Information items
Covid-19 Information for Schools
Details and links to the key communications from the Department for Education are available on the Bulletin Board at the above link.
Although the incidence of positive cases amongst students is high in some schools, there are very low levels of illness: the vast majority of young people are only displaying very mild symptoms or are in fact asymptomatic. To reflect this, and to simplify the process for schools, we no longer require schools to report cases directly to the LA. For further information, please see the Bulletin Board at the above link.
Guidance for the COVID-19 vaccination programme for children and young people can be found here.
A reminder that for the October half-term, Gloucestershire County Council is providing vouchers to parents who have signed up to the Holiday Free School Meals scheme. The vouchers are funded through COVID-19 grant funding and is separate to that of the mainstream free school meals. Further information is available on the Bulletin Board at the above link.
All School
Gloucestershire schools at times place students in alternative provision to better meet their needs. This is often for short periods of time. Gloucestershire County Council would remind schools that ideally provision used is Ofsted registered. Further information is available on the Bulletin Board at the above link.
Please see the Bulletin Board at the above link for the Schools Forum Outcome Report from the meeting held on 16 September 2021. Information is also available regarding Gloucestershire Schools Forum schools' representatives.
Following the request for nominations for the Secondary School Maintained and Academy Governor Representative vacancies (close of nominations was 5:00pm on 24 September 2021), please see the Bulletin Board at the above link for the results.
A reminder to all schools that the UK Food Information Amendment, also known as Natasha's Law comes into effect from October 2021. In September 2019, Natasha's legacy was laid in parliament and is known as "Natasha's Law". It includes stricter requirements for pre-packaged foods to carry a full ingredients list. Further information is available on the Bulletin Board at the above link.
All pupils at imminent risk of permanent exclusion from school have seen their situation improve after TALC involvement, new figures have revealed. New data shows that those children with an imminent risk of permanent exclusion, had all seen their likelihood of exclusion reduce within the first 12 weeks of TALC involvement. A newsletter and further information is available on the Bulletin Board at the above link.
Following the recent Ofsted Curriculum Roadshow (Friday 24 September), please click here (PDF, 13.8 MB) for the presentation slides. A recording of the event will be available on the Ofsted YouTube channel on Monday 18 October.
Following changes to the Department for Education (DfE) guidance on using pupil premium, the webinar will outline: key changes to the guidance and implications for school leaders; essential ingredients of an effective pupil premium strategy and tutoring options for 2021-22. Further details will be available as soon as the DfE has published the example strategy statements to support schools.
‘Inspiring Families’ at Cheltenham Borough Council are continuing the Book Bank Scheme. The scheme provides schools with children’s books which families can take home for free. Further details are available on the Bulletin Board at the above link.
SMART targets are vital as part of Personal Education Plans ( PEP) which all Children in care must have three times a year. The Designated Teacher in your school will have been sent a reminder about this at the start of the academic year.
In October 2020 the OFSTED monitoring visit identified that the PEPs for Gloucestershire children in care needed to improve, particularly in the target setting .
It is part of the County’s improvement plan and we need all schools with children in care to continue to include ambitious and educational targets in the PEPS.
To support governors there is a checklist provided by the Gloucestershire Virtual School. We would recommend that this is used to support your schools and this will help to ensure that the governors are clear about the progress of the children in care in your school.
Are you ready to self-claim funding on 7th October 2021 for children who have been previously in Care?
Children who have been looked after by an English or Welsh local authority immediately before being adopted, or who left local authority care on a special guardianship order or child arrangements order (previously known as a residence order) have been allocated £2345 in funding if in Years Reception to Y11. For any queries, please contact Nicola Hopper, Virtual School Education Officer for Previously Looked After Children 07766992025.
This funding is to support the social, emotional and academic needs of this group of children. To access this money, you need families to declare their child’s status directly to you at school just once. Each time the child starts a new school, this information will have to be obtained again. Schools will need to support families and encourage them to share the information. Monies will be allocated directly to your school. A draft letter for you to personalise and send out to your families is available on the Gloucestershire Virtual School website
The Gloucestershire Virtual School team would welcome the opportunity to offer advice and support to assist in supporting the social, emotional and academic needs of previously looked after children.
Primary
The Odyssey Computing Hub are keen to develop local subject leader networks to support computing curriculum leaders in their role. Held termly, the meetings will be an opportunity for curriculum leads to meet with each other, share experiences. For further information, please see the Bulletin Board at the above link.
In light of the updated School IDSR guide (Ofsted, June 2021), Analyse School Performance (ASP) contains updated IDSRs (release date: 7 June 2021). There are changes to: School and local context section (2020 added); Year group context 2020 (as well as 2019); and Other attainment measures (EYFS GLD/KS2 GPS/KS2 RWM combined).
Governance
All our training is being delivered virtually until further notice. Places on any of these courses must be booked through GCC Plus. Your school or clerk will be able to book on your behalf.
There are still places available on these upcoming courses:
Budgeting & Finance – 12.10.21 – 19.00-21.00
The Revised EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) – 13.10.21 – 09.30-11.30
Health & Safety in Schools – 13.10.21 – 18.30-20.00
The Revised EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) – 18.10.21 – 19.00-21.00
An introduction to external performance data - 19.10.21 - 19.00-20.30
Single Central Record training for governors - 02.11.21 - 11.30-12.30
For a list of other governor training opportunities until March 2022 click here.
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