Web edition contents
Welcome from Rosalind Turner, Director for
Children and Young People
Message from Cllr Patricia O’Brien,
Portfolio Holder for Children, Schools and Young People’s
Services
Central Referral and Tasking Unit based
at Martlesham
EMS/ONE is going to the web!
Suffolk’s link with Nord Pas de
Calais
Abbots Green Community Primary School wins a
21st Century Learning Alliance award
‘Feel Free’ children’s centres marketing
campaign
Children’s centre DVD
launch
Every Child has a ‘Front Row Seat’ in
Suffolk Schools
Extended Schools Update: Western
Area
Common Assessment Framework
(CAF) update
Conference for Senior
Leaders
Supporting school leadership
development
A success for the Emotional Rollercoaster
- Working with Troubled Children Conference at the Holiday Inn,
Ipswich on 13 June
The Springboard Programme
A Day in the Life of a Suffolk Youth and
Connexions Service Personal Adviser
Children and Young People’s
Calendar
Careers education, information,
guidance and support standards
Vinvolved Team – National Year
Volunteering Programme
World Environment Day – 5 June and
launch of Suffolk’s Community Strategy
BSF Supplement
SOR supplement: School Organisation Review
moves to next stage
Moving Foreword
Rosalind Turner, Director for Children and Young People
(Suffolk County Council)
Welcome to the July edition of Moving Forward. In this month’s
issue there is plenty to read about and I hope you will find the
articles of interest and useful to use within your teams to
discuss.
As you will no doubt be aware, the Boundary Committee's proposals
for the future organisation of local government in Suffolk are now
out for consultation. The recommended option is for a single
(unitary) Council covering the majority of Suffolk, a unitary
council for Ipswich, Felixstowe and surrounding areas, and that
Lowestoft should be covered by a unitary Norfolk Council.
Each unitary council would be responsible for all the functions
currently carried out by the County Council, including education
and children’s services, as well as those currently carried out by
the borough and district councils, such as housing and
leisure.
I must stress this is an option for consultation and not
necessarily what will happen. We are now in the consultation period
that runs from 7 July to 26 September, and the final decision
largely depends on the response that the Boundary Committee receive
from local people, local organisations and businesses.
After the consultation, the Boundary Committee will analyse
responses and further evidence, including financial viability,
before making a final recommendation to the Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government in December. The Secretary of
State will then make a decision around February/March 2009, with
any changes to be implemented by April 2010.
The Boundary Committee is also consulting on a whole Suffolk County
unitary, although still with Lowestoft in a Norfolk council. They
are also consulting on a Norwich, Great Yarmouth Council and
Lowestoft Council, alongside the rest of Norfolk as a unitary
authority. All these proposals, the detail and rationale, are
available on the Boundary Committee website
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/boundary-reviews.
The County Council, along with Mid-Suffolk District Council,
remains committed to the proposal for a new single unitary council
for the whole County as the best way to achieve the ambitions of
the recently launched Community Strategy – signed by all the key
organisations and businesses in the County, and to continue the
transformation of learning and children's services. The County
Council believes a single unitary council would provide strong
strategic leadership alongside highly local devolved services and
neighbourhood empowerment. This is the model we have been
developing for children’s services over the last three years, with
Community Clusters based around groups of schools.
No matter what the outcome of the consultation, and during the
period of review and change, we will continue with everything that
we have been doing over the past few years, working alongside
schools and colleges and with key partners to transform learning
and skills, and bringing together all services in the Children's
Trust Partnership to improve the outcomes for all children and
young people, and provide better support for parents and carers.
This includes the development of 48 Children’s Centres, the
exciting work in Lowestoft, including a new secondary school and
new sixth form provision, the SWISS sixth form centre, Building
Schools for the Future in Ipswich and Felixstowe, and developing
University Campus Suffolk.
These are radical changes being proposed which will inevitably have
an impact on local public services and on all of us as citizens and
residents of Suffolk. I would encourage you all to look at the
proposals and actively respond to them by the deadline of 26
September. This is an opportunity to influence the future of the
County and I hope you will take it, to express your views and
preferences to the Boundary Committee.
For further details of the County Council's proposal:
Local Government Review
I would like to thank all of you who have contributed to this
month’s Moving Forward. If you would like to send us something for
the next issue, please contact Hanna Dale in the Internal
Communications team.
Finally, may I wish you well for those of you taking a summer’s
break, with thanks to those holding the fort in between, and may
the sun shine on all of us!
Rosalind Turner
Director for Children and Young People
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Cllr Patricia O’Brien, Portfolio Holder for Children,
Schools and Young People’s Services
Welcome to this latest edition of Moving
Forward. For my contribution, I would like to tell you about
some of my recent visits. In June, I had the pleasure of
opening a Children's Centre in Foley House, Newmarket, which is
always a pleasant experience and saw the provision available for
parents and children. This is one of the 35 children's centres
already designated throughout Suffolk and 48 will be open by 2010.
The Acorns Children's Centre at Violet Hill House in Stowmarket was
also recently opened in June.
Foley House is a very good choice for a children's centre as
services such as the Citizens' Advice Bureau, Job Centre Plus and
Adult Learning are already based in the building, and there is also
a Youth Club on site.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this newsletter,
and for all the hard work that is evidently going on throughout our
service. I hope you enjoy reading about some of the
activities and work that is taking place.
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Central Referral and Tasking
Unit based at Martlesham
Detective Sergeant Tonya Antonis, Suffolk
Constabulary
January 2008 saw the initial creation of a new team, which over
the past few months has gradually taken on responsibility for
handling all of the County’s Child Abuse and Vulnerable Adult
referrals. The work was implemented in a staged process that
started in Ipswich on Monday, March 10th 2008, rolling out to the
areas covered by the Bury St Edmunds and Lowestoft Victim Care
Centres (VCC).
Responsible for processing, decision making, allocating,
monitoring and reviewing all Child Abuse and Vulnerable Adult
referrals, the team will provide a valuable central support
function to all staff, particularly Victim Care Centre personnel
across the County. The team will utilise a number of database
systems, including CATS (Case Administration Tracking System),
which has recently been adapted to allow vulnerable adult referrals
to be managed in the same effective way as child protection
referrals.
The Central Referral and Tasking Unit (CRTU) is managed by
Detective Inspector Adie Randall, Public Protection, and is led by
a Child Protection trained Detective Sergeant, Tonya Antonis.
Other team members include a Detective Constable, Liz Seager, a
Research and Administrator, Rebecca Hewson and two Administrative
Clerks, Rachel Downs and Dominique Joyce.
The CRTU will allow our Victim Care Centre professionals to
concentrate fully on the investigative strand of each individual
referral; reducing time spent on decision-making, quality
assurance, data recording and management. It will ensure that
the County’s approach to Child Abuse and Vulnerable Adult referrals
is consistent in its delivery.
The CRTU ultimately includes the co-location of County Children
and Young People staff involved with Domestic Abuse issues and
Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults, to further enhance existing
partnership working, which in turn aims to streamline processes and
strategy decisions, giving the most vulnerable members of our
community the best quality of service.
NB: 848 and 851 referrals from Ipswich and Lowestoft VCC
are to be forwarded to the CRTU email:
CRTU@suffolk.pnn.police.uk
Notification will be sent to Bury regarding this process in due
course.
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EMS/ONE is going to
the web!
Lyn Baran, Head of Research and
Intelligence
EMS/ONE is the education management system used in Suffolk
County Council. It provides an integrated information and
case management system, creating a single record for each child at
maintained schools in Suffolk. It currently holds records for
nearly 100,000 Suffolk pupils.
The system supplier, Capita, has embarked on a major programme
to transfer the current system to a net environment. The
first web-based module will come on stream at the end of this year,
with a rolling programme, which will mean that all modules will be
available on the web by 2011.
A project group has been set up to look at using the opportunity
of this technical migration to improve the overall management and
operation of one of our most important business systems. We are
also linking this work with the drive to improve the quality of the
data on the system, bearing in mind that early in 2009, data from
EMS/ONE will feed into the national Contact Point database - a key
initiative in the Every Child Matters change for children
agenda.
If you are an EMS user, you will need to be kept informed on
this process, and the Project Group would welcome your views and
involvement. A news update will be provided to EMS users
every month, from July onwards. The EMS user group will also
be meeting to review progress and be part of the developments as
the project rolls out.
If you have any questions on what is happening, please look out
for the newsletter or contact Lyn Baran who is project managing the
redevelopment work.
Lyn.baran@educ.suffolkcc.gov.uk
01473 264547
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Suffolk’s link with Nord Pas de Calais
Noel Lees, International Links Officer
Last month saw a visit to Suffolk from teachers and head
teachers representing 15 primary and secondary schools in the Pas
de Calais region of France, an area now successfully linked with
Suffolk. In November of last year, representatives of 15 Suffolk
schools visited France to take part in pairing with French schools
and this reciprocal visit to Suffolk was used to strengthen the
learning partnerships for each school. The 15 matched schools
represent the first cohort of schools joining the Suffolk – Nord
Pas de Calais link. Cohort 2 is currently being planned and is
hoped to involve a further 25 primary and secondary schools in the
autumn. As you can see from the quotations below which reflect
activities our visitors engaged in, all had a profitable time!
‘Our visitor was extremely surprised at the autonomy of the
pupils and openness to adult visitors and their ICT capability,
even in reception. Two school council reps demonstrated with a
PowerPoint presentation the life of the school over the past year.
One enterprising pupil had specially interjected phrases in French
that she had researched. We discussed with the children
their ideas for links with the French school. Lots of good ideas
came out of it including WW1 90th anniversary in November,
Agincourt as French pupils study the medieval period, wall murals,
garden designs and recipe books!’
‘We hope the French school will visit in October and we will
reciprocate in Spring Term.’
‘We discussed details of their forthcoming visit in June’:
‘We spent a long time discussing the long-term plan of action
compiled for the project.’
‘Overall it was a very successful, enabling us to clarify the
direction of our project over the next year, and filling us with
enthusiasm about the trip in June!’
‘Our visitor saw a year 5 art lesson and was very interested in the
Suffolk publication ''Art and Design in Suffolk Key Stages 1 and
2'', and the way art was taught. He said it had given him lots of
ideas.’
‘The children had some great suggestions about how they would
like to continue their link with the French school.’
‘Our project involves producing a short film of daily life in
our school with children speaking / labelling in French and English
where appropriate. The longer-term aim is to produce an ongoing
book about our life at school and home. The intention is for French
children to swap these with our children as a keepsake of our link
this year.’
‘We demonstrated our learning platform and are allowing a link
to the French school to have some interchange and plan video
conferencing for the autumn term.’
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Abbots Green
Community Primary School wins a 21st Century Learning Alliance
award
Abbots Green Community Primary School in Bury St Edmunds is
celebrating after picking up an award for leading innovation at a
major national conference. They received the 21st Century Learning
Alliance award for Leading Innovation at the National College for
School Leadership’s (NCSL) annual conference - ‘Seizing Success’ on
18 June.
The award was made to only four schools across the country for
leading the way in four main aspects of 21st century learning: –
teaching and learning methods; people; resources and curriculum;
time and space and Abbots Green scored outstanding in all 4
categories.
The 21st Century Learning Alliance was founded in 2006 by key
national organisations involved in education, industry and school
leaders to help make 21st Century learning a reality by stimulating
improvement and change.
The judges were struck by the tangible air of excitement and
motivation among staff and pupils and an overriding concern for the
care of the children. It has a unique child-focussed curriculum
with children empowered to influence content from their interests.
There is a very strong, collaborative approach to leadership with
staff encouraged to take up leadership roles. They were also very
impressed with the way the school alerts parents to their
children’s successes via text and how the stunning building and
outdoor learning areas are used to their full potential.
Alex Bedford & Amy Arnold, The Leadership Team of Abbots
Green Community Primary School, say: “It's fantastic to have such
recognition for the passion, skill and values we place on learning.
The staff team (that means everyone) are awesome and dedicated
learners themselves. It's inspiring to work alongside the teachers
and adults who have an outstanding ability and passion to make
learning come alive and not simply 'deliver education.' So many
adults tell us when they visit "We wish we were 5 years old
again!"
The inspirational and internationally respected Professor Tim
Brighouse will visit the school to present the award.
For further information contact: Alex Bedford & Amy Arnold,
The Leadership Team, Abbots Green Community Primary School,
www.abbotsgreen.co.uk;
leadershipteam@abbotsgreen.co.uk
01284 718818
Gay Whent, General Adviser, Children and Young People's Services
Advisory Service, email:
Gay.Whent@educ.suffolkcc.gov.uk
or
The 21st Century Learning Alliance website: 21st Century Learning
Alliance website.
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‘Feel Free’ children’s centres marketing campaign
Sarah Tattoo, children's centres service development
co-ordinator
Following the designation of 35 Suffolk children’s centres, the
Early Years and Childcare Service have launched a marketing
campaign, aimed at raising awareness of their local children’s
centre amongst parents and carers.
The ‘Feel Free’ campaign aims to emphasise the many free
services on offer at children’s centres. Centres offer a range of
free services for families with children under five years,
including rhyming, singing, and sensory play.
As part of the campaign, street marketing teams will be going to
places where families hang out, such as markets and schools to give
them information about the activities taking place at their local
centres.
The accompanying bold and colourful promotional materials have
also been distributed to GPs, schools, childcare providers,
libraries, sports centres and included within Bounty Packs, which
are given to all new mums and dads.
The long term aim of this campaign is to increase the number of
families taking part in children’s centre activities, which will
improve outcomes for children, young people and parents.
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Children’s centre DVD
launch
Sarah Tattoo, children's centres service development
co-ordinator
Suffolk County Council launched the ‘Every Family matters’ DVD
at Meredith children’s centre in May 2008.
The event was attended by families, including the parents and
children who appeared in the DVD. Food was also prepared by local
families for invitees. ‘Every Family matters’ was introduced by
Rosalind Turner, director of Children and Young People’s services,
and Patricia O’ Brien, Portfolio Holder for Children, Schools and
Young People’s Services.
The Children’s Centre DVD promotes and informs the public and
corporate sectors about the children’s centres and the impact they
have had on individual’s lives. It highlights stories from parents,
and looks at the broad range of activities and services delivered
throughout the different centres and how the centres play a vital
role within the community.
The DVD will be used with professional teams at a variety of
events to promote the children’s centre service to potential
investors and to potential children's centre users.
‘Every Family Matters’ has also been translated into Portugese,
Polish, Cantonese and Bengali, and has been distributed to
professionals throughout Suffolk for use with local families in the
popular Bounty Packs.
You can view the English version of the film on line at
www.bruizer.biz/scc
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Every
Child has a ‘Front Row Seat’ in Suffolk Schools
Judith Laughton, Advisory Teacher for Hearing Impaired Children in
West Suffolk
Soundfield systems were first introduced into schools in Suffolk
in 2000. The idea of providing a ‘front row seat’ to every child in
the class made so much sense to me that, in my role as Advisory
Teacher for Hearing Impaired Children, I encouraged several
schools, known to have challenging listening conditions, to trial
the system.
In 2008, the systems are now being used extensively in the
Western Area and increasingly in the North and South. They have
been installed most widely in First Schools where 1 in 4 children
can suffer from ‘glue ear’ and all children are developing
listening and literacy skills. In Middle and Upper Schools, systems
have been successfully fitted in classrooms, Halls, Science labs
and ICT suites, traditionally challenging listening
environments.
The Soundfield system is made up of a microphone, worn by the
teacher, linked wirelessly to an amplifier. Four small speakers are
fitted in the classroom allowing the teacher to move freely around
the room being heard clearly by all the children wherever they are
sitting. Recently, some schools have opted for a moveable system
which can be transferred easily from room to room.
Word is spreading in the county as Head Teachers and Special
Needs Co-ordinators meet up and share experiences. As ever, school
budgets are stretched but many schools have successfully applied
for funding, to help to meet the cost, through the Schools Access
Initiative. The majority of schools who have had a system installed
for appraisal has gone on to have one or more permanently
installed.
It has become clear over time that the systems, originally
introduced to support hearing impaired children, are also
beneficial to children with learning difficulties, behavioural and
concentration issues, those whose home language is not English, in
fact ALL children. Teachers have also reported much less vocal
strain.
I have received many positive comments from teachers, teaching
assistants and children.
A support assistant working alongside hearing impaired students
at an upper school reported ‘I have less notes to take, the
students are able to hear the instructions directly and I only need
to verify a little of what is said. All students in the class seem
to respond more quickly to instructions’.
A teacher working in the ICT suite at the same school reports –
‘improvements in communication with all pupils, much less of a
strain on the voice, lower stress levels, easier control and more
effective teaching.’ Hearing impaired pupils report teachers’
voices are clearer and louder. One first school pupil reported that
he could hear the teacher ‘right in my ear’. Another child told me
that he can now, for the first time, hear the words to songs in
Assembly.
Westgate Primary School in Bury St Edmunds is one of the many
schools which now embrace Soundfield technology. The Hearing
Impaired Unit is based at the school and staff comments reflect
that all children and staff benefit.
Miss Rankin, teacher of the deaf at the school reports ‘an
improved attention span and behaviour from all the children. The
children can hear equally well wherever they are sitting. They are
hearing comfortably and are less tired as they do not have to
strain to listen.’
Children in the school are also encouraged to use the microphone
when speaking in class or in Assembly. This has led to improved
self confidence (they love being reporters!)
Children can spend up to 60% of the school day listening. If a
child cannot hear clearly, the entire premise of the educational
system is undermined. It is encouraging to know that Suffolk
schools are increasingly being ‘wired for sound’.
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Extended Schools update:
Western Area
Extended Schools provide a range of services and activities,
often beyond the school day, to help meet the needs of children,
their families and the wider community. Extended School activities
include supporting parents, health and social care, sport and the
arts, childcare, lifelong learning, ICT and study support.
Many of our schools are already providing some of these services
and it is the government’s intention that they will all offer
extended services by 2010.
To give you a flavour of some of the types of activities planned
or currently taking place, the following Extended Schools Update
for the Western Area (June 2008) will give you plenty to read and
find out about.
For further information contact: Linda Nixon, Western Area Team
Leader, Extended Schools (Stowmarket Cluster) on 01473 264289,
email:
linda.nixon@educ.suffolkcc.gov.uk
Visit the county council’s website:
http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/EducationAndLearning/Schools/ExtendedSchools/Listing.htm
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Common
Assessment Framework (CAF) update
Alice Redfearn, ContactPoint Implementation Manager
The CAF is now fully implemented across Suffolk and the emphasis
now is on developing and fine tuning the process. An
evaluation has now been completed and we are looking carefully at
the recommendations in order that CAF really does deliver improved
outcomes for children, young people and their families while at the
same time making life better for professionals.
We are constantly working to improve information on our website
www.suffolk.gov.uk/caf.
The guidance for practitioners is extensive, but please feedback if
you think we have forgotten something (see contact details at the
end).
More training sessions have now been arranged and these are
filling up fast. To book online go to
www.suffolk.gov.uk/caf,
or phone Glenda Miller on 01473 260763 or email
caf@cyp.suffolkcc.gov.uk
CAF Panel and process update
The CAF process does not belong to Children and Young People’s
Services or any partner organisation. It belongs to families,
and the purpose of the process is to empower families to identify
and resolve issues, with the appropriate professional support, and
from within their own resources.
At present, around half the community cluster CAF panels
routinely invite families to attend the initial discussion around
the completed CAF form. This has in many cases been a
positive experience for both families and professionals.
However, as CAF activity increases, it has become clear that the
commitment of professionals to attend meetings is in danger of
stretching some beyond their capacity, and this is exacerbated by
the sheer logistics of including family members. We are also
mindful that the panel members are not usually the practitioners
who will be working directly with the family and quite often to
attend these forums is challenging for them.
We have also conducted research into what is happening elsewhere
in the country and it is clear that other authorities do not invite
families to their equivalent of CAF panels. Within Suffolk there is
no evidence to suggest that where families do not attend panels,
outcomes for families of services offered are prejudiced in any
way. We may also be prejudicing those families who are not willing,
or able, to attend panels and by building in delay for
families.
Taking all the arguments into consideration, we have made the
decision that from the end of September 2008 families will not be
invited to attend CAF panel meetings. It is essential that
any changes to arrangements do not reduce family involvement in the
CAF process. We are committed to involving families and young
people more, rather than less, and to the principle that CAF is an
assessment done with, and not to, the family.
Each child, young person and family who engages with CAF does so
with full informed consent and the conversation with a professional
that results in the completion of a CAF form is focused on their
issues and strengths. The professional who has had that
conversation then attends the panel which is an opportunity for
them to identify what resources are likely to be appropriate to
support the family. The panel will make suggestions, and the
assessor will be in a position to work with the family with those
suggestions as a basis for producing an action plan. This may
involve relevant practitioners meeting with the family to agree the
next steps. The practitioner who is most relevant to
subsequent actions will become the lead professional and act as a
single point of contact for the family, supporting them during this
CAF episode.
We are planning further training and support for the Lead
Professional role and in working with the “Team Around the
Child”.
For some of you, this is exactly what is already
happening. For others, a shift may have to occur and for this
reason, we have allowed a lead in time. If you wish to
discuss this further, please get in touch with Allan Cadzow or
Alice Redfearn. CAF is a developing process and we are always
willing to listen to feedback in order to make improvements to the
process and outcomes.
Lead professional
The role of the lead professional is key to supporting the CAF
process and work is underway to produce clear straightforward
guidance for professionals and families. Many thanks to year
10 Health and Social Care Students at Thurleston High School and
West Suffolk College BTEC Level 1 Students who have contributed
towards a leaflet for families. These should be ready soon
online on the CAF webpage. Training to support those who are
lead professionals is being developed and will start before the
summer break.
ContactPoint
ContactPoint will be the quick and easy way for registered users
to identify other professionals who are working with a child or
young person about whom they have concerns.
The ContactPoint team is expanding; Helen Riley has now taken up
post as Data Manager and is working hard to make sure that we are
ready for implementation in March 2009. We are identifying
those who will need enhanced CRB status when they become registered
ContactPoint users. It is essential that we maintain and
improve good practice around data quality and data security in
order that ContactPoint can become a valuable part of integrated
working.
For information to support good practice around the management
of information, look at:
http://colin.suffolkcc.gov.uk/ManagingInformation/ProtectingYourInformation
For more information about ContactPoint, please contact Alice
Redfearn on
alice.redfearn@cexec.suffolkcc.gov.uk
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Conference
for Senior Leaders
Neil Bartlett, County Adviser for Professional Development
(Recruitment & Retention)
The sun shone at Trinity Park on 9th June when 50 aspiring
headteachers participated in a Conference for Senior Leaders,
organised by the Workforce Development Team.
With 102 applications for the 50 places, it was clear from the
outset that the conference was seen by teachers as an important
part in the county’s provision for succession planning for school
leadership.
Delegates came from all school phases (including PRUs and
special schools) and there were also participants from ISIS and
other areas of the local authority.
The programme included stimulating and thought provoking
presentations on issues for leadership at a county level (from Gary
Nethercott, Service Director for Learning) and on the challenges
and opportunities for leadership (from Professor Geoff Southworth,
Deputy Chief Executive & Strategic Director of Research and
Policy, NCSL).
Grant Bage (Chief Executive, Eastern Leadership Centre) updated
delegates on the new NPQH (National Professional Qualification for
Headship), which is now focussed specifically at trainee
headteachers.
Crucial to the conference was the involvement of 10 headteacher
advocates. These are experienced headteachers from across primary,
middle and upper/high schools, who ran workshops with small groups
of delegates on a range of themes, including ‘Are your ready for
headship?’ (led by Geoff Barton, King Edward VI Upper School) and
‘Moving a school on: from satisfactory to good to outstanding’
(Julie Bidwell, Westley Middle School). School governors also
co-led a key workshop on ‘The role of governors and the LA – the
appointment process and thereafter’.
With a final presentation on Effective Leadership by Mick
Meadows (Head of Workforce Development and Planning), the
conference overall certainly gave delegates food for thought as
well as inspiration and advice on how they can work towards
securing a headship of their own.
Initial feedback from conference participants, presenters and
workshop leaders has been very positive and in response to the
overwhelming demand, a similar conference is scheduled for 14
October 2008.
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Supporting
school leadership development
Neil Bartlett, County Adviser for Professional Development
(Recruitment & Retention)
The Workforce Development Team (WDT) has a comprehensive range
of approaches to support leadership development for teachers at
various stages of their career, from those who are in their earlier
years of the profession, right through to headteachers.
The range of opportunities is outlined in the leaflet ‘Pathways
– CPD for teachers in Suffolk’, which can be found at
www.slamnet.org.uk/cpd/teachers_pathways
Early career opportunities
Aimed at those teachers who are coming to the end of their
induction period, the WDT provides twilight sessions on ‘Moving
your career on’, during which a broad range of career development
opportunities are identified, together with suggested approaches on
how these can be realised.
In addition, a Master’s level accredited course is also
available for teachers in their second and third year of teaching.
‘Early career professional development’ is a four day course which
prepares early career teachers for responsibility and future
leadership roles. Successful completion of the course leads to 30
points credit validated by Suffolk Anglia Ruskin University
(SARU).
The Local Authority encourages teachers to participate in the
NCSL ‘accelerated leadership’ programme, which will replace the
‘Fast Track’ from September 2009. There are18 Suffolk teachers on
the current programme and we anticipate that the revised provision
will attract a large number of applicants. More details are
available from the NCSL at
www.nscl.org.uk
Middle leadership development opportunities
Research by NCSL has identified that 80% of teachers will have a
leadership responsibility within three years of becoming a teacher.
The Local Authority is keen to provide support for teachers to help
them prepare for, and then successfully handle, the challenges
which they may face.
The WDT runs a one day ‘New roles, new responsibilities’ course
in the summer and autumn terms, aimed at teachers who are have, or
about to , take on a middle leadership role.
For teachers who wish to consider leadership issues in more
depth, the WDT offers a ‘Leadership skills for middle managers’
course, which is accredited at Master’s level by SARU. Over the
last two years, the course has attracted over 50 teachers from
across primary, middle, upper/high, special schools and PRUs, as
well as School Sports Coordinators. The course is provided over
four days during the spring and summer terms and, again, as apart
of the SARU Summer University programme during August.
The Local Authority works collaboratively with the Eastern
Leadership Centre which is our local provider for the NCSL ‘Leading
from the Middle’ (LftM) programme. This has been extremely
successful with numerous schools participating. Ten schools have
just initiated a LftM collaborative which will support leadership
development across the county. For more information on LftM look at
www.nscl.org.uk
Subject and phase advisers who work within the Inclusive School
Improvement Service (ISIS) provide a range of short courses and
networking opportunities for teachers who have, or aspire to take
on, subject leadership roles. Details of the ISIS provision can be
found at
www.suffolkcpd.co.uk
Senior leadership development
A natural progression from ‘Leading from the Middle’ and the
‘Leadership skills for middle managers’ courses, is the NCSL
‘Leadership Pathways’ course, which currently has many Suffolk
teachers participating.
For teachers who already hold or aspire to posts of senior
leadership, i.e. Assistant Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher, the
WDT is running one day conferences in the summer and autumn terms
2008. With key note speakers giving presentations on topics such as
‘The challenge of leadership’, ‘Effective leadership’ and ‘The new
NPQH’, conference participants will also have the opportunity to
discuss leadership issues with ten ‘headteacher advocates’ -
experienced headteachers who have offered their time and experience
to support future leaders. These conferences have attracted
significant interest, with over 100 applications for the 50 places
available and, in response to this demand, future conferences are
already being planned.
For Assistant Headteacher and Deputy Headteachers, there is the
opportunity for Suffolk’s headteacher advocates to provide
potential leaders with tailored one-to-one advice and support
identified and driven by their own development needs related to
leadership development. There are currently 18 participants
enrolled on the programme for this academic year. For more
information on this initiative, or to join the programme in 2008/09
please contact Sue Thomas, of the WDT, at
sue.thomas@cyp.suffolkcc.gov.uk
or go to
www.slamnet.org.uk/cpd
The NCSL has redesigned the NPQH programme, which is now
mandatory for headteachers. The new NPQH will be offered four times
a year and it is intended for those who will be applying for a
headship within 18 months. More information is available on the
NCSL website at
www.nscl.org.uk
For NPQH graduates who are about to apply for a headteacher
post, the county facilitates an internship programme. Funded by the
NCSL, this initiative allows the aspirant headteacher to spend a
week in another school, investigating elements of leadership as
part of an intensive ‘leadership learning action research’
placement. There are 8 places for this initiative and if you would
like more information please contact
neil.bartlett@cyp.suffolkcc.gov.uk
Support for new headteachers (including acting headteachers)
All new headteachers (and acting headteachers who are in post
for a term or longer) receive a grant from the NCSL to support
their professional development, such as the NCSL ‘New Visions’
programme.
Suffolk provides its own range of support for new headteachers,
including one day workshops and facilitating the provision of an
experienced headteacher to act as a mentor during their first year
in post. More information on support for headteachers is available
from
neil.bartlett@cyp.suffolkcc.gov.uk
Next steps…
The Workforce Development Team is actively engaged in working
closely with the NCSL, Eastern Leadership Centre and East Midlands
Leadership Centre, to ensure that national initiatives and
programmes are publicised and accessible.
Suffolk has its own range of support for teachers but to ensure
that local provision meets the needs of schools, we value and
welcome suggestions which schools may have on how we can support
leadership development.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact
neil.bartlett@cyp.suffolkcc.gov.uk
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A
success for the Emotional Rollercoaster - Working with Troubled
Children Conference at the Holiday Inn, Ipswich on 13 June
Georgina Green, Area Manager (Special Educational
Needs)
Children and Young People and CAMHS joined forces to support
schools working with children and young people experiencing mental
health issues within the Southern Area of Suffolk.
In response to schools’ requests for additional support, Pupil
Services in the Southern Area and the Child and Adolescent Mental
Health Service worked closely to organise a unique conference. The
event drew upon therapeutic techniques developed by Dr Margot
Sunderland (Director of Education and Training at the Centre for
Child and Mental Health in London) and Laurie Seiler (a Cognitive
Behavioural psychotherapist and author of ‘The Book of Cool
Connections’).
In the first session, Dr Sunderland outlined the theory of using
storytelling as a therapeutic tool to enable children to explore
difficult emotions. Laurie Seiler then spoke about the
application of CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) within a school
context. There was an opportunity in the afternoon workshops
facilitated by the speakers for the delegates to put into practice
the techniques. The day culminated in a presentation by the Primary
Mental Health Team and the Southern Area Educational Psychology
Service that demonstrated how the teams will work together to
provide ongoing support to schools intending to use these
approaches.
The day was a success, confirmed by the positive feedback. Staff
from local high schools found the conference to be “very
informative and inspiring” and felt they had been equipped with
“ideas” for dealing with those pupils who are “crying out for
help.” Similarly, primary staff “learned so much” and felt that “it
was a fantastic day” which “embraced new ideas.”
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The
Springboard Programme
Tracy Murphy, Training Manager Suffolk Youth and Connexions and CYP
Workforce Development and Planning Team
The appointment of a female Chief Executive to head the County
Council in Suffolk means that now is an excellent time to meet the
challenge of supporting more women to aspire to such achievements
in the workplace. You will probably be aware of this
statistic: “The public sector is made up of 65% women workers and
yet 21.2% of all local Government Chief Executives are women.”
(Source: Opportunity Now Jan 2008) But you may not know that
in the UK workforce as a whole “the skills of many women are
under-utilised, 50% of women working in low-paid part time jobs are
working beneath their potential, i.e. they are not using their
skills, experience or qualifications for their current job”.
(Source: Grant, Yendle and Buckner, Gender and Employment in Local
Labour Markets, Sheffield Hallam University 2006). Even more
significantly, a number of studies have shown that there is a link
between gender distribution in a company’s management and its
profitability. (Source: Opportunity Now Jan 2008).
And my point is? There seems to be a very good case for
investing time and money in programmes specifically aimed at female
employees in a bid to re-dress some of the gender imbalances.
The national Springboard programme is just such a programme.
It is a comprehensive women’s development programme, written by
women for women. It covers areas such as assertiveness,
goal-setting, confidence building and support networks. It is
a programme that:
- motivates
- contributes to the development of core competencies
- encourages a grow-your-own management ethos
- improves morale
- reduces absenteeism and staff turnover
- helps to attract and keep the best people
Women who have completed the Springboard programme report
exciting changes in their lives – being taken seriously, generally
feeling more confident and gaining promotions.
A few Springboard programmes have already taken place in the
county through the Youth and Connexions Service and CSD.
However, we would like to run more of these courses and make more
women in non-managerial positions aware of the huge benefits of
attending a Springboard programme. It’s a four day programme
but each day is spread over four months (one day a month).
The CYP Workforce Team in partnership with CSD will be
commissioning a national Springboard trainer to deliver a course in
the autumn.
If you would like to talk to women who have completed the
programme or register your interest in attending the programme,
please email Tracy Murphy, CYP Workforce at
tracy.murphy@connexionssuffolk.org.uk.
Incidentally, in case there are men feeling excluded by this
article, there is a male version of Springboard called
Navigator. Please get in touch if you would like to know more
about this. Contact: Tracy Murphy, tel: 01379 672749.
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A Day in
the Life of a Suffolk Youth & Connexions Service
Personal Adviser
Isabel Warren, Connexions Personal Adviser
“Is it too late to apply for College? Have you got
an application form?”
I like this sort of question; I can answer this (no, and
yes). I get to school at 8.20am and the questions start - the
Year 11s haven’t much time left before they leave and reality has
started to dawn.
“Have you got an EMA form?” “I still haven’t heard back
from that job!”
“When is the sixth form open event?” (months ago; you’ve missed
it).
Go into registration to sort out today’s interviews. One
student on my list is absent, another “doesn’t do registrations”
but might be in later; another isn’t around any more – I’ll need to
check if he’s officially left. Stopped in the corridor with
another request for application forms; I’ve got in the habit of
carrying some around with me. And then another one
panicking: I haven’t applied anywhere and I’ve no idea what
I’m doing when I leave school; can I come and see you today?
OK, I’ll try and fit you in later.
8.50am and the interviews start. Several have a fairly
clear idea of what they want to do. We talk through their
ideas and I can give them specific information on applying for
apprenticeships, writing a CV; relevant courses
etc. We agree actions, and I encourage them to
stay in touch. (I’ll be ringing all my “jobseekers”, and
undecided’s after the exams, to offer further help).
There’s a student who is a real joy to talk to: she loves
school. Picking A Levels is difficult for her as she can’t
study everything! We talk about the career paths that follow
from different A Level combinations, and about what she might do at
University. She is wonderfully optimistic and positive about
her future. A real contrast to the lad I see later in the
day. He’s forgotten the appointment and I go to fetch him
from the lesson.”
Various problems at home have left him confused and angry; he’s
on a short fuse which gets him into trouble at school. He
wants to be able to drop a couple of subjects and I promise to talk
to his Head of Year about this.
12.30pm: A welcome break for some lunch; I’m only
interrupted twice. Request for Explore card application form,
and is it too late to apply for a BT apprenticeship? Afraid
so…
2.50pm: After two more interviews school finishes.
Deep breath, large mug of coffee, and settling down to some serious
admin. Lots of updating of records, researching of
information that I promised to send, and writing lists of next
weeks interviews. Go in search of teachers and manage to find
the Head of Year to talk about that disaffected Year 11 who wants
to drop some subjects, and the Special Needs Co-ordinator for an
update on the alternative provision for next years Year
10.
Check e-mails: Several urgent ones about our computer
database; we have to record “intended Destinations” for every Year
11 student, which is not so easy for some of them. I need to
chase up some non attendees. Ring the Education Welfare
Officer, ring somebody’s Social Worker. Make note to pick up
more College application forms. Finally leave school at
5.15pm.
At the end of a busy week my head is spinning and there are
times it feels all too much. But overall I love working with
teenagers and it’s great to be able to help.
If you see me out and about, just ask, I’ve probably got some
application forms with me…
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Children
and Young People’s Calendar
Jackie Reeves, Business Development Assistant
To avoid clashes with meetings, conferences and events arranged
within CYP, by schools or other parties, please remember to use the
CYP calendar which is available on COLIN, Suffolk County Council’s
intranet site.
The calendar shows strategic meetings, consultative groups, courses
and conferences and provides a better system for feeding the
results of one meeting into another for an enhanced consultation
pathway.
Guidelines have been produced on COLIN for the types of meetings
and conferences which should be added to the calendar. But if you
wish to add a strategic or consultative meeting, please contact
your DMT member's PA, or if you wish to add a course or conference,
please use the form on Colin and submit to
CYPEventsCalendar@cyp.suffolkcc.gov.uk
Look out for the calendar on Colin, which can also be accessed
via CYP web pages here:
http://colin.suffolkcc.gov.uk/ServiceOfficesAndDelivery/CYP/Calendar/CYPCalendarHome.htm
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Careers education,
information, guidance and support standards
Paul Barren, Education Development Manager
As part of Suffolk County Council’s14-19 Strategy, schools,
colleges and training providers have been working with colleagues
from the Suffolk Youth & Connexions Service to enhance their
current provision of information, advice and guidance, and to
demonstrate evidence of good practice. As a result,
twenty-one schools, two further education colleges and one training
provider have been successful in gaining the snappily entitled,
Suffolk Careers Education, Information, Guidance and Support
(CEIGS) Standards.
The award confirms that the young people in these organisations
are getting the support they need about career, progression and
lifestyle choices. It also shows that the advice given is
impartial, meeting the needs of young people and not those of the
organisation.
Senior management support is a key to best practice, but keeping
all staff involved and up to date is also a major contributor to
the provision of excellent, holistic support for young
people. This is reflected by the fact that during CEIGS
assessments many individual staff were singled out for their
enthusiasm and hard work.
An important feature of the CEIGS award is the recognition of
the large range of professionals and agencies that young people
might go to for support on a diverse range of issues. The
benefits of close working relationships with those organisations,
in particular the Suffolk Youth & Connexions Service, as well
as a wide range of public, private, voluntary and community
agencies to provide such support, was highly appreciated by
staff.
Evidence from the standards demonstrates how much young people
gain when programmes of careers education, work related learning,
PSHE (personal social and health education) and enterprise become
well integrated into the curriculum or programmes of study. Many
successful organisations also demonstrated an ongoing commitment to
helping young people recognise and celebrate their skills and
achievements.
The providers who have demonstrated that they offer excellent
holistic support to young people by achieving the CEIGS award, as
at 30/05/2008 are:
- Amberfield School
- Beacon Hill School
- Belstead School
- Chantry High School & Sixth Form Centre
- County Upper School
- Great Cornard Upper School and Technology College
- Kesgrave High School
- King Edward VI Upper School
- Leiston Community High School
- Lowestoft College
- Mildenhall College of Technology
- Newmarket College
- Northgate High School
- Old Warren House
- Parkside Unit
- Priory School
- Riverwalk School
- Samuel Ward Upper School and Technology College
- The Sir John Leman High School
- Thomas Wolsey School
- West Suffolk College
- WS Training
Learning providers who hope to achieve by the end of term
include:
The Ashley School, Benjamin Britten High School, Deben High School,
Holywells High School, Orwell High School, Stowmarket High School,
Stowupland High School, Stradbroke Business & Enterprise
College, Sudbury Upper School and Thurston Community College.
These local assessments will go a long way towards preparing
organisations to meet the National Information, Advice and Guidance
Quality Standards that came into effect in April 2008. Another
milestone in assuring that young people are getting the high
quality information and support that they need to make informed
choices.
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Vinvolved
team - National Youth Volunteering Programme
Paul Martin, Youth Volunteering Development Manager, Young
Suffolk
What is a vYouth Action Team?
A Youth Action Team is a group of young people aged 16-25 who
will help
develop, influence and support local vinvolved team activity.
Youth Action Team activities might include:
- Promoting volunteering to other young people
- Recruiting young people to volunteering activities
- Undertaking community surveys to seek views on what matters to
young people and what differences they would like to make
- Identifying community issues and designing projects to tackle
them
- Inspiring organisations to involve more young volunteers
- Getting feedback from young people on their experiences as
volunteers
- Raising awareness of the difference young people are making
through volunteering
- Running workshops on youth participation
- Producing recruitment and promotional materials
- Delivering presentations or providing training at seminars and
conferences
- The list is endless!
Full training will be provided and reasonable expenses can be
claimed by members of Youth Action Teams.
If you would like to know more – speak to your Youth Volunteering
Advisor.
What is brokerage?
- Whatever your passion, care or interest your local vinvolved
team is there to offer you information, advice and guidance on how
to get involved in a wide range of volunteering opportunities.
- If you have a particular idea for a volunteering project, then
the vinvolved team is there to support you in getting your ideas
off the ground.
- The vinvolved team also supports agencies that offer services
to young people so that new volunteering opportunities can be
created that are appealing to young people.
What is a Youth Volunteering Advisor?
- A Youth Volunteering Advisor is there to support you in finding
the right volunteering opportunity.
- They offer the best information, advice and guidance on what
opportunities exist and can support you in attending an interview
or in ‘opening the right door’ to find out more about a potential
voluntary activity.
- They are also always on the look-out for young people with a
passion for volunteering to take part in Youth Action
Teams.
Creating new opportunities
Your local vinvolved team is focussed on the creation of new and
innovative volunteering opportunities which reflect young people’s
passions, cares and interests and will play a key role in the
development of such opportunities working with organisations that
are new to volunteering to help them
shape up their offer.
New volunteering opportunities will be created by supporting
organisations who:
- Are encouraged to offer volunteering opportunities for the
first time;
- Want to include young people in an existing volunteering
programme and,
- Want to expand their volunteering programme to young
volunteers.
The vinvolved team will:
- Support and develop local and regional networking;
- Provide training and capacity building to organisations
enabling them to engage and work with young people
effectively;
- Undertake awareness raising activities and youth-led project
development;
- Encourage partnership work and the sharing of best practice to
create a vibrant youth volunteering community;
- Work with new and existing organisations to develop new
volunteering opportunities for young people and,
- Ensure that young people from diverse backgrounds have the
opportunity and are actively encouraged to volunteer.
Suffolk vinvolved Team contact details:
Creation of new opportunities
Youth Volunteering Development Manager
Paul Martin
Tel: 01473 748743
Email:
paulmartin@suffolkonline.net
Youth Action Teams and Brokerage
Youth Volunteering Advisor (South)
Esme Smith
Tel: 01473 748743
Email:
esmesmith@suffolkonline.net
Youth Volunteering Advisor (North)
Louise Crisp
Tel: 01502 530632
Email:
louisecrisp@suffolkonline.net
Youth Volunteering Advisor (West)
Sue Woolmer
Tel: 01284 755110
Email:
suewoolmer@suffolkonline.net
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top
World
Environment Day – 5 June and launch of Suffolk’s Community
Strategy
Emma Wilkins, Environmental Strategy Officer
The World Environment Day slogan for 2008 was 'CO2 - Kick the
Habit!’ and to celebrate an event was held at Endeavour
House. Over 16 interactive and informative stands filled The
Atrium, helping to raise awareness of what staff can do to cut
their carbon footprint including; recycling initiatives and The
Pod, an inflatable video diary room where staff gave views on
environmental issues!
CRed Suffolk and the Energy Savings Trust received over 151
pledges from staff to cut their carbon, receiving free low energy
lightbulbs and ‘powerdowns’ in return. Competitions were also held
which all staff could enter including King Commute’s competition
aimed at promoting car sharing and where 10 members of staff ended
up being squished into a Prius car.
A class from Cliff Lane Primary School, Ipswich visited in the
morning to find out about recycling, green travel and to give their
views on environmental issues in The Pod. Later on they went
over to ITFC training ground for an aerial photo shoot based on
Suffolk’s aspiration to reduce its carbon emissions by 60% by 2025
and on the number of eco-schools we have in Suffolk, 145!
World Environment Day also saw the official launch of Suffolk’s
Community Strategy 2008-2028 determining Suffolk’s priorities for
the next 20 years. The strategy is based on four fundamental
themes, one of which is ‘Creating the Greenest County’ with Suffolk
aiming to be an exemplar in tackling climate change and protecting
and enhancing its natural and historic environment. Suffolk also
wants to be the county with the greatest reduction in carbon
emissions. So come on and help us to achieve this by reducing your
own carbon footprint!
For more information on environmental issues visit the
‘Environmental Information’ section on COLIN or visit the Creating
the Greenest County website at
www.greensuffolk.org
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BSF Supplement
Building Schools for the Future e-newsletter
Introduction from Councillor Patricia O'Brien, Portfolio Holder
for Children Schools and Young People's Services and Rosalind
Turner Director for Children and Young People
Building Schools for the Future (BSF) investment offers us a
once in a lifetime opportunity, to rebuild or refurbish all of
Suffolk's secondary schools, including special schools and pupil
referral units. This programme will help to significantly increase
the performance levels of our children and young people.
We can only achieve our vision of helping young people to
achieve their full potential by significantly reviewing the
county's current education structure. The ongoing school
organisation review is designing a structure which will best serve
our children and young people in the 21st Century. The review is an
excellent way to ensure we have a solid schools structure in place,
ready to make the most of BSF funding.
It is important to be clear that BSF is about more than just
bricks and mortar. It is about challenging the way teachers teach
and learners learn to find out what works well and what are
barriers to effective teaching and learning. BSF will enable
us to create learning environments that will help young people
achieve their full potential.
We have produced a county 'Vision for Learning'. This
document will inform developments across the 0 to 19 age spectrum
in all learning settings and was produced following consultation
with children, teachers, parents and other key stakeholders.
You can view the current version of our vision at
www.suffolk.gov.uk/bsf.
At different points throughout the programme we will ask for
your views on various issues. Your views are important to us;
please take the time to comment on every issue to help us make sure
we get the most out of the investment and create learning
environments that children and young people will benefit from for
years to come.
The process officially begins in Suffolk once the ‘remit
meeting’ has taken place. A t this meeting we will agree
Suffolk’s objectives for BSF with central government
officials. The meeting is due to take place in
July.
Introducing Programme Director, Lindsay
Martin
Lindsay Martin took up his role as Director of the Building
Schools for the Future Programme for Suffolk having previously been
Head of School Planning and Director of the Building Schools for
the Future programme for Hertfordshire County Council. In
these positions he has had experience of the Private Finance
Initiative (PFI) and European procurement.
Lindsay's working life has been spent in many parts of the
education service including five local authorities, examination
boards, advisory councils, university teaching and consultancy,
mainly with the Audit Commission. He has also been a long
serving governor of both schools and further education colleges. He
has a personal interest in good school design.
What is BSF - the story so far?
BSF was launched by the Department of Education and Skills
(DfES) in February 2003 with a focus on providing children with
educational facilities fit for the 21st century. It aims to
transform the physical school environment and to support new ways
of teaching and learning. It provides an opportunity to be
innovative in the way schools work and to explore new ways in which
they can involve the local community, adults, families and
businesses. BSF is the largest single capital investment programme
in 50 years to rebuild or refurbish virtually all of England's 3500
secondary schools.
What does it mean for Suffolk?
BSF could mean investment of at least £600 million for Suffolk
secondary and special schools. This is a significant and unique,
programme of investment in the county. The money is for rebuilding
and modernising school buildings over the next 10 to 15 years.
However, it is about much more than just buildings - BSF is a once
in a lifetime opportunity to transform the learning experience of
Suffolk children and young people to the benefit of their
futures.
BSF funding is allocated in waves by the Government. Secondary
schools in south and west Ipswich and Felixstowe have been chosen
as the first areas in Suffolk to benefit from BSF investment. Work
in these areas is likely to begin in 2011 (wave 6). Around £150
million will be used to rebuild or refurbish secondary age schools,
special schools and pupil referral units in these areas. In line
with the "Every Child Matters" agenda, every school which benefits
from BSF funding will be an extended school, offering additional or
dual use facilities, such as sports halls, libraries, nurseries and
ICT resources.
Suffolk has set out an ambitious programme to include:
- A broad range of quality curriculum options
- State of the art ICT provision
- ‘Future proofed’ buildings which can adapt to a variety of
usage
How and when will people be consulted
with?
There will be opportunities throughout the programme for teachers,
unions, parents, young people and the wider community to have their
say on proposal and plans. Details of how and when people can
give their views will be published in due course.
Timeline
The table below sets out some key dates for wave six of Building
Schools for the Future.
| Remit Meeting * |
July 2008 |
| Draft Strategy for Change Part 1 to Cabinet |
22 July 2008 |
| Strategy for Change Part One submission |
August 2008 |
| Strategy for Change Part Two submission |
December 2008 |
| Outline Business Case submission |
June 2009 |
* The remit meeting signals the start of the BSF process in
Suffolk. At the meeting Suffolk County Council will agree Suffolk’s
objectives for wave six with government officials.
BSF - Wave six schools
The following Suffolk schools are part of BSF wave
six:
Ipswich
- Chantry High School
- Holywells High School
- Stoke High School
- Thurleston High School
- Westbourne Sports Academy
Felixstowe
- Deben High School
- Orwell High School
Special Schools
- Beacon Hill Special School/Heathside Special School
- Belstead Special School
- Thomas Wolsey Special School
Pupil Referral Units
- Alderwood Pupil Referral Unit (provisional)
- Parkside Pupil Referral Unit
- Westbridge Pupil Referral Unit
Where can further information be found?
More information about the Building Schools for the Future
programme can be found at
www.suffolk.gov.uk/bsf
and www.p4s.org.uk
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SOR supplement
Cabinet agree way forward for schools in the Haverhill
area
Proposals for the future of schools in the Haverhill area were
agreed by the cabinet when it met on 24 June.
The proposals, which were initially discussed by the cabinet in
March, have since been the subject of a six week representation
period. In total 13 representations were received. The statutory
notice period ended on 23 May.
Details of representations received by the county council were
presented to the cabinet, along with the original proposals.
Councillor Patricia O’Brien portfolio holder for children
schools and young people’s services said: “These changes will help
to increase educational standards in our schools and assist young
people to achieve their full potential. Reorganising our
schools will help them to better meet the needs of the communities
they serve and will make the most of available funding.”
She continued:” A two year transition period has been included
in the review timetable. This two year period will help to
ensure adequate preparation has taken place to make the transition
as smooth as possible for everyone involved. It also allows
us to provide training and development opportunities for our staff
to ensure so they can help young people improve their levels of
achievement.”
Now that cabinet has confirmed the proposals for schools in the
Haverhill area will go ahead, plans will be put in place to
implement the changes.
As part of these proposals, all middle schools in the Haverhill
area will close in September 2011, with young people remaining in
primary schools until the age of 11 before transferring to a
secondary school.
Public notices relating to proposals for Lowestoft schools will
be published in September. Before they can be published, a
competition has to take place to find a partner to establish a new
secondary school in the south of the town. Bids from
potential partners have to be submitted in August. All bids
will then be published in September, along with all the other
proposals for schools in the area.
Separate to this, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) are
running a competition to find a provider for the new post 16
provision in the Lowestoft area.
More information about the school organisation review, including
a copy of the cabinet paper, can be found at
www.suffolk.gov.uk/sor.
How some schools are planning for the transition from a
three tier to a two tier system
Below are three examples of how schools are planning for the
transition from a three tier system to a two tier system.
Schools are identifying opportunities for staff to experience both
the primary and secondary sectors to help them make informed
choices about their future careers. Middle schools and high
schools are making joint appointments and other less formal
arrangements to help fill skill gaps, as well as increasing
experience for teachers.
Gisleham Middle School - planning for
change
When Gisleham Middle School closes in July 2011, all pupils will
transfer to a different school and all staff will leave their
posts. In the year prior to closure, the school will operate
with only three year groups (year 6, 7 & 8). Mr Stewart
Wrigley, the headteacher of Gisleham Middle, with support from
staff, governors and Sue Nichols (consultant headteacher with the
SOR team) has set up a three year plan, “School Reorganisation –
Planning for change”.
The plan aims to:
- Continue to provide the best education possible for pupils
- Help support the future of education in the county
- Give stakeholders a clearer picture of what the future may look
like.
Overview of the plan
It has been recognised that a phased closure needs to be managed
carefully to ensure the school continues to provide the best
possible education for its pupils. The key elements to be
considered as part of planning for the next three years were pupil
numbers, as this impacts on budget, the curriculum provision and
the number of staff the school needs and can afford.
The plan identifies seven areas which the school needs to address
to help it remain successful.
These are:
- Pupil's learning and curriculum
- Leadership and management
- Staff development
- Buildings and maintenance
- Finance
- Communication
- Liaison
In the following sections some of the key aspects of the plan
are explained in more detail.
Planning for change - leadership and
management
Governors
It is important for the
school that as many of the current governing body remain in post
until July 2011. The governors have a thorough knowledge of the
school, its aims, strengths and areas for development.
Therefore, the current governing body are best placed to lead it to
closure.
How will this be achieved?
The
chair of governors agreed to talk to all governors about retaining
their positions. When terms of office are completed,
governors will be asked to stay on for the remainder of the next
term of office.
Leadership group
The leadership group at Gisleham Middle School has enjoyed a
significant period of stability. It is in the interests of
the whole school community for this to remain intact until July
2011. If a change takes place, the school plans to give
careful thought to recruitment to maximise stability. The
focus of the leadership group's work is to develop a three year
(Sept 2008 to July 2011) School Improvement Plan (SIP) that
identifies the school’s priorities.
Posts of responsibility
The school recognises that retention of “key” staff may not be
possible during this period. A number of staff will be in a
position to seek promotion and this will be supported for their own
professional and career development. New opportunities in
primary and high schools will arise and again staff may consider
these.
The key to success will be the successful recruitment and
replacement of key staff that leave. The school recognises
the need to continue to attract the best possible candidates. At
the same time the school will work at developing the expertise
internally so that the existing staff are in a position to take up
vacant posts.
Planning for change – staffing
In July 2010 some staff may cease to be employed (the school
will only have three year groups). The school recognises the
need to support and develop all staff to prepare them for future
roles. The school has given careful thought to staffing over
the next three years. A liaison committee is to be set up to
work to secure the future of members of staff.
How does the school plan to reduce the teaching staff
levels?
- Not to replace some staff who leave before July 2010 - staff
may leave for positions in Year five in primary schools
- Reduce hours worked
- Make temporary appointments in September 2009 (i.e. one year
contracts)
- Make joint appointments with primary and high schools
- Consider applications for early retirement a year earlier
- Redundancies (follow STPC) - although this will be a last
resort
How does the school make sure that staff are retained
for the final year?
- Make early appointments
- Make joint appointments to primary or high
- Address training needs
- Use retention points
- Use the three year protected salary
- Ensure that staff feel valued and appreciated
In the final year (2010-2011) those teachers who remain may be
teaching subjects they are less familiar with. However, the
advantage will be that staff are developing new skills and
knowledge during this time.
What options do staff have after July 2011?
- Leave the profession
- Retire
- Find a post in a primary or high school, with three year
protected salary.
- Redundancy (follow STCP) – again, only as a last
resort.
How can the school help staff find employment in other
schools before closure?
- Attempt to secure early appointments for staff in primary or
high schools
- Make joint appointments with primary or high schools
- A comprehensive training programme, including visits and shared
working. This will make staff more 'marketable' to other
schools.
Planning for change – the final year
The school plans to celebrate Gisleham Middle School throughout
the last year.
Needham Market Middle School – a “buddy” system - a
model for classroom focussed collaborative professional
development
At Needham Market Middle School Sue Hull, the headteacher, and
Alison Leech, the Year five team leader, are very enthusiastic
about developing a “buddy” system between teachers and
schools. They are both keen to extend the practice to make it
available for more teachers.
The “buddy” system was developed out of the primary national
strategy and following a successful joint bid for funding for
classroom-based action, the enquiry, submitted by Viv Rolph,
headteacher at Bosmere Primary School, on behalf of the two
schools. It is supported by the provision of supply
cover.
What is involved in the “buddy” system?
Two teachers from different phases work as partners. In
this instance, Alison Leech (Needham Market Middle) has worked
alongside Rachel Lawrence (Bosmere Primary). Another pair of
teachers, Justine Scales (Needham Market) and Julie Pope (Bosmere
Primary) are working together in a similar way. They undertake the
following:
- Joint planning of lessons.
- Observation of each other’s lessons.
- Team teaching.
Before commencing the project the headteachers and the teachers,
attended courses. However, the practical element of the
“buddy” system was by far the most valuable.
Alison is a successful Year five team leader at Needham Market
Middle school who had not taught mathematics for a number of
years. She chose mathematics as her area of focus. As a
result of her very practical experiences and the support of a
skilled primary colleague, she now approaches the subject with more
confidence. She has also gained invaluable experience of
teaching Year three and four pupils.
Sue and Alison spoke highly of the close relationship and mutual
respect with their partner school, Bosmere Primary school.
The “buddy” system built upon previous liaison between the two
schools, for instance joint professional development days and
visits to each others’ schools.
What have been the advantages?
Both teachers in the partnership have benefited from the “buddy”
system. Benefits include:
- Year four pupils have had an opportunity to get to know their
prospective Year five teacher.
- Pastoral development for pupils has been enhanced because the
first and middle school have not been working in isolation.
- A positive impact upon continuity and progression.
- The teachers involved have further extended their teaching
skills.
- There has been a very positive impact upon teachers’ confidence
in teaching different age ranges and different subjects.
- Both of the teachers are better prepared for future challenges,
in this particular instance, meeting the needs of pupils across Key
Stage two
Needham Market Middle School and Bosmere Primary School are part
of the Gipping Valley Project which has committed funding to
further develop the project. The heads and teachers involved
are very keen to see opportunities for this exciting approach to be
more available for colleagues in other schools. They are
convinced that this thoroughly practical, classroom based
methodology, is an excellent way for teachers to prepare themselves
for re-organisation.
Beccles Middle School
Beccles Middle School is in the second group of schools being
reviewed. The headteacher, David Baker, is keen to maximise
the choices for his staff by increasing their understanding of
working in different phases. This school is building on existing
links with feeder primary schools and the local high school.
For example, recently Mr Baker was in a position where he was
considering asking his music teacher to teach history.
Through discussions with the headteacher at Sir John Leman high
school it was discovered that the high school needed a music
teacher. Therefore, the music teacher from Beccles Middle
School now teaches music to year nine pupils at the high school and
the history teacher from the high school teaches history to year
eight pupils at the middle school. Both schools maintain the
benefits of specialist teaching and the teachers have gained
experience of working with a broader age range. This will
prove invaluable when they apply for jobs after the
reorganisation.
How does the school plan to create opportunities for
teachers to experience jobs in other
organisations?
In a questionnaire completed by staff, ‘my job in other
organisations’ was identified as an important aspect on planning
for after the reorganisation. Mr Baker has formed a link with
Framingham Earl High School in Norfolk to enable his staff to
shadow members of staff at the 11 to 16 high school. Mr Baker
met with the headteacher of Framingham Earl High School, Ms
Furneaux to discuss the benefits for both schools and teams of
staff. Teachers from the middle school then identified areas
of expertise they wanted to develop before the heads met again to
confirm arrangements.
The middle school committed a budget of one day cover per member of
teaching staff in addition to normal CPD budget.
What are the advantages?
- Teachers are being provided with an excellent opportunity to
see the job they are currently doing in a 11-16 secondary
school.
- It will help teachers with future applications.
- It helps teachers to decide which phases they might want to
work in following the reorganisation.
- Staff are more likely to stay longer at the middle school, and
there is already some evidence of this happening.
- Teachers have increased confidence due to increased
experience.
- It is an excellent opportunity for ideas to flow between the
schools with a positive impact for staff and pupils.
Teachers from Beccles Middle School showed great enthusiasm for
the initiative and signed up quickly to take part. The school
plans to extend this idea to include teachers with an interest in
the primary sector.
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Getting in touch
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If you would like to feed back or submit articles to this
publication, contact: Carolyn Newcombe,
email:
carolyn.newcombe@comms.suffolkcc.gov.uk, tel: 01473 265187
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