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Amanda Spielman has been selected for the post of HMCI of Ofsted to replace Sir Michael Wilshaw in December. Ms Spielman, co-founder of the academy chain ARK, is no stranger to governance having been Chair of Ofqual since 2011 and a board member of Brunel University, Floreat Education and Stemnet.

On 22 June, one hundred Yr 12 students attended an HE conference at the Professional Development Centre. The students were from all our post-16 settings so it was an opportunity to meet one another. The conference was opened by Zina Etheridge, the Deputy Chief Executive.

The conference comprised of  a series of workshops that were delivered by varied universities. Oxford’s Lady Margaret Hall, Haringey’s link College, delivered a workshop on how to apply, and other universities led workshops on other aspects such as how to write a personal statement, deal with the tests and chose a subject. There was also a talk from St George's Medical School on the application process which is a competitive one.

The day proved a useful one for all students who afterwards felt more confident on completing the university application process.

We take any attempts to obtain a school place through use of a fraudulent address very seriously. In any instance where we have any evidence to suggest that a school place was obtained using a false or misleading address, we will investigate and, where there is clear evidence, withdraw the offer and give it to a child who is entitled to that place. Please be aware that places can be, and have been, withdrawn before and after National Offer Day where we have become aware that the place was obtained fraudulently.

Each year, the School Admissions Service runs a report on ‘frequently used addresses’ to see if there are addresses that are repeatedly used for the purposes of applying for a school place from different families and for unrelated children. This is in addition to a number of other checks we carry out to ensure that we offer places in strict accordance with the School Admissions Code and our schools’ published admission arrangements.

You can help us with our investigations by letting us know if you are aware of any specific addresses used for this purpose, or if you receive any other information that suggests that a place has been offered using information that is not correct. We consider that every school place obtained by deception is unfair as other children are being deliberately denied their legitimate claim to take up that place. Rigorous checks are undertaken to ensure that applications are not fraudulent and we ask that you assist us with this process.

Many thanks for your help and cooperation in this matter.

FAO Head teachers, SLT and PSHE/Citizenship Leads

You will recall we wrote to you in February outlining the support package offered to schools by the council aimed at assisting schools in meeting the Prevent duty 2015.

As part of this ongoing support, we are pleased to announce the launch of our Prevent/British Values Curriculum Resources.  
 
The resources are a supporting toolkit to help teachers manage some difficult topics and discussions that may arise at school. They are not solely sufficient to ensure your school is dealing with the entire Prevent agenda. Instead, they are designed to complement the curriculum, promote tolerance, diversity and individual liberty. These resources will be continually updated and improved.

Please ensure you make yourself familiar with these lessons prior to teaching the unit. Only teach lessons you feel comfortable delivering and know will be beneficial to your students.

The lessons have been created using Microsoft PowerPoint. Teacher’s notes on how to manage the activities are in the comments section of the slides, as are some links to other websites and news articles where you can access more information. It is recommended to print the slides with notes so that you can refer to these during the lesson.

Some slides are hidden. If you want to show these slides to students, right click on the slide and click ‘hide slide.’ Some slides have animations. Therefore, you will only be able to see the full lesson content by viewing slides as a slideshow.

You are encouraged to edit the resources to make them more relevant to the issues facing students in your particular school. These lessons have been well received in other London schools; however, this does not mean they will be applicable to all schools.

You are welcome to utilise some activities/lessons and disregard others. Please feel free to look at the resources in the secondary folder and use/adapt any materials that you would like to cover in your classroom.

Discussion should not be limited to radicalisation and extremism. It may well include topics that range from prejudice, stereotyping, e-safety and perhaps how Britain should respond to the refugee crisis. What is essential is that young people can discuss difficult issues in a safe environment and that they are encouraged to be critical thinkers.

The Prevent/British Values Curriculum resources can be found at the Haringey Online Traded Services Portal – Prevent Extremism Guidance and Training Web Pages (external link)

As well as curriculum resources the web pages host useful links and examples of local best practice.

As this is a new resource, we would welcome feedback on both the resources impact and effectiveness. Please feedback your comments to either Leon Joseph  or Jane Flynn.