21 January 2022 weekly update

Dear Colleagues,

You will be aware that the government has announced that the measures put in place under Plan B in England will be lifted. This means:

From 20 January:

• Face coverings were no longer advised for staff and pupils in secondary school and college classrooms.

From 27 January:

• Face coverings will no longer be advised for staff and pupils in communal areas of secondary schools, nor for staff in communal areas of primaries. Directors of Public Health will only be able to recommend pupils and staff wear masks in communal areas in places where there are outbreaks or where the local public health situation justifies it, and with sign-off from the Education Secretary.
• There is no longer a legal requirement to wear a face covering. The government suggests that you continue to wear a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces where you may come into contact with other people you do not normally meet.

Circumstances in each school are different and we know some schools are experiencing significant levels of infection and so dependent on the outcomes of your own risk assessment, you may decide to implement additional infection control measures. KAH and the Area Education Officers are meeting regularly to exchange information and to ensure we are supporting schools to best manage this change in regulations.

This week I am really excited to share some very positive school news!

Firstly, huge congratulations to Steve Ackerley and the teams at Broomhill Bank special school where the residential provision was recently judged Outstanding by Ofsted. This is a fantastic achievement, well done to all involved.

Secondly, Kris Lasslett of Royal Harbour Academy led a session at this week’s National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN) training event for SENCOs on a whole school approach to SEND. Kris provided advice and guidance to 400 SENCOs nationally about his strategic, research-led approaches to embedding inclusive practice and shared responsibility for SEND at this DfE-endorsed event. I know from NASEN that the session was very well received by the audience, so well done Kris and the whole team at Royal Harbour Academy.

Thirdly, Shellina Prendergast, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, Michelle Stanley, Lead Adviser for Education, and I visited Goudhurst and Kilndown Church of England primary school on Tuesday. It was delightful to see children at work and at play in such a stimulating environment. The executive headteacher Lindsay Roberts invited us to find out more about the impressive development work the school has been doing on maths, which has led to improvements across all ability levels in a school with already high standards in maths. The school staff are working in collaboration with the Kent and Medway Maths Hub and supported by Jason Horne, TEP maths adviser. The very poor levels of financial literacy in the UK adult population is well documented and summarised in this FT article , so this work is of real interest to KCC as we consider how we can strengthen maths across the county to better prepare children and young people in their transition to adulthood and the jobs market. A big thank you to Lindsay and her team for their welcome and time.

I wrote to you at the beginning of term about some changes to the EHCP process. Please find an updated version of the letter (PDF, 684.3 KB), which will also be sent to schools, early years settings and colleges. The forthcoming virtual headteacher briefings taking place on MS Teams from 2pm to 4pm on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 of February will provide more detail on SEND developments, amongst other matters.

Whilst I’m on the topic of virtual meetings, MS Teams, and all things cyber; the cost of cybercrime to the UK economy is estimated to be in the region of £27 billion annually and is of concern to schools. Issues of particular concern to schools are related to ensuring sufficient training on Cyber Security as a threat to the schools systems and network and integration into the school’s risk management systems, ensuring regular reporting to SLT. A letter will be issued soon with more detailed information and support available to schools.

And finally, we are expecting a government policy announcement on post-16 in the near future. You will know this is an area KCC have been reviewing and, in collaboration with KAH, we are organising a meeting for secondary headteachers who are considering the development of post-16 year options which will take place virtually on Thursday 10 February from 10am to 11am. Look out for more information coming soon.

Have a great weekend.

Christine McInnes
Director of Education