Derbyshire Services for Schools – Annual Survey 2017 Feedback from Derbyshire schools and academies is vitally important to the Derbyshire Services for Schools programme. Input from schools helps us to develop the programme and address any issues we’d be otherwise unaware of. Whist we welcome feedback throughout the year, we also produce an annual survey, designed to give us a snapshot of what our customers think about the services they’ve purchased and used over the past year. Please find below a link to this year’s annual survey. It’s based on the services offered to you in the 2016/17 brochure, although we’ve also added any new services from the 2017/18 programme in case you've already purchased or experienced them and want to share your feedback. It's our aim to circulate this survey as widely as possible, so that we can reach all the staff in schools that purchase or use traded services provided by Derbyshire County Council. If there is anyone in your school who would like to contribute to the survey, please just forward this email or the survey link to them. You can find the 2017 Derbyshire Services for Schools Survey by clicking here. Our closing date for the survey is Monday 31st July 2017. If you wish to receive a version in a different format, please contact the Derbyshire Services for Schools Team. This year, everyone who completes the survey will be entered into a prize draw. We know you're busy, so as a 'Thank You' for taking time out to complete our survey, every completed entry will be entered into a draw to win one of two great prizes. Our first prize winner will receive a Touchscreen Chromebook for use in their school. This Chromebook was previously donated to our IT team, and we'd like to pass it on to one of our schools. Our second prize winner will receive a hamper of Services for Schools goodies, including - amongst other things - a £50 credit note to spend on the Derbyshire Services for Schools site, a CD containing information about the history of your school's local area (provided by Derbyshire Record Office), water bottles (provided by the Free School Meals team) and mugs from Lea Green outdoor centre. Full Derbyshire County Council competition terms and conditions can be found here. As always, if you have any questions or comments about the survey – or any other aspect of the Derbyshire Services for Schools programme – please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

Leadership of the School Community: Making Sense of Complexity Friday 7th July 2017, The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick Leadership is complex and so are school communities. The Deputy Headteacher, Assistant Headteacher and Senior Leaders have important work to do making sense of that complexity and influencing community members in the right way. These are all questions we will be considering at our annual conference for Deputy Headteachers, Assistant Headteachers and Senior Leaders. This will take place on Friday 7th July 2017 at the Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick. We will be led through the morning session by Professor Chris James from the Department of Education at the University of Bath. His recent research on adult ego development will give us some new insights into educational leadership practice and development. The afternoon session will comprise two workshop sessions led by school leaders and LA officers, with a focus on different stakeholders in the school community and external agencies who support schools. To book your place please complete the attached booking form and return to: S4S.training@derbyshire.gov.uk or post to: Workforce Development Team, Room 61/62, John Hadfield House, Dale Road, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 3RD by 26th May 2017 Any queries please telephone 01629 536546.

Come down to the Woods and be Inspired The annual gathering for Forest School Leaders and Practitioners in Derbyshire is taking place at the Eco-Centre, Middleton by Wirksworth on 12th July 2017. This is chance for Forest School Leaders and Practitioners from across the county to come together and continue their professional development. During the morning there will be chance to find out about new projects, initiatives and key note speakers. There will be a selection of workshops to choose from to develop new skills, deepen knowledge or discover new activities. In the afternoon there will plenty of opportunity to share ideas and network with other Forest School Leaders, demonstrations and 'have a go' activities. £50 per person includes packed lunch and all workshops. To book visit: http://www.services.derbyshire.gov.uk/Event/44893

Our new version of the Derbyshire Services for Schools user guide is now available, updated to include the new-look shopping basket. The guide includes hints and tips as well as practical advice for requesting quotes, downloading a brochure tailored to your school and running your own reports. A user guide for training is also available to download, explaining how to view courses and book onto them. As usual, we welcome your comments on the guide and if you have a request for additions or changes to be made please let us know. Derbyshire S4S Team

URGENT - For the attention of Groupcall Xporter Users Schools across the country have been contacted by unknown organisations claiming they represent Groupcall Ltd or are software suppliers tasked replacing their Groupcall Xporter software on their behalf and requesting access to management information systems. If your school uses Groupcall Xporter, a software solution that enables you to share data held on management information systems with other systems within your school or with your LA, please ensure you verify the identity of anyone who requests access to your network and systems. You can verify the person making the request by obtaining the name of requester, contact details of requester and website address of requester and then contact Groupcall Ltd on 02085066100 – select the support option or alternatively email support@groupcall.com to confirm that the call is genuine.