Updates and further information on the partial closure of Kent schools will be published here as it becomes available Parents and carers receive reassurance from Head of Early Years and Childcare As the Easter holidays begin, Alex Gamby, Head of Early Years and Childcare at Kent County Council/The Education People, has written to…
More than 94% of pupils will receive an offer from one of their four preferred schools this National Secondary Offer Day despite the number of families applying for places increasing by almost 1,000 in the last two years to the largest cohort ever. A total of 21,670 parents/carers applied for a place for their child…
This Children’s Mental Health Week, young people in Kent are being invited to visit a new website designed to help keep them emotionally healthy – and there is a separate site aimed at helping parents support their children’s mental health too. MoodSpark (www.moodspark.org.uk) has been developed for young people in Kent, with young people in…
Kent County Council is reminding drivers about their responsibilities to stop for school crossing patrols. School crossing patrols have a legal right to stop traffic for anyone who needs help crossing the road. Elena Lewis, 57, has been a school crossing patroller for the past 14 years working at both Wrotham Road school and Mayfield…
A third school has been recognised with a Kent School Award for Resilience and Emotional Wellbeing in celebration of the support it offers its young people. St John’s Catholic Comprehensive School in Gravesend was successful in its application and received the Award from Kent County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, Roger…
Education and health bosses have voiced their approval for plans for future SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) provision in Kent. Kent County Council and the NHS submitted a joint Written Statement of Action (WSoA) to Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills) and the CQC (Care Quality Commission), which has now been…
Hundreds of children were at risk of not getting to school next term when services to Lenham School and Homewood School in Tenterden were cancelled. The services, provided by Carr’s Coaches and by Lenham School itself, cease in September and could have left students with no means of getting to and from school. Public transport…
KCC, in partnership with bus operators, has introduced a revised timetable for the start of the new school year. As well as renumbering the services to make it easier to identify which bus offers shorter journeys to your child’s school, timings have been revised to better meet school start and finish times and to speed…
Schools in Kent are now able to apply for a Kent School Award for Resilience and Emotional Wellbeing, which recognises and celebrates everything they do to support young people’s emotional wellbeing through the whole school approach. The first two schools to succeed in their application are Homewood School in Tenterden and Westlands School in Sittingbourne.…
A Kent County Council employee has won a national award for his plan to tackle the educational impact of child poverty during the school summer holidays. Rob Comber, a Service Development Manager in the council’s Children, Young People and Education directorate, was crowned winner of the 10th annual LGA (Local Government Association) Local Government Challenge…
Over 10,000 miles were covered by foot, cycle or scooter by pupils across Kent in a scheme to get children more active on their commute to school. Operation Motion: Giant Steps is a Kent County Council scheme aimed at challenging the way parents do the school run. It involved 10 classes; one class each from…
Swift actions have already been taken to improve care for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), following a critical letter from Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills) and the CQC (Care Quality Commission). Kent County Council and the NHS are working together on a joint strategy to improve care…