Diocesan Department for Education April 2015 Welcome to the Summer 2015 Newsletter from the Diocesan Education Department. We all hope that you have had a restful, refreshing break over Easter. This may strike a chord with some of you! If I tirelessly teach five outstanding lessons a day, and see my students make excellent progress against their targets, but have not love, I am only a broken window or a wall covered in graffiti. If I create a perfect climate for learning, have excellent meetings with parents and resolve all the problems of the day through focused toil, but have not love, I am only an uneaten school dinner or a messy office. If I give all I have to my school and work a 70 hour week marking, planning, preparing and evaluating and have the most perfect colour-coded action plan to guide my path, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not selfseeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. Based on 1Corinthians 13: 1-8 Andy Wolfe, Vice Principal, The Nottingham Emmanuel School, unpublished. Farewell to Department for Education Staff We have said our farewells to Debbie Pinfield and Margaret Thomson who left the Diocesan Education Department at Easter. Debbie has been here for nine years and Margaret for eight years, both have been valued members of the team. We wish them well for all that lies ahead. Mrs Gilly Maxim has been appointed from 27th April to fill the PA / admin. post and we hope to appoint for the second part time admin. post soon. You will find a copy of the advert in this newsletter should you know someone who may be interested in applying. Welcome to New Headteachers: Janine Burton, Himbleton CE First School Mark Pollard, Bishop Perowne CE College Jenny Birchall, Oldswinford CE Primary Through Young Eyes The Children’s Commission on Poverty With the Service Level Agreement and Training Booklet mailing you will find an executive copy of Through Young Eyes, published by The Children’s Commission on Poverty. Some of the children and young people involved in the inquiry introduce the study in these words: “School is where young people spend a lot of their lives. This is why we decided to hold an enquiry to explore how poverty affects young people’s experiences of school. We wanted to remove the idea that poverty stops at the school gates. If put into practice, these recommendations would prove to be a big step in establishing that children can have the same opportunities in school no matter who they are of what they have. This equality in society is a goal that not only we feel is important as The Children’s Commission on Poverty but the entire country, both government and people alike, should take upon themselves.” The inquiry heard how poverty can make children feel excluded, stigmatised and bullied because they cannot afford the same things as their peers. It affects whether they are properly fed and clothed and in turn their ability to concentrate and engage in learning. Church School Headteacher and Senior Leaders Conference Too many children are missing out on the opportunity to make the very most of their education, because they struggle to afford the costs of school life. I commend this report to you. If nothing else – do read the recommendations on page 11 of the report. When? Friday October 16th2015 9.30am – 3.00pm Where? The Pear Tree Inn, Smite, Worcester WR3 8SY What? Theme: Developing Spirituality New Instrument of Government for Governing Bodies By 1st September 2015, all Governing Bodies of maintained schools are required to be constituted under the2012 School Governance Regulations. This means that any school which has an Instrument of Government (IoG) dated before 1st September 2012 needs to reconstitute it during the course of this academic year. The main changes are that the maximum number of staff governors, other than the Headteacher, is now 1, the category of community governor no longer applies but governing bodies can co-opt onto the governing body and there can only be 1 LA governor. Regulations covering the appointment of foundation governors are not significantly different, so the smallest VA governing body size remains at 12, although the regulations surrounding removal of Foundation Governors have changed somewhat. Please make sure you obtain Diocesan approval, along with that of the foundation governors and your trustees BEFORE a draft IoG is sent to the LA. Any schools contemplating federation must also talk to us at the earliest opportunity so as to obtain pre-approval for a new governance arrangement before it is drafted by the LA and consulted on. All this is in the documentation, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa ds/attachment_data/file/418202/The_Constitution_of_G overning_Bodies_of_Maintained_Schools_Stat_Guidance. pdf. The next dates for Worcester DBE meetings to approve Instruments are: April 20th 2015 and June 2nd 2015. Enquiries should be addressed to: [email protected] 01905 732825 What’s new? Nurturing spirituality Spirituality in practice throughout the curriculum Spirituality and school leadership First place free for SLA schools with second place £50 Non SLA schools £100 per delegate; second place £50. Diocesan Education Department Training Programme 2015 - 2016 I hope that you have received your copies of the April 2015 – April 2016 training programme. Feedback from training events has been overwhelmingly positive and I am delighted that as well as offering some of the key courses again we have been able to identify and offer new training, particularly in the ‘Going Deeper’ series. One change that we have had to include this time is that we will reserve the right to charge for lunch and for admin costs for any late cancellations or for any noshows. You will appreciate that we have to order lunches from the catering team at the Old Palace and we have to pay for the number of lunches ordered and prepared. I am sure that you will also appreciate that the admin team puts in a lot of hard work in preparing for each training event, so again a small charge will be made for any late cancellations or no-shows. Thank you for your understanding. Diocesan Educational Courses this term All being held at The Old Palace: Mon 27th April 2015 Being a Governor in a Church School 7.00-9.00pm Thurs 7th May 2015 RAISEonline 1.00-3.00pm Tues 9th June 2015 Living out Christian values in a Church Family of Schools 9.30am – 3.00pm Mon 15th June 2015 KS1 World Faiths Course 9.30am – 3.00pm Wed 1st July 2015 RE Planning and Resource Sharing 10.00am-12noon and 1.00-3.00pm (please state choice) Mon 6th July 2015 Support in Implementing new Worcestershire RE Syllabus 10.00am-12noon and 1.00-3.00pm (please state choice) th Tues 7th, Thurs 9 and Mon 13th July 2015 Looking Ahead … We look forward to welcoming the 4 Front Theatre Company to this year’s Church School Headteacher and Senior Leaders Conference. The name '4Front Theatre' stems from an underlying Christian belief and the desire to place faith at the '4front' of everything they do. They perform their plays in schools and churches and will give us a flavour of their work, including their Christmas 2015 production ‘Wingin’It’ for which bookings are already being taken! More information can be found at : http://4front-theatre.com/ RE Moderation 10.00am-12noon and 1.00-3.00pm (please state choice) Please reserve your place using the application form in the courses booklet or contact Liz Etty-Leal: [email protected] Tel 01905 732825. Courses are free as part of your SLA agreement. A charge applies to non SLA schools. Summer Term 2015 Heads & Governors Meetings We are currently putting the summer schedule together and will advise you of dates and venues as soon as possible. THE DIOCESAN EDUCATION TEAM PART-TIME SECRETARY / ADMINISTRATOR Worcester Diocesan Board of Finance Ltd intends to appoint an Administrator Secretary (part-time) to work within the Education Team. The role includes providing administrative support for training courses and special events. Resources: Barnabas in Schools Resources for Collective Worship and RE (leaflet attached) We hope the attached leaflet will be of interest - a mix of new titles and tried-and-tested popular resources. New titles for 2015 are: RE New in the classroom with 4-5s http://www.barnabasinschools.org.uk/9781841016146/ What Makes a Winner? http://www.barnabasinschools.org.uk/9781841017426/ Valuing Money http://www.barnabasinschools.org.uk/9780857461216/ 36 Ready-to-Read Assemblies for Collective Worship http://www.barnabasinschools.org.uk/9780857463753/ This is a part-time appointment of 18 hours per week during term time. (38 weeks per year) Application form and more details from the website: http://www.cofe-worcester.org.uk/vacancies/category/ or the HR Administrator, The Old Palace, Deansway, Worcester, WR1 2JE Tel 01905 730730, e-mail [email protected] Closing date for applications: Noon on Monday 27 April 2015 Please forward this to anyone you know who may be interested. The Spring Term 2015 RE NEWS UPDATE is attached with this newsletter; this includes details of TV programmes for 7 – 11 year olds on world faiths. Teachers – Special People On the 6th day, God created men and women. On the 7th day, he rested. Not so much to recuperate, but rather to prepare himself for the work he was going to do on the next day. For it was on that day - the 8th day - that God created the first teacher. This teacher, though taken from among men and women, had several significant modifications. In general, God made the teacher more durable than other men and women. The teacher was made to arise at a very early hour and to go to bed no earlier than 11 PM, with no rest in between. When God finished creating the teacher, he stepped back and admired the work of His hands. And God saw that the teacher was good. Very Good! And God smiled, for when he looked at the teacher, he saw into the future. He knew that the future is in the hands of the teacher. And because God loves teacher so much... on the 9th day God created... SNOW DAYS! The teacher had to be able to withstand being locked up in an air-tight classroom for six hours with thirtyfive "monsters" on a rainy Monday. And the teacher had to be fit to correct 103 papers over Easter vacation. Yes, God made the teacher tough...but gentle, too. The teacher was equipped with soft hands to wipe away the tears of the neglected and lonely student. And into the teacher God poured a generous amount of patience. Patience when a student asks to repeat the directions the teacher has just repeated for someone else. Patience when a child forgets their lunch money for the fourth day in a row. Patience when one-third of the class fails the test. Patience when the books haven't arrived yet, and the new topic starts tomorrow. And God gave the teacher a heart slightly bigger than the average human heart. For the teacher's heart had to be big enough to love the child who screams, "I hate this class - it's boring!" and to love the kid who runs out of the classroom at the end of the lesson without so much as a "goodbye," let alone a "thank you." And lastly, God gave the teacher an abundant supply of HOPE. For God knew that the teacher would always be hoping. Hoping that the children would someday learn how to spell... hoping not to have lunchroom duty... hoping that Friday would come... hoping for a free day... hoping for deliverance. With best wishes for the term ahead, The Old Palace, Deansway, Worcester WR1 2JE Tel: 01905 732821 Switchboard: 01905 20537 Fax: 01905 612302
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