Schoolsnet Bulletin Board

Schools in the South West are set for a cash boost of £175 million following the government’s multi-billion-pound investment in primary and secondary education in England, an increase of 5% per pupil.

All public sector organisations all hold responsibilities to report modern slavery - can you spot the signs? 

At the meeting of Gloucestershire County Council’s cabinet on 9 October 2019 approval was given to commit £7.5m to establish a new 75 place special school for children and young people with Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs.

Schools with deficit budget only.

Safer Recruitment Consortium have updated the Guidance for safer working practice for those working with children and young people in educational settings.

Officers from the Education Inclusion Service met with a number of head teachers last academic year to discuss the issues around seemingly high numbers of children leaving the school for the stated reason of Elective Home Education.

A serious accident in a County school when work at height was being undertaken provides a timely reminder that a suitable and sufficient risk assessment must be in place for this type of work.

Schools have a duty to protect children from harm within the educational setting (both from members of staff and from other pupils).

Young Epilepsy has just launched a free online guide for schools on supporting young people with epilepsy.

Gloucestershire County Council has launched its new Social Work Academy and will be inviting schools to visit the Academy as part of the monthly visits to the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH).

Reshaping Education Specialist Support Services update.

To enable Castle Water to allocate payments ensure you use the account number as reference going forward.

Tim Browne, Director of Education, sent an update to all head teachers on 2 July to let them know that the changes to the council’s grading structure have now been agreed and will be implemented from 1 September.

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.

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.

There are specific laws and guidance which enable information to be shared without consent, for example Crime and Disorder Act, Terrorism Act. 

Area Finance Staff Salary Costings Spreadsheets now available on Schoolsnet.

Week commencing 10^th December 2018, the Professional Advice Line (PAL) will no longer be an operational resource within the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub ( MASH).  

Every school maintained by the Local Authority should have a whistleblowing procedure. Whistleblowing procedures protect staff members who report colleagues they believe are doing something wrong or illegal, or who are neglecting their duties. 

The DfE has updated the guidance for Ofsted and local authorities regarding unregistered independent schools and out of school settings.

Schools need to be aware of fraudsters attempting to commit fraud by trying to change supplier bank account details.

The DFE has made further changes to KCSiE.  Many schools have reissued part 1 to staff as part of their start-of-term safeguarding update.  The 19th September changes are minor and as far as we can see at this stage, do not require the document to be reissued to staff.

The Home Office in co-operation with other Government Departments has issued guidance on the Criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults for professionals working in education, health, housing, benefits, law enforcement (police) and related partner organisations.

You will all be aware that children of compulsory school age who are registered at a school are expected, by law, to attend school regularly.

The DfE has updated the keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) guidance to reflect the recently revised working together to safeguard children guidance.

Please find attached a letter from Julian Moss, Assistant Chief Constable, regarding the recruitment of six dedicated ‘Schoolbeat’ officers who are expected to start their roles early in the new academic year.

Following issues raised by school representatives at the recent Single Central Drop-In sessions, the GSCB has put together a briefing sheet to provide references to Keeping Children Safe in Education 2018 (KCSIE).

Governing bodies and headteachers are reminded to inform the local authority when considering conversion to academy status and joining a multi-academy trust. The local authority is one of the stakeholders and should therefore be included in the consultation process.

Jo Johnson-Taylor, has been appointed as the Counter Terrorism Security Advisor Supervisor for Avon and Somerset and Gloucestershire.

New training course available from June 2018 through the Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Board that will provide information on safer working practices and Allegations Management.

With effect from 31 March 2018, the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) will cease to function. From 1 April 2018, the Teacher Services Division of the NCTL, which includes the Teacher Qualifications Unit and the Teacher Misconduct Unit will form the Teaching Regulation Agency.

We all have a role to play in protecting children and young people from child abuse and neglect. To help protect a child or young person, look out for changes in their Appearance, Behaviour, Communication (ABC).

Gloucestershire County Council is supporting the ‘Together we can tackle child abuse’ campaign which is led by the Department of Education.

The new statutory guidance for the designated teacher for children in care and previously looked after children has now been published.

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has seen an increase in recent weeks in the volume of what is referred to as CEO Fraud reports whereby schools are the targeted victim. This has resulted in substantial financial losses for several schools that have fallen victim to this type of fraud.

In light of the government’s announcement that the sex and relationships curriculum will be updated for the first time in nearly 20 years, the Sex Education Forum has published what it considers the 12 key principles of effective sex education. 

Important Process Up-dates

Following the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy last year we’ve been working with a range of schools and training providers on their requirements and as a result we’ve up-dated the process for schools, the revised version is attached.

The DfE have launched new advice for governing bodies, proprietors, headteachers, principals, senior leadership teams and designated safeguarding leads: Sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges.

The Royal British Legion is at the heart of a national network that supports our Armed Forces community through thick and thin. As you may be aware, the Legion was created as a unifying force for the military charity sector at the end of the First World War, and still remains one of the UK’s largest membership organisations providing a range of support every day in communities like yours, across the UK.

The Write-Off Form, Guidance and Options for Salary Overpayment have been updated with new information August 2017.

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

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

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.