www.boarding.org.uk No images? Click here Dear Members,Further to the update included in last week's edition of the newsletter, the Home Office has advised it is planning to run some additional sessions on Microsoft Teams over the next few days on EUSS and the end of the Grace Period on June 30, 2021:
EU Child Student visasWe have had a number of queries from schools about the new Child Student visa system. We have also been contacted by agents concerned that UK schools are treating EU applicants in the same way as those from other countries. Member schools who are unsure about the differences for EU applicants compared to other nationalities, for example lack of necessity for financial proof or a BRP, are advised to check out the changes made last October Child Student visa - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). As a result of this uncertainty, we ran an Immigration Update last week with a full explanation of the changes. The day included sessions from top lawyers Hazar El-Chamma, Immigration Partner at Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP, and Nichola Carter, Head of Immigration at Carter Thomas Solicitors. Please contact bethan@boarding.org.uk if you would like to buy a copy of their sessions at £100 each, or other sessions at £60 each, or of the whole day conference at £185. Better School!, a BSA certified agent in Germany, is also running a session for member schools’ admissions departments, featuring a step-by step-guide to the online visa application system for EU students. The session takes place from 10:00-11:00 on Tuesday, June 29. Please email internat@betterschool.de to book a place. Hong Kong updateAs previously advised by BSA, schools must be completely certain that their testing arrangements are compliant with Hong Kong government requirements. Please note that from June 26, the Hong Kong government has specified that the relevant test must be a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based nucleic acid test. Results of tests conducted using other testing platforms (e.g. reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification, RT-LAMP) cannot be considered to have fulfilled the relevant specified boarding requirement. A copy of the full guidance regarding changes to quarantine and testing requirements can be read by clicking here. COVID positive boardersA number of schools and guardians have asked for clarification on the issue of a boarder showing COVID symptoms or having tested positive. The guidance states that such a pupil should self-isolate in their residential setting, i.e. the boarding school, and we suggest any school for whom this is problematic should contact PHE or other relevant authority for advice on exemption. Charity Commission - serious incident reportingWe're grateful to our colleagues at ISC for sharing the following response from the Charity Commission, following a query it sent to the Commission about serious incident reporting:
Children’s social care questionnaires 2021: what children and young people told OfstedOfsted has published the responses to its children's social care questionnaires. The responses from children and young people detail their experiences of living in children’s homes or with foster carers and staying at residential special schools or boarding schools. The responses can be read by clicking here. National Boarding Week - June 21-27There's just a few days left of this year's National Boarding Week (June 21-27). This year's event has been focusing on the importance of health and wellbeing and it's been incredible to see so many of you getting involved. There's still time to take part, so if you do complete any challenges for National Boarding Week, don't forget to post them on social media, tagging us and using the hashtags #nationalboardingweek and #iloveboarding. You can download a copy of this year's National Boarding Week flyer by clicking on the image below. You can also visit the National Boarding Week page on our website for more information. Limitless Challenge: #boardersgogreenIn the run-up to National Boarding Week, many of you have been taking part in our Boarders Go Green Challenge, which launched at our Annual Conference for Heads. In partnership with Limitless, a unique brand that offers high-quality sportswear to many of our member schools, we've challenged schools to join together to walk the equivalent of the distance across Africa - approximately 7,500km. Schools can contribute to this by undertaking a series of tasks and completing them will equate to a distance walked. We've now almost doubled our original target - together, you've covered more than 14,300km! Huge thanks to the staff and students at all of the schools who've helped us reach that figure. We want to keep going and see how far we can walk together by the end of National Boarding Week (June 21-27, 2021), so please do keep going! For more information, please visit our #boardersgogreen webpage. Training and eventsOur final conference of this academic year, Annual Health and Wellbeing Conference, takes place on July 6. We do hope you can join us for the event, which is developed in collaboration with our Nurse Advisors. The conference content will be relevant to pastoral staff specifically tasked with student wellbeing, Matrons and School Nurses, so please do let any of your team members know who may be interested. And don't forget, if you can't join us live at the conference, remember you can make a booking to receive the recordings to review at your convenience. Before that, on June 30, we still have places available for our half-day training session, Working with Agents, where we'll be looking at finding, building relationships and working with agents, with best practice recommendations to support the development of strong relationships between school and agent. Please click on the links to book your places. For more information on our forthcoming CPD, training and events - including dates for our Accredited Training programme in 2021/22 - please scroll down to the BSA Academy section. Home Office open consultation: Protect DutyThe Home Office is seeking views on how the Protect Duty can make the public safer at publicly accessible locations. This is a UK-wide consultation and is targeted at venues, organisations, businesses, local authorities, public authorities and individuals who own or operate at publicly accessible locations or others that a ‘Protect Duty’ would potentially affect. More on the consultation can be found by clicking here - the deadline for responding is Friday, July 2. School Sport Research Foundation (SSRF)We're lending our support to the School Sport Research Foundation (SSRF), a newly formed non-profit research foundation set up to promote and facilitate research into the physical, mental and social aspects of school sport. Membership of SSRF is open to all schools who have a desire to influence the direction this research takes. Schools who choose to become members of SSRF will be showing their commitment to engage with research that will allow continued improvement in their sector. Members will be able to propose research projects, seek the support of SSRF to run studies and have early results from research so that they can start implementing change. As part of this initiative, BSA will be undertaking a research project into sports injuries in schools. If you are interested in hearing more about SSRF and the potential of your school being involved, please complete the form that can be found here, or please contact Mr Richard Finch, Director of Sport at Harrow School and Head of School Partnerships at SSRF by emailing richard.finch@ssrf.org.uk. BSA ForumsAll members of the school boarding community are welcome to join our forum meetings. The next dates are: June
(*If you have yet to receive an invite and wish to attend please could you email bsa@boarding.org.uk) 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 booking is now open for the 2021-22 accredited training courses! Certificate Course Online BSA Certificate in Professional Practice - Mental Health & Wellbeing
ONLY SEVEN PLACES LEFT: BSA Advanced Certificate in Boarding Practice (School Nurses) 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, Senior Training Manager, at liz@boarding.org.uk. Virtual seminars and specialist training
Sacpa DSL Training: This training will enable you to meet statutory responsibilities referenced in Keeping Children Safe in Education and Working Together to Safeguard Children. The course is suitable for staff in the role of designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and deputy designated safeguarding lead (DDSL). It is delivered by an NSPCC-accredited trainer and qualified social work manager of 20 years. Date: July 08. WebinarsTo see the entire 2020-21 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 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 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 newsReach Girls' Summit: Members are invited to join the team at DLD College for the 'Reach Girls' Summit' on June 26. The Summit is open to all girls who are 11- 14 years old, and it will be very much a workshop and discussion format to help girls think about their futures in the ever-changing world that we all now live in. There are two ways to attend. Either in our COVID-19 safe Atrium at the multi-award winning DLD College London or via the live stream. Please click here to find out more and reserve your complimentary place. UK Social Mobility Awards: There's still time to submit an entry for this year's UK Social Mobility Awards. Organised by leading Social Mobility charity Making The Leap, the awards are about making the advancement of social mobility a key part of how organisations are run in this country. The deadline for entering the awards is today (June 25). For more information, please click here. For any enquiries about entering, please email carmen.antiqueira@mtl.org.uk. Temporary staff needed for Bishopstrow College summer camps: Bishopstrow College in Wiltshire is looking for temporary staff over the summer holidays for summer camps. The college needs four people for two weeks from July 15-24 for its summer programme. The posts will either be at Bishopstrow College near Warminster, or at Padworth College near Reading. If you are interested, please email Stuart Nicholson, Principal, at principal@bishopstrow.com. AGBIS / ISI Everyone's Invited webinar series: AGBIS is running an Everyone’s Invited webinar series with the ISI starting next week (Wednesday, June 30). A flyer containing more details can be found by clicking here - ISC member schools are able to attend for free, and if they are an AGBIS member, they can book via our website. Non-AGBIS members can book by emailing enquiries@agbis.org.uk. 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:
|