Our CEO has written to schools and academies about our plans for the remainder of the summer and the 2020/21 subscription.
Our CEO has written to schools and academies about our plans for the remainder of the summer and the 2020/21 subscription in the light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation on Monday 29th June.
FAO - School Leaders, Governors & Trustees
Dear Colleagues,
Thank you for your continued support as the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to force all of us to re-direct our resources to address these exceptional challenges. When I contacted you last term, I had expected that we would be able to continue to support schools and academies through the ongoing crisis this term, and also make a wider offer.
During this term we have been able to return to fulfilling the majority of the planned commitments of our Learn Sheffield Improvement Partner team with schools and academies. It hasn’t been possible, however, to make a summer training offer in the way that we had hoped.
We know that you recognise that, as it has turned out, this half term has in fact been more demanding of all of us than the first phase of the COVID-19 situation. All of our partnership groups have been meeting more frequently, the flow of new information to digest has increased and now we are meeting the challenge of wider opening together.
As we approach the final weeks of term and the summer holiday, there are a number of opportunities which we have gathered together on our website. Follow the link below (which will be live in the next day or so) to explore this content which includes recorded training, online seminars and a range of webinars.
http://learnsheffield.co.uk/Training-and-Events/Summer-Offer-2020
This training is focused on some of the key areas that will inform planning for September and beyond, including: closing the disadvantaged gap, SEND provision, Black Lives Matter, research informed practice, the new RSHE curriculum and more. These opportunities have been designed, as much as possible, to enable colleagues to access training at the right time for them and for sharing with a wider group of staff.
You will have received, along with this letter, our 2020/21 subscription offer booklet. The normal deadline for opting out of the subscription next year (which was the 31 May) has already passed. We will extend this until Friday 17 July 2020 so that schools and academies have until the end of term to let us know (by email) if they do not wish to subscribe next year.
Naturally, we hope that you will all choose to subscribe in 2020/21 and that whilst this year has been interrupted the experience has re-enforced for us all the value of our collaborative approach in Sheffield. We have learned a lot this year and I am confident that the 2020/21 offer will be set up so that it is able to be delivered even if next year brings further disruption.
To confirm your subscription for next year and begin the process of planning what you would like your offer to deliver, please click on the link below. This short form will enable you to confirm your subscription, tell us if you want to plan alongside partner schools, collect your eligibility information and begin to identify which options you are most likely to choose.
2020/21 Subscription Sign Up - https://bit.ly/3i9ASnW
Thank you for your patience in relation to the subscription this term. We are extremely grateful for your ongoing support. As I said in my last letter, the superb response of Sheffield schools and academies to the COVID-19 situation has been underpinned by our long history of partnership. We look forward to continuing to work with you next year as we move into our new premises and begin the next phase of Learn Sheffield’s development.
Yours sincerely,
Stephen Betts
(Learn Sheffield - Chief Executive)