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Issue: 26 – 24 March 2015
Vacancy Bulletins
The Schools Vacancies Bulletin for this week will be available on the website
from Wednesday 25 March 2015.
LEARNING EXCHANGE UPDATE
Thank You
Click here
Learning Exchange Offer 2015-16
Click here
Support for Statutory Assessment 2015-16
Click here
North Somerset Learning Exchange Programme for Phonics into
Early Spelling
Click here
Locking Primary School Awarded E-Safety Mark
Click here
Pupil Premium – Schools with Good Disadvantaged Pupil Results
Click here
FFT Aspire March Release
Click here
Guidance around Unlocking the Potential of Teaching Assistants
Click here
HMI Most Able Conference
Click here
INFORMATION, UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
2014 Annual Report of the Director of Public Health for North
Somerset
Click here
All staff
Pupil Premium Allocation 2014-15
Click here
Heads, Chairs of Governors, Bursars – all phases
Universal Infant Free School Meal Funding Update
Heads, Chairs of Governors, Bursars – infant phase
Click here
Help in School for Children and Young People With Mild to Moderate
Anxiety and/or Depression – Vulnerable Learners’ Service
Click here
SENCOs
School Trips and Evolve Update
Click here
Heads
Weston College Foundation Degree in Early Years
Friends of the Earth Run on Sun Campaign
Marking Anne Frank’s Death
Click here
Click here
Click here
INFORMATION COMMUNICATION SHEETS
1415/0016 ICT and E-Safety Newsletter Term 4, March 2015
Click here
MEETINGS, CONFERENCES AND EVENTS
Click here
North Somerset Healthy Schools Network
KSI Moderation Cluster Meetings
Click here
Heads – primary phase
LEARNING EXCHANGE UPDATE
http://thelearningexchange.org.uk/
Thank you
As we approach the end of term 4 may I take this opportunity to thank you, your staff
teams and governing bodies for all that you do to make a difference to the children
and young people in North Somerset. Have a very good Easter holiday.
It has been a busy term of inspections. Well done to all those who have been
inspected recently - Worle Village, Blagdon and Flax Bourton.
84% of our primary schools are good or better.
90% of our secondary schools are good or better.
100% of our special schools are good or better.
88.6% of the children and young people in North Somerset attend a good or
outstanding school. We are now second in the South West region. The South West
average is 83.3%.
Oldmixon had the pilot HMI one day inspection as a good school on its journey to
outstanding (no letter or report will be published on the Ofsted website).
All SIAMS inspections from January have been outstanding (Trinity, St John's, St Francis
and St Peters).
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Learning Exchange Offer 2015-16
Reminder - Please return your Learning Exchange booking form for April 2015 – March
2016 by Thursday 26 March 2015 to [email protected].
Support for Statutory Assessment 2015-2016
We would like to inform you that North Somerset will be continuing to offer a suite of
continuing professional development (CPD) activities to support moderation and
standardisation for statutory assessment in EYFS, KS1 and KS2.
However, due to the current uncertainty regarding assessment for 2015-16, we are
unable to give further information until we have received clarification from the
Standards and Testing Agency. Further details will be communicated to schools as
soon as they have been finalised in the autumn term when you will be requested to
complete a form indicating your requirements.
Early Years Foundation Stage 2015-2016
Our expectation is that we will offer:
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New to EYFSP Training
Experienced EYFSP Training
EYFSP Workshops
EYFSP Clusters Meetings
The LA currently receives funding for EYFSP moderation activity for ALL schools/
academies in North Somerset. We anticipate that this will continue for the academic
year 2015 to 2016. If there are changes to central funding the Early Years Team will
send an EYFSP moderation offer to all schools in Autumn 2015.
Key Stage 1 2015-2016
Our expectation is that we will offer:
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New to Year 2 Training
Experienced Year 2 Training
KS1 Workshops
KS1 Cluster Meetings
The LA currently receives funding for KS1 moderation activity for maintained schools.
We anticipate that this will continue for the academic 2015 to 2016. If there are
changes to central funding the Early Years Team will send a KS1 moderation offer to all
schools in Autumn 2015.
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Phonics Screening Check 2015-2016
Our expectation is that we will offer:

phonics screening check briefing (£45 per delegate).
You may choose to use your Learning Exchange allocation to fund this activity and it
must be booked via CPD Online.
KS2 moderation activities 2015-2016
Our expectation is that, in addition to any statutory moderation visits, we will offer:
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standardisation twilight sessions (£85 per delegate)
assessment and reporting arrangements briefing (£85 per delegate)
moderation workshops (£85 per delegate)
You may choose to use your Learning Exchange allocation to fund this activity and it
must be booked via CPD Online.
The North Somerset moderation package (including costings) for academies (nonmaintained schools) will be published in the autumn term.
Please contact Justine Gregory: [email protected] if you have any
queries regarding support for the phonics screening check or KS2 moderation.
Please contact Sarah McGahern: [email protected] if you have
any queries regarding support for the assessment in EYFS or KS1 moderation.
North Somerset Learning Exchange Programme for Phonics into Early
Spelling
As the ‘North Somerset Learning Exchange Programme for Phonics into Early Spelling’
will need to be cross-referenced with the new EYFS baseline materials and the revised
expectations from the Institute of Education regarding Book-bands for Guided
Reading, we have made the decision to wait until these have been finalised before
we make the programme available. Therefore, copies will be available mid June
2015.
Well Done - Locking Primary School Awarded E-Safety Mark
Congratulations to Locking Primary School on attaining the E-Safety Mark award. Jo
Jones, headteacher and Sam Gilman, deputy headteacher have been leading
e-safety in their school and providing the driving force to ensure good practice in their
e-safety policy and procedures. They have included the whole school community,
involving pupils and ensuring key e-safety messages are shared across the school.
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The E-Safety Mark is awarded to schools following a rigorous external assessment and
demonstrates a school's commitment to online safety.
Pupil Premium: Schools with Good Disadvantaged Pupil Results
Congratulations to Bournville Community Primary School, Oldmixon Primary School
and Winscombe Primary School who have received a congratulations letter from the
Minister for Schools, David Laws for the excellent results of their disadvantaged pupils.
This list includes the 2015 Pupil Premium Awards qualifiers.
Schools had to show:
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consistent high attainment of their disadvantaged pupils between 2012 and 2014
in reading, writing and maths;
that high proportions of their disadvantaged pupils are making the expected
progress in reading, writing and maths;
consistently high or improving attainment for other pupils;
that they got a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ rating in their latest Ofsted inspection.
FFT Aspire March Release
The next update to FFT Aspire will be available on Friday 27 March. The March release
will include the following key additional features and data:
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Final KS1 data;
Amended KS2 and KS4 data;
Updated PDF Governor Dashboards for Schools.
As a result, Aspire will be unavailable between 5pm on Thursday 26 March and 8am
on Friday 27 March.
As always, if you have any further questions or you need any advice or support then
please contact [email protected].
Guidance around Unlocking the Potential of Teaching Assistants
Please see the recently published guidance from the Education Endowment
Foundation (EEF) with regard to supporting schools unlock the potential of their
teaching assistants.
The guidance makes seven evidence-based recommendations to help schools
maximise the impact of teaching assistants. Key recommendations include:


Use TAs to add value to what teachers do, not to replace them
Ensure TAs are fully prepared for their role in the classroom
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
Use TAs to deliver high-quality one-to-one and small group support using structured
interventions
HMI Most Able Conference
The following conference was attended by a group of headteachers from North
Somerset on 5 March 2015. Please see the presentation documents:
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The most able students - an update on progress since June 2015 (Ofsted)
Most Able Conference - presentation slides
Sue Ivermee, Head of School Improvement
INFORMATION, UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
2014 Annual Report of the Director of Public Health for North Somerset
It is with great pleasure we present to you the 2014 Director of Public Health Annual
Report for North Somerset which this year focuses specifically on Living Well – A Case
for Prevention.
The report concentrates on what local partners can do to tackle the root causes of ill
health in our population and address the rising health and social care costs this places
on our community. It sets out a number of independent evidence based
recommendations for action by local organisations and partnerships, including the
North Somerset Partnership and North Somerset People and Communities Health and
Wellbeing Board.
The report adopts a model developed in the UK but implemented with success in San
Diego, United States of America known as the ‘3:4:50 approach’. This is a long-term
public health strategy that focuses on the three health behaviour risk factors
(substance misuse, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity) that contribute to the four
chronic diseases (cancer, circulatory diseases, respiratory diseases and liver disease)
which are responsible for over 50% of our premature deaths (those under 75 years).
If you have any comments about this report or would like further copies, please
contact [email protected] or telephone on 01275 885132.
Public Health Team, People and Communities
Pupil Premium Final Allocation 2014-15
On Friday 20 March the Department for Education released the final 2014-15 pupil
premium allocations and issued the following information.
The DfE has allocated an additional £23 for primary pupils who are currently eligible for
free school meals or have been eligible in the past 6 years (FSM ‘Ever 6’) on top of the
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£1,300 already allocated. Secondary FSM ‘Ever 6’ pupils will attract £935. Lookedafter children and eligible pupils adopted from care or leaving care under a special
guardianship or residence order will attract a premium of £1,900. The DfE pays schools
a rate of £300 per pupil for the service premium.
We will be updating maintained schools allocations for pupil premium before the end
of the financial year to reflect the increase in FSM Ever 6 Primary funding. This amount
will be excluded from the claw back calculation. The data for FSM Ever 6 may also
change due to the looked after children adjustment by the DfE. Information will be
available shortly at www.nsesp.org.uk.
Clare Pearce, Schools Funding Officer
Universal Infant Free School Meal (UIFSM) Funding Update
Currently schools have received a provisional UIFSM allocation based on an assumed
87% take up of the newly eligible pupils (total infant pupils less those pupils recorded as
FSM eligible on the January 2015 census). This allocation will be updated in June 2015
to give schools their final UFISM allocation for the 2014-15 academic year. The
Department for Education (DfE) will calculate this using the following calculation:
Year Group 1 and 2

An average of the October 2014 and January 2015 school census for the total
number of pupils on roll in year 1 and year 2 who took a meal less the total
number of pupils on roll in year 1 and year 2 recorded as FSM eligible who took
a meal. This figure will be multiplied by £437 (£2.30 per meal x 190 days).
Plus the greater of:
Reception

An average of the October 2014 and January 2015 school census for the total
number of pupils on roll in reception who took a meal less the total number of
pupils on roll in reception recorded as FSM eligible who took a meal multiplied
by £437

The total number of pupils on roll in reception who took a meal recorded on the
January 2015 school census less the total number of pupils on roll in reception
recorded as FSM eligible who took a meal recorded on the January 2015 school
census multiplied by £437.
or
Using both the October 2014 and January 2015 Census data we have calculated a
provisional final UIFSM allocation. This is an indicative figure which we will use to adjust
the provisional UIFSM allocation for the 2014-15 financial year. One school has raised
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the issue that the number of school weeks in the period September 2014 to March
2015 is greater than the number of months (26/39 weeks = 0.666 which is greater than
7/12 months = 0.58). As a result expenditure on UIFSM could be more than the
income. Given this we will also adjust the provisional indicative allocation by the
number of weeks. This amount will show on the next Income Reconciliation file and
will be excluded from the carry forward calculation at the end of the financial year.
To view your school’s allocation please click here.
Clare Pearce, Schools Funding Officer
Help in School for Children and Young People with Mild to Moderate
Anxiety and/or Depression - Vulnerable Learners’ Service
Several local practitioners are training to deliver cognitive behavioural therapy for
children and young people with these difficulties, as part of the IAPT programme
(Improving Access to Psychological Therapies). If you know of a young person not
already referred to CAMHS, who might benefit from working with a trainee, please
email brief details (without naming the child) to [email protected]
(Educational Psychologist, Vulnerable Learners’ Service), for more details of suitability
and next steps.
Maureen Martin, Business Support Co-ordinator
School Trips and Evolve Update
The time is approaching where many schools are turning their minds to planning and
preparing for this year’s trips and visits and, with this in mind, you may be logging into
Evolve for the first time in a number of months.
In the last few months, Evolve has undergone a number of upgrades and
enhancements which make using it more user-friendly and intuitive. Many of these
changes are hidden and work in the background, so there is no need for you to carry
out any additional training.
Evolve is now fully linked with Kaddi, a new searchable database of destinations and
activities which is run by EduFOCUS Evolve. The Kaddi database is linked with the
LOtC Quality Badge system, which makes it easy for you to identify if your chosen
provider is registered under this scheme.
We have begun uploading copies of the latest OEO2 forms which will be available for
you to view when putting your trip on the system. This will give you further information
about the health and safety management of the provider and allow you to check
that they are suitable for your intended trip or activity.
Where there is important information about a certain provider, we are now entering
this in the provider information section to enable you to be aware of any issues during
the submission process.
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Could we also remind all schools of the importance of submitting your trip in a timely
fashion to the Evolve system. Please ensure that category C ventures (for example,
residential visits and most adventurous activities) are notified via Evolve at least four
weeks before you depart. This ensures the Health and Safety team have adequate
time to thoroughly review your trip before approval and to ensure that the health and
safety aspects of it have been properly recorded.
If you have any difficulties logging into the system or if you require any further related
information, please do not hesitate to get in touch to further discuss.
Simon Pashley, Health and Safety Advisor
Weston College – Foundation Degree in Early Years
Please click here for details of the foundation degree in early years to start in
September 2015.
Mark Wilkins, Weston College
Friends of the Earth Run on Sun Campaign
The Friends of the Earth Run on Sun campaign is one year old. The purpose of the
campaign is to encourage schools to install solar panels. If schools are interested,
please click here to sign up for the education pack.
Marking Anne Frank's Death 70 Years On
The Anne Frank Trust invites you to mark the 70th anniversary of Anne’s tragic death
during the Holocaust, with a one minute campaign called #notsilent.
We invite you to join us and read out loud a one minute passage from Anne’s
inspirational writing, on or after Tuesday 14th April. We have a selection of passages
suitable for a one minute reading to choose from, which can be downloaded here
www.annefrank.org.uk/notsilent. Alternatively, you can read something you have
written about your own life experiences, and can start or end the reading by
explaining why you want to do it.
We are asking all participants to film their one minute reading and upload it to their
social media or video sharing platforms using the #notsilent hash tag.
We have several celebrities and authors lined up to promote the campaign with their
own readings and we are planning a press launch on the morning of 14th April in
central London.
Gillian Walnes MBE, Co-Founder and Executive Director, The Anne Frank Trust UK
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INFORMATION COMMUNICATION SHEETS
Reference number
Title
Audience
1415/0016
ICT and E-Safety Newsletter Term 4,
March 2015
All staff in schools
Pupil Referral Units
MEETINGS, CONFERENCES AND EVENTS
North Somerset Healthy Schools Network
All schools are invited to become involved in the North Somerset Healthy Schools
Network (NSHSN), which provides a free and flexible framework for addressing health
and wellbeing. Involvement in the NSHSN has many benefits including healthier,
happier pupils, increased participation and opportunities to collect evidence about
how your school addresses behaviour, safety, social development and the care of the
most vulnerable. You will also be helped to access organisations and resources which
can support you with health and wellbeing, as well as sharing good practice through
a network of schools.
This year, as a result of feedback, we are running two parallel programmes, one for
secondary and one for primary schools, which we hope will support each phase to
meet their own specific needs. If you are interested, please read our primary leaflet or
secondary leaflet to find out more about how each programme will work and return
the reply form on the March 2015 web page to attend a briefing on either Thursday
23rd April at 1.15 - 3.15 for primary or Thursday 30th April, 1.15 - 3.15 for secondary.
Here are some comments made in the past, by schools involved in the programme:
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‘A fantastic opportunity to share ideas, contacts and resources with other
schools’
‘I felt very supported through the process of developing an action plan’
‘It has enabled our school to identify gaps and develop these’
‘Individual schools can set their own targets to suit the needs of their families’
‘Healthy Schools provides a vital role in developing the whole child’
You can read about some of the health-promoting activity in schools that completed
the programme last summer, by clicking here.
Shaun Cheesman, Health Improvement Coordinator: Children and Young People
KS1 Moderation Cluster Meetings
Please be advised that the letters sent out confirming schools attendance at KS1
Cluster Meetings in 2015 are incorrect.
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The KS1 clusters are on 27th of April 2015, NOT 27th of May 2015.
Please book via CPD Online.
Mandy Summers, Senior Business Support Administrator
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