Menu

Updates, News & Resources

New DfE Governance Guides

New DfE Governance Guides

The Department for Education (DfE) has replaced The Governance Handbook with two new governance guides. It is important to note that the guides do not introduce new policy and are aimed to be shorter and more accessible. The existing Governance Handbook, Competency Framework and Governance Structures and Role Descriptors have now been archived.

Any critical information will be captured in either the Governance Guides or the Academies Trust Handbook, whichever is most appropriate.

The guides can be accessed via the following links:

Maintained Schools Governance Guidance

Academy Trust Governance Guidance

 

Mobile Phones in Schools Guidance

The Department for Education (DfE) have published guidance and a toolkit for individual schools and trusts on how to develop, implement and maintain a policy that prohibits the use of mobile phones throughout the school day.

This non-statutory guidance should be considered alongside the behaviour in schools guidance which supports schools in establishing calm, safe and supportive environments conducive to teaching, and keeping children safe in education. This guidance should not be taken as a complete or definitive statement of the law nor as a substitute for the relevant legislation and legal advice should be sought as appropriate.

The guidance can be found via the www.gov.uk website, using the following LINK

Welcome to Chairing in Bolton

Have you recently been elected as the Chair of Governors, Local Board or Trust? Have you received your ‘Bolton Welcome to Chairing’ pack?

As part of the Clerking and Support Service, all new and recently elected Chairs receive the pack which provides information on the support available to Chairs in Bolton as well as a complimentary copy of the NGA Chair’s Handbook. (usually priced at £16 per copy)  The Chair’s Handbook is essential reading for those leading and aspiring to lead governing boards and committees in all types of school structure, as well as other executive leaders working with chairs of boards. The handbook covers:

  • leading governance in schools
  • becoming the chair
  • leading and developing the team
  • working with executive leaders
  • leading improvement
  • leading board business

If you have not yet received your Welcome to Chairing pack, please contact your Clerk to Governors/Governance Professional directly or via the team email at governance.services@bolton.gov.uk

Bolton Schools Forum – Election 2024

The Bolton Schools Forum is a key consultation group in all aspects of resourcing schools in relation to school budgets.  There are 31 members of the Schools Forum, 23 members are head teachers and governors of maintained schools and academies.

Of the representatives there are currently 4 maintained primary, 2 maintained secondary and 1 maintained special governor positions available for election.

The term of office is 4 years to commence from 15 April 2024 (1 September 2024 if a ballot is required) and Maintained Primary School Governors are invited to be nominated to fill the vacant positions. Those governors interested in standing for the positions should complete the attached form, countersigned by the Chair of the Governing Body they are wishing to be nominated by. (email confirmation from the chair is permissible in the absence of a ‘wet’ signature)

The form should be submitted to the LA Schools Finance Team by no later than Thursday 28 March 2024 at 4.00 pm. Following receipt of all nominations by the stated closing date and time, if the same number of nominations are received for the positions available, those governors will be duly elected.  If, however there are more nominations than the positions available, an election will be held.

Further guidance is enclosed with the nomination form which may be downloaded here (to the left)

National School Governors’ Awareness Day – Thursday 29 February 2024

The National School Governors’ Awareness Day will take place this year on Thursday 29 February 2024.

The free online event showcases governance, celebrates commitment and enhances recruitment of new governors. Your free digital pass enables you to access all sessions throughout the day.

The exciting programme of events, throughout the day will focus on the governance of inclusion in 2024. You will explore, with expert speakers, key aspects of education and school life where governance has a role to play in ensuring that their school or trust is inclusive of all, embracing the diversity of its community, delivering equality and equity for all.

This event is advertised via the National Co-ordinators of Governance Services, to which Bolton Governance Services is a regional member.

For further information and to book your free place for the online event, please access the following LINK

 

Bolton Virtual School Conference (The Power Of One Experience) – January 2024

For the very first time Bolton’s Virtual School are hosting The Power Of One Experience in January 2024! Introducing  “Drip By Drip Day By Day” – an exclusive event will be opened by Steven Russell, who draws from his personal journey through the care system, merging 16 years of professional care expertise with 18 years of his own childhood. We are hoping by the end of this event, you will depart feeling inspired, impacted, influenced and informed. In the afternoon will hear stories from kinship carers and the charity Kinship who have some exciting news and support available for children within kinship care!

The conference is running over two days, Tuesday 30th and Wednesday 31st January 2024, the agenda will be the same on both days – please book on for one day only! This experience is available to any professional who works with children with a Social Worker or those living within kinship care including those who work within Education, Children’s Services and Health. Bolton Governors and Trustees are welcome!

The poster attached (right) provides further information. The conference starts at 9am until 4:30pm, lunch will be provided and there will be a marketplace to meet with local services and providers. We have spaces for 400 delegates across the two days and hope the event will have a real impact on practice. To book your place please complete the google form below. If you have any questions please contact Bolton’s Virtual School. [ BOOK NOW ]

Bolton LA Seeking Governors to sit on School Exclusion Appeal Panels

The Bolton Local Authority Democratic Services Team are seeking to recruit additional Panel members for School Exclusion Appeal Hearings. These may be current or former school governors (of a maintained school, members of a PRU management committees and directors of academy trusts) who have served as a governor for at least 12 consecutive months in the last five years, provided they have not been teachers or headteachers during that time. Training will be provided, and payment is made for each hearing.

Parents and guardians have the right to lodge an appeal when a Governing Body of a School / Academy has made a decision to excluded their child from school.

The skills you should have include – the ability to impartially listen and evaluate arguments and evidence presented by both sides, decisiveness as decisions are made the same day and flexibility as Appeal Hearings are generally heard during working hours.

Please contact Ian Mulholland, Deputy Democratic Services on ian.mulholland@bolton.gov.uk to arrange an informal chat.

Bolton LA Seeking Governors to sit on School Admissions Appeal Panels

The Bolton Local Authority Democratic Services Team are seeking to recruit additional Panel members for School Admissions Appeal Hearings. Training will be provided, and payment is made for each day and half day.

Parents and guardians have the right to lodge an appeal when the Local Authority or Governing Body of a School / Academy has refused an application to admit a child. Bolton Council are responsible for arranging Independent Appeals Panels to hear these appeals for maintained schools and also arrange appeals for Academies, Foundation Schools and VA Schools across the Bolton area.

Appeals are heard by a Panel of trained volunteers, who are supported by an independent Clerk.

New volunteers are encouraged to join those who already make a valuable contribution to the appeals service. Please contact Ian Mulholland, Deputy Democratic Services on ian.mulholland@bolton.gov.uk to arrange an informal chat.

DfE calls governors and trustees to help drive up attendance

The Minister for Schools, Damian Hinds MP has written to governors and trustees thanking them for their dedication to making schools and trusts a great place for children to learn and ensuring they attend school.

The letter asks governing boards to support the Department’s new attendance campaign which reminds parents that moments matter, attendance counts, setting out practical steps governors can take to encourage good attendance.

The letter can be found via the NGA website using the following LINK

The press release is available via www.gov.uk website, using the following LINK

Sir Martyn Oliver begins term as HMCI

The new His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, begins with an immediate package of training for inspectors, a response to the Ruth Perry inquest and a Big Listen.

Ofsted has announced that school inspections will resume later in January in order for inspectors to undertake training on mental health and wellbeing. The training aims to help inspectors identify signs of stress and anxiety of leaders and staff during inspections and take steps to support them.

Sir Martyn also stated that his immediate priority is to respond to the concerns of the coroner’s inquest into the death of Ruth Perry and take time to “listen- to parents, to professionals in the sectors we work with, and to people with an interest in our work”

The full press release can be found via the www.gov.uk website using the following LINK

Guidance and Consultation on Supporting Gender-Questioning Pupils

The government has issued non-statutory gender questioning children draft guidance for schools. The guidance aims to support schools and colleges, emphasising the duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children, urging a cautious approach to requests for social transition.

The guidance highlights the importance of respectful environments, parental involvement, and the need for schools to actively consult on the draft guidance – the consultation will run for 12 weeks, closing on 12 March. The guidance highlights the significance of safety and fairness in sports, maintaining single-sex spaces, and considering alternatives where needed.

Schools and trusts are encouraged to actively participate in the consultation process to ensure that their views are heard and taken into account. Further information on the draft guidance, as well as how you can contribute to the consultation can be found by visiting the www.gov.uk website using the following links:

Gender Questioning Children Draft Guidance Link

Gender Questioning Children Consultation Link

BECOME – Children in Care: Guide for Governors & Trustees

BECOME, a charity for children in care and young care leavers, in partnership with Aaron King (9000 Lives.org) have created a Children in Care, Guide for school governors and trustees.

This is a short handbook that tells governors and trustees what they need to know about children in care (CIC). It explains the basics quickly and clearly, as well as giving sensible questions for governors to ask of their leaders.

The guide brings together the latest knowledge from both a national charity and local school perspective, it covers CIC from EYFS classes all the way up to Year 13. It applies to both academies and local authority schools.

BECOME use the term ‘children in care’ (or CIC for short). However, these same pupils are sometimes described as Looked After Children (LAC) or Children Looked After (CLA).

The guidance can be gained directly from the BECOME charity website, using the following LINK

Bolton Family Hubs Launch

The first Bolton Family Hubs will open their doors with five launch events taking place across the borough from September 30 to October 14. The sessions will herald the first wave of what will eventually be a network of eight Bolton Family Hubs which will be open by March 2025.

The hubs will provide joined up services supporting families with children up to the age of 19 years old, and up to 25 years for those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. The hubs will help ensure families have the knowledge, skills, and support to best care for their children, as well as looking after their own health and wellbeing.

The free drop-in sessions will feature fun activities, including face-painting, freebies, refreshments. Families will also be able to have their say on how the hubs should be developed and help design the Bolton Family Hub branding.

The new hubs are a result of Bolton being one of 75 local authorities to receive a share of the Government’s £302m Family Hub and Start for Life fund. The hubs are being delivered in partnership by the Council, Greater Manchester Mental Health and Bolton NHS Foundation Trusts, Bolton Together, Bolton Community and Voluntary Service and other community organisations. They will bring a wide range of family services together in one place to provide a broad range of support that will include advice and guidance on issues such as debt, welfare and housing.

Events will take place at:

  • Tonge Family Hub: 10am-3pm Sat, September 30 (Starkie Road, BL2 2ED)
  • Great Lever Family Hub: 12pm-5pm Wed, October 4 (Leonard Street, BL3 3AP)
  • Alexandra Family Hub 12pm-5pm Friday, October 6 (Blackledge Street, BL3 4BQ)
  • Farnworth Family Hub 12pm-5pm Friday, October 13 (King Street, BL4 7AP)
  • Oxford Grove Family Hub 10am-3pm Sat, October 14 (Oxford Grove, BL1 3BH)

Further information can  be downloaded via the ‘download’ button (to the right).

Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC): Guidance for Responsible Bodies

The Department for Education (DfE) has published updated guidance for responsible bodies of state funded education estates in England that have confirmed or suspected reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in their buildings. The guidance advises responsible bodies to vacate and restrict access to the spaces with confirmed RAAC. Spaces should remain out of use until appropriate mitigations are in place, even where they would have been deemed ‘non-critical’ previously.

The guidance is for school and college leaders, staff and governing bodies in further education colleges and designated institutions, sixth form colleges, maintained schools, academies and free schools, pupil referral units, city technology colleges, non-maintained special schools and maintained nursery schools.

Where RAAC is confirmed or suspected in these settings, leaders and relevant responsible bodies may want to consider the principles and approaches set out in this guidance in relation to managing their buildings and the mitigating actions necessary to ensure continuity of provision.

The guidance is available to download via the www.gov.uk website using the following LINK

Ofsted – School Inspection Handbook Update 2023

Ofsted has updated the school inspection handbook which comes into force from 1 September 2023.

Updates include an added section on ‘schools raising concerns’, which sets out when and how concerns can be raised about an inspection process. The handbook also details revised terminology relating to school governance roles and school structure to ensure consistency of understanding.

A summary of changes is available, and the full school inspection handbook can be found via the www.gov.uk website using the following LINK

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2023

The DfE (Department for Education) has updated its Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. The statutory guidance, which comes into effect from 1 September 2023, applies to all schools and academies and sets out the legal duties that must be followed to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people under the age of 18 in schools and colleges.

The full table of substantive changes, may be found at Annex F of the Keeping Children Safe in Education document; however, the following changes are highlighted:

  • Filtering and Monitoring – clarification around the roles and responsibilities of education staff in relation to filtering and monitoring. (ICT system to ensure a safe online environment for children)
  • Behaviour in Schools’ – links with the behaviour in schools’ guidance with revised wording, for example, ‘discipline’ is now ‘sanction’ throughout the document).
  • Children Absent from Education – clarification that being absent, as well as missing, from education can be warning sign of a range of safeguarding concerns.
  • Use of School Premises – information on responding to allegations related to organisations or individuals using school premises in line with existing school procedures.
  • Shortlisted Candidates – additional information on online pre-recruitment checks for shortlisted candidates with regards to online searching.

The statutory guidance can be downloaded directly from the www.gov.uk website by following this LINK

Parental Responsibility: A Guide for Schools and Local Authorities

Schools are required by law to engage with pupils’ parents in a number of different ways. They can find themselves caught up in disputes between a number of adults, each claiming to have parental responsibility for a particular child. They are also expected to navigate complex living arrangements, particularly for children who are living in social care, where parental responsibility can be confusing or unclear.

The DfE have produced guidance to help schools understand their obligations and duties in relation to the rights and responsibilities of parents, as recognised by education law. Whilst the guidance should not be treated as a complete and authoritative statement of the law, it refers to legislation that sets out schools’ legal duties.

The guidance may be downloaded via the www.gov.uk website using the following LINK

Academy Trust – Schedule of Musts 2023

Alongside the Academy Trust Handbook, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) have published a Schedule of Musts for 2023. These are the requirements in the Academy Trust Handbook brought together into one list: the ‘musts’.

It abbreviates these requirements and so cannot be used as a substitute for the full handbook. References to the relevant sections are included, which must be read in full. The tool is an entirely optional resource, and there is no requirement to submit it to the ESFA.

The ‘Schedule of Musts’ is in a spreadsheet format and can be downloaded via the www.gov.uk website via the following LINK

ESFA – Academy Trust Handbook 2023

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) have published the new Academy Trust Handbook , which comes into effect from 1 September 2023.

This year the handbook has been sharpened and shortened, and trusts should ensure that they are aware of and apply the supplementary guidance signposted throughout the handbook. It contains several key changes, including:

  • related party transactions: an increase in the threshold beyond which ESFA approval is required for related party transactions from £20k to £40k
  • annual reporting: removing the requirement for explanations in annual accounts when holding fewer than 6 board meetings per year
  • budget setting: providing an additional month to submit annual budget forecast returns
  • budget monitoring: providing more discretion in the distribution of management accounts
  • sustainability: confirming that salary sacrifice schemes can be set up for electric vehicles, in most cases without our approval

The ESFA have summarised the changes to the 2023 edition on page 7 of the guidance. The Handbook can be downloaded via the www.gov.uk website via the following LINK

 

DFE – Suspension and Permanent Exclusion Guidance 2023

The Department for Education has updated the Suspension and Permanent Exclusion Guidance which comes into effect from 1 September 2023.

The guidance is for maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England. The updates are in addition to those already established in the 2022 guidance and reflects the government’s ambition to create high standards of behaviour in schools so that children and young people are protected from disruption and are in a calm, safe, and supportive environment that brings out the best in every pupil.

This guidance provides schools and other bodies involved in this process with information so that they can continue to use suspensions and permanent exclusions appropriately. In addition, specific changes to the legislation governing the disciplinary school suspension and permanent exclusion process have been made and so changes have been made to the guidance to reflect this. The following is a list of updates:

  • New guidance and amended regulations about a headteacher’s ability to cancel an exclusion before the governing board has met to consider whether the pupil should be reinstated. This practice is sometimes known as withdrawing or rescinding an exclusion. If this occurs, the parents, the governing board and the local authority, must be notified and, if relevant, the social worker and VSH. Further information on other actions that should take place following a cancelled exclusion is set out in paragraph 13.
  • Governing board reinstatement meetings and IRPs can now be held via the use of remote access (for example, live video link) for suspension and permanent exclusions if requested by the parents, provided certain criteria are satisfied. Meetings held via the use of remote access should not be a default option and face to face meetings should always be encouraged. Further information is set out in Part Eleven.

The revised guidance can be downloaded via the www.gov.uk website using the following LINK

Load More