BSA Weekly Newsletter Issue 172
Dear membersEarlier this year, we launched the BSA Certified Agent scheme. The scheme is designed to improve the working relationship between high-quality agents and education consultants working with BSA boarding schools. This rigorous scheme is a clear demonstration of the quality and intention of the agents and consultants who join and provides unrivalled
assurance to BSA boarding schools that they are dealing with top-class agents who have the highest standards in recruitment, safeguarding and student placement. The following organisations have successfully obtained BSA Certified Agent status: To find out more about the BSA Certified Agent Scheme, please click here. External investmentIn these difficult times, it may be that some schools are considering joining up with other schools/school groups or looking for external investment. BSA often receives approaches from prospective groups or investors, so if any school/Head would like a confidential conversation please email me at robin@boarding.org.uk. Regional forumsBSA has decided that members may wish to discuss issues that they are currently facing as a result of the Covid-19 crisis and therefore have brought forward our regional forum meetings planned for June and converted them to virtual forums. Yesterday, we saw the first of these Zoom forum meetings for members in Wales which was well attended by more than half of our members. Future online forums: - London: May 4, 10:00-11:00 (to join, please contact chris@boarding.org.uk)
- Scotland: May 7, 10:30-11:30 (to join, please contact aileen@boarding.org.uk)
- South Central: May 7, 14:00-15:00 (to join, please contact chris@boarding.org.uk)
- South East: May 7, 14:00-15:00 (to join, please contact aileen@boarding.org.uk)
- East of England: May 15, 10:00-11:00 (to join, please contact bethan@boarding.org.uk).
Date and times for the other forums, including one for International members, has yet to be confirmed and of course, we will be in touch once they have been set. Certified Guardian SchemeFollowing our announcement of the BSA’s Certified Guardian Scheme (CGS) last week we have had an overwhelmingly positive response from guardians and member schools. The scheme is designed to be accessible to, and inclusive of, all guardianship organisations and to enable the sharing of best practice with all. BSA training of guardians and subsequent certification will provide assurance to you that you are dealing with guardians who have the highest standards in safeguarding of children, safer recruitment and training of staff and host families, and careful liaison with parents and schools. More details can be found on our website here and we encourage you to suggest that the guardians your school works with, whether big organisations or individual relatives of students, apply. Confidential supportTwo former BSA Chairs who are retired from boarding Headships, have kindly offered their support to any BSA heads who may appreciate confidential support at this difficult time. If you would like to be put in touch, please email me via robin@boarding.org.uk. BSA Boarding AwardsThe deadline for entries to the BSA Boarding Awards has been extended until the end of May 2020. Winners will be announced during the rescheduled Heads' Conference in September. For more information on the Awards please visit our website, and email Amy Wilson if you have any
questions. Best wishes Robin Fletcher
Chief Executive, BSA and BSA Group
National Boarding Week
in partnership with SquadkitMonday 22 - Sunday 28 June, 2020 Now into 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 seminarsBSA has converted the summer term day seminar training programme so it can be accessed remotely worldwide. Our 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. "The training day has certainly done what I wanted it to do. Found it very useful and think it is a good way to access training easily." Delegate,
April 2020.
Medical matters for non-medical staff
May 13, 2020
This training is aimed at staff who are medically responsible for students in their care where there might not be a formal medical provision/expert available. Going through guidance for working safely, managing medicines and supporting pupils with acute or chronic conditions, this training will inform and build confidence in delegates. Supporting overseas boarders
June 03, 2020
Based in part on considering how it must feel to be an international student, thousands of miles away 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. 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. COVID-19 impact on schools: Home Office policy and practice
May 06, 11:00-12:00
Particularly useful for Admissions staff and SMT, this webinar will cover the latest guidance published by the Home Office, and will address the practical issues faced by schools and students. Hazar El-Chamaa, Partner and immigration specialist at Penningtons Manches Cooper will also take questions at the end of the webinar, supporting a clearer understanding of Home Office developments and their impacts on boarding schools. Planning and running a successful virtual open day
May 12, 14:00-15:00
Just because your wonderful schools are currently closed, it doesn't mean the show has to stop! The show must go on! With Interactive Schools, learn how to blend your content strategy and technology to deliver an impressive open day experience: one that still fits with your wider strategy - and long term goals. This is a real opportunity to try something new and experiment. Is your website as good as it looks?
May 18, 12:00-13:00
Chris Knight, MD at InnerMedia, will run through what Google and your users really want from your website, and examine what lies under your website hood. Using real examples of where schools can go wrong, Chris will share how to fix them for a boost in rankings. In addition, if you sign up more than a week before the webinar, Chris and his team have offered to do a full audit on your website and send you the findings. To see more webinars, please visit our Events calendar.
ConferencesSBF Virtual Conference
June 16, 2020
An update on the boarding sector, Brexit, impact on Covid, safeguarding/NMS. Please click here to book now. Annual Conference for Heads
September 2020
This has now been postponed until September. More details to be announced very shortly. 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 do so on our website, here. Deputy Heads and Heads of Boarding Conference
Edinburgh. February 02-03, 2021
Please click here to book now.
Policy reviewsA number of members have been in touch as they use the lockdown period to review boarding policies. If you would like any best practice support around this area, please contact Dale Wilkins, Director of Safeguarding, Standards and Training via dale@boarding.org.uk. In House consultancy serviceWe are aware many schools are reviewing their boarding strategies as a result of the current
challenges facing the sector. BSA’s In House consultancy service is able to offer support to schools on this, or on other areas such as policy or staffing reviews. Although this is a chargeable service, we are reducing fees for this by 40% between now and the end of the academic year to recognise school budget pressures. If anyone is interested in this service, please email robin@boarding.org.uk. 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
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