17 November 2015 weekly update

The Inspire Programme

This KCC programme aims to encourage children to increase their participation in sport, health related activities and the arts. In addition the programme is continuing to foster a range of personal development opportunities for children and young people through working alongside role models from sport, the arts and the health sector.

We are planning an exciting Carnivals programme which will take place in every District in the summer of 2016 to generate interest and excitement for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. In this way the INSPIRED Ways to Rio programme will contribute to Kent children's well-being in an innovative, fun and supportive way, leading up to the next Olympic and Paralympic Games and hopefully help us all to relive the excitement of the London Olympics in 2012.

The attached report provides an overview of how the programme INSPIRED Ways to Rio is being structured and delivered. You can access full details by going to Kent Inspire website and you can view the film below of one of our Arts programmes that took place during the last academic year to get a real flavour of the inspirational work that has been offered to children through the INSPIRE programme.

The progress report sets out how the programme is working with schools during the course of this academic year as we build up to the Rio 2016 Games. It also provides some examples of the work that has been taking place with schools over the last 12 months.

For more information please contact : Danny O'Donovan, Kent Schools' Olympic Legacy Programme County Co-ordinator, Danny.O'Donovan@kent.gov.uk

Revised Penalty Notice Code of Conduct

We recently consulted schools on a revised KCC Code of Conduct for the use of Penalty Notices when addressing unauthorised absence from school.

An Education Penalty Notice is one of the statutory measures available to Kent County Council in helping schools to achieve improvements in pupil attendance. Having in place a robust local Code of Conduct is key to the success of the Penalty Notice system. We reviewed the current Penalty Notice system and proposed to revise the current Code of Conduct. The local consultation took place in September and October to seek views from schools and the police.

I am grateful for the helpful responses and the new Code of Conduct is attached (PDF, 149.7 KB). This reflects the suggested changes received during the consultation and our intention is to implement it from 1^stJanuary 2016. We believe that the new Code of Conduct will provide schools and other stakeholders with clearer guidance on key aspects of the Penalty Notice, including exceptional circumstances for authorising tem-time leave, the trigger for raising a Penalty Notice and the Early Help interventions available for the appropriate cases.

For more information please contact: Ming Zhang, Head of PRUs, Attendance and Inclusion, ming.zhang@kent.gov.uk.

Patrick Leeson
Corporate Director of Education and Young People's Services