Happy Christmas

 

As we approach the end of the year, I would like to thank everyone for the commitment and dedication you have shown towards the children, young people and communities of Brighton & Hove.  2021 has been an incredibly challenging year for everyone but I am very grateful for the contributions you have made in responding to the uncertainties, anxieties and challenges that have arisen throughout this difficult time.

I would also like to thank the Education & Skills team who have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to ensure our services run as smoothly as possible and that we maintain the consistent levels of support we offer across the city.

I would like to wish you and your families a very happy and restful Christmas and a healthy and happy new year.  I look forward to continuing our work together in 2022. 

Brighton and Hove Primary Schools Cross Country

I was very interested to hear more about the Brighton and Hove Primary Schools Cross Country which took place on Wednesday 17 November at Waterhall.  Over 1,210 children took part from 41 primary/junior schools from across the city.  It was great to see so many children taking part and enjoying the event.   A big thank you to Blatchington Mill, Patcham High, Dorothy Stringer and Varndean College Sports Leaders – who all did such a great job helping steward out on the course, hare the races and help with the finish funnel. 

A record breaking 80 children from across the city will now represent Brighton and Hove at the Sussex School Games finals on Thursday 3 March 2022 at Waterhall.  Good luck to these students! 

The Big Sing

On Wednesday 15 December, thousands of children took part in the Big Sing 2021, a singing celebration for schools to connect voices across the region.  Together with Glyndebourne, Brighton & Hove Music and Arts/East Sussex Music have been working with 115 schools this term on this digital event that connects more singers and young musicians across our region than ever before.  

To see how local schools are taking part, follow activities on the Brighton & Hove Music and Arts social media this week or, for more information, contact maevents@brightondome.org 

HAF Programme Update

The Winter Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme will be running during the Christmas holidays, providing free enriching activities and a healthy meal for children aged four (in full-time education) to 16 who are on benefits-related free school meals. 

To find out more and book your place, visit this link.

Inspections have taken place this month at Hove Park School and 6th Form, the Bilingual Primary School and Homewood College.  We are expecting reports to be published after Christmas.

Thank You, Welcome and Goodbye

I would like to thank Alison Colbran who has been Acting Headteacher at Brunswick Primary School for the last year.  Alison will be stepping back into her permanent position as Deputy Headteacher at the school from January.  Alison has been a strong leader during this difficult year and we look forward to continuing to work with her in her Deputy Headteacher role.

                                                                        Alison Colbran

Thank you also to Helen Cowling who has been acting as Interim Head of Early Years since October.  We are very grateful to Helen for all of her help and hard work during this time.  Helen remains with the Education & Skills team and will be stepping back into her role as Service Manager – Children’s Centres from this week.

                                                              Helen Cowling

I would like to welcome Pam Ridgwell who was appointed as Interim Executive Head based at Homewood College last month.  We look forward to working in partnership with her in her new role.

                                                                 Pam Ridgwell

I am delighted to confirm that Kate Claydon will be continuing in her role as Headteacher at Blatchington Mill School, having recently been appointed to the position in a permanent capacity.  Congratulations to Kate and we look forward to working with her in the new year.

                                                                      Kate Claydon

We are very pleased to welcome Jo Templeman to the Education & Skills Team this month.  Jo comes to us from East Sussex County Council and will be taking over the role of Head of Early Years and Early Help Strategy this week.  I am sure everyone will welcome Jo and we look forward to working closely with her over the coming months.

                                                                 Jo Templeman

We say goodbye and thank you this month to Rachel Simmonds, Headteacher at West Blatchington Primary School.  Rachel has been an inspiring and dedicated leader during her time at the school and she will be missed by all of her colleagues across Brighton and Hove.  We look forward to keeping in touch with Rachel.

                                                              Rachel Simmonds

We also say goodbye to Louise Cook as Executive Head at the Central Hub. I would like to thank Louise for her dedication to the young people who face the most challenges within the city and wish her the best for the future.

Best wishes,

Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons

Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.

Anti-Bullying Week 2021

 

It has been great to see some examples of the activities taking place throughout the city’s schools to mark this year’s National Anti-Bullying Week, which took place from 15th-19th November.  I look forward to hearing more about the wonderful work that has taken place this month across Brighton and Hove.

At St Luke's Primary School, children have been participating in activities with the theme of 'One Kind Word'.  These activities have included: growing skills in identifying when mean behaviour becomes bullying behaviour and knowing safe strategies to safely challenge bullying behaviour and where to get help. Children have learnt about the science of kindness and the ripple effect of one kind word or action. They have also practised using kind words and made kindness cards, class kindness jars and shown how kindness is a chain reaction in kindness paper chains.  

                                      Kindness cards in Year 3 at St Luke’s Primary

                                     Kindness chain reactions at St Luke’s Primary

New Brighton & Hove City Council Reading Recovery Centre

I am really pleased to let you know that the new Brighton & Hove City Council Reading Recovery Centre is now based at West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School.  Thank you very much to Moulsecoomb Primary School who have hosted the centre for the last ten years.  

The centre will be used for professional development of our expert Reading Recovery Teachers, school staff in Every Child a Reader interventions and wider training run by B&H Primary Teaching and Learning Consultants.   We look forward to inviting you into the Centre in the near future. 

Staff Wellbeing Innovation Fund

The Public Health Schools Programme has secured funding as a direct response from the School Staff Survey conducted in January 2021.  It provides an opportunity for schools to try out small initiatives that aim to improve physical and mental wellbeing for staff and we hope may provide a small morale boost for staff after such a difficult year. The amount you can apply for ranges from £200-£500, this is dependent of the number of pupils enrolled at your school. 

So far, we have funded just over £11,000 of a wide variety of small initiatives. Some of these include outside furniture for staff areas, revamping the staff room, yoga/physical activity session, lifeguard hire, one off events at the end of term, equipment and instructor costs, staff training, even part funding for a new therapy dog.   I strongly encourage all schools to apply as there is enough funding for all schools.  Please email ph.schools@brighton-hove.gov.uk to request the short application form. 

Ofsted have been busy in the city this month with three schools receiving inspections: St Bernadette’s Catholic Primary, Portslade Aldridge Community Academy and Aldrington CE Primary School. The inspections were all two day section 8 inspections. We look forward to seeing the reports.

The report for Carden Primary School’s inspection, which took place in September, has been published this month. The inspection report noted that “pupils’ wider development is a particular strength of the school’s curriculum. The school’s commitment to equality and diversity lies at the heart of all it does and underpins pupils’ learning.” 

St Nicolas CE Primary School Inspection report was published on 26 November. The school have retained their “Good” grading and the inspector said: “Leaders have high expectations of all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)” and “provision for pupils’ broader development is of high quality”.

Congratulations to all those who have had inspections recently. 

Best wishes,

Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons

Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.

Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) Programme

 

Thanks to funding from the DfE 557 children and young people from low-income families in Brighton and Hove benefitted from the Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) programme this summer.  HAF is a national programme for children aged 4 to 16 who are in full-time education and receive benefits-related free school meals. Activity providers delivered enriching activities throughout the summer school holiday at 33 venues across the city. 

In addition to the fantastic array of activities on offer, including skateboarding, drama, cooking, gymnastics and forest school, each child received a nutritious meal each day.  The Black Minority Ethnic Young People’s Project (BMEYPP) also used their World Kitchen theme to engage and support young people of colour. Vannessa Crawford, Project Development Manager explained “Young people were introduced to some foods they had not tried before, but also when the food was familiar to them, it made the young people (and their culture) feel more included and represented".

The next programme will take place during the school Christmas holidays. To see what’s on offer, visit www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/HAF-events or email HAF@brighton-hove.gov.uk for more information.

YouthWise Meeting

This month young people in Brighton and Hove have given their views on climate change direct to councillors and other decision makers in the city at a meeting hosted by young people from the Hangleton & Knoll Project.  23 young people attended a pre meeting to discuss the issues of climate change and prepare questions and proposals for councillors at the event, which was jointly organised by Brighton & Hove City Council’s Youth Participation Team and the city’s key youth-led policy group YouthWise.

YouthWise was set up to enable young people in the city to have a voice. It brings together 11 key youth groups across the city with events organised on a quarterly basis.  The chair of the Council’s Children, Young People and Skills Committee, Councillor Hannah Clare attended and commented: “We know that our young people want to have more influence in local decision making, and we want to help make this happen. Young people continually raise the climate crisis as an issue; they want not only to discuss this but also see action being taken”. 

If you would like to know more about YouthWise please contact Tracie James, tracie.james@brighton-hove.gov.uk 

Youth Employment Hub Visit

                                                  Mims Davies MP and Elle Dyson

We were delighted to welcome Mims Davies, Minister for Employment to our Youth Employment Hub in October to meet the staff behind the project and hear about the exciting initiatives and projects we have been championing. 

The Minister heard from DWP and Council colleagues about the collaborative work which has been undertaken to make the Youth Employment Hub a success, and also had the opportunity to speak with Future Creators to hear about the work of the Youth Employment Hub from an employer’s perspective. 

She said: “It was fantastic to meet the team at the Youth Employment Hub and hear about the invaluable support they are providing to local young people and the valuable local partnership they have with DWP.  From Youth Hubs and the Kickstart scheme to apprenticeships and dedicated Work Coaches, our Plan for Jobs is supporting young people in Brighton and beyond to get into work, progress, and maximise their potential.” 

Brighton & Hove Youth Council Induction

                                         Youth Councillors taking part in activities

It has been lovely to hear about the induction day for Brighton & Hove Youth Council which was held at Brighton Town Hall earlier this month.  Sixteen young people attended, representing ten different schools and colleges.  The Youth Councillors learnt how decisions are made in the Council and how they can have an impact on ensuring young people’s voices are heard.  The young people took part in team building and collaborative exercises to get to know each other and become aware of the skills they will develop as a Youth Councillor.  

There are a total of 23 Youth Councillors who are very keen to represent young people’s voices in the city.  Attendees also took part in a workshop led by Transport Planning which enabled them to feed their views into the Local Transport Plan and Local Cycling and Walking infrastructure plan for the city.  All young people thoroughly enjoyed the day and one Youth Councillor said: “I liked meeting new people and talking about issues that need to be tackled”. 

If you want to know more about the Youth Council, or to check your school is represented, please contact Tracie James at tracie.james@brighton-hove.gov.uk

School Streets 

A six-week online consultation has been launched to gather views for road restrictions outside six of the city’s primary schools - Westdene Primary School, Downs Infant School; Downs Junior School; St Mary’s RC Primary School; Hove Junior School (Portland Road site); Queen’s Park Primary School.

Working in partnership with the schools, School Streets will create more space for safer journeys to and from school by reallocating road space during drop off and pick up times. This will allow a safer space for walking, cycling and scooting while also reducing the number of cars parked or idling outside school gates which will improve air quality.   For more information, please follow this link.  The deadline for responses is 29 November. 

Opening of BHASVIC’s New Elms Building

                                   Students opening BHASVIC’s new Elms Building

I was delighted to attend the official opening of the new Elms Building at BHASVIC this month and was so pleased to be able to see some fantastic performances from the students.  Well done to everyone who took part in this special celebration.

Congratulations to Jenny Barnard-Langston

                                                      Jenny Barnard-Langston

Congratulations to Jenny Barnard-Langston who works with our Governance Development Team on her re-appointment as a National Leader of Governance.  The NLG programme has been reformed this year and is now being managed by the National Governance Association, so Jenny had to undergo a rigorous application process, including an interview and two day induction.  She is one of 60 NLGs across the country who have been newly designated by the Department for Education to support schools with governance challenges, including external reviews of governance.  

As well her commissioned NLG work, Jenny delivers training to local governors with the council’s Governance Development Team.  This includes the Chairs’ Development Programme, which consists of five sessions for new and aspiring chairs to work together to develop themselves as leaders.  A strong new cohort has just started and I look forward to hearing how they get on.  Thank you to all governors and clerks for their continued commitment and hard work in the city’s schools.

Ofsted are very much back to regular business and we have had two inspections recently – one at Carden Primary School and one at St Nicolas CE Primary School.  We look forward to reading their reports once released.

Welcomes and Goodbyes

We say goodbye and thank you to Ashley Harrold who will be stepping down as Headteacher at Blatchington Mill School after the half term break.  He moves on after six years in this role, during which time the school has reached consistently high standards in ensuring its young people achieve the best they can.  Ashley has always been committed to partnership working and will be very missed across the Brighton and Hove Education Partnership.  We wish him all the best for his new role.

                                                                        Ashley Harrold

I am very pleased to welcome Kate Claydon, who will be taking over from Ashley as Acting Headteacher.  Kate will be stepping up from her Deputy Headteacher role until the recruitment for a permanent headteacher is made.  We look forward to working more closely with Kate in her new position.

                                                                        Kate Claydon

I would also like to welcome Camille Kumar who has recently joined our Education, Standards and Achievement team as the Education Adviser for Anti-Racism.  Camille will be working with partners across Brighton and Hove to continue development and implementation of the comprehensive anti-racist education strategy. Camille will be reaching out to colleagues in schools as the work progresses both to utilise expertise and to offer whatever support she can to deepen anti-racist practice.  Camille can be emailed on camille.kumar@brighton-hove.gov.uk

                                                               Camille Kumar

Best wishes,

Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons

Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.

Back to School

 

Welcome back to everyone at the start of the new academic year.  I would like to say a huge thank you to all of our headteachers, college principals, teachers and support staff and all those who work in early years who are doing an amazing job ensuring that children and young people across the city have transitioned back into school positively after such a challenging period.  I am looking forward to working with all of our schools, colleges, early years providers and other education settings across the B&H Education Partnership this academic year.  As we begin to reintroduce visits and face to face meetings, I’m personally looking forward to seeing some of the excellent practice that is out there across the city and meeting with our teachers, support staff, children, young people and their families. 

Brighton & Hove Youth Council Beach Clean

                                                           The Youth Council beach clean team

Young people from Brighton & Hove Youth Council are currently running an environment campaign to reduce plastic use and improve the environment of the city.  Over the summer they gave up their free time to do a beach clean in Hove.  They were also joined by youth council members from Epping Forest, who were keen to assist and very much enjoyed their visit.  Although it was a windy day, many bags of rubbish were collected and a positive experience was had by all including Councillor Hannah Clare and Deb Austin, Executive Director for Families, Children & Learning, who came to offer their support.

The youth council is made up of young people aged 13 to 19 (and up to 25 with SEND), who are elected or nominated from local schools, colleges and youth groups.  If you would like to know more about the youth council, or to check if your school currently has representation, please contact Tracie James on tracie.james@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Summer School

Several of our secondary schools ran a summer school during the August holidays to help Year 6 pupils transition into Year 7.  There was a wide range of activities on offer including team building, PE, art, music, drama and environment studies, together with maths and literacy.  A huge thank you to all the secondary school teachers, primary school teachers and external providers who made these events possible.  Pupils really appreciated the opportunity to visit their new school, meet some of the teachers and make new friends. Feedback from parents has been fantastic too:

“My child really enjoyed their summer school with you.  They got the opportunity to practice walking on their own, and it has really made a difference to them to meet a few people and teachers.  It’s been a really great way to prepare the year 7’s for September. I know my child will certainly feel much more confident when they start.”

Brighton & Hove Trans Inclusion Schools Toolkit 

An updated version of Brighton & Hove’s Trans Inclusion Toolkit has now been shared with all Brighton & Hove schools. New content reflects feedback from a wide range of groups including, parents, carers, and year 10 pupils who took part in a consultation exercise earlier in the year.  

Research by LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation, Just Like Us, found LGBTQ+ school pupils are twice as likely to experience bullying than their straight, cisgender peers. The toolkit offers practical advice about how to help vulnerable young people questioning their identity or who’ve identified as trans.  Prepared with key partner Allsorts Youth Project and local schools, the guidance covers topics such as gender stereotyping, language, clothing, name changes, safeguarding, confidentiality, toilet provision, special educational needs, pronoun use and changing facilities for sports.  

The Toolkit can be viewed here: Information about our Trans Inclusion Schools Toolkit (brighton-hove.gov.uk)

Kickstart Jobs Fair

                                                 Elle Dyson, Youth Employment Hub Coordinator 

                                                    and Anerly Cartlidge, Youth Hub Work Coach

It has been great to hear more about the Kickstart Jobs Fair which was held at Brighton Dome on Thursday 29 September.  The event was a huge success with over 150 young people attending and employers were so impressed with the candidates that many were offered roles on the spot!  In total, 19 young people walked away from the event with a new role, with many others offered interviews or work trials. 

The Youth Employment Hub was on hand to provide support to the young people attending the event on the day, helping them navigate the event, approach employers and generally providing information, signposting and advice.  The pre employment team also attended the event to promote the Council’s own Kickstart vacancies. 

Women’s EURO Ticketing - Exclusive Schools Group Booking Window

The UEFA Women’s Euro Championship takes place in 2022 and the FA is offering schools an exclusive opportunity to secure their tickets to group stage matches to make sure that all teachers and pupils have the chance to watch the action on their doorstep.

The Schools Group Booking Window is currently open until 5pm on Friday 8 October.  Concession (under 16s) tickets are priced between £5 - £7.50, and for every nine concession tickets bought, one adult goes free.  Schools who book their tickets within this window will also have the chance to win a visit from the UEFA Women’s EURO trophy – a great way to get students excited ahead of watching the action live!

Dates to watch out for include:-

• 28 October 2021 UEFA Womens EURO 2022 Final Draw

• January 2022 Schools resources go live

• 11-17 July 2022 Schools Week

For more information or to book you tickets visit www.thefa.com/competitions/uefa-womens-euro-2022/schools

GB Met College Central Brighton Campus Opening

I was delighted to be able to attend the opening of the GB Met College Central Brighton Campus redevelopment on 24 September which was formally opened by Caroline Lucas MP.  It was great to take a tour of the building and have an opportunity to see the fantastic new facilities available to students.

Ofsted has resumed normal school inspections and have been into Brighton & Hove in the last two weeks.   The first two schools to receive an inspection this term are: St Nicolas CE Primary School on 21 and 22 September and Carden Primary on 29 and 30 September who both received a Section 8 inspection.  We look forward to the results of those inspections in the near future.   We are expecting there to be a large number of inspections this academic year and are keen to support you in your preparations

For the first time since Ofsted started inspecting early years and childcare settings, all the city’s private, voluntary and independent early years and childcare group settings with an Ofsted judgement are currently good or better.   Inspections were suspended between March 2020 and April 2021. Now that they have resumed, both of the settings with a Requires improvement judgement have been inspected and are now Good. 

This is a great testament to the support that the Early Years Team give to PVI providers, and to BHISS, EMAS and Darrell Clews as LADO who also support providers.  Thank you to everyone for your hard work and of course, congratulations also to all of the providers themselves.

Welcomes

I am very pleased to welcome Kay Watson, who has taken over as Acting Headteacher at St Luke’s Primary School this term.  Kay has stepped up from her Deputy Head role until a new Headteacher appointment is made.

  Kay Watson

I am also delighted to announce that we have appointed Mia Bryden to the post of Interim Head of Service, Home to School Transport. Mia will be joining us in late October. Some colleagues may remember Mia from her former role for the Council as Safeguarding Board Manager.  We are all looking forward to welcoming Mia and working with her in her new role.

                                                                           Mia Bryden

Goodbyes

Mia will be replacing Regan Delf who has been covering the Interim Head of Service, Home to School Transport position for the last 20 months.  We are very grateful to Regan for all of her help and hard work in this role and she has done a tremendous job working with the team to improve the service.  We are very pleased that Regan will remain with us supporting in some other areas of education and skills.

  Regan Delf

We also say goodbye this month to Caroline Parker, Head of Early Years and Early Help Strategy, who is leaving the Council after 22 years.  Caroline has been a brilliant advocate for the early years sector during this time and has overseen some fantastic achievements and we have all appreciated her inspirational knowledge, management and leadership.  She will be greatly missed by all of her colleagues in Education & Skills, Families, Children and Learning, throughout the Council and by partners across the city.    We wish Caroline all the very best as she moves on to new adventures. 

Caroline Parker

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

The End of a Challenging Academic Year

 

As the end of term is now in sight, I know that many of you will soon be finishing for the summer.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for everything you have achieved in this most difficult of years, going above and beyond for the children and young people of Brighton and Hove, despite the many personal and professional challenges you have faced over recent months.  

I would like to wish you all a happy and safe summer.  I hope you are all able to take a well-earned break and can find some time to rest and recuperate and I hope there will be an opportunity for a relaxing summer holiday for all.  I look forward to once again working with you all.

New Youth Employment Hub

                                Deb Austin, Elle Dyson and Councillor Hannah Clare 

The new Youth Employment Hub has been open for a month and I have been so pleased to hear that Youth Employability, Supported Employment and DWP clients are already benefiting from this well-resourced safe space for young people needing support in our city. 

A YES client was introduced to a DWP work coach and together they worked on a Kickstart application, with Youth Employability providing careers support and interview practice. This client has now started work and has told her YES adviser she’s the happiest she’s been since Lockdown began. A fantastic start to a new joined up working approach, which will benefit young adults across the city when they need the support the most.  If you’d like further information about the Youth Employment Hub please contact Elle at Eleanor.Dyson@brighton-hove.gov.uk  

Online Careers Events 

Hello Future online careers events for 11-24 year olds have been taking place this week.  These events have also included sessions for parents and carers.  Many participating students have said they enjoyed asking questions on-line on the chat function and it was much easier than to ask in person!  Sessions on Friday 16th July include:-

Hello Resilience - Overcoming challenges, aiming high and staying positive.  For more details please see here.

Hello Employment - Recruiting staff, what businesses want.  For more details please see here.

Inspectors Praise Brighton & Hove’s ‘Outstanding’ Youth Offending Service

I was delighted to hear that an inspection of Brighton & Hove’s youth offending service (YOS) has been rated outstanding by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation.  The Inspection which took place in April 2021 looked at 12 aspects of the YOS’s work and awarded ‘Outstanding’ ratings in every category – a rare achievement. 

The council’s youth offending team works with children aged 10 to 17 who are serving court sentences or who have come to the attention of the police because of their offending behaviour but have not been charged – instead, they are supervised out of court. 

The Inspection found that “the service is led in such a positive way that it impacts every aspect of their work, from resourcing, to organisation, to their contact with each child under their supervision.”  Congratulations to everyone involved for their hard work to achieve this excellent result.

Skills & Employment Team Visit – One Garden Stanmer

                                                         One Garden Brighton

I was really pleased to hear that the Skills & Employment Team made a team visit to One Garden in Stanmer.  A great opportunity to meet in person, after so long!  The £5.1 million project is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Community Fund, Brighton & Hove City Council, Plumpton College and South Downs National Park Authority.  Everyone was really impressed with the project and the collaboration between Plumpton College and the local authority. It’s an amazing place not just for visitors but also for students to learn in.

 

The team’s work covers a wide span of employment and skills for over 16s, those at risk of becoming NEET and adult learners, we look forward to opportunities for some joint work in the future. The pandemic has seen a growth in horticulture and a range of career pathways and Plumpton College is keen to work with local schools.  There is a classroom available for school or community use.  For  more information for anything college/horticulture/secondary school related contact  schoolsliaison@plumpton.ac.uk or for community groups, one.events@onegardenbrighton.com

Teacher Trainer Wins Tutor of the Year 

Well done to Lis Bundock, Senior Lecturer for Teaching at University of Brighton for winning the Brighton and Hove Graduation Tutor of the Year award.   All the nominations were outstanding, written with passion and included a real appreciation from the apprentices.  It proved a very difficult task to judge as all of the entries were outstanding but Lis Bundock really stood out.  Lis received several nominations, each with a story to tell about how she had gone the extra mile to support them to achieve outstanding results and create a strong foundation to build their career on in the most difficult of times.  Congratulations to Lis on a very well deserved award!

Congratulations also to Cameron Beattie, Data Analyst Level 4 Apprentice, at Longhill High School for completing and passing his apprenticeship.  Cameron has secured a new role within the NHS service.  Good luck Cameron!

Ofsted have confirmed that monitoring visits may take place in Requires Improvement or Inadequate schools during the summer term.  We also know that full inspection will not return until the Autumn term.  Please see the link for more details - Education inspections in the summer term. 

Goodbyes

We would like to wish Jonathan Cooper, Headteacher of St Luke’s Community Primary a fond farewell.  Jonathan is retiring from a very successful headship at St Luke’s, where he has been Headteacher since St Luke’s Infant and Junior schools merged in 2009.  He has led the outstanding primary school with innovation and creative flair, always encouraging the staff and pupils to challenge themselves to do their absolute best and to try out new ideas. Through Jonathan’s additional roles as National Leader of Education and Chair of the Partnership in Leading and Learning, he has supported many colleagues with their own development and challenges and has shared his expertise to improve practice across the city. 

Kay Watson, Deputy Head at St Luke’s will be stepping into the role of Acting Headteacher from September until a new appointment is made.  Thank you Jonathan - enjoy your retirement from the school.

                                                                Jonathan Cooper

We also say goodbye to Linda McMillan who will be retiring this year.  She has worked with the local authority for many years - she was a headteacher at St Martin’s CE Primary School, seconded as an adviser and become a school improvement partner and subsequently school partnership adviser supporting numerous schools in the city over the last 12 years.  She has been instrumental in developing training for governors and a constant supporter of school improvement within the city.  We wish her a very happy retirement.

Best wishes,

Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons

Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.

A Huge Thank You

National Thank A Teacher Day took place last week on 23rd June and I would like to say a huge thank you to all of the fantastic teachers, teaching assistants and support staff in our schools for their hard work and determination in what has been another very difficult year for everyone.

Sussex Specsavers Virtual Summer School Games 

Schools in Brighton and Hove have been taking part in the Sussex Specsavers Virtual Summer School Games competitions this term.  Over 120 schools in Sussex took part, with KS1 taking part in athletics and KS2 and KS3 in Tri Golf, Tennis and Dance.  Two of the competitions - Year 5/6 Quad Kids Athletics and Year 3/4 Tri Golf - progressed through to a virtual Sussex final with Cottesmore winning the Athletics and Carden winning the Year 3/4 Tri Golf.  Well done to all schools who took part in the competitions!

You can view the closing ceremony of the games on the Active Sussex Youtube Channel (4) Active Sussex - YouTube from 2pm on Friday 25 June. 

                                                   Cottesmore Athletics Team

                                                        Carden Tri Golf Team

Refugee Week 14 – 20 June

Some resources pulled together by Sanctuary on Sea were sent into schools to support marking the Refugee Week theme We Cannot Walk Alone.  We hope these were useful and look forward to hearing what schools did to mark this week.  You may be interested in this pledge from the council: Council pledges to continue its support for refugee children

Virtual School Summer Conference 

The Virtual School hosted its annual summer conference online on 24 June and it was a resounding success. The conference included a typically exuberant and inspiring two part keynote from Kit Messenger.  A theme of working as a whole school community was shared by John McKee, who, as headteacher of Patcham High School, has successfully overseen the evolution of a zero exclusion policy now into its second year.   

ASATT (A Seat At The Table) addressed the impact of racism on young people who have already experienced trauma and highlighted our responsibility to see, hear and value them within the school community. On top of this was one of the Virtual School’s Brighton & Hove care leavers, Hannah Fulker, who shared her wisdom through her lived experience of being a young person coming through the education system as a child in care. 

Finally, there was an exhibition of art work from the Virtual School’s holiday art club along with comments that were submitted by the young people attending the club. 

 

                             Examples of work from the Virtual School’s holiday art club 

Brighton and Hove Schools Sport Facility Defibrillators Fundraising Challenge

I was delighted to learn more about a fundraising challenge which is being organised by Pete Mowforth, the head of PE at Blatchington Mill School, to raise money for Brighton and Hove Schools Sport Facility Defibrillators by running around 17 miles from Longhill High School to PACA, visiting all Brighton and Hove secondary schools along the way.

The run takes place on Friday 16 July with a group including Liam Murphy from Cardinal Newman School, Matt Ford from Longhill School and others. The aim is to raise money to purchase enough defibrillators for each of the 10 secondary schools to have them located in accessible areas for their facilities, following the horrendous incident involving the Danish footballer Christian Eriksen at the Euro 2020 Championships recently.  If you would like to contribute to this great cause, please see the following link https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/defibchallenge?utm_term=R8y8eByVk

 

                                                          

Ofsted have confirmed that monitoring visits may take place in Requires Improvement or Inadequate schools during the summer term.  We also know that full inspection will not return until the Autumn term.  Please see the link for more details Education inspections in the summer term 

Moulsecoomb Primary School received their monitoring report which was very positive about the efforts being made by the school, particularly the leadership  “Leaders are taking effective actions towards the removal of serious weaknesses designation”.  The report acknowledged the challenging circumstances for the school and particularly noted that  “The headteacher is steering the school through an unsettled period with care and sensitivity. His aspirations for the school and its pupils remain high.”

Balfour Primary school received a section 8 monitoring visit in June.  We are awaiting the report to be published.

Best wishes,

Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons

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