News from Education and Skills: Anti Racist Schools Conference

I was delighted to open the 2nd Anti Racist Schools conference, Shifting Cultures which was hosted by the Anti-Racist Education Strategy team. This year's theme was decolonising and diversifying the curriculum. The conference was held at the beautifully refurbished Corn Exchange which created a wonderfully atmospheric backdrop looking in large part at how we teach history and how to give a broader perspective on the complex stories of our shared humanity. With over 120 delegates including teachers, senior leaders, community activists and others working across all stages of teaching and learning, it was a day to share practice and renew a commitment to the city's pledge to develop its anti-racist approach and embed anti-racist education in all our schools.

Guest speaker David Olusoga was a highlight of the day giving an insightful talk on the part history plays in education and the creation of national identity. There was a variety of workshops and presentations on the theme of diversifying and decolonising the curriculum including talks on local Black history, global citizenship, using Personna dolls and an introduction to the beautiful, engaging and free resources of Cargo Classroom. Special thanks go to our talented young BRM pupils who performed at the conference. The equalities ambassadors of Cardinal Newman Secondary performed a specially commissioned dance piece and we were treated to an original rap from a Dorothy Stringer pupil. It was an inspiring day and a bold start for our newly appointed anti-racist education advisers Flo Sparham and Wafa Paton who organised the conference.

Youth Council School Transport Forum

On Thursday 18 April, the Youth Council Transport Campaign held the first ever Youth Council Bus School Transport Forum. Working in partnership with Brighton & Hove Citizens Alliance, they brought together bus company leaders, school leaders, council leaders and young people to discuss issues around bus transport impacting young people’s journeys to and from school and education.

The first meeting was well received by all and allowed those present to outline current problems and successes, how they can support each other with sharing knowledge and information and how the meetings should run in the future. The hope is this will become a regular forum meeting several times throughout the year to enable learning from everyone involved around making bus transport better for young people. For more information on the Youth Council Transport Campaign or the Bus School Transport Forum please contact john.lewry@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Portslade Poetry Festival

Schools in Portslade recently celebrated the finals of the Portslade Poetry Festival at Brackenbury Primary School. Children in Years 3-6, from seven local primary schools, represented their school by learning and reciting poems. The idea of a Portslade Poetry ‘Slam’ originated from Brackenbury Primary Assistant Headteacher, Charlie O’Hagan, who took pupils to a national poetry event last year and together with Headteacher, Lizzie Mullarky, decided that this was an experience that pupils in their partnership should have the opportunity to enjoy. It is hoped this will become an annual event with more schools from across the city taking part.

After much deliberation, the winners from each year group were announced as Habeeb from Hangleton Primary (Year 3); Ed from Hangleton Primary (Year 4); Soren from St Mary’s (Year 5) and Jo from Peter Gladwin (Year 6). The overall winner’s trophy went to Ed from Hangleton Primary for his breathtaking performance of Joseph Coelho’s Take a Deep Breath. Congratulations to everyone involved in this wonderful event.

Young Carers Festival

A group of 20 young people from KS2 at City Academy Whitehawk, St Martin’s Primary, St Mark’s Primary and Fairlight Primary came together recently to take part in an action packed day involving climbing, tennis and squash at the Withdean Sports Complex. The students had a great time and all worked together as a group to encourage each other to take part. One of the students from St Mark’s commented that they had “really enjoyed climbing as it was a real challenge”. All of the students left with a goodie bag containing information about the activities and free swimming in the city. We hope to work with the Young Carers Project to make this into an annual event and also support the project with links and opportunities to local physical activity providers. The day was funded by the School Games programme which is national programme working with schools to encourage young people to be active and create that active habit for life!

Youth Council Mental Health Summit

Last month the Youth Council Health and Wellbeing Campaign Group delivered the Youth Council’s first Mental Health Summit to support young people to better access the right mental health support at the right time in Brighton & Hove. Over 80 young people attended from 8 different schools and participated in workshops on Mental Health Pathways; Mental Health Services and Mental Health Self Awareness.

92% left with an improved understanding of structures and pathways, 80% gained a better understanding of recognising signs and symptoms relating to their own mental health and how to respond to them and 98% left with more understanding of services that support mental health for young people in the city. The day included wonderful food from Gem’s Wholesome Kitchen and guest speakers from NHS Sussex, as well as special guest speaker Eve Silverstone - an ex-Youth Council member who came back to talk about her lived experience around mental health which was a powerful part of the day. The event was delivered in collaboration and partnership with services and organisations across the city and a special thanks goes to those that made the event possible.

Sussex School Games Finals

At the Primary Schools Cross Country Final which recently took place in Crawley, the Brighton & Hove year 5 and 6 primary team performed very well finishing 2nd and 3rd in both the year 5 and 6 team events boys and girls. We also had some great individual performances with Brighton & Hove runners finishing in the top 3 in the year 6 girls and year 5 boys event.

The Spring Finals at the Triangle took place on Thursday 18 April with the following teams qualifying to represent Brighton & Hove at the School Games Sussex Finals; Cottesmore Year 3 multi skills; Downs Juniors Year 5/6 indoor athletics; Dorothy Stringer Year 7 boys indoor athletics; Blatchington Mill Year 8 boys indoor athletics; Blatchington Mill Year 7 girls indoor athletics; Cardinal Newman Year 8 Girls indoor athletics and Peter Gladwin Year 5/6 stinger netball. Congratulations to everyone who has taken part, you have all done so well!

Make Your Mark – Results

Make Your Mark is the UK’s largest Youth Consultation, hearing the voices of over 8 million young people since it started. The Youth Council facilitate this consultation on a local level. The consultation ran between the beginning of February and 8 March and 3638 young people in Brighton & Hove took part. The results are now in and the top 3 issues are as follows: 1. Health and Wellbeing; 2. Education and Learning; 3. Jobs, the Economy and Benefits. You can see more information from the results in the images. If you’d like a copy of the report or to know what the next steps are please contact john.lewry@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Reflecting on the success of our first industrial placements for T level students

Holly, Education and Childcare T Level Student and Becky, Acorn Nursery Manager

Following a successful pilot in our Early Years sector, we are looking for teams to host industrial placements for students on the T-Level Digital Business Services pathway from October 2024. T Levels, or Technical Levels, are new two-year qualifications which are equivalent to three A Levels. Developed as an alternative to A-Levels, they give real experience of the workplace by combining classroom study, practical learning and an industry placement in areas ranging from Accounting to Construction.

Education and Childcare T Level Student Holly joined Acorn Nursery in September. Nursery Manager Becky says of the experience “Holly demonstrates her learning from her T Level course and brings this into the workplace. When Holly leaves, she will have gained knowledge and practical skills that will make her very sought after in the childcare field. She will have no problem finding a job and I hope she would consider joining one of the council’s nurseries”. An information session will take place on Wednesday 8 May. Places can be booked here. If you have any questions about this session or are unable to attend but would like to learn more, please contact nicola.gardner@brighton-hove.gov.uk.

Youth Council Leadership Elections

On Friday 8 March the Youth Council hosted its inaugural Leadership elections. These are peer led elections where the whole youth council get to elect their peers to leadership positions, such as Chair, Deputy Chair, Members of Youth Parliament and committee reps. The election was held in two parts: a vote carrying 50% of the weight was based on anonymised written submissions, whilst a further 50% was weighted on public presentations. Youth Council members had agreed they’d like to make the elections formal, so members turned out in their smart attire and gave presentations to the room. In total there were 9 positions elected and this group will go on to take a more senior role in running and facilitating the Youth Council in the next two years. I look forward to hearing more about their work in the coming months.

Saltdean Primary School received an inspection this month and we await the result. Stanford Junior School and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School have recently been inspected and both have retained their ‘good’ rating by Ofsted.

At Stanford Junior, the inspector highlighted the school’s broad, balanced and ‘vibrant’ curriculum, with sport, music and the arts having a high priority and the art curriculum being ‘exceptionally strong’. Reading is also particular strength, with high achievement in this area. There is also a strong sense of community in the school, with many interesting opportunities for the children.

At Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary, the inspector recognised that pupils have ‘excellent attitudes to learning’ and behave ‘exceptionally well’. Children with SEND are also well-supported and they achieve well. Teachers have strong subject knowledge and high expectations, with their expertise being evident in the well-sequenced learning and knowing what skills and knowledge children need. Congratulations to everyone in both school communities for their hard work.

Welcomes

Welcome to Jenny Stratton who has taken up the position of Acting Head at Westdene Primary this month. We look forward to working with Jenny over the coming months and to supporting her in her new role.

We also welcome Amanda Meier (Senior Manager: SEND & AP Change Programme), Jacqui Parfitt (Head of Families, Children and Learning Services Commissioning) and Katie Rowe (SEN & Alternative Provision Commissioning Officer) who have all recently joined Health, SEND & Disabilities. Finally, I am delighted to announce that Jim Hynes has been appointed as our new Adult Learning Manager for the Council’s Adult Education Hub. We look forward to working with them and welcoming them to the Families, Children and Learning Services team.