The Start of the New Academic Year
Headteacher Induction
I was delighted to
join our new headteachers and deputies for a welcome lunch and induction
session. Each year the LA supports all new heads through a supportive induction
programme. There are three scheduled meetings throughout the year and I’m
pleased to say that the first of these was very well received.
This year we welcomed
14 Colleagues from different backgrounds and experience from Acting Heads,
Heads of School, Interim heads those brand new to headship and experienced
heads who have changed roles or moved to Brighton & Hove.
This was a positive
first session promoting strong partnership links between schools and the LA, it
also enabled colleagues to develop supportive networks within the City.
Michael Nix's Retirement
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| Michael during his leaving speech |
The Brunswick Tavern was the venue for Michael’s big send off last week. Headteachers, LA staff, friends and family
came together to celebrate Michael’s successful career and wish him the very
best for his retirement. I will personally miss him very much, as we have
worked so closely together over the past 2 years on some complex school
organisational work. I’ve always welcomed his sensitivity, intellect and
attention for detail.
Welcome to Richard Barker
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| Richard Barker |
Welcome
to Richard Barker who started with us this week in his role of Head of School
Organisation. Richard joins us from West Sussex County Council where he held
the post of Senior Manager (Pupil Entitlement). Richard comes with a wealth of
experience with a career that has included classroom teaching, various school
governor roles and youth work. He is looking forward to working with colleagues
on the future school organisational challenges and developments and meeting you
all.
Post 16 education, learning and skills
Our new
Post 16 learning and partnership adviser, Rachel Carter has now been in post 3
weeks. I was delighted to meet with Rachel as part of her induction to discuss
our vision for post 16 education and skills and plan out our work with partners
to address the challenges we face. She has visited most of the secondary
schools and colleges already and has seen some really exciting initiatives
taking place around skills development, to help young people emerge from
education with a greater understanding of the opportunities and what the world
of work can offer them, as well as what it expects from them.
Post 16
provision is changing constantly, to reflect demands from students and the
employers, and there is an increasing commitment to deliver apprenticeships to
match these needs, and a range of offerings at different levels. Employer
engagement is happening all over the City, and one of our key aims is to
capitalise on this. Rachel and the wider team will be available to support
schools and colleges to engage with employers and make the connections which
help build networks for young people to access.
Employment
and skills was also the focus of our Learning Skills and Employment Partnership
held at the University of Sussex this month. It was energising to be together
with a wide range of city partners to map out our vision and approach as part
of our developing new employment and skills plan. Watch this space!
PREVENT
In Brighton & Hove we acknowledge that one way
to keep children safe from radicalisation is to ensure they feel a positive
sense of belonging within their school and wider community and it is great to
see so many of our schools working to improve race and other types of equality
and to review their school and curriculum to ensure that all children and young
people see themselves reflected.
During September it was ‘Prevent Awareness Week’, an
opportunity to ensure Schools are more aware of the new statutory ‘Prevent Duty’ on schools, local authorities and other partners.
The DfE has issued specific advice to schools and Childcare providers with regard to Prevent Duty. Many schools are now encouraging staff to complete the 25 minutes
e-learning course to understand how the ‘Channel’ approach helps
protect vulnerable people from being drawn into terrorist related activities. I
took some time out myself to do this and found it very informative so please do
take a look.
Every School Day Matters!
As
part of our continued effort to improve attendance and reduce persistent
absenteeism, we have earlier this month launched an innovative campaign called
‘Every School Day
Matters’.
The powerful message is on a number of buses travelling throughout the City for
the next three weeks. All schools across the City have welcomed the positive
approach towards tackling attendance and persistent absence and I look forward
to seeing the positive impact on outcomes for our children and young people.
Refugee
Situation
We currently face such a
challenging time internationally and many of you will have been extremely
concerned by the refugee crisis across Europe. Many schools and families have
been engaging in the debate across the city and are looking for opportunities
to support those who find themselves in such a terrible situation. The council
has set up an email address to capture pledges of support and practical help
from local residents and businesses: refugeehelp@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Schools will have used the materials developed
locally and nationally also to support discussions about the current refugee
situation. With colleagues from the Sanctuary
on Sea project we are
planning to develop a Schools of Sanctuary project. Materials to support teaching
and learning about refugees can also be found at Pier2Pier under
/ learning / equality / equality and health events / refugee awareness week. If
you would like to know more I know Sam Beal, from our team would be happy to advise.
Improving
Primary Writing
Improving
standards in writing is a top priority for us so it’s very positive that nine
of our Primary Schools are more than half way through a Primary Writing
Project. This month we welcomed Pie Corbett and John Stannard to provide
professional development for school staff and leadership teams through a series
of whole school training, focus leadership days and interim school partnership
support. We were delighted to use this event to re-launch a local Primary
Literacy Leads Network to promote professional dialogue, support and sharing of
good practice evident in our local schools.
It’s
good to see how the primary writing project is having an impact on our
outcomes. The end of year Primary School writing results (2014-15) show
improvement:
L4+ writing is 88.9%, last year it was 86%,
and last year national was 85% - so attainment has risen 3 percentage points.
L5+ writing is 37.5%, last year it was 33%,
last year national was 33% - so attainment has risen 5 percentage points.
My team
are very enthusiastic about this successful intervention and have attended some
of the training sessions. Not only is this high quality CPD resulting in good
outcomes across the City, it has also enabled schools to work together in a
supportive, collaborative way for the benefit of all pupils.
The Rugby
World Cup
What a
month it’s been for Rugby and Brighton & Hove hosting some of the big
games. Last Sunday’s sunny afternoon also saw a massed choir perform on New
Road as part of the Pitch Perfect festival to welcome the Ruby World Cup to
Brighton.
2
Secondary schools and 9 Primary Schools were involved in the creation of a new
work celebrating the strength and resilience of our Rugby Superheroes. Lyrics,
melodies and actions created by young composers from local schools were
arranged by James Redwood into “Shining Brighter” which also included body
percussion inspired by the world of Rugby. The two performances on the Brighton
& Hove Music & Arts stage involved over 250 young singers, accompanied
by the Brighton & Hove Youth Big Band. They wowed the massive crowd with
their energy, musical excellence and enthusiasm!
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Brighton & Hove Youth Big Band on stage
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#SugarSmartCity
Look
out for the launch of the a city-wide #SugarSmartCity campaign in October which
aims to spark discussion and share ideas on how to reduce sugar consumption,
especially among young people.
I was
shocked to discover that sugar intake is highest among 11-18 year olds at three
times the recommended daily allowance of 7 teaspoons. With 8 teaspoons in
a Volvic “Touch of Fruit” juice drink and 27 and a half in a large strawberry
MacDonald’s milkshake, it’s easy to consume more than you should!
Young
people will have the opportunity to get their questions answered and take part
in the conversation by attending a free event at Jamie’s Italian from 5-7pm on
13th October. Teaching resources have also been developed to educate
pupils on free sugars and run a class debate to find out what pupils think.
Visit the SugarSmart website for more
information.
If you
would like to share action already taken to reduce sugar consumption in your
school, join the debate on social media using the hashtag #SugarSmartCity or
get in touch with the PH Schools Programme at PH.SchoolsProgramme@brighton-hove.gov.uk
The Aldridge Cricket Academy
I was
delighted to be invited to the presentation at BACA this week about the vision
and work taking place to develop cricket in the city. It was a celebration of
the building of the cricket centre at BACA which is due to open in the spring
of 2016. To celebrate the construction of the cricket centre a time capsule was
buried in the foundations. The time capsule was filled with items which held
memories from local members of the community. The cricket academy will offer
its facilities and expertise to primary schools and the committee. A really fabulous initiative leading the way in
providing sport opportunities in Brighton & Hove.
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| Presentation by Dylan Davies, Headteacher at BACA |
Secondary and Continuing Education
Partnership
A
successful first session of the academic year brought together colleagues from
secondary schools, universities and colleges with members of the LA team. A
good debate was had about this year’s initial results the across phases, the
closing of the gap strategy going forward, and the skills agenda. We heard best
practice examples from Blatchington Mill on closing the gap, BACA with their
Digital Media and Team Academy, Patcham with their Skills Lab research work and
Sussex University with their Character Education programme. We are looking
forward to seeing how these initiatives continue to improve outcomes over the
coming year and to continue this dialogue with heads and partners.
SEN Inspection Framework
We
had the pleasure to welcome André
Imich, SEN and Disability Professional Adviser, Department for Education to the
city this week to share with a group of headteachers, LA staff and partners
across Sussex, his perspective on the new SEN Inspection Framework and help us
to prepare for a future inspection in Brighton & Hove. It was an
opportunity for us to work collaboratively to self-evaluate where we think we
are in preparation for our future inspection and agree priority actions we
still need to take.
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| Andre Imich |
Keep in
touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons, I'd urge you all to set up accounts
for your schools if you don't already have one.
