Calling all Primary and Secondary Deputies and Senior Leaders
Programme Announced for Deputy / Assistant Head Conference on 12 and 13 October 2017
Booking is open for our annual conference. Whether you choose to attend for the full two day residential option or are interested in a focus for one day we hope you will book on. Residential places are limited so please book quickly if you require one. The attached flyer gives further information. The theme for this year is Leadership – an art of Balance and we will be exploring this through our three keynote speakers. Leadership is a continual balancing act whether it involves balancing priorities, time pressures, competing external pressures or wellbeing with workload. Our conference aims to explore some of these pressures and provide a crucial opportunity for school leaders to develop leadership skills to achieve a balance. Be inspired by our keynote speakers:
- Mary Myatt – author of High Challenge, Low Threat
- Matthew Hemson – Therapist, Director of the Therapeutic Media Company and an associate lecturer at UWE on the Mental Health Nursing Degree
- Elinor Wilde – Psychological Skills Mentor working for Chimp Management (this session complements the one that was presented at the headteacher conference)
The conference is a crucial opportunity to network with colleagues and hear about leadership approaches in a supportive atmosphere.
Neil Fry from Blackhorse Primary will again be hosting a LeadMeet for us. If you are interested in participating please contact me on jo.briscombe@southglos.gov.uk to share your ideas and successes with your colleagues.
We look forward to seeing you at Tortworth Court on 12 October.
Team Member recruited as national SEND System Leader
Jackie Muggleton from the Inclusion Support Service has been recruited by the London Leadership Strategy as a SEND System Leader. Acknowledging her as a national SEND expert, she will be one of 8 senior leaders / consultants who will be supporting the work of Whole School SEND around the country. This year long role is for a number of days throughout the year and Jackie will be doing this alongside her role within Integra’s Inclusion Support Service.
The Whole School SEND Consortium is committed to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND, through networking, collaboration and unlocking the answers that exist within the system.
This is an exciting opportunity to support the work of the Whole School SEND Consortium supporting Local Authorities and Opportunity Areas. This feeds into work aimed at embedding and sharing good SEND practice at school and system level through working across mainstream schools, special schools and MATs.
Sue Morgan, head of Integra’s School Support Services said “We are delighted that Jackie’s expertise in the SEN field has been recognised in this way and look forward to Integra being able to expand our impact to make a difference to young people nationally as well as in South Gloucestershire”.
Vacancies in catering and cleaning with Integra
Do you want to help us improve lives and make a difference in South Gloucestershire?
We have a variety of flexible roles and hours in catering and cleaning across South Gloucestershire with start dates between Monday 4 September and Monday 16 October. Work is available on a casual basis, term time only, all year round and permanent.
Recruitment events are taking place near you.
• Saturday 22 July at South Gloucestershire Offices, Broad Lane, Yate
• Wednesday 26 July at Kingswood Civic Centre, Kingswood
For further information download the flyer or sign up for an event by contacting us on info@integra.co.uk
Health and Safety at Horton CE Primary
During a recent visit to Horton CE Primary School Jean McKenna, H&S Officer was lucky enough to meet the schools H&S Inspection Team. They comprised of a representative from each year group, voted for by their class with new members being elected annually. Their role is to do weekly health and safety checks around the school and to feed back during assembly on Fridays. The pride they took in this was obvious. Head Teacher, Isabell Stephens says:
‘Since the H &S Inspection team has been formed there has been a transformation in how
the children take responsibility for their environment. There has been a huge improvement
in simple things like putting paper towels in the bin, hanging up coats and putting away
equipment in the playground’
Keep up the good work Horton.
Safer Internet Day 2017
Join the celebrations for Safer Internet Day on 7 February 2017. Visit the UK Safer Internet Centre website to download the education packs, access resources and register your support. There are resources to support work with 5 – 7 year olds, 7 – 11 year olds, 11 – 14 year olds and 14 to 18 year olds. Education packs contain a variety of resources which differ depending on the age group including:
- quick activities to support safer internet day
- PowerPoint to use in assembly with a script to go with it
- online safety quiz
- play script
- tips and advice for parents and children
There is also a parent resource pack.
There are many ways for your school to get involved including registering online as a supporter, playing Emoji charades and sharing your smile images.
Visit the Safer Internet Centre website or read our online safety newsletter to find out more.
SEND News
The Rochford Review: Final Report
This is a review of assessment for pupils working below the standard of national curriculum tests October 2016.
The Rochford review recently published its final recommendations. The review makes the following recommendations to government for the statutory assessment of pupils working below the standard of national curriculum tests at the end of key stages 1 and 2:
- The removal of the statutory requirement to assess pupils using P scales.
- The interim pre-key stage standards for pupils working below the standard of national curriculum tests are made permanent and extended to include all pupils engaged in subject-specific learning.
- Schools assess pupils’ development in all 4 areas of need outlined in the SEND Code of Practice, but statutory assessment for pupils who are not engaged in subject-specific learning should be limited to the area of cognition and learning.
A statutory duty to assess pupils not engaged in subject-specific learning against the following 7 aspects of cognition and learning and report this to parents and carers:
- responsiveness
- curiosity
- discovery
- anticipation
- persistence
- initiation
- investigation
- Following recommendation 4, schools should decide their own approach to making these assessments according to the curriculum they use and the needs of their pupils.
- Initial teacher training (ITT) and Continuing professional development (CPD) for staff in educational settings should reflect the need for teachers to have a greater understanding of assessing pupils working below the standard of national curriculum tests, including those pupils with SEND who are not engaged in subject-specific learning.
- Where there is demonstrable good practice in schools, those schools should actively share their expertise and practice with others. Schools in need of support should actively seek out and create links with those that can help to support them.
- Schools should work collaboratively to develop an understanding of good practice in assessing pupils working below the standard of national curriculum tests, particularly across different educational settings.
Schools should support this by actively engaging in quality assurance, such as through school governance
and peer review. - There should be no requirement to submit assessment data on the 7 areas of cognition and learning to the DfE, but schools must be able to provide evidence to support a dialogue with parents and carers, inspectors, regional schools commissioners, local authorities, school governors and those engaged in peer review to ensure robust and effective accountability.
- Further work should be done to consider the best way to support schools with assessing pupils with EAL.
The full report can be accessed online.
Please note: The report’s recommendations include removal of the statutory requirement to use P scales to assess pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), who are working below the overall standard of the national curriculum assessments.
STA will consult on the report’s recommendations in early 2017 and final decisions will be made following that consultation.
In the meantime, schools should continue to use P scales in 2017, for statutory assessment of pupils with SEND who are working below the standard of the interim pre-key stage standards.
This article was circulated to our subscribing schools through our inclusion support service newsletter. For information on how to become a subscribing school contact us on info@integra.co.uk and for information on the full range of professional development visit our CPD website.