The Education People Newsletter Spring 2023

Refugee Support Package

Our experts in the Equality Diversity Inclusion Team (EDIT) have recently launched the Refugee Support Package, an extensive new package designed to support schools in welcoming, inducting and teaching refugees and new arrivals from early years to across all key stages. The team have been working tirelessly with teachers and TAs supporting these pupils and in the last year they have worked with communities from Afghanistan, Ukraine and with the many new arrivals from other countries during these times of increased mobility.

They see wonderful practice in classrooms but are very aware that teachers need support, guidance, strategies, access to CPD and networking opportunities; staff are working with completely new communities, many having experienced very difficult times and pupils who are often at the earliest stages of English. They have also consulted with schools across the UK who are supporting refugees and new arrivals and have based this package on their needs.

The Refugee Support Package is based on extensive knowledge and strategies gleaned over the last 20 years. Teaching refugees and new arrivals with English as an Additional Language (EAL) isn’t simply a matter of teaching them English as we have all learnt.

The package contains strategies on:

• induction

• assessment

• working through challenging times

• ways of encouraging children to speak

• helping them to feel settled and seen

• supporting curriculum access

• classroom immersion

• identifying special educational needs.

By purchasing the Refugee Support Package you will have access to:

• three refugee networking meetings per year

• three EAL Pedagogy HUB meetings per year. EAL good practice strategies and current research are shared covering listening and understanding, speaking, reading and writing.

• an E-learning module on supporting refugees and new arrivals

• a resources pack (updated seasonally)

• two EDIT CPD Online courses for two members of staff.

I loved the training! So many good ideas and resources. It took me back to my old EAL days. Everything was great and the practical suggestions are amazing. I’ll be looking at the recommended websites and discussing it with my colleagues in our next meeting.

Highgate School

So many teachers came away feeling more confident thanks to you. Lots of teachers have said that it’s been the most helpful CPD we’ve had in a long time!

St James Church of England Primary School, Tunbridge Wells

Pricing

For a one off payment of £595 (+VAT) you can see from the table below just how much you would save compared to purchasing individual support. The package initially runs to 31 March 2024.

available separately.

Information and guidance

EAL teaching strategies and tools

Basic English for new arrivals

Assessment

Translation Tools Audit (self assessment)

For further details on the Refugee Support Package or to purchase please visit our website

Let’s Meet the Equality Diversity Inclusion Team

EDIT are a team of expert professionals. They are passionate about enabling, educating and training schools to support their refugees and new arrivals, therefore providing the very best outcomes for these children, young people and wider communities.

Tracy Crute supports equality, diversity and inclusion in schools. Her passion is welcoming and supporting refugees and new arrivals. She is experienced in training about racist incidents.

Bhupinder Gill has over thirty years experience within minority ethnic achievement. She has worked extensively on black pupils’ achievement and providing equalities training.

Isobel Whiley covers all aspects of EAL inclusion and promoting schools linking around identity. She specialises on Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) and LGBTQi+ inclusion.

To get in contact with EDIT please email EDIT@theeducationpeople.org

Supported Employment in Schools Programme

This programme:

• is fully funded by KCC as part of the commitment to the Preparation for Adulthood agenda

• adds value and aspirational support for employment by strengthening the existing careers information, advice and guidance programme for SEND students

• is time limited (the funding for the programme ends in 2024).

The Education People’s Specialist Employment Service are delighted to have been appointed to work with all mainstream schools across Kent to embed the Supported Employment model within schools. They will be adding value and aspirational support for employment by strengthening the existing careers information, advice and guidance programme for SEND students.

Impact of Supported Employment in Schools

SEND students will become the following:

• Self-aware - in terms of skills, qualities and progression routes to employment and experience of work.

• Opportunity aware - of the labour market, employer expectations, career pathways, confident decision makers, understand transition to work.

• Confident decision makers and their aspirations will be raised - to decide which pathways are suitable for them and to help inform their EHCP (where appropriate).

• Successfully and sustainably transitioned into the next stages of their lives - be it paid work, work experience or further education to gain qualifications needed for their informed careers pathway.

• Less likely to become NEET as they will have been supported at an earlier age to look at progression routes.

• Empowered to make independent decisions to enable them to lead full lives as members of society.

Schools will be able to do the following:

• Understand the value of the Supported Employment Model and embed it into the careers strategy.

• Recognise how to support a student into sustainable employment suitable for each student’s needs.

• Communicate the strategy with parents/carers.

• Facilitate appropriate engagement with employers to gain trust, lasting relationships and provide sustainable outcomes for students.

• Job coach effectively in the workplace using the Training in Systematic Instruction model (TSI) to successfully fade support from both the employee or work experience candidate and the employer.

The Three-stage Delivery Model

Stage 1 - Consultancy

Reviewing the schools’ current careers strategy, identifying need and introducing the Supported Employment Model using a toolkit to evidence progression to embed the model.

Stage 2 - Training

A suite of six training courses directly linked to the Supported Employment Model. This element of the programme has been designed in collaboration with schools to ensure it meets requirements for schools.

Stage 3 - Mentoring

Allocated mentor to work in the school to support with embedding all aspects of the model.

Training in Systemic Instruction (TSI) Video

Please take a look at our video featuring Ben Carne, an Employment Support Officer Mentor for the Specialist Employment Service. Ben is working on the supported employment contract aiming to embed supported employment and the supported employment model across Kent within mainstream schools. In this video Ben is speaking with Ben Doggett who is a Careers Leader within a Kent secondary school about the effectiveness of TSI.

The Supported Employment in Schools Programme has allowed myself and my team to build a more structured and systematic approach to our work experience and careers programme. Their knowledge of the Gatsby Benchmarks, in line with Ofsted, has given us greater insight into what we need to provide for our students whilst still focusing on the needs of the children within the context of the school.

- Mrs R Giles, SENCO and Director of English, St John's Catholic Comprehensive School

Charlotte Burford would be delighted to discuss the programme with you – please contact her directly at: charlotte.burford@theeducationpeople.org or call her on 03301 651 447.

Wellbeing Training Package for Primary Schools

The Wellbeing Training Package for Primary Schools supports those leading on mental health and wellbeing in primary schools, academies or across an academy trust.

Included in This Extensive Package

1) One day per year wellbeing lead training (live online)

This training will help you to embed the key skills, approaches and systems required to develop a whole school approach for wellbeing. Various dates are offered throughout the year to attend one live training course for professionals leading on wellbeing in education. The training offers the wellbeing lead support by giving them the tools to develop clear intent and strategy, which can be used to drive change forward and cascade to staff to embed throughout the whole school community.

2) Three network sessions per academic year (two hours live online)

Run by Kelly Hannaghan, The Education People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Consultant, these interactive and informative live sessions will provide you with updates on national and local strategies and requirements as well as an insight on Ofsted requirements, feedback through inspection data and shared knowledge from other professionals and multi agencies ensuring you are always kept up to date.

Recent topics covered in the networking sessions include the following.

• How the wellbeing lead can support the staff’s wellbeing when staff morale is low.

• How to recognise and put strategies in place to support children’s challenging behaviours, for example social avoidance, lack of concentration and struggling to form positive relationships with staff and peers.

• Strategies to support children with ABSA (anxiety based school avoidance).

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3) One place at our virtual Mental Health and Wellbeing Conference (live online)

- 13 June 2023

Our Mental Health and Wellbeing Conference will examine how we can support the mental health of whole school communities and how to adopt, implement and embed an effective and sustainable approach to wellbeing.

The programme will be packed with timely keynotes and practical workshops that will have a meaningful impact on your staff and students.

Highlights of the Conference

Culture

Ensure that your school/setting is a proactive, healthy setting that can selfregulate from students to staff members.

Engage

Engage staff, students and parents with new approaches to develop a positive whole school approach for mental health and wellbeing.

Resilience

Take away practical strategies and resources to create a robust community, equipped to overcome adversity and thrive in uncertain times.

Key topics include: worry management, anxiety, low mood, depression, staff wellbeing, SEMH, engaging parents and carers, developing the role of senior mental health leads and the cost of living crisis.

4) Up to eight recorded training sessions per year

Discover innovative ideas to support the emotional health of school leaders across the sessions and review the factors that relate to the measuring and monitoring of pupil and staff wellbeing. Gain insight into developing a clear strategy to embed a purposeful wellbeing curriculum across your school community using a whole school approach.

The recorded training sessions focus on a variety of elements that underpin the whole school approach as well as establishing a robust wellbeing framework within your school. These sessions are designed to help you to gain and share ideas to develop an effective approach for engaging parents, carers and staff to raise outcomes for pupils.

Session 1 | Whole approach leadership and management

Session 2 | Enabling student voice to influence decisions

Session 3 | The personal and professional development of staff to support their own, and students wellbeing

Session 4 | Identifying needs and monitoring the impact of interventions

Session 5 | Working with parents and carers

Session 6 | Targeted support and appropriate referrals

The cost of the complete package is £400 (+VAT) or 40 credits For further details or to purchase please visit our website

CHIRP - Confidence, Happiness, Independence, Resilience and Pride

As a country we are seeing an alarming rise in the number of young people seeking help for mental health issues. In the past three years the likelihood of young people having mental health issues has increased by 50% (Children’s Health Society, 2022) and a 2021 National Health Survey reported 5.5% of children aged two to four suffering from mental health difficulties.

We know that the first five years of children’s lives lay important foundations for their future selves. It has never seemed more important to make sure that we are ‘getting it right’ for children from a much earlier age.

Children need adults – parents, carers and educators – to work together to support their wellbeing. We can do this by all being aware of the importance of equipping them with CHIRP - Confidence, Happiness, Independence, Resilience and Pride as a fundamental part of everything we do for them.

Children should be supported to manage emotions, develop a positive sense of self, set themselves simple goals, have confidence in their own abilities.

- Development Matters, 2021

The Education People’s Early Years & Childcare Service has a shared moral purpose to do all that we can, both directly and indirectly, to improve educational outcomes and life chances for our youngest children. We believe in the power of partnership and collaboration, understanding that the very best outcomes are delivered only when we work together.

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The CHIRP Toolkit

Confident, Happy, Independent, Resilient, Proud: Supporting our Young Children to be CHIRP, mirrors these values, bringing to the early years sector a publication rooted in outstanding knowledge and experience of early childhood development and a deep understanding of the context of the early years workforce.

Whilst the CHIRP Toolkit has been produced for the early years and childcare sector, the content spans all ages and is as relevant for adults as it is for our youngest children. Following the introduction that shares exactly why we need our children to be CHIRP,

each section looks closely at ‘What you Can See’ and ‘Things You Can Do’ to support the development of each of the traits, giving a range of practical ideas and examples. All the information is transferable to children, young people and adults.

The CHIRP Toolkit is competitively priced at £25 (exc. VAT and P&P). For further details or to purchase visit our website or contact ThreadsofSuccess@theeducationpeople.org

Our Introduction to the CHIRP Toolkit training will support you in introducing CHIRP into your setting. Please visit Kent CPD Online to find out when the next course is available.

News In Brief

We hope you were able to attend our The Education People Show 2022 back in November last year. It was wonderful to see and talk to so many delegates and we hope you enjoyed the day. We are delighted that our free-to-attend annual show will be returning again this year and will be held on 8 November 2023. Alongside motivational keynotes and inspiring workshops the floor exhibition will be full of education suppliers to support your establishment. There will also be plenty of opportunities for networking. Join us at Detling Showground, Kent for The Education People Show 2023.

Have a look at our latest primary CPD Leaders Training Update. These regular updates give you details about our conferences, TEP Talks, E-learning, webinars, training packages and our Event Catalogue which lists our many training courses. For more information on our extensive offer please visit our website.

Our Primary School Improvement Training Package will enable you and your staff to attend as many of our primary school improvement online training courses as you like for a fixed cost –no additional charges and no limits on the number of attendees from your school!

We have an extensive and varied selection of courses on offer covering a wide range of topics designed for staff members at all levels. The courses include E-learning, pre-recorded webinars and live and interactive online training courses. All courses are of the highest quality; developed and delivered by our in-house and national and internationally-renowned education experts.