4 May 2017 weekly update

Dear Colleagues

Education Services Company

The KCC Cabinet has now approved the decision to establish the Education Services Company. This will be wholly owned by KCC and will provide both statutory and traded services for:

• School Improvement
• Governor Support
• Early Years and Childcare
• Outdoor Education
• Education Safeguarding
• Educational Psychology
• Skills and Employability
• Schools Financial Services
• the current EduKent service for marketing, trading and billing schools.

The company can also act as a procurement vehicle for schools to purchase services and resources, hopefully at a lower cost than in the wider market place.

We will now be establishing the company board, with headteacher representation as non-executive directors. We will also be appointing other non-executive directors and an interim Chair, as well as recruiting a Chief Executive and the company Director posts.

This is an exciting opportunity for Kent and the new company will be one of the largest of its kind in the country serving the interests of Kent schools. The local authority is investing in the company to ensure it has financial sustainability for the first several years.

We are also setting up a new Stakeholder and Commissioning Partnership Board to oversee all education service activity in Kent and to monitor the performance of the new company. This will have representation from the Kent Association of Headteachers, Kent Association of Special Schools, Kent Governors Association, FE Colleges, Early Years settings and employers. The board will have strong influence over the future direction of all education services in Kent.

We expect the new appointments and the Company Board to be operating by September. It will work on a shadow basis for the first few months before going live, we hope, by the end of this year. In the meantime we are working with consultants on naming, branding and a new website. Please see below the governance and board structure for the new company.

Summer Headteacher Meeting Dates

The next round of Headteacher meetings are taking place in June. The focus of these meetings will be on the development of the Education Services Company, our proposals for forming a local authority sponsored multi-academy trust arrangement and the High Needs Funding review. We very much hope that you will be able to attend one of the following two meetings.

The dates, times and locations for the Summer Headteacher Meetings are:

Wednesday 14 June - 1pm for 1:30pm start - 4pm - Ashford International Hotel, Simone Weil Avenue, Ashford TN24 8UX

Thursday 15 June - 9am for 9:30am start - 12noon - John Wigan Room, Oakwood House, Oakwood Road, Maidstone ME16 8AE

To book a place, please email eypssupportteam@kent.gov.uk confirming your name and school, and the session you are able to join.

Kids in charge for the day

The Kent-Teach I’m in charge campaign is asking for ideas from 11-16 year olds between 2 May to 31 May 2017. They can be submitted via the #ImInCharge hashtag on social media channels or through the Kent-Teach website. The best idea will be released between 5 to 16 June, and brought to life in school where it will be filmed.

Secondary pupils are being asked to come up with ideas of what they would do if they were a teacher for the day. The best idea will be created and put into action in a school, filmed and used to help champion teaching as a career. The winning video will be released shortly afterwards.

The idea is part of a new campaign to recruit more school students as future teachers. Kent-Teach, which is part of Kent County Council, is asking 11 to 16 year olds to consider a career in teaching to help fill the teaching gap.

This is part of our campaign to address teacher shortages, by looking at the young talent we have in our own schools. We are hoping this opportunity will encourage more young people to think about this rewarding career.

For further information contact Ella Watkins, Media Officer at Kent County Council Press Office on 03000 41 62 82 or 03000 41 80 80 or email pressoffice@kent.gov.uk.

Kent Sport Primary PE Survey 2017

The Kent Sport and Physical Activity Service is working with your local School Games Organisers and relevant county partners to undertake a fifth year of research into PE and school sport provision across Kent Primary schools. The aim is to identify if there are any gaps in training or services available to schools and to share best practice.

This year we will be providing a short report for all schools identifying areas for improvement and offering ideas which you may want to investigate ahead of next year’s funding. You will also receive a baseline report showcasing what you are currently doing (via the survey information) which can be used during Ofsted inspections.

We hope you will be able to respond to the survey which closes on the 22 May 2017. It is an opportunity to let us know how we can best support you moving forward. The Kent Sport Primary PE Survey 2017 should take no longer than 6-8 minutes to complete.

For more information, please contact Tim Sells, Sports Project Officer at Tim.Sells@kent.gov.uk or by calling 03000 41 23 30.

Patrick Leeson
Corporate Director
Children, Young People and Education