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Is your school prepared for the new data protection regulations?
New
regulations come into force in May that will affect the way schools manage data
 In May, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
and UK Data Protection Bill will bring about changes to UK data protection law.
The changes will mean that many schools,
academies and multi-academy trusts will have to review the ways in which they
handle data, manage information, and communicate about data usage with parents and
children.
To support schools to comply with the new regulations, we have produced a series of resources to
explain what the new regulations will mean, to help schools review and improve
their data handling.
This
includes a video and a series of blogs that explain what the changes mean, and share some practical examples of how schools can
review their existing data arrangements.
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Teachers - share your views on how schools use exclusions
We have
also launched our vision for reforming
Alternative Provision
 This month, we have launched an externally-led review into school exclusions and
want to hear the views of teachers and those who work in schools.
The review will explore how schools use exclusion, what
drives the variation we see in exclusion rates and why some groups of children
are more likely to be excluded. You can submit your responses in the call
for evidence until 6 May.
We have also published our vision for reforming Alternative Provision (AP)
here, and launched a £4m Innovation Fund to support
and develop projects that deliver better outcomes for children in AP. The Innovation
Fund is intended to run for two academic years from September 2018. Schools and
other organisations can apply for grant funding here.
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Nominate a colleague for national honours
Following Andria Zafirakou being awarded the Global Teacher
Prize, we are keen to see more inspirational UK teachers receive
plaudits for their outstanding work.
Do you know anyone who should be considered for a UK National
Honour, such as an MBE or CBE?
We welcome nominations for teachers, governors and volunteers who go
out of their way to support their schools and local communities.
You can find out more about how you can nominate someone in our guidance and
read about previous honours recipients here.
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'Working Together on Workload' video
The department, in partnership with Ofsted and other leading education figures, have produced a new myth busting video on teacher workload.
The
video, which features the Education Secretary and the Ofsted Chief Inspector, sets out the steps being taken to help reduce the workload of schools and teachers.
It also includes
some useful tips to challenge common misconceptions of what the DfE and
Ofsted inspectors do and do not expect schools to be doing.
You can watch the video here.
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Changes to free school meals
From 1 April 2018, the criteria used to determine which pupils are entitled to free school meals (FSM) will change, to reflect the introduction of Universal Credit.
We have published new guidance to support parents and schools with the changes.
The guidance includes information on how pupils who currently receive FSM (or will do during the Universal Credit rollout) are affected. It also includes a template letter that schools can use to explain the changes to parents, as well as details on how to support eligible pupils to claim their FSM.
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