19.10.2022 - Message from the Director of Education
FAO: All Schools
MESSAGE SENT TO ALL SCHOOLS – PLEASE FORWARD TO YOUR CHAIR OF GOVERNORS
Dear Headteacher/Principal,
I hope you had a good first six weeks of the academic year as half-term approaches. Again these are interesting times politically and it appears that the Education White Paper is not going to be proceeded with at present nor will aspects of the SEND Green paper which need changes in the law (although these may come back next year). Many schools are having staff off work with COVID as well as the other usual autumn fluey illnesses – the guidance on COVID still stands and I attach the link to this advice - People with symptoms of a respiratory infection including COVID-19 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) . if you need further advice and guidance, Enfield HR or your own provider HR will be able to provide this.
Many primary headteachers have raised concerns about the number of children in the early years who have come into school not being nappy trained and having limited social and oral skills – this appears to be a direct impact of COVID. This is causing considerable pressure on staff and managing pupil needs. As you know, there has been no new funding allocated to addressing this – I will pursue this with the DfE at our next meeting with them and through other channels. It may be that schools could redirect funding (although recognising the financial pressure that schools are under) to the early years for an initial period to address this. This was also raised at the Excellence Board as a major issue. I will also discuss this with your primary representatives to consider what further support can be provided to schools.
i) RAAC - Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete: Lightweight Concrete Roofs (publishing.service.gov.uk) - Was this material used to build your or part of your school? RAAC is a construction material primarily used between 1930 and 1990. Buildings containing RAAC need to be managed effectively and monitored by a RAAC specialist to ensure they remain safe. We have been contacted by the DfE and asked to provide information to them about our estate (schools) concerning RAAC. The link above provides some information on this. Please could you contact Neil Best ( Neil.G.Best@Enfield.gov.uk) if your school has RAAC or indeed if you are unsure. For local authority maintained schools, we need to ascertain the extent of the use of RAAC in buildings. This may be a considerable task but we feel duty bound to bring this to your attention. This information is also for academies who may also wish to review the guidance provided.
ii) OFSTED feedback - Last week I attended a meeting with John Kennedy HMI who some of you will know. He had just carried out a review of 145 schools’ Ofsted reports that had previously been judged outstanding – what was interesting from his presentation was the findings of areas for improvement which I thought it would be helpful to share although in many ways there was nothing new or unexpected in these findings.
For Primary schools these were in order a) Inconsistency in subject curriculum planning particularly in music, history, geography, DT and MFL ii) weaknesses in the teaching of reading/phonics iii) links between EY and other key stages iv) staff training (curriculum and subject knowledge) v) Behaviour vi) engagement with SEND.
For secondary these were a) Quality and curriculum coverage at KS3 b) the checking of knowledge and understanding c) inconsistency across subject areas d) Pupil behaviour e) Provision for SEND f) Support for reading and weaker readers – and finally governor oversight.
iii) Local Area SEND Inspection - At the meeting with Ofsted last week, we were also informed that Ofsted and CQC intend to recommence their local area SEND inspections from January 2023 under a new framework which also includes alternative provision – this is because many children in AP have SEND. Enfield local was last inspected in 2016 and achieved a good outcome – as we were one of the first local areas to be inspected, we are expecting a visit from Ofsted in 2023. This will inevitably involve some schools.
iv) Part-time Timetable guidance – thank you for the feedback on this document which we will send out in its final format after half-term. Just to say that we do understand some of the concerns raised about this issue but most of these have related to the law as it stands currently. Ofsted too have a clear expectation in relation to part-time timetables and this is likely to be reflected in any local area SEND inspection. A clarification from feedback is that part-time timetables for pupils can be used as is clear in the guidance but the caveat to this is they should only be used in limited circumstances and monitored on a regular basis.
v) Half-term Activities - You will already have received information concerning half-term activities funded through the Household Support Grant – to clarify this is all for all children not just those entitled to FSM. This is to ensure that those children who are above the FSM line but whose families are struggling with the cost of living, don’t miss out. I attach the link for all the venues and activities which you should also have received - October Spooktacular programme (PDF, 264.86 KB)
vi) SEND Partnership Strategy 2023-2027 - Please find attached the final SEND strategy partnership document agreed at Enfield full council last week. This is the strategy for the next four years until 2027.
vii) End of half-term school officers plan – for secondary school colleagues, I have been asked to circulate this by Sergeant Kaur.
viii) Attendance Portal reminder - The school attendance team has asked schools to sign up to the DfE attendance portal which is working well at the moment and is managed by Wonde – please see the link - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/share-your-daily-school-attendance-data - this provides daily attendance data and has already proved very helpful to the Education Welfare Service.
Thanks to those that attended the launch of the Inclusion Charter this week which was attended by around 70 people. Much good practice was shared and a link is now available through the Hub to sign up to the Charter. I am starting Jury service next week for 2 weeks (my first experience of this) so will inevitably use my experience of TV detective dramas to support me through this!!!
Best wishes and I hope you have a relatively restful half-term week.
Peter Nathan
Peter Nathan
Director of Education
People Department
Enfield Council
Direct line: 020 83795492
Mob: 07813995030