News, training and professional development from Devon Education Services

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January 2026

FAO: Headteachers, senior leaders, governors, all teaching, early years and support staff

News from the education teams:


Conferences and professional development:

Training and courses:

News from the education teams

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National Year of Reading 2026

The National Year of Reading 2026

Celebrate The National Year of Reading 2026 with our inspiring 'Calendar of events'. Packed with engaging activities, author sessions, and creative ideas, our programme is designed to help schools foster a lifelong love of reading among pupils and staff.

World Book Day competition details can be found in March.

Find out more and download our FREE resouces
School support services conference: Supporting schools to innovate, sustain and thrive

5 February 2026
Future Skills Centre, Exeter

School support services conference: Supporting schools to innovate, sustain and thrive

Empower your admin team to drive efficiency and innovation.
This conference equips administrative professionals with practical strategies to streamline systems, cut costs, and support school leadership in areas like AI, sustainability, smarter finance, and reducing food waste - helping your school thrive in a changing landscape.

Find out more and book your place now
Wraparound childcare funding

Wraparound childcare funding – Applications close February 2026

Devon has been awarded over £3.5 million to help schools, childminders, and providers expand, or launch wraparound childcare services. This is a fantastic opportunity to boost childcare availability and support working families across the county. Providers can now access funding even for partial hours, making it easier for smaller or rural settings to participate. Applications close February 2026 – act now!

Find out more and apply now
Win £200 of books for your school library

WIN!!!

£200 of books for your school library

With 2026 a designated Year of Reading, plus, the Government announcement that all primary schools will have a library by 2029, we are interested in finding out more about school libraries in Devon.

Please help us by completing this short survey and you could win £200 of books for your school.

Complete the survey to be in with a chance of winning
Climate action planning reporting

Stay prepared: Essential emergency planning resources for schools

Ensure your school is ready for any situation with our comprehensive guidance on emergency management plans, reporting closures, and responding to critical incidents. From severe weather to security threats, we provide practical steps and expert support to keep pupils and staff safe.

Explore the full guidance and resources here
Have your say on DES services

Join an Autism and Us session this March

Support parents and carers in your school with practical strategies for understanding autism. Our live virtual sessions create a space for families to connect and share experiences.

📅 March dates now available – don’t miss out!
Hosting is simple: just provide a screen and chairs, and we’ll do the rest.

Find out more and book your March session

Conferences

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Spring term 2026

Summer term 2026

Find out more and book your place here

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Briefings and network meetings

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Data protection

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Data Protection networking forum - Tips for keeping your schools data safe

A fantastic opportunity for both subscribing and non-subscribing schools to meet and share ideas whilst receiving the latest updates on changes to data protection legislation and how this could affect you.

Data Protection Networking Forum (online)
29 January 2026
Tips for Keeping your School’s Data Safe

(Please note: schools who subscribe to our DPO service can attend at no charge, as part of their subscription package)

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Early education (EYFS) and childcare

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    Early Years Foundation Stage

      Early Years and Childcare - including some fully funded training for Devon EYC providers (excl. Plymouth and Torbay)

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      Educational Psychology

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        These courses are fully funded for Devon schools and other schools with Devon children in care


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        English

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          Ethnically Diverse Education Achievement Service (EDEAS)

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          • EDEAS inset day training and key twilight sessions (fully funded for Devon maintained schools) and all delivered online - various dates, times and themes

            • Gypsy, Roma, Traveller and Showman (GRTS) Awareness training

            • Supporting multilingual children in the Early Years

            • Classroom strategies for multilingual children

            • Equality, diversity and inclusion awareness

            • Improving support for multilingual children

            • Supporting multilingual children with writing

            • Closing the word gap

            • Understanding different cultures in our Devon schools

          • Proficiency assessments - multilingual children - a powerful tool for helping multilingual children in their educational journey

          Find out more about EDEAS training and book your whole-school place

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          Finance

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          Governance

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          Governance consultancy subscriptions - everything you need to support governance, in one place

          Effective governance

          Effective clerking

          Key responsibilities

          Lunchtime bite-size sessions

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          Health and safety

          Devon Health and Safety Service training courses

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          Mathematics

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            Music

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              Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision

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                Outdoor education and leadership courses

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                  Safeguarding

                  Internet safety parents' workshop (delivered in school)

                  Technology workshop – supporting parents and carers to help their child or children use the internet safely.

                  Email us for more information

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                  School Library Service

                  Would you like to connect with other school librarians?

                  Our termly networking meetings are held either at our centre in Willand or online.

                  They are led by the SLS advisory team and are a source of up-to-date information, the sharing of ideas and good practice, plus a chance to look around another library and talk about the books we love.

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                  SEND

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                  SEND - Sensory and/or physical needs

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                    Online learning from the sensory team:

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                    Sustainable schools and waste education

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                    Devon schools join forces for a greener future - read the article on our Sustainable schools conference.

                    Become a WOW school – Running throughout a whole year and aimed at schools that want to empower their pupils to take part in climate action and reducing waste. Our team can help you improve recycling and increase reuse in your school through our intensive Watch Our Waste project. Contact the team for more details.

                    The Department for Education's strategy ‘Sustainability and Climate Change: A Strategy for the Education and Children’s Services Systems’ stated that by 2025, all schools should have:   

                    • A Sustainability Lead – a individual or team of people who will implement actions to improve the sustainability of the school
                    • A Climate Action Plan – outlining how the schools plan to work towards Net Zero

                    It’s not too late to get started on your Climate Action Plan; if you are still looking for help developing and implementing your plan, then visit Devon County Council’s Sustainable Schools webpages for links to a wide range of excellent free resources and opportunities.

                    Visit the Sustainable Schools website

                      Free trips for schools - Bring a class of upper KS2 or secondary pupils to see inside the Energy from Waste plants in Exeter and Plymouth. Our trips book up fast and we only have a few 2025/26 dates remaining. Grants are available to help cover coach costs.

                      Free workshops for schools - Interactive, fun workshops and assemblies, about marine litter, materials, compost and recycling are brought to your school to help engage pupils and embed the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) and composting into the curriculum and everyday school life.

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