A-Z Listing
F
Facts about Ramadan
Here are some simple facts about Ramadan: Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar The dates change each year because the Islamic calendar is based on the cycles of the moon During the month Muslims won't eat of drink in the hours of daylight - not even water! Ramadan remembers the month the Qur'an (the Muslim holy book) was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. The actual night that the Qur'an was revealed is a night known as Lailut ul-Qadr ('The Night of Power').…
Family Support Service
The Family Support Service offers support to children, young people, and families with children and young people aged 0 to 19 or up to 25 years with a special educational need or disability (SEND). This support includes: advice through the Family Information Service open-access sessions and health services at Family Centres support with issues affecting families Families can drop in anytime during the week at the three Family Centre Plus sites. All activities at the centres ar…
Family Support Service help
The Family Support Service helps children, young people and families early before problems become bigger. This is known as an early help, which is a partnership approach to supporting families in need of additional help. Through advice, signposting, sessions at Family Centres, group work programmes and specialised one to one support, the service is available for parents, children, and young people from birth to 19 years (or up to 25 years for people with special educational needs and disabil…
Family Support Service help
The Family Support Service helps children, young people and families early before problems become bigger. This is known as an early help, which is a partnership approach to supporting families in need of additional help. Through advice, signposting, sessions at Family Centres, group work programmes and specialised one to one support, the service is available for parents, children, and young people from birth to 19 years (or up to 25 years for people with special educational needs and disabil…
Family Support Service training
Keeping your child in mind (Reducing parental conflict) Keeping Your Child in Mind is a programme that has been developed by Family Links specifically to work with parents or carers who have either different parenting styles, changes or breakdowns in relationships. It aims to help the parents or carers understand how their relationships impact on their children and how working with positive, respectful communication you can support children and reduce the impact. This two-day training cou…
Female genital mutilation (FGM)
Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Children Partnership View the Female Genital Mutilation: Procedure and Guidance Download the Buckinghamshire Strategy for Tackling Female Genital Mutilation Resources Download the Mandatory Reporting of Female Genital Mutilation – procedural information Visit the Government Guidance July 2020 Visit the NSPCC Helpline Register for your free FGM E-Learning (Home Office link) FGM support materials Resources including awareness-raising materia…
FFT Aspire
What is FFT Aspire? FFT Aspire is a reporting and data tool for schools, local authorities and academy chains. It provides a range of dashboards and reports that support school evaluation and target setting. Buckinghamshire schools and academies can purchase a discounted subscription to FFT Aspire through the School Management Support Team. FFT Aspire FFT subscriptions are available to order on the Traded Services website (under School Management Support Team) Buy FFT Aspire subscri…
Finance committees
"Although the primary responsibility of a school is to provide the best education possible for its pupils, control over a delegated budget brings with it a responsibility for financial stewardship" Audit Commission Each governing board has a statutory responsibility for the financial management of the delegated budget in their school. As a whole, they are accountable for the standards of education provided and for balancing cost and effectiveness. Above all, governors need to ensure that the…
Financial management
Background Each Governing board has a statutory responsibility for the financial management of the delegated budget in its school. Governors are accountable for the standard of education provided and for balancing cost and effectiveness. Maintained schools must complete the Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS) annually, and academies are required to make an annual Financial Management and Governance Evaluation (FMGE) return. Review frequency: annually Local guidance Finance (Scho…
Fleet management
Regulations for the use of vehicles Transport services Guidance notes (M1 Finance Local management Handbook) We support all BCC owned vehicles. We provide legal, technical, specification and maintenance advice to users. We provide vehicles on a contract hire basis. Departments who purchase their own vehicles must have periodic safety inspections carried out by us. The charge includes arranging the annual MOT test including the collection and delivery of the vehicle, renewal of the vehicle…
Footsteps
As Parents or Guardians, we are very protective of our children and sometimes make all the necessary decisions about crossing roads without involving them in the thought process or providing no guidance at all. Many children get driven by car rather than walking and therefore have little exposure to traffic . Footsteps is the Council’s refreshed training programme for children aged 4 to 7 years old which is designed to help children become more aware of their surroundings when out and about, in…
Forced marriage
What is Forced Marriage? There is a clear distinction between a ‘forced’ marriage and an ‘arranged’ marriage. In arranged marriages, the families of both spouses take a leading role in arranging the marriage, but the choice of whether or not to accept the marriage remains with the prospective spouses. A ‘forced’ marriage is a marriage in which one or both spouses do not and/or cannot consent to the marriage and duress is involved. Duress can include physical, psychological, financial, sex…
Forms and Policies
Our policies page is designed to ensure that schools fulfil their statutory obligations and have easy access to downloadable forms that cover all areas within the human resources zone.
Free School Meal Eligibility for pupils transferring between schools
Please note that the following guidance will be valid until 31st March 2025 when the DfE has plans to cease the transitional protection. With the advent of transitional free school meal eligibility (FSME) that came into effect in April 2018, it has become increasingly difficult for schools to identify pupils who are covered by the protection when they move between schools. Many parents reapply for free school meals at the new school and when their details are checked via the DfE online check…
Free school meals
Free School Meals Eligibility Schools have two options for checking eligibility for Free School Meals: Schools that have signed up for the Eligibility Checking Service If your school has signed up for this service then the LA will check eligibility for Free School Meals on the schools behalf without the requirement for paper evidence of benefits. Please click the link below for details on how to use this service Information if your school has signed up for this service School tha…
Frequently Asked Questions
How might schools use the devolved grant for School Meal Improvement? Contribute towards the start up costs of a school meal service Meeting the costs of better ingredients Funding catering staff training Purchasing dining room and catering equipment Installing water coolers Funding healthier breakfast clubs and tuck shops Working with parents to influence the content of packed lunches Purchasing ‘salad carts’, milk bars etc to promote healthier eating and choices…
Friday Forum
The Friday Forums have an agenda designed to both inform and support you in your role as a school leader in Buckinghamshire. By securing speakers from Buckinghamshire Schools, Buckinghamshire Council and partner agencies these forums are designed to inform by providing updates, encouraging discussion and the sharing of best practice and experience. These events are free to Buckinghamshire school leaders and are led by the School Improvement Advisers, Naureen Kausar, Georgina Masefield, Rosal…
From behaviour management to behaviour support- a focus on inclusive cultures for children with social workers
This course will explore how to create a school culture which reduces the need for exclusion and suspension for vulnerable children and young people. It will identify the whole school and individual measures which are likely to create a more inclusive behaviour support system. Outcome: Gain a general understanding of the underlying reasons for challenging behaviours for children with social workers / vulnerable children. Identify the key strategies which will help a school create a…
Funding
Despite strong opposition from Buckinghamshire Council, other LAs, the unions and key stakeholders, the Department for Education announced in 2021 that the School Improvement Monitoring and Brokerage Grant, which has funded the Side by Side programme in Buckinghamshire since academic year 2017/18, is being reduced by 50% during financial year 2022/23 and stopped from the beginning of financial year 2023/24, resulting in no future grant funding for local authorities to undertake school improv…
Funding for school meal improvement
In March 2005 the Government announced £220m of transitional funding for 2005-08 and a requirement for local authorities to lead the development and implementation of a local strategy to deliver high, quality, sustainable school meals. Funding devolved to schools The targeted school meal improvement grant of £307,621 for 2005/06 was devolved to schools on the following basis: Primary and PRU’s – Lump sum of £1,070 per school plus 50p per full time equivalent (FTE) pupil Nursery –…
Funding for Schools for SEND
Delegated SEN Funding High Needs Block Funding Mainstream Schools Funding for those with EHCPs Additionally Resourced Provisions and SEN Units for those with EHCPs Special school funding Independent Schools Delegated SEN Funding Already with schools In place to support CYP at SEN Support Not ring-fenced Important to plan provision with this funding How is Delegated Funding calculated? Delegated SEND funding is allocated to mainstream schools throu…
Further support available for Social interaction
Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP) Occupational Therapy CAMHS SENDIAS Educational Psychology External Links Autism Education Trust Autism Toolbox National Autistic Society Preparing for Adulthood (PfA) Ambitious About Autism Speechlink Extra Resources Books for social skills Six Minute Social Skills Workbook 1: Conversation Skills for Kids with Autism & Asperger’s by Janine Toole, 2017 Time to Talk: A Programme to Develop Oral and So…
Further support available for Speech, language and communication
Integrated therapies Understanding communication and language in Early Years Child-specific advice with a range of professionals including specialist teachers Educational psychologists SpeechLink packages to support the identification and intervention of language and speech needs. Commissioned for use in schools across reception, years 1 and 2. NHS Buckinghamshire Healthcare - Information related to specific areas of need. Below are some of the top organisations that sup…