Education Matters - April 2022

Welcome to the April edition of Education Matters. As we come to terms with ‘living with COVID-19’ and move towards more ‘business as usual’, one can arguably suggest that what is ‘usual’ has changed significantly over the last two years.

We are aware that employment trends are having a significant impact on schools with changes in supply teacher availability and challenges in recruiting and retaining teaching support staff. In addition, a return to examinations and testing this summer is raising many worries amongst both students and staff, as well as causing a perceived pressure and anxiety among our children and young people.

The month also saw release of both the Education White Paper and the Green Paper SEND consultation. Both will have a significant impact on the shape of services and organisation of schools into the future. We will be engaging with schools and governors on both of these seminal reports to help jointly shape the future direction of the Local Authority. I hope to be able to share more information on both of these papers in the May edition of Education Matters.

Paul Wagstaff

Assistant Director - Education & Skills

This month's 'Focus On...' article from Duncan Edwards, Link Adviser - Curriculum, explores the role of the subject leader.

This article challenges subject leaders to use the recent shift in Ofsted's attention toward subject leaders as an opportunity to champion their subject, demonstrate their systemic thinking within the curriculum, highlight their influence on colleagues and share the positive impact they are having on the children and young people in their subject across their setting. 

The article also shares a thought-provoking and reflective toolkit of questions which aim to provide subject leaders with a framework upon which to structure and articulate the three I's for their subject discipline.

SENCO Conference 2022 - Bookings Now Open

We are delighted to announce that bookings for the West Sussex SENCO Conference on 16th June 2022 at Butlins, Bognor, are now open via West Sussex Services for Schools. 

Tickets will cost £100 to include workshops, lunch and refreshments throughout the day. Tickets are selling fast. Please book early to avoid disappointment!

The conference theme is “Working together to make SEND everyone’s business, with a focus on emotional health and wellbeing”. Keynote speakers include Andrew Wright, from Action Your Potential, and Amelie Thompson, Regional SEND Lead from Whole School SEND.

There will also be a choice of two out of six workshops to choose from (pre-booking is essential). The workshops on offer are:

• Understanding and Supporting LGBT+ Children & Young People. Led by Allsorts.
• Promoting Equality and Tackling Racism. Led by Ethnic Minority & Traveller Achievement Service (EMTAS).
• Introducing the Individual Support Plan (ISP), a graduated response template. Led by Maryanne Woodland, Educational Psychologist, West Sussex County Council (WSCC).
• Journey to Adulthood, Focusing on Transition Points Across Education, Health and Social Care from the Earliest Stages. Led by WSCC SEND & Inclusion Advisors, Natalie McNeill, Designated Social Care Officer and Rachael Lee, Designated Clinical Officer.
• What to Do When a Child or Young Person Self-Harms. Led by WSCC Safeguarding in Education.

Unfortunately, we have had to cancel one of our workshops – “A Guide to the Child Development Offer for Early Years”, as Mid Sussex Child Development Services no longer have capacity to run it.  Apologies to those of you who have booked on to this; we will be in touch to book your alternative workshops.

The conference will also feature an extensive marketplace with a range of information stands, including WSCC teams such as the Specialist Advisory Teacher Service, Early Help, the Disability Register, voluntary organisations, the Virtual School and many others.

Durrington Research School Blogs

Please see below a link to a blog from the Durrington Research School.

'Five Ways to Improve Classroom Talk' by Fran Haynes, Assistant Director Durrington Research School.

This blog post examines five ways to try to ensure that the multiplicity of voices in your class are all heard.

'The Impact of the Research Lead' by Mark Esner, Research Lead.

In his final blog post for the Durrington Research School, Mark reflects on the difference he may have made. 

Please see the following article for information regarding a recent update to the West Sussex Services for Schools search function by the system provider (Frontline Data).