Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to this week’s Education Essex.
I hope you were able to get a break at half term. We are looking forward to the events this and next week with primary headteachers, where we will be looking particularly at support for school leaders and also making use of all the available performance data.
Thank you to school colleagues who helped test the new platform for Essex Schools Infolink before half term. An update on the latest improvements is included under What’s New on Essex Schools Infolink.
Have a good week,
Tim Coulson
Director for Education and Learning
School Updates
Raise Online updates
Headteacher/ Assessment Coordinator/ Data Manager
All Phases
All
Updates to Key Stage 1 and phonics data since unvalidated data release
The 2013 Key Stage 1 and phonics interactive and summary reports on RAISEonline will not be updated with final datasets this year as there were only a small number of amendments. Raise have directly contacted the schools that had changes to school level data and provided guidance as to how they can update their data through the school’s own function.Inspectors have been advised about this decision and provided with details of the schools affected.
Provisional Release timelines for Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 validated datasets:
- Key Stage 2 interactive reports – Friday 28 February 2014
- Key Stage 2 summary reports – by Tuesday 4 March 2014
- Key Stage 4 validated data – by beginning of April 2014 (exact date will be confirmed in week before)
For all latest news, see RAISEonline Latest news.
If you need to access your user name/ password:
Email:
For further information:
Contact: Mark Gant or Scott Prestedge, Performance and Business Intelligence (Children’s team)
Email:
Telephone: 01245 434 832/ 436 250
Deadline approaching: Fischer Family Trust (FFT) and Alps products for schools/ Local Authority and cost considerations
Headteacher
InfantJuniorPrimarySecondary
All
FFT products are available for all infants, juniors, primary and secondary schools.
Alps products are available for all secondary schools with sixth forms and colleges.
Schools are reminded about the deadline for responding to letters sent out in the week before half term setting out proposed charges for schools wanting to remain part of the Essex County Council’s subscription with FFT and Alps from April 2014.All schools wishing to opt out are asked to confirm this by email to Pippa Shuklaby Friday 28 February 2014. Schools remaining part of the subscription will be invoiced from April 2014 onwards.
Additional briefings on the FFT products for primary schools are being scheduled as part of the Spring Term Head teacher meetings as use of the data analysis has been lower than for secondary schools.Notification will follow shortly of briefing sessions scheduled for primary governors (Tuesday 4 March 2014/ Tuesday 18 March 2014).
Copies of the letters sent to schools before half term are below:
FFT for Primary Schools
FFT for Secondary Schools
FFT and Alps for Secondary Schools with a Sixth Form
If you need to access your FFT user name/ password: Contact Scott Prestedge
Email:
Telephone: 01245 436 250
For further information:
Contact: Mark Gant or Scott Prestedge, Performance and Business Intelligence (Children’s team)
Email:
Telephone: 01245 434 832/ 436 250
Essex Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education
Headteacher/ RE Coordinator
All Phases
All
The Essex Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education is due for revision and Essex SACRE are setting up opportunities for consultation with all Essex Schools to ensure that the new document supports schools’ needs.We propose to do this is by arranging meetings of RE Subject Leaders within each LDG for primary schools, within areas for secondary schools and to have one joint meeting for special schools.Some sessions have already been arranged and invitations will shortly arrive in schools by email for the attention of the RE subject leader.
If you have not received your invitation by the end of February please email Sally Moorcock, Business Support, who will be able to advise where and when the session is that has been arranged in your area.
For further information:
Contact: Sally Moorcock, Business Support
Email:
Essex Education Services
Headteacher / Senior Management Team / Administration Staff / Governors / Teachers
All Phases
All
Essex Education Services(EES) is dedicated to working with schools nationally in order to improve educational outcomes.Our services can make the difference and help you to lead your school on a pathway of progress by improving learning, developing staff, making best use of resources, creating and using data, understanding the changing Government agenda and always being well-prepared for what lies ahead.
Our range of fully integrated school effectiveness services includes:
- Clerking Agency
- Education Consultancy
- Education HR
- Finance Support (previously Education Finance Support)
- Governor Services
- Professional Development (previously Schools’ Learning and Development)
- School Library Service
- Target Tracker
Keep an eye out next week as we will be publishing our key contacts for EES.
For further information:
Contact: Essex Education Services
Email:
Telephone: 0845 200 8600
Visit: Essex Education Services
Funding for One-to-one tuition 2014/15
Headteacher/ Tuition Lead
InfantJuniorPrimarySecondary
All
The One-to-One Tuition Team, Essex Education Services, are pleased to inform schools that the level of funding available within school budgets to support One-to-One tuition as a key intervention will remain as in 2013/14.We have been advised that this funding will remain in the AWPU allocation that schools and academies receive and will be calculated from the number of pupils on roll. Maintained schools should be notified of their budget share by Friday 28 February 2013 and academies will receive their funding in their 2014/15 statement.
This year, we strongly recommend funding is used for one-to-one tuition as this is an intervention which has significant impact on the progress and attainment of under-performing pupils.
Free support in how best to use this funding is available:
Contact: Marilyn Edwards, Lead Consultant, One-to-One Tuition Team - Essex Education Services
Email:
Continuous Professional Development
Making the most of phonics at key stage 1
Phonics Lead/ KS1 Teachers
EYFSInfantPrimary
All
These twilight sessions are being offered at no cost to schools to support the development of effective phonics teaching in all Essex schools and to ensure that this is reflected in both the outcomes of the Y1 screening check and pupils’ ability to decode texts effectively.
Please click for more details, and to book your place.
For further information:
Contact: Essex Education Services
Email:
Telephone: 0845 200 8600
Visit: Essex Education Services
SENCO Bulletin – 25 February 2014
SENCO
All Phases
All
Greetings to all our fabulous Essex SENCOs!This issue of the SENCO Bulletin includes information on:
- A Department for Education consultation on supporting children at school with medical conditions
- The Equality Act
- The Personal Budget
- The findings from the Pathfinder Programme Evaluation of key-working and workforce development
- Specialist Teacher drop-in sessions
- INSET news – ‘The phonic check and the role of the SENCO’
- Secondary and Primary TA conferences – using scaffolding to promote independence in learning
- SEND readiness conferences
Please note as improvement work is currently taking place on Essex Schools Infolink there will be a delay to uploading the latest issue to the SENCO Bulletin Area. We hope to add this week’s issue to the website later this week.
Please contact us if you need any further information:
Contact: The Specialist Teacher INSET Development Team
Telephone: 01268 632 360
Visit: SENCO Bulletin, Essex Schools Infolink
Human Resources
HR News
School Business Manager/ Human Resources
All Phases
All
The Half Termly HR News that we produce is now available from the Latest News section of HR.
For further information:
Contact: Education HR, Essex Education Services
Email:
Telephone:033301 39810
Visit: Human Resources, Essex Schools Infolink
Events and Resources
Future Scholar Awards
Headteacher
Secondary
All
The Department for Education (DfE) have announced The Future Scholar Awards which aims to help schools raise the aspirations of their high achieving pupils. New for 2014 they are keen to include those pupils who have the potential to attend a top university, but may not consider doing so.This may be pupils without someone who has been to university in their family; those from lower income backgrounds, those entitled to the pupil premium, those in care, and those in other disadvantaged circumstances.
Although no high value in terms of funding (DfE will cover travel and supply teaching costs etc) it is worth highlighting as this links directly with Essex County Council’s priorities of raising aspirations and attainment. Each school can nominate five year 9 pupils.
For further information:
Visit: Future Scholar Awards
National Citizen Service Opportunities for Young People
Head of Year 11 and 12/ Citizenship Coordinator
SecondaryPost 16
All
National Citizen Service (NCS),delivered by the Essex Youth Service and Essex Boys and Girls Clubs, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that helps young people build skills for work and life, while taking on new challenges and making new friends, and would like to ensure that every eligible young person in Essex has the opportunity to take part in this programme.
Year 11 and 12 students and 16 and 17 year olds not in education can develop the tools and belief to unlock their potential and make a positive impact in their communities.NCS will give hundreds of young people across Essex the chance to:
- Meet other young people from all backgrounds and tackle outdoor challenges on an exciting residential week away from home.
- Join with local businesses and social leaders to learn new skills for work and life and discover more about their area.
- Make their mark by developing and delivering local community volunteering projects that matter to them.
To book an assembly or arrange a meeting to discuss how the NCS can make a positive impact on young people in your school:
Telephone: 01245 436 632
Email:
Visit: NCS website
New Work Experience Team
Work Experience Coordinator/ Heads of Year
SecondaryPost 16
All
The Work Experience Team are a specialist team of work experience team leaders who source placements for every individual young person. They match up individual’s interests and needs to find the most suitable work placement, offering a more hands-on approach leading to successful work placements overall.
As youth service staff, we have mainly focussed on those young people on Alternative Education and Prince’s Trust programmes.However, we have a vision to expand in the future and involve schools. As part of Essex County Council, the Work Experience Team allows employers and businesses to be part of the community helping young people across Essex.
If your school would like more information about our work experience services:
Contact: Joanne Polley, Work Experience Team Leader
Email:
Telephone: 07738 885 508
Sikh Education Service
RE Coordinator/ Educational Visits Coordinator
All Phases
All
Supported by Northamptonshire SACRE and Northamtonshire Gurdwaras, Sikh Education Service has visited schools, hosted school visits at Gurdwaras and offered teacher training workshops, which has now extended into requests from other counties, and schools and teachers now taking advantage of this service throughout the UK.
Being a non-profit making organisation, the suggested contribution for attending schools for a half day commitment, or a full day commitment will be affordable and suitable to most budgets, and the service is happy to discuss this with each individual school, or groups of schools wishing to book workshops and assemblies.
Please see feedbackregarding previous support the service have offered.
For further information:
Contact:Harkirat Singh, Sikh Education Officer
Email:
Telephone: 07968 143546
What’s New on Essex Schools Infolink
Please see details below regarding new and updated information available this week on Essex Schools Infolink:
New Website Address
Essex Schools Infolink can now be found at Users will be temporarily automatically redirected to the new website address, however colleagues are advised to update links in favourites bars and on desktops as the redirect page will be switched off on Monday31 March 2014.
Failed Password Attempts
Following notification sent to all schools before half term, users of the secure area on Essex Schools Infolink will now only have three password attempts before their account is locked.The change has been introduced to increase the protection of information held within the secure area. Please take extra care when entering your password and users are reminded not share password information with colleagues.If your account is locked please contact for assistance.
Changes to Essex Schools Infolink Appearance
Colleagues may begin to notice changes to the appearance of Essex Schools Infolink. This is because we have recently moved the site over to a newer platform.We will continue to update all content and begin to introduce new features which the old website was unable to support. Updates will continually be provided through Education Essex to keep you informed of any changes.
Essex Schools Infolink Consultation Group
We currently have a selection of schools participating in our consultation group to discuss and test improvements and new features.This is a great opportunity for schools and colleagues to share their views on what works well and suggest features to be included in the new site. All school colleagues are welcome to join the group and provide feedback.Colleagues can join the group either as an individual or as a representative of a school. Members of the group will be required to provide brief regular feedback through online communication. Please contact the Schools Communication team for further information.
=
/ Issue 22
25 February 2014
Diary Dates
26/02/14 Primary Heads - South, The Holiday Inn Basildon
27/02/14Primary Heads – North East, Weston Homes Community Stadium
04/03/14Primary Heads– West, The Churchgate Hotel
05/03/14Primary Heads – Mid, Chelmsford City Football Club
Checklist
28/2/14 FFT/ALPS
28/2/14 RAISEonline: KS2 interactive reports
4/3/14 RAISEonline:KS2 Summary reports
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
Raise Online updates
Deadline approaching: Fischer Family Trust (FFT) and Alps products for schools/ Local Authority and cost considerations
Essex Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education
Essex Educations Services
Funding for One-to-one tuition 2014/15
Continuous Professional Development
Making the most of phonics at key stage 1
SENCO Bulletin – 25 February 2014
Human Resources
HR News
Events and Resources
Future Scholar Awards
National Citizen Service Opportunities for Young People
New Work Experience Team
Sikh Education Service
What’s New on Essex Schools Infolink
Look out for the next issue of Education Essex on Tuesday 4 March 2013
Visit Essex Schools Infolink
Top 5 Essex Schools Infolink Areas visited this week:
Human Resources
Oracle
Health and Safety
Finance
Education Essex
Essex Schools Infolink
For enquiries and password assistance regarding the Secure Area on Essex Schools Infolink contact the Password Team
Department for Education News
Changes to the school organisation system
New school organisation regulations, and academy processes, to allow schools to make changes to their size and characteristics came into force on Tuesday 28 January 2014. The changes:
- Allow schools to make certain changes (enlargement of premises, altering age range, and adding boarding provision) without following a statutory process
- The statutory processes have been slimmed down for certain other changes to maintained schools (e.g. a single-sex school becoming co-educational) by reducing the length of the process and the level of prescription
- The requirement for academies to submit a formal business case to the department to make similar changes has been removed.
Important information to help headteachers, principals and governors plan ahead, prepare for, and implement changes during the academic year and beyond.
It contains links to:
- The Need to Know Timelines - of when mandatory requirements come into force
- Useful information for schools to know
- Myths and facts document which clarifies misconception that can circulate about the things schools need to do or have in place.