Christmas holidays are now a distant memory. New Year resolutions have been set and then ignored. The tin of Quality Street sits all empty but for a few hard centres and orange creams. That ‘get fit and healthy’ campaign hasn’t quite got started yet (well it is so cold and dark outside), but HES is here – all bright and bubbly looking forward to the new term. Will 2014 be as busy in the worlds of PSHE, safeguarding and emotional health as last year? The issues for children and young people don’t ever go away, but we are here to help you provide the best support to help them deal appropriately with the challenges of life.
New guidance from Ofsted
Last week Ofsted published some very interesting ‘subsidiary’ guidance to support consistency in inspections. The subsidiary guidance (available here Subsidiary guidance) is potentially a really useful document and covers all the areas that Ofsted now inspect upon. Included in the behaviour and safety section are that Inspectors should consider the food on offer at the school and atmosphere of the school canteen. They should:
consider how lunch time and the dining space contribute to good behaviour and the culture in the school, including by spending time in the lunch hall, and
ask school leaders how they help to ensure a healthy lifestyle for their children and, specifically, whether their dietary needs have been considered.
There is a big focus on bullying – how schools are addressing this and what pupils’ perceptions are. In order to evaluate pupils’ attitudes to homophobia and other forms of prejudice, the guidance says inspectors should specifically ask pupils about the type of language they hear around the school. This should be compared to responses from staff in order to test the school’s attitudes to such issues. Inspectors should also explore with a range of staff, including teaching assistants, the training they have had about different aspects of bullying, including prejudice-based bullying; how confident they feel as result; how well supported they are by senior staff when they encounter bullying and how they promote an understanding of individual differences through the curriculum. In particular, inspectors should consider how pupils are taught about diversity in subjects such as personal, social and health education (PSHE) and citizenship.
Safeguarding remains a priority. Safeguarding practice and guidance is underpinned by a duty for schools to cooperate with relevant agencies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
Inspectors should check the single central record to ensure that adults working with pupils are appropriately recruited and vetted. Other evidence will come from discussions with the headteacher, governors’ representatives and other staff which explore management responsibilities for child protection and the training and support for safeguarding.
Inspectors should observe pupils around the school and discuss with them whether the school helps pupils to keep safe, encourages them to adopt safe and responsible practices, and to deal sensibly with risk. Inspectors should include e-safety in their discussions with pupils, covering topics such as safe use of the internet and social networking sites and cyber bullying including by text message, and the measures the school takes to promote safe use and combat unsafe use.
Lots here to emphasise the importance of staff training, high quality policy and procedures, and support systems for pupils.
Also published are the new Ofsted generic grade descriptors and supplementary subject-specific guidance for inspectors on making judgements during visits to schools. All curriculum areas are covered – but here Supplementary subject-specific guidance for PSHE education are the PSHE ones.
Quite a lot to be thinking about, about and if that wasn’t enough we’ve begun interviews for our new cohort of trainee teaches to work with us and Calthorpe Teaching School from September. Very excitingly, we are now also able to provide the brand new Early Years Initial Teacher Training programme. Early Years Initial Teacher Training (EYITT) is the training and assessment of Early Years Teachers against the Early Years Teachers’ Standard which were published in July 2013. These build on the Early Years Professional Status Standards and operate in parallel with the Teachers’ Standards. Trainees passing successfully through EYITT programmes will be awarded Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS). There will be lots more information about this soon, and we will be holding a briefing in February for early year providers interested in taking on a trainee. If you can’t wait until then and want to know more, contact Kathy on kathy.bird@servicesforeducation.co.uk.
Oh yes – and don’t forget – final places still available for the ‘Working with Young People Around Pornography’ and ‘Introduction to Counselling Skills’ courses. And we promise – there will not be a mince pie in sight!
Services for Education 