Issue 8 - Schools’ Newsletter / Tuesday 22 October 2013
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to this week’s issue of Education Essex.
Attached are two letters about safeguarding, one for heads of secondary and special schools and one for heads of primary schools.
Attached is the letter that has been sent to primary schools about the forthcoming meetings for primary headteachers, with a copy of ‘Taking Forward the Primary Curriculum’, edited by Roy Blatchford. This book also comes with a copy of the new National Curriculum (Please note that in distribution, some schools will receive the two publications on different days this week).
We are approaching the end of the Home to School Transport consultation this week which is live until Friday 25 October 2013. Please see the item under School Updates for further details.
Finally, the nomination period for the Essex Teaching Awards has been extended until Friday 8 November 2013. We encourage you to share information about the awards and submit your nominations as soon as possible to help ensure colleagues from your school get the recognition they deserve.
In this week’s issue:
School Updates
·  Schools Learning –Daniel Pelka Serious Case Review
·  Support Fund For State Schools with Service Children: 2014
·  Licence Update
·  Recruitment advertisements - Changes to reference codes
·  Home to School Transport Consultation – Final Week
·  Children’s Centre Consultation
Continuous Professional Development
·  Essex Teaching Awards – Nomination period extended
·  SENCO Bulletin – 22 October 2013
·  The EPS Maths Intervention
School Visits, Events and Resources
·  Essex Primary Literacy and Mathematics Competitions 2013-2014
Department for Education
·  NLE Deployment Fund 2013- National College for Teaching and Leadership
·  Pupil Premium Plus Grant for Children in Care 2014
·  Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice and regulations Consultation
Have a good week.
Tim Coulson
Director for Education and Learning
School Updates
·  Schools Learning –Daniel Pelka Serious Case Review
·  Support Fund For State Schools with Service Children: 2014
·  Licence Update
·  Recruitment advertisements - Changes to reference codes
·  Home to School Transport Consultation – Final Week
·  Children’s Centre Consultation
Schools Learning – Daniel Pelka Serious Case Review
Audience: Headteacher
Phase: All Phases
School Type: All
Most of us cannot fail to have heard and been affected by the tragic death of Daniel Pelka. The Serious Case Review has been published and I have included the link should you wish to read the overview report.
These events invariably require us all to look at our approach and procedures for keeping children safe. Please see the attached for further details. It is also important to remember that there is some outstanding multi-agency work that does keep children safe and well through identification and high quality intervention. Attached is the ESCB document on effective early intervention for your information.
We have produced a presentation that can be used along with these notes and the full report that can be downloaded for headteachers to use with school staff as part of the school safeguarding training.
Support Fund For State Schools with Service Children: 2014
Audience: Headteacher
Phase: All Phases
School Type: All
2011 saw the launch of the Ministry of Defence’s Support Fund for State Schools with Service Children. This Fund, which on current plans is £3M pa for four years starting 2011, has been made available to assist publicly funded schools, Academies and Free Schools throughout the UK, to mitigate the effects of exceptional mobility or deployment of their Service communities; Regular Armed Forces and Reserve Forces.
The fund differs from existing grant schemes and the Directorate Children & Young People (DCYP), which is the MoD’s professional focal point for all matters relating to children and young people associated with the Armed Forces, are the lead organisation supporting the Fund.
Applications are required by midday on Thursday 19 December 2013 and details of where to send completed forms are included in the documentation
Please see the attached documents from the DCYP which provides further information and application details:
·  Covering letter – which explains a little more about the Fund.
·  FAQs – frequently asked questions, these will be updated, weekly, on the Directorate Children & Young People website
·  Application form - only electronic versions will be accepted.
·  Scoring sheet – this is not for completion by applicants but explains in a little more detail what the Panels will be looking for when reading the applications.
·  Bid ideas sheet
Licence Update
Audience: Headteacher/ Business Manager/ Teachers
Phase: All Phases
School Type: All
Following recent queries regarding licences for showing films, DVDs and online media to students, please see the below information:
The licences Essex County Council (ECC) provides covers Local Authority (LA) Maintained schools only, academies are required to purchase their own licences. Direct payment to the individual licensing authority may be required to obtain some licenses, whilst others are paid as a blanket deal by the Department for Education, notably the Copyright Licensing Agency.
ECC pays directly the following licences which all schools must have:
·  CLA – Copyright Licensing Agency
·  ERA and ERA+ – Education Recording Agency
·  PRS – Performing Rights Society
·  PPL – Public Phonographic Licence
LA Maintained schools are responsible for sorting their own licences for areas that not all schools use, these are the following:
·  CCLI – Christian Copyright Licence
·  Licences for showing films (even if these are shown in class) – there are two different ones depending on the company that made the film these are:
·  MPLC – Motion Picture Licensing– covers schools for screening movies made by the more obscure film studios, Christian films and National Geographic
·  PVS – Public Video Screening Licence – other DVD’s or films
There are comprehensive lists on the licencing authorities own websites as to which studios they cover, however, it is the schools own responsibility to turn over the DVD and see if the distributor is covered by the MPLC or the PVS licence.
Recruitment advertisements - Changes to reference codes
Audience: Headteacher/ Business Manager
Phase: All Phases
School Type: All
With reference to the Government’s replacement of the former Main Pay Scale and Upper Pay Scale for qualified teachers with the Main Pay Range and Upper Pay Range in September 2013, please use the letters MPR to denote Main Pay Range and UPR to denote Upper Pay Range when placing advertisements on the Essex Schools Jobs website and in Jobscene with immediate effect.
For further information:
Visit: Recruitment and Retention, School Workforce Development Team, Essex Schools Infolink
Home to School Transport Consultation – Final Week
Audience: Headteacher/ All Staff
Phase: All Phases
School Type: All
We are now approaching the end of the formal public consultation into the discretionary elements of Essex County Council’s home to school transport policy. It is important you read and understand the proposals and respond to the consultation, as the changes proposed are likely to impact on transport being provided to your school.
The current expenditure for ensuring children across the county can attend schools is currently over £25millon, however maintaining expenditure at this level is unsustainable in the current economic climate. Therefore, the council is looking at where efficiency savings can be made.
The Local Authority’s statutory responsibilities around the provision of home to school transport are not affected by the consultation; however a number of the discretionary elements of the existing policy are under review. These include:
·  Changing the reference to catchment area within the assessment of entitlement to home to school transport policy and removing the use of joint catchment areas and instead only provide transport to the nearest school to the home address where statutory walking distances are met
·  Removing existing transport from routes which are now deemed safe walking routes
·  Withdrawing the provision of transport to families on a low income whose child(ren) attend a selective (grammar) school
·  Introducing a means tested assessment for transport provided to pupils in exceptional circumstances
·  Introducing a new application window for Home to School Transport applications
·  Reviewing existing Post 16 transport provision
The consultation is now live and open until Friday 25 October. Full details of the consultation and relevant documents are available by visiting the Home to School Transport page. Any further comments can be submitted via email to
Due to the volume of replies expected, responses will not be given to individual comments or enquiries, but will be taken into account as part of the wider consultation process.
Children’s Centre Consultation
Audience: Headteacher/ All Staff
Phase: All Phases
School Type: All
Sure Start Children’s Centres are an important part of delivering Early Support for Children, Young People and their families and Essex County Council (ECC) is proud of the work the centres have been delivering across Essex.
We have announced proposals to extend the contract of the current providers until 2016, to ensure families across Essex continue to have the services they need over the coming years.
While ECC remains committed to children’s centres, savings of £2.5m from its budget by 2016 – 2017 are needed in light of the unprecedented financial pressures the council faces. ECC believes the best way to achieve this, is by moving to a different delivery model. This means that children’s centres across Essex will continue to provide services, but where and how they are delivered may change.
A consultation is planned regarding the proposals, which may see children’s centres delivered through 37 main sites and 37 delivery sites with varied opening hours. By making these changes it will free up staff and resources to deliver what families need, where they need it. ECC have worked closely with the providers Barnardo’s, 4Children and Spurgeons to ensure the proposals are workable, the impact on services is kept to a minimum and services for families across the county are maintained.
The public consultation runs from Thursday 17 October 2013 to Thursday 5 December 2013, to seek comment from local people on the proposed opening hours of the main sites and delivery sites.
Once the consultation has completed feedback and views expressed by all interested parties will be considered and a recommendation on the children’s centre proposals will be made.
Further details including the full consultation document are available:
Visit: www.essex.gov.uk/childrenscentres
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Continuous Professional Development
·  Essex Teaching Awards – Nomination period extended
·  SENCO Bulletin – 22 October 2013
·  The EPS Maths Intervention
Essex Teaching Awards – Nomination period extended
Audience: All Staff
Phase: All Phases
School Type: All
The nomination period for the first Essex Teaching Awards has been extended and is now open until Friday 8 November 2013.
The awards celebrate the achievements of our teachers, who’ve helped to teach and inspire children, young people and adults across the county.
If you know an outstanding teacher who you feel deserves recognition, make sure you submit your entry before nominations close on Friday 8 November.
The categories, which cover a variety of roles and levels across the education sector, are:
·  Outstanding New Teacher of the Year
·  Headteacher of the Year in a Primary School (including special schools)
·  Headteacher of the Year in a Secondary School (including special schools)
·  Teacher of the Year in a Primary School
·  Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School
·  Teaching Assistant of the Year
·  School Team of the Year
·  Lifetime Achievement
·  Further Education Teacher/Lecturer of the Year
·  Outstanding use of Technology in Education
·  Adult Community Learning Professional of the Year
·  Outstanding School Governing Body of the Year
·  Special School Teacher of the Year
·  Outstanding Apprenticeship Provider of the Year
·  Outstanding Vocational Provider of the Year
Shortlisted nominees will be invited to an awards ceremony at the Lord Ashcroft International Business School at Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford on Wednesday 22 January 2014, where the award winners will be revealed.
For more information:
Visit: www.essex.gov.uk/teachingawards
Email:
SENCO Bulletin – 22 October 2013
Audience: SENCO
Phase: All Phases
School Type: All
Greetings to all our wonderful Essex SENCOs … keep going, it’s nearly half term!
This SENCO Bulletin contains information on:
·  The Anti-bullying Policy and Strategy – a working party opportunity
·  Conference news
·  NASEN training events
·  New courses
·  Positive Assertive Confidence Skills (PACS)
·  The Code of Practice (draft) consultation
Please visit the SENCO Bulletin page to view the latest issue and we hope you find it useful.
Please contact us if you need any further information:
Contact: INSET Team
Email
Telephone: 01268 632 360
Visit: SENCO Bulletin, Essex Schools Infolink
The EPS Maths Intervention
Audience: Headteacher/ SENCO/ Numeracy Coordinator/ Teachers
Phase: Infant Junior Primary
School Type: All
The EPS Maths Intervention takes place on Tuesday 12 November 2013 from 9:30am – 3:30pm at Chelmsford City Football Club.
The package includes:
·  one day of training for 2 members of staff (one must be a teacher and the other must be the person who is to deliver the training ( if different);
·  2 in-school visits after the training to support implementation;
·  all materials needed to deliver the EPS MI
£600 per school *
*If your school has previously taken part in the EPS MI and you would like to send additional staff to the training day, the cost is £60 per delegate.
For further information or to book a place:
Contact: Mary Sanders, Assistant Educational Psychologist
Email:
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School Visits, Events and Resources
·  Essex Primary Literacy and Mathematics Competitions 2013-2014
Essex Primary Literacy and Mathematics Competitions 2013-2014
Audience: Headteacher/ Literacy Coordinator/ Mathematics Coordinator/ Teaching Staff
Phase: Junior Primary
School Type: All
A reminder of our 2013-14 English and mathematics competitions for upper key stage 2 pupils.
Building on the success in recent years of the mathematics competition, in which over 140 schools took part last year, we have introduced an additional English challenge which is also already proving to be popular with schools.