Noticeboard - 18 January 2024

This week's update includes important information on measles and school attendance, notification of a briefing for new SENCos, information on Early Education Entitlement, training opportunities and more.

Included in this update

School Attendance – Measles and DfE Attendance Campaign

Measles and Registration Coding

Schools will be aware that there are an increasing number of people in the city with measles. Most of these are children who have not had their MMR (measles) vaccine. 

Where a parent notifies a school that their child has symptoms of measles or has been in contact with measles, schools must notify the UK Health Security Agency (public health) and seek advice. Measles is a notifiable disease. If in doubt schools are advised to follow the ‘Think Measles’ guidance and ensure you report a possible case to the UKHSA West Midlands Health protection team: Call: 0344 225 3560 (option 2)

  • Contacts of cases at higher risk of developing measles (e.g. unvaccinated siblings) should be advised to self-exclude from school for the incubation period (21 days after contact with a case of measles). Where this occurs, schools should use code C on the registers and if possible, provide the child with work to do at home. If the school is able to provide remote learning, code C is still the appropriate code to use. Schools are reminded that remote learning is an absence and cannot be recorded as present.
  • If pupils or staff have measles, they should be off school until at least 4 days after the rash begins. The correct code in these circumstances would be code I. 

The UKHSA advises that parents should NOT go to their GP practice or any other healthcare provider. They should instead phone for advice and state it could be measles. This will also apply in cases where schools have requested medical evidence from parents due to high levels of illness absence from school.

DfE School Attendance Campaign

The DfE have launched an attendance campaign and toolkit for schools - ‘Moments matter, attendance counts’.  Schools can download details of the campaign and toolkit here: Attendance campaign communications toolkit for schools (windows.net)

Measles Outbreak – DfE/UKHSA Webinar: Tuesday, 23 January 2024

In partnership with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the DfE will be running a webinar on Tuesday, 23 January 4-5pm to support schools/MATs to manage any outbreaks of measles.

Higher than usual levels of measles are currently being seen in Birmingham and reports of some cases now in Coventry and the Black Country. This seminar will explain the role of UKHSA, schools, MATs and the DfE.

Please hold the date and the DfE will share more information next week.

Non-Statutory Guidance for Schools and Colleges: Gender Questioning Children

Government Consultation

The Department for Education, working closely with the Government’s Equality Hub, has worked to produce non-statutory guidance on Gender Questioning Children, to provide clarity for schools and colleges, and reassurance for parents.

They are now consulting on this guidance and seeking views from parents, teachers, headteachers, pupils and clinicians. 

The consultation can be found at this link and the closing date for responses is 12 March 2024.

We would encourage you to contribute to the consultation, and for those school leaders who would like an opportunity to discuss the guidance and the implications for practice in more detail, Razia Butt, Director of Thriving Children and Families will be hosting a webinar on Monday, 29 January 2024 at 15:00-16:00.

Simply click here to join the webinar on the day

The guidance will also be discussed at the forthcoming Education Safeguarding Group on 23 January 2024.

For any queries in the meantime, please contact the team at education@birmingham.gov.uk

Further content:

Briefing for New SENCos

We are delighted to invite all new SENCos to a briefing on Thursday, 1 February 2024 from 13:00-15:15. The briefing is aimed at SENCos who are either new to the SENCo role this term or experienced SENCos new to post within Birmingham.

The aim of the briefing is to introduce SENCos to the senior leaders within the LA SEND teams as well as representatives from the Local SENCo Consortia groups.

The afternoon will provide an opportunity to:

  • Find out who the SEND teams are and what support they are offering
  • Have an overview of the Birmingham funding system
  • Understand the Local area SENCo groups
  • Understand the LA communication process to SENCos
  • Learn about the Balanced System approach to SALT across the city
  • Find out who the SEND OT locality therapists are and what they offer
  • Network with other SENCos

The Council House has kindly offered to host this event for us and the team will be providing light refreshments on arrival.  A place has been reserved for each new SENCO and an email invite has been issued to confirm attendance.

For any queries or further information, please contact Heather Wood, heather.wood@birmingham.gov.uk Head of SEND Advisory Services.

Early Years Single Funding Formula Returns for Spring Term 2024

For schools with Early Years provision for 2, 3 and 4 year olds

Each term schools are required to submit and return an on-line Early Years Single Funding Formula (EYSFF) submission to provide your numbers of eligible 2 year olds, Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) and Free School Meal (FSM) take up so that we can reconcile your early years funding. It is the schools responsibility to ensure that the form is completed within the timeframe - failure to do so will result in incorrect budget allocations.

The link to the form will be emailed to schools during Census week and schools will be required to complete the form between 18th and 25th January 2024. The email is sent to your enquiry@ email address so please ensure that the person responsible for this mailbox knows who to forward the link to within your school. We do not have the facility to use individual email addresses.

Please only include your Early Years Children on this form - do not include children in Reception.

Remember that all 2 year olds that you claim for and all 3 and 4 year olds that you are claiming EYPP and FSM for must have an eligible code that you need to keep a note of on the children's records for the purpose of Early Education Entitlement (EEE) audit. If the system does not confirm eligibility, you can contact earlyeducation@birmingham.gov.uk for support.

Please note there is no facility to receive a copy of your on-line submission - however you should have the details of numbers of eligible children on your records in line with the terms and conditions of EEE funding. The EEE Provider Agreement detailing the terms and conditions of delivering early education entitlement can be found on EYMIS: http://www.ted-birmingham.org.uk  

To access EYMIS please use:

  • Username: PVI2
  • Password: PVI2year

 If you have any queries regarding the on-line form or the eligibility of children, please email earlyeducation@birmingham.gov.uk FAO Dee Sterling-Miller

If you have any queries regarding your funding allocation please email fairfunding@birmingham.gov.uk

Early Education Entitlement - 30 Hours Places for Spring Term

For children to access a 30 hour funded place in Spring 2024 parents must have received an eligible code on or before 31st December 2023.

The local authority cannot fund codes that have a validity start date of on or after the 1st January 2024.

It is the childcare providers responsibility to check the date on the code before offering a 30 hour place or part of a 30 hour place. This should be done by entering the code on ECS and then check the validity start date of it to make sure it is eligible for the current term: https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/oefe/birmingham/la/schools

Please check the date before allowing the child to access a 30 hour place this term.

Further information about 30 hours and validating codes can be found on EYMIS: www.ted-birmingham.org.uk

  • Username: PVI2 (please note this is a capital i not the number one)
  • Password: PVI2year (please note this is a capital i not the number one)

If you have any queries regarding 30 hours extended entitlement please email earlyeducation@birmingham.gov.uk

Early Education Entitlement - 2-year Funded Places

Before a 2 year Early Education Entitlement (EEE) place is offered, please ensure that the 2 year old child is eligible. A parent (or provider on the parents behalf with permission) should complete an eligibility application to confirm eligibility by using this link: https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/oeye/Birmingham   

Every application generates a code or reference number - it's important you keep a note of this code for audit purposes. If the code is eligible then a place can be offered, however the eligibility checker does not always confirm eligibility so if it doesn't, you will need to view evidence of eligibility, then email earlyeducation@birmingham.gov.uk with the child's name, date of birth and the eligibility application code / reference and confirm specifically what evidence you have seen confirming the child's eligibility. For example, you may have seen a confirmation letter that the child receives DLA.

On receipt of this information the Early Education Entitlement (EEE) team will override the application to eligible and email confirmation so that the place can be offered. For children starting before headcount please make sure that you submit any override requests before 17th January 2024. Places should not be offered or claims submitted for children whose eligibility has not been confirmed. For children starting after headcount please follow the flexible or exceptional agreement process.

2 year olds can get an EEE funded place if they live in England and meet the 2 year eligibility criteria which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-2-year-olds

If providers would like to promote 2 year funding to parents, please feel free to use this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jagU4sv9LE

Early Education Entitlement - Parental Declarations

For Spring 2024 term children need to be in attendance with a provider for headcount day as per the terms and conditions of funding detailed in the Early Education Entitlement Provider Agreement in order for you to receive funding.

The Provider Agreement states:

2.32. The Provider must ensure that a parental declaration is completed in English for each child entitled to an early education entitlement place. If a parent is unable to understand what they are declaring or agreeing to, the provider should provide the appropriate translation support. If this support is not available the provider must contact earlyeducation@Birmingham.gov.uk requesting the appropriate support.  A parental declaration must be signed, fully completed or updated for each term the child is in attendance at a provider, even if there is no change. The parental declaration form will confirm when a parent is using multiple providers to access their entitlement.  Providing the parental declarations confirm that the parent is receiving their eligible entitlement, funding will be split and paid in accordance with the signed parental declaration forms.

Parental declarations must be signed at the start of every term by both parent and provider. Please note that children must be in attendance on or before headcount date in order to claim a funded place for Spring 2024 term. If children don't start with you until very close to headcount date, please ask whether they have visited / attended / signed up to another setting before coming to you.  If they have, then please check that they have informed the other setting that they are not going back. Do they know they might have to pay fees to the setting they are leaving? Duplicate claims will be investigated and may mean that the funding is split between providers.

Please ensure you include any eligibility codes and complete the schedule of planned attendance, this provides a clear picture of what hours and days the child is attending, the start date for each term, and if they attend more than one provider.  This also shows if children stretch their provision over more than 38 weeks of the year.  For 30 hour parents who use two providers, it is also really important to state who the Universal provider is, this must be the parent's decision. 

Please complete the parental declaration form with your parents – it is an opportunity to get to know parents and an opportunity to have conversations with them about whether they have registered at another provider, you can then discuss the implication of funding and the potential costs for parents and the provider involved in duplicate claims.

Remember to keep your parental declarations as they may be required for audit purposes. You can use your own parental declaration, but it must include at a minimum all the information in the BCC parental declaration.  You can find blank parental declarations and an example of a completed one on EYMIS: www.ted-birmingham.org.uk

  • Username: PVI2
  • Password: PVI2year

If you have any queries please email earlyeducation@birmingham.gov.uk

Child Benefit

Families could be missing out on a minimum of £24 per week!

If a parent/carer is responsible for bringing up a child who is:

  • under 16
  • under 20 and in approved education or training

They could claim child benefit

There’s no limit to how many children a parent/carer can claim for but only one person can get Child Benefit for a child.

To find out more visit www.gov.uk/child-benefit

Road Harm Reduction Strategy

Birmingham City Council has launched a consultation on our Road Harm Reduction Strategy via Be Heard, the online consultation platform.

The strategy has been developed to complement the Birmingham Transport Plan. It sets out a bold approach to transform Birmingham’s roads and streets to make them safer, more inclusive, and more attractive.

The ambition of the strategy is to end death and serious injury for users of Birmingham’s roads in line with the Vision Zero concept, which aspires to eliminate all traffic fatalities and serious injuries. The previous Birmingham Road Safety Strategy was adopted in October 2016. Whilst aligned with Vision Zero, its approach did not tackle traffic volume and its significant impact on road safety.

We would be grateful if you could respond to this consultation and also share this information in your networks. The link is: https://www.birminghambeheard.org.uk/economy/roadharmreduction. The consultation closes on 5 April 2024.

If you have any queries, please email: connected@birmingham.gov.uk

Climate Action Advisors from Let’s Go Zero offering free advice!

Let’s Go Zero is a national campaign for schools across the UK to declare their intention to be zero carbon by 2030. Sign up and join the growing number of schools working to decarbonise.

Schools can get free support from a Climate Action Advisor to help you along this journey to zero carbon. By filling in the form below you will be contacted directly by an advisor in your area and help you on your sustainability journey.

LGZ also run competitions, and our IKEA competition is live now and closes on the 19th February. Your school can win £1,500 worth of IKEA furniture for a uniform swap shop, outdoor learning area or indoor sustainability hub. See more details and how to apply below!

Finally, our Zero Carbon Fund offers organisations working with schools (not schools themselves) to get grants of £100,000 to support their work to decarbonise schools. Full details and recordings of previous webinars can be found at the links below:

Makaton Training

FAO: SENCo/Head Teacher

Levels 1 and 2

This workshop is suitable for Professionals who need to use Makaton in their work (as well as for those who require more in-depth training) and Parents and non-professional carers e.g. child-minders; who need to use Makaton in everyday situations The sessions cover current best practice around sign and symbol use and an overview of alternative systems of communication. At the end of the Workshop, participants will be able to use signs from stages 1-4 plus the Additional stage of the Makaton vocabulary. Participant manuals containing all the signs and symbols are provided.

  • Course date:  Level 1 – 20 February 2024
  • Course date: Level 2 – 27 February 2024

Level 3

Builds on the signs and symbols learnt in Levels 1 and 2. It aims to increase participants’ knowledge and skills, and develops ideas and confidence in using signs and symbols and teaches accurate interpretative skills. Sign analysis is considered and Stages 5 and 6 signs and symbols are taught. Participant manuals are provided.

  • Course date: 11 June 2024

For further information regarding these courses please contact Helene Elia at Helene.elia@nhs.net

Level 4

Learn signs and symbols Stages 7-8, revision of all previous stages. Further practice in interpretation and prepare for Tutor training.

  • Course date: 12 March 2024

For further information regarding these courses please contact Helene Elia at Helene.elia@nhs.net

Medical Needs in Early Years Training Newsletter – December 2023

Birmingham Community Healthcare Plus (BCHC Plus) provide a Medical Needs Training Service to early years and childcare settings. 

The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage places a statutory duty on early years childminders (including assistants), group and school-based providers to have training if the administration of medicine requires medical or technical knowledge.

The training currently available is as follows:

  • Allergies
  • Asthma
  • Epilepsy/seizures
  • Buccolam - (Epilepsy emergency rescue medication) this training should only be accessed as a standalone training session if recent Epilepsy training has been accessed.
  • Febrile Convulsion Awareness
  • Diabetes Awareness
  • Eczema Awareness
  • Medication administration

The latest Medical Needs Newsletter from BCHC Plus has been provided to update you on the local training and support available to you and to share some current medical needs news. 

For queries or further information please contact: bchc.bchcplus@nhs.net

Services For Education

Services for Education (SfE) is delivering National Professional Qualifications in partnership with Best Practice Network.

The Spring 2024 application window for National Professional Qualifications is now open. The final deadline is 28 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, we 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.

SfE provide the following NPQs:

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

The suite of National Professional Qualifications are DfE fully funded and are 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/

This entry was posted by Jaspal Shambi on 16/01/2024.