Schoolsnet Bulletin Board

If you are an EU citizen, you and your family will be able to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living in the UK after 30 June 2021.

Days out at farms are an enjoyable and educational experience; however, animals can carry infections that may be harmful to children and pregnant women.

Understanding your Gloucestershire Local Authority Early Years Foundation Stage Moderation visit.

Audience:  New to reception/ First EYFS moderation/NQT’s

Date:          25 April 2019

Time:         09.30 – 12.30

Venue:      FREE half day event at The Pavilion, Hatherley Lane, Cheltenham, GL51 6PN.

Refreshments will be provided on arrival, car parking is free on site - but limited, please may we remind you to park considerably.

If you have appointed an NQT who will join your school in the summer term, please complete and return a NQT registration form by 10^th May 2019 to: NQTs@gloucestershire.gov.uk 

Delegate registration is now open.  Please click on the following link for full details and to register: 2019 Delegate Registration

Unfortunately we’ve had a number of apologies for next week’s Secondary Senior Leaders’ Meeting due to teaching commitments and school events. The decision has therefore been made to postpone the event planned for Wednesday 27th March 2019 until the summer term.  A new date will be notified to you as soon as possible. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused. 

Tim Browne, Director of Education, sent an update to all head teachers on 14 March about the changes to the national pay spine and proposed changes for support staff pay and grading.

The recent attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand and in the Dutch city of Utrecht are likely to be discussed by students and teachers in schools across the UK and beyond.

Head teachers and governors are invited to attend information events on the new Ofsted Framework. Two free places are available per school.

Date: Monday 20th May at either 9.30am-12.00pm or 1.00pm-3.30pm

Venue: Gloucester Rugby Club, Kingsholm Stadium, Kingsholm , Gloucester GL1 3AX

In January 2019 we shared a Discussion Document which proposed principles for future support services (specifically focusing on Educational Psychology and Advisory Teaching Services). We have reflected on the feedback and summarised in the attached document.

GHLL are looking for experienced teachers from all phases, who would like to work with GHLL on secondment from their school for one day (Thursday) a week, term time only from September 2019. An earlier start  is welcomed, if this could be agreed with your school.

This service was created last year with the purpose of helping schools to manage the challenge of keeping children in school (i.e. those at risk of exclusion of with attendance issues, requesting EHE which was not in the child's best interests etc).

In the event of your school being used for any elections this year, please see the attached letter for details of AMPS Polling Station Charges for 2019.

For details of your allocation please see the link below:

The Secondary Senior Leaders’ Meeting will be held on 27^th March, 1.30pm - 3.45pm, at The National Star Centre, Ullenwood, Cheltenham. GL53 9QU

Scarlet Fever is increasing nationally. 

Although scarlet fever is usually a mild illness, patients can develop complications and if you have any concerns please contact your local Health Protection Team for advice.

Sustrans Big Pedal challenge takes place from 25 March to 5 April. There are free resources to promote the event and get as many of your pupils, staff and parents cycling, walking and scooting to school.

The GSCB has developed a series of one minute guides which will be published on a monthly basis.

New apprenticeship programme for a level 3 apprenticeship over 2 years.

We have now advertised these placements on our website and the deadline for applications is 31 March.

The County Council has agreed to support Caterlink in extending the school meals catering contract for an additional two years. The extended contract will end on 28th July 2022. 

Gloucestershire SACRE is committed to supporting RE in local schools. We have engaged our adviser, Stephen Pett, and his colleagues at RE Today, to write additional units of work to support the current 2017-2022 RE agreed syllabus.

The annual Gloucestershire RE conference takes place on 20 May 2019 at Puckrup Hall Hotel. Its focus is on practical ideas and resources to support the local agreed syllabus for RE in your school.

Gloucestershire SACRE is committed to supporting RE in local schools. Please help us by completing our short survey – it can be done in a few minutes.

The networks provide local and national updates from Gloucestershire County Council in relation to supporting attendance and an opportunity to share and develop effective practice to support improvements in attendance.

The agendas for the full day Spring Term Primary and Secondary English, mathematics and science subject leader meetings are now available.

The Cheque Book Schools CFR return 2018/19 template is now available to download.

A maximum of two places per school are available. There is no charge for the event.

There has been an update to both the Part-time Timetable reporting spreadsheet and the 10+ Days of Continuous Unauthorised Absence spreadsheet.

A free one day inclusion conference curated by The Music Works at the Pavilion, Cheltenham on 2^nd April, 09:30 – 16:30.

With many settings moving over to electronic data recording systems, please remind staff of the importance of accurate record keeping, particularly when there is an IT system change. Record keeping in schools must be accurate, timely and accessible.

Understandably, parents and schools are becoming increasingly concerned due to the intense media coverage and the story being further fuelled by ‘YouTubers’. Unfortunately this has led to some individuals adding doctored videos to YouTube and YouTube for Kids which have then been spread across social media as “proof” that the challenge exists.

In response to feedback from schools and in addition to  ‘Bespoke’ - 3 topic project boxes, Library Services are now offering ‘Off the shelf’ - 1 topic project boxes.

The 2019/20 Primary, Secondary and Special Schools Budgets are now available to view on Schoolsnet.

National Children’s Day UK will take place on Sunday 12^th May.  Nation Children’s Day is a UNICEF initiative designed to help raise awareness and funding for local projects. 

The determined school term dates for academic year 2020-21 are now available on the Gloucestershire County Council website.

Support Services offer a buyback package for schools who have an in-house catering service or an individual catering contract.

When: 9.30 am to 12.30 pm, Thursday 4^th April 2019.

Where: The Pavilion, Sir Thomas Rich’s School, Oakleaze, Gloucester, GL2 0LF.

Free of charge.

For the majority of NQTs, completed NQT assessment reports should be returned to: NQTs@gloucestershire.gov.uk by 25^th March 2019. 

Following on from the review of secondary school places in the Gloucester city area completed in June 2018, and a subsequent review of the latest forecasts and cohort of secondary Year 7 allocations for September 2019, it is now clear that there will be a need for a new secondary school to meet the growing demand for secondary places across the city and in particular, new housing development coming forward in the near future.

An interactive drama aimed at Year 4 students, the play is a very successful way of helping children see the potential dangers of the internet and how to keep themselves safe on-line.

The 'What's Next?' booklet encourages all Gloucestershire students in Years 9-13 to think about their next steps in education and beyond. The helpful guide provides information and advice on what will come next, from choosing GCSE options, to post-16 study, the world of work, and preparing themselves for adulthood.

Please see the link below for guidance on preparations that schools should be making to get ready for the UK leaving the EU on 29 March 2019.

Further to the first major test of the new school closure system on 1^st February, we thought it would be useful to share with you some of the feedback and findings that we received.

Across Gloucestershire, the County and District Councils are making a commitment to reduce single use plastic, and to promote reuse and recycling of resources.

The resources on Frida Kahlo for LGBT History Month consist of a range of lesson plans and accompanying resources for use in both primary and special schools can be found here:-

The cross-party report on music in schools can be found below.  The report considers concerns about the decline in music education in recent years and makes recommendations for the future.  

A reminder that the next meeting for secondary senior leaders (assistant and deputy headteachers) will take place on Wednesday 27^th March 2019, commencing at 1.30pm.  More information and details of how to book can be found here

The nomination period closed Friday 8 February 2019.  Find out where individuals have been elected unopposed, where an election is now required, and the seats which received no nominations.

A great opportunity for young people to develop a career in the public sector. 

From September 2019, Gloucestershire County Council will be recruiting 8 school leavers (16 – 18 year olds) to take part in a level 3 apprenticeship over 24 months.

The Gloucestershire Visits and Visitors Guide takes some of the effort out of planning visits by providing the key information you need to get started.