School visits
It’s been a privilege to visit a number of
schools again this month and to see and share the good and outstanding practice. On my
visit to Carlton Hill Primary it was wonderful to hear about their Eco work.
The Farm at the school is a central part of their playground so children can
see what's growing throughout the year. It was good to be able to see the jams,
pickles, sauces the children had made and know that the money raised is
invested back into The Farm. I was not surprised to hear that the school have
the Eco green flag award and in the last two years have come first and second
in the ‘Brighton in Bloom’ competition for their school grounds.
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| Jams, pickles and sauces made by children at Carlton Hill Primary School |
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| The Farm at Carlton Hill Primary School |
Ofsted
I
am delighted that Hillside School received an outstanding judgment from Ofsted.
The report, which came out this month, highlighted the exceptional practice in
the school to educate and meet the needs of some of our most vulnerable
children and young people with complex needs. Congratulations to the staff,
pupils and parents at the school. Congratulations also to Our Lady of Lourdes
Primary School and Downs Park Special School who have both maintained their
judgment of good.
Being
Taken Over on the 21st November
‘Take Over Day’ - an initiative lead by the
Children’s Commissioners' office gives young people from the city
the opportunity to take over someone’s role for the day. My team were joined
by a Year 10 student, Issy Khayal from Patcham High, who reviewed the council's
approach to supporting anti-bullying work in schools. It was enlightening to be ‘Taken Over’ by Issy;
as she skilfully interviewed me and quickly showed she understood the agenda and
my role here in the council. Issy was positive about the work we do and in
particular was impressed by the data we have in the Safe and Well at School Survey
reports. Thank you Issy.
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| Children's Take Over Day |
Reading Strategy
This month our work has begun to develop a new strategy
for reading. We are aware how essential
it is for daily life including to access education and employment. There is much to celebrate about reading across the city
but equally more that we can do to allow everyone to benefit from the rewards
of reading. We must provide the support
needed for those children and adults who struggle with reading and ensure all
our young people leave school at a good reading standard. I joined Sally Mcmahon (Head of Library Service) and other
colleagues at the inspiring Jubilee Library to review our previous strategy and
plan ahead. We hope to be able to involve you all in these developments in the
new year leading to a launch later in the spring.
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| Display at Blatchington Mill |
Gold Star Awards
I thoroughly enjoyed joining children and young people, their parents and carers at the annual awards for our Children in Care. I was proud to hear the great achievements and see some fabulous performances. The star guests ‘Only One Direction’ were a particular favourite and brought great excitement to the room. Thank you to the Virtual School team for all their hard work to make this event such fun and a real success!
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| Gold Star Awards ceremony at the Hilton Metropole |
More awards!
I’m delighted to announce that this month SoundCity, Brighton and Hove Music Education Hub, has won national acclaim for its work
inspiring children and young people into music. The National Music Council,
which promotes the cultural and educational benefits of music, has awarded
Brighton and Hove City Council’s Music & Arts service-led SoundCity the Diploma of
Merit. The work of Soundcity continues
to inspire the city’s young people with the power of music. This national award
affirms the leadership we provide with our work with other key organisations in
the pursuit of music making in our city.
The importance of the
role of Designated Teacher for Children in Care
Over 25 staff attended the networks for
primary and secondary designated teachers this month. The focus of this meeting was on using the
pupil premium effectively; personal education plans and pupil premium for children
who have previously been in care. These
meetings will now take place termly and aim to support schools and share best
practice on delivering the very best education to Children in Care and those
who have previously been in care.
Personal
Education Plans
Thanks to all those who took place in the
consultation on the new Personal Education Plan (PEP) for Children in Care. We had very valuable feedback from a range of
schools, young people, carers and social workers. We are now finalising the documentation and
plan to launch in the Spring term.
Race Equality in
schools
The
Changing Ethnic Demographic in Brighton & Hove – How prepared are Brighton
& Hove Schools? (Global HPO, February 2014). This report
identified areas causing concern including the recruitment and retention of
black and minority ethnic (BME) people on school staff and governing bodies,
the underachievement of some groups of BME students, and challenges about whole
school approaches to race equality. Work on our three year action plan to
address these issues is moving forward and im pleased we are seeing some
improvements in the achievement data for some target BME groups and school
governors committed to increasing representation on governing bodies. However, there is much more that we can all do. It is
vital that we engage and communicate this via our clusters of schools and
ensure race and equality items are intrinsic to all your agendas so that we can
work together to address all the issues raised.
Keep in touch on twitter or email me.
Keep in touch on twitter or email me.
Best wishes
Jo
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