Issue schools’ Newsletter Wednesday October 2013

Issue 5  - Schools’ Newsletter	Wednesday 2 October 2013
Dear Colleagues, Welcome to this week’s issue of Education Essex. Congratulations to colleagues at The Appleton School and The King John School on achieving a judgment of outstanding overall in their published inspection reports. Congratulations too to all responsible for the special schools across the county – following a recent inspection, they all now have a judgement of good or outstanding. Thank you to all schools who notified the Schools Communication team this week regarding the impact of the industrial action which took place yesterday. The nomination process for the first Essex Teaching Awards are underway so please nominate colleagues by Friday 25 October 2013 who you feel deserve recognition for their hard work and achievements.  There are a wide range of awards available for a variety of roles in educating young people of Essex.  Further information can be found in the Essex Teaching Awards item below including a flyer which can be displayed on staff notice boards. In this week’s issue: School Updates School Workforce Census Statutory Return Reminder School Census January 2014 - Unique Learner Numbers Continuous Professional Development Essex Teaching Awards Financial Information Networking Sessions Autumn 2013 Family Solutions Bulletin School Visits, Events and Resources Positive Assertive Confidence Skills (PACS) Launch Silver Sunday – October 2013 Frederick Soddy Trust Spooky Fun for Kids at Cressing Temple Have a good week. Tim Coulson Director of Education and Learning School Updates School Workforce Census Statutory Return Reminder School Census January 2014 - Unique Learner Numbers School Workforce Census Statutory Return Reminder Audience:  Human Resources/ Finance Phase:  All Phases  School Type:  All Please note the below the following dates for the School Workforce Census: SCHOOL WORKFORCE CENSUS DAY Thursday 7 November 2013 Maintained schools should upload their census files to COLLECT by Friday 22 November 2013. Please note, Academies will be advised by the Department of Education of the date by which their return should be submitted. All schools are reminded that COLLECT is now accessed through the “Secure Access” web portal at: https://sa.education.gov.uk To ensure you are prepared please check that you know your password as new login requests can take up to 7 days to be processed. Familiarisation blade is now live – log into COLLECT and get ahead! Visit the School Workforce Census page for the new 2013 School User Guidance. For further information: Contact: School Workforce Team Email: [e-mail] Telephone: [phone] Visit: School Workforce Census, Essex Schools Infolink School Census January 2014 - Unique Learner Numbers Audience:  Headteacher / Administrative staff / Examinations Officer Phase:  Secondary   Post 16    School Type:  All As from January 2014, the provision of Unique Learner Numbers (ULN) as part of the School Census return will be a mandatory requirement.  Until now, the inclusion of ULNs has been optional. A ULN will need to be included for all pupils who are aged 14 or above as at the census day.  Thus, for the 2014 spring School Census, ULNs will be required for all pupils who are aged 14+ as at 16 January 2014. Schools must be registered with the Learning Records Service (LRS) in order to obtain ULNs for their pupils.  Information about how to register with the LRS and guidance on how to obtain ULNs is available on the School Census page on Unique Learner Numbers, Essex Schools Infolink. For further information: Contact: Data Collection & Maintenance Team Email: [e-mail] Telephone: [phone] Back to top Continuous Professional Development Essex Teaching Awards Financial Information Networking Sessions Autumn 2013 Family Solutions Bulletin Essex Teaching Awards Audience:  All Staff/ Pupils/ Parents and Carers Phase:  All Phases  School Type:  All Colleagues are encouraged to nominate outstanding practitioners in recognition of their dedication, inspirational work and achievement in educating young people in Essex.  Please share the attached flyer with colleagues and governors to raise awareness of the awards and help ensure colleagues are celebrated for their achievements.  The nomination period is open until Friday 25 October 2013 and the further details including the nomination form can be found on the Essex Teaching Awards page. On Wednesday 22 January 2014 the first Essex Teaching Awards ceremony will take place where the winners will be annoucned.  For further information about the award categories and to submit a nomination: Email: [e-mail] Visit: Essex Teaching Awards Financial Information Networking Sessions Autumn 2013 Audience:  School Business Manager / Finance Officer Phase:  All Phases  School Type:  Maintained Schools Places are available for the Autumn Term FINS taking place in October 2013. These lively and interactive sessions are intended for school finance support staff at all levels, Finance Officer to Business Manger, and provide a wealth of useful and topical information in the school finance arena. To book, please complete the booking form at the back of Schools Finance Training Brochure available on the Education Finance Support website and either email of fax back to Education Finance support. For further information and an informal discussion: Contact: Clair Tilley Email: [e-mail]  Telephone: [phone] / 436 248 Family Solutions Bulletin Audience:  Headteacher/ SENCO/ Home School Support Phase:  All Phases School Type:  All As of Tuesday 1 October 2013 Family Solutions go from four to eight teams across Essex.  The teams will be based locally and will work with families who meet the criteria as identified in the Effective Support for Children and Families in Essex guidance. Also in this week’s bulletin: Early Help and Advice Hub update Family Solutions Service Day Family Solutions – Girls Work Working Together Training Programme (formerly Integrated Working Training) Read the latest Family Solutions Bulletin here. Back to top School Visits, Events and Resources Positive Assertive Confidence Skills (PACS) Launch Silver Sunday – October 2013 Frederick Soddy Trust Spooky Fun for Kids at Cressing Temple Positive Assertive Confidence Skills (PACS) Launch Audience:  Headteacher  Phase:  Junior   Secondary School Type:  All Would you like to be one of the first schools in Essex to benefit from the Big Lottery funded Positive Assertive Confidence Skills (PACS) programme for children in KS2 and 3? PACS is an exciting 6 week early intervention programme that is delivered by trainers from Essex County Council in partnership with a school’s learning mentor.  It is funded by the Big Lottery Fund Realising Ambition Programme and managed by the charity Kidscape. PACS is aimed at pupils in years 5, 6, 7 and 8. Working in small groups of a maximum of twelve, pupils are challenged to look at the impact their behaviour has on others and to look at alternative ways they could respond to difficult situations. To find out more and to hear from children and staff who have already been through the programme come along to our launch event on Friday 8 November 2013 at Watt Tyler Country Park, Basildon. For further information: Contact: Julie Keating or Samia Uddin Email: [e-mail] or [e-mail] Telephone: [phone] Silver Sunday – October 2013 Audience:  All Staff/ Pupils Phase:  All Phases  School Type:  All Silver Sunday  is a new event to Essex taking place throughout October which encourages residents to make an extra effort to communicate and interact with the elderly community.  Schools are invited to provide activities for elderly residents this October to help reduce them feeling isolated and alone within their community, especially as winter approaches. Younger pupils are encouraged to design and send a greeting card to elderly residents within the community to help them feel valued within their local area.  Schools with links to local residential homes could also think of activities which will invite the elderly community to interact with pupils, for example providing activities for residents to participate in or send residential homes cards for all their residents. Schools with older pupils may wish to send invitations to local elderly residents to an event at their school, for example a special performance, club or afternoon tea, where students can demonstrate their talents and new skills they are learning. All students are also encouraged to share ICT knowledge with elderly residents to help them communicate and interact independently using online technology such as Smartphones and computers. Silver Sunday is focussed on interacting with the older generation and all actions and gestures, big and small, will be greatly appreciated by elderly residents. For more information on how your school can take part please see the attached flyer.  Further events can be found on our Events for Schools and Pupils pages. Frederick Soddy Trust Audience:  Headteacher Phase:  All Phases  School Type:  All Action required: Applications need to be submitted by Friday 31 January 2014 and signed by the person leading the project and Headteacher The Frederick Soddy Trust Schools Award Scheme, with the Geographical Association is offering grants for school expeditions the fieldwork must include “study of the whole life of an area” with an emphasis on the human community The trust will award five projects between £250-£500 depending on the individual projects and the awards are for groups of pupils between 5-18. To apply there is no application form but a case for the award needs to meet the trusts objectives, the application should be no more than 500 words include a brief description of the plan including administrative arrangements and a budget, a map is essential. For further information: Visit: The Frederick Soddy Trust Spooky Fun for Kids at Cressing Temple Audience:  All Staff/ Pupils/ Parents and Carers Phase:  All Phases  School Type:  All Spooky Fun at Cressing Temple is returning and this year it promises to be even more spooky and adventurous than the last… Please find attached a digital poster and flyer which we are happy for you to share with colleagues, parents and carers through your school website and newsletter. Venture around the walled garden to find some mysterious monsters or join the joke trail and giggle at some eerie jokes.  Ghostly arts and crafts will keep little ones busy, while storytelling, a magical magician, pumpkin throwing, and a creepy insect marquee will all set the scene for this spooktastic seasonal fun. Fancy dress is encouraged with a costume competition being judged daily – dress up to be in with a chance of winning a spooky surprise!  Events details are as follows: Tuesday 29 to Thursday 31 October 2013 from 11am – 3pm Activities suitable for ages 2+. Tickets: £7.95 per child or £15 for two children Please call 0845 603 7624 to book tickets For further information: Contact: Emily Patel Email: [e-mail] Visit: Visit Parks Back to top   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: [phone] Extension: 40745 Email: [e-mail] Previous editions of Education Essex can be found on the Essex Schools Infolink website by visiting the Home page > General Information > Education Essex		Look out for the next issue of Education Essex in your mailboxes Tuesday 8 October 2013 Please contact our Schools Communication Team if you or your colleagues would like to receive Education Essex by email every Tuesday. Top 5 Essex Schools Infolink Pages visited this week: Human Resources Oracle Health and Safety Finance Schools Workforce Census For enquiries and password assistance regarding the Secure Area on Essex Schools Infolink contact the Password Team Essex School Infolink Updates Finance Documents, Special Educational Needs and Additional Educational Needs Useful Links Essex Teaching Awards – Nominations open Department for Education Essex County Council website Professional Learning and Development website School Workforce Census – Begins 7 November 2013 Your Essex, free online residents’ magazine, packed with information about services and the county.
© 2013 Essex County Council