All Schools
REMINDER - GLOSSI Governor Network Meeting 1 (Autumn 2022)
The first of three Governor Network Meetings during 2022-23 will be held on Thursday 10 November 2022, 6.30 - 8.00pm. It will be a virtual event accessed through the Teams. For many Chairs, attendance at this event will already have been paid for as part of the school’s subscription to Gloucestershire’s school improvement traded service (GLOSSI), though any school is able to purchase a place, even if they are not a GLOSSI subscriber. This first event will include:
- Academisation in Gloucestershire - Kirsten Harrison, Director of Education
Key messages about Gloucestershire’s strategy for moving towards a fully academised trust-led school system; consideration of next steps for governors; and a chance to ask questions
- Need to Know - Clare Dudman, Head of School Improvement
Recent updates on a range of matters for governors and implications for your governing board
- Spotlight on Wellbeing - Nick Wood, Occupational Health
A reminder about governors’ responsibility in supporting staff wellbeing and what support is available
HOW TO BOOK
Check with your school administrator/school business manager whether your school is a GLOSSI subscriber. If so, the cost of attendance at these Governor Network Meetings is included for the Chair of Governors or their nominated representative, though your place at the November event still needs to be booked. Ask your school administrator/school business manager to book your place via the GCC Plus website https://www.businesssupportservices.org (They will find the event by clicking on the calendar under the Training & Events tab.)
Not a GLOSSI subscriber but want to attend?
Ask your school administrator/school business manager to book via this link to purchase a package of three network meetings at a discounted price: Gloucestershire School Improvement | Business Support Services
Once the package has been purchased, a place at the November event will then need to be booked. This can be done by clicking on the calendar under the Training & Events tab.
Or if you wish to purchase as a one-off event, please book via the training page on GCC Plus and search on the calendar for the date (10 November) https://www.businesssupportservices.org
Gloucestershire’s Inclusion Strategy 2022-25 sets out an ambition to ‘Develop the Local Offer’ of Alternative Provision (AP). In support of our aim to prioritise transitions into AP Schools we have collaborated with both the Gloucester and Forest and Severn Valley schools to develop and amend the current referral processes.
In line with the current permanent exclusion referral process, all Permanent Exclusion referrals should be made via the online JADU portal. https://forms.gloucestershire.gov.uk/SchoolExclusion
Match Funded Partnership Places, which were launched in the 2021/22 academic year, will from 17 October 2022 also be accessed via the online JADU portal. Following a conversation with an AP school to determine the appropriateness of the placement mainstream schools will be signposted to complete a portal referral. Further information is available on the Bulletin Board at the above link.
A new poster has been produced which features a QR code to enable quick and easy reporting of hate crime in schools, colleges, and other education settings in Gloucestershire. It can be used to report hate incidents affecting children and young people between reception age, and year 13. The poster is available on the Bulletin Board at the above link.
If you have been on the contract with GCC/ West Mercia Energy contract long term (between Oct19 to Mar22) the Energy Bill Relief Scheme will not impact on your electric and gas rates, as the current rates are below the scheme rates of 21.1 p/kWh for electric and 7.5 p/kWh for gas for the majority. Further information is available on the Bulletin Board at the above link.
Gloucestershire Music is pleased to offer a managed peripatetic service for instrumental and vocal music lessons. Individual, paired and group lessons are available to your students on a parent portal sign up and direct pay basis. Please see the Bulletin Board at the above link for further information.
Result of the nominations – Election for a Primary School (Maintained) Headteacher representative Following the request for nominations for a Primary School (Maintained) Headteacher representative (one vacancy), one nomination was received. The nominee is therefore elected to the Forum unopposed.
- Representing Primary School (Maintained) Headteachers – Karen Lewis – Grangefield Primary School
The Gloucestershire Schools Forum membership list can be found on the Forum’s webpage
Please see the Bulletin Board at the above link for recent updates including:
- A new website from UKHSA South West with links to all the resources Education and Childcare Settings need to manage infections this winter.
- Information on the secondary school Flu Vaccine roll out.
- Next UKHSA webinar – save the date! - Thursday 17 November 2022 at 4pm
The new newsletter which will share good practice, training and news regarding supporting previously children in care is now available on the Bulletin Board at the above link. For any queries, please contact Nicola Hopper, Virtual School Education Officer for Previously Children in Care - 07766992025.
Welcome to the Autumn 2022 edition of CWSW Newsletter. Next term, this will be amalgamating with the PCiC newsletter and become a Virtual School newsletter, promoting all areas of our work, including UASC and CiC. The newsletter is available on the Bulletin Board at the above link.
In partnership with Gloucestershire Parent Carer Forum (GPCF), Gloucestershire County Council and the Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group, we coproduce a newsletter for parents and carers every two months. Interesting and useful content for professionals also. The October issue is available on the Bulletin Board at the above link.
Gloucestershire County Council’s Building Back Better (BBB) Strategy 2022-26 outlines a number of cross council commitments as part of its ambitions. Priority four is called ‘Levelling Up Our Communities’.
Gloucestershire County Council’s ambition is to ‘level up’, by working with communities across the county to narrow inequalities; regenerate high streets, market towns and neighbourhoods; improve infrastructure, jobs, skills, and education provision and help residents to achieve their ambitions for the places where they live.
In addition to the strategy, a ‘Levelling Up our Communities Conference’ was held on 19 May 2022. Community groups presented a series of films showcasing the themes of building trust, capacity building, community development plans, community wealth and social enterprise.
At the end of the conference, the leader of the County Council announced £1.5 million of funding available for this agenda.
Cabinet have agreed that the Levelling Up Funds will be used for a grant scheme which will target the 12 areas of Gloucestershire which fall within the ten percent ‘most deprived’ in England, according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD, 2019) and involve the engagement of the County Councillors
The new GCC landing page for the Levelling Up Together Fund can be found at this link: Levelling Up Together - Gloucestershire County Council
The scheme closes at midnight Sunday 27 November 2022.
Primary and Special
Please can we remind all schools in receipt of the PE and Sport Premium the deadline for using PE and sport premium allocated in the 2021 to 2022 academic year was 31 July 2022. The exceptional permissions for schools to carry forward PE and sport premium funding which was granted during the COVID-19 pandemic has now ended.
Any schools with unspent funding from 2021 to 2022 academic year should make arrangements to contact and return this to the DfE. DfE will continue to sample school PE and sport premium reports. Where unspent 2021 to 2022 funding is identified, DfE will seek to recover any monies which have not already been returned.
An essential summary of recent Ofsted handbook revisions and other key legislation will be provided to facilitate you and your governors with updating your current SEF and planning purposeful revisions throughout the year. Key messages and strategies for developing your self-evaluation form and aligning it with other key documents will also be explored. Further details available on the above link.
A number of schools in Gloucestershire would like to propose reducing their Published Admission Numbers (PANs) with effect from September 2024.
Although the Regulations and Code of Practice relating to school admissions no longer require an admissions authority to consult when maintaining or increasing a school’s PAN, there remains a requirement to consult when the proposal is to reduce a PAN. Further details available on the above link.
Governance
Headteacher Performance Management Training
There are still plenty of spaces available on 14 November 2022 - 19.00-20.30
This course will outline the concept, rationale, process and implications for Appraisal under The Education (School Teacher's appraisal) (England) Regulations. The roles and responsibilities of the governing board, the appointed governors, the headteacher and the external advisor will be examined, together with the links between appraisal and school improvement. Governors will have the opportunity to consider example objectives for headteacher appraisal.
Places must be booked through GCC Plus www.businesssupportservices.org.
Your school office will be able to book you on.
REMINDER - Clerks' Briefings
There are still plenty of spaces available on these free online one-hour briefings. We encourage all clerks to attend. The briefings will include legislation updates and best practice advice on a wide range of topics. It will also include information on clerking responsibilities and professional development.
Tuesday 15 November 2022
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10.00 – 11.00
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Wednesday 23 November 2022
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19.00 – 20.00
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Places should be booked through GCC Plus. Please ask your school office to book a place for you.
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