Message from Cllr Suzy Horton, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education
With just a few days to go before the end of term I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who works in education settings - teachers, school support staff, senior leaders, practitioners, volunteers, governors and trustees - for the phenomenal effort that has been made this term to keep our settings open despite the unprecedented challenges we have all had to cope with. Attendance in our settings has remained high and I know how much parents have valued the efforts you have all made to ensure all of our children continue to receive a good education. The remote access to education offer that all schools and colleges have had to put into action has been very important, of course, and I have been enormously impressed by the way digital technology has been applied to support this. I see this as one of the silver linings of what has been a very dark cloud and something which has the potential to enhance and support curriculum, teaching and learning in the future.
But above all, I hope you all manage to get a very deserved break over the Christmas holiday period. I know many of you have not really had a break since the summer and hopefully you will be able to take some time for you, whatever that looks like, and recharge the batteries ready for what will inevitably be another challenging term in 2021.
Councillor Suzy Horton
Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education
Leadership, recruitment and retention |
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Teach Portsmouth Awards Live - Tell us about your superstar colleagues |
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The Teach Portsmouth team would like to wish colleagues a restful Christmas and New Year. Just before the end of term, we want to remind you that nominations for the Teach Portsmouth Awards Live are still open. If you have a superstar colleague you would like to recognise, you can nominate teachers, support teams and leaders in 9 award categories online. Simply visit the nomination page and select the category you want.
The closing date for all nominations is Wednesday 13 January.
Portsmouth Teaching School Alliance initial teacher training (ITT) |
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The new regional teaching school hubs are an exciting opportunity to develop initial teacher training (ITT). We have been working closely with one of our teaching school partners in a bid so that we become a key stakeholder. The regional teaching school hub builds on the excellent work that we have all been doing in Portsmouth and across Hampshire.
This means that it is business as usual for ITT and this term we have been busy recruiting trainees for September 2021. Please contact lynn.nicholls@portsmouthtsa.org for further information about our Ofsted ‘outstanding’ primary and secondary courses.
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Sam Jones, a school direct trainee at Wimborne Primary School shared:
"I have really loved every aspect of my training this term with Portsmouth Teaching School Alliance. There are many qualified teachers in Wimborne who followed this route who encouraged me to do the same. I am so pleased I did as it is brilliant."
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Curriculum and CPD |
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Chance to win £75 in creative writing competition
Young people aged 11-16 years are invited to write about a piece of artwork at the Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery.
Aspiring writers are encouraged to visit the museum, choose a piece of artwork and write an original story, poem or play to bring the artwork to life. Entries should be no longer than 500 words and the deadline is Thursday 18 February.
Winning entries will be revealed as part of Portsmouth BookFest on Monday 1 March, with the authors winning a £75 or £50 gift voucher.
 Free Christmas activities at Fort Nelson
Fun-loving elves from the North Pole have sneaked into Fort Nelson and are causing mayhem around the site.Twelve elves were discovered by staff when they arrived for work at the Victorian fort. Now staff are asking children to help find the elves and fill in a worksheet, so they know where the cheeky elves are hiding.
A 12 days of Christmas fun trail is also in place at Fort Nelson for families to explore during December.
Worksheets for the elves and the trail can be downloaded from the Fort Nelson website.
Fort Nelson is free to enter and visitors should book in advance. Car parking is £3.
Emotional health and wellbeing |
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 Kooth digital counselling and emotional wellbeing service
A new online counselling service for 11–18 year olds (covering young people in Portsmouth colleges, secondary schools and year 6 of primary schools) will launch in January. Kooth will provide young people with a safe and secure means of accessing support from qualified counsellors. There are no referrals, thresholds or waiting lists; young people can access the service anonymously by signing onto the Kooth website.
More information will be provided to schools in the coming weeks and Kooth are hosting webinars to introduce the service. To learn more and to book a webinar space, click here.
 Domestic abuse campaign asks Is This Love?
Since September, relationships and sex education - including domestic abuse - has been compulsory in every secondary school. It's important to educate schoolchildren about domestic abuse to ensure they know the signs and where to get help if needed.
That’s why, from January to April 2021, we're offering a free virtual lesson to years 9, 10 and 11, to encourage discussion around healthy and unhealthy behaviours in relationships. If you'd like to get involved, please complete our short enquiry form and a member of our team will be in touch.
Special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) |
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Back to school: Natalie's story
The transition between schools can be a stressful time for many parents and carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Natalie and her family managed the changes with support from their schools and the local SEND Information Advice and Support Service.
You can read Natalie's story on the Portsmouth Local Offer website.
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LA updates
New speed restrictions on M275 from 1 January
From 1 January, there will be new speed restrictions on the M275 southbound with speed limits of 40mph on the motorway and 30mph on slip roads. If you're travelling in and out of the city from 1 January it's a good idea to allow extra travelling time. This is part of the regional plan to manage potential congestion caused by lorries travelling to the EU via Portsmouth International Port.
Follow @portsmouthroads on Twitter to keep up to date on any traffic disruption or incidents on Portsmouth's roads.
Have your say on the future of Victoria Park
Victoria Park, Portsmouth, is in the early stages of developing exciting plans to improve the experiences for visitors to the park. This could include improving the facilities for the community and schools, delivering new events and activities, telling new stories and connecting the park to our local community.
Getting feedback and ideas from the public is an important step in the council’s project to revive Victoria Park and restore its position as ‘the people’s park’ – an open space that serves the whole city. The goal is to breathe new life into the park and create an inclusive greenspace at the heart of Portsmouth while continuing to respect and celebrate the heritage of the historic park.
To help us develop the plans for the site, please complete this questionnaire and give us your feedback - it will take around 10 minutes.
The survey closes on 18 December 2020. Anyone who completes the survey can also choose to be entered into a prize draw to win a £50 shopping voucher.
The HR news information is located on the human resources Google homepage and maintained schools and any academy with an HR Traded Services agreement can access it here.
Further information can be obtained by contacting HR.
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