www.boarding.org.uk No images? Click here Dear Members,Welcome to this week's edition of the BSA member newsletter.This week, I spent time with prep boarding colleagues at the IAPS Annual Conference in Bournemouth and hosted two prep boarding sessions. It was fantastic to meet everyone face to face again, thank you to conference chair William Goldsmith, Chris King and the team at IAPS for such fantastic hospitality. BSA surveyGrateful thanks to the huge number of schools who took time out of a very busy term to complete our urgent boarding numbers survey. The aim was to provide essential information to Government departments in England to inform policy decisions and having such sizeable engagement was extremely helpful. Responses represented over 41,000 boarders, approximately two-thirds of the total boarders in the UK. Some of the key questions related to Hong Kong-based boarders. The survey told us that approximately half of the Hong Kong-based boarders who are under 18 and currently in the UK have not been fully (double) vaccinated. This means that between 2,000 and 3,000 boarders are currently unable to get home, as they cannot routinely be double-vaccinated in the UK, and cannot enter Hong Kong unless they are. Up to 500 of those have not been home since before the pandemic. These have been very useful messages to transmit to colleagues in DfE and DHSC, and we have also shared the information with Hong Kong Government sources. We are grateful to them all for looking to find a suitable solution, and are writing formally to the relevant Ministers to help expedite this. Suitable data was also collected for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and will be shared with school, association and Government colleagues there Travel to the UK - updateMembers will know from our updates on Friday 17 and Monday 20 that there were two anomalies created by the travel guidance issued last Friday. The first has now been resolved, as the update now specifically references children, although colleagues are reminded that almost all UK boarders under 18 will be considered ‘ordinarily resident’ and so will follow the same rules as other UK residents. A further update was issued midweek to add UAE to the list of countries from which vaccines are accepted. We await further clarification on Hong Kong, currently on the green list, but subject to the more general regulations from October 4, but without vaccine acceptance. We have heard from both UK and HK sources that they are working to resolve this, and the survey informs us that this could affect 200-400 pupils now, with the number growing as the year progresses. No date has so far been issued for the proposed change to lateral flow tests for Day 2 testing. Scotland guidance is here, and Wales guidance here, and Northern Ireland here. There has generally been acceptance of the new streamlined travel list, but not of the wider relaxations. Red listWe are also able to share very useful data relating to boarders from red-list countries quarantining in schools. We have been able to extrapolate that approximately 1,000 such boarders quarantined in approximately 200 schools across the four nations. Approximately 500 pupils are on roll but still to return. The safeguarding impact of these measures has been made clear by the fact that only 19 pupils (aged over 18) were reported to have quarantined in Government hotels, which means the total number is likely to be under 50. We are very grateful to the relevant colleagues for facilitating this essential procedure for boarders from red-list countries. NMS – EnglandBSA has received many enquiries about the publication date for the new NMS. We have spoken with DfE colleagues this week and, although there is no specific date as yet, it is likely to be well into 2022, and we shall be contacted for further comment on the draft beforehand. We shall share further updates as soon as we have them. Consultancy servicesAcross BSA Group our services support staff in our member organisations. From our member forums and advice and guidance services to Sacpa’s supervision service for safeguarding practitioners, we engage with practitioners in the areas they need support, including several projects for schools over the past year around market development, reviewing boarding operations and safeguarding audits. Increasingly, we are being approached with specific and specialist needs for individual staff. In response to this, we are now delighted to offer 1-2-1, a new professional mentoring service. Like professional supervision, 1-2-1 is designed to promote best practice, self-reflection and improvement and support staff wellbeing and effectiveness. Our professional mentoring sessions can be delivered through individual meetings conducted virtually. The sessions generally last one hour and BSA Group recommends investing in a series package. Packages are available in three, six or nine session bundles and can be delivered across a half-term, term or academic year. Individual sessions are agreed between the mentor and mentee and, for ease, BSA Group recommends having a regular weekday and time ready to propose on booking. BSA Group has an experienced and varied body of mentors to work with, over a range of areas/themes including:
As part of our wider consultancy service, we also offer a physical site security health check to our member schools. This includes a site visit to assess access and egress control, perimeter resilience and supporting technologies, focusing particularly on boarding houses and procedures, and will include an optional resilience check on unauthorised site access by an ex-police officer as well as our recommendations. To discuss our new 1-2-1 mentoring service, site security reviews, or any other consultancy support, please contact Bethan Waddington, Head of CPD, Events and Consultancy Bethan Waddington, Head of CPD, Events and Consultancy. CPD, training and eventsOur CPD, training and events is continuing at pace, with a wide range of webinars, virtual seminars, conferences and training all taking place in September and beyond. Earlier this week, many of you will have received an email with details of our Annual Conference for Heads, which takes place on May 3-4, 2022, at Oxford Town Hall. The conference, which will focus on the theme of “Leading the way” and will also feature the presentation of our BSA Awards 2022. Most importantly, it will be the first time since 2019 that the whole boarding community has been able to come together in person, so we do hope you can join us. Formal invites will be sent out soon, but you can book your place in the meantime by clicking on this link. Please note that the cost does not include hotel accommodation for anyone wishing to stay over, although a list of nearby hotels will be included with the invites, or can be supplied on request. In the week ahead we have the second Equity, diversity and inclusion conference (INDEX): identity, belonging and connectedness, taking place on September 28 with a wealth of speakers with experience from different sectors to share. Our first International Student University Fair is also taking place, on September 29 and we're excited to welcome over 1,000 guests from our member schools. The first Preparing for inspection - ISI day seminar also takes place on September 29, with places still available. Places are still available on the Hieda-led Mental health awareness training on September 30, and on the two webinars also running on that date: Developing more inclusive schools in practice, with GSA; and Boarding box set: market overview. You can also still book a place on our Creating a culture of wellbeing day seminar taking place on October 01. In October we will be running our ever-popular Sports injury management, virtual one-day conference. This virtual one-day conference will cover types of sports injuries from around the body, including their cause and treatments. Throughout the conference, delegates will gain a thorough understanding, from medical professionals, of how to prevent and minimise injuries that occur during sports pursuits. And don't forget, our full Accredited Training Programme is open for bookings, with our first course of the new academic year, Online BSA Certificate in Professional Practice - Mental Health & Wellbeing, getting under way on Wednesday (September 22). For more information on our forthcoming CPD, training and events, please scroll down to the BSA Academy section. International Student University Fair, September 29, 2021There's still time to book for our International Student University Fair, a free online event taking place from 11:00-17:00 on Wednesday, September 29, for international students in Years 11, 12 and 13 and the staff who support their university applications, e.g. Heads of Careers and EAL. This event addresses feedback from over 30 BSA and BAISIS schools who attended a forum earlier this year on how to best support international and ex-pat students as they make the transition from school to higher education. The fair offers:
Please book now by clicking here, and further details will follow on booking in as many international and ex-pat students as you wish. BSA Magazine autumn edition: final copy deadline today!The deadline for submissions for the autumn edition of the BSA Magazine is today (Friday, September 24) - please send any contributions for this edition, via email, to Andrew Gray, Communications and Partnerships Manager. Best wishes,
BSA AcademyAccredited trainingThe BSA's programme of Professional Development and training is the most comprehensive CPD package offered to staff in boarding schools. It includes a series of professional practice Certificate courses specifically designed to meet the practical needs of boarding staff and provide an internationally-recognised qualification in Boarding Education. We are delighted to announce that bookings are now open for the 2021-22 accredited training courses! Certificate Course TWO PLACES LEFT: BSA / Hieda Advanced Certificate in Boarding Practice (School Nurses) The course is tutor-led and will consist of four separate live online study days spread over a full academic year. The sessions on each study day will be a mixture of presentations often with an external expert, and group discussions. Find out more or reserve your place here. BSA Certificate in International Boarding BSA Certificate in Professional Practice - Inclusion Lead Training Participants will receive high-quality training and support from a range of experts to further develop the skills and confidence needed to establish, embed and sustain equity, diversity and inclusion work in their school. Throughout the two days there will be opportunities to meet, collaborate and discuss with other participants and to learn from case studies and good practice from other schools. Click here to reserve your place. Autumn Diploma in Boarding Practice (Leadership) - 2021 - 2022
This is comprised of three, tutor-led study days, with interactive morning and afternoon sessions that allow for discussion. Find out more or reserve your place here. BSA Certificate in Professional Practice for Pupil Welfare & Support 2021-2022 Sessions for this course include:
Click here to reserve your place If you need any further information about our Accredited Training programme, please contact Liz McDonald, Head of Accredited Training, at liz@boarding.org.uk. Conferences - 2021-22We look forward to welcoming you at our range of virtual conferences, running throughout the year. To help with CPD planning, here are the events we are running in the autumn term:
In addition to the one-day conferences running in the autumn term, we are delighted to publish the dates for a number of our other conferences for 2021-22. Please do 'save the dates' in your diaries and if you'd like to register interest, please email us.
Induction training - 2021-22Our CPD programme is under way, with induction training options for staff joining boarding for the first time, taking on new responsibilities or joining a new setting, and for senior staff looking to develop their leadership and strategy within boarding. We are running our day seminar programme virtually throughout 2021-22 to ensure training is accessible for all:
Safeguarding training - 2021-22Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and the start of a new academic year provides a clear marker to ensure that all staff have received appropriate training relating to safeguarding and their responsibilities. The virtual sessions below will be appropriate for most practitioners working in education settings:
Other training and eventsPlease see below a selection of other training and events taking place this month:
To see our latest training programme, click here.Index (Inclusion and Diversity Excellence)Following our inaugural inclusion conference in October, BSA Group launched Index, a programme of support to help members in this area. This includes the BSA Index Framework and Toolkit - guidance documents to promote the values of equity, diversity and inclusion (they can be accessed here via the EDI area). Our second Index (EDI) conference will take place on September 28, 2021 – a number of exciting speakers have already been confirmed for the event. You can find out the latest by visiting the event page on our website, with more details to be announced soon. Inclusion Leads/Staff with an EDI Leadership role - we are collating names and email contact details of anyone in a BSA school with an EDI leadership role. Please email bsa@boarding.org.uk with your full name, school and full job title/role. For more information about our Index programme, please email Ammy Davies-Potter, BSA Group Director of Guardianship and Inclusion. BSA Certified Supplier SchemeThe organisations below are members of the BSA Certified Supplier Scheme, which aims to connect members and organisations. BSA Gold Certified Suppliers
BSA Certified Suppliers
For more detail on each of the suppliers, please visit the BSA Certified Supplier Scheme page on our website. Please note: The suppliers listed are not endorsed by BSA, nor does the association accept any liability for the quality of the goods/services listed on this page. All suppliers below have entered into a commercial arrangement with the BSA to promote their goods/services. Certified Agent and Guardian schemesThe BSA Certified Agent and Guardian 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. BSA Certified Agents
For more information on the BSA Certified Agent scheme, please visit our website. BSA Certified Guardians
For more information on the BSA Certified Guardian scheme, please visit 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. Keep in touchWe love hearing from members, so please keep in touch via +44(0) 207 798 1580 or bsa@boarding.org.uk. You can also contact the team directly:
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