Headlines by James Saunders - 22nd April 2022

Honywood School

22nd April 2022

HEADLINES

By James Saunders

Welcome back to another busy term everyone. I would like to thank you for your support with the challenges of the last few weeks of last term as we encountered much disruption. The new term has started really well. The sun is out and smiles have been everywhere. Walking around school this week I have been very impressed with the calmness and focus in lessons. C11s are taking their last steps before exams begin and C10 have been completing their mocks. I have seen some wonderfully engaging and thought-provoking lessons this week that really required learners to think, explore possibilities and develop their moral capital. Mr Williams’ class in History were discussing race and transportation; Miss Gullen’s Geography class were exploring the poorest nations on the planet and Mrs Putter’s Science class were debating the moral dilemmas of organ transplant. These are just a few of the engaging lessons that have been taking place this week.

We are already looking ahead to next year and have begun showing year 5 families around the school in anticipation of making their application in September. It has been a pleasure to showcase the wonderful learning to prospective families - the feedback from them this week has been excellent.

I would like to thank the leadership team for their support whilst I was absent last term. Having written to you every week since I started I was sad to have to break the cycle. Fortunately I had Mr Munro there to pick up the mantle and keep the headlines flowing and to ensure that the day to day running of the school continued.

Finally, I would like to share some positive news with you. We ended the first half term on a really positive note - a successful local authority visit. The aim of the visit was to scrutinise our approach to safeguarding, behaviour and wellbeing and to evaluate our school culture. The visit was very

thorough and consisted of a team of six people. They looked at our policies and procedures and interviewed learners and staff. They also used the feedback from the survey that they asked me to send you at the start of the term. The lead reviewer, who has been in many schools, commented that this was the most positive and enjoyable visit she had ever done. In fact the feedback was quite emotional to hear as the team were so complementary about our learners and what we do at Honywood.

It took a while to come through but I have finally received a report from the local authority about that visit. I would like to share some of the feedback with you and thank you for creating such a positive climate and culture. We often take the simple things for granted but I guarantee they are not a given in all schools. You should all be very proud of the part you play in team Honywood. Below is a summary of the things that they liked.

Communication • The school has issued the first of what will be a

series of monthly safeguarding newsletters, which is on the school website. Entitled Safeguarding at Honywood School, this is a helpful, informative newsletter for the school community with email addresses of key staff in the school, weblinks, phone numbers and details of services and local agencies to support pupils and the family.

• The

school has provided a Honywood Wellbeing App for all learners to use if they wish or need to. Pupils were clear how the APP is accessed and said that it contributed to their feeling of safety and confidence that the school team would respond appropriately.

• We were impressed that all students at the school have a personal iPad issued by the school with strict

e-safety compliance. The security settings equally apply when learners are offsite, as the iPads are linked to the school’s IT systems and were a significant benefit during Covid lockdown periods.

• All learners and parents receive a weekly email reminder that if they have any concerns about the

behaviour of any learners in school that could be considered as bullying, and/or peer on peer abuse, they know that they may report any concerns using the link provided.

Child Protection Concerns • The electronic system CPOMS has been used by the school since January 2022 to record child

protection concerns; all staff have access to the system and have received training. The school maintains some historic paper records and refers to those if necessary.

• The use of CPOMS has had a significant impact on how staff are able to report and follow up on

concerns. Staff mentioned that they can track the progress of any reported concerns and follow up where required.

• CPOMS has different access levels; DSLs have set this according to staff role. Key staff have direct

access on their dashboards but not all staff will be able to see all records.

• Child protection concern - DSLs access concerns promptly and can assign and track tasks efficiently.

Recording is timely. If urgent child protection concerns arise, staff must speak with a DSL immediately and not wait to record it on CPOMS. • CPOMS enables the school to add categories to the child protection concerns they record, for example

mental health, harmful sexual behaviour, and bullying. The homepage for a child will automatically have a flag on it if there are existing child protection concerns.

• For consistency, the same process is followed by staff at the school’s Autism Support Centre (enhanced

provision), where all staff have access to CPOMS. • All DSLs have completed Level 3 training, which is up to date. All school staff have completed Level 2

training, which is delivered to them at the start of the academic year by the DSLs. Any new staff also receive this training during their induction.

• Leaders ensure all staff must complete a questionnaire at the end of the Level 2 training, the pass mark

is 100%. All staff then attend specific safeguarding sessions during the year, example topics include Harmful Sexual Behaviour, protected characteristics, mental health, and Prevent. A spreadsheet is maintained in the school office with all training included.

• The DSL is currently undergoing DfE Mental Health Lead training. The school offered its Year 7 learners

the chance to attend an anxiety workshop – this was then used to determine more targeted anxiety work for Year 7 learners. Some of the school’s learners have become Wellbeing Ambassadors, supporting younger learners.

DSLs receive supervision and support each other.

• The DSLs use the Early Help procedures, for example it runs Team Around the Family meetings (TAF).

The school has escalated its concerns to Social Care, meeting with the Social Care Director for Local Delivery, and the Assistant Director for Education, for the Mid Essex Quadrant.

• A weekly bulletin is sent to all staff, which includes updates on learners – governors receive a redacted

version Child Protection Records and The Single Central Record • Six cases were reviewed by the review team. The DSLs spoke knowledgeably about each learner,

interacting and contributing to the discussion.

• The school has case studies about its safeguarding work which can be used as evidence during an

Ofsted inspection.

• The Single Central Record is compliant. It is maintained electronically, and in a user- friendly

spreadsheet format based on the Juniper model. It contains different tabs covering the various categories of role / checks.

Attendance, alternative provision and pastoral care • Day to day attendance procedures are firmly in place, with systematic contact to home in the event of

absence and where there is no explanation, escalating to home visits where necessary.

• Specific arrangements are in place to follow up the attendance of certain vulnerable learners including

checking they are in school sessions even if they are marked as present. This includes some Children in Care.

• Some learners are at alternative education provision, with agreements in place to manage safeguarding

concerns, including welfare checks, should they arise.

• The commitment of pastoral staff to give pupils the care and guidance they need is a strength. They

know their pupils well and work hard to keep them safe and of sound mind ready to learn. We were particularly impressed to hear how pupils are encouraged to contribute to the work of the school such as working with the School Cook and Kitchen staff to create menus and serve food.

• Heads of Year and Mentors said they feel empowered by leadership in their role. They believe they

have the support of leadership, working in collaboration and supported with the required CPD. • Pupils demonstrated how simple it is for them to report any concerns using their iPad. Because of the

positive relationships with mentors and teachers they feel comfortable to approach them directly if they need support.

• The restructure of the FLT has resulted in extra capacity in supporting pupils. All tutors now receive

the

appropriate

CPD

and

recognise

their

role

in

the

care

and

guidance

of

pupils.

Curriculum provision: PSHE/HSE • Pupils we spoke to during the day universally said that they feel safe in the school.

• The culture of respect in the school is underpinned by rules and expectations and greatly supported by

the focused teaching sessions where pupils have the opportunity to discuss and accept other people’s opinions without judgement.

• The curriculum for PSHE/HSE is well established and leadership of it is reflective and open to changes

that may need to be made, given the work that needs be carried out with the pupils, following the gaps that have arisen during the pandemic and the increasing number of pupils requiring additional support for mental health and well-being.

• Pupils feel the PSHE programme and the HSE support them with their understanding and provides

them with the knowledge to keep themselves safe in school and online.

• The Pupils we interviewed were confident that any concerns they reported would be dealt with. One

pupil described how he was called names but that it stopped immediately after he reported it. Another pupil spoke about unkind comments to her friend which also stopped after she had reported it.

• Pupils in key stage 4 were able to comment on the changes over the last few years and the positive

impact it has had on their safety and learning.

• Consent was clearly and consistently understood throughout the year groups as was the need for

permission

and

accepting

other

people’s

boundaries

without

judgement.

Leadership of Safeguarding • The Headteacher and governors have created a culture of openness and transparency regarding

safeguarding in the school.

• There is a strong culture of respect amongst and between pupils and staff that is driven by the

leadership team, modelled by staff and at the heart of all the school does, day to day.

• The senior leadership team has the skills and knowledge to address pupil related issues that arise in

day to day operations, as well as to set school strategy on child protection. The DSLs, led by Jo Brook liaise with external agencies and use the school’s own pupil support mechanisms to have impact on solutions for child protection issues. The DSLs have delivered and facilitated training, to ensure all staff are alert to all forms of abuse and possible safeguarding concerns.

• Leaders at all levels can describe the school systems and their responsibility for their part in it.

Communication between leaders and staff is regular and effective and based on common understanding of the respect culture that pervades the school.

• Professional boundaries are clear to staff and pupils.

Governance of Safeguarding • Safeguarding is a standing agenda item at all meetings including committee meetings. Throughout

each year governors ensure that each area of safeguarding is addressed through their monitoring processes.

• All governors attend safeguarding training in September of each year, before their first Full Governing

Body meeting. The training is delivered by school staff using a presentation. Governors complete the same questionnaire that staff complete and they must achieve 100% to confirm their understanding.

• Governors receive information in a variety of ways including from the Headteacher Report, weekly

updates (as referred to previously, learner names are redacted), information from ECC about Harmful Sexual Behaviour, and the Chair meets the Headteacher once each week where they will discuss safeguarding.

• Governors triangulate the information they receive by visiting the school. The Safeguarding Governor

visits once each term and writes a report. There are also Governance Days, where governors visit in pairs for the day, to monitor and evaluate the school’s work. They interview learners about safeguarding as part of this process.

• Governors asked questions about Harmful Sexual Behaviour when concerns arose about this in 2021

linked to ‘Everyone’s Invited’. They have also focussed on health and safety, for example they approved the installation of perimeter fencing, which covers the whole school site.

One of the key things that I noticed when I first arrived at the school was the openness and security of the site. After much work we have been able to improve these things which were also commented on by the LA during their visit. This year we have seen the new perimeter fencing installed and a new learner entrance. We will be looking at the visitor entrance into the main reception next. One key piece of feedback from the LA team was still connected to this theme. They commented on accessibility to the car park and the main reception and from a safeguarding point of view recommended further changes. One of those is the use of our car park. You may have noticed that the final part of our perimeter fencing project is now complete - the controlled barriers to enter and leave the school. Mr Munro wrote to you prior to Easter to inform you of some changes.

We have spent this week ironing out the teething problems to operate this system. Once in operation the car park will not be available for pick up and drop off. I have always been worried that it is just a matter of time before there is an accident at the start or end of the day. This will mean that we need to be considerate to our neighbours and continue to be vigilant of those learners who walk home. I appreciate that this will cause some inconvenience to those of you who have been used to coming into school, however, I am obliged to follow the recommendations made by the local authority to maximise our safeguarding measures.

I wish you all a warm weekend James Saunders

Key dates for C11 Thursday 26th May Friday 27th May Friday 24th June Friday 29th June Thursday 25th August

Year 11 Last Day Study Leave Commences (C11 only in school for exams) Year 11 Prom (Earls Colne Golf Club 6:30pm) End of GCSE exam period GCSE results day

Olivia Walby Reece Szafinski Kevin Horvath Mason Scott

Last half term, we asked our learners and staff for donations towards the DEC to support Ukraine. This in addition to the Bake Sale by Sophia Cooper and friends, and the bracelet sale by Avaline Zanatta and Matilda Moxham in C7, raised an astonishing £808.71!!

Thankyou to everyone who donated, collected and made items to sell to raise this amount of money.

Reminder for C8 families, if you haven't signed up and paid for the Bletchley Park visit on the 3rd May, the final deadline is Monday 25th April at 9am. After this point we will not be able to add any learners to the trip as we need to confirm final numbers with Bletchley.

4th July to 8th July C7 and C8 are visiting Hautbois in Norfolk for a week of camping and activities. A reminder to families that have signed their child up for the trip, the next payment is due on the 1st May. Please keep up to date with payments. If any family is experiencing difficulty in meeting the payment deadlines, please contact trips@honywoodschool.com and we will see how we can support.

C9 will be visiting Barton Hall in Devon (PGL). A reminder to families that have signed their child up for the trip, the next payment is due on the 1st May. Please keep up to date with payments. If any family is experiencing difficulty in meeting the payment deadlines, please contact trips@honywoodschool.com and we will see how we can support.

C10 will be on Work Experience during the Enrichment week. If any family has been unable to secure a work experience placement for their child, or needs support or advice with securing work experience, please contact Mr Ramsay on mramsay@honywoodschool.com

Dates for the Diary 25th April

Deadline to sign up for Bletchley Park

w/c 25th April

C11 French speaking assessments

w/c 25th April

C10 Mocks continue

3rd May

C8 Bletchley Park visit

23rd May

Dance event @ Civic Theatre

26th May

C11 Leavers Celebration Day—study leave commences (C11 only in school for exams from this point on)

30th May to 3rd June

Half term

Next week is a week “A” Congratulations Congratulations to Charlie Long 11CTh for being scouted to join the Essex Badminton Academy. Charlie's hard work and dedication to the sport, inside and outside of school, has led to this success.