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20
TRAINING TIMES
hertsforlearning.co.uk
Issue 5
Ofsted: what’s changed?
Herts for Learning Ltd is
a not for profit company
owned by Hertfordshire
schools and the Local
Authority. Providing
improvement and
business services, it is
dedicated to improving
standards of education in
Hertfordshire and beyond.
Education this month
A fascinating
assortment
Pui Him Ip
Herts for Learning Researcher
Jessica Broadbent
Herts for Learning Journalist
Ofsted have made several revisions
to their inspection framework from
September 2014. Amongst many
things, the changes accommodate
the new National Curriculum and the
loss of levels in assessment, and place
an increased focus on our teaching
of British values. Early Years settings
and sixth form departments will now
receive their own discrete judgements.
Ofsted have reduced their documentation by nearly 300 pages,
collating it into three documents. These
are: the framework for school inspection, the school inspection handbook
and inspecting safeguarding in maintained schools and academies (briefing
for section 5 inspections).
Herts for Learning (HfL) advisers
attended training on the changes over
the summer. They have subsequently
produced up to date guidance to help
prevent the dip in grades that is often
seen in schools inspected closely after
an updated Ofsted framework. The
guidance outlines how to anticipate
changes in emphasis and how these
may affect your next inspection.
So what does this mean for Hertfordshire governors, leaders and teachers?
Governors
Governors will be examined on their
impact on the school’s leadership and
management. Inspectors will consider
whether the governing body: carries
out statutory duties, ensures the school
promotes tolerance and respect, is aware
of the impact of teaching on learning
and progress, is assured of the rigor
of the assessment process, monitors
performance management systems and
provides support to senior leaders.
Governors must be clear about their
role in Ofsted inspections. The chair
will receive verbal feedback alongside
the headteacher, following which the
whole governing body will have access
to the draft report.
Senior leadership teams
The curriculum is a major focus for
upcoming Ofsted inspections and each
school’s strategic approach will be
closely assessed. Although there is no
preferred model for the new curriculum,
schools will be expected to have developed their own curriculum to meet the
needs of their pupils and ensure that
all are reaching their potential.
Broadly speaking, inspectors will be
analysing the balance and breadth of the
curriculum and its capacity to prepare
young people for life in modern Britain;
British values have been identified as:
democracy, the rule of law, individual
liberty and mutual respect and tolerance.
Schools are already asking for support
with this, so HfL will be running a course
next month focused on Embedding
British Values.
Each school’s curriculum information
must be shared with parents and carers
on the school website, and will be used
as a starting point by inspectors.
Schools must be able to show
accurate baselines for pupils’ achievement, accurate testing and teacher
assessment. Provision for most able
pupils is high profile, as is provision for
vulnerable groups. Inspectors will be
looking for visible progress demonstrated by pupils receiving additional intervention or with lower starting points.
The order of judgements has also
changed. Inspectors will first report
on overall effectiveness, then leadership and management, followed
by behaviour and safety, quality of
teaching and finally achievement.
Early Years and sixth form departments will now receive graded judgements. They will be judged on effectiveness of provision and will receive
a numerical grade and written report.
These grades may be higher or lower
than the school’s overall effectiveness
grade, and therefore could influence key
judgements on leadership and management and overall effectiveness.
Teachers
Values Education in Japan
- Inside Classroom
http://bit.ly/Y0daQx
What is the purpose of education? Is
it to make sure that pupils achieve the
grades they deserve? Is it to open up
the options available for their future
career? Is it for the school to obtain an
increase in pupil’s attainment? In this
thought provoking piece, Lucy Crehan
takes us through different aspects of
values education in Japan and reflects
on the role of teaching values in a
data-driven education system.
The new guidance will affect the inspection of all class teachers. Inspectors
should not favour a particular method
of planning, teaching or assessment
but instead evaluate the effectiveness
After visiting Hiroshima, she questions:
of the methods they observe. Pupil “what good is knowledge if it is used for
outcomes are the foci here.
destructive purposes? And what good
Teachers will no longer receive indi- is it for a child to know all their times
vidual grades. Instead, teaching is judged
tables if their house is destroyed in a
as a whole and individual feedback is
nuclear blast? We need to talk about
given on effective/less effective strat- these things with our children so that
egies. Inspectors will ask teachers to
we avoid the mistakes of the past. Moral
articulate the rationale behind their
education is important, even if the
practice in observed lessons.
effects of that education are not seen
A longer-term perspective will
until many years later, when someone
be formed by assessing pupil’s work, decides not to push the big red button.”
looking closely at books and talking to
pupils about how and what they learn.
This evidence will also help inspecEngland: Champions of the world
tors to come to conclusions about
- Pragmatic Education
the model of assessment used within
http://bit.ly/1r3glUe
the school.
In maths, inspectors will be looking
Before 2003, the England rugby team
for mathematical fluency in pupils and
had never won a major series against
an ability to recall facts quickly.
the southern hemisphere teams. By
In RE, teaching must show a
2003, England had won the World Cup
balanced approach to religious educa- and put together a run of twenty-one
tion which is broadly Christian but also
consecutive home victories and ten
takes into account other principle reli- straight wins over southern hemisphere
gions represented in Britain.
teams. Such was the scale of Sir Clive
Woodward’s achievement. How did he
To download HfL’s full guidance
do it? Joe Kilby believes that leaders
on the new Ofsted framework
and teachers in schools can learn from
please see: http://bit.ly/1s3dn36
Woodward’s success story.
Inside this issue
Computing and
technology
The Pick
Latest
HfL headlines
With the HfL Computing and Technology
Festival taking place on Friday 14th
November, we have interviewed HfL’s
Primary Computing Curriculum Adviser
and eDevelopments Adviser.
Catch up on upcoming and recent HfL
conferences, including Sir John Jones
at the Special Headteachers Conference
and the launch of HfL’s new curriculum
assessment materials.
HfL has been busy rolling out the second
and third phases of its Parent2Parent
programme, organising new provisions
for humanities and launching a secondary
School Business Manager forum.
A selection of Herts schools news, this
month showcasing numerous awards
that have been received by schools
across the county.
p.2
p.3
p.6
p.7
Herts schools
2
Herts for Learning Training Times
October 2014
Computing & Technology
Back to the Future – Computing and Technology Festival
Jessica Broadbent
Herts for Learning Journalist
HfL’s Computing and Technology
Festival is to take place on Friday
14th November 2014 at Hertfordshire
Development Centre.
The theme, Back to the Future, refers
to a returning focus on developing pupil
curiosity around how systems work.
This draws upon the emphasis of the
pre-2000 curriculum on digital literacy
and brings it up to date. The intention is
to get pupils to think more about how
their tablets and computers work as
well as what they can do.
The festival will include lite bite
sessions around best practice, and exhibitions from some of the best known
names in primary technology and
publishing. Exhibitors will be showcasing software, peripheral devices and
resources to support the teaching of
computing within the curriculum.
The Centre for Computing History
will be setting up a pop up museum, with
technology from the dawn of the Information Age. By contextualising modern
technology in the classroom, children can
understand its development and begin to
appreciate their devices technically.
Members of HfL’s School IT Systems
Support team (SITSS) will be showcasing
its Apple and Wireless solutions, and will
be available to discuss these during the day.
Chris Carter, HfL’s eDevelopments
Adviser, will be running lite bites on
eSafety and App Smashing. Shelagh
Mackenzie, HfL’s Primary Computing Curriculum Adviser, will be talking
about creative ways of delivering the
new computing curriculum, particularly focusing on making strong links to
learning in other subjects. Ashley Turner,
SITSS Network Service Delivery Manager,
will deliver an update on the virtualisation technologies currently available.
Schools’ lite bites include: Fairlands
Primary School in Stevenage, talking
about their use of computing and
technology in the Early Years; Hobletts
Manor Junior School in Hemel Hempstead, talking about how they have used
the technology provided to them in a
project managed by Dixons and SITSS;
Sandringham School in St. Albans, are
running a bring your own device (BYOD)
session, and will be discussing their own
BYOD system.
The festival will enable delegates to
see a wide range of innovative and leading-edge resources all in one place.
To book your place please visit:
http://bit.ly/1pqi8fB
Course Code: 14ICT/021A
Herts for Learning Training Times
October 2014
The pick
Up and coming
What’s on and what you might have missed
Autumn term at HfL
Humanities take centre stage at HfL
A new educational consultant,
Christine Lloyd-Staples, is joining
HfL this term and will be bringing
humanities back to centre stage.
With over 20 years’ experience in
secondary education, plus four
years in the primary sector, Christine’s expertise lies in teaching
primary and secondary geography
and history.
Having worked in a number of
schools across the county as a subject
leader and humanities coordinator,
Christine has spent the past 11 years
working as a Humanities Consultant
and School Improvement Adviser.
Christine will be running a series
of training courses during the year to
support the new primary curriculum in
geography and history including:
New curriculum for history: an
enquiry based approach
14HIS/002P — 20th November 2014
Making the most of your new primary
geography curriculum
14GEO/001P — 12th November 2014
Making the most of your new primary
history curriculum
14HIS/003P — 25th November 2014
In addition to training, Christine will also
be providing consultancy to schools and
offering bespoke twilight or inset sessions.
Sessions include 1:1 with the subject
coordinator; imaginative use of ICT to
enhance geography and/or history; staff
meetings to discuss key concepts/principles underpinning geography; strategies
to develop thinking skills in geography
and/or history; what progression looks
HfL’s new Head of
As we go to print with the fifth edition
of Training Times we are keen to hear
your comments about the paper.
We have recently received fantastic
feedback from Samantha Jayasuriya,
Headteacher at Kenilworth Primary
School in Borehamwood, who uses the
for Schools
Frank Garofalo
Chris Carter
Shelagh Mackenzie
Chris is an eDevelopments Adviser and
Shelagh is a Primary Computing Currichas been with Hertfordshire schools
ulum Adviser and has been working
since 2006.
with Hertfordshire schools since 2002.
He advises schools on educa- Her role involves providing strategic
tion technology, keeping ahead of
support to schools regarding computer
emerging trends so he is able to
systems and the implementation of
inform schools of the most relevant
teaching strategies. Alongside her
and exciting developments. When
team, she has developed the Herts for
new technology becomes available he
Learning Scheme for Computing – the
works with schools to ensure they are
latest version of which (V3.1) has just
investing efficiently.
been published. It is in line with 2014
Over the past few years demand
Computing Curriculum and integrates
has meant Chris’ focus has turned
the new HfL assessment approach.
largely towards Apple technology. He
The new curriculum demands a high
spends a lot of time training on iPads
level of computing understanding from
and showing children how to use them. pupils with nearly half of the stateAs an Apple Distinguished Educator
ments relating to aspects of computer
(ADE) Chris is part of a wider network
science. Shelagh also has a keen
of education professionals using Apple
interest in robotics and programming
in their work, a community constantly
at primary level and has led several
sharing new ideas and opportunities.
transfer projects in this area between
Chris is also an Ambassador for the
primary and secondary schools. Her
Child Exploitation and Online Protec- MEd with Cambridge University drew
tion Agency (CEOP) and works closely
on her research project on the use of
with the eSafety team to promote the
robotics and programming to support
safe and responsible use of the internet
children’s problem-solving capability
by children across Hertfordshire.
– a project for which she was awarded
Chris began his education career
the NAACE Bill Tagg Bursary. She is
in Denmark, where he became inter- now a keen advocate for unplugged
ested in the teaching of English as a
computing – an approach which helps
second language. This burgeoning
children explore programming and
interest led him to work as the Assis- how systems work, away from the
tant Director of Studies at a language
computer screen.
school in north London. Here he
Shelagh began her career working
strengthened his training expertise, in marketing and publicity for technical
gaining skills in talking to new audi- companies. With a humanities degree
ences. On taking charge of the newly
she gained a strong understanding
introduced computers in the school
of technology through first hand
he began building upon his interest in
experience, going on to study maths
ICT as an educational tool, which led
and computer science with the Open
to his current specialism.
University.
Chris has also worked in special
She came into education through
schools in Hertfordshire, helping to
teaching computer science at Harlow
develop their use of ICT in order to teach
College in Essex. She then retrained as
and communicate with pupils. He took
a Primary phase teacher at Cambridge,
part in many innovative projects includ- with subject leadership responsibility
ing the early use of video conferencing
in ICT and drama. After being awarded
and podcasting with young people with
Advanced Skills Teacher status for ICT,
learning difficulties.
she became an adviser.
HfL is pleased to welcome Frank
Garofalo to the role of Head of Business
Services for Schools. Frank joined Herts
for Learning in September 2014.
His role involves working with
senior leaders within HfL to plan strategically for the future. He is accountable for the provision and delivery of
HfL services to schools, working with
Financial Services for Schools (FSS),
Governance Services, Schools’ HR
Advisory Service and School IT Systems
Support (SITSS). Alongside HfL’s strategic leads, Frank will be working closely
with Hertfordshire headteachers and
governors to gather feedback on HfL’s
services and ascertain what schools
feel they critically need.
Frank has a wealth of experience in
the private sector as an Operations and
Customer Service Director. He spent 15
years working for a range of companies
including WH Smiths, Europcar International and Saga Group, managing up
to 30,000 employees. He has spent the
past five years as a business improvement consultant, moving away from his
previous work in the commercial sector
to put his expertise to use in new ways.
He has provided advice at an operational
level to Government bodies, Samaritans
and the NHS amongst others.
Frank’s experience will allow him to
look strategically at HfL’s future plans
and translate them commercially to
ensure they continue to deliver market
leading services to schools and continue
the growth of HfL.
Conferences and Festivals
Thursday 16th-17th October 2014
Friday 21st November 2014
Hat Tricks! Hertfordshire Primary
Headteachers Conference 2014
14CON/003P
All Aboard - Full Steam Ahead!
Secondary headteachers half day
autumn conference
14CON/007S
Friday 7th November 2014
TAs Be Your Best!
Hertfordshire Primary Teaching
Assistant Conference
14CON/005P
Friday 14th November 2014
Friday 28th November 2014
Beyond Behaviour - Looking Below
the Surface Hertfordshire annual
SEND conference
14SEN/014A
Back to The Future Computing and
Technology Festival 2014
14ICT/021A
Tuesday 20th January 2015
Saturday 15th November 2014
For further information about our
upcoming conferences please
contact Danielle Wallington:
Hertfordshire Governors’ Annual
Conference 2014
AC14 - please contact:
[email protected]
content as a basis for discussion points
at her SLT meetings.
If you have any comments about
how/where you use your copy, please
contact: [email protected]
like in geography and/or history; strategies to develop literacy and extended
writing in geography and/or history.
Lisa
Kassapian
(Joint
SACRE
Servicing Officer) continues to offer RE
courses and consultancy, including:
Building enquiring skills in primary
humanities
14HUM/001P — 5th November 2014
For further information on
humanities consultancy, please email:
[email protected]
TA Conference
How do you use yours?
Business Services
3
TAs Be Your Best! – a conference
specifically for Primary TAs is taking
place on Friday 7th November at
Watford Football Club. This year’s
conference is headlined by Phil
Beadle, internationally recognised
teacher, journalist and author.
Recently at HfL
The course will explore the notion
of being your best by considering
mind, body and spirit. Following Phil’s
talk there will be workshops and time
to share best practice. See P.2
In case you missed anything…
HfL launches new curriculum assessment materials
Nearly 1000 delegates from primary
schools across Hertfordshire attended
HfL’s launch sessions last month
to learn about its new approach to
assessment. Advisers from the HfL
assessment,
computing,
English,
maths and science teams talked
through their materials and SITSS
provided a technical demonstration.
Ben Fuller, Joint Lead Adviser for
Assessment, outlined the scale that
HfL advisers have devised for schools
to use in the absence of levels. The
scale tracks progress in phases and
steps. It is not meant to replace levels,
but gives teachers a way to manage
formative
assessment
and
give
feedback on pupil progress.
Shelagh
Mackenzie,
Primary
Computing Curriculum Adviser, has
reworked V3.1 of the HfL Scheme for
Computing which now embeds the
new assessment criteria – schools who
subscribe to the computing scheme
will have access to these updates, and
subscriptions for schools adopting the
scheme any time after 1st January 2014
have been extended to the end of the
academic year.
Representatives from the English
Teaching and Learning team outlined
how they have approached assessment
in reading, speaking and listening, and
writing as well as the characteristics
of texts to be used as the context for
reading assessment. They also detailed
expectations around the use of spoken
language and grammatical terminology
to support judgements.
Representatives from the maths
Teaching and Learning team spoke
about their materials and use of the
DfE’s statements. The team have added
a fluency focus to exemplify approaches to mathematical fluency across each
year group and developed the strand of
working mathematically – an assessment expectation that is vague in the
programme of study. The documents
use information currently available
about 2016 tests, so are future proofed
with regards to assessment.
Joanna Conn, Lead Teaching and
Learning Adviser for Science, outlined
the maps she has created to provide
an overview for each year group. The
science materials suggest ways to
embed ‘thinking scientifically’ within
lessons, using skills to track pupil
progress. Joanna has added breadth to
the skills mentioned in the DfE’s statements to help schools with progression.
Sally Cort, MIS Primary Manager,
explained changes to the new AM7
system. She talked through entering
data with new phases and steps, adding
targets and the major improvements to
the analysis reports. These include the
ability to preview reports in a report
dashboard before running them, and
the ability to run a number of reports
for all year groups and registration
groups simultaneously, rather than
having to run each report separately
from SIMS for one year or registration
group at a time.
Missed these? For further sessions
see: http://bit.ly/1urNB90
Ready, Steady, Grow!
“As a leader, never throw your L-plates
away. Learn to say ‘I have no idea’
because you are not the answerer of
questions, you are the leader of great
questions.”
Primary PE Conference
14CON/008P
[email protected]
Sir John Jones
Sir John Jones encouraged coura- Whilst recruiting, he suggested
constant challenge on every level in
geous leadership and palpable passion
headteachers look for a level of
order to be creative: “Nothing grows in
in order to grow future leaders at the
emotional commitment from prospec- comfort zones!” he said.
recent Hertfordshire Special Head- tive staff. Emotional commitment from
Most importantly, Sir John expressed
teachers Conference 2014: Ready, teachers alongside cognitive commit- the necessity of nurturing creativity to
Steady, Grow! Knighted in 2003 for
ment breeds passionate learners:
encourage children to think criticalhis services to education, Sir John “They’ll forget most of what you made
ly and learn for themselves. “We are
advocates breeding creativity and inde- them think, they’ll never forget how
preparing our children for a world that
pendence within young people.
you made them feel.”
does not yet exist”, he told his audience.
Sir John explained the impor- Sir John feels it is crucial to develop
It takes creativity, portability, flexibility
tance of passion in accessing the
this understanding of each child in the
and ingenuity to prepare children for
hooks that get each individual child
classroom to gain their personal loyalty. the world. Teachers need to keep these
learning. Passion spreads by passion- Simple gratuitous acts of kindness and
in focus whilst teaching in order for
ate people, he argued. The sort of
careful use of positive language power
pupils to have these qualities in life.
profound learning that comes from a
phrases such as ‘what I like about you is’ His final words to each Headteacher:
passionate teacher produces children
make all the difference -“Tell your staff!” “You are the people with the power to
who are much better equipped to face
he implored.
transform lives; be a magic weaver. And
the world than a child who is taught to
He warned against the danger of
don’t forget to switch off at the end of
answer questions.
habits. He suggested that schools need
the day.”
4
Herts for Learning Training Times
October 2014
Herts for Learning Training Times
A taste of our
forthcoming courses
Great
expectations:
moving level 4
writers to level
5 in Year 5 and
Year 6
10th October 2014
Leadership lite
bite for business
managers:
managing
conflict and
difficult
situations
14ENG/048P
Aimed at Year 6 teachers, this course
will support you in using assessment
to inform your planning and teaching
of writing. The day will include a
mix of assessment information and
strategies, exploration of teaching
approaches to support progression
and practical ideas to support pupils
in ‘up-levelling’ their writing.
By attending, delegates will:
• confidently use assessment
strategies to improve writing
• be able to embed modelled,
shared and collaborative writing
in the teaching sequence
• use practical strategies to
improve text structure, purpose,
and sense of audience
Planning new
curriculum units
for fiction and
non-fiction in
Years 3 and 4
9th November 2014
Leadership lite bites are short 1 1/2
hour training sessions designed to help
both practicing and aspiring business
managers, at any level, to develop
knowledge, skills and behaviours to
carry out essential leadership roles in
schools. At some point, leaders are
likely to have to deal with challenging
situations with people they manage
and other adults in the school community. In unit two, delegates will look
at how good leaders know how to
manage difficult people and conflict.
By attending, delegates will:
understand the roles of those in
situations of conflict
• know the steps to take when
faced with challenging behaviour
• be more confident in managing
conflict
•
21st October 2014
Countering
contemporary
racism
14ENG/049P
21st October 2014
This training will focus on planning
of units based on the teaching
sequence for writing. Teachers will
be supported to plan for the revised
age related expectations, and show
how a unit plan can be personalised to meet the needs of different
cohorts.
14BME/015P
During the day delegates will look
at ways of ensuring that the skills
of spelling, grammar, vocabulary
development and punctuation are
taught, where possible, in a way that
is embedded in the core texts.
Subject leaders will be able to use
the generic approaches modelled
throughout the day to support
colleagues in other year groups to
plan exciting and engaging units of
work.
By attending, delegates will:
• gain clarity of the literacy
expectations of the new
curriculum and how these can
be addressed through planning
• know which resources can be
used to support planning, and
ensure appropriate pitch
This course will equip you to confidently engage with young people on
the issues of racism and Islamophobia, enabling them to grow up free
from the burdens of prejudice and
hate. Young people are confronted
with prejudicial influences from
a variety of sources. Schools are
uniquely placed to counteract this
by providing young people with
knowledge and skills to help them
identify, resist and combat racism
when they meet it. Young people are
developing their value systems; it
is during these formative years that
discriminatory attitudes can be most
readily challenged and prevented.
By attending, delegates will:
be equipped with knowledge
and resources to promote
equality
• be empowered to challenge
racism and Islamophobic myths
• be equipped with the knowledge and resources to educate
young people, enabling them
to reject messages of prejudice
and hate
•
For further information about our training programme
please contact Mark Green: 01438 844788 or [email protected]
8:30am to 12:00pm
Friday 17th October 2014
Hertfordshire Development Centre
14EAY/032P
By attending, delegates will:
learn about the structure of
social stories
• gain hands-on practical experience of creating electronic
social stories
•
Brockswood Primary School,
Hemel Hempstead
14MAT/091P
9:00am to 11:30am
Wednesday 22nd October 2014
1:00pm to 3:30pm
Tuesday 16th June 2015
South
The Grove Academy,
Watford
14MAT/092P
Are you wanting to: make your
Learning Journals work for you, set
up time efficient planning systems,
meet the needs of all your children?
14MAT/085P
9:00am to 4:00pm
Tuesday 11th November 2014
Hertfordshire Development Centre
14MFL/013S
If so, this is the course for you.
9:00am to 4:00pm
Tuesday 3rd March 2015
Hertfordshire Development Centre
This is the afternoon session of our
one day course: “Effective and efficient observation, assessment and
planning in the EYFS”. If you wish to
book onto the whole day, please use
the course code 14EAY/024P.
By attending, delegates will:
consider effective and manageable systems for planning
• understand how to plan
for adult led activities and
enhanced continuous provision
• discuss how to respond to
children’s interests
Growing
learning
behaviour
3 - DIY staff
development
9:00am to 11:30am
Tuesday 21st October 2014
1:00pm to 3:30pm
Wednesday 26th November 2014
This course is designed to discuss
assessments on three children from your
school. It will support you in making
judgements of children’s development
against the Early Years Outcomes.
In this exciting, hands-on course we
will use both iPad apps and Windows
software to create engaging, multimedia social stories.
Reach for
the stars GCSE grade
boosting for
secondary MFL
14EAY/025P
The new
mathematics
curriculum in Key
Stage 1: teaching
to secure
understanding
•
9:00am to 12:00pm
Thursday 23rd October 2014
Wodson Park Sports and Recreation
Centre, Ware 14EAY/042P
Social stories are short descriptions
of a particular situation, event or
activity, which include specific information about what to expect and
why. They are particularly useful for
teaching children with autism about
social situations.
11th November 2014
9:00am to 11:30am
Tuesday 28th April 2015
1:00pm to 4:00pm
Wednesday 22nd October 2014
Mandeville Primary School, St. Albans
14EAY/041P
14ICT/035A
West
1:00pm to 3:30pm
Thursday 19th March 2015
9:00am to 12:00pm
Wednesday 22nd October 2014
Stanborough Centre, Watford
14EAY/040P
5th November 2014
Effective
and efficient
planning in the
EYFS
9:00am to 11:30am
Tuesday 20th January 2015
1:00pm to 4:00pm
Monday 20th October 2014
Hertfordshire Development Centre
14EAY/038P
Social stories
Enabling
confident and
effective TAs in
mathematics
1:00pm to 3:30pm
Monday 24th November 2014
1:30pm to 4:00pm
Friday 17th October 2014
South Hill Centre, Hemel
14EAY/033P
By attending, delegates will:
• receive updates on attainment
and progress in EYFS
• have scrutiny of sample
evidence
• gain peer to peer support for
moderation
• agree accuracy of assessment
5
For more information, to book your place or to see our
full range of training courses visit:
www.thegrid.org.uk/schoolworkforce/training/courses/booking.shtml
Assessing
children’s
starting points
in Nursery and
Reception (EYFS
moderations)
14MAN/079A
October 2014
9:00am to 11:30am
Wednesday 21st January 2015
1:00pm to 3:30pm
Wednesday 18th March 2015
9:00am to 11:30am
Wednesday 29th April 2015
14BFL/018P
1:30pm to 4:00pm
Thursday 20th November 2014
Hertfordshire Development Centre
14BFL/019P
1:30pm to 4:00pm
Friday 21st November 2014
Apsley 2, Hemel Hempstead
1:00pm to 3:30pm
Wednesday 17th June 2015
These courses will cover key aspects
of number, calculation, fractions,
measures and problem solving.
Delegates will be provided with a
wealth of practical activities and
strategies to engage learners on
returning to their own schools.
TAs attending will be required to
complete course tasks throughout
the year.
By attending, delegates will:
gain improved subject knowledge in key mathematical
concepts across the curriculum
• gain an increased understanding of children’s mathematical
development and progression
within each mathematical area
covered
• gain strategies to help develop
pupil’s independence and
improve attitudes to learning
• gain an understanding of the
key models, images and manipulatives to support progress
in tricky concepts, and the
confidence to support children
effectively
•
This session focuses on the third
building block of independent
learning which is pupils’ understanding of learning behaviour skills, habits
and attitudes.
This is the third in a series of sessions
designed to give schools what
they need for a DIY staff meeting;
to develop a strong whole-school
culture of independent and resilient
learners.
By attending, delegates will:
know how to structure and
deliver a staff development
session designed to develop
pupils’ understanding of
learning behaviour skills, habits
and attitudes
• support colleagues to establish
a baseline of pupils’ perceptions
of learning behaviour
• enable colleagues to confidently
respond to Ofsted’s focus on
pupil engagement and attitudes
to learning
•
This two day course offers intensive
support to enhance teaching strategies
to develop mathematical fluency in the
key areas of learning.
Evidence of professional development
indicates that structuring training over
time increases the impact in the classroom. This course is aimed at teachers in
Year 1 and 2 and builds over two terms.
The aim of the course is to:
• develop effective teaching
strategies to secure conceptual
understanding; reasoning and
problem solving
• identify and develop the key
learning to secure fluency
• enhance the use of assessment
for learning to personalise
teaching approaches
12th November 2014
This course will give you ideas and
strategies for helping MFL pupils to
maximise their performance at GCSE.
By attending, delegates will:
be given resources to help
teach and motivate GCSE
classes
• be given ideas and strategies to
maximise performance in the
four skill areas
• have opportunities to discuss,
share and create grade-boosting resources
•
Helping
secondary
and primary
school business
managers
understand data
4th December 2014
Phonics and
spelling at Key
Stage 2: pulling it
all together
27th November 2014
14ENG/053P
Within the new curriculum we see
an increased emphasis on phonics
and spelling at KS2. This course will
support you in developing a thorough
understanding of how phonics
informs our continued teaching of
spelling at KS2 as well as helping you
to get to grips with the new age-related expectations in Years 3-4 and 5-6.
Delegates will explore phonic subject
knowledge and consider ways in which
they can incorporate this into the
teaching of spelling in Key Stage 2, as
well as the key principles and relevant
guidance from ‘Support for Spelling’.
By attending, delegates will:
develop your synthetic phonic
subject knowledge and
improve your understanding of
morphemic spelling approaches
that pupils need to become
independent spellers
• gain confidence in planning
appropriately for the teaching
and learning of spelling
•
Carrying out
the role of
the primary
assessment
coordinator/
leader a year’s view
14ASS/055A
This session is aimed at secondary and primary school business
managers to give them a greater
understanding of pupil data and
how this forms the basis of school
self-evaluation.
By attending, delegates will:
gain knowledge of individual
school’s RAISEonline data
• understand individual progress
and achievement compared
with national expectations
• know how individual schools
are closing the gap between
different groups of pupils
•
14ASS/037P
9:00am to 4:00pm
Thursday 13th November 2014
Hertfordshire Development Centre
9:00am to 4:00pm
Wednesday 25th March 2015
Hertfordshire Development Centre
9:00am to 4:00pm
Wednesday 24th June 2015
Hertfordshire Development Centre
If you have just taken on the role of
leading on assessment, this is the
course for you. This three day course
provides a valuable insight into all
areas of both summative and formative
assessment. The three days are spread
over the autumn, spring and summer
terms to provide on-going support
and professional development.
The areas that will be covered are:
the role of the coordinator
overview of the year
understanding
and
making
effective use of the full range
of attainment data and analysis
including
RAISEonline
and
Fischer Family Trust
• latest research on developing
Assessment for Learning (AfL) and
developing consistent assessment practices across the school.
•
•
•
The aim of the course is to:
• give participants an overview
of the responsibilities of an
assessment coordinator
• help coordinators identify
aspects of their role that they
want to develop
• give participants greater confidence in using and analysing
assessment data
• help coordinators lead the
development of AfL in their
schools
Year 1 phonics and spelling:
what’s new and what’s not
4th December 2014
14ENG/068P
Under the new curriculum, Year 1 teachers need to manage some important
changes to the content of the phonics and spelling curriculum. This course aims
to build teacher confidence around understanding content that remains the
same, and the new expectations introduced in September 2014.
The aim of the course is to:
• develop subject knowledge in relation to Year 1 age related expectations for
phonics and spelling
• cover changes in pace and progression
• support planning and assessment
6
Herts for Learning Training Times
October 2014
Other news from HfL
Herts for Learning Training Times
These issues include body confi- their communication. They also consider
dence, which is addressed through an
how their internal voice impacts their
exploration of the media. Participants
confidence, and are encouraged to
dissect media images and critically assess
be constructive and forward-looking.
their digital manipulation. Aspirations are
Following this they practise a technique
also a focus, and positive role models
to increase their self confidence.
are discussed in order to encourage
Carole Bennett, Head of Business
students to raise their aspirations and set
Development
at
HfL
comments:
themselves short and long term goals.
“Teenage girls face many pressures
Students are encouraged to think
impacting their confidence and these
about the ways in which they express
workshops offer a real opportunity for
themselves and how they can improve
us to make a difference. We believe that
A whole-school transition
increasing girls’ confidence will lead to
them being more engaged and motivated with their school work, as well as
being happier students with rounded
views on long term success”.
For further information and to book a
workshop, please email Julie Garstang:
[email protected]
Parent2Parent® phase 2 launches
35 parents attended the launch of the
second phase of Parent2Parent®, HfL’s
unique parenting programme. The
launch took place on Wednesday 17th
September at Newberries Primary
School in Radlett.
The session was well received by
parents with many signing up to the
project and a number showing interest in
becoming a Parent Lead.
“It’s filling a gap” said Ness Peters,
Headteacher; “P2P is significant in
leading on from the work that the children’s centres do”.
Anna Traxon, Headteacher, said “Our
parents want to know how to help their
children, and this is a really good opportunity for them to do that. Parents usually
want to know the specifics around how to
help with improving reading and spelling,
but P2P provides the general understanding that underpins all of that – the power
of which parents may
not even realise”.
Since going to
press the third phase
of P2P has launched in
London Colney.
been set up in response to requests
from headteachers, chairs of governors
and business managers, and will meet
half termly from November. The forum
will discuss topical issues affecting
school business management, as well as
inviting guest speakers to talk about key
areas of focus. It will provide support
to SBMs in helping to raise standards in
schools, share best practice and develop
Parents discussing transactional
analysis at the P2P launch
Photograph by Jessica Broadbent
a centralised source of information.
The first HSSBM meeting will take
place at 10.00am on 20th November
and will be hosted by Cheshunt
School. For further information, or
to join this forum please contact
Natalie Dalvarez at Herts for Leaning:
[email protected]
The next Primary SBM forums will
take place on 15th October and 10th
December 2014 between 10.00am
and 12.00pm at Mandeville Primary
School in St. Albans. If you are interested in joining and are not already a
member, please contact Helga Samler:
[email protected]
HfL has become a strategic partner in the
Matrix Maths Hub Essex and Herts. The Hub
is one of 32 across the country, led by the
Catalyst Teaching School Alliance, with the
aim of improving maths attainment nationally.
It was launched on 17th September.
The aim of the Hub is to bring together
the region’s best expertise and work
together with local schools to enhance
pupils’ attainment, participation and
enjoyment of maths. The Hub will create a
series of local hubs across schools in Essex,
Central Bedfordshire, Southend, Thurrock
and Hertfordshire and will include strategic partners, lead schools, operational partners and schools/colleges. Other
strategic partners include The University of Cambridge and the Further Maths
Support Programme.
The foci of the Hub include recruitment, pedagogy for Primary maths,
increasing participation post–16 and
participation in a number of international
school projects. Strategic leads will work
with the lead schools to evaluate the
Hub’s work.
“Our local hub model is unique and we
are delighted that we have such a wealth
of expertise from our strategic partners”,
said Penny Richardson, Assistant Headteacher and Head of Maths at The Hertfordshire & Essex High School in Bishop’s
Stortford, and the Hub’s Maths Lead.
Maths leads from each local hub will
meet termly to discuss developments; the
hubs are currently finalising their action plans.
The Early Years Outcomes Toolkit
The Early Years Outcomes Toolkit has
been developed by Herts for Learning
and has been designed specifically
for Early Years PVI settings to help
support children’s development.
The toolkit, similar to the SIMS
based toolkit used in schools, enables
practitioners, leaders and managers to
track and analyse the progress of individuals and groups of children in the
Early Years Foundation Stage as well as
demonstrate progress across prime and
specific areas of learning.
It tracks individuals and cohorts
from entry across the Foundation Stage,
building up a history of development
and progress as well as identifying which
‘typical development band’ children are
working within.
The toolkit also shows whether
cohort or individual achievement is
below, within or beyond age related
expectation, in addition to calculating
cohort attainment (%) and measuring
steps of progress.
The Ofsted Evaluation Schedule
for Inspections states that inspectors should obtain evidence of “the
effectiveness of the monitoring of
children’s progress and interventions
where needed to ensure that gaps are
narrowing for groups of children or
individual children identified as being
in need of support”. This toolkit enables
two, a change the school hopes will
encourage them to aspire higher in their
learning and build confidence working
with older pupils.
The prevalence of personalised
learning is unique to a school as small
as Wareside and a feature they are
determined to take advantage of. Class
two, now with 20 pupils across four
year groups, takes literacy and maths in
two cohorts. Headteacher Wendy-May
Foster takes Years 5 and 6 for literacy and
maths each day, allowing them to work
in smaller groups for these core subjects
whilst Years 3 and 4 work with the class
two teacher.
Wareside was encouraged to make
changes following the demands of the
new National Curriculum. The school
felt that topics suitable for Year 3 fit
better with the levels of ability in class
two. For example, literacy texts that
are accessible to Year 3 pupils but too
advanced for the lower years can be
adapted to suit Year 4.
School staff have put together a
two-year plan for class one and a fouryear plan for class two.
“It’s already been easier to plan topics
for the coming year” said Wendy-May,
who proposed the idea to governors in the
summer term. Following their approval
she presented the school’s plan to parents
at its curriculum evening. Parents felt the
changes would be particularly positive for
Year 3 pupils who will now be encouraged to challenge themselves further and
become more independent learners.
The school has used its Pupil
Premium funding to support the extra
teaching staff needed in the reshuffle.
Pupil Premium pupils in particular are
benefitting from smaller, ability-based
groups and more teacher time. The
new structure still allows them time
with a teaching assistant, but within
the classroom, to encourage an ethos
of inclusion.
In October staff
will ask for the
pupils’ voice around
the changes, asking
questions to each
year group on any
impact they’ve
noticed in the new
term.
practitioners to provide such evidence.
It is a Microsoft Excel® based application superseding the tracker that
has been widely used in Hertfordshire
settings since 2010. It enables a greater
level of data management and deeper
analysis than the previous version.
The toolkit is co-sponsored by Herts
for Learning and HCC Children Supprt
Services (CSS) and is FREE to use for
Hertfordshire PVI settings until 31st
March 2015. After this date, a nominal
annual subscription fee will be charged between £30 and £50 depending on the
number of children in the setting.
Non-Hertfordshire settings and
Hertfordshire independent schools will
The music department at The Highfield School in Letchworth Garden
City are turning it up a notch this term
with a new suite of 18 Apple iMac
computers. The 21.5 inch iMacs are to
be used by all students in the school
and will be of particular benefit to
GCSE and A-level music students.
The school have had a new Apple
server installed alongside the iMacs.
After months of research the music
department chose to use the Apple
platform as they felt it worked well for
music based projects. Having previously experienced difficulties due
to programme incompatibilities, the
smooth-running of programmes such
as Sibelius and logic pro X are a priority
for Highfield’s GCSE and A-level
students. The iMacs are compatible
with all Microsoft software so students
can open, edit and save work done
on any other computer in the school
whilst working in the music suite.
Sarah Harvey, Lead Music Teacher,
and Judith Ellis, Network Manager,
visited several other schools with iMacs
to observe how they were used in music.
Sarah said, “We spent a while researching the best options for the department
and we felt that the iMacs and Apple
music software would offer a high
quality experience for our students. I
saw how accessible the programs were
for all students, whilst facilitating the
creation of high quality music.”
The system was installed by HfL
SITSS technicians who completed the
installation in two days. Previously, the
school liaised with SITSS to choose a
system that would integrate cleanly
with their existing windows network.
The system was built around compatibility to allow users to share work
between PCs and iMacs. SITSS technicians will return throughout the year to
maintain the new server.
“I am grateful to the SITSS team and
to our own IT team for turning this project
round so quickly”, Sarah said. “We are
extremely excited about using the new
equipment as we start the new academic
year and I am confident that it will allow
students to create work of greater quality
and will enable all students to stretch
themselves creatively.”
If you are planning investment in
your IT and would like some assistance
and guidance from SITSS please email:
[email protected]
Congratulations! And the award goes to...
Matrix Maths Hub launch
Penny Richardson
at the launch
The autumn term has seen new class
structures at Wareside CofE Primary
School in Ware to adapt to the changes
within the new National Curriculum.
The small cohort of 45 pupils are
used to mixed age classrooms but now
the school’s strategic focus for learning
is on ability and progress rather than
year group. The changes will ensure that
no pupil in the school is working with a
teacher in a group of more than 12 pupils.
The school has changed the year
groups included within its classes,
alongside the teaching structure; these
changes were implemented in September. Class one and two are now split into
Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, instead
of Years 1-3 and 4-6 previously. This
means that Year 3 pupils now sit in class
A harmonious installation
Calling all School Business Managers
Following the ongoing success and
positive feedback for the Primary
School Business Manager (SBM) forum,
which has been running for three
years and has 90 members, representing schools across Hertfordshire,
Herts for Learning has introduced a
forum for secondary SBMs.
The Hertfordshire Secondary School
Business Manager forum (HSSBM) has
7
Latest Herts schools news
Developing confidence in teenage girls
Herts for Learning is excited to be
working with a local organisation,
Confident Teens, to offer workshops
to Hertfordshire schools for increasing
the confidence of teenage girls.
This two hour workshop is designed
for Year 9 girls to develop their confidence by encouraging them to value
their individuality and believe in themselves. A range of issues that young girls
face are covered through discussion,
video clips and activities.
October 2014
be charged a licence fee to purchase
the toolkit, in addition to the annual
subscription fee.
Training courses on the new system are
currently being run on these dates:
10th October 2014
11th November 2014
14th November 2014
25th November 2014
PTA145/5
PTA145/6
PTA145/7
PTA145/8
For further information
on the toolkit, please email:
[email protected]
or to purchase, please email:
[email protected]
YOPEY Award for John F Kennedy
Catholic School sixth former
Marriotts School wins Central
England prize for GCSE progress
Presdales School wins Best
Production at national finals
Sixth form student Erik Kerr has been awarded the
Young Person of the Year (YOPEY) Silver Award for
Volunteering; this is for his work to bridge the gap
between teenagers and the elderly. Erik, who attends
John F Kennedy Catholic School in Hemel Hempstead, was presented his award by Commodore Tim
Hennessey RN Deputy Lieutenant of Hertfordshire at
a ceremony in July 2014.
YOPEY aims to recognise and reward positive young
role models. Bridging the Gap is a programme run by
YOPEY which allows young people to give back to the
elderly community. It trains sixth form volunteers before
they make trips to retirement homes to work with the
residents, particularly those with dementia.
Erik made a lasting impression on both staff and
residents whilst taking part in the programme, and was
consequently nominated for his award. Working with
one resident in particular, Erik was commended for his
maturity and patience.
Erik found being part of the YOPEY programme
a rewarding opportunity, gaining many life skills. He
enjoyed the entertaining stories of the friends he made
and listened carefully to their words of wisdom.
This term Erik is continuing his involvement with
Bridging the Gap, as a mentor for the new cohort of
sixth form students taking part in the programme. He
will be encouraging his fellow students to embrace the
YOPEY programme, helping them to gain as rich an
experience as his has been.
Students from Marriotts School in Stevenage have
received national recognition for their success
in the Partners in Excellence (PiXL) Club Award
Ceremony on Monday 8th September. They won the
Central England award for progress at GCSE.
Jenny Scott, Deputy Headteacher, attended the
awards ceremony on behalf of the school, which was
one of two schools to be given the award out of a total
of 288. The accolade commended the progress made
in GCSE outcomes for Marriotts pupils.
Bethany Honnor, Headteacher, said, “We are very
proud of the efforts of both our students and all
members of staff and are delighted that our success
has been recognised. We will continue to work as hard
as we can to be the best school that we can be for our
students and families. Well done Marriotts.”
The PiXL Club works with over 1000 secondary
schools, 400 sixth forms, 40 PRUs and 170 primary
schools to support the promotion of excellence for
pupils. It has a focus on raising standards at GCSE, A
level and Key Stage 2.
Pixl schools across the country work together
to raise attainment and improve the life chances of
young people.
Eight entrepreneurial girls from Presdales School
in Ware, Innov8, beat six other finalists to become
Young Enterprise’s East of England’s company of
the year. After impressing the judges at Young
Enterprise with their innovation, determination and
business skills they went on to attend the National
Final at the British Film institute in London. There
they won the Best Production award, an accolade
sponsored by GKN.
Young Enterprise is an educational charity which
provides programmes for young people to develop
employability, entrepreneurial and life skills while still
in education. Mentored by business advisor Brian Pyke,
the girls designed, produced and marketed a clip to
prevent keys and headphones becoming lost at the
bottom of bags.
Judges at the East of England finals held in
Cambridge said: “Tonight we had an excellent
standard of competition and it is always wonderful
to see the achievements of these outstanding young
people. We were particularly impressed by Innov8,
who designed an innovative product to overcome a
day to day problem.
They worked together to overcome design issues,
assessing different materials and suppliers, improving
their marketing and customer knowledge, looking to
the future with new designs and working together on
communications to ensure all the team felt valued and
involved. What a fantastic learning experience!”
For more information see:
http://bit.ly/1rdjqBj
If you have any events coming up that you would like us to cover, get in touch with Jessica Broadbent: 01438 844331 or [email protected]
Herts for Learning is delighted to announce the launch
of an exciting new National Conference Programme.
With the aim of delivering timely education themed conferences that provide leading edge,
informative learning and guidance to school based staff, Herts for Learning’s National
Conferences will be headlined by well-known national speakers who will inspire and inform you.
Our upcoming National Conference themes include:
Embedding British Values – November 2014
The Power in Poetry - Language as Play – February 2015
Raising the Achievement of White Working Class Children – March 2015
Photos of the month
Look out for further details about this inspiring new programme in Training
Times or on the Herts for Learning website www.hertsforlearning.co.uk
Primary PE Conference
PE and school sport supporting whole school improvement
Tuesday 20th January 2015
Conference aimed at headteachers and subject leads
A full day event comprising of:
•
•
•
•
key note addresses
interactive practical and theoretical workshops
opportunities to address questions to representatives from afPE, Ofsted and CSPN
a demo zone showcasing the latest products and services available to support primary
schools and enhance the activity provision.
To book your place online, please visit: www.thegrid.org.uk/schoolworkforce
Course code: 14CON/008P
For more information please see: www.sportinherts.org.uk
or contact Lucy: [email protected]
If you have any feedback or suggestions about
Training Times, would like to include a news story in the next
issue or would like any additional copies please contact
Jessica Broadbent: [email protected]
All information correct at time of going to press.