DSL meeting and agenda for 22nd May – to book your place click here
NST features in the NAHT Leadership Focus Magazine April 2018
University of Nottingham – CPD Programme for Schools
In 2017 UoN launched a new programme of CPD activities in three areas of research informed practice; these are:
- Curriculum and pedagogy (to include: maths, lesson study, technology in education, primary literacy, primary maths)
- Inclusion and diversity (to include: counselling, resilience, mental health and well-being, autism, whole school planning)
- Career development and progression:
- NQT (support; starting your career in challenging contexts, resilience)
- Middle Leaders (HoD; subject leaders)
- Leadership and management (mentoring and coaching, action research to improve practice; leading research and evaluation in schools
For full details of the programme, see their CPD Page on the website
Removing Unnecessary Teacher Workload – Regional events being announced (January 2018)
Dear Colleagues,
The DfE Workload Road shows may be of interest to EIB colleagues?
Update from Department for Education
‘The Teacher Workload Unit, in collaboration with school leaders and teachers across the country, is running a series of regional events to showcase work that is currently being done in schools to effectively reduce teacher workload. We would greatly appreciate you advertising these events to your schools / networks and encouraging them to attend. Each event will start with a presentation from a key note speaker (such as Sean Harford, National Director, Education, Ofsted or the Chairs of the independent review groups on workload). This will then be followed by the opportunity to participate in workshops run by serving teachers and leaders who have successfully established approaches to reducing workload in their schools, linking to the review group reports on reducing workload. These can be found here.
Leaders from all types of schools are encouraged to attend and consider attending with a member of their governing board due to the strategic link between workload and recruitment and retention. The events are specifically intended for those leaders who have not attended a reducing workload event in the past, but all are welcome as the day will be interactive with opportunities to share approaches that are working. Events will be in centrally located venues, close to public transport links.
Dates and locations are shown below:
| 8 February | Manchester |
| 28 February | London |
| 6 March | Sheffield |
| 8 March | Exeter |
| 14 March | Cambridge |
The events will be announced next week and the registration site for all events will go live by 18 January. Details will be tweeted by the DfE social media team. Please look out for this and encourage schools in your areas to attend the event closest to their school by passing on the link to the site. If you have any queries about this please contact Jane Hough or Scott Wood at: Workload.SOLUTIONS@education.gov.uk. Thanking you in advance for your support of these events in making schools aware they are taking place’.
kind regards
Pat Whitby
Nottingham Schools Trust and Hoodwinked: Robin’s Tales Nottingham arts and literacy program (January 2018)
The amazing Hoodwinked sculpture trail, which will be swooping on Nottingham in 2018 from July to September. The arrival of over forty giant robin statues will see the start of one of the biggest arts events the city has ever seen and we want schools to be a massive part of this! So, we’ve devised Robin’s Tales – an education program which will offer ideas, resources and things to do around Nottingham and in your area looking at literacy, arts and culture and seeing our city with fresh eyes.
Key to the program is that schools will be able to have their own BookBench – a metre-long “book fold” bench like these that schools created in Manchester last year – which you can decorate in school and will be displayed as part of the Hoodwinked trail in a community venue like a leisure centre or library. Whilst the large Robins are auctioned off for Nottinghamshire Hospice at the end of the program, your BookBench will come back to school and be an amazing and visually stunning item in your school library or a literacy learning zone as a permanent reminder of the Hoodwinked summer of fun!
There will also be CPD courses for teachers around ArtsAward and ArtsMark – Robin’s Tales is perfect for ArtsAward Explore and we’ll send you a step-by-step guide as support – and world leading workshops from the National Literacy Trust on Raising Standards in Reading Comprehension.
Also in the pack will be ideas, plans and inspiration on how to make your own DIY flock of robins to display, cross-cultural links around rebels, myths and legends looking at cultures and faiths beyond the UK and offers from partners like Nottingham City Libraries, Nottingham City Parks and our charity – Nottinghamshire Hospice. The program is aligned with KS1 & 2 curriculum for English, Art & Design, Science, History, Geography and PE – Plus, non-statutory to all schools subject areas of spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. We want it to be value for learning as well as value for money.
The following packages are available:
Reading Robin
A BookBench for your school.
Plus, attendance for up to 2 staff at the information briefing and training event in Nottingham, our bespoke Creative Education Resource Pack and the display of your Book Bench on the Hoodwinked trail in your school’s neighbourhood.
Cost: £250
Wise Robin
As above, plus…
Raising Standards in Reading Comprehension 2-day teacher training delivered in March & May/June 2018 by National Literacy Trust, including membership of the National Literacy Trust until the end of the 2018-19 academic year.
All training to be held at College Street Centre, Nottingham, with lunch and resources provided.
Cost: £700 for one teacher on the training & membership, £300 per additional teacher for the training.
We really hope that the schools in the Nottingham Schools Trust will want to join us in what could be one of the largest arts events the city has seen and that you’ll share this with colleagues within the trust and Literacy/Arts leads in your schools. For more on Hoodwinked, please take a look at the project’s website here.
We can’t wait to welcome your school into our flock for Hoodwinked 2018!
GOOD NEWS – Nottingham pupils showing real improvements at primary level (January 2018)
Primary school pupils in Nottingham are heading for the top of the class after flying up the national league tables for their work.
The youngsters from Key Stage 2, aged between 7 and 11, have made huge strides in their Progress scores – which are measured by the Department for Education – moving Nottingham up 27 league places in both reading and writing.
Progress aims to capture the educational achievement that pupils make through their junior years and up until the time they leave primary school.
The scores are a ‘value added’ measure which compares pupils with their peers across the country who have similar attainment levels from infant school. This means schools are rewarded for the progress that pupils make regardless of whether they are low, middle or high achievers academically. Any increase in attainment by each pupil is reflected in the school’s Progress scores.
Nottingham City has moved up 27 league places in both reading and writing – from 80th place to 53rd in the former and from 64th place to 37th in the latter. In maths, Nottingham pupils have climbed 13 places from 48th place to 35th. These are out of 152 local authority areas around the country.
Councillor Sam Webster, Portfolio Holder for Business, Education and Skills at Nottingham City Council, said: “I’d like to congratulate pupils for their achievement and hard work, while paying tribute to the support of their teachers, school support staff, parents and carers.
“What these figures show is that when compared to their peers nationally, our children are making excellent progress in the three key areas of reading, writing and maths. They are clearly making great strides during those important years in primary school.
“What we need to do now is work collectively to ensure that this same level of progress is sustained in secondary schools and, ultimately, translates into better GCSE results. We have a lot of work to do in this area as a city.”
Councillor Webster added: “This news comes hot on the heels of the recently-issued Ofsted national report, which confirmed that Nottingham has the highest proportion of Outstanding-rated schools in the East Midlands – with close to 90% now rated either ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’.
“We have a lot to be proud of in the city and we must continue to work together – the council, schools and partner organisations with ambition for our children.
Hempshill Hall Gold Science Award (November 2017)
Hempshill Hall Primary have successfully renewed their Gold Primary Science Quality Mark. The focus of the Gold Award is on out-reach work and the impact this has on raising the profile of science across a range of settings.
Jane Turner, PSQM National Director said: “Gaining a Primary Science Quality Award is a significant achievement for a school. The profile and quality of science teaching and learning in each awarded school is very high. Children are engaging with great science both in and outside the classroom, developing positive attitudes towards science as well as secure science understanding and skills. Science subject leaders, their colleagues, head teachers, children, parents and governors should be very proud.”
To view the PSQM award winners visit: http://bit.ly/2zbGz1B
Anyone who is interested in finding out about the PSQM award please contact Sally Dakin on: sally.dakin@hempshillhall.nottingham.sch.uk or call 0115 915 3275
Redbrook Hayes Community Primary School visits the NST offices
The Head Teacher of Redbrook Hayes in Staffordshire, Chris Gaffiney, visited the NST offices in November to learn more about the NST model and how and why the trust has been established. Redbrook Hayes are looking to establish a similar model back in Staffordshire and asked to come and visit the trust after they heard a presentation Pat Fielding did about how the NST was established at an NAHT conference in October. They have written this letter for us to share on our website.
Oakfield School and Specialist Sports College awarded sixth consecutive Artsmark Gold Award!
Oakfield received the following email:
Your Statement of Commitment and Case Study have been reviewed by our Levelling Panel and we are delighted to inform you that Oak Field School and Specialist Sports College has been awarded an Artsmark Gold Award. Congratulations!
The panel has made the following comment about your submissions:
“Thank you for submitting your Case Study, outlining the work Oak Field School and Specialist Sports College champions with a strong arts focus. The panel applaud the wide range of arts opportunities offered to the young people at the school, and the influence demonstrated through partnerships with universities and other schools seeking to develop innovative arts resources. In the future, and in order to further develop your Artsmark Award, it will be important to hear in more detail about the nature of those partnerships and the impacts they have.”
As a Gold Artsmark school Arts Council England celebrates your commitment to arts and cultural education at a leadership level and the opportunities embedded across your provision. Your children and young people have equal opportunity to plan, experience, participate in, and evaluate a diverse range of high-quality arts and cultural activities and you recognise the importance of development opportunities delivered by specialists for your staff in these areas. You engage with a range of arts and cultural organisations and can evidence the positive impact of these partnerships. Your children and young people have an opportunity to further develop their knowledge, skills and understanding of arts and culture and you are working to share the expertise you have established.
Oakfield School and Specialist Sports College has been recognised for its innovative RSE programme
Oak Field School and Sports College has been recognised by leading sexual health charities Brook and FPA for delivering innovative sex and relationships education to young people.
Following the announcement that Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is to become mandatory in all schools in England, the charities joined forces to source the best examples of schools-based RSE throughout the UK and present them to policymakers and practitioners to help shape the new curriculum.
The best examples were selected by a panel of young people and will be featured in a report, to showcase high-quality RSE to Government.
FPA Chief Executive Natika Halil said: “This change in law means that the Government will be looking to develop new RSE guidance, and we’re keen to make sure that the decision-makers are aware of the very best examples such as this.
We hope that the programme being delivered by Oak Field School and Sports College will be replicated across the country, so that all young people can benefit from the high quality, age-appropriate relationships and sex education they deserve”
Brook Chief Executive Helen Marshall said: “So often we hear stories about RSE in schools being inconsistent and poor quality. By launching this campaign we are delighted to give teachers and professionals the opportunity to promote and share their positive examples of RSE with policymakers and help shape the future for young people”.