01 April 2015 weekly update

National Pupil Premium Awards

Upton Junior School in Broadstairs has won the National Pupil Premium Award for the South East of England and been awarded £50,000. The awards recognise the success of schools in helping their most disadvantaged pupils reach their full potential and Upton has had great success in narrowing the achievement gap for disadvantaged pupils. The school was among the national finalists, one of only nine Primary schools in the country, and came away with the regional first place. 

The Headteacher Michaela Lewis said:  "Our motto is 'One Childhood One Chance' and I believe the staff at Upton do their utmost to ensure that all children are supported to succeed at school. This achievement is on the back of our 'outstanding' Ofsted in December so Upton is having a wonderful year."

This is great news for Kent. Upton Junior School has achieved stunning success with their pupil premium work and it is good to see them recognised at a national level. We look forward to opportunities when Upton can share its good practice with other schools.

A further 8 Primary schools and three Kent Secondary schools were among the shortlist for the Pupil Premium Awards. Congratulations to all these schools.

Also, a number of Kent schools, 21 Primary schools and one Secondary school, Skinners Kent Academy, received a letter of congratulations from the Schools Minister congratulating them for their work in achieving excellent results for disadvantaged pupils. We hope all these schools will share their good practice with other schools. 

The list of schools is attached (PDF, 87.5 KB). 

To receive a letter of congratulations, schools had to show consistent high attainment of their disadvantaged pupils between 2012 and 2014, with high proportions of disadvantaged learners making expected or better rates of progress, and with good or outstanding inspection judgements.

New Responsibilities for Education Providers to Prevent and Safeguard Pupils from Extremism

In response to recommendations in the Peter Clarke report on schools in Birmingham, there is heightened awareness of the risks to children and young people of extremism and radicalisation.                   

These risks have been brought into sharper focus by recent reports of school-aged children travelling to Syria. The DfE is carrying out a review of schools where there is evidence of links to people who may have travelled to Syria. Schools have a vital role to play in protecting pupils from the risks of extremism and radicalisation, a role which will be underpinned by the new duty in the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 "to have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism", due to come into force on 1 July.  Keeping children safe from these risks is a safeguarding matter and should be approached in the same way as safeguarding children from other risks. 

Schools can seek advice and guidance from the local authority and the local police.  Local authorities are vital to all aspects of Prevent work and our lead officer for this programme is Nick Wilkinson, County Manager for Youth Justice in the Early Help and Preventative Service.

In addition to the materials produced by local authorities and the police – such as the new Prevent Tragedies online campaign launched by the Police - there are online resources produced by civil society groups which provide valuable advice, for example Families Matter, (run by Families Against Stress and Trauma).  These are helpful resources for schools. 

There is also a DfE dedicated telephone helpline (020 7340 7264) to enable school staff and governors to raise concerns relating to extremism directly and in confidence. The helpline is not intended for use in emergency situations, such as a child being at immediate risk of harm or a security incident. In these situations normal procedures should be followed through social services and the police.

I attach a presentation on extremism and radicalisation (PDF, 272.1 KB) that was used in recent governor training. Schools may find this useful for briefing staff and governors. 

For more information please email Nick Wilkinson at Nick.Wilkinson@kent.gov.uk.

As we approach the Easter break I wish you and your staff a restful and relaxing holiday.

Patrick Leeson

Corporate Director, Education and Young People's Services