19th January 2024
Alive 2023 Legacy Fund
The Mother’s Union in the Diocese of Coventry have set aside a fund of £2,500 to support parish 
and school initiatives towards the spiritual development of children in response to Alive 2023. This could include, although is not limited to:
- Purchase of books to be gifted to children to encourage personal growth
- Purchase of class resources to develop spirituality in the classroom
- Purchase of resources to support an after school activity running in partnership with the parish to develop spirituality in children
- Purchase of physical resources to improve the worship or reflective environments in school.
Grant criteria:
There is a clear link to the school’s contextual Christian Vision
There is a clear rationale of how the grant will develop the spirituality of an identified group of pupils and how impact will be reported upon
The foundation parish have been consulted and support the bid
The project is innovative and clearly linked to SIAMS Inspection Q.3.
Grants of up to £250 will be awarded to the school after consideration by the DBE and the Mother’s Union Committee. The deadline for applications is 1st March 2024 and successful applicants will be notified by the 1st April 2024. If you would like advice on your bid contact April Gold.
Download the application form here. Or email Joanne Evans for a copy.
Don’t Forget to Book Your FREE iSingPOP Event
Events are FREE to book through our Diocesan Partnership with iSingPOP for 2024 as part of the Alive legacy.
We are looking for Early Adopters…
We would like to hear from schools who would like to host Main Events or Workshops in February or March which will be delivered by Emma (pictured).
The dates still available are:
- 5-7th February Main Event with Concert on 22 February
- 19th-21st February Main Event with Concert on 29th February
- Week of 26th Feb – 2 one-day Lent Workshops
- 11th-13th March Main Event with Concert on 20th March
- Week of 18th March – 2 one-day Lent Workshops.
To find out more about what a ‘main event’ or workshop involves you can look at the iSingPOP website here
If you are interested in one of these events and want to book, please contact Joanne.Evans@Coventrydbe.org and Emma.Kenyon@ising-pop.com
Zoom Link for Wednesday’s Headteacher Termly Briefing
Don’t forget to join us for the Heads’ Briefing on Wednesday afternoon 24 January 14.00-15.30 on Zoom. The Zoom link to attend is here.
Agenda
Opening Reflection
DBE Update
iSingPOP partnership
HTRAG Update
The Beacon Project Update
Headteacher Conference Update
Closing comments and prayer
Headteacher Reference and Advisory Group (HTRAG) Meeting
Still time to contact your deanery HTRAG rep in advance of the meeting next week!
Here is a list of the representatives and links directly to their email addresses – please do take the opportunity to contact your representative to feedback to the DBE on anything you think it would be useful for us know, or give support on, or celebrate to church school colleagues!
Alcester Deanery – Andy Simms – Headteacher of Bidford upon Avon CofE Primary
Coventry Deanery – Allison Underhill – Headteacher of St Andrew’s CofE Infants
Fosse Deanery – Sarah Eadon – Headteacher of Moreton Morrell CofE Primary
Kenilworth Deanery – Tracy Drew – Headteacher of Berkswell CofE Primary and Sarah Rayson – Headteacher of St Nicholas CofE Primary
Nuneaton Deanery – Hannah Carvell – Headteacher of Queen’s CofE Academy
Rugby Deanery – Jill Vavasour – Headteacher of Knightlow CofE Primary
Shipston Deanery – Sam Welsby – Headteacher of Newbold and Tredington CofE Primary
Southam Deanery – to be confirmed – you can email the DBE or your nearest rep
Warwick and Leamington Deanery – Suki Owers – Executive Headteacher of St Margaret’s CofE Junior Warwick
Thrive Training with The Stour Federation Trust
The Stour Federation Trust now have a licensed Thrive Trainer and can deliver Thrive licensed practitioner training.
By delivering this training through the Trust they can choose the price per delegate. Normally it is £1595 (ex VAT) per delegate for Thrive, however we are running it at cost so are charging £1250 (ex VAT) per delegate – a saving of £345. See further information on the course flyer here.
Thrive has been running at Shipston Primary since before lockdown and are now rolling the approach out to Acorns Primary School, Brailes CofE Primary School and Kineton CofE Primary School. If you are interested in the Thrive approach and would like to have a member of staff become a licensed practitioner please speak to Vanessa Faulkner at Shipston Primary School – 01608 661266 or email faulkner.v@welearn365.com
Fully Funded NPQs with Stour Federation MAT
Full Funding ‘unlikely’ next academic year, so do act quickly and pass on to interested colleagues!
The Stour Federation MAT will be running two NPQ qualifications in association with The Church of England. The cohort will start in the spring.
They are offering:
The National Professional Qualification for Leading Teaching (NPQLT)
The National Profession Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL)
Further details and how to apply can be found on the Trust’s website here. The applications window will close on 2nd February 2024
SACRE Spring Term RE Bulletin
The Spring Term bulletin is now available on the Warwickshire SACRE website here. Please use the password WCRESyllabus2017 to access.
Free Cross Curricular RE Teaching Resources
Art and RE – Secondary Resource
Brought to you by the Wallace Collection, check out this range of free, downloadable teacher resources to explore art in the RE curriculum for KS3 and KS4.
‘Mixing Lenses’- Science and Faith in the RE Classroom
Finding innovative ways to talk about science and faith with pupils, this resource for teachers from Jane Brooke at RE Online. Free, researched and ready to use, Jane puts together educational thinking and suggested lesson ideas to allow Primary teachers to explore the ways scientific language and religious language can overlap. For readers who are not Primary teachers, don’t be put off – there is lots here for Secondary-age students. The aim of the resource is to support pupils in making sense of the world using language at the interface of science and Christianity.
New FREE Assembly Pack for Children’s Mental Health Week
Coming just in time for Children’s Mental Health Week (5-9 February), this new downloadable Assembly Pack from teachhappy.co.uk provides everything you need to discuss mental health and wellbeing with your children.
Based on the key themes of the new edition of Wellbeing in the Primary Classroom the pack breaks down important topics from the science of happiness into bite-size chunks, perfect for assembly time or classroom discussion.
Register now to receive your pack straight to your inbox!
New Resource for Effective Targeted Mental Wellbeing Support in your School
Anna Freud Mentally Healthy Schools have just launched a new targeted support guide and tool, in partnership with and funded by the Department for Education, to help education staff choose the most effective support for their students.
The detailed guide gives evidence-based advice to help staff with mental wellbeing responsibilities better identify need, review their current offer and develop effective targeted support.
The accompanying interactive tool enables staff to find targeted support options by filtering by education phase, outcome and delivery method.
Find them on the Mentally Healthy Schools website here.
Getting Ready for Shakespeare Week March 2024
Shakespeare Week will mark its 10th anniversary this year when it takes place from March 18-24. There are free resources available to help primary schools run activities and lessons to ‘join the national celebration’.
Find out more about Shakespeare Week and register for free cross-curricular resources on the shakespeare week website here: https://www.shakespeareweek.org.uk/
Courageous Advocacy – The Goals Project
The 5th edition of The Goals Project is just around the corner, commencing next week! From January 24 to March 10, this exciting initiative invites classrooms from across the globe to collaborate in support of the UN sustainable development global goals. With over 5,000 classrooms having already joined in, you are invited to register your classroom here and be part of this impactful journey. Find out more and register here: https://www.goalsproject.org/
Empowering All to Succeed
Tech We Can is a programme of free learning materials, for use by teachers or parents, to inspire both boys and girls about a future career in technology.
Browse their free lessons and assemblies, including one on International Womens Day (March 8) here:
https://techshecan.org/tech-we-can