Noticeboard - 22 February 2024

Welcome back, we hope you've enjoyed a good half-term break. This week's noticeboard contains important information on Schools' Financial Year End Procedures, School Attendance, In-Year School Admissions Statutory Requirements, and more.

Included in this week's noticeboard: 

Traded Services for Schools, Academies and Education Settings

In response to the financial challenges the Council is currently facing, all council services have been required to increase fees by 10%, including those provided by the Children’s Services directorate.  These increases will apply from 1st April 2024.

Please note that the only exception to the 10% increase is the provision of Educational Psychology services.

Schools and settings will receive separate notifications from the relevant service confirming the increase in charges, and any queries should be discussed directly with the services concerned.

Thank you for your continued support for our traded services, and we very much look forward to working with you in the future.

2023-2024 Schools’ Financial Year End Procedures

At the end of each financial year, the Chief Finance Officer has the responsibility for preparing the annual accounts for the City Council, this includes consolidating school accounts.  

For school accounts to be included within the Local Authority final accounts for 2023-24, schools are required to have finalised their year-end data for the period ending 31st March 2024.

The information provided also includes any changes to the financial procedures for this financial year. 

Review of prior year school workbooks revealed that exclusion of accumulated accrual transactions below £1,000 had no material impact to the accounts/carry-forward balances.

For any queries please contact: SchoolsYEAccountsClosedown@Birmingham.gov.uk

Arrangements for the Offer of Year 7 Places on 1 March 2024

Information about the arrangements for secondary school offer day will be posted on the council's website www.birmingham.gov.uk/schooladmissions and also emailed to Year 6 parent/carers next week.

This will set out the process for the offer of secondary school places on Friday 1 March 2024. 

Offer emails will be sent on Friday 1 March 2024 and we expect that parent/carers will receive their emails by 4pm - the exact time will depend on their email service provider. Parent/carers will also receive their child’s offer by letter from 2 March 2024.

To ensure consistency for all families, waiting lists in Birmingham will not be made available until Monday 25 March 2024. Waiting list information will not be available before that date.

Applications received after the final closing date (31 October 2023) will be considered after applications received on time and processed after 1 March 2024.

School Attendance

Fast-track and Leave in Term Time Referrals

Currently, the Education Legal Intervention team is experiencing a high demand for its services related to Fast-track to Attendance and Leave in Term Time (legal) process referrals.

This means that there may be a delay in getting back to schools with outcomes of referrals.  Could we please request that schools avoid emailing the team to request updates.  As soon as the team is able to provide information to schools relating to any referrals made, they will contact the appropriate staff at the earliest opportunity. 

Thank you as always for your support in this matter.

Part-time Timetables

Schools are reminded of the need to notify the local authority of any children placed on part-time timetables. Guidance on part-time timetables is provided here: Part-time or reduced timetables | Pupil attendance, advice for schools and professionals | Birmingham City Council

Schools should ensure that the local authority is updated after the initial period for the part-time provision has ended and should also ensure that if no new part-time timetable arrangements have been made for the whole of the half term, that the ‘nil return (no new cases)’ form is completed.

All the relevant forms can be located via this link:  Part-time provision notification, update provision notification, and half termly nil return (no new cases) for schools - Instructions - Birmingham City Council

In-Year School Admissions Statutory Requirements, Procedures and Timescales

Thank you to all schools who regularly report in-year applications (and related outcomes), pupil movement and vacancy numbers to the council. This supports the safeguarding of children and of schools and the Local Authority meeting their statutory requirements.

The purpose of this note is to remind schools of key points in the in-year admissions process.

There are a number of statutory requirements relating to the in-year admissions process which are outlined in the School Admissions Code (2021) and all schools and academies must comply with these requirements. Birmingham City Council have implemented the Schools’ Portal to assist schools in their statutory admissions responsibilities. Regular training has been provided by the LA along with several guides and videos to support the use of the portal. An overview of responsibilities for the use of the portal is provided to all registered users and can also be viewed on the Portal in the “Schools Portal User Guidance” notice available on the Portal Home Page.

Parents who wish to apply for in-year admission for their child to a Birmingham school must submit an application directly to their preferred school.  Schools cannot refuse to accept an application for any year group (including Year 11) even if they have no places available in the relevant year group.

Schools should respond to all applications for in-year admission without delay and where possible within 10 school days, however they must respond to the parent in writing within a maximum of 15 school days. If the application is unsuccessful the letter must include details of the reason for refusal, and it must inform parents of their right of appeal against the decision.

Schools are also required to provide details of all in-year applications received and their outcomes to the Local Authority as soon as possible by uploading the information to the Schools’ Portal. It is important that schools provide this information promptly to the Local Authority (the Code details the expectation that this should take place within two school days) because it enables us to identify children who may be without a school place which is an important safeguarding function.  Children who are unable to obtain a school place through the in-year application process are referred for LA placement to ensure that they return to education as quickly as possible.

Schools are also required to provide details to the Local Authority of the vacancies held in all year groups.  Schools are reminded that this information must be an accurate representation of the number of vacancies held in all year groups (including Year 11).

Pupil Place Planning - Proposals to Reduce PAN for 2023 Entry

In order to help address the sustained impact of surplus Primary places and lower intakes in schools, we have reduced PANs at several of our maintained schools and we are currently seeking a proposed PAN reduction at the following maintained school:

  • St Benedict's Primary School - reducing from 60 to 30 for Reception 2023 entry (current Reception class)

The business case will be sent to the Schools Adjudicator in due course for consideration. We will publish the outcome of the decision.

The school's PAN for Reception 2024 has already been formally reduced. Community and VC school PANs for Reception 2025 have also now been consulted on and approved in February 2024. Any proposed changes for 2024/2025 PANs would now require a formal variation request.

For further information, please contact Education Infrastructure team at ediplaceplanning@birmingham.gov.uk

Working Entitlement – Reminder of 15 hours of Funded Childcare

Following the introduction of new early education entitlements from April 2024 (Summer term) there is additional childcare support available for 2 year olds. Parents who meet the working criteria can apply for 15 funded hours a week for 38 weeks of the year (term time). If you are a school supporting families with 2 year olds or children approaching the age of 2, please ensure they are aware of all the support available.

Parents can apply now - applications will need to be made directly to HMRC. Schools can signpost parents to www.childcarechoices.gov.uk where they can get more information and apply. Children will need to have turned 2 years old and parents will need to have their eligible code by 31 March 2024 to access a place from 1 April. Please encourage parents to apply soon in case they need to provide any additional information to HMRC.

If parents are buying additional childcare on top of their funded entitlement, they may benefit from Tax Free Childcare. Tax-Free Childcare is a government scheme to support working parents with childcare costs. If eligible, parents set up an online childcare account which they can use to pay their childcare provider directly. For every £8 they pay in, the government will pay in an extra £2. Parents can get up to £2,000 per child per year, or £4,000 for disabled children. Parents can apply for Tax Free Childcare and Working entitlement at the same time.

To remain eligible, parents will need to reconfirm their eligibility via their childcare service account every 3 months. Failure to do so could mean they lose their entitlement.

For more information or any queries please contact: earlyeducation@birmingham.gov.uk

Early Education Entitlement

2 Year Funded Place

As you will be aware the new offers for Early Education Entitlements are being phased in during 2024 / 2025. The first phase starts from April 2024 where eligible working parents of 2 year olds will be able to access 15 hours of working entitlement and here is what you need to know:

  • The working eligibility criteria and application process will be the same as the current 30 hours for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds.
  • Parents can apply now - applications will need to be made directly to HMRC. You can signpost parents to www.childcarechoices.gov.uk where the most up to date information will be made available to support parents.
  • Parents will need to apply for and receive their eligibility code on or before 31 March 2024 to be able to access the 15 working hours entitlement from 1 April 2024.
    Please encourage parents to apply early in case they need to provide any additional information to HMRC to support their application!
  • An eligible 2 year old can access their place from the term after they turn 2 years old as long as they have their code in time.
  • Providers will be required to check the codes are eligible for the term being applied for, using the same system that you currently use to check the 30 hours codes – ECS. 
  • Please do not allow children to access their entitlement until you have confirmed that they are eligible to do so.
  • There may be a very small number of families eligible for 2 year funding under the current disadvantaged eligibility criteria who may also be eligible for the 15 hours working entitlement. These parents can only claim 15 hours in total and cannot claim both elements. These parents should be encouraged to remain on the current disadvantaged entitlement until they can apply for 30 hours working entitlement.
  • Parents who have recently reconfirmed their Tax Free Childcare accounts and now wish to apply for the 2 year old working entitlement, may have to wait until their next reconfirmation date to enable them to do this. Please ensure that you encourage parents to apply as soon as their reconfirmation window opens as some of these dates may be very close to the 31 March deadline for receiving the code.

If you have any queries or concerns, please email the team at earlyeducation@birmingham.gov.uk

Free School Meal Claims

Do you claim Free School Meals (FSM) for eligible early years 3 and 4 Year olds?

In order to claim Free School Meals for eligible 3 and 4 year olds schools must be delivering their funded place in line with the terms and conditions of funding which state:

To access an FSM the child must be attending their early education funded entitlement for a minimum of 5 hours during core hours (9am to 3pm), and parents/carers must be in receipt of specific benefits.

Schools must complete an eligibility check so that you have an eligibility code. Please note that the checker cannot always confirm that the child is eligible, so in this instance if the parent believes that they are eligible, please view evidence of eligibility and contact us to let us know - we can then override the code to eligible.

Eligibility checks can be completed here: https://www.cloudforedu.org.uk/oefe/birmingham/provider Schools can do them on behalf of the parent with their permission.

2024 Data Collections for EYFSP, Phonics, KS1 (optional) and KS2

The website https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/primarydata has now been updated with the necessary documentation regarding the 2024 statutory collections, we will add further updates over the coming months.

Please see the link Deadlines Poster 2024 for the deadlines for each key stage assessment return.  Please note, ALL schools are required to submit final returns by the stated deadlines.

We are asking schools to complete an online survey, the main purpose is to find out whether schools intend to submit key stage 1 teacher assessments, please read KS1 LA Guidance 2024 before completing the online survey. The survey can be completed at this link: Survey Key Stage 1 Teacher Assessments 2024

For further details please contact the Data and Intelligence team at educationdata@birmingham.gov.uk

The Auditor Spring 2024

The Spring edition of the Auditor can be found at this link - Issue 67

Annual Statutory Compliance Return

The Annual Statutory Compliance Return is now live and can be accessed using the following link: https://www.birminghambeheard.org.uk/economy/d79529a8

The date for completion of the Compliance Return is Thursday, 28 March 2024.

Once the deadline for returns has passed, a sample of schools will be selected for an audit of their compliance which will be undertaken by Schools Safety Services.

Please be aware that any school failing to submit a return will be first on the list to be audited.

Ramadan Guidance and Model Letter

The holy month of Ramadan begins on or around 10 March, depending on the sighting of the new moon. NAHT published some useful guidance for schools last year for supporting Muslim pupils who will be fasting, and which still offers useful practical tips for schools.

Please also find at this link a model letter and parent form for primary schools to ensure that any pupils who are fasting are identified and can be supported.

Ending Violence Against Women and Girls

Birmingham City Council & Birmingham Community Safety Partnership are working to reduce and prevent the occurrences of violence and abuse against women and girls, strengthen the support available for victims and survivors and improve responses to reports of violence and abuse.

Almost 25% of women in England and Wales aged between 18-74 experienced abuse before they turned 16 years old. We want your opinions on how we can work together to end this.

Male allyship is a powerful tool in ending violence against women and girls, and we’re keen to hear from the men and boys across Birmingham too.

Use this link to access the survey and share your views

Littering and the Environment – Free presentation and litter picking opportunity from WISE!

Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement (WISE) are working on behalf of the council to ensure litter enforcement. As part of their social value commitment, they are looking to provide an educational opportunity for children and young people to learn about the effects of littering on the environment.

If schools would like to take advantage of a free visit from WISE to deliver a thought-provoking presentation, and organise a litter pick around the school premises, please contact Darran Carter, Social Value and Communities Manager for WISE at darran@wasteenforcement.co.uk or telephone 07306 564040. There’s also an opportunity for pupils to design an anti-littering poster to help save the environment!

The feedback from school visits has been extremely positive, with pupils engaging and demonstrating their passion about the effects of litter on the environment.

Services for Education

Increasing Greater Depth Writing Attainment - an Overview for Leaders (ONLINE) Tuesday 27th Feb 2024 Book here

Safer Recruitment - Refresher Training (ONLINE) Wednesday 28th February 2024

This refresher course will enable schools to ensure they are meeting statutory requirements and to improve processes that help deter, reject or identify people who might abuse children and identifies ways settings can create safer environment Book here

Teachers and Assessment Leaders New to Year 2 - Preparing for the Essential Assessment Processes at the End of KS1 (CENTRE BASED) - Monday 4th March 2024: 09.00 - 16.00. Book here

Interim Writing Moderation at KS1 – For Year 2 Teachers (Centre Based) Thursday 7th March 2024. This shared moderation will be an opportunity for Year 2 teachers to ensure that assessments of writing are secure. Although now non-statutory, it is best practice to continue using the 2019 KS1 Teacher Assessment Framework to maintain rigour and make robust and accurate judgements at KS1. Book here

Interim Writing Moderation at KS2 – For Teachers New to Year 6 Monday 11th March 2024

This course will provide an early opportunity for Year 6 teachers to review writing evidence against the 2019 KS2 teacher assessment framework standards to inform next steps in the teaching, learning and assessment process. Book here

Makaton Workshops

FAO SENCO/Head Teacher

If schools are interested in Makaton Training they can take advantage of the following workshops:

Level 1 and 2

This workshop is suitable for Professionals who need to use Makaton in their work (as well as for others who wish a more in-depth training) and Parents and non-professional carers e.g. child-minders; who need to use Makaton in everyday situations. Signs and symbols in Stages 1 – 4 and Additional will be taught. Current best practice around sign and symbol use. Participant manuals provided

  • Course Level 1: 30th April 2024
  • Course Level 2: 7th May 2024

Level 3

Builds on the signs and symbols learnt in Levels 1 and 2. It aims to increase participants’ knowledge and skills. It 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 Level 3:  11th June 2024

Level 4

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

  • Course Level 4: 12th March 2024

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

This entry was posted by Jaspal Shambi on 20/02/2024.