London Youth Games Virtual Run Spring Run

 LYG Virtual Spring Run Information 2021 [441KB]

London Youth Games 2021 events:

All London boroughs are invited to compete and the borough with the furthest collaborative distance wins.

What is the LYG Virtual Spring Run?

London Youth Games is hosting its first event for 2021 with a virtual run series lasting 2 weeks

Young people across London will participate and score virtual points for their borough. The aim of the event is to inspire and motivate young Londoners to be active, to train and represent Hillingdon.

When Taking Place?

• The virtual event is running between 10^th - 24^th May
• Entries will open 9am 10^th May and close 8pm 24^th May
• Participants can complete the event anywhere in London
• Distances vary from 0.5km - 5km
• Every entry will add to a combined total distance for Hillingdon. The borough with the furthest distance wins.
• Individual 3km prizes are available however recorded times must be entered.

Who can participate?

The virtual event is open to all young Londoners aged 18 and under.

You must live or go to school in Hillingdon to represent and be eligible.

There are no age categories for the event. Participant choose the distance they want to compete.

How to enter

Once run is complete entries can be submitted via LYG website (within set date frame):

Virtual Games - London Youth Games

Participants will be required to submit the distance they compete and if entering the 3km challenge proof of time.

Individual and group entries can be submitted.

Borough Team organise can assist with submitting details or any questions, Kim - ktruelove@hillingdon.gov.uk

Safer Recruitment in Education Training - Wednesday 16th June, 5.30pm - 7.30pm

This Safer Recruitment in Education training is for School Governors, Headteachers and SLT members to assist in effective safer recruitment of staff or volunteers in schools, academies or colleges. Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) sets out the requirement for governing bodies of maintained schools to ensure that at least one of the persons who conducts an interview has completed safer recruitment training. The training is developed in line with up to date government guidance and includes;

• Preparing to recruit
• Shortlisting
• Interviewing & Selection Process
• Checks and references
• Remaining vigilant

The training is 2 hours and currently taking place via Microsoft Teams. The facilitators are Rob Wratten (Hillingdon LADO) and Hannah Ives (CP lead for Education & Deputy LADO).

To book a place on the Safer Recruitment in Education Training scheduled for Wednesday 16th June, 5.30pm - 7.30pm please use either one of the following links:

Learning Zone - Learning Zone - Safer Recruitment in Education Training

or

LEAP - Safer Recruitment in Education Training - Leap (hillingdon.gov.uk)

Multi Sports Online Disability Sessions

London Borough of Hillingdon with Primary Sporting Development are running Multi-Sports sessions online via zoom from Monday 26^th between 5:00-5:40pm - 5:50-6:30pm free of charge. For ages 6-12 years old.

 Multi Sports A3 Disability April 2021 Poster [270KB]

To register go to www.thepsdgroup.org.uk/psd-clubs/

SEND Advisory Service

Who we are?

The SEND Advisory Service sits within the Social Care directorate, under the newly formed SEND & Inclusion Service.  SAS is a multi-disciplinary service which was established in September 2019 by re-configuring elements of the pre-existing Inclusion Team, Early Support Team and Sensory Intervention Team.  

What we do?

All teams offer support, advice and guidance to professionals, practitioners, Children and Young People and their families. This is achieved through 1:1 referrals into the service, whole school collaborative reviews and training and a service wide advice line. 

Inclusion Commitment

The SEND Advisory Service is offering schools the opportunity be part of the Inclusion Commitment programme. The Inclusion Commitment is a one-year programme offered by the SEND Advisory Service. ​It is a programme of change to improve SEND provision in our educational settings ​by working in collaboration to develop and embed whole school strategies which will enable schools to secure even better outcomes and progress for ALL children​.  Please contact Heenal Amin (Principal SEND advisor) for more details.

SEND Review

All schools who engage in the Inclusion Commitment will undertake a supported SEND Review which is conducted using the 'appreciative inquiry' methodology.  The SEND review is a self-evaluation tool which looks at how your education setting provides for pupils or students with special educational needs and disabilities. The review findings will support your school to improve SEND provision and strategy and therefore, support young people to achieve better outcomes. The Inclusion Commitment is based on evidence-based frameworks such as the AET, Communication Trust and SCERTS.

SEND Review training

We are delighted to have Katherine Walsh from Nasen delivering virtual training on SEND Reviews in May. The focus of the session will look at the principals and process of a SEND Review which will support you to complete a send review in your setting.

It is strongly advised both sessions are attended. Settings and schools who have signed up to be part of the Inclusion Commitment will be given priority:

Tuesday 11th May 2021 1.30-3.00pm & Tuesday 18th May 2021 1.30-3.00pm 

Please register here

STA data update

The Standards and Testing Agency have recently released the attached official communication.

"Thank you for your patience whilst the department considered the appropriate response to the current position. We have used the last week to speak with the users of the January and February data collections to ensure that they remain critical and feasible to return and we have engaged with sector representatives to understand any difficulties that would be encountered.

Feedback has suggested that for those collections already planned, the majority of schools and LA's should still be able to make a return and the data is valued not just by the department but also by the sector.

In light of this feedback, we intend to progress with our pre-planned data collections as normal. Timescales will remain as scheduled but we do understand that there may be individual circumstances that make this difficult to comply with - if this is the case we will be asking schools and LA's to let us know as soon as possible so that we can support.

Whilst most of the School Census requires details of pupils on roll, additional guidance will be provided by the end of the week to help you provide data for other items such as school meals and class activity.

To help you prepare, it is likely that this guidance will explain about how we will require details of what you would expect or what would be timetabled if schools was open as normal."

Optional Multiplication Tables Check for Year 4 Pupils

Please see  this document [43KB]  for DfE sign in details.

Young Carers in Schools (YCiS) Education Conference 2021

As many as 1 in 5 secondary school students could be a young carer.

Do you know your young carers? Do you know how they have experienced the Pandemic? Are you concerned for their well-being? Would you like to feel more equipped and provide more effective support and intervention so that they can attain and fulfil their potential?

Join us on Thursday 29^th April between 10:00am-5:00pm to find out how your school could make the best difference to these students.

Sessions to include:

• Lockdown through the Young Carers lens: hear from young carers
• What easy steps can schools and colleges take to improve life chances for young carers
• Q & A with Young Adult Carers: What they wished staff knew. What would you like to understand from young carers?
• Mental Health programmes for young carers
• Open Forum: Recovery from Covid / F & HE / future developments

Register your interest, email YCiS@childrenssociety.org.uk now!

Are You Aged 14-24? Your Opinion Matters!

The Annual Youth Voice Census is the biggest youth voice research activity. Each year young people are asked to share their experiences, challenges, and opportunities as they transition between education and employment. The census is open to all young people that live in the UK and are between the ages of 14 - 24 years.

The past year has been an unusually eclectic one, due to the arrival of the pandemic which led to there being a lockdown from March 2020. The lockdown went on to last a whole year, with two short intervals in-between. It would be beneficial if as many young people as possible share their experiences of the last 12 months. Please encourage the young people in your network to share their experience by filling in the Youth Census, let's spread the word!

The Census is open until the 1st June 2021; the report will then be launched in September 2021. More information can be found here.

 Youth Voice Census 2021 Media Pack [1MB]

Activity Recovery Hub

Sports England have teamed up with Youth Sports Trust to develop a new online resource aimed at helping more children to be physically active.

Please see the following link to find out more and access the resources for this scheme: Active Recovery Hub launched to help more children to be active | Sport England

Brook Free Relationship & Sex Education Sessions

Please see   leaflet [1MB]  from Brook regarding free relationship and sex education sessions.

LEAP Courses

New course have been added - please visit Training and Development - Leap (hillingdon.gov.uk)

• Practical approaches to reading and vocabulary development for NQTs and RQTs.
• Improving pupils' reading fluency, comprehension and vocabulary at KS1 and KS2 using evidence informed approaches.

Regards,

Dan