www.boarding.org.uk No images? Click here Dear Members,Welcome to this week's edition of the BSA member newsletter. I hope that those of you returning from half term this week managed to have an enjoyable and relaxing break. Our thoughts are now turning to the Christmas holidays and we envisage there are going to be a number of COVID-19-related difficulties for international children returning home. We therefore encourage you to start communication with parents and guardians early to establish a plan for each international child. Schools should have a contingency plan that includes caring for a child unable to return to their country of origin. This will look different for each school due to set up and size. This needs to be communicated with parents and guardians so they are fully aware of what you are able to offer. When planning travel arrangements for the end of term we suggest you consider the following issues that may affect flights home:
As ever, the BSA Team is available for advice and support. Immigration updateUKVI Visa Processing: Following the pandemic all overseas Child Student/Student applications will be processed by the UKVI through a central visa team based in Sheffield to ensure visa processing times remain within the 15 working day time period. Immigration health surcharge for EU and Swiss students in the UK: From 1 January 2022, EU and Swiss full-time students studying in the UK can apply for a reimbursement of the immigration health surcharge (IHS). Eligible students from the EU will be able to apply for a reimbursement back dated to include any surcharge payments made for a visa starting on or after 1 January 2021. Eligible Students from Switzerland will be able to apply for a refund of their immigration health surcharge payment from 1 January 2022, backdated to 1 November 2021. For more information, please click here. BRP card production – delays: Delays continue to be experienced in the production of some BRP cards. This may impact travel plans given that travel without a BRP card is not recommended. Where necessary, students should be travelling with their visa approval letter and a comfort letter from the school to confirm their studies are continuing upon their return to the UK. Points-based immigration system and the status of EU citizens - webinar: The Home Office is hosting a webinar at at 16:15 on November 10, giving an overview on the points-based system for schools and colleges. Members interested can register for this event via this link. The session will include updates on the following:
During this event you will be given the opportunity to ask questions via Sli.do. COVID updateOn November 1 2021, the seven remaining destinations on the red list; Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Peru and Venezuela, were removed. Passengers returning to England from these destinations are no longer required to enter and hotel quarantine/quarantine at school. The red list and quarantine hotel policy remains and will be reviewed by the government every three weeks. This will have an impact on those who plan to enter the UK as a visitor should their country of departure, or a country they have been in within the last 10 days, returns to the red list. In addition, eligible travellers with the correct proof of vaccination from over 30 additional countries and territories, including Argentina, Lebanon, Mauritius and Peru, will also qualify under the fully vaccinated rules for travel to the UK. Since October 24, eligible fully vaccinated passengers and most under 18s arriving in England have been able to use a cheaper lateral flow device test post-arrival, with a free confirmatory PCR test if they receive a positive result. From October 31, the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also confirmed such passengers arriving in each country could choose to take a lateral flow test instead of a PCR test. Wales: In Wales there is now a requirement for members of a household to self-isolate until they receive a negative PCR test result if they are a contact of someone who tests positive with COVID. Emma Verrier at WISC has confirmed with Welsh Government that in the case of a boarding “household”, this does mean the whole household, although where residential provision is spread across several buildings, schools will wish to treat these as separate households. This will doubtless have additional implications for schools because of the issues around getting such large numbers tested. Scotland: Working with our colleagues at SCIS, we've drafted a joint open letter to the Scottish Government, urging it to work with the Canadian, German and Dutch governments to find a solution allowing pupils based in those countries to return home at Christmas. Currently, children entering those countries will be required to quarantine for 10 or 14 days upon entry from the UK if unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, meaning these pupils are unable to travel home over the festive period. A copy of the letter can be viewed here. TikTok 'black out challenge'It has come to our attention that a number of schools are experiencing students entering into a TikTok game called 'black out challenge.' This involves strangulation to the point of unconsciousness, with the students then discuss the feeling. We want to bring this to your attention so that you can be aware and take necessary preventative precautions. INSET availability - January and April 2022Across 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:
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. Updated briefing paper ‘Sexual orientation and gender identity: Advice for Boarding Schools’In response to the recent ‘Supporting transgender young people in schools: guidance for Scottish schools’, published by the Scottish Government in August, we have worked with VWV (England and Wales) and Anderson Strathern (Scotland) to update our briefing paper ‘Sexual orientation and gender identity: Advice for Boarding Schools’. While some of the themes, legislation and principles apply to schools throughout the UK and worldwide, this paper is based on the specific legal framework which governs boarding schools in the state and private sectors in England, Wales and Scotland. The paper can be accessed in the Guidance section of our website, under 'INDEX' (member login required). BSA Certified Guardian Scheme updateThe 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 here (link). 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 eventsAs this newsletter has been on a half-term hiatus, a brief reminder that we are just under two weeks away from our next conference, the joint BSA and Sacpa Annual safeguarding conference, which takes place November 18, and our Irish boarding conference (November 24). We have packed programmes and an excellent range of guest speakers lined up for both events, so please do book your places if you haven't done so already, by using the links above. Work is also continuing behind the scenes for our main conferences for 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, which will be held on May 3-4, 2022 at Oxford Town Hall. More details for both events will be announced in the coming weeks, but places can be booked in the meantime by clicking on the conference links. Next week's training calendar features five webinars, starting with the Sacpa-led Managing volunteers - supporting their understanding of safer recruitment and safeguarding issues, and Hieda's Could you support student nurses in your school? An overview of what is involved, both taking place on November 9. On November 11, we'll be running Understanding and supporting pupils with Dyslexia in boarding schools, while a further two webinars will be held on November 12: The 5 step: solutions to personal wellbeing for prep pupils, and the BAISIS-led EAL in the Mainstream Classroom. And don't forget our full Accredited Training Programme, which is open for bookings. Our next course, BSA Certificate in Professional Practice - Inclusion Lead Training, 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 ForumsPlease see below the dates and times for the remaining forum meetings:
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, London and Prep Forums and will be announced soon. BSA leadership team roleBSA Group is looking to appoint an additional director or associate director to its group leadership team from September 2022 to support service delivery to BSA member schools. The role would suit an experienced senior HM, director of boarding or deputy head pastoral with responsibility for boarding. For more information and to arrange a confidential conversation, please email Robin Fletcher, CEO BSA and BSA Group, via robin@boarding.org.uk. BSA Group Gold Membership SchemeThe 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 contentThe Autumn edition of Boarding School Magazine has been published and can be viewed by clicking on this link. 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,
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 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. FIVE PLACES REMAINING: 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. SEVEN PLACES REMAINING: BSA Certificate in Professional Practice for Pupil Welfare & Support 2021-2022 Sessions for this course include:
Click here to reserve your place BSA / Hieda Advanced Certificate in Boarding Practice (School Nurses) 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 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 one-day 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 next week:
To see our latest training programme, click here.Index (Inclusion and Diversity Excellence)Following our inaugural inclusion conference in October 2020, 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, via ammy.davies-potter@boarding.org.uk. 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 HKIES Overseas Education Centre has joined the BSA Certified Agents 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 newsThe 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 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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