The Summer Term and Brighton Festival begins

I hope everyone across the Brighton & Hove Education Partnership managed to get a break from work over easter. We have an important term ahead of learning and creativity across the city with all the fun Brighton Festival brings, the fabulous Children’s Parade (on the 4th of May), numerous educational trips and the annual sports days. 

May and June is also tests and exam time and I’d like to wish all our children and young people well, but recognise it can be a stressful time for many. It’s important for us all to work together and ensure support is in place for all our children and young people’s emotional wellbeing.

Trans Day of Visibility

Pronoun stickers

In Brighton & Hove, four of our secondary schools and two colleges shared the work they did to mark ‘Trans Day of Visibility’. The International Trans Day of Visibility was a great success at Longhill this year. It provoked many comments from students and staff as to how interesting, thought provoking and uplifting the assemblies and activities were. Amongst comments made by staff who saw students after assemblies were: ‘They were buzzing with it and had loads of questions’, ‘The clips went down really well’

There was a great deal of excitement and interest over the Trans stickers, handed out to students through their Mentors (Tutors) at the start of the day; and the contents of the lunchtime stall kindly hosted by Liv from Allsorts Youth Project. Feedback from the day from our Trans community revealed that they felt the issues they wanted to be raised in our initial meeting had been addressed. It was a day of mutual support, warmth, kindness and focus on our diverse community celebrating its differences and valuing its solidarity.

Curriculum Revisited

A word cloud of the geography curriculum

The School and College Leaders Cross Phase Business meeting this term will focus on the creativity of the curriculum. This is very timely with the new Ofsted framework coming out in the autumn. A group of headteachers are planning with Hilary Ferries (Senior Adviser: Education Partnerships) and the teaching schools to create a positive morning, where we will hear from school leaders and have workshops to share strategies as we consider intent, implementation and impact of the curriculum offer. I look forward to seeing you on 14 June at the Racecourse (please note change of venue).

BAME School Staff 

BAMEed, a national organisation for BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) educators, are holding their third annual conference at the University of Brighton in June 2019. BAMEed connects, enables and showcases the talent of diverse educators so they may inspire future generations and open up the possibilities within education careers. We hope that all BAME school staff and interested parties are able to attend this event. As there is a low number of BAME staff in schools, this is an opportunity to be part of a support network, a forum for discussion and a group with shared experiences and interests. 

BAMEed would like to support a regional group for Brighton & Hove BAME teachers and school staff, and hold its first meeting at the conference in June. If you are interested in being part of this group, but can’t attend the conference, please contact John Lynch (Independent Consultant, working with Beth Thomas-Hancock of the University of Brighton to support BAME student mentoring programmes) at jk33lynch@btinternet.com You can book onto the BAMEed conference here . For more information, see the website here 

Syrian Flavoured Ice cream supports children’s Big Read 

Brighton artisan ice cream parlour Boho Gelato has created a new Syrian inspired flavour in honour of this year’s Young City Reads book, ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’ by Onjali Q Raúf, winner of The Blue Peter Book Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. The book follows the compassionate story of Ahmet, a young Syrian refugee and a small group of determined nine-year-olds, who go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure their new classmate has a sense of belonging.

Andrew Comben, Chief Executive of Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival said: ‘Young City Reads is such an inspiring way to encourage more children to enjoy reading and express their ideas creatively. ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’ is a perfect choice for Brighton Festival 2019, as we welcome Malian musician Rokia Traoré as our Guest Director. The book’s messages of friendship, kindness and celebrating difference should be shared now more than ever.'

Congratulations to Cardinal Newman – Rugby Champions 

Newman Rugby Academy have seen phenomenal success this season which culminated in the team winning the National AoC Final at Moseley, Birmingham. The team had worked their way up to the final where they played against Myerscough College who they beat in an exciting game winning 40-5 to crown them National Champions.

Newman Rugby Academy have been working extremely hard to get to National success. The Rugby Academy was created to allow students to develop themselves and play a high standard of rugby alongside their studies. 

Mr Neil Lester-Card, Rugby Academy Coach, said: ‘This is a fantastic result for Newman College and the players. It has been our goal for a number of years and to achieve it in such a convincing manner is a brilliant way to finish the season.’ Well done, Cardinal Newman!

Queen's Park Primary School at the Theatre Royal 

Queen's Park Pupils in ‘Emil and the Detectives’

Mark Storey (Head of Education Standards & Achievement) had the absolute pleasure of attending ‘Emil and the Detectives’ at the Theatre Royal. It was great to see the whole year 5 group getting involved and all were included. They were involved in every aspect of planning and creating this year's end-of-term play, including set design, costumes, lighting, sound, special effects, make-up and designing programmes for the audience - complete with word searches and cast lists. The children also stage managed and operated sound and light for the performances under the guidance of the theatre’s tech team. This is the first time a Brighton school has performed its end-of-term play in their local theatre. Well done Queen’s Park. 

Queen's Park Pupils in ‘Emil and the Detectives’

‘I saw children looking happy; having high expectations of what can be achieved and having an experience they will always remember. It was also great to see children from other schools enjoying the performance too. Thanks to all the staff and children who have been involved, great work and well done’ (Mark Storey) 

Governance Conference: Education Trends 2019: What’s coming now and next?

 Some of the school governors going up the i360

Our Annual Governance Conference was a great success and we were lucky to have glorious weather for the day at the i360 and we have received overwhelmingly positive evaluations . I welcomed the opportunity to attend and contribute to the debate with Pinaki Ghoshal (Director of Children’s Services), Mark Storey (Head of Education Standards & Achievement) and Hilary Ferries (Senior Adviser - Education Partnerships). Governors particularly appreciated how informative and thought provoking Laura McInerney was (Education Journalist & Co-Founder of Teacher Tapp). Laura gave us lots of food for thought and talked about the trends in education that will affect us over the next few years. However, they did also appreciate having the opportunity to hear from the Local Authority panel. We really did get the impression that we were ‘all in this together’ to do the best for our schools, and everyone went away feeling very positive. 

The view from the top. We even managed to conquer a couple of people’s fear of heights!

National quality mark for our Supported Employment team

The work of a Brighton & Hove City Council team that helps get local people with disabilities into jobs and training opportunities has been praised by a national body. The council’s Supported Employment team has gained a kite-mark award from the British Association for Supported Employment (BASE). The team is one of only 11 in the country to have been through a new auditing process being trialled by the association. They are currently working with more than 80 local people, helping them gain and retain employment. The team provides support to the employee, the employer and work colleagues through training, job coaching and advice.

We want all our residents to have equal access to training and employment opportunities. The BASE kite-mark is a very clear sign that we’re doing things the right way, and I hope it will lead to more local employers working in partnership with our Supported Employment team. To find out more about getting support from the council’s Supported Employment team to offer jobs or training opportunities to local people with disabilities, please email SET@brighton-hove.gov.uk or phone 01273 29 5961.

This month Ofsted has been visiting Moulsecoomb Primary and St John the Baptist Catholic Primary schools. I look forward to reporting back next time. 

Welcome

Helena Thomas, Principal at Greater Brighton Metropolitan College

I’d like to provide a warm welcome from the Brighton & Hove Education Partnership to Helena Thomas, who has been appointed to the role of Principal at Greater Brighton Metropolitan College (the MET) following an extensive recruitment and selection process led by the Board of Governors. Helena has been doing a great job already acting in the role for the past few months. We are all looking forward to continued partnership work with Helen and the MET. 

Best wishes,
Jo

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

Every Child a Reader (ECaR)

Vicky Conry, Every Child a Reader teacher, reading with a pupil

This month I would like to celebrate our Every Child a Reader (also known as ECaR) programme across the city. Nearly 3,000 children in Brighton & Hove who have struggled with learning to read have benefited from one-to-one support through our specialist reading scheme. ECaR currently operates in 14 local schools. It’s aimed at younger children who are below their expected reading level for their age. Each child gets an intensive programme of 1-1 support from specially trained teachers and teaching assistants. This has contributed to our reading success, with recently published national figures showing the city as a whole to be performing considerably above the national average in reading. Watch our video to find out more http://ow.ly/PjUn30nX9TG

Poverty Proofing the School Day

Children, Young People and Skills Committee

Our Poverty Proofing the school day project is now coming to an end. Since June 2017, we have heard the voices of 27,628 children and young people across the city. This month peer researchers from Longhill High School went to the Children, Young People and Skills Committee and the Neighbourhoods, Inclusion, Communities and Equalities Committee. They reported on the project and their role as peer researchers.

We are setting up a dedicated page on BEEM http://www.beem.org.uk/Services/5103 , open to all where we are gathering together all the outcomes from the project. This will include the volumes of best practice documents, the lesson plans about poverty, ‘How to poverty proof your school trip’ and an audit tool. In addition, we hope that there will continue to be ‘champions’ of poverty proofing who will encourage us all to look through activities in school life through the eyes of families who may be struggling with money.

St Mark's Primary library launch

This month in time for World Book Day, St Mark’s CE Primary launched their new library. Mayor Dee Simson cut the ribbon and declared the Secret Garden Library open. Headteacher Jane Fendley said ‘This warm, comfortable library stacked with lovely books is an amazing chance for us to show the children the pleasures of reading a good book.’

The garden at St Mark’s Library

Children in Care Council

Geoff Raw with the Children in Care Council

This month Geoff Raw, Chief Executive for Brighton & Hove City Council, met with 8 young people from the Children in Care Council (CiCC). The CiCC gives young people with experience of being in care the opportunity to meet and give their views on their experience of services including social workers, foster care and the leaving care team. The CiCC is also consulted about new developments and shares its ideas and views with the Corporate Parenting Board. The meeting was a great experience for Geoff and the young people, who asked some really interesting questions, such as ‘what keeps you up at night about your job’. I’m looking forward to hearing more from them and supporting them further with their important work.

Celebrating Rainbow Flag awards

Work from BACA allies - student event

The Rainbow Flag Award is a national quality assurance framework for all schools and colleges, focusing on LGBT+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, plus other related identities), inclusion and visibility. The Rainbow Flag Award encourages a whole organisation approach to LGBT and inclusion, as well as developing strategies to combat LGBT-phobic bullying. In Brighton & Hove, the Allsorts Youth Project have been delivering this programme, supported by the council. BACA, Patcham High, Blatchington Mill and Hertford Infant Schools have all achieved the Rainbow Flag Award and were presented with their certificates by Reuben Davidson from Allsorts and Anna Spragg (Equalities Manager, Communities Equality & Third Sector) and Georgina ClarkeGreen (Assistant Director - Health SEN & Disabilities) from the council. Well done to these schools who have worked hard to develop their LGBT inclusive practice.

Rainbow Flag Award Winners - BACA

Apprenticeship week

Our apprenticeship team had an exciting week and ran a number of different activities to highlight apprenticeships, and what they bring to the council, our communities, and the individuals taking them up. For the past year, the Families, Children & Learning (FCL) Policy & Business Support Team have been joined by David, a Digital Marketing Apprentice. David has been heavily involved in content creation for different FCL communication briefs, including the annual reports. If you would like to find out more about taking up an apprenticeship or hiring an apprentice, contact the team by emailing apprenticeships@brighton-hove.gov.uk

From left to right: Sarah Sawyer & Vanessa Potter Sussex, Council of Training Providers, Carla Butler (Council Apprenticeships Programme Manager) and Elizabeth Flegg, Chair of South East Apprenticeship Ambassador Network

This month during National Apprenticeship Week, I had great pleasure in attending the Apprenticeship Graduation. The event was opened with a live performance from alternative pop band ‘Wavve’ who are students at BIMM (British & Irish Modern Music Institute) Brighton. Apprentices from across the City received a rapturous welcome from family, friends, apprenticeship providers and ambassadors of apprenticeships. Thanks to the staff and apprentices from FCL who attended and made the evening so special and congratulations to all of the graduates.

The Apprenticeships Graduates and Mayor Dee Simson 

First Post Graduate Teacher Apprentice (PGTA) - Downs View School

The advert has gone live for four PGTAs at Downs View School. The PGTA is an exciting opportunity for gifted and talented graduates to follow an alternative route. Working on the PGTA will lead to QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) and gaining a PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education).

Headteacher Adrian Carver and Deputy Head Teacher Rachel McDonald-Taylor said:

‘This isn’t just a fantastic offer for people wanting a career in special needs education. It’s also an exciting leap forward for us. By opening our apprenticeships up to people across the city, we’re hoping to tap into a huge, exciting pool of talent.’

The PGTA is a 14 month apprenticeship working within the school with blended learning delivered through the University of Brighton.

To find out more about the Post Graduate Teacher Apprenticeship and Grants available up to £12,500, contact Gavin Graham - apprenticeships@brighton-hove.gov.uk . For more information on the vacancy please go to Downs View website; http://www.downsview.brighton-hove.sch.uk/about-us/vacancies/

Local Authority Challenge award

The Local Authority Challenge team, from left to right: Wes Emond, Liz Brand, Mia Brown, Emma Sheridan, Ruth Bradley and Giles Hippisley

Brighton & Hove City Council entered two teams into the South East Local Authority Challenge, with 14 teams tasked with running a fictional council for the day, in competition with each other. The Challenge is aimed at giving participants an insight into the world of executive leadership, including strategic oversight and imagination, decision making under pressure, and working as a team.

One of our teams included colleagues Mia Brown (Service Manager Directorate Policy & Business Support) and Giles Hippisley (Integrated Team for Families Locality Manager). Brighton & Hove did incredibly well in the challenge, having won 3 of the 6 Awards and been nominated in all categories. Mia and Giles’ team brought home the Best Partnership and Best Overall Team awards, and were runners up in the Best CEO and Most Valuable Player awards. Well done everyone!

Congratulations to Hove Park School

Hove Park’s Assistant Head of Year Rosie Scott was part of the BBC Radio Sussex and Make Good Trouble Productions live round table discussion between parents, experts and teachers on raising teenagers. The programme was about bringing parents and carers of teenagers together to support and better understand their children and explore issues that may be affecting them including mental health. The show aired on the 4th of March at 9pm and is part of The Big Take Over with presenter Kathy Caton. You can listen to it by following the link below. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p070mvpf . Well done to Rosie and Hove Park School.



It continues to be a busy Ofsted time for us all. Peter Gladwin Primary, Hertford Infant and Nursery School, St Andrew’s CE Primary School and Hill Park Special School were all inspected last month. Congratulations to Peter Gladwin, Hertford and St Andrew’s for their Good judgements from Ofsted, and to Hill Park for retaining their Outstanding.

Peter Gladwin Primary: ‘Pupils have positive attitudes towards learning. They say that school is fun. They particularly enjoy the creative curriculum, mathematics and writing.’

Hertford Infant and Nursery School: ‘Leaders ensure that pupils with SEND are cared for and this area of the school’s work is led exceptionally well. The school is highly inclusive, with a growing reputation locally for its skilled work in this area.’

St Andrew’s CE Primary School: ‘Leaders and governors have risen proudly to the challenge of leading a large and inclusive primary school. You [Sophie Thomas, new Headteacher] joined the school in January 2019 bringing renewed energy and direction to improve the school still further.’

Hill Park Special School: ‘You [Rachel Burstow, Executive Headteacher] have established a calm and purposeful school that reflects your commitment to providing the best for all pupils. You and your leadership team are ambitious for pupils and determined to provide the opportunities that they need to succeed.’

Tudor House (residential children's home for children with Special Education Needs and Disabilities) received its annual Ofsted inspection. They were rated outstanding in all three areas. This is the tenth consecutive year that Tudor House has been rated outstanding, by nine different Ofsted inspectors. Clare Brunt, Practice Manager said, ‘I am immensely proud of my team and everyone’s contribution to making the service outstanding and also to sustaining this achievement year after year’.

The inspector said: ‘Young people feel very safe and supported in the home. Parents reflected extremely positively on how much they trust the staff to care for their individual child’s needs.’

Stephen Long speaking to Headteachers and Local Authority Colleagues

We also had a visit from Stephen Long, Assistant Regional Director Ofsted, South East. Stephen spoke to Headteachers and the LA about the proposed Ofsted Framework changes and consultation. This was a fascinating morning and provided a useful platform for heads to share their thoughts. You have until the 5th of April to send a consultation response into Ofsted so please follow the link for more details: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/education-inspection-framework-2019-inspecting-the-substance-of-education

Welcomes and Goodbyes

Rachel Carter

Rachel Carter finishes in her role with the council this week, having established and led the Skills & Employment Team in the Education & Skills branch. We gathered together this week with council colleagues and wider partners to say a huge thankyou and goodbye. The Team continue to support those furthest from the labour market, into work and training and leads on the city’s priorities as identified in the City Employment & Skills Plan. Through partnership working with schools and colleges, the team is well placed to support the progression of young people into employment, and to ensure people of all ages have access to training and progression.

I’m delighted to inform you that as Rachel departs, Carla Butler will be acting up into the role. Carla has built the Apprenticeship Team across the council and has been responsible for the roll out of the apprenticeship programme across schools and council departments. She has shown her absolute commitment to supporting disadvantaged residents and is highly valued and respected in her current role. She is looking forward to working with you all.

Annual Conference for School and College Leaders - Hold the date!

Viv Grant

Our conference this year will be on October 4th and the theme is around wellbeing. Speaker Viv Grant will be addressing the title: ‘Daring Greatly: How successful school leaders rise above the challenges of their roles and stay connected to their vision, passion and purpose’. Please hold the date in your diary.


Best wishes,

Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons

Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.

LGBT History Month

Portrait of artist Frida Kahlo

It was fabulous to celebrate LGBT History Month across the city this February. This year we were all encouraged to explore Peace Activism and Reconciliation. There was so much learning and creativity going on in schools, libraries and the museum to explore the theme and celebrate together.

Schools were sent some ideas and resources for marking this, including some materials from Stonewall based around the life of Frida Kahlo. We would love to hear what your school has done for LGBT History Month – please provide updates to pshe@brighton-hove.gov.uk. In next month’s blog we will also celebrate schools which have achieved Allsorts’ Rainbow Flag Award and hear more about the Rainbow Flag student event.

Celebrating Young Carers Awareness Day

 Professor Saul Becker; Provost at The University of Sussex and Patron of The Carers Centre for Brighton & Hove, presenting young carers awards

Thank you to all of the Young Carers and their families who attended our Young Carers Awareness Day Event and helped to make the event a great celebration! We are so pleased that so many of you came along (even in the snow!) to join us for the evening. Thank you to all of the school staff who nominated Young Carers for awards and attended the event, and to all of the talented entrants to the schools poster competition. We would also like to extend our gratitude to the guest speakers who presented on the night and to the staff who ran information stalls. I was privileged to join the young people and their families and have the opportunity to give out an award.
Please click the link below to see more photos from the event:  https://carershub.co.uk/news/ 

Poverty Proofing

The ‘Poverty Proofing the School Day’ project is coming to an end and our researchers are in the final few schools this term. I hope that school leaders have found it helpful to look at their schools through a lens of poverty. We are developing a page on BEEM that will include materials we think schools may find helpful moving forward. This will include reports that celebrate some of the good practice in schools, lesson plans for pupils in Key stages one to four that will support pupils’ understanding of poverty, how to ‘poverty proof’ your school trip and a network for poverty proofing champions. We want to support schools in reducing the barriers for young people and families. The BEEM page is here: http://www.beem.org.uk/Services/5103

Brackenbury Primary School took part in a ‘reverse advent calendar’, for those who felt able to bring in an item of food for the local food bank before Christmas. Have you linked to your local food bank? Have a look at their website here:  https://bhfood.org.uk/

Put yourself in the picture: become a school governor

Our Governor Support Team has recently launched a campaign to recruit more school governors. This short video offers a unique insight into what’s involved, with a couple of school governors talking about their role and how rewarding they find it: Become a School Governor (video best viewed in Google Chrome). You can find out more here: www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/governors and the team is on Twitter @BHSchoolGovs.

Posters and flyers have been sent out around the city - see above. If you have any queries or would like a list of current vacancies, tel 01273 293465 or email governor.support@brighton-hove.gov.uk. 

Youth Voice Star Award 

Some of the young people from the Youth Led Grants project

Members of the Youth Cross Party Working Group, made up of young people from various community youth groups and the BHCC run Youth Council, took part in a process to decide and distribute £88,000 to youth projects across the city. This was called the Youth Led Grants project. The applications received had to involve young people in the ideas and actual writing of the bids. The categories were improving mental health, positive youth activities, helping to reduce alcohol & substance misuse and volunteering / work experience opportunities. 23 worthwhile projects in Brighton & Hove benefited from this additional funding.

The Youth Led Grants project were then nominated for a Youth Voice Star Award (run by the British Youth Council) and won the award for Best Youth Led Project for London, South East and East.

They have now been nominated for the National Award on the 8th March – well done and good luck to everyone involved!

Congratulations Hove Junior School

Hove Junior School had a recent Inclusion Quality Mark Award (IQM) inspection and as a result they have been recommended to be a 'Centre of Excellence'.  The Inclusion Quality Mark Award (IQM) provides schools with a nationally recognised validation of their inclusive practice and ongoing commitment to further development. 

There are only 240 schools nationally that are designated a Centre of Excellence, so my best wishes to Hove Juniors as they achieve that goal. 

Here is a quote from Joe McCann, the Director of IQM: 

‘The school is very welcoming with a warm, friendly atmosphere that is evident from arrival at reception on both sites. The environment is bright and very positive with beautiful displays in the corridors and classrooms. The leadership of the Executive Headteacher, Heads of School, Deputy Head and Inclusion Managers sets the tone for the supportive, caring, inclusive framework with high expectations of all and they are rigorous in ensuring that the school’s inclusive vision, encapsulated in the motto “LEARN”, is implemented and thoroughly embedded in the life of the school.’

It continues to be a busy Ofsted time for us all. West Blatchington Primary School was inspected last month and I’m very pleased that they continue to be Good. Congratulations and well done to headteacher Rachel Simmonds and all teachers, support staff, parents and of course the children! The Ofsted Inspector said the following about City Academy the school:

‘You [Rachel Simmonds, headteacher] lead the school with energy and are totally committed to providing the best for all pupils, no matter what their background. Your high aspirations are replicated by staff at all levels. Parents and carers told me they love the inclusive feel of the school.’ 

Other inspections have taken place and we are awaiting the results for Peter Gladwin Primary, Hertford Infant and Nursery School and Hill Park Special School. It is Hill Park’s first inspection since  Hillside and Downs Park merged last September. I look forward to reporting back next time. 

On the 26 March we have arranged for Stephen Long, Assistant Regional Director for Ofsted to facilitate a meeting about the Ofsted consultation. The meeting will follow on from the Primary Headteacher meeting. This is open to all headteachers and we encourage all schools to send a representative if the headteacher is unable to attend. The link to BEEM is www.beem.org.uk/Event/88837  The meeting takes place on 26 March, 10.30-12.30am Bramber House, Falmer Campus, University of Sussex.

Welcome

Congratulations to Jo Staveley who has now been appointed as the substantive headteacher of the Bilingual Primary School. Jo was acting headteacher and we are delighted that she has taken on the substantive role. Congratulations to Jo. 

Best wishes,

Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons

Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.

A Citywide focus on inclusion

Dr Ioan Rees from Sycol speaking at the meeting

This month 119 headteachers, Inclusion leads and SEND colleagues came together at the University of Sussex representing 57 schools and colleges. We had a full morning of speakers, workshops and stalls to help us reflect on how we can balance the challenges of delivering high standards and embracing inclusion, whilst also maintaining the well-being of staff and students in our school communities. The event was a positive example of the Brighton & Hove Education Partnership coming together to debate and address city priorities. 

The highlight of the morning for me was when we heard from three young people from Varndean School, Jimmy, Soren and Samuel, about their experience and what works for them. Very impressive performance from all three to speak in front of such a large audience. We also heard what makes a good team around a child from Henrietta, a parent of a child at Patcham Infant School. Chris Pearson, Head at Goldstone Primary, shared words of wisdom from his years leading an inclusive school, and Ioan Rees from Sycol presented a model for leadership to encourage us to work together for all our schools and in all our schools. His input led to stimulating discussions about future challenges and partnership working. Workshops were also led by Hove Park School on their SEMH model; Downs Junior School on supporting children with autism; and Dorothy Stringer Secondary School on how they structure their support model. 

I was delighted to read the positive feedback from attendees: 

‘Dr Ioan Rees was an inspiring speaker and very thought provoking. Brilliant!’

‘Have taken away some fantastic practical ideas as well as more philosophical challenges of whole school development and successes in inclusion and achievement.’

‘Inspirational talks, great to have HTs and SENCos together.’

‘Very well organised and mixture of theory and practical’

‘Varndean students were amazing!’

We look forward to continuing the debates and working together to promote increased consistency in meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND across the city.

Lorna Cadwallader, BHISS Senior SEN Specialist Teacher Early Years and Jackie Vidler, BHISS Team administrator

Holocaust Memorial Day

It is really important that so many of our schools marked Holocaust Memorial Day again this year and remembered all those who lost their lives.

Lady Milner at Patcham High School with teacher Hannah Kinchin-Frost, Head of Life Skills and Headteacher John McKee

To commemorate the day, Lady Milner visited Patcham High School to deliver an assembly to year 10 pupils. She told the story of how she was rescued at the age of 9 and sent on a train to the UK. Her parents bravely sent her and her three and a half year old sister as they knew Prague was about to be occupied by the Germans. They also knew that this would put them as a family in massive danger. Her parents managed also to escape but for some time were separated from the children. Lady Milner said they were very lucky to have escaped and have lived. It was great to see a school mark such a key event and use someone else's experience to educate young people.  

Lady Milner speaking at Patcham High School

Our Lady of Lourdes marked the occasion by inviting Bryan Huberman into a Key Stage 2 assembly. Bryan spoke about his father’s life living in and surviving the Holocaust. Bryan showed powerful images depicting his father’s life. The pupils were so attentive, you could hear a pin drop. Bryan ended with a Q & A session in which the children were keen to learn more. Bryan then presented the school with a book on the memory quilt that the orphaned child survivors’ families designed to keep their parents’ memories alive. 

Congratulations Brighton & Hove primary schools

This month, we received a letter from the Schools’ Minister Nick Gibb, congratulating the local authority and it’s schools. It commends the excellent work that has taken place across our schools to support the development of understanding on phonics and more widely on reading. By helping more children to improve their reading skills we help them with their wider learning. Well done, I’m really proud of the work that takes place across our schools and the wider Brighton & Hove Education Partnership. 

Leadership by our young care leaders

YPBMF Horsham Chanel & Chloe

This month our care leavers, supported by the Youth Participation team, took part in the Young Person’s Benchmarking Forum in Horsham (YPBMF), hosted by West Sussex. The theme for the forum was ‘accommodation’ and ‘loneliness’. Care leavers from Southwark, Bristol, Walsall, West Sussex and Brighton & Hove were able to network and share their personal experiences through a poster sharing event. The event was coordinated by Catch 22 on behalf of the National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum (NLCBF) and will feed into an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).

Supporting Apprenticeships in schools

All maintained schools in Brighton & Hove pay into the apprenticeship levy, and funds have a limited shelf life of two years which means that from May this year any of the original payment not utilised will expire and will be no longer available, and this will continue each month thereafter. The Apprenticeship Team have produced materials to support schools to promote apprenticeships to your existing staff. Take a look at our school animation and video 

More on maths 

One of our top priorities championed by the Brighton & Hove Education Partnership is Maths. It was good to attend Coldean for a special visit by two maths teachers from Shanghai. The Mayor and Coldean Primary School welcomed  the teachers Ms Linyan Hou and Ms Minzhu Miao with an amazing display of British dances, poems and songs. Ms Hou and Ms Miao have been teaching groups of children, demonstrating the mastery approach. Last week, teachers from all over Sussex gathered for mornings of maths. They observed lessons and discussed the mastery approach, the teaching methods and the gains in understanding the children have made over the two weeks. 

If you’d like to know more, applications are now open for teachers who would like to be part of the Teacher research group. For more details, visit www.ncetm.org.uk/masteryrecruitment 

Linyan and Minzu with Mayor Dee Simson

Big Difference Awards 

Council Chief Executive Geoff Raw presenting the awards

So pleased that staff from the Integrated Team for Families in the Education and Skills service were nominated for the Team and Collaboration Award.  It was an excellent demonstration of how colleagues can collaborate across services, rise beyond silo working and solve issues within communities. Congratulations to Melanie Pollard (Family Coach) and Stephen Woodward, (Parental Relationship Coordinator). 

Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS) also received an award for Team Work. Christine Booth (Teacher), Meeta Johnson (Teacher) and Nada Gamaan (Home to School Liaison Officer) attended the ceremony and council Chief Executive Geoff Raw said he would like to meet the bilingual assistant team to share the award with them. Well done to all! 

City celebrates GCSE success

This month’s DfE statistical release confirmed that the overall GCSE results in schools across Brighton & Hove continue to outstrip the national average. The city is four percentage points ahead of the national average in both the government’s key measures for English and Maths combined. 68% of Brighton & Hove students achieved grades 9-4 compared to the national average of 64% and 47% of Brighton & Hove achieved grades 9-5 against a national average of 43%. This has also included an improvement city-wide in Progress 8, another key government measure. This year-on-year improvement comes on the back of improved results city-wide at both A-level and primary level. Well done to our young people and their teachers, who have worked really hard to achieve this. With all of our secondary schools now rated ‘good’ by Ofsted, parents can be confident that their children will get an excellent education whichever school they go to.

A focus on Science at Westdene

Richard Robertson, Scientist in Residence, giving a talk on gravity

Westdene Primary School kicked off the spring term with an action-packed Science Week that resulted in a week of wonder that created a great buzz all around the school. This special event was launched with an assembly titled ‘Are We Nearly Here Yet?’ which was the story of the whole Universe, told in 45 minutes. During the week children were captivated by awe-inspiring activities that included workshops, visitors and whole school challenges. Children produced creative posters and models on the theme of a ‘Journey in Science’ which were displayed for everyone to enjoy in the entrance hall. One of the highlights of the week was when over 200 children and parents attended an interactive talk on gravity one evening presented by ‘Scientist in Residence’ Richard Robertson. Parents and carers also gave up their time to inspire the children with talks and workshops about their jobs and careers in science. ‘It was lovely to see so much passion and enthusiasm displayed by our children and we hope the children’s thirst for knowledge will lead them to read and explore more widely.’ (Mel Stone – co-lead for science).

This month has been slightly quieter on the Ofsted front. 

Congratulations to Hertford Junior School, Middle Street Primary School, Fairlight Primary School and King’s School on retaining their Good judgements from Ofsted.

Hertford Juniors: ‘The school is held in high regard by parents, carers, pupils, staff and the local community.’

Middle Street Primary: ‘You [Julie Aldous, Headteacher] have created a culture of strong partnership between staff, pupils and parents and carers that allows everyone to contribute to the success of the school.’

Fairlight Primary: ‘You [Damien Jordan, Headteacher] lead a dedicated and enthusiastic team that works hard for the benefit of all pupils. The school’s inclusive ethos is a great strength.’ 

King’s School: ‘Pupils from a range of backgrounds thrive in this highly successful and inclusive school. Leaders are dedicated, determined and ambitious.’

West Blatchington Primary were inspected this month and we are awaiting the results. I look forward to reporting back next time. 

Welcome

Sophie Thomas, St Andrew’s new Headteacher

Welcome to Sophie Thomas, who is now in post as the new substantive Headteacher for St Andrew’s. Sophie came to us from Newick Church of England Primary School in East Sussex and we are delighted to have her with us in the city as an experienced school leader.  

We all wish her well and are looking forward to working with her.
Best wishes,
Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons

Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.

Happy Christmas

Wishing you a Happy Christmas

and good wishes for the New Year

 from

 Jo Lyons

and the

Education & Skills team

  

Daily Mile

St Paul’s pupils enjoying the Daily Mile

Despite only having a small amount of outdoor space, St Paul’s Church of England Primary School have taken up the daily mile with great enthusiasm. A total of 45 different children have participated and there are 5 children who have been every day. Well done St Paul’s!

11 of our Brighton & Hove schools are currently running a Daily Mile or similar programme in their school. In Brighton & Hove there are significantly more children (in school Years 1-11) who are active across the week (32.0% undertake an average of 30 minutes or more both at school and outside school but not every day), compared to the national average (25.7%). In our city there are also significantly fewer children (in School Years 1-11) undertaking less than 30 minutes of sport and physical activity a day at school and outside of school (61.2%) than the national average (67.5%). There is still work to be done to get children active for 60 minutes in & out of school and how the daily mile can help schools achieve their Active 30 minutes.

St Paul’s pupils enjoying the Daily Mile

The PE and School Sport Premium funding guidance does make reference that ‘Where schools choose to take part in an active mile, you should use your existing playgrounds, fields, halls and sports facilities to incorporate an active mile into the school day and develop a lifelong habit of daily physical activity’ .

Schools can use the Active Planner for further guidance and support around introducing Active Miles / activities into the school day. https://www.activeschoolplanner.org/

School Christmas performances

It’s that time of year when our schools and colleges have been ‘wowing’ their parents and communities with amazing end of year performances.

I had the great pleasure of visiting Coldean Primary to see their Key Stage 1 performance of ‘Dumbo’ which was a fabulous display of talent from all their children. Thank you, Coldean.

  

Little Green Pig

Little Green Pig are a charity that run writing workshops in schools and after school clubs for children and young people. They came to the Primary Heads meeting this month and shared a video of the BrightSTAR project which took place in Moulsecoomb Primary. This was a whole school writing project based around a school curriculum topic of space. More details are available through the website where you can also watch a film of the project and its impact here: https://www.littlegreenpig.org.uk/blog/watch-a-transmission-from-brightstar/

 

Every Child a Reader

Vicky Hemstedt, Reading Recovery teacher from Middle Street Primary at the House of Lords  

Staff from Middle Street Primary School in Brighton went to the House of Lords this month to talk about their outstanding success in helping pupils who struggle with reading. Since 2012 more than 40 children at the school have benefited from the Reading Recovery programme. Children who are struggling with Literacy in Year 1 are given daily 1-1 individualised literacy lessons with an expert teacher. This is a national scheme coordinated locally by Brighton & Hove City Council and used by 16 schools in the city.

Fast forward six years – and the first pupils to have received Reading Recovery left for secondary school having caught up with their peers and with a love of reading. Many of these children went on to become ‘reading buddies’ and school librarians. Middle Street’s Reading Recovery teacher, Vicky Hemstedt, said: ‘The programme has had a massive impact in our school, not just with improved exam results but also in terms of behaviour and engagement in class. It’s incredibly rewarding to see children’s sheer joy and boosted self-esteem when they become successful readers and writers.’

The council’s Reading Recovery coordinator, Louise Zahra, said: ‘Reading is a fundamental skill – children simply can’t achieve their potential without it. The Reading Recovery programme has had a massive impact in all the schools who have used it – it’s literally changed the lives of thousands of our city’s children.’

  

The Schools Christmas Concert

Pupils at Schools Christmas Concert, photo Ayla Carli 

On Monday the 3rd of December over 1,200 children from 43 different primary and special schools took part in the Schools Christmas Concert at the Brighton Centre. It was a fantastic evening of festive music-making organised by Brighton & Hove Music & Arts with a programme featuring both traditional and contemporary festive songs. Further showcasing musical talent in the city, the massed choir where accompanied by young musicians from Brighton & Hove Youth Big Band and Brighton & Hove Youth Wind Orchestra during this celebratory evening of music. Congratulations to all the young musicians who performed!

Pupils at Schools Christmas Concert, photo Ayla Carli 

Family Learning

Family baking

Brighton & Hove’s Family Learning team ran a Family Christmas Baking session with the Food Partnership at the Community Kitchen this month. Six families came along for an afternoon of baking festive cheesy crackers and stained glass biscuits. Family Learning courses are informative, practical and fun offering a great opportunity for parents, carers and their children to enjoy quality time together learning new skills and are often the first steps to further learning.

  

Family baking

  

As always it’s been a busy time with Ofsted this month. Congratulations to City Academy Whitehawk and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School on retaining their Good judgements from Ofsted.

The Ofsted Inspector said the following about City Academy Whitehawk:

‘School leaders at all levels, as well as the governors, are strongly committed to providing the best possible education for pupils.’

The Ofsted inspector said the following about Our Lady of Lourdes:

‘Leaders work effectively together and have created a positive culture that supports all members of staff in doing their very best for the pupils in the school.’

We also have to give great congratulations to Royal Spa Nursery on being judged Outstanding again.

The Ofsted inspector said this about Royal Spa:

‘There is a culture of care and kindness throughout the school. The learning environment both indoors and outside is a wonderland of activities waiting to entice children to use their curiosity to learn.

The comment of one parent exemplifies that of others:

‘In my opinion Royal Spa is everything a nursery should be: safe, welcoming, caring, educational and fun. Due to the attentiveness and warmth of the staff, my daughter settled into nursery and is excited to go in each day.’

Other inspections have taken place and we are awaiting the results for Hertford Junior School, Middle Street Primary School, Fairlight Primary School and King’s School. I look forward to reporting back next time.

The Ofsted Annual Report 2017/18 is also now out, read it here.

Welcomes and Goodbyes

It’s time to say goodbye to Andy Lincoln from St Andrew’s CE Primary. Thank you for his leadership at St Andrew’s during his time as interim head teacher.

Helen Emerson, PSHE Lead Teacher

It’s time also to say thank you and goodbye to Helen Emerson, PSHE Lead Teacher for the local authority and PSHE Co-ordinator at Dorothy Stringer. Helen is leaving us to work as Secondary Subject Specialist for the PSHE Association. We are delighted for Helen as this recognises her skills and abilities, but it is also recognition of the high quality PSHE practice we have in Brighton & Hove. I would like to thank Helen for the support she has given to secondary schools and in particular new PSHE co-ordinators. Helen has been instrumental in organising Theatre in Education Tours dealing with exploitation, developed resources for PSHE and provided excellent training to schools. Her commitment and ‘can do’ energy will be missed, but we wish her well.

Best wishes,

Jo

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