July 2008 Archive News:

£22m for SEN training in schools
31/07/2008
 
All special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) will have to complete accredited training from 2009, according to schools minister Lord Andrew Adonis.
 
Speaking at education union Voice's national conference, Adonis said schools would be provided with an annual £10 million fund for the training.
 
He told delegates new regulations would ensure lead SENCOs are qualified, and possibly senior, teachers.
 
Adonis also announced an additional £12 million yearly to offer teachers and trainee teachers training to work with children with special educational needs (SEN).
 
Trainees would be encouraged to do work experience in special schools and qualified teachers would have access to a range of online inclusion training materials.
 
Adonis said: "Teachers dedicated to helping children with special needs and disabilities are an inspirational group, who do an amazing job. It is only right that we match their commitment by providing them with the professional development they require."
 
Government spending on SEN provision has increased by £4 billion in the last four years.
 
The most recent House of Commons select committee report into special needs provision raised concerns about the training and support of SENCOs.

Extending Inclusion - Access for disabled children and young people to extended schools and children's centres: a development manual
29/07/08

The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) undertook a project to identify effective practice in including disabled children and young people in children's centres and extended schools. This document was commissioned by Sure Start, Early Support and the DCSF, to review their access and inclusion.

The project was developed with partner LAs, their schools, services and local voluntary organisations. It was designed to identify practice that promotes access to, and participation in, extended services for disabled children and young people, taking into account the views of those people and their families.

This guidance aims to share this developing practice, identifying both the barriers and the solutions that services are exploring to ensure that disabled children have the same access to these opportunities as other children.

The guidance will serve as a helpful tool for children's centres, schools and other practitioners to ensure that disabled children have full and equal access to services and activities. It will support a local development process, looking at services at a time of significant development, and maps out the process by which LAs are seeking to achieve this.

The guidance comes with a CD which includes case studies, training materials and resources.

Disadvantaged teenagers offered £400 for after-school activities

29/07/08

Bright teenagers from poor families will be given £400 to spend on after-school clubs to encourage them to excel, and universities are offering more places at summer schools. The aim is to encourage talented but disadvantaged teenagers to apply to top universities.

More than 1,500 pupils aged 14 and 15 from London, the Midlands and Manchester who are eligible for free school meals will receive the payments for clubs, extra lessons and mentoring. The summer schools will give 21,000 pupils an introduction to university life.

Government attempts to widen diversity in higher education are behind the schemes. Lord Adonis, the Schools Minister, said: "The extra funding will help unlock the talents of all our young people, ensuring that a university education is an option for everyone. For many disadvantaged pupils, poverty of aspiration can be the biggest obstacle and there may be financial pressures pushing them towards early employment. In addition, students who do choose to attend university may not set their sights high enough." Lord Adonis announced that £10 million of funding is to be given to schools so that they can train their own leaders to support special needs.

afPE Membership Satisfaction Survey Results
23/07/08

afPE are delighted to share the results from the recent membership satisfaction survey.

96.6% of members who completed the survey feel that afPE membership is good value for money and 95.1% would recommend afPE to a colleague! Many of the participants in the survey have already passed on details with a view to 'recommending a friend' but if you would like us to get in touch with a colleague to discuss the benefits of being an afPE member please email simon.leach@afpe.org.uk.

Whilst the survey is very positive we here at afPE want to improve our service to you. If you have any ideas/feedback please contact john.matthews@afpe.org.uk.

Click HERE to view the results from the survey.

Government sets out plans to offer free swimming
22/07/08

The Government has announced plans to encourage Local authorities to allow free swimming for the Over 60's and Under 16's by offering an investment package that totals £150 million.

Swimming is the most popular activity among the Over 60 age group, with 7% of individuals taking part each month. Swimming also remains popular with the Under 16 age group with 38% taking part each month out of school hours. To encourage Local authorities to apply for the free swimming funding, the Government is also offering funding for the redevelopment of Local authority facilities.

Click HERE to view a statement from Secretary of State, Andy Burnham on free swimming.

Safe Practice in Physical Education and School Sport Downloads (2008 Edition)
17/07/08

The brand new edition of Safe Practice in Physical Education and School Sport was officially launched at the 2008 afPE Conference.

The hardcopy publication comes complete with a CD-ROM containing a range of useful documents. These are available for afPE members to download free of charge from within the members' area of the afPE website (under 'Downloads'):

- Safe Practice in Physical Education Poster
- Safe Practice in the Organisation of Sports Fixtures Poster
- Safe Practice in Workforce Planning Poster
- Safe Practice for Swimming Poster
- Risk Assessment Form
- Pupils with Special Educational Needs
- Volunteer Driver's Declaration Form
- Parental Consent Form for Pupils to be Transported
- Code of Conduct for Pupils on Educational Visits
- Consent form for the use of Digital Images

Click HERE to login to the members' area.

If you are an afPE member but have forgotten your password details please email simon.leach@afpe.org.uk who will be happy to send you a reminder.

Click HERE to find out the benefits of being an afPE member.

A first class offer for afPE Members
16/07/08

2 tickets for the price of 1 at cricket matches across England.

Leather on willow, the smell of freshly mown grass and the prize all cricketers long to win.  Here's your opportunity to enjoy the purest form of the game and make great savings.

Derbyshire CCC, Durham CCC, Gloucestershire CCC, Worcestershire CCC and Yorkshire CCC are offering afPE members 2 tickets for the price of 1 at a range of LV County Championship matches.  So, if you buy a ticket for a day's play, you can bring a companion for FREE, which will represent as much as a £15 saving on the two tickets (depending on the ground).

Simply click HERE to see which matches apply.  Then, if you want to redeem the offer, print out the voucher, fill it in and take it to the participating ground along with your afPE membership card or season ticket pass.

For more information on all this summer's ECB's cricket promotions visit www.ecb.co.uk/cricket08  

afPE Board Election Results, 2008 Impact Report and Statutory Accounts
11/07/08

Please find below the outcome of the Board Election for 2008 and consequent Board actions.

Election Results:

Chair
Jeanne Keay is elected, unopposed, to the position of Chair.

Deputy Chair
No nominations were received for Deputy Chair (see Board actions below).

Board members
Jeanne Keay's election as Chair generated a fourth vacancy on the Board.
Following the election the following have been elected onto the Board:

• Lorraine Cale
• Sue Cooper
• Jo Harris
• Ray Hennessy

Board Actions at their meeting 4th July 2008:
Following a discussion, Jo Harris was nominated and elected unanimously by the Board to the post of Deputy Chair.

The above action meant that there would be a vacant seat on the Board.
It was agreed, following consultation with the electoral Reform Society, to invite the fifth placed nominee in the election to join the Board. Consequently Keith Spencer is also now an elected member of the new Board. 

afPE Board 2008/2009:
Chair – Jeanne Keay
Deputy Chair – Jo Harris
Treasurer – Geoff Hitchins

Elected Board members:
• Lorraine Cale
• Sue Cooper
• Yvonne Gandy
• Dominic Haydn-Davies
• Ray Hennessy
• Keith Spencer

afPE Impact Report 2007/8:
The Impact Report for the year 2007/8 is now available to download. Click HERE to view a PDF version.

Should you wish to receive a hardcopy, please contact the Reading office on 0118 378 2440.

Statutory Accounts:
The statutory accounts to the year end 31st March 2008 have been prepared and audited by Baker Tilly Audit LLP.

Click HERE to view a PDF version of the accounts.

afPE 2008 National Conference - Keynote Presentations
11/07/08

The afPE 2008 National Conference (Sponsored by Cybex International UK) was held at the prestigious De Vere Carden Park Hotel near Chester between 2nd July and Friday 4th July.

Keynote presentations are now available for dowload from the conference page. Click HERE to view a list of presentations.

afPE 2008 National Conference Photographs
11/07/08

Click HERE to view a range of photographs from the afPE 2008 National Conference.

A Great Opportunity But Dont Hold Your Breath
11/07/08

The obsessive "safety-first" culture in schools will rob Britain of the next generation of entrepreneurs just when the country needs them most, a leading businessman has claimed.

Click HERE to view the full article courtesy of the Times Online.

Secretary of State thanks afPE for its contributions to education strategy
09/07/08

Margaret Talbot (afPE Chief Executive) has received a letter from Ed Balls, Secretary of State, Department for Children, Schools and Families thanking afPE for its contributions to education strategy.

Click HERE to view a copy of the letter.

Schools for the Future (BSF)
afPE's vision: Flexible Spaces for Physical Learners - Version 4
02/07/08

Following the afPE conference last year a working group was formed to develop a visioning paper in support of physical education colleagues entering BSF discussions and in particular those with a strategic lead for Physical Education.

This document is intended to support such colleagues in shaping initial discussions with their BSF stakeholder group for physical education and sport.

We would welcome your support in this to inform future versions.
Please send any feedback you have to john.matthews@afpe.org.uk  

  Flexible Spaces for Physical Learners - Version 4

Click HERE for PE & Sport Guidance information.

Click HERE for Design Guidance.

afPE - BSF Working Group
(Helen Miles, Ken Adamson, John Matthews, Mark Perkins and Alan Lindsay)

afPE welcomes Prime Minister's support for physical education and school sport, but has written to him to express concerns about inadequate provision by some providers of initial teacher training for primary physical education. 

Click HERE to view the Open Letter to the Prime Minister.

The PM made the announcement while visiting the West London Academy with Culture, Media and Sport Secretary James Purnell, Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls, and Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes.

He called for a "united team effort" from the Government, schools, parents, volunteers and the sporting world to make physical education and school sport a part of every child's day in the run up to 2012.

The plans include greater emphasis on competition within and between schools, a network of competition leaders and a new National School Sports Week.

Mr Brown said:

"We need to put school sport back where it belongs - playing a central role in the school day. I was lucky enough to have primary and secondary schools that had sport at the centre of their ethos. I want every child to have that opportunity to take part.

"Whatever their natural ability and whatever their age sport and activity can make our children healthier, raise self-confidence and self-esteem. It develops teamwork, discipline and a sense of fair play. Values that will stand young people and the country in good stead in the years to come."

The moves will help strengthen the competitive framework for school sport - from grassroots to elite. The aim is for every child to have access to a range of sporting competition from local and regional to national level.

Associated Articles:

Click HERE to view the bbc.co.uk article.

Click HERE to view the Department for Children, Schools and Families article.

Click HERE to view the Department for Culture Media and Sport article.

Changing Arrangements in Primary Schools

This issue continues to cause concern for many colleagues both from a safeguarding perspective and staff vulnerability. afPE members' may to wish to download the guidance on changing arrangements in primary schools (courtesy of Glen Beaumont - afPE H&S Officer) which is in the 'downloads' section of the members' area.

Click HERE to login.

TDA launch professional standards for teachers

A revised set of professional standards for teachers has been published by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA).

The revised standards, a key element of the 'new professionalism' for teachers, will replace existing classroom teacher standards from September 2007.

This is the first clear, progressive framework of standards to help teachers plan their careers and identify their future development with their line managers.

The standards set out the professional attributes, knowledge and understanding and skills expected at each stage of a teacher's career.The standards have been drawn up for the Secretary of State for Education and Skills and, together with revised performance management arrangements and the new national strategy for supporting teachers' Continuing Professional Development, are part of the Government's package of support for new teacher professionalism.

TDA Chief Executive, Graham Holley said:

"The revised standards are a significant step forward in helping teachers make the most of their abilities and helping schools make the most of their staff. The standards will act as backdrop to the revised performance management arrangements, helping teachers identify how theyneed to develop professionally to progress in their careers; and enable fair and consistent decisions to be made as they do so."

Click HERE to view the professional standards for teachers.

July 2006 Archive News:

LDA Update - Issue 1

The newly published 'LDA Update' is an e-newsletter (distributed monthly) which is designed to keep you informed about the issues affecting the National Physical Education and School Sport Professional Development Programme, along with wider issues that may be of interest.To view a copy of the first update, please click on the link below. Future updates will be also be posted on the afPE website (in PDF format).Featured in topics in this month's edition include:

- LDA Strategic Seminars
- Gifted & Talented Mop-Up Sessions
- Research & Case Studies
- Delivery & Impact

 LDA Update - Issue 1