eNewsletter 2
2015-2016
22nd January 2016 CREATING EXCELLENCE IN SCHOOLS
Cygnus School Update
The first term has been incredibly busy for Cygnus Teaching School. We have really enjoyed mee ng you and listening to your ideas about how we can support your school. These mee ngs have enabled us to create a bespoke strategy to meet the needs of all our alliance schools. We have tailored our courses/events and have received some excellent feedback from course delegates. Your con nued input and ideas are always welcome to shape the direc on of the teaching school in the future. We would like to extend our gra tude to Sir William Ramsey School for hos ng the ‘Maths Network Mee ng ’ where they discussed a range of topics emerging from the Shanghai visits, including teaching maths for mastery at Year 7/8. Listed in this edi on are the upcoming courses and events as well as a reflec on on some of the popular programmes from this term. We are looking forward to our con nued partnership and hope that you find this edi on of the newsle er useful.
Teaching and Learning in the News
What makes great pedagogy? In this ar cle by Chris Husband and Jo Pearce they summarise nine claims from research about what makes good and effec ve pedagogy. It is well worth a read. Find it here: h ps://www.gov.uk/government/ uploads/system/uploads/a achment_data/file/329746/what-makes-great
Signs of dyslexia may be present in the brain from birth In this ar cle ‘The Wri ng’s on the Wall’, Nancy Fliesler discusses new research that shows evidence that the 5-17% of all children who have dyslexia will have clear signs of it from infancy. Click here to read more.
Visit our website at http://cygnustsa.co.uk/ Follow us on Twitter @Cygnustsa Director of Cygnus Teaching School - Karen Lloyd at KLloyd@whs.bucks.sch.uk Teaching School Administrator - Rachel Cross at cygnustsa@whs.bucks.sch.uk
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Feedback on events so far... SLE recruitment The first round of the SLE recruitment for this year has just finished and I am pleased to report that we have had applicants across a range of subject specialisms. We were successful in a joint bid with two other teaching schools to develop a training programme for the new recruits. As this is now led by the teaching schools, we are running a rolling programme of recruitment so if you have any poten al candidates please email me. If you are interested in commissioning the services of a Specialist Leader in Educa on to, for example, run a subject or thema c review, we currently have SLEs in Maths, English, Curriculum Design, Finance, MFL, Social Sciences and Technology. Schools Direct 2016 ‐ 2017 Come along to our STEM Train/Return to Teach Informa on Evening on Monday 8 February 2016 (6.00 pm - 8.00 pm) at Wycombe High School. The event will be supported by a number of providers across the Bucks, Berks and Oxfordshire area who will be able to give informa on and advice on an individual basis. Whilst this event is aimed at trainees for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths related subjects, much of what we will be sharing will be equally useful to those intending to train for other subjects. There will be a separate presenta on about the Returning Teachers Programme for qualified teachers looking to return to teaching. This will explain the free one-to-one support and training we are offering to help returners prepare to re-enter the profession in 2016. To reserve your place, please emailschooldirect@whs.bucks.sch.uk with your name, telephone number and which session you would like to a end – Ini al Teacher Training or Returning Teachers Programme. Returning to Teaching Programme in partnership with Oxford Brookes University Cygnus Teaching School are involved with the Dfe in a new programme for returning teachers in the Secondary Sector. This will be showcased via a na onal adver sing campaign in January. We are looking for returners in Ebacc and difficult to recruit subject areas. Each returner will have a bespoke programme of support, including classroom prac ce and pedagogy, provided by Oxford Brookes University. If you could promote this via your own school communica on networks this would be much appreciated. More informa on for candidates can be found at educa on.gov.uk/returners. Mindsets training gathering pace.. Several colleagues a ended Mindsets training with Robin Lauder from Behaviour Buddies for an introduc on to the mindsets approach. They are all now talking about the ‘path to mastery’. The follow up session took place this week and looked at brain plas city. It is run by Lucy Forbes who has a Masters in Health Psychology. She examined how to use teaching techniques so we can make use of this knowledge with prac cal applica ons in the classroom. Due to popular demand a second session of this is running in April details in upcoming courses. “A very thorough yet concise introducƟon to the world of growth mindsets. A must for anyone wishing to gain credibil ity in the process of learning within their classroom.”
Visit our website at http://cygnustsa.co.uk/ Follow us on Twitter @Cygnustsa Director of Cygnus Teaching School - Karen Lloyd at KLloyd@whs.bucks.sch.uk Teaching School Administrator - Victoria Plunket at cygnustsa@whs.bucks.sch.uk
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Upcoming events Teaching Secondary English (rolling programme): Friday 29 January 2016 (9.30 am — 3.30 pm) at Cygnus Teaching School Alliance, Marlow Road HP11 1TB
Preparing for Ofsted (focus on Primary) Friday 12 February 2016 (2.00 pm - 4.00 pm) at Cygnus Teaching School Alliance, Marlow Road HP11 1TB
Developing a Mindsets Approach in your Classroom: 20 April 2016 (1.00 pm — 4.00 pm) at Cygnus Teaching School Alliance, Marlow Road HP11 1TB
Effec ve self evalua on: Two dates; Tuesday 3rd May 2016 or Thursday 23 June 2016 (9.30 am—12.30 pm) at Cygnus Teaching School Alliance, Marlow Road, HP11 1TB
Marking & Dialogue: Wednesday 4 May 2016 (4.00 pm - 5.30 pm) at Cygnus Teaching School Alliance, Marlow Road HP11 1TB
Teaching and Learning on Twi er @CygnusTSA We also aim to keep you updated on the latest educa onal news. Below are some of our recent tweets. Follow us and join the debate!
: h
p://trib.al/MEZirde . #neuroscience
Blogging... Some of our partner schools have developed excellent teaching and learning blogs. Thank you to Peter Tang at Holmer Green Secondary School for sharing his blog. Are you an ambi ous blogger?! Get in touch! Watch this space for links to alliance school blogs to con nue on our collabora ve journey.
Visit our website at http://cygnustsa.co.uk/ Follow us on Twitter @Cygnustsa Director of Cygnus Teaching School - Karen Lloyd at KLloyd@whs.bucks.sch.uk Teaching School Administrator - Victoria Plunket at cygnustsa@whs.bucks.sch.uk