Schoolsnet Bulletin Board

At the GSCB Executive Committee meeting on the 26^th April 2017 there was a discussion in relation to the role of the Lead Practitioner and how it is currently working across the partnership. It was agreed that an electronic survey would be carried out to gain a broader understanding of how practitioners and organisations view the role of Lead Practitioner.

Children's reading can 'dip' during the long summer holidays if they don’t have regular access to books and encouragement to read for pleasure. In Gloucestershire over 10,000 children signed up in 2016. We hope even more children will sign up this year! 

The next Traveller Education Network meeting is planned for Thursday 28^th September, 9am-12.30pm, at The Pavilion in Cheltenham. 

GHLL have launched new Relationship and Sexual Education (RSE) Resource for primary school settings.

Please note the attached Private Fostering information regarding your legal duty to notify the local authority about a private fostering arrangement.

Free Stonewall Equality & Diversity Training for Primary Schools is available on 11th July 2017, 9.30 - 4.00pm and for Secondary Schools on12th July 2017, 9.30 - 4.00pm at 2&6 Therapy Rooms, Gloucester.

Following an election which took place on 12 June 2017, Sue Padfield, All Saints’ Academy is elected to the Forum as a Secondary (Academy) Governor representative (term of office 22 June 2017 – 31 March 2019).   

Gloucestershire County Council in partnership with the NHS, are running a campaign to educate parents and carers of the risks and encourage them to ensure their child is properly vaccinated and your help to raise uptake of pre school immunisation is required.

In response to a recent Freedom of Information Request that appears to have been sent to all schools with the County, the Information Management Service has attached some advice and guidance for schools to use when dealing with this request.

Gloucestershire County Council has launched an online survey (link expired) for parents to understand possible demand for the increased free childcare entitlement of 30 hours for 3 & 4 year olds from September 2017.

For schools who have a Gloucestershire child in care in their school there is now an opportunity to have free e-training from Gloucestershire Virtual School. This e-learning will allow you to train at your own convenience.

Please note that Academies can now buy traded services for the next academic year (1^st September 2017 - 31^st August 2018).   

Fraudsters have contacted a number of schools by post with a letter which claims to be from Gamma. The letter informs the recipient that Gamma has changed its bank details and requests that they amend their records with the new details. The letter is an attempt by impersonation fraudsters to elicit funds, so please do not provide any information or amend your records with the bank details they’ve given as indicated in the letter.

For the majority of NQTs, completed NQT assessment paperwork should be returned to the LA by 28^th June 2017.  Please return the assessments from the Headteacher’s mailbox to: NQTs@gloucestershire.gov.uk

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.

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.

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.