This issue includes a featured article and some highlighted programmes, courses and events from our partners to support your professional development and enhance the work of your school. Simply click on the booking link to the course or event you are interested in to get more details or book straight on!
 

Featured in this issue we have:
 
SWIFT Summer Conference 2024 | Thursday 13 June | Future Skills Centre, Exeter
Hear from a range of international, national and local speakers from across the educational landscape as they discuss the latest issues.
Please click HERE to view more information and book.
 
Highlighted Programmes:
·        Supporting Students with High Academic Potential | One Day Programme
·        AQA Feedback Events
·        Professional Communities
·        Primary Subject Leader Briefings
·        Events for your diary

"Learn, develop and connect."

We are delighted to invite to attend the SWIFT Summer Conference on Thursday 13 June 2024 from 0845 – 1535, at the Futures Skills Centre, Exeter. 
 
We are pleased to welcome an excellent line-up of speakers to this year's conference, including:

• Paul Dix - author of 'When the Adults Change' - leading behaviour specialist, author and reformer
• Laura McInerney - co-founder of Teacher Tapp, former editor of Schools Week and public speaker
• Chris Lubbe - internationally acclaimed inspirational keynote speaker, drawing on story of resistance against the apartheid in South Africa
• Navdeep Sanghara - CEO of The Woodland Academy Trust, a primary MAT in Kent, speaking on trust leadership
• Paul James (CEO) and Katherine Walsh (Director of Inclusion) from the River Learning Trust in  Oxfordshire - speaking on leading inclusion and SEND within and across schools.
• Dr Deirdre Hughes OBE - policy adviser, academic researcher / writer specialising in AI and Careers Education
• Dr Pooky Knightsmith - internationally respected speaker, lecturer, trainer and author of child and adolescent mental health and additional needs
• PLUS! A specialist panel for a Question Time-style session

 
This amazing line-up reflects our vision to create world-class opportunities for leaders to learn, develop and connect. We are passionate about enabling schools in the South West to have access to the best of regional, national and research, as we know that many school leaders experience varying degrees of rural and coastal isolation.
 
We also know your time as leaders is precious and funding is limited in schools.
So, our conference programme will provide choice so that you can select what best meets your interests and priorities. And because SWIFT is not-for-profit, we can offer this high-quality experience to SWIFT members at £90 and £120 for all other colleagues. PLUS, if you are one of the 900 leaders currently training on one of our NPQs with LSSW you are eligible for a 50% discount.

Join us on 13 June if you can. We look forward to seeing you.
By Martin Smith, Executive Director of SWIFT

As this half term draws to a close, we are pleased to bring you this February issue in which Associate & Strategic Leader of Teaching & Research Schools | Education South West, Roger Pope CBE contemplates the merits of weighing a pig and of being average:

"We all use athletes in our staff training and assembles as aspirational role models for improvement. We talk of the values of perseverance, hard-work, practice, and coaching. But doctors and teachers share something that athletes do not. If an athlete does not perform well, he loses a competition. If we do not perform well, a patient loses his present life, and a pupil the potential of his future life. Our professions have a moral dimension that athletes do not."
​
Get tuned in on some of the highlights of forthcoming legislative changes addressed by Browne Jacobson at the recent SWIFT School Business Management Professional Community meeting with tips to prepare your school and staff. 

Deputy Head for Scholarship at Colyton Grammar School, Fiona Harvey is our interviewee and shares her insights into her role as a SWIFT Facilitator for the National Professional Qualifications. Hot on the heels of the Cohort 2a assessment good news. 

Kingsbridge Research School share their wisdom on implementation and planning to sustain and reflect how, ​“practices often lose effectiveness when they are scaled up, a phenomenon known as ​‘voltage drop.’" Data Protection experts and SWIFT sponsor, SchoolPro TLC bring you guidance on handling freedom of information (FOI) requests. How prepared is your school?

We are pleased to introduce our new sponsor, ONVU Learning and their 360-degree video and audio lesson capture solution to help you reflect, collaborate and analyse your teaching and learning process.
We are also grateful to our other sponsors for bringing opportunities to enrich and support your work in schools. Find out more about Educatering's food service operations, how Exeter Supply Partnership can support staff absence for your Multi Academy Trust, and join Lyfta for a free webinar on Learning from Life: Unlocking Meaningful Learning through Immersive Human Stories on Wednesday 28 February 2024. Fergus explains how Volt Entrepreneurs has changed his way of thinking about running a business and other life-boosting skills.

And, if you are intrigued about our lovely SWIFT artwork, you can enjoy finding out more about this happy design journey. 

Finally, we wish you a lovely half term break. 

This issue includes a featured article and some highlighted programmes, courses and events from our partners to support your professional development and enhance the work of your school. Simply click on the booking link to the course or event you are interested in to get more details or book straight on!
 

​Featured in this issue we have:
 
Coaching for Leaders | One Day Course
We are inviting school leaders to book onto the upcoming Coaching for Leaders course taking place on Wednesday 28 February, 0900-1515 at Countess Wear Community School, Exeter. Please click HERE to view more information and book.
 

Highlighted Programmes:
·        Read to Succeed | A Cornerstone English Hub Conference
·        Storytime With David Baddiel
·        AQA Feedback Events
·        Supporting Students with High Academic Potential | One Day Programme
·        Professional Communities
·        Primary Subject Leader Briefings
·        Events for your diary

As part of their experience within the education sector, our sponsor SchoolPro TLC provides the role of Data Protection Officer (DPO) as a service for schools.

​The SchoolPro Team have been receiving a number of queries from schools about the issue of sending home flyers for third-party organisations by email or post.

See below for their updated guidance on sending out communications from third-party organisations to parents. The team are able to draw on their knowledge as former school leaders, as well as their DPO expertise.

Your school, for example, might be thinking about sending home a communication about local community events or third-party activity providers. Email is often used by schools for this, although SchoolPro TLC have reservations due to email being subject to Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) and additional consent requirements.

Here are the various implications of each option for sending communication home and what requirement you should meet:

Postal Leaflets in School Bags
The process for sending postal leaflets via school bags is not subject to the privacy and electronic communications regulations (PECR), which means consent is not required.

The school can rely on a Legitimate Interests lawful basis and perform a Legitimate Interests Assessment (LIA) for the overall practice of sending out these mailings. It is crucial that parents are informed about this process and have the clear option to opt-out. The school needs to ensure that parents are aware of their rights and the school’s processing activities through clear communication, such as a statement in a parent newsletter. This approach negates the need for separate LIAs for each third-party organisation's materials being sent out.

In order to notify parents about this processing, the school could add the following into a parent newsletter (or similar) – words to the effect of:

"we will occasionally send home flyers from trusted third parties such as the local authority in pupil bags. This is to make you aware of events, activities, services and products that we think may be of interest to you or your family. Please let us know if you object to this and we will ensure that you don’t receive this information.”

Electronic Communication (including Email)
There are two distinct categories regarding electronic communication:

1. Direct Marketing Messages
These include communications where a paid service is being offered, or there is fundraising or similar activities involved. Examples include services like school photography or extracurricular activities run by external companies that require payment. These types of messages require prior opt-in consent from the recipients, and it must be straightforward for them to withdraw consent at any time.

It is important to ensure that this consent is specific, informed, and unambiguous.
The school should not use opt-out forms for these types of communications; instead, an explicit opt-in mechanism should be in place.

2. Promotional Messages Not Classified as Direct Marketing
This category includes communications that can be considered part of the school's or trust's legal function as a public body and do not have a paid-for element.

Examples might include free educational opportunities from the local library or informational leaflets from the NHS. These messages do not require prior consent but fall under the 'public task' legal basis. While upfront consent is not needed, parents should still be informed about these communications and have the ability to object to receiving them, akin to the opt-out process in legitimate interests. Similar notification to that quoted above for the school bag method could be used to ensure transparency.

In Summary
For non-commercial promotional messages sent by electronic media, and leaflets (commercial or otherwise) in school bags, consent is not required upfront, but there should be an option for parents to opt-out or object. Schools must inform individuals about this processing beforehand, maintaining transparency and adhering to data protection principles.

For commercial promotional messages sent by electronic media, including paid-for services or fundraising, schools must obtain clear, opt-in consent from parents before sending these communications.

By distinguishing between these types of communications and applying the correct legal basis for each, schools can ensure compliance with data protection regulations while keeping parents informed about relevant services and opportunities.

This marketing definition might be helpful clarification for you.
Direct marketing is any type of advertising or promotional material aimed at a particular person.
​Mass marketing, such as an advertisement in a magazine, is not aimed at anyone in particular.

We hope that you find this advice helpful and the SchoolPro TLC Team are available should you need further guidance and support. 

With thanks to Director Ben Craig and the SchoolPro TLC Team.