We are delighted to inform you that following a recent procurement exercise we have appointed Think IT as our new IT partner from the 1st February 2018. Think IT is a familiar IT supplier to Luton schools and has already been working alongside the current team, and supporting schools over the last 18 months. Schools have benefitted from using the Think IT procurement portal and, ICT Technicians and Network Managers have been introduced to new programs, tools, license arrangements and services through the ICT Technicians and Network Managers Network Meetings. The Readiness Assessment Audit has helped Senior Leadership Teams in a number of Luton schools work out the technology they need based on the outcomes they want for learners, staff, parents and other key stakeholders. Think IT will be delivering and managing all of the ICT SLAs and services you have purchased including providing a technical support service. This new partnership will ensure that our offer keeps pace with the continual change in ICT and meets your needs for enhanced outcomes. Over the next couple of weeks Think IT will be in touch with those schools that buyback this service to arrange a one to one visit, to discuss the ICT SLA and any issues you may have and wish to talk about. We are also planning a series of exciting informative workshops at the Leagrave Centre and will share details with you in the near future. For further information or queries, please contact Katherine Shieber - Schools Traded Services Business Unit Manager on 01582 548020.

To maintain continuity of service and enhance our current offer all enquiries from schools will now be handled centrally by the Health and Safety Team. The team can be contacted on 01582 546290 or via the generic email box: DL-LBCCorporateHealthAndSafety@luton.gov.uk Health & Safety Team • Rachel Doyle – Support Services Manager • Tommy Syme – Health & Safety Adviser • Maureen Connolly – Health & Safety Adviser • Khurram Nawaz – Project Support Assistant All our schools will now be supported by the whole team listed above. In addition we will also be working with approved Health and Safety partners to enhance our current offer to you. AssessNet and Smart Log - Contact Any questions regarding AssessNet and Smart Log eg. training, password or how to log an accident, please contact Khurram Nawaz on 01582 546290 or email khurram.nawaz@luton.gov.uk Short Term Goals • Over the next 3-6 months we plan to visit each school to carry out a Health and Safety Audit, in consultation with schools to identify training and support requirements. • Audit the entries on Smartlog and working with the schools collating any missing data. • Where required provide AssessNet Refresher training If you have any further queries please contact Rachel Doyle on 01582 547027.

Earlier this month our Business Intelligence team carried out some work across schools to raise awareness of the new General Data Protection Regulation that comes into force in May 2018. The team began to think about how they could help schools, and have been working hard on building a GDPR buy back package which they are expecting to be able to share a final copy of the buy back proposal to you early in the New Year in order to start the process of auditing your school. The team are proposing their packages include some or all of the following, depending on the package chosen: · An initial audit of the school to identify areas of non compliance and high risk · A bespoke audit report and improvement plan · Refresher audits to ensure compliance with the legislation which will take place every three years or more often if there is a specific need (such as a significant change in legislation) · A suite of policies and procedures to improve data management · Privacy notices · Guidance on implementing ‘privacy by design’ requirements across your school · Procedural guidance for managing Subject Access and Freedom of Information Requests to ensure legal compliance · Specific policies, guidance and risk assessment around managing data breaches · A designated Data Protection Officer as required by the new legislation, who will take responsibility for data protection compliance for your school · Maintenance of a data breach log, including recording of decision making and assistance when schools need to report breaches to the ICO. · Ongoing advice and support to deal with individual cases that are received by your school · Stage 2 Reviews for FOI/SAR completed independently by the Council · Access to an IT system to enable you to record, manage and report on all aspects of information governance · Access to the council’s e-learning module on data protection (including annual refreshers) For those schools who would like to achieve compliance independently, the team are developing a framework of basic policies and privacy notices for schools to adopt. For all schools the team intend to provide a standard retention schedule and data breach log and decision sheet, so schools are operating similar processes, as these are key areas for GDPR compliance. If you are interested in knowing more please contact Yvonne Salvin, Complaints and Information Governance on 01582 547062 or via email yvonne.salvin@luton.gov.uk

Our Legal Services team are offering a new Ad hoc Service, available to non-maintained schools including Academies and other Educational Settings. Permanent Exclusion Review Service Parents have the right to appeal against a decision to permanently exclude. Schools and academies are required to arrange an independent panel to hear the review. This service will provide a high quality independent Exclusion Panel Service, ensuring compliance with statutory requirements. For further information please contact Philomena Fairley, Practice Manager on 01582 547194.

2 Day CPD for teachers and literacy leaders A new joint practice development project exploring whole school approaches and strategies. This project is designed to: unpick and evaluate the effectiveness of current whole school practice in the teaching of comprehension deepen knowledge and understanding of the importance of reading response and the key elements of comprehension explore practical and creative approaches to develop pupils' comprehension strategies in the classroom create an environment of collaborative study, professional dialogue and critical reflection develop local tools and resources for effective whole school practice Location: Icknield Primary School, Luton Day 1: 4th October 2017, 9.30am-3.30pm Day 2: 7th February 2018, 9.30am-3.30pm For further details, please check the attached flyer, or contact schools@literacytrust.org.uk / 020 7587 3067