CONTENT
Elective Home Education
Welcoming pupils safely back to school
The School Information (England) Regulations 2020
Halton’s Youth Provision
Send us a welcome back to school video
COVID-19 Funds
Elective Home Education
Applies to- All Schools
Dear Colleague
The numbers of Electively Home Educated (EHE) children has risen significantly in Halton with over 15 queries from Parents who have already decided to or are considering Home Schooling their children in the last few days. Can you please ensure that a conversation is held with parents prior to removing a child from roll at your school, in the hope that any anxieties around the current COVID-19 situation can be alleviated and the opportunity to discuss alternative options are fully explored. A number of the referrals are because a parent is worried about Covid and they have not discussed their concerns with anyone at school.
Please can I also ask you to have all relevant information once a parent notifies you and complete the pupil tracking form attached, before you forward the details to the designated inbox (cme@halton.gov.uk). A number of the referrals from schools to date have only included an email from parent and the tracking form has not been completed.Pupil Tracking Notification Form
Thank you for your help in this important matter.
Regards
Ann McIntyre
Welcoming pupils safely back to school
Applies to-All Schools
As the new school term begins, you can refer to www.halton.gov.uk/backtoschool to find information to support children, young people, parents and carers who may have concerns about returning to school.
- The “Back to school guide” has information about the changes children can expect to see.
- The “What is normal? Top tips for coping with anxiety” information sheet has strategies and advice about difficult situations.
- “My back to school bubble” is a story that explores the experience of returning to school during a pandemic.
Do you want to record a welcome back to school video that we can use on council social media pages? A great opportunity to showcase your school, promote a safe return and all the hard work behind the safety changes.
Please contact anne.taylor@halton.gov.uk for more information or to send your recordings.
The School Information (England) Regulations 2020
Applies to- All Schools
In 2019 the Department for Education ran a consultation entitled “Financial transparency of local authority maintained schools and academy trusts” and has begun implementing the proposals as per the government response.
The School Information (England) Regulations 2020 take effect from 1 January 2021 and require maintained schools to publish on their website the number of school employees (if any) whose gross annual salary is £100,000 or more in £10,000 bands. Schools may display this information however they wish, although we recommend doing so via a table.
Schools must also publish a link to the specific page on the Schools Financial Benchmarking dedicated to their school using the unique reference number allocated to the school by the Department for Education. For example: https://schools-financial-benchmarking.service.gov.uk/school/detail?urn=234567
After “urn=” you will need to insert your school’s URN. If you do not know your URN you can find it on Get information about schools (GIAS).
Further guidance relating to the information that schools must publish online is available on GOV.UK.
Halton’s Youth Provision
Applies to- All Schools
John Bucknall who is a Commissioning Manager in the Integrated Commissioning team is undertaking some research into what the future of the youth provision in Halton should look like. We have created a short survey for parents/carers of any of Halton’s young people and are hoping it can be published widely throughout Halton. please click on the link
Send us a welcome back to school video
Applies to- All Schools
As part of our back to school campaign, we thought it would be great if head teachers, teachers and/ or staff recorded and sent us a short informal welcome back video (on a smart phone or other device).
The video would be used on the council website and on social media channels to promote a safe return and a warm welcome back to school. It’s also a great opportunity to showcase the school and the hard work behind new safety measures and changes.
If you are interested in recording your own a welcome back video for your school, please let me know this week.
Anne Taylor
Marketing Assistant | Communications and Marketing | Halton Borough Council
0151 511 6696 | anne.taylor@halton.gov.uk
Website | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube
COVID-19 Funds
Applies to- All Schools
Please find attached the latest Coronavirus Funds list. If you need help applying please give us a call on 0151 511 7214 or email funding@halton.gov.uk