We have now come to the end of the
annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans history month. Lots of activity took place across the city and in our schools and education provision to
mark this important awareness-raising and celebratory month.
This year the focus of LGBT History Month is on ‘Geography: Mapping the World’, especially now that Australia and up to 16 more central and south American nations will be able to enjoy same sex weddings.
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| Varndean’s suggested LGBT books |
In February we also remembered two special events: the 30th anniversary of the passing of Section 28, which prohibited local authorities from disseminating materials that ‘promoted homosexuality’ in schools; and the 40th anniversary of the murder by shooting of Harvey Milk, the USA’s first out-gay elected councillor. Both actions changed the face of LGBT political engagement and activism profoundly. On a happier note, the rainbow flag was launched as a symbol of LGBT unity and equality forty years ago in 1978.
Whole Family Working
It is the responsibility of all agencies to
work together to support and safeguard children and young people. This includes
ensuring that help and support is provided to children and their families at
the earliest opportunity available and when concerns first start to emerge. We
are currently consulting on a new Whole
Family Working Strategy and
Threshold
Document. As part of
our consultation, it was good to join professional partners and councillors
from across the city at our Children's Services Partnership Forum at the
cricket club this week to debate our whole family approach and shape our
strategy going forward. The consultation will be open until Friday the 2nd
of March 2018, so please take a look and let us know what you think.
Youth Cross Party Working Group
It was good to join our young people and councillors for the Youth Cross Party Working Group. There was a good debate on how to spend £90,000 additional funding for the Neighbourhood Youth Grants programme agreed in the Council’s budget for 2018/19. Ten young people sit on the group and represent the Youth Council, Children in Care Council and Youth Groups across the city, together with one Councillor from each of the three political groups who attend the Committee. The Group is jointly chaired by one of the young people from the Youth Council and Councillor Dan Chapman, the Chair of the Committee.
Working in Education Recruitment Fair
Brighton & Hove Education
Partnership is hosting a 'Working in Education' Recruitment
Fair on Saturday the 10th of March 2018,
from 10am to 3pm at the Jury’s Inn, Brighton Waterfront. Recruitment and
retention is one of the top priorities of this city partnership. The fair will
promote all the opportunities Brighton & Hove has for those who wish to
work or volunteer in education. There will be stalls and talks throughout the
day, so that attendees can hear from colleagues in schools, colleges,
universities, early years settings, teaching school alliances and council teams
that support schools. If you have vacancies in your service that you would like to publicise
at the event, please contact Sharon MacKenzie on schools.training@brighton-hove.gov.uk. Looking
forward to seeing you there.
Brighton & Hove Education Partnership
The partnership is working very well with
positive engagement from all partners. At the next meeting the board will be
looking at our strategy to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children which is
a priority focus for the city. The Partnership is beginning to look at developing a work-life balance 'pledge' that schools and colleges might want to sign up to and there may be an opportunity for some shared-ownership housing for some teachers in the city.
Please have a read of ‘Optimism of the will: the development of local area-based education partnerships, a think-piece’ by Christine Gilbert, which talks about the national development of education partnerships.
Please have a read of ‘Optimism of the will: the development of local area-based education partnerships, a think-piece’ by Christine Gilbert, which talks about the national development of education partnerships.
School Governance
This Saturday the 3rd of
March we’ll be holding the Annual Governors Conference at the University of
Sussex Conference Centre. We’ll be exploring the study ‘Who governs our schools? Trends,
tensions and opportunities’ with the author Dr Tony Breslin.
Dr Tony Breslin is a public policy analyst specialising in
education and participation. The Director at Breslin Public Policy Limited, he
is the author of two recent RSA publications, 'Who Governs Our Schools? Trends,
Tensions and Opportunities' (2017), which is the outcome of an 18 month scoping
study into school governance in England, and 'A Place for Learning: putting
learning at the heart of citizenship, civic identity and community life' (2016)
which advocates a community-based approach to lifelong learning. I'm looking
forward to listening and learning together on Saturday with governors across
the City.
Employer Speed Dating Event
‘I know what an interview is like now - I was very proud because I used very good words and good clear speech’
‘I liked dressing up in smart clothes and liked being prepared for a real interview’
These were some of the comments made by
students who attended our Special Schools Employer Speed Dating Event last month. Schools involved were Patcham House, Downs Park and Cedar Centre
and local charity Team Domenica. Staff who supported the Y10 and Y11 students
found it a unique
opportunity for their students. It gave them a real taste of an interview with
outside people. The event gave
students a chance to meet ‘real employers’ in an interview style setting, each
student went through a series of interviews with the employers where they were
able to ask questions and also develop their communications skills. For the
students, being out of their normal learning environment and attending their very
first interview was a big challenge, but after the event the students left with
a confidence boost and took away lots of practical advice from employers.
The employers came from variety of sectors and included Brighton Dome, Sussex Cricket Club and JobCentre+. They all commented on the confidence and determination young people had and how much young people improved as the interviews progressed.
One employer said ‘This event has shown me that this skills practice is even more important for the futures of those with additional needs, and I'll ensure I prioritise it when offering employment support to the special schools I work with in Brighton & Hove’.
For more information, contact
Shiromi Cabraal, 16-19 Project Officer: shiromi.cabraal@brighton-hove.gov.uk, 01273 29 0735.
Cardinal Newman Catholic School were inspected in January. They were judged by Ofsted as Good. Here are some quotes from the Ofsted report:
‘The
headteacher and other leaders have successfully improved the quality of
education for pupils and students since the last inspection. They understand
the school’s strengths and weaknesses well.
Pupils’
personal development and welfare is outstanding. A strong sense of community
permeates the school which pupils and students value and contribute to
willingly.’
Take a look at this very positive report.
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Dr James Kilmartin,
head of Cardinal Newman and students celebrating their Good Ofsted rating
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Goldstone Primary
were also inspected recently and we are awaiting the report. I look forward to
feeding back next time. Longhill High School have also had a positive
HMI monitoring visit that went very well.
Primary Indoor Athletics
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School Games
Indoor Athletics event at BACA
Well done to the schools that took part in the Indoor Athletics competitions. 30 schools and 552 young people took part, with 52 Sports Leaders running the event. We had an extremely close competition this year. Well done to Cottesmore who will now go forward to the School Games Final on the 8th of March at the Triangle Leisure Centre to represent Brighton & Hove.
For more information, contact Emma Greenough, Brighton & Hove School
Games Organiser & Active for Life Manager Children & Young People
Tel: 01273 292569 emma.greenough@brighton-hove.gov.uk
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School Games
Indoor Athletics event at BACA
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Services to Schools
I’m delighted to let you know that Sharon Mackenzie has been appointed to provide the strategic oversight for traded services for schools during Roger Snell’s secondment to Orbis, joining Yaz Jenner who is taking on the operational aspect of the role. Sharon has now returned to full-time work in Education & Skills and the extra day will be used for this role, thus enabling her to still carry out the Governor Services Manager and NQT Induction Co-ordinator roles.
If you have any questions
please contact Sharon on 01273 293465 or Yaz on 01273 293511. They have
set up a new inbox for any queries relating to Services to
Schools: beem@brighton-hove.gov.uk.
My Fair Lady at Varndean
Thank you to Varndean Secondary School
for inviting me to their annual show this year, 'My Fair Lady'. I was blown
away by the professionalism and talent of the young people who performed. It’s
so good to see the arts being promoted and celebrated in our schools.
New Statutory Guidance
The new statutory guidance from the DfE was published this week: ‘Promoting the education of looked-after children and previously looked-after children.’
I am very pleased that this updated guidance now recognises that children previously in care (pic) have the same needs as children that are currently in care (cic) and should therefore be given every opportunity to reach their full potential.
The guidance describes the means by which the local authority discharges its statutory responsibility to promote the educational achievement of pic children. The local authority will be a source of advice and information to help parents to advocate effectively for their pic children.
Other key messages from the guidance also include an emphasis on:
- a joined-up approach to addressing the mental health needs of cic and pic;
- greater recognition of the educational and emotional needs of Asylum-seeking and refugee children;
- the importance of using the PP+ grant to fund interventions that have a strong evidence-base of success.
Overall, the guidance promotes a greater awareness of the varying needs of our young people and demonstrates how working together is essential to securing excellent outcomes for any child who has been in care.
Here is a
link to the guidance document.
Congratulations to Louise Cook
Following interviews on the 20th and the 21st of February, I’m delighted that Louise Cook has been appointed as Executive Head of the new SEMH Hub. The hub is part of the City’s new vision for special provision and comprises Homewood College, Brighton & Hove PRU and the Connected Hub. Louise is currently the headteacher of the Connected Hub. She will take up her new post after Easter. Colleagues will no doubt want to congratulate Louise and offer her best wishes in her new role.
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| Louise Cook |
Best wishes,
Jo
Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons
Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.
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