City Council Chief Executive

Interim chief executive Chris Naylor will be leaving the City Council on 6th March following the conclusion of his secondment and will be returning to his employer, Barking and Dagenham. Current adult social care director Graeme Betts will act-up into the role of Chief Executive pending the appointment of an interim, having previously undertaken the role last year at the start of the pandemic.

A statement from the Leader of the Council, Cllr Ian Ward, is available on the council website at this link.

Free school meal vouchers for February half-term

Last week vouchers were made available to schools for the February half-term period. Due to increased numbers of eligible children we are aware that a small number of schools have requested additional vouchers. These vouchers are due to be received in the next few days and will be available to schools immediately following the holiday.

We have also been made aware that some schools have been encountering difficulties with the national eligibility checker for free school meals. We will be raising this with the DfE as part of our regular discussions with them.

Updated information on Ofsted inspections

We have been informed by Ofsted that inspections will continue to be done remotely in the main until 8 March with arrangements after that currently under review. Some inspections might be on site before 8 March (likely to be where they have safeguarding concerns or where the inspection is a section 8 no formal designation inspection). After half-term schools will receive a notification call 24 hours before the inspection. Two HMI will still inspect the school but for one day only.

In line with the operational note https://www.gov.uk/guidance/january-2021-maintained-schools-and-academies, Ofsted will be prioritising schools that have been judged inadequate, or requires improvement three or four times at their last inspections. They will also be selecting a proportion of schools judged requires improvement or that were judged inadequate and then requires improvement at their last two consecutive section 5 inspections.

Test kits for schools

The DfE guidance on test kits is available at this link and schools can order additional kits at this link.

National Education Union: ‘Help a Child to Learn’

Schools will have been contacted by the NEU regarding the support available to support children and young people who do not have the most basic resources needed for remote learning.

The NEU is initially contacting schools with the greatest number of pupils eligible for free school meals. Offers will be made proportionate to school size, in gradients of £500, £1,000 and £1,500. This will enable them to purchase stationery for learning at home.

To access support, please ensure you respond to the email from the NEU who will then be in touch with BCC regarding distribution.

Bournville BookFest

It's two weeks until BookFest for Schools begins, with FREE videos to inspire 6 to 12-year-olds to pick up books, write poetry, draw and get creative! 

The short films have been made especially for schools and home-educating families in 2021, by the team behind the Bournville BookFest children's book festival. The emphasis is on fun and "having a go" in the run-up to World Book Day, and the films feature well-known and entertaining authors Michael Rosen, Benjamin Zephaniah, Katherine Rundell, Cressida Cowell and Nick Sharratt.

All schools are invited to register for previews of the films and updates, by simply emailing "Register" to: education@busyparentsnetwork.com

Downloadable printer-friendly learning packs are available on the Bournville BookFest website now.  

For a little taste of what's in store, here's BookFest patron Nick Sharratt with a draw-along of one of his best-loved characters from the picture book Shark in the Park  https://youtu.be/Vu9bgUihEP8