The Education Continuum

Leading the Sustainable School

Since the powers that be have announced yet another delay to the new Curriculum, we are faced with another wait, and the frustration is palpable. But it is at times such as this that we are reminded of the importance of strong leadership and shared vision in our schools, to keep things afloat when the seas are rough and the skies are looking foggy. I for one hope that our Education Secretary will be reading Debra Massey’s book Leading the Sustainable School over his morning coffee in Whitehall. The story of Howe Dell’s journey from failing to fantastic does make you wonder how it could ever be in any doubt that real change comes from those working in the schools themselves. Howe Dell’s relevance comes not only from its Education for Sustainable Development curriculum as the government pledges to make this the ‘greenest government ever’, but also because it serves as an example of a flourishing modern school whose success has grown from a shared vision and belief in multi-agency working, where Heads facilitate the skills and talents of their staff, and leaders can be found at every level.

Complete with companion website, Leading the Sustainable School is both a source of inspiration and practical guidance for sowing the seeds of change and growing leadership from within, and its lessons will be enduring whatever the future might bring…

Rosie Pattinson
Editorial Assistant

Guest Post by Paul K. Ainsworth - The new appraisal regulations: A job hunter’s perspective

Last Friday, the Department for Education (DfE) published the new arrangements for the performance management of teachers. If you are currently applying for jobs you may wonder how this will affect you and what you need to know for any future interviews, particularly if you are applying for a middle leadership or senior leadership post.

If you are applying for a leadership post it is likely that you will have responsibility for setting targets and then reviewing them for a group of staff. At interview you could be asked specifically about your views on the new regulations. You may also wish to draw on your knowledge of the new regulations when discussing how you would raise standards in your area or how you would deal with underperforming staff.

The most obvious change is one of language. The press releases on the government website talk about 'teacher appraisal' rather than using the term 'performance management' which for teachers who are longer in tooth may remind them of the system before performance management was in vogue. If you are looking at senior leadership posts you may wish to read the model policy on DfE website which includes the section on capability which is consistent with the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance procedures.

If you are asked about underperforming staff, you may wish to comment that the new appraisal structure has a much clearer link to capability procedures than before but it is important to remember that if a colleague begins capability procedures the appraisal process is suspended. The DfE suggest that the new appraisal process will allow poorly performing teachers to be removed in about a term. However this would require all the paperwork to be perfectly collated and time scales to be rigorously kept to. We also tend to know that in practice this can become much longer when colleagues are sick during the process.

For reviewers the new appraisal process states that teachers will have to be assessed every year against the new teacher standards. These are claimed to be simpler and sharper than before. You may wish to look at these standards which become live in September 2012.

It will be interesting to see if schools begin to develop their own tick lists of these teacher standards, perhaps even grading teachers on them against the OFSTED grades. As a reviewer you will have to ensure that objectives are set for each teacher which clearly show how they contribute to improving the education of the pupils. The best appraisers have always done this and some schools provide good training for their staff on how objectives should be best written. In the review you will have to give an assessment of the teacher’s performance and assess their current training development needs. There is an expectation that progression up the teacher pay spine will be subject to a satisfactory appraisal. This means that you may be responsible for making a recommendation on pay progression to your head teacher.

There is a greater flexibility in terms of the quantity of lesson observation that can be conducted. In recent years there has been confusion over the so-called three hour observation rule which suggested that teachers could only be observed for three hours for performance management reasons but for other reasons at a school’s discretion. The new appraisal arrangements will mean that schools have a greater flexibility on deciding what is appropriate.

It is worth noting that the government is still consulting as to whether performance management review documents can be requested by a future employer as part of the reference process. If this turns out to be the case, if you are looking for promotion you may be more interested in ensuring your review does happen and that it is completed in a clear and positive manner.

Paul K. Ainsworth is the Acting Principal of a Leicestershire secondary school. He has advised many teachers on how they can develop their job search skills. His new book, 'Get that Teaching job' is out at the end of January.

Melanie Wilson
Commissioning Editor (Professional Education)

How to get your perfect teaching job

Continuum author, Paul K. Ainsworth has contributed some hot tips for finding - and getting - the perfect teaching job for you, ahead of his new book Get That Teaching Job! out at the beginning of February next year.

Reviews for the book so far have been incredible! Here are just a few of the great words that people have said about it:

‘Ainsworth is the career mentor you have always wanted; whether hunting for that first teaching post after qualifying, or seeking promotion to middle or senior management, this comprehensive and highly practical book will help teachers develop a clear focus, and ultimately success, in achieving the next step in their teaching careers. In an increasingly competitive jobs market, this resource provides many valuable insights into what employers are looking for in successful applicants, and will help applicants navigate the maze of identifying suitable posts, writing winning applications and following through with positive and winning interview styles.’ Sarah Squires, Editor of Extended Schools Update and freelance writer

‘Written with remarkable clarity and from extensive experience, Get That Teaching Job! offers invaluable step-by-step help and guidance for teachers looking to move forward in their career. Sound, practical interview advice with sample questions and answers and web links to templates and additional resources are a real boon. A must-read for anyone ready to make a move – in a competitive market it could make all the difference.’ Rosemary Taylor, Senior Partner, Key Issues Consulting, UK

‘This book is a must for any teacher looking to secure their first, or next, teaching job. Whether you're an NQT, or aiming for a middle or senior leadership position, Get That Teaching Job! provides you with plenty of useful practical ideas, ranging from identifying the type of school or area you want to work in, to how to conduct yourself at interview, and everything in between. Paul Ainsworth's experience and research result in a book which will help you to be more prepared and feel more confident, as you tackle those tricky topics such as writing application letters, preparing for interviews, and maximising post-interview feedback. Get That Teaching Job! is a book I wish had been available when I was seeking my next teaching post!’ Debbie Inglis, Education Performance Coach, Square Two Development Ltd, UK

Just click on this link to find top tips for trainee teachers on pre-Christmas planning, and resources to take your lessons from good to outstanding. And pre-order the book here!

Melanie Wilson

Commissioning Editor
(Professional Education)

Born to Learn

A source of constant frustration for many teachers, are the reams of guidelines, inspection criteria and advice which lapse into lengthy, indecipherable discourse. Information is more available now than in has ever been – the latest research is disseminated within minutes via online newspapers and comment is free. How are we to devise and implement an effective model for education amidst so many conflicting findings and views?

This was the question on John Abbott’s mind when looking back over 20 years worth of research from the 21st Century Learning Initiative into the relationship between format schooling and informal learning outside of the school gates. The answer has come in the form of a series of short, thought-provoking animations, narrated by British actor Damian Lewis and aimed, quite simply, at getting straight to the point on educational issues.

For John Abbott, the “crisis” of education has not arisen simply from bad teaching, but from the failure of the wider community to engage and nurture the imaginations of young people. It is rather more a crisis of society’s committment to young people and their individual idiosyncracies and spiritual needs. The result is an education system in desperate need of finding ways to ensure creative energy is nurtured, and young people come out with confidence, a forward-thinking attitude and the ability to think outside the box and adapt to an ever-changing world in which following in the footsteps of your parents and teachers might just leave you floundering.

But John Abbott needs little help in stating his claim. Born to Learn - http://www.born-to-learn.org/ - takes the theories behind Abbott’s best-selling book Overschooled but Undereducated: How the crisis in education is jeopardizing our adolescents, and turns them into short and accessible nuggets of thought. No legislative provision, he argues, which is not fully understood by the people, will ever effectively reform an outdated system. The animations are aimed at summing up years of research and turning them into a Call to Action – a creative solution for unlocking the creative potential of future generations.

Rosie Pattinson

Editorial Assistant

A May musing from Mike Kent…

Mike Kent’s Tales from the Head’s Room came out last week, and to mark the occasion, we’re giving a sneak preview. Based on Mike’s most popular TES columns, the book charts a year in the life of the London primary head, with all its ups and downs and hilarious episodes. Here’s a favourite of ours from the month of May…

Fifty-one

Life is a rollercoaster ride

I’ve always enjoyed taking school assemblies. Sure, you can chat about healthy eating, or why it’s daft to smoke, but you can also introduce your own interests. During the past year I’ve told the children how I became a writer, how magicians cut people in half, how I taught myself the banjo, how I sprayed a door on my classic MG, and how I built a little cinema in my loft. My message is simple. Life is a lot more interesting than watching television or fiddling with a PlayStation.

Occasionally, something I’ve demonstrated really fires them up and they talk about it for days. My rollercoaster Assembly, for example. I’ve loved rollercoasters since I was thirteen, and I’d recently been with my family to Florida, riding some of the tallest and most exciting in the world. In Assembly, I demonstrated how they’d evolved over the last 50 years – stacks of science here. I held up large, colourful photos of vertical-drop coasters, wooden coasters, looping coasters. I explained acceleration speeds and braking technology. Then a little history – and screams of delight – when I ran an old Super 8 film taken from the front car of a Big Dipper at Blackpool. And finally, by swinging a bucket half full of water in a complete circle, I showed how centrifugal force helps hold riders in the car, even when they’re upside down.The children were astonished when the water didn’t come out, and Alison stayed behind after Assembly, looking at the bucket thoughtfully. ‘Could I have a go at that?’ she asked. ‘It takes a bit of practice’, I said. ‘Come and see me tomorrow when I’ve time to show you.’ Throughout the day I was stopped by children asking how I’d done ‘that magic trick with the bucket and water’. ‘It wasn’t a trick’, I’d say. ‘It was centrifugal force – I explained it to you in Assembly.’ ‘Yes,’ they’d say, ‘but how did you do that trick with the bucket and water?’

On Wednesday at playtime, Alison knocked on my door. Would it be okay for her to have a go if she went to the Nursery and borrowed one of their little buckets? I explained that the Nursery was closed for the day, and that she should try tomorrow. I was sure she’d forget – and that would save our tiniest children from being showered with water. On Thursday, two things happened. In the morning, two Infants children rushed excitedly into my room brandishing corrugated paper plates and pieces of wood. ‘We’ve wrote a roller coaster rap!’ they said, and proceeded to dance around my room, singing the words and working up a lively rhythm with their plates and scrapers. Secretary Sandra peered round the door, scratched her head, and disappeared again. Then, in the afternoon, David came to see me. He’d gone home after my Assembly, seen his dad painting the ceiling, and offered to show him a clever trick with the contents of the paint kettle. Dad, fearing for his carpet, informed his son that if he went within a metre of the kettle he’d emulsion his head. Then, on Friday, Alison was back – with a bucket from the Nursery. Never one to rain on the bonfire of enthusiasm, I stood her in the middle of my room, moved everything out of the way, put some water in her bucket, and told her to have a go. Taking a deep breath, she swung the bucket upwards, took fright, and showered herself with water.

Next week in Assembly, I’m going for the easy option. I’ll just tell the children why they shouldn’t lock each other in the toilets.

Rosie Pattinson
Editorial Assistant

Guest blog: What happens after the SEF?

One question that many senior leaders have been asking lately is what happens to the Self Evaluation Form (SEF) in the next academic year? Earlier this year the government announced that English schools would no longer have to complete the SEF from September 2011 but did not suggest what would need to be done instead.

The SEF has been one of those dreaded tasks; a bit like tidying some part of your house. You know it needs doing and at some point it would be obvious that you’ve not done it! There are many urban myths of Head’s getting the OFSTED call and the Inspector then suggesting the SEF does not look as though it has been updated for a while, queue a senior leadership lock-down day as they spend from 9am–3pm desperately trying to write a SEF.

One of the frustrations has been that you may have been busily evaluating the quality of your school. Observations, work scrutiny and pupil focus groups could be included within your calendared department review scheme. Annual parent and staff questionnaires may have been part of your Investors in People monitoring. An exhaustive data analysis could have been a key section of induction days for all staff. In some schools pupils have been trained to conduct lesson observations through student voice with the aim of developing the quality of teaching and learning. And yet the huge breadth of the SEF document has not given school’s the credit they should have received for the evaluation of – to use an industry phrase – the core business of teaching and learning.

This week the government has published its proposals for the future of OFSTED and way down in Paragraph 38 is mention of the SEF. Schools are expected to self-evaluate including an assessment of performance against the key inspection judgement, but no common form will be provided. Instead, the lead inspectors will spend more time prior to the inspection discussing the school.

The SEF may be gone but self-evaluation certainly hasn’t and still needs to be an item on your next school improvement plan.

 

Paul K. Ainsworth is the author of Developing a Self-Evaluating School: A Practical Guide.

Melanie Wilson
Commissioning Editor (Professional Education)

Is youth leadership not a facet of the 'Big Society' movement?

Students want to be trusted and challenged, even when it looks like they don’t! Leadership gives them a sense that they have something to offer, and that their experiences can be useful and helpful to others. Even the most disruptive, difficult student is showing leadership qualities – it’s just not in the right direction, yet.

A few months ago, the DfE cut funding to the school strand of The Youth of Today programme which was being led by the Citizenship Foundation. The Youth of Today began last year to improve the quality and quantity of youth leadership opportunities for teenagers aged 13-19. The resources produced for the scheme are no longer available and the Foundation are no longer able to offer specific support to schools on the topic of school leadership.

Learning to Lead – Using Leadership Skills to Motivate Students, published in March, demonstrates that students have positive leadership abilities, and they can be taught how to use these abilities and then to teach others. Just as important, if not more so, these students make a difference in the classroom, in their school and in their local community. When students see themselves as potential leaders they rethink the concept of involvement in their community. They move from a sense that leadership is for other people to a feeling that schools are places of opportunity.

Incorporating leadership learning into the curriculum in both primary and secondary schools challenges students to take responsibility for themselves and others, build their self-esteem and improve the lives of others in the school and local community. Isn’t this what the Government’s ‘Big Society’ is supposed to be all about?

 

Melanie Wilson
Commissioning Editor (Professional Education)

Developing a Self-Evaluating School

Just wanted to tell you about an important new book that we've recently published at Continuum Education and which I think many school leaders will find a useful resource. In Developing a Self-Evaluating School, Paul Ainsworth offers a practical guide to self-evaluation, introducing the tools you will need to develop best-practice and exploring how schools and individuals have successfully used the tools and approaches covered in the book.

The book is new, as I say, but in its first few months of publication it has already received some great reviews. Simon Harrison, deputy head of Swanmore College of Technology, gave it a positive review in CPD Update, saying: "Practical and easy to use, this book is flexible enough to be used as a comprehensive guide or as a reference to be dipped into. Its balance of depth and overview makes it useful to those in a range of roles and contexts... The key to this book is its flexibility and utility. Busy professionals will find it invaluable."

We've got a free preview of the book, which you can access by clicking through on the jacket above, or you can find more information here.

You might also be interested in the author's recently published article in CPD Update, where he touches on how the results of self-evaluation can be presented to OFSTED inspectors and describes a last-minute training session run in preparation for an OFSTED visit.

Happy reading!

David,
Acting Senior Editor,
Continuum Education

TES Education Show 2010, Friday 1 & Saturday 2 October, London Olympia

If you are speaking at the show or attending as a delegate, please come and say hello! We will have a stand this year (B42 in the National Hall), and it would be lovely to put some faces to some names, and receive some feedback on our books.

I'll be there on Friday and Saturday, although on Friday I won't be on the stand much. On Friday you can meet our new Editorial Assistant, Rosie Pattinson; our new Marketing Executive, Kayleigh Chalcroft; and David Avital, who is covering Anna Fleming's list while she is away on maternity leave (Anna had a lovely healthy little boy last week). David and Kayleigh will also be there on Saturday.

We'll have a range of books available to buy at a special discounted rate, including the brand new edition of Getting the Buggers to Behave by Sue Cowley, and we'll be giving away some promotional USB sticks and teddy bears, so get there quick to avoid disappointment!

Some Continuum authors will be speaking at the show: Brian Male, CEO of the Curriculum Foundation will be leading a seminar called 'A Curriculum for the 21st Century' at 12.30 and one entitled 'Curriculum Creativity' at 3.30 on Friday; Patrice Baldwin, Chair of National Drama and International Director of Drama for Learning and Creativity (D4LC) will be talking about 'Drama in and Across the New Primary Curriculum' also at 12.30 on Friday; Fintan O'Regan, Behaviour Management Consultant will be discussing 'SF3R: A Formula for Behaviour, Learning and Life' at 11 and 'The Language of Learning' at 2 on Friday; and June O'Sullivan, Chief Executive of London Early Years Foundation will examine 'Leadership in the Early Years: Making a Difference' at 11 and 'Why Intergenerational Practice is the Way Forward for Children's Centres' at 3.30 on Saturday.

I hope to see some of you there!

Melanie Wilson
Commissioning Editor (Professional Education)

Guest post by Richard Gerver, author of Creating Tomorrow’s Schools Today

 It's Time to Take Control by Richard Gerver, author of Creating Tomorrow’s Schools Today

So we are now three months into David and Nick's new bluey orange dawn and Michael has caused havoc at the DfE; BSF has been scrapped as has the Rose review and it appears that little Michael wants everyone to live the Academy dream...unless you want to set up a free school of course! Fascinating that he hasn't talked about children once...or teaching and learning. Truth is I'm not sure that Michael has a plan...although he is rather wedded to the ideology of Ed Hirsch... Knowledge is power!

It appears to me that Michael has left us with a Dyson-sized vacuum which allows us as educators to create our own policies around children and teaching and learning. It appears that we have two years to prove that Dave's Big Society should include educational freedom from central political control...maybe amidst the crumbling buildings and daft back to basics rhetoric there really is a brave new dawn. I am wholly optimistic that the future now belongs to teachers and students and it is our time to prove that we know and do what is best for our schools, our pupils and most importantly, their futures.

Melanie Wilson
Commissioning Editor (Professional Education)

Richard will be speaking at the Technology and Learning Conference for the School Board's Association of America on Oct 21 2010 in Phoenix, Arizona and at Institucion Educativa SEK in Madrid on Oct 16 2010.