Congratulations to The Youth Employment Hub Brighton & Hove team for being awarded Highly Commended in the Public/Public Partnership category at the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Awards 2024. After progressing through the application stage with over 900 entrants, the next step was delivering a presentation to and answering questions from a panel of local authority senior leaders. The judges fed back positively praising “the impact now but also for the futures of each and every young person being supported... that crosses the traditional boundaries of support schemes.” This is a recognition of the work Brighton & Hove City Council provide in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions, Amaze, employers and education providers to ensure tailored, accessible support is available for young people. Well done to everyone involved!
English Schools’ Football Association Reward & Recognition Awards
Matt Evans from Balfour Primary School receiving his award
Congratulations to Matt Evans from Balfour Primary School and to Brighton & Hove Schools’ FA who won awards at the English Schools’ Football Association’s Reward & Recognition Awards in June. The event, which took place at Wolves’ Molineux Stadium and was attended by over 200 people, celebrated achievements of players and volunteers and saw 12 awards presented and the England U15 Schoolgirls and England U18 Schoolboys receive their international caps for the season. The largest award of the evening, in a tough category with 8 shortlisted nominees, was presented to Matt Evans for Teacher Dedication to schools’ football. Brighton & Hove Football District also won the Association success story award for their work across the city to increase access for school children to regular, district football.
Apprentices Go On An Adventure
I was very pleased to learn more about the third annual ‘outward bound’ event at Adur Activity Centre in Shoreham which was hosted by the Apprenticeships team. Fifteen apprentices attended the event, which was funded through Department for Education apprenticeship grants. Over two days, the two teams - one called Brighton and the other called Hove - carried out various activities to challenge themselves and build on working as a team. They assailed the climbing wall, competed in archery, cross country bike ride and orienteering. Each day was finished with a competitive exercise. The activities visited the values and behaviours of the council – respect, collaboration, efficiency, openness, creativity and customer focus. Feedback included “it was such great fun and I would definitely recommend getting involved it’s amazing” and “I learnt about teamwork, I networked with other apprentices. If you have the opportunity to do it, take it!” To see a video of the event, please click here. To find out more about how apprentices can support your school or service contact Gavin Graham at gavin.graham@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Ethnic Minority Achievement Service Nature Based Activity Day
It has been lovely to hear about how the Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS) team used a recent INSET day of training at Woods Mill in June to focus on staff wellbeing. Around 40 members of the team took part in mindfulness exercises and engaged in creative activities to experience play and risk taking and considered how important this is to the children EMAS support and how they can share this with communities in Brighton & Hove. By coming together as a team and acknowledging EMAS’ strength in support and relationships, it gave them the opportunity to step out from their normal roles, relax in the woods and learn about how they might helpfully work with their young people out in nature and take time to play.
Brighton & Hove City Council Legal Services Win Legal Team of the Year 2024
Brighton & Hove’s Legal Services team
Brighton & Hove City Council’s Legal Services team have recently won the 2024 Legal Team of the Year, Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) Award which took place in Leeds on 7 June. The LLG said of the team “Brighton & Hove City Council Legal Services secured the award for their outstanding work across their commercial and litigation teams and for promoting well-being, inclusivity and talent retention within their authority.” A huge congratulations to the team, who have been recognised for their dedication, innovation, and expertise on a national stage.
Royal Spa Nursery school was recently inspected and retained its ‘Outstanding’ judgement. Inspectors praised the expert staff who are well trained and have caring and supportive relationships with children and their families. The ‘rich learning environment’ helps the children make strong progress, and children with SEND thrive due to early identification and working with partners. The focus on communication, language and reading is also key in the development of all children, as is their personal, social and emotional development which prepares them well for the next stage of their education.
Saltdean Primary School was also recently inspected and has retained its ‘Good’ judgement. Inspectors noted the high aspirations for pupils through an ‘inspiring’ curriculum that is delivered by skilled teachers, including an ‘expertly taught’ phonics curriculum. They were also impressed by the focus on pupils’ personal progress and the real sense of community in the school through the relationships with parents, staff and governors.
City Academy Whitehawk also retained its ‘Good’ judgement. Strengths were highlighted in many areas, including behaviour and attendance, with inspectors recognising ‘impeccable classroom behaviour’. The inclusive nature of the school was also highlighted, with pupil disadvantage described as ‘a motivation, not an excuse’. Another strength was early years provision, and the curriculum design throughout the school that is leading to improved outcomes.
Well done to the staff, pupils and governors of all schools for their hard work.
Fairlight Primary, St Martin’s Primary, Middle Street Primary and Brunswick Primary have all received inspections this month and we await their reports.
University of Brighton Initial Teacher Education provision
The University of Brighton Initial Teacher Education provision has recently been inspected by Ofsted and the report can be found here. The glowing reports are testament to the dedication and hard work of not only staff based at the university, but across the partnership in schools across Brighton & Hove and beyond. The DfE has also confirmed that they have been signed off as ‘ready to deliver the quality requirements’ for Initial Teacher Education, meaning they continue to accredit their own provision and have again been commended for the high quality of curriculum design. Congratulations to everyone involved.
Best wishes,
Jo
Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons
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