Dear Members,

Welcome to this week's edition of the BSA member newsletter. Next week, we will be holding the joint BSA and Sacpa Annual safeguarding conference, which takes place on Thursday (November 18). The conference will explore in detail all the latest key themes and issues relating to safeguarding and child protection, and we'll be joined by a range of top guest speakers to look at topics including ‘The impact of COVID-19 on safeguarding’; ‘digital safeguarding’; ‘bullying: from banter to abuse’; ‘risk assessments: counterproductive to putting children first?’; ‘safeguarding professionals’, ‘research findings’ and more. 

This event is a must for any practitioners working with children, young people or vulnerable individuals - places are still available, so please click on the link above to book your place if you haven't done so already.

Entering England during coronavirus (COVID-19)

Earlier this week, we issued an update following two updates from the UK Government regarding arrivals into the UK from November 22 onwards - a copy of that update is available here: Entering England during coronavirus (COVID-19).

BSA has continued to engage with Government departments on the subject of accessing second vaccinations for children needing them to travel home and having a suitable mechanism for proving their vaccination status, which is currently difficult. We are assured that these matters are actively under discussion and will issue any updates as soon as they are available.

Hong Kong citizens returning from UK

BSA has received a response from the Food and Health Bureau in Hong Kong regarding the permissions required for 12-17 year olds to prove that they have had a vaccination, and are thus eligible to enter Hong Kong, although they will still need to fulfil the full quarantine requirement there. The key element of the guidance is that travellers should contact the relevant airline to assure themselves of what the airline will and will not accept at check in. The advice is as follows:

Recognised vaccination record (applicable to relevant Group A specified places travellers arriving at Hong Kong) should include:

A vaccination record issued by Hong Kong, or an authority or recognised institution of a place on the “List of Places of Issuance of Recognised Vaccination Records”, bearing the name of the relevant vaccinated traveller matching that in his/her valid travel document to show in Chinese or English that:

• the relevant traveller has received dose(s) of COVID-19 vaccine and the date on which the last dose was administered; and
• the name of the vaccine administered or the name of the marketing authorisation holder or manufacturer of the vaccine; and
• a written confirmation in English or Chinese issued by the healthcare institution or a relevant authority of the government of the place where the vaccine was administered, bearing the name of the relevant vaccinated traveller matching that in his/her valid travel document and setting out all of the above information if the vaccination record is not in English or Chinese or does not contain all of the above information. The said written confirmation should be presented together with the vaccination record.  

Please refer to the information and "Frequently Asked Question #A10" at https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/inbound-travel-faq.html

Relevant documents shall be provided to the operator of the aircraft to check if the requirements have been met before boarding. Please contact the airline concerned for further information.

SAMBA testing and results

With thanks to Craig Middleton at Millfield for informing us, UKHSA (which replaced Public Health England) has confirmed that there is still no direct link between SAMBA results and NHS systems or GP records. UKHSA comments further:

‘We have previously discussed an interim remedy for ‘Fit to Fly’ certificates, and it is recommended you continue to print off SAMBA test results, and attach these to a letter prepared by an appropriate Health Care Professional.’

Engagement sessions with independent schools in Wales

Earlier this week, member schools in Wales will have received an alert from us regarding some upcoming engagement events with Welsh Government. There are four opportunities to join the briefing between November 15-24. Please note that spaces are allocated on a first come, first served basis. Details of how to sign up can be found by clicking here.

INSET availability - January and April 2022

Across 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:

• Leadership development
• Staffing structure, review (including new staff/new organisation)
• Strategic development
• Wellbeing
• Marketing and admissions
• EDI
• Safeguarding
• Site security.

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.

BSA physical security health check

As 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.

BSA Certified Guardian Scheme update

The BSA Certified Guardian Scheme now has 41 guardianship agencies currently certified and with more joining each term.

The scheme’s training and certification programmes assure BSA boarding schools they are dealing with educational guardians with the highest standards in the safeguarding of children, safer recruitment and training of staff and host families, knowledge of the UK education system and careful liaison with parents and schools.

We are grateful to those member schools which actively signpost the BSA Certified Guardian Scheme to parents.

However, given likely future changes to regulations around guardians in schools, particularly in the draft new National Minimum Standards for Boarding for England, we would appreciate if all member schools could now signpost the scheme, via this link.

Doing this will help to strengthen the sector’s approach to guardianship and support a strong message to UK governments about this key area. Thank you in advance to member schools for doing this.

To support schools, earlier this year we produced a briefing paper ‘Educational Guardianship’ with VWV; this can be accessed in the members' area of our website, in the Guidance section under Briefing Papers (login required).

We have also planned a joint BSA and AGBIS webinar, Foundations for boarding school Governors – the international market, working with Agents and Guardians, on December 7 (17:00-18:00).

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.

CPD, training and events

As mentioned above, next week sees the joint BSA and Sacpa Annual safeguarding conference, taking place on November 18. This will closely be followed by our Irish boarding conference, which will be held on November 24. Places are still available for both events, so if you haven't already booked, you can can do so by using the links above.

We're also continuing to prepare for our main conferences of 2022, the Annual BSA Boarding Conference, which takes place from February 1-2, 2022, in person at the Hilton, London Heathrow, and our Annual Conference for Heads, sponsored by Innermedia, which will be held on May 3-4, 2022 at Oxford Town Hall. For the Annual Conference for Heads, we are delighted to announce the first guest speakers for the event. Joining myself and Andrew Rattue, Headmaster, St Clare's, Oxford, and BSA Chair 2022, will be Richard Gerver, speaker, author and thinker; Sakshi Bansal, UNESCO Kindness Leader, humanitarian psychologist and Founder LEAP; Greig Trout, Director of Kindness, 52 Lives; David Pond, CEO, GB Wheelchair Rugby; Vanessa Ward, CEO and Chief Inspector, ISI, and Paul Hargreaves, author of The Fourth Bottom Line, speaker and CEO, Cotswold Fayre & Flourish. 

More details and speakers for both events will be announced soon, but places can be booked in the meantime by clicking on the conference links.

Our week of events begins next week though with Sacpa's Safer Recruitment training (November 15) - a limited number of places are still available for this virtual session, so do get in touch as soon as possible if you'd like to attend. The following day (November 16), Hieda will be running a virtual day seminar, Supporting mental health: Spotlight on self-harm and eating disorders, while BSA and Sacpa will be holding a joint webinar, Junior Gaming: the good, the bad and the safeguarding. And on November 17, we have the virtual day seminar, CBT introduction: tools and strategies, and Sacpa's virtual half-day seminar, Safeguarding standards for working with children in international settings.

And don't forget our full Accredited Training Programme, which is open for bookings. Our next course, BSA Certificate in Professional Practice for Pupil Welfare & Support 2021-2022, begins on November 19.

For more information on our forthcoming CPD, training and events, please scroll down to the BSA Academy section.

BSA Forums

Please see below the dates and times for the remaining forum meetings:

• East of England, November 12, 14:30-15:30
• North, November 15, 10:30-11:30
• London, November 26, 14:00-15:00

If you haven’t received an invite to any of the forums and would like to join us, please email bsa@boarding.org.uk.

Dates and times are still to be confirmed for our International and Prep Forums and will be announced soon.

BSA Group Gold Membership Scheme

The 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 content

The 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, 

Robin Fletcher
CEO, BSA and BSA Group 

BSA Academy

Accredited training

The 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
You can now reserve your place on the 2021-2022 Advanced Certificate Course. These courses are run online, and give practitioners all the necessary skills and knowledge to be successful in a boarding environment. This is a two-year modular course is aimed specifically at staff working in and around boarding. Over the last 20 years approximately 3,000 House Tutors, Matrons, Support Staff, School Nurses, Assistants and Houseparents have completed this Award. Find out more or reserve your place here.

It's your last chance to book a place on our Live Online BSA Certificate in Boarding Practice: Pastoral Care, beginning in November (Study dates: November 15, 2021 / January 21, 2022 / March 10, 2022 / May 25, 2022). Just five places now remain, so please get in touch with us as soon as possible if you'd like to secure your slot.

BSA Certificate in Professional Practice - Inclusion Lead Training
Study dates for this course are: February 8, 2022 and March 3, 2022.

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.

FIVE PLACES REMAINING: Autumn Diploma in Boarding Practice (Leadership) - 2021 - 2022
This diploma level course is recommended for senior boarding staff and is now open for booking.
Dates:

• Day 1: November 10, 2021
• Day 2: March 9, 2022
• Day 3: May 17, 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.

FOUR PLACES REMAINING: BSA Certificate in Professional Practice for Pupil Welfare & Support 2021-2022
Study dates for this course are: November 19, 2021 / January 13, 2022 / March 22, 2022 / May 12, 2022

Sessions for this course include:

• Perspectives on Pastoral Care  
• An Afternoon on Disordered Eating, Guest Speaker TBC
• Understanding Adolescence & Meeting the Needs of Children & Young People
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Ammy Davies-Potter, Director of Guardianship and Inclusion, BSA Group
• Emotional Health Issues & Building Resilience
• Promoting well-being
• Partnership with Parents
• Communication skills  
• Conflict management
• Supporting Vulnerable young people; what works
• Safeguarding and information sharing, Dale Wilkins, Director of Safeguarding Professional Development and Accreditation
• Putting into practice what you’ve learned, moving forward
• Assignment and course reflection.

Click here to reserve your place

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. 

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
Study dates for this course are: December 8, 2021 / January 26, 2022 / March 17, 2022
This three-day course will cover key elements in International Boarding, including the strategic nature and importance of the international boarding market, why international students seek a British education, induction, culture shock and integration as well as considering cultural identity, values, and differences. All of this contributes to identifying and meeting the pastoral and academic needs of international students. Find out more or reserve your place here.

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 - 2021-22

We look forward to welcoming you at our range of one-day conferences, running throughout the year. To help with CPD planning, here are the events we are running in the autumn term:

• BSA and Sacpa Annual safeguarding conference: November 18, 2021, 09:00-17:30
• Irish boarding conference: November 24, 2021, 09:00-16:30.

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.

• Annual BSA Boarding conference: February 1-2, 2022 (London)
• BSA/BAISIS International conference: March 8, 2022 (Virtual)
• BSA Annual conference for Heads: May 3-4, 2022 (Oxford)
• Annual Health and Wellbeing conference: July 11, 2022 (Virtual).

Safeguarding training - 2021-22

Safeguarding 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:

• Safer Recruitment training: November 15, 10:00-15:30
• Junior Gaming: the good, the bad and the safeguarding (run jointly by BSA and Sacpa), November 16, 11:00-12:00
• Safeguarding standards for working with children in international settings: November 17, 12:00-14:00
• Sacpa DSL training: November 23, 10:00-16:00
• Defensible decisions: November 29, 10:00-12:00

Other training and events

Please see below a selection of other upcoming training and events:

• Virtual day seminar (led by Hieda): Supporting mental health: Spotlight on self-harm and eating disorders: November 16, 10:30-15:30
• Virtual day seminar: CBT introduction: tools and strategies: November 17, 10:30-15:30
• Virtual day seminar (led by Hieda): Minor illnesses and injuries: November 22, 10:30-15:30
• Webinar (led by Hieda): Standing your ground: having the confidence to discuss medical boundaries: November 23, 16:00-17:00
• Training (led by Hieda): Paediatric first aid: November, 24-25
• Virtual day seminar: Understanding adolescence: teenage boys: November 24, 10:30-15:30
• Webinar: Understanding and celebrating religions and beliefs in boarding schools: November 26, 10:00-11:00

To see our latest training programme, click here.

Index (Inclusion and Diversity Excellence)

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 Scheme

The organisations below are members of the BSA Certified Supplier Scheme, which aims to connect members and organisations.

BSA Gold Certified Suppliers

• Schoolblazer / Limitless: School uniform and sports kit supplier
• Witley Jones: Designers, manufacturers and installers of quality school furniture for BSA boarding schools
• Engage: A powerful and flexible platform delivering effective communication, control, reporting and insight across your school.
• Innermedia: Award-winning website design, digital marketing, and measurement.

BSA Certified Suppliers

• Boarding software: Boardingware
• Boarding software: Reach
• Careers software: Unifrog
• COVID testing: Biograd
• COVID testing: Wren Healthcare
• Energy Management: Cost Advice
• Face masks: Kaia Trading Ltd
• Financial services: Quantum Advisory
• Homecare services: HealthNet Homecare
• Maths software: Sparx Maths / Hegarty Maths
• Occupational health: Latus Health
• Pest control: Pelsis Ltd
• Renewable energy: Powerful Allies Limited
• Safeguarding software: The Safeguarding Company

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 schemes

The 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

• Abby Plumb Education Guardian Service (China and Hong Kong) (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• Academic Asia (China)
• Academic Families (worldwide) (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• Akademis (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
• Aston Education (Hong Kong)
• @School-in-UK (Russia)
• Baltic Council for International Education (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia & Poland)
• Barbara Glasmacher Internationale (Germany)
• BeGo Education (China)
• Better School! Internatsberatung (Germany)
• Beyond Education (Spain)
• BOSSS UK (China)
• Britannia StudyLink (Hong Kong)
• British United Education Services (Hong Kong)
• Carfax Consultants (Worldwide)
• Chamberlain Educational Services (Hong Kong and China) 
• Cherry Education Consultancy (China)
• Connexcel (China) (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• Crest Education (China)
• Dickinson School Consulting (Germany and worldwide)
• EduExcellence Consulting Services (China)
• Edukatus (China, Hong Kong, Singapore)
• Genesis Education Planning (China) (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• Global Education Tumulka (GET) (Germany)
• Golden Apple Tree (China)
• HKIES Overseas Education Centre (Hong Kong)
• i-Learner (Hong Kong)
• InterGreat Education Group (China)
• IQ Consultancy (Russia)
• ITEC (Russia)
• J3 Group (HK)
• JD Consultancy (China) (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• Mark Brooks Education (Ghana, Nigeria, worldwide)
• Meridian Group (Latvia)
• Overseas Personal Development Services (China)
• Panoba (Nigeria and Saudi Arabia)
• QED Education Group (China)​
• Rise Smart Overseas Education Centre (Hong Kong)
• Sarah Jochums Internatsberatung (Germany)
• School Britannia (France)
• Sino-UK Arts & Cultural Bridge Ltd (China)
• The Independent Education Consultants (worldwide)
• The Watanabe Office (Japan) 
• UK Academics & Guardianship (UKAG) (China)
• UK Education Guide (Middle East, worldwide)
• UK Tuition Services (China) (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian).

For more information on the BSA Certified Agent scheme, please visit our website.

BSA Certified Guardians

• Abby Plumb Education Guardian Service (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• Academic Families (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• Access UK Education
• Alpha Guardians
• Amber Education
• Belgravia Guardians
• Berkeley Guardians
• Boarding Schools Ireland
• Cambridge Guardian Angels
• Carfax Guardians
• Clarendon International Education
• College Guardians
• Connexcel (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• Cotswold Guardians
• Edinburgh Guardian Angels
• Education and Exchange in Europe (provisional) 
• Elite Anglo-Chinese Services 
• English Country Guardians 
• Gabbitas
• Genesis Education Planning (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• Great British Guardians
• Guardians International Support
• High Schools International
• Hostlink UK
• International Student Guardianship Ireland (ISGI) (provisional)
• IQ Consultancy (provisional) (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• JD Consultancy (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• Overseas Personal Development Services (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• Redoor Education (provisional)
• Regent Guardians
• St George’s Guardians
• Scottish Overseas Guardianship Association (SOGA) (provisional)
• See World (provisional)
• Study Links
• ​The Guardian Family Network
• Trusted Guardianship
• UK Guardians
• UKGuardianship
• UK Tuition Services (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• UM Education (provisional)
• Ying Lang Guardian, Glamour Edu Ltd

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 news

ISC School Partnerships Week: Our colleagues at ISC have asked us to share this update with you regarding its annual School Partnerships Week:

The ISC will be running its annual 'Partnerships Week' social media campaign next week (commencing on Monday 15 November), in parallel with the publication of this year's Celebrating Partnerships booklet. The event will serve as an opportunity for the sector to collectively focus on promoting meaningful partnership work between independent and state schools.

We hope you will join us by posting about your collaborative projects – this might be a particular partnership you’ve been able to adapt in order to continue despite coronavirus restrictions, or by highlighting partnership activity you've either resumed already or plan to as soon as is safely possible.

We are encouraging you to use the hashtags #schoolstogether and #powerofpartnerships in your posts (as we will be) to help unify our content and reach a wider audience. Please tag us - and perhaps your local MP, whose details you can find on the ISC Member Zone under ‘Your MP & Constituency’ - on social media so we can spread the good news further. You can find us on:

• Twitter - @ISC_schools
• Facebook - @IndependentSchoolsCouncil
• LinkedIn

We continue to welcome blog contributions from teachers, school staff and pupils. If you have a partnership project you would like to write about for our 'Spotlight On' blog series, do let us know. 

You can always get in touch with us by emailing press@isc.co.uk.

The China-Scotland Business Awards 2022: Applications are now open for the 5th annual China-Scotland Business Awards, which will be recognise and celebrate achievements in trade and investment between Scotland and China. The winners will be announced at a special ceremony during the Chinese-Burns Supper on February 2, 2022, in Edinburgh. For more information, or to enter, please click here - the closing date for applications is midnight on Wednesday, November 24.

Keep in touch

We 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:

• Chief Executive - Robin Fletcher
• Chief Operating Officer and Director, Sacpa - Aileen Kane
• Director of Safeguarding, Professional Development and Accreditation - Dale Wilkins
• International Director and Director, BAISIS - Caroline Nixon

• Director of Guardianship and Inclusion - Ammy Davies-Potter

• Director, Health and Wellbeing and Director, Hieda - Jane Graham

• Head of Membership - Chris Ryan

• Head of CPD, Events and Consultancy - Beth Waddington
• Head of Accredited Training - Liz McDonald
• In-House Legal Counsel - Sabrina Kadi
• Communications and Partnerships Manager - Andrew Gray
• Finance and Administration Manager - Danielle Cuthbert
• Business Support Manager - Ellie Reed
• Business Support Executive - Claire Scrimgeour

T. +44 (0)207 798 1580
E. bsa@boarding.org.uk
W. www.boarding.org.uk