Please note: The Local Authority has not undertaken any quality assurance checks on items relating to goods, services and training events submitted by external organisations in this section.
If you have any problems opening the links please contact diane.hunter@halton.gov.uk
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Governance and IT access considerations
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Roadmap to Statutory RSE
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Safety bulletin update
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Foster Carer Referral
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GCHQ’s NCSC inspire cyber-capable young women
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Beauty and the Beast Pantomime
Governance and IT access considerations
Applies to-All schools
Dear Headteacher
I have outlined below the information governance and IT access considerations in respect of departing school employees – collectively referred to as a “Leaver”.This sets out what should happen before the Leaver leaves the school. All Leavers should discuss with the Headteacher the arrangements they have made for information handover.
The Headteacher and Leavers should ensure that any information and/or documents held in the Leaver’s email systems are transferred to other record systems prior to leaving. This helps to retain organisational knowledge and history of decision making. Information handover arrangements should include some or all of the following:
- Ensuring storage of information in the relevant (and specified) areas of the school’s managed storage facilities. This includes any shared network drives and functional email systems.
- Setting up an out-of-office message on the Leaver’s email account giving an alternative point of contact e.g. stating “X has now left the school, please send your enquiries to person Y (email address) or person Z (email address) so that your request can be dealt with”.
- Removing Leavers from limited access functional email accounts and shared folders.
- Changing passwords on folders containing confidential and sensitive information.
School email accounts should not be set to redirect to a personal email account.
Mailbox contents should not be copied and kept as personal property: Email is provided for school work purposes and all communications are the property of the school. This principle applies to all school employees. The same principle applies to all documents created by employees during their period of employment at the school.
In advance of their last day the Headteacher should ensure that the Leaver has complied with the above guidance.
The school email account should then be deleted, along with all of its emails, three months after the employee has left.’
Peter Richmond | Divisional Manager – Service Improvement and Governance ( Council’s DPO) | Resources, ICT Services
Roadmap to Statutory RSE
Applies to-All schools
On 13 November, the Sex Education Forum and PHSE Association published a new ‘Roadmap to statutory RSE‘, supported by 5 education unions.
The Roadmap is a one-page digital tool with a series of hyperlinked buttons that guide schools through the actions and resources needed in order to provide high quality RSE ready for the statutory requirement. SEF and the PSHE Association designed the Roadmap with Heads and Senior Leaders in schools in mind, to use together with their
PSHE Leads and governor leading on RSE. The step by step approach breaks the task of preparing for statutory RSE into manageable chunks.
Teachers’ survey
To coincide with the launch of the Roadmap, SEF published preliminary findings from a survey of 240 teachers of RSE in England. The survey found that 29% of those teaching RSE had not had any training in the subject at all. 20% said they lacked confidence in adapting teaching to meet the needs of children with SEND, and 21% said they lacked confidence on making the curriculum LGBT inclusive. Interestingly, the topics that teachers and other staff said they feel least confident teaching pupils in secondary schools about include contraception, pregnancy options, STIs, accessing sexual health services and giving guidance on sexually explicit information online – all topics included in the draft RSE guidance for statutory delivery from 2020.
Safety bulletin update
Applies to-All schools
Please see the attached safety bulletin
Foster Carer Referral Scheme
Applies to-All schools
“The Halton Fostering Team have recently launched a rewards scheme giving school staff employed by Halton Borough Council the opportunity to earn multiple payments up to £500! The Foster Carer Referral Rewards Scheme encourages staff to refer friends, relatives or other contacts who are interested in fostering to the Halton Fostering Service.
In addition to payments, staff can rest assured that they are positively impacting the outcomes for Halton’s vulnerable children and young people by helping to increase the number of in-house foster carers.
There’s a wealth of information about becoming a foster carer on the new Foster4 website www.foster4.co.uk
To find out more about this scheme please download the information sheet, call 0800 195 3175 or email fostering@halton.gov.uk
GCHQ’s NCSC inspire cyber-capable young women
Applies to-All schools
see attached for more information
see attached for more information
see attached for more information
see attached for more information
Registration opens at midday on Monday 10 December.
From that moment, a registration button will appear at: https://www.cyberfirst.ncsc.gov.uk/girlscompetition/Teachers, of any subject, can enter a team (of up to 4) girls. A school can enter as many teams as they wish. Neither the students, nor the teacher that enters a team/acts as the team guardian, need to have specialist IT skills to enter the competition.It is really easy to register a team, following some simple steps available at the above address.The competition then begins with a week-long online round on Monday 21 January 2019, during which the teams attempt to complete a series of challenges.Registration closes on Monday 28 January 2019, so schools can enter teams during the online round (albeit with less time to then complete the challenges).
The top ten teams will compete in a face-to-face Grand Final in Edinburgh on 24-25 March. In addition to the challenges, the finalists get to enjoy a series of fun activities. Winners will receive £1,000 toward school computing equipment as well as individual prizes. Have a look at the highlights video from last year’s final: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJkHmpqfAio
Beauty and the Beast Pantomime
Applies to-All schools
Please See attached
There are still some schools seats available for the Brindley’s brilliant festive pantomime BEAUTY & THE BEAST! Presented by Polka Dot Pantomimes, the panto stars Sugababe Amelle Berrabah as Fairy Sugababe, Brindley favourites Rebecca Lake as Belle, Charlie Griffiths as Grimalkin, Christopher Pym as the Beast and Andrew Curphey as French Franc. Robert Squire is Dame Dolly Doughnut. Our annual festive Pantomime, full of spectacular scenery, dazzling costumes, hilarious jokes, singalong songs and fun for all the family. A truly magical family panto! Beauty & the Beast runs from Monday 10 December until Sunday 13 January.
CONTACT THE BRINDLEY BOX OFFICE ON 0151 907 8360 OR E MAIL: thebrindley@halton.gov.uk. For more information see: www.thebrindley.org.uk