13 April 2026

All Schools and Setting

Head Teachers' Termly Meetings

Our next meeting will take place online on Tuesday 9 June 2026, from 9.30 - 11.30 am. The agenda will be shared with you closer to the date, and we look forward to seeing you there. 

Below are the meeting dates for the 2026/27 academic year: 

  • Autumn 2026: Tuesday 10 November, 9 am-12 pm - In person at the Civic Centre 

  • Spring 2027: Tuesday 2 March, 9.30-11.30 am - Online 

  • Summer 2027: Wednesday 9 June, 9.30-11.30 am - Online 

Following requests from several headteachers, we will now send calendar invites for all upcoming meetings. Reminders will also continue to appear in this Weekly Update as usual.

Understanding Current SEND Support Provision

In the recent White Paper, all local areas need to develop an Experts at Hand service, which should support schools to meet a wider range of needs in mainstream settings. The local area views will inform the SEND reform plan which is due for initial draft submission in the middle of May.  

We would like to hear your views on how the Experts at Hand service can best support schools in meeting a wide range of needs of children and young people with SEND and to understand: 

  • The types of challenges schools are experiencing 

  • What support would be most helpful in practice 

  • How the Experts at Hand service can be shaped to add real value for schools 

Your feedback will be used to inform how the service develops, ensuring it is practical, responsive, and aligned to the needs of schools and pupils. Responses will be used to identify themes rather than individual schools. Your input is important and will help us improve support for children and young people with a range of SEND needs. Please complete the short survey below by Monday 27 April.  

Complete the survey

Parent/Carer Support Groups for EBSNA

We would be very grateful if you could share this opportunity with any parents/carers who may benefit. 

Hillingdon Educational Psychology Service is pleased to announce a series of support groups, developed in response to feedback from parents and carers who attended our March focus groups. We are trialling two different formats: 

  1. Ongoing Support Groups 
  2. Flexible Drop‑In Sessions 

Each session will last 1 hour, followed by 30 minutes for optional networking with other parents/carers. These groups offer a safe and reflective space for parents/carers to connect with each other, alongside short learning opportunities led by the Educational Psychology Service. If parents/carers choose an Ongoing group, we ask that they aim to attend most sessions, as places are limited. 

Places are offered on a first‑come, first‑served basis. Parents/carers are encouraged to scan the QR code on the poster, which links to a registration form that must be completed to secure a place. Our first sessions will take place in April.

Read our supporting your child's school attendance document.

Stress Awareness Month

This month, the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Working Minds campaign is encouraging employers to follow five simple steps to help prevent and reduce stress in their workplace. Work-related stress is one of the leading causes of ill health at work.  You are encouraged to make use of a range of free resources designed to help better understand and address stress. These include: 

For access to further regular updates, tools and resources sign up to HSE's Working Minds campaign ebulletin.

Governors Newsletter

Latest edition can be found here: School Governors Newsletter Spring 2026.

LA Governor Training Summer Term 2026

Ofsted Inspection Updates for School Governors - 12 May at 6pm Click here to register  

School Governors Networking Event - 10 June at 6pm at the Civic Centre Sign up here 

Understanding the Use of  AI in Schools for School Governors - 22 June at 6pm Click here to register 

Videos and slides used in previous training sessions can be found here: LA Training for School Governors.

Hillingdon Safeguarding Partnership

Upcoming Safeguarding Partnership Training for April and May 2026: Safeguarding Partnership Training 2026-27.

Key Principles of 'Prevent'

To support education settings in meeting the Prevent Duty, the Home Office has recently published the key principles of 'Prevent'. 

The Prevent programme aims to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. The guidance does not introduce new policies or expectations; it clarifies the purpose and remit of 'Prevent' and when a referral should be made if there are genuine concerns that a learner is vulnerable to radicalisation.

Service Children

April is Month of the Military Child. It is a great opportunity to recognise Armed Forces children not just for the unique challenges they face as members of military families, but for their resilience. It offers schools a chance to celebrate, raise awareness of Service Pupils' experiences of military life and remind people of the positive impact they make in their schools and communities. 

Please see the April newsletter from the Stronger Schools Officers for Service Children with more details about Month of the Military Child and applying for the Armed Forces Education Trust grants.

You can also now access a newly created resource toolkit for schools, which collates a large variety of organisations, charities, government information, wellbeing support and moving and transition resources that can be used to support Service children. 

Staff Development Opportunity: Foundation Degree Partnership

Expanding Access to Professional Development

A common challenge across the education and children's workforce is that highly skilled and experienced practitioners can reach a point in their career where progression is limited by the absence of formal qualifications. Returning to full-time study can be difficult due to work commitments, family responsibilities and financial pressures. This Foundation Degree programme has been designed to address that barrier. It will enable participants to study alongside their existing paid employment, creating a meaningful bridge between professional experience and accredited academic learning. 

Strengthening Multi-Agency Collaboration 

We recognise that educational success relies on a broader ecosystem of support including social care, health services, youth work and community provision. A distinctive strength of this programme is that it will bring together professionals from across these sectors into a shared learning environment. This approach aims to strengthen collaboration, enable the sharing of expertise, and reduce the siloed working that can sometimes exist across services. 

Local and Regional Opportunities 

The Eden Academy Trust's partnership hub will be based at Pentland Field School in Hillingdon, creating opportunities for colleagues across the Trust as well as professionals working in the wider local children's workforce.  Colleagues in our North Region will have access to the same opportunities, and early discussions with regional partners in Newcastle have been positive for September 2026, with several organisations expressing interest in hosting additional hubs in future years.

Supporting Awareness and Participation 

Your support in raising awareness of this opportunity would be greatly valued. The programme is intended to attract individuals working in, or aspiring to work in, roles that support young people and families, including: 

  • education staff 
  • youth workers 
  • sports coaches 
  • community and third-sector volunteers 
  • other professionals committed to improving outcomes for children and young people. 

Further information and engagement opportunities are provided in the links below:

Chatta

Chatta is a whole-class teaching approach that removes barriers to learning and aims high for every pupil, in every subject and every age group.  Through inclusive whole class teaching, live modelling and audio-visual scaffolding, Chatta puts simple, powerful, effective inclusive practice at the centre of teaching and learning. Please see Chatta - Teaching Approach for SEND, Oracy and Writing in UK Schools 

They are running free, live and interactive webinars every month to allow teachers to experience Chatta and see how it transforms teaching and learning.  It is suitable for: 

  • School leaders looking for proven strategies to improve learning, understanding and language fluency. 

  • Primary teachers and teaching assistants who want rapid, practical methods for vocabulary and writing. 

  • Special & secondary school teachers and inclusion leaders supporting pupils with SEND, EAL, and barriers to learning. 

Book your place 

We extend our thanks to Hillside Infant School for delivering an insightful presentation on the implementation of Chatta within their school at the recent AfA Celebrating Inclusion Conference.