Welcome to the Autumn 1 edition of the Saffron TS Hub newsletter. This edition includes important information for school leaders about Appropriate Body statutory induction. There is also lots to celebrate as the world opens up after lockdown. Schools across the Hub area recently hosted ECF events, and we launched our new NPQ programmes at the Harlow Study Centre. We are also delighted that so many ITT providers in our region were successful in the recent accreditation process.
As well as news and updates, this edition includes our October blog on ‘Learning through the arts’ and our ‘Spotlight on Evidence' article focusses on the ‘Great Teaching Toolkit Evidence Review’.
If you have questions, you can always visit the Saffron TS Hub website or contact us - we love to hear from school leaders, teachers and staff with questions and feedback.
Doug Brechin, Director, Saffron Teaching School Hub
Appropriate Body updates
Deadline for Registering ECTs for Statutory Induction
The deadline for ECTs to be registered with the TRA (Teacher Recruitment Agency) for Statutory Induction is Wednesday 19th October. All September 2022 starter and school change ECTs should now therefore have been registered on the DfE portal for their Early Career Framework programme AND with an Appropriate Body for Statutory Induction. If you have any queries about this, contact the Saffron AB Lead Verity Boreham at vboreham@lyonshall.org.uk.
Year 2 ECTs
It is the Headteacher’s responsibility to ask for the Year 1 Progress Reviews and Formal Assessment for any ECT joining the school part way through Statutory Induction. Your Appropriate Body will be able to help with this. For Saffron AB queries, contact Verity Boreham at vboreham@lyonshall.org.uk
DfE Appropriate Body Reform and Assessment Consultation
Look out for the outcome of the DfE Appropriate Body Consultation - this is due to be published after half term and will confirm the timescale by which all Local Authority Appropriate Body Services will need to be transferred to Teaching School Hubs.
For schools in the Saffron TS Hub Area who currently use Essex LA as their Appropriate Body, a transition plan is being drawn up to enable the smooth transfer of ECTs to the Saffron AB service.
Early Career Training Programme
We were delighted to meet 98 of our ECT2s (those ECTs starting their second year of teaching) on Tuesday 4th October for our first Regional Event of the year. We started with a workshop from Lianne Canning and Deb Garfield from the Essex Trauma Perceptive Practice team. The focus was on reframing the language we use to talk about behaviour and was extremely thought-provoking. Thank you Lianne and Deb.
This was followed by sessions on:
Challenge, Aspirations and High Expectations
Motivation and Self-regulation
Making Learning Stick
These themes are the focus of the blocks the ECTs will be completing this term. The event gave them thinking time to target their improvements this term as well as an opportunity to network with other ECTs. The sessions were facilitated by our highly experienced delivery team: Jude Gibbon, Paula Downes, Jo Cooper, David Parker, Peter Gibbon, Kerrie McGivern, Katie Naylor and Charlotte Booth - thank you all.
Huge thanks also to Great Baddow High School for hosting the event.
The requirement will be to be available for 3 days over the year and to attend the training provided by Saffron TS Hub. You will be particularly well suited to this role if you have previous experience supporting ITT trainees, ECTs, NQTs or RQTs.
Key dates
Saffron ECF programme - next milestone deadlines
The next milestone deadline for the Saffron ECF programme is 1st December for new ECTs and Mentors, and 17th January for all other cohorts. Cohorts need to have done the following by this deadline:
September 2021 starters: 50% of Block 7 and 8, 10% of Block 9
September 2021 starters (on extended programme): No milestone this period
January 2022 starters: 50% of Block 5 and 6, 10% of Block 7
January 2022 starters (on extended programme): 50% of Block 3, 10% of Block 4
April 2022 starters: 50% of Block 3 and 4
April 2022 starters (on extended programme): 50% of Block 1 and 2
September 2022 starters: 50% of Block 1 and 2
September 2022 starters: To have started Block 1 or 2 (10% of either - December 1st)
September 2022 starters (on extended programme): To have started Block 1 (10% of Block 1 - December 1st)
If you have any questions about the ECF milestones, contact the Saffron Early Career Lead Angela Cass at acass@efspt.org
Saffron Appropriate Body - key dates Autumn Term
16th November Induction Tutor Briefing (Zoom) report writing and submission
25th November Report writing window opens
30th November Induction Tutor report writing Zoom drop in surgery
9th December Deadline for submission of Progress Reviews and Formal Assessments
We all recognise that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. Recent years have seen significant changes in national requirements for provision in the Early Years with the implementation of the revised EYFS curriculum put in place in September 2021 and the return to Ofsted inspe...
Saffron Teaching School Hub is delighted that so many of the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) providers in our region were successful in the recent ITT accreditation process. This is testimony to the high-quality teacher education happening in our local area. We are confident that this successful...
This week saw the launch of our new cohort of Teach First NPQs, with programme members joining their facilitators at the Harlow Study Centre for the introductory sessions. Following a welcome from Katie Vanderpere-Brown and Angela Rodda from the Saffron Teaching School Hub, programme membe...
With the current – and often necessary – focus on enabling pupils whose schooling has been significantly disrupted by Covid to ‘catch up’, we could perhaps be forgiven for overlooking the impact that learning through the arts can have on children’s learning and wel...
This Spotlight article focuses on a resource first published in June 2020 but which may well have been overlooked by teachers and leaders as they necessarily dedicated huge amounts of time and effort to coping with the challenges of day-to-day survival in a pandemic.
Our online Subject Forums give teachers at all stages of their careers the opportunity to look at the latest research in their subject area and consider how they can incorporate this into their practice. The Subject Forums are delivered in partnership with the Curriculum Hubs and the Teaching School Hubs in the Eastern region. For more details and to register your school click here.
Research School EEF programmes
Across the academic year 2022-23, six cohorts of training will be available to Essex teachers and leaders, co-delivered by the Research Schools Network and local Teaching School Hubs. These training programmes will explore the evidence base and review best practice within three thematic evidence strands: Language & Communication, Metacognition & Self-Regulation and Evidence-Informed Curriculum Design. For further information about the launch of this programme and details of how to register for these programmes, click here.
Join our CPD Leads network
The Saffron TS Hub CPD Leads Network is for all primary and secondary colleagues responsible for planning and delivering school or trust wide CPD. The network meets termly (online). The Autumn Term meeting will take place on Tuesday 18 October 4-5pm on Zoom. If you would like to join our CPD Leads Network, visit our CPD page here.
Saffron TS Hub events - click on each title for more details
We'd like to say a massive well done to all our #ECTs for getting to the end of your first half term! We hope it's all gone well and hope you enjoy your break next week. From the ECPDP team https://t.co/ku5TKqhj1i
We were delighted to meet 98 of our ECT2s (those ECTs starting their second year of teaching) on Tuesday 4th October for our first Regional Event of the year. We started with a workshop from Lianne Canning and Deb Garfield from the 
