A Happy and Safe Halloween!

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone working in early years, schools, colleges and other education provisions for all the hard work and commitment you have shown since September.  I know how hard recent months have been for everyone and I hope you have all had chance to rest and recharge your batteries over this half term break.  I’ve continued to be immensely impressed with how education leaders across the city have managed the changes needed in response to Covid 19 alongside providing high quality care and education for the children and young people of our city. Thank you.

I hope that children and young people across Brighton & Hove can enjoy Halloween safely and have some socially distanced fun.  Here are some tips from Brighton & Hove City Council on how to enjoy Halloween safely along with some ideas for Halloween activities and recipes for all the family:-

Book Trust’s Time to Read Campaign is Back!

It’s that time of year again when schools will be receiving their delivery of a free book pack for every Reception child. Time to Read aims to get primary school starters reading more often with their families and has developed a bank of resources available to schools and families to support this. During October there have been daily reading sessions, book recommendations and top tips for getting the most out of packs.  

The chosen title for 2020 is The Runaway Pea by Kjartan Poskitt and Alex Willmore, published by Simon & Schuster. It's a brilliant story, jam-packed with adventure and laugh-out-loud moments - a book that will get the whole family hooked on reading for pleasure. I look forward to hearing more about how our primary school starters are getting on.

CPD for Heads and Governors 

The wellbeing of our heads and governors is a top priority for us.  As such, I am excited to announce that Andy Cope from Art of Brilliance will be holding a short conference for heads of schools and colleges on ‘Leading in the new normal’ on 10 November 2020.  Andy will be hosting the session via Zoom but please sign up to the event on BEEM to ensure you get the invite. 

I’m also really pleased to confirm that Viv Grant from Integrity Coaching will be running a virtual Governance Conference on headteacher wellbeing, focusing on relationships and how governors can engage with Head Teachers in the current time.  The session will take place on Thursday 3 December from 4.30 – 6.00pm.  For more information on how to book a place, please contact Governor.Support@brighton-hove.gov.uk.

Talking and Learning Programme for Families with English as an Additional Language

As part of the virtual REAL (Raising Early Achievement in Literacy) programme offer EMAS will now be running the project for families with 3 and rising year olds speaking Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, Czech, Dari, Farsi, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Mandarin, Oromiffa, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese,  Romanian, Russian, Slovakian, Thai and Turkish.

Families will receive a free pack with a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and resources to support their early reading and writing. They will be invited to join individual Zoom sessions to discuss ideas and support. EMAS can help parents access Zoom and will try to arrange sessions to suit the family.

Please let EMAS know if you have any families who would be interested in joining the project by contacting Christine.Booth@brighton-hove.gov.uk or 07563 420140.  Information can be sent to families in their own language. 

Virtual School Update

Following on from an excellent webinar on ‘Transitions’ delivered by Daniel Sobel at the end of last term, the Virtual School for children in care and previously in care have continued their programme of training events this term. 

Michael Bettencourt, an education leader specialising in inclusion, brought his research and practice experience together to deliver two webinars on: ‘What works for care experienced students? (CiC and PiC) Considering the evidence base’ and ‘Getting the best out of Pupil Premium Plus’.  

The VS also offer a programme of Workshops and Clinics for parents and carers of children previously in care and training events for Social Workers and Foster Carers.  Have a look at the Training and Activities Offer for 2020-2021 here. An updated Transitions resource has also been sent out to all schools to encourage an ongoing focus on transitions for children in care and previously in care, as we all adapt to our changing world.

I am extremely proud to congratulate the second cohort of Post Graduate Apprentice Teachers (PGTA) who have completed their end point assessment with a grade of outstanding!  This is the second year running that our Teacher Apprentices have achieved such a high grade and goes to show that the Post Graduate Teacher Apprenticeship is an excellent route to grow your own talent.

 

Congratulations go to the following apprentices and their schools; Racheal Gumbrill, Elizabeth Kroon, Paloma Phillimore and Lewis Stanley from Downs View and Tom Price from Hangleton Primary School.

Some of the newly qualified Post Graduate Apprentice Teachers

Lis Bundock, Lead Lecturer for Teaching, University of Brighton said “I am extremely proud of the achievements of these fantastic teacher apprentices. Working with them to develop and hone their practice over the 12 month apprenticeship was a real privilege.”

Vanessa Hickey, Executive Headteacher at Downs View said “Downs View had four apprentice teachers last year. They were an asset to the school as they were enthusiastic and keen to get involved in all aspects of school life.”

If you are interested in employing a PGTA next year or would like to find out more on available grants from the DfE, please contact Gavin Graham on 01273 293320 or gavin.graham@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Youth Employability Service

These are difficult times and for young people who are not in education, employment or training, it can be a very worrying period. The city’s Youth Employability Service (YES) is here and ready to offer support.  Please watch the following video to find out more about the support on offer.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L35lbc6j6U8  If you, or someone you know would like support please say YES to YES! 

Contact YES via the YES Mainline 01273 294247 or the following links:-

www.facebook.com/yesbrightonhove

www.instagram.com/yesbrightonhove 

www.twitter.com/YESBrightonHove

Back in April, at the beginning of lockdown, we were approached by a representative of Martlets to support a writing project to help build community between the generations and make life better for people living in care homes.

We were delighted that we were able to facilitate this and around 10 local schools and 20 care homes began working together on the You Are Never Alone project and the children have created some beautiful work.  Martlets are now looking to expand the project and invite more schools to join them. If you would like an informal discussion, or to sign your school up to the project, please email youareneveralone@martlets.org.uk

I look forward to hearing how our children in schools across the city are helping to minimise social isolation and loneliness for care home residents in our community.

Family Learning Moves Online

The Family Learning team have taken their courses and workshops online this term, in response to Covid-19, and have run a variety of courses for local families including Starting Out With Phonics, Mindful Play and Supporting a Child With Anxiety.

Wellbeing and mental health are key topics for families at the moment and the mindfulness, anxiety and resilience courses have been particularly popular. Research has found that learning new skills can have a considerable positive impact on our mental health. One learner commented that “although the technology was a lot to get my head round at first, I’m glad I persevered. It’s been so good for me to be part of a group and I feel less alone now.”

Thank you to the schools and other services who have helped to promote the online provision.  Online courses will continue after half term and the full list is available here:
https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/families-children-and-learning/family-learning-online-classroom

Anti-Racist Strategy

We have been working with the Brighton & Hove Educators of Colour Collective and consultants to develop a strategy for anti-racist schools. As one aspect of this we hope to work with you and experts in the field to de-colonise the history curriculum and embed Black History into every month.  We will soon be engaging with schools and their staff teams to refine and develop this strategy which we hope to get funding for in April. For more information please contact Sam Beal on sam.beal@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Ofsted inspections are suspended, however Ofsted are still making some visits to school to gather information. No judgements will be made about the school during this time, no lesson observations or work scrutiny will take place, but there will be a letter to the school confirming the discussion issued approximately 3 weeks after the meeting.  So far two of our schools have received visits: St Joseph’s Catholic Primary and Moulsecoomb Primary School.

Welcomes and Goodbyes

I am pleased to be able to confirm that we have recruited a new team manager, Michelle Hunt, for the Home to School Transport Service. Michelle started with us earlier this month and I am sure everyone will give Michelle a warm welcome.  Sadly, this does mean we will be losing Rob Glaister back to the Housing Team in mid-November. Rob has done a great job as interim manager and I would like to thank him for the huge contribution he has made to helping get the service back on its feet and to re-establishing trust and confidence following a very challenging period.

We also say goodbye to Andy Moore after 17 years at Brighton & Hove City Council.  We would like to wish him all the best for the future and I am sure he will be very much missed by everyone here.

 

Best wishes,

Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons

Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.

Welcome Back

 

I would like to welcome everyone back at the start of a new, and very extraordinary, academic year.

Thank you to early years settings, schools and colleges for their amazing work in fully reopening for all children during challenging times.  I would also like to thank all children and young people for managing with the difficult transition and the many changes they have had to face over recent months.  We know for many this has not been easy. 

This Year’s Summer Results

Congratulations must go to all schools, colleges and education providers on a great set of results during the summer in the most difficult circumstances.  It is a real testament to our schools, colleges and all pupils and students that even in the most testing times, results throughout the city have been maintained and built upon.
 
Overall, the city’s GCSE and A-level results continue to be excellent.  Whilst this year’s results were not awarded on the basis of exam performance, but on the professional opinions of teaching staff instead, they reflect the hard work and resilience of Year 11 and 13 students across Brighton & Hove in these most unprecedented times.  
  
Well done to all young people, teachers, support staff and parents.

Brighton & Hove students getting their GCSE results this year received a surprise video message celebrating their achievements under lockdown. 

To recognise and celebrate the achievements of this extraordinary group of young people, Brighton based production companies Storythings and Make Good Trouble have partnered with the city’s secondary schools, Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival and Future Creators to create a celebration video featuring poet Lemn Sissay MBE, guest director of Brighton Festival 2020/21.

The video was posted on Brighton Dome’s YouTube channel on GCSE results day and was shared by all Brighton & Hove secondary schools with their students. The video features Sissay reading a new poem titled ‘EXTRAORDINARY’, adapted from his poem ‘Adventure Flight’ and captures the resilience and hard work of Brighton & Hove students during the Covid-19 pandemic.

If you haven’t had chance to look it’s really worth watching the video:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gTICWhyr_I&feature=youtu.be

Welcomes

There have been a number of new and acting headteachers, principals and heads of school across this city at the start of this academic year.  We are looking forward to working with them and supporting them all in their new roles throughout this year.  

Claire Jarman, Acting Principal at Cardinal Newman Catholic School

Grainne Byrd, Interim Head of School at Cardinal Newman Catholic School

Vanessa Hickey, Executive Headteacher at Downs View

Donna-Marie Janson, Principal at Varndean College

Gill Foan, Headteacher at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School

Alison Colbran, Headteacher at Brunswick Primary School

Claire Smith, Headteacher at St Bernadette’s Catholic Primary School

Robert Cooper, Headteacher at Middle Street Primary


and
 

Simon King, Headteacher at the Bilingual Primary School

Newly Qualified Teachers

The School & Governance Development Team welcomed the city’s NQTs at the start of term through a series of virtual welcome events.  This year’s NQTs have more challenges than usual, after experiencing disruption to their initial teacher training and also starting their careers in a very different environment.  The team has provided extra guidance for induction tutors about how to support their NQTs during this time, and induction tutors have been attending virtual training so they are confident with the responsibilities of their role.  

We wish all NQTs the best, and don’t hesitate to contact Sharon MacKenzie if there are any queries: schools.training@brighton-hove.gov.uk.

Apprenticeships are a fantastic to way to gain vital training and experiences of work, either through taking a new opportunity or developing knowledge whilst in an existing role.  

Congratulations to Andrea Weller who works in the business support function of Education & Skills, who has recently been awarded her apprenticeship having taken the changes due to Covid-19 in her stride. The service has benefitted from the learning and development the programme gave her and will help to shape her future career path.  Well done Andrea! 

Congratulations also to Clare Harrington from Patcham High School who has recently completed the Teaching Assistant Level 3 apprenticeship.

  

For more information on developing staff through an apprenticeship or recruiting into a role and accessing up to £2,000 in support, please contact Gavin Graham on 01273 293320 or Apprenticeships@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Andrea Weller

School and College Leaders Annual Conference

Our annual School and College Leaders Conference is due to take place virtually on Friday 2 October and is open to all school and college leaders, heads of school and deputies. The theme for the conference is ‘’Brave Leadership’ with keynote speaker Dave Harris, author of ‘Brave Heads: How to lead a school without selling your soul’. 

If you are able to attend, please contact the School Workforce Team by booking on BEEM or by email to schools.training@brighton-hove.gov.uk. We hope to see you there!

Hospital Teaching Service

Drawing by patient Danielle Mason, of her nurse, Debbie, during the Covid-19 pandemic, June 2020

The Hospital Teaching Service has been continuing to provide its services during the Covid-19 pandemic.  I was really impressed to hear recently about Danielle, who is studying Art and Design at college.  Danielle has a chronic medical condition which means she needs to attend the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital on a regular basis.  Before the Covid-19 pandemic Danielle always attended the Hospital Teaching Service Schoolroom when she was an in-patient.  

Danielle has recently produced some art work based on her response to Covid-19.  A drawing of one of the nurses, in PPE, was produced during her hospital stay in June.  This will be displayed in the hospital Schoolroom along with writing, poems and other drawings produced by patients about their experiences of the pandemic.

Wild Child Project

Students and staff working hard at Stanford Juniors

I was very interested to learn recently about the work that Stanford Juniors’ Head Teacher, Paul Davis, his staff and the school’s eco councillors have been doing to develop the school's limited outdoor space to support the health and wellbeing of staff and pupils.

Following conversations with Sophie, a PhD student who was looking to develop links with a local school as part of her Wild Child project - providing opportunities for children to reconnect with nature - the team took up the challenge to transform the area in front of the school into an outdoor living classroom.  Sophie very kindly funded two raised beds, the compost and soil improver and a number of plants as part of the project. 

The children have been developing a gardening diary and have harvested produce including blackberries, peas, sweet peas and potatoes.  They are also practising their cooking skills using equipment purchased by the school council following a successful fundraising event. 

Family Learning Provision

The Family Learning provision for Brighton & Hove has recently been brought back in-house and we would like to welcome the following people;

Kirsty Cregan – Curriculum Coordinator

Kerry Fawcett – Tutor

Margaret Allen - Tutor

Jo Roeg - Tutor

Agnes Munday - Tutor

This is an exciting opportunity to develop the service and build a really strong offer for local families. The tutors have many years’ experience of working with families that need some extra help, sometimes where parents have no, or low level, qualifications or where the children are not meeting expected standards. The team can also offer support and training to parents and carers who may need help with their own wellbeing, accessing learning opportunities or finding work. 

If you would like to help develop an offer that meets the needs of our families and schools, please complete the team’s short survey by 30 September 2020.

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/BCZJMNL 

Brighton & Hove City Council is excited to be supporting the virtual Youth Climate Summit in November 2020.  

This is just one way the Council is recognising students’ concerns about the climate and working towards being Carbon Neutral by 2030. Working in partnership with Sussex Wildlife Trust, we are inviting our city’s schools to join with students from across the country and attend this week long event of themed discussions, workshops and activities.  The event will culminate in making commitments and pledges for a more just, sustainable world and feed into a head teachers’ event planned for 2021.

For more information about getting involved in the event, visit the Transform Our World website or contact katieeberstein@sussexwt.org.uk.   

Normal Ofsted inspections have been suspended for the autumn term.  However Ofsted are still planning to undertake Interim visits at some schools. These will not have judgements.  Ofsted have written to all headteachers with an overview of their plans but more information is available on the Ofsted website https://www.gov.uk/guidance/interim-phase-maintained-schools-and-academies 

Best wishes,

Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons

Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.

End of Another Academic Year

We are now reaching the end of an academic year unlike any other and some of our early years settings, schools, colleges and education and skills providers are finishing for the summer.  I know that the last few months have been a very challenging and difficult time for many people across Brighton & Hove.  I’d like to thank you for all of your hard work in these exceptional times.  

From providing childcare, overseeing home learning and reaching out to the most vulnerable children and young people in our city, everyone has played their part and I am particularly proud of all those who have been working in early years, schools and colleges during this unprecedented time.

I would like to wish you all a happy and safe summer.  There is much still to be done to prepare for September as part of our recovery and renewal work and I hope that the summer will provide an opportunity for everyone to find time for a break.  It is so important we are all able to rest and recharge our batteries ahead of the new academic year.  I look forward to once again working with you all then.

Summer fun for children and young people in Brighton & Hove

Despite the challenges of recent months, I’m delighted to say there will be a wide variety of free activities on offer over the summer for children and young people across the city.

The activities, which have been adapted to take into account guidance on social distancing, include a range of arts and crafts, fitness, sport, beach days, playschemes, family get-togethers, fishing, music and more.  Please see the following links for more information:- 

For older children and young people: https://new.brighton-hove.gov.uk/summer-activity-programme

For younger children and young people and their families: https://new.brighton-hove.gov.uk/summer-fun-2020

Youth workers will also be engaging with young people across Brighton & Hove in places where they gather to build positive relationships and provide support and guidance.

Goodbye and thank you

It’s that time of year when some of our headteachers and principals across the partnership retire or move on to other exciting things. We would like to thank them all for their commitment to the children, young people and families across the city and wish them all the best for the future. We will miss them all and hope they will keep in touch.   

I would like to say goodbye and thank you to Dr James Kilmartin, Principal of Cardinal Newman Catholic School, who will be stepping down from his role at the end of this academic year.  Since becoming headteacher he has overseen a number of developments, always with impressive determination.  We wish him a very happy and well deserved retirement.

Dr James Kilmartin

We also say goodbye this month to Adrian Carver, Executive Headteacher at Downs View.  Throughout his time at Downs View, Adrian has been an inspirational leader and advocate for children and young people with special educational needs and we wish him all the very best for the future.

Adrian Carver

Julie Aldous, Head at Middle Street Primary will also be moving on to exciting new adventures.  Julie has been one of our longest serving headteachers in the  city and her collaborative and innovative leadership has been invaluable.  Julie will be much missed by all who work with her and we wish her well in her new endeavours.  

Julie Aldous

Thank you also to Fran Morrison, Head of St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, who is leaving at the end of this term.   I know that Fran’s participation and support will be widely missed by colleagues within the Brighton & Hove education partnership and across the city.  We wish Fran the best of luck for her move and for her new adventures.

Fran Morrison

We also say goodbye to Shaun Collins who is stepping down as Headteacher at Brunswick Primary School following 10 years of headship at Somerhill Juniors, having successfully brought together Somerhill and Davigdor Infants to create Brunswick Primary.  We wish Shaun all the best with his future endeavours.

Shaun Collins

I would also like to thank Sarah Clayton, Head at St Mary's Catholic Primary School, for all of her hard work and dedication in her role as Interim Head at St Bernadette's Catholic Primary.  I know that her steady leadership has been a great support to everyone at St Bernadette’s.

Finally, thank you to Jo Staveley, Headteacher at the Bilingual Primary School, who will be moving into a new role at the school from September.  We look forward to continuing to work with Jo in her new position.

Our next news will be in September when we will welcome new faces to the Brighton & Hove education partnership.

Best wishes,

Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons

Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.

Black Lives Matter

Earlier this month, in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, Brighton and Hove City Council took two significant steps.  Firstly, a pledge was made to be an anti-racist council.  As part of this pledge, specific commitments have been set out including reaching out to and working with Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities to create and deliver an anti-racism strategy and focusing on supporting Black, Asian and minority ethnic businesses through council procurement.

Additionally, a motion was passed at Children, Young People and Skills Committee offering more training for schools, teachers and trainee teachers including building understanding of the impact on pupils and staff of bias, discrimination, white privilege and institutional racism. 

Of course these are currently just words.  I hope that we will be able to work together in partnership, building on good practice in place, but with increased resource and commitment to improving the experience of Black, Asian and minority ethnic members of our school communities. Please feedback to us your ideas for how we can do this work more effectively.  For more information on the steps taken, please see the following links:-

https://new.brighton-hove.gov.uk/news/2020/brighton-hove-city-council-pledge-be-anti-racist-council 

https://new.brighton-hove.gov.uk/news/2020/tackling-racism-and-bias-schools

Refugee Week 2020 took place from 15-21 June 2020.  It was marked by many schools across our city and I was delighted to learn more about Brackenbury Primary School’s activities during the week.  

Origami boats by pupils at Brackenbury Primary School

Assemblies were held, specific for each key stage, focusing on a story about what it might be like for a refugee.  It helped pupils to think about putting themselves in someone else's shoes to develop empathy and understanding for others.  Classes also imagined what the world could be like and put these messages on origami boats;  imagining a world where everyone really was all different, all equal.  Examples such as “we are all safe, everyone has a roof over their head, everyone was welcome, we are all kind to the earth and everyone is happy” were given.

Messages from pupils at Brackenbury Primary School

The team at Blatchington Mill School has been so impressed with their students’ dedication to completing their school work to an exceptional standard since the start of the pandemic.  They also wanted to ensure that their students aren’t missing out on the variety of extra-curricular activities that would usually be offered in school.  As such, in addition to weekly virtual assemblies and clubs, the School has decided that this year they will host their annual Summer Concert on their website.

Ashley Harrold, Headteacher said “We’ve had a sneak peak at some of the excellent performances already and we can’t wait to share them all with you at 6pm on 30th June at blatchingtonmill.org.uk. Please join us in celebrating the students' musical efforts. At a time when the arts in our city are facing such challenges it is important to celebrate and promote the positive impact artistic expression, including music, has on all of our lives.”

During this period of Covid 19, when many of our pupils have not been in school, they have benefited from high quality home learning across the city.  Schools have worked creatively to meet the needs of their school community and this has been, quite rightly, unique to each school. Provision has included activity packs and resources being sent home, learning platforms, video calls and recorded staff messages - who knew we had such great dancers amongst us?   We are in the process of collecting case studies with several schools across the city so we can capture and share the wide range of distance learning provision that is being offered in Brighton and Hove schools. 

Virtual Sussex School Games 

Over the past seven weeks, 5,151 young people from 11 secondary/FE schools, colleges and 32 primaries in Brighton & Hove have taken part in the Virtual Sussex School Games. 

Congratulations to Blatchington Mill School who have topped the Sussex Spirit of the Games participation Leaderboard for the past 5 weeks! Balfour Primary School, Bilingual Primary School and Peter Gladwin Primary School have also been at the top of the Sussex Leaderboard for their average score in the Boccia and Athletics Challenges.   Also a special mention goes to Saltdean Primary School who are the top Brighton and Hove primary school for their participation numbers.  There are 3 weeks left so it would be great to get more students and schools involved before the end of term.  Please see www.sussexschoolgames.co.uk for more information.

Last week was also National School Sport week at Home.  Resources can be accessed via the following link and used over the summer months https://www.youthsporttrust.org/national-school-sport-week-home

Laptops to Support Homelearning

Following the DfE announcement to provide digital devices and internet access to young people, Education, Standards & Achievement have been liaising with the Virtual School; social care and School’s ICT to identify eligible young people and to arrange for the most appropriate technology to be delivered either to their school setting or to Regency Road.  As an authority, we were allocated over 1100 laptops and nearly 200 wi-fi devices.  Most of these are now with the young person they were intended for and plans are underway to ensure the remainder are with them soon.

Opportunities for Young People in Care and Care Leavers

I was so impressed to hear about the roles that Young Ambassadors have been playing as members of interview panels for positions within Children’s Services.  As care experienced young people who have undergone training in recruitment/interviewing skills, Young Ambassadors can now confidently and meaningfully participate in interview processes; the biggest being the annual recruitment of newly qualified social workers.   It’s been great to hear that this has also continued during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Tom Stibbs, Principal Social Worker said of the Young Ambassadors: “What a positive experience it was having the young people as part of the panel and what a great job they did.  Without exception they were all valued members of the panel and provided insightful contributions to the assessment and scoring of candidates”.

Training Brighton University Students

Training taking place

I was delighted to hear some wonderful feedback following the delivery of a workshop to a group of first year Social Work students from Brighton University by three care leavers who shared their stories and experiences of care and of social workers.   Comments included:

“The most useful session for me yet, thank you. Best of luck to you all, you’re amazing!”
“Thank you for sharing your stories, it is really helpful.”
“Thank you for sharing and speaking with us! I’ve found this very useful and interesting to hear experiences.”

For more information about the Youth Participation Team please go to https://www.facebook.com/BrightonandHoveYouth, or  

https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/...and.../youth-participation-team

Young City Reads, the Brighton based reading project which helps to inspire children to read for pleasure, launched ‘Young City Reads at Home’ earlier this month to offer families across Sussex, and beyond, a reading challenge they can complete together while the schools remain closed, in their own time, and at their own pace.  More than 3,000 children were signed up to take part in Young City Reads before lockdown, and when schools closed the organisers decided to make all the materials available online. 

Sarah Hutchings, Director of Young City Reads commented: “All the resources are on our website and can be downloaded for free. We are also delighted that Brighton & Hove Libraries’ Borrow Box scheme is offering anyone with a library card the opportunity to download the ebook for free, making the project accessible to children from families on a low income”.

For more information, please visit the Collected Works website.

The ASK (Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge for Schools and Colleges Programme) offer has been transformed into a remote service so that support and information can continue to be offered to students, teachers and parents and is now available in Brighton and Hove.  Please see the following link to a short film that explains the offer and how to access it  https://vimeo.com/412287347

Sessions currently on offer for pupils include: “Recognising your strengths”; “How to write a winning apprenticeship application”; “Interview skills” and “Practical ways to boost your employability”.  Sessions are delivered by the meeting/webinar platform of the school’s choice at a time and date to suit.  The programme runs between now and the end of term.

For more information, please see the Ask Brochure: http://wave.brighton-hove.gov.uk/schools/bulletins/Lists/Posts/Attachments/5519/ASK-Brochure-Digital_2020-2.pdf

Reverend Derek Bastide

We were very sorry to hear that Reverend Derek Bastide, former chair of Brighton & Hove Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education passed away recently. He supported Brighton & Hove SACRE for many years developing and monitoring Religious Education and although he retired from the Chair role four years ago his steady, calm and patient guidance and expert knowledge was greatly appreciated by all who were fortunate to work with him. 

If you would like to find out more about Derek please see the link to his obituary in the Church Times. https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2020/12-june/gazette/obituaries/obituary-the-revd-derek-bastide . 

Best wishes,

Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons

Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.

Eid Mubarak

Eid al-Fitr took place from 25-27 May this year.  I understand that this year’s Eid was a very different experience for Muslims, who could not be with family and friends to end the Ramadan fast because of COVID-19.  Muslims celebrated in their own households, but not being able to share the festivities together was a great loss.  It was lovely to hear how different schools celebrated virtually with their communities though and I would like to wish everyone who marked it ‘Eid Mubarak’. 

Young City Reads

Children across the city have been reading Malamander by Thomas Taylor as part of the Young City Reads BIG READ for school children across Sussex, promoting the joy of reading for pleasure and developing literacy. It has been great to hear that this has continued during distance learning and schools and pupils have been accessing the weekly resources on their website.  Thursday 21 May would have seen the celebration event at the Theatre Royal where pupils would have the chance to meet the author and have their questions answered. Thanks to technology, the event was still able to take place online with Thomas answering questions as they were tweeted and questions that were sent in by pupils. If you missed the event, you can still access it on the Collected Works website.

Keeping in Touch

Once again, it has been wonderful to see and hear about the different ways our schools are keeping in touch with their children at the moment.   I look forward to hearing more about how school communities are coming together at this time.  These are just a few examples of some of the great things which have been happening:-

The following video was created by Cardinal Newman Catholic High School to help their students feel Brave…. https://www.cncs.co.uk/from-all-of-us-to-all-of-you/

Benfield Primary School have created this video of their staff reading “Who Will Comfort Toffle” by Tove Jansson  https://benfield-brighton-hove.secure-dbprimary.com/brighton-hove/primary/benfield/site/pages/learning/homelearning/whowillcomforttoffle

And finally, City Academy Whitehawk have curated family and individual activity packs for their pupils and school community.  These have created a great buzz and the staff were thrilled to see so many families and pupils collecting packs.

Hospital Teaching Service – Access to Education

Year 6 pupil Henry, celebrating VE Day with the Winston Churchill ‘V’ for Victory sign

It’s good to hear that the Hospital Teaching Service at The Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital has continued to function during the Covid-19 lockdown.  Families have been very grateful for a visit from the Hospital Teacher, who has been able to provide activities to aid recovery, make their stay more enjoyable and to help with ‘Home Schooling’ tasks.  

To mark VE Day earlier this month, the teacher, nurses and patients had a lot of fun making bunting to hang up around the hospital and in-patient rooms.  One patient, Henry, was an in-patient for over a week earlier this month.   He hung the VE Day bunting above his bed, but he had to replace it with birthday bunting three days later to celebrate his 11th birthday.

Adult Learning Courses  

I’m pleased to say that house our adult and community learning offer will be brought in house as of 1 August 2020.  Brighton & Hove Council is committed to ensuring inclusive and high quality learning is available for all adults in the city.  We will focus on supporting those with few or no qualifications, people on low incomes and unemployed or low or semi skilled people to develop the confidence, skills and qualifications to progress.  If you would like to know more about this big change in our service delivery, please see the Council’s website here.

The Youth Employability Service has quickly moved to adapt their working practices to deal with the challenges of lockdown. They are now providing video, telephone and messenger career appointments, alongside offering AQA Unit Awards so young people can gain accredited certificates whilst they are at home. This has proved popular and course offers have included gardening, safeguarding, youth work, well-being and more! The Service’s Facebook Fanpage has seen a huge increase in traffic and a named adviser takes over the page each weekday, with clients tuning in to watch their live videos and posts.

Every Friday the service has a live Employability Drop In hosted by two advisers and Elle’s most recent publication The Youth Employability Service Lockdown Guide to Life has been seen by over 11,000 people and has kept children and young people entertained during Lockdown.

Brighton & Hove City Council are currently reviewing youth services for young people in the city and are working closely with youth organisations across the city to make sure as many young people as possible participate and give their views.  We are very keen for to hear from young people living in Brighton & Hove aged 11 to 19, or up to 25 years with special educational needs via an on line survey. Please do encourage any young people you know to complete the survey. The survey only takes about 10 minutes to complete and ends on 28 June. The link to the survey is here To give your views via the survey please visit brighton-hove.gov.uk/youth-survey. The feedback from the survey will inform recommendations for future services.

The Virtual School

The Virtual School is continuing to offer a range of services to support children in care & previously in care and really appreciate all the support being provided to them by our colleagues in schools.  This support is so vital during this unsettling time and especially for our children who have already experienced such great challenges in their lives.   In this context, the Virtual School are prioritising supporting the statutory PEP process for children in care and also promote the provision of PEPs for children and young people previously in care.  They have shared widely a School Transitions resource to assist school staff with examples and ideas for transition planning, delivery and review and have a range of other useful resources on their website for school staff, parents and carers.

Staying Active at Home

I was delighted to hear that so many students and families have taken part in the Specsavers Virtual School Games.  A big well done to Blatchington Mill and Saltdean for topping the Brighton & Hove participation leader boards for three weeks in a row!   There is still time to get involved -  head to www.sussexschoolgames.co.uk to learn more.

National School Sport Week at Home 2020 takes place from 20 - 26 June. Register through the following link to gain access to resources to use https://www.youthsporttrust.org/national-school-sport-week-home.  Finally, a YouTube channel has been set up by the Healthy Lifestyles Team to help the whole family to keep healthy during this time.  Please see https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3UDPP981RoXR5_EUUhmSRQ
for more information.

Supported Employment Team

There is some excellent work being undertaken by the Supported Employment Team who support residents of Brighton & Hove over the age of 18 with disabilities into work.   One of the SET Officers, Iain, worked with Evan to identify his goals and preferences, evaluate his skills and explore possible roles that would match his experience.  Following a successful meeting with Sue Weight at Design Print & Sign (DP&S), a trial was arranged.  Iain worked closely with Evan to prepare him.  With the support of Sue, and the DP&S Team’s mentoring and guidance, Evan has grown in confidence and developed new skills, now undertaking most aspects of the role of Design Print & Sign Technician.

Evan says, “I have worked for two different teams within BHCC and have very much enjoyed my three years or so at both teams and feel proud to work for the Council where I have grown up. Iain has been incredible in supporting me in many different ways”.

If you would like to learn more about the service contact SET@brighton-hove.gov.uk

The Ofsted inspections are now on hold due to Covid 19 (official link to information: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ofsted-coronavirus-covid-19-rolling-update).  Although all routine inspections are suspended at this time, the inspection reports for Downs View and the Jeanne Saunders Centre have now been published. 

Huge congratulations to Downs View on retaining their Outstanding Ofsted grading.  The inspector said:  “The curriculum starts highly effectively in the early years, where pupils begin to learn essential life skills. This exemplary start continues through all other key stages of the school.  Pupils are exceptionally well prepared for their next stage of education, employment or training” and …“pupils are incredibly well supported by highly skilled and knowledgeable staff.”  Congratulations to the school leaders, staff, pupils and governors.

Congratulations also go to the Jeanne Saunders Centre who have received an Outstanding Ofsted grading.  This exceptionally positive Ofsted report describes the leadership and staff as “inspirational” and as going “above and beyond for all children and families”.   The report continues that staff “use their wealth of knowledge to provide a meticulously organised curriculum, where every child thrives”.   Very well done to all of the staff and everyone involved in achieving this result.

Goodbyes

We said goodbye this month to Pinaki Ghoshal, Interim Executive Director for Housing, Neighbourhoods & Communities and substantive post holder as Executive Director for Families, Children & Learning.  Pinaki is moving on to Lewisham Council where he is due to take up the position of Director for Children and Young People.  We would like to thank Pinaki for all his hard work and commitment during his time with us and wish him the best of luck in his new post.

Pinaki Ghoshal

Best wishes,

Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons
Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.