BSA Weekly Newsletter Issue 174
Dear membersBSA, working with our fellow associations, meets weekly with and is engaging with government, DfE officials, key House of Lords representatives, and the devolved governments via SCIS and WISC on COVID-19/reopening arrangements for member schools.This includes seeking urgent clarity on arrangements for returning international students, particularly in planning ahead for the next academic year. DfE Schools’ Minister Baroness
Berridge has committed her department to provide guidance for boarding schools as soon as it has been signed off by Public Health England and other government departments, such as the Home Office.Until these arrangements are known in detail, we have continued to update our checklist of things for schools to consider alongside the related details from our sister associations ABSA and NZBSA. All these documents are available on the safeguarding page of the BSA website. BSA/AGBIS webinarOn May 21, BSA will host a joint webinar with AGBIS looking at COVID-19 related implications and issues for boarding governors and senior leaders. The webinar will assess the latest information about Covid-19 and review the known impact it has had on boarding schools. The hosts, Richard Harman (AGBIS), Robin Fletcher (BSA), Aileen Kane (BSA) and Dale Wilkins (BSA), will discuss the implications of schools potentially reopening for boarding in the summer term and look at potential scenarios for the normalisation of boarding school operations in 2020-21. Please click here to book. BSA Certified GuardiansFollowing the announcement last week of the first three educational guardians who have achieved certified status (Connexcel, Cotswold Guardians, and Regent Guardians) I am thrilled to announce a further three companies have now achieved certified status. They are: I know that colleagues who work with these guardians will agree that they are all excellent and worthy recipients of the very first few places on the scheme. Congratulations to all three and welcome to the BSA family! We encourage you to suggest that the guardians your school works with, whether big organisations or individual relatives of students, apply. Please click here for more details. Looked After Children (LAC)The BSA has been contacted by DfE with a request for us to contact our UK members. They are looking for short-term emergency placements for looked-after children (LAC) should the need arise. It is possible that the accommodation will be needed from early June. If you are able to offer short-term accommodation for LAC please could you contact chris@boarding.org.uk . If we receive any offers they will be referred to DfE and the Association of Directors of Children’s Services who will then disseminate this to local authorities. The decisions around the placement of LAC will be taken by the Local Authority. InternationalConsultant, Caroline Nixon, represented BSA for a live Facebook interview with Hong Kong education agent Britannia StudyLink this week. The aim of the interview was to reassure Hong Kong parents that UK boarding schools are safe places for their children to return to in September. 5,500 Hong Kong parents watched the live session, with a further 2,000 watching the recording later. Questions posed centred on whether the NHS has been overwhelmed, whether returning children would be allowed to wear face masks, what changes UK boarding schools will need to make to ensure children’s safety, the latest UK government guidelines, quarantining and guardianship. Caroline talked about the new BSA guardianship certification scheme and reassured parents that BSA is working with both the Government and BSA schools to ensure a safe environment for children to return to. She also pointed out that there are many other threats to children’s safety besides coronavirus and that the UK is by any standards one of the safest places in the world, as well as having an excellent and globally-recognised education system. Best wishes Robin Fletcher
Chief Executive, BSA and BSA Group
National Boarding Week
sponsored by SquadkitMonday 22 - Sunday 28 June, 2020
Now in its 5th year, we will again celebrate National Boarding Week in June. This year, the week is set to celebrate the importance of health and wellbeing in boarding life in collaboration with our generous sponsors, Squadkit, a unique brand that offers high-quality sportswear to many of our member schools. From home, we encourage everyone to get involved in fun and innovative activities that support mental health and wellbeing. Don’t forget to post all activities using the #iloveboarding #squadkit. Ideas include: - 2k run challenge
- Charity challenge
- Kindness challenge – go that extra mile
- Press up challenge
- Keepie uppie challenge
- Inter-house zoom bake-off
- The boarding zoom choir
- Audiobook challenge.
Virtual day seminarsOur virtual day seminars enable the delivery of the same training, sharing of resources and materials and opportunity to interact with the speaker and other delegates as our typical training programme. Supporting overseas boarders
June 03, 2020
Based in part on considering how it must feel to be an international student, far from home, this seminar reviews culture shock, language barriers and integration to help delegates better understand the needs of their international boarders. Where boarding communities are increasingly diverse, this understanding will strengthen the boarding provision and support of young people. Improving induction
June 16, 2020
This virtual day seminar will address the importance of a good and rigorous induction for both students and staff. We pride ourselves on having strong communities within our schools but this means we need to be considerate and conscientious in welcoming and inducting people. Suggestions and ideas will be shared to encourage delegates to review the induction processes for both new staff and new students. Taking on a new Boarding House
June 17, 2020
Promotion to Houseparent, and the associated responsibility for running a House is an exciting prospect, but it can also be stressful. This seminar will provide an opportunity to review and consider key issues relating to identity, students, staff, policies and procedures as well as the management of the physical House itself.
WebinarsThe BSA webinar series continues to grow, with webinars in the coming weeks for pastoral staff, Admissions staff, Marketing staff and the Leadership team. These one-hour intense training bursts are easily accessible worldwide and, if you can't join live, it is possible to order a recording of any past webinar in the series. To see the BSA webinar series as a whole, visit the dedicated page on our website. From there, you can order a recording of any of
our webinars at a small fee. In a COVID-19 world, why differentiating your school has never been more important
May 20, 14:00 - 15:00
COVID-19 has presented unprecedented challenges in the education sector, but there are opportunities arising too. To be able to take advantage of opportunities that exist, one critical factor to consider is whether your school has a clear positioning in the market? Is it easy for prospective parents to see why your offer is really different from the school 'down the road' ? Explore how to establish a clear market position, looking at key trends in the sector to inform this. BSA and AGBIS Webinar: Covid-19 Implications and issues for boarding school governors and senior leaders
May 21, 17:00 - 18:00
This webinar will assess the latest information about Covid-19 and review the known impact it has had on boarding schools. The hosts will discuss the implications of schools potentially reopening for boarding in the summer term and look at potential scenarios for the normalisation of boarding school operations in 2020-21. Stategically leading and flexing in response to the current challenging landscape
June 01, 11:00 - 12:00
For Governors and membership of SLT/SMT, this webinar will provide a valuable opportunity to reflect on consider how to lead and manage within your community, in particular given the impact of COVID-19 and the considerable upheaval this has caused. Practical tips, strategies and discussion points will be presented for you to utilise as you guide your organisations through this turbulent time. To see more webinars, please visit our Events calendar.
ConferencesBSA Boarding Future Project? Virtual Conference
June 11, 2020
Audience: Heads and SLT. Please click here to book now. Speaker and topics booked to date include: - The immediate future - what school opening plans look like as the UK comes out of lockdown and looks ahead to the autumn
Robin Fletcher BSA CEO, David Woodgate ISBA Chief Executive, Julie Robinson ISC Chief Executive and John Edward Director SCIS. - Talking Heads on the Future
Gareth Doodes Headmaster of Dover College, Will Brooks Headmaster of Brambletye School and Matt Williams Headmaster of Warminster School. - Future of boarding – an international perspective
Nick Wergan European Education Director at Inspired Education and Richard Stokes CEO of ABSA.
SBF Virtual Summer Conference
June 17, 2020
The programme will include an update on the boarding sector, with more detail focused on Brexit, the impact on Covid, safeguarding, NMS and boarding provision to support vulnerable children in care. Please click here to book now.
Annual Conference for Heads
September 2020
This has now been postponed until September. Please click here to book now. Boarding House Staff Conference
Brighton. October 7-8, 2020
This event was due to take place on April 1-2, 2020, but due to COVID-19 this has now been postponed until October 7-8, 2020, in Brighton. Places already booked will be transferred to the new date automatically, and if you have not yet booked your place, please click here to book now SAVE THE DATE: Deputy Heads and Heads of Boarding Conference
Edinburgh. February 02-03, 2021
There are four levels recognising staff who have completed at least one year in boarding, have demonstrated a commitment to safeguarding and undertaken key training, such as a BSA day seminar (Level 1) to staff who have completed 12 or more years in boarding and completed the BSA Diploma, or equivalent qualification, and have made a significant contribution to the wider boarding community outside their own setting (Level 4). Levels 2 and 3 can be worked towards
by completion of the BSA Advanced Certificate Course and BSA Diploma respectively. All readers of this newsletter are almost certainly eligible for one of the ABP Levels and now is a great opportunity to apply. If you've attended BSA training in the past, all you need to do to apply is click the applicable link below: - Level 1 - Practitioner (BSA day seminar equivalent)
- Level 2 - Advanced Certificate Course
- Level 3 - Diploma Course
- Level 4 - BSA Diploma + 12 years in boarding.
If you have any questions about an application or wish to nominate a colleague, please email Liz McDonald, BSA Senior Training Manager.
Forums- South West: May 19, 14:00-15:00
- International: May 22, 10:00-11:00 (BST).
If you have not yet received an invitation to either forum and you wish to attend please could you contact chris@boarding.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: T. +44 (0)207 798 1580
E. bsa@boarding.org.uk
W. www.boarding.org.uk
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