www.boarding.org.uk No images? Click here Dear Members,Cyber-attack alertA number of boarding schools have been targeted by cyber criminals and are holding IT systems to ransom in return for money – in some cases paralysing school systems. Members should be aware the sector is being targeted and are urged to review all cyber security settings immediately. If you would like further details on this issue please contact BSA COO, Aileen Kane, for further information. Visas and immigrationThe Government announced on September, 10 2020 that the UK’s new Student and Child Student routes, which are part of the UK's new points-based immigration system, will open for applications on October 5. These routes will replace and improve upon the existing Tier 4 (General) and Tier 4 (Child) student routes. On September 30, the Home Office rolled out a campaign to help employers prepare for the introduction of the UK’s new points-based immigration system. In response, we've set up a dedicated Visas and Immigration section on our website which members can refer to for guidance. As part of the campaign, the Home Office has issued an update on hiring from the EU. From January 1, 2021, you will need to be a licensed sponsor to hire eligible people from outside the UK. Becoming a sponsor normally takes eight weeks and fees apply. As a licensed sponsor, you will be able to recruit skilled workers from anywhere in the world, provided they meet certain eligibility requirements. You can find further information, including full details of the sponsorship process on GOV.UK. The Home Office has advised that it will continue to provide further materials and guidance over the coming months ahead of the system’s launch – we will aim to share as much of that with you as possible. On October 8, we will be running a day conference, Tier 4, and the new immigration pathway, to help members prepare for the new immigration system. You can find out more about that session SurveyWe've now had responses from 146 member schools to our survey on the numbers of boarders returning this term. There’s still time to complete it, so please could I encourage you to do so if you haven’t had chance to as yet. To access the survey, please click here – we will summarise, anonymise, and share the data with our members as soon as it is available. Testing and COVID-19 casesWe continue to share with the DfE experiences from schools on testing and dealing with Covid cases. In conjunction with ISC and ISA we have also submitted this week a range of questions to the DfE to get clarity on areas such as boarders staying with guardians, staying open over half term or Christmas and pupils/students receiving alerts on the NHS app. We will share any fresh guidance or answers we receive as soon as possible, and would welcome still hearing queries or experiences from members to robin@boarding.org.uk. BSA Certified Guardian and Agent SchemesThe BSA Certified Guardian and Agent Schemes continue to grow, providing reassurance for schools and families. The schemes' training and certification programmes assure BSA boarding schools that they are dealing with educational guardians and agents who have the highest standards in the safeguarding of children, safer recruitment and training of staff and host families, and careful liaison with parents and schools. The schemes are a clear demonstration to BSA boarding schools of the quality and intention of the educational guardians and agents who reach certified status. More information about the schemes is available on our website. We have also had a number of requests from schools for our BSA Certified Guardian logo to use on admissions information or school websites - you can access a copy of the logo by clicking here. ConferencesSacpa webinar: What's new - online safety update Tier 4, and the new immigration pathway Diversity and Inclusion in Boarding conference Sacpa conference: Peer-on-peer abuse: spotting the signs School PlacesWe’ve teamed up with Bulldog Publishing to launch Schoolplaces.org, a dedicated live information resource for schools, parents, and education agents. Schoolplaces.org is designed to help agents and families easily find available school places, all in one location. And it’s also the ideal platform for schools to showcase themselves and let parents and agents know what they are offering. If you’re interested in getting your school listed on Schoolplaces.org, please email hello@schoolplaces.org. Best wishes,
COVID-19 updateEnglandGOV.UK has amended its COVID-19: supporting adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults guidance. It has replaced links to social distancing guidance and easy-read counterpart with updated guidance on staying alert and safe, coronavirus outbreak FAQs and guidance on meeting with others safely. It has also updated links in the document to guidance on both supported living and home care provision. InternationalBSA participated in a webinar this week with two of our member schools, organised by BSA certified agent UK Tuition http://www.uk-tuition.com/. The webinar focused on the COVID-Safe Charter and how UK schools are working to create a safe environment for their boarders. This was designed to reassure parents and potential parents that it is safe to send their children to school in the UK. The webinar was watched by 1,331 families. BSA COVID-19 supplier listBSA has a list of suppliers of vital equipment on our website, and the list continues to grow. BSA does not officially endorse any of the products listed. Schools are urged to perform their own due diligence checks on any company they plan to approach:
For more detail on each of the suppliers, please visit the BSA COVID supplier page here. Partner newsBAISISThe British Association of Independent Schools with International Students (BAISIS) is now a member of the BSA Group. BAISIS’s mission is to define and share best practice in academic and pastoral provision for international students in British independent schools and colleges. To learn more about how BAISIS supports schools with international students, please take a look at our website. As a member of BSA, we are delighted to offer your school membership of BAISIS at £295 per annum which is a 50% reduction in the annual subscription of £590. To take advantage of this offer, please email chris@boarding.org.uk. Throughout the year, BAISIS also hosts a number of events designed to share best practice in academic and pastoral provision for international students in British independent schools. The next event will take place on 6 October - please see below for further details. Assessment for EAL students webinar This webinar will cover formative and summative assessment, including how supporting EAL pupil language development and tracking their progress can be done utilising a variety of online tools while purely face-to-face teaching models are disrupted. It will also consider how schools can incorporate generic EAL teaching skills into lessons which would allow for a wider range of exams to be taken for university entrance in addition to IELTS. To reserve your place, click here. Managing a whole-school approach to EAL If you teach EAL in a mainstream school or are responsible for EAL provision in your school, this day is intended to help you explore how EAL classroom strategies and teaching techniques can be applied to the mainstream subject classroom; to enable you to cascade ideas across departments in your school; to help you support subject teachers, and to enable you to take a role in influencing managers and policy makers. To reserve your place, click here. For more information on BAISIS events, please visit the BAISIS website. SacpaAlso a member of the BSA Group is The Safeguarding and Child Protection Association (Sacpa), which champions excellence in safeguarding and child protection. Sacpa is the voice of safeguarding, providing a channel to government and other key agencies. The association represents organisations, associations, agencies and individuals involved in safeguarding the welfare of children and vulnerable adults in the UK and overseas. Sacpa offers three different types of membership: Professional, Charity and Organisation. A 50% discount is available to BSA members (schools or individual staff) who wish to join meaning membership prices start from £55 – please email chris@boarding.org.uk if you would like to become a member. Safeguarding and child protection responsibilities, legislation and guidance vary around the world. Sacpa's Advice and Guidance hub brings together the leading policies from across the globe, as well a list of UK safeguarding partnerships, which are available for all members to view. Please also take a look at Sacpa’s upcoming webinars and CPD events. The next event on the calendar is What's new: Online safety update, which takes place on October 6. This can be accessed live, or as a recording after the event. BSA members can access this webinar at our member rate by quoting discount code ‘BSAWEB’. To book your place, click here. For more information on Sacpa events, please visit the Sacpa website. Other partner newsRoyal National Children's Springboard Foundation update: Our colleagues at Royal National Children's Springboard Foundation have asked us to share the following update, further to a bulletin sent to all SBF heads earlier this week:
Case studies needed for Celebrating Partnerships booklet: ISC has advised that production of the next Celebrating Partnerships booklet is under way. The annual publication is due for release in November to coincide with the social media-focussed partnerships week, which uses the hashtags #schoolstogether and #powerofpartnerships. If you have partnership case studies you would like to be considered for inclusion, please email press@isc.co.uk. Entries open for i25 Awards: Entries are now open for this year’s i25 Awards. The i25 recognises the independent sector’s leading influencers and innovators who have made an impact in some way: the top 25. The innovation or influence should have captured the imagination of others and had a measurable positive impact on children and/or independent education in the UK and, ideally, be replicable in other schools. The deadline for entries is October 21. For more information, visit www.i25awards.co.uk. Get Set Global Challenge: This month, Netflix will release A Life on Our Planet, a witness statement from Sir David Attenborough produced with the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) that looks back on his 60 year broadcasting career. The film traces the decline in the natural world over his lifetime and also identifies key actions that we can all take to make a difference. Linked to this film, and using some of the amazing footage of the other Netflix series, Our Planet, Itza is working with WWF to stage the 'Get Set Global Challenge', an online quiz where students from up to 100 schools around the world prepare for the competition by learning independently online about the science of sustainability, with 40 schools will be selected from the UK to participate. The quiz is aimed at children in years 5-8 and is being run in collaboration with teachers and academics from the Institute of Education in London who are researching the independent learning of children online. You can register by clicking here - registration will close on October 16. The final quiz is on Friday, December 4 and can be staged in the classroom as a live event or completed by students in their own time later that day. Children really enjoy doing this quiz online and it is a great way for them to learn about the natural world. If you have any questions, please contact charlotte@getset.school. Certified Guardian and Agent SchemesBSA Certified Agents
BSA Certified GuardiansWe are delighted to announce that Abby Plumb Education Guardian Service has joined the BSA Certified Guardian Scheme. Welcome to the BSA family!
BSA Academy
Accredited TrainingAdvanced Certificate
NEW - Live online course: BSA Advanced Certificate in Boarding Practice BSA Certificate in International Boarding NEW - Online Certificate in International Boarding WebinarsThe five steps: solutions to personal wellbeing
Building a triangle of trust - keeping in touch with boarding parents Virtual Day SeminarsEssentials for new school Nurses
Shaping strategy Diversity and Inclusion in Boarding conference
Peer-on-peer abuse: spotting the signs
BSA Group annual Safeguarding conference
Become a BSA Accredited Boarding PractitionerBSA Accredited Boarding Practitioner status is an individual recognition of those boarding staff who are making a personal, professional commitment to best boarding practice. To be considered, all applicants are expected to meet the following core commitments: • Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children Find out more here. Member ServicesState Boarding Schools (SBF)Thank you to the eight SBF member schools which replied to the short survey about our current services and any improvements needed. We will be sharing the results with the SBF Committee at the next meeting, 24 November. Regional forum meetings (Virtual) We are delighted to announce dates for the next round of regional forums. The following have been confirmed and members in these regions will receive calendar invitations and joining instructions:
To be confirmed: Midlands and South East. Keep in touchPlease note the BSA office is now closed and the team is working remotely. If you would like further advice from the BSA, please email bsa@boarding.org.uk or contact the team directly:
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