Message from the Director of Education
For all Headteachers and Chair of Governors
THIS EMAIL HAS BEEN SENT TO ALL SCHOOLS. PLEASE FORWARD ONTO YOUR CHAIR OF GOVERNORS.
Dear Headteacher/Principal,
I hope this email finds you well and that you weren’t too affected by the wild winds last night. School inspections resume again today after a short pause as you know but before Xmas we had several inspections and the reports are now available. Congratulations to St Pauls CE Primary School who achieved a good outcome in their first section 5 inspection for 11 years – good news for Cathryn and Claire and the school community. Brimsdown Primary School was also inspected and achieved an overall good outcome with outstanding grades for Early Years and for Behaviour and Attitudes – great news for Matt, his staff and the whole school. And finally Aim North London Secondary School achieved a good outcome in its inspection – this was an amazing achievement at a school that has never in its history got a better grade than RI and indeed has been through several name changes and also was threatened with closure. Congratulations to Paddy, Executive Principal and Clare, Head of School and their staff. A final point on inspections to say that as a local authority we will be reviewing our support to maintained headteachers in light of the governments response to the coroners report on the suicide of Ruth Perry and of course we would encourage academy trusts to do the same. The mental health of our school leaders and indeed all staff is an important priority of course which is why reviewing support and processes is critical.
i) Enfield Local Authority Education and Other data - the DfE produce data sets on each local authority analysing a variety of education and other outcomes. It makes very interesting reading and have attached this. Clearly there are areas to work on but much of the data is positive – the DfE use an A-E grading system and in some areas we score very well as a borough such as all A’s for behaviour outcomes and some A’s for GCSE and post 16 attainment and progress.
ii) School Place Planning - As you may be aware, much of London is impacted by falling rolls which has led to some school closures and mergers in some London boroughs particularly inner London. This is also impacting Enfield with a birth rate which has declined by over 20% in recent years. Some schools financial position is becoming challenging with a third of maintained schools being in deficit. There is currently a School Place Planning and Admissions working group comprising of the diocese, maintained and academy headteacher representatives, the DfE and local authority officers. Quite a number of schools have reduced their PANs and this is likely to continue but we do need to consider options for the next three to five years and beyond if pupil numbers continue to decline. In light of this, a place planning strategy will be developed over the next few months highlighting the key issues and possible ways forward.
iii) Health updates - As you are aware, measles has much been in the news recently and the borough has now had its first case of mumps. Scarlet Fever is also on the rise and please find attached a resource pack from public health. Also find attached information for parents for vaccination clinics in the community.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published a new blog of some of the seasonal illnesses that tend to peak during winter and the steps parents/carers can take to keep their family well. UKHSA will be sharing other messages aimed at parents and carers on their social media channels in the coming weeks (UKHSA | A parent’s guide to keeping kids healthy this school term).
iv) Headteachers briefing – this Thursday 25th January at 10am - just a reminder that this is taking place. On the agenda currently are place planning: attendance hubs: children and homelessness: library strategy: Childcare extension and wraparound: SEND update (new EHCP template).
Myself and a number of headteachers and senior leaders attended a training day at Apple HQ in Battersea last week – some of the technology and AI to support children and teachers is quite incredible particularly ChatGPT which has to be seen to be believed. There will be other opportunities to work with Apple in the future so watch this space as they say and it’s a far cry from my first Amstrad computer and floppy discs!!! Have a good week and hopefully see you on Thursday.
Best wishes
Peter Nathan
Director of Education