www.boarding.org.uk No images? Click here Dear Members,The BSA Weekly Newsletter returns after a short break and I hope you all managed to have some rest over half term. As lockdown measures have returned in England this week, following the restrictions already in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, many of you will have seen the special bulletins we've been issuing regarding updates to the Government's guidance on Education and Childcare settings for schools in England. The most recent update was issued on Wednesday, and you can read more about that in the COVID-19 update section below. We will be continuing to liaise closely with government departments and will continue to advise you of any further updates. As we have been throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the BSA team continues to be here to offer you any support and guidance you may need, so please don't hesitate to contact us if you do need our assistance. ConferencesWe have a wide range of online conferences, day seminars, and webinars coming up between now and the end of the year, so please do take a look at our full 2020/21 training calendar for a complete list of events. Some highlights this month include: BSA Group Annual Safeguarding conference BSA COVID conference: lessons learned and planning ahead Sacpa Conference: Peer-on-peer abuse, spotting the signs It's also your last chance to book places on some of our ever-popular Accredited Training courses, which also begin this month. All of this training is being delivered online, and you can find out more details about the courses available in the BSA Academy section below. Boarding School Magazine - Autumn 2020The autumn edition of Boarding School Magazine is now live. If you haven't already seen a copy, you can view it by clicking here. The spring 2021 edition of Boarding School magazine is due to be published in February 2021. If you would like to submit an article for the next edition, please email bsa@boarding.org.uk with your contributions by Friday 8 January 2021. New BSA website - please send us your imagesThe BSA team is currently working on a brand-new external website, which will be going live in early 2021. As part of the website redevelopment project, we are asking our member schools to share with us any good professional photos which you would be happy for us to incorporate into the pages of our new site. If you have any photos you would like to share with us, please send these to Andrew Gray, Communications and Partnerships Manager. If you have multiple large file images to send, please send them via file sharing services such as WeTransfer or Dropbox. 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. You can also download a copy of the Schoolplaces.org media pack by clicking here. Revised national guidance for child protection in Scotland - consultationScottish Government has launched a consultation into the revised National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland which runs until January 17. The guidance references independent schools, boarding, and both SCIS and BSA. BSA office moveFinally, the BSA Group will be moving to new offices from December 1, 2020, sharing quarters with colleagues at the ISC. Our new address will be:
Our main contact telephone number, +44 (0)207 798 1580, will remain the same. Best wishes,
COVID-19 updateEngland As many of you will already have seen, we issued a special bulletin on Wednesday (4/11) following publication of the updated 'Education and childcare settings: New National Restrictions from 5 November 2020' guidance. The wording relating to boarding has a minor update from our communication last night and no longer specifies 'weekend':
We will continue to keep you updated should the guidance be revised again. With regard to facemasks, in schools where pupils in year 7 and above are educated, face coverings should be worn by adults and pupils when moving around the premises, outside of classrooms, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing cannot easily be maintained. This was already the case for pupils in year 7 and above, and staff and visitors for those schools that were in areas where local alert level ‘high’ and ‘very high’. GOV.UK has also this week published an updated version of its COVID-19: guidance for the public on mental health and wellbeing guidance. Scotland The Scottish Government recently updated a number of its guidance documents for schools. The latest up-to-date guidance can be viewed by clicking here. Northern Ireland Schools will be allowed to deliver physical education indoors or outdoors and with no limit on student numbers, the education minister has said. You can read a news article containing further information on this here. 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. For more on forthcoming BAISIS training and events, please see the BSA Academy section below or 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. Sacpa runs a comprehensive training programme, inviting experts from across the safeguarding sector to speak on important and current topics relating to safeguarding, child protection and the care of vulnerable adults. Upcoming webinars include, What’s new: Gaming (November 09) and There’s more to saying ‘no’: refusal strategies (November 16). For more on forthcoming Sacpa training and events, please see the BSA Academy section below or visit the Sacpa website. Other newsOur colleagues at ISC have asked us to pass on the following two updates: Schools Together: ISC would like to thank members for adding their partnership case studies to Schools Together and ask schools to select as many category types as possible for each one. This will mean that all relevant case studies appear when searched by each type, be it coronavirus support, academic and so on. Information on Schools Together supports the ISC’s communications, public affairs and policy work, so your help is very much appreciated. Hosting trainee teachers in independent schools in 20/21: We encourage independent schools to consider hosting initial teacher training (ITT) trainees this academic year. ITT trainees are critical workers and have the potential to play a significant role in supporting schools this year. Trainees can take responsibility, with the usual mentor oversight, for small groups of pupils, creating online learning materials, re-planning sequences of lessons or delivering catch-up lessons. Temporary relaxations to the ITT criteria mean that placements can be more flexible than ever this year, so there is scope to agree an arrangement that suits your school while complying with all legislation, criteria and guidance relevant to ITT. To learn more about hosting trainees, contact ITT providers in your area. You can find providers offering courses near you by searching the find teacher training website. Further information on the roles that trainees can play in schools can be found in our guidance on the actions for schools during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Our colleagues at Meetwo have asked us to share a link to a new survey it is undertaking: Help us to help teachers: We’ve created a short survey to help us understand more about existing mental health training and provision in schools and how it affects you. It only takes ten minutes to fill in, but the results will inform new innovations that will improve access to mental health support for you and your students. Click on this link and help us to help you. 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. BSA Certified AgentsWe are delighted to announce that Abby Plumb Education Guardian Service has joined the BSA Certified Agent scheme. Welcome to the BSA family!
For more information on the BSA Certified Agent scheme, please visit our website. BSA Certified GuardiansWe are delighted to announce that Cambridge Guardian Angels, College Guardians, High Schools International, Overseas Personal Development Services, Trusted Guardianship and UKGuardianship have joined the BSA Certified Guardian scheme. A very warm welcome to the BSA family to you all!
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. BSA AcademyAccredited TrainingOur highly respected Advanced Certificate courses are now open for booking. These courses are all currently being run online and give practitioners all the necessary skills and knowledge to be successful in a boarding environment. Listed below are all our upcoming courses - to find out more, or to book your place, please click on the course title. If you need any further information about our Accredited Training programme, please contact Liz McDonald, Senior Training Manager, at liz@boarding.org.uk. LAST CHANCE TO BOOK
MORE COURSES
Virtual conferences
Virtual day seminars
Webinars
To see the entire 2020-21 training programme, click here.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 ServicesRegional forum meetings (Virtual) The dates for the remaining regional forum meetings still to take place this year are listed below. Members in these regions will receive calendar invitations and joining instructions:
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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