WESTMINSTER DIOCESE EDUCATION SERVICE
Cc Headteachers
14 June 2002
1 Maureen Roe.
Maureen has now started work as an Education Officer in the Department of Schools. Initially, her responsibilities will be for staff development (including the East Region courses and head teacher induction) teacher recruitment (including support for the head and deputy headteacher appointment process) as well as providing general management support for headteachers and governing bodies. She looks forward to receiving your calls on 0207 798 9005.
The new diocesan
website with further information and more features is now on line at www.rcdow.org.uk To access any of the
Religious Education or Schools Departments pages, go to The Diocese, then
Departments on the menu on the left. If
you have an email address for your school, please send it to Greeny Longville
at glongville@rcdow.org.uk and if
you have a school website address please send it to aclark@rcdow.org.uk
The DfES has developed a database (Voluntary Aided School Information System – VASIS), which provides details of all schools allocations and project summaries over the last few years. Schools have been issued with a password, which enables them to access their own information. The site is user friendly and a useful source of information. The web address is: www.teachernet.gov.uk/voluntaryaidedschools
This will bring you to the VASIS page, which asks you to provide your password and then leads you into the detailed information. If you do not recall your password, you will need to call the DFES contact to provide it. It is a good way of checking how much formula funding you have available, among other things.
Having looked at all the data for our schools, it is of some considerable concern that around 50% of our schools have not yet committed any funds. As a result, many primary schools are holding between £30,000 and £50,000 and some secondary schools between £150,000 and £200,000. These funds can only be used for building works and if it remains uncommitted by the end of this financial year, the first year allocation will be lost. There is also the bigger picture concern, that if schools are not using these funds, questions will be asked as to whether they should have it, when there are clearly other public sector needs. The coming summer holiday is a time when work can be undertaken more easily in schools and I am sure many schools have projects planned for that period, which will use up some of the funds. If not, please consider how at least some of these funds can be utilised and discuss the position with your building consultant.
(Any further queries should be directed to Sally
Livesey on 020 7798 9005)
(iii) Insurance.
Schools have recently received an invoice for a supplementary premium for 2001/02. It appears that there was no covering letter explaining what this was for. Please find enclosed a memorandum from the Insurance Committee of the Roman Catholic Dioceses of England and Wales, which explains the position.
(Any further enquiries should be directed to the
Finance Office on 020 7798 9002 or John Rogers, insurance Manager on 01296
422030)
4 Race
Equality Guidance *
The CES has produced a package of guidance and information for use by schools in developing their race equality policies and considering methods of implementation. The package consists of:
q a commentary on the policy framework published by the Commission for Racial Equality
q a statement of Catholic aims and values that schools may wish to consider, then adapt and adopt in their own school context
q a timetable for further guidance to be published by the CES
q a pro forma to feed back school experiences to the CES
The pack is available for downloading on the CES Website www.catholiceducation.org.uk
There are also direct links to the CES website via the diocesan site www.rcdow.org.uk
The next study day
for the CCRS is on Saturday 21 September 2002 at Vaughan House, starting at
10am. The topic is the Old Testament and the main speaker is Fr Mark Langham.
This is an ideal point to start the CCRS, and extra tutorials centres are being
set up, one in East London and one in West London. Participants can register on
the day but prior registration is appreciated.
(Contact Moira
Wilson on 020 7798 9193 or by email mwilson@rcdow.org.uk
)
6 Census.
*
As you know, the format of the CES census changed this
year. Schools were also asked to send a
copy of the completed census form direct to the home diocese as well as to the
CES. A very large number of schools
have not yet returned the census and we would be grateful if they could do so
as soon as possible. If in doubt,
please send another copy. Two is
preferable to none! (Enquiries to Ian Beck on 020 7798 9005)
7 E
teach.
Many thanks are offered to those schools that have replied positively to this initiative. More than half the schools in the diocese have now signed up and speak very warmly of the benefits. Several have said that this is one of the most useful initiatives to have issued from the diocese in recent years. Notwithstanding what we have said previously about deadlines, there is still time to join the scheme for this year. Remember that one year’s subscription costs less than one advertisement in the TES.
(Enquiries to Ian Beck on 020 7798 9005 or check out
the eteach website at www.eteach.com )
8 Primary-Secondary
Transfer
We are grateful to the primary schools that returned the questionnaire on primary secondary transfer. About 70 replies were received (from a potential 170). These showed that about 20% of parents were not seeking places in Catholic maintained secondary schools. Of the remaining 80%, about 87% were successful in obtaining a place in their first preference school with a further 7% receiving a place subsequently at another Catholic school. Given the limited evidence base, it is difficult to draw any firm conclusions: If it is assumed that the schools which did not reply experience no difficulties, the initial success rate rises to over 94%, which is better than that managed by most LEAs.
Further returns would be welcome.
(Enquiries to Ian Beck on 020 7798 9005)
9 Headteacher
Mentors.
For the past two years, the WDES has been working in partnership with the London Leadership Centre in offering a module on the HEADLAMP programme and identifying headteachers to act as mentors. The Centre wishes to recruit 6 additional Catholic headteachers from the Diocese of Westminster to be inducted as mentors and volunteers are sought. This is a valuable opportunity for experienced headteachers to share their expertise with newly appointed colleagues in a properly supported and funded manner.
(For further information, contact Richard Lewis,
HEADLAMP Manager at the Institute of Education on 0207 612 6917 or Ian Beck on
020 7798 9005)
10 Enquiries
to the Department of Schools.
Telephone callers to the department are requested, please, to state their names and outline the nature of the call and its urgency to the secretaries who answer the telephone, particularly if the person requested is not in. The reason for this is that the officers of the Department are rarely all in at the same time: Depending on the nature of the call, it may be possible for an officer, or another member of staff to assist.
11 East
Region In Service.
Please find enclosed a flier advertising the forthcoming training courses for aspiring head and deputy headteachers, together with an application form.
Please note in particular
q The closing dates are much earlier this year than before. Applications for the November aspiring headteachers course close on Friday 6 September. Applications for the January aspiring deputy headteachers course close on Friday 8 November. We must observe these dates strictly to avoid incurring cancellation charges if the courses cannot run.
q
As last year the courses are being administered by Brentwood
Diocese. Please contact Janet Simmons
on 01277 265284 on administrative matters.
The Westminster Diocese contact is Maureen Roe on 020 7798 9005.
Joan Leith, as part of her new life after
working for the Education Service, has received the honour of becoming a Dame
of the Holy Sepulchre. In that role she has received a plea from the Holy Land
for help. The schools are desperate for
materials, in particular reference or reading books in English for the library,
musical instruments, science equipment, young children learning toys, etc. If your school is casting off any of the
above, could you phone Joan direct on 020 8906 3321 and she will arrange for
collection of the items. There is a
container going out in the summer.
13 Six Term
Year.
Several LEAs are actively promoting thinking about a six-term year and have launched consultations to gather views. We would be interested in having sight of copies of any response your school may have made to try to gauge the strength of feelings amongst Catholic schools.
(Responses/comments to Ian Beck on 020 7798 9005 or ibeck@rcdow.org.uk )
14 Children
at the Centre: Monday 2 September 2002.
Following his input the headteachers’ conference in Poole, Gervase Phinn was booked by a consortium of Beacon Schools for a conference to be held at the Commonwealth Institute on 2 September. The attendance was restricted by the accommodation to a maximum of 460. The initial invitations were issued only to the areas in which the schools organising the conference were located and the maximum number was quickly reached. Inevitably there was some disappointment when schools in other areas heard about the conference and might have wished to attend.
Our thanks go to Kevin Gallagher, Sr Hannah Dwyer, Danny McDonald and Pat Maloney for organising and funding this initiative. Perhaps other colleagues in other parts of the Diocese might wish to do something similar for schools in their localities?
(Enquiries to Rita Price on 020 7798 9006)
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