A-Z Listing
A
About the Virtual school
The Virtual School is a small, joint agency, countywide team of specialist staff from education and social care set up in 2001 to improve the educational achievement and experience of Buckinghamshire’s children in care. Since September 2021, following the child in need review, the government made a commitment to extend this duty to all children with a social worker (for more information see: new duty for children with a social worker). Our roles: Leadership: Emma Owen - Virtual Scho…
Accessibility Statement
Buckinghamshire Council is committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability. The following accessibility statement is written for the Traded services extranet. This extranet should allow any user to: Change colours, contrast levels and size of text. Modify the line height or spacing of text. Zoom in up to 200% without the text spilling off the page. Navigate most of the extranet using just a keyboard. N…
Accountability and Pupil Premium Workshop
Thank you for attending the workshop on Friday, Below are the presentation and recording. Recording Accountability and pupil premium - Yvette and Marc Rowland
Additional presenting needs
These additional presenting needs could occur as a result of some of the previous speech and language difficulties. Strategies to support difficulty with reading Difficulty learning phonics where there is a speech sound disorder. The child's inventory of sounds may be small, vowels may be distorted together with many other features. There may be difficulty marrying letters and speech sounds together. When decoding or sounding out, the child cannot blend and hear the words they are p…
Additional vetting checks
Teaching regulation agency checks In addition to obtaining the DBS certificate, anyone who is appointed to carry out teaching work will require an additional check to ensure they are not prohibited from teaching – the prohibition order. A prohibition order means that the person concerned is not allowed to undertake unsupervised teaching work in schools or other settings. LA maintained schools: Prohibited from teaching for TAs are not required. LA maintained schools: For HLTAs are requi…
Addressing Needs of Vulnerable Groups Conference
This was a half-day conference to explore the local and national issue of closing attainment gaps for specific groups of pupils. Agenda Disproportionality Oliver Foxell Operations Manager, Youth Offending Service Watch Disproportionality (YouTube) Odd One Out Carol-Anne McCollum Executive Co-Headteacher, The Three Schools Watch Odd One Out (YouTube) Achievement for All: An evidence-based approach to improving outcomes Clare Pankhania Headteacher Highworth Combined School Watch Achie…
Admissions arrangements (statutory)
Applies to: MS, Acad, FS Background: The School Admissions Code applies to all schools. The Local Authority sets admission arrangements for Community and Voluntary Controlled schools, Voluntary Aided, Foundation and Academies determine their own arrangements. Approval: Full governing board or a committee of the governing board where the school is an admissions authority. Review frequency: Arrangements to be determined annually. Any changes must be consulted on and where no cha…
Advice Service
The Virtual School has launched a new advice service which goes live on 4th April 2022. There are two elements to this service. There is a new dedicated inbox for schools to contact with queries, concerns or burning issues related children with social workers in their settings. Virtual School staff will respond with advice and guidance either by email or a telephone call. adviceline.thevirtualschool@buckinghamshire.gov.uk Where there are more complex cases there will be a tria…
An introduction to ‘Theraplay’ with some practical applications for use with children and young people
‘Theraplay was developed for any professional working to support healthy child /caregiver attachment. Strong attachment between the child and the important adults in their life has long been believed to be the basis of lifelong good mental health as well as the mainstay of resilience in the face of adversity. Modern brain research and the field of neuroscience have shown that attachment is the way in which children come to understand, trust and thrive in their world.’ (The Theraplay Insti…
Analyse School Performance (ASP)
ASP is a web-based interactive tool developed by Ofsted and the Department for Education (DfE). It allows schools to review their performance data to support self-evaluation . It is also the main source of data for School Improvement Advisers and OfSTED Inspectors. The system is accessed through the DfE Secure Access system : DfE Secure Access system Please note that the Local Authority is unable to set up new accounts or reset passwords for users – this is managed directly by DfE. Sch…
Anaphylaxis kit
Overview It's good practice for schools to store an emergency anaphylaxis kit which includes: 1 or more Adrenaline Auto Injectors (AAI's) and instructions on how to use them a checklist of injectors (identified by their batch number and expiry date with monthly checks recorded) a note of the arrangements for replacing the injectors a list of pupils to whom the AAI can be administered This should be kept alongside an emergency asthma inhaler kit (containing a salbutamol i…
Annual Reviews
The Annual Review of an Education Health and Care plan (EHCP) is not only a meeting but a process by which the outcomes set out in the EHC Plan and the effectiveness of provision are reviewed alongside all other sections of the EHCP. EHCPs must be reviewed and the process completed by the local authority (LA) as a minimum within every 12 months. For pre-schoolers with EHCPs, this review must be within 6 months. Please send the completed Record of Annual Review document, alongside all othe…
Anti-bullying
These pages have information and advice for schools, including resources. The clear message for all children and young people should be: If you see bullying, pause before reacting, talk to a trusted adult and reach out to the person under attack For more information on the anti-bullying work in Buckinghamshire visit Bucks Safeguarding . Don't face it alone Coordinated by the Diana Award, sign up here to receive lots of resources to support children and young people, parents…
AnyComms Plus
AnyComms Plus secure transfer If your organisation handles personal information about individuals, you have a number of legal obligations to protect that information. If the information you intend to share is of a personal, confidential or sensitive nature, it should only ever be sent via secure, encrypted transmission methods. To facilitate this process, a secure,web-based file transfer system (AVCO AnyComms Plus) is available to schools. The system allows files to be sent securely betwe…
AnyComms Plus v16 upgrade
On 6/7th August 2019 the AnyComms Plus system was upgraded. The below covers some of the key changes users need to be aware of. For all users, including school, early years setting and Local Authority users To improve security on the site, users are encouraged to change their password regularly. As a minimum, users will now need to change their passwords every 180 days . For most users, this will mean that you will be asked to reset your password the first time you log into the upgraded s…
Appendices
Any appendices referenced in the toolkit can be downloaded below. Please download the appendices to be able to type directly onto the document (where required). This can then be saved digitally or printed. Appendices 1 to 5 Appendices 1 to 5 include screening and audit tools for whole-school early identification of pupils at risk of becoming EBSNA, identifying gaps in provision for students, and tasks to help teachers and parents support individuals. Appendix 6 Appendix 6 (EBSNA for…
Applicants who have lived abroad
Obtaining a Certificate of Good Conduct (CGC) is part of the safer recruitment policy operated by Buckinghamshire Council. As a DBS Check only includes offences committed within the UK, if an applicant has lived abroad for 6 months or longer in the last 5 years a CGC is also required. What is a CGC? A CGC is a police check from the country(ies) where an individual lived preceding the DBS check. Your vetting will not be complete until a CGC has been obtained and is in addition to the…
Application for free school meals - schools not signed up
Introduction All mainstream schools in Buckinghamshire have an obligation to provide Free School Meals to eligible children that attend full time. Parents apply directly to the school if they consider their child(ren) eligible to receive Free School Meals. Eligibility is judged against the benefits that the applying parent/carer is entitled to. If you have not signed up for the new The Eligibility Checking Service but would like further details then please contact the team by email fsmecs…
Application for Free School Meals - Signed up Schools
Introduction All mainstream schools in Buckinghamshire have an obligation to provide Free School Meals to eligible children that attend full time. Parents apply directly to the school if they consider their child(ren) eligible to receive Free School Meals. Eligibility is judged against the benefits that the applying parent/carer is entitled to. Signing up for the Eligibility Checking Service means that parents do not usually have to submit paper evidence to support their claims to different…
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeship training Apprenticeships are available for bringing in new talent, and to train existing staff. Training funding can be drawn down from the BC Apprenticeship Levy Account. Guide for schools Information about the apprenticeship process is available below. Apprenticeships - BC guide for schools Apprenticeships are work-based programmes designed by employers that are linked directly to job roles. They give an employee: the chance to receive structured high…
Approaches to Support
Evidence and experience of working in schools that perform well by their disadvantaged pupils tells us the following: Pupil need, not labels; assessment, not assumption should be informing our approach to tackling disadvantage. Schools need to adopt and embed a culture where all staff hold disadvantaged pupils in high regard and believe they can attain well, irrespective of background or barriers to learning. Everyone needs to feel an ownership and responsibility for the strategy. S…
Appropriate Body for Early Career Teachers
Buckinghamshire Council are no longer taking Early Career Teacher Registrations ECT Registration 2023 – 24 Please be aware that, as a Local Authority we are no longer able to take any ECT registrations from September 2024. If you need to register your ECT you must contact Astra Teaching School Hub or Alban Teaching School Hub For any queries please contact ECT@buckinghamshire.gov.uk or 07824 482570 From September 2023: Astra Teaching School Hub Appropriate Body will conti…
Approved supplier list for school meal services
The Council has carried out a selection process with organisations who have expressed an interest in becoming involved in supplying catering services to our schools. The Council has encouraged interest from small and medium enterprises, and local/national organisations that may be able to support service development and delivery including: Innovative solutions Packed lunch services Locally sourced products Vending Services - as well as traditional catering services. The…
Assessment Data Statutory Collections
All schools and academies are required to submit assessment data to the Local Authority (LA) for each eligible pupil for the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile, Year 1 Phonics check (including Year 2 Phonics rechecks where required) and Key Stage 1 Teacher Assessment. Key Stage 2 Teacher Assessments need to be submitted via the Primary Assessment Gateway . For 2023 collections schools are asked to send results to the School Management Support Team (SMST) by the following dates: EYFSP Mo…
Asthma inhaler kit
Overview Schools should consider keeping more than one emergency asthma kit, especially if covering more than one site, to ensure that all children within the school environment are close to a kit. They must not be locked away in a cupboard or an office where access is restricted. Where to purchase You can purchase inhaler kits online or via a local pharmacy. Pharmacists will need a request signed by the principal or headteacher (ideally on appropriately headed paper) stating:…
Attendance policies
Background The Government expects: Schools and Local Authorities to: promote good attendance and reduce absence, including persistent absence; ensure every pupil has access to full-time education to which they are entitled; act early to address patterns of absence. Parents to perform their legal duty by ensuring their children of compulsory school age who are registered at school attend regularly. All pupils to be punctual to lessons. Amendments for the Edu…
Autism Toolbox
Whether or not you have an autism diagnosis, this toolbox will: support you in a variety of situations you may not have faced before make you feel more comfortable dealing with autistic behaviour help you make sure that your child with autism feels happy, confident and loved The Autism Toolbox for parents and carers
Autistic Spectrum Disorder
We support Children and Young People with Educational Health Care Plans identifying the primary need of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We can provide support as needed, which may include: Classroom observation to inform inclusive practice Monitoring and recording progress Support with planning differentiation 1:1/social groups Advice on classroom management strategies Advice on managing the learning environment Support to ensure access to the Curriculum Worki…
Autistic Spectrum Disorder Support
We support Children and Young People with Educational Health Care Plans identifying the primary need of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We can provide support as needed, which may include: Classroom observation to inform inclusive practice Monitoring and recording progress Support with planning differentiation 1:1/social groups Advice on classroom management strategies Advice on managing the learning environment Support to ensure access to the Curriculum Worki…
Aylesbury
The Buckinghamshire Integrated SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) Service is a dedicated group of professionals that provide support and services to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, their families and educational settings.
Aylesbury SENDCo Network Liaison Meetings
The network sessions provide an opportunity for SENDCos to come together and work collaboratively with other schools in their area to: Discuss and explore areas of interest Solution-focused approach to supporting individual pupils To build connections Learn about local authority initiatives, updates and policies Upcoming dates Group Name Specialist Teacher Autumn 1 Spring 1 Summer 1 Secondary 1 Jane Lewis Tuesday 3 October 1pm to 2pm,…
Aylesbury Specialist Teacher Support
Support for Schools As part of our Tiered Approach to supporting schools, Specialist Teachers will be able to provide advice for early intervention for pupils on SEND Support and for those with EHC plans. To Access Specialist Teacher Support please book an advice session using the appropriate link below: Cognition and Learning Support via Eventbrite Autism Support via Eventbrite Language Support via Eventbrite Each session provides half an hour, of support for an individual sc…