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Education News

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Assessment update – reports for parents

The following updated information about reports for parents this summer was published on gov.uk last week.

School reports on pupil performance: guide for headteachers

Page summary: Guidance for schools on writing statutory end of year reports for parents.

Reporting to parents at the end of key stages 1 and 2

Page summary: Guidance for schools on writing statutory end of year reports for parents.

Change made: Updated guidance to reflect that key stage 1 tests and teacher assessments became non-statutory from the academic year 2023 to 2024.

Emily Waddilove - Teaching and Learning Advisor

Teaching School Hub Briefing

As your local teaching school hub, we would like to update you on our work as we come towards the end of our third year of designation.  We are offering a short “headteacher briefing” after half term which will give us the opportunity to inform school leaders about our support offer, including some of the changes coming in next year, especially in relation to ITT, statutory induction and also the NPQ programmes.

Details of the briefing are as follows:

Date: Friday 7th June
Time: 9.30-10.15

Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZItduuvpj8vEtJ1yFsMdlUCxwXAN0RgAPbe

Please feel free to forward this information to other senior leaders in your organisation.

Janet Roberts
Teaching School Hub Director, TSH Berkshire

Bright Futures Fund & School Trips Grant Programme

Wokingham United Charities has been dedicated to supporting educational opportunities through our grant programmes. One aspect of this initiative is our provision of grants for school trips. We understand that financial constraints can sometimes prevent students from participating in their School Residential Trips, despite the invaluable experiences and skills they offer. Therefore, if you have a student or a group of students whose families are facing financial hardship and would otherwise miss out on these enriching experiences, we encourage you to apply for our school trip grant. We firmly believe in the transformative power of school residential trips, which not only provide students with unique learning opportunities but also foster important life skills and personal growth. By offering these grants, we aim to ensure that every student has the opportunity to benefit from such experiences, regardless of their financial circumstances.

We believe every child deserves the chance to shine, regardless of their background. Our mission is simple: to empower children from low-income households to unlock their full potential through enriching extracurricular experiences. The Bright Futures Fund provides financial support for a wide range of extracurricular activities, including school trips, club memberships, sports equipment, instrument rental purchase and participation fees. From sports to arts, music to science clubs, we’ve got you covered. Applications are welcomed from schools, alternative educational providers, youth groups, sports clubs and relevant local charities. To ensure a streamlined process, applications are exclusively accepted from referring agencies. If a parent/guardian is eager to apply, we encourage collaboration between them and the respective school or activity group to facilitate the application process effectively. Further information can be found here Wokingham United Charities - Bright Futures Fund

To apply for either Bright Futures Fund or School Trips Grant Programme: Wokingham United Charities (grantplatform.com)

'Preparing for Adulthood' event for young people aged 13 and up

Wokingham Borough Council’s SEND Service would like to invite young people and their families to attend a free, market stall event, on the theme of 'preparing for adulthood.'

This in-person event will bring together a range of information and local support services, to support young people with SEND to explore their post-16 options.

It will take place at Woodley Airfield Centre on Thursday 13 June across two sessions: 3:30 to 5:30pm and 5:30 to 7:30pm. More details and the link to book can be found on Ticket Source. 

Deadline Soon - Alternative Education Provision Audit

Dear Headteacher,

As you may be aware, Wokingham Borough Council is in the process of undertaking a large piece of work to understand and improve the alternative education provision sector locally.

The aim is that there will be a directory of ‘preferred’ providers who have been through a due diligence process, offering a degree of assurance to those schools that wish to use their service. There will also be the introduction of terms and conditions, individual placement agreements and a clear process for monitoring and reviewing placements.

So that we can continue to implement this piece of work and map and understand the use of alternative provision across Wokingham, the Childrens’ Commissioning Team are undertaking an audit of the alternative provisions used by schools. We are asking all schools to complete the attached template, detailing the alternative provisions they use for children and young people on roll at their school and the reasons why. If you do not commission any AP, please still return your audit to confirm this which is important part of the local picture.

This information will be used to inform commissioning decisions related to the development of the Wokingham local offer with the aim of meeting local need.  

We understand that schools are particularly busy at this time of year but would greatly appreciate your support in completing this task. Could you please send the completed template to ChildrensCommissioningTeam@wokingham.gov.uk  Friday 24^th May 2024

Prevent and Channel Update - Summer 2024

Dear Headteacher, 

Prevent Risk Assessment for schools

Last autumn the DfE published a new template for schools to help assess and understand risk in your local area and in your school.

A risk assessment is a core part of implementing the Prevent duty. All providers should read guidance from the department on how to complete a risk assessment and on safeguarding students susceptible to radicalisation.

Schools should assess the risk of children being drawn into terrorism, including support for extremist ideas that are part of terrorist ideology and consider proportionate action to address risk, so for example ensuring access to the internet keeps learners safe from extremist content.

To support the assessment our Prevent Lead, Zoe Hanim, has updated the Prevent risk assessment template with the latest information on the risks to the local area. This draws on what is called the Counter Terrorism Local Profile produced annually each March by the Counter Terrorism Police South - East team.

The pre-populated template will shortly be circulated to the Designated Safeguarding Leads of all education settings in the local authority area.

See DfE guidance here:

How to complete a risk assessment to assess the risk of people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 Independent report predicting harm among Incels (involuntary celibates)

The Commission for Countering Extremism has published a report on research they have commissioned relating to involuntary celibates (incels).  It is the largest survey of involuntary celibates (incels) to date – taken across the UK and US and explores their demographics, ideological beliefs, how they network offline and online and how likely they are to favour violence. For the key headlines and full report see link:

Predicting Harm Among Incels (Involuntary Celibates): The Roles of Mental Health, Ideological Belief and Social Networking (publishing.service.gov.uk)

The study concluded that the mental health of incels was typically very poor, with a high number reporting that they suffered from depression and had regular thoughts of suicide. They also reported a high degree of victimhood, anger and misogynistic attitudes. Furthermore, the findings point towards high levels of neurodiversity; around a third passed the cut-off for a medical referral in the autism spectrum questionnaire.

Prevent Referrals| Assessing Risk

The Prevent Programme is designed to safeguard anyone who may be vulnerable to all forms of extremism or radicalisation.  The aim is to act early to spot the warning signs of someone being drawn or groomed into extremist ideologies to provide support via the multi-agency Channel Panel.

The government has produced guidance to help you consider risk indicators. These risk indicators are a helpful guide to help you make a judgement on the appropriate response. Click on the link below to access this guidance.  If in doubt, make a referral.

Managing risk of radicalisation in your education setting - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

How to report concerns and make referrals to Channel about a child or adult at risk of extremism​:

NB Concerns about a child or an adult should always be made to either children’s or adult’s social care as appropriate as well as reporting to Thames Valley police by completing the Prevent referral form.

You can click on this link to the Berkshire West Children’s Safeguarding Partnership here for information about making a referral including access to the Prevent national referral form.

https://www.berkshirewestsafeguardingchildrenpartnership.org.uk/scp/professionals/prevent-1

If you need to make a referral for a young person aged 18 or over, please find the information on the Berkshire West Adults Safeguarding Partnership website:

https://sabberkshirewest.co.uk/practitioners/prevent

I hope this is helpful and if you have any questions, please get in touch with either myself or Zoe Hanim.

Best wishes,
Lorna Pearce

Lorna Pearce - Chair Wokingham Channel Panel
lorna.pearce@wokingham.gov.uk

Zoe Hanim - Prevent and Channel Lead   
zoe.hanim@wokingham.gov.uk

Community Vision

In early 2023, we worked with partners from the community with the aim of shaping a Community Vision for the future. This helped to set direction and shape the approach, and a core group was formed to lead the work on the vision.

Working together, we have engaged with hundreds of people and tens of community groups to gather feedback for the vision. This has helped us develop six ambitions, which we aspire to achieve with the support of the community and our partners working together.

Fast forward 12 months and we have a final draft ready for wider consultation and validation with our communities which focuses on the six ambitions for the borough. We aim to involve as many borough residents, local businesses and partners as possible, recognising that everyone may want to participate in their own way. We’d really like to gather your feedback on the draft vision itself.

For a quick and easy way to contribute, we invite you to join us for a face-to-face session taking place on Wednesday 5^th June at Wokingham Town Hall from 17:30pm to 19:30pm.

Local Offer logo competition for children and young people!

Wokingham Borough Council’s SEND Service are launching a Local Offer logo competition, open to all children and young people aged up to 25, who live or go to school in Wokingham Borough.

The logo is for our SEND Local Offer, which helps parents, carers, and young people with special educational needs and disabilities understand what local support services are available and how to access them.

This is a great chance to celebrate the creativity of children and young people across our schools, and the winning logo will be used widely across our SEND Local Offer information and promotional material.

The competition deadline is Monday 10 June. For more details, please see the flyer and entry form.

Parent Carers Health Engagement Day

Educational Visits / Evolve

For information and queries regarding Educational Visits and Evolve please click on the link below

Safeguarding Updates

Please click on this link for the latest edition of the BWSCP Safeguarding Updates 

PRIMARY

Transition Network - June 2024

For the attention of Primary School Heads/Reception Teachers

We would like to ensure that you are informed of our next Transition Network and the format of the event. It is important that the appropriate professional attends so that valuable transition information of the children transitioning to you from an early years setting is shared.

Please click on the link below for further information on these sessions and details of how to book your place. 

If you have any queries, please email earlyyears@wokingham.gov.uk

Wraparound Childcare Programme

COST OF LIVING CRISIS

Help your school community with cost of living Relevant articles will appear from time to time in this section, as they become available. Schools continue to be the best way to communicate with families on the cost of living crisis. When articles appear here please take this information and share it with parents. Thank you

TRAINING: COURSES AND CONFERENCES

DSE Assessor Training: 24.06.24, 03.07.24

The DSE Risk Assessor training course concentrates on the practical aspects of being a DSE assessor and includes detailed guidance on remote assessments and on assessing people working from home. It is delivered by practising and experienced DSE assessors with many years of experience and thousands of DSE assessments behind them.

DSE Assessor (learningpool.com)

Course: Display Screen Equipment Assessor Training (learningpool.com)

DSE Assessor: Display Screen Equipment Assessor Training (learningpool.com)

Fire Warden: 13.06.24, 09.07.24

The course is suitable for any employee who has been appointed as a Fire Marshal or Fire Warden. The course is also suitable for those employees looking to enhance their overall fire safety knowledge.

• The Law (The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005)
• Fire Hazards, Risks and Prevention
• Types of Fire and their Behaviour
• Fire Safety Equipment inc Extinguisher Classification
• Role of the Fire Marshal
• Hazard Spotting and Extinguisher Practical

Please note - There is practical instruction on operating fire extinguishers.

Important: All delegates must have completed the Fire Safety e-learning or equivalent Fire Safety Awareness training from your own H&S provider. All attendees should be an appointed Fire Warden.

Course: Fire Warden Training 2023-2024 (learningpool.com)

Fire Warden Training 23-24 - Homepage: Fire Warden Training 2023-2024 (learningpool.com)

Working with Hongkongers 101 Training

South East Strategic Partnership for Migration (SESPM) are offering a complimentary training session of "Working with Hongkongers 101" on Thursday 23rd May 2024, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

The training sessions will cover the following topics:

• Background about Hong Kong and its culture
• A brief overview of political movements and reasons for migration
• Understanding the British National Overseas ("BN(O)") visa scheme
• Understanding the Hong Kong community in the UK, including cultural sensitivity, potential community tension, and safety/security concerns
• Dos and don’ts when engaging with Hongkongers
• Signposting/working with UK-HK organisations

This training is suitable for anyone who has worked with or is planning to work with Hongkongers in your area. Please feel free to share this invitation with colleagues who may find the training beneficial.

Registration: https://forms.office.com/e/rjJdTMW3MR

Should you have any questions, please email Victina Tse at HKbusiness_employment@secouncils.gov.uk

Pyschological Perspectives in Education and Primary Care training (PPEPCare)

Target Audience: WBC Social Care Staff, Foster Carers, Partners and Educations colleagues who work directly with children & their families.

PPEPCare has been designed to help individuals recognise and understand mental health difficulties in children and young people. It enables people to offer appropriate support and guidance to children, young people and their families using psycho-education and evidenced psychological techniques.  

Courses include:

• Overview of common mental health difficulties
• Teen brain
• Depression & low mood
• Self harm
• Anxiety in children
• Attachment

Please note there is no charge for attending these events.

All bookings are via our on-line booking portal – MyLearning: http://wokingham.learningpool.com

Partners and Education colleagues - if you have not used MyLearning before you will need to register before booking, please see this guide.  If you have any problems creating your account or logging in please contact CSClearninganddevelopment@wokingham.gov.uk  for assistance.

Please check out the Schools Hub for details of training sessions.

NOTE: Not all training is advertised on the Schools Hub. Some training is always or regularly available on 'My Learning' so we recommend checking it out regularly for training such as;

Asbestos Awareness Training
Emergency First Aid at Work
COSHH
Fire Safety
Fire Warden
Managing Health and Safety
Risk Assessor Training
Safer Recruitment

HELP and FAQs

Who do I contact at the council?
Did you know there is a list of useful contacts at WBC on the Schools Hub webpages? Follow the instructions on the page. You will need your school login to access it.

Where can I find training and resources?
Please don’t forget to drop into the Shared Document Store on the Schools Hub for all the resources available from our Roundtable, drop-in and training sessions. You will need your school login to access the store. If you can’t find your login, please email us at EdPartnershipTeam@wokingham.gov.uk and we can send you a reminder.

How do I book a training course with the council?
Most courses are listed on the Training Calendar (wokingham.gov.uk) and will make it
clear how to book. 

How do I book a course that is on My Learning?
Courses advertised as being on 'My Learning' need to be booked directly, by the delegate, on the My Learning website. My Learning is a personal training tool it requires the individual learner to book using their email address and password which they set up the first time they log in. My Learning will then be able to keep a record of the training that an individual has completed as well as provide a certificate of completion. This is essential with Health and Safety courses. 
How to create a My Learning account

What's the key information I need for emergency planning? Guidance for schools on emergency planning is available in the Rainbow Plan which is available via a ‘login only’ Shared Documents webpages of the Wokingham Schools Hub (WSH). If you don’t know your WSH login details please contact EdPartnershipTeam@wokingham.gov.uk   If you have questions about how to complete the Rainbow Plan, contact community.resilience@wokingham.gov.uk.  

COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT SCHOOL CLOSURES Confirm decisions to close immediately by email to schools.alert@wokingham.gov.uk and cc’ing your Attached Officer. Contact your Attached Officer if you are looking for advice on a closure, before confirming to the schools alert inbox.

Where multiple schools are closed, the Council will support with communication as appropriate, such as displaying information on our website and communicating with local radio stations, if needed.

EMERGENCY CONTACT NUMBERS

Customer Services 0118 974 6000 (Mon-Fri, 9am to 5pm)
Property services: (0118) 974 6789 (Mon-Fri, 9am to 5pm,)
Out of hours emergencies: 0800 212111 (out of hours, weekends and bank holidays)
Public Health - UKHSA Thames Valley Health Protection Team: 0344 225 3861 (24/7)

Seeing this update for the first time? To sign up for the term-time weekly updates email education.news@wokingham.gov.uk and we'll add you to the list.