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If you would like your Chair of Governors, SENDCo, DSL or Digital Leads to receive this bulletin, please email Georgia.Smith@wolverhampton.gov.uk with their email address who will add them to the distribution list.
Important - please ensure you download a copy of any of 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.
- Message from Phil Leivers - Head of Education Excellence
- Early Years
- Information
- Health and Safety
- Training and Consultation
- DfE Updates
Dear colleagues,
So, we are now getting to grips with living with Covid, again! We are waiting to see the impact of schools and settings reopening last week on case numbers. I know that many of you are managing with staff absences. Looking at the schools daily DfE returns, on average, you are reporting about 5% of staff off related to Covid and I know that you are planning contingency should that number increase further. Please continue with the DfE returns as that is the best way for us to monitor the situation.
There will be an opportunity to have further update from Public Health at Emma’s Director Briefing Thursday 20 January 8.00am. Teams Live event. Other updates will include Strengthening Family Hubs and the MASH.
Best wishes
Phil
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Phil Leivers
Head of Education Excellence
Phil.Leivers@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Repeated: EEF Spring 2022
Can all PVI’s please submit their estimated hours in the usual way by Thursday 13 January 2022 for all 2, 3 & 4 year old funded children ONLY (existing & new starters) for Spring 2022.
Spring 2022 actuals for children present during Census week (17 January to 21 January 2022) will still need to be submitted in the usual way by Thursday 28 January 2022 for all 2, 3 & 4 year old funded children ONLY (existing & new starters).
Providers will need to ensure that any additional funded children who start after Census week are added to their Actuals by Thursday 10 March 2022. Payments for Spring 2022 actuals will be processed within 3 weeks of Thursday 10 March 2022.
- Providers need to ensure ALL children’s attendance is amended to reflect the start and end date for all 2, 3 & 4 year old children.
- Providers will still need to validate ALL 30 Hour codes in the usual way and continue to communicate with parents to ensure codes do not enter grace periods.
- Please remove from the provider portal those children for whose funding entitlements have ended.
EY Spring Census 2022 (for PVI’s only)
The EY Census 2022 form is now available on the FIS portal. Can settings please ensure it is submitted by Friday 28 January 2022.
The census will collect data on all children taking up free provision during census week (17 January to 21 January 2022).
Please refer to the attached document for guidance and support.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Gurpreet Ghateaura
Early Years & Data Support Officer
Gurpreet.Ghateaura@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Childcare Provision Opportunity Expression of Interest
A nursery provider is interested in talking to local providers/owners who will be keen to expand their existing provision, through taking out leases on one or both of the current building provisions and TUPE all existing staff across to their organisation. As part of this arrangement, the nursery provider will be looking to speak to providers/owners about taking the nursery businesses on as a going concern.
Interested parties should liaise through Claire Hardiman and request the express of interest form.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Claire Hardiman
Early Years and Childcare Development Officer
Claire.Hardiman@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Updated information the DfE regarding exceptional circumstances for changes to ratio requirements
Given the increasing workforce pressures that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is placing on the early years sector, the DfE have requested we share the information below with you and to tell you that further guidance will be coming out.
It remains a priority to continue providing face to face education and childcare, but know that COVID-19 continues to put early years settings under significant pressure, particularly in relation to workforce absence.
Government considers COVID-19 to be an exceptional circumstance in which the staff-to-child ratios set out in the EYFS can temporarily be changed if necessary, for example to respond to COVID-related workforce absences. This relates to paragraph 3.31 in the EYFS.
In some cases, providers may choose to respond to staff and child absences by temporarily mixing age groups of children who would otherwise be educated or cared for separately. Ratios should be guided by all relevant requirements and by the needs of individual children within the group. For the purposes of meeting EYFS ratio and qualification requirements, all staff educating or caring for a mixed age group of children can be considered ‘available to work directly with’ all the children who have been grouped together.
In all circumstances, settings remain responsible for maintaining the quality of care, safety and security of children.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Stacey Henderson
Senior Advisor for Early Years
Stacey.Henderson@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Karen Wilding’s - EYs Mathematical Training
Karen’s ‘FREE Challenge’ is back!
Join Karen for the launch on 14 January 2022 of 'Teaching Numbers 1-10 Using Subitising, Five and Ten Frames'
Please book via her website www.eymaths.co.uk and sign up for the Next FREE Challenge.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Sophie Cross
EYFS Advisory Teacher
Sophie.Cross@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Carbon Dioxide Detectors – important survey
Colleagues are asked to let us know whether your school has received a carbon dioxide detector by completing this very short survey which will take approximately 1 minute to complete. It will help us understand whether DFE have fulfilled their promise to supply all state funded schools with a carbon dioxide detector.
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage
For any schools that have not received a detector, the LA will raise this with the DFE
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Natalie Barrow
Service Manager - Health and Safety
Tel. Office: 01902 551063
Mobile: 07773 187103
natalie.barrow@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Spring School Census 2022
Data collection timetable and key dates
The census date for the 2022 spring school census is Thursday 20 January with the deadline for approved submissions being Wednesday 16 February. The database will be closed to amendments from schools and local authorities on Wednesday 16 March.
Please see the attached letter with links to the latest DfE census guidance around data items and unusual circumstances.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Donna Evison
Research & Assessment Manager
Donna.evison@wolverhampton.gov.uk
01902 555296
Free Period Products
For attention of Pastoral/Welfare leads
As part of the DfE’s scheme for schools and colleges in England, you are able to order free period products for your learners.
For further details please see here.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Phil Leivers
Head of Education Excellence
Phil.Leivers@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Sign up for Health Related Behaviour Survey (HRBS) 2022
You can still sign up for the Health Related Behaviour Survey (HRBS 2022) if you have not already done so!
Your school can register to participate in HRBS 2022 with our survey provider, SHEU, by using the following link: http://sheu.org.uk/registerw
The survey provider, SHEU, will also be contacting your school with more information about the survey and provide you with a further opportunity to sign up to participate. The survey will open to registered schools during January 2022.
Pupils in years 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 have always taken part in the survey. Additionally, for 2022, students in Key Stage 5 (particularly Year 12) are invited to participate.
Instructions and support will be provided to help schools to administer the anonymous online survey. Participating schools will receive a detailed report of their school’s results.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Howard Jobber
Senior Public Health Specialist
Howard.Jobber@wolverhampton.gov.uk
NCCE Computing Hub for Birmingham and Central Midlands
The NCCE Computing Hub for Birmingham and Central Midlands is available to support all schools within Wolverhampton with all aspects of delivering excellence in teaching computing.
Support includes high-quality CPD with generous bursaries available; teaching and learning resources; and school-to-school support.
Further information about how to access their support is available here.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Louise Mututa
School Improvement Advisor
Louise.Mututa@wolverhampton.gov.uk
07970476527
Assessment and Moderation Training
1. Key stage 1 Assessment training meeting for all Year 2 teachers with STA assessment updates and next steps in writing will be running tomorrow, Wednesday 12 January 2021, 1:30-4:00pm.
This session is a repeated session, so Year 2 teachers who attended on Tuesday 11 January should not attend. It will be recorded for teachers to access if they cannot attend.
Please book on via WVES
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Jo Horlock
ECT & Assessment Advisor
Jo.horlock@wolverhampton.gov.uk
01902 556576
Mathematics Subject Leader network meeting and subject knowledge workshop
Below are details of an upcoming mathematics CPD session. This will be suitable for all teachers, including ECTs, working in Key Stage 1 and 2. The session will take place online via TEAMS and will be recorded. Please book on to the session via the WVES portal.
Friday 21 January, 1.30pm – 3.45pm- Developing the teaching of “fractions” in Key Stage 1 and 2 - The session will look at key ideas within the “fractions” strand of the national curriculum as well as the DfE Teaching mathematics in primary schools (non-statutory guidance). Key representations, strategies and resources for effectively teaching the key concepts within the fractions strand will be shared and modelled.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Sandeep Vashisht
Mathematics Advisory Teacher
07812495069
Sandeep.vashisht2@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Repeated: Education Excellence Spring Training
Click here to access the Education Excellence team Spring term training brochure.
Repeated: Training and Consultation - Governance
Upcoming City of Wolverhampton Governor Training
We offer a wide range of training designed specifically for governors, along with delivering bespoke training on many topics. Please share the training opportunities we offer with your Governing Body.
Click here for Governance training for the Spring and Summer Terms 2022.
Bespoke Governing Board Training can be designed to meet the needs of your Governing Board. If you would like to have a topic delivered at your school or across a cluster of schools, please let us know. As with all LA training, this is free to maintained schools and part of the SLA package for Academies and delivered at a time suitable to you. Please contact kay.mason@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Sarah McElduff
School Governance Co-ordinator
sarah.mcelduff@wolverhampton.gov.uk
7 January, 11 January – Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Update to all education and childcare settings and providers
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