Included in this update

• School Attendance
• Consultation on Proposed Admissions Arrangements 2025/2026
• Schools’ Recruitment Update: Changes to the way job advert requests are submitted 
• Do you want your school to become a Car Free School Street? 
• Services For Education - National Professional Qualifications in Partnership with Best Practice Network
• Birmingham Adult Education Service - CPD Courses 
• REMINDER: FREE Online Workshop - Teaching Positive Body Image and Positive Behaviours 
• FREE Workshops – Best Start in Life Health Hacks

School Attendance

Part-time/reduced timetables

Headteachers, SENCOs, and Attendance Officers in schools are invited to an hour long webinar on ‘Part-time/reduced timetables’ to take place via Teams on Friday 8th December 2023 9-10.  The session will be delivered by Edwina Langley MBE, Lead Attendance Officer and Sarah Scarr, Deputy Service Lead for the Communication and Autism Team.  It will cover updates to the local authority guidance, notification forms, including the new updates form and half termly nil returns (no new cases).  We will also look at equality issues and local authority/school responsibilities related to this area. To book your place, please click on the link: https://www.birminghameducationsupportservices.co.uk/Event/220706

Is my child too ill for school?  – NHS advice for parents

Following the Covid pandemic, some parents have reported that it can be difficult to know when they should keep their child off school due to illness.  The NHS provides helpful guidance to parents on when it's ok to send children to school and when it’s better to keep them at home. Schools are advised to circulate this link to parents: Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

‘Missing Children, Missing Grades’

The Children’s Commissioner for England has published a report which looks at the relationship between school attendance and academic attainment.  The Commissioner’s findings were very worrying as there is direct evidence that children who attend school less regularly are less likely to get the GCSEs that they need.  This confirms previous Department for Education research on the negative impact of poor attendance on grades and employment outcomes.

The report concludes that:

• Poor attendance has a dramatic relationship with GCSE results. While 78% of all children who were rarely absent in both years passed at least 5 GCSEs including English and maths, only 36% of children who were persistently absent in both years and just 5% of children who were severely absent in both years reached this same standard.
• When pupils’ attendance improves, the likelihood of achieving qualifications at the end of school massively increases.

Schools are advised to circulate the report to parents in their schools to make them aware of the possible consequences of not ensuring their children attend school regularly.  You can find the report here: Missing Children, Missing Grades | Children's Commissioner for England (childrenscommissioner.gov.uk)

Consultation on Proposed Admissions Arrangements 2025/2026

The proposed 2025/2026 admissions arrangements and published admissions numbers for Birmingham Community/Voluntary Controlled Schools and for all own admission authority Schools within the area of Birmingham City Council that have instructed the Council to carry out the consultation on their behalf, are available to view here: https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/ProposedAdmissions2025

This consultation is open until 8 January 2024. If you have any comments please feel free to visit here: https://www.birminghambeheard.org.uk/people-1/proposed-aa-2025-2026-1/

For any queries regarding the consultation please contact admissionsconsultation@birmingham.gov.uk

Schools’ Recruitment Update: Changes to the way job advert requests are submitted

HR Services for Schools new recruitment solution launches 28 November 2023! 

HR Services are excited to be launching their new online recruitment solution, which gives schools the opportunity to manage their process online: 

• raise a request for a job advert online using the new advert request form (from 28 November schools will only be able to submit an advert via the new form)
• manage job advert requests online (for example, amend closing dates, withdraw vacancies)
• set up additional accounts for other users in your school

The option to manage applications online:

• view any online applications made for any vacancies that you advertise
• manage the recruitment process online from the point of application to your successful candidate signing their contract which includes sending interview invites and reference requests

Using the online solution will not increase the cost of advertising with HR Services, this is a service enhancement for all customers. Alternatively, schools can still continue to use the service as an advertising platform only and manage the process and applications in their usual way.

In order to get started, please confirm the name and email address of the employee you would want set up as the school’s primary user. Please note all schools will need to be registered and have an account to be able to advertise with HR Services going forward so please get in touch at: schoolsadverts@hrforschools.org.uk

Do you want your school to become a Car Free School Street?

There are now 20 Car Free School Streets in Birmingham, where the road outside of the school is closed to motor traffic at the start and end of the school day. This is part of a scheme to reduce congestion and improve air quality at the school gates as well as making it easier and safer to walk or cycle to school.

Expressions of interest are now invited from schools who would like to join the next phase of the Car Free School Streets programme in September 2024.

This part-time closure of streets to traffic is not appropriate for all schools. Prior to submitting your expression of interest, please read ‘how schools are selected’ to ensure your school would be a suitable location for the scheme.

The deadline for applications is 22 December 2023.

All schools in Birmingham are able to benefit through the existing Modeshift STARS scheme, which offers support and rewards to schools for taking steps to promote safer, greener and healthier travel.

Services For Education - National Professional Qualifications in partnership with Best Practice Network

The Spring 2024 application window for National Professional Qualifications is now open.

The initial deadline to apply is 20th December 2023 with a final deadline 28th January 2024, so don’t miss out and apply today!

This is the last cohort with confirmed scholarship funding available, so please ensure you get staff registered whilst fees are covered! 

Working in partnership with Best Practice Network, Services for Education are proud to be a delivery partner for a range of professional development programmes to support teachers and school leaders at all levels – from new teachers following the Early Careers Framework through to senior leaders engaging with National Professional Qualifications.

The following NPQs are provided:

• Senior Leadership (NPQSL)
• Leading Behaviour & Culture (NPQLBC)
• Leading Teacher Development (NPQLTD)
• Leading Teaching (NPQLT)

A suite of National Professional Qualifications is DfE fully funded and designed to support aspiring and current leaders in schools to grow and develop the skills needed to have real impact on the lives of young people and fellow colleagues.

Find out more here https://www.servicesforeducation.co.uk/npqs/

Birmingham Adult Education Service - CPD Courses

FAO: All staff/Parents

CPD - Health & Social Care flexible online courses if unemployed or earning less than £30k:

• Forced marriage and honour-based violence awareness.
• Keeping young people safe online.
• Knife crime awareness.
• Menopause awareness.
• Safeguarding in out-of-school settings.
• Spiking awareness.
• Stalking and harassment awareness.
• Suicide awareness and prevention.
• Understanding gender and identity.
• in children and young people.
• Understanding the power of the influencer.

For more information contact sameena.asmat@birmingham.gov.uk

REMINDER: FREE Online Workshop – Teaching Positive Body Image and Positive Behaviours

Tuesday, 5 December 2023 – 15:45-17:00

The Young People's Education Community (YPEC) is providing a FREE workshop for all secondary schools and colleges in Birmingham and Solihull. The workshops are funded through the Fairer Futures Funding Bid and will cover:

• Teaching about positive body image and behaviours (Rebecca Jennings, RAISE)
• Raising awareness of Free Best Start in Life Health Hack education workshop (YPEC) Part of the wider Public Health strategy to reduce the high rates of infant mortality in the city.
• NHS Projects in Schools, (Amy Maclean, Development Lead, Ladywood and Berry Parr Locality Partnership)

To book your place simply follow this link and a Teams invite will be emailed separately.

For any queries or further information please contact Jo Hatfield at jo@ypec.co.uk

FREE Workshops – Best Start in Life Health Hacks

As part of the wider Public Health strategy to reduce Infant Mortality rates, YPEC are offering FREE workshops aimed to increase awareness and education around health attitudes and behaviours, and the impact they can have on health, particularly reproductive health.

Learning Objectives:

• To understand what infant mortality is
• To examine what factors attribute to infant mortality
• To increase knowledge of healthy behaviours and attitudes
• Explore the importance of pre-conception/birth health and wellbeing
• Explore the importance of post-natal health and wellbeing
• How to promote key health messages to others – in school, communities, etc
• Increase knowledge of all the different professionals and organisations are involved within health and reproduction
• Signposting to support and services

Workshop options:

• Half-day workshops with pupils in Year 11, 12 or 13
• One hour awareness workshops with pupils from any year

To find out more about these FREE workshops, please contact Jo Hatfield at jo@ypec.co.uk