A Challenging Start to the New Year

As we started the new year we went into another lockdown with our early years, schools, colleges and education providers moving to remote learning and providing on site learning for the most vulnerable and children of critical workers. 

As they did last time, senior leaders and support staff in our provision and across the council have responded quickly and positively to the changes needed. We have seen a wide range of creative remote learning opportunities and support put in place for parents and carers and for some of the most vulnerable young people. Services have adapted by providing virtual support and advice. Continued thanks to everyone involved for their ongoing dedication and commitment to meeting the needs of our children and families across the city. 

Leading for Impact Session

I am really pleased that we will be welcoming Andy Buck to host the next session in our Leadership Development Programme for Headteachers & Principals.  This will be taking place on Tuesday 2 February from 9.30 – 11.00am via Microsoft Teams.  

Andy’s session will explore ‘Leading for Impact’ and will look at how all school leaders can create a whole school ethos of mastery, empowerment and impact.  This interactive session will focus on the three key areas where mastery is important: for leaders, for teachers and for pupils.  The session will explore how the concept of developing great personal habits at all levels can have the greatest impact on pupil outcomes across a school.  You can find out more about Andy Buck here.   

Please go to BEEM to book a place and the Teams link will be sent the day before.  For heads unable to attend, we would be pleased to welcome deputies or other senior leaders.  For the list of headteacher events this year, please refer back to Schools’ Bulletin AS/017/21 on The Wave. We look forward to seeing you there!

Remote Learning Takes a Technology Break 

Although schools in the city have been using effective and efficient remote provisions for pupils learning at home since the start of term, it was great to hear more at the recent Headteachers briefing about a number of schools trialling ‘Digital Detox Days’, ‘Wellbeing Wednesdays’ and ‘Feel-Good Friday’ where pupils are offered activities and tasks away from online learning. 

Pupils have still received guidance on how to spend their time with some learning related to their topic as well as self-care and well-being activities that will support pupils in looking after their mental health and recharge and ready to learn. What a great idea!

Remember, if you would like to see our case studies of what some schools in the city are doing for their remote learning please contact Joyti.Azad@brighton-hove.gov.uk 

Holiday Activities and Food Programme

I am pleased to confirm that the Government has announced that the holiday activities and food programme will be expanded across the whole of England in 2021. The programme will provide healthy food and enriching activities to disadvantaged children during the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays in 2021.  

The aim of the programme is to make free places available to children eligible for free school meals for the equivalent of at least 4 hours a day, 4 days a week, 6 weeks a year.    There is flexibility about how to best serve the needs of children and families including how the programme can be delivered to older children.  As part of the programme we will ensuring that sufficient provision is available for children with SEND or additional needs.  If you would like to find out more please contact vicky.jenkins@brighton-hove.gov.uk

2021 sees the final year of DfE grants for most routes into teaching. To help maximise the use of these grants, the Apprenticeship Team would like to invite schools to attend a briefing session on the Post Graduate Teacher Apprenticeship (PGTA).  

This event will look at aspects of the PGTA including; the delivery of the PGTA and how it works for your school; how the school supports the PGTA and how to set up a place on the Teacher Training Portal.  Speakers will include the University of Brighton, Millais Alliance – Lead School and past PGTA apprentices and school leads.

The dates are as follows:-

Primary Schools - Monday 1 February 2021 - 3.30pm
Secondary Schools - Monday 8 February 2021 - 3.30pm 

To book a place on these events please email apprenticeships@brighton-hove.gov.uk or contact Gavin Graham for further information on 01273 29332 or 07510 585710.

More Brighton and Hove schools have received training so that pupils will benefit from the high-quality ECaR interventions on offer. I am delighted that the second cohort of professional development is in progress despite current restrictions. 

As a result of this additional funding pledged by the council, fifty teaching assistants across all phases, have been trained to deliver either Fischer Family Trust (FFT), Better Reading @Primary/@Secondary or Inference Training. 

A screenshot from a recent virtual ECaR training session

Feedback from schools shows that these reading interventions are already having a positive impact on pupils’ confidence and love of reading:

“One of the boys in my group loved Diary of a Killer Cat. He read it in a day and was very keen to talk to me about it. I suggested he do a book report on it, which he did on his own time at home, and then wrote it up neatly for our class display. He's already asking what the next texts will be so he can read them! It's really lovely to see him so engaged with it.”

“I received some lovely feedback from XXX's mum this afternoon. She commented on how his attitude to reading had significantly changed, and his reading has vastly improved in the last few months. She wanted to thank you personally. He bought a WBD book at the weekend, and mum was thrilled that he was independently reading and enjoying it- well done!”

 

Virtual School News

Congratulations to the Virtual School team who have recently increased Personal Education Plans compliance to the very high level of 99.1%.  I’d like to thank the team for all of the hard work and commitment to children in care in Brighton and Hove which has produced this fantastic result.  Well done to everyone involved!!

The Specsavers 'Virtual' Sussex School Games are back on Monday 1 February! 

After the success of summer virtual games, when almost 10,000 people took part weekly, the Sussex School Games Organisers and Active Sussex have put together a new set of challenges, so that children (and adults) can ski, skate and even bobsleigh from the comfort of their own living room with no special equipment needed.

There will be four challenges each week during February, each linked to a different Winter Olympic discipline.  Separate leaderboards for primary and secondary school children, as well as an Active Adult leaderboard mean that teachers, parents and carers can all get involved and represent the school too.  Trophies will go to schools that get the most children active each week and there will be prizes for topping the Brighton & Hove Leaderboard as well as training prizes.

Challenges will be published at 9.30am on a Monday morning, on www.sussexschoolgames.co.uk, on social media, and sent directly to those signed up to the mailing list.  For more information, please see the following social media links or contact Emma Greenough at emma.greenough@brighton-hove.gov.uk :-

Twitter: @SussexSchGames
Facebook: Specsavers Sussex School Games
Instagram: @SussexSchGames

Congratulations to Claire Jarman

I’d like to offer congratulations to Claire Jarman who has been appointed as the Principal at Cardinal Newman Catholic School with immediate effect, having been in position as Interim Principal since the start of the academic year.  We look forward to continuing to work closely with Claire to support the ongoing improvement of the school.

Welcomes

I am delighted to welcome Amir Bahrami who will be taking up the role of Adult Learning Manager in the Skills and Employment Team from 1 February.  I am sure everyone will give Amir a very warm welcome and help him settle into his new role.

There have also been a several new and acting headteachers across the city at the start of this term.  We are looking forward to working with them and supporting them all in their new roles.

Michelle Lord, Headteacher at St Paul’s CE Primary School

Jo Fish, Acting Headteacher at Woodingdean Primary School

Euan Hannington, Head at Rudyard Kipling Primary School

Best wishes,

Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons

Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

Wishing you a Happy Christmas 

and best wishes for the New Year

 from

 Jo Lyons

and the Education & Skills team

This year has certainly been a different kind of year with the pandemic bringing immense challenges to all of your work and personal lives.  You have all risen to the challenges and shown great strength and resilience to support the children and families of the city.  From the start of the pandemic you have worked tirelessly throughout, providing childcare, education, food, emotional support and much, much more. 

I’d like to wish you all a very restful and well deserved Christmas break.  We look forward with hope to 2021 where we will continue to work in collaboration and partnership through a phase of recovery and renewal. A huge and heartfelt thank you for your phenomenal contribution. Stay safe and well. 

Christmas Celebrations 

Despite the pandemic it’s been fabulous to see the creative and safe ways in which schools and education providers have celebrated Christmas this year, with virtual concerts, festive art displays, advent challenges, elf antics and physically distanced Christmas dinners.  For example:-

Cardinal Newman have put together a virtual advent carol service which can be viewed here and here.

Saltdean Primary School receive a visit from Father Christmas

Woodingdean Primary School pupils enjoy a festive Christmas dinner 

Christmas cards by Blatchington Mill School's Community Club for residents at a local care home

Benfield Primary School’s elf getting up to mischief

Poverty Proofing the School Day: B&H COVID-19 Spring Term 2021 Response

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic 4.2 million children were caught in the grip of poverty, and with thousands more currently struggling with loss of income, the impact of poverty will be felt by many more children and families. This will be most acutely felt in schools and numbers are already increasing significantly across the city.  

In response, and for a limited period, Brighton and Hove is offering a short Poverty Proofing programme in response to the pandemic to identify strategies and support that schools can employ to best aid children living in poverty.  There is NO written report this time round!

The cost of this training is fully funded. To sign up or for further details please contact: linda.mcmillan@gmail.com  

Youth Employability Service Festive Message

The Youth Employability Service and partner organisations have worked together to produce a cheery festive message to share with the young people they support.  Please follow this link to watch more… Enjoy!  

Offsite Visit Training for Undergraduates

In a first for the City, Outdoor Education Adviser, Paula Greening, was invited to give a live online lecture to 140 BA (Hons) Primary Education undergraduates at Brighton University on risk assessment and trip planning. The hour long talk last month included discussion about the many benefits of going offsite, lots of anecdotes and several nuggets of wisdom teachers across the city have shared with Paula during her ten years in post. 

Paula was asked to present to the students by a former Educational Visits Coordinator and Year 3 Leader at the university who feels that students get minimal input on the value of offsite visits and how to organise them during their teacher training, despite their importance to curriculum delivery.  Feedback from the students has been very positive with everyone finding the session really informative.  For more details, please contact Paula at paula.greening@brighton-hove.gov.uk.

Governance Conference

 

Viv Grant, Integrity Coaching

The city’s governors recently came together (virtually!) for their annual conference.  This year, we were really pleased to welcome executive coach Viv Grant as the keynote speaker, following a successful conference with the city’s headteachers two years ago.  

The theme was ‘Keeping our Heads: The role governors can play in headteacher wellbeing’.  Governors were able to spend time reflecting on the ever-changing realities of school leadership and how that impacts on leadership capacity and the wellbeing of headteachers.  Governors shared their experiences about how they had supported their headteachers through the Covid times and there was lots of food for thought about strategies to use in the future.  We look forward to hosting more events for governors next term.

St Bartholomew’s CE Primary had an Ofsted visit on 9 December. Ofsted inspections are suspended, however Ofsted are still making some visits to school to gather information. No judgements will be made about the school during this time, no lesson observations or work scrutiny will take place, but there will be a letter to the school confirming the discussion issued approximately 3 weeks after the meeting.  

For details of the Ofsted Annual Report 2019/20 for Education, Children’s Services and Skills, please follow this link.

Thank You and Goodbye to Hilary Ferries

Hilary Ferries

We say goodbye at the end of this year to Hilary Ferries, Senior Adviser: Education Partnerships.  After a number of years teaching, including a year working in New Zealand, and several years as a headteacher in West Sussex, Hilary joined Brighton & Hove City Council in January 2004 as part time primary link adviser.  Since 2004, Hilary has played a number of important roles at the Council, including as Primary National Strategy Manager, Senior Primary Adviser, Head of Standards and Achievement and then more recently as Senior Adviser: Education Partnerships.  

I want to take this opportunity to thank Hilary for her hard work, her commitment and dedication.  She has been a very important part of our team and I know she will be greatly missed by all of her colleagues in the Education & Skills team, Brighton and Hove City Council and across the city.  I would like to share with you some of the lovely comments we have received about Hilary from colleagues all across the city: “You are, and always have been, not just professional, positive and supportive, but warm and generous with it. You have faced every situation and encounter with a smile that was entirely genuine. We have all benefited from the work that you have done in our city”; “I have always appreciated your kindness, support and understanding”; “I have always respected how authentic, supportive, knowledgeable and strategic .you were”; “Thank you for all that have done for us as Heads”. 

 

We wish Hilary all the very best for her retirement and look forward to keeping in touch with her.

Thank You and Goodbye to Headteachers

Some of our headteachers across the partnership will also be retiring or moving on to other exciting things after the Christmas break. We are sad to be losing these colleagues as they move onto their next adventures but would like to thank them for their commitment to the children, young people and families across the city and wish them all the best for the future.

Linda Dupret

Linda Dupret is retiring after many years in the Local Authority, over 12 of them, as the head of St Paul’s CE Primary School. Linda has been a strong support in the local authority and was for many years a member of Brighton & Hove SACRE. We wish Linda a very happy and well deserved retirement.

Joanne Smith

Joanne Smith is moving on from Rudyard Kipling Primary School after 5 years at the school. Joanne has also been with the local authority for a long time, having spent 5 years at St Martin’s before moving to Rudyard. Joanne will be much missed by all who work with her and we wish her the best of luck for her new adventures.

Jonathan Whitfield

Jonathan Whitfield will be leaving Woodingdean Primary in December as he is moving out of the area. Jonathan has been with the local authority for a long time and before becoming the head at Woodingdean, he was part of the primary school improvement team and supported Whitehawk Primary before it became City Academy Whitehawk. We wish him all the very best for his move and for the future.

Best wishes,

Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons

Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.

Thank you

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the continued work you are doing to keep early years provisions, schools and colleges open and our children and young people educated, cared for and safe during this challenging time. 

I want you to know how much appreciation we have for our city’s teachers and headteachers, college and sixth form staff, governors, childminders, nursery practitioners, support staff, lunchtime staff, cleaners, and so many more who help our children and young people thrive.  Thank you also for the amazing support you’ve given to our vulnerable children and young people and those with additional needs, and for the way you’ve reached out to help families living in difficult financial circumstances providing food and other support.

I understand how exhausted everyone is and am very proud of the resilience everyone is showing to keep going until the Christmas break.  It’s very important during this time when you are all under so much pressure to try to look after yourself so you can support others.  Don’t forget that you can find information about wellbeing support on BEEM and on the Council website’s Covid pages. 

Anti-Bullying Week took place this month with the theme of United Against Bullying. The week included Odd Socks Day on Monday 16 November, where children across the city attended school wearing odd socks to celebrate what makes us all unique.  Last year 75% of schools in the country took part, reaching over 7 million young people and it has been great to hear about events which have taken place across Brighton and Hove to raise awareness of this important week.  

At Brackenbury Primary School, pupils created rainbow anti-bullying pledges and these have been displayed all around the school.  Well done to everyone at Brackenbury and thank you for sharing this great work.  I look forward to hearing more about the activities going on across our city’s schools.

Rainbow anti-bullying pledges by pupils at Brackenbury Primary School

Anti-bullying pledges by pupils at Brackenbury Primary School

Examples of pledges by pupils at Brackenbury Primary School

Progress on Anti-Racist Schools Strategy

On 9 November Children and Young People’s Committee signed off a draft Anti-Racist Schools Strategy ready for engagement with school communities. This strategy draft has been commissioned by the Council and written by consultant Abha Aggarwal in partnership with the Brighton & Hove Educators of Colour Collective. We hope that over the next two terms, schools will engage with this strategy, give feedback on it and get behind it. We are hoping for some funding to be awarded to do this important work from April.  If you would like to see the strategy or attend an engagement event please email sam.beal@brighton-hove.gov.uk.

Governance Conference

The Governance Conference – “Keeping our Heads: The Role Governors can play in Headteacher wellbeing”, takes place on MS Teams on Thursday 3 December, 4.30 – 6.00pm. We are delighted that Viv Grant from Integrity Coaching will be our keynote speaker for the conference for this year.  For more information, please contact Governor.Support@brighton-hove.gov.uk.

Viv Grant from Integrity Coaching

Youth Participation Team Youth Council - Get Young People’s Voices Heard!

Brighton & Hove Youth Council is made up of young people aged 13-19 (up to 25 with SEND), from local schools, colleges or youth groups.  BHYC represents the views of young people in the city with the aim of influencing politicians, Councillors and other local and national decision makers. The BHYC attends youth voice meetings and also sits on the Children & Young People’s Skills Committee.  The BHYC is currently involved in:-

• Running a campaign to help ‘Protect the Environment’ to reduce and better recycle plastic waste, as well as educate others about what happens when it is thrown away.  To find out more, please see here.

• Helping to set up and work on the Youth Climate Assembly to ensure that young people in the City can have a say on climate change, specifically issues around transport and the Council's pledge to become Carbon Neutral by 2030.  For more information please see here.

• Supporting the UK Youth Parliament to listen to the young people of Brighton & Hove through Make Your Mark, a ballot open to all young people aged 11-18 in the UK.  Taking part will help to establish the biggest issues facing young people in 2020.  To find out more, please see here. 

For more information, please contact Rob Scoble, at rob.scoble@brighton-hove.gov.uk or 07795 336311, or follow the Youth Participation Team on Facebook.

Brighton & Hove Schools Active Advent Challenge

It has been great to hear more about the Schools Active Advent Challenge which will be taking place across the city next month.  Each day from Tuesday 1 December to Thursday 24 December, a new challenge will take place and is open to anyone who would like to join in.  Challenges have been created by school children and secondary sports leaders in Brighton and Hove and include Jumping Jack Frost, Christmas Star Side Plank, Reindeer Lunges and Tinsel Hop.  On Friday 11 December the national School Games Santa Dash also takes place.   Please click on the image above for more details of the challenges, or contact Emma Greenough for more information Emma.Greenough@brighton-hove.gov.uk.

Role Models: Care Experienced Students Film

The Sussex Learning Network Uni Connect Programme, in collaboration with the National Network for the Education of Care Leavers, has created this short film focusing on care-experienced students at university; it offers advice and insight for younger care-experienced people who are considering their future study options and opportunities. 

It would be great if the film could be shared with as many care experienced young people (either in care or previously in care) as possible. There is shorter version that may be more suitable for some platforms, and could offer a teaser to encourage links through to the full film - as per this tweet.

Hertford Infant School will be receiving an Ofsted visit on 1 December. Ofsted inspections are suspended, however Ofsted are still making some visits to school to gather information. No judgements will be made about the school during this time, no lesson observations or work scrutiny will take place, but there will be a letter to the school confirming the discussion issued approximately 3 weeks after the meeting.  

Welcomes and Goodbyes

I am pleased to announce that following a restructure in the Employment and Skills service we have a new Employability Manager within the council, Lisa Mitchell, who will lead the Supported Employment Team (SET), Youth Employability Service (YES) and drive forward some key projects that will support the city employment recovery.  In addition, we have a new Senior YES Employability Adviser, Rebecca Butler, who joins our Senior SET Adviser, Suzette Attwood.  Congratulations on your new roles.

 
We say goodbye this month to Mo Bham, Principal Educational Psychologist, who has recently been appointed as Principal Educational Psychologist at Leicester City Council.   Mo has worked for Brighton & Hove City Council in FCL for over 4 years as a member of the Health SEN & Disability Division, leading the newly formed Brighton & Hove Inclusion Support Service (BHISS) for SEND and Schools Wellbeing Service for children’s mental health.  We would like to thank Mo for all of his hard work and wish him the very best with his move and his new position.

Mo Bham

I would like to welcome Sue Franklin who will be taking over from Mo as Principal Educational Psychologist in FCL.  With an experienced background in education, Sue is joining Brighton & Hove City Council after seven years as a Principal Educational Psychologist in a London borough.  I am sure everyone in Education & Skills will give Sue a very warm welcome and will look forward to working with her.

Sue Franklin

Best wishes,

Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons

Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.

A Happy and Safe Halloween!

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone working in early years, schools, colleges and other education provisions for all the hard work and commitment you have shown since September.  I know how hard recent months have been for everyone and I hope you have all had chance to rest and recharge your batteries over this half term break.  I’ve continued to be immensely impressed with how education leaders across the city have managed the changes needed in response to Covid 19 alongside providing high quality care and education for the children and young people of our city. Thank you.

I hope that children and young people across Brighton & Hove can enjoy Halloween safely and have some socially distanced fun.  Here are some tips from Brighton & Hove City Council on how to enjoy Halloween safely along with some ideas for Halloween activities and recipes for all the family:-

Book Trust’s Time to Read Campaign is Back!

It’s that time of year again when schools will be receiving their delivery of a free book pack for every Reception child. Time to Read aims to get primary school starters reading more often with their families and has developed a bank of resources available to schools and families to support this. During October there have been daily reading sessions, book recommendations and top tips for getting the most out of packs.  

The chosen title for 2020 is The Runaway Pea by Kjartan Poskitt and Alex Willmore, published by Simon & Schuster. It's a brilliant story, jam-packed with adventure and laugh-out-loud moments - a book that will get the whole family hooked on reading for pleasure. I look forward to hearing more about how our primary school starters are getting on.

CPD for Heads and Governors 

The wellbeing of our heads and governors is a top priority for us.  As such, I am excited to announce that Andy Cope from Art of Brilliance will be holding a short conference for heads of schools and colleges on ‘Leading in the new normal’ on 10 November 2020.  Andy will be hosting the session via Zoom but please sign up to the event on BEEM to ensure you get the invite. 

I’m also really pleased to confirm that Viv Grant from Integrity Coaching will be running a virtual Governance Conference on headteacher wellbeing, focusing on relationships and how governors can engage with Head Teachers in the current time.  The session will take place on Thursday 3 December from 4.30 – 6.00pm.  For more information on how to book a place, please contact Governor.Support@brighton-hove.gov.uk.

Talking and Learning Programme for Families with English as an Additional Language

As part of the virtual REAL (Raising Early Achievement in Literacy) programme offer EMAS will now be running the project for families with 3 and rising year olds speaking Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Cantonese, Czech, Dari, Farsi, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Mandarin, Oromiffa, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese,  Romanian, Russian, Slovakian, Thai and Turkish.

Families will receive a free pack with a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and resources to support their early reading and writing. They will be invited to join individual Zoom sessions to discuss ideas and support. EMAS can help parents access Zoom and will try to arrange sessions to suit the family.

Please let EMAS know if you have any families who would be interested in joining the project by contacting Christine.Booth@brighton-hove.gov.uk or 07563 420140.  Information can be sent to families in their own language. 

Virtual School Update

Following on from an excellent webinar on ‘Transitions’ delivered by Daniel Sobel at the end of last term, the Virtual School for children in care and previously in care have continued their programme of training events this term. 

Michael Bettencourt, an education leader specialising in inclusion, brought his research and practice experience together to deliver two webinars on: ‘What works for care experienced students? (CiC and PiC) Considering the evidence base’ and ‘Getting the best out of Pupil Premium Plus’.  

The VS also offer a programme of Workshops and Clinics for parents and carers of children previously in care and training events for Social Workers and Foster Carers.  Have a look at the Training and Activities Offer for 2020-2021 here. An updated Transitions resource has also been sent out to all schools to encourage an ongoing focus on transitions for children in care and previously in care, as we all adapt to our changing world.

I am extremely proud to congratulate the second cohort of Post Graduate Apprentice Teachers (PGTA) who have completed their end point assessment with a grade of outstanding!  This is the second year running that our Teacher Apprentices have achieved such a high grade and goes to show that the Post Graduate Teacher Apprenticeship is an excellent route to grow your own talent.

 

Congratulations go to the following apprentices and their schools; Racheal Gumbrill, Elizabeth Kroon, Paloma Phillimore and Lewis Stanley from Downs View and Tom Price from Hangleton Primary School.

Some of the newly qualified Post Graduate Apprentice Teachers

Lis Bundock, Lead Lecturer for Teaching, University of Brighton said “I am extremely proud of the achievements of these fantastic teacher apprentices. Working with them to develop and hone their practice over the 12 month apprenticeship was a real privilege.”

Vanessa Hickey, Executive Headteacher at Downs View said “Downs View had four apprentice teachers last year. They were an asset to the school as they were enthusiastic and keen to get involved in all aspects of school life.”

If you are interested in employing a PGTA next year or would like to find out more on available grants from the DfE, please contact Gavin Graham on 01273 293320 or gavin.graham@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Youth Employability Service

These are difficult times and for young people who are not in education, employment or training, it can be a very worrying period. The city’s Youth Employability Service (YES) is here and ready to offer support.  Please watch the following video to find out more about the support on offer.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L35lbc6j6U8  If you, or someone you know would like support please say YES to YES! 

Contact YES via the YES Mainline 01273 294247 or the following links:-

www.facebook.com/yesbrightonhove

www.instagram.com/yesbrightonhove 

www.twitter.com/YESBrightonHove

Back in April, at the beginning of lockdown, we were approached by a representative of Martlets to support a writing project to help build community between the generations and make life better for people living in care homes.

We were delighted that we were able to facilitate this and around 10 local schools and 20 care homes began working together on the You Are Never Alone project and the children have created some beautiful work.  Martlets are now looking to expand the project and invite more schools to join them. If you would like an informal discussion, or to sign your school up to the project, please email youareneveralone@martlets.org.uk

I look forward to hearing how our children in schools across the city are helping to minimise social isolation and loneliness for care home residents in our community.

Family Learning Moves Online

The Family Learning team have taken their courses and workshops online this term, in response to Covid-19, and have run a variety of courses for local families including Starting Out With Phonics, Mindful Play and Supporting a Child With Anxiety.

Wellbeing and mental health are key topics for families at the moment and the mindfulness, anxiety and resilience courses have been particularly popular. Research has found that learning new skills can have a considerable positive impact on our mental health. One learner commented that “although the technology was a lot to get my head round at first, I’m glad I persevered. It’s been so good for me to be part of a group and I feel less alone now.”

Thank you to the schools and other services who have helped to promote the online provision.  Online courses will continue after half term and the full list is available here:
https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/families-children-and-learning/family-learning-online-classroom

Anti-Racist Strategy

We have been working with the Brighton & Hove Educators of Colour Collective and consultants to develop a strategy for anti-racist schools. As one aspect of this we hope to work with you and experts in the field to de-colonise the history curriculum and embed Black History into every month.  We will soon be engaging with schools and their staff teams to refine and develop this strategy which we hope to get funding for in April. For more information please contact Sam Beal on sam.beal@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Ofsted inspections are suspended, however Ofsted are still making some visits to school to gather information. No judgements will be made about the school during this time, no lesson observations or work scrutiny will take place, but there will be a letter to the school confirming the discussion issued approximately 3 weeks after the meeting.  So far two of our schools have received visits: St Joseph’s Catholic Primary and Moulsecoomb Primary School.

Welcomes and Goodbyes

I am pleased to be able to confirm that we have recruited a new team manager, Michelle Hunt, for the Home to School Transport Service. Michelle started with us earlier this month and I am sure everyone will give Michelle a warm welcome.  Sadly, this does mean we will be losing Rob Glaister back to the Housing Team in mid-November. Rob has done a great job as interim manager and I would like to thank him for the huge contribution he has made to helping get the service back on its feet and to re-establishing trust and confidence following a very challenging period.

We also say goodbye to Andy Moore after 17 years at Brighton & Hove City Council.  We would like to wish him all the best for the future and I am sure he will be very much missed by everyone here.

 

Best wishes,

Jo

Keep in touch and follow me on Twitter @JoMLyons

Find details here Twitter accounts across all council services.