Included in this update:

• Resilience Calendar 20-21
• Risk of NEET students Y11/12/13
• BEP Primary Art Subject CPD with Ildikó Nagy: 3rd February
• Green Bitesize Learning
• PHE School Zone: New Healthy Year calendar to support healthier habits
• Online Daytime Be Empowered Workshops - Feb/March & April/May 2021
• EYFS Reforms Early Adopters – Let’s Talk About the EYFS Reforms in Practice!
• EYFS Profile
• The PIPA Trial – exploring the effectiveness of an online parenting resource

Resilience Calendar 20-21

A list of upcoming Resilience training is available in the Resilience Calendar.

All courses are free to attend.  Any queries please contact the SSI team at ssi@birmingham.gov.uk

Risk of NEET students Y11/12/13

In response to COVID and the disproportionate impact on the future  employment opportunities for young people, Birmingham Careers Service will be offering its RONI ( risk  of NEET) offer with effect from January 2021.

Careers leads are invited to submit a referral form for any 2021 leaver who they feel is at  risk of not progressing into further education, training or employment. For full details and to download a referral form, visit : www.birminghamcareersservice.co.uk

Please be aware that this does not replace the school's statutory duty to provide impartial and independent CIAG. Placements for young people with an EHCP remain the responsibility of SENAR. Y11 referrals made before the end of February will be invited to attend ‘My Choices @16+’ a targeted, virtual careers event for school leavers who are at risk of becoming Neet. This is an on - line event to be held on Wednesday 3rd March 2021 during the morning and ( repeated) in the afternoon and can be accessed via an Eventbrite ticket invite.

BEP Primary Art Subject CPD with Ildikó Nagy: 3rd February 13.30 -16.00 on Zoom

We are pleased to be welcoming BEP Associate Artist Ildikó Nagy who will deliver a keynote both on her work, and also how teachers can use mixed media art forms to explore ecological and global warming issue with primary pupils. Ildiko will take us through a wide array of craft and making techniques including up-cycling, felt making, willow work, sculpture and plastics (which will feature an introduction and guide for schools - do you know your plastics?).

As part of the event I will also be taking a closer look at the key concepts of art with teachers to see how we might exemplify these in Primary schools with the children. BEP Link

BEP Primary Art Subject CPD Event with Ildikó Nagy
3rd February 13:30-16:00pm on Zoom
Cost: £40
Click Here to book your place or email events@bep.education
Delegates will receive post event presentation PDF’s

Green Bitesize Learning

Here at Naturally Birmingham, we want to promote how fantastic working in the green sector is and all of the opportunities it has to offer.

One of the best things about the green sector is getting interactive and learning on the job. We would of loved to have been running these activities in the park and asking your students to join us but for obvious reasons we remain online and learning from home.  However to keep engaging with nature in a local greenspace, park or garden,  we have created 3 videos, which include activities that are often used within the green sector:

1. Soil Jar Test
2. Measuring a Design Space
3. Estimating the height of the tree.

We ask that you encourage students studying maths, geography, art or science and those that have an interest in the green sector to have a go – you can find the videos here. We have created support packs to compliment the videos and highlight the relevant careers that apply to the activity and when or why you might use the activity.

PHE School Zone: New Healthy Year calendar to support healthier habits

New to the School Zone for teachers are Our Healthy Year Calendars, for Reception and KS1 and KS2, that can support young people to build healthier habits this year.

The flexible, downloadable calendars can be used in the classroom or via remote learning to inspire pupils to eat well, move more, and be mindful of their wellbeing - wherever they are.

Teachers and staff can find out abo ut the Better Health campaign that has free tools to support positive behaviour change. Visit www.nhs.uk/better-health to access healthy lifestyle discount offers, top tips and a list of apps that can support them on their journey to better health. Please download the teacher email here and share it with your school networks.

Online Daytime Be Empowered Workshops - Feb/March & April/May 2021

These sets of workshops will take place online and in the daytime 10am-1pm – the first set will be held on Mondays starting on 22/02/21 through to the end of March. The second will be held on Tuesdays starting 20/04/21 through to the end of May. Link for workshops

There is a new email address for the Be Empowered Workshops:  BeEmpowered@birmingham.gov.uk - This address is only for parents/other professionals to use regarding the workshops and for emailing bookings and has an automatic email reply.

The deadline for receiving bookings is Wed 10th February. Any queries and booking forms can be emailed to BeEmpowered@birmingham.gov.uk 

EYFS Reforms Early Adopters – Let’s Talk About the EYFS Reforms in Practice!

This online course is specifically for schools that are adopting the reformed EYFS framework during the academic year of 2020/21 before the statutory roll out in September 2021. It will enable schools that are early adopters to know and understand the key reforms in greater detail.
Schools will be able to reflect on their practice and provision and discuss with other schools how the reforms have influenced and changed their pedagogy and curriculum development in the EYFS.
During the course delegates will:

• Update their knowledge and understanding of the reformed eyfs statutory framework
• Explore the new non-statutory guidance, Development matters and discuss how this is being using to support practice and provision
• Carry out professional discussions with colleagues from other schools about how they are using the reforms as an opportunity for curriculum development in the EYFS
• Consider what further training their EYFS team needs to support them for the statutory roll out of the Framework in September 2021

https://www.servicesforeducation.co.uk/our-offer/eyfs-reforms-early-adopters/ - Serena.caine@servicesforeducation.co.uk

EYFS Profile

As a result of receiving numerous enquires from schools which suggest a strong interest in EYFS profile moderation training, we are pleased to be able to respond and support you.
Although schools will not be subject to statutory external moderation this year, the DfE are strongly emphasising the value of the EYFSP assessment as a crucial tool in supporting children’s learning and development for transition from reception to year 1.

At Services For Education we understand and respect the DfE’s  guidance to schools to make ‘best endeavours’ to complete children’s profile assessments in the summer term. Further to this we recognise how important it is to provide moderation training to enable practitioners to carry out those rich professional discussions with other schools and moderators that enable practitioners to confirm their assessments against the national standards.
Children at the end of reception are completing a very crucial key stage and it is vital that accurate and consistent assessments are completed to inform parents about their child’s development against the Early Learning Goals (ELGs) and the characteristics of their learning and to  support a smooth transition to KS1 by informing the professional dialogue between EYFS and KS1 teacher.

Services For Education, will provide online sessions that are delivered by experienced accredited Profile moderators and will support practitioners to confirms their summative assessments informed by their day to day formative assessments. Engaging with this moderation process will ensure that your school has accurate profile assessments to share with the year 1 teachers so that they can plan an effective, responsible and appropriate curriculum that will meet the needs of all children.

The moderation courses will reassure practitioners that their judgements are accurate, valid and consistent with the national standards as set out in the EYFS framework by carrying out standardisation and moderation activities
Services For Education will also provide moderation courses for schools that are ‘Early Adopters’ using the revised EYFS framework which are distinct from the courses for schools that are using the current EYFS statutory framework 2017. These courses are on our website. https://www.servicesforeducation.co.uk/our-offer/eyfs-profile-standardisation-and-moderation-training-2021/ 

The PIPA Trial – exploring the effectiveness of an online parenting resource

The PIPA Trial is exploring the effectiveness of an online resource for parents/carers to help prevent depression and anxiety in young people. The trial is coordinated by the University of Warwick.

We will be recruiting families of young people aged 11-15 years from Birmingham, Coventry and surrounding areas and are collaborating with secondary schools to promote the trial and engage with families. Involvement for schools is very easy and minimal – we will work with a key contact in your school (mental health/safeguarding lead or similar) to sign a letter agreement and send out invitations to families (we will provide all necessary documents).

The PIPA Trial is free of cost to families and schools and is conducted completely online. Parents/carers and young people who are eligible to take part will be asked to complete some questionnaires and will receive access to a range of online parenting resources. This is a great opportunity for schools to get involved in the drive to improve youth mental health and support students and families, particularly during these unprecedented times.

If your school is interested in getting involved and would like more information, please contact the trial team: Email: PIPA@warwick.ac.uk -  Phone: 02476574316 or 02476575078 -  Website: www.warwick.ac.uk/pipa