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If you have information to be included in the next issue of the PEP bulletin, please send your text, image and link by Tuesday at 12pm to pep@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.
Leadership, recruitment and retention |
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New Facebook group launched for exchanging
teacher resources and advice
The Portsmouth Teaching School Alliance is working in collaboration with Portsmouth Education Partnership and Teach Portsmouth to bring all educators of Portsmouth, and surrounding areas, a resource sharing group on Facebook.
We are really excited to have a professional collaborative space for educators to share useful resources and links. The group supports colleagues and their requests for information as well as answer any questions they may have.
The Facebook group is now action. To join, please follow the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/portsmouthteacherexchange.
Once your request to join has been authorised, feel free to start sharing ideas, uploading resources and signposting links.
Places still open for Teach Portsmouth's new webinar
If you have a colleague who is interested in becoming a teacher, a new webinar series from Teach Portsmouth could be for them. The webinar looks at the routes into teaching as we welcome two Portsmouth-based teachers who took different pathways into the profession.
The webinar will take place on Wednesday 4 November at 4pm - 5pm. Those interested in joining will need to register online beforehand. Councillor Suzy Horton, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education will be hosting the virtual event.
Curriculum and CPD |
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Update from the PSHE Association
The PSHE Association have been made aware that a number of schools have received a message which provides inaccurate information about the non-statutory implementation guidance and training modules published by the DfE on 24 September.
The message begins ‘Good morning. I’m writing regarding the Department of Education’s (DofE) new guidance on relationships and sex education (RSE), published 24th September 2020 (link below)’. It appears that this identical message has been sent to numerous schools.
The email includes a number of factual inaccuracies that could be misleading for schools — including a suggestion that the 24 September guidance and training modules replace or extend existing statutory requirements, and that schools should therefore ‘pause teaching of the RSE curriculum while you review your policy’.
The new guidance and training materials instead represent illustrative non-statutory content that schools can choose to consider when planning their statutory Relationships Education, RSE and Health Education provision. The non-statutory guidance introduction stresses that ‘Schools have the flexibility to design their own curriculum to ensure it meets the needs of pupils and the community, as well as the statutory requirements’.
The email also includes factual inaccuracies about the contents of the non-statutory guidance (and modules) itself, including that it names specific organisations or individuals that schools should avoid when choosing resources or external speakers. The guidance suggests exercising caution when choosing external contributors but lists no organisations to avoid.
Regarding the points this email makes about policy: if a school’s policy recognises statutory responsibilities then there is no requirement to ‘pause teaching’ of the curriculum nor update policy based on the non-statutory advice/training modules released on 24 September. It is however recommended that you regularly revisit your policy to ensure it is up-to-date, recognises statutory requirements, and promotes RSE/Health Education that fulfils the role of keeping your pupils safe, informed and prepared for life’s challenges and opportunities.
Please email chantelle.knight@portsmouthcc.gov.uk for advice and support in implementing statutory RSE.
Learn maths with my child course announced
The Community Learning Service at Portsmouth City Council are launching a new course to help parents feel more confident supporting children with maths. The course will include number, problem solving, fractions, shape, measure and data handling. It will run as 5 x 2 hour sessions.
The classes take place on Tuesdays between 1pm and 3pm on 3,10,17, 24 November and 1 December. The course will take place at The Learning Place, 6 Derby Road, North End, Portsmouth.
To book, please call 02392 621860 or email sue.parkes@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
Registrations now open for NCELP online conference
Registration is now open for the National Centre for Excellence for Language Pedagogy (NCELP) conference on Friday 20 November from 9:30am to 3:30pm.
Delegates will hear from teachers about NCELP's research-informed resources, curriculum, and tests.
Register to attend this free event by going to the event page for more information and to download the programme.
Emotional health and wellbeing |
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Wellbeing for education - training offer and support
available for all schools and colleges
As part of the DfE Wellbeing for Education Return work we have adapted the DfE materials and combined them with some local resources.
These materials and a team of facilitators are now available to deliver this course to all schools and colleges in Portsmouth over the next few months.
This 90 minute session, to be delivered remotely or in a socially-distant way, covers:
- Wellbeing in the context of coronavirus
- What do we mean by mental health and emotional wellbeing (clarification of terms)
- Principles of maintaining wellbeing at a systemic and individual level
- Stress and the impact of stress and trauma on behaviour
- Resilience and recovery
- Staff roles and boundaries in safeguarding young people
Please contact sarah.christopher@portsmouthcc.gov.uk with some preferred dates and times to book a session for your school.
We have also organised three central sessions that you may prefer to send one or more staff to. The dates available include: 18/11/20, 8/18/20 and 18/1/21. The materials will then be shared with delegates to cascade in their setting. You can sign up for any of these sessions here.
Step your way - A free dance project for 11 - 18 year olds
Portsmouth Music Hub is working in partnership with Folk Active and Sasha from Funk Format to offer an exciting dance project for 11 - 18 year olds.
There are eight weekly sessions held on Saturdays 1.30pm - 3.00pm. All activities will be socially distanced, culminating in a video compilation of the project.
Teach healthier habits during maths lessons
Now that pupils are starting to settle back into a routine, it’s the perfect time to reset healthier habits by exploring Sugar Smart World with the help of friendly characters including Fin the Farmer and Rocky the Ranger.
Our flexible, KS1, lower KS2 and upper KS2 lesson plans and worksheets provide pupils with fun ways to explore Maths skills such as addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. Pupils can then put their detective hats on and help Shanice the Sheriff investigate a citizen's sugar intake!
If you’d prefer to develop pupils' literacy skills – use our interactive English lesson PowerPoint to explore phonics, grammar, punctuation and creative writing. Pupils can then use their learnings to create a poster, comic strip or persuasive letter, featuring their favourite character.
Head to the School Zone today to download our range of curriculum-linked resources to help your pupils build healthier habits for the new school year.
NSPCC's 'speak out, stay safe' programme announced for autumn term |
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The NSPCC's 'speak out, stay safe' programme has been very successful in Portsmouth schools, however due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, our staff and volunteers won’t be delivering the programme face to face in schools at the moment.
However, with the amazing support of Ant and Dec we are launching a virtual version of our safeguarding programme – speak out, stay safe online.
This offer is available for children aged 5 to 11 years old and includes:
1) Access to pre-recorded video assemblies and supporting resources for use in the classroom for both KS1 and KS2
2) A BSL version available for d/Deaf children
3) Our specially adapted SEND version of speak out, stay safe remains available as usual
All messages are delivered in a fun and interactive way with the help of our mascot Buddy and special guest appearances from Ant and Dec. The online assemblies include pause points to allow for teacher-pupil interaction.
We have also created resources designed to go alongside the online assembly. These consist of a pre-online assembly presentation (key stage 2 only) and a lesson plan to use after the assemblies.
They provide fun and engaging classroom based activities that prepare children prior to watching the online assembly and help reinforce learning afterwards. If you are interested in accessing the online programme, please contact Michelle Barry at michelle.barry@NSPCC.org.uk.
Update from the School Nursing Service
The school nursing service (SNS) are able to support children and young people returning to school when a child's the absence is due to:
- Their concerns and anxiety about returning to school due to the risk of COVID-19.
- Concerns from parents/carers about their child(ren) returning to school due to the risk of COVID-19
- Concerns due to vulnerable family members within the household and the perceived risk of COVID-19
The SNS are happy for schools and parents/carers to contact them on 0300 123 6629. A message will be taken by business support who will inform the duty nurse who will then return the call. However, they are not able to take telephone referrals from schools.
Schools should still use the Early Help and Prevention 5-19 team for the chronic non-attenders, as the SNS do not have the capacity to take on the lead professional role.
For a copy of the referral form and flow chart, please email snhs.portsmouthsnsduty@nhs.net.
Training courses
New course for parents managing children's behavior
The Community Learning Service at Portsmouth City Council are promoting a class for parents to manage children's behaviour. The 5 week course takes place entirely online.
Each week you will have the opportunity to share experiences and get helpful hints and tips to help reduce those stressful moments and manage those difficult situations.
Suitable for whatever age your child (or children) are. The classes take place on Monday morning from 10am to 12pm on 9,16, 23, 30 November and 7 December.
To book, please call 02392 621860 or email sue.parkes@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
Out of School Settings (OOSS) - Pilot project for Portsmouth
Back in March of this year, Portsmouth City Council was awarded funding to support the launch of DfE publications on OOSS.
The two new documents support settings with best practice guidance and parents with a list of 14 key questions to ask of providers. The documents are available to view here.
Within Portsmouth, the council will be providing training and support for settings, parents and professionals. This will be led by the Portsmouth Safeguarding Children Partnership.
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