Noticeboard: 14 July 2022

This week's Noticeboard includes advice regarding the current heatwave, the updated safeguarding and child protection policy, the Penalty Notice Code of Conduct and much more.

Included in this update:

Heatwave advice

Schools will be aware that extreme temperature alerts have been issued for the West Midlands during the early part of next week.

The government has developed guidance published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Heatwave Plan for England which is supported by further guidance directed specifically at the schools and nursery sectors - Looking After Children and Those in Early Years Settings During Heatwaves: Guidance for Teachers and Professionals.  This guidance provides advice and information about the effects of heat on children and lists precautions. It is advised that all schools/nurseries read and familiarise themselves with the UKHSA guidance documents and monitor the warning levels on the Met Office official website.

Staying Safe in the Sun

During a heatwave, staff should be alert to the specific symptoms of heat exhaustion and heatstroke. Vulnerable children with disabilities or complex health needs may be more susceptible to extreme temperatures. They should be monitored, and appropriate individual care plans implemented following advice from their specialist health professional.

Recommendations for staying safe in the sun

  • Children should not take part in vigorous physical activity on very hot days, such as when temperatures are more than 30°C
  • Encourage children playing outdoors to stay in the shade as much as possible.
  • Children should wear loose, light-coloured clothing and wear sun hats to keep cool and avoid sunburn.
  • Encourage the use of sunscreen (at least factor 15 with ultraviolet A (UVA) protection) to protect the skin if children are playing or taking lessons outdoors for more than 20 minutes.
  • Provide children and staff with plenty of cold water and encourage them to drink more than usual when conditions are hot.
  • Consider the needs of staff, especially vulnerable staff such as pregnant teachers who may feel the effects of the heat more acutely than anyone else. They may need specific measures implementing such as to be excused playground duty.

Reducing temperatures within school/nursery buildings.

Recommendations for reducing indoor temperatures:

  • Where necessary consider re-arranging school start and finish times to avoid teaching during very hot conditions.
  • Where possible utilise classrooms that remain cooler and adjust layouts to prevent children and staff being exposed to direct sunlight.
  • Open windows as early as possible to allow stored heat to escape from the building.
  • When the air outside becomes warmer than the air inside, almost close the windows, this will help keep the heat out but continue to allow ventilation.
  • Close blinds or use reflective window film or tints; but do not allow it to block ventilation.
  • Use oscillating fans when the temperature is below 35 C to increase the flow of air. When temperatures are above 35 C fans may not prevent heat related illness.
  • If they are available utilise portable cooling units in worst affected areas.  
  • Encourage children and staff to eat normally and drink plenty of cool water to stay hydrated.

For further information on reducing temperatures within school buildings and grounds, see UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) Heatwave Plan for England.

Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy for Schools: September 2022

The Birmingham Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy has been updated to consider the new Right Help Right Time Framework and statutory guidance documents; Working Together to Safeguard Children and the latest version of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSiE) 2022. Please be aware that the model policy we provide as part of the universal support offer is designed to be adapted rather than “adopted” by Head Teachers/Principals and governing bodies to reflect the ethos of your own school or education setting. Where ‘schools’ are mentioned, please interpret this as referring to all types of educational settings in Birmingham.

We have also included the power point presentation put together to cover the key aspects safeguarding and overview of changes to Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022, a quiz relating to Part 1 of KCSiE and answer sheet to the quiz. 

Please use this link to access the policy on the Birmingham City Council website.

Penalty Notice Code of Conduct

Following the closure of the consultation period relating to the BCC Education Penalty Notice Code of Conduct, the final document is now available to view via this link.

The new Code of Conduct will be implemented from 1st September 2022 and brings Birmingham’s thresholds into line with other local authorities and with the proposed national framework.   The thresholds will be:

1. Attendance: When:

  • a pupil has had a minimum of 10 sessions of unauthorised absence in the previous 12 calendar months and;
  • a school or place of alternative educational provision has commenced the relevant local authority legal intervention process and;
  • despite that process being followed by the school, there has been little improvement in the pupil’s attendance.

2. Unauthorised Leave in Term Time: When:

  • a pupil has been taken on an unauthorised “leave of absence” from school or a place of alternative educational provision for minimum of 10 continuous sessions (five days) and;
  • the school or place of alternative educational provision have followed the relevant local authority legal intervention process, a penalty notice may be issued.

To ensure all relevant procedures are compliant with the Code, the ‘Leave in Term Time (Legal) process’ and ‘FAST-track to Attendance’ are currently being updated ready for the new academic year. 

The link to the processes will be available via the School Noticeboard in September 2022, as will details of our new training offer.

Contact: attendance@birmingham.gov.uk

Key stage 4 and Post 16 to 19 results collection

We would be grateful if secondary schools could share Key stage 4/Post 16 to 19  school-level data on GCSE results day (25th August 2022) with BCC by completing this online form, Key stage 4 and Post 16 to 19 Results Day form,

The online form will be available from 25th August 2022 to 9th September 2022 and we would appreciate it if it could be completed as soon as possible after results day.

If you have any queries, please contact educationdata@birmingham.gov.uk

Pupil Premium strategy statement templates

The pupil premium guidance has been updated to also include the revised sample strategy statements and is available at this link.  The deadline for publication of these statements is 31st December each academic year. 

If you have any queries, please email Lana Forrester (Lana.forrester@birmingham.gov.uk)

PE and Sports Premium 

A reminder that the PE and Sports Premium report must be published on schools' websites by 31st July 2022.  

Further details, including templates that can be used, can be found at this link.  

Children and Young People Survey of SEND Services

As part of our work to improve the SEND service offering in Birmingham, we are asking children and young people with additional needs about their experiences of SEND services. 

We appreciate that it is a very busy time of year, but would be very grateful if you would you share this survey link with parents and carers of young people and young people themselves aged 12-29 who access additional/SEND services? We would be very grateful if parents and carers could help children and young people to fill in the survey where needed.  There are shopping voucher prizes on offer.

No personal data for under 18s will be sought, although Parents and carers may share their details for the purpose of entering the prize draw or for more information.

Tell us what you think about SEND services in Birmingham to be in with a chance of winning one of four £20 shopping vouchers. Have your say on improving SEND services and support

Are you aged 12 to 29?

  • Do you have any type of Additional Need or Disability?
  • What are your experiences of support for this in Birmingham?
  • What support has worked well for you?
  • What support hasn’t worked well for you?
  • What else could have helped? 

If interested, please fill in the 5 minute survey!

This is for Young People with Additional Needs aged 12 to 29 in Birmingham. Parents and Carers are welcome to help the young person complete it.  

If you need extra help, please contact Rowan via SENDImpComm@birmingham.gov.uk. 

The survey will close on Friday 9 September. The links are

Wishing you a restful summer break when it comes and with many thanks in anticipation.

Improving Progress and Outcomes: Data collection request before the end of term

I hope by now that you will have received our presentation and data collection tool delivered by Debbie Holmes at Network and Consortia meetings this term, on Improving Progress and Outcomes.  Please let me know if not.

As discussed, as a Local Authority we are focussing on improving the progress and outcomes for Children and Young People (CYP) with Education Health and Care Plans and those requiring SEND support.  This data collection will help all schools to have a dialogue and work collaboratively on the progress that CYP make, rather than attainment which does not always reflect the impact of the work we are doing and the impact it has had on pupils' achievements.  

We are keen to receive your submission by the end of term so that we can work on the information shared during the summer holidays.  This will allow us to give you the data you need for the new school year.  With only 2 weeks of term left, please could you complete the form (attached if you haven’t already had it) and return it to me as soon as possible.  Many thanks to those who have already returned their form.

If you have any questions or queries please contact Debbie Holmes at: Debbie.Holmes@birmingham.gov.uk or Kudzai Madzivanyika at: Kudzai.Madzivanyika@Birmingham.gov.uk  

Learning to Shape Birmingham Conference: 4 and 5 October 2022

After the launch in 2016, the annual Learning to Shape Birmingham Conference is returning this Autumn term. The Conference has always had the mission of bringing our community of Birmingham schools together. We are delighted that it is possible to do that in person again this year. It is essential that we continue to connect to build strong, supportive and mutually beneficial local and city-wide partnerships, ensuring that no school is left isolated.

This year’s conference will offer attendees knowledge and learning around Leadership, Curriculum and Inclusion from forward thinking experts, including; Matthew Syed, Prof. Peter Fonagy, Michael Rosen, Branwen Jeffries, Rosemary Campbell-Stevens and Andrew Warren to name but a few. Attendees will also gain practical input from their peers through a variety of workshops.

For more information and to book your tickets, please visit the website: www.learningtoshapebirmingham.co.uk

 Oracle Cloud Weekly Update from 1B Team

Please see your weekly update from the HR, Payroll, Finance and Procurement services related to Oracle

  • New HR Dashboards – An issue was identified by a number of Form Authorisers when accessing the new HR Dashboard. We continue to work on this issue, if you are experiencing an issue accessing the dashboard, please contact SHRSPortalhelpdesk@birmingham.gov.uk
  • Payroll costs report – Payroll Reports for Cheque Book Schools have now been sent, these schools will receive an invoice for May and June Payroll costs shortly. Work continues on payroll reporting for Non-cheque book schools.
  • Reconciliation Files – The 1B team continues to work on providing reconciliation files. The integration is progressing and is subject to testing to ensure it is fit for its purpose. We appreciate that this has taken longer than anticipated and confirm that delivery remains one of our key priorities. Please accept our apologies for the continued delay.
  • Internal Billing – We have taken the decision to continue the suspension of automatic approvals of internal bills until September.  This decision was made because Schools are entering their busiest periods, and with a focus on key activities, there will be limited time available to process internal billing and familiarise yourselves with the system; Also, having taken on board concerns previously raised around system readiness we want to complete a final review of functionality and ensure all relevant roles and access rights are in place. The drop-in sessions are being rescheduled for September. We apologise for the short notice and any inconvenience caused.
  • Payments to suppliers with VAT Registration missing – We previously wrote to you about a number of invoices not processing due to a supplier error in Oracle, supplying a list of the impacted suppliers. This issue has now been fixed and you can recommence submitting invoices against these suppliers. Please resubmit previously unsuccessful invoices
  • Payments (revalidation invoices) – Following last week's survey, Accounts Payable will restart sharing the invoice report on Friday 15th July and be sent weekly thereafter. The vast majority of school invoices are processed successfully, this report can be used to check on an invoice statement without contacting the school’s Payments team.  The schools' payments team is investigating all invoices on this report that have not been validated in order of submission to the Simplified Loader.  Please do not resubmit and only email the school's payments team in an emergency.
  • New Simplified Loader Version – From Friday 8th July all users should have downloaded and be using Version 1.77. All previous versions will provide an error when you attempt to use the previous version
  • Pending Worker Form - Attachments submitted with the Pending Worker form must be loaded into the ‘Comments and Attachments’ section at the bottom and not into the Document of Record section.  The notification to approve the pending worker will then display the attachments for your Form Authoriser and HR Officer to open and view. 
  • Paid Leave for Childcare Reasons – A few schools are using the Parental Leave Absence Type to grant paid leave for time off for a childcare-related absence. Parental Leave is the statutory provision for parents to take up to eighteen weeks of leave for each child and is unpaid.  Schools wishing to grant paid leave to staff for childcare reasons should select the absence type ‘Paid Leave Hours’ and select the appropriate reason based on the special leave of absence scheme. See the Schools HR Portal for full details.
  • Payslips: June Payslips have been processed and began arriving at schools earlier this week. July and August payslips will be distributed throughout the summer break, and not held until September

The majority of users are accessing Oracle and Simplified Loader without issues. However, if you have not got access or experience access issues please follow the below:

Updated Chapters within the Schools Financial Procedures Manual

The Audit chapters have been updated within the Schools Financial Procedures Manual.

Further updates will be publicised when other chapters are updated. 

Early Years Speech-Language and Communication – LA WellComm Data request

Thank you for using the WellComm Toolkit to improve Speech-Language and Communication (SLC) outcomes in your nursery and reception class. Last term's WellComm data collection return demonstrated that targeted interventions offered by schools with early years provision improved children's level of SLC development by more than 20%. The data also indicated that Birmingham still has approximately 50% of children under five not reaching the expected level of development, demonstrating that citywide targeted interventions are vital to support children's educational outcomes. Therefore we request that each school with early years provision return their WellComm screening data by the 31st of August 2022.  This vital data collection process will be used to shape the SLC support available across Birmingham.

To complete the survey, please click WellComm Data Collection - Spring/Summer Term 2022 (office.com) 
If you have any questions, please email:  EYDuty@birmingham.gov.uk 
Instructions for completing the form for the first time

  • Questions 7 – 21.  Please complete each age group section with the number of screens (Red, Amber or Green).  If you have not completed a WellComm screen for children in that age group please enter a zero.
  • Questions 22-33 completion is not required
  • Question 34 – voluntary completion

Instructions for completing the form for the second time

  • Questions 7 – 21.  Please complete each age group section with the number of screens (Red Amber or Green).  If you have not completed a WellComm screen for children in that age group please enter a zero.
  • Questions 22- 33  Please complete each question with the number of screens (Red Amber or Green) meeting the description in the question.  If you have no data for the question please enter a zero.
  • Question 34 – voluntary completion 

UKRO Festival of Rescue – Friday 30 September

West Midlands Fire Service is pleased to invite schools in Birmingham to attend our free Festival of Rescue event taking place on 30 September at Smithfields in central Birmingham (the site of the former wholesale markets). This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend the UK’s biggest fire and rescue competition being hosted in the West Midlands for the first time. We’re keen for local students to have the opportunity to learn more about the role of the fire and rescue service, as well as watching live competitions and demonstrations in rope rescue, vehicle extrication and urban search and rescue. There will also be the chance to visit our community village to learn more about fire and driving safety, as well as finding out about a career as a firefighter.

The event is taking place all day on Friday 30 September between 9am and 4pm, so we can be flexible about when you visit and parking will be available for buses or coaches on site. The festival site will have been fully risk assessed for public visitors, with appropriately trained and DBS-checked guides on hand to support you while you’re on site, and explain each of the challenges to the students. There will be food, drink and dedicated toilet facilities on site as well. If you need any further information about the event, please contact the WMFS team on ukro@wmfs.net, or visit the Festival of Rescue website: https://for-wmfs.co.uk/

Services for Education: Access Arrangements

Gone are the days where a school could apply for special consideration based on a ‘normal way of working’. Access Arrangements fall into two distinct categories: some arrangements are delegated to centres, others require prior JCQ awarding body approval. JCQ requires the centre, to lead on the assessment process but the challenge is that Access Arrangements Assessors will now need a Level 7 (postgraduate or masters level) qualification, covering at least 100 hours on the subject of individual assessment. Previously SENCos could carry out assessments if they had relevant assessment experience, a postgraduate qualification in SEN or 12+ hours training (but no qualification) in individual assessment. In order to comply with the JCQ regulations the assessor works alongside the school SENCo liaising on each candidate’s history of need and support, preferably carrying out assessments within the centre.

Schools and colleges that don’t have a member of staff who is suitably qualified will need to involve a local assessor who holds an appropriate qualification and that is where SFE can help.

If you need any further information regarding how SFE can fulfil this role please contact hello@servicesforeducation.co.uk or visit https://www.servicesforeducation.co.uk/bespoke/

Health and Safety Training Courses for school staff: July - September 2022 

Fire Marshall Training – 20th July 2022
Date:  20th July 2022
Time:  9am to 11am  
Cost: £20.00 per delegate 
Venue:  Delivered via Microsoft Teams 
Schools must book online at https://www.birminghameducationsupportservices.co.uk/Event/175180
General Enquiries please email: schoolsafety@birmingham.gov.uk

School Site Safety – 8th & 9th September 2022
Date:  8th & 9th September 2022
Time:  9am to 4pm. 
Cost: £148.00 per delegate 
Venue:  Delivered via Microsoft Teams 
Schools must book online at https://www.birminghameducationsupportservices.co.uk/Event/170721
General Enquiries please email: schoolsafety@birmingham.gov.uk

Paediatric First Aid – 12th & 13th September 2022 
Date:  12th & 13th September 2022
Time:  9am to 4p. 
Cost: £160.00 per delegate 
Venue:  Stirchley Baths, Bournville Lane, Stirchley, Birmingham B30 2JT
Schools must book online at https://www.birminghameducationsupportservices.co.uk/Event/172387
General Enquiries please email schoolsafety@birmingham.gov.uk
Note:  Lunch or refreshments will NOT be provided  

MIDAS Refresher –22nd September 2022 
Date:  22nd September 2022
Time:  9.30am to 1pm 
Cost: £171.00 per delegate 
Venue:  Driver Training Centre, Redfern Depot, Kings Road, Tyseley, B11 2AB
Schools must book online at https://www.birminghameducationsupportservices.co.uk/Event/169252
General Enquiries please email schoolsafety@birmingham.gov.uk
Note:  Lunch or refreshments will NOT be provided  

Peacemakers Training Courses

Three Junior Peacemaker Workshops in Autumn term

These peace-themed workshops shine a light on important global themes, whilst making connections to children’s everyday lives.  They’re for a whole key Stage 2 year group (up to 3 forms) over a day.  we have three spaces available for primary schools during the Autumn term.Please email Libbs as soon as possible, to book your school a workshop. The theme is ‘Creating a Healthy School: wellbeing & relationship-building’  which looks at the connections between wellbeing and peace. It offers frameworks for exploring wellbeing and promotes spending time in green space, or bringing nature into everyday life, to benefit both mental and physical wellbeing.

We bring the trainers and resources needed to introduce the theme to your school.  The days are linked to the UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The workshops are externally funded and provided free of charge for schools, however we will contact you after the workshop to ask for a donation towards our work. This contribution will help us make this workshop available to another school.  Further information is available at this link

One Day introduction to Restorative Practice for Schools

Restorative Practice is a way of being, thinking, interacting, teaching and learning – with relationships at the centre. Many schools are using restorative approaches to foster an inclusive, child-centred and relational learning environment. Restorative practice works on building relationships across the school and complements a trauma informed approach. Children develop emotional and social skills and learn to take ownership of conflicts and solutions to conflict. 

With Restorative Practice, we create safe, supportive spaces in our schools where we can engage in and learn from conflict and difficult conversations. We build trusting, supportive communities where we find effective ways to respectfully hold ourselves and one another accountable. With mutual respect, our communication, empathy and trust is built. 

We are running a one-day introduction to Restorative practice in the autumn which is a great chance to get a feel for this approach and find out how it might work in your school and learn some skills for everyday practice.   

The course is delivered by a practitioner, who is accredited by the Restorative Justice Council.

The cost is £120 per person. Please email Yvonne at office@peacemakers.org.uk to book a place and you will be contacted to arrange a date. 

This entry was posted by Laura Hendry on 11/07/2022.