A consultation on a revised version of the School Admission Appeals Code has been launched. The consultation will run from 7 February to 3 April 2022.

The permanent changes we are consulting on are:

To allow admission authorities to decide whether to hold appeal hearings remotely (by telephone or video conference) or in person, or to give a choice of either, without reasons relating to COVID-19.
To allow appeal hearings to continue and be decided by a panel of two, if the third member of an appeal panel has to withdraw and either postponing the remaining hearings or restarting the appeal will lead to an unreasonable delay.

Please share this consultation with your admission appeals teams, networks and any stakeholders you think would be interested in submitting their views.

The DfE have also set up the admissionappeals.consultation@education.gov.uk mailbox for any comments or questions in relation to this consultation.

OCR updates

OCR updates - 04/02

OCR updates - 11/02

Kooth webinar - 25 February

In our webinar you will discover ways Kooth can help to support the mental health and emotional wellbeing of young LGBTQ+ people. We will also cover our clinical processes and safeguarding procedures. The webinar will include:

Difficulties LGBTQ+ young people face & how they may impact their wellbeing & mental health
Why Kooth is helpful for LGBTQ+ young people
Case studies
User feedback
The range of content we have (articles + topics)

The webinar will be delivered via Zoom and the date and time for this is as follows:

Tuesday 25 February 2022 @ 1.30pm – 2.30pm

You can register for the sessions using the link LGBTQ Webinar for Professionals.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the Senior Kooth Engagement team via skel@kooth.com.

Appgate SDP - Maintenance weekend between Sunday 13 and Monday 14 February

Reference to CR1349317 - Notice for all School Staff who use Appgate SDP

Please be aware that the Appgate remote access service will be undergoing essential maintenance between Sunday 13 and Monday 14 February.

The service will be unavailable during this period.

This means that during this time period you will not be able to use the Appgate remote access (when working from home) in order to get onto the school server or your machine and/or into sims, or for access to Boxi and other council services available through Appgate.

We hope that normal service will resume on Monday morning.

Thanks for your patience during this time.

Outdoor Education Service Review

Coventry Outdoors - Outdoor Education Service Review – 10 minute Questionnaire Deadline Friday 4 March

Following on from the presentation at the School Partnership meetings please see the links below to questionnaires relevant to your school setting. The purpose of this questionnaire is to gather information which will support us in shaping the Outdoor Education Service Strategy offer and provision so would be ideally completed by a senior or curriculum lead. One key aim is to develop an education offer which increases provisions within city in order that more children and young people can benefit more regularly from outdoor education. As one of our end users you play a vital role in helping to ensure the service developed reflects the needs of our children and young people across the city.

For completing this questionnaire your school will be entered in to a prize draw to win a free twilight training course in Outdoor Learning worth £500.

RE updates - surveys

Teacher CWAS review – this covers feedback on the current Agreed Syllabus, and will help with planning/writing the next one.

School visits – please could you complete this (very short!) survey when you have visited a place of worship, this will help us to keep the recommended visits document up to date.

Essential CPD for RE subject leaders and teachers of RE

City of Culture update - schools bulletin

Coventry Libraries February Fun Week

Fantastic, fun, free events and activities for families from Saturday 19 – Saturday 26 February at Coventry Libraries. For information phone 024 7683 2314 or visit our website.

Ages 8+ Animal-themed poetry workshop with Coventry's Poet Laureate Emilie Lauren Jones and Young Poet Laureate Hawwa Hussain.

Tuesday 22 February, Foleshill Library, 10:30am - 12pm

Please ring 024 7678 6977 to book your place.

For young people aged 13+ Meet Lauren James - local author of The Quiet at the End of the World, Green Rising and many more Science Fiction books. There will also be the opportunity to try out VR headsets.

Monday 21 February 2022, Allesley Park Library CV5 9JE, 4pm – 5.30pm

To book your free place contact Allesley Park Library on 024 7678 5813 or email allesleypark.library@coventry.gov.uk.

Early Years training

Developing Language and Literacy for Two to Five year olds

Wednesday 2 March 2022 6:60-8:30pm

Assertive and effective communication strategies to use with colleagues, parents and professionals

Monday 14 March 2022 6:30-8:30pm

Young Green Shoots competition

The Young Green Shoots competition gives children and young people from ages 4 to 19 the chance to win £2,500 for your school or college to spend on climate change projects. We hope this is an opportunity for some great discussions about climate change and the environment to take place, and the competition is really easy to enter.

Pupils can submit either a short piece of writing or a drawing via email and each winner of the four age categories will win £2,500 for their school or college as well as having their work showcased at the Coventry & Warwickshire Climate Change Conference which takes place on 11 March 2022. The deadline for entries is midnight on Sunday 27 February. For more details, please visit our website.

Soothern and Craner Educational Foundation

Soothern and Craner Educational Foundation - grants for female pupils in Coventry. Applications for grants to assist with school uniform, school trips, equipment for art/music etc. can be made by individual families or by schools.