www.boarding.org.uk No images? Click here Dear Members,Welcome to this week's edition of the BSA member newsletter. On Thursday (17/9), our UK member schools will have received an urgent request from us, asking them to complete a survey regarding international travel. We appreciate this is a very busy time of term, but a response by close of business on Monday (September 20) from every school would be very much appreciated, so that the relevant conversations can continue next week with Government departments. No individual school will be identified in any such communication. A copy of the full update can be read by clicking here. To complete the survey, please click here. (Scottish members are reminded to respond separately to the SCIS request for information relating to Amber List arrivals). 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. Back to next week, and there's still time for you to book your place for our first conference of the new academic year, the Sacpa-led Mental Health and Safeguarding conference, on September 20. There's also the three-day First aid at work (FAAW), led by Hieda, from September 21-23, and places are still available too for three webinars taking place on September 22: Sponsor license duties for sponsors of students; the BAISIS-led Promoting Oracy in the Classroom, and Are you ready for…International Pronouns Day?. You can also still secure a spot at our day seminar, Boarding Essentials, which takes place on September 24. We hope you can also join us the following week, for second Equity, diversity and inclusion conference (INDEX): identity, belonging and connectedness, taking place on September 28. 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. COVID updateThe UK Health Security Agency has published its COVID-19 vaccination guidance and resources for schools in England, which can be viewed by clicking here. Public Health England has also updated its COVID-19 vaccination: resources for children and young people information, which can be viewed by clicking here. In Scotland, the Scottish Government has updated its 'Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance on reducing the risks in schools'. A copy of the updated guidance, which contains revisions around vaccination, mitigation and PCR availability, can be viewed by clicking here (thanks to our colleagues at SCIS for sharing this update with us). The Irish Government has also amended its 'Advice on International Travel' guidance, publishing an updated section on Travelling to Ireland. Visas and immigration updateFollowing the visas and immigration update included in last week's edition of the newsletter (Issue 220, 10/9/21), we've been contacted by a number of member schools asking if they can send their international pupils class work and/or allow them to participate online while their application remains pending. The Home Office has confirmed that If a student has yet to travel to the UK and is overseas, the distance learning concessions could be considered, as sponsors are able to allow students to commence studies overseas and get entry clearance to continue their course in the UK. Paragraph 2.14 of Covid-19: Guidance for Student sponsors, migrants and Short-term students (publishing.service.gov.uk) states:
Also following on from last week's update, a reminder that students are not to enter as visitors while they have an outstanding visa application for Student or Child Student routes, as they would be in breach of their conditions if they remained in the UK. The BSA team is continuing to lobby and clear visa delays for members - if you need any assistance with this, please contact Sabrina Kadi, In-House Legal Counsel. Immigration legal adviceFor the start of the new academic year, we've welcomed a new addition to the BSA team. Sabrina Kadi has joined us as our new In-House Legal Counsel to support members on immigration advice. The service will include five hours pro bono immigration legal advice time per week for BSA member schools during term time (approx. one hour per day). Maximum call times are limited to 15 minutes and member schools are entitled to up to three free calls per term. Anything over 15 minutes or over three free calls per term will be chargeable by agreement and free calls cannot be banked to carry over to future terms or academic years. For more information about the new service, please email Sabrina at Sabrina.Kadi@bsagroup.org.uk. New briefing paper ‘Sexual orientation and gender identity: Advice for Boarding Schools’In response to questions from members, we have worked with VWV over the summer to produce a new briefing paper ‘Sexual orientation and gender identity: Advice for Boarding Schools’. While some of the themes, legislation and principles apply to schools throughout the UK and Worldwide, this paper is based on the specific legal framework which governs boarding schools in the state and private sectors in England and Wales. The paper can be accessed in the Guidance section of our website, under 'INDEX' (member login required). For members in Scotland we will be working with a Scottish law firm this term to provide additional information following the recent ‘Supporting transgender young people in schools: guidance for Scottish schools’, which was published by the Scottish Government in August. BSA Certified Guardian schemeEstablished 18 months ago, the BSA Certified Guardian scheme provides assurance to BSA boarding schools that they are dealing with educational guardians 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. If you have any questions or would like to catch up to discuss educational guardianship arrangements in your school please email Ammy Davies-Potter, Director of Guardianship and Inclusion. For more information on the scheme, including a full list of our certified guardians, please scroll down to the BSA Certified Guardians section. Our most recent briefing paper ‘Educational Guardianship’ can also be accessed in the Briefing Papers section of our website (member login required). 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. School site securityAs part of our consultancy service, we can now offer a physical 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. For more details please contact Bethan Waddington, Head of CPD, Events and Consultancy. BSA Magazine autumn edition: copy deadline extended - send us your contentA reminder that the autumn edition of the BSA Magazine is currently in production, with publication due in October. We've extended the deadline for submissions until 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 FOUR PLACES LEFT: Online BSA Certificate in Professional Practice - Mental Health & Wellbeing This module is comprised of three tutor-led study days featuring guest speakers, interactive morning and afternoon sessions. Breakout groups allow for discussion and time with the course tutors. Study day sessions will include:
Click here to reserve your place. 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. Partner newsOnline recruitment fair: British Council East Asia Study UK is holding an online fair on October 7-9, which may be of interest to member schools looking to recruit pupils from Hong Kong and Thailand. For more information, please visit the British Council East Asia Study UK website. What does Beijing's "common prosperity" policy mean for overseas education providers? BSA members are invited to this event organised by fellow member UK Education Guide, which takes place on October 8, from 15:00-15:45 BST. The event is free of charge but pre-registration is required:
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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