Heads Up - 19 November 2020

Gloucestershire County Council sent this bulletin at 19-11-2020 01:11 PM GMT

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Colleagues are encouraged to see the Bulletin Board which is updated as new information arrives.

Date:19 November 2020

Heads Up replaces the Covid-19 Briefings and will be published weekly until further notice.

Safeguarding

STREET introduces new online referral form

STREET Gloucestershire, which supports young people aged 13-19 years who have been affected by domestic abuse or teenage relationship abuse, is launching a new online referral form. Referrals can be made using the online form available on the Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Services (GDASS) website. Please see the Bulletin Board at the above link for further information.

Covid-19 Information for Schools

Key Communications from DfE for Schools (16.11.20 - 20.11.20)

Details and links to the key communications from the Department for Education are available on the Bulletin Board at the above link.

Providing education during Covid-19

In our meetings with the Chairs of the Headteacher Associations we have spent a lot of time talking about the pressure on schools to stay open and how Head Teachers can balance those expectations with the reality on the ground. We hope the information available on the Bulletin Board at the link above will help schools if/when they need to consider how to approach this.

Guidance on Non Attendance - November 2020

LA advice on how schools should proceed with regard to children not attending at this time is available on the Bulletin Board at the above link. This takes into account the latest guidance from the Department of Health and Social Care along with Public Health England effective from 5^th November, and advice regarding education settings and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable.

Track and Trace

We recognise that many teaching staff often keep their mobile phones in lockers, staffrooms and offices during the school day. In these cases, we advise schools that staff should turn off/pause the Track & Trace App whilst they are in school to mitigate notifications of false close contacts. Schools are managing Covid-secure sites and have their own internal systems for identifying close contacts. Information on how to pause this function is available on the Bulletin Board at the above link.

All Schools

Message from Charlotte Jones, Interim Director of Education

As you know, I will be leaving the council in the next few days. I just wanted to thank you for everything you are doing for children and young people in our county and for working so closely with the council; especially the support many of you have given me directly over the years. It would be fair to say that 2020 has given us all an unprecedented level of challenge and tested us more than we could have ever imagined – but as I’ve said before I continue to be eminently proud of all you have achieved – educating more children on site than we have seen nationally, alongside supporting those at home, creating Covid-safe schools and supporting your staff as well as families. I know how much you all need the Christmas break and I do hope that you can make the most of it when it comes – although it still feels a long way off I know!

There will be a recruitment process underway shortly to permanently recruit to the Director of Education post but it will not be filled directly in the interim. Most of you already have good connections with staff in the council’s education service and with the key leaders, but a reminder of who best to contact in my absence is available on the Bulletin Board using the link above.

Charlotte

Wellbeing for Education Return - Virtual Training for all Schools

The Educational Psychology Service in collaboration with Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning and The Advisory Teaching Service are offering Virtual Training for all schools as part of the Department for Education's Wellbeing for Education Return Programme. Please see the Bulletin Board at the above link for further information.

Supporting effective information sharing and multi agency working through the registering of My Plans and My Assessments/My Plan +

Effective Early Help happens when professionals communicate with one another about the support they are providing and concerns they may have. Schools can do their part to support this by completing notification forms where there is an Early Help Plan for a child/family and sending these to the Early Help team to support decision making and effective communication. Additional information is available on the Bulletin Board at the above link.

Make sure your PEPs are SMART

Personal Education Plans (PEPs) are an integral part of the overall care plan for each child in care. To be effective, it is essential that all designated teachers make sure that their PEPs are SMART and include: SMART short-term targets (including progress monitoring of each of the areas identified against development and educational needs), and SMART longer-term plans for educational targets and aspirations. Please see the Bulletin Board at the additional information.

Parent Carer Forum – information to support parents

Gloucestershire Parent Carer Forum is funded by the DfE to support and represent parents of children with additional needs, including SEND as per the SEND Code of Practice. As a strategic partner within the County (as per SEND CoP), the Forum hopes that schools see the value of sharing our information. Please see the Bulletin Board for a poster and the link to the website where parents can sign up for news and opportunities to share their views.

Primary and Special

Primary Headteacher Briefings - November 2020

A reminder that this term’s headteacher briefings, hosted by the Education Outcomes and Intervention team, will be a one hour event delivered via Webex. The event will be repeated on three separate occasions and will be recorded to be watched at a later date. More information including dates and how to book are available on the Bulletin Board at the above link.

FREE Fire Safety Education Materials

The SkillZONE team have produced fire safety education materials for use in the classroom. Also free to download are fire safety information sheets for sharing with children and their families. Please see the Bulletin Board at the above link for additional information.

Secondary

Make Your Mark 2020 (reminder)

Make Your Mark is a British Youth Council campaign, endorsed by the UK Parliament and is an opportunity for 11-18 year olds to express opinions and begin their democratic journey by voting on the policies they’d like to introduce or change. There are just two weeks left in which to register. To find out more, please see the Bulletin Board at the above link.

Previous issues of Heads Up, for the current academic year, are available on Schoolsnet at this link

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