NewsletterMarch 2015

P2 March 2015

Range of Northern Lights’ PGCE Programmes Expanded to include Engineering

We are delighted to report that, in collaboration with Leeds Trinity University, we have now added a PGCE Engineering to our original offer of English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography and History. We are the only SCITT in Yorkshire and Humber to offer Engineering places and feel that this is a natural move, building on the successful specialism of one of our lead schools, Skipton Girls’ High School.

From across the partnership we have secured our team of subject leaders for all 7 of our core subjects and are now busy planning the programme which will commence in September. We will shortly be in touch to ensure that all of our partner schools have the opportunity to contribute to delivery and quality assurance of the professional studies programme.

Recruitment to the Secondary SCITT and our Primary School Direct programmes continues and the Spring round of University graduate recruitment fairs has

kept us all busy on exhibition stands in Bradford, Leeds and Manchester where we have talked to lots of people considering training to be teachers.

Applications for all programmes are made through UCAS and shortlisted candidates are interviewed in one of the growing group of Alliance schools involved in the delivery of the training programmes.

We have brokered a series of slots on a new education documentary series on local radio station Stray FM. The first of these broadcasts went out on March 25th and is now available as a podcast on the NLTSA website.

The website has been updated to include access to our new comprehensive SCITT Brochure with information about the routes into teaching, why choose Northern Lights and subject specific sections. http://northernlightstsa.org/teacher-training/

Open Mornings also offer the opportunity to tour placement schools, meet specialist staff and view our excellent training facilities. Where possible, current trainees will be available to give an insight into their experience on this year’s programmes.

The next events will be held from 9.00 am to 12.00 noon at:

• Titus Salt School on Monday 20th April

• Skipton Girls’ High School on Tuesday 21st April

• Harrogate High School on Tuesday 28th April

• Feversham College on Tuesday 12th May

March 2015 P3

We were in the Yorkshire Post: Schools’ alliance aiming to raise teaching standards across region

On the face of it a selective grammar school on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales and the country’s first Muslim state school serving an inner city Bradford community might seem an unlikely partnership.

But Skipton Girls High and Feversham College joined forces to lead a teaching alliance which aims to raise standards of teaching and learning across Bradford and North Yorkshire.

Both are all girls schools are both have been rated as outstanding by Ofsted. Jenn Plews the headteacher of Skipton Girls said the schools had been working together for several years and discovered they share the same vision and passion for teaching girls and in breaking down stereotypes.

Skipton Girls and Feversham College joined forces to lead the Northern Lights Teaching School Alliance (NLTSA) three years ago and they now work with more than 20 schools to deliver classroom based training. The alliance is calling for applicants for courses starting this September. The new programmes, offered in partnership with Leeds Trinity University, are in Early Years, General Primary and English, biology, chemistry, maths, geography, history and physics for secondary schools.

The programmes are open to both top graduates and career changers and they offer the chance to be part of a teaching team from day one, combining teacher training with on the job learning.

Mrs Plews said the alliance of schools had 35 specialist leaders in education who delivered training. There are more than 20 schools in the alliance meaning trainees get the chance to work in different school environments including comprehensives and academies, rural and inner city

schools, single sex and selective schools. Mrs Plews and Clare Skelding, head teacher of Feversham College said: “We are delighted to be involved in training outstanding teachers and look forward to receiving applications from those with a genuine desire to join the profession. The NLTSA courses are innovative and are designed and delivered by groups of neighbouring schools.”

Mrs Plews said that the one of the innovations was its Teach three approach which sees people do initial teaching training in their first year, then train as a newly qualified teacher in their second year and receive further training as a recently qualified teacher training in their third.

She told The Yorkshire Post both schools hoped to be able to improve the capacity of the teaching workforce in the schools in Bradford and North Yorkshire in which the alliance works.

She said that being involved in the Northern Lights also benefited her own staff at Skipton Girls as it increased their breadth of experience.

This article was written by John Roberts and was published on Monday 16th February 2015.

P4 March 2015

New and Exciting Opportunity to Help Shape English / Literacy CPD

Northern Lights TSA is looking to establish a network of expert classroom practitioners and middle/ senior leaders who can work together to support English and Literacy teaching and learning across the Alliance. The network will be a forum for sharing best practice, providing expert input and engaging in all forms of professional learning.

The pace and scale of changes to the English curriculum continues to be relentless. Working collaboratively, the network will respond to the local and national agenda moving our schools forward and improving the outcomes of the young people in our schools.

Our launch event takes place on Thursday, 23rd April from 2.30 to 4.00 pm. To provide greater access across the broader Alliance area, two consecutive events will be hosted by Feversham College and Harrogate High School. The format of these initial sessions will include a key note presentation and practical session followed by the opportunity for attendees to let us know what they would like to gain from the network in the future.

Manny Vazquez, EAL Consultant from Hounslow Language Service, will deliver the key note presentation at Feversham College. Manny is a visiting lecturer for MA, PGCE and B Ed courses, and external examiner for MA in English language teaching. He has also developed DfE materials on EAL and on EAL assessment for the QCA. He is an

accredited trainer for both ‘LILAC’ and ‘How Language Works’ literacy programmes and a founder member of the National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum (NALDIC).

Neeta Kapur, Head of EAL at Oasis Academy Lister Park, will be the key note speaker at Harrogate High School.

After qualifying as a teacher, she spent two years teaching English as a Second Language in rural Malaysia. On her return to the UK she worked in a Language Unit in London and gained an RSA Diploma in EAL. Having taught in Bradford for the last 18 years, also working as an EAL consultant for Bradford Achievement Service, Neeta is passionate about giving full educational opportunities to New-to-English students and wants to equip teachers with the skills to enhance their practice and benefit all the students they teach.

If you or a colleague is interested in attending either event, please visit http://northernlightstsa.org/northern-lights-english-network/ or telephone Ginette Hawkins, the NLTSA Administrator, on 01756 707622.

March 2015 P5

Good to Outstanding (G2O) Level 2

The Good to Outstanding (G2O) Programme Level 2 is already beginning to show its merit as the participating teachers use their learning from the course in classroom experimentations.

The programme is designed to give individuals the time to reflect on aspects of an outstanding lesson and have the opportunity to share their strategies and ideas with teachers from different schools. This sharing of ideas creates an exciting environment in which viewpoints are questioned and new conclusions are formed.

We have had the opportunity to observe a range of lessons at Titus Salt School and a sixth form lesson exploring independent learning, which was filmed at Skipton Girls’ High School. Using these experiences we began to analyse and reflect on our own understanding of what elements make outstanding teaching and learning.

So far we have explored a variety of areas such as Participation and Engagement and Questioning and Challenging, with the teachers participating in the course having the opportunity to undertake inter-sessional tasks to trial their reflections.

It has been a pleasure to work with such inspirational and committed individuals and, as the course draws to a close, I hope the participants will continue to reflect on their own practice and allow their understanding of outstanding teaching and learning to evolve.

SGHS becomes a ‘Physics Hub’

Skipton GIrls' High School will become one of the first wave of ‘Physics Hubs’, supporting the professional development of all teachers of physics in our area and across England. This new model of Physics Hubs has been developed in collaboration with the Department for Education, the National College of Teaching and Leadership, Myscience and the Teaching Schools Council.

• The School commits to support and promote Physics as an important and facilitating subject for its students to study at A-level.

• The School commits to working collaboratively with a group of other schools in the local area (‘associated schools’), specifically in the provision of CPD activities for teachers in those schools,

• The School shall host and run at least three CPD sessions (e.g. about two hours in duration) on Physics related subjects per year, on a termly basis. All teachers of Physics and technicians working in the School and associated schools will be invited to these sessions. CPD will be bespoke to each group of schools but will work towards (and be evaluated against) the following objectives:

» Improving teachers’ subject knowledge of Physics, particularly those teachers without a specialist background in Physics (non-specialists);

» Improving teachers’ repertoire, pedagogy and approaches for teaching Physics;

» Improving teachers’ confidence in teaching Physics, particularly practical activities;

» Making a positive impact on the classroom practice of all teachers of Physics.

P6 March 2015

Science Learning Partnership

The Science Learning Partnership continues to provide a range of primary and secondary Science professional development opportunities, from increasing excitement in primary and early years' science to A level Chemistry!

The challenges of the new Science curriculum in primary and the advent of new A levels and GCSEs do mean that Science teachers have a lot to think about. In the last year we have delivered training to teachers from over 60 schools in our region.

Bespoke Continuing Professional Development (CPD), tailored to meet a school or a group of schools' needs, has been particularly well received. Sessions delivered have included Working Scientifically, Effective Questioning, Preparing for OFSTED and Planning for the New Curriculum as well as action research to look at effective support and intervention for Year 11 students.

Evaluations have been universally positive and we are now in the process of launching the Summer Term programmes.

Our Primary Programme goes outdoors for the first session visiting Malham Tarn Field Centre. Confirmed sessions next term are as follows:

6th May 2015 09.00 – 15.30 Moving from Enquiry to Working Scientifically Outside the Classroom

Malham Tarn Field CentreRosemary Feasey

14th May 2015 09.00 – 12.00 Science in Early Years and KS1

Skipton Girls’ High SchoolRosemary Feasey

14th May 2015 13.00 – 16.00 Seasonal Change for KS1 Skipton Girls’ High SchoolRosemary Feasey

2nd June 2015 09.00 – 12.00 Teaching Key areas of Primary Science: Evolution / Inheritance for Year 6 Teachers

Skipton Girls’ High SchoolMick Dunne

2nd June 2015 13.00 – 16.00 Teaching Key Areas of Primary Science for Year 4 Teachers

Skipton Girls’ High SchoolMick Dunne

We are currently finalising our Secondary programme and details will be available on the Northern Lights TSA website shortly. Please keep checking at http://northernlightstsa.org/big-6/professional-development/

However, if you would like to discuss training with a focus or at a time that is not included in our core offer, please get in touch on 01756 707622 and we can explore the options with you.

March 2015 P7

Triple Science Network of Excellence – Science: Anything is Possible!

The Network will hold its Celebration and Evaluation Event early in the summer term.

In November, Northern Lights TSA was designated as the lead organisation for the Triple Science Support Programme (‘TSSP’) Bradford, Calderdale and North Yorkshire Network of Excellence.

On designation, the network’s remit was to focus on engaging schools, including those that currently do not offer triple science, schools with a lower than average uptake, and those schools already running triple science, to increase take-up, achievement and attainment in the separate sciences. The network has also sought to promote and support the delivery of triple science by providing regular access to expertise and support for teachers and technicians.

Representatives from schools across the region have built school to school collaborative learning practice and developed strategies and resources for engaging and inspiring learning opportunities for Triple Science. Feedback from sessions has

been very positive with attendees appreciating the “inspirational resources” and “practical ideas”, “making activities/science learning more engaging for pupils of any ability”. All appreciated the opportunity to work collaboratively sharing ideas.

At the final event this academic year delegates will view the cross-school collaborative video hear feedback from teachers who have been trialling activities developed by the network. Attention will then focus on a campaign to inform and inspire Key Stage 3 students to choose Triple Science.

It is not too late to get involved and share and develop your own ideas. Places are free at the event from 3.00 pm to 4.30 pm on Wednesday, 29th April at Skipton Girls’ High School. Please contact Ginette Hawkins at hawkinsg@sghs.org.uk to register to attend. If you can, please bring feedback, photos or recorded evidence of an activity you have tried out in school, to share with colleagues.

P8 March 2015

Continuing Professional Development for Newly and Recently Qualified Teachers

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Through the autumn and spring term we have successfully delivered Continuing Professional Development (CPD) sessions for teachers in the early phases of their careers. These sessions have been motivational and full of practical ideas to enable our Newly Qualified and Recently Qualified teachers to become consistently good to outstanding teachers. Feedback from the sessions has been hugely positive.

Newly Qualified Teachers (NQT) Sessions

Session 1 – Know Your Data - Know your Students

This session involved looking at the role of data to ensure all students make excellent progress. It contained many practical ideas/strategies to take back to the classroom to help NQTs to know their students even more effectively.

Session 2 – Stretch and Challenge

This session explored strategies on how to create a classroom environment where all students can succeed through challenging and engaging activities and by setting clear high expectations.

Session 3 – Teacher Well Being

This motivational session focused on addressing work-life balance in the early years of their teaching for NQTs. Practical strategies and ideas were shared by Lead Practitioners to help new teachers quickly establish themselves in their roles.

Session 4 – Effective Marking Strategies

This session explored useful and practical strategies for managing marking and assessment ,resulting in a positive impact on student attainment.

Session 5 - Effective Revision Strategies

This future session will focus on what effective revision looks like by reviewing recent research theories on how students learn best. NQTs will have an opportunity to see a range of practical revision strategies across many different subjects and create their own revision resources for their students.

March 2015 P9

Recently Qualified Teacher (RQT) Sessions

The key focus of the RQT programme has been for teachers to strive to be consistently good to outstanding. The first session, led by Richard Field and Simon Halliwell from Titus Salt School, was extremely motivating and focussed on what outstanding teaching looks like in the classroom. Engaging starters, plenaries, AFL strategies and effective questioning techniques were all explored with great passion and enthusiasm to the delight of our participants!

Following this Rehana Shafquat from Feversham College examined the importance of using data effectively to raise attainment of all learners. RQTs were mesmerised by the range of data and how it helps to inform our planning, teaching and assessment. The learning matrices from RAISE online further challenged and inspired teachers to identify

the levels of progress students had made in their subject areas and what they could do to tackle any underachievement in their own subjects.

Lisa Jane Ashes from Independent Thinking, and author of “Manglish”, delivered an inspiring session on what “outstanding” looks like every day.

Our most recent session - Group Work and Active Learning - was very well received by all RQTs. The session explored co-operative learning strategies with excellent pace and engagement.

The next RQT session will nurture and guide colleagues to seek leadership opportunities in the early part of their careers. It will allow teachers to think about their leadership potential by raising awareness of leadership styles and what qualities and thinking teachers need to become effective subject leaders.

Thank you to all our Leaders and Practitioners on the teach3 programme.

P10 March 2015

Let’s Celebrate Teaching! - A Unique Summer Conference

During the summer term, Northern Lights TSA and Bradford Partnership are offering a unique continuing professional development opportunity with the theme of Enhance, Engage and Empower.

On 25th April 2015, eight guest speakers will offer a wide variety of workshops to delegates at the first annual teach3 Summer Conference.

John Tomsett, Headteacher at Huntington School in York, will deliver the Key note speech and a workshop later in the day. John has been a teacher for 26 years and a Headteacher for eleven. He writes a blog called “This much I know….” and is a co-founder of the Headteachers’ Roundtable Think Tank. He is currently writing a book about how Headteachers can put teaching at the centre of their schools, whilst ensuring they are good teachers themselves.

Other contributors:

Mark Anderson, a former assistant head teacher responsible for e-learning, award-winning blogger, Apple Distinguished Educator and a Google Certified Teacher who will go through a number of purposeful edtech tools that you can use immediately in the classroom.

Lisa Jane Ashes, author of ‘Manglish’, bringing maths and English together across the curriculum, who aims to show you how to harness the literacy which exists in your subject area to stretch the more able and create an environment in which learners are actively engaged.

Jess Bean and Jodie Smith, Humanities teachers at Skipton Girls’ High School, work in partnership

trialling innovative strategies to engage all learners. Their active carousel based workshop will share experiences and ideas around the theme of ‘Aiming High – Stretch and Challenge through Active Learning in Geography and History’.

Andy Philip Day, a teacher of 35 years, a former Director of a Humanities specialism and a lifelong Geographer, will address Solo Taxonomy and how it can help structure lesson objectives, activities and guide students through their process of learning within and between lessons.

Richard Needham, Regional Development Leader at Science Learning Network, will look at curriculum changes and how a change of emphasis is raising the profile of mathematics within science teaching.

Anne White, an Improve Maths senior adviser with over thirty years of experience of teaching and supporting mathematics education, will address some of the ‘Misconceptions in Mathematics: Why can’t they do it? Why can’t they remember it?’

To be held at Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College, Bradford, the event will run from 9.00 am to 3.00 pm.

Attendance is free to colleagues registered on, or delivering, our current teach3 programme. Other registrations are welcome at a very competitive cost of £50.

To see full details and register online please see the NLTSA website http://northernlightstsa.org/teach3-summer-conference/ or contact Ginette Hawkins on 01756 707622.

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March 2015 P11

We now have over 30 Specialist Leaders of Education (SLEs) attached to the Northern Lights TSA and, whilst still retaining our close links with Bradford schools, we are now active in North Yorkshire working with the LA to support a range of schools.

We continue to support schools in all subjects offering curriculum development advice and supporting new leaders in post or leaders facing a new challenge. Bespoke programmes have been developed with schools who want middle leaders to have the opportunity work together, or have a large intake of NQTs who need support in their first year.

Some of our senior SLEs have been involved in subject reviews designed to help curriculum teams identify strengths and areas for development. Senior leadership teams have also appreciated the opportunity to engage with experienced leaders who have a different approach or complementary skills.

In particular this year, we are able to offer safeguarding support. Our Primary SLE has been very much in demand, not only working with primary colleagues but supporting

secondary schools to ensure effective transition from Year 6 to Year 7 especially for boys.

Our team continue to support particular schools but are also involved in delivering a range of programmes: subject specific, the teach3 programme or developing leaders at middle and senior level. Last year’s programme with Bradford Partnership and Bradford Local Authority was a forerunner to

the DfE’s School to School programme and we are working with 5 schools in Bradford and North Yorkshire in the first round but there may be more!

Our SLEs provide focussed, positive support for schools and they bring a real enthusiasm to their role. Many feel their participation has been instrumental in securing their own futures. We are

always keen to add to our team for both secondary and primary support so please keep checking our website for recruitment windows.

Specialist Leaders of Education Continue The Great Work!

In particular this year, we are able to offer safeguarding support.

We now have over 30 Specialist Leaders of Education (SLEs) attached to the Northern Lights TSA

Follow us on twitter to keep up with the latest activities of the Alliance, including Open Days, CPD opportunities and news from across our schools!

@NLTSA

Tweet: @NLTSA

Call: +44 (0)1756 707 622

Web: northernlightstsa.org

Email: shine@northernlightstsa.org

77 Gargrave Rd, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 1QL

To find out more about our School Centred Initial

Teacher Training programmes, visit

http://northernlightstsa.org/teacher-training/

or email scitt@northernlightstsa.org