Dear Members,

A big thank you to everyone who attended our Annual Conference for Heads earlier this week. Despite us not being able to all meet face-to-face, it was great to see so many of you joining us virtually, and I hope you enjoyed the two days and found them useful and informative. Delegates who booked to attend the conference should now have received the links to download recordings of each of the sessions. The webinar recordings are available to purchase if you didn’t attend the conference, so please email us if you would like to do this.

I also wanted to say a special thanks to iSAMS, the headline sponsor of the conference. Like so many organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic, iSAMS have been doing lots of tremendous work behind the scenes to help our sector running smoothly, and you can find out more about that in an exclusive interview with Alastair Price, the company’s managing director and founder.

BSA Awards 2020

At the conclusion of the conference, we were also delighted to announce the winners of this year’s BSA Awards. These awards are our chance to showcase everything that’s great about boarding – the tremendous work carried out by all schools throughout the year, and the tireless efforts and commitment of staff who devote their lives to supporting boarders.

Many congratulations to all of the winners and thank you to everyone who took the time to send in a nomination this year. A full list of the winners and highly commended finalists in each category, can be found on our website.

Exeats, half term and Christmas arrangements

We’ve received several enquiries from members recently asking what schools are doing for exeats, half term and Christmas. During our Annual Conference for Heads, we ran a poll to find out what schools are going to be doing. We can publish the results for you here:

What are schools doing for Exeats?

Going ahead: 51 %        

Cancelled: 49%

What are schools doing for half term?

Boarders are staying in school: 71%

Boarders will go to guardians: 17%

Boarders will make their own arrangements: 12%

What are schools doing for Christmas?

Boarders are staying in school: 5%

Boarders will go to guardians: 32%

Boarders will make their own arrangements: 63%

Survey

Thank you again to the 142 members who have completed our survey on the numbers of boarders returning this term. There’s still time to complete it, so please could I encourage you to do so if you haven’t had chance to as yet.

To access the survey, please click here – we will summarise, anonymise, and share the data with our members as soon as it is available.

Testing

Many members are in touch with us about the chaos of accessing the NHS testing system, using private firms to provide faster tests or buying testing machines for their schools. In England, the DfE has been in touch with us several times to ask about school experiences and the arrangements being made and we are sharing case studies with them daily. To help inform this, any school which would like to share details of its own experience or arrangements may wish to email me via robin@boarding.org.uk

Conferences 

Diversity and Inclusion in Boarding conference
October 14, 2020
Taking place next month will be our Diversity and Inclusion in Boarding conference. More information on the event, plus details on how to secure your place, can be found in the Virtual Conferences section below.

SACPA conference: Peer-on-peer abuse: spotting the signs
October 19, 2020
A key safeguarding area, peer-on-peer abuse, is being considered in a one-day conference organised by partner association SACPA. The conference convers when peer relationships go wrong, spotting the signs, children as abusers and how we can support all parties. For more information, and to book your place, please visit the SACPA website.

BSA Certified Guardian logo for schools

In response to requests from schools, please click here to access the BSA Certified Guardian logo for use on admissions information or school website.

Consultancy support

Our In House consultancy service, which is discounted for member schools, is currently supporting several member schools on various boarding projects. In House can support schools on projects related to any area of boarding and safeguarding, including strategy, marketing, boarding operations, boarding governance and facility reviews. If there any schools with projects needing BSA support please contact me so we can ensure diary dates and resources are identified and secured.

School Places

We’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.

Best wishes, 

Robin Fletcher
Chief Executive, BSA and BSA Group

COVID-19 update

BSA is aware that many schools are making arrangements to accommodate pupils over the forthcoming half-term holiday. Not all are able to, and many are using the services of guardians. BSA is not aware of anything in the updated guidance, even in areas with more severe restrictions, which would compromise this, as travel to and from education is allowed, and they are effectively re-joining their household. This is the case in both England and Wales, and will shortly clarified in Scotland (see below).

If pupils travel internationally at half-term or for Christmas they and their families must be made aware of the likelihood of additional restrictions on travel in both directions. On return to the UK the guidance issued in early September still applies.

The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region yesterday added the UK to a list of high-risk countries. This will mean that from October 1, all travellers from the UK will need to show a negative test result before boarding planes from the UK, followed by a 14-day government quarantine in Hong Kong (in a government approved hotel, if available, or if not, in a government quarantine centre).
https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/high-risk-places.html
 
Some parents may wish their children to return immediately before these measures come into force. We suggest a proactive approach of support for pupils and contacting parents and guardians to plan for half term and the Christmas break. Schools may wish to consider keeping their boarding houses open for these holidays in order to help and retain pupils.

As was the case earlier in the year, some schools are worried about triggering either private fostering situations or the need to register as a Children’s Home if they accommodate boarders for extended periods in holiday time. BSA is currently clarifying the situation for all the home nations and will give a further update as soon as possible.

Don’t forget that the BSA has compiled a COVID-19 equipment supplier list, which you can find out more about below.

Scotland

Scottish Government will shortly publish a clarification regarding the fact that boarding pupils are able to go to a nominated guardian at exeats, half-term and at Christmas without infringing the Scottish rules relating to not mixing households. This will be an addition to the annex the existing school reopening guidance. SCIS and BSA were both consulted regarding this, and we are grateful to Scottish Government colleagues for doing so.

Wales

WISC has been advised that by the Welsh Government that UK Government colleagues are continuing to dispatch home testing kits to schools, including independent schools, this week for use in line with guidance published by the Welsh Government: https://gov.wales/guidance-schools-and-fe-providers-using-home-test-kits-html. However, if a school does not received this initial order; then they should contact the Test, Trace, Protect helpdesk at 119.

England

DfE CORONAVIRUS HELPLINE: DfE has confirmed that their helpline DOES apply to boarding schools and indeed this is stated clearly on the appropriate gov.uk webpage:

DfE coronavirus helpline

Telephone: 0800 046 8687. If you have a query about coronavirus (COVID-19) relating to schools and other educational establishments, and children's social care, in England contact our helpline.

Helpline opening hours:
Monday to Friday, 8am-6pm
Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm

If you work in a school, please have your unique reference number (URN or UK PRN) available when calling the helpline.

GOV.UK has updated its Guidance for schools: coronavirus (COVID-19), adding ‘Use of the NHS COVID-19 app in schools and further education colleges’ guidance to the ‘Safe working and protective measures’ section. It has also revised its Coronavirus (COVID-19): test kits for schools and FE providers guidance, adding 'updated content to confirm that schools and FE providers ordering additional test kits will be provided with one box of 10 kits per 1,000 pupils or students'.

HoC Written Answer: Department for Education: Boarding Schools: Coronavirus

Emma Hardy (Lab) (Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle): (83922) To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that all residential educational settings follow PHE guidance on isolating pupils with covid-19 on the premises, with particular regard to international students with no family in the UK.

Nick Gibb (Con) (Bognor Regis and Littlehampton): The Department has provided guidance for all residential settings on supporting pupils living in those settings who either show symptoms of, or are confirmed to have, COVID-19. Additional guidance, specifically for boarding schools, is provided to help with the collection, transfer and isolation of students entering the UK and travelling to a named boarding school or a named household.

Both documents were prepared in consultation with Public Health England and are published on GOV.UK:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-isolation-for-residential-educational-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-isolation-for-residential-educational-settings;

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-boarding-schools-with-international-students.

The Department's guidance explains that residential settings need to ensure that the arrangements for the oversight of any student in isolation protects their safety and welfare.

(Thanks to our colleagues at ISC for alerting us to this)

Inspection

Wales: Estyn has this week confirmed that it has suspended all inspection activity for independent schools in Wales for the remainder of this term. Care Inspectorate Wales has confirmed that its position remains the same, and that it will continue to inspect priority services according to their Recovery Plan. 

England: ISI is intending before half-term to update schools with relation to inspections, which currently remain paused.

Ofsted Social Care held a meeting last Friday regarding their programme of assurance visits. For a copy of the slides and any further information please email dale@boarding.org.uk

Both inspectorates can still be directed by DfE to undertake emergency or Progress Monitoring visits.

The Office of the Children’s Commissioner has confirmed that its helpline, which all schools in England are required to publicise under the National Minimum Standards, is still operating as normal. A poster and a flyer to advertise the “Help at Hand” service are available for download from the BSA website.

BSA COVID-19 supplier list

BSA 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:

• Active Sanitiser & Protection Tunnel: PTC XtraSAN
• Branded Face Masks: Funky Face Mask 
• Goldpro (please see the BSA Supplier page for full details of Goldpro)
• Disinfectant: Safe Tech Installations Limited
• Liquid hand sanitiser: ClearWater Hygiene
• Software: AssetPool Covid19 Safeguarding Compliance & Verification Software who have now also set up a “back-to-school” blog on how to be safe with AssetPool
• Testing: Chronomics
• Testing: COVID-19 Rapid Test: Fortress Diagnostics
• Testing and Tracking: Taylor Education: Covid-19 testing and tracking app
• Thermal Temperature Camera System: Eclipse Strategic Security Ltd  
• Tracking: WerAreWe.

For more detail on each of the suppliers, please visit the BSA COVID supplier page here.

Partner news

BAISIS

The 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.

Throughout the year, BAISIS also hosts a number of events designed to share best practice in academic and pastoral provision for international students in British independent schools. Two of these events, both webinars, will be taking place in October:

For more information on BAISIS events, please visit the BAISIS website.

Sacpa

Also 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.

Safeguarding and child protection responsibilities, legislation and guidance vary around the world. Sacpa's Advice and Guidance hub brings together the leading policies from across the globe, as well a list of UK safeguarding partnerships, which are available for all members to view.

Please also take a look at Sacpa’s upcoming webinars and CPD events. The next event on the calendar is What's new: Online safety update, which takes place on October 6. This can be accessed live, or as a recording after the event. BSA members can access this webinar at our member rate by quoting discount code ‘BSAWEB’. To book your place, click here.

Other partner news

Royal National Children's Springboard Foundation update: Our colleagues at Royal National Children's Springboard Foundation have asked us to share the following update, further to a bulletin sent to all SBF heads earlier this week:

As mentioned in the alert sent to all SBF Heads earlier in the week, the Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation (“Royal SpringBoard”) has been awarded a contract to increase the number of LAC & CIN in boarding schools (and independent day schools). This contract is NOT limited to independent boarding schools, but includes Royal SpringBoard being asked to recruit more local authorities to understand the benefits of placing pupils in ALL boarding schools (independent and state) as well as extending such placements to independent day schools. 

The DfE hopes to announce the launch of this new contract in early 2021 - and we ask that schools treat this information in confidence until this time. BSA is sharing this information with you now to ask you to please let SpringBoard know by email if your school (whether state or independent) currently has LAC on its pupil roll. It is really important to the success of this pilot programme that the sector helps Royal SpringBoard establish a baseline of the number of LAC currently attending boarding schools. Royal SpringBoard already runs impact assessment work on its bursaries and the ISC Board is in favour of supporting the organisation to extend this to a broader-ranging research project on the role that independent schools have played, and conditions for success, in extending educational opportunities to LAC.

You can email Royal SpringBoard via the link above and Ali Henderson, its CEO, will be in touch with you directly with further details of the programme. We thank you for engaging in this important work.
 

Case studies needed for Celebrating Partnerships booklet: ISC has advised that production of the next Celebrating Partnerships booklet is under way. The annual publication is due for release in November to coincide with the social media-focussed partnerships week, which uses the hashtags #schoolstogether and #powerofpartnerships. If you have partnership case studies you would like to be considered for inclusion, please email press@isc.co.uk.

Entries open for i25 Awards: Entries are now open for this year’s i25 Awards. The i25 recognises the independent sector’s leading influencers and innovators who have made an impact in some way: the top 25. The innovation or influence should have captured the imagination of others and had a measurable positive impact on children and/or independent education in the UK and, ideally, be replicable in other schools. The deadline for entries is October 21. For more information, visit www.i25awards.co.uk.
 

Certified Guardian and Agent Schemes

BSA Certified Agents

• Academic Asia (China)
• Academic Families (worldwide) (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• Barbara Glasmacher Internationale (Germany)
• Better School! Internatsberatung (Germany)
• BOSSS UK (China)
• Britannia StudyLink (HK)
• Cherry Education Consultancy (China)
• Connexcel (China) (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• Dickinson School Consulting (Germany and worldwide)
• ITEC (Russia)
• J3 Group (HK)
• Mark Brooks Education (Ghana, Nigeria, worldwide)
• Overseas Personal Development Services (China)
• Rise Smart Overseas Education Centre (Hong Kong)
• School Britannia (France)
• The Independent Education Consultants (worldwide)
• The Watanabe Office (Japan) 
• UK Education Guide (Middle East, worldwide)
• UK Tuition Services (China).

BSA Certified Guardians

• Academic Families (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• Amber Education
• Belgravia Guardians
• Berkeley Guardians
• Connexcel (Certified Agent and Certified Guardian)
• Cotswold Guardians
• Elite Anglo-Chinese Services 
• English Country Guardians 
• Guardians International Support
• Regent Guardians
• St George’s Guardians
• Study Links
• ​The Guardian Family Network
• UK Guardians
• UK Tuition and Services.

BSA Academy

Become a BSA Accredited Boarding Practitioner

BSA 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
• Achieving the best boarding practice and the best outcomes for boarders
• Reflecting on practice and undertaking regular training
• Working collaboratively with other boarding colleagues.

Find out more here.

Member Services

State Boarding Schools (SBF)

In order to continue with the continuous improvement of services for SBF members we are keen to collect your opinion. Please could we ask that you complete a short survey about our current services and any improvements needed.

Thank you to the eight members who have already filled in the survey. If you've yet to complete it, please can we encourage you to do so. Please click here to take the survey.

We will feedback the results of this survey via our SBF Committee regional representatives.

Regional forum meetings (Virtual)

We are delighted to announce dates for the next round of regional forums. The following have been confirmed and members in these regions will receive calendar invitations and joining instructions:

• October 9, 14:00-15:00 – South West (SWERB)
• October 12 , 14:00-15:00 – Wales
• October 16, 14:00-15:00 – East of England
• October 21, 14:00-15:00 (BST) – International
• November 5, 10:30-11:30 – Scotland
• November 19, time tbc – Ireland
• November 27, 14:00-15:00 – London

To be confirmed: London, Midlands, North, South Central and South East

Keep in touch

Please 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:

• Chief Executive - Robin Fletcher
• Chief Operating Officer - Aileen Kane
• Director of Safeguarding, Standards and Training - Dale Wilkins
• Member Services Director - Chris Ryan
• International Director - Caroline Nixon

• Director of Guardianship and Inclusion - Ammy Davies-Potter

• Head of Member Services - Beth Waddington
• Senior Training Manager - Liz McDonald
• Communications and Partnerships Manager - Andrew Gray
• Finance and Administration Manager - Danielle Cuthbert
• Member Services Co-ordinator - Chantelle Howell-Walker.

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