Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to this week’s issue.
Preparations are underway for the Tour De France coming to Essex on Monday 7 July 2014. Due to the huge footprint of this prestigious international event we foresee a significant impact on schools and organisations located on or close to the route. To keep you informed we will communicate essential information throughout the term. The map of the route and first update can be found on the Director for Education and Learning’s Area on Essex Schools Infolink. For schools within the area of road closures, we recommend you consider whether it is likely to be possible to open the school on 7 July 2014.
As noted in last week’s issue, letters to all Headteachers and chairs of governors were sent this week to provide information on recent important announcements. A copy of the letter has been uploaded to the Director for Education and Learning’s Area on Essex Schools Infolink.
Have a good week,
Tim Coulson
Director for Education and Learning
School Updates
School Census – Spring Term 2014
Headteacher/ Administration Staff
All Phases
All
Action required: Complete School Census
The spring 2014 School Census will be held on Thursday 16 January 2014.
Updated information and guidance about the 2014 School Census is now available on the Essex Schools Infolink:
ESI - School Census.
The Department for Education guidance notes, which can be accessed via the above link, include information about new and amended data items, as well as the selected time for primary and secondary schools to record their class information on the census day.
For further information:
Contact: Data Collection & Maintenance Team
Email:
Telephone: 01245 436 885
School Census - Service Pupil Premium (SPP)
Headteacher/ Administration Staff
All Phases
All
Action required: Register Service Children
Schools are reminded to register pupils from Service families on the 2014 School Census as Service children on Thursday 16 January 2014, so that the SPP can be claimed for every eligible child. This is a £300 annual payment which can be used in a variety of ways to provide much needed welfare and pastoral support to military children.
For further information:
Visit: Directorate Children and Young People, Ministry of Defence
Universal Free School Meals Update
Headteacher
InfantJuniorPrimary
All
This week schools should have received by email a letter regarding the Universal Free School Meals programme which follows on from previous information sent on Friday 6 December 2013.
The government have confirmed that capital funding of £3.157m will be allocated to Essex County Council to support work across our LA & VA school kitchen estate (£2.72m & £430k respectively) in order to meet the requirement for free school meals for all KS1 pupils from September 2014.
Funding for academies - including those schools with academy applications approved as at December 2013 for conversion in the coming months, will be via the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund.
Please see the attached letterfor further details on preparations and next steps for the programme. Attached are some responses from the Department of Education and there will be more information to follow. Currently this is all that the Department of Education has yet released. Please be assured we will forward all available information as soon as it is available
For further information:
Contact: Jason Walmsley, County School Meals Advisor
Email:
Telephone: 01245 356 218
Letter to Primary schools regarding Reduced Provision
Headteacher/Chair of Governors
InfantJuniorPrimary
All
Local authorities have a duty to ensure that all children receive a full-time education. The new framework for the inspection of services for children in need of help and protection, children looked after and care leavers requires LAs to provide a report detailing all those children who are not in receipt of full-time education.
We asked all schools to notify us of any pupil currently receiving less than their full entitlement to education or who had missed ten or more days due to absence this term. A large number of schools have supported us by supplying the information but we have not had replies from all; if your school has not made a response we urge you to do so even if it is to record a nil return. Further details are contained within the letter addressed to chairs of governors of all primary schools in the attached. Please also see attached Guidance for Exclusion and Part Time Educationand Alternative Provision Spreadsheetfor completion.
For further information:
Contact: Ralph Holloway, Alternative Education Commissioning Service
Email:
Telephone: 01245 436281
Visit: Alternative Education Commissioning Service, Essex Schools Infolink
Educational Psychologist Allocations
Headteacher/ SENCO of North East Schools
InfantJuniorPrimarySecondary
All
Action required: Book EP time
Schools are reminded to continue (or start requesting) your ‘district’ Educational Psychologist (EP) time. Every school has received an allocation of 2 days of EP time plus there is additional time in the ‘district’ pool. As a service we do have capacity to deliver the days but can only do so if the requests are made over the next two terms.
Some groups of schools have allocated out all the ‘district’ time so you may have more than 2 days allocated to your school. If you have not please check with your LDG/cluster lead to determine the process for requesting additional days.
Please contact your EP team if you have any enquiries.
Continuous Professional Development
Active Essex Primary Bulletin
Headteacher/ PE Coordinator
InfantJuniorPrimary
All
Active Essex are keen to ensure that schools are fully informed about opportunities for programmes, events and funding. These opportunities would add value to programmes being developed by schools in relation to their School Sport Premium funding.
Edition 4 includes information on:
- Delivering Dance though PE & Sport Funding
- Essex Dance Teacher Network Conference
- Be the Best you can Be!
- Workplace Challenge for school employees
- Community Games Funding (deadline 31 January 2014)
- Small Grants Funding (deadline 17 January 2014)
For further information please visit the Active Essex website
Finance
School Census – Upgrade to SIMS.NET
School Business Manager/ Finance Colleagues
All Phases
All
Action required: Upgrade to SIMS.NET for school census
There is an upgrade to SIMS.NET that must be run before Census date, Thursday 16 January 2014; this can be found on the Capita download site.
There is a new box on this upgrade which allows you to mark if a child is 'Adopted from Care' . The route is Tools>Statutory return Tools> Choose Pupil. If marked this will enable the child to be included in the eligible pupil count for Pupil Premium 2014/15.
Through the same route, schools must also flag any child for whom the school receives High Needs funding in the 'Top-Up funding' box (above the first £6000 threshold).
For further information:
Contact: Education Finance Support
Email:
Telephone: 01245 436 893/ 436 248
Health and Safety
Statutory Gas Appliance Safety
School Business Manager
All Phases
Community and Voluntary Controlled
Action required: Complete annual statutory return
Have all your gas appliance had the annual statutory gas safety inspection?
There is a legal requirement that all gas appliances have an annual gas safety inspection carried out by a registered Gas Safe Engineer.
Due to a recent incident, it was identified that a number of Essex County Council (ECC) premises had not completed their annual statutory gas inspection. ECC now needs to ensure that all its premises are completing this annual statutory requirement. Schools must ensure that this is carried out on their premises and that records are kept. You may need to consult your property consultant.
Please see the attached covering letter and complete the excel spreadsheet as required and returned by Friday 14 February 2014 – You must complete this return even if you do not have any gas appliances at your school – a nil return is required.
For further information or enquiries:
Contact: Corporate Health & Safety
Telephone: 01245 436896
Email:
Events and Resources
ITV’s ‘First World War – School Report’
Headteacher/ History Coordinator/ Teaching Staff
All Phases
All
ITV News Anglia are asking schools to suggest ideas for a first world war story about their local area which will become part of the main news programme in the build-up to the centenary in the summer.
With the help of representatives from the Royal Anglian regiment, 10 ideas will be selected and schools will work with the ITV News Anglia team to film, script and voice the report.
Schools wishing to submit an idea to ITV News Anglia can find further details, including entry criteria, on the attached flyer. Essex Record Office have produced a First World War blog on local resources for researching the local area. Ideas must be submitted by midday Monday 3 February 2014.
For further information and to submit an idea:
Email:
Knebworth House Educational Visits
Educational Visits Coordinator/ Teaching Staff
All Phases
All
As home to the Lytton family since Tudor times, Knebworth House offers your students the opportunity to step back into the past. Originally a red-brick Tudor manor house, today’s Knebworth House enables school groups to explore many different periods in time. The formal Gardens and Park are also used by the educational groups.
Visit the Education section of the website for details of the programmes covering the Early Years curriculum, History (Tudors and Victorians), Science and Literacy-based learning. New for 2014 is the ‘Inspiring Young Writers’ programme for KS2 and KS3 with an outdoor Garden Story Trail. KS5 A level English students can explore a new perspective on Victorian literature, focusing on the work of Edward Bulwer Lytton and his associates, such as Dickens and Lord Tennyson.
Costs have been held for 2014 bookings, with one free adult place for every 8 paying students. For more details and to book, please see the website to view our brochure.
For further information and to book:
Contact: Group Bookings Team
Telephone: 01438 810 931
Visit:Knebworth House, Education Section
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/ Issue 17
14 January 2014
Diary Dates
22/01/14 ASHE Meeting, The Rivenhall Hotel
26/02/14 EPHA - South, The Holiday Inn Basildon
27/02/14EPHA – North East, Weston Homes Community Stadium
04/03/14EPHA – West, The Churchgate Hotel
05/03/14EPHA – Mid, Chelmsford City Football Club
Checklist
14/1/14ICT Survey closes
16/1/14School Census
31/1/14Complete H&S Monitoring Checklists (Community and Voluntary Controlled Schools only)
30/4/14Deadline for completing Schools Financial Value Standard template
Sign up to the Education Essex mailing list
In this week's issue:
School Updates
School Census – Spring Term 2014
School Census - Service Pupil Premium (SPP)
Universal Free School Meals Update
Letter to Primary schools regarding Reduced Provision
Educational Psychologist Allocations
Continuous Professional Development
Active Essex Primary Bulletin
Finance
School Census – Upgrade to SIMS.NET
Health and Safety
Statutory Gas Appliance Safety
Events and Resources
ITV’s ‘First World War – School Report’
Knebworth House Educational Visits
Look out for the next issue of Education Essex on Tuesday 21 January 2014
Visit Essex Schools Infolink
Top 5 Essex Schools Infolink Areas visited this week:
Human Resources
Oracle
Health and Safety
Finance
School Census
Essex Schools Infolink
For enquiries and password assistance regarding the Secure Area on Essex Schools Infolink contact the Password Team
Department for Education News
£30 million for new special educational needs champions
More than 1,800 champions will be on hand from this September to help parents navigate the new special educational needs process following a £30 million funding boost, announced by Children and Families Minister Edward Timpson.
New residential care rules
New rules making residential care safer and putting an end to unnecessary out-of-area placements for vulnerable children will come into force this month. The changes are announced in the government’s response to the consultation on residential care reform and will result in much stricter scrutiny of councils’ decisions about where children are placed.
16 to 18 core maths qualifications
Policy statement on the introduction of level 3 maths qualifications for post-16 students who do not progress into AS/A level maths has been issued.
Education Funding Agency Bulletin – Issue 43
The EFA Bulletin is for colleagues working in academies and is the sole way EFA communicate opportunities to academies.
Visit Department for Education website
Events for Schools
Anti-Bullying Ambassador Training Events 2013/2014
The Anti-Bullying Ambassador programme offers fun, informative and interactive training to young people, staff, and parents to help them tackle bullying in their schools and communities.
Visit Events for Schools and Pupils for further information on other schools events and competitions
Visit Events for Schools and Pupils and Educational Resources for Schools
Visit Essex County Council Website
Copyright © 2013 Essex County Council, All rights reserved.
Essex County Council may share information with schools on externally promoted opportunities but this information service is not part of any brokerage arrangements set up by, or on behalf of, the County Council and schools are responsible for checking that the quality and terms of the products or services meet their requirements. We would strongly advise you to look carefully at any contractual agreements before signing up to them; and if necessary to seek legal guidance
Education Essex is written by the Schools Communications team. If you have any comments or would like something included in a future edition of Education Essex please contact us:
Telephone: 01245 434745 Extension: 40745
Email:
Previous editions of Education Essex can be found on the Essex Schools Infolink website by visiting the Home page > General Information > Education Essex