Kit and Equipment scheme
The Premier League Primary Stars Kit and Equipment scheme offers primary schools the chance to apply for free resources to use for active classroom sessions, PE lessons and for school sports teams (see image). The scheme is run by the Premier League in partnership with Nike and delivered by the Football Foundation.
This year’s application window closes on April 6 and successful applicants will receive their kit and/or equipment from September 2018.
Visit https://plprimarystars.com/kit-scheme
Mental Health First Aid
An extra £5 million has been announced to extend Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training to primary school staff. The government has already rolled out the funded training to secondary schools and is now to work with training providers to develop “a bespoke and age-appropriate training course for primary school staff”.
The training is intended to help teachers identify early signs of mental ill health, understand how mental illness manifests itself, and how they can provide faster support to those experiencing problems. It follows the government’s Green Paper on children and young people’s mental health last year, which pledged £300 million to improve mental health support in schools and reduce waiting times for psychological therapy and other NHS treatments.
A consultation on the Green Paper proposals ended on March 2, 2018: http://bit.ly/2nOHFel
Commonwealth Day
A virtual school assembly is being held to mark Commonwealth Day at 10am GMT on March 12. Aimed at students aged 7 to 14, schools from across the world are being invited to contribute. A key part of the assembly is a focus on developing oracy skills and pupils contributing their thoughts and ideas about what is important to them and their communities.
An oracy resource and lesson plan – It’s good to talk – has been published to help students prepare for the assembly, which is being organised by the British Council.
Visit http://bit.ly/2FiED7b
Pupil Premium conference
Places are still available at Headteacher Update’s Ninth National Pupil Premium and Ofsted Conference. The event in Birmingham on March 23 offers its usual mix of Pupil Premium interventions and strategies and will include a specific focus on how schools can meet Ofsted requirements for Pupil Premium provision and outcomes.
It will feature a keynote address from senior HMI Peter Humphries, a primary keynote offering phase-specific advice, and 13 school-led sessions.
Visit http://bit.ly/1epq2Ca