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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.
Inclusion
Mental health guidance for children and young people |
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 In a recent survey, parents and carers told us about the challenges they continue to face when finding a child the right mental health support. In response, we are sharing the guidance for children and young people's social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) in a way that is easy to digest, understand and act on.
The SEMH guidance has been co-designed with parents to describe where, how, and when to access support for children and young people's mental health issues.
The guidance explains the signs and symptoms children and young people could be facing, the steps to take, and the range of support available, including self-help resources. Knowing the signs and acting as early as possible, can improve the long-term outcomes for the child, young person, and their family.
The guidance has been split in two for:
For anyone aged 16 and over, the Portsmouth Mental Health Hub is a free mental health phoneline, helping Portsmouth residents find the right support for them. You can call 0300 123 6621 8am - 6pm Monday to Friday.
We would be grateful for your help in sharing the above information with parents/carers.
Prevent newsletter and upcoming training |
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The latest regional Prevent newsletter from Helene Morris, DfE Regional Coordinator for Prevent discusses the newly released Counter Terrorism Local Profile (CTLP). This document will assist schools in briefing staff, informing risk assessments, and meeting the Prevent Duty. The document has been sent to all school heads via the local authority's distribution list. If you have not received the document, please email Prevent officer Charlie.Pericleous@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.
The next Prevent training session will take place on Thursday 20 June 2024, 1pm - 3pm on Microsoft Teams. To book a place, please email the Learning and Development team at LearningandDevelopment@portsmouthcc.gov.uk or external partners prevent@portsmouthcc.gov.uk. This training is recommended for DSLs or those that have additional safeguarding responsibilities.
Relational and restorative practice |
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Relational and restorative practice continues to be an exciting area of development locally and nationally. Please contact Bec Mason at Rebecca.Mason@portsmouthcc.gov.uk if you would like further information. Here are three useful resources:
A myth buster
Myth: Restorative practices are soft on discipline.
Reality: Facing those you harmed and asking to clean up the messes you made is way more accountable than sitting home for 3 days disconnected from the real consequences of your actions. Accountability = repairing the harm!
An SLT conversation starter
Is our school culture one of traffic lights or roundabouts?
A next step
Remember to book Bec Mason for an INSET day or a conversation about your training needs. Slots are filling fast and they are being well received:
"Bec delivered a brilliant and fun session which kept a large and diverse staff team engaged. She began some really useful conversations about why relational and restorative practice is so important in schools, challenging some long held beliefs in a safe way. Staff were able to immediately take away tools to use with colleagues and children. Thank you Bec for listening to our needs and personalising the training for us."
Family Hubs professionals newsletter |
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Explore the June 2024 edition of the Family Hubs newsletter, a bi-monthly update for professionals on all things new and coming soon to Portsmouth families, thanks to the UK government Family Hubs Start for Life funding.
To celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday 16 June 2024, this edition focuses on support and resources available to Portsmouth fathers and father figures.
Bereavement and loss network for city schools and agencies |
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The next meeting will be held on Thursday 6 June 2024, 2pm - 3.30pm at Craneswater Junior School. Please contact Lucy Lynch at llynch@craneswater.portsmouth.sch.uk to confirm attendance.
We would like to encourage all Portsmouth primary and secondary schools to join the network. There are approximately four meetings held per year at Craneswater Junior School. This is a great opportunity for ELSA's, Loss Champions and other school staff to meet together and with other agencies, share news, updates, and support for caseloads.
If a member of staff is unable to attend, they can still be a part of the network via email. The network is available all year-round during term time for support, information and sign posting.
To support the mental wellbeing of the pupils, it is key that bereavement and loss intervention/check-ins continue to take place for the transition from year 6 to year 7, especially when a child is/has been grieving due to the death of a close family member.
Challenging racism in our schools |
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Colleagues will be aware of the anti-racism toolkit. We are delivering training to support anti-racism work in schools. This will be an opportunity to develop awareness, consider curriculum input and how to respond to unplanned incidents.
Schools are invited to send one or more delegates to these sessions. As well as delivering the content we will share the materials and resources so that attendees can cascade the training in school.
The training will take place on Friday 12 July 2024 at the Civic Offices:
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9am - 11.30am for primary delegates
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1pm - 3.30pm for secondary delegates
Please sign up to join either of these sessions using the online form.
School improvement
Research into teaching assistant retention - Share survey with teaching assistants |
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Teach Portsmouth is undertaking research into teaching assistant retention and how we can support schools to retain staff. It is hoped that the data received during the discovery stage will be used to create an initiative to support retention.
The third and final activity is an anonymised survey for teaching assistants to complete. It is hoped that the anonymised survey will provide more clarity about teaching assistant's experiences of working in the city. There are four sections in the survey that cover: CPD/training, career progression, barriers/challenges and opportunities.
Please encourage your staff to complete the survey before midnight on Friday 21 June 2024. As a thank you, those who choose to opt-in can enter a prize draw to win a £25 Amazon voucher.
Please download the toolkit which contains text you can use in an email to teaching assistants and the link to complete the survey online.
For more information, visit the Portsmouth Education Partnership website.
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The Literacy Hubs' schools offer for 2024-25 |
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The Literacy Hubs are welcoming new schools to their 2024-25 programme! The Literacy Hubs, comprising the Pompey Pirates and Portsea Sailors hubs, exists to help young people develop the literacy skills they need to thrive. They currently work with children from year 4 to year 7, bridging the gap between primary and secondary school.
Working in partnership with Portsmouth City Council and the University of Portsmouth, the charity is led by education professionals with the help of volunteers from the community. Their year-long programme supports comprehension and fluency through 1:1 and small group reading, and writing stamina and skills through published projects, becoming published authors, radio show hosts, movie makers and podcasters. Other skills, such as perseverance, confidence and discussion of learning are also nurtured on the programme.
Here are some recent comments from teachers and headteachers of current schools:
“They seem to consider language and punctuation a lot more, they also seem to enjoy English more than before.”
“Improvement in children’s confidence and enjoyment of reading. It has supported the increase in reading ages.”
If you would like to arrange a more in depth conversation about how we could support your young people, please contact gemma@theliteracyhubs.co.uk.
Outdoor learning update from Hampshire Outdoors |
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The latest Hampshire Outdoors newsletter is now available. This edition focuses on outdoor science and Emma Cooper, General Inspector/Adviser for Science, has written an article on how to scientifically explore some of the biodiversity existing in your school grounds. There are also examples of citizen science projects which you may want to get your pupils involved with to provide children with meaningful science opportunities which can contribute to scientific research.
Dates for your diary:
Bookings are now open for the Hampshire Outdoors’ 2024 Outdoor Learning Conference on Wednesday 6 November 2024. The conference will be held at King Edward VI Preparatory School, Romsey, SO51 9ZH and will be packed with practical workshops and ideas to support you using your outdoor space for teaching and learning.
The next Hampshire Outdoor Learning Group meeting will be take place on Tuesday 11 June 2024 at Knightwood Primary School in Chandler’s Ford, SO53 4HW. Please email t.kennard@knightwood.hants.sch.uk if you would like to attend.
The next Schools Environmental Education Network (SEEN) meeting is on Wednesday 26 June 2024, 3.30pm - 6pm at the Hawthorns Centre on Southampton Common, SO15 7NN. Please email mmg1@soton.ac.uk if you are planning on attending.
Good Ofsted rating for Court Lane Infant Academy |
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Congratulations to Court Lane Infant Academy for maintaining a 'Good' rating following a recent Ofsted school inspection. In their report, inspectors highlighted:
"This is a happy and kind place where all pupils are welcome. Pupils are highly motivated
to learn and achieve their best. They are happy and love their school. Pupils’ behaviour is
exemplary. They show respect to adults and each other. The school’s key values of
‘believe, inspire and achieve’ develop a sense of community and empathy. One pupil said,
‘You can achieve it if you believe in yourself.’"
The Children's Bookshow |
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The Children's Bookshow is coming to New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth on Tuesday 12 November 2024 with the award-winning author/illustrator Sam Usher. His performance will be suitable for years 1 and 2 and will last approximately one hour.
Creator of a long running series of delightful picture books about a boy and his grandfather including Rain, Free and most recently Zoom, Sam will be drawing live for the children and showing the audience his illustrations as he reads his stories.
Tickets are £7 per child and adult. There is no charge for adults accompanying children on a 1:1 basis. Every child attending will receive a free copy of Sam's book Zoom when they exit the theatre.
There are also a limited amount of free in-school workshops (worth £500) with Sam Usher if you purchase 30 or more tickets to Sam's show. The free workshop is for one class of 30 children and Sam will come to your school and work creatively with a class of children.
To register your interest, please email Katy Webster at katyw@thechildrensbookshow.com.
Participation and progression
Sea.Change Foundation programme for 14-17 year olds |
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The Sea.Change Foundation programme is a course offered to young people aged 14-17 from disadvantaged backgrounds, that teaches students how to be more confident and resilient, work together with peers and informs them of all the pathways into the maritime industry. It's a unique blend of water-based, water-sports and on land activities including: kayaking, keel boating, stand-up paddle boarding, dinghy sailing, sea survival in the on-site pool and team games.
This is a five-day, four-night residential at United Kingdom Sailing Academy, Isle of Wight, Cowes. The age range is specifically 14-17 years old looking to get a taster of on the water activities, looking into the maritime industry or just looking for a bit of fun over the summer and experiencing something new away from home!
The following dates are available:
- Monday 12 – Friday 16 August 2024
- Monday 19 – Friday 23 August 2024
The course is fully funded if students fall under the following: Universal Credit, free school meals, EHCP, care leaver, tax credits. Any individual who does not fall under this criteria will need to pay in full £525 to book a place on the course. If families are unable to pay this, please contact Claire.Scholes@uksa.org to see if we can support you.
Your Future event - Portsmouth 2024 |
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If you are either a parent, carer, or young person aged 14-16 who would like more information about options after year 11, then the Your Future event can help! This event has been designed to support young people in years 10 and 11 to understand the courses, training, and apprenticeship options available beyond school.
Join us on Wednesday 3 July 2024 at Portsmouth Guildhall anytime between 4pm - 7pm. Attendees will have an opportunity to explore our progression fair, with representation from local FE colleges, training and apprenticeship providers, University of Portsmouth, wellbeing support, and Bodyswaps (VR). There are also several presentations repeating throughout the evening providing additional information, advice, and guidance.
Free sustainability licences on offer |
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 If you're a Portsmouth based organisation you can now apply for a free licence to a sustainability platform worth £299…don't worry, there's no catch. There are a limited number of licences available, and they will be issued on a first come first served basis. The licences will be issued for 12 months from the date of registration, with no cost to you.
The Zellar platform supports organisations to calculate their carbon footprint and develop action plans to reduce their carbon emissions and save money, as well as offering access to grant funding. You can gain access to information to help you create custom reports that can be used as sustainability evidence when bidding for new contracts and is a collaborative space for participating organisations.
If you want to find out more, you can email climateaction@portsmouthcc.gov.uk or can apply for a free licence.
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