18 November 2022 weekly update

Dear Colleagues,

Another week and another eventful week in the economic landscape of the education system in the UK. I hope to write to you soon once we have extrapolated the finer details of the new chancellor's mini budget.

Another week closer to Christmas, which is perhaps why it feels so strange to be writing about the FIFA World Cup which kicks off in Qatar this weekend, the first ever to be held in the Middle East. You may be aware of my Scottish and Italian roots, which is why it might not be that surprising that I will be fully behind the three lions at this World Cup, with both narrowly missing out on qualification. I do have to mention Three Lions (It's Coming Home for Christmas) which perfectly highlights the disparity between the recent accomplishments of the men's and women's teams at major tournaments, following the lionesses historic success at the UEFA Women's Euro 2022. Hopefully the men's team can follow in the footsteps of their female counterparts and bring football home in time for Christmas.

Thank you to the schools who sent the June inclusivity survey out to parents. The results are now available (PDF, 560.0 KB) and show a majority of positive responses about how children with SEND are supported in schools. However, I would really like more schools to engage in the survey as it is a very useful source of information when KCC comes to making decisions and working with parent groups to influence the change that is needed.

I would like to encourage all schools and academies to send the inclusive education survey to your parent groups through your normal communication methods. The survey is live and it can be completed by all parents, not just parents of children with SEND. Results will be gathered at the end of January which will be distributed to all schools.

Thank you to all schools who have given such positive feedback about the changes which the KCC SEND team is making to the phase transfer process for September 2023. Letters have been sent to all schools and secondary schools are hosting District Placement meetings for the first time which signals a significant commitment to collaborative working as we move forward. Meetings will take place in the week beginning Monday 5 December and continue until the end of term. It is recognised that it is a bold move and there will be many challenges. I am also grateful to KAH for their support with this process. Time has been allocated in March to evaluate the whole process alongside schools with a view to having a consistent countywide approach to phase transfer.

Best wishes

Christine McInnes
Director of Education