www.boarding.org.uk No images? Click here Dear Members,Welcome to this week's edition of the BSA member newsletter. Throughout this week, we have issued a number of updates regarding the changing situation around COVID-19 and emergence of the Omicron variant of the virus. In case you have missed any of these updates, links to each bulletin can be found below:
The BSA Team is continuing to liaise with the UK government and devolved administrations on the current situation and will keep you updated. BSA Team working at reduced capacity, Thursday, December 9Please note that the BSA Team will be working at reduced capacity on Thursday (December 9). For general queries on that day, please email us at bsa@boarding.org.uk and we will come back to you on Friday (December 10). For any urgent matters, please call us on 0207 798 1580. International students – Christmas holiday arrangementsAs we near the Christmas holidays we would like to thank you all (schools, guardians and agents) for the care and support you have given and are giving to your international pupils. With the current COVID situation, the next few months are likely to be challenging. We will keep highlighting new and updated guidance for you as soon as possible via COVID updates or the newsletter. For Member Schools: We have been in contact with our BSA Certified Guardians to ask them if they are able to provide any additional support as we hear that schools are increasingly finding themselves in difficult situations with large numbers of COVID positive pupils, significant work around supporting students with travel arrangements and documentation and duty of care for self-isolating students which extends to holidays (where the pupil is already in school at the relevant time). As always, if you need any advice or support please contact the BSA Team via bsa@boarding.org.uk. BSA Group Immigration support servicesWith some recent changes to the UK immigration system and Brexit transitional period coming to an end on December 31, 2021, we have seen an increase in student sponsor licence and compliance related queries from school members. To support our members, BSA Group will be offering a range of consultancy services including:
These services will be supported by our In-House Legal Counsel, Sabrina Kadi. For more information and to discuss your specific immigration support needs, please contact Sabrina via bsa@boarding.org.uk. BSA physical security health checkAs part of our consultancy services, we now offer a physical security health check, which includes a site visit to assess access and egress control, perimeter resistance and supporting technologies, focusing particularly on boarding houses and procedures. Boarding houses are often sites of high traffic and can be separate from the main school area or site altogether, but security is very important. The security health check can include an optional resilience check on unauthorised site access by an ex-police officer, as well as our recommendations based on the site visit. For more details, please contact Bethan Waddington, Head of Events, CPD and Consultancy, via bethan.waddington@boarding.org.uk. In light of recent events in Liverpool, a reminder that we can also offer consultancy on schools’ policies on evac/invacuation and what to do in the event of a terrorist attack. We can also provide a first aid training course titled 'Citizens Aid', a three-hour session designed to cope with medical issues during a terrorist attack. Schools may also find the following related e-learning and guidance useful:
New BSA bookWe have compiled a new BSA book, 'A Culture of Care: The Benefits of Boarding School and Future Risks'. The book looks at all the positives of a boarding school education and how the sector may look in the future, and features contributions from many leading figures from across the boarding community. An electronic version is available to purchase now for £5, while the hard copy edition can be pre-ordered for £10 plus postage and fulfilment. If you would like to purchase the electronic version or pre-order a hard copy, please contact the BSA Team via bsa@boarding.org.uk. Educational GuardiansAs mentioned in previous editions of the newsletter, we are grateful to schools who are highlighting the BSA Certified Guardian Scheme to parents and would appreciate if all member schools could now signpost the scheme to current and potential parents. In response to requests from schools regarding safeguarding training for friend or family guardians we have opened up our January 2022 Sacpa (Safeguarding and Child Protection Association) half-day training course (online) which will be run by Dale Wilkins (Director of Safeguarding, Professional Development and Accreditation). Please do send the following information and link to any family or friend guardians of your pupils:
If you have any questions or would like to find out more about the BSA Certified Guardian Scheme please do email Ammy Davies-Potter, Director of Guardianship and Inclusion, via ammy.davies-potter@boarding.org.uk. INSET availability - January and April 2022Across BSA Group (BSA, Sacpa, BAISIS and Hieda) we now have limited availability for INSET in January and April 2022. If you are looking to organise your staff training and updates, please do get in touch with BSA Group via bsa@boarding.org.uk soon to secure your session! Across the Group, we can provide bespoke and on-site (or virtual) training for your team relating to boarding, pastoral care, safeguarding, EAL provision, medical treatment and administration of medicines as well as First Aid and Mental Health First Aid. Along with our provision of training, INSET, and other member services, BSA Group can support with specific and specialist needs through our consultancy services. BSA Group can support across a range of areas/themes including:
If you would be interested to discuss how BSA Group could support in these areas, please email bsa@boarding.org.uk and we can arrange a conversation to discuss the specific needs of your organisation. CPD, training and eventsWe're counting down to the end of term now, with just a small number of events now remaining on our calendar for 2021. Places are still available for today's (December 3) two events: Understanding adolescence: teenage girls, a virtual day seminar which runs from 10:30-15:30, and I hope to see many of you at our webinar, Looking back, looking forward – autumn/spring end of term review, taking place from 12:00-13:00. On Tuesday (December 7), we have three events. Sacpa will be holding a training session, Managing affluent neglect. There's a virtual day seminar, Online safety for boarders: keeping current and compliant, and we also have a webinar, run in partnership with AGBIS, Foundations for boarding school Governors – the international market, working with Agents and Guardians. Then on Wednesday (December 8), BSA and BAISIS will be joining forces for our final event of 2021, Working with agents: best practice recommendations. To book your place on any of these events, please click on the relevant event links. And don't forget to check out our ever-popular Accredited Training programme. Our next course, BSA / Hieda Advanced Certificate in Boarding Practice (School Nurses), begins on Tuesday (December 7). Moving on to 2022, the full programme has now been published for our Annual BSA Boarding Conference, sponsored by Engage, which takes place from February 1-2, 2022, in person at the Hilton, London Heathrow. Those of you who have booked your place or seen the programme will know we've got some top guest speakers and panellists confirmed to be joining us. You can view the programme, or book your place if you haven't done so already, by clicking on the link above. And there's our Annual Conference for Heads, sponsored by Innermedia and Schoolblazer, which will be held on May 3-4, 2022 at Oxford Town Hall. Thank you to everyone who has already responded to the formal invites we have sent out. More details about the conference, including guest speakers and a running order for the event, will be announced in the New Year. You can also now book places at the Sacpa-led Digital safeguarding conference on February 9, and the BSA / BAISIS International conference 2022 on March 8, by clicking on the course links. For more information on our forthcoming CPD, training and events, please scroll down to the BSA Academy section. BSA Group Gold Membership SchemeThe BSA Group Gold Membership scheme for BSA schools which want joint membership of BSA, Sacpa (Safeguarding and Child Protection Association), BAISIS (British Association of Independent Schools with International Students) and Hieda (Health in Education Association) is generating lots of member interest. Schools pay an additional £450 (+ VAT if applicable) for Gold Membership and will automatically be enrolled in Sacpa, BAISIS and Hieda, as well as BSA. Schools joining as Gold Members will also be sent a logo they can use on their websites. Any schools interested in becoming a Gold Member should email Chris Ryan, Head of Membership, via chris@boarding.org.uk. Chris can also discuss how individual schools which would like to upgrade their existing Sacpa, BAISIS or Hieda membership into full Gold Membership. Boarding School Magazine - send us your contentThe Spring 2022 edition of the magazine is now in production, with publication due in February. If you would like to submit content, please email Andrew Gray, Communications and Partnerships Manager, via andrew.gray@boarding.org.uk. The copy deadline is Friday, January 28, 2022. 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 BSA Certificate in Professional Practice - Inclusion Lead Training This bespoke, comprehensive two-day certificate course has been put together to support Inclusion Leads or staff with specific responsibility for equity, diversity and inclusion in boarding schools. 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. JUST FIVE PLACES REMAINING BSA / Hieda Advanced Certificate in Boarding Practice (School Nurses) Our November module for this course is now fully booked. To begin your qualification in December 2021, please click here. Study dates for the December module are: December 7, 2021 / February 9, 2022 / May 9, 2022 / June 23, 2022. BSA Certificate in International Boarding BSA Diploma in Boarding Practice - Leadership BSA Spring Diploma in Boarding Practice - Leadership This course is comprised of three, online tutor-led study days, with interactive morning and afternoon sessions which allow for discussion. 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 one-day conferences, running throughout 2022. To help with CPD planning, here are the events we are running between January and July 2022:
Please do 'save the dates' in your diaries and if you'd like to register interest, please email us. Safeguarding training - 2021-22Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and it's vital 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 upcoming training and events:
To see our latest training programme, click here.Index (Inclusion and Diversity Excellence)Following our inaugural inclusion conference in October 2020, 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). 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, via ammy.davies-potter@boarding.org.uk. 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. Other newsUK Education Guide webinar: BSA certified agent and BAISIS supporting member, UK Education Guide, is offering a free webinar on using WeChat for recruitment in China today (December 3) at 15:00 GMT. The webinar is one hour long and entitled 'How and why is it important for your institution to develop a strong presence on WeChat to help generate new referrals?' Register in advance via this link and you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. #GCHQChristmasChallenge: Leading UK intelligence and security agency is setting a special Christmas Challenge for 11 to 18-year-olds on Monday, December 13, and they are keen to get secondary schools and colleges across the country involved. More information on the challenge, and how to sign up, can be found via this link. 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:
|