4th November 2022
SIAMS – National Announcement Recording and Documents Available
Apologies to those who struggled to log on to the SIAMS National Update yesterday. The system appeared to be overwhelmed with the number of attendees. You can now watch the recording here. Accompanying documents and resources can be found on the SIAMS page of the Church of England website. In response to this announcement – Jen Jenkins is delivering a follow-up session for SIAMS Leads in Coventry Diocesan schools:
Coventry DBE Response to the National SIAMS Announcement – Tuesday 8th November 2022 – 4.00-5.30pm on Zoom
This session will unpack what the national SIAMS announcement will mean for you and there will be an opportunity to ask questions. No need to book – just click on the link below to attend. You can join this meeting by clicking here.
Upcoming CPD for You and Your Staff…
Click on the links below for more information or to book a place.
Christian Distinctiveness Deep Dive Short – Accountability
Monday 07 November – 16.30 to 17.30 on Zoom
How do you hold people to account and have difficult but necessary conversations within a flourishing environment? Led by Jen Jenkins, this session will look at ensuring ‘speaking the truth in love’ is at the heart of flourishing and impacting on standards.
Christian Distinctiveness Deep Dive Short – Behaviour
Monday 14 November (re-arranged from 03 Oct) – 16.30 to 17.30 on Zoom
What roles do dignity, respect and reconciliation play in managing behaviour in your church school? Led by Jen Jenkins, this session will explore behaviour management systems that focus on relationships and not just rules.
Governor Drop-in Discussion Network – Governing through Challenging Times
Tuesday 08 November – 19.00 to 20.00 on Zoom
Led by Joanne Evans and Helen Gibson, this session will invite governors to discuss the multiple challenges schools are having to deal with as well as how to hold in this role the balance of accountability and support.
Understanding Christianity Refresher Training – Free for DSA Subscribers
Dates: 15 November 2022 OR 14 March 2023 – 16.00 to 17.30 – online via Zoom
This two-part course has been designed for schools that are not currently making the most of their Understanding Christianity resource. This might be because those that originally undertook the training have left, or that current teachers are unsure how it fits into the wider curriculum or that the scope of the resource is overwhelming. Whatever the reason, these sessions will consolidate and clarify the best use of this rich and exciting resource. Delegates will go away feeling more confident in their RE teaching and practice. This course assumes that the school has previously engaged with Understanding Christianity and has access to the full resource. The training will be led by Hester Meacock, an experienced Understanding Christianity trainer with a specialism in RE.
Celebrating Values at St Andrew’s Benn CofE Primary
Abi Huggins Headteacher at St Andrews Benn CofE Primary School writes:
“We give out certificates every Friday to children linked to our values. Previously they were just ones that we had made on the computer. We thought it would be nice for children to design them so ran it as a competition. We have one talented young lady called Lena who has well and truly taken on the challenge. Here are just some of her beautiful designs. My favourite is the truthful one – love the pinky promise!”
Archbishops’ Young Leaders Award Free Advent Resources 2022
“Follow the Star – Advent Journeys”
As we journey towards Christmas this Advent season, the ABYYT invite schools to join them in exploring some of the journeys made in the Christmas story and to consider how these can help and inspire us on our own journeys in life.
Take a look at the journeys made by Mary as she visits Elizabeth, by Mary and Joseph as they travel to Bethlehem and by the shepherds and wise men as they travel to meet and celebrate Jesus. The journeys offer us an invitation to hope, search, follow and rejoice.
Over four weeks the FREE resource will explore what we can learn from these journeys and how they can inspire us to reach out and make a difference to others in our communities this Advent.
RE – Free Christmas Teaching Resource
What can we learn from different presentations of the Christmas stories? Age range 8-11. From RE Today, the approach uses a work of art by Antonia Rolls and sets up a range of thoughtful and creative activities for pupils to respond through. Download the resource here.
Religion and Worldviews
Promotional film collection from Culham St Gabriel’s
Culham St Gabriel’s have commissioned a series of short films to promote an education in religion and worldviews across many areas of public life. Individuals from a range of different perspectives and from different walks of life explain why an education in religion and worldviews matters to them. The films are freely available for all to use to show the importance of religion and worldview literacy in a multi religious, multi secular world. Find them on the Culham St Gabriel’s website here: https://www.cstg.org.uk/campaigns/promoting-an-education-in-rwv/promotional-film-collection/
World Children’s Day – 20 November
World Children’s Day was first established in 1954 as Universal Children’s Day and is celebrated on 20 November each year to mark the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. World Children’s Day offers each of us an inspirational entry-point to advocate, promote and celebrate children’s rights, translating into dialogues and actions that will build a better world for children. Find free teaching resources here:
https://globaldimension.org.uk/calendar/universal-childrens-day/
https://worldslargestlesson.globalgoals.org/resource/world-childrens-day/
UK Parliament Week 14-20 November – Free Resources for Schools
UK Parliament Week (UKPW) is an annual event, spreading the word about what Parliament is, what it does and how you can get involved. Schools can sign up to get a free kit that helps to become more informed about the UK Parliament, take action and make an impact on the issues you care about. It includes an activity booklet, a ballot box and more. Last year over 1.1 million people took part in every nation and region of the UK, and countries all over the world.
Look at the website and see the range of free downloadable resources here: https://www.ukparliamentweek.org/en/resources/
Possible Funds and Freebies for Your School
We know that schools and trusts are facing significant funding pressures. The Key for School Governors has unlocked a useful article which details a selection of grants and cost-of-living support available to schools, and the freebies your school or trust can access this month.
Easy to Teach and Free Christmas Songs from Pop UK
Discover PopUK’s FREE Christmas resources with a contemporary lively style that KS2 will love (with catchy choruses for KS1). Find all PopUK’s FREE Christmas resources here.
More than one million people pray online with CofE podcast and app
The number of people using the Church of England’s Daily Prayer audio service has passed a million, as the podcasting revolution becomes part of many people’s daily pattern of worship. The podcast, also available as audio on the Daily Prayer app, follows the Church of England’s traditional cycle of Morning and Evening Prayer, with a range of voices and music. The short atmospheric services feature prayers and readings following the pattern set out in the Church of England’s Common Worship services, recorded by volunteers across the country. They are edited together with music from the St Martin’s Voices choir at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, by the Church of England’s Digital team. It was launched in March last year after churches across the country reported large numbers tuning into prayer services broadcast online during Covid restrictions. It comes amid signs of a resurgence of interest in the ancient monastic cycle of daily worship. Read more and download the links on the Church of England website here.
Writing Opportunity for KS2 Specialists
The education team at Bible Society are looking for contributors to a forthcoming series of KS2 RE classroom resources. The work will involve writing quality content and designing engaging tasks and questions that will help students to explore the Bible text and understand how it influences Christian beliefs, practices and ways of living. If you’re interested or would like to find out more, please get in touch at Mike.Otter@biblesociety.org.uk or on 07887 688947.
Grant Funded Senior Mental Health Lead Training
The DfE is offering a grant of £1,200 for eligible state-funded schools and colleges in England to train a senior mental health lead to develop and implement a whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing. This training is not compulsory, but it is part of the government’s commitment to offer this training to all eligible schools and colleges by 2025. Eligible schools and colleges are now able to apply for a senior mental health lead training grant to commence training within the 2022 to 2023 financial year, up to 31 March 2023. Grants will be provided to cover (or contribute to) the cost of attending a quality assured course and may also be used to hire supply staff while leads are engaged in learning. Find out more here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/senior-mental-health-lead-training
Webinar from Independent Thinking for New Headteachers
Filmed in January 2021, this 1.5-hour webinar is for new school leaders with wisdom and inspiration from some of the Independent Thinking Associates with leadership experience in primary, secondary and special education. Click below to watch.