6th September 2021

Dear Colleagues,

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

Education Summer Conference: HILLINGDON - STRONGER TOGETHER - 15^th September 2021 

Our conference is fast approaching. Please sign up to attend using this registration form to secure one place per school, for the Head Teacher or representative. It is necessary to restrict attendees due to Covid social distancing requirements. Please register by Friday 10^th September 2021 and view our conference agenda here - Events - Leap (hillingdon.gov.uk).

HR Mandatory Governors' Training for Maintained Schools Reminder 

All maintained school Governors are requested to attend this funded HR Governors' training to understand roles and responsibilities, recruitment legislation, pay awards and more to be delivered by an external organisation. Each maintained school Governing Board has an allocation of 2 places, one for the Chair of Governors and the other for any other Governor on the Board. At least one governor from each maintained school must attend. 

Please book using the following link: 

Session Details: 

Date: Wednesday 22^nd September 2021 

Time: 17:00-19:00 

Virtual link to be provided (MS Teams) 

Cost: Free 

This session is not designed for Academy schools 

Please book you place by completing this booking form by Monday 13^th September.

Schools COVID-19 Operational Guidance 

Please see the latest Schools COVID-19 Operational Guidance link here..

Please find Support pack from the DfE for schools and colleges returning to education  here [904KB] .

Education Setting Status Form Resumes 

The Department for Education (DfE) announced that the educational setting status form reopened on 26 August for the autumn term. DfE is asking councils and schools to continue submitting attendance data daily during September, so it can monitor attendance in schools and colleges after the summer break.  

The form will move to weekly reporting to reduce the time schools and colleges spend completing it from 1 October.  

Guidance:  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-complete-the-educational-setting-status-form 

Form:  https://onlinecollections.des.fasst.org.uk/fastform/educational-setting-status

Student Minds Resource Pack 

Please find the  Student Minds Results Period 2021 Communications Pack [1MB]  - please share this with your families.

Norovirus

Please see attached guidance from Public Health which addresses how to manage a Norovirus infection for Early Years: PHE - What to do if you suspect an outbreak of infection.

Mayor's Kick Start Grant  

London state secondary schools and alternative education providers can apply for funding to carry out activities during the week (Activity Grants), or for longer term project funding (Green Schools Grants). Grant applications open on Tuesday 31 August and will close at 9am on Friday 24^th September. 

As well as funding there will also be free lesson resources, activities and toolkits which relate to the curriculum available for all London secondary schools and education providers. Private and independent schools can still host events as part of the Climate Kick-Start if they are self-funded, and will receive resources to help facilitate them.

Please see attached  link [139KB]  for more information.

School Food Standards 

Please see the links below for resources to help schools plan and provide healthy food in schools:

• School food standards practical guide - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Checklist for headteachers - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 
• School food: guidance for governors - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 
• School food standards: resources for schools - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

​​​​​​Taking your child to an early years setting or school: information for parents 

Please find attached a leaflets to share with parents:  Taking your child to an early years setting: information for parents [190KB]  and   Taking your child to a primary school: information for parents [227KB] .

Information on Covid-19 available for parents and carers and people who are work with children and young people - Please share this information with parents

The NHS in North West London have produced a range of leaflets and guidance for parents, carers and people who work with children and young people on Covid-19 and how to access local emergency services at this time.

Dr Mando Watson, Consultant Paediatrician at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said: "We know parents and many people who look after children are worried about the affect Covid-19 will have on their children, so it's important that they have trusted information from a trusted source such as the NHS to guide them. 

"We have produced a range of materials that give guidance on the effect of Covid-19 on children and young people and what to look out for plus information on vaccinations. 

"If children get sick or are in an accident and need to use emergency services, it's also important that they know that the NHS has services specifically designed for children and young people and that all the A&E Departments at our hospitals in North West London have taken steps to ensure the safety of patients during coronavirus." 

Click here to view all the information

• Advice for parents during Coronavirus 
• Is it serious? 
• How to help my unwell child 
• How to access local emergency services - Hillingdon, West Hounslow and Ealing

Support for primary care professionals managing unwell children during Covid-19 

The NHS in North West London have produced information for GPs and primary care professionals to support their management of unwell children.  

This Advice and Guidance directory provides information on local paediatrician advice lines that are designed to enable clinical discussion between all primary care professionals and a local on-call Paediatrician. These advice lines will enable quality out-of-hospital care through sharing of specialist knowledge where clinically safe children can be cared for within the community. Click here to view the directory.

Primary care professionals have raised questions about unwell children and these have been compiled into a quick reference guide - see attached NWL GP Fever in Children FAQs.  

The previously published Red, amber, green guidance on community-based management of illness in children can help primary care professionals quickly assess unwell children. It includes recommendations for virtual and face to face assessment.

Head Teachers Termly

• Thursday 11th November 2021
• 2pm to 4pm
• Virtual Session -link and agenda to be shared shortly

H&S School Incident Alert

Please see  attached [95KB]   report relating to a fatal incident of a pupil in school for your review.

School trips to Ruislip Lido

Please be reminded that if your school is visiting Ruislip Lido that no paddling should take place for safety reasons.

Save the date

LA Schools' Governance Service Event - All Governors

• Tuesday 5th October 2021
• 5pm to 7pm
• Virtual Session -link and agenda to be shared shortly

We look forward to seeing as many governors as possible there to hear an update from a variety of Local Authority Services.

Free Governor Briefing Sessions 2021/22 brochure

Following on from the success of last year's governor briefing sessions the LA Schools' Governance Service have created a brochure for the 2021/22.

There are 13 different sessions for key service areas and will allow governors to gain a better understanding of the processes and the responsibility of the schools.

To view the brochure and to book your place onto any of these sessions please click here or see the brochure  here [305KB] .

Primary and Secondary Predicted Outcomes reports on NCER, Summer 2021

Thanks to all Primary Schools who submitted their predicted outcomes (EYFSP, Phonics and Key Stages 1 & 2).  Your NOVA reports were released to participating Head Teachers in late July via your Perspective Lite accounts.  If you have been unable to access these please contact Steve Buckingham who will arrange for you to receive them. The reports provide pupil data and trend analysis and will also compare your results with those provided by participating schools within the LA and Nationally. It isn't too late for other Primary Teachers to submit their results.  These should be emailed back securely to Steve Buckingham using the attached Predicted Outcomes spreadsheet provided. 

Secondary Heads can still return their Key Stage 4 results on the spreadsheet provided and will receive in return a similar set of NOVA reports.  We will only be able to provide LA comparisons if a sufficient number of schools decide to participate. 

(NB - The Spreadsheets contain a number of cells which contain drop down boxes, it is important that these are used rather than cutting and pasting the results.  The date of birth format must be dd/mm/yyyy). 

Please email SBuckingham@hillingdon.gov.uk with any queries.

 2021 KS4 Exam Import [267KB]

 2021 Nexus Predicted Outcome Import [134KB]

London Marathon

The 2021 Virgin Money Giving Mini London Marathon in schools is back, taking place in September and October this year. Last year, over 100,000 children took part and this year we are looking to make Virgin Money Giving Mini London Marathon in schools even bigger and better. Once you're signed up, children and young people in your school will need to run, jog, walk or wheel 2.6 miles between Monday 27 September and Friday 22 October. Activity can be adapted for people with additional needs. The first 500,000 children to take part will receive a free commemorative pin badge and there are lots of resources on the website to help make the event a success. Head over to the website to find out more and sign up today: https://www.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com/the-event/mini-london-marathon-in-schools.

Organ Donation Week 20^th-26^th September

This September (20^th - 26^th) it's Organ Donation Week! As you may be aware, the topic of blood, organ and stem cell donation is now on the PSHE National Curriculum for all secondary schools in England.

Educating young people about donation is vital in helping them to make their own decisions, and what a rite of passage this decision can be in their journey towards becoming young adults.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), in collaboration with Anthony Nolan and the support of practicing teachers, have developed a range of free teaching resources to support secondary schools to meet the statutory Health Education requirement to teach students about donation. 

The teaching resources consist of two PSHE Quality Assured lessons, a Science lesson and an assembly presentation and are designed to enable KS3 and 4 students (ages 11-16) to understand the importance of blood, organ and stem cell donation for individuals and society. NHSBT have also set up a webpage to signpost to other educational resources developed by their charity partners, which are aimed at a range of age groups from KS1 - 5 (ages 5 - 18) and cover different aspects of donation. These can be viewed here.

Library week - Free Author Talks

Hillingdon Libraries are offering year 4, 5 & 6 classes the opportunity to participate in a free virtual author event with 'Baller Boys' Author Venessa Taylor. The talks will take place on 6^th October with full details to be confirmed in the next week. If you are interested in taking part, and would like to receive further information, please contact Samantha Everett on severett@hillingdon.gov.uk.

Find out more about Venessa and her books here.

Share your thoughts with us

We are currently carrying out two surveys for anyone living, working or studying in Hillingdon.  
 
We're interested to hear from those who visit local high streets for shopping and entertainment purposes and in finding out how their shopping habits have changed.  
 
Complete the survey by Friday 10^th September and enter the prize draw to win a picnic hamper full of summer treats worth £100. 
 
To help us measure the effects of COVID-19 on businesses in the borough, we are also hoping to hear from local organisations, so we can target future support where it's most needed.  
 
The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete and the deadline for submissions is Thursday 30^th September. 
 
Please share with anyone you know or support who might be interested in taking part.