ALLOW City of Wolverhampton Headteacher's Bulletin: Partial School Closures 30 June 2020

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

Education Providers' Bulletin:
Coronavirus and School Closures

Update 30 June 2020

City of Wolverhampton
eastfield

Important - please ensure you download a copy any the documents which are attached/ linked to the bulletin and please save a copy to your own computer before editing. This will ensure the original version remains available to other users. Thank you.


Bulletin Summary


  1. Message from the Director of Children Services
  2. Assessment and exams
  3. Early Years, nursery schools and PVIs
  4. Disadvantaged Pupils
  5. Health and safety
  6. Legislation
  7. Pupil attendance monitoring
  8. Safeguarding in schools
  9. Support services for schools
  10. Teaching and curriculum
  11. Transport
  12. Workforce - HR Issues
  13. DfE Daily Update

Message from the Director of Children Services


Good afternoon,

Welcome to today’s bulletin.

As we approach the end of term, and we wait for the government guidance about the autumn term, I realise that for you all this week continues to be as busy and uncertain as the last few months. I hope you find the information in this bulletin to be useful particularly the training opportunities for teachers and the reassurances of support for families during the summer who may require additional food support.

We have looked at attendance across all schools since the wider opening on 1 June and shared this with DfE and Ofsted in our meeting today: we have seen over 8000 children in schools, including over 500 children with EHCPs and over 40% of our school age children with social workers. I absolutely recognise that this has been the result of a great collaboration between schools, education, health and social care staff and families and I am remain extremely grateful for the efforts you have made to ensure so many children are safe and attending your schools.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to my next director’s briefing on 9th July. This live event will take place online again and should enable LA leads to share some updates with you all as well as some time for a question and answers. We will send a link in the next bulletin.

Over 1400 of you have signed up for the antibody testing and this will really help to build a greater picture of the prevalence of the virus in the city. Thank you for your participation in this testing process.

Finally, as we are not expecting the DfE guidance until the end of the week, we will be issuing the next bulletin on Friday this week and not Thursday,

Best wishes,

Emma

Emma Bennett - Director of Children's Services


Following the government announcement about the partial closure of schools and settings, the council has an ambition that we have good, safe and stable education provision for all children and young people who need it.

We hope that schools will work together to share the burden in a fair way and generous way.

We hope that schools and settings will engage with our shared principles and city-wide arrangements for the re-opening of schools to more children.


Assessment and exams


Key Stage 4 and Post 16 results days

Whilst results days this year will be different The City of Wolverhampton requests that you share your information on Key Stage 4 and Post 16 outcomes on the day the results are released.

Your support by providing this information will help gain a Local Authority picture on the performance of our City's schools.

It would be helpful if you could send a summary of the results in whatever format you have available, but please try to ensure that your response covers each area of the data request, on the attached tables. 

If you have no summary available, please complete the attached tables for each Key Stage and return to the Research and Assessment Team via email to research.assessment@wolverhampton.gov.uk

I would appreciate your support in providing the information no later than 1-00 p.m. on the day.

Post 16 – Thursday 13th August 2020
Key Stage 4 – Thursday 20th August 2020

Post 16 Results Day Table 2020

Key Stage 4 Results Day Table 2020

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Phil Leivers
Head of School Improvement and Early Years Service
Tel: 07971639285
Phil.Leivers@wolverhampton.gov.uk


Early Years, nursery schools and PVIs


Upcoming Training Opportunities

Following on from feedback from the engagement sessions the Early Years Team will be facilitating some training opportunities.

Thursday 10th July 9.30am - 11.00am Teams Live event on Continuous Provision

A training session for staff who work in Nursery and would like to further develop their understanding of continuous provision.

The session will cover:

-The definition of continuous provision

-Why continuous provision is important

-What effective continuous provision looks like

-How do we plan for continuous provision

-Characteristics of effective learning

-The adult role

The training will explore the importance of using our environments to meet the children’s interests, skills and assessments.

Tuesday 14th July 3.00pm - 4.30pm Team Live training event focusing on the development of Early Phonics and a love of stories

This course is designed to develop practitioners understanding of the building blocks children need before synthetic phonics is introduced. It also provides settings with ideas to develop storytelling so children are eager to share books and read independently.

Both of these training sessions are free and can be booked onto through http://www.wves.wolverhampton.gov.uk/ these session will be available to book onto from Wednesday 1st July.

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Stacey Henderson
Early Years Senior Advisor
01902 550918
07976750933
Stacey.Henderson@wolverhampton.gov.uk


Support with Transitioning into Reception Working Party Group One and Two.

Members of the School Improvement Team and colleagues in schools and settings have worked together to create some recommendations and resources to support the transition of pupils moving into Reception. This document called Transitioning into Reception can be found here or here (EY).

Documents linking to Transition into Reception document:

Reception transition form or click here (EY)

Template 3 more about me or click here (EY)

Template 4 example transition document or click here (EY)

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Stacey Henderson
Early Years Senior Advisor
01902 550918
07976750933
Stacey.Henderson@wolverhampton.gov.uk


Disadvantaged pupils


Free School Meals

Following recent media coverage of the summer holiday benefits-related Free School Meals (FSM) vouchers, we have seen a significant increase in the number of duplicate applications from parents whose children already have FSM claims in place.

We would ask colleagues to ensure families are aware of their entitlement and to reiterate the message on our website that they should not reapply.

Your support and co-operation will help to ensure we don’t become overwhelmed with duplicate applications. This, in turn, will enable us to continue to check eligibility for around 16,000 parents / carers of children without current FSM claims.

We appreciate the tight timescales for schools’ administration of summer holiday vouchers and we are continuing  to provide colleagues with lists of eligible children that are as accurate and complete as possible.

If you have any questions about the FSM eligibility checking process, please email freeschoolmeals@wolverhampton.gov.uk, leave a voicemail on 01902 554128 or call Jo direct on 07766 473190.

Pupils and families vulnerable to food insecurity who are not eligible for the National Voucher Scheme.

We know that many schools have been providing food for pupils who do not have a current, benefits related FSM claim during the partial school closures and waiving charges within your rights under the Education Act (2011). For example, for pupils eligible for flexi-charging.

Over the coming weeks we will provide schools with information about local services that can support pupils in these groups over the summer holidays.

There are a number of things that schools can do now, in readiness for the summer holidays to support these pupils

  1. Submit data for FSM checking if the pupil has not been checked or their family circumstances have changed
  2. Signpost families to local support. Schools are a recognised agency for food bank referrals across the city. Details of local food banks can be found here or click here (EY)
  3. Complete an Early Help Assessment where appropriate. Up to date guidance on the process for doing so is attached here or click here (EY)
  4. If you operate a Holiday Hunger scheme and would like advice or support please contact us.

Covid-19 and the Disadvantage Gap – training opportunities for schools

If you wish to attend the training running this week, please ensure that you have booked on via WVES online to ensure that you receive a link to join the meeting.

Primary - Wednesday 1 July, 14:30-16:00 via Microsoft Teams: http://www.wves.wolverhampton.gov.uk/

Secondary/Post 16 and FE – Thursday 2 July, 14:30-16:00 via Microsoft Teams: http://www.wves.wolverhampton.gov.uk/

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Laura Jude
Disadvantaged Pupils’ Advisory Teacher
Tel. Office: 01902 555 285
Tel. Mobile: 07973715929
Laura.Jude@wolverhampton.gov.uk


Health and Safety in schools


There are no updates in this section today.

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Tim Munro
Health and Safety Lead
Tim.Munro@wolverhampton.gov.uk


Legislation


Modification notice: education, health and care plans legislation changes

On the 30 June 2020, the Secretary of State issued a third notice to extend the temporary changes to the law on what provision has to be made currently for those with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans. The temporary changes to the law have been in force since 1 May and are now extended to 31 July. Once the notice expires, the Secretary of State can issue a further notice for a period of up to a month if it would be appropriate and proportionate to do so in the context of coronavirus. The DfE have also taken the opportunity to publish a minor update to Changes to the law on education, health and care needs assessments and plans due to coronavirus.

SEND Tribunal Announcement

In April 2018, the Department for Education began a national trial to extend the powers of the SEND Tribunal to hear appeals, and make non-binding decisions about, health and social care aspects of Education, Health and Care plans. The trial was due to end on 31 August 2020. However, given the understandable pressures local areas and families are under as a result of coronavirus, the Government believes it is not the right time to introduce any changes to this policy, and have therefore decided to extend the trial until 31 August 2021. A copy of that letter is available here or here (EY).

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Sandy Lisle
SENSTART Manager
Tel. Office: 01902 555943
Tel. Mobile: 07970 349349 Sandy.Lisle@wolverhampton.gov.uk


Pupil attendance monitoring


Pupil attendance update

The Research & Assessment team would like to thank all schools that are continuing to return their daily attendance files which contain the names of all pupils attending each day. We would like to confirm that this data is to continue to be emailed to the team until the end of term. The data is extremely useful to us and is used to monitor the numbers of pupils that are not just vulnerable but to give a picture of what numbers are attending in each year group across the City.

Since the wider opening to pupils on 1st June, we have seen 7900 pupils attend in schools across the City, with 21% of Primary age children attending. Numbers are set to increase further this week as additional year groups are welcomed back to our schools.

In the DfE guidance, link below, schools are asked to resume taking an attendance register. Schools should use the codes suggested on this page to record attendance and absence in the attendance register. All settings should submit daily attendance figures to the DfE using the educational setting status form by midday everyday.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-attendance-recording-for-educational-settings/process-for-recording-attendance-and-using-the-educational-setting-status-for

 

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Donna Evison
Senior Analyst - Research & Assessment Team
Office Tel: 01902 555296  Donna.evison@wolverhampton.gov.uk


Safeguarding in schools


Online safety information for parents and carers

The DfE has produced advice and guidance to help parents and carers to keep children safe online during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Almost all of us are likely to be spending more time online, including children. These resources provide guidance for parents and carers to keep children safe online and where to go to receive support and advice on parental controls, child sexual abuse, radicalisation, youth produced digital imagery (sexting), cyberbullying, age inappropriate content, suicide content, support for children and apps to help children stay safe online.

You may wish to publish the guidance on your school website and share it with your staff.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-keeping-children-safe-online/coronavirus-covid-19-support-for-parents-and-carers-to-keep-children-safe-online

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Denise Mooney
Schools Safeguarding Officer
Denise.Mooney@wolverhampton.gov.uk
07469410516


Safeguarding Service Level Agreement 2020-2021

Thank you to all the schools who have purchased the Safeguarding Service Level Agreement 2020-2021. The service level agreement has almost reached capacity and will close on Friday 3rd July 2020. If you have not already done so and you would like to buy the Safeguarding Service Level Agreement for 2020 -2021, please visit http://wves.wolverhampton.gov.uk/ to make your purchase.

Please contact Hardip Jassal if you have any enquiries.
Hardip.Jassal3@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Denise Mooney
Schools Safeguarding Officer
Denise.Mooney@wolverhampton.gov.uk
07469410516


Support services for schools


Financial support available to alternative provision  schools and colleges to support their current Year 11 students

The Department for education is making additional financial support available to alternative provision (AP) schools and colleges to support their current year 11 students into post-16 education. This one-off funding is available from now to the end of the 2020 autumn term. Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and a range of other AP settings with year 11 cohorts are eligible for funding of up to £750 for each year 11 pupil on their roll.

The funding recognises that, since schools closed for most pupils, many of the current year 11s in AP are at increased risk of becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment and Training), without substantial transition support. Therefore, AP providers are encouraged to engage with the further education sector, as well as social care and other key partners, to help ensure that ex-AP pupils sustain their post-16 destinations. Support could take a range of forms, such as:

  • funding staff to support transition to further education
  • engaging organisations to provide engagement activities and/or expand existing transition programmes
  • providing on-site support for the most vulnerable pupils during the autumn term

Settings are asked to make payments initially from their existing budgets, then submit a claim form by the end of December 2020. Please see the link below for further details.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/alternative-provision-year-11-transition-funding

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Darren Martindale
Service Manager: Vulnerable Learners
Tel. Office: 01902 556951
Darren.Martindale@wolverhampton.gov.uk


Music Service COVID recovery plan

The Music Service has been working with Public Health and the Health & Safety Team to review options for delivering our services from September, considering the challenges and safety of playing musical instruments or singing in schools. These sessions offer an opportunity to be updated on national guidance and to understand the proposed short-term changes to delivery.

You will have already received an invitation from Hardip Jassal yesterday (22nd June) to one of the three scheduled meetings.

One session remains and if you would like an invitation please contact Hardip.

hardip.jassal3@wolverhampton.go.uk

Wednesday 1st July 3.30pm - 4.30 pm

 

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Ciaran O’ Donnell
Head of the Music School
07773186808
Ciaran.O'Donnell@wolverhampton.gov.uk


New NHS text messaging service to provide advice for 11-19 year olds across Wolverhampton

A new NHS text messaging service for young people to access confidential advice and support for a range of health and wellbeing issues will launch later this month.

ChatHealth will enable 11-19 year olds to message a school nurse from their mobile and get confidential advice and support for issues such as anxiety, bullying, relationships or staying healthy.

More details will be included in next week’s bulletin on 10th July. This will include a range of communications materials for you to send out before the school holidays, including digital posters, social media messages, articles aimed at your pupils, parents and teachers, and a link to web pages for more information.

Lead person to contact:

Keely Anne Evans
Group Manager – Children's, Young People and Sexual Health Services
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust
01902 307 999
keely.evans1@nhs.net


Training for Year 2 teachers

After meeting with next year’s Year 2 teachers on Monday 29 June 2020, it was identified that in September the priority for Year 2 teachers will be to reactivate the children’s knowledge of phonics, number bonds and mental mathematical knowledge.  

As a response to this priority there will be two free courses. Please book participants on via WVES: both courses can be found in the CLL area.

  1. Thursday 9th July 2020 3:00pm – 4:30pm    
    Playful Phonics – A session that showcases active strategies to revise children’s phonics knowledge and to encourage and support their application of blending skills, thereby reactivating prior learning.

This training will be run by Kayleigh Penny from Perry Hall MAT. As an extremely experienced Year 1 and Year 2 teacher with expertise in boosting the children struggling to apply their phonics knowledge at the end of Year 1, Kayleigh will share and showcase ideas and resources that have been developed to further engage children. With the ultimate aim of boosting their confidence and supporting their development with respect to blending and early reading.

While Kayleigh does use RWI in school, she has collaborated with staff at Eastfield Primary School to ensure that all strategies discussed are suitable for those also using Letters and Sounds. The Key Stage 1 at Eastfield Primary School have also shared their planning for progression in phonics encompassing phase 3, phase 5 and alternatives. It demonstrates how phase 3 graphemes can be taught alongside phase 5, along with spelling rules for phase 4. This will be available for those who wish to use it

  1. Tuesday 14th July 2020 3:00pm-4:30pm      
    Mental mathematics and number bonds.  A session that showcases active approaches to revise children’s knowledge of number bonds and mental maths strategies to reactivate prior knowledge and encourage and support the application of learning.

This session will also be delivered by Kayleigh Penny from Perry Hall MAT. Kayleigh will showcase strategies that she has found to be particularly useful for the children who might otherwise struggle to meet ARE in mathematics.

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Jo Horlock
NQT and Assessment Advisor
Tel. Office: 01902 556576
E-mail: Jo.Horlock@wolverhampton.gov.uk


Laptops for Year 10 students

We have now been able to order devices for year 10 students in maintained schools who under normal circumstances cannot access a device. We expect the devices to be delivered towards the end of this week.

Following feedback from schools around content filtering and lack of access to software we are proposing to give schools the option to have ownership of any devices for year 10 students transferred to schools so the devices can be set up to work effectively with existing school systems.

Schools wishing to transfer the ownership of the devices will be required to complete a disclaimer stating that they will take responsibility for ensuring that appropriate online content filtering and security measures will be in place when the device ownership transfers.

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Bill Hauge
Head of School Organisation
07771836958
Bill.Hauge@wolverhampton.gov.uk


Drop in sessions


Headteachers' drop in: Wednesdays 2:30 – 4:30pm with School Improvement Advisors and PH colleagues

Click this link to join the SIAs and Public Health colleagues any Wednesday (It is always the same link)

Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

Lead person(s) to contact in the LA:

Susan Maule
Senior School Improvement Advisor
Tel: 01902 550855
susan.maule@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Phil Leivers
Head of School Improvement and Early Years
Phil.Leivers@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Year 6 Drop in

The opportunity for Year 6 teachers who are transitioning pupils back into learning to meet and discuss what’s working and share resources and ideas

Every Tuesday 3:30-4:30pm (Same link every week).

Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

Year 1 Drop in

The opportunity for Year 1 teachers who are transitioning pupils back into learning to meet and discuss what’s working and share resources and ideas

Every Tuesday 3:30-4:30pm (Same link every week).

Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Mark Smith
Citizenship  Language & Learning Senior Advisor
Mark.Smith2@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Safeguarding Drop In: Wednesdays 13:30-15:00pm with Denise Mooney

Click this link to join Denise Mooney any Wednesday - it is always the same link. Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Denise Mooney
Safeguarding Officer
Denise.Mooney@wolverhampton.gov.uk
07469410516

Early Years drop in sessions

To join a session, please click on the link assigned to the person's name to. You do not have to join every week or for the full session, just come for 15 minutes. This opportunity is to work around you and the agenda will be led by the participants.

Tues 1:30-3:30pm Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

Wednesday 1:30-3:30pm Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

Wednesday 1:30-3:30pm Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

Thursday  1:30-3:30pm Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

Friday 1:30-3:30pm Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Stacey Henderson
Early Years Senior Advisor 
01902 550918 
07976750933
Stacey.henderson@wolverhampton.gov.uk

PSHE Lead drop in

The sessions will provide the opportunity for staff, with responsibility for preparing the new September 2020 RSE curriculum, to discuss and share policy documents, curriculum planning ideas and resources. There will also be support and advice on providing well-being strategies through the RSE curriculum.

Every Thursday 3.30 – 5.00

Join Microsoft Teams Meeting (same every week)

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Amanda Evans
PSHE Advisory Teacher
Amanda.evans@wolverhampton.gov.uk


Teaching and curriculum


Coming out of Lockdown Year 5 (Supporting your Year 5 children coming back to school)

For teachers who missed it, a video of our Year 5 training is available to watch here https://vimeo.com/432819713

And the PowerPoint  with various activities is downloadable here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lkyHGsRGxtFPBpF5nWiW9It-Zpsvkeui/view?usp=sharing

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Mark Smith
Citizenship, Language & Learning Senior Advisor
Mark.Smith2@wolverhampton.gov.uk


Support with Transitioning into Year One working party group three.

Unfortunately for some reason the video for the Teams Live training event Supporting Transition into Year One that was posted in Thursday’s bulletin (25th June) didn’t seem to be working. Please find below the new link to the video along with a PDF version of the training slides and a possible transition form.

Training link https://vimeo.com/433595888

Training Slides

Reception Teacher assessments and information to support transition or click here (EY).

Lead Person to Contact in the LA:

Stacey Henderson
Senior Early Years Advisor
Tel: 07976750933
Stacey.henderson@wolverhampton.gov.uk


Black Country Science Learning Partnership - Live Remote CPD for Primary and Secondary Science leaders

The Black Country Science Learning Partnership is part of the national STEM LEARNING programme and are offering live remote CPD for Science leaders, teachers and technicians in both Primary and Secondary schools over the remainder of the Summer term.

There are only a limited number of places left on these remote sessions so it will be a first come first served basis. Here or here (EY) is the link to the series of FREE SCIENCE CPD covering subject knowledge, pedagogy, curriculum design and health and safety.

The courses are delivered remotely via short, live sessions and in between live sessions, structured tasks allow teachers to explore key resources, develop materials to share with colleagues and reflect on their own learning.

More remote courses going further than the Summer term can be found at www.stem.org.uk/remote-courses-for-teachers

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Louise Mututa
School Improvement Advisor
Mobile: 07970476527
Louise.mututa@wolverhampton.gov.uk


Transport


In order for transport to continue running smoothly, please notify 
Beth.Cooper@wolverhampton.gov.uk as soon as possible if you intend to increase the number of pupils that will require transport next week in line with the pending social distancing changes. Thank you.

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Beth Cooper
Travel Unit Manager
Beth.Cooper@wolverhampton.gov.uk


Workforce - HR issues


There are no updates in this section today.

Our HR FAQS are accessible from:

https://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/coronavirus-advice-and-information/guidance-for-schools-and-education-providers

Lead person to contact in the LA:

Marie Marenda
HR Business Partner – Education and Schools
Marie.marenda@wolverhampton.gov.uk
01902 554055


DfE Daily Updates


30/06/2020

This is your daily email to keep you updated on the government’s response to coronavirus (COVID-19).

New guidance published on keeping children safe from abuse and harm

We have jointly published new guidance with the Home Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and Public Health England on keeping children safe from abuse and harm. This guidance brings together sources of information about the main risks children may be vulnerable to during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and signposts you to help and support available.

The guidance can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-keeping-children-safe-from-abuse-and-harm

Updated guidance on the support available for post-16 training providers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

Applications can now be made to the ESFA post-16 provider relief scheme (July to October 2020), which is available to support providers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. This scheme is now open. Eligible post-16 training providers, including providers co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) should read our policy and guidance before making an application for supplier relief.

The closing date for applications is midnight Thursday 9 July 2020. The ESFA will respond to your application by Thursday 6 August 2020.

The ESFA post-16 provider relief scheme (July to October 2020) guidance and link to apply can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-post-16-provider-relief-scheme

The ESFA ESF provider relief scheme 2 (July to October 2020) guidance and link to apply can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-esf-provider-relief-scheme


The information below has not changed since yesterday.


Collection of guidance for educational settings on GOV.​UK

The Department for Education’s coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance has been grouped by subject and audience on GOV.​UK to help you find the information relevant to you. In response to your feedback, future updates to guidance will also include a summary of the changes that have been made.

Guidance on what early years providers need to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/early-years-and-childcare-coronavirus-covid-19

Guidance on what school leaders, teachers and school staff need to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/guidance-for-schools-coronavirus-covid-19

Guidance on what colleges, universities and other providers need to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/further-and-higher-education-coronavirus-covid-19

Guidance on what local authority children’s services need to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-childrens-services-coronavirus-covid-19https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-childrens-services-coronavirus-covid-19

You can sign up to alerts on GOV.​UK to be notified by email when new pages are published or existing pages change. You can set the frequency at which you receive these emails and unsubscribe at any time.

Sign up to GOV.​UK updates here:

https://www.gov.uk/email-signup?link=/government/organisations/department-for-education

Department for Education coronavirus helpline

The Department for Education coronavirus helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline as follows:

Phone: 0800 046 8687

Opening hours:

8am to 6pm – Monday to Friday
10am to 4pm – Saturday and Sunday

If you work in a school, please have your unique reference number (URN or UK PRN) available when calling the helpline.

Handwashing advice

It is essential that everyone washes their hands more often, using soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Hand washing with soap employs mechanical action that loosens bacteria and viruses from the skin, rinsing them into the drain. Drying hands afterwards makes the skin less hospitable to the virus. Hand sanitiser can be effective if soap is not available or the situation makes using soap less feasible (i.e. when outside) but using hand sanitiser provides none of the virus-destroying friction that rubbing your hands together and rinsing with water provides.

The latest guidance and video on hand washing can be found at:

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/best-way-to-wash-your-hands/

The e-Bug project is led by Public Health England and has a dedicated webpage for learning resources on hand washing and respiratory hygiene. E-Bug has published posters on hand hygiene, and covering coughs and sneezes, to display in bathrooms, classrooms and shared spaces.

The hand and respiratory hygiene posters and other educational resources can be found here:

https://e-bug.eu


29/06/2020

This is your daily email to keep you updated on the government’s response to coronavirus (COVID-19).

Prime Minister announces school rebuilding programme

The Prime Minister has set out a transformative ten-year rebuilding programme for schools across England.

The rebuilding programme will start in 2020-21 with the first 50 projects, supported by over £1 billion in funding. Further details of the new, multi-wave ten-year construction programme will be set out at the next Spending Review.

Investment will be targeted at school buildings in the worst condition across England – including substantial investment in the North and the Midlands – as part of the Prime Minister’s plan to level up opportunity for all.

The full press release can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-announces-transformative-school-rebuilding-programme

Updated guidance on reducing data collection requirements for early years, children’s social care, schools and further education providers

In April 2020, to help reduce the burden on early years, children’s social care, schools and further education providers, the Department for Education and its agencies cancelled or paused all but the most essential data collections, services and requests until June 2020.

We published the list on 20 April and promised to review those collections that were paused and extend the pause period if necessary.

A review of the list has now taken place, and some collections are due to restart while the pause period for those collections which remain paused has been extended to 30 September.

The full list of data collections, services and requests that will continue, restart, be cancelled, paused or deferred can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-reducing-burdens-on-educational-and-care-settings/reducing-burdens-on-educational-and-care-settings

Guidance for managing playgrounds and outdoor gyms

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published guidance for owners and operators of playgrounds and outdoor gyms, including school governing bodies and academy trusts, to enable their use from 4 July 2020 while minimising the transmission risk of coronavirus (COVID-19).

The managing playgrounds and outdoor gyms guidance can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-managing-playgrounds-and-outdoor-gyms


The information below has not changed since yesterday.


Collection of guidance for early years, children’s social care, schools and further education providers on GOV.​UK

The Department for Education’s coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance has been grouped by subject and audience on GOV.​UK to help you find the information relevant to you. In response to your feedback, future updates to guidance will also include a summary of the changes that have been made.

Guidance on what early years providers need to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/early-years-and-childcare-coronavirus-covid-19

Guidance on what school leaders, teachers and school staff need to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/guidance-for-schools-coronavirus-covid-19

Guidance on what colleges, universities and other providers need to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/further-and-higher-education-coronavirus-covid-19

Guidance on what local authority children’s services need to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-childrens-services-coronavirus-covid-19

You can sign up to alerts on GOV.​UK to be notified by email when new pages are published or existing pages change. You can set the frequency at which you receive these emails and unsubscribe at any time.

Sign up to GOV.​UK updates here:

https://www.gov.uk/email-signup?link=/government/organisations/department-for-education

Department for Education coronavirus helpline

The Department for Education coronavirus helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline as follows:

Phone: 0800 046 8687

Opening hours:

8am to 6pm – Monday to Friday
10am to 4pm – Saturday and Sunday

If you work in a school, please have your unique reference number (URN or UK PRN) available when calling the helpline.

Handwashing advice

It is essential that everyone washes their hands more often, using soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Hand washing with soap employs mechanical action that loosens bacteria and viruses from the skin, rinsing them into the drain. Drying hands afterwards makes the skin less hospitable to the virus. Hand sanitiser can be effective if soap is not available or the situation makes using soap less feasible (i.e. when outside) but using hand sanitiser provides none of the virus-destroying friction that rubbing your hands together and rinsing with water provides.

The latest guidance and video on hand washing can be found at:

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/best-way-to-wash-your-hands/

The e-Bug project is led by Public Health England and has a dedicated webpage for learning resources on hand washing and respiratory hygiene. E-Bug has published posters on hand hygiene, and covering coughs and sneezes, to display in bathrooms, classrooms and shared spaces.

The hand and respiratory hygiene posters and other educational resources can be found here:

https://e-bug.eu


26/06/2020

This is your daily email to keep you updated on the government’s response to coronavirus (COVID-19).

New guidance published on keeping children safe from abuse and harm

We have jointly published new guidance with the Home Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and Public Health England on keeping children safe from abuse and harm. This guidance brings together sources of information about the main risks children may be vulnerable to during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and signposts you to help and support available.

The guidance can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-keeping-children-safe-from-abuse-and-harm

Updated guidance on the support available for post-16 training providers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

Applications can now be made to the ESFA post-16 provider relief scheme (July to October 2020), which is available to support providers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. This scheme is now open. Eligible post-16 training providers, including providers co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) should read our policy and guidance before making an application for supplier relief.

The closing date for applications is midnight Thursday 9 July 2020. The ESFA will respond to your application by Thursday 6 August 2020.

The ESFA post-16 provider relief scheme (July to October 2020) guidance and link to apply can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-post-16-provider-relief-scheme

The ESFA ESF provider relief scheme 2 (July to October 2020) guidance and link to apply can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/esfa-esf-provider-relief-scheme


The information below has not changed since yesterday.


Collection of guidance for educational settings on GOV.​UK

The Department for Education’s coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance has been grouped by subject and audience on GOV.​UK to help you find the information relevant to you. In response to your feedback, future updates to guidance will also include a summary of the changes that have been made.

Guidance on what early years providers need to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/early-years-and-childcare-coronavirus-covid-19

Guidance on what school leaders, teachers and school staff need to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/guidance-for-schools-coronavirus-covid-19

Guidance on what colleges, universities and other providers need to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/further-and-higher-education-coronavirus-covid-19

Guidance on what local authority children’s services need to do during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-childrens-services-coronavirus-covid-19

You can sign up to alerts on GOV.​UK to be notified by email when new pages are published or existing pages change. You can set the frequency at which you receive these emails and unsubscribe at any time.

Sign up to GOV.​UK updates here:

https://www.gov.uk/email-signup?link=/government/organisations/department-for-education

Department for Education coronavirus helpline

The Department for Education coronavirus helpline is available to answer questions about COVID-19 relating to education and children’s social care. Staff, parents and young people can contact this helpline as follows:

Phone: 0800 046 8687

Opening hours:

8am to 6pm – Monday to Friday 10am to 4pm – Saturday and Sunday

If you work in a school, please have your unique reference number (URN or UK PRN) available when calling the helpline.

Handwashing advice

It is essential that everyone washes their hands more often, using soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Hand washing with soap employs mechanical action that loosens bacteria and viruses from the skin, rinsing them into the drain. Drying hands afterwards makes the skin less hospitable to the virus. Hand sanitiser can be effective if soap is not available or the situation makes using soap less feasible (i.e. when outside) but using hand sanitiser provides none of the virus-destroying friction that rubbing your hands together and rinsing with water provides.

The latest guidance and video on hand washing can be found at:

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/best-way-to-wash-your-hands/

The e-Bug project is led by Public Health England and has a dedicated webpage for learning resources on hand washing and respiratory hygiene. E-Bug has published posters on hand hygiene, and covering coughs and sneezes, to display in bathrooms, classrooms and shared spaces.

The hand and respiratory hygiene posters and other educational resources can be found here:

https://e-bug.eu



If you would like your Chair of Governors, SENDCo or DSL to receive this bulletin, please email Georgia.Smith@wolverhampton.gov.uk with their email address who will add them to the distribution list.


If you don't have a CloudW account and cannot access a document within this bulletin, please contact Georgia.Smith@wolverhampton.gov.uk who will send it to you.