Noticeboard: 10 February 2022

This week's Noticeboard includes a reminder about the Household Support Fund, the latest SEND updates for schools and parents/carers, upcoming webinars about the Holiday Activities Fund and caretakers' houses and more.

Included in this update:

Household Support Fund

Schools will be aware that the council used part of its allocation under the government’s Household Support Fund to provide supermarket vouchers for families eligible for free school meals for the October half-term and Christmas holiday periods.

There is information about how families can access support through the remainder of the fund on the council’s website at https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/hsf

Supermarket vouchers will not be available for future school holiday periods.

SEND Updates 

Pease find at this link the latest regular update on SENAR for schools and for parents/carers.

2022 Data Collections for EYFSP, Phonics, KS1 and KS2

The Education and attainment data website has now been updated with the necessary documentation regarding the 2022 statutory collections. Further updates will be added over the coming months. 

Please see this link for deadlines of each key stage assessment return. Please note, ALL schools are required to submit final returns by the stated deadlines.

Contact: Data and Intelligence Team (educationdata@birmingham.gov.uk)

Holiday Activities Fund webinars for schools next week

Research has shown that the school holidays can be pressure points for some families. For some children this can lead to a ‘holiday experience gap’, with children from low-income households being:

  • less likely to access organised out-of-school activities
  • more likely to experience ‘unhealthy holidays’ in terms of nutrition and physical health
  • more likely to experience social isolation

In response, the Department for Education is investing over £200m per year until at least 2024 for local authorities to deliver the Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF), known locally as Bring it on Brum! HAF is designed to support children who, predominantly, are eligible for benefits-related free school meals (aged 4-16yrs).

Since the first delivery year in 2021, we have established a network of over 250 local organisations across the city and reached over 45,000 children; however, we have a need and aspiration to grow this network of providers, especially the number of schools engaging in the programme to ensure that we support as many children and young people in need as possible.

In 2022, providers in receipt of HAF grant funding are required to deliver holiday clubs (Easter, Summer and Christmas holiday periods) that include:-

  • an element of physical activity
  • a meal (to school food standards)
  • enriching activities to develop skills and confidence

If you are interested in finding out more about HAF, how your school could get involved and access the grant funding available, please drop into one of the forthcoming webinars using the Teams links below:

If you are unable to attend one of these sessions, but would like a further discussion, please email jenny.carter@streetgames.org

Early Career Teacher Pool 2022

Will you be looking for Early Career Teachers (ECT) to start in September 2022? Then why not recruit via the Birmingham ECT Pool?

HR Services for Schools holds a register of primary and secondary ECTs actively seeking their first teaching appointment in Birmingham for September 2022. 

Schools using the pool will save precious time and money by avoiding advertising, responding to enquiries, and chasing references. ECTs will be selected by area and phase, with their details provided via a secure email containing application forms and references – all ready for short-listing!  The team communicate regularly with teachers to ensure the information available is as up to date as possible and can also assist with calls to shortlisted candidates. The charge for the service is £310.

To request details or to find out more, please complete the Early Career Teachers Search Form. If you require further information, please email ect@birmingham.gov.uk. 

Queensbury School Consultation: Proposal to relocate Post 16 Education site and increase SEND provision

The Education Impact Academy Trust Board and the local governing body of Queensbury School would like to give all current and future parents and all other interested parties the opportunity to comment on the proposal to:

  • relocate SEND Post 16 (Sixth Form) provision to new refurbished site (Station Road, Erdington B23 6UB from February 2023) 
  • increase the provision of SEND Post 16 places from 84 to 96 (from 1st September 2023)
  • increase the total number of SEND places for Queensbury School up to 340 placements, across two sites (from September 2024) 

The consultation will run for four weeks from Friday 21st January 2022 to 12 noon on Friday 18th February 2022.

Full details of the changes and information on how to comment are available at this link. 

Contact Chris Wilson (Executive Head Teacher) -  enquiry@queensbury.eiat.org.uk  (REF: Queensbury Consultation) or 0121 373 5731

Bring The Power: Birmingham 2022 Youth Programme

Find out about the Bring The Power programme and how your school can get involved by attending the online teacher briefing on Thursday 17th February 2022 3:30 - 4:15pm

To register your attendance click here

Caretakers' Houses Framework Webinar: Friday 18th February 10.30am

Further to the online survey undertaken in Summer / Autumn 2021, we have now developed a framework to support schools around managing caretakers' houses. Schools are invited to attend a webinar on the caretakers' houses framework which will take place on Friday 18th February 2022 from 10.30am - 11.30am. At the webinar, officers from Education Infrastructure will share information on the framework and answer questions from schools regarding their individual circumstances.

The webinar will cover :

  • schools' responsibilities
  • tenants' responsibilities
  • the local authority's responsibilities
  • the processes to follow when tenants vacate properties 
  • change of use (if house is no longer to remain a dwelling)
  • statutory compliance and landlord approval

If you wish to attend this webinar, please contact Hannah Forrest (hannah.forrest@birmingham.gov.uk) who will reserve your place. Once your place is confirmed you will receive a link to the webinar. 

School Attendance training: Early Help and Legal Processes

The next School Attendance – Early Help and Legal Processes online training will take place on Wednesay 16th March 9.30am-12.30pm.

The course will cover FAST-track to Attendance and the Leave in Term Time (Legal) process as well as early help, children with frequent illness absence and what to do next when all else fails.

To book your place via BESS, please use this link. To ensure this popular course is open to as many schools as possible, only two places per school are available. 

Schools Financial Services Budget and Strategic Forecast Template

The Schools Financial Services Budget and Strategic Financial Planning Template is available for maintained primary, secondary and special schools to purchase. 

The spreadsheet has been structured to allow direct input of schools’ own funding calculations, enabling assumptions to be changed and modified as and when announcements and guidance on future years funding are released from the DfE (updating subject to date limit). The Budget & Strategic Template will calculate estimated outturns and key KPI’s when information on anticipated income, expenditure and funding has been input by the school. Please note that the report and documentation will be sent as an encrypted email and the price is £145.  

The key benefits to your school are that the template will:

  • enable an assessment of effective and efficient use of resources.
  • be responsive to fluctuations in pupil numbers and funding.
  • support the requirements of the Schools Financial Value Standard.
  • comply with Ofsted and Audit recommendations.
  • allow modelling of different funding scenarios.

It is a DfE requirement that each school must submit multi-year budget forecasts annually, therefore this template will ensure that schools are compliant with this requirement. SFS can support schools in completing the Budget & Strategic Forecast Template if required at £49 per hour. 

Please submit expressions of interest to: Elaine.A.Leith@birmingham.gov.uk

The Bell Foundation training: Supporting new arrivals who are new to English (Online Course)

This course supports teachers in meeting the needs of newly arrived pupils who are new to English, including learners who are seeking refuge. This online course is for primary and secondary school staff who are seeking guidance, strategies and resources for supporting newly arrived pupils who are new to English, including those who are refugees or asylum seekers. This highly practical, evidence-informed course will explore what support needs to be in place for learners who use EAL during the following stages:

  • before admission
  • before the pupil starts
  • in their first days and
  • during the initial weeks

The course considers the key roles and responsibilities for all staff in developing a whole-school approach to supporting newly arrived pupils who are new to English. This three-module online course is designed to work around the busy lives of those working in schools - tickets are available for either primary or secondary practitioners. With three hours of online study over a four-week period, this course enables you to work at a manageable pace with plenty of time to process course content and consider relevance to your context.

The course is designed to be highly interactive and collaborative, with opportunities to work with other course participants, course tutors and course material. Module Two consists of a live webinar with opportunities to ask questions and share best practice in real time. A certificate will be awarded for successful completion of the course.
For more information and to register, please use this link.

Be Empowered Evening Workshops

Please find attached the new flyer and booking form for the next set of Be Empowered Workshops (Early Support Programme for SEND Parent & Carers) taking place in March and April 2022. This set of workshops is being held at Moseley Hall Hospital, Alcester Road, Birmingham B13 8JL on Wednesdays from 6pm-9pm on starting on 2nd March 2022 through to 6th April 2022.

It would be much appreciated if you could share with any interested parent carers of children with SEND. The deadline for receiving bookings is Wednesday 16th February 2022. 

Any queries and booking forms can be emailed to BeEmpowered@birmingham.gov.uk

Services for Education training: EYFS Profile Moderation 2022 

These sessions will support schools and settings to complete the profile assessments under the revised EYFS Statutory Framework 2021 and will be delivered by experienced accredited EYFS profile moderators.

The course will reassure practitioners that their judgments are accurate, valid and consistent with the new revised national standards (ELGs) and revised exemplification material by carrying out ‘agreement trailing’ (standardisation) and moderation activities with other schools.

The course will reassure practitioners that their judgments are accurate, valid and consistent with the new revised national standards (ELGs) and revised exemplification material by carrying out ‘agreement trailing’ (standardisation) and moderation activities with other schools. 

To find out more or to book, please use this link.

Email: hello@servicesforeducation.co.uk

This entry was posted by on 07/02/2022.