Education Service
Bulletin
4/03 July 2003
Items
marked* do not apply to independent schools
The
Secretary of state announced on 15th May that, in exceptional
circumstances, schools have the flexibility to use their 2003-04 devolved
formula capital (DFC) to address exceptional pressures on school budgets. Guidance on how VA schools should proceed
with this was issued the following day and placed on the diocesan website for
reference. A copy of this guidance is
attached. If you are considering
this as an option, your attention is drawn to the fact that you will need to
agree this with both the LEA and with the Diocesan Director of Schools. This is particularly important if there
are any commitments on the use of the DFC, either as self contained projects or
as contributing to other larger (eg LCVAP) projects.
Contact
Sally Livesey on 020 7798 9005 or e mail: sallylivesey@rcdow.org.uk
Please
find enclosed a flier advertising the forthcoming training courses for Aspiring
Head and Deputy Head Teachers, together with an application form.
The
closing dates are Friday 19th September for aspiring head teachers and Friday
14th November for aspiring deputy head teachers. These dates will be
strictly adhered to.
The
courses are Eastern Region Training Courses which includes the Dioceses
of Brentwood, East Anglia, Northampton and Westminster. The courses are
administered by Brentwood Diocese. Please contact Janet Simmons on 01277
265284 on administrative matters. The Westminster Diocese contact is Maureen
Roe 0207 798 9005
Quite
a number of schools have not yet sent in this year’s CES school census form.
This is a reminder that the form has changed format in the last two years and a
copy should be sent both to the CES and to the diocese. This information is
vital for the accurate planning of diocesan educational provision for the
future. It is also used by the CCIA to calculate up-to-date insurance premiums
for schools. If you have not yet sent this form to us please do so immediately.
If you are not absolutely certain that you have sent us a copy, please
either send us another one, or check with Greeny Longville (020 7798 9005 greenylongville@rcdow.org.uk).
We do not mind receiving a duplicate. Any forms received after the end of this
term may result in your school being liable for an unnecessarily high insurance
premium next year.
Appointment
of Foundation Governors – 1st Sept 2003*
Thank you to all those schools who have returned their paperwork (for
the above process) by the deadline of 30th June. A particular thank you to all
the clerks who have been crucial in this.
Any outstanding paperwork please return asap as we
try to ensure that schools have a full complement of foundation governors for
September.
New
Procedural Regulations for Governing Bodies
New regulations called the School Governance
(Procedures)(England) Regulations 2003 take effect from 1st September 2003.These will replace the existing School
Government Regulations 1999. Some of the implications are given below and
further guidance will be sent with our next bulletin which will be mailed to
schools for the start of the autumn term.
The offices of Chairman and Vice-Chairman are
re-named Chair and Vice-Chair. Governing bodies are free to decide their own
method of election for Chair and Vice-Chair positions. This means that
individuals will no longer need to register their candidacy prior to the
election. In addition, governing bodies will be able to elect their chair and
vice-chair for any period between one and four years in contrast to the present
requirement to elect these offices at the first meeting each year.
Governing bodies will need to appoint a clerk to
any of its committees that have delegated functions (i.e. Finance, Premises,
Staffing Committees) as well as to the full governing body meetings. A governor
can no longer undertake this function.
The quorum rules will be simplified so that one
half of the complete membership of the governing body (including vacancies) is
required for any governing body meeting and votes (currently different quorums
apply). The quorum for committee meetings will be one half of that committee or
3 governors (whichever is the larger).
Restrictions on functions that can be delegated to
committees, individual governors or the headteacher have been considerably
relaxed. Governing bodies will be able to delegate many functions that cannot
at the moment be delegated, although some may only be delegated to committees
not individuals.
The governing body
cannot delegate any functions relating to:
The governing body can
delegate to a committee (but not to an individual) functions relating to:
New guidance from the
Department for Education and Skills (DfES) on exclusion from school came
into force on 20 January 2003.It does not have the force of law but schools
must have “regard” to it and only depart from it in exceptional circumstances.
The last guidance issued
from the diocese on exclusions was issued in December 1999. This will now be
updated in the light of the above and be available for schools from the Autumn
Term
(Contact Maureen Roe on
020 7798 9005 or e-mail: maureenroe@rcdow.org.uk)
The diocese has for a long time encouraged schools
to adopt a specific Complaints Procedure – either the diocesan one or one
provided by their LEA. From September, having such a procedure will be a
statutory requirement for all schools and the DfES has published advice and guidance.
The current diocesan Complaints Procedure will now be updated in the light of
the new guidance and the 2003 version will be available in schools for the
start of the autumn term. Governing bodies will need to adopt a new policy
formally. For information on complaints procedures, and advice and support
through actual complaints, contact Liz Duffy on 020 7798 9005 or email: elizabethduffy@rcdow.org.uk
As mentioned in a previous bulletin (Easter 2003),
the CES Grievance, Disciplinary and Capability Procedures are being updated,
along with a new sickness absence policy. The final drafts are now being
discussed with teachers’ professional associations and the revised procedures
are expected to be available in September. We will alert schools as soon as we
hear that they are ready and will offer training in their use for senior
managers and governors. In the meantime, schools should continue to use the
present version (updated in 2000). If you have any questions, or need support
in the application of the procedures, contact Liz Duffy on 020 7798 9005 or
email: elizabethduffy@rcdow.org.uk
The Gatsby Technical
Education Projects are part of The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts and were
set up “for the advancement of education for the benefit of the public by the
support and development of excellence in mathematics, science, technology,
engineering, information technology and other academic areas”. They are seeking
to develop programmes that will demonstrate innovative, effective teaching
and/or involve industry. We are exploring the possibility of involving the
diocese in projects that would attract funding from the Trusts and would give
opportunities to schools to work inventively together.
Please see the loose
pink sheet for a list of the kind of projects that could be made available.
As a diocese, we only want
to involve ourselves in projects, or consider setting up new ones, that meet
the needs of our schools. Would you, therefore, please let us know if you might
be particularly interested in any of these projects, or something similar, if
we were to offer them. If we can get a sense of the likely response, we can
explore options in more detail and put schools in contact with others
expressing an interest in the same area. Please give us your response by the
end of September. You will not be committing yourselves to anything at this
stage. (Contact Liz Duffy on 020 7798 9005 or email:
elizabethduffy@rcdow.org.uk)
Bulletin
number 3/03 (May)
Keen-eyed readers – and tidy-filers! – will have noticed that the last
bulletin (May) was wrongly numbered as 2/03, the same as the previous bulletin
(Easter). Apologies for the error. For the sake of clarity, please re-number
the May issue 3/03 in case we need to refer to it in the future. Many thanks.
Thanks, too, to any reader who spotted the mistake and forebore to take the
editor to task!
The CES launched a new study on June 30th entitled ‘Ethnicity,
Identity and Achievement in Catholic Education’ (available from the
CES, price £5). The work of two of our schools is highlighted in the study: Gunnersbury
School (Hounslow) for its programmes for African Caribbean boys and Cardinal
Wiseman (Ealing) for its work in attracting minority ethnic teachers. St
Charles Sixth Form College (Kensington), St Thomas More (Haringey)
and Sion Manning (Kensington) are also acknowledged for their
contribution to the study. The featured art work is by Debbie Hudson at Sion
Manning. In addition, there is a case study of the work of The Catholic
Children’s Society (Westminster) in supporting Traveller pupils. Well done
to all of them for their work in this area and for their involvement in a study
that can benefit all schools across the country.
The Teaching Awards 2003
- Congratulations to Margaret Kerr of St Edmund’s Primary in Tower
Hamlets who has won The Award for Teaching Assistant of the Year in London.
Many congratulations and thank you to her for her dedicated service to the
school through some tough times. She now has a place in the final in October –
which will be broadcast by the BBC. Good luck!
Congratulations,
also, to Julia Browne of Bishop Challoner Catholic Collegiate School
(Tower Hamlets) who gained a Special Commendation in the Guardian
Award for Outstanding New Teacher in London.
Congratulations to St Raphael’s Primary School,
Northolt who have achieved ‘Investors In People’ status.
Please keep the good
news rolling in to Liz Duffy.
`
Vaughan House
46 Francis Street London SW1P
1QN Tel: 020 7798 9005 Fax: 020 7798 9013
E-mail:
elizabethduffy@rcdow.org.uk
Registered Charity No. 233699
GATSBY TECHNICAL EDUCATION PROJECTS
(Please see the main Bulletin for the wider context)
The projects
include:
q ‘Mathematics Enhancement Programmes’ for primary
and secondary;
q a ‘Science Enhancement Programme’ which aims to
develop the use of practical work and to enhance scientific knowledge in
schools;
q developing and trialling an advanced CPD
(Continuing Professional Development) programme for science teachers in
collaboration with the Weizmann Institute;
q other
‘Science Enhancement Programmes’ involving the Ludlow Consortium and the
University of York;
q support for the teaching of difficult concepts in
fundamental physics in secondary schools;
q a Biochemical Engineering Education Scheme,
applying physical sciences and mathematics at the interface between biology and
engineering;
q a Teacher Scientist Network offering teachers
long-term ‘partnerships’ with local scientists;
q a ‘Technology
Enhancement Programme’ led by the International Manufacturing Centre at the
University of Warwick;
q ‘Industry Projects: Understanding Technology’
which involve “dynamic and creative engineering problem-solving days” for
students aged 9-19;
q an Engineering Education Scheme for Year 12
students, led by the Royal Academy of Engineering;
q a Science
and Plants for Schools project involving Homerton College, Cambridge;
q residential summer schools for Year 12 students at
various university engineering departments;
q groups of
schools working together to raise standards;
q an ‘improving physics teaching’ programme – with
Cambridge University’s Cavendish Laboratory - which aims to help students
understand the world around them;
q an ‘Early Years Intervention Programme’;
q a ‘School Leadership Programme’;
q Gatsby
Teacher Fellowships to give effective and inspirational teachers of
mathematics, science and design and technology the opportunity to carry out
innovative curriculum development;
q a ‘Teacher Effectiveness Enhancement Programme’ in
mathematics.
Expressions of
Interest by the end of September, 2003, please.
(See main bulletin for
further details)