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.
New on the PEP website this week: staff wellbeing resources
We believe that everyone working in education should have the opportunity to enjoy the highest possible standard of wellbeing and mental health.
Working in education often means that you focus on the needs of the children, young people and families that you work with. Whilst this is understandable, remember that you can’t look after anyone else, if you don’t look after yourself (it’s just like putting your own oxygen mask on before you help those who are more vulnerable).
We have created a new staff wellbeing page on the PEP website which contains links and resources that you can use to help manage and maintain your own wellbeing.
Leadership, recruitment and retention |
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Webinar: Teach Portsmouth presents early years education
Teach Portsmouth returns with a webinar on early years education. Aimed at young people considering their next steps after school, this webinar will welcome three practitioners who work and live in the city. An apprentice, nursery practitioner and nursery manager will share their experiences of working with children aged 0 - 4 years old.
The webinar will take place on Monday 17 January 2022 from 4pm - 5pm. Those who attend will be able to ask questions during a live Q&A session.
The Teach Portsmouth team would appreciate your help in promoting this webinar to career leads as well as parents/carers at your school. For more information on the webinar, visit the Teach Portsmouth website today!
Curriculum and CPD |
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Upcoming musical opportunities for schools
We appreciate that this information has come at a busy time for schools. However, we hope that our upcoming musical opportunities are of interest to schools in the city.
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Music in the Round - Izzy Gizmo - KS1 concert
This popular KS1 interactive musical concert returns to Portsmouth Guildhall on Monday 31 January 2022, 1.30pm - 2.30pm.
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Based on the best-selling children’s book, Izzy Gizmo by Pip Jones, illustrated by Sara Ogilvie, Izzy Gizmo tells the enchanting story of an intrepid young inventor who puts her talents to work to rescue a crow that can’t fly.
This brand new schools concert brings Izzy’s mechanical marvels and infectious creative spirit to life! Original music by Paul Rissmann features pots, pans, whistles and household items (as well as orchestral instruments).
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Together with storytelling and visuals from the book, this concert is a great introduction to live music for children. It’s full of wit, invention, songs and actions, and plenty of opportunities to join in.
The concert is free of charge and is organised especially for children in years R to 2. To apply for seats, please complete the online booking form by Friday 7 January 2022.
Seating capacity is limited so early replies are advisable in order to assure COVID safety guidelines are followed. Places will be confirmed after the closing date.
Please note that in the event that the concert is cancelled due to COVID related guidelines, the concert will be streamed to schools instead.
Cordelectra - free KS2 concert
The brand new KS2 concert will take place at Portsmouth Guildhall on Friday 21 January 2022, 1.30pm - 2.30pm.
Based in Hampshire, Cordelectra are a young, vibrant, all-female professional electric string trio. Through the fusion of classic and contemporary music, this concert is a great opportunity for children across Portsmouth to experience live music by professional musicians of the highest talent.
The concert is free of charge and is organised especially for children in KS2+. To apply for seats, please complete the online booking form by Friday 7 January 2022.
Seating capacity is limited so early replies are advisable in order to assure COVID safety guidelines are followed. Places will be confirmed after the closing date.
Please note that in the event that the concert is cancelled due to COVID related guidelines, the concert will be streamed to schools instead.
CM Sports winter programme 2021 for young people
As part of the HAF Fun Pompey winter programme, CM Sports are running a free project for secondary school aged young people in the Portsmouth area in receipt of benefit related free school meals. Taking place from Saturday 18 - Sunday 19 December 2021, activities on offer include street cooking, climbing gym and ice skating.
Places can be booked online via the CM Sports website.
A flyer to share with parents and carers can be downloaded here.
Schools vs climate change competition
Planet Super League aim to inspire people to change their behaviour to fight climate change through competition and the shared passion for football.
In January they are launching a national schools competition: Schools vs Climate Change. Young people and their families complete "green" activities to reduce their carbon footprint, whilst scoring goals for their school to compete to be the greenest school in the competition. Pupils can also choose to represent their favourite football club at the same time. The platform makes sustainability accessible and fun for everyone, educating them on their journey towards a more carbon-efficient lifestyle.
The competition is run using the Planet Super League website, where there are over 100 activities to choose from that either directly reduce your carbon footprint or educate people about the world we are working to save.
The competition launches on Monday 10 January 2022 for 6 weeks and is completely free to access. Schools can also access further free resources such as assembly content, classroom packs, letters and support from their local football club.
If you have any questions, please contact schools@psl.football.
Elves at Fort Nelson
Fun-loving elves from the North Pole have sneaked into Fort Nelson and are causing mayhem around the site. Now staff are asking children to help find the elves and fill in a worksheet, so they know where the cheeky elves are hiding.
Staff will hand out the free worksheet for families to explore the fort looking for the elves throughout December. Visits must be booked in advance here.
Fort Nelson is open Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 4pm during term time and daily in the school holidays. Fort Nelson is free to enter. Car parking is £3.
Northern lights – A celebration of winter
Artswork are running an activity for young people aged 11-16 years as part of the HAF Fun Pompey winter programme. Attendees will create their own winter wonderland of 3D igloos which will then form the backdrop of a performance piece for friends and family, working with professional artists who will support and guide as they develop their show.
This activity is for children eligible for free school meals only. All attendees are welcome to bring along a friend, regardless of whether the friend is eligible for free school meals or not.
Places can be booked via Eventbrite.
If you have any questions, please email info@artswork.org.uk, quoting 'HAF Portsmouth winter booking query' in the subject line.
Emotional health and wellbeing |
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Supervision in schools
One of the priorities in this year's Children's Emotional Health and Wellbeing delivery plan is to develop the offer around supervision for school staff.
We would like to hear from you about what is happening in your school and what your needs are. Please click the button below to share your views.
If you have any questions, please contact Lisa Caine (Inclusion Outreach Manager) at Lisa.Caine@portsmouthcc.gov.uk or Caitriona Scully (Acting Principal Educational Psychologist) at Caitriona.Scully@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.
Kooth - we're here over Christmas
As we approach the end of term, please remind pupils that online mental health support is available throughout the break at Kooth.com. It can be difficult for young people to talk to someone, especially face-to-face, so they might feel more comfortable accessing Kooth's anonymous online platform. Kooth.com is accessible through any device with internet access. In addition to professional counselling, the site offers a range of self-help resources and wellbeing activities.
Schools can access a range of promotional materials online, including images and digital posters for Kooth's availability over Christmas and the New Year. You simply click on the image you want and then download it.
Special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) |
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Shaping Brighter Futures Together
Dragon's Den event - your opportunity to work in partnership with parents
Every year SBFT hosts a Dragon's Den where you bring the projects you have for the year and SBFT decide as a group which they would like to be involved in and in what capacity. This is a great way to ensure we are "doing with and not doing to" parents and carers.
Previous examples include:
- SEN/AP accommodation strategy which included work on Penhale inclusion
- Specialist school nursing review
- Short breaks review
- SEN team paperwork (EHCPS)
- Remote learning through COVID
- Post-16 provision
- SEND survey
- Travel training
If you are thinking about a piece of work that would benefit from input from parents and carers, please do outline your proposal and forward it to Liz Robinson and Cat Sidwell so it can be discussed at the meeting on Tuesday 11 January 2022.
If you'd like to come along to the Zoom meeting (10am to noon), please contact Cat at ppvchair@hiveportsmouth.org.uk or Liz at Liz.Robinson@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.
LA updates
School common transfer file destinations
Schools use the DfE's School to School (S2S) system to send common transfer files (CTFs) when a pupil moves school. This is really useful. It helps to save time on data entry when a pupil arrives and can minimise issues with duplicated pupils that may affect your funding when your school's data are used by DfE in censuses.
CTF filenames include two components. Part of the name is the DfE's number for your school (the source) and another part is comprised of the DfE number for the school that you are sending the file to (the destination school).
It has been brought to our attention that some of our schools have been sending files to schools that no longer exist. We can understand that this may be caused by a number of reasons including:
- A sending school hasn't updated the number details in their MIS when a destination school has changed number (often a result of academisation).
- The sending school added a new destination school with the new number to their MIS as a new destination but they also kept the "old school details", so when picking the destination based upon name, the old school with the same name was selected accidentally.
Please check your destination details in your system to make sure that you are keeping up with DfE's school numbers. You can always check DfE numbers on the GIAS website before creating a CTF.
Please email education.informationservices@portsmouthcc.gov.uk if you have any questions about this.
Education Information Services: Autumn 2021 phonics check
This is a reminder that the DfE require schools to administer the phonics check to year 2 pupils in the second half of the autumn term. You need to submit your results to Education Information Services before the end of term. We would strongly recommend submitting your results at least a week before the deadline.
If you use SIMS, please create the CTF using export type 'Phonics Test Results (for autumn term 2021 1st screening check only)', which should be available if you have the latest release.
More information on this collection is in the emails sent by Vicky Sims on 14 October and André Merel on 6 December. The DfE guidance on administering the autumn term phonics check is available here.
If you have any questions, or if you are having any problems submitting your data, please contact EIS on Education.InformationServices@portsmouthcc.gov.uk or 023 9284 1246.
Many thanks to the schools that have already submitted their results.
Vaccinations for people aged 12 to 15
We kindly ask schools to continue supporting our efforts in getting residents to take up the offer of vaccination where possible.
Parents and carers are reminded that 12- to 15-year-olds can book their first dose of COVID-19 vaccinations online through the National Booking System or by calling 119. Booking is essential to ensure a paediatric specialist nurse is available for the appointment.
The vaccine keeps their 12-15 year old's life moving, supporting their mental health and wellbeing. Parents or carers will always be asked for their consent before their child is vaccinated.
Schools comms toolkit and self-isolation resources
We had previously prepared a range of materials for schools - including posters, social media graphics and web banners - to help communicate with young people and families about the importance of following school safety guidance and staying at home when they've been told to self-isolate. We are currently updating some of the resources with the latest guidance, but in the interest of speed, you can access the still relevant ones on the Portsmouth City Council intranet. There's also a self-isolation toolkit available on our website.
As a school, you will need to register to access Portsmouth City Council's intranet. Simply visit this page on the intranet, enter your username as your 'firstname.lastname' and password as your school email address, then select 'Register'.
How has coronavirus changed things for you?
Share your views on how the pandemic has affected you and your family to help us protect Portsmouth and look to a better, brighter future.
Take 10 minutes to have your say; the survey is open to Portsmouth residents aged 16 and over.
If you cannot complete the survey online, take part by phone; call 023 9261 6708.
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Dates for your diary
17 January 2022 Webinar: Teach Portsmouth presents...early years education Find out more
17 - 21 January 2022 Portsmouth Aspirations Week Find out more
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