14 January 2022 weekly update

Dear Colleagues,

I hope the start of term has gone well and the joint KAH and KCC planning and guidance has been helpful to you. We have moved to a new timeslot for the KELSI bulletin and will be sending out on Fridays in future. Officers are continuing to meet regularly with KAH Executive members to keep the situation under review so we can respond swiftly as issues emerge.

Managing covid continues to be top of most school leaders agenda, with a few schools in Kent struggling to cover staff absences, but thankfully the availability of tests has improved. I am sure yesterday’s announcement about the reduction in isolation time to five days following two negative Lateral Flow Test results on day five and six will be very welcome.

Welcome too is emerging international research which draws on studies of secondary schools from 38 countries and highlights how complementary digital learning methods can be to traditional methods of schooling. Certainly, some pupils have found working at their own pace, and without the social pressures of the classroom, beneficial. The full article can be viewed on The Conversation

I was really delighted to have the opportunity to speak to participants of the Kent Inclusion Leadership Programme Launch Events this week, a ground breaking local transformation programme developed through a Leadership Learning South East (LLSE) and officer partnership. The programme is now being implemented through an LLSE led consortium which includes the Education Development Trust (EDT) and the National Association for Special Educational Needs, as well as drawing on local expertise. Huge congratulations to all those involved in creating the programme, which I am sure will have a significant impact both within individual schools but also at a system level with seventy-two schools participating in the first cohort and a second recruitment round about to start. A huge thank you also to the school communities that are taking part as participation requires a considerable commitment at a particularly challenging time for schools.

Looking forward, we are planning the agenda for the forthcoming Headteacher briefing meetings that will take place online on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 February from 2pm to 4pm in consultation with KAH. The sessions will include:

• SEND update
• School Funding
• KAH update.

With more detail nearer to the events.

Chez McInnes, Sunday finally brought the Christmas festivities to an end with an Italian celebration of Epiphany. La Befana visited to deliver coal and sweets to naughty and nice members of the McInnes clan, as appropriate. It was toddler nephew’s first ever meeting with La Befana and he was only too happy to point the finger at big ‘bubba’ (brother) as deserving of coal!

Have a good weekend.

Christine McInnes
Director of Education