2nd December 2024
Dear Colleagues,
It’s been great to meet so many of you and your teams across our schools during my first few weeks in Devon. Your enthusiasm and willingness to work together to do the very best for every child is clear to me. There is, of course, a lot of work for us to do together. I know that setting a clear vision is something you are eager to influence and be part of, and this is one of my key priorities. Right now, alongside this, there are children and young people who cannot wait and need our immediate attention and focus.
Some of you may already be aware of my background in social care, as a school leader, and my most recent work on inclusion. My experience has forged my passion to ensure that every child has access to opportunities and can reach their full potential. As we head towards Christmas, I know that many of you will be working hard to ensure our most vulnerable children are safe and have support around them during the holidays. Early Help is key to how all our partners can help families stay together safely. Please let me know if you need assistance with any contacts.
We also need to prioritise the needs of our care-experienced children. Every local authority and its partners have a corporate responsibility to these children and young people, which we refer to as being corporate parents. Put bluntly, it is our duty to treat our care-experienced children and young people as if they are our own. The work we are doing in partnership with schools through our virtual school is invaluable for these young people. However, for our care leavers, the transition into adulthood and away from the safety of school can be scary, unpredictable, and daunting. This is why it is crucial that our schools work with care-experienced young people early on so that, alongside their support network, they are prepared, have their voices heard in setting their own goals, and know who the adults are around them to help them on that journey.
I am pleased to share the new Transitions Guide to Adulthood, now available online here. The guide will be accessible to young people, families and professionals via both our Special educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Stand Up Speak Up local offer webpage here. This guide has been co-developed with partners, including schools, and is intended to help young people and their families understand what support they can expect and from where as they prepare for adulthood. We would be very interested in your views and feedback. I will be discussing how the guide is being received and used with school leaders in the New Year.
Alongside the launch of the Transition Guide, we are launching a first series of Transitions webinars at the end of January. These online teams sessions will cover the key priorities voted on by young people, schools, and parents, that focus on the most challenging areas of transitioning to adulthood. This is a fantastic opportunity for parents, schools, and young people to gain valuable insights and information from subject matter experts. The topics we will cover include the below:
- Differences Between Children's and Adults' legislation (Jan)
- Employment, training options and Vocational Profile (Feb)
- Promoting Independent Living and Housing Options (March)
- Support available for parents, carers, and young carers before, during, and after Transitions (April)
- Mental Capacity and Decision Making (May)
- Money Management (June)
- Good Mental Health and Resilience (July)
We will send more information to schools regarding these sessions in the next few weeks. Please encourage as many people as possible to sign up.
I have two immediate key asks:
- In our school settings, ensure that we are working with care-experienced young people from Year 9 so that we have as much time as possible to support and prepare them to achieve their goals.
- As your young people come to the end of their school experience, work with our care-experienced professionals to ensure they are leaving with the best possible support.
While the focus here is primarily on secondary schools, there is much that can be done in Key Stages 1 and 2. Early Help can make a significant difference to families and to children who have entered care at an early age. It is crucial that we intensify our work with care-experienced children and young people and truly act as their parents, putting their best interests at the heart of everything we do. I am also including the local offer here (Devon's Local Offer to Care Leavers) which I encourage you to share with any care leavers, their carers, and their support network so that as many young people as possible receive the help available to them.
Best Wishes
Jack Newton
Interim Deputy Director, Head of Inclusion and Learning
As you may know, Devon’s OAIP Framework is now available on the website. It describes the inclusive provision and practice that all Devon schools, early years, and post 16 settings should be able to provide for all children and young people, including those with SEND, from within their own resources. This will support all children and young people to attend, engage and thrive in their educational setting.
This online session is an introduction to Relational Approaches. We will introduce a model of relational practice which includes building relationships, regulating and repairing.
We will think about this model in the context of ordinarily available inclusive provision covering aspects of classroom practice as well as supporting systems and processes.
Book your place today: Relational Practice as part of Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision (OAIP)
All sessions will be delivered on-line, via Microsoft Teams
Dates and Times:
21st January 2025 – bitesize lunchtime webinar – 12 to 1pm
28th January 2025 – bitesize twilight webinar – 4 to 5pm
This multi-agency training will be delivered by Children Heard and Seen (CHAS), a charity based in Oxfordshire who support children, young people and their families who are impacted by parental imprisonment. Children Heard and Seen over the past eight years have worked alongside 435 families and over 110 children and young people. They listen to the voices of children, and young people and train professionals and volunteers to support them as well as working to change policy nationally. For more information about CHAS go to Who we are - Children Heard and Seen
Through raising awareness and confidence for attendees, children and young people will receive support from adults that helps to reduce their sense of shame and stigma, help them process their complex and confusing feelings, and support them to hold on to hope and realise their full potential
The sessions will provide:
- An increased awareness of the issue of parental imprisonment, the range of impacts on children and young people (and their families), the types of support that children may need to lessen these impacts.
- Confidence to engage with children (and the parent who is caring for them) about their experiences, thereby providing a safe space for young people to process their feelings, and to feel heard and understood.
- Ability to talk confidently to colleagues and other professionals about children affected by parental (or familial) imprisonment
- A supportive environment to challenge unconscious bias and non-judgemental curiosity in yours and others’ attitudes
- There will be opportunities for small and whole group discussions.
- Case studies based on real experiences will be used.
- There is a maximum number of 24 places on each session.
- The session will not be recorded.
The lunchtime and twilight sessions are for staff who are unable to access the 3-hour training, for example; teachers, and school staff, GPs and primary care staff, Mental health practitioners, senior leaders, local councillors. There is no limit on numbers for these shorter webinars.
Click here to request a place - Children affected by Parental (or Familial) Imprisonment or scan this QR code:
To see a trailer of the film that will be shown as part of the training go to:
Invisible Children - Film Trailer - Children Heard and Seen
Thanks for those that attended the leadership seminar: a conversation with Ofsted on 5th November 2024. We appreciate not everyone would have been able to attend and therefore please see a link below which includes the slides from Heather Barraclough (SHMI, Ofsted) and a recording of the session.
Leadership seminar: A conversation with Ofsted | DES
If you require a different version for accessibility reasons, please contact educationconferences@devon.gov.uk
Following recent media reports, the safeguarding team have created a one minute guide for education staff to support parents in understanding the risks associated with ‘Private tutoring.’
Please feel free to share this with your staff.
https://www.devon.gov.uk/support-schools-settings/safeguarding/guidance-policy-and-tools-2/safeguarding-one-minute-guides/no-61-private-tutoring/
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Support and Intervention in Schools – updated the title from “Schools Causing Concern” to “Support and Intervention in Schools”, updated “Support and Intervention in Schools Guidance”.
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Claim the Academy Conversion Support Grant – how eligible schools can claim money to support them as they convert to academies, and declare what portion of the grant they have spent.
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School Workforce Census: Guides – updated “Centrally Employed Staff: Guide” for 2024.
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Academies Accounts Return – updated documents for the 2023 to 2024 academies accounts return. Added dates and times for sector calls and webchat sessions. The Guide to Using the Online Form has also been updated. Section 1.2 and 2.2 have been updated to update the process for DfE Sign-In.
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School Census 2024 to 2025: Technical Information – updated validation rules.
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Meeting Digital and Technology Standards in Schools and Colleges – digital leadership and governance standards – added a link to DfE contracts register template, asset register template and information asset register template.
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Pupil Attendance in Schools – statistics updated to include data covering the period 9 September 2024 to 25 October 2024.
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Bridget Phillipson’s Speech to the Confederation of School Trusts – Bridget Phillipson’s speech at the Confederation of School Trusts (CST) Conference. In the speech Bridget Phillipson announces the appointment of Dame Christine Lenehan as their strategic adviser on SEND.
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Make a Claim Through the Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) – amended “Voluntary Aided, Foundation, and Foundation Special Schools: RPA Membership Rules” to include the correct figure for membership per year per pupil.
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Schools Financial Value Standard – updated Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS): Checklist Guidance and Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS) Checklist with details for the current year.
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Skills Bootcamps Training Providers – updated the list of skills bootcamps for employers.
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High Needs Funding – the high needs funding arrangements page has been added for 2025 to 2026.
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Monitor your School Attendance: User Guide – information has been added on the check your leaver data report, how data is calculated in the tool and the differences between daily data and the fortnightly published stats. On the Technical Issues page, active and closed issues has been updated to help users resolve problems.
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Access your School Attendance Data – page has been updated to clarify how to access the “View your Education Data” service.
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Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Accreditation: Expression of Interest - express an interest in applying to be accredited to deliver ITT courses leading to qualified teacher status from the 2026 to 2027 or 2027 to 2028 academic year.
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Teachers’ Pension Scheme Regulations: 2024 Proposed Amendments – views sought on the proposed changes to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) regulations.
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School-Based Nursery Capital Grant – updated to include links to webinar recordings. “School-Based Nursery Capital Grant 2024 to 2025 guidance” updated with the latest version.
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Establishing School-Based Nursery Provision – updated to include chapter summary for “high-quality learning environments” and to clarify that schools may need the Secretary of State’s consent before a lease is granted to a private, voluntary or independent (PVI) provider or childminder.
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Mainstream Free School Revenue Funding – updated for the 2024 to 2025 academic year.
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Special Free School Revenue Funding – updated for the 2024 to 2025 academic year.
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Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive – a policy statement setting out the government’s commitment to whole system reform of the children’s social care system.
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Children with Complex Needs who are Deprived of Liberty – research commissioned by the DfE and NHS England, to better understand how to support children with complex needs.
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Minister McKinnell Speech at Schools and Academies Show 2024 – Education Minister Catherine McKinnell’s address at the Schools and Academies Show in Birmingham.
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Multiplication Tables Check Attainment: 2024 – information on the 2024 multiplication tables check, including breakdowns by pupil characteristics, at national and local authority level.
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Pupil Attendance in Schools – statistics updated to include data covering the period 9 September 2024 to 8 November 2024.
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Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England: Autumn Term 2023 to 2024 – levels of suspension and permanent exclusion in the autumn term 2023 to 2024 by school type, and reasons for exclusions and suspensions.
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Flexible Working in Schools – the following sections of this guidance have been updated: “Overview” – added a link to make it clear that the guidance could also be helpful in early years and further education, “Home or Remote Working” – included clarification about off-site PPA time, “Implementing Effective Flexible Working Practices: Training for School Leaders” – included a webinar link and removed references to a previous programme, and “Supporting Returning to Teaching” – removed references to National Tutoring Programme, as this is now closed.
Please find attached below the latest two editions of the Governance Alert for your information:
- 8th November 2024
- 15th November 2024
- 22nd November 2024
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29th November 2024- Also attached alongside this is a presentation, summarising the findings from the recent Youth Voice event facilitated by members of the Devon Youth Council. This presentation was put together by the young people and shared at the event, held in Tiverton, to demonstrate the broad results of the Devon Youth Council survey on mental health support in schools and colleges. Do please have a read!
We contacted you previously regarding the launch of the DfE’s School-Based Nursery Capital Grant 2024 to 2025 and can now provide the following update on how we intend to engage with those schools planning to submit a bid.
All schools who are interested in making an application for this capital funding are required to consult with their Local Authority to ensure the proposal is supported, in this case by Devon’s Pupil Place Planning team and Early Years team. All Church schools (VC, VA and premises) will also need to engage with the relevant Diocese as there also may be implications regarding the school trusteeship and premises that will need to be considered as part of any proposal/solution.
The Pupil Place Planning team will initially review the impact on capacity and Published Admission Numbers and liaise with the Early Years Service in respect of wider sufficiency implications.
The deadline for the submission of applications to the DfE is 19 December, so we would request you make contact as soon as possible if your school or schools within your Trust/Federation are considering making a bid.
In the first instance please contact:
Hannah Elcocks hannah.elcocks@devon.gov.uk if your school is one of these areas - North Devon District Council, Torridge District Council, Exeter City Council or South Hams District Council;
Amber Dopson amber.dopson@devon.gov.uk if your school is one of these areas - East Devon District Council, Mid Devon District Council, Teignbridge District Council;
Shona Meek shona.meek@devon.gov.uk if your school is in West Devon Borough Council.
Please see the attached letters regarding two important surveys. We kindly request your participation in these surveys. Thank you.
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Condition Survey - This survey is for maintained schools to complete.
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Solar Panel Survey - This survey is for all schools to complete.
As we move towards the season of winter bugs, many of you would have seen us present an update around preventing illness and in health and safety briefings and Early Years meetings. The presentation is attached for anyone who hasn’t seen it, and UKHSA have also asked us to share the direct links to resources that can help you to prevent or manage cases and outbreaks of infectious diseases in your setting. Please do share the following links with whoever manages absences/exclusions in your settings.
Other Resources
The UK Health Security Agency SW Health Protection Team also continues to run free Health Protection webinars aimed at providing early years and education colleagues with information about how to prevent and manage seasonal cases and outbreaks. The next webinar will take place on Thursday 23 January 4-5pm and yourself and members of your team are more than welcome to attend. Future dates will also be listed on the Eventbrite page. You can book your place here Health Protection in Education and Early Years settings Webinar
The Laurel Trust has issued its annual invitation for collaborations of schools to apply for grant funding. The details are attached for your information and the invitation is live on the Laurel Trust website - laureltrust.org
Please see the attached flyer regarding Green Football's Great Save which is coming in March 2025.
With free, ready-to-use classroom toolkits and resources, Green Football’s Great Save makes it easy for teachers to bring climate topics into the classroom in fun, interactive ways.
Next year’s theme, The Great Save, spotlights how fans, clubs, and leagues can help prevent millions of tonnes of sportswear from ending up in landfills each year. From donating and swapping to selling, schools will have plenty of ways to get involved—and some fantastic prizes to win!
Please complete this survey if you are headteacher/principal or senior or middle leader in a school. It is part of a major three-year research project exploring contemporary school leadership across the UK by academics at the Universities of Nottingham and Warwick. You can access the survey here:
https://warwick.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_agC03RAujDRNHSe
The ATTEND study (https://attendstudy.org/) is being co-ordinated from The University of Exeter and local NHS services. ATTEND is investigating if an adapted form of mindfulness could be helpful for teenagers who are experiencing low mood or depression. They are looking to connect with secondary schools who would be willing to advertise the study to their student and family population.
The study is recruiting young people aged 15–18, experiencing low mood, who’ve previously received some treatment for low mood or anxiety (such as counselling, therapy, or medication), and are still not better.
Schools would be asked to display posters and leaflets so that students and/or parents can directly contact the research team to find out more. Schools do not need to identify suitable participants or formally sign up to the study, this request is just to advertise the study to students and families who may benefit from such research. Please get in touch with h.bonnici@exeter.ac.uk to find out more.
Research and court cases indicate discrimination related to hair or hairstyles disproportionately affects pupils with Afro-textured hair or hairstyles. This is often because of the way some schools’ rules relating to hair or hairstyles are designed and implemented. Such rules might be embedded in school uniform or behaviour policies or be stand-alone policies related to hair or hairstyles. This form of discrimination can result in pupils questioning their identity and belonging in school, leading potential safeguarding implications.
The Equality and Human rights commission have published some resources and tools to support schools in preventing hair discrimination. Schools are encouraged to use these resources to support their efforts in preventing race discrimination and harassment, specifically in relation to designing and reviewing policies and practices related to Afro-textured hair.
There is a short video that is suitable for staff CPD and guidance on policy making to prevent hair discrimination in your polices. If you require further support you can contact the Ethnically diverse education achievement service.
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Unless are already logging on to CLEAPSS with your personal login then the password you are using will shortly expire and there won't be a replacement in next year's Bulletin.
To continue accessing our services and websites you will need to register your email to create your own individual login. The process should only take a few minutes and once you are set up you will be able to log in with this account for as long as your school remains a member.
Follow this link for information on how to set up you account Set up your CLEAPSS account.
The consultation is now live and will run from 27 November 2024 to 10 December 2024. Consultation responses are requested to be submitted no later than 11:45 pm on 10 December 2024. Please go to Consultations – Support for schools and settings to take part.
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