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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
- Training and Consultation
- DfE Update
Dear Colleague,
Today, I would like to draw your attention particularly to the item below regarding Social Workers in Schools Programme: Local SWIS Offer. There is information relating to the proposed programme, its benefits and how schools can get involved.
Also, there is an opportunity to hear an update on Early Help for families in the city. This will include the launch of the City’s new Early Help Assessment, an update on the developments of the Family Hub Programme, and the graduated response for children with additional needs.
With best wishes,
Phil
Phil Leivers
Early Help Assessment Launch and Workshop
We would like to invite you to an update of Early Help for families in the city.
This will be an opportunity to share with organisations
- The City’s new Early Help Assessment
- How we work together to support families
- How we evidence the support offered
- Update you on the developments of the Family Hub Programme
- Graduated response for children with additional needs
We have three sessions scheduled to take place at the Georgian Room, Wolverhampton Art Gallery Lichfield Street Wolverhampton WV1 1DU. You only need to book on one. Refreshments will be available.
Please use the links below to book onto the session you are available to attend
Early Help Assessment Launch and Workshop Tickets, Wed 15 Feb 2023 at 16:00 | Eventbrite
Early Help Assessment Launch and Workshop Tickets, Tue 28 Feb 2023 at 09:00 | Eventbrite
Early Help Assessment Launch and Workshop Tickets, Fri 3 Mar 2023 at 13:00 | Eventbrite
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Kelly Jones
Education Safeguarding Officer
Kelly.jones@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Eligibility Manual Checking – DfE advice
The DfE have sent the following advice for carrying out manual eligibility checks for families claiming universal credits.
Parents should be able to provide a copy of their most recent universal credit statement, this will include their reported earnings for that month. You may wish to request payslips or previous statements for other months as well. To be eligible for the entitlement, the household income should be £15,400 or less after tax. This works out as no more than £1283.33 a month or £3850 over a three-month period.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Claire Hardiman
Early Years and Childcare Development Officer Claire.hardiman@wolverhampton.gov.uk
WellComm Training and Distribution
Following the success of the WellComm pilot, we have purchased enough WellComm packs for day nurseries, pre-schools and schools with nursery provision.
For those unfamiliar with WellComm, this offers speech and language screening and interventions for children 0-6 years. Please see attached for testimonials from pilot settings.
For training and to collect your pack, settings can book up to 2 practitioners (EYFS leads, managers, SENCos or practitioners carry out screens) onto one of the following sessions:
18 or 25 April
The Workspace, All Saints Road, WV2 1EL
9.30am - 12:00pm
Contact Claire Hardiman to book places.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Claire Hardiman
Early Years and Childcare Development Officer Claire.hardiman@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) Webinar
This webinar continues to raise awareness of TFC. It will provide an overview of TFC and how it could better benefit families at a time when cost pressures of household budgets are a priority.
The webinar will equip you with ideas and tools that motivate parents to sign up, reduce their costs and use TFC to pay for childcare and activities. Helping families, children and supporting settings to boost their business.
More information can be found here.
The webinar will be held on 28 February 2023 10-11.30am
To book your FREE places visit : https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tfc-webinar-for-local-authoritiescouncils-and-family-facing-professionals-tickets-529148606727
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Claire Hardiman
Early Years and Childcare Development Officer Claire.hardiman@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Introducing our new Occupational Health and Well-being Service
From 16 January 2023, the council’s occupational health service will change from our internal provision to an external provider, TP Health. The innovative and progressive new Occupational Health and Well-being Service will be focussed on protecting the physical and mental health of employees. Click here for more information.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Amanda Porter
Human Resources Business Partner
Amanda.Porter@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Pension Support
The West Midlands Pension Fund is offering the opportunity for school Support Staff to talk to Fund Officers about their Local Government Pension.
If schools would like to take advantage of this opportunity, to either book a day for us to come in to do face to face appointments, or to arrange telephone consultations instead, please email wmpfevents@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Matt Sacco
Member Relationship Officer wmpfevents@wolverhampton.gov.uk
01902 554672
Flexible Working Policy
Volunteer Policy
Relocation Allowances Policy
Travelling Expenses Policy
Please see the attached documents.
The Flexible Working, Volunteer, Relocation Allowances and Travelling Expenses Policies
have recently been updated and ratified.
Please ensure that you are using this new updated version when dealing with any HR issues and queries.
If you need any further assistance, please contact the Schools HR team or your current HR provider.
Lead person to contact:
Claire Norman
HR Advisor
Claire.norman@wolverhampton.gov.uk.
Repeated: Earn Extra Funds for your School
 Collection4Clothes+ offer bulk collection services for schools. Organize collection days with your pupils and staff for second-hand clothing or bric-a-brac, and an allocated, experienced driver will collect the donations on a day that suits you or within 24 hours of your request.
We will pay you £400 per ton or 40p per KG. For you as a school this could mean a minimum of £1,200.00 per year (based on a ton per calendar quarter!) of vital funding for your school.
Lead person to contact:
Jaz Sidhu
Head of Operations
jaz@collection4clothes.co.uk
07494023110
Repeated: Traded Services for 23/24 now live
We are pleased to advise that our Traded Services offer for this year is now live. Details of all offers can be found at https://wves.wolverhampton.gov.uk/. Don’t forget to use your ‘Annual Order’ button to speed up the process!
Many of our services are now offered as rolling contracts, in the hope that this will assist you in your approval process, along with our continued offer of account meetings and assisted purchasing, to discuss your requirements in more detail. Those wishing to take us up on this, please email wves@wolverhampton.gov.uk to book.
We look forward to welcoming you back on board this year.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Traded Services wves@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Anita Sharma
Traded Services and School Statutory Officer anita.sharma2@wolverhampton.gov.uk
CLL Training: Greater Depth Intervention for Year Six
Monday 27 February 1:30-3:00pm
This session will present materials for a weekly GDS intervention for writing for year 6 which can be used either in-class or stand-alone.
To book onto the training or access the recording go to WVES online.
Free to LA maintained schools and schools with an SLA. Cost to other schools £80.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Mark Smith
Citizenship Language & Learning Senior Advisor
Mark.Smith2@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Social Workers in Schools Programme: Local SWIS Offer
Please see the attached EOI form and SWIS next step slides relating to the Social Worker in Schools programme, which was previously presented at the Director’s briefing on 29 September 2022. Particularly the expressions of interest form for you to complete should you like to become involved in the programme. We would like to hear from you by Tuesday 7 March please. Click here for more information.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Praise Anyanegbu
Projects and Programmes Apprentice
praise.anyanegbu@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Armed Forces Covenant
Please find your invitation attached for the Armed Forces Covenant signing ceremony on 9 March 2023. Details can be found within the attachment.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Sam Axtell
Consultation and Community Involvement Officer
sam.axtell2@wolverhampton.gov.uk
STEM (Science and D&T) Network meeting 6 March 2023
Please note that the next STEM network meetings for both Primary Science and D&T subject leaders has been moved from 1 February to Monday 6 March at St Michaels Church of England Primary School. The date has been changed due to the proposed NEU teachers strike on the 1st Feb and participants who were already booked onto the meeting in February have been automatically moved to the new date. An email has already been sent to participants who had booked on through WVES. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
The agenda for the STEM meeting can be found here.
Participants can book on the STEM network through WVES.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Louise Mututa
School Improvement Advisor
Louise.Mututa@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Repeated: The next Assistant Head Teachers and Middle leaders
SIA day is being held on 9 February 2023 9am to 3:30pm at the GTG Training Centre (WV11 3SZ).
There will be a focus on developing effective practices across a range of whole school priorities and reflect how leaders can support these through their roles.
The full agenda is available here.
This course is suitable for Assistant Heads and Middle Leaders in Nursery schools, Primaries, Secondaries and Special schools.
Participants for the AHT and Middle Leaders SIA day can book on through WVES.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Louise Mututa
School Improvement Advisor
Louise.Mututa@wolverhampton.gov.uk
SHaW Maths Hub Opportunities (www.shawmathshub.co.uk)
 Mastering Number
Please book by Friday 24 March to join a new September 2023 cohort for Mastering Number, which develops number sense for all pupils in Reception and KS1. Over 5,000 schools have already taken part in the programme, and are reporting pupils increasing their fluency and confidence in number sense.
More information about the programme can be found on the NCETM website, and by joining the online ‘taster’ session for Headteachers, Maths Leaders and EY/KS1 Leaders on Thursday 2 March from 15:30- 16:00 with a chance to watch part of a Mastering Number session and find out more.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Graham Charles
SHaW Maths Hub Strategic Lead
graham.charles@shawmathshub.co.uk
SENCo/SEND Network Meeting – Wednesday 22 March – Face-to-face
Update - Next SENCO/SEND Network: - Wednesday 22 March 2023, 13.00 – 15.30 at GTG Training Centre
You must sign up to attend. The booking on the wves website has been updated to reflect that the session is now in person. If you previously signed up to the Network, you will need to sign up again if you plan to attend.
In this network meeting we will explore how to support effective transition for all pupils with SEND as well as share examples of excellent practice across the city. It will be an opportunity to network with.
If you would like to attend, please register here: SENCO /SEND Network - GTG Centre | Wolverhampton Education Services.
If you have any difficulties or queries with booking through the system, please contact Georgia Smith at Georgia.Smith@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Kathryn Bailey
School Improvement SEND Advisor, kathryn.bailey@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Skills Jobs and Careers Drop in session
 Please find attached details of our Skills Jobs and Careers Drop in taking place on 9 February at the Civic Centre next week.
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Sue Lindup
Skills and Employability Manager
Sue.Lindup@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Repeated: School Governance Training
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. Below are some of the training events coming up in the Spring term.
14.2.23 6-8pm Induction for Effective Governance
13.2.23 6-8pm Governor Leadership Program 2 of 3
28.2.23 10-12noon Risk Management
7.3.23 6-8pm Governor Responsibility for Children with a Social Worker – presented by Tracey Lecointe
We allow 2 hours for our training session with a Q & A session afterwards, however many courses may end sooner.
Click here for the full Governance Training Calendar for 2022/2023 or log onto GovernorHub to be able to book places direct! Alternatively email Sarah McElduff Sarah.mcelduff@wolverhampton.gov.uk to reserve a place.
All training listed is free for all maintained school governors.
Academies can opt to purchase the SLA for Governance or Pay-As-You-Go for training sessions. Please check with your Head Teacher before booking.
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. Academies without the SLA can obtain a quote for bespoke training. Please contact: kay.mason@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Lead person to contact in the LA:
Sarah McElduff
Schools Governance Co-ordinator
Sarah.mcelduff@wolverhampton.gov.uk
6th Feb – Update to all education and childcare settings and providers
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