Curriculum and Assessment Review Regional Roadshow

Join one of the Regional Roadshow Online Webinars to have your say on the Curriculum and Assessment Review:

Tuesday 5th November - 4pm start

Thursday 28th November - 1pm start

The review panel are inviting people to share:

• their ideas for potential improvements to the curriculum and assessment system
• what works well with the current system
• details of anything that doesn’t work

The call for evidence is open until 22 November 2024. Any feedback received will help the panel to make its first recommendations.

To book a space on one of the webinars please register here.

For information on the review please see here

How Domestic Abuse Affects Children: New Podcast

NSPCC Learning has published a podcast episode on the effects of domestic abuse on children, young people and babies. The episode features representatives from Childline and the NSPCC Helpline discussing: what children are telling Childline about domestic abuse and how this differs from what adults are telling the Helpline; the ways in which the effects of domestic abuse may present through a child’s behaviour; the importance of listening to the voice of the child; and safeguarding actions for professionals who identify domestic abuse.

Listen to the podcast: Podcast: How domestic abuse affects children
Watch on YouTube: How domestic abuse affects children

World Menopause Day

18th October marks World Menopause Day. 

To celebrate, Life Lessons have created a 15 minute lesson on menopause awareness, as part of their In the News weekly lessons, made in partnerships with Period Positive.

Download the lesson here. 

Senior Mental Health Lead Training- fully funded DfE grant deadline 31st December 2024!

The DfE fully funded grant worth £1,200 for Senior Mental Health Lead Training dead line is 31st December 2024. 

For full conditions of the grant please see here Senior mental health lead training: conditions of grant for the 2024 to 2025 financial year - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

For more information on the Senior Mental Health Lead training the Anna Freud centre provides and to apply for the DfE funding please see here Senior Mental Health Lead training | Anna Freud

Anna Freud is one of many approved providers to do the training with. Full list of providers is available here DfE assured senior mental health lead training courses (publishing.service.gov.uk)  

Tackling Hateful Views

Educate Against Hate – a website developed by the Department for Education and the Home Office – has published a guest blog from the groups, Tell MAMA and the Community Security Trust, on tackling antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred, and managing difficult classroom discussions, with links to resources here.

View more useful classroom resources here. 

Stay Alive App

In recognition of #WorldTeacherDay, Grassroots Suicide Preventation would like to remind the amazing teaching staff that support is available if they are struggling to cope via Stay Alive.

Along with other resources, they have created a pioneering, award winning suicide preventation app. Created for individuals navigating a suicidal crises or experiencing suicidal ideation, or by those concerned about someone. Additionally, it can be used as a professional resource, aiding in the support and management of individuals at risk of suicide.

Visit their website for more information. 

Visit GHLL Staff wellbeing hub for lots of supportive resources and contact information. 

New resources to help get primary pupils moving

Firstly, Let's Move with Naomi and Nigel

The BBC has released four resources for use in the school hall or classroom to deliver dance within key stage 1 PE lessons. Each 20-minute film is themed around a topic, such as space or the oceans, and presented by well-known children’s television presenters, Naomi Wilkinson and Nigel Clarke (pictured). The films include a fun warm up where the children copy Naomi and Nigel’s movements and this is followed by examples of dance movements for the children to try and build on during passages of music. Children are encouraged to use their imaginations throughout and the films finish with a whole-class cool down. To access them click here.

and then Primary Steps on Demand

The Royal Ballet School has launched a digital arts programme aimed at encouraging movement and exercise among children aged 7 to 11. Research from Sport England suggests that four million children do not complete 60 minutes of daily physical activity and NHS figures show that almost one quarter of children are classified as obese at the end of primary school. The programme – entitled Primary Steps on Demand – aims to develop both physical and mental health, motor skills, social skills and pupils’ confidence and problem-solving abilities. It is in an on-demand format, bringing dance education from the Royal Ballet School to children in primary schools. Materials include video classes, lesson plans, pupil resources, and advice and support. Click here to find out more

Breakfast Clubs Early Adopters Scheme

On the 23rd Sept, the Chancellor announced that up to 750 state funded schools with primary aged pupils will begin delivering free breakfast clubs from April 2025. Funding will allow these schools to run free breakfast clubs for their pupils in the summer term (Apr-July 2025) as part of a test and learn phase to inform delivery of a national rollout. Schools that are interested to find out more about becoming an early adopter can sign up here to be notified as further information is available.

The department of education said "We are committed to working with schools, childcare providers,  local authorities and sector experts as part of the early adopters programme. We will be back in contact when further information about the programme and future engagement opportunities is available to share. If you have any questions in the meantime, please email our stakeholder mailbox at breakfastclubs.earlyadopters@education.gov.uk."

 

FREE Carbon Monoxide Awareness Workshop

Free workshop - Raising awareness of carbon monoxide (CO) risks in a cost-of-living crisis

Supported by Wales & West Utilities, GFRS and Gas Safe Charity – a half day (6th November 10.00 - 2.00 with lunch) workshop in Gloucester at the SkillZONE centre. There will also be an opportunity for a tour of the centre.

Learn more about how to identify CO risks in the home during a cost-of-living crisis and hear about what support is available from local organisations to help those struggling to use energy safely, efficiently, and affordably – organisations like Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue. The free, half day workshop will highlight why CO awareness is important to help protect vulnerable people, as well as front line staff and volunteers. There are limited places for each organisation, so please book asap. Click on this Eventbrite link to book your place: GLOUCESTER

Dates for "DARE" Domestic Abuse Routine Enquiry toolkit training now available

DARE (Domestic Abuse Routine Enquiry) toolkit is designed to support frontline professionals in playing their part in a whole system change where services embed DARE as part of their work with clients so that perpetrators can be identified earlier, more effectively  held to account and access the right specialist intervention to help them change their behaviour.

The DARE toolkit training is CPD accredited and delivered online via Teams, it consists of three half days over three consecutive weeks as follows:

Week 1: How to identify domestic abuse perpetrators.
Week 2: How to explore risks and context associated with domestic abuse perpetrators.
Week 3: How to engage domestic abuse perpetrators and nudge them into specialist services. 

• Tuesday 1st, 8th and 15th October 9am-12.30pm 
• Wednesday 2nd, 9th and 16th October 9am-12.30pm
• Thursday 3rd, 10th and 17th October 9am-12.30pm
• Friday 4th, 11th and 18th October 9am-12.30pm
• Monday 4th, 11th and 18th November 9am-12.30pm
• Tuesday 5th, 12th and 19th November 9am-12.30pm
• Thursday 7th, 14th and 21st November 9am-12.30pm
• Friday 8th, 15th and 22nd November 9am-12.30pm

Book directly through Hampton Trust booking page. View the course FAQs for more information. 

Helping our children stay safe

Parents and Carers can join this FREE 2 hour parent workshop hosted by The Ben Kinsella Trust on Helping our Children Stay Safe.

The topics cover:

• Recognising the current landscape for young people; fear, exploitation, violence and gangs
• Discuss the stages of exploitation, including the signs and stages
• Explore the risks of social media, ‘Drill Music’ and ‘Gang-related music’
• Develop an understanding around language and slang
• Consider the trauma involved and gang life
• Understanding how ‘issues’ with peers can escalate and how we can help young people manage them
• Having meaningful conversations about difficult topics
• Preventing exploitation as parents and as a community
• Further support and resources

Register here.

ICON Week 2024

Taking place from September 23 to 27, ICON Week 2024 is dedicated to raising awareness about infant crying and how to manage it, supporting parents and carers, and preventing serious injuries, illnesses, and even fatalities caused by Abusive Head Trauma, often resulting from shaking a baby.

ICON is a program embraced by health and social care organizations across the UK, providing essential information about infant crying, including coping strategies, parental support, and stress reduction.

This year’s ICON Week focuses on sharing ideas and best practices. Friends and relatives play a crucial role in supporting parents and carers during the challenging times when a baby is crying. Explore our new Friends and Family leaflet and other resources on our website Resources - ICON Cope.

Real Stories, Real People Podcast

The Ben Kinsella Trust have released a new episode of their podcast "Real Stories, Real People". Please click here to listen to Episode 4 featuring Tyler West who shares the life-changing experience of knife crime he faced at just 14 years old... Tyler speaks candidly about his upbringing, the challenges he faced, and how witnessing such violence changed his perspective on life.

Gloucestershire County Council Suicide Prevention Strategy

In connection with Gloucestershire Suicide Preventation Partnership, the new Gloucestershire suicide prevention strategy has been developed by the Public Health Team at the county council. 

The strategy sets out seven priorities for Gloucestershire: 

• Reducing the risk of suicide in high-risk groups, such as men, people with a history of self-harm, people in contact with mental health services and those in contact with the criminal justice system.
• Addressing common risk factors associated with suicide at a population level; for example, physical ill-health and disability, bereavement, financial difficulties, unemployment, and social isolation.
• Reducing access to the means and methods of suicide: working with relevant agencies to understand potential high-risk locations and making sure we are alert to any evidence of new and emerging methods.
• Providing information and support to those affected by or bereaved through suicide.
• Promoting online safety and responsible media reporting of suicide and self-harm.
• Providing effective crisis support for those who reach crisis point.
• Supporting research, data collection and monitoring to better understand the Gloucestershire picture and what the local approach to suicide prevention should be.

View the full strategy here. 

Ofsted reforms to focus on inclusion, behaviour and attendance

 

 

Far-reaching reforms aim to support most vulnerable children and ‘recognise growing challenges facing education’

Read the full story here.

Removal of Ofsted single word judgements: what it means for schools and parents

The education Hub blog have realeased a new post on the Removal of Ofsted single word judgements.

Click here to find out more

Relaxation Exercise for Children

The return to school after the summer holidays can be a nerve-wracking and challenging time for pupils, teachers and parents. 

Anxious feelings are normal and expected during times of transition or change. This is especially true for children and young people going back to school for the start of the new academic year.

If your child is feeling anxious or worried about going back to school, this activity from the Transition Tool Box resource may help to calm their nerves:

Managing stress and anxiety: A relaxation strategy

Tense each of the major muscle groups in your body for about 5-10 seconds and then relax. Some parts of your body may be more tense than others. Try to find these and pay more attention to them. 

Practice! Practice! Practice!

• Choose a quiet, warm and comfortable place
• Sit in a comfy chair or lie on your bed
• Make sure you won't be disturbed
• Tense your muscles in your arms, hands, legs and feet, stomach, shoulders, neck and face
• Tense for 5-10 seconds and then relax. Repeat.
• Close your eyes and count slowly to 100

Keep a relaxation diary for one week. Use this strategy when you begin to feel stressed or fed-up. Then reflect! 

The tool box contains a range of activities to support your child with the back-to-school transition preparing them for their new routines and new environment. To order the full tool box, visit here.

Vaccination Reminder

With a few weeks until the start of the university term it's important that Students are up to date with vaccines for 

• MenACWY
• HPV
• MMR

This can be checked on the NHS app

Exam Results

 

Many young people will be feeling stressed as they await their exam results. They may be feeling a lot of pressure to meet expectations – be it their own, their family’s or their schools – and knowing the impact the results can have on their future plans. 

Visit our Exam Results page for advice on how to support young people through this period. 

Knife Crime up 4%

The Office for National Statistics released the latest crime statistics fro England and Wales, and the findings on knife crim are particularly shocking. We're seeing a disturbing return to over 50,000 annual offences, highlighting the urgent need for action.

"It is important to remember that these are not just statistics; they represent shattered lives and devastated families" Patrick Green, CEO of The Ben Kinsella Trust, says.

View the full report here.

A Level Results Day 15th August 2024

Results day this year is on Thursday 15 August 2024. For information for from the Education Hub to find out What's next after picking up your A level, T level and VTQ results.

Financially motivated sexual extortion: alert for education settings

Globally, there has been a large increase in reports of children and young people being forced into paying money or meeting another financial demand (such as purchasing a pre-paid gift card) after an offender has threatened to release nudes or semi-nudes of them. This is financially motivated sexual extortion, a type of online blackmail often referred to in the media as ‘sextortion’. It is a form of child sexual abuse.

The National Crime Agency and CEOP have shared this alert on what you need to know as education professionals to recognise the signs of this form of abuse, understand how to respond and increase awareness and help seeking behaviours amongst children and young people.

Read the full alert here  

Digital Parenting Guide

A guide from Vodafone to help your family live a happy and safe digital life.

View the guide here. 

New RSHE Guidance: Consultation ends 11th July 2024

Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) is a subject taught at both primary and secondary school.  

Last year, the Prime Minister and Education Secretary brought forward the first review of the curriculum following reports of pupils being taught inappropriate content in RSHE in some schools. 

The draft guidance is now open to consultation. When final, the guidance will be statutory and schools will be expected to follow it.

Please find the official draft document here.

You can find the consultation here.  

Support from The Talk About Trust

The Talk about Trust is a youth charity that supports children and young people to stay safer around alcohol and other substances across the UK. We provide resources and training for teachers and youth professionals, support and advice for parents and carers and interactive games, websites and information for young people aged 11- 25.

Resources can be accessed by schools, youth clubs, sports clubs, SEN settings, children’s homes FREE of CHARGE and we also provide the necessary training and guidance from our regionally based staff in how to use the resources to their full. Please contact Kate - kate@talkabouttrust.org with any requests for hard copies of resources.  

Talk About Trust website offers a wealth of excellent resources organised by topic and year group. 

Keeping Young People Safe

Our latest initiative at The Ben Kinsella Trust, the Keeping Young People Safe evaluation, offers crucial insights into the effectiveness of our Choices and Consequences programme.

Conducted between 2022 and 2023, this comprehensive evaluation gathered responses from nearly 10,000 young people and over 200 teachers and practitioners who participated in our workshop.

The Choices and Consequences programme is an interactive and emotive workshop designed to raise awareness about the severe impacts of knife crime among young people. Our programme has successfully reached over 35,000 young people to date, underscoring its broad influence and importance in combatting knife crime through education and engagement.

Read the full report 👉

Healthy Relationships

The Traveller Movement created a Healthy Relationships Toolkit to help young people spot the warning signs of abuse and know their rights in a relationship

Find out more about consent, online safety, gender roles and relationship red flags here.

Concerns grow about children choking on food

Amid growing concerns about children choking on food, the Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) has launched a new fact sheet with essential safety advice.

The fact sheet offers practical tips for parents and carers, especially of babies and toddlers who are at greatest risk as they are still learning how to eat safely. It is also available in Welsh.

Tips for supporting a young person with anxiety

Unsure how to support a pupil who's worried about moving on? Read tips from YoungMinds for supporting a young person struggling with anxiety. 

Young people tell us they like reading advice from people who get what they’re going through. We’ve picked out some real stories, written by young people, that your pupils could find useful right now. Kerry’s tips for coping with the transition into year 13 Louisa’s tips for coping with anxiety about change Hannah on what she learnt when she lost a friendship Louisa’s advice for coping when you lose a teacher you trust

Mental health and wellbeing school calendar - Summer term 2024

To help you plan your mental health and wellbeing activity for the summer term, Anna Freud have produced a calendar of curriculum themes and occasions linked to mental health and wellbeing.

The calendar covers the entire term, with suggested themes and resources for dates including Stress Awareness Month, Mental Health Awareness Week, exam and assessment time, and transitions between school, college or university.

Download the calender now.

School staff priorities, enablers and barriers for school action on emotion regulation and mental health: a survey

We want to understand what priorities, enablers and barriers school staff see as important when promoting the mental health of autistic and/or ADHD students and all staff in schools. Our focus is specifically on their emotional experiences and ways of managing emotions. This survey is part of the wider research programme, Regulating Emotions - Strengthening Adolescent Resilience (RE-STAR) at King's College London in collaboration with Anna Freud and UCL.

This study is only open to mainstream secondary school staff responsible for the pastoral care and mental health of autistic or ADHD students. From each school, we want to hear from a member of the Senior Leadership Team with pastoral responsibility e.g., a Designated Mental Health Lead, Head of Year 7-11.

By participating in this study, you will earn £10 shopping e-voucher 🎫 and be entered in a prize draw to win a £100 e-voucher.

⭐⭐⭐

Click here to take part. 

What exactly are our children’s being taught about sex and what is changing?

There has been a lot of news coverage recently anticipating the content of proposals from Government on updated draft RSHE guidance. 

We have not seen the proposals, so can only comment based on what is in the media. Please remember, once the consultation opens, that it remains draft guidance only, and schools should continue following the 2019 guidance. 

Lucy Emmerson's (Chief of Sex Education Forum) shares her reactions in the article here. 

 

Learn CPR in 15 minutes for free!

Many of us will witness a cardiac arrest in our lifetime. Be ready for that day with RevivR, fast, free and easy-to-use online training course.

Start free online training

Wear It Green Day

Organise a Wear it Green Day in your school and help to raise vital funds and awareness for mental health.

Join us for Wear It Green Day on Thursday 16 May during Mental Health Awareness Week (13-19 May) – and let’s turn the world green for good mental health!

Download the lesson plan

Big Health Day 2024

Do you support someone with physical or emotional needs?

The Big Health Day focusses on supporting people stay active and healthy. 

Come along on Friday 14th June, 9:30am - 2:30pm, Oxstalls Sports Park, Plock Court , Gl2 9DW. 

Click on the poster for more details

Self Help for Exam Stress

Young Minds Matter have created a self-help guide for young people to help mange their stress and anxiety during exam season.

https://www.ghll.org.uk/converted%20A4-exam-stress-leaflet.pdf 

Free Training!

Gloucestershire's Youth Support Team are hosting a variety of free training including Substance Misuse and Teenage Pregnancy.

View and book a session here.

Knife Crime Week

Knife Crime week is 20^th-26^th May 2024 and Operation Sceptre running (National Knife Amnesty) from the 13^th-19^th May. Operation Sceptre brings together all 43 police forces across England and Wales in a week of intensified action with forces coordinating activity which targets knife crime from the root cause right through to enforcement. 

A variety of other tactics are used by forces; including weapons sweeps, engagement with schools and local communities, knife arches in public places and events and knife surrender bins to remove knives off the streets.

The stations where items can be handed in are:

• Hester's Way, Cheltenham
• Bearland, Gloucester
• Stroud
• Cirencester
• Coleford

Download the knife bin poster

Download the Offensive Weapons Act poster

Mental health and wellbeing school and college calendar

To help you plan your mental health and wellbeing activity for the summer term, Anna Freud have produced a calendar of curriculum themes and occasions linked to mental health and wellbeing.

The calendar covers the entire term, with suggested themes and resources for dates including Stress Awareness Month, Mental Health Awareness Week, exam and assessment time, and transitions between school, college or university.

Download resource

Young People’s RSE Poll 2024

Findings from the 2024 poll indicate that RSE is starting to embed in schools five years on from the arrival of statutory guidance, with overall quality and coverage showing improvement year-on-year. Implementation seems to finally be turning a corner after delays associated with Covid-19. However, it is clear that schools feel under confident about delivering on some areas of the curriculum that are statutory, but are particularly taboo and politicised.

View the results from the 2024 poll here

Help spot domestic abusers – FREE TRAINING FOR GLOUCESTERSHIRE PROFESSIONALS

You are invited to attend free DARE training. DARE consists of training in how to utilise a toolkit to help spot domestic abuse and how to engage with perpetrators. It aims to equip people in many different areas across Gloucestershire with the confidence, tools and knowledge they need to be able to spot domestic abuse.

The free training is being offered out to anyone who works on “the frontline” in Gloucestershire - that means anyone that works with members of the public.

You can find out more and book a space on the training here. 

 

Supporting a child with an eating problem

As well as helping you understand more about eating problems, this booklet from Charlie Waller gives you knowledge and skills that will help you support your child plus some useful tips on supporting your own wellbeing. 

Download the booklet as a PDF or read the content on our web page. 

Tuesday 16th April -  Ros Rea is hosting a webinar for anyone supporting or working with a young person with an eating disorder, or whom they suspect may have an eating disorder. Sign up here.

Emotionally based school avoidance: How to get persistently absent children back into school

A guide to supporting students at risk of missing school due to social and emotional difficulties.

View the guide here.

The SGPED Student Survey

The SGPED Student Survey is a large-scale online survey designed to develop a measure of emotions of young people aged 11–18 years old

(school years 7-13). It is led by researchers at the University of Oxford, the survey will cover English schools and colleges of FE.

Register your school now! 

Visit this page to find out more.

The Ben Kinsella Trust - February Newsletter

This edition includes; free training courses, details on Knife Crime Awareness Week (20th May - 26th May), social hightlights and more!

Read the February round up from The Ben Kinsella Trust here. 

 

 

Children's Media Lives Report 2023

Children’s Media Lives provides a rich and detailed qualitative complement to Ofcom’s quantitative surveys of media literacy on the motivations and context for media use and how media interacts with daily life and the domestic circumstances of the children in the study.

Read the report here

GCC & GHLL Statement

GCC and GHLL would like to remind all educational settings of the recent draft DfE publication ‘Gender Questioning Children: Non-Statutory Guidance for Schools and Colleges in England’ which was released on 19 Dec 2023. There is a consultation on this guidance which is open now for response and will close on 12th March 2024. The guidance will apply to all schools and further education sector institutions. 

Click here to view our statement.

Inspecting teaching of the protected characteristics in schools

No matter what type of school they attend, it is important that all children gain an understanding of the world they are growing up in, and learn how to live alongside, and show respect for, a diverse range of people. When we inspect schools, we assess how well they equip children to do this.

This guidance explains Ofsted’s approach on inspection to evaluating how schools support pupils’ personal development and meet their duties in relation to teaching pupils about the protected characteristics, including the DfE’s statutory guidance. It applies to all types of academy, maintained, non-maintained special and non-association independent schools. (All references to the independent school standards (ISS) are only relevant to non-association independent schools.)

Parents’ Relationships Matter Gloucestershire Conference 2024

The Parents’ Relationships Matter Gloucestershire Conference is back! We are thrilled to announce the return of our much-anticipated and free to attend conference. This year’s event promises to be another empowering and informative journey for professionals passionate about supporting parental relationships and nurturing healthier family dynamics. 

In addition to our professional-focused sessions, we're excited to introduce a second series of sessions specifically designed for parents. These sessions are integral to our mission of extending support and resources directly to families, helping them build stronger, more harmonious relationships.

Ready to make a difference? Simply click here to book tickets for professional and parent sessions. 

Knife Crime

Knife crime has surged by 5% in the past year, according to the latest release from the ONS, marking a concerning rise in violence across England and Wales.

Read more here

Figures released on 8th February 2024 by the Office for National Statistics confirm that, despite a decrease in homicides in the 13-19 age group, teenagers remain over twice as likely to be fatally stabbed than they were 10 years ago.

Read more here 

 

Vaping Lesson Plans

The Exchange has developed these lessons with Drug Science to equip teachers to talk about vaping in the classroom. All of these are freely accessible and we encourage teachers to use these to enable a classroom debate on whether the UK government should ban disposable vapes. 

Click here to view and download the lesson plans. 

Gloucester City welcomes the Children & Young People’s Multi-Agency Navigation Hub for Mental Health difficulties & Educational barriers

The Children & Young People’s Multi-Agency Navigation Hub brings together Education, Health, Voluntary Sector and Early Help services to collectively provide advice, assessment, or intervention through a streamlined point of contact. Gloucestershire’s County Council & Integrated Care Board are pleased to announce that the Children and Young People’s Multi-Agency Navigation Hub is now the single point of contact for both Mental Health and Education Inclusion related referrals from ALL Gloucester City Schools.

If you have any questions or would like to get in touch with the team, please contact one of our Multi-Agency Forum Co-Ordinators: Sam Halliday or Laura Nutland.

Tel: 01452 328055  Email: navigationhub@gloucestershire.gov.uk

Children's Mental Health Week - Your voice matters

The theme for Children and Young Peoples Mental Health Week 2024 is Your Voice Matters. The week runs from 5-11 February 2024 and is an opportunity to give a voice to all children and young people in the UK.
We always want to hear from you so that we can provide the services you need. Please take the time to tell us what you need to support your mental health, or talk about your own experiences. 

Your voice matters

Children's Mental Health Week 2024

The week runs from 5-11 February 2024 and is an opportunity to give a voice to all children and young peope in the UK.

Please take the time to tell us what you need to support your mental health, or talk about your own experiences. 

Please send feedback to camhsschoolsymm@ghc.nhs.uk - if you can tell us which school you are from and which year group that would also help. Thank you!

AET Impact and Reach 2022-23

Alcohol Education Trust are delighted to share their Impact Report 2022 - 23. You can access this here. 

CEO Helena Conibear commented: "I would also like to say a huge thank you to our tiny committed staff who work so hard across England and Scotland to improve the knowledge, health, resilience and life changes of young people - there are just five os us, with fantasic back up from the office of course."

Lets Go Beyond Live!

#LetsGoBeyondLIVE is back for the fourth year running with a celeb packed lineup for you and your students.

Click here to view the line up for the 7th February and enjoy free content! 

National Storytelling Week

Celebrate National Storytelling Week (27 Jan – 4 Feb) at Gloucestershire Libraries.

Browse and book events on The Library catalogue.  

Discover events at your local Gloucestershire library in a digital What’s On guide.

FREE YST Training

Relationship and Sex Education Training (ReSET) is available to all professionals working with young people and their families in Gloucestershire and offers ideas and information of how to explore issues of relationships and sex education with young people.

Visit this page to view all Health Team training offered. 

 

The Big Plastic Count

The Big Plastic Count is back from 11-17 March, and we’re really excited to let you know that registration is NOW OPEN! In 2022, a quarter of a million people made The Big Plastic Count the biggest ever investigation into UK household plastic waste. By counting your plastic waste for 1 week, you helped us to reveal a shocking truth: that the UK throws away 2 billion pieces of plastic every week, only 12% of which is recycled. 

In 2024, governments will be negotiating a Global Plastics Treaty that could finally phase out plastic production for good. And so, we’re doing The Big Plastic Count again - this time we’ll be using the results to convince UK ministers to lead the way at these talks and push for a really strong treaty. 

REGISTER NOW
INFO FOR SCHOOLS

Sexual Abuse & Sexual Violence Awareness Week

Sexual Abuse & Sexual Violence Awareness Week is the UK’s national week to raise awareness of sexual abuse and violence and to provide an opportunity for any organisation or individual to engage in dialogue.

The Sexual Abuse & Sexual Violence Awareness Week occurs on the first full week of February. For 2023 that will take place from 6th to 12th February.

Get involved here!

Wear It Red Day 5-9 February 2024

Wear It Red Day encourages local primary schools to wear something red to show their love for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity.

Taking place between 5th - 9th February, the day will help raise important funds for the charity's pre-hospital emergency service, while raising awareness of the vital impact the charity has in the local area.

 

Mental health and wellbeing school calendar - Spring term 2024

This Wellbeing Calendar produced by Anna Freud is free to download, and contains links to resources/information for all Key Stages & staff.

Gloucestershire Youth Support Team - Support for Substance Abuse

Their dedicated team provides individual support, helping young people to reduce drug or alcohol misuse (tier 3) and the risks associated with it.

To find out more contact their health team on:
01452 415707 or sas.referrals@prospects.co.uk

To download their referral form, click here >

Hollie Gazzard Trust

The Hollie Gazzard Trust is a Gloucestershire based chariity that raises awareness to help people understand the dangers of unhealthy relationships and what this can lead to. They help people create positive, happy and safe relationships, free from abuse by providing education and guidance in schools, workplaces and other organisations. 

Next Year marks the 10 year anniversary of Hollie's detah, and as a result the Hollie Gazzard Trust will be holding a variety of events to commemorate her. 

See all the details here 

GHLL Restorative Conversation Lesson and Resources

Our Restorative conversation lesson plan, lesson guidance and resources teach children how to manage conflict restoratively through an Aardman animation.

They are now available to be downloaded via this page. 

If you require a login, please contact ghll@gloucestershire.gov.uk 

Drink spiking report and support SMS alert service now live!

This Autumn we have ensured that over 100 settings including Colleges, Universities, Sexual Health Clinics and Minor Injury Units (MIU's) have received posters, awareness cards, drink testing kits and online resources to raise awareness of drink spiking. 

Following extensive feedback from the nurses and frontline workers that we have trained this year as to what else is needed, we are thrilled to say that we have now set up a simple SMS message service that can be forwarded to anyone who believes that they might have been spiked via this link. 

For more information please email helena@alcoholeducationtrust.org

Caring for children with coughs and colds this winter

The 'Caring for children with cough' leaflet was produced by researchers at the University of Bristol after extensive work with parents. It explains what parents should do when looking after a child with cough and when parents should take their child to see a doctor. 

Coughs and colds are a common part of childhood, especially during the winter. Most of these infections are caused by viruses and children recover quickly with a bit of rest and paracetamol.  However, many parents of young children can be very worried when their children are unwell and would welcome support and guidance on what to do and when to seek help.

For more detail see http://www.bristol.ac.uk/child-cough

 

  

Breaking the Chain - Theatre Performance for Professionals

Breaking the Chain is a hard-hitting applied theatre production performed by Narrative Alchemy Ltd that aims to raise awareness, kick-start conversations and build resilience around youth violence – with a focus on knife crime – as part of a public health approach to tackling the issue – an issue that is seeing young people seriously hurt and, all too often, killed on the streets of our towns and cities.

To book your place on the 17th January 2024 click here or contact ghll@gloucestershire.gov.uk 

Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping: what you need to know

The Prime Minister has set out plans to build a better and brighter future for our children. This includes the introduction of a new law to stop children who turn 14 this year or younger from ever legally being sold cigarettes and a further crackdown on youth vaping.

Key measures have been announced by the Department of Health on how this will be achieved.  

The full publication can be found here. 

Gloucestershire Suicide Prevention Partnership

Please note that these courses are FREE for those working/volunteering in public & VCS sector organisations in Gloucestershire who come across members of the public. Only those with a confirmed place can attend these courses.

Postvention: Assisting those Bereaved By Suicide (PABBS)

• 19th March 2024 - 9:00am to 4:30pm
• In person - Dowty Sports & Social Club Down Hatherley Ln, Gloucester GL2 9QH

Suicide First Aid Lite (Online)

• 13th March 2024 - 9:30am to 12:30pm
• 21st March 2024 - 1:30pm to 4:30pm

Find out more and booking a place

Visit the Gloucestershire County Council - Funded training opportunities website for more information, including how to book your place. 

More courses are being finalised, so keep visiting this web page for the course details as they're confirmed.  

If you have any queries regarding these courses, please contact us at suicideprevention@gloucestershire.gov.uk.

National Autism Trainer Programme

Anna Freud and AT-Autism have joined forces to deliver the National Autism Trainer Programme, an autism train the trainer programme commissioned by NHS England and completely free to delegates.

The National Autism Trainer Programme will soon deliver four-day, online training for delegates working in residential special schools and colleges. Please find the course flyer here.

The training is suitable for professionals who currently work or may work with diagnosed or undiagnosed autistic children and young people in residential special schools and colleeges accross England.

If you would like to learn more about the National Autism Trainer Programme, please review the training roadmap graphic, which details the training process.

Nitrous Oxide Change in law as of 8th November 2023

Nitrous Oxide (NOS), used by about 4% of 16-24 year olds in the last year, will become illigal for recreational use from 8th November 2023. The Home Office have published key information about the changes here: Media Fact Sheet: Nitrous Oxide Ban. 

Nitrous Oxide is a colourless gas and while it has legitimate uses in medical, culinary, industrial, and other fields, it can also be used as a recreational drug by inhalation. 

It was already illigal to produce, supply, import or export NOS for psychoactive purposes under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. But the law has now been updated.  

Education Secretary's letter to parents: You have the right to see RSHE lesson material

A new post, “Education Secretary’s letter to parents: You have the right to see RSHE lesson material” has been published on the The Education Hub blog

Read the blog post here

Senior Lead training Grant Update for Gloucestershire

We are pleased to announce that schools and colleges that have already claimed a DfE grant are now eligible for a second grant if their trained senior mental health lead has left the post. This is in recognition that the previous lead may not have had the opportunity to implement their learning and embed a whole school/college approach (WSCA) to mental health and wellbeing.

The application process remains the same as the first-time round with one additional step: when completing the online form, the applicant needs to tick the declaration to confirm the previously trained senior mental health lead at the setting has now moved on from the role.    

The attached flyer has been updated to reflect this change to the DfE grant offer. 

Full details of the grant and how to apply can be found here. 

Easy-read chlamydia information

UKHSA has published information on testing for chlamydia in an easy-read format. This guide is designed to assist professionals and carers working with people with learning difficulties. 

 

Key Messaging Around Complex Topics In RSE

The intersection of faith and RSE can throw up some tricky issues. Many religious beliefs about relationships and sex can feel at odds with best practice and equalities legislation, and therefore needs careful navigation. 
  
Here are some important facts and messaging around complex topics in RSE to help. 

 

 

Happy Black History Month!

This month is an opportunity for to highlight the work and contributions of Black LGBTQ+ people, which are too often forgotten and erased from history.

But all year-round, we aim to spotlight the incredible difference that Black LGBTQ+ people and Black LGBTQ-led organisations are making throughout the UK, as well as sharing the impact of queer Black activism.

View the Black History Month hub

Stonewall Education Champions : Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning (ghll.org.uk)

Ensuring developmentally appropriate RSHE

As a government panel considers ‘age-ratings’ for topics within RSHE, Lucy Emmerson discusses what age-appropriate sex education might look like, using the topic of puberty as an example. The age at which relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) topics should be taught has become a focal point in the government review of RSHE, with a group of advisors appointed with a brief to recommend “age ratings” for the subject (DfE, 2023).

So, what does age-appropriate really mean and how can schools determine what to cover when, if the objective is to create a relevant, developmentally appropriate curriculum that meets learners’ needs?

Read more here. 

BeeZee Bodies - Family Programme

Accepting referrals to these programmes until Monday 2nd October!
 
The Award-Winning in-person programmes for families with children aged 7-12, will be running in 4 locations; Cinderford, Cheltenham, Barton & Tredworth and Matson
 
BeeZee Families programmes are delivered by expert family nutritionists and coaches, and include cooking lessons and activity sessions. Online programmes are also available if families are unable to make the sessions, or would rather take part online. There is also online support available for families with children aged 4-18. 

You can either refer via the website, or simply email beezee.bodies@nhs.net with name, address, contact details of parent & child, plus child's DOB. 

End Drink Spiking

The Alcohol Education Trust  (AET) now have a choice of three posters which you can personalise with your school/college contacts for your setting free of charge. Email your local information and logo to lucy@alcoholeducationtrust.org and Lucy will pop in your info and send you back a print ready file. These  are available now!   You can learn more via www.checkyourdrink.co.uk

Key Wellbeing, PSHE & Cultural Dates Calendar 2023/24

This PDF document from youHQ includes;

• An overview of the Academic Year
• A list of important dates 
• A detailed planner with pages 
• Free monthly resources

 

5 Reasons Why the ‘Catch-up’ Narrative is Harmful to Children’s Mental Health

There is no doubt that the last year has had a huge impact on the education of our children and young people. 

Now with the return to school, especially in those countries where vaccination programmes are progressing, there is a need to address all of the impacts of extended remote education, and to set clear priorities across children and young people’s learning, social, and psychological needs. One of the most frequently heard narratives recently in the U.K. and in some other countries is the idea of academic ‘catch-up’.

Read the full article.

How we’re safeguarding students and learners from radicalisation

Vaccines for students: how to get up to date

Research shows that around 1 in 8 new students starting university or college this year are unprotected against 4 deadly types of meningitis capable of causing serious health complications. 

It’s really important that all students make sure they’re up to date with all free routine NHS vaccines and get to know the signs and symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia. It could help save a life.

Read the new post: Vaccines for students: how to get up to date - The Education Hub (blog.gov.uk)

Revised guidance for youth-friendly health services

The OHID has published a revised version of the You're Welcome guidance on establishing youth-friendly health and care services.

The guidance sets out eight standards and criteria for youth-friendly services, including: involving young people in their care, and in the design, delivery, and review of services; explaining confidentiality and consent; developing digital approaches; and staff skills and training. There are some additional criteria for sexual and reproductive health services.

FREE Live Broadcast: Understanding and challenging gender stereotypes

On Wednesday 13 September at 10am Brook will be broadcasting a 1-hour RSE lesson for students across the England and Wales.

In celebration of Brook's Sexual Health Week theme of 'Playing it Safe', the Big RSE Lesson will empower young people to understand and challenge gender stereotypes. 

Click here to register. 

FREE Skills Workshops for anyone Caring for a Loved One with an Eating Disorder

Funded by the National Health Service Workforce Training and Education, the Charlie Waller Trust has trained facilitators to be able to deliver the New Maudsley Approach carers skills workshops to parents and carers who are supporting a loved one with an eating disorder.   

The courses are broken down into five, two-hour workshops and are full of practical tips, real life scenarios and case studies.

If you would like to book a place on the upcoming New Maudsley Carer Skills Courses, please click here 

A Night of Redemption!

Young Gloucestershire are planning a fundraising sleepover on the 15th September at the historic Gloucester Prison, one of the most haunted landmarks in the UK. But it's not just a spooky adventure; your participation and support will directly impact the lives of young people at risk of criminal exploitation.

If you're as enthusiastic about making a difference and would like to participate, or if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email karl.gwilliam@youngglos.org.uk.

Click here to learn more, including an FAQ, agenda and the option to register your places. 

Personal development | Subject curriculum insights for primary and secondary teachers and leaders

Fire and Rescue Service to hold free open days

Open days are being held at Gloucestershire’s fire stations so the public can meet the crews and watch some exciting demonstrations.

The free family-friendly events are being held at the following Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue community stations:

• Lydney – Saturday 12 August, 11am – 2pm
• Cinderford – Saturday 12 August, 10am -3pm
• Chelt East – Sunday 13 August, 12pm – 4pm
• Dursley – Sunday 13 August, 10:30am -3:30pm
• Tewkesbury – Saturday 19 August, 11am – 4pm
• Glos South and SkillZONE – Sunday 3 September, 11am – 3pm

You can come along to watch various operational demonstrations by firefighters, find out information on how to keep you and your family safe in the home and outdoors, see the equipment and appliances used by the crews and your children could even climb aboard a fire engine to have their picture taken.

FREE Mental Health Webinars

This webinar is for parents, carers, educators and anyone working with young people to gain a better understanding of suicide and how to support a young person who might be experiencing suicide thoughts. 

During the webinar, you will look at statistics, define suicide, learn about the factors that could lead to someone thinking of suicide, learn how to support a young person, consider protective factors to help young people stay safe and share useful resources and signposting.

Click here to sign up for - Tuesday 22 August, 12:00pm - 1:30pm

Click here to sign up for - Thursday 7 September, 6:00pm - 7:30pm

 

Kids Eat Free

Play Gloucestershire

Play Gloucestershire is a registered chartiy that provide free, outdoor active play in the county. The activities target 7-14 year olds, under 7s are welcome and should be accompainied by a parent or carer. 

Click here for more information

Email: info@playgloucestershire.org.uk
Phone: 01452 505548

RSHE & Trans guidance for schools as term ends

The Secretary of State for Education has given a statement to Parliament about guidance for schools and colleges when a child is questioning their gender. Following several weeks of speculation, the guidance has been delayed and is no longer expected this summer. Rt Hon Gillian Keegan states: "we have made the decision to allow more time – to speak to teachers, parents, lawyers and other stakeholders – in order to ensure this guidance meets the high expectations that these groups rightly have for it."

Women's World Cup 2023 wall chart

Home | an Aardman and Save the Children UK short film

Aardman and Save The Children worked closely together, carefully looking at first-hand accounts from children who were forced to become refugees. The film is aimed at the alarming number of children around the world who are displaced from their homelands due to the many circumstances facing refugees such as war, famine and persecution.

Despite the gravity of the subject, Save The Children were keen that the tone of the film should be one of hope rather than a bleak depiction of the refugee experience. Click here to read the full article.

Click here to watch the short film.

The Music Works - Holiday Programme

FREE school holiday music making programmes

Have a Go is an inclusive programme in association with Gloucestershire County Council HAF (Holiday Activities and Food programme). Have a Go is primarily for young people, aged 11-16, who are in receipt of free school meals. However, if this isn’t you, your child, or a child in your care, we advise you to sign up anyway as places often become available.

 

Talk About Alcohol

This site is especially for young people and includes a wealth of fun games and activities designed to raise awareness around alcohol in an engaging and enjoyable way. Young people can learn how to make sensible choices in the online nightclub and other fun games on the site such as Chimp Shop. Why not encourage young people to have a look during tutor time or during PSHE?

British Sign Language GCSE: Everything you need to know

Students will soon be able to study British Sign Language (BSL) as a GCSE following a consultation into the course content. Good communication is essential both inside and outside the workplace and this new GCSE will give students a vital life skill valued by employers.

The introduction of the new GCSE is in part thanks to 17-year-old, Daniel Jillings, who has campaigned for the qualification since the age of 12. As well as being the focus of an Award-winning documentary film, Daniel recently addressed more than 20 MPs in his first language, BSL.  

Click here to read more about this new and historic qualification.  

Health Watch Gloucestershire

Young people’s views and experiences of social support in Gloucestershire

From mid-January to mid-February 2023, HWG actively engaged with young people to gather feedback about their experiences and ideas for change.They collected their views via an online survey, one-to-one interviews, and focus group discussions.

Click here to view the report 

CAMHS Practitioner Advice Line

In order to focus staff time on seeing and treating children and young people who are on the waiting list, CAMHS have taken the decision to continue pausing their Practitioner Advice Line (01452 894272) until the end of September 2023. This decision will be reviewed during September when it is anticipated that additional staff will be in post, and a decision will be made then about whether to re-open the advice line during October. We will notify you about this as soon as possible. This action will allow the teams to prioritise and support young people as quickly as possible and reduce waiting times.

CAMHS is still open for referrals as usual; all referrals should be sent via the online referral form: CAMHS Referral Form > Glos Health & Care NHS Foundation Trust (ghc.nhs.uk) for all professionals OR on the ARDENS or G-care system for GPs. This will help to screen referrals more efficiently. Urgent referrals should be marked as urgent.

Professionals can also still contact CAMHS to discuss a child that is already open or on the waiting list by emailing camhs.gloucestershire@ghc.nhs.uk.

For young people who are currently being seen by CAMHS, they or their family should make contact with their care team in the usual way. For those who are on the waiting list, they or their family can call the CAMHS Duty Worker within working hours (9am – 5pm), Monday to Friday on either 01452 894300 (Acorn House) or 01242 634050 (Evergreen House).

For any young person presenting in crisis outside of these hours, or who are not open to CAMHS, they are able to contact the Crisis/Home treatment team on 0800 1690398.  

PSHE Association - Resources, Training & Events

The PSHE Association has a wide range of new member resources, training and events planned for this half-term and beyond. Find out more below and don’t forget to download the latest versions of our Programme Builders — updated to incorporate new resources from last half-term.

•  Road and Rail Safety KS1-2 lesson pack: Support pupils to understand how to keep themselves safe around roads and railways. Pupils explore potential hazards, identify risks and develop the skills to make safe decisions while travelling and as they develop independence.
• COMING SOON! Embracing change and new challenges KS1-2 lesson pack: New lessons for pupils in year 2 (who will be moving to year 3) and pupils in year 6 (who will be moving to year 7). Help pupils identify feelings, opportunities and challenges related to transition, and support them with positive strategies for managing changes from one key stage to another.
• Family Life KS2 and KS3 lesson packs: Designed to complement our existing lessons for KS4, these new lesson packs on relationships and families will help pupils learn about different types of relationships and how these can change over time.
• READY FOR SEPTEMBER! Helping students thrive in a new key stage KS5 / post-16 lesson pack: Research suggests that many students studying in post-16 education find aspects of their study stressful, due to a combination of having high aspirations and finding this new level of education challenging. Our new lesson pack explores the potential challenges of moving to a new key stage and research-led strategies to manage these.

RSHE Review - Advisory panel remit

 

Senior Mental Health Lead Training

The DfE are keen to encourage further take up of the grant across the country, as having a trained senior mental health lead in a setting would support the whole school/college approach and therefore the mental health and wellbeing support the children and young people can benefit from. This is a great opportunity for schools and colleges to access funded training which offers full flexibility to meet the needs of the individual setting. 

Further information about the training offer and application process can be found at Senior mental health lead training - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

EPIC Food Study

University of Birmingham would like to invite educational colleagues to take part in an exciting new study on improving national school food policy and provision. You will take part in a workshop to explore views on school food and ideas to improve national school food policy.  The study is supported and funded by the National Institute for Health Research, on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.  

Participants will receive a £25 voucher for participating in the online workshop.  See flyer for details and respond to  Email: a.dobell@bham.ac.uk

What has gender got to do with young people's mental health?

Global research and earlier research from HeadStart suggests there are differences in mental health and wellbeing experienced by boys and girls, including that adolescent girls report lower subjective wellbeing levels than adolescent boys. 

In response to feedback from young people, in the final year of the HeadStart survey we added questions for Year 11 students that enabled a more nuanced approach to exploring young peoples’ experiences. In this study, we investigated differences in wellbeing, mental health difficulties, perceived stress and perceived support by gender identity.

We found that cisgender young people were more likely to report receiving social support, and that cisgender men/boys reported the highest level of subjective wellbeing and the lowest levels of mental health difficulties and stress. On the other hand, non-binary young people, transgender young people and young people who were questioning their identity had lower subjective wellbeing and higher levels of mental health difficulties. 

Access the briefing here

Gloucestershire Pupil Wellbeing Survey 2022

Gloucestershire Pupil Wellbeing Survey Report is now available.  Young people from schools, sixth forms and further education colleges took part in the survey and said what they think about a range of issues - from healthy eating, physical activity and living well to their experiences at school and how safe they feel. To access the full report of the Gloucestershire Pupil Wellbeing Survey 2022 click here. 

Mental Health Week

Mental Health Awareness Week is vital in increasing public understanding of mental health and how mental health problems can be prevented.The theme this year is Anxiety and what you can do to prevent it. 

Anxiety is a normal emotion in us all, but sometimes it can get out of control and become a mental health problem.

Lots of things can lead to feelings of anxiety, including exam pressures, relationships, starting a new job (or losing one) or other big life events. We can also get anxious when it comes to things to do with money and not being able to meet our basic needs, like heating our home or buying food. But anxiety can be made easier to manage.  Click here for more information 

Children’s Commissioner calls for National Qualification for DSLs

A report published in May 2023 by Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner, looks at the link between pornography and harmful sexual behaviour among pupils. The report recommends several reforms to manage the risks, including:
•An NVQ should be introduced in RSHE to train all teachers and prepare them to deliver sensitive curriculum topics, including pornography.
• A qualification for DSLs should be created akin to the National Award for SENCOs.
• RSHE teaching should take a safeguarding-first approach and should be overseen by the DSL.
• Schools should regularly consult with their pupils to ensure RSHE teaching is relevant and meeting their needs.
• Additional guidance for schools on how to proceed where no further action is taken by police or criminal justice systems, e.g. following an allegation of sexual abuse.

The report also said that every school should have a policy for preventing sexual harassment and violence.

RSHE Review News

Lucy Emmerson, the Chief Executive of the Sex Education Forum gave evidence in Parliment and spoke to MPS about the importance of remembering the established evidence base that underpins the current RSHE guidance, and called for the RSHE review to be informed by rigorous evidence.

Some of the key points made during the evidence session are covered in this guardian article, and the session was recorded on Parliament TV.  

A letter from Rt Hon Nick Gibb MP, Minister for Schools has been published in relation to the Women and Equalities Committee session, and this provides an update on the RSHE review: "The Department’s aim is to engage with a range of experts and interested parties, including parents and children, before issuing revised guidance for full public consultation in the Autumn, in order to allow revised guidance to be published early in 2024".

If you are inviting external visitors to support your RSE provision, we have a useful check-list to guide you through. 

New research from the Children’s Commissioner

New research from the Children’s Commissioner provides yet more evidence regarding the extent to which children are exposed to pornography, and its harmful impact on their safety, wellbeing and relationships. 

Join the PSHE Association online on 25 May for addressing sexual harassment through PSHE (primary) Twilight CPD course. You'll have the opportunity to explore how teaching the statutory content for Relationships Education at primary school can help to lay the foundations to address sexual harassment as pupils grow. 

King’s Coronation 2023:

Why are primary schools receiving wildflower seeds?

The Departmnet for Education are joining forces with the Eden Project to send thousands of packets of wildflower seeds to primary schools across the country to celebrate the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III.

This will give schools the opportunity to mark this historic moment, while helping children to learn more about the importance of biodiversity.  

When will children receive the seeds?

Seeds will be distributed to schools in the coming weeks. The Eden Project has made accompanying resources available here. Guidance for schools on where and how to plant the seeds is available here.

Working lives of teachers and leaders - wave 1

The inaugural Working Lives of Teachers and Leaders survey was carried out in Spring
2022 with teachers and leaders in state schools in England. Conducted by IFF Research
and the Institute of Education (IoE) on behalf of the Department for Education (DfE), the
survey is longitudinal by design and will run annually for at least five years, up to 2026.

In support of the DfE’s Recruitment and Retention Strategy, the study aims to explore
factors affecting the supply, recruitment and retention of teachers and leaders to help DfE
design policies that better support them.8 Specifically, it looks at factors – such as pupil
behaviour, pay and reward, flexible working, workload, and CPD – by school and teacher
characteristics (e.g., phase, length of service, subject area, gender, race/ethnic
background, etc.).  Download the full report here

Young Minds Matter

YMM is currently a pilot scheme and can only accept referrals for pupils from participating schools. If your school is not on this list, please contact TIC+ or seek support at onyourmindglos.nhs.uk

What is RSHE and why are we reviewing the curriculum to protect children?

The Department for Education want to make sure that young people can make informed decisions about their health, wellbeing and relationships, in a sensitive way that is appropriate for their age.

To ensure young people continue to be taught about these issues appropriately, they are going to review the relationships sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance.

Click here to read more about why and when the review is happening

 

Free Domestic Abuse Awareness Training Sessions

Green Square Accord are being supported by GDASS to offer FREE full day training events on Domestic Abuse: Awareness and Assessing Risk. 

The face-to-face training dates are running from April - October 2023. 

By the end of the course, you will have an understanding of:

• Domestic abuse and coercive control dynamics
• Up-to-date and relevant information on domestic abuse national and local guidance
• The county structures and referral processes
• Relevant issues relating to safeguarding, confidentiality and information sharing
• How domestic abuse affects children and how this shapes us in later life
• How to identify domestic abuse in adults and young people
• Specific issues relating to young people and domestic abuse
• Perpetrator behaviour in relation to risk
• How to build a trauma-informed practice around domestic abuse
• The varying levels of risk factors and markers in domestic abuse (standard, medium & high)
• Completing the DASH and Young Persons DASH risk assessment checklists
• How homicide and suicide relates to domestic abuse
• The key factors to consider when creating a safety plan
• Responding effectively to disclosures
• Taking an intersectional approach to working with groups from protected characteristics and/or those experiencing specific risks such as stalking, honour based abuse, and dementia.
• Understand the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) process and know how to contribute and refer into

Click here to view the training dates and book onto the course.

 

Dementia Badge Design Competition Launch 2023

National Dementia Action/Awareness Week is 16^th – 22^nd May. GHLL’s badge design competition addresses themes including empathy, equality, diversity, and difference. This links to your school’s PSHE curriculum, meets RSHE Statutory requirements, and counts as an intervention for your healthy school award.

Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning encourages all schools to enter the competition by the closing date - Monday 12^th June. Resources to support the delivery of the project are available for use with Primary and Secondary pupils via the GHLL Dementia webpage. The winner of the Badge Design Competition will see their work created into enamel badges, which will then be awarded to pupils who complete the learning about dementia. Gloucestershire’s NHS dementia team have kindly offered to fund the production of these enamel badges. Your GHLL Lead Teacher can support you further with the project if required: ghll@gloucestershire.gov.uk 

Click here to access the Dementia Badge Design template

Find out more and download the lesson resources via the GHLL Dementia webpage  

Download the Dementia poster here 

 

FREE Health and Wellbeing Lesson Pack and Period Products for Primary Pupils to KS3

About You, is a free health and wellbeing educaton programme suitable for primary school pupils through to Year 9. The programme links Relationships and Sex Education, follows the PSHE curriculum closely, and empowers pupils to grow in confidence during the physical and emotional changes that come with puberty. Important guidance for supporting emotional health, mental wellbeing and making positive relationships is also provided. 

Once a school registers for the education programme, they can be eligible to receive FREE period product packs for all KS3 girls in the school which are offered on a first come, first served basis.

About You resources include: 

• lesson packs which are modular, flexible, and full of engaging student-led tasks
• ready-to-use presentations, interactive quizzes, videos and activity sheets
• access to Nearpod, the interactive education platform

Resources adapted for SEND students are coming soon, along with a Primary Puberty module for younger students. 

Live Talks about Grief

Grief is complex, it’s complicated and it’s messy. Whilst everyone grieves differently there are some common threads and themes that can be helpful to know.

Our ‘Growing with grief: Guide to an undiscussed topic‘ live talks are an online information session led by a Winston’s Wish bereavement support worker. They cover the impact of grief, common feelings and ways to cope. We run live grief talks for grieving young people aged 16-25 years old and for parents, professionals and any other adults supporting grieving children and young people.

The talks are free to join and are held online via Zoom. Click the buttons below to find out more about our talks for adults and young people.

Talks for Young People

Talks for Adults

Closing the Gap Conference - Levelling the playing field

 

   

Closing the Gap Conference - Levelling the playing field 26th April 2023, 9.15am-3.45pm, Delta Marriott Cheltenham Chase Hotel, Brockworth, GL3 4PB

BOOKING INFORMATION:
Cost per delegate is £140 or at a reduced rate of £125 for GLOSSI Option 1 subscribers.
Places can be booked via the GCC Plus website. You will find the event by clicking on the calendar under the training tab.
If you require further information, please email EOIEvents@gloucestershire.gov.uk  

PSHE Association Quality Mark: HPV Virus and Vaccine 

The PSHE Association have awarded their prestigious quality assurance mark to a lesson on the human papillomavirus virus and vaccine. The ‘EDUCATE’ resource was co-produced by young people and researchers from the University of Bristol and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. It is most useful to Y8 pupils before they receive the HPV vaccine, but may also benefit other young people.

EDUCATE resources include teacher guidance, a lesson plan, student worksheets and resources, a Parent/Carer letter template, and Frequently Asked Questions for teachers.

Download the EDUCATE resource pack here

 

e-Bug Health Educator Training

e-Bug is an exciting, fun and free microbiology, hygiene and health education resource for children and young people aged 3 – 18. It is operated by Public Health England and provides resources for teachers and community groups including lesson plans and courses, interactive activities, handouts and worksheets. 

Topics include an introduction to microbes, hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, food hygiene, vaccinations and antibiotics. e-Bug also has an interactive website for students hosting complementary games, interactive quizzes, disease fact sheets and much more. 

All the e-Bug materials are free to download at www.e-Bug.eu, and are available in 23 different languages! 

A three-week e-Bug Health Educator Training course is avalable for free on the FutureLearn website to help individuals improve their skills in delivering e-Bug learning. The course is available in Welsh and English.

Access it here.

 

Gloucestershire Constabulary Open Day 2023

Save the date! 

Full schedule to be announced on the OPCC website.

 

Young People's RSE Poll 2022 - News Story

The Sex Education Forum has released new research that highlights the need for urgent Government support for RSE teachers in England. While educators are putting in significant effort to equip their students with the information young people need to navigate modern relationships and challenges, there has been a lack of follow-through on promised national investment and training.

The launch of our Poll findings, and call for young people's views to be at the centre of this year's RSHE Review are covered in the Independent and guardian.  

Young People's RSE Poll 2022 - News story

Download the Full Poll Report

International Women's Day: 8th March 2023

As our BOLD VOICES community continues to grow, we want to say thank you to our amazing community for joining us in our work to tackle gender inequality and gender-based violence.

We see IWD as a great opportunity to start conversations about these issues in schools. So, we have created a FREE guided lesson resource designed to start conversations about gender inequality in your classroom by exploring gender stereotypes and their relationship to power.

Designed for ages 11-18 | Duration: 10-20 minutes

The Landscape of County Lines Drug Gangs

The UK's only consultancy dedicated to crime and justice, Crest Advisory, has posted an article which considers three pressing issues connected to ‘county lines’ drug gangs:

• How are ‘county line’ drug networks changing?

• What are the links between ‘county lines’ and local drug markets? 

• What’s the best way to support young people caught up in drug dealing gangs?

Read the article to find out more here

 

Vaping in Children and Young People - Resources and Local Data

Smokefree Sheffield with support from ASH and a number of local authorities across Yorkshire and Humber have developed resources to support schools, colleges, parents, and carers to address youth vaping. 

These were developed in response to requests for help in dealing with youth vaping. They are designed to support carers and educators, including PSHE and safeguarding leads, to have evidence-based conversations and enable children and young people to make informed decisions about smoking and vaping. The resources include:
 
A letter to introduce the materials to schools, colleges and safeguarding leads  – which can be amended to suit individual areas, logos added etc.

Two posters which can be displayed where students will see them, in school toilets, classrooms, canteens, and noticeboards. Both digital and printed versions are available.

A short, animated film which can be used in PSHE lessons, form times and assemblies, to start discussions.

Classroom presentation for use by teachers alongside the animated film to guide discussions.

Teachers Toolkit to support educators, helping answer questions and signpost students to additional support.

Electronic leaflet for parents and carers about smoking and vaping which can be shared via newsletters or emails, for example.
 
The documents are available here.
 
The animation is available here.
 
To order and purchase printed copies of these resources or add your council logo to these please contact smokefreesheffield@divacreative.com for information and prices.
 
E-cigarettes are proven to be an effective method for adults to quit smoking, and are much less harmful than smoking. Smoking remains a big killer, accounting for 15% of all deaths in the UK in 2019 and killing up to two thirds of persistent smokers prematurely. Uptake of smoking and vaping in young people is most common among older teenagers, although it can occur earlier. Most youth vaping is experimental and most young people who vape have already tried smoking, which is far more harmful and is highly addictive. However, although vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking, vapes are not recommended for use by children and young people, or anyone who has never smoked, as vaping is not risk free. That is the key message of this campaign.

Data on vaping in children and young people in Gloucestershire is available here. 

 

Drug of Art Competition for Under 25s - Winning Entries Exhibited Alongside World Renowned Artists

Now and Beyond invite all young people aged 4-25 to enter their Drug of Art competition. The project aims to encourage young people to be creative, through art workshops, masterclasses and a podcast, to support their mental health. Winning submissions will be exhibited alongside three international artists. 

The competition theme is “How do I feel?” which covers two categories:  

1. My Happy Place

   Where is your favourite place to be? Tucked up in bed, at the beach, playing a sport? Being with friends and family or do you prefer your own company? Where do you find yourself most comfortable? In nature, at home, around your favourite people? Do you have a physical or mental safe place? This could be a photo, a sculpture or a painting.

2. My Reality

   What is your reality? What does your day to day look like? Do you suffer from anxiety or depression, if you do, can you visualize this? Can you express this frustration onto a piece of paper? This can be abstract, expressive, metaphorical or realistic. Could it be a diaristic self portrait, a busy crowd, a lonely room, a collection of your most important objects or expressive mark making. 

Resources are provided to support delivery. Free workshops are also available to participating schools. 

Winners will be announced by the 10th of July 2023 on the Drug of Art website.

Find out more here. 

 

Latest Opportunities from The Music Works

State of the Nation 2022: Children and young people’s wellbeing

The wellbeing of children and young people has been a focus of Government policy for a number of years. The impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has further emphasised the importance of supporting our children and young people’s wellbeing, which is why it remains a central part of the Department for Education’s plans for recovery. This report, the fourth State of the Nation, focuses on trends in mental health and wellbeing over the 2021/22 academic year, when a range of recovery-focused activity was in place across Government, which included the Department for Education’s education recovery programme. 

View the report

 

Mock Court Trials for Primary Schools

Magistrates in the Community (MIC) have started this year’s Mock Trials for primary schools in Stroud, Cirencester, Cheltenham and Gloucester during March and June 2023. The script this year is “Possession of a Bladed Article” in a public place. The decision was made to address this potentially controversial subject as knife crime is on the increase, with younger and younger people getting involved. As always, MIC have invited all schools to take part to talk about the courts, types of crimes which the magistrates deal with, and the power of sentencing which they have. The minimum intended outcome is for children to recognise that there are consequences to their actions.

Arrange Mock Trials for your pupils by contacting Susan Bruckel:  suebruckel@hotmail.co.uk 

Gloucester sessions will be delivered in the Court Room at SkillZONE.

Find out about the Mock Trials here

 

COMPETITION: Design a Superhero for Peace

Have you heard about the Knife Angel?

The giant sculpture, designed to help us think about peace, friendships, kindness, and forgiveness, is currently on display outside Gloucester cathedral.

The Stronger Safer Gloucester Partnership would like to collect artwork from children across Gloucestershire for display in March 2023 onwards. Children and young people are invited to take part in the High Sheriff's art competition to design a Superhero or Superheroine for Peace, in an art form of their choice. 

The competition is supported by our Police and Crime Commissioner, Chris Nelson and Mayor of Gloucester, Cllr Howard Hyman who will select entries to win prizes and meet with them to congratulate the winners and their families.

View the full competition details

Download a competition entry form here 

 

"How we’re helping look after the mental health of children and young people" - The Education Hub Blog

The Education Hub has published a blog post about how the Department for Education is helping schools to promote and support positive mental health in children and young people. 

The article covers: 

• the uptake of grants to train senior mental health leads in schools

• the development of an online resource hub

• the provision of early mental health support for children and young people 

• holistic approaches to improving the attendance of young people experiencing mental health challenges 

• mental health support for university students.

Read the full blog post here 

Read the State of the nation 2022: children and young people’s wellbeing report

 

Children's Mental Health Week 2023 Toolkit

Children’s Mental Health Week starts on 6th February, and this year the theme is ‘let’s connect’, looking at the importance that connections with others have on our mental health.

Happiful Article on Intergenerational Living

Happiful has today released a new article on Intergenerational living: what is it and how can it improve our social relationships?

Teaching colleagues delivering the Intergenerational Dementia Project may find the Happiful articul useful as an additioanl teaching and learning resource. 

Find out more about Intergenerational Dementia Project and explore other resources here. 

 

Looking for Ways to Commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day 2023?

Free BeeZee Bodies Healthy Lifestyles Programmes for Families

BeeZee Bodies are currently recruiting for their first BeeZee Families programmes of 2023. The 11-week programme starts in just under two weeks’ time – week commencing 16^th January and will be delivered at three venues across Gloucester and the Forest of Dean. The team are looking forward to welcoming lots of families who want to start building healthy habits and would really appreciate any help you can offer in sharing information about the programme and/or referring participants to them. 

To be eligible for the free service, the family must live/go to school/be registered with a GP in Gloucester or the Forest of Dean, and include one child aged 5-15 who is above their ideal healthy weight.

 

Start Date	Venue	Time
Monday 16th January	Quedgeley Methodist Church  GL2 4NE	5.00pm - 7.00pm
Tuesday 17th January	GL1 Leisure Centre, Gloucester  GL1 1DT	4.30pm - 6.30pm
Wednesday 18th January	The Main Place, Coleford  GL16 8RH	4.30pm - 6.30pm

 

New Year 2023: Clubbers Urged to Report Spiking Quickly

Read the full article here 

 

Being Mindful of Mental Health Over Christmas

The festive period can affect people's mental health in many different ways, whether they celebrate Christmas or not. 

Mental Health UK provide a brief guide to looking after your own and other people's mental health needs this Christmas. 

The guide includes suggested strategies to help you to cope, do's and don'ts for supporting others, and links to support services. 

View and download the guide here 

Visit the Mental Health UK website 

 

Winter Safety Activity Resources

The following two resources were produced by the Royal Life Saving Society and shared by SkillZONE: 

Winter water safety booklet - A fun, colourful five-page booklet including activity sheets, safety facts, and a quiz. 

Winter safety activity sheets - A printable two-page activity (included in the five-page booklet available above) which encourages children to identify dangers, complete a safety-themed wordsearch, and design their own snowman lifeguard!

 

SEND Newsletter from the PSHE Association

The PSHE Association have recently launched a new SEND newsletter which is freely available to members and non-members. The newsletter is relevant to educators in mainstream and special settings who support children and young people with SEND. 

The PSHE Association is also offering the opportunity for schools to pilot new SEND relationships education lessons from the NSPCC. 

Read more and subscribe to the newsletter here 

 

myHappymind Christmas Activity Guide

Posters Promoting STI Testing and Treatment

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have produced posters to encourage young people to get tested and treated to cure and prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. The posters, available in English and Mandarin, would be well suited to student noticeboards or pinned to the doors of toilet cubilcles. 

Get Tested, Get Treated Poster - English

Get Tested, Get Treated Poster - Mandarin

 

Free Webinars for Professionals

The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH) are providing the following free webinars for education professionals in the upcoming months:

• Mindful Emotion Coaching - Neurodiversity inclusive, trauma-informed approach to wellness.

31st January 2023, 17:15-18:45

• Depression: Identifying and Supporting Children and Young People - Understand how depression presents, role physical exercise may play, and tech and online interventions.

8th February 2023, 15:45-17:45

• Identifying and responding effectively to Traumatic Bereavement - David Trickey, delivers a comprehensive session packed with tips and advice.

28th February 2023, 17:00-18:30

• Substance Misuse (Pedagogy in practice) webinar for education professionals.

24th January 2023, 15:45-17:00

• Bereavement (Pedagogy in practice) webinar for education professionals.

7th February 2023, 15:45-17:00

• Social Media - Ask the Expert webinar for teachers and other education professionals.

1st March 2023, 15:45-17:00

The following CPD opportunities and resources are also available: 

Bipolar Masterclass
We are delighted to offer this Bipolar Spectrum Masterclass ‘Updates on assessment, monitoring, and treatment’ delivered by Dr. Rasim Somer Diler, one the of world’s leading experts in this field. Learning outcomes include identifying appropriate assessment and monitoring instruments for youth with and at-risk for bipolar spectrum disorders.

Social (pragmatic) Communication Disorders
In this podcast we are joined by Professor Courtenay Norbury (pic), Professor of Developmental Disorders of Language and Communications at Psychology and Language Sciences, and Jo Saul, lecturer in Experimental Psychology, both at University of London. They talk about thier recent JCPP paper ‘Prevalence and functional impact of social (pragmatic) communication disorders’ highlighting that social pragmatic deficits rarely occurred in isolation, but often alongside structural language difficulties and/or autism symptoms. They share implications, and recommend changes to better identify, diagnose, and support children with SPCD.

Featured Paper: JCPP
Medical body modification in youth with gender dysphoria or body dysmorphic disorder – is current practice coherent and evidence-based?
'We compare the two disorders in terms of the overlap and uniqueness of their behavioural and psychological features. In doing so, we discuss limitations of the existing (often low-quality) evidence for and against MBM in young patients. We conclude that the currently available evidence is too preliminary and far from conclusive to make any robust recommendations in terms of benefits and harms of MBM in youth with persisting GD or BDD.'
Authors: Gregor Kohls (pic), Veit Roessner

 

Secretary of State Announcement - Schools Bill to be Dropped

Brook and Lil-Lets Big Period Lesson Live

At Brook we believe all young people should learn about puberty in a timely and age-appropriate way. We also know it's important to make puberty education relevant to children's experiences so that they are prepared for the changes to their bodies, feelings and lives. That is why we have teamed up with Lil-Lets to deliver The Big Period Lesson Live on 1 March 2023 at 10am. The broadcast is free to access and aimed at young people in year 6&7. 

Led by expert Brook educators, the lesson will support your students to better understand their bodies, define what puberty and periods are, and know where to go for support. The first 50 schools to sign up will receive 100 Lil-Lets Teen Starter Packs to give to your students. (See Ts&Cs) 

Please register your class or assembly today and share with your contacts so that as many young people as possible can benefit from this important lesson. 

Sign up now 

 

New Podcast Series for Parent and Carers of Primary School Children

myHappymind has announced the launch of its new podcast series 'Navigating Tricky Times'. The series is inspired by reality of the cost of living crisis and the continued pandemic recovery, and shares strategies to help you to manage your relationships and mental well-being during challenging times. 

 

🎄 Host a Christmas Jumper Day in Aid of TIC+

Could your school, college, organisation or business host a Christmas Jumper day to raise funds for TIC+ this December? 

Wellbeing Advent Calendars for Pupils and Staff

Motivate yourself, your students, and your colleagues to invest a little time in personal wellbeing this winter break with YoungMinds free wellbeing advent calendars. 

Separate calendars are provided for primary schools, secondary schools, and for staff. 

View and download them here

 

Families delivery programme- early 2023

Here is a copy of our timetable, from which you will see that our programmes start w/c 16^th January and will run up until the end of March.  We have secured two fantastic delivery sites, firstly GL1 in the centre of Gloucester on a Tuesday and The Main Place in Coleford on a Wednesday.  We are awaiting confirmation of a third delivery site which will also be in Gloucester and will forward an updated timetable once that venue is confirmed.

We are now taking referrals for our January programme so please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or queries any of the free programmes we offer in Gloucester and the Forest of Dean.  We can accept referrals of families where at least one child is between the ages of 5 and 15 and over the 91^st Centile.  We work with the whole family on changing habits and behaviours through our carefully structured programmes.

If you wish to refer to us, there are a number of ways.  Probably the simplest and least time-consuming is via the NHS referral route G-Care where Beezee Bodies is listed.  Alternatively there is a referral form on our website which can be found by clicking here.  If you have any difficulty accessing the link, please don’t hesitate to contact the team directly on 01452 717262 or 07712 520992

Winter and Festive Wellbeing Tips

Christmas, New Year and the festive season can be a wonderful time of celebration and connection with people we love. For some of us, it can also be stressful and trigger difficult feelings. The Charlie Waller Trust has produced a Wellbeing in Winter article which suggests attainable ways to take care of your wellbeing this winter. 

The charity has also created kindness calendars to help adults and children exercise kindness for themselves and others in the run up to Christmas. 

Wellbeing in Winter

Adults Festive Kindness Calendar 

Children's Festive Kindness Calendar 

 

There is still time to have your say on the running of the Pupil Wellbeing Survey and GHLL

GCC’s Public Health team, who commission the Pupil Wellbeing Survey and Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning (GHLL), are keen to hear the views of Secondary School, FE College and Special School staff about what is working well and how these services could be improved for the future.

You may recall we first ran this survey at the end of the Summer Term, but we would really value more feedback from Secondary, FE and Special School phases. We have delayed until now, as we were advised to avoid the busy start of the academic year.

The Pupil Wellbeing survey is an online survey that runs every two years in Gloucestershire Schools and asks approximately 25,000 student their views on school life, diet, exercise and mental health to name but a few topics.

The aim of the Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning (GHLL) team, based in the council’s Education department,  is to help children and young people achieve their full potential and lead long, healthy, happy lives. The team work with schools and colleges to support children and young people to make positive choices to improve their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing e.g. through training and advice through Lead Teachers.

You can have your say on how these services are provided by following this link: https://haveyoursaygloucestershire.uk.engagementhq.com/gloucestershire-pupil-wellbeing-survey-and-ghll

Please respond to this survey by Friday 2^nd December.

Our plan for the future is to collate survey responses, evaluate and feedback our findings to you as stakeholders in a ‘you said we did format’.

Winter Holiday Activities and Food Programme

Families who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals can register now for the winter Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF) funded by the Department for Education.

The programmes will run for four days from 19th to 22nd December. Families are encouraged to register now to make sure their account is ready for when activity booking opens on Thursday 1st December.

There are lots of great options to choose from again including Christmas parties, drama and science workshops, various sports and games, art and crafts, as well as the ever popular ticketed attractions.

Families eligible for benefits-related free school meals can also apply for Holiday Free School Meal (FSM) vouchers, which the council is providing for two weeks. Parents will receive £30 per child (£15 per week, per child) from reception to year 11. Applications are open now and will close at midday on Tuesday 6th December.

Parents who have registered previously are automatically included and do not need to reapply. 

Anyone who needs additional support this winter can apply to the Household Support Fund which supports households in the most need with food, energy and water bills and other essential items.

 

Pupil Wellbeing Survey

The Pupil Wellbeing Survey (PWS) Team at Gloucestershire County Council will be running another Pupilinform database twilight training session on Tuesday 29th November from 16:15-17:30 to help you get the most from your PWS survey results. The session will take place on Microsoft Teams.

Training will include:

• An introduction to Pupil Wellbeing data
• Accessing data for your school through Pupilinform, logging on and navigating the system
• Analysing your data, querying, bench marking and statistical neighbours
• Creating reports and downloading ready to use data

 Follow this link to sign up to the training: Online Pupilinform Training (Pupil Wellbeing Survey 2022) Tickets, Tue 29 Nov 2022 at 16:15 | Eventbrite

*This training is open to all teachers and support staff who want to be able to interrogate their school PWS results - whether in primary, secondary, further education (6th form/college), Special Schools and APS’s.

*If you would like to be able to follow the demo in the live system - please ensure you have your login details to hand. If you do not have these then please contact sam.howe@gloucestershire.gov.uk who can arrange access.

 

Bereaved by Suicide

Supporting Children and Young People bereaved by Suicide.

A brilliant, beautifully designed and engaging resource, recently launched in South Yorkshire. 

It is a toolkit for those who support children, young people and families bereaved by suicide.

Download a copy here

Strategies for a Neurodiverse Classroom - 18th November 2022

The ADHD Foundation, in partnership with the Barnwood Trust, are holding a FREE conference event open to any education professional working in a school or college in Gloucestershire.
The programme will include presentations on evidence-based strategies to support neurodiverse children and young people in the classroom, including working memory, executive functioning challenges and support for self-regulation.

Date: Friday 18th November 2022

Time: 09:15 - 15:00

Venue: Hatherley Manor Hotel and Spa, Down Hatherley Lane, Gloucester, GL2 9QA

Booking link: Strategies for a Neurodiverse Classroom Tickets, Fri 18 Nov 2022 at 09:15 | Eventbrite

 

10 days of Happiness

10 Days of Happiness is a free online program to boost your wellbeing, through daily actions for happier living.

It is designed for challenging times, based on the latest research from positive psychology, neuroscience, and behavioural science.

And it takes just a few minutes each day!

Join the Program

 

FREE WEBINAR: Video Games, Money and Child Financial Harm

Talk Money Week is taking place between 7th and 11th November 2022. The PSHE Association invites teachers, parents, and all others who support children and young people are to attend a free webinar at 4PM to 5PM on Thursday 10th November which addresses the social impacts of video game monetisation.

Dr David Zendle, one of the world’s leading experts in the field, will present his pioneering research on how loot boxes and microtransactions are changing the face of video games and increasingly exposing children to financial risk and harm.

With the majority of top games in the Google Play store featuring loot boxes or microtransactions, this is an issue which children and young people will almost certainly encounter. The session will explore the issue, including links to online gambling and ‘money muling’, and discussing how PSHE education can help.

The session will be introduced and facilitated by Jonathan Baggaley, Chief Executive of the PSHE Association. 

Register to attend here 

 

Flu Virus and COVID-19 Booster Vaccines for Children

Who can get a flu virus vaccine?

The nasal spray flu vaccine is free on the NHS for:

• Children aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2022 (born between 1 September 2018 and 31 August 2020)

• All primary school children (Reception to Year 6)

• Children aged 2 to 17 years with long-term health conditions

Who can get a COVID-19 autumn booster vaccine?

• Aged 5 and over and at high risk due to a health condition

• Aged 5 an over and at high risk because of a weakened immune system

• Aged 5 and over and live with someone who has a weakened immune system

• Aged 16 and over and a carer, either paid or unpaid.

Children can have their seasonal booster if it’s been at least three months since their previous dose.

Find out more here 

 

New Firework Safety Lesson Plans

 

Let's Talk Suicide: Free Training to Support People at Risk

Gloucestershire Suicide Prevention Partnership (GSPP) are provding two free online Let's Talk Suicide courses to increase confidence and skills of professionals supporting individuals at risk of suicide. The sessions will also cover how to signpost people at risk to appropriate support.

Course 1:  11th & 14th November 2022

Course 2:   5th & 8th December 2022

More information is available here.

To register your interest, please email proudtolearn@gloucestershire.gov.uk

 

Get active this Halloween with the Gloucestershire Halloween Trail

To encourage people to get active this Halloween, we can move has set up the Gloucestershire Halloween trail. 

Follow the trail to find thirteen different spooky designs in your local area!

To take part in the Halloween trail, you can download one of the thirteen Halloween poster designs, colour them in then display them in your home’s front window. You can then add your street name to the Halloween trail map which allows people to follow the trail of spooky posters in their local area. 

The aim of the trail is to give people something fun and free to do this Halloween and get them active. How many spooky designs can you find? 

You can download the posters and access the map here. 

Alternatively, you can pick up one of the designs at your local library! Go to the Gloucestershire Libraries website to find your local library.

For more information about we can move, go to http://www.wecanmove.net/ 

 

Reporting Hate Crime in Gloucestershire Education Settings

A new poster has been produced which features a QR code to enable quick and easy reporting of hate crime in schools, colleges, and other education settings in Gloucestershire. It can be used to report hate incidents affecting children and young people between reception age, and year 13. 

Download the Hate Incident Reporting poster here 

 

Stakeholder Engagement Event: Children and Young People’s Weight Management Offer

Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) is planning to commission a Children and Young People’s Weight Management Offer, with the contract beginning on the 1^st April 2023. Local community stakeholders are invited to attend a virtual engagement and information session on Monday 10^th October between 15:30-16:30 to learn about what the offer might look like in Gloucestershire. GCC would particularly like to hear your views and feedback on the draft vision, principles, and service model as part of an ongoing dialogue to ensure that the offer builds on what is already working well, considers local aspirations, assets and concerns, and meets the needs of families.

Find out more here.

To book a place at this event, please register your details here.

 

Free News Literacy Webinars

The Guardian Foundation have produced a series of news literacy webinars, covering wellbeing and news, fake news and critical literacy and producing great news writing with your pupils. 

• Part 1: How to teach news: transform your classroom into a newsroom!

  • Tuesday 11th October 2022, 4.15pm - 5.15pm

• Part 2: Fake news detectives: developing pupils’ critical literacy skills

  • Thursday 13th October 2022, 4.15pm - 5pm

• Part 3: Balance and bias: developing pupils’ critical literacy skills

  • Tuesday 18th October 2022, 4.15pm - 5pm

• Part 4: Talking about the news and supporting children’s wellbeing

  • Thursday 20th October 2022, 4.15pm - 5.15pm

Find out more and book your place to attend here

 

Free Healthy Lifestyles Support for Children and Families

BeeZee Bodies Autumn Families programme is now underway, but referrals will continue to be accepted for the next three weeks. 

The 12-week programme supports families in a fun and informative way to help them build happy, healthier lifestyles. 

Families eligible to enroll in the free programme must live, attend school, or be registered with a GP in Gloucester City or Forest of Dean, and include one child aged 5-15 who is above their ideal healthy weight. 

Download a promotional leaflet

Download the Autumn programme schedule

Download the BeeZee Bodies poster for families

Download the BeeZee Bodies poster for professionals

 

Mentoring for Young Females

Gloucestershire Mentoring Programme is a free early intervention support service for vulnerable girls and young women in Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire. It’s distinctive because it’s for 11-25 year-olds considered at risk of being linked to criminal activity.

GMP offer trauma-informed, person-centered mentoring opportunities. Specifically, the chance to form a trusted adult relationship with a trained volunteer mentor – one that’s long-lasting, helps them build resilience and grow in confidence, and empowers them to have a positive future.

Visit the GMP website to make a referral 

Read the GMP September newsletter 

Download the 'Making a Referral' poster

View the 'Volunteer Mentor' poster

 

Supporting Children and Young People Regarding the Death of Her Majesty The Queen

The sad passing of Her Majesty The Queen is likely to impact many children and young people in numerous ways. The death of a public figure can affect individuals emotionally, and trigger feelings of grief for some.

It can be challenging to know how to address conversations around bereavement with children and young people. GHLL have collated a number of websites and resources which may be useful for professionals supporting young people at this time. 

View suggested links and resources here

Gloucestershire Constabulary Open Day

Gloucestershire Constabulary and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner are hosting a free open day on Saturday 17th September 2022 at the Police Headquarters: 

Gloucestershire Constabulary Police Headquarters,
1 Waterwells Drive,
Quedgeley,
Gloucester,
GL2 2AN.

Join them between 10am and 3pm for family activities, dog shows, competitions, and to learn more about how they police Gloucestershire. 

View and download the promotional poster here.

 

Live RSE Lesson for Sexual Health Week 2022

Sexual Health week is taking place between Monday 12th and Sunday 18th September 2022.

Brook invites you and your students to their Big RSE Lesson Live on 14 September at 10AM.

This broadcast is free to access and aimed at young people in year 9 and above.

The theme for Sexual Health Week is Breaking Barriers. We can all find it difficult to talk about topics that are personal or new. Part of breaking down barriers is learning to not isolate ourselves from our friends and knowing where to go for support if we need it.

Led by expert Brook educators, this lesson will support young people to:

• Recognise that it can be difficult to talk about some topics with peers, adults and professionals
• Identify strategies for talking about difficulty topics 
• Understand that there support services are available and learn how to access them

During the session, it would be useful if the young people viewing the broadcast have access to a smart phone or personal device. Brook educators will be asking a series of true of false questions on mentimeter.com and we would like as many people to take part as possible.

Register to attend the Big RSE Lesson here. 

For more information about Brook’s education and training offer, including free resources, visit brook.org.uk/education

 

Supporting Your Own Mental Health

Creative Education have produced a guide which offers quick and easy ideas that you can try to keep your self-care and wellness batteries topped up. The idea is that you can take what you like to build up your own mini self-care toolkit and share it with colleagues. 

Creative Education have said: "We know just how much you give to your whole school/college community. However, here is a little something we have made to help you also think of yourselves and your own well-being too."

Request a copy of the guide here 

 

Arts on Prescription Activities - 3rd September 2022

Art Shape, Cinderford Artspace, and The Music Works are working in collaboration to offer a three-hour arts on prescription activity session for 8-18 year olds with long term health conditions. Further details are provided on the poster below. 

More information on social prescribing can be found here. 

Download the poster here.

 

GHLL’s Purple Hollieday in Support of the Hollie Gazzard Trust

The GHLL team gathered in purple to mark ‘Purple Hollieday’ as they developed the training schedule for the new academic year.

Purple Hollieday is Hollie Gazzard Trust’s annual day to celebrate Hollie Gazzard’s life, and raise funds for the Gloucestershire charity’s valuable, nationwide work to address domestic abuse and stalking. HGT offers free assembly presentations and workshops to schools on the topics of healthy relationships, coercive control, and knife crime. They can also provide a workshop on the features and benefits of their next-generation personal safeguarding smartphone app, Hollie Guard.

Find out more about Purple Hollieday celebrations in 2022 here. 

 

TikTok and Instagram Freshers Campaign

On the 30th August, the Alcohol Education Trust (AET) will be launching a Tiktok and Instagram campaign aimed at supporting freshers during their first few weeks at university. Their handle, life_stuff.0rg signposts students to www.life-stuff.org for information and advice. The AET encourages the use of the hashtag #endspiking to promote awareness. 

Single drink testing strips are also being produced which enable people to see if a drink has been spiked with drugs such as Ketamine or MDMA. Testing strips and credit card size information cards on drink spiking awareness will be freely avaialble for students during freshers’ weeks. The AET hope to extend this campaign to festivals in the future.

For more information or to get involved, please contact helena@alcoholeducationtrust.org 

Important e-Bug Updates

Funded Yoga Class for Gloucestershire School Staff

Active Gloucestershire are working with Shift Yoga to offer 50 teacher’s and TA’s from primary, secondary and special schools in Gloucestershire, the chance to learn yoga so they can use their new found knowledge to support children and young people’s mental health.

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is so important, but it’s also important that you, as teachers, have good mental health.

Yoga can help.

FIND OUT MORE

 

Deafblind Awareness Week: New Resources from True Tube

Fundraise for Gloucestershire Based Domestic Abuse Awareness Charity

Purple HollieDay - Friday 8th July 2022

Gloucestershire based Hollie Gazzard Trust conducts transformational nationwide work to address domestic abuse and stalking. The charity offers free assembly presentations, and  workshops to schools on the topics of healthy relationships, coercive control, and knife crime. They can also provide a workshop on the features and benefits of their next-generation personal safeguarding smartphone app, Hollie Guard. 

Purple HollieDay will take place on Friday 8th July 2022 in schools, colleges, workplaces, homes, and other organisations. It is the Hollie Gazzard Trust’s annual day to celebrate Hollie Gazzard’s life, and raise funds for the valuable work that they undertake to address domestic abuse and stalking.

Visit the Hollie Gazzard Trust website to find out more.

Exam Results Days 2022

GCSE results day - Thursday 25th August 2022

A level and AS level results day - Thursday 18th August 2022

T Level results day – Thursday 18th August 2022

The dates have been confirmed in a new post, “When are GCSE, A level, T Level and other results days?” on The Education Hub's blog. 

View the full post here. 

 

Training to access your Pupil Wellbeing Survey Results

Thank you for your part in making the Pupil Wellbeing Survey 2022 a success. In total, over 24,000 children and young people across the county took part. A great achievement by all during a very challenging period.

In July we will be launching the new data from the Pupil Wellbeing Survey on our Pupilinform database. We are holding a number of face-to-face twilight training events across the county to help you understand how to get the most out of your school/college data.

Training will include:

• An introduction to Pupil Wellbeing data
• Accessing data for your school through Pupilinform, logging on and navigating the system
• Analysing your data, querying, bench marking and statistical neighbours
• Creating reports and downloading ready to use data

The following dates and locations are available for the training:

• Barnwood Park School, Gloucester, 4.30pm - 5.30pm, Tuesday 5^th July
• Dene Magna School, Mitcheldean, 4.30pm - 5.30pm, Wednesday 6^th July
• Cirencester 6^th Form College – 4.30pm - 5.30pm, Tuesday 12^th July
• Sir Thomas Rich’s School, Gloucester, 4.30pm-5.30pm, Thursday 14^th July

A big thank you to those schools/colleges who have kindly agreed to host.

You will need access to Pupilinform for this training so please ensure that you have tested that your user ID and password work in advance of the session. If you do not yet have access - please contact sam.howe@gloucestershire.gov.uk to arrange an account.

 Please follow this link to sign up to a training date: Training on Pupilinform - Accessing Results for the Pupil Wellbeing Survey Tickets, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite

 

Jessie and Friends

The website is based on the three-episode Jessie & Friends animated series, which aims to equip 4-7 year olds with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to stay safer online. It is intended to be used by 4-7 year olds alongside their parents and carers, or within education settings as a learning tool.

The new interactive website encourages 4-7s to engage safely online by helping them to recognise worrying, upsetting or scary situations and reinforcing the key message that they should ‘Tell A Grown Up’ in these instances.

The guide aims to support parents and carers in navigating the website alongside their child. It provides information on the background and purpose of the website, in addition to information about each of the games and conversation starters to use with children. The guide is available for you to download and share with parent and carer networks within your setting.

 

Big Health Event - 17th June 2022

 

Just Like Us LGBT+ Resources for School Diversity Week 2022

School Diversity Week will be celebrated between 20th - 24th June 2022. 

Just Like Us, the LGBT+ young people's charity, have produced a vast range of free lesson plans, resources, and assemblies for primary and secondary schools which can be downloaded via their website. 

Create a free account to view the resources here. 

Preparing Year 6 pupils for secondary school: free resource

At this time of year primary schools will be starting to think about how they can prepare pupils for the transition to secondary school in September.

Our Moving up! animation and accompanying teacher toolkit supports pupils to identify and manage any potential worries associated with starting secondary school.

The teacher toolkit contains a number of resources including a lesson plan, assembly plan and poster.  

Download it for free

     

 

Self Help for Exam Stress

Self Help for Exam Stress

It is normal to feel a bit worried about exams and this may cause you to feel anxious or depressed, which might affect your sleep or eating habits.
If you are experiencing any of these feelings, or are worried that exam pressure is becoming too much, you are not alone, and there are things you can do

Self Help for Exam Stress

Mental Health Awareness Week

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and this year’s theme is loneliness. As more of us return to the office and restrictions become a thing of the past, you might expect to see a drop in the levels of reported loneliness and isolation. We know that working can and should be good for our mental health – people who are employed are less likely to report feeling lonely often or always, compared to those who are unemployed or economically inactive. Yet, with the myriad of ways in which work has changed for us all over the last few years, we continue to hear stories of loneliness both at home and in the workplace. 

 

Top Tips for Exam Preparation this Summer

This year students will sit exams set and assessed by exam boards. For many young people this will be the first time you are taking formal exams and assessments so it may be worth taking the time to ensure you know what to expect and how you can best prepare for your exams. Ofqual have published a useful guide to exams which explains the support that is in place for you in taking exams and assessments. It also provides other information about this year’s arrangements.

Understanding Consent

“It’s not about getting the answer you want, but listening to the one you get.”

A 90-second Aardman animation called ‘Consent’ will be used as a teaching resource in schools across Gloucestershire to help young people understand consent and boundaries.

The video has been incorporated into a new primary RSHE lesson plan Understanding Consent. Read the press release.

 

Dementia Action Week 16th - 23rd May Open Mics Challenge

Make contact
Interview and investigate
Create a visual representation
Share

Take part in our challenge this year and help raise awareness of dementia! Prizes for Key Stage 2, 3, 4 and 5 pupils. By connecting with someone who may be lonely, who may have dementia, or may at times seem invisible to the outside world not only helps them but, in turn, makes us feel good about ourselves. 

Download details about the Open Mics Challenge

Help for teachers and families to talk to pupils about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how to help them avoid misinformation.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is distressing and concerning, and we understand children and young people may have questions or be seeking reassurance. We know that schools are well placed to talk to pupils about the images they are seeing and help them navigate the concepts and issues this brings up but we’re also aware that it raises issues some schools and teachers may never have encountered before.

Here we share some useful advice and resources for schools and teachers – but they may also be useful for families and young people themselves.

Talking about Russia and Ukraine

We know that children and young people may be worried or upset when hearing the news about Russia invading Ukraine so we have created a list of resources and organisations that can help

Useful resources for talking about Ukraine and Russia - BBC Children in Need

Free Resources for Children's Mental Health Week

The theme of this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week is ‘Growing Together’. Our Vision is ‘Sharing best evidence, improving practice’, and to this end we urge you to take a look at the learning opportunities on our website and to share with your networks.

Make Music Gloucestershire's Music in Schools Conference

Understanding Eating Disorders

Around 1.25 million people in the UK suffer from eating disorders. These disorders can cause serious harm, both physically and emotionally, and they have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Dr. Dasha Nicholls explains why early diagnosis, intervention, and treatment is critical in this 8-minute film, from the charity Nip in the Bud.

FREE webinars for professionals

Monday 7th March 2022, 6-6.30pm

Book Now

Are you a professional with bereaved children and young people in your care? Join one of our 30-minute webinars to find out more about Winston’s Wish, our bereavement support services and how we can help you as a professional in supporting bereaved children and young people.

Winston’s Wish provides emotional and practical bereavement support to children, young people (up to 25) and those who care for them. Our expert teams offer one off and ongoing bereavement support and we also provide online resources, specialist publications and training for professionals.

In our Meet Winston’s Wish webinar, you will learn how to make a referral and the process of working with Winston’s Wish to support those in your care. There will be an opportunity to ask questions, however we ask that you keep questions general. If you would like to discuss how to support a specific bereaved child, please contact our Freephone Helpline on 08088 020 021 or email ask@winstonswish.org

 

Holocaust Memorial Day

Here you will find resources to help your school mark Holocaust Memorial Day. We have a range of assemblies, lesson plans and activities to help your students learn about the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution, and genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur, as well as contemporary issues.  Our free, downloadable resources contain everything you need to get involved with Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD), even if you are new to teaching this subject. Our HMD education guidelines for teachers provide a starting point for planning your HMD activities.

Are you a professional that needs to talk? Is something worrying you? It really helps to talk to a family member, friend, someone you trust or someone at school or college….

• TIC+ : Webchat: www.ticplus.org.uk or call 0800 6525675 – parent support and advice line,
• Samaritans: 116 123 email: jo@samaritans.org
• CrimeStoppers: 0800 555 111 (100% anonymous, Always)
• Gloucestershire Self Harm Helpline: (5pm to 10pm daily):Freephone: 0808 801 0606
•  www.gloucestershireselfharm.org  text :07537 410022
• Glos NHS: https://www.onyourmindglos.nhs.uk/
• QWELL: https://qwell.io
• The Door: 01453 756745
• Winstons Wish: 08088 020021
• Employee Assistance Programme: (for school and college staff) — 08448 910359
• Occupational Health: Phone : 01452 425073 (office hours) or Email: ohu@gloucestershire.gov.uk
• Police Information: 101
• CAMHs Professional Advice Line: 01452 894272

An emotionally healthy approach to GCSEs - a guide for teachers

This guide is part of a series about taking an emotionally healthy approach to GCSEs. This is the teachers guide, and the others are for pupils and parents and carers. The guides are packed with practical tips and ideas to support young people before, during and after exam time. Although written in reference to GCSEs, the content can be applied to any exam.

Please note these guides were last updated in 2019, so they do not refer to the Coronavirus pandemic but the advice is still sound and based on evidence.

Additionally, the following articles relate to the current situation:

Not taking exams is the biggest test of all

Talking to children about online sexual harassment

A new guide for parents has been published by the Children's Commissioner on how to talk to children about online sexual harassment. 

The guide includes tips from young people about how parents can open up earlier conversations about sexual harassment, nudes, sexualised bullying, photo editing, body image and peer pressure. Conversation starters are provided along with lists of organisations for further help and support. 

The guide, which is in part built upon the experiences and voices of young people, provides adults with practical advice on how to navigate discussions with their own children.

What does Covid Plan B mean for schools, colleges, universities and early years?

Yesterday, the Prime Minister announced the implementation of Plan B of the COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan, as a result of increasing pressure on the NHS.

We have already increased safety measures across education settings and we set these measure out in a previous post on 28 November

Here we provide further details on what Plan B means for education settings.

 

What does Covid Plan B mean for schools, colleges, universities and early years? - The Education Hub (blog.gov.uk)

16 Days of Action Against Violence

Tackling domestic abuse in Gloucestershire

Thursday 25 November marks the beginning of 16 days of action against domestic violence, and  to support the campaign, Gloucestershire’s domestic abuse partnership board is launching Gloucestershire’s new strategy which outlines how organisations will work together to tackle domestic abuse in the county.

 In Gloucestershire 38% of violent offences reported to the police are domestic abuse and 78% of victims are female.

The 25 November is also the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and in support; organisations will be highlighting the issue of violence against women and girls and displaying the campaign banner on social media. Please help raise awareness of these issues by sharing our social media.

You can support the campaign by sharing a photo of yourself on social media, wearing orange or posing with our sign. Share your photos with us by tagging @GlosCC and using #GlosIDEVAW.  

Over the 16 days (25 November – 10 December), organisations across the county will be sharing information on the support available to victims and their families.

 

Mental Health Z Card 2021

Mental health support options for staff, children and young people in one handy flyer

Click the link Mental Health Z card

'Flare' APP is a Safer Gloucestershire app, created for women and girls, to anonymously share their experiences of how and where they’ve felt unsafe.

'Flare' is a Safer Gloucestershire app, created for women and girls, to anonymously share their experiences of how and where they’ve felt unsafe.

The app helps local agencies understand how and where you feel unsafe and take action.

It’s anonymous, quick, free to use and can connect you to support and advice in Gloucestershire.

For more information visit: Flare App | Gloucestershire Constabulary 

 

Reportable experiences may include:

• Staring
• Cat calling/wolf-whistling
• Inappropriate gestures
• Inappropriate comments/comments on physical appearance
• Invading personal space
• Verbal abuse
• Drink spiking
• Being followed/spied on
• Being bought/sent unwanted gifts
• Online harassment/stalking
• Threatening violence or sending threatening objects
• Unwanted repeated social contact
• Other stalking behaviour
• Sexual comments made in public
• Inappropriate touching without consent
• Being sent inappropriate images
• Indecent exposure
• Up skirting
• Serious sexual assault/rape

Sign Up Now - 2022 Pupil Wellbeing Survey

All schools and colleges are invited to confirm whether they wish to participate in the 2022 Pupil Wellbeing Survey (PWS)                         

Invitations were sent via email on Thursday 7^th October.

Please contact the survey provider, RM Insight at pupilwellbeingsurvey@rminsight.co.uk if you have not received the email invitation. 

Schools and colleges should complete the Signup survey by 30^th November. 

Keys to Happier Living

Got that "back to school" feeling?

The Keys to Happier Living Toolkit is an engaging, evidence-based programme to promote the emotional wellbeing and resilience of children aged 5-11. 

Based on the 10 Keys to Happier Living framework, this Toolkit includes full teaching materials, personal journals and extensive supporting resources.
Watch our video with Headteacher Alexis Gaffin to hear how introducing the Toolkit and 10 keys into her school has improved student and staff wellbeing.  

Vaccination drop-in clinics for all ages

To view all drop-in clinics, please visit the NHS vaccination Covid portal.

• Thursday 25 November: Old Cinderford Health Centre | 3.45pm-7.30pm
• Friday 26 November: Old Cinderford Health Centre | 8:45am-12:30pm and 1:40pm-5:30pm
• Saturday 27 November: North Cotswold Hospital, Moreton-in-Marsh | 8.30am-1pm and 1.30pm-5pm
• Sunday 28 November: Rosebank Surgery, Gloucester | 9am-2.45pm

You can visit any of the above clinics if:

• you need a booster vaccination and it has been 6 months since your second dose of the vaccine
• you are 12-15 years old in need of a first dose of the vaccine (must be accompanied by a parent)
• you are 16/17 needing your first dose of the vaccine
• you are 18+ needing your first or second dose of Pfizer 

Congratulations - Healthy Schools Award

Many Congratulations to the following schools who have been awarded their Healthy Schools:

• Badsey First School - part of the GLA
• Churchdown School Academy
• Denmark Road High School
• Kingswood Primary School
• Northway Infant School
• Ruardean C of E Primary School
• St. Peter's Catholic Primary School
• Stow on the Wold Primary School
• Thrupp Primary School
• Wyedean School and Sixth Form Centre

 

Coptober

Thanks to Boob Champions Oh Golly Creative, Coptober is the new October (and October, if you didn't know it already, is Breast Cancer Awareness Month). It might seem strange to dedicate a whole month to raising awareness of breast cancer when most people already know it exists. Whilst lots of us will sadly be all-too aware of the disease, a quarter of young people don’t realise that they are at risk of being affected by it. That’s why we’ve launched our new campaign, Know Yourself, encouraging everybody (and every body) to get to know what's normal for them. Get to know your body - it’s folds, juts, dimples, crinkles, curves - and know how it changes, so you can spot if something doesn’t look normal for you. 

https://vimeo.com/601738494 

Self Harm Webinar For Professionals

              

Please email glosselfharm@rethink.org or janice.laverick@rethink.org in order to find out more about this free resource.

World Mental Health Day

In order to support your students this World Mental Health Day (10 October), we’ve created a new Self-care resource to help students explore what self-care techniques work for them. Our range of bite-sized activities cover topics such as mindfulness, connecting with others and kindness, and are supported by engaging videos and personalisable bullet journals.

This resource is underpinned by the Five ways to wellbeing and is designed to fit flexibly into the school day. It also covers core PSHE topics within Relationships and Health Education.

Wellbeing in Education – Coping with the impact of Covid-19; moving on from the pandemic

The aim is to support schools in meeting the emotional needs of pupils and staff to manage the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Developed by the Educational Psychology Service together with Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning and the Advisory Teaching Service

During October and November 2021, we are holding a series of free webinars for all schools and colleges in the county, adapted from the series of webinars presented in Autumn 2020.  These webinars aim to provide tools to enable staff to protect and strengthen their whole school/college’s resilience to the wellbeing and mental health impacts of Covid-19.  

Please book your training spaces by registering your interest to Ula.WOOLLEY@gloucestershire.gov.uk Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Date	WER Session 1 or 2	Time
07.10.21	WER Session 1	9.30 – 11.00 am
13.10.21	WER Session 1	9.30 – 11.00 am
15.10.21	WER Session 1	1.30 – 3.00 pm
20.10.21	WER Session 1	3.30 – 5.00 pm
04.11.21	WER Session 2	9.30 – 11.00 am
12.11.21	WER Session 2	9.30 – 11.00 am
17.11.21	WER Session 2	1.30 – 3.00 pm
25.11.21	WER Session 2	3.30 – 5.00 pm

Black History Month - Teacher Resources

 

Kooth - free online drop in sessions for professionals

Would you like to find out about what Kooth offers for young people?

 FREE ONLINE DROP-IN SESSIONS IN OCTOBER FOR SOUTH WEST PROFESSIONALS

During October Kooth  will be running free online, drop-in information sessions for school staff and professionals in the South West, including an overview of the website and an informal Q&A. 

Tuesday 5^th October 4 – 5pm

Thursday 14^th October 4 – 5pm

Monday 18^th October 4 – 5pm  

Please click HERE to register and secure your space

Why remembering pupils’ names is so important

Ofsted Review of Sexual Abuse in Schools and Colleges

Ofsted review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges Ofsted was asked by the government to carry out a rapid review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges. CLICK HERE to read the report which summarises Ofsted's findings and recommendations.

Peer-On-Peer Abuse - Information leaflet for staff

Peer-on-peer abuse can take various forms and include serious bullying, relationship abuse, domestic violence, child sexual exploitation, harmful sexual behaviour, and/or gender based violence.
This form of abuse occurs when there is any kind of physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse or coercive control exercised between young people. It includes bullying, cyberbullying, sexual violence, harassment and sexting.
It should be recognised that the behaviour in question is harmful to both the perpetrator (who is the young person) and the victim. Behaviour may be intimate or non-intimate.  To download the leaflet click here

 

Self-care summer activity pack

Sex Education Forum Most Improved RSE Provision Award

GHLL would like to congratulate teachers Emily Hall and Fleur Critchley on their success and winning the award!

Well Done!  Read the announcement in full 

Summer Reading Challenge 2021

This summer Gloucestershire Libraries are once again taking part in the Summer Reading Challenge. This national event, from the Reading Agency, encourages children to enjoy reading and to visit their library – encouraging them to borrow at least 6 books over 3 visits with rewards and opportunities to get involved with other events and activities.

In 2019, when the Summer Reading Challenge last took place in all our Gloucestershire Libraries, nearly 10,000 families took part – discovering reading for pleasure and keeping up their reading skills. Last year despite the Summer Reading Challenge not going ahead in local libraries and activities moving online , library staff still delivered resources to foodbanks and looked after children which were very well received.

This year, library staff will work with foodbanks again, delivering free resources and gifted books to 1200 children across the county. 

This year’s theme is ‘Wild World Heroes’ – inspiring families and children to enjoy reading as well as getting outside to help protect their planet. The scheme will be boosted by activities organised by individual libraries and key cultural partners such as the Everyman Theatre and the Museum of Gloucester.

https://summerreadingchallenge.org.uk/ 

If it's bother you, it bothers us

featuring some of the issues being faced by young people and reminding them of the help and services available from TIC+. The video has been co-produced with young people, and features young actors. I’d really appreciate your help in sharing this video widely in Gloucestershire. See the link below:

Celebrating LGBTQ+ contributions to equality & inclusivity

We are exceptionally excited to introduce our #ProuderTogether virtual event on 1 July. Join us as we celebrate the impact and contributions made towards LGBTQ+ equality and inclusivity.

Spaces are limited so book now!

A message from the Children's Speech and Language Therapy Team

A researched targeted language programme to support children’s language development is available free of charge to primary schools. Some schools in Gloucestershire will already have accessed this and NELI are looking to provide further/on-going support for these schools.  If you haven’t enrolled please read on …

Evidence shows that children’s language development has been impacted by lockdown, disruption to their education and reduced opportunities for social interactions.  We know that identifying children’s language needs early and providing them with targeted language support has positive outcomes.  We also know that those who have greatest contact with the child have the greatest impact on their development.

NELI is a school-based programme for children in Reception (4-5 years) which has been found to improve children’s language and early literacy skills.  This programme is funded by the DfE.

Primary schools are eligible to enrol on the NELI programme free of charge (places are being allocated on a first come first served basis and registration is open until 30^th July 2021).  To register and find out more please follow this link: https://www.teachneli.org/

Research into the NELI programme has shown that children receiving this programme have made 3+ months’ progress in their oral language skills when compared to a control group.  These children also made progress is early word reading.

The Programme provides on-line training for staff, includes a language screening tool to identify pupils who will benefit from this approach and printed resources/materials and session plans to provided targeted interventions.

The children’s Speech and Language Therapy service knows that schools play a significant role in developing the language skills of their pupils and we believe that this programme will further support you to improve the outcomes for reception aged children.   

NSPCC Speak out, Stay safe online reminder

The NSPCC Schools Service has developed an online version of our popular ‘Speak out, Stay safe programme’ while we can’t visit schools in person. This is available to all primary settings free of charge.  

There’s still time to use these assemblies for your children in term 6 and the sign up process is quick and easy. Simply follow the link at www.nspcc.org.uk/speakout.

The main programme consists of two video assemblies (one for YR/KS1 - 15 minutes and one for KS2 - 25 minutes) that empower children by helping them learn about

• Speaking out to a trusted adult if they ever feel worried, unsafe or unsure
• Who trusted adults can be
• Age-appropriate explanations of child abuse, and that abuse is not OK and needs to stop
• The Childline service

The programme includes optional supporting resources to consolidate learning, supporting information for school staff and information to send out to parents and carers. The assemblies are perfect for use in class bubbles as they are easily accessed online for use on an interactive whiteboard. The video assemblies include pause points for class interaction, and feature cameos from Ant and Dec!

Nurture International Virtual Conference

Nurture International Virtual Conference

Using a Trauma Informed Nurturing Approach to Heal Trauma

SAVE THE DATE - 24TH JUNE 2021

 

Key note speakers ·         Dr Francis McGlone – The importance of touch. ·         Rose Cope – Metacognition ·         Join a variety of workshops during the day that will help you to feel more confident in supporting children’s development and recovery from traumatic events. ·         Gain knowledge of strategies to implement in classrooms and whole schools. ·         Take the opportunity to network with like-minded people. Workshops ·         There will be a variety of workshops including: ·         The missing piece of the jigsaw – understanding sensory difficulties, ·         What we can learn from Romanian children, ·         An introduction to the Developmental Portrait, ·         The neuroscience of Attachment ·         Using the six enhanced nurture principles for learning to aid recovery.   Awards ·         For outstanding practice in the nurture approach for learning, both a pastoral worker and a teacher, will be presented an award in memory of Mel Moczulzki and Carol Speed. ·         The successful nominees will receive a certificate and a free place on one of the training programmes offered by Nurture International. Contact us at: ·         To make a booking for the conference.yvonne@nurtureinternational.co.uk

9.30-3.30pm £35.00 per person     Nominate a colleague for outstanding nurture practice – Deadline for nominations 10 June 2021   Workshops and speakers to support you in your school     Network with like-minded practitioners     We are looking forward to meeting you all.       www.nurtureinternational.co.uk 9.30 am to 4pm. £35.00 per person

Siobhan Baille concerned about sexual harrassment of schoolgirls in Stroud

MOVES Transition Webinar

As part of the transition support  that has been introduced in Gloucestershire, the Local Authority has commissioned Foster and Brown Research  Ltd., who operated the very successful transition survey for Year 6 pupils during the first lock down last year. This is a short (about 10 minutes) pupil  focused questionnaire specifically for Year 6 pupils. It’s focus is on transition to secondary school and provide the opportunity for Year 6 pupils to say how they are feeling about this time in their lives.  The aim is for secondary schools to have a clear sense of the well being needs of their new intake pupils, in order to better support the transition process. The data will also help primary schools inform their transition process for next year. Reports will be sent to participating primary schools and destination secondary schools in August. We will be holding  a live zoom Webinar for primary schools to attend on Wednesday June 16th at 3.45pm.  To access the link please email ghll@gloucestershire.gov.uk  

Action on ACEs Conference 2021

Mental Health Support

Peer Mediation Training by GHLL

  Peer Mediation training offers an opportunity for pupils to learn the skills required to help others resolve conflict. When   implemented successfully, peer mediation can improve pupils' communication skills, provide an alternative to teacher arbitration,   help prevent minor conflicts from escalating and make a significant contribution to calmer and more peaceful schools.  

 Teachers play a vital role in helping to weave the scheme into the fabric of the school.   This is achieved both through discussion in   class and by including a peer mediation system into a whole-school policy on behaviour management and pastoral care. It is   important that school staff understand the concepts of conflict resolution and peer mediation training programmes and how these   complement a number of approaches including restorative practice, circle time, anti-bullying strategies, peer leadership training,   peer counselling, peer mentoring and equality and diversity programmes dealing with prejudice and stereotypes.

 For further  information and to find out about our free training please email ghll@gloucestershire.gov.uk

Mental Health Awareness Week May 10-16

Mental Health Awareness Week May 10-16

It's Mental Health Awareness Week and a great time to think about how we're feeling. The national lockdown has been difficult for many of us and now that restrictions are easing there may be new challenges to consider. So for Mental Health Awareness Week we have a new article on the COVID-19 hub that gives you tips on how to cope with anxiety about coming out of lockdown. We have also updated Every Mind Matters resources to help conversations about mental health and the things in our daily lives that can affect it. 

The Better Health - Every Mind Matters website has recently been refreshed to help people access our content more easily.

Summer sun

Summer Sun Awareness Week 10-15th May

 Drop in and meet Gloucestershire Hospital's Clinical Nurse Specialist & Cancer Support Worker at The Macmillan Hub at  Gloucester Royal Hospital, find out more about the dangers of unprotected sun exposure, and how to protect your skin and what to look out for if you're worried.

 Come along to the Macmillan Information Hub in The Atrium

 No appointment needed
 Macmillan Cancer Support

Mental health resources for children, students, parents, carers and school/college staff

We know that the pandemic and the associated measures and restrictions, such as social distancing and school closures, will be impacting on the mental wellbeing of some children and young people. Below, we have put together some useful links and sources of support so that children and young people, parents, carers, and school and college staff can get the advice and help they need. We have also added a new module to the RSHE  curriculum for primary and  secondary schools specifically designed to focus on mental health.

Psychological First Aid: Supporting Children and Young People

DfE message about RSHE - February 2021

External Agencies and RSE

Schools are receiving many offers of help with RSE delivery from a range of
organisations and individuals. Some of these may be familiar but others will be new. 

How is a school to know what would be suitable for its pupils and whether the input offered will be in line with its approach to RSE? This guide aims to help schools consider how external agencies can best contribute to Relationships and Sex Education (RSE). It is also relevant to RSHE and broader PSHE education.

To download the full document click here

Better Health - Every Mind Matters

Public Health England are launching the Better Health - Every Mind Matters campaign to support the nation’s mental wellbeing with the encouragement that “When things aren’t so good out there, make inside feel better”. Aimed at adults, but weighted towards those most at risk of mental health problems, this “Make Inside Feel Better” 2021 phase of the campaign will run across PR, radio, social and digital. The key message will be to encourage people to create a free NHS-approved ‘Mind Plan’.

https://www.ghll.org.uk/pink-safeguarding-curriculum/public-health-england/ 

PSHE - lessons on loss and bereavement

On average, 1 in every 29 children will be bereaved of a parent — the equivalent of one in every class — and many more children will experience the death of another family member or friend. These lesson plans provide the opportunity to take a sensitive approach to learning about bereavement in the classroom. They will support children and young people to develop the skills and understanding they need to deal with this particular life event.

The free resource packs include a teacher guidance document along with a lesson plan and PowerPoint for each lesson.

Visit Winton’s Wish to download the free materials

Music Inclusion Conference 2021

Music Inclusion Conference 2021 click here to Register for FREE

5 Ways to support our mental health while teaching from home

• Detox digitally: Try to find time in your day to unwind from digital appliances, giving your eyes, head and brain a chance to detox from the constant speed of media content. It is good for your health and wellbeing to switch of all devices one hour before bedtime each evening.
• Set good Boundaries   Aim to keep your workspace, recreation space and sleep space and times separate to help distinguish between work, home life and rest. Make a conscious effort as you walk into your work space and also leave it at the end of the day.
• Find new ways to connect?  Try setting yourself small tasks, rewards or challenges throughout the working week. Make small changes to your daily walk, change the route or try a different activity or hobby in the evening that you haven’t tried before.  Keeping your mind enquiring and engaging in finding new things can ease the current pressures and support your mental health.
• To read the full article click here

Pupils can access free books during school closures

Check out this site

https://www.tes.com/news/pupils-can-access-free-books-during-school-closures

Sexual Violence Awareness Week Training

Sexual Violence Awareness Week begins on 1^st February. As part of this week, the below training session is available to all professionals who wish to learn more about responding to disclosures of sexual violence.

 

The session brings together expertise from Hope House Sexual Assault Referral Centre, Gloucestershire Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre and research from the University of Gloucestershire. It will cover how best to support survivors, what you can do, and what survivors say isn't helpful, and how to look after yourself.

 

Booking can be made via the below link on any one of the 3 sessions available:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/handling-sexual-violence-disclosures-training-tickets-137074673037

Dementia Awareness Film - I'm still here

GHLL are funded through the CCG  for Dementia education in schools and colleges.  A video filmed with pupils from Newent Community School, alongside people living with Dementia is available. Download a summary and get more dementia resources

Yoga for emotional health and wellbeing

Yoga resources to help you use breath, movement and relaxation in the classroom for Primary and Secondary schools

GHLL, in partnership with Active Gloucestershire and Shift, bring you a series of videos to guide teachers and pupils through breathing, movement and relaxation techniques to support their emotional and physical health and wellbeing.

The practise of yoga helps young people to become aware of their breath, bodies and minds, noticing sensations and learning to mindfully watch thoughts as they come and go, and how to alter their breath to control their nervous system. This has a powerful effect as it separates the young person from being actively involved in their thoughts to being able to choose which thoughts and feelings they want to act on. 

 

Tic+ Parent Support Groups

 

Tic+ are pleased to announce that we will be launching a series of Parent Support Groups from February 2021.  
The groups are for parents living in Gloucestershire who are worried about the mental health andemotional wellbeing of their child or young person (between the ages of 11-18).  

Groups will take place initially by Zoom on a variety of days and times. We aim to run groups face-to-face from April 2021 (providing COVID restrictions allow for this) at Gloucester, Forest of Dean and Cheltenham venues.  Further details can be found on the new Parent Support Group page of our website.  Electronic versions of the information leaflet and diary listing all groups are available here - feel free to share.

Parents will need to self-refer by completing the Online Referral Form accessed from the Parent Support Group page of our website. Telephone self-referrals are also accepted. For further information  and feedback please email Judith Bell  judith@ticplus.org.uk 

Give and Connect this Christmas

Wellbeing for Education Return - Virtual Training for all Schools

Wellbeing for Education Return - Virtual Training for all Schools

Published

16.11.2020

The Educational Psychology Service in collaboration with Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning and The Advisory Teaching Service are offering Virtual Training for all schools as part of the DfE’s Wellbeing for Education Return Programme.

Up to two members of staff from each school in Gloucestershire are invited to attend two free webinars over the coming weeks.

 

The training, devised by the Anna Freud Centre, aims to:

• Increase knowledge of the potential mental health and wellbeing impact of Covid-19 on staff, children and young people, parents and carers.
• Build understanding of evidence-based and straightforward responses and resources to support recovery.
• Introduce school and college staff to evidence-based resources and structures for dissemination to children and young people, parents and carers.
• Raise awareness of specialist and wider support services (statutory and independent) and when and how education professionals might signpost or refer children and young people, staff and/or parents and carers to them.See attached PDF for booking details and further information.and searching for “Wellbeing for Education Return”. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis, with a maximum of 30 participants to allow attendees to share and learn from one another.Autumn TermAutumn TermSpring Term
• Implementation
• Webinar 2
• Webinar 1
• Please book your training spaces by visiting www.gccplus.org 

Self Harm Webinar

We have been supporting people affected by self-harm for the past 11 years. 

Please join us on 29th April 2021 @15:45pm to find out more about how we help people.

To book your free place on our webinar please email:  janice.laverick@rethink.org

 

Professionals Webinar - Gloucestershire Self Harm Helpline

Self Harm webinar - we have been supporting people affected by self harm for the past 11 years.  Please join us on the 17th February to find out more about how to support people who contact us.

To book your place on our webinar please email:  janice.laverick@rethink.org