Inclusivity, increased participation and student voice were the dominating topics brought to life through pupil-focused research. Giving young people, especially those who are less active, the chance to shape their P.E. lessons created a happier environment. Getting to know and understand students’ motivations and barriers can help to encourage enjoyment and engagement, and that the least active students do not recognise opportunities to be active at school, as easily as their active peers. 
 
To showcase the findings, Sport England has created five infographics detailing key outputs from the STT programme to be shared far and wide across the teaching community. Teachers can access tips that answer questions about why P.E. matters and why P.E. makes a happy school; as well as insight on how to make P.E. great and accessible for all students. 
 
In addition, Sport England has also developed 10 short films that feature case studies of teachers and students positively impacted by the programme. The films highlight the easy-to-adopt ways secondary school teachers have implemented new approaches having completed the STT programme. The films focus on themes such as; why an inclusive approach is key to increasing participation, why a changing approach to P.E. makes students think differently, and easy ways to incorporate student voice.
 
The research also talks about the importance of activity in schools, with a view to the following benefits it has on the mental health of young people:

• More active students report an average happiness score of seven/10 (compared to five/10 for less active students). 
• Almost three-quarters of students (69%) agreed that being active helps them build resilience. 
• More than half (62%) agreed that it helps them make healthier life choices. 
• More than half (59%) said it improves their mental wellbeing.
• Nearly three-quarters (71%) said it improves their mood.

​An essential part of the Department for Education’s Teacher Recruitment and Retention Policy, the Early Career Framework (ECF) sets out a two-year professional development programme for Early Career Teachers with structured pedagogical support at the start of their teaching career. A statutory entitlement, the ECF is designed to help ECTs develop their practice, knowledge and working habits.
 
The ECF was officially launched in September 2021. Designed by national leading organisations, the Colyton and Kingsbridge Teaching School Hubs (TSH) - operating as SWIFT - are proud to be the delivery partner working with national provider, Teach First. SWIFT are also proud to build on the strong pre-existing partnerships with local Multi Academy Trusts and Training School Alliances to provide an area-wide partnership across Devon, Plymouth and Torbay.
 
With this year’s induction successfully complete, the programme is now well underway overseen by SWIFT’s Early Career Framework Lead and Deputy Director (Colyton TSH), Chris Harris and his team, and asked Chris to reflect on the programme. 

1. What did you learn from your first year of co-ordinating the ECF for SWIFT?
Technically, this is SWIFT’s second year in delivering the Early Career Framework following our participation in the pilot year 2020 – 2021, which provided us with invaluable experience and insight. I was grateful during the pilot to gain knowledge and understanding of the ECF content and issues affecting schools in my role as one of the Delivery Leads, which has been essential in my current role of co-ordinating the ECF for SWIFT.
 
I suppose one of the notable points I have learned is that whenever there is a new and, in this case, a significant change in education, it can present a challenge. But I am pleased to say that I have learned and respected the constant resilience and adaptability of the exceptional schools that we work with.
 
Indeed, as an example, I am delighted to report that 96% of our ECTs rated the quality of their mentoring as either good or excellent. This is testimony to the brilliant work in schools and reassuring to know the ECF will have a tangible impact on teacher quality and student outcomes.
 
2. Can you give an insight into your role as a delivery partner for the ECF working with Teach First.
Very importantly, as in any partnership, working with Teach First feels like a genuine sense of partnership. 
 
In SWIFT’s role as the delivery partner, we benefit from working with Teach First in delivering a world class curriculum for ECTs and Mentors; but, in the spirit of trust and knowing our schools, we also benefit from the freedom and flexibility given to us in tailoring the content for the schools that we serve.
 
We have been able to place our ECTs and Mentors into local MAT and Trust based delivery groups and strengthen existing relationships. Another benefit is adding topics to the programme, for example, additional SEND provision and SEND enhancements to the ECF seminars to create an even more well-rounded programme.
 
3. In considering Year 2 of the ECF, can you tell us about some of the new initiatives and your rationale for introducing.
It was exciting to launch Year 2 of the programme this September and to introduce some new initiatives.
 
One of the reasons we were drawn to working with national provider, Teach First was their unique subject and phase specific design of the Year 2 programme.
 
We also have our own ECF “Extra” programme that provides an additional programme for all ECTs, Mentors and SLT leads and looks to enhance and supplement aspects of the ECF. The first of these sessions was delivered this half term by a Sheffield Teaching Alliance on antiracist education and was well received by ECTs, Mentors and ECF Leads.
 
Another initiative is the launch next half term of an ECF Senior Leaders and Induction Tutors Network; which we are confident will help to reinforce programme support and understanding.

We will also be inviting Year 2 ECTs to join our SWIFT Professional Communities and other broader networks to help them transition into their post-ECF career.
 
Last year we were still in the ongoing aftermath of the Covid-19 situation and delivered all the induction online. But for this academic year, we were without restriction and were able to deliver our Year 1 induction in a series of face-to-face sessions that were well attended by ECTs and Mentors in a positive working environment and was reflected in the excellent feedback.
 
4. How do you manage the challenge of maintaining quality at scale with a highly effective programme?
Yes, we are pleased to report that the current Year 1 cohort has more ECTs than this time last year and although it is true to say this presents a logistical challenge, we have structures in place across the Trusts and Schools.
 
First off, we are very blessed to work with a brilliant team of Delivery Leads and Senior Delivery Leads, Martin Lewis, John Stanier and Sara Thornhill, who are already highly experienced teachers and Senior Leaders and who effectively blend the Teach First material with their own local insights, knowledge and additional input. Above all, however, the Delivery Leads care about the programme. This means the seminars are delivered to a high standard and is corroborated by feedback from ECTs and Mentors.
 
5. For you personally, what is most rewarding about leading the ECF for SWIFT?
Without hesitation, most rewarding for me in leading the ECF is the individual stories from our ECTs and Mentors about how the ECF programme has a direct impact on their teaching and mentorship and relates to their classroom practice, ultimately benefiting their pupils and students as you can see in the quotations below. And after all, this is why we’re all in education, isn’t it?
 
“My thinking had already been challenged during the online Brightspace modules, but the seminar reinforced a lot of the ideas I'd read about. Before the conference I hadn't thought role play during Mentor interactions was vital, but now I see the benefit of this activity.” (a SWIFT ECT)
 
“As an experienced Mentor and member of a Senior Leadership Team, I found the day a brilliant refresher - I particularly liked the explicit links to research and that many of the skills were transferable to other mentoring settings in the College. The day flew by. The presenters were clear and engaging and resources were excellent - it was also a bit of a masterclass in how quality CPD should be run with every attention to detail.” (a SWIFT Mentor)
 
Finally, I would like to thank all our Delivery Leads, the SWIFT Central Team and most importantly, the schools we work with: the individual SLT leads, Mentors and ECTs who make it happen.

We thank Chris for his insights into the ECF and for his ongoing commitment to the programme.
Interview by Jude Owens, PA to the SWIFT Executive Team

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:
 
Professional  Communities | Free to SWIFT Members
Professional Communities are termly events and are planned to capture the priorities of community members. Because your time is precious, we commit to ensuring that the agendas are focused on your core business, such as teaching, assessment and curriculum. Our team of Professional Community leads provide a high level of expertise, enabling the design of high-quality agendas, recruitment of expert speakers and the identification of local expertise. See our list of 12 upcoming Professional Community meetings, free to SWIFT Members.
 
Leadership Forum | FREE to SWIFT Members
SWIFT is committed to bringing together leaders from all school settings in the area to connect with each other and make links to the best of local, regional and national. Each Leadership Forum is structured around a Part A where we bring all school leaders together for keynote speakers and presentations and a Part B where school leaders break into phase specific groups.
Keynote Speakers:
Hannah Woodhouse (Regional Director)
Hannah will provide an update from the Regional Directorate on priorities for the region and key DfE policies.
Lee Elliott Major OBE (Professor of Social Mobility, University of Exeter)
Lee will examine the issue of disadvantage in the South West and the need to level up education in the region.

Highlighted Programmes:
·         SWIFT Wellbeing Conference
·         Making the Difference for Disadvantages Pupils
·         Future Teachers – Sixth Former Event
·         Unlocking the TA Toolkit
·         Primary Subject Leadership Programme
·         AQA Feedback on the 2022 GCSE Examinations
·         Power of Professional Development
·         Events for your diary

Click the button below to view the Newsletter.

Read more about this recent case and the implications for employers with term-time employees in this detailed overview from our sponsor Wolferstans Solicitors. 

The Scenario 
At the end of the summer the Supreme Court ruled in the above case that employees who only work for part of the year (e.g. term-time workers or zero hours workers) are entitled to 5.6 weeks of holiday pay like employees that work all year round. This will potentially impact any employer with term-time employees, zero hours employees or other atypical working arrangements that involve employees being employed for a full year, but working only for part of that year.

Employers should confirm without delay whether they have any holiday pay liability as a result of this case, develop a plan to mitigate historic risk and change arrangements to ensure future compliance.
 
Facts
The case involved a music teacher that only worked during school terms and had a zero hours contract. The employee was deemed to take annual leave during the school holidays and from 2011 onwards, in line with ACAS guidance at that time, the employer would calculate her earnings at the end of each term, take 12.07% of that figure and pay the applicable hourly rate for that number of hours as holiday pay. The employee argued that she should instead have had her holiday pay calculated by taking an average of her earnings (from 6 April 2020 the reference period used should be 52 weeks), which would have resulted in a higher amount of holiday pay.

The Supreme Court agreed with the Court of Appeal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal that the employee was correct.  It held that the amount of leave the employee was entitled to did not need to be pro-rated so that it was proportional to that of a full-time employee. The court acknowledged that this may create odd results, where a part-year employee's holiday pay represents a higher proportion of their annual pay than that of a full-time employee.

However, the court found that whilst those with an atypical working pattern may benefit from this approach, it was not so absurd as to justify the wholesale revision of the holiday pay calculation set out in the legislation.
 
Impact
The impact of this case is that employers should no longer be using the 12.07% holiday pay calculation for employees, which has been common practice for those on zero-hours contracts.

In addition, it means that the holiday pay for employees that work for only part of the year will be proportionally higher than that of an employee that works full-time. As an example, if an employee without fixed hours is employed for a whole year, but only works for 20 weeks in that year and is paid £100 for each week they work, they will accrue the full 5.6 weeks of holiday entitlement and be entitled to £560 as holiday pay (the equivalent of 28% of annual pay).

Whereas an employee that works all year round would work for 46.4 weeks a year and take the remaining 5.6 weeks as holiday. If they also earned £100 per week, their holiday pay would also be £560, but this would be the equivalent of 12.07% of annual pay.

Employers often pro-rate the holiday entitlement for employees that only work for part of the year so that their holiday entitlement reflects how much work they have performed. The Supreme Court has now found that this is the wrong approach and employees’ holiday pay entitlement is based on how long an employee is employed for within a year, rather than how much work they perform in that time.  If an employee starts or leaves part-way through a holiday year, then you can still pro-rata this calculation. 

Employers will need to check whether this decision impacts any of their employees, whether they need to take steps to change holiday pay practices and to consider if it is necessary to make repayments (back pay) to employees that have been underpaid for their annual leave as a result of the 12.07% holiday pay calculation.
 
In simple terms...all employees are entitled to 5.6 weeks holiday pay. So, if you are currently using the 12.07% calculation for TTO staff with variable hours, or any casual/zero hours staff, they are being paid incorrectly.  Furthermore, if you are paying TTO staff, employed for 39 weeks, less than 44.6 weeks’ pay, they are being paid incorrectly.  The expectation from the Unions is that you will consult with them, start paying staff correctly and agree a sum for back pay.  

We are aware that other Trusts (outside of the region) have negotiated two or four weeks back pay per employee.  Alternatively, if you start paying the employees correctly, there is an argument that this starts the clock running for the time limit for pursuing a claim – in these circumstances, if you pay your staff correctly for three months, they will then be out of time to purse a claim.
 
Calculations 
The calculation you would need to do is as follows:
 
Conduct an audit as to how many casual/TTO/zero hours staff you employ.  
You will then need to go back and calculate 52 weeks’ pay (excluding weeks with £0 pay) for each member of staff that is casual/TTO/zero hours. 
You must go back until you have 52 weeks, with pay, so you will likely have to go back 60+ weeks. 
You can go back up to 104 weeks to get to 52 weeks with pay if you need to. 
If you have someone who has not had 52 weeks of pay yet then you will need to take the highest figure that you can, using the past two years.
 
You then add all of these weeks together and divide them by 52 (or the highest number of weeks that you could get) and this is then your average weekly pay for that employee. 
You multiply this figure by 5.6, and this is what that member of staff needs to be paid in a year for their holiday pay. 

It is up to you/whatever is agreed between you and them as to the frequency at which you pay this figure.  You could make partial payments each term/quarter/every six months. 

For zero hours or casual staff, you will need to recalculate it each time as it could change.  
We would expect your payroll provider to come up with something to help calculate this at some point.

Contact
If you need any advice, you can contact Wolferstans Solicitors who will guide you.

ESW Associate & Strategic Leader of Teaching & Research Schools | Education South West Roger Pope CBE opens this October issue reflecting on the concept of a servant leader in the context of the recent passing of Her Majesty the Queen:

"The very fact that you are reading our SWIFT newsletter suggests to me that you have a predilection for this kind of leadership. To be passionate about staff development means at least two of those servant leader traits are core to your vision and purpose as a leader: commitment to the growth of people and building community."

In this first issue of the new school year,  you can read about the launch of the SWIFT WalkThrus programme, the first SWIFT History Masterclass on Literacy and Vocabulary: The Power of Words led by Josh Vallance of Oasis Academies and gain an insight into the role of one of our Directors + more besides PLUS features from our sponsors.

Please click the button below to open the agenda for today's Curriculum Forum and click on the meeting links in the document to join Part A (keynote speakers) and Part B (Workshops).
We look forward to welcoming you.​