www.boarding.org.uk No images? Click here Dear Members,Welcome to this week's edition of the BSA member newsletter. Tomorrow (Saturday, October 9), we'll be celebrating this year's International Boarding Day, sponsored by our sister organisation, the Health in Education Association (Hieda). This year's theme is health and wellbeing, and we're asking you to lend your support on the day by sharing any images you have of any health or wellbeing-related activities you're taking part in. Please upload them to your social media channels using the hashtags #bsaintboardingday2021 and #iloveboarding, and email them through to us at bsa@boarding.org.uk. As an extra incentive, we'll be choosing our favourite photo from the day, and the winner will receive a FREE Hieda membership, which will be valid for the next 12 months. We'd love to see as many of you taking part as possible, so please do get involved if you can. You can download a copy of the poster for this year's event by clicking here. BSA Boarding Conference, February 1-2, 2022 at the Hilton, London HeathrowWe are delighted to announce Jo Cameron, Principal of Queenswood School as Chair of the BSA Boarding Conference, which takes place from February 1-2, 2022. This conference is for Deputy Heads, Heads of Boarding and Boarding House staff and the theme will be ‘The Boarding Balance’. The BSA Boarding Conference will be held in person at the Hilton, London Heathrow, which provides excellent transport links from all corners of the UK and for international members. The programme will be released in coming weeks and we will be covering topics including balancing the health and wellbeing of all in boarding and strategic thinking to achieve the perfect boarding balance. The conference includes two days of CPD, networking and inspiring speakers, as well as the conference dinner. In response to member feedback we have opted not to include accommodation within the price to allow members to choose accommodation at their budget point. A delegate hotel rate will be offered at the Hilton, London Heathrow and a list of alternative accommodation will be provided at booking. To book now, please click here. Also looking slightly further ahead, don't forget our our Annual Conference for Heads, which takes place on May 3-4, 2022 at Oxford Town Hall, is now open for bookings, so please contact us to secure your spot if you haven't already done so. COVID updateWe are aware that in some areas of the UK, COVID cases are continuing to rise both in schools and in the community. We would like to remind schools of the DfE School Operational Guidance, and in particular, section 4: following public health advice on testing, self-isolation and managing confirmed cases of COVID-19.
In line with the information above, the default position is that pupils should be cared for in school unless directed otherwise by an official body such as Public Health England (PHE), however, pupils are also able to be cared for in their family home if it is in their best interests to do so. We understand that this is a difficult time for schools, guardians, pupils and parents. Regarding international pupils who have an educational guardian in the UK, we would urge schools and guardians to be in touch on an individual basis at an early stage if the pupil becomes unwell, so that discussions can occur to find a solution if quarantining outside of the school is considered to be in the best interest of the pupil and is agreed by PHE. BSA is grateful to our Certified Guardians for working so constructively with schools on this very challenging issue. In terms of looking ahead to the Christmas holidays we are aware of a range of arrangements that schools are putting in place and also contingency planning for pupils who test positive near the end of term. Again, we urge both schools and guardians to be in contact at an early stage to discuss Christmas holiday arrangements as many pupils have a term time only guardianship contract and pupils’ host families who commit for exeats and half terms may not be available in the longer holidays, this might be particularly relevant to pupils from China and Hong Kong. As always if you need any advice or support please do contact the team via: bsa@boarding.org.uk. Yesterday (7/10), the UK Government announced changes to the Red List and to those countries whose vaccines will be accepted. These changes come into effect at 4 am on Monday (11/10) - the full update can be read by clicking here. Earlier this week, we also issued a special bulletin, 'UK Travel guidance update and changes to England and Wales guidance for boarders from red-list countries.' A copy of that update can be read by clicking here. In Scotland, our colleagues at SCIS have advised us that member schools may have also received a letter from the Scottish Government, updating guidance for pupils travelling internationally. It has been confirmed that:
A copy of the Scottish Government letter can be read by clicking here. Survey of Chinese parentsMembers will remember the survey of current and prospective Chinese parents that we undertook in partnership with BAISIS, British Council China and BSA certified agent Connexcel last June. Questions covered Chinese parents’ motivation for sending their children to the UK, along with their reactions to our handling of the pandemic and the likelihood of change in this market. We received answers from 900 families which represents 15 per cent of the total Chinese pupils in UK boarding schools, an excellent response for which we thank you. We have collated the answers into a report which will be launched on Monday 11 October and emailed to you. The results will be analysed by Caroline Nixon, BSA International Director; Fraser Deas, Head of Education Services, British Council China, and John Zhang, Managing Director, Connexcel, at our Visa and Immigration conference on Tuesday, October 12. Education Secretary letterFollowing the recent cabinet reshuffle, we wrote to Nadhim Zahawi MP, the UK Government's new Secretary of State for Education, congratulating him on his appointment. Earlier this week, we received a response, which you can read by clicking here. CPD, training and eventsNext week is another busy one for CPD, training and events, and on Monday (October 11), we have a webinar, ADHD – systems and strategies to support pupils in boarding schools. This will be followed by our next conference will be our Visa and Immigration conference, taking place on Tuesday (October 12). The day will focus on key issues such as CAS allocations and the application process; updates to the new Student and Child routes, and recommendations to ensure compliance against sponsor license responsibilities. As mentioned above, we will also be taking a closer look during this session at the results from our Chinese parents' survey. The following day (Wednesday, October 13), we have the Hieda-led Sports injury management, virtual one-day conference. This event will cover types of sports injuries from around the body, including their cause and treatments. Throughout the conference, delegates will gain a thorough understanding, from medical professionals, of how to prevent and minimise injuries that occur during sports pursuits. Other highlights next week include a virtual day seminar, “Outduction” – preparing students for life after school, and a webinar run jointly with GSA, Staff wellbeing, which both take place on Wednesday (October 13). Closing out the week on Friday (October 15) will be a Sacpa training session, Breaching the position of trust; what we know, where we're looking forward to hearing again from independent safeguarding and sexual abuse consultant Marcus Erooga, who'll be our guest speaker. And finally, a reminder too that our full Accredited Training Programme is open for bookings. Our next course, BSA / Hieda Advanced Certificate in Boarding Practice (School Nurses), begins on November 3, closely followed by BSA Certificate in Professional Practice - Inclusion Lead Training, which gets under way on November 9. For more information on our forthcoming CPD, training and events, please scroll down to the BSA Academy section. BSA ForumsThe autumn term Regional Boarding Forums commence later today (8/10/21) - confirmed dates and times are listed below: October
November
Dates and times are still to be confirmed for our International, East of England, London, Wales and Prep Forums and will be announced in the coming weeks. If you haven’t received an invite to today’s South West Boarding Forum and would like to join us, please email bsa@boarding.org.uk. BSA Group Gold Membership SchemeDozens of BSA member schools have already joined one or more of our other associations, Sacpa (Safeguarding and Child Protection Association), BAISIS (British Association of Independent Schools with International Students) and Hieda (Health in Education Association), taking advantage of their 50 per cent discount on subscription rates. Increasingly however, schools are asking for a simple way of joining Sacpa, BAISIS and Hieda at the same time. To facilitate this, BSA Group is pleased to announce the BSA Group Gold Membership scheme for BSA schools which want joint membership of BSA, Sacpa, BAISIS and Hieda. Through this 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. Chris will also be able to discuss how individual schools which would like to upgrade their existing Sacpa, BAISIS or Hieda membership into full Gold Membership. 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 / Hieda Advanced Certificate in Boarding Practice (School Nurses) To begin your qualification in November 2021, please click here. Study dates for the November module are: November 3, 2021 / January 11, 2022 / March 8, 2022 / May 16, 2022. 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 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.
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). 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 AgentsWe are delighted to announce that Golden Apple Tree 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 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 boarding schools "meet the agent" event, Madrid, 2/12/21: The Department for International Trade, with the support and participation of the Spanish Association of Promoters of Language Courses Abroad (ASEPROCE) is organising a “Meet the Study Agent” session, where a group of UK boarding schools will be able to meet in person with study abroad agents from all over Spain and learn more about the Spanish market during 1:1 meetings. It will take place in person (at the British Embassy in Madrid) on December 2, DIT will not charge schools any fee for participating in this event. However, schools will need to pay for their own accommodation and travel expenses. Anyone interested in taking part will need to complete this application form - a flyer for the event can also be downloaded by clicking here. Independent Schools SEND Conference in association with ISC 2021: This year’s Independent Schools SEND Conference in association with ISC (formerly the ISC SEND Conference) takes place on Friday, November 5. For more information, or to book a place, please click here. 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:
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