11th October 2021

Dear Colleagues,

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

Consultation closing on Wednesday - Contingency arrangements: GCSE, AS, A level, Project and AEA

The government is committed to GCSE, AS and A level exams going ahead in England in academic year 2021 to 2022, with adaptations to take account of the impact of the COVID-19 on the education of the students due to sit those exams. This document sets out the plans that are in place to support the taking of exams even if further disruption to education occurs, and invites your views on proposed contingency arrangements for awarding Teacher Assessed Grades (TAGs), in the unlikely event that exams are not able to go ahead as planned.

The consultation is open until Wednesday 13^th October 11:45pm and you can respond to this consultation online.

Update from the Department for Education on Admission Appeals - Temporary Arrangements 2021 

The School Admissions (England) (Coronavirus) (Appeals Arrangements) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 ("the temporary regulations") and accompanying guidance were introduced in April 2020. These temporary regulations give admission authorities, local authorities and admission appeal panels more flexibility when dealing with appeals during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The temporary regulations were extended in January 2021 and were due to expire on 30 September 2021. However, the DfE have further extended the temporary regulations through the School Admissions (England) (Coronavirus) (Appeals Arrangements) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021, so the temporary arrangements will now apply until 30 September 2022. 

The DfE have also published an update to the guidance. The updates reflect the change in date and add clarity on when the temporary arrangements should be used. There are no changes to policy or process. 

The temporary regulations and guidance only apply where it is not reasonably practicable to comply with the School Admission Appeals Code for a reason relating to the incidence or transmission of COVID-19. Therefore, the extension does not mean the flexibility will be available for all admission authorities to use all the time. It means the temporary arrangements are available to use only when they are needed - when they are not, the duty to comply with The School Admission (Appeal Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2012 and the School Admissions Appeals Code remains.

Guidance for Schools on Admissions of   Child Outside Their Chronological Age Group

The School Placement and Admissions team have updated Guidance for Schools on Admissions of a child outside their chronological age group following recent DfE guidance. 

This procedure is to provide best practice guidance for schools in respect of children being educated in a year group different from that of their chronological age. 

These guidelines reflect the requirement of the School Admissions Code 2021. 

 Guidance for Schools on Admissions of a child outside their chronological age group [183KB]

Phonics - DfE Validation process

New validation process

Please see attached for information on the new phonics validation process taking place by the DfE throughout 2021-22.

 Choosing a Phonics Scheme [20KB]

Flu Resources

Please find some information from the NHS about flu this winter and how we can help protect school age children and their families.

This winter it is really important for children to have the flu vaccine (nasal spray)

Here are five good reasons why:

1. Protect your child

The vaccine will help protect your child against flu and serious complications such as bronchitis and pneumonia.

2. Protect you, your family and friends

Vaccinating your child will help protect more vulnerable friends and family.

3. No injection needed

The nasal spray is painless and easy to have.

4. It's better than having flu

The nasal spray helps protect against flu, has been given to millions of children worldwide and has an excellent safety record.

5. Avoid costs

If your child gets flu, you may have to take time off work or arrange alternative childcare.

The flu vaccine is offered free to:

• children aged 2 or 3 years old
• all primary school-aged children
• all year 7 to year 11 secondary school-aged young people
• children with a health condition that puts them at greater risk from flu

We would like to encourage children to have the flu nasal spray this winter, when they are invited to come forward for it.

More information about the flu and information for children (including translations) can be found here: Flu resources and myth busters :: North West London ICS (nwlondonics.nhs.uk)

You can also find out more about which services will be able to help you and your family this winter here: Winter vaccinations and services :: North West London ICS (nwlondonics.nhs.uk)

Posters for schools attached -

•  CS53296 HCCG Primary Schools Fight the flu posters A4 [247KB]
•  CS53296 HCCG Secondary Schools Winter is coming posters A4 [309KB]
•  Flu_ 5 reasons to get your child vaccinated - Primary School [437KB]
•  Flu_ 5 reasons to get your child vaccinated - Secondary School [728KB]

There are two posters for primary school age children and two for secondary school.

Young Healthwatch Hillingdon

Young Healthwatch Hillingdon is a group of young people aged 11 to 25 who live, work or study in Hillingdon. We work with Healthwatch Hillingdon to make sure that young people's voices are represented throughout local health and social care services, such as those delivered by the Council and the NHS.

We're running a survey to give young people an opportunity to share their experiences of how they've managed their wellbeing during the pandemic, so we can work with health and care providers to develop support for the future.

The deadline for responses is Sunday 14 October 2021 and we'd be very grateful if you would promote this opportunity with your students, who can access the survey at this link: Covid-19 and your wellbeing

Please also find our latest podcast about young people and Covid-19 vaccines at our website: Young people and Covid-19 vaccines

For further information about Young Healthwatch Hillingdon, please contact Lisa at lisa@healthwatchhillingdon.org.uk

Free Tennis Training and Resources from the LTA 

The LTA free training course for primary and secondary teachers has been developed by teachers to help you deliver high-quality PE lessons with confidence. The course provides an overview of the secondary programme and the resources available to schools.  It predominantly focuses on the series of PE curriculum resources which have been written and tested by teachers to deliver curriculum outcomes and demonstrates how tennis can be adapted and differentiated for all learners.   

The course is fully mobile enabled and can be completed at any time; you are able to save your progress, exit the course and return at a later point to continue where you left off.   

Teachers completing the course will receive a £250 voucher (limited to one per school) to spend on 10 hours club link support from a local LTA Accredited Coach or equipment.  The LTA are an afPE Professional Development Board Approved Provider.

 LTA Primary Schools Flyer [622KB]

 LTA Youth Schools Secondary Flyer [961KB]

Mandatory Exploitation Awareness Training for Hillingdon DSLs  

This year Hillingdon has introduced a mandatory training for all DSLs on exploitation.This is recognising the ongoing concern regarding the exploitation of children & young people, including an increase in concerns regarding primary age children. The updated KCISE (2021) has highlighted the need for schools to be alert to the risk factors regarding different types of exploitation and youth violence and this will also be a focus from Ofsted when looking at Safeguarding in your setting.  

The training will be run by Phil Skidmore from Axis and will provide DSLs with an overview of CCE & county lines, CSE, Serious Youth Violence, gang affiliations/culture and missing episodes including current trends and themes in Hillingdon and nationally, signs & indicators for school staff to look out for and what to do. The session will also cover the role of Axis and the work they do in diverting young people away from exploitation and onto a better path highlighting the importance of schools in this area and the key to information sharing. 

The aim of the session will be to increase DSLs awareness in this area and to support DSLs to disseminate this information to all school staff (additional resources will be shared to support in this).  

The next session will be on: 

Tuesday 2nd November 2pm-3pm (Via MS Teams) - Focus for Secondary Settings   

Session are free of charge. 

As the training is mandatory we are asking that all Hillingdon DSLs attend as a minimum (also open to DDSLs/headteachers/pastoral staff).   

Please could you email Hannah Ives, hives@hillingdon.gov.uk to let her know which training you will be attending and a link will then be sent out to you prior to the sessions. 

Free E-Book - Refugees

I am writing to you from the charity Beyond Words to let you know about a new FREE eBook we have published to help schools who want to create refugee-friendly classrooms in response to the Afghanistan crisis. 

Refugee children joining schools in your region may well have experienced trauma and have disturbing memories of leaving home and the journey that followed. They are now likely to be confronted with classes without a single familiar face and no-one speaking their own language. Refugee children often report being bullied at school as we all know. It can be difficult for everyone to know what to do; the refugee children, their peers, teachers and support staff too. 

Wordless stories have been proven to be particularly helpful for refugee children because they are not language-dependent and can help everyone to cross the language divide. 

The same as all of our books, "A Refugee's Story" has been created with therapeutic intent. Through carefully considered illustrations, we hope it will help children to make sense of their experience and trauma, as well as put into words what they are feeling.  

This new story is not just for refugees of course, nor just for children who have Special Educational Needs. It can be used with children of all ages who can read but learn more easily through visuals. It can help children to develop empathy and respect for refugees, whether that be at their school or in their community.  

Our new free eBook can be downloaded via this link: https://booksbeyondwords.co.uk/afghanistan  

If anyone has any questions and would like to learn more about all of our free resources for schools and upcoming free training webinars too, please ask them to contact me on sthomas@booksbeyondwords.co.uk  

Many thanks for your kindness and support,

Beyond Words

Armistice Day 2020 

Remembrance maroons will be launched from 11 sites across the borough on the 11th of November 2021 at 11:00 and 11:02 to mark the start and finish of the two-minute silence.  The maroons do make a bang which can be very loud if the site happens to be close to your school so you may wish to let your students know to expect it.

Head Teachers Termly 

• Thursday 11^th November 2021 
• 2 pm to 4 pm 
• Virtual session - Agenda and link to be shared shortly

Free Governor Briefing Sessions 2021/22 brochure 

All governors are invited to book LA governor briefing sessions. There are a variety of sessions for key service areas and will allow governors to gain a better understanding of the processes and the responsibility of schools. To view the brochure and book your place onto any of these sessions please click here or see the brochure  here [305KB]. 

SEND and Inclusion Training  

The SEND and Inclusion Service are excited to share with you our 2021-22 training offer. There are a range of universal and targeted training sessions available to sign up to within the brochure here. Please register your interest for targeted training by Friday 22^nd October 2022.