Schoolsnet Bulletin Board

The summer editions of the Leaders of Learning Newsletters are now available. 

DBS checks remain an important part of Safer recruitment.

On Tuesday 16 May 2017, the NSPCC, in partnership with O2, launched the new burst of their Share Aware campaign, supporting parents to help keep their children safe online.  Share Aware gives straightforward, step by step advice to help teach children how to make the right decisions online, even when their parents aren’t there. 

Through our Schools Service we aim to empower and help children and provide you and all teachers across the UK, with the tools to do that.  Because we know that through working together, the NSPCC and the whole school community can have a tremendous impact in preventing abuse and keeping children and young people safe.  One element of our schools services is out Speak Out. Stay Safe Programme.This programme is available  to all schools free of charge.

The ‘Fearless from Knife Crime’ project has been set up with the  aim of addressing the problem of knife crime in the medium and long term in Gloucestershire by engaging, informing and educating young people about the risks and consequences of knife crime activities whilst promoting local services available to them (including the anonymous reporting service available on fearless.org). 

The Water Competition or Open Water Market where we have a choice of where we buy water is now operating, similarly to how; we as a business buy gas and electricity. Payment details update – Water Plus remains the same as previously used for Severn Trent, Castle Water have confirmed new details and Water2business will confirm them on the next scheduled invoice.

The purpose of each briefing will be to discuss and understand fully the implications of the announcement from STA on Friday 10^th March about the common misconceptions surrounding teacher assessment (TA) of KS2 writing. As a result, this will ensure greater consistency in 2017 KS2 writing TA across the local authority.

All meetings will begin at 4.00pm and conclude by 5.30pm.

Reading, writing and mathematics will be moderated at the same meetings, so evidence to facilitate this discussion will be needed for all three aspects.  You will therefore only need to sign up for one meeting.

All meetings will begin at 4.00pm and conclude by 5.30pm and the local authority would encourage Year 3 teachers to accompany their Year 2 colleagues if at all possible.

This week marks the launch of a Public Health campaign to promote the uptake of childhood vaccinations; it coincides with the World Health Organisation Immunisation Awareness Week.

Please find attached a poster from Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service.

A letter from the Chair of the Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Board (GSCB) regarding the mandatory use of the Gloucestershire multi-agency service request form (MARF) is attached.

Letter from Independent Chair of the GSCB

The DfE has opened the Strategic School Improvement Fund. Teaching schools, LAs and MATs will be able to submit applications to support eligible schools.

If you have appointed an NQT who has joined your school this term, please complete and return the NQT registration form, which is available via the NQT Induction Tutors section under NQT induction, by 12^th May 2017 and send to NQTs@gloucestershire.gov.uk.

Over the past 8 months, the LA, GASH and APS have together created and trialled a new, county-wide exit strategy for children leaving the APS (who are not designated SEN or CiC) as a collective response to the issues raised by GASH at the start of the academic year. We are now in a position to formally launch this exit strategy for both primary and secondary across the county; this new process is therefore in place as of this term.

Here is your pupil number forecast, it is a likely indication of your pupil numbers over future years to enable you to plan provision. This pupil number forecast will be used in assessing basic need, through the school capacity return, to ensure sufficiency of school places throughout the county. It will also be used in any Section 106 agreement negotiations affecting your school. The forecast is available on Securenet.

The government has introduced amendments to existing legislation regarding off-payroll working in the public sector - also known as Intermediaries legislation (IR35) which came into effect from 6th April 2017. All public sector bodies including schools and academies have a responsibility to ensure the people working for them are engaged appropriately, you will therefore need to put into place the appropriate steps to ensure compliance with the legislation.

The DfE and STA have launched a public consultation exercise  about the future of the primary assessment system in England.

A list of pupils, for whom we are expecting EYFS, phonics screening check and Key Stage 1 assessment results, will be available from 24^th April and should be downloaded from the General Transfer community on SecureNet for checking / amending,  General Transfer Community SecureNet.

Thinktravel Smartgo is part of Gloucestershire County Council’s Thinktravel programme that aims to promote healthier lifestyles, encourage low-carbon travel & improve our environment.

This is a reminder that schools and colleges must be covered by a valid TV Licence if anyone

• watches or record live TV programmes on any channel, or
• downloads or watches any BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand.

SEAL develops students’ skills of self-awareness, managing feelings, motivation, empathy and social abilities through a structured curriculum (all materials provided) and whole-school reinforcement. These skills have been robustly linked to pupil achievement and attainment and represent fundamental ‘gateway’ skills to learning.

The Restorative Practice Development project is piloting the use of restorative practices in Moat Primary School, Tewkesbury School, in Child Protection conferences and other settings across Gloucestershire.

In accordance with the County Catering Contract, the price of a paid school meal will increase to £2.28 from Monday April 24^th 2017.

You may be aware the Securenet software used by schools to securely transfer files to and from the County Council is reaching the end of it’s life in August.  As such the County Council are currently assessing a number of potential options for replacing the system. 

Reports have been received of individuals receiving automated telephone calls informing them that their children are absent from school and to call a premium rate 0845 number. 

The pupil number forecast is a likely indication of your pupil numbers over future years to enable you to plan provision. This pupil number forecast will be used in assessing basic need, through the school capacity return, to ensure sufficiency of school places throughout the county. It will also be used in any Section 106 agreement negotiations affecting your school. The forecast is available on Securenet.

New guidance on the management of asbestos in schools is available on GOV.UK.

Thursday 6th July 2017 in Birmingham.

The DfE has launched a consultation on revisions to the 2012 statutory guidance on the exclusion of pupils, to make the rules that apply to exclusions and the process of review clearer.

Whether accessing banking services or online shopping, technology has fundamentally transformed the way we interact and access information, both at work and in the home. At Gloucestershire County Council, we recognise the opportunity to further enhance our services and provide schools and their staff with a secure method to view payslips and other documents through our mydocuments portal.

Please be aware that we have been notified of a school receiving a phone call from a woman claiming to represent the Gloucestershire Road Safety campaign.

Samaritans can offer specialist support for school leadership teams after a suspected or attempted suicide in the school community through their Step by Step service. Guidance is also available to help schools plan for such an event.

Please see attached the approved 2018/19 term dates.

Vital information to help parents make the right choices when carrying children in cars is being delivered by the Road Safety Partnership ahead of new regulations being introduced on 1^st March 2017. 

A number of schools have been in contact today after receiving an FOI request. Steve Taylor, Information Officer in the Information Management Service has contacted the Information Commissioner and produced this guidance to assist schools in answering the request. 

We have received information from the police regarding a popular on line App called MYLOL. Schools are reminded to be vigilant and to refer any concerns to their Designated Safeguarding Lead.

The campaign is focussed on digital and mobile first and will also run on TV aimed at young people, such as The Brit Awards and the Big Bang Theory, on radio, Spotify, cinema and online including catch up TV, X-Box, YouTube and Snapchat.  The first TV advert will run in the evening of Thursday 2 February in the Hollyoaks advertising break. 

The Government is changing the way in which employers pay for Apprenticeship Training.  This is known as the “Apprenticeship Levy” and it comes into force on 6^th April 2017.

NAFN has alerted the authority to further attempted fraudulent activity.

Following the launch of the Gloucestershire 5 year Hate Crime Strategy in October 2016, Gloucestershire intends to lead the way in tackling Hate Incidents and Crimes. Your school can play a crucial role in supporting efforts to achieve this goal through very simple measures.

A reminder that the guidance changed (with effect from September 2016) on making deletions from school registers.

 An increasing number of pupils are being educated at home. In the vast majority of cases, this is an active choice.

In September 2016 Leicestershire Police began a major programme of screening the film to all children aged (secondary school) 11 and above, both in state and independent schools, to those taught from home and those children in alternative provision. To date, they have shown the film to more than 35,000 children in groups of no more than 30 at a time.