30/11/2022 0 Comments Interview with SWIFT Member | Acting Deputy Headteacher (for Quality of Education) at The Park Community School, Aimee Mills“It’s about allowing teachers to be lifelong learners, which in turn, allows students to be lifelong learners.” ![]() Recently promoted to the leadership role of Acting Deputy Headteacher (for Quality of Education) at The Park Community School in Barnstaple, North Devon; Aimee Mills builds on nine years as an Assistant Headteacher, two of which were in West London before moving to Devon. With her past experience of a big educational community and sharing good practice, Aimee is pleased to be actively involved as one of SWIFT’s member schools. 1. Please can you provide an overview of how you and The Park Community School are involved in the SWIFT partnership? Firstly, the Early Career Framework (ECF) programme in which I am currently a Delivery Lead for Years 1 and 2 Early Career Teachers (ECTs) across the region. It is great to be part of the delivery of this flagship Department for Education statutory programme and we have a Year 2 ECT teacher here at The Park School, so we are hugely part of the programme. I am even in the process of training up our ECF Co-ordinator to (hopefully) be a Delivery Lead next year. Secondly, we benefit from the SWIFT Continuing Professional Development programme. Highlights for me include the Summer Leadership and Literacy Conferences and also this school year, I am involved in leading the new North Devon Professional Community leadership group. It is exciting! As part of this network, I am really keen to develop school-to-school support as the way forward working with at least five local North Devon schools. Thirdly, the National Professional Qualifications (NPQs). 14% (13) of our teaching staff are currently enrolled on an NPQ – including myself! I am undertaking the NPQH, and we have staff on the NPQSL, NPQLT, NPQLBC, and the NPQLTD programmes. This is excellent professional development for our current and future school leaders. Our staff have also been involved in Professional Communities (PC) and currently in the Geography and History PCs; which are invaluable subject networks. We have also enrolled on some of the Maths CPD sessions, which have been great for our staff development and the learning experience of our pupils. I like to think it is a well-rounded partnership as The Park School is part of the Tarka Trust – a key SWIFT delivery partner - as the secondary school, alongside seven primary schools (our main feeders), all benefitting from the SWIFT CPD opportunities. In fact, I was invited to get involved in the ECF by Tarka Trust Deputy CEO, Andy Ogden. So, I am delighted to say that The Park School has taken opportunity of ALL of SWIFT’s membership offer. Finally, as Colyton and Kingsbridge Teaching School Hubs working together, I know that SWIFT acts as an effective facilitator and is part of the levelling up within the region. As a rural school, professional development options can be limited in terms of travelling beyond the South West to London and elsewhere with a significant impact on school budgets and staff time. Hence, SWIFT is playing a key role in providing professional support. When I worked in London, we had 14 schools within a six-mile radius. Here in North Devon, we have six miles between each school. 2. How is The Park School benefitting from working with SWIFT? As noted above, really. Our role in delivering the Early Career Framework programme, including our own participating staff; is proving to align the rest of the staff with our core CPD. When our ECTs progress through the programme it ensures a continuity of learning and supports career development of our staff, which underpins the work of our school. As so many of our staff are taking part in the CPD on offer, particularly the NPQ programmes, we have managed to create a coherent development path right from the start of a teacher's career through to Middle Leader and Senior Leadership level. The opportunities SWIFT have provided has meant that our staff are encouraged to take on additional responsibilities and to further their careers. 3. What are the main benefits for you professionally? For me, I like to think that my involvement with SWIFT and engagement in the NPQH has helped me in part to get my promotion! So, for me, my career progression and enhancing my leadership skills. For example, my attendance at the SWIFT Summer Conference in July was pivotal and sharpened my view of our school vision and school improvement plan. Keynote speaker Diana Osagie was inspirational. I learned a lot from her in the time that she spoke and I liked her clarity and (as she promised) I read her book in an hour after the event! 4. How do you see this partnership developing in the future? The main thing is our ITT programme and we are looking forward to working with SWIFT in their new role as a SCITT. I used to run the North Devon TSA secondary ITT programme, but now that this has ceased to exist the number of trainees, we have has regrettably taken a hit, impacting significantly on recruitment. In the past we have employed so many of our qualified trainees and we are missing them. We also look forward to networking school-to-school through the North Devon Professional Community as an opportunity to share events, speakers, conferences and local networks. Thinking about the geography of our region, The Park School could be used as a central location for the North Devon group and we would like to explore this further. 5. What words of wisdom would you share with other schools? Seize as many opportunities from the SWIFT partnership as your school setting allows. Make time and invest. I encourage schools that they get more from the SWIFT membership than they pay. Here at The Park School, we find that it builds buy-in to the school culture for staff and as a non-specialist leading on a specialist area, SWIFT provides opportunities to learn (and I like learning). For instance, I took our Head of English to the SWIFT Literacy Conference and we both listened to lots of different speakers and then collaborated afterwards on whole school foci. SWIFT membership opens doors to opportunities that being isolated in North Devon that have not always been there before. We thank Aimee for her insights into SWIFT membership and thank her for her enthusiastic contributions to our programmes. Interview by Jude Owens, PA to the SWIFT Executive Team
0 Comments
It was a lovely and uplifting way to end the penultimate Monday in November. The Character Education Professional Community is designed for all Primary (and Secondary) School Leads who wish to develop the ethos, culture, curriculum and personal development of pupils within their own school setting. At the heart of Character Education is teaching character and embracing a characterful approach to teaching and learning. This second session in the series followed the inaugural event that explored ‘why’ we should teach character and embrace a characterful approach to learning and teaching, and now explores the next step of ‘How?’ Andy Ogden, Director of Tarka CPD & Director of Devon Training School Partnership welcomed delegates to the session and introduced session lead, Lyndsey Bolton, Character Education Lead at Alumnis Multi Academy Trust. For Alumnis, it was their new CEO Neil Moir who gave leaders and teams the opportunity to “refresh” the direction of travel and Trust identity after the Covid lockdown, which led to a reframed a holistic curriculum, termed the “C360.” Alumnis is passionate about and committed to personal development for their pupils and young people and has developed a character led way of working across the Trust. The Mission at Alumnis is a commitment “to providing an education that is unsurpassed: developing in students the academic skills, intellectual habits, character virtues and wellbeing that enable each unique individual to flourish as a global citizen” and the C360 is based on four essential cornerstones:
We all colloquially use the phrase, s/he/they is a “character” to describe our students and fellow human beings. But if you are wondering how to define character, here are some helpful pointers:
Character Education allows learners to understand who they are and how they impact people and the world around them and supports learners to develop positive personal strengths As Character Lead, Lyndsey Bolton developed a Character Education approach for two – 11-year olds, which was rolled out across all the Trust schools in 2020/2021 This approach is rooted in Aristotle virtues and based on the work of The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues (part of the University of Birmingham) Across the Trust character is taught explicitly as well as caught and taught as part of a 'flourishing for all' curriculum. The heart and soul of Alumnis Character Education is that the children become inspiring changemakers. With Character as the foundation, children are encouraged to seek to put a wide range of virtues into action. They “live the virtues” (rather than laminate the virtues). Change is inspired through a layered approach. Consistent language is used throughout all the schools and feeds directly into the Conduct Policy, and is the basis for behaviour and all relationships – both between pupils and staff; but also, in how adults talk to each other. This way, the children know and increasingly understand the language of virtue in every situation and the whole school learns, discovers and acts out the same virtue and ultimately reflects on it. Hence, the Alumnis logo of the tree with character at the core; nourishing all learners at the roots and encouraging them to seek to put virtues into action as the fruit. And the best bit? The children are proud of their character virtues and proud of the differences they can make, no matter the size. They can talk about how they develop their character. They even delight in spotting when characters in a story are not showing good character virtues. Putting virtues into action includes the children engaging in adventures, research projects, preparing their own TED talks, using the UN goals on sustainable development for research talks and fundraising as they work towards a certificate and celebratory badge at the end of the year. Small and big successes are all rewarded and recognised. Characterful approaches are explored that go beyond the ‘taught,’ which shape the culture and ethos of schools, and impact on curriculum evolution, and have positive effects on pupil attainment and radiate out to impact on parents and the wider community. St Helen's Church of England (one school within the Alumnis Trust) can vouch for the value of the Character Education approach that has been developed. Headteacher, Bex Northcott is also the Character and Curriculum Lead and shared how St Helen’s is explicitly and effectively implementing Character Education with a positive impact on school improvement. Pupils at St Helen’s engage in an enquiry-based curriculum from the moment they arrive, which is underpinned by the Church of England Christian, as well as civic and moral values. For example, at the moment, the whole school is currently investigating what it means to show courage. Bex had countless moving and motivating examples. To name but a few, Year 4 are leading an enquiry into why people move, migrate to/ from the UK through the context (lens) of courage. Year 6 are looking at why people live where they live, and are inspiring inclusive, character-driven researchers looking at what is necessary within 20-minute community. As well as in the classroom collective worship is an important vehicle to reiterating the termly and in-the-moment virtues. Genuine opportunities are sought for the children to practise and access a character virtue every half term, enhanced across curriculum areas, looking to what is happening in the world. Keen volunteers and fundraisers, the children have recently taken the initiative to create Christmas boxes to donate to the local Ukraine refugee point. The children are inspired changemakers. But of equal value, it is when the best character is not shown that the children learn the most. One story should be retold. A Year 6 pupil was a committed and able sportsperson, but was unhappy about what she perceived to be an injustice in how women’s sport was portrayed in the media. She took it upon herself to write to the England Rugby CEO. A well-structured and thoughtful letter. But she warned not to expect a reply. However, she received a reply from the CEO and CFO who asked to visit her rugby club and invited her to be a young ambassador. This characterful pupil is now in Year 8 and she and the English Rugby CEO have kept in contact and there are currently 21 rugby girls playing in her team. Another must tell. A Year 5 boy read a news article about the risk of cardiac arrest and was concerned that the nearest defibrillator in the village was in the local pub. He put his mind to raising money and reached out to crowdfunding. He raised £1700 that was match-funded and there are now three open access defibs in the village. So many uplifting stories thanks to the value of Character Education. Cake sales run by the little ones donating toys and clothes. An inspiration across the whole Trust to so many children. A recent Ofsted inspection in a local school looked deeply into personal development and noted that the children were living the vision of virtues. The Behaviour Policy is now called Attitudes to Learning Character Development and demonstrates that it is powerful to praise children for having the confidence to be honest, and for having a sense of justice. Even when there are challenging conversations around forgiveness and restoration, to be able to praise children when things have gone well is life-enhancing. ![]() SWIFT sponsor, Lyfta presented on how they bring Character Education into school through an immersive digital platform. Director of Education and Impact, Harriet Marshall explained how Lyfta provides a platform for young people to explore and understand the world and themselves better. They can develop their own character through storyworlds and connect across the world in a social and interpersonal sense. Meaning to “lift up” from the Nordic word, Lyfta attempts to lift the world into view for students. The platform uses carefully curated short documentary films that support character and values through a connection with real-life stories. Schools across all the phases use Lyfta storyworlds as educational resources linked to their curriculum, working with teachers to develop into subject and PSHE Schemes of Work to support lessons and help boost an all-important sense of belonging. Lyfta shows how it is powerful for young people to feel included. At a West London Primary School with 49 different languages, one pupil was moved from watching the storyworld about Deenpal, a young football-loving Sikh growing up in Denmark who tells his own story about striving to be a famous goalkeeper and finding the courage to dive after the ball. It is perhaps the words of a Year 10 student at Upton Court Grammar School who wonderfully encapsulates the work of Lyfta: “I think what you're doing is brilliant… I love that you can learn about people. Because there's a word, it's called sonder. It means, the realisation that everyone has their own story, and everyone has their own life as complex as your own. And that we are all like ants crawling around an anthill, trying to figure out where to go, without looking at other people. And some people, they look at other people and dismiss them, some people look at other people and want to know the story behind them, and Lyfta makes all of us the second kind of person.” Find out more about trying Lyfta for free and benefit from training and access to all the storyworlds for a trial month. ![]() Director of Schools Engagement and Partnership, Andrew Pettit from the Association for Character Education (part of The Jubilee Centre) provided an insight into their bespoke consultation work supporting schools, based on the unwavering belief that character development is essential from nursery to Post-16. Andy Ogden concluded the session by acknowledging schools are often so busy in curriculum development that they need to pull out the core themselves and focus on the internal character of the child and how they see themselves. It is a useful exercise in pushing the reset button after Covid with essential links to identify and a sense of belonging. “It’s not what you put on the plate, but the plate itself.” Schools are re-evaluating and starting a powerful conversation. The SWIFT Character Education Professional Community will continue to build a network of leaders and practitioners across the Southwest who are passionate about designing and implementing holistic educational provision that acknowledges the importance of personal development as well as the importance of academic attainment. Report by Jude Owens, PA to the SWIFT Executive Team 29/11/2022 0 Comments SWIFT Autumn Leadership ForumLevelling Up the South West | Lee Elliot Major OBE “All the secrets are within our own system.” ![]() Thanks to the ease of online forums, we were delighted in early November to be joined by Lee Elliot Major OBE as keynote speaker at our Autumn Term Leadership Forum in transit home to the South West from a trip to Norway. As Britain's first Professor of Social Mobility at the University of Exeter, Lee spoke with practical passion on “Levelling Up the South West.” An essential issue that is adding traction to the North-South Westminster debate. Delegates were particularly privileged to be in the audience the day before a hot-off-the-press feature in Schools Week. Lee hardly needed to remind school leaders that the classic images of the South West’s beautiful coastlines and landscapes - and not forgetting, the time-honoured cream tea, can too often mask the level of disadvantage within our region. ![]() As his starting point, Lee explained his involvement in the pivotal “Social Mobility in the South West | Levelling up through Education” report. Supported by the Cobalt Trust, the report published in April 2022 highlighted the region’s poor social mobility and unique challenges, and offered practical and impactful recommendations. Very pleasingly, the report is proving to be a call to action, and has clearly “lit some fires;” successfully bringing people together who have been thinking about the same issues and are now working together to find realistic solutions. The report figures were stark. Educational outcomes for poorer children in the South West are very low. In 2019, disadvantaged pupils in the South West were furthest behind at the end of both the primary and secondary stages of their education. Fewer disadvantaged pupils attained basic English and Maths GCSE qualifications and fewer went on to university than in any other region nationally. Recommendations focus on the following:
Data is being published on the disadvantaged for MATs across the region and nationally, developing a “school scorecard” that is more than the binary free school meals. Lee’s energy and excitement about implementing the report’s recommendations was evident. Aptly, he is an advocate for more explicit policy on levelling up in order to understand disadvantage at a deeper level and to seek how to address some of the issues and “best bets” for improving progress. Lee is working beyond the South West and speaking to lead national providers, as well as presenting to the Labour Front Bench, and the current Government. In case you were wondering (like one of our audiences), what in Lee’s opinion is the single most important thing that schools can do to better support their disadvantaged pupils without any extra funding?
Parental engagement. Too often, it is a weak spot for schools in how they interact with parents. So…as starter advice from Professor of Social Mobility, Lee Elliot Major OBE. Develop a focused parental education strategy: re-think home visits, home school agreements, and parents’ evenings and offer dedicated advisory sessions. Consider neutral meeting venues for those parents who never come into school and communications with parents. Reassuringly, Lee reminded school leaders that excellent practice is already in existence in all schools. Be innovative. Not least as schools face straitened funding in the future. “All the secrets are within our own system.” We thank Lee Elliot Major for joining us at our Autumn Leadership Forum and for sharing his insights and positivity into levelling up the South West. Report by Jude Owens, PA to the SWIFT Executive Team 24/11/2022 0 Comments Events Newsletter | Issue 17![]() 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: Invitation to Lead a Workshop for SWIFT Curriculum Forum | March 2023 The SWIFT Curriculum Forum brings together curriculum leaders that have responsibility for building curriculums in schools and trusts. We would like to invite teachers and leaders involved in the design and delivery of curriculum to submit a proposal to lead a 30 – 40-minute workshop at the next Forum in March 2023. SWIFT Secondary Masterclasses SWIFT are excited to be offering subject specific masterclasses to secondary teachers, with keynotes delivered by experts in the field. It is not too late to book on to the Geography and History Masterclass series. You will receive recordings and presentation slides from previous sessions and be able to join the future sessions live. Our sponsor Lyfta recently presented at our SWIFT Character Education Professional Development Community on the topic of "Flourishing for All – Implementing and Embedding." Character Education is one of the core Lyfta focus areas, and is at the heart of education - and it could be said to be our true legacy as teachers. Lyfta considers here how character and values-based learning can be made part of the curriculum. When you were at school, who was your favourite teacher and why? When I ask teachers this question, they often focus on those who were kind or caring or passionate. Qualities and values that went well beyond knowing their subject well. As teachers, we want to help young people realise the best version of themselves, particularly in our ever-changing world. Character and values-based learning equips students for the future and sits at the heart of what we do as educators, but it's not always easy to embed it into classroom practice. When I was working as a secondary teacher, my Headteacher used to encourage us to ‘teach the children in front of us’. Sounds obvious doesn’t it? But ultimately, we often teach to our own style, our own tastes and preferences. What we have to do is consider every individual we have in front of us and what they need, based on their experiences. “Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author.” RUDINE SIMS BISHOP Academic, Rudine Sims Bishop, explored children’s literature and the extent to which children's literature is written by African American authors and represents African American characters. In her work, she advocated for books to become more than simply windows, allowing us to look in at other people. Instead, she suggested that stories should act as mirrors, allowing children to see themselves reflected back at them and even better is when they act as sliding glass doors, allowing us to step into another's life – to experience what they do, and learn to empathise with them. As teachers, we can develop values and character in our children by giving the opportunities to both see themselves reflected and experience the lives of others. Beyond our own moral obligation to support students to become the best version of themselves, there are also statutory requirements that every school must adhere to. For example, the Ofsted framework expects students to behave respectfully and courteously, as well as the school providing lots of opportunity for personal development. The newest RSE statutory guidance, released in 2019 and updated in 2021, outlines the ways in which schools must teach and support students to develop healthy and respectful relationships. There is also an expectation for all schools to provide spiritual, moral, social and cultural education, which includes moral and social skills and values. ![]() Lyfta gives teachers the opportunity to nurture the whole child, build character and embed values, including resilience and service. ![]() Its immersive platform can help you to embed positive values in your classroom and equip your students for the future through its world of positive human stories. Each story has its own 360 degree environments, unique soundscapes and powerful short films to immerse students fully in a world beyond their own. Students meet with individuals from communities across the globe, connect with their inspiring stories, and reflect on their values. Our Kids’ Cup storyworld, which features the journeys of five young people competing in an international children’s football tournament, is one of many that helps teachers introduce values including perseverance, resilience and leadership to students. Independent research conducted by the University of Tampere has also shown that Lyfta’s immersive human stories help students to develop empathy and understanding for those who are different from themselves. By Anna Szpakowska, Lyfta Professional Development Lead Explore Lyfta for FREE when you register for the Lyfta starter, no-obligation trial. ![]() You may wish to explore the Department of Education’s Character Education Framework Guidance. Whilst it is not mandatory, it provides a possible starting point for schools considering how they embed character education into their curriculum and wider school life. The countdown has begun for the Men’s Football World Cup 2022. As excitement grows about the competition, teachers can leverage this exciting opportunity to harness the power of sport to nurture positive values in the classroom. Join Lyfta for a FREE live lesson, delivered by their team beamed directly into your classroom via Zoom.
Your students will enjoy an immersive story from the Lyfta Kids' Cup series as a collective experience with other schools across the UK. Sessions are running on: Wednesday 30 November 2022 at 1130 and 1415 Friday 2 December 2022 at 1130 and 1415 (with separate sessions available for older and younger learners). No preparation or account is required. Simply sign-up and join via the Zoom link on the day. To find out more and secure your place click on the link below. Lyfta looks forward to sharing a powerful storyworld experience with your class. 15/11/2022 0 Comments Events Newsletter | Issue 16![]() 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: Wellbeing Conference | Friday 3 February 2022 SWIFT is committed to supporting wellbeing in schools and understands how a mentally healthy and happy school can lead to improved student emotional health, and ultimately facilitate a readiness to learn; as well as help to retain and motivate staff. Keynote Speakers: Nicola Harvey | Author, Wellbeing & Education Consultant | Harvey Heals Practical Strategies to Support Students Experiencing Anxiety. Faye McGuiness | Director of Programmes | Education Support Partnership Wellbeing: a hopeful future for education staff AQA Feedback on the 2022 GCSE Examinations A popular event in the SWIFT CPD calendar, the AQA ‘Feedback on Examinations’ are key training events, giving teachers essential feedback on recent exams. For many schools in the South West, attending face-to-face events can be difficult because they are held in major cities. SWIFT has therefore commissioned AQA to deliver these feedback training events in Devon; which means you can access the course at a significantly reduced rate. 3/11/2022 0 Comments Autumn Leadership Forum | TODAY!Meeting links to join today's online Leadership Forum, Parts A and B, can be found in the meeting agenda - click the button below to open the agenda document.
We look forward to welcoming you this afternoon. In this November issue, ESW Associate & Strategic Leader of Teaching & Research Schools | Education South West Roger Pope CBE reflects on good leadership "because it is often easier to reflect on the attributes of good leadership when we see strikingly bad leadership in action" and holds up Ukraine's President Zelensky as a model leader as "he is passionate and committed. He has clear strategy and tactics. Perhaps above all, he is present."
You can also read about the Autumn Curriculum Forum, discover FREE Top Tips and Resources following the Sport England programme findings and enjoy an interview with SWIFT Early Career Framework Lead/Deputy Director of SWIFT (Colyton Teaching School Hub), Chris Harris PLUS features from our sponsors Atomi and Computeam. At the start of October, we were glad to be joined by Senior Leaders, Curriculum Leaders and other colleagues for our Autumn Curriculum Forum led by national and regional expert curriculum speakers. The termly Curriculum Forums are designed to explore models and approaches to curriculum design, including the implications of Cognitive Science, and how to prioritise curriculum knowledge and content. The Forums also consider equality, diversity and inclusion and explore how leaders can ensure these values are enshrined across curriculum development, and consider the implementation for inspection and beyond. Part A | Keynotes “The most fundamental reason to choose curiosity isn’t so that we can do better at school or at work. The true beauty of learning stuff, including apparently useless stuff, is that it takes us out of ourselves, reminds us that we are part of a far greater project, one that has been underway for at least as long as human beings have been talking to each other. Other animals don’t share or store their knowledge like we do.” (“Curious: The Desire to Know and Why your Future Depends on it,” Ian Leslie). ![]() "Principles of Meaningful Curriculum Development" | Kat Howard With evident enthusiasm for all things curriculum, Kat Howard opened this launch event with her keynote on “Principles of Meaningful Curriculum Development,” looking at how to align subject and school curriculum and shared her experience and expertise with some invaluable takeaways. Director of a large MAT Teaching School Hub, with experience as a school senior leader, Kat is author of the bestselling “Stop Talking About Wellbeing: a Pragmatic Approach to Teacher Workload” and is also co-author of “Symbiosis: the Curriculum and the Classroom.” An in-house Expert Adviser for the Teacher Development Trust, Kat writes curriculum content for the Reformed NPQ Leadership Suite. Curriculum development is a fundamental aspect of school life and is linked to teacher workload and retention and is one of the reasons teachers often state for leaving their post due to the disconnect and discontentment from wasted time on what they perceive to be fleeting initiatives. Hence the value of ensuring best intentions in crafting a curriculum do not go to waste. Often cited by teachers as the top two bests of teaching are: 1. Talking to students and 2. Teaching their subject. Kat encouraged leaders to empower Subject Leaders to design the curriculum as she believes they are best placed to make decisions about the curriculum and, of course, all subjects are different. Curriculum conversations are a must as curriculum implementation can be a fragile process. Interrogate the problems of the curriculum, explore and prepare the monitoring and evaluation as an ongoing process. Think objectively. Learn to critique. Is your curriculum fit for purpose for your school and students? Even if this means stepping away from an agreed national standpoint. A vital starting point is to create a shared language for the curriculum. Consider whether students can access the information and move to the next stage within the subject curriculum as a granular process. Be more informed by the substance of the teaching and be aware that oracy has an important part to play. Ensure a sense of balance and share as much as possible. Mitigate where misconceptions are more prevalent. Ask the right questions and interrogate the problem in the first place. In understanding the common barriers to curriculum development, leaders need to consider a shared purpose and make peace with the fact that working with children changes every year. Considering professional fulfilment in the process rather than the outcome can make a difference. Curriculum development can be the tension of balancing autonomy whilst contributing to a collective purpose. Prepare teachers in the design and development of the curriculum and work collaboratively together in an atmosphere of support, trust and feedback to improve student outcomes. Ensure everyone feels like a subject expert to teach the curriculum. So, what does your successful curriculum look like? Agree a theory of action process before any changes to the curriculum are made as a dialogical (= the use of conversation or shared dialogue to explore the meaning of something). Be tangible in the way the curriculum is discussed in identifying the problems. Look for evidence through conversations with staff and students. Ask deliberately provocative questions. How does it challenge students’ thinking so they can go out into the world and question for themselves? In sustaining curriculum development, it is essential to keep teachers at the heart and consider: What do we teach? Why do we teach it? Does it look as we imagined? What can we do to build on what’s working? Above all, do not compromise on the curriculum. Kat encouraged leaders to devote three days at the end of the Summer Term as protected time for curriculum discussions. We thank Kat for her energising talk and her guidance and encouragement in developing a meaningful curriculum. Follow Kat on Twitter at @saymiss and read her blogs at www.saymiss.wordpress.com ![]() "Approaches to Decolonising Curriculum Knowledge" | Marlon Moncrieffe School leaders and educators understand the significance of equality and diversity in the curriculum, but this awareness was undoubtedly brought into public prominence and perception by the 2020 Black Lives Matter international protests. Next keynote speaker, Dr Marlon Moncrieffe led on this agenda with his talk on “Approaches to Decolonising Curriculum Knowledge” in how policy relates to theory and practice. Principal Lecturer at the School of Education at the University of Brighton, Marlon is the Knowledge Exchange Leader and Chair of the Research Ethics and Integrity Committee. His academic research work and expertise focuses on decolonising primary school curriculum knowledge with the aim of enabling and advancing critical consciousness in teaching and learning. Formerly a primary school Assistant Headteacher, Head of Maths, English and also Physical Education, Marlon is a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and Council Member of the British Educational Research Association. As part of his research, Marlon engaged with the UK Parliament and House of Commons Education Committee to share his work; and through the Chartered College of Teaching, he has created resources that champion inclusive and equitable approaches to education, teaching and learning and to guide teachers in how to have confident conversations in the classroom. A child of the Windrush generation, Marlon reported how his research into centring the “Black” British voice in teaching and learning has found that nothing much has changed in the History curriculum from a UK perspective. The colonial time-warp persists with the past recurring in the present: from the slave rebellions across the Caribbean up to the Black Lives Matter antiracism protests in the 21st Century. It is a false justification of the hierarchical power of one racial group to be given more privileges in society. Macpherson’s recommendations in response to the murder of black British teenager Stephen Lawrence called for the decolonisation of curriculum knowledge and antiracist education to combat institutional racism. However, the National Curriculum has not changed in response to Macpherson’s recommendations. Teaching and Learning of British History has come under sharper scrutiny with calls for changes to the Conservative National Curriculum History getting louder and over a quarter of a million people signed a public petition calling for cultural diversity with Marlon working alongside other academics to share their findings. However, in response, the Government maintained that the Gove Education Curriculum Policy was “broad, balanced and flexible.” Yet Marlon showed how this denies the dominance of the one-dimensional Anglocentric and Eurocentric (= whites only) historical starting points throughout the statutory National Curriculum content, e.g. “Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots” and “the Vikings and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England.” Multicultural Britain = diversity in white and black. A curriculum should be broad or else it risks being narcissistic and, in this case, the British Government become the History-makers of identity. A hegemonic (= ruling or dominant in a political or social context) curriculum creates narratives for teachers to deliver. But it is important to be critically conscious. Time can bring about change in political consciousness and this can be challenged for relevance for the now and the future. Too often, Marlon found that when teachers are asked what British History in the curriculum means to them, they simply restate the National Curriculum content and their own existing knowledge, e.g. the Tudors, World War I and II. In other words, Anglocentric History as a cultural preproduction. Hence the value of a critical historical consciousness in the curriculum and as teachers, to take note when drawing up Schemes of Work to challenge policy and reform. We thank Marlon for his thought-provoking presentation and the reminder that it is good to challenge our sense of history across the British Isles. Follow Marlon on Twitter at @DrMoncrieffe Part B | Workshops ![]() Part B of the Curriculum Forum was opportunity for delegates to choose from a range of phase-specific workshops. Amy Le Bredonchel | Primary | Curriculum Design: Knowing, Thinking and Communicating. Based on the principles of a Trivium approach, this workshop presented the principles behind a linked curriculum that ensures progression, retrieval and opportunities and showed how the questions ‘Why this? Why now?’ have been addressed, underpinned by the aim that remembering more, is knowing more. Ruhaina Alford | Primary | Whose Culture has Capital? Approaches to diversifying your curriculum to prepare children to be global citizens. Exploring the rationale behind why we should be doing this work; this workshop explored practical examples in various curriculum areas as to how we can reframe how we teach. Re-examining how certain subjects are taught through a western or colonial lens, and re-framing. Tom Graham | Secondary | Prioritising the curriculum at a whole-school level. This workshop explored how a focus on curriculum at whole-school level has helped to drive a deeper understanding of curriculum by all teachers and explored the structures to train teachers and quality assure the curriculum within a secondary school setting. Holly Pennington | Early Years | Language Led Learning – closing the word gap in the Early Years. This workshop looked at how this language-led spiral curriculum is implemented over an academic year, and the impact on children’s transition into Reception and beyond. Toni Smyth | Primary | Supporting primary schools to transform P.E. experiences for EVERY child, teacher and family. Given ambitious P.E. curriculums have the potential to transform experiences for every child, this workshop explored the intent and how schools can use the P.E. Premium for solutions that support teachers to implement effectively P.E., and have the greatest impact on the children in their care. Matt Pennington | Primary | How can Cognitive Science Drive Greater Outcomes for Early Readers? This workshop explained the intent of designing an early reading curriculum centred on Cognitive Science and looked at the implementation and how the cognitive science is embedded in long, medium and short-term planning and the significant impact it is making on the lowest 20% of pupils through quality first teaching. Annabel Skelton | Secondary | 'Book Club': The Jewel in the English Curriculum Crown. Book Club is an hour a week for all Key Stage 3 students, and is dedicated to the reading and academic discussion of a challenging text that complements learning within the curriculum. Using reciprocal reading strategies: summarising, clarifying, predicting and questioning, it explains how students are encouraged to see themselves as literary critics: building background knowledge, developing vocabulary and improving reading fluency. Harriet Marshall | Crossphase | A curriculum that prepares for life, learning and work through the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs or Global Goals) are an ambitious framework for not only a better world, but also for a relevant and empowering school curriculum. This workshop looked at why a growing number of schools are developing their curriculum by linking to the 17 SDGs. Anthony Lees | Approaches to Formative Assessment in Primary Computing. This workshop considered and exemplified a range of formative, low stakes assessment mechanisms for instant feedback for teachers and learners through the lens of Primary Computing and considered how Computer Science concepts, such as sequence, repetition and condition can be reviewed with a range of digital tools and become embedded in the learning cycle for teachers and pupils. We thank and are grateful to all our contributors for sharing their curriculum experience and expertise, and providing considered sessions for our Curriculum Forum. Watch out on our social media channels for details of the Spring Term Curriculum Forum. Report by Jude Owens, PA to the SWIFT Executive Team |
SWIFT News
|
SPONSORED BY
Join us, be a part of our SWIFT community |
© COPYRIGHT 2022 SOUTH WEST INSTITUTE FOR TEACHING SWIFT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | Website by brightblueC
VIEW OUR PRIVACY NOTICES | VIEW OUR COURSE T&CS
VIEW OUR PRIVACY NOTICES | VIEW OUR COURSE T&CS