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Educate educatemagazine.com
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The Magazine for Schools, Parents and Pupils
January – April 2017
Open for Entries How to enter your school or teacher
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Schools in the North
Reflecting on Victory
Challenging stereotypes
Celebrating excellence in education
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Inspiring Companionship, Dignity, Dignity, Excellence, Justice, Gentleness and Hope.
Inspiring Inspiring students students from from all all areas areas off Liverpool Liverpool & beyond be eyond Bellerive is a popular choice for girls from across Liverpool. Contact us for a guided tour and ďŹ nd out why we are such a unique school.
All are welcome!
Bellerive Bellerive FCJ FC CJ C athol o ic College College Catholic 1, 1, Aigburth Aigburth Drive, Drive, Sefton Sefton P Park, ark, LLiverpool iverpool L1 L17 73 3AA AA TTel: el: 0151 0151 727 727 2064 2064 www.bellerivefcj.org www.bellerivefcj.org S Specialisms pecialisms in in Sc Sciences, iences, A Applied pplied LLearning earning a and nd M Maths aths & C Computing omputing
Behaviour in classes around and around the school is ďŹ rst rate. Ofsted 2012
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Educate Contents Welcome...
39
11
106
41
92-95 Features
71
07-10
Viewpoint The homework debate
Bridging the gap Challenging stereotypes
73-74
41-50
School eco news Green-fingered Halton pupils
Educate Awards 2016 Reflecting on victory
75-81
52-53
Educate 16+ Education, training and learning
Meet the headteacher Lee Ratcliffe, acting headteacher at Calderstones School
107 Book review This season’s must reads
55-58 Towards Academisation The changing face of education
109 The simple bow Girlish style
60-61 Meet the headteacher Phil Daniels, headteacher at Springwood Heath Primary School
111
66-67
112-113
Thoughts worth sharing Bitesize thinking
Where can we go? Our pick of what’s happening out & about in the region
Sportswear style The tailored jogger trend
68 A week in the life Diane Bate, headteacher at The District CE Primary School
114 My school days Dan Purvis - olympic gymnast
Published by Mersey Mirror, 36 Henry Street, Liverpool L1 5BS. Tel: 0151 709 7567 Fax: 0151 707 1678 Email: post@merseymirror.com Executive Editor Kim O’Brien Advertising Sales Tel: 0151 709 7567 Photography Liam Deveney Editorial Alan Birkett, Hannah Fowler, Sarah Brown Design & Production Mersey Mirror, 36 Henry Street, Liverpool L1 5BS. Tel: 0151 706 7411 Email: post@merseymirror.com Distribution Barbara Troughton Tel: 0151 733 5492. Printed by PCP. Educate magazine is published by Mersey Mirror. The contents of this magazine are fully protected by copyright and nothing may be reprinted or reproduced without permission. Disclaimer The information contained within Educate we believe to be correct at the time of printing, no responsibility can be accepted for errors or omissions. © Copyright Mersey Mirror 2009.
Welcome to the January edition of Educate As we begin a new year we reflect on the amazing success of the region’s schools, celebrated in November at the Educate Awards 2016, and held at the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. The spotlight shone brightly on the very best schools, teachers and support staff with the prestigious ceremony once again rolling out the red carpet for each of the worthy winners. No sooner have we rolled up the red carpet we are already launching Educate Awards 2017. Once again Copyrite Systems and Ricoh are supporting the event as title sponsors, along with many other generous, local and national, organisations and businesses as category sponsors. Celebrating excellence in education is at the heart of the awards and we invite all schools; primary and secondary, as well as post 16 education providers, to enter this year. The closing date for entries is 25 June. We want to make sure you put this date in your diary and don’t miss the deadline! Being vocal and celebrating good teaching underpins the Educate Awards and is also extremely important, according to Sue Cronin, head of the School of Teacher Education and Director of Partnership at Liverpool Hope University, when it comes to building on success to improve learning in the region. Sue’s comments feature in this issue’s key focus, examining the educational divide between the north of England and the south, following the recent naming and shaming of school performance in the North as well as comments by the Children’s Commissioner. The article highlights the value of identifying, celebrating and building on success to ensure negative perceptions are not continually reinforced and that we challenge stereotypes. It is a view we share at Educate and is why we encourage all schools to get involved with the Educate Awards in 2017. Get writing those entries!
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Key focus: challenging stereotypes
G D I I N R G B Words by: Christine Toner
NORTH NOR
SOUTH UTH
T THE
GAP As chief inspector of schools and head of Ofsted Michael Wilshaw was no stranger to grabbing the headlines. The self-titled ‘Dirty Harry’ of the schools system pulled no punches with pupils, parents or, indeed, the government. However it was his parting remarks as he prepared to leave the post he held for four years, which have sparked the most debate. Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
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NOR NORTH
Speaking at the launch of the Ofsted annual report late last year, Mr Wilshaw said the educational divide between the north of England and the south had widened in 2016, and that such education inequality was a contributing factor to the Brexit vote - which saw many cities in the north of the country vote to leave the European Union. His comments come as the Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield made some striking generalisations of her own. The Leeds-based children’s tsar was speaking ahead of the launch of her ‘Growing up North’ research on children's prospects in the north when she noted that parents in London and the south ‘demanded more from teachers and schools for their children’. Speaking to The Times newspaper she said: “As northern parents, we need to be aware of these inconsistencies and 8
variations in secondary schools and push hard for our schools to show how they are improving and helping our children to achieve.” “One of the real drivers of improvements of schools in London has been the demand for good school results from parents and children. There is much we northern parents can learn about this parent power.” With two leading figures in education highlighting the differences between the regions, the question is, is the division really that wide? Are there really such discrepancies between the education and opportunities given to students down south and those up here? According to Sue Cronin, head of the School of Teacher Education and Director of Partnership at Liverpool Hope University, it would be foolish to suggest otherwise. However, she believes the approach taken by Mr Wilshaw may not have been the most helpful. “It would be silly to disagree with Michael Wilshaw when he says standards must be raised,” she says. “Of course they should. It is vital that they are. But there is a fine line to tread between challenging schools to improve and constantly criticising them for what they have not got right. Michael Wilshaw is telling half a story, and is not vocal enough in celebrating good teaching and innovative solutions to raising standards. I think this has a knock on effect on morale and attracting the best teachers to the North.” “As teacher educators, we know that the research tells us that the best way to improve learning is to build on the positives and celebrate success. Constant criticism will not necessarily bring about improvement. That is not to say we avoid
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
“Michael Wilshaw is telling half a story, and is not vocal enough in celebrating good teaching and innovative solutions to raising standards”
challenging poor outcomes. Rather, we do it in a constructive way that leads to change and further improvement.” Indeed, as well as demoralising staff, in highlighting the discrepancies we are in danger of promoting a self fulfilling prophecy for students. “Within education ‘labelling theory’ and ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ are vitally important concepts to consider,” says Ashley Vallance, head of psychology at The Sixth Form College, Birkenhead. “From an educational psychological perspective, there are numerous studies which suggest that high aspirations and instilling target driven philosophy and resilience in students is essential if you want them to bridge the metaphorical gap between social class and adult success. “Two classic psychological studies spring to mind firstly; Jahoda (1954) a psychologist who studied the Ashanti people, this community gave boys ‘soul’ names. If the boys were born on a Monday they were given a name which meant ‘peace loving’ if the boys were born on
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Key focus: challenging stereotypes
SOUTH UTH a Wednesday they were given a name which meant ‘aggressive and violent’. Boys born on a Wednesday began to behave in a more aggressive and violent way in later observations of their behaviour. Thus postulating that behaviour is shaped and moulded by factors beyond the child’s initial control. “Jane Elliott’s (1968) classic blue eyes, brown eyes study-coined ‘The eye of the storm’ illustrates that if students are made to believe that they are less intelligent because of a variable which is beyond their control it can have a significant detrimental effect on their educational achievement.” It’s clearly not just about attitude. Economics plays a part too - although the two are intrinsically linked. According to the report Deprivation and Education, produced by the government Department for Children, Schools and Families, there is an obvious relationship between deprivation and education. “There is a very clear pathway from childhood poverty to reduced employment opportunities, with earnings estimated to
“…high aspirations and instilling target driven philosophy and resilience in students is essential if you want them to bridge the metaphorical gap between social class and adult success”
“Funding projects that can build on green shoots and narrow some of the invisible barriers to ambition is a positive way forward”
be reduced by between 15% and 28% and the probability of being in employment at age 34 reduced by between 4% and 7%,” says the report. “Crucially, those who end up with lower earnings are those with a lack of skills and qualifications: in other words, deprivation has a negative impact on educational attainment, leaving young people with fewer qualifications and skills which in turn affects future employment. Poor educational attainment has short - as well as longer-term consequences.” Hope University’s Sue Cronin says that while Sir Michael notes that regions that are already less prosperous than the south are in danger of adding a learning deficit to their economic one, he does not acknowledge any connection between the levels of economic deprivation and potential learning outcomes. “Yes, there is a north south divide but it is largely socio-economic in nature and this should be considered as a
causal relationship rather than a simple unfortunate correlation,” she says. “The impact of lack of economic opportunities over long periods of time will have an impact on the hopes and ambitions of generations, which creates an additional invisible barrier to motivation and outcomes in many secondary school children. There is a real danger of reinforcing the negative fixed minds of young adults in areas of socio-economic deprivation by constantly pointing out how badly their schools perform and how badly their communities and regions are doing.” Sue says part of the answer is to start to identify, celebrate and build on successes. Funding projects that can build on green shoots and narrow some of the invisible barriers to ambition is a positive way forward. This is what the Liverpool Hope Challenge sets out to do. “The Liverpool Hope Challenge is a suite of projects undertaken with schools that face a range of challenging circumstances. They are not in a position to support traditional full time trainee placements but can see the benefits of involvement with the university and trainees. The university tutors and trainees know that there is a lot of expertise held within the
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Key focus: challenging stereotypes
“Schools in the North receive significantly less money per pupil than those in London, and can struggle to attract and retain high-quality teachers and leaders” schools, particularly in terms of knowing the context and barriers to learning which can be shared with new teachers. “The real key to the success of The Hope Challenge is collaboration. By working collectively on ambitious projects codesigned by the teachers and tutors, there can be real impacts on learning outcomes for both the pupils and the trainee teachers. The projects help to breakdown stereotypes and myths around what schools in challenging circumstances are like - contradicting some of the unhelpful rhetoric around schools in the North. The collaborative approach that the Hope Challenge takes is one that we hope OFSTED and the government will take on board.” Eleven primary and secondary schools across the North West have taken part or are currently part of the Hope Challenge. Sessions have included creative writing, developing speaking and listening skills in students for whom English is an additional language, GCSE Mathematics intervention and using music to aid reading. The Hope Challenge has even been cited in a recent OFSTED report on one of the participating schools, and been shortlisted for the Higher Education Academy’s Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence. “The Hope Challenge projects develop ambitious new teachers who can see that it is possible to make a difference and improve outcomes in schools in cities such as Liverpool,” says Sue. “They are an important part of the solution. Hope teachers are equipped with the skills and the desire to make a difference. We need to encourage them to stay in the region, not put them off.” Of course, another major part comes in the form of creating investments and opportunities in these areas, something which is happening thanks to initiatives like the Northern Powerhouse. The Northern Powerhouse scheme will 10
The recent naming and shaming of school performance in the North, and in particular our three Local Authority areas, highlights a complex national challenge which deserves a more thoughtful response from the government than we are currently seeing. “The final report from the outgoing Chief Inspector of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, makes reference to a divided country, pointing out the differences in leadership, outcomes and experiences for those in the North. “He has also stated that five out of 10 schools in Liverpool are now less than good. I think that this phrasing is a miscalculated approach to raising school standards in the North. The narrative could quite easily have been communicated the other way around. His speech creates division by emphasising what is good in the South against what is bad in the North! Ironically, this approach will not help to bridge the divide; his speech simply accentuates the perception that things – and education in particular - are grim in the North.”
Sue Cronin head of the School of Teacher Education and Director of Partnership at Liverpool Hope University
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
see increased investment in the northern region, boosting job opportunities as well as improving infrastructure, industry and transport. A number of discussions are taking place on how to make education a key focus of the initiative. The Northern Powerhouse Schools Strategy, for example, was commissioned by the DfE and produced by Sir Nick Weller. It was published in November 2016 alongside the overall Northern Powerhouse strategy. It claimed Northern Powerhouse cities should “take the lead on regional marketing initiatives to attract teachers to live and work in the North” and proposed that funding should be allocated to support these initiatives. According to think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) addressing educational disadvantage for the region is “a crucial component of efforts to create a ‘Northern Powerhouse’.” The IPPR says the divide between London and the north of England starts before children reach school age. The ‘early years gap’ between children from poorer and wealthier homes is almost twice as large in the North as it is in London. The think tank says focusing on failing schools is important but will not be sufficient to eradicate educational inequality. “Schools in the North receive significantly less money per pupil than those in London, and can struggle to attract and retain high-quality teachers and leaders,” it says. 2017 will see the Northern Powerhouse initiative make further progress with the second UK Northern Powerhouse International Conference & Exhibition taking place in February. And thanks to this and the likes of innovative initiatives like the Hope Project education in the region should soon see the benefits.
“Hope teachers are equipped with the skills and the desire to make a difference. We need to encourage them to stay in the region, not put them off”
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Primary News
Olympic legacy Keeping the legacy alive with new running track The legacy of the Olympics is being kept alive at Bickerstaffe CE Primary School, as it officially opened a brand new running track. James Tartt, an elite runner from Merseyside cut the ribbon at the new facilities alongside pupils Lottie Brighouse -Jones, Olivia O’Brien and Sophie Ralfs who carried the flag for ‘Team GB’, having all been a part of the school’s running
club since 2011. The rest of the school followed wearing the colours of red, white and blue. Earlier in the morning James, who is currently training for the World Championships in London 2017, led a running session in which 23 children and 14 adults took part. He gave the runners some words of encouragement, saying: “Reach for the
James Tartt celebrates the opening of the new track with pupils from Bickerstaffe
moon, and remember that if you don’t quite make it, you’ll still be amongst the stars!” The new running track has been extensively fundraised by parents, teachers and Friends of Bickerstaffe School. The track is now a reality and boasts 400 metres in length, with a shorter route of 200m available for infant children. The track will be used within PE lessons to build up stamina and general fitness and for the running club before school. It has also been very popular at break times by both children and staff who want to get active. Headteacher, Mrs Hall said: “Our Olympic Pledge to: ‘Be determined to be the best that we can be!’ has spilled over into all aspects of school life. We can all learn so much from sport. When running you are really running against yourself, striving to improve, and to do this you do need to develop mental toughness. “At a time when we are concerned about both the physical and mental health of the nation’s young people, at Bickerstaffe School we feel that running provides a fantastic way to improve fitness and resilience, this then supports achievement and success in the academic subjects too”.
Ten out of ten for St Monica’s St Monica’s Catholic Primary School in Bootle is celebrating its tenth outstanding inspection judgement in its birthday year. The school made history as being the first school in the country to be named on the Ofsted list of outstanding providers five times as an outstanding provider of education in 1998, 2005, 2008, 2011, and 2014. It was also rated as outstanding in 2010 and the archdiocese has rated it outstanding in 2005, 2008, and 2011. Following the latest inspection by the archdiocese the school was again rated outstanding making it a perfect ten outstanding inspection judgements in a row.
Paul Kinsella, St Monica’s headteacher, said: ‘The church and school have always worked closely together to form a parish which is celebrated in the archdiocese and across the city as one with a rich history and, we believe, a bright future. “This is a wonderful way to celebrate our school’s 90th birthday and the 80th anniversary of St Monica’s church. “There have been many changes over the 90 years but we now serve a diverse, dynamic and vibrant Bootle community dedicated to helping others at every level. At the heart of the school’s success has been the support of the wonderful children, families, staff and the whole parish community”.
Mr Kinsella also paid tribute to former Headteacher Brian Mulroy, who led the school from 1981-2002 and who died recently, saying: “The many
outstanding judgements which the school has received locally and nationally all originate from the core standards which Mr Mulroy introduced’.
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Primary News
Schools impress local MP Pupils debate junk food Should junk food be banned? This was the topic of debate between two Mawdesley primary schools. Chaired by local Conservative MP for South Ribble, Seema Kennedy, Mawdesley St Peter’s and Mawdesley St Peter and Paul’s were on opposing sides of the motion: ‘This house believes that junk food should be banned for children!’ Mawdesley St Peter’s were the proposition speakers and Mawdesley St Peter and Paul’s were opposing the motion. Both schools had put a great deal of preparation into their speeches and the culmination was the experience of a live debate. The proposition team (St Peter’s) was made up of Freya, Max and Alfie and the opposition team (St Peter and Paul’s) was Georgina, Harry and Anna. The main point that St Peter’s made was that junk food caused obesity, heart disease and diabetes and the opposition made the point that if junk food outlets were closed, then people would be unemployed. Mawdesley St Peter’s argued back that the fast food industry would be replaced by healthy eating, quick food businesses instead.
The debating teams line up with Seema Kennedy MP
Chair of the debate, Seema Kennedy, was impressed with both schools, saying: “The children were absolutely first class and obviously prepared very hard. Their arguments were well presented and crafted and they spoke very clearly and without hesitation.” The children also visited Seema in her
offices when they travelled to the Houses of Parliament in London. Max, head boy at St Peter’s, said: “It was a really good experience, but quite tense, especially when I was standing up, but when I started talking I felt more confident and all that I had learnt about debating in class slotted into place!”
‘Black Tommies’ Pupils highlight the work of black British soldiers As part of ‘The Great War’ centenary events and Black History month, Year 6 pupils at Wellesbourne Primary worked alongside School Improvement Liverpool to celebrate the contribution made by Black British Soldiers during World War One. Pupils were filmed reciting the poem ’Man v Land’ by local poet Curtis Watt, whilst dressed in costumes from the World War One era. Curtis’ poem is based on ‘Black Tommies – British Soldiers of African Descent in the First World War’ written by local historian Dr Ray Costello. His book is the first dedicated to recognising their service within the regular British army, opposed to overseas units. Donna Palmer from the Ethnic Minority & Traveler Achievement Service (EMTAS) at School Improvement Liverpool is proud of what has been achieved and said: “Homegrown black soldiers are still largely unrecognised and Dr Ray Costello was very keen for Liverpool children to know about how they made a contribution to protecting the empire and kindly gave his permission for it to be used as an educational resource”. As part of the ongoing Black History month, pupils were also treated to a premiere of the film ‘Black Tommies’. 12
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Primary News
Pupils make a difference The pupils from St Anne’s Catholic Primary School in Huyton have been making a difference to the lives of refugees by fundraising and donating essential items. Headteacher, Maggie Keating, said: “The sensitive issues about the plight of refugees have been raised and discussed through Philosophy4Children sessions and the children have shown great empathy for the situation that has arose and were very keen to ensure that they didn’t just feel sympathy but were called to respond, as Christians, in a practical way.” At a special assembly titled ‘Where is the Love?’ the children shared their ideas to help make the lives more bearable for those families fleeing war torn areas. Inspiration had been taken from the local parish of St Agnes, Huyton as their ‘We can make a difference’ fundraising supports people
in need. Margaret Roache and Alison Ponzini from local charity, SHARe Knowsley (Support & Help for Asylum Seekers and Refugees) accepted a cheque for £435.63 to enable them to continue supporting local refugees. With help and encouragement from the pupils, donations of food, bedding, clothes, nappies, toothpaste, toothbrushes, baby wipes, soap and shower gel have been pouring into school as well as toys, games and books for the displaced children. All the donations are being collected by the church and given to a local refugee appeal centre for distribution to those in need. Margaret Roache from SHARe Knowsley, said: “I was overwhelmed by the generosity of the staff and children of St Anne’s Primary who have been supporting SHARe Knowsley since we
Headteacher Maggie Keating with Alison Ponzini and Margaret Roache of SHARe Knowsley and pupils from St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, Huyton
started our work at the beginning of the year. “It was lovely to be invited to be part of their collective worship which demonstrated not only how much the children have learned about
the plight of refugees and asylum seekers but also their empathy, compassion and willingness to help. The £435.63 they raised was phenomenal and will certainly be put to good use”.
School scoops Tasty Tuck Award Grange Valley Primary School has been rewarded in recognition of the work it is doing to promote the positive health of children and young people. The school’s out of hours club has successfully achieved the Tasty Tuck Award accreditation, issued by St Helens Council’s Healthy Living Team, for promoting healthier choices of breakfast and active play. Captain Tuck, the service mascot, joined members of the Healthy Living Team in visiting Grange Valley to present a certificate to staff and children. St Helens Council’s cabinet member for public health and wellbeing, Councillor Jeanie Bell, said: “This is a fantastic achievement which showcases the positive attitude at Grange Valley in creating a healthy eating environment in school. “A great amount of hard work goes on behind the scenes in keeping the borough’s children healthy and active outside the family unit, so it’s important that we recognise and applaud those efforts.” 14
Cllr Jeanie Bell awards Grange Valley Primary School with their Tasty Tuck Award
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
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Primary News
Blast off!
Teddy bear book sleep over
School aim for the stars
Melling Primary School was visited by a skybolt rocket ship which was elevated to its spectacular full nine-metre height in the school grounds. The rocket’s arrival signalled an exciting day of activities for the whole school based on rockets and space, exploring all kinds of space related themes including meteorites, rocket fuel, space food, and the intriguing prospect of space tourism. Throughout the day the children put rocket science to the test, launching their own rockets high above the playground. Children from local nurseries were invited to come and join in the
excitement with the day ending on a high point when the whole school community came together to watch the spectacular launch of a model of the rocket in the school grounds. Headteacher, Viv Ainsworth-Brown said: “There is so much interest in space at the moment, so we were delighted when we were able to give our children the opportunity to experience, close up, a real space rocket. “The day’s activities have done so much to inspire the children. In Melling we pride ourselves on our memorable, exciting curriculum – and what a way to launch a new school year!”
Reading Rocks at Christ the King Christ the King Catholic Primary School officially celebrated the opening of their library by author, Fr Tim Buckley. Fr Buckley also took time out to bless the library. The opening coincided with the schools first ‘Reading Rocks’ cafe, where pupils in Year 1 were able to share a book with their parents, grandparents or carers. The librarians from Year 6 were delighted to help the visitors find their favourite books, whilst the PTA served them hot beverages, juice and biscuits. Mrs Marsh, Year 1 teacher was very entertaining as she tried out their new outdoor story telling chair, bringing the book ‘Daisy the Detective’ to life.proving that reading really does rock at Christ the King! 16
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Imagine the excitement when Reception and Key Stage One pupils from St Philip’s Primary School in Litherland went on a very special visit to Hugh Baird College library with their favourite teddy bears on an exciting reading adventure. The children and teddies visited the library's brilliant reading pirate ship and were lucky enough to read the beautiful big books before sitting in a room designed like the inside of an aeroplane. Everyone had to buckle their seat belts, follow the safety instructions from the pilot and try on oxygen masks. Students from the college led singing time and a happy chat about favourite stories. Then all the boys and girls went home but those cheeky teddy bears stayed for a sleep over at the library that night, reading lots of books and telling their own stories. They came back to St Philip’s the next day full of their own magical tales!
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DREAM BELIEVE ACHIEVE
Sixth Form Open Evening Enterprise South Liverpool Academy 2nd February, 6.30pm arrival for 7.00pm start We invite students from across Liverpool and Merseyside to join us in our fantastic building with state of the art facilities • View and experience a rich and innovative curriculum with state of the art technology within a dedicated sixth form centre • In 2016 ESLA beat the national average for A* at A Level • 50% of students achieved A*/A/ B grades with Average BTEC Grade at Distinction level • 100% of students successfully gained their preferred choice of university or apprenticeship with record numbers gaining places at Russell Group universities supported by a fully sponsored scholars programme
"The Academy is a rapidly improving community that has clearly established it's Christian mission and vision" INSPECTION 2016
• £1000 bursaries for high achieving students to support them into university • Excellent academic, pastoral support and care
51 Horrocks Avenue, Liverpool, L19 5NY Tel: 0151 230 2570 Email: enquiries@esla.org.uk Web: www.esla.org.uk “Bursary for the 10 highest-attaining students"
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Primary News
Jovita has it covered
Pupils from St Joseph’s prepare for their balloon launch
Balloon release marks school’s 50th anniversary Fifty purple balloons have been released into the air above a Huyton school to mark the school’s 50th anniversary. Staff at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School also marked the golden milestone with a Mass celebrated by the Archbishop of Liverpool and a party for governors, staff and students. The 50th anniversary theme continued including featuring a museum of artefacts and stories from the 1960s; the children also studied the history of 1966 and buried a time capsule in the hope that it will be dug up in another 50 years’ time. Five decades ago, Colette Wilson (then Mulcahey) was among the first children to start school at St Joseph’s. Now her dad, John Mulcahey, is chair of governors. Colette said that although there have been changes to the building and staff, the spirit of the school remains: “It was always a happy school with the teachers expecting us all to do our best. I remember wooden desks in rows, much bigger class sizes and the teachers including Mrs O’Keefe, Miss Beesley and the headmaster Mr Walsh.” Archbishop Malcolm McMahon had an excellent first impression of the school and congratulated 18
headteacher Mr Charlie Newstead and all the staff noting impeccable student behaviour and uniform along with the welcoming and positive atmosphere of the school. “St Joseph’s,” said the Archbishop, “is truly a school based on Jesus’ teaching.” Gary Senior, the school’s archdiocesan officer said: “When anyone visits St Joseph’s, the children’s and staff’s love for their school and the care and support provided for each other shines through. “There is a wonderful atmosphere and Christian ethos to the school where a purposeful and happy environment is in evidence everywhere you go – a truly uplifting Catholic family community!” At the end of Mass, the Archbishop thanked everyone for inviting him and said he would remember this day for a long time to come. He then joined the children to release 50 balloons, one for each year the school had been open. Laila, a pupil in Year 4, summed up the day by saying: “We had a fun, enjoyable day releasing 50 balloons, learning about what my school used to be like 50 years ago, having a party box and meeting the archbishop”.
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
Jovita Wong with her front cover of the Big Issue North
“I wanted my design to be a warm, festive house where a person would feel welcomed,” said Jovita Wong, winner of Big Issue North children’s Christmas cover competition. The Year 6 pupil from Emmaus Church of England and Catholic Primary School entered the competition because she wanted to help homeless people – and because she loves art and wants to be a fashion designer when she is older. Jovita was up against more than 1,100 entries to this year’s competition from schoolchildren across the North West and Yorkshire and Humber. “I’m very proud to win the competition,” said Jovita, who knew about homelessness in her city because her school raises money for Mother of Mercy, a charity that feeds homeless people on the streets of Liverpool. Jovita was urged to enter the competition by her class arts councillor. Kevin Gopal, editor of the Big Issue North, said: “Choosing from more than 1,100 great entries was a hard task indeed but also very enjoyable. “We loved Jovita’s idea of creating a warm welcome, and she put it into practice brilliantly with strong lines and use of colour. “Producing a cover that really stands out is important to us because it gives the vendors the best chance of selling the magazine on the streets and earning their much needed income. “Hats off to her.”
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Primary News
Players a hit with school LFC duo open Pinehurst Primary’s new playground Players from Liverpool Football Club have paid a visit to Pinehurst Primary School to officially open its new playground. Lucas Leiva and Joe Gomez from LFC were on hand to open the new playground ‘Pinehurst Grove’ at the Anfield school. Councillor Adelle Dowling was also in attendance supporting the children in the school during the exciting afternoon. The children were thrilled to have this close up and personal time with Lucas Leiva and Joe Gomez, who held a Q&A with pupils. The playground was part-funded by the Awards for All Big Lottery Fund, which offers grants to grassroots and community activity that aims to improve life for local people and neighbourhoods. The Reds duo also presented children with 11 tickets for LFC’s game with West Ham United at Anfield. The school received them as part of the club’s young fan ticket initiative, which provides 55 tickets to five local Anfield schools each Premier League home game this season. Stephanie Tasker, headteacher at Pinehurst Primary School, said: “We were delighted to receive these tickets for our pupils and would like to thank Liverpool
Liverpool players Lucas Leiva and Joe Gomez present pupils with their match day tickets
Football Club. It is fantastic to be able to reward some of our most dedicated, hard-working pupils with such an amazing opportunity to attend a game at Anfield. The children chosen received their tickts for full attendance and good behaviour so it was a great opportunity to recognise this.
School gets ‘all shook up’ over anniversary St Michael and All Angels Catholic Primary School (formally Holy Angels School) in Kirkby celebrated their 60th anniversary with a 50s style party. The school started the celebrations with a Mass at St Michael and All Angels church. The school opened in 1956 before the church. Pupils then celebrated together by reliving the 1950’s era. Children and staff joined together by wearing clothes from the 1950’s. Headteacher Miss A Bowman, said: “Each class had the opportunity to go to the ‘hop’, whilst using the juke box that played all the classic hits from the day. “Children also took part in lessons about the 1950’s, in addition to a singing competition and most enjoyably a hula hoop competition! “It was a special day for the school community to celebrate the successes of teaching and nurturing children for the past 60 years”. 20
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“They were treated to an executive box and even had their own personal chef and private balcony to watch the game. “The pupils had a fantastic time at the game and even met some of the past players who popped in to see them and they were made a fuss off which really made them feel special”.
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SIXTH FORM OPEN EVENING Monday 30th January 2017 6.00pm to 8.00pm
FANTASTIC EXAM RESULTS - 100% A Level pass rate (2016) Come and meet our talented staff and fantastic students. We offer a wide range of: • A Level Courses • Vocational Courses • Comprehensive Enrichment Programme
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Primary News
Call to all primary schools Health-related projects planned for 2017 by LJMU Researchers from Liverpool John Moores University’s School of Sport and Exercise Sciences are looking for primary schools to participate in several new projects focused on children’s physical activity and health. Being active is essential for children’s physical, mental and emotional health. For example, taking part in physical activity helps to build children’s confidence and social skills, strengthen muscles and bones, improve coordination, health and fitness, and positively impacts on concentration and learning. The researchers have several new physical activity and health-related projects planned for 2017 onwards, examining topics such as assessing physical literacy, improving physical education, examining the impact of second-hand smoke exposure on children’s fitness, and children’s sitting time. The School of Sport and Exercise Sciences has worked in partnership with children and schools across Merseyside for over 20 years, producing world-class research which helps put the region on the global map. The school was recently named the sixth best sport sciences department in the world according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities, highlighting the school’s global influence. Dr Lawrence Foweather, senior lecturer in physical activity, exercise and health from the school’s physical activity
exchange research group said: “Our world-leading research in young children, children, and young people simply would not have been possible without the hard work, support and assistance of countless children, parents, teachers, children’s centres and schools across Merseyside. “We warmly welcome expressions of interest from primary schools that would like to take part in these exciting projects. “We are driven to improve children’s health and well-being and at the heart of all our research projects is a desire to positively impact policy and practice. “We find that children really enjoy
taking part in our research studies, not just because they are encouraged to be more active and healthy, but because participation is a valuable education experience. ‘School staff also note that involvement is positive and particularly enjoy sharing their insight and feedback, which is extremely important for the research.” Primary schools that are interested in taking part in any of these projects, or would like to offer suggestions for others, should contact Dr Lawrence Foweather on L.Foweather@ljmu.ac.uk or 0151 231 4152.
Celebrating Values Pupils and staff at Carr Mill Primary School were left delighted after the Mayor and Mayoress of St Helens attended a ‘British values’ awards assembly at the school. Councillors Dave and Jeanette Banks were on hand to present prestigious yellow ties to the pupils that have been elected onto the different school committees by their peers so that they can identify who their representatives are. Every committee ensures the children of the school have a voice on the decisions that affect their school lives and the development of the school. Committees include the school council, sports ambassadors, eco warriors and junior road safety officers. In return, the Mayor and Mayoress received a bouquet of yellow flowers and a framed gift which contained a yellow tie – a symbol of democracy – and the school’s normal blue tie, which is now pride of place in the Mayor’s parlour. Headteacher Andrew Maley said: “We were delighted that the Mayor and Mayoress were able to attend out British values assembly. “Democracy and pupil voice is an essential part of Carr Mill Primary School and the Mayor and Mayoress helped ensure the children are inspired to make a difference.” 22
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Head girl Talia Sullivan and head boy Joseph Mee presenting the Mayor and Mayoress with the Carr Mill Primary School democracy yellow tie and yellow flowers.
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Sixth Form
Success Deli very Thur sday 12 Janu ary
2017
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WDS 6F 12/0 1/17
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Sixth Form Open Day Thursday 12 January 2017 4pm – 6pm For a prospectus call 0151 235 1300
Headteacher: Mrs S Graham 364 West Derby Road, Liverpool L13 7HQ www.westderbyschool.co.uk
SD 4pm
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Secondary News
Adding up to success! Arts College host Numeracy Week An all-girls secondary school in Croxteth has been promoting the importance of numeracy and maths skills. Numeracy Week is a yearly initiative by St John Bosco Arts College which promotes numeracy skills and mathematics amongst pupils. Pupils across all year groups got involved in weekly activities and challenges to promote the importance of understanding basic numeracy skills and mathematical problems. Numeracy tasks during the week included a ‘Puzzle of the Day’ which was shared on school screens and social media; using numeracy clocks to work out the time; times table games in form time and lunchtime quizzes in the school canteen. The Happy Puzzle Company visited the school to help Year 7 and 8 pupils to
problem solve and develop thinking skills. The week concluded with a numeracy presentation and discussion exploring where numeracy is used in school and everyday life. This follows recent research from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) which found that eight out of 10 British school-leavers “lack essential business skills” such as numeracy. St John Bosco is hoping to buck this trend and prepare pupils with the necessary skills when they leave school for either higher education, an apprenticeship or a job. The school believes numeracy skills are an essential lifelong skill which is important to understand for the world of work and everyday life. Its excellent maths practice and dedication to
Student approached by American author An A-level art student from North Liverpool Academy has been approached by an American author to help illustrate a new book. Lauren Moore Williams, a Year 12 student, was approached by author Wendy Schoeppner to illustrate her first spiritualist publication. Wendy caught the eye of Lauren’s work during her exam online and made direct contact with her. Lauren’s final exam piece demonstrated her artistic style that appealed to the author. Lauren will create original 24
work for the book later this year. Lauren said: “I am still in shock. I still can’t quite believe some of the conversations that have taken place”. Miss Donnelly, art teacher at North Liverpool Academy said: “This is a hugely exiting opportunity for Lauren, and a valuable lesson to all art students in the power of the internet in reaching a wider audience beyond our community”. Right: Lauren Moore Williams with her final art piece
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promoting numeracy skills was rewarded earlier this year when the school was awarded the ‘Gold Liverpool Counts Quality Mark’. Numeracy and teaching and learning co-ordinator Paul Coffey, said: “Good numeracy skills are an important skill to have, not only for future careers and jobs but for all aspects of everyday life such as paying bills and finding the best deals when shopping. “Numeracy Week is our way to showcase numeracy in action; throughout the school day pupils are faced with puzzles, activities and numeracy-themed games to get them thinking about numeracy in a new, exciting way outside scheduled maths lessons. “We have had a fantastic response from pupils every Numeracy Week and this year has been no different
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Secondary News
Going for gold Blue Coat School raise the bar for 2017 The Blue Coat School has a vibrant and active extra-curricular calendar with The Duke of Edinburgh Award being one of the most popular activities at the school, with 240 students from Years 9 to 13 currently enrolled in the programme. The school has announced that from 2017 students will for the first time be able to participate in the Gold Award, the programme’s highest achievement. So far over fifty students have signed up to take part. The scheme provides students with a fantastic opportunity to take part in a series of exciting and challenging activities designed to develop key skills including teamwork, leadership and selfesteem. The students have successfully completed their first weekend training session of the year, covering essential topics such as first aid, map reading and how best to pack a rucksack, skills which were swiftly put into action during both bronze and silver practice and qualifying expeditions. During expeditions to Waddington and Clitheroe the Great British weather did not disappoint, resulting in an additional
Blue Coat pupils prepare for their gold challenge
battle against copious amounts of Lancashire mud, but undeterred the students completed their expeditions, under the watchful eye of Duke of Edinburgh volunteers, with a few blisters but overall a great sense of achievement. Reflecting on this term’s expeditions
‘One family’ School encourages its global links Students from St Julie’s Catholic High School may soon find a familiar sight in an unusual place, as the school’s uniform has been adopted for a brand new Notre Dame School opening in Abuja, Nigeria. Staff at the school were delighted to welcome Sister Maureen Okeke SND, who has been given the exciting challenge of opening a new Notre Dame school for girls in Abuja and in preparation has been visiting all of the Notre Dame schools throughout the United Kingdom. Among all of the ideas that Sister Maureen collected on her journey, she has chosen to adopt the French navy blazer and Holyrood tartan kilt uniform for its style, smartness and practicality. This international link is not an unusual experience for St Julie’s, as Tim Alderman, headteacher, said: “We continually strive to instil in our students a sense of their place amongst the rich heritage of Notre Dame education stretching out over two hundred years and right across the globe. “The regular pilgrimages we make to the Notre Dame Heritage Centre in Namur are a wonderful experience, but the realisation that girls in Nigeria will be attending a Notre Dame school in exactly the same uniform that our students here are wearing is a very strong reminder of Sister Dorothy Stang’s words: ‘We are a global people, one family”. 26
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Blue Coat PE teacher and Duke of Edinburgh co-ordinator Miss Baker said: “Students have shown their resilience and capabilities this term and have become fantastic role models for the school and wider community during their volunteer commitments.”
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“I joined the UTC in September because I love my science. Chemistry has quickly become my favourite from the three because I love the practical work and am performing really well in it.” Jay, Liverpool Life Sciences UTC student
We are now accepting applications for Year e 10 and Yeear 12 1 for September 2017.
Apply online at www.lifesciencesutc.co.uk/apply
Next Open Evenings Wednesday 11th January and Wednesday 1st February y, 6–8 6–8pm
“A State-of-the Art school and sixth form college specialising in creative media, gaming and digital technology-based in Liverpool”
STUDIO
THE
THE STUDIO school will help you prepare for the changing world of technology, by giving you new skills and attitudes that are highly valued in the workplace. THE STUDIO educates young people for success in the digital world, for employment, entrepreneurship, a new business venture or further study in the digital media sector.
C OME AND S EE U SA T OUR O PEN E VENING ON COME SEE US AT OPEN EVENING THURSDAY THUR SDAY 112TH 2TH JANU JANUARY, ARY, 5 5.30-7.30PM .30-7.30PM THURSDAY 26TH JANUARY, 5.30-7.30PM THUR SDAY 2 6TH JANU ARY, 5 .30-7.30PM ESTUDIOLIVERPOOL.UK Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
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Secondary News
Building on success Programme wins the support of leading businesses St Margaret’s Academy (SMA) has successfully secured work placements with some of the UK’s leading businesses. Year 10 students at SMA will be given the opportunity to work with some of the country’s most influential businesses, as part of the school’s newly launched ‘work inspiration programme’. The Aigburth school has worked tirelessly to forge important relationships with business leaders, both locally and nationally, having invested increased resources into its careers provision this year. Organisations that have offered their support of the programme include Tesco, Boots and Barnardo’s, as well as Liverpool John Moores University, Copyrite Systems, and Wray Bros locally. The ‘work inspiration programme’ will see the first cohort of 60 students take part in a series of half day sessions from February as part of an 18-week placement scheme. The initiative was launched last year, with pupils attending weekly ‘world of
Students from St Margaret’s Academy listen to the inspirational careers talk
work’ careers talks delivered by a range of industry professionals. The school’s enhanced careers provision aims to lead the way amongst Merseyside schools, offering pupils the opportunity to explore future careers options before embarking upon their Sixth Form studies. Greg McLean, SMA’s dedicated careers and post 16 data manager, said: “In such a highly competitive job market, it is vital that students are given the opportunity to consider their options from an early stage.
Starting careers provision in lower school, means that pupils can explore these interests and passions before embarking upon their GCSE’s and post-16 study, helping them to pick the right courses and qualifications for their chosen field. “This ensures that pupils choose the right path to fulfil their career aspirations, whether this be through gaining a university degree, or through embarking upon a vocational course or apprenticeship scheme.” Chris Cooke, assistant director of Sixth Form and
Gaining healthy school status Broughton Hall High School are celebrating after they received their Healthy School Award from Bernie Lee and Chris Price from School Improvement Liverpool. The award demonstrates that Broughton Hall is committed to improving health and well-being outcomes for their pupils. Headteacher Ms Clarke, said: “We achieved the award because of what we offer within Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) and through our curriculum, the culture and environment we create within our school and giving a voice to and supporting our young people. “Our staff continually strive to improve Continuing Professional Development (CPD) needs and we have established health and well-being partnerships within our local community. “Well done to Ms Cave for all her hard work collating the information and completing the audit in order for us to achieve the award. A great achievement for everyone in school!” 28
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UCAS co-ordinator, added: “At St Margaret’s we want to make sure that all of our pupils have the right skillset to help them progress and succeed. Having the right industry experience will help students develop their employability skills and I am delighted that so many industry professionals have been able to offer their support. “I am confident that the ‘work inspiration programme’ will help students focus on where they want to be and give them the determination to get there.”
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The road to your future success starts here.
Sixth Form Open Evening Thursday 2 February 2017 6.45pm – 9.00pm
Wide Range of Courses
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Strong Pastoral Support
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St Margaret’s Church of England Academy Sixth Form Aigburth Road, Liverpool L17 6AB
Telephone: 0151 427 1825
www.stmargaretsacademy.com SMASixthForm
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Secondary News
Serious about creativity! Artist leads workshops at Rainford Students at Rainford High Technology College are exploring creativity with an exciting new project with artist in residence, Mark Storor. Acclaimed and award-winning artist Mark Storor visited the school to start the first phase of artist in residence workshops with students. The workshops, which will continue throughout the year, will focus on the process of developing and creating work for children and young people. Students will take the reins and get the chance to be creative, take risks and put forward their own ideas. In the first phase of the project Mark will be working with six students from each year group, with larger groups then getting involved with the workshops later in the year. Mark’s work is described as ‘the space between live art and theatre’ and the project will include elements of performance art, installation and theatre. The project will culminate in sharing the work they create with staff, parents and fellow students. Mark is working with various communities across the town including older men, police, primary school children, young carers and now students and staff at Rainford High. He has been commissioned by new arts commissioning organisation Heart of Glass to undertake a 12 year residency in St Helens. The organisation has been set up to support work made with, for and about
St Helens people. It supports artists and communities to make ambitious new work. This pioneering initiative is designed to encourage more people to get involved in the arts. Creativity in schools has been a topic of discussion over the last few years with calls to invest in the arts and highlight its importance to young people. The school has a thriving arts department which aims to give students a holistic art education. The school hopes this new initiative will stimulate creative learning for students and benefit staff too. Mark held an initial workshop with staff in December to introduce them to the concept of the project. This involved
Building links with China As part of the ongoing link between Maghull High School and Minggang High School in China, 20 Year 12 students and four staff left Maghull for ten action packed days in China. In Beijing they visited the Temple of Heaven Park, the Imperial Palace and the Summer Palace. Next, was the Great Wall of China, which did not disappoint. Students made the heroic effort to climb some very steep sections as it snaked across the hillsides into the distance. The party travelled on to Shanghai, with all of its wonderful sights and finally, they enjoyed four days’ home stay with their partner students from Minggang High and their families. Mr Hurst, the schools Chinese link ambassador, said: “This is the way to really experience China – immersing ourselves in the food, lifestyle and daily activities of the Chinese people. It was fascinating but difficult, fun but awkward – every type of emotion as our two cultures met over those four days. “Our friends from Minggang are due to visit in 2017 to cement our ongoing partnership and we are already looking forward to it”. 30
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staff across different subject areas including maths, science, PE and performing arts to encourage an exchange of creative ideas across the curriculum. Principal Ian Young, said: “We give students a broad and balanced curriculum at Rainford which will prepare them with the skills needed for life. Our curriculum challenges young people to get out of their comfort zone. “Creativity is a key part of this – whether you want to enter the science, technology or the arts industry. “We’re delighted to be working alongside Mark to immerse our students in the creative process and produce a unique piece of artwork which is personal to the students and our school.”
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Everyone Matters Everyone Helps Everyone Succeeds
High Standards Be part of our success story For the ďŹ fth year running more than 7 students in every 10 have left with ďŹ ve good GCSEs and 78% of students have achieved good grades in Maths and English at A*-C. More than 30% of Sixth Form students went to Russell Group Universities and more students than ever achieved apprenticeships with global companies. For more information or enquiries, call 01744 885914 or visit www.rainford.org.uk
@RainfordHigh
Rainford High Technology College Higher Lane Rainford St Helens Merseyside WA11 8NY
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Secondary News
Once in a lifetime expedition School plans for 2018 trip
Thumbs up for ESLA Academy
Students have travelled to Peru on previous trips
Sixth form students at St Francis Xavier’s College are gearing up for a once in a lifetime trip to Costa Rica and Nicaragua. The Woolton secondary school has started its fundraising efforts ahead of the planned 2018 expedition, which will explore the countries of Costa Rica and Nicaragua in Central America. The four-week trip over 5,000 miles away is designed to open students’ eyes to a new culture and help benefit local communities by building new facilities such as green houses and barns for farmers and toilet and kitchens for local schools. The aim of students’ work is to improve the quality of lives for those that need it the most and for those areas that state funds do not quite stretch to. For the communities across these rural areas, a day’s work completed by pupils means the world to them. Modern foreign language teacher, Mr Joe Hepworth, said: “The aim of our expeditions is to improve the skills of those who go. Our pupils come back after four weeks and have achieved incredible things. They have tackled physical and mental challenges during their expeditions that push them to their limits. “They battle through and learn about themselves but also learn about others in different communities across the 32
globe. They gain empathy and return home with a lot more cultural awareness. “The expedition makes them realise just how lucky we are and just how much we take things for granted on a day to day basis.” The school has been offering the expeditions to sixth formers for the last four years and have completed two trips to Peru during this time, in summer 2014 and 2016. Organised through Camps International, the expeditions have been hugely successful with many SFX students leaving a lasting impression on both the company and the rural communities around Peru. With a new destination and new set of challenges ahead, sixth form students are starting their fundraising efforts. The cost of the expedition is nearly £4,000 and is paid for by the students through working on numerous fundraising events. “Usually, our pupils raise between 80 and 100% of the cost of the expedition,” said Mr Joe Hepworth. “In the past, pupils have organised events such as Curry & Quiz night, tuck shops, cake sales, car boot sales, summer fairs and even a staff lottery. “Our pupils are always very good and motivated when it comes to organising these types of events and commit a lot of their free time to fundraising.”
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Staff and pupils at the Enterprise South Liverpool Academy (ESLA) are celebrating what Ofsted have described as ‘significant improvements’ in the Academy’s performance, in a short period of time. ESLA has now been removed from special measures following the most recent inspection, with Ofsted praising the school for its improved quality of teaching, leadership and pupil achievement. Headteacher Linda Foley who took up the post in March, has high ambitions which are shared by the staff and members of the academy trust. Ms Foley said: “Change is difficult, so many thanks need to go to everyone in ‘Team ESLA’ this year. Our success is down to the commitment of so many different groups and everyone has played their part. So thank you and well done to them all. “There is still a way to go to become the outstanding school that this community deserves, but we are clearly heading in the right direction.” Ms Foley is optimistic about the future, believing that the commitment and diversity of those working together to make ESLA a success has been impressive. These include primary, secondary and university partners, the local churches, and business and community partners amongst others. She said: “What all the partners involved understand is the importance of a good school to a proud, thriving community. It has a huge impact on the future of the local community and we all believe that it is worth investing in it. “Our team is passionate about giving our students the best opportunities we can and helping to shape young people who have the character and ambition to achieve whatever they set their hearts on.”
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Secondary News
Year to remember College looks back on year of success St Mary’s College in Crosby looked back on another year of success at its annual prize giving ceremony recently. Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral was the spectacular setting for the event at which the principal guest was the Archbishop of Liverpool, the Most Reverend Malcolm McMahon. In a well-received speech Archbishop McMahon congratulated pupils on their many achievements, and said how much he had enjoyed visiting St Mary’s earlier in the year. He also said that as well as pursuing academic success, it was important that students should incorporate Christian values into their lives by standing for truth, being givers rather than takers and acting as symbols of hope for the future. During the event guests heard that in 2016 St Mary’s had maintained its proud tradition of both academic excellence and encouraging achievement in sport, music and many other extra-curricular activities. The success of this approach was evident from the ‘outstanding’ rating that the college had received from archdiocese inspectors during the year. Principal Mike Kennedy told the audience that St Mary’s had also enjoyed another successful summer in terms of public examinations. Mr Kennedy also reviewed other highlights of the year including the St Mary’s at the Phil concert and the Proms in the Park music and fireworks
Archbishop McMahon and St Mary's Principal Mike Kennedy pictured with head boy Riccardo Ressa and head girl Elisabeth Moore.
extravaganza. Audiences had enjoyed sellout productions of the Greek tragedy Electra and the hit musical West Side Story, while there had also been many sporting successes, including St Mary’s being crowned Sefton netball and athletics champions in 2016. The Principal also highlighted pupils’ efforts in support of a wide range of charity fundraising projects at St Mary’s during the year.
Mr Kennedy concluded: “Our prize giving ceremony is a great opportunity to recognise the successes of our pupils who are maintaining the high-achieving traditions of the school academically and in many other fields. “These successes are, I believe, further evidence of the success of the St Mary’s approach which is to focus on developing bright, confident young people who want to make the world better for others as well as themselves”.
Together for the Common Good Schools in North Liverpool have pledged to work together for the common good and encourage collaboration between people of different faiths and cultures. A faith based initiative will be delivered during 2017 in partnership with Together for the Common Good, Liverpool SACRE, the Archbishop of York Youth Trust, Liverpool Diocese, churches of all denominations, fellow faith traditions and community groups Jenny Sinclair, daughter of the late Bishop David Sheppard, has worked with Alsop High School to produce a Common Good Schools Toolkit following their successful partnership ‘HOPE2016: Working Together for the 34
Common Good. The toolkit will be trialed in Liverpool and is intended to provide a stimulus to schools that desire to work more closely with families and residents who wish to build stronger and more resilient communities. It will be available to other schools who wish to be involved in the autumn of this year. Peter Bull, co-ordinator of FAITH 2017 said: “The Common Good Schools Toolkit will be a fantastic resource for schools. It will enable schools to encourage dialogue, collaboration and friendships between the different parts of the civil society including different faith communities.
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“It demonstrates how a school rooted in its community can be a force for the common good. We are delighted that Alsop High School has brought schools and community groups together to generate shared learning experiences.” Young people will be encouraged to actively listen to each other, without prejudice and discover common values and work together. FAITH 2017 will establish and develop relationships between faiths, between communities and between individuals that lead to positive action. The aim is for young people to a dream of a better future and equip them with the skills to take an active role in their communities.
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A Registered Umbrella Body for the DBS
Blue Coat student Stephen Bubb with Tax Associate, Michael from PwC and Head Teacher, Mr Pennington.
“I think a mock interview is one of the most valuable experiences a student can have.� Nick Barends, Assistant Head Teacher The Blue Coat School, Liverpool In conjunction with our 6000 employer partners, Liverpool Compact EBP has organised Employability Interviews for over 800 students from Liverpool schools, including The Blue Coat School in the last 12 months AND provided Enterprise/Work Related Activities to 10,376 primary and secondary pupils!
For your school to benefit too, please call Debbie Kenrick on 0151 298 9454 www.liverpoolcompact.org.uk email:info@liverpoolcompact.org.uk @LpoolCompact
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Secondary News
World Class Students to join life-changing mentor scheme Two students from West Derby School in Liverpool have been selected to take part in a life-changing mentoring scheme with a world-class athlete mentor. Dean Jones and Terry Blankson have been chosen for the AQA Unlocking Potential programme, run by exam board AQA and the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust. Former British Skateboarding Champion and European Champion, Neil Danns will mentor the young people. The school is one of 28 on this year’s
programme, selected from 100 applicants. AQA Unlocking Potential provides mentoring for young people aged 14 to 19 who have faced personal challenges or disadvantages. Students are paired with specially trained mentors who have competed at world-class sporting events - including the Olympics and Paralympics - and have overcome their own significant personal challenges. Neil Danns will provide personal mentoring for the students over eight
months to help unlock hidden attitudes and skills. He’ll also help the students to deliver a community project towards the end of the programme. Miss Parker, English teacher at the school said: “This is an amazing opportunity for our students. Both boys are incredibly honoured to be taking part in such a beneficial programme and are looking forward to making a difference in their community. We feel very lucky to be working with Neil!”
Celebrating success at Holy Family Holy Family High School celebrated their annual awards evening and it was a great opportunity to acknowledge the excellent efforts and achievements made by students in the last academic year. There were awards for a large number of students across all of the year groups. The school were honoured to be joined for the evening by the Olympic medallist and British high jump record holder Steve Smith. Steve spoke warmly to the students about achieving their goals and making the efforts to succeed. A great evening was supplemented by a number of musical interludes including solo performances, various choir groups and the jazz ensemble. A packed audience will have gone home motivated and festive. Pictured right: The major award winners Kyle Evans, Olivia Halewood and Lisa Duckworth pictured with Steve Smith.
Picture perfect
Casey receiving her prize money
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Students from schools within the Northern Schools Trust have competed in their first Art competition. The Northern School Trust is made up of North Liverpool Academy, Liverpool Life Sciences UTC, The Studio and The Kingsway Academy. The theme of the competition was childhood, allowing students to recreate and show their favourite memories from their childhood, exploring lost toys and favourite memories. The entry requirement was that the work was to be equivalent to 10 hours and had to be completed in the students own time. The competition saw dozens of entries, with students all taking a different approach to exploring their childhood in different media forms. Voting took place during an art
exhibition, hosted at The Studio school and the winner was chosen by a Liverpool Biennial artist. Casey Aindow, a student from North Liverpool Academy was selected as the winner, claiming the £150 prize money to be spent on art materials and equipment. Her winning piece was a 3D model of a horse head designed with a collage of extracts from Roald Dahl’s Matilda, her favourite childhood book. Casey, a Year 11 student said “I really didn’t expect to win, I entered the competition after being encouraged by my Art teacher and because I really enjoy making models. “After seeing that there was a lot of people submitting 2D work, I decided to create a 3D piece. I am so pleased that others enjoyed my work as much as I did making it”.
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Education News
Launch of schools project Project aims to improve wellbeing of pupils Thousands of primary schoolchildren in Liverpool will benefit from an innovative new project to help improve their mental health and emotional wellbeing. Seedlings, an early intervention therapeutic service, is being launched by award-winning social enterprise PSS and the Young Person’s Advisory Service. The joint initiative will offer more than 120 primary schools within Liverpool access to therapeutic services, providing an environment in which children feel safe enough to explore and express difficult feelings and experiences. Seedlings is being launched with funding from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), and is an early intervention programme that aims to tackle mental health and emotional problems in young children to avoid issues getting worse as they get older. Lynn Learman, service manager of PSS’s Spinning World project, said: “Sometimes when children are growing up changes at home or at school can be difficult to deal with. The Seedlings team
support the emotional needs of children, allowing them to develop and grow and to build their own resilience. “Difficult feelings can affect relationships with important people in our lives. When these feelings are expressed in therapy it becomes easier to understand and make sense of them. It is through this understanding it is hoped that children can come to terms with their difficult feelings, feel empowered and find new ways to express themselves.” Play therapy, counselling and art therapy are among the techniques that will be used to work with children, with parents or carers being able to directly refer their children to the project via their school. Nicky Martin, counselling and psychotherapy service manager at the Young Persons Advisory Service, said: “Early intervention is the key to assisting children to reach their full potential. “Expression through art and play with the support of an experienced therapeutic practitioner can heal emotional difficulties, leading to healthier
School achieve their best Lister Infant School are celebrating after being awarded the prestigious NACE Challenge Award. The award is given for high quality work by the whole school, teachers and governors, in challenging all pupils, including those with high abilities, to achieve their best. NACE chief executive Sue Riley said: “Lister Infant School has worked hard to win the NACE Challenge Award status. It has shown itself to be committed to developing a school and providing an education where all pupils are challenged to be the best they can be.” The award is given by the National Association for Able Children in Education, a leading national education organisation and charity, established for over 30 years. The association exists to support teachers in providing for pupils with high abilities whilst enabling all pupils to flourish. It provides advice, training and resources for teachers, which the school has used to review and plan what it provides for more able and talented pupils. Assessors, for the award, were impressed by the strong leadership and management of provision which keeps the needs of more able learners at the forefront of the school’s work, supported effectively by governors. They judged the quality of the school’s work by observing lessons, interviewing the pupils, teachers, parents and governors and by looking at the pupils’ work. The accreditation was made on the basis of the high quality and commitment they saw across the school. 38
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Nicky Martin, counselling and psychotherapy service manager at the Young Persons Advisory Service
relationships, more enjoyment in life and improved educational attainment. “Practitioners working closely with parents, carers and teachers supports the resilience building process enhancing the child’s capacity to feel safe to learn, grow and take part in their community.”
Safety first thanks to Crucial Crew Nearly 2000 children from primary schools across the St Helens borough gathered at Langtree Park to learn the importance of personal safety and social responsibility. Year 5 pupils joined St Helens Council’s eEnvironmental health, road safety and ranger teams, Merseyside Police and British Rail Police at the annual Crucial Crew event to act out a series of hazardous scenarios and emergency situations. The aims of the campaign are to enable children to become more aware of personal safety, make a contribution to crime prevention, avoid being a victim of crime, know what to do in an emergency, foster good citizenship and actively contribute to their own health. The council’s road safety team delivered information about being safe near and on roads; the environmental health team talked about hazards at home and staying safe online; whilst rangers discussed safety and awareness in parks and near water. Merseyside Police explained to pupils how to make a 999 call and introduced them to the 101 number as a way of reporting crimes and other concerns that don’t require an emergency response. Meanwhile, Merseyside Fire and Rescue service delivered fire and firework safety messages. St Helens Council’s cabinet member for green, smart and sustainable borough, said: “I always look forward to the Crucial Crew event as it’s a great way for young people to learn about safety in the community and becoming good citizens. “I’d like to thank all the council and school staff, and partner organisations involved in delivering this successful scheme and the children themselves for being so attentive and participating in the sessions.”
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Education News
Enter now for the Educate Awards 2017 The leading awards for education in the North West is open for entries. Today, nominations open for the Educate Awards 2017, in association with Copyrite Systems and Ricoh. Shining a spotlight on the very best schools, teachers and support staff, the awards celebrate the excellence in education across the Liverpool City Region, Cheshire and Lancashire. From inspiring teachers, superb support staff to innovative projects across the curriculum, the awards recognises the work of schools which are delivering outstanding education and helping students achieve their full potential. In total there are 21 award categories, from Teacher of the Year and Career Aspiration to School Support Star of the Year and Outstanding Commitment to Sport. With the entries judged and awarded by some of the leading names in education, business and media, the prestigious awards are highly respected throughout the region. The dedicated judging panel, some of which have worked with the awards since its inception, help champion exceptional teaching throughout the region and include representation from organisations across the educational spectrum. Kim O’Brien, executive editor of Educate Magazine and founder of the Educate Awards, said: “The Educate Awards is an important platform to celebrate education and give those working in schools who transform learning, the credit they deserve. “We would love to hear about the teachers, support staff and projects within your school which are raising standards of education and making a positive impact in student’s lives and the wider community.” “We are delighted to launch the call for entries for 2017 and are looking forward to celebrating another year of outstanding education in the North West”
Entry is free and open to all schools in the Liverpool City Region, Cheshire and Lancashire. The deadline for entries is midnight on Sunday 25 June 2017. The shortlist will be announced prior to the awards ceremony and the winners will be revealed on 17 November at Liverpool Cathedral. Category sponsors include Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU); The Foundry Agency; Wray Brothers; PCS Law; All About STEM; Liverpool School Sport Partnership (LSSP); School Improvement Liverpool Ltd; Capita Education, Progress Schools and Liverpool Learning Partnership.
Expansion plans approved Primary schools expansion to meet demand Proposals to create hundreds of new pupil places at Liverpool primary schools have been approved. It follows a consultation about expanding schools in Norris Green, Greenbank and Mossley Hill. Liverpool currently has enough primary school places across the city, but not in the areas of greatest demand. This is due to a rising birth rate and ongoing regeneration which means more people are moving into some areas of the city. The cabinet approved: • An additional form of entry at Monksdown Primary in Norris Green, enabling it to take 90 pupils per year (three classes) from September 2017, increasing capacity by 210 pupils over the next seven years. The school had already expanded from 60 to 90 places in September 2016 as a one-off to ease the pressure on places.
• Expanding Sudley Infant School in Mossley Hill from three to four forms of entry from September 2017 delivering 90 new places by 2020, and Sudley Junior School from September 2020, creating 120 new places by 2023. Monksdown Primary School had 109 applications for 90 places in September 2016, and there are no places available at neighbouring schools in Croxteth, West Derby and Clubmoor. Sudley Infant School is consistently oversubscribed, with 318 applications for 90 places in September 2016, and currently has 92 children on the waiting list. Assistant Mayor and cabinet member for education, Councillor Nick Small, said: “It’s great that we’re seeing more people moving in to the city, but it is vital parents have a good chance of getting their child into a nearby school of their choice. “What we are doing here is taking
action now to tackle the areas where we know there is the greatest demand, to alleviate some of the pressure. “The schools that we have identified meet the Government’s very strict criteria for this funding including being ranked as good or outstanding by Ofsted and on a solid financial footing. “We are committed to working with parents, staff and the local community to address any concerns over the proposals. A working group will be established to look at how best to mitigate additional traffic for Sudley Infant and Junior Schools such as new entrances, additional parking spaces, promoting walking and encouraging parents to park safely. A proposal to expand St Anthony of Padua Catholic Primary School from 30 to 45 places is still subject to consultation by the school’s governing body.
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Education News
Jobs fair packs a punch
Mill Green pupils with councillor Dave Banks (front row: second left), headteacher Warren Brooks and members of Merseyside Police.
Mill Green School, St Helens teamed up with the Department for Work and Pensions to a deliver a jobs fair where pupils were given an insight into what working life has to offer, by taking part in a series of workshops. Representatives from some of the North West’s biggest sports clubs including the Liverpool Football
Foundation, Everton in the Community and Sale Sharks – as well as Merseyside’s emergency services and the Army Reserve, to name a few, were on hand to offer impartial advice about how students can use their skills in the future. The event also packed a punch, with boxing world title chaser, Martin Murray and the Mayor of St Helens, councillor
Dave Banks, among the guests. Marie Cunliffe, Mill Green’s career lead said: “As a school we endeavour to host as many events as possible to ensure progress for all of our learners. “By hosting this event it has allowed our students to build in confidence by meeting new people and put into practice the skills they already have, to see how they can be used in the future.”
First sponsors revealed for Educate Awards 2017 Twelve organisations have signed up to sponsor the Educate Awards 2017 ahead of the official launch this week. The awards is the biggest celebration of education in the North West and will return for its sixth year on 17 November at Liverpool Cathedral. Organisers have announced the 2017 ceremony will once again be held in partnership with Copyrite Systems and Ricoh as title sponsors. Copyrite Systems and Ricoh UK are two of the UK’s most innovative companies which are passionate about collaboration, technology and communication. In addition, nine organisations have signed up to return as
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category sponsors, which include Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU); The Foundry Agency; Wray Brothers; PCS Law; All About STEM; Liverpool School Sport Partnership (LSSP); School Improvement Liverpool Ltd; Capita Education and Progress Schools. Joining the line-up as a new sponsor for the Outstanding Arts in a Secondary School Award is the Liverpool Learning Partnership. The Liverpool Learning Partnership was established to bring together all of the learning establishments within the city of Liverpool and to retain and protect what is widely being referred to as the ‘family of Liverpool schools and other educational organisations’. Kim O’Brien, executive editor of Educate Magazine and founder of the Educate Awards, said: “We want to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors for their continued support of the Educate Awards. The awards is such an important event which celebrates best practice and inspirational educators across the region and it is strengthened further by the support of organisations such as Copyrite Systems and Ricoh. “Testimonials from last year’s ceremony highlight the impact the awards have on the whole school community and how much it means to not only schools that win, but those who attend and are shortlisted on the evening. We strive to make the Awards bigger and better year on year; with the support of Copyrite Systems and Ricoh and all of our associate sponsors, we’re excited to build on this success for 2017.”
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Reflecting on victory Educate Awards 2016
Shining a spotlight on the very best schools, teachers and support staff, the Educate Awards 2016, in partnership with Copyrite Systems and Ricoh, celebrated the excellence in education across the Liverpool City Region, Cheshire and Lancashire. Over 500 guests gathered for the prestigious ceremony held at the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, hosted by actor and comedian Neil Fitzmaurice. Hot off the red carpet, we captured the reaction from all the winning schools.
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1. Innovative and Creative Literacy Award Winner: Evelyn Community School “It was fabulous to win this award,” said Sandra Macleod, deputy headteacher at Evelyn Community School. Its Emerald City Reading Caravan has proved to be a ‘yellow brick road’ to a dramatic rise in attainment. “It’s been a long time coming and we’ve put so much hard work into raising the profile of reading – this is the icing on the cake,” she added.
Educate Awards 2016
2. SEND Provision Award, sponsored by Progress Schools Ltd Winner: Springwood Heath Primary School Springwood Heath has developed initiatives to help pupils of varying abilities to progress and succeed. This includes speech therapy, home visits to support families and innovative ways of teaching. Phil Daniels, headteacher at Springwood Heath said they were thrilled to win the award. “To win the award at a time when I’m just about to retire is a great end to my career as head of Springwood Heath.” 3. The Communication Award, sponsored by The Foundry Agency Winner: Archbishop Blanch School Archbishop Blanch School won the Communication Award for harnessing the full potential of technology. From effective use of social media to press and newsletters, the school has gone out of its way to make parents feel as connected as possible.
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“It’s been a real team effort to win the Communication Award,” said Vicky Ellis, deputy headteacher. “We are so proud!” 4. STEM Project of the Year, sponsored by All About STEM Winner: Gateacre School The STEM Project of the Year Award was awarded to Gateacre School for its innovative ‘Nursery Crimes’ project. “The competition was fierce but what these guys do for the kids is absolutely amazing,” said awards judge and sponsor Michelle Dow, managing director of All About STEM. “The more that can be done to get children interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics the better.” 5. Spirit of Enterprise Award Winner: New Park Primary School “I’m absolutely delighted to have won,” said Karen Hutchings, headteacher at New Park Primary School. Led by Year 6 teacher Ian Willis, the school held its first ever Aspirations and Enterprise Week across the whole school which involved Dragon’s Den style challenges. “It was great fun and it really raised the issue of being aspirational in schools,” added Karen.
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6. Eco School Project of the Year, sponsored by Kier Construction Northern Winner: St Francis Xavier’s College What do you do when extensive building works results in new open spaces and plots of land? The boys at SFX College got productive and got planting! “We are very proud to receive this award on behalf of the pupils involved,” said Les Rippon, executive headteacher at SFX College. “They have put a huge amount of innovative work into this project over the past 12, if not 24 months.”
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7. Community Partnership Award, sponsored by Bishop of Liverpool, The Rt. Revd. Paul Bayes Winner: Springwood Heath Primary School “Every Friday afternoon we go across the road to Kingswood Manor care home with a group of pupils to engage with the residents – playing games and singing songs together,” said Lynn Hudson, assistant headteacher at Springwood Heath. “We are absolutely so proud for both the residents, children and staff at Springwood Heath – we’re really delighted with the award!” 8. Outstanding Teaching of Life Skills Winner: Rainford CE Primary School From money management, food skills to mental wellbeing, Rainford CE Primary School are helping to prepare its children for the wider world. “It’s about children’s wellbeing,” explained Anya Richardson, headteacher at Rainford CE Primary. “They can’t achieve in life if they don't feel happy, and comfortable with themselves and the staff at the school totally do everything in their power to ensure this.
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9. Outstanding Commitment to Sport in a Secondary School, sponsored by Educ8 Group Winner: Clare Mount Specialist Sports College Sport at Clare Mount Specialist Sports College is designed to get all children involved. From amateur sport to impressive individual achievements, the college excels in all areas. Simon Stanley, head of P.E at Clare Mount said, “A lot of hard work has gone into this. It’s lovely to be recognised for everything that the staff and all the children that we work with do at the school.” 10. Innovation in Education Award, sponsored by eCadets Winner: Whitefield Primary School Whitefield Primary School has introduced a range of therapeutic interventions to help pupils with their learning. “It’s really wonderful to have won this award,” reflected Nadine Carroll, headteacher at Whitefield Primary School.
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“It’s so important at Whitefield Primary that all of our children are included and LEGO Therapy is a way of including every child so that they can do their best, improve their social skills and achieve just the same as all of our children,” Nadine added.
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11 11. Outstanding Arts in a Primary School, sponsored by LD Photography Winner: Netherton Moss Primary School Netherton Moss Primary School in Bootle reigned supreme in the Outstanding Arts in a Primary School category, winning the award for the fifth year with its ‘National Treasures’ performance. “I’m just blown away with the hard work that goes into the production every year,” said Hilary Lyall, chair of governors at Netherton Moss. “The children will be absolutely thrilled to see this award again.”
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“I’m so happy and proud of all the staff!”
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12. Most Inspirational 16-18 Education Provider, sponsored by Liverpool John Moores University Winner: Winstanley College Winstanley College in Wigan picked up the Most Inspirational 16-18 Education Provider Award. “We’re absolutely amazed! We’re so delighted because the calibre of entries all evening has been so impressive,” said Louise Tipping, principle of Winstanley College. “The thing that makes us most proud is when our students go out into the world and operate like independent adults – it’s fantastic, we are so proud of them.”
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13. Leadership Team of the Year, sponsored by Hays Education Winner: Eldon Primary School Eldon Primary School impressed the judges with its ‘rags to riches’ story which saw it go from near closure to an award-winning Lancashire primary school in just six years.
Educate Awards 2016
“We are absolutely brilliantly delighted to have won this award,” said Azra Butt, headteacher at Eldon Primary School. “It’s everybody’s hard work that has made this possible from the children and teachers to the governors and the parents - we’re so thrilled.” 14. Teacher of the Year Award, sponsored by Capita Education Winner: Martyn Dutton, Barnton Community Primary School Nominated by the parent of a pupil who has epilepsy, Martyn Dutton is the perfect example of a teacher going above and beyond the call of duty. Credited with giving the boy ‘the best educational start in life’, the judges were moved by the actions of this caring teacher. “This is unbelievable!” says Martyn. “Everybody on the shortlist deserved to win it so thank you so much for choosing me. The kids will be over the moon!” 15. Outstanding Arts in a Secondary School, sponsored by Merseyside Network for Collaborative Outreach Winner: Formby High School “It's a real privilege for Formby High School to win this award,” said Steve Cook, musical director and senior assistant headteacher at Formby High School. Awarded for its hardworking dance department, Formby High has become well known for its show stopping performances. “There are lots of students and staff which take pride in this - it’s all for them,” added Steve. 16. Career Aspiration Award, sponsored by Greater Merseyside Learning Providers’ Federation Winner: Enterprise South Liverpool Academy Enterprise South Liverpool Academy won this award for its Dare to Dream programme which called on pupils to dream big and realise their ambitions. Andrea St John, assistant head at Enterprise South Liverpool Academy said, “We are just so proud – we’ve worked so hard for this. “We really do think that our students deserve the best. We make sure that they go on and get the best career and we support them all the way.”
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17. Outstanding Commitment to Sport in a Primary School, sponsored by Liverpool School Sports Partnership Winner: Halewood CE Primary School Halewood CE Primary School has had a keen focus on sport over the last few years and a massive 80% of its pupils now attend extracurricular sports clubs. “We are just so delighted! It’s something that we’ve worked so hard for and the children get such a great deal from doing P.E,” said Dave Smith, headteacher at Halewood CE. “It's just a lovely reward for something we’ve worked so hard for over the last two years,” he added.
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18. WOW Recognition Award, sponsored by PCS Law Winner: Alsop High School This award was presented to Alsop High School for its truly inspirational Hope 2016 project. “The whole initiative was to bring the school together and put it at the hub of the community – to bring fantastic speakers and to bring hope,” explained Peter Bull, teacher at Alsop High and coordinator of Hope 2016. “It's not an award for me, it’s an achievement for the school, it’s an achievement for the whole Alsop family and the North Liverpool community,” he added.
“I can’t wait to share it with my minions back at school! These are a group of kids I call the ‘Mitchell Minions’, who help me out on all the community projects that I do. “They’re amazing and without them I wouldn't be standing here with this,” she added. 20. Most Inspirational Secondary School, sponsored by Wray Brothers Winner: St Damian’s RC Science College St Damian’s RC Science College won the Most Inspirational Secondary School Award for its incredible transformation during the last few years.
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The judges commented that there are few better words to describe a school that has gone from being in special measures to becoming the top performing school in its area than inspirational. Elizabeth Jones, chair of governors at St Damian’s RC Science College was overwhelmed with the win. “This means everything, we are really, really thrilled – we’re so thrilled we can’t speak!”
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21. Most Inspirational Primary School Winner: Morecambe Bay Community Primary School Morecombe Bay Primary School was described as a beacon of hope for the local community. Judges noted that the school certainly lives up to its community ethos by providing a support service for the whole community. “For us, this award is a recognition of all of the work that we do to support really vulnerable children and their families and to look at education in a truly holistic manner rather than just what scores they get in their exams and tests,” said headteacher Siobhan Collingwood.
Educate Awards 2016
19. School Support Star of the Year, sponsored by School Improvement Liverpool Ltd Winner: Lisa Mitchell, Gateacre School “I’m really shocked but very honoured to have received this award,” said Lisa Mitchell on her win. As community coordinator at Gateacre School, Lisa is at the heart of the school’s community activity.
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Educate Awards 2016
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1. The start of the official Educate Awards 2016 ceremony 2. Awards judge Leanne Campbell with guest. 3. Canon Chancellor of Liverpool Cathedral, Ellen Loudon with guest. 4. Staff from The Belvedere Academy. 5. Formby High School’s Mundo Afrika Choir entertained guests. 6. Title sponsors Copyrite Systems and Ricoh UK displayed its Interactive Learning Table during the event. 7. Father Richard Peers (centre), director of education at the Diocese of Liverpool with guests. 8. Andrew Woolcock and awards host Neil Fitzmaurice.
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9. Chocolate treats are served! 10. The entertainment was enjoyed by all. 11. Staff from Bickerstaffe CE Primary School. 12. Copyrite Systems. 13. A winning smile from St Damian’s RC Science College 14. Peter Bull from Alsop High School with guest. 15. Talented student Andrew Woolcock played the marimba during the drinks reception. 16. Selfie time! 17. Award judge Andrew Pimbley presenting Rainford CE Primary School with the Outstanding Life Skills Award. 18. Halewood CE Primary School enjoy the applause for winning the Outstanding Commitment to Sport Award.
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Educate Awards 2016
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19. Guests mingled during the ceremony. 20. Educate Awards founder Kim O’Brien chats to awards judge and sponsor Henry Platten, eCadets. 21. The event was hosted by actor and comedian Neil Fitzmaurice. 22. A fantastic performance by Winstanley College’s Jacob Maguire, Hannah Hill and Sarah Prescot. 23. Winners Morecambe Bay Community Primary School walk the red carpet. 24. WOW Recognition winners Alsop High School make their way to the stage. 25. Outstanding Teaching of Life Skills winners Rainford CE Primary School celebrate their win. 26. Choirmaster Matthew O’Keeffe from The Belvedere Academy led a 300 pupil Super Choir. 27. Staff from ESLA walk the red carpet to collect their Career Aspiration Award.
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28. Most Inspirational Secondary School sponsors, Wray Brothers. 29. The Super Choir performed a medley of songs on the evening. 30. Emotions run high for WOW Recognition winners Alsop High School. 31. Mundo Afrika wowed guests with their acappella African vocals. 32. Calday Grange Grammar School teachers and pupils walk the red carpet to collect their runners up award. 33. Outstanding Commitment to Sport in a Primary School winners, Halewood CE Primary School. 34. Steve Cook, musical director at Formby High School, worked the crowd during Mundo Afrika’s performance!.
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Enter now for the
Educate Awards 2017 Educate Awards 2016
Head to www.educateawards.co.uk Browse the 21 award categories and read the criteria for each. Anyone can make a nomination, including teachers, staff, parents, pupils and community groups. Draft your entry offline in a word document before uploading – nominations should be no more than 750 words. Submit your nomination by Sunday 25 June 2017. 38
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35. Innovative and Creative Literacy Award winners Evelyn CP Primary School. 36. Tom Doyle, managing director of title sponsor Copyrite Systems, welcomed guests. 37. Archbishop Blanch School make their way to the stage to collect the Communication Award. 38. Our cameras captured the moment the winners were revealed. 39. All smiles after the Super Choir’s outstanding performance! 40. Staff from Wray Brothers display their mascot, Willy Wiper! 41. A congratulatory embrace for Gateacre School’s Lisa Mitchell, School Support Star of the Year! 42. New Park Primary School strut the red carpet after winning the Spirit of Enterprise Award.
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Meet the Headteacher Lee Ratcliffe, acting headteacher at Calderstones School
After spending more than 11 years at Calderstones School, Lee Ratcliffe is easily settling in to his new role as acting headteacher. He talks to Educate about Calderstones’ year of raised expectations and building concrete foundations for future success.
Embracing change by Hannah Fowler “I’m not sure that I knew that I wanted to teach when I was at school. If I’m honest, I didn’t have a really clear idea as to what I wanted to do at a young age,” says acting headteacher Lee Ratcliffe. “But I loved English. And I was good at it. I used to read relentlessly. When my parents would turn my bedroom light out I used to crawl to the end of the bed and read using the light from the streetlights.” So when Lee really started to give some thought in to what he wanted to spend the rest of his life doing, teaching English made sense. Starting in 1999 at Rainhill High in St Helens, Lee spent six years teaching English and was also a head of year. In 2005 he made the move to Calderstones School as head of English, joined the leadership group in 2010 and became curriculum deputy in 2013. In September 2016 he became acting headteacher and is already relishing the experience. Successful school leaders show great determination, passion and have the willpower to see things through and Lee 52
is unwavering in his commitment to giving pupils the best education. “Headteachers and schools need to be strong and stay true to the principles on which their schools are built,” he says. Expectations and accountability for schools is more demanding than ever, but Lee believes a school’s vision should always evolve around the pupils in its care. “Ultimately, schools need to do what's right by their pupils but this is becoming increasingly difficult for some given the external pressures and accountability framework,” explains Lee. “There may be a tendency for some schools to react to the demands of the new performance tables but doing so would not always be in the best interests of the pupils in their schools. “Since joining the network of Liverpool headteachers this year, I have to admit that this is something that underpins what is happening across the city: a determination to do what is right by students rather than having knee-jerk reactions to policy and pressure.” Calderstones School is proud of its tradition for caring for pupils as
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We have children and parents from every pocket of the Liverpool community here at Calderstones and we’re so proud of how well we embrace and celebrate this
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individuals; as a comprehensive secondary school serving over 1,500 pupils and 200 sixth form students it’s something Lee is keen to celebrate.
“We are a true comprehensive school. It was the thing that hit me most when I first arrived,” he says. “I thought I'd been in diverse comprehensive schools previously but it was only when I came to Calderstones that I realised what this really meant.” The school is a melting pot of different languages, cultures and religions and it’s this diversity which Lee values enormously. “We have children and
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parents from every pocket of the Liverpool community here at Calderstones and we’re so proud of how well we embrace and celebrate this,” he says. “We firmly believe that if everyone is reading from the same page and pulling in the same direction, we’ll get there.” Calderstones engages with various community and student initiatives which put pupils at the heart of the school community. One such initiative is the Student Leadership Project, which provides students with the opportunity to take part in different roles within the school. “It has given pupils a genuine channel through which they can express their ideas and expend their energies,” explains Lee. “It embraces all year groups, all abilities, and all aspects of school life. Whether its charity leaders, eco leaders, subject leaders, sports leaders, school council membership or form captains; everyone has the opportunity to express themselves and play a full part in the life of the school.” Lee is not shying away from making improvements and has ambitions to make the 2016-17 academic year one of raised expectations. “Parents, pupils and staff must be bored of hearing the word ‘expectations’. But for me, this underpins everything,” he says. “If we get this right, if everyone from every part of the school community raises the bar on what they expect of themselves and each other, then we’ll get the outcomes we’re after.” For Lee this means focusing on short and long term goals for staff and students. “Each week we have both a staff and student improvement focus,” he explains. “This is something that we agree we’ll all strive to be better at by the time Friday comes. And then we strive to maintain that expectation rather than it being a one week fad.” “For students, the raised expectations have covered things like uniform, equipment, routines, even the consumption of fizzy drinks and their
replacement with healthier alternatives. For staff, we’ve looked at the kind of homework we’re setting, the ways in which we can use common language across lessons, experimenting with questioning strategies. Each week we’re getting better because we’re expecting more; nobody rises to low expectations.” Looking to the future Lee says the focus will be on happy, healthy, focused
and committed staff. “I firmly believe that the single most effective way of improving a school is by improving your staff,” he says. “The staff set the expectations and agenda for students and these students will follow if they believe in what they're seeing and hearing, as will parents and the rest of the school community. This will make us better and give us concrete foundations for future success.”
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Towards Academisation
THE CHANGING FACE OF
EDUCATION Words by:
Christine Toner
SCHOOL
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ACADEMY
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Towards Academisation
2016 was quite the year for education. Indeed, it was quite the year full stop with Brexit, political meltdowns and the election of Donald Trump as US president giving the papers plenty to write about. So news-packed were the last 12 months you could be forgiven for skipping over some pretty monumental stories - the government’s u-turn on its plan to turn every school in the UK into an academy being one of them.
By the time then-education secretary Nicky Morgan announced that the mandatory academisation plans, first revealed in March’s Budget, would be scrapped the country was gripped by EU Referendum fever. But the move was a major one. The proposal caused quite the debate when George Osborne announced it, primarily because it would disregard attainment and force even high achieving schools down the academy path. As part of the u-turn the education secretary revealed focus would now turn to those schools which local authorities could no longer feasibly support or whether minimum performance thresholds are not being met. However, what has happened since Nicky Morgan’s announcement - and, indeed, since she was replaced by Justine Greening in Theresa May’s cabinet shake up - has been particularly interesting. Because, whilst it is no longer mandatory for all schools to become academies, a number up and and down the country are still looking into this option and our own region is no exception. Earlier this year Knowsley Park School became The Prescot School, part of The Heath Family multi-academy trust, one of several in Knowsley to make the move. And according to reports The Grange School in Runcorn is considering converting to academy status. The Grange is planning to consult with parents soon. 56
St Margaret’s C of E Academy in Aigburth knows the process all too well. It converted to academy status in 2012. “Our May 2015 Ofsted report noted “a trend of improving standards in students’ progress and attainment since the Academy’s founding in October 2012”, which makes it sound as though academisation has resulted in improvements in how our students have performed,” says principal Stephen Brierley. “The reality is more complicated: academisation is not a magic wand! And in any case, the 2013 and 2014 cohorts were educated for most of their secondary school careers in our predecessor Voluntary Aided school, not our new Academy.
“Structures are only part of the story, people are at the heart of all we do and people flourish when relationships are built on trust and goodwill.” “Having said that, academisation has given us more flexibility in some areas. Academies can set their own pay and conditions for staff, for example – although
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when we converted, a clause was added to the various legal agreements to guarantee that staff here would never have worse terms and conditions than the national frameworks provide for. Academies don’t have to follow the National Curriculum – although again, we have chosen to do so. Early converters did have some financial incentives, although by and large these have been eroded by other factors in the school funding calculations now. Although we haven’t used the additional freedoms we have to anything like their full extent, it is useful to know they are there if we want to use them.” Such is the interest from schools in the academy route the Diocese of Liverpool has confirmed it is in consultation over whether to create an academy trust of its own. “We are in a time of immense change in education,” Father Richard Peers, the Diocesan director of education told Educate magazine. “Church schools have always led the way in new developments to ensure the very best provision to enable pupils to flourish. In May 2016 my predecessor launched an academies consultation and in response to requests from heads and governors we added to that, in September, the idea of Diocesan led Multi Academy Trusts to which the majority of our schools will belong, alongside a number of smaller, school-led trusts.” Father Richard says he has had many
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Towards Academisation
conversations with the Diocese church schools and most are open to the process and believe that it can deliver real benefits for the school and most importantly its pupils. “Governors and headteachers want to preserve what is excellent about church education – the values that sustain us and the distinctiveness that comes from having a grounding in our Christian faith,” he says. “The schools in our consultation are very positive about the idea of coming together in a multi-academy trust where we can strengthen the relationships of our family of schools. With 93% of our schools being good or outstanding we want to build on and share that good practice. We want to create world leading, researchcentred schools that build on our excellent reputation.” There are, of course, issues that would need to be addressed. By their very nature Academy Trusts bring schools together but one wonders whether a Diocesan Trust have to be exclusionary to some schools, namely those of a different faith. Father Richard says this is not the case. “Church schools are not simply for the faithful, they are a way the church serves the entire community and we already have non church schools in our existing trusts,” he says. “ We believe that collaboration between schools and communities is to everyone’s benefit. We already have joint schools with the Roman Catholic, Methodist and United Reformed Churches and we would welcome collaboration with other faith groups. “We believe that the process of academisation can be used as one among many vehicles for increasing collaboration and for school-led improvement. Structures are important and we believe that setting up our own trusts will guarantee the inheritance we have received for future generations. Structures are only part of the story, people are at the heart of all we do and people flourish when relationships are built on trust and goodwill. We are proud that our schools are places where people flourish and whatever the structures will work to ensure that continues.” Indeed, collaboration in education has long been lauded as one of the key drivers of success for schools. According to a report produced for the Department for Education by Dr Paul Armstrong,
HOW TO BECOME AN
ACADEMY Schools looking to go down the academy route must apply to do so. Consent will need to be sought from the governing body, the school’s religious body (for faith and church schools) and from the academy trust the school is looking to join. Applications are considered on a case by case basis and a number of factors will be considered including the school’s exam results from the last three years, the progress of the school’s pupils over that time, most recent Ofsted inspections and the school’s finances. It is advisable to seek legal advice and the DofE recommends schools appoint a solicitor once an application has been approved. The school should notify its local authority of its intention to apply for academy status. Once an application has been completed and approved the school should set up or join an academy trust and transfer responsibilities to that trust. Before opening you’ll need to appoint an academy officer, ensure correct insurance is in place and notify exam boards of the change of status. For more information on the academisation process visit www.gov.uk.
“Forcing all schools may not have been welcomed but allowing all schools to certainly has been”
“…how has something that was originally designed for struggling schools become a strategy for all?” a lecturer in education at the University of Manchester, there is extensive research pointing to the positive influence of interschool collaboration on teachers and teaching, “with practitioners reporting an increased motivation to engage in professional dialogue with their colleagues, knowledge mobilisation and a general shift towards more learningoriented and enquiry-based cultures in schools that have been collaborating”. Dr Armstrong says there is also evidence of “inter-school collaboration facilitating curriculum development and problemsolving”. But how important is academy status in all of this? And how has something that was originally designed for struggling schools become a strategy for all? Let’s take a look at some background. Originally a policy of the Labour government under Tony Blair, the purpose of academies was to help improve schools which were in difficulty. Over time however this has changed. A spokesperson for the Department of Education told Educate: “The Education and Adoption Act 2016 took effect from 18 April 2016 and puts the Secretary of State under a duty to make an academy order for any school which is rated inadequate (category 4) by Ofsted, either due to a special measures or serious weaknesses judgment. In these circumstances, the Act removed the requirement for a consultation on whether to become an academy.” There are three groups of schools which are defined as causing concern and therefore eligible for formal action: Schools that have been judged inadequate by Ofsted • Schools that are coasting • Schools that have failed to comply with a warning notice •
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Local authorities and Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) acting on behalf of the Secretary of State have powers to intervene in maintained schools. RSCs are able to take action in underperforming academies. “To minimise any delays in schools judged inadequate becoming academies, the governing body and local authority are under a duty to take all reasonable steps to enable this to happen,” says the spokesperson. “If necessary, RSCs are also able to direct the governing body or local authority to take specific steps within a set timescale. “The Act gives Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) the power which local authorities already had to issue warning notices where a maintained school is causing concern (but has not been judged inadequate or met the coasting definition), for example where the school’s performance is below floor standards, or where leadership and governance has broken down or safety is threatened.” Coasting schools will first be identified and supported once revised performance data is published. A school is coasting when it is not consistently ensuring that all children reach their potential. The coasting definition is based on published performance data rather than Ofsted judgements and reflects the same headline accountability measures used for floor standards. It reflects the progress that pupils make in a school considers performance over three years; a school will have to be below the coasting bar in all three years to be defined as coasting. A primary school is coasting if: In 2014, fewer than 85% of pupils achieved level four in reading, writing and mathematics and less than the national median achieved expected progress in reading and writing and mathematics, and • In 2015, fewer than 85% of pupils achieved level four in reading, writing and mathematics and less than the national median achieved expected progress in reading and writing and mathematics, and • In 2016, fewer than 85% of pupils meet the expected standard in •
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WHAT THE
GOVERNMENT SAYS In a Parliamentary Statement issued in October 2016, new education secretary Justine Greening explained the government’s new stance of academies. She said: “Our ambition remains that all schools should benefit from the freedom and autonomy that academy status brings. “Our focus, however, is on building capacity in the system and encouraging schools to convert voluntarily. “No changes to legislation are required for these purposes and therefore we do not require wider education legislation in this session to make progress on our ambitious education agenda.”
reading, writing and mathematics, and the school achieves a score below the set progress bars in reading, writing or mathematics. A secondary school is coasting if: In 2014, fewer than 60% of pupils achieved 5 A*-C at GCSE (including English and maths) and less than the national median achieved expected progress in English and in maths. • In 2015, fewer than 60% of pupils achieved 5 A*-C at GCSE (including English and maths) and less than the national median achieved expected progress in English and in maths. • In 2016, the school’s Progress 8 score is below the set coasting progress bar. •
The DfE believes schools have a better chance of improving performance if they are academies. The spokesperson adds: “Evidence from around the world clearly demonstrates
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“The government’s policy no longer to force all schools into academy status is a sensible one” that educational performance is improved by giving autonomy to frontline teaching professionals and holding those professionals to account for the outcomes they achieve for young people. It is not the case that every academy performs better than every local authority school; but the academy system makes it easier to put in place those factors - better teaching, leadership, curricula and accountability that incontrovertibly drive up standards. It better allows under-performance to be tackled when it does occur; and establishes a system more likely to lead to long-term improvements in results”. Such findings also explain why schools that aren’t failing or coasting are looking to this route. What is widely argued is that choice is essential. Forcing all schools may not have been welcomed but allowing all schools to, certainly has been. Edge Hill University vice-chancellor, Dr John Cater, says “removing the stipulation was a good move and what really matters most is ethos.” “The government’s policy to no longer force all schools into academy status is a sensible one,” he says. “Different structures and systems will work for different schools and communities, and removing compunction helps facilitate that. But the most important factors are proper resourcing, excellent teaching and a culture and ethos which encourages, challenges and supports each child and each stakeholder to do their very best, set in an economy and society which gives each pupil the best opportunity of fulfilment in their future career and life.” And that is something everyone operating in education can agree on.
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Education News
History makers! Students become first head boy and girl at Abbot’s Lea Abbot’s Lea School is celebrating the introduction of the first ever head boy and head girl in the school’s 64-year history. The outstanding special school in Woolton is going from strength to strength under the leadership of its new headteacher, Mrs Ania Hildrey. Passionate about developing young leaders, Mrs Hildrey appointed sixth form students Chantelle Nicklin-Harvey and Dan Houghton as head girl and head boy for 2016-17. The school caters for students with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and a range of associated learning difficulties. The new leaders will become ambassadors for the school and take an active role in developing school provision including representing the views of their fellow students. After a rigorous selection process including interviews and presentations, the school’s first head boy and girl were announced by the headteacher at a whole school assembly. Mrs Hildrey praised all six candidates who applied for the positions and thanked them for their presentations, which had to answer the question: ‘How can we make Abbot’s Lea the best special school in the world?’ Head boy Dan Houghton put forward great ideas on how the school can promote the development of meaningful life skills for sixth formers and improve recycling to help the environment. His personal ambition is to lead a reading
Head Boy Dan Houghton, headteacher Ania Hildrey and Head Girl Chantelle NicklinHarvey at the school assembly
volunteer buddying scheme for younger students. Dan said: “I am so happy to be head boy. After I finish school I want to go to college and study child care and this opportunity will really help with my future ambitions.” Head girl Chantelle Nicklin-Harvey shared Dan’s excitement for her new role and impressed the headteacher with her passion for technology and her desire to help younger students in the school through positive role modelling. Chantelle said: “I am so excited to be head girl. I’m looking forward to working on my ideas and gaining confidence and experience in this new role.”
Headteacher, Mrs Hildrey added: “It’s a real honour to announce our first ever head boy and head girl at Abbot’s Lea School. All the students who applied had brilliant ideas about how we can make Abbot’s Lea the best specialist school in the world. “Chantelle and Dan both showed real strength of character, humility, an ability to lead others and a passion for helping younger students in the school. “I am confident they will make a significant and positive contribution as head boy and head girl and I cannot wait to see them become fantastic ambassadors for Abbot’s Lea School community”.
Big Bang returns for 2017 Building on the amazing success of last year, The Big Bang North West will be returning to the Exhibition Centre Liverpool on the 4 July 2017! The Big Bang North West 2016 was nothing short of STEMsational! Inspiring and igniting young people’s interest with fire shows, dry ice, coding, forensics, medical magic and more. Attendee’s battled bots, raced the fastest man on earth, hopped on a Viking longboat, rode a mechanical horse and leapt through strawberry scented smoke rings. 2017 promises to be a Big Bang that you have never experienced before! The Big Bang North West is a STEM celebration facilitated by All About STEM as part of a programme let by EngineeringUK. All About STEM’s reputation is based on delivering exciting, engaging and interactive events and their motto is to ‘make it happen’ and they are! There is a phenomenal list of exhibitors and performers all of which have exiting hands-on experiments, shows and experiences.
The Big Bang North West also hosts an inspirational careers fair where visitors can meet inspiring engineers and scientists from across the region. In addition, there’s the opportunity to see the entries for The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Competition. The judges will be making their decision at the event, who will make the grand final? All About STEM managing director Michelle Dow said: “Real companies and organisations, with real opportunities, face-toface with thousands of young people from right across the North West. “The Big Bang North West 2016 was an amazing day of inspiration, you really had to be there to feel the electric atmosphere of thousands of excited young people learning through fun, interactive experiences! “We can’t wait to inspire the next generation of STEM experts and show you how good 2017’s event is going to be… and it’s free!” Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
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Meet the Headteacher Phil Daniels, headteacher at Springwood Heath Primary School
It’s been nearly five decades since Phil Daniels started teaching. Later this year, Phil will say goodbye to the classroom once and for all and pass the torch to a new leader. Educate reminisces with Phil about his time at Springwood Heath Primary School, his career highlights and what lies ahead for his retirement.
Fond Farewell by Hannah Fowler A lot has changed in the 47 years Phil Daniels has been teaching. Not only has he taught through milestone educational reforms such as the introduction of the national curriculum (1989) and Ofsted (1992), he’s seen first-hand the evolution of Liverpool as a city too. “When I first started teaching in Liverpool in 1970, Liverpool was a very different place to what it is now,” he says. “There was no national curriculum, there was an 11 plus; everything was geared towards the children who could, there wasn’t a great deal for the children that couldn’t.” But Mr D (as he’s affectionately called by pupils) says he was fortunate enough to work with aspirational headteachers in his early years that put children first. “That has had a massive influence on me,” he explains. “They were all very hardworking people who cared about children first and foremost and wanted children to do their very best.” In the early 90s, the Liverpool Primary Headteachers Association (LPHA) was formed and Phil quickly signed up. He says this enabled primary schools in the city to ‘move beyond the turmoil’ and focus on the children. “By working together, we kept ourselves strong,” he recalls. “And when Liverpool had a major problem with government policy it was Liverpool primary schools that helped to move it forward and sowed the seeds for the strong Liverpool place that it is now, 60
because Liverpool as an education hub is a strong place. Primary school children in Liverpool are in good hands, very good hands.” With this ethos, it’s no wonder Phil has spent much of his career (30 years to be exact) as headteacher at Springwood Heath Primary School. A mainstream primary school which also caters for children with special educational needs, disabilities and complex medical needs – it merged with special school Harold Magnay in 2004 – it promotes a caring, integrated environment where children, irrespective of disability, can achieve their highest potential. “When the going gets tough, (Liverpool) pulls together, and we try to do that at Springwood Heath,” explains Phil. “Our motto for the school is ‘Success through Caring and Learning’. It was a very conscious decision by myself and the school governors to put the word caring before learning, because once you get the caring bit right the learning can follow.” Springwood Heath is one of only a few primary schools which has a 50/50 split of special needs and mainstream learners, and all children are taught in the same class. “It is particularly important to us because we are a mainstream primary school not a special school,” explains Phil. “So our focus is on all children and the fact that our special needs provision is recognised as well as other things, we’re especially proud of it.” Phil’s path to teaching hasn’t been all that conventional or planned.
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We’ve embedded and sustained what we’re doing and we see the awards as recognition of the work over a number of years
”
Approaching the end of a Classics degree at Bangor University, Phil was looking to extend student life a little longer when he came across a primary education course which had just launched. “I had no thought of going in to primary schools,” he explains. “I didn’t know a great deal about primary schools or education, I came in to it because I wanted to spend another year at Bangor.” It was only when he returned to Liverpool to do his teaching practice did he appreciate that perhaps, teaching was meant to be. “I realised that actually I could communicate with children, I could enthuse children and they enthused me,” he says. Alongside his role as headteacher at Springwood Heath, Phil has spent much of his career working on different teaching projects. One highlight for Phil was working with the local authority to implement the Excellence in Cities Programme. This involved introducing and establishing the role of the learning mentor in primary schools, as prior to 2000 the role didn’t exist.
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“My job was to implement it,” explains Phil. “We wrote a training programme and trained about 120 staff who became learning mentors in primary schools. The majority of those people are still in post today and some of them have gone on to great things.” He has also used his time to work on a national scale and worked with the National Primary Headteachers Association for nine years from 2005, and during 2012-2015 Phil was joint-CEO of the Liverpool Learning Partnership (LLP). He helped set it up as an organisation to promote cross-phrase working within Liverpool schools, further education and higher education establishments. If Phil has any concerns about the future of education, it’s ensuring that no child is left behind. “When we set up the partnership one of the first sayings we had was that we wanted to make sure that in an ever changing world no child was left behind,” he says. “And that meant that just on a simple level if going to an art gallery was for one child then every child ought to have the opportunity to go to the art gallery; so how do you go about doing that? Those things are very important to me.” “The worry is when cuts have to be made; cuts are invariably made around the margins – ‘what can we do without?’ What I say is what we can’t do without is making sure that everybody has opportunities and it’s not just opportunities for the few,” he adds. More recently Phil has been working with Liverpool Hope University to support their teacher training programme and works with the Schools Direct programme in Merseyside and Cheshire to support trainees as they develop in to young teachers. To round off Phil’s final academic year as headteacher, Springwood Heath won two awards (SEND Provision and Community Partnership) at the Educate Awards 2016. “To win them this year was an absolute delight,” he says. “We’ve embedded and sustained what we’re doing and we see the awards as recognition of the work over a number of years, it’s not just a project, it’s not a one off. I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t think, as I’m coming up to my retirement, to have been recognised twice is quite satisfying.”
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Another thing I often say to children is if you meet me outside school don’t walk on the other side of the road, come over and say hello
”
Retirement marks a new chapter in Phil’s life to share his own ideas on education rather than the daily practicalities of running a school. “There’s a difference,” he explains. “As a head you have to be practical as well as philosophical; when you’re not a head you can be a lot more philosophical and follow your beliefs a little bit more.”
up with them,” he says.
Phil hopes never to be too far from the career he loves so much. He wants to continue to support and develop young teachers in the profession and if any headteachers want to draw on his own experience, he says his door will always be open.
So how does Phil sum up his 47 year career? “It’s been fun,” he reflects. “It’s made me a happy person and I hope I’ve made lots of other people happy and I hope their lives have been as enriched by me as I have by them. I think that’s all any teacher can do, is to say I hope I’m having an effect on you because you’re having an effect on me.
Aside from this, Phil will enjoy the downtime retirement will bring and already has an envious itinerary to keep him busy. “I’m going to Australia to begin with; my son and daughter-in-law are travelling at the moment so I’m meeting
Learning Spanish is also an ambition and Phil is keen to become an expert in flower arranging (“I love fresh flowers; I always have fresh flowers in school. I just think that beautifully arranged flowers do something for people, it makes people smile”).
“Another thing I often say to children is if you meet me outside school don’t walk on the other side of the road, come over and say hello.”
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A message for headteachers from MNCO Established as part of the Higher Education Funding Council for Englandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (HEFCE) National Networks for Collaborative Outreach (NNCO) programme, the Merseyside Network for Collaborative Outreach (MNCO) represented an opportunity for the higher education (HE) providers across the Liverpool City Region and Cheshire to work together collaboratively for the first time since the dissolution of AimHigher. An introduction from Chris Bayes, MNCO network manager
Over the course of the past two academic years, we have delivered a wealth of projects and events that have enabled us to work closely with young people, teachers and advisors in schools across Merseyside and Cheshire. As we head into 2017, we are thrilled to announce the release of new funding from HEFCE that will take us into a new era of collaborative outreach. With this new funding, as part of the new National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP), we will be working together to provide activities, advice and guidance to students from Year 9 upwards in 25 electoral wards where it has been identified that progression to university is both low and much lower than expected based on GCSE-level attainment. 2016
2016 has been an exceptionally successful year for the network with projects attracting great interest and students leaving feeling excited and positive about their future in HE. Such projects include our collaboration with All About STEM for the Big Bang North West. Our role as a platinum plus sponsor of this event enabled 5,000 young people to have a STEMsational experience via the MNCO zone. We have developed innovative projects which have connected under-represented groups such as adopted young people and young adult carers with their local HE institutions and we also piloted an exciting employability project which gave Year 8 pupils from across the City Region the chance to participate in experiential workshops designed to promote awareness of the 'Growth Sectors' as identified by the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). Women in STEM (WiSTEM) collaborated with LJMU and the University of Liverpool to give young people an introduction to careers in marine sciences and engineering as they stepped on board the Royal Research Ship (RRS) Discovery. MNCO brought together Liverpool John Moores University, LIPA and Hope University to deliver a creative arts project aimed at inspiring Year 10 and 11 students to consider the avenues on offer in higher education from the world of creative and performing arts. Careers in healthcare were explored with a collaboration between the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and the University of Chester. The universities offered workshops introducing radiography, nursing, midwifery and paramedic studies.
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ADVERTISING FEATURE
Another successful programme was Future First, a two year programme that targeted Pupil Premium students in Year 10. The University of Chester hosted a series of enrichment activities that encompassed the subjects and courses that are taught at the university with the programme culminating in a two night residential stay. The network also took steps to develop an online resource to tackle the ever important issue of student finance via the 'Yes You Can' microsite; a stand-alone resource that young people and caregivers can use to calculate both their loan entitlement and how much they will pay back upon graduation. These projects have not only helped to provide greater opportunities to young people than existed before, but also have given us a platform to build upon via the National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP) which will commence in 2017. It has been a great pleasure to work with so many dynamic, energetic and inspiring colleagues throughout the network. Looking back over the past year or so, it is fantastic to see how much we have achieved in a relatively short timeframe. I am certain that MNCO's legacy will be reflected in the continued growth of collaborative outreach activity between our local HE providers, the Liverpool City Region's LEP and associated stakeholders such as Barnardo's Action for Young Carers, Brightside and All About STEM.
100â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of students futures changed
in numbers
4 healthcare careers explored
9 collaborative projects
Chris Bayes, MNCO network manager
70 students on board the RRS Discovery
16
hardworking MNCO staff members
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A new era of raising aspirations As MNCO’s two-year funding window comes to a close, we are delighted to be launching a brand new project building on its legacy.
The network has secured over £3 million of funding from HEFCE for two years of activities. This will include the launch of brand new outreach programmes as well as the growth of previously successful activities undertaken by MNCO. The activities proposed will engage with learners multiple times during their school lives, and also offer bespoke support to particularly under-represented groups. Nationally, the programme has three key aims. The first is to double the proportion of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in HE by 2020. The second aim is to increase the number of students from ethnic minority groups progressing to HE by 20%. The final aim is to address the under-representation of young men from disadvantaged backgrounds in HE.
The new project will approach these aims using two structured programme types; the core programme and the bespoke programme. Each programme will target the specific needs of the group involved with the core programme offering outreach programmes to a large number of participants while the bespoke programme will offer more tailored outreach to smaller groups. MNCO will deliver a core programme of outreach to schools within the priority wards, these schools will be selected based on their gaps percentage. Emphasis will be placed on the schools with the highest percentage of students who meet the criteria outlined by HEFCE. Many of these schools contain learners from multiple wards in the gaps area, therefore these schools will receive the most intensive outreach via the core programme. The bespoke programme will offer planned interventions that are specific to the needs of identified cohorts such as ethnic minorities or white working class boys. It will also be used with individuals who meet HEFCE’s gaps criteria, but attend a school with a lower percentage of such pupils. The network’s team will work closely with partner schools to identify these groups and the challenges faced within the different wards. Similarly to MNCO, the new project will bring together 12 HE providers across the Liverpool City Region with the University of Liverpool taking on the role of lead institution. Gavin Brown, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education and Chair of the newly formed Board of Governors says: “We are delighted to be leading on this important initiative to improve education advice and outcomes in the most disadvantaged areas of the Liverpool City Region. “Working with our partners we hope to be able to build a successful relationship with over 65 additional schools over the next two years.”
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The network will be working closely with participating schools and stakeholders in a planned Scoping Exercise. During these consultations, partners will be asked what their needs are and how, moving forward, the new project can best support attainment within school and progression to HE.
â&#x20AC;&#x153; We are delighted to be leading on this important initiative to improve education advice and outcomes in the most disadvantaged areas of the Liverpool City Region. â&#x20AC;?
ADDRESS:
TELEPHONE: EMAIL: TWITTER:
External Relations, Marketing and Communications, The University of Liverpool, Foundation Building, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L69 7ZX 0151 794 5350 chris.bayes@liv.ac.uk @MNCOutreach
The Scoping Exercise will take place over the next three months and those participating will be contacted directly to be asked to take part. The exercise will consist of a series of focus groups and interviews with school leaders based within Liverpool, Wirral, Halton, Knowsley & St Helens. The network is currently in the process of recruiting a brand new team who will be responsible for delivering the new project. This new project will build on the success of MNCO and the new team will be working tirelessly over the next two years to improve rates of progression and ultimately open doors for under-represented young people across the region. As one era of collaborative outreach comes to a close, the network reflects on the legacy of MNCO and looks towards a bright future of opening doors and opportunities for under-represented young people, giving them access to the world of higher education.
For more information about MNCO and its future developments, call Chris on 0151 794 5350.
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The next steps
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Thoughts Worth Sharing
CURRICULUM VITAE
Peter Dolan Outreach manager, student recruitment and admissions, Liverpool John Moores University
Your education: I attended Sacred Heart Catholic College, Crosby and Sheffield Hallam University where I gained a BA (Hons) History. What’s the secret of your success: I am passionate about the work the outreach team delivers and genuinely believe that the opportunities LJMU offers school pupils can be transformational in regard to raising aspirations. We very much have a team work ethic, with each member of staff empowered to contribute their expertise to achieve the collective goals in regard to widening access to higher education and in promoting the opportunities LJMU can offer. Emphasis is always on the needs of the schools and colleges we work with and providing the best possible service in regard to quality information, advice and guidance. What advice would you give to somebody starting out in education: ‘Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world’ - an old quote from Nelson Mandela but never more true. There are so many choices available, so consider your options carefully, work hard, take part in extracurricular activities which will enhance
your skill-set and take a path that will fulfil your personal ambitions. What makes LJMU different: LJMU is a modern civic university in the heart of the city with a proud history of teaching excellence and world-leading research dating back to 1823. With a vibrant community of over 25,000 students from over 100 countries world-wide, we encourage pupils from local schools and colleges to take advantage of the expertise on their doorstep. Lots of opportunities are available to interact with LJMU, supporting young people to map out their own futures prior to applying for university courses. Tell us about LMJU’s plans for the next 12 months: In my team there are lots of opportunities for pupils to get a flavour of what studying at LJMU is like, including a schedule of subject insight days, summer residential events, open days and student shadowing opportunities. The university is forward thinking and is constantly developing new initiatives, watch out for our range of degree apprenticeships available to study from September 2017.
Tweet all about it The five best educational tweets @markfidler89 A fabulous night celebrating the successes of schools across the North West! Thank you to all those involved @EducateAwards #EA16
EDUCATION STATS
53 per cent
53% off pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics for the national curriculum assessments at Key Stage 2 in England
£41Bn
Local authority gross spend on schools, education and children and young people’s services for 2015-16 is £41 billion, a reduction of £0.7 billion from 2014-15
2,280,830
The total number of higher education enrolments at UK Higher Education providers stood at 2,280,830 in 2015/16, an increase of 1%.
81 per cent
More than four in five pupils met the expected phonics standard in Year 1 (six year olds) in 2016, a 4% point increase from 2015 when 77% of pupils achieved the expected standard.
27,229
There were 27,229 new entrants to postgraduate Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses in the academic year 2016 to 2017, compared with 27,761 in an academic year 2015 to 2016.
@sthelenscouncil @GrangeValley1 celebrating becoming an 'outstanding' school releasing balloons with messages on why they think their school is outstanding!
@St_Aloysius_Pri We are delighted to say that we raised over £680 in the book fair & we are spending this on books for the children. Thanks for your support!
@WirralGov Huge congratulations to former governor colleague Alan Woodhouse @EgremontPrimary for MBE for services @samaritans & vulnerable people
@RicohUK We believe that the greatest asset of a company, a country, and the Earth itself is the imagination of its people.
4.4 per cent
The overall absence rate across statefunded primary and secondary schools has decreased slightly from 4.5% in autumn/spring 2014-15 to 4.4% in autumn/spring 2015-16. Overall absence rates have followed a generally downward trend over the past decade.
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Thoughts Worth Sharing
Headteacher Talk
Jason Roberts from Gateacre School
One thing I wished I had learned at school: Do it properly so you do not have to do it again. I say this because it took me a while to pass my maths GCSE, mainly because at that time in my life I was lazy and arrogant. I thought I knew best and I was very wrong. I wasted lots of time when I should have been studying, opening my GCSE results back in the 90’s was a tough day. The book I haven’t read that I must: I’m quite a book worm to be honest, it’s one of my favourite past-times when I’m not training, however one book that I have tried to get hold of that is really difficult and it actually has little to do with education is called Drill to Win by Andre Galvao a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Blackbelt. I’m a big believer in work-life balance and when I’m not in school I make sure I’m either spending time with my family or training and competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, most recently competing in America at the IBJJF World Masters Championships. The education story that has caught my eye: DfE demands £3 billion in savings… Shows the amount of pressure schools and leaders are placed under to deliver improved results yet under such difficult circumstances and with less money. Unfortunately this takes attention away from the real
e t i r u o v a F y M
purpose of schools; learning and children, their entitlement to a good education is at the mercy of budgets controlled by other people. What I am most proud of about our school: The pupils and the staff! The pupils turn up every day prepared to learn with a smile on their face, they are incredibly polite and are all working hard to improve. I feel it is an honour and a privilege to lead Gateacre School, the staff are simply wonderful. Since joining in September we have gone through a lot of change, and there is yet more change ahead but my staff have just got on with the job of teaching pupils.
“
It takes a long time to become young
”
and why Stuart Atherton Managing Director. MaD (Media and Digital Limited)
This is my favourite quote because: I really connect with this quote. We spend our whole lives trying to re-discover what we were born with!! Our company creates logos and brands for schools - the best ones are always the simple ones but the temptation is to over-think and complicate matters when we should trust our instincts which are usually right.
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Diane Bate A Week in the Life of… Diane Bate, headteacher at The District CE Primary School The District CE Primary School in Newton-le-Willows has a vision to create a ‘caring path to achievement’, which is at the heart of each and every child’s unique learning journey. It’s a philosophy that creates a happy and successful primary school experience, based on the school’s core values. These values of trust, compassion, love and endurance are particularly poignant this term, as the school can finally welcome back headteacher Diane Bate from an extended sick leave. It was the tremendous support from all the staff, children and parents which gave Diane the encouragement and assurance to return to school on a part-time basis, whilst receiving daily radiotherapy treatment. A year on from her diagnosis and now back fulltime, Diane shares a very special new start to the school term with us, as the school gears up for a busy year together. and confident pupil and once again Monday settled well into school life. At the start of the school week it’s really We also had a visit from David Thorpe important for me to lead our whole Senior Advisor from Liverpool Diocese. school worship. As a Church of England David had come to speak to my RE school, our worship times are very teaching and learning responsibility important as we come together as a holder about delivering CPD on ‘Godly school family to learn about our Play’ for teachers in the diocese. We are Christian values. This term, we are looking forward to this in the second focusing on Compassion. After worship half of the spring term. on a Monday, I take the time to visit all After school I looked in at our extended of our classes. I especially enjoy calling services afterschool club, run by our into ‘Little Stars’, our provision for 2 year own staff. It gives our working parents olds. the security of knowing their children Monday after school is staff briefing and are looked after by staff who have spent Continued Professional Development time with them during the school day. (CPD). This week we are focusing on planning for World Book Day as later on in the term we are having a pirate day Thursday This week I accompanied our assistant and a special visit from author Johnny heads on a learning walk of the school. Duddle. Our focus this half term is on the learning and progress of those pupils Tuesday who are in danger of falling behind. This Today’s focus was a pupil progress is the first real opportunity I have had meeting for one of our Year 1 classes. I since returning from an extended sick am always delighted to talk about our leave to join them in this activity. children and their successes, and look Our local authority surveyors visited the for ways in which we can further school to talk with me about plans to support those who may be struggling. upgrade the main entrance to the school As school ended today, we had a special to comply with requirements. This is a event for parents to taste the superb really exciting development for our quality of our school meals. Andrew the school as our Victorian building can look development chef from our local quite austere from the outside. authority came in to cook a variety of dishes for parents and pupils to try. I am pleased to say they were really well received! Friday As it’s the end of the week, I lead KS2 celebration worship. I love being able to Wednesday reward the children at the end of the One of the most delightful aspects of the week for all their hard work. It’s also a job is spending time with the children. time when staff can get together to Today was one of those days when I reflect on the learning that has gone on took special time at lunch to chat to in their classes with their support staff pupils. It was especially pleasing to chat and plan for the week ahead. This is with one of our Year 6 pupils who had something new this term and is in returned to our school after a year in addition to planning, preparation and another local authority. It was lovely to assessment time. see how they had returned as a mature 68
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Education News
Growing team Education company expands into new offices Following over 20 successful years working with schools throughout Merseyside, Hays Education’s Liverpool team kick started the academic year by moving into their brand new office in St Paul’s Square. As their relationships with schools and education professionals in the area has grown, they have also been able to expand their team. As a result, from a team of just three consultants 20 years ago, they now have a team of 24 specialist education consultants working from both their Liverpool City Centre and Warrington offices. Andrew Wainwright, business director for Hays said: “We are delighted to have moved into our fantastic new office space at the hub of Liverpool’s business community. I’m extremely proud of the growth of the Liverpool business over the last five years, which is down to a highly experienced management team coupled with exceptionally talented recruiters. “The new office space accommodates our growing team in a modern new environment as well as allowing for future growth.” The firm offer ‘whole school’ recruitment support and their local team
specialise in the following areas: leadership appointments, teachers, teaching assistants, SEND specialists, cover supervisors, and school support staff – SIMS administrators, finance, HR, technicians. Andrew said: “At Hays Education we feel that the key to our success is the partnership approach we adopt with our schools, and our new office is already proving invaluable in further strengthening our client relationships,
hosting 15 client and candidates events since opening. “We recently invited several of our partnership head teachers over from the Isle of Man, and arranged for them to meet with 38 NQTs from our local universities who will be available from September 2017. “It was a hugely successful event and we have a similar event booked in for February; for more information on our exciting Isle of Man school partnership.
Local Olympian to Find Team GB’s Future Stars Highly decorated artistic gymnast, Daniel Purvis, is hoping to help shape the stars of tomorrow with the launch of Daniel Purvis Gymnastics on Merseyside. Working in partnership with Sefton Council and British Gymnastics, the London 2012 Olympic Bronze Medal winner is bringing together a team of coaches to nurture talented children inspired by the success of Team GB in Rio and help promote gymnastics across the area. Daniel is no stranger to the borough from which he is launching his latest venture, having attended school in nearby Crosby and trained at the Southport YMCA, and the former Best Male British Gymnast believes the region is a hot bed of potential Olympic talent. Daniel said: “I am over the
moon to be launching Dan Purvis Gymnastics and it is something that I have been thinking about for some time. “Having grown up and trained in Sefton, I know how much talent there is in the local communities here and I believe gymnastics will thrive as a sport with the right infrastructure. “I have worked with Sefton Council on a number of projects and once I decided to push forward with the idea it was very important that they were also on board. There is a real focus on sports provision from the council and I believe that this partnership will only strengthen that.” Having won many medals during his career, including Golds at the 2012 European Championships and the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and recently a Silver medal at the
2015 World Championships in Glasgow, Daniel will look to his many years of experience when devising the training sessions. Daniel continued: “To be honest, I think coaching a group of youngsters aged 5-11 will be a vastly different challenge to anything I’ve faced before but I’m confident my experience will stand me in good stead. “The classes will be open to
all abilities, so I will be working closely with the team of coaches to put together a training schedule suitable for all. “However, I think it is important they we treat each child as an individual and make sure the training helps develop them to be the best that they can. Some children might never have taken part before but be a complete natural.”
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Viewpoint
The Homework Debate Should you have more, less or none at all? Homework is given out in more than 90% of primary schools in the UK, but for a hundred years experts have been trying to decide whether or not it's a good thing for you do it. Some people think homework puts too much pressure on you. A recent online vote about the amount of homework you get: whether it is not enough, just right or too much by BBC Newsround resulted in 8.9% saying there was not enough homework; 28.9 said it was just right and 62.2 said it was too much. They say research suggests that homework in primary school isn't helpful for students. But others say homework is an important part of learning how to work on your own and gives you time to practice what you've learnt in the classroom.
Paul Kinsella, headteacher, St Monicas Catholic Primary School It is understandable why the amount of homework given is a contentious issue. There are fair arguments on both sides. From a schools perspective, teachers know that those pupils who are motivated and prepared to produce additional extension work really benefit from their efforts in terms of their successes. This applies particularly at the first instance when early years children are given letters and words to learn as well as moving through their reading books. The home school link at this stage is vital and homework, in this format, produces positive learning and relations for all parties. This then builds as they grow up in their primary school and applies to all their years in primary school, not just at key exam points such as Year 2 and Year 6 SATs. For parents, they no doubt want their children to be happy and have a positive attitude to school, yet sometimes, homework can create tensions at home. The demands placed can be the source of real concern from parents about their children’s happiness and emotional welfare. Primary schools are now finding more and more that their children, despite their young ages, are facing enormous
additional pressures from social media and they spend hours on it at home each night. Time spent here on phones and tablets can run ahead of them, causing a panic that they have no time to do their homework, leading to more stresses! This is a new challenge for both schools and parents and achieving a fair balance is the way forward. Looking at these figures, the concerns from many parents isn’t about banning homework altogether, it is about getting the balance right so their children can enjoy other hobbies and pastimes beyond their school. This is absolutely vital for a happy family life so achieving this balance is the real challenge for everyone. When schools and parents do this together, for the benefit of their children, everyone wins. The homework debate will probably never go away, but one thing is for certain, and this may well upset the pupils, while homework may change in style and substance in the future to meet their new lifestyles and ways of learning, alas for them, it will probably never go away!
Michael Kennedy, principal, St Mary’s College Ask a teenager about homework tonight and you are likely to elicit a range of responses, some of them unrepeatable. Ask a parent, and the reply will probably be more measured but equally emphatic. It has to be done so let’s get on with it. But why bother? Why not leave it out and do something preferable? After all, Hollyoaks is more entertaining and there is more scandal and controversy to discuss on social media. Homework has always been one of those things we have to put up with; as a pupil back in the dark ages I thought the same. Yet life is like that: the challenges we need to undertake to achieve better things in the future often involve unpalatable groundwork that we can’t immediately see the purpose of.
Who wants to do housework? Who wants to queue at the supermarket tills?; or fill in tax forms? Seeing the long-term benefit of any task has to be the key to persevering now. Homework tasks don’t need to be tedious anyway. Teachers increasingly set more varied tasks that are designed to reinforce learning in the classroom and extend it at home. The satisfaction gained in solving a problem or completing an assignment can be truly rewarding, even for teenagers who might feel it is not cool to agree. The value of homework is truly appreciated when the rewards are tangible: success is the great justifier and it is the steps we take in getting there that make it all possible.
Have your say: To suggest or contribute to a topic for debate in Viewpoint email us at: educate@merseymirror.com www.educatemagazine.com Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
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SCHOOL
SPONSORED BY
Green-fingered Halton pupils
Pupils from a Halton primary school flexed their ‘green fingers' in their new allotment - thanks to a helping hand from bridge builder Merseylink. With no school field and little opportunity for experiencing nature, teachers at St Edward’s Catholic Primary School in Runcorn were in need of some extra help to bring a much-desired school allotment project to life. Following a successful application to Merseylink’s Time Bank scheme, the school now has a new allotment that boasts raised beds, compost bins, water butts and secure wooden storage - plus a large timber shelter that can be used for outdoor classroom activities. The whole area has been finished off with a wooden fence, giving the space a natural look and feel. And with the allotment in place, green-fingered youngsters are busy planning this year’s crops. Headteacher Karen O’Hare, said: “We are a small school in a built-up area with no school field to use but our children are all keen to plant and grow vegetables and fruit.
“Some of the younger children have grown potatoes, carrots and tomatoes in tubs, but due to the size of our grounds we haven't been able to take it any further. “Merseylink has done so much more with the area than we thought possible. The standard of workmanship is very high and an area that was previously useless has been completely transformed into a wonderful allotment. The children are really excited to start planting and making use of it.” Time Bank was set up to provide practical help and support to local community projects, schools, colleges and the local authority. Neil Wilcock, Merseylink’s employment and skills coordinator, said: “It’s important for children to learn where their food comes from so we’re delighted to have been able to support this fantastic project. “The children now have a safe, outdoor environment that they can use to get closer to nature whatever the weather. “I’d like to thank our team and generous suppliers who have worked extremely hard to turn this dream into a reality for the school”.
Bidston &
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Sponsored by
World of colour Art and literature brings school alive The staff and pupils of Our Lady and St Swithin’s, Croxteth launched a huge art installation in their school hall to celebrate the link between art and literature which has been a theme for the school throughout the term. Fast on the heels of a performance of William Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ parents and pupils all had tours of the amazing 3-D ‘house’ that has been constructed. Following on from an idea by Mrs Hamilton, the head of school, all pupils had an outdoor reading of the book ‘The Tin Forest’, followed by writing and art projects within the classroom, all of which were based on the story. Meanwhile, the school’s artist-in-residence, Amba Seker, began constructing the rooms with help from caretaker Mick Gainford. Pupils then worked on each of the rooms, each telling a different part of this emotional story. Children were encouraged to write on natural materials and before long, the rooms were full of writing – poetry, letters, dreams and creative prose. Reception children wrote their dreams on parchment framed by twigs, pondering on a world of colour, happiness and brightness. After weeks of hard work, the final masterpiece was launched. The whole project has successfully provoked and inspired children and staff, who both proudly took parents around the rooms during parents’ evenings. As Mrs Seker said: “We’ve tried to bring the story into life, and hopefully this can inspire everyone to take their writing to new levels of creativity”.
Students find out why recycling isn’t rubbish! St Laurence’s Catholic Primary School, Knowsley, took a trip to the Recycling Discovery Centre at Gillmoss Materials Recovery Facility to find out why recycling isn’t so rubbish after all. The visit tied in with their topic ‘The Great Plague’. The students carried out a waste sort to find out what can and can’t be put in their recycling bins at home, and also learnt about the ‘3 R’s’; Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Year 4 pupils then went on a tour to discover how recycling from homes across Merseyside gets sorted and separated, turning waste into a resource. From the viewing platform, they found out how mixed recycling was processed to create six separate resources; paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, steel cans, aluminium cans and glass bottles and jars. Kirsty, Veolia’s education officer said: ‘There are many ways a visit to the Recycling Discovery Centre supports the curriculum. I am really impressed at how the pupils have already looked at how much the school wastes and recycles’. 74
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EDUCATE Education, training and employment
16+
Sponsored by Greater Merseyside Learning Providers Federation (GMLPF)
Building bridges Chloe pursues civil engineering dream 17-year-old Chloe Sutch's dream of becoming a civil engineer has been cemented after a stint of work experience on the Mersey Gateway Project. Chloe, from Widnes, spent a week working alongside the Merseylink engineers who are busy building Halton’s new river crossing. The student, who is studying for Alevels in maths and 3D art and a BTEC in science at Carmel College in St Helens, has always been interested in architecture and engineering and was keen to get some practical experience on her CV. “The Mersey Gateway Project is right on my doorstep and I've been watching the construction for months,” she said, “I thought that getting some relevant work experience would help me with future job applications and interviews. I’d really like to apply for an advanced apprenticeship where I can learn on the job and study for a degree at the same time.” Construction joint venture Merseylink is a keen advocate of women in engineering. There are around 60 women working on the project in civil engineering, health and safety, environmental and administrative roles, and Chloe was able spend valuable time with some of them during her placement. Chloe saw the final anchor box being installed at the central pylon during a site tour across the trestle bridge. She then met graduate civil engineer, Rosey Thurling, who took her to see some of the specialist site equipment being used for deep soil mixing and piling, plus the beams and deck installation at the Victoria and Widnes Loops viaduct. Rosey said: “It was a pleasure to accompany someone so engaged and interested in a career that many 17-yearolds may never have even thought about. “Women are still very much the minority in site-based engineering and
Merseylink graduate civil engineer Rosey Thurling (left) with work experience student Chloe Sutch on the Mersey Gateway construction site
for me it is crucial to encourage young women and inform them of all the fantastic opportunities that are out there with a career in civil engineering.” Chloe also spent time with industry experts in bridge design, health and safety, environment, ecology and communications. She said: “It was great to get out on site with the Merseylink team and especially to have the opportunity to talk to some of the younger female engineers. “They gave me an insight into what it’s like to work on an engineering project of
this scale as a woman. It’s been an amazing experience and it's helped me realise that I definitely want to pursue a career in civil engineering.” Neil Wilcock, Merseylink’s employment and skills co-ordinator, said: “Supporting local young people in their career choices is very important to us. It’s invaluable to be able to gain work experience on one of the biggest civil engineering schemes currently underway in the UK - and it helps us to showcase just how rewarding a career in engineering can be.”
13 YEARS CHAMPIONING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING ON MERSEYSIDE
www.gmlpf.net
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Creepy goings-on Special effects artist visits KCC Beauty students at Knowsley Community College kicked off the new year and new term with a visit from Andy Savage, Special Effects Artist, specialising in prosthetics. Andy has worked with the likes of 20th Century Fox and most recently Hollyoaks, creating all things gory and gruesome. Bringing along some of his life-like creations for a demonstration, Andy first gave a talk on the processes of successful prosthetic creation and application with insider tips of the best products on the market. Andy stressed the importance of having good quality tools in your kit for sculpting, having reliable source material and encouraged the students to do their own research when creating a look. During the visit Andy produced a mould in real time, using it to create a zombie bite prosthetic before applying it to tutor Kathryn’s arm and adding special
effects make-up for a realistic bloody bite. Students were encouraged to ask
View from both sides of the lens The students of South Sefton College took the opportunity to be involved in the filming of a new Jimmy McGovern BBC TV drama ‘Broken’ featuring Sean Bean. Principal Frank McCann, said: “Obviously this was valuable experience for our media, film, drama and performing arts students who got to see television production on both sides of the camera. “Many other students took part in the drama as volunteer supporting artists. Arriving at college for 7.30am, they were met by the assistant directors, costume and makeup artists and briefed on what would be expected of them before going on camera. “Yes, it was difficult for some of our students not to stand-out in front of camera, but they managed it!”
South Sefton College students get a view from behind the lens
Educate+ sponsored by GMLPF
questions and take pictures throughout for their course journals before having a go themselves.
Progress Schools launch ‘unique’ centre Young people are being given a unique opportunity for high scores in the education stakes with the opening of Progress Schools’ new centre in Liverpool. Operating from one of the city’s most exciting youth venues at the Fire Fit Hub Super Youth Zone, this latest venture is a major move in the Progress Schools’ mission to offer innovative and flexible education. With its first intake now in place, the teaching of formal academic subjects is taking place in stateof-the-art classrooms. However, being based at the Fire Fit Hub means students can use its world-class sport, music and cultural facilities. Headteacher Siôn Hughes said: “Our Liverpool school is truly unique as it’s situated in the most amazing environment. “There’s already a culture at the Fire Fit Hub of putting young people at the heart of all its development and operations – what better place is there for our young people to learn and achieve?” The £5.2m Fire Fit Hub was created as a joint venture for Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service and a community centre with sports facilities for the use of the local community. Progress Schools’ students are able to use a full range of its facilities and equipment which include five-a-side and seven-a-side football pitches, dance and martial arts studio, fitness suite and gym with its weights and boxing ring. There’s also a chillout zone and healthy eating café. Siôn, who has 20 years’ experience in education and training in the UK and in Europe, is joined at Progress Schools Liverpool by four staff members – Tutor Georgina Bromley, Dominic Saffman, who tutors in PE and sports vocation studies, and teaching assistants Zoe Hughes and Patrick Darnacott.
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Myerscough expands College plans to revamp historic park Myerscough College are set to further expand their learning provision in Merseyside as part of a multi-million pound scheme to revamp a local park. Bowring Park in Huyton has received a major funding boost following a successful bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Big Lottery Fund (BLF), which will bring almost £2 million to a major project to restore the historic park. The project will see Myerscough offering courses in horticulture, sportsturf and golf studies in the park. In addition, current arboriculture learners based at the College’s Croxteth Centre will also access practical resources in the park to enhance their studies. The Bowring Park Restoration Project bid was initially spearheaded by
Knowsley Council in partnership with The Friends of Bowring Park and site leaseholders Mack Trading Ltd. An initial grant of £108,000 helped kick-start the project, funding a conservation plan, feasibility studies, an archaeological survey, as well as a consultation seeking the views of locals on the planned works. The project has now secured a grant of £1,848,500. The latest funding boost means that work is expected to get underway in summer 2017. Helen Eaton, Myerscough College assistant principal Liverpool, said: “Our involvement will be to establish Bowring Park as a Myerscough College Centre offering a range of programmes to local learners. “There will also be apprentices employed within
Bowring Park, Huyton
the project who will benefit from training with Myerscough College. “This is a fantastic opportunity for the College to work with Knowsley Council
and Mack Golf - it’ll really enhance the offer for young people in Knowsley whilst complimenting the provision at our Croxteth Centre”.
Undergraduates auditioned by West End actor The Hugh Baird University Centre welcomed West End actor, Emmanuel Kojo when he agreed to be the guest panellist at their undergraduate auditions. As well as appearing in West End productions of Show Boat and Kiss Me Kate, Emmanuel has recently been spotted with David Walliams as part of ‘Ill Prima Donna’ in BBC’s new comedy sketch show Walliams and Friend. Taking time out of his busy schedule, Emmanuel joined the panel at the university centre to help mark and critique the performances given by undergraduates as part of their final exams. The students are all working towards the BA (Hons) Top Up in creating performance, which is validated by the University of Central Lancashire, and the auditions will contribute towards the final marks for their degree. The undergraduates presented three audition pieces each, with performances including scenes from Pitchfork Disney,
The Tempest and After Juliet. The day was brought to a close with a question and answer session allowing the undergraduates to find out more about Emmanuel’s journey into musical theatre and to ask for advice as they start out on their own careers. Emmanuel said: “When I was invited to be on the panel for these auditions I had no hesitation in saying yes. “I’ve been where these students are and I know how important it is to be able to learn from people already in the business. “For me, it’s a chance to give something back and help other young actors. “The auditions have been amazing and it’s very clear to see how much passion these students have for the industry. I’ll look forward to watching their careers unfold.” Undergraduate, Chloe Robinson said afterwards: “I am really grateful to Emmanuel for taking an interest in us and speaking honestly about his own experience of auditions and the parts he has played. The
Educate+ sponsored by GMLPF
Emmanuel Kojo with university centre students
day has been truly inspiring.” Lecturer in creating performance at the Hugh Baird University Centre, Faye McGuire, said: “We are thrilled that Emmanuel has given his time to be on the panel today. It has been a fantastic opportunity for the
students to be critiqued by someone already making a name in the industry. “Having Emmanuel share his experience with them has given a valuable insight into the highs and lows they can expect when they graduate next year.”
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New Academy launched Northern Logistics Academy unveiled at VIP event Left to right: Anne Pryer, principal of Knowsley Community College, George Howarth MP and Jette Burford, principal of St Helens College
St Helens College and Knowsley Community College were joined by a host of VIP guests and industry players to unveil the Northern Logistics Academy at one of the sites in Kirkby. Over 100 VIP’s including local MPs, councillors and industry employers representing several sectors across the global logistics industry came together to help launch the Northern Logistics Academy, a project approved late last year by the Liverpool City Region’s growth deal fund in a bid to help close a growing skills gap. Councillor Ian Maher, portfolio lead for employment and skills for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, said: “The £1.38m of funding from the Growth Deal will ensure that the Liverpool City Region can offer logistic skills training and learning opportunities to meet employer’s needs, which will play a critical role in future economic growth.” The Northern Logistics Academy has two sites, one in Kirkby and another on Langtree Street in St Helens.
The investment has seen the development of brand new standalone distribution and warehouse environment training centres equipped with IT rich data processing centres with logistics software suites and dedicated transport simulators, providing a realistic student training facility. The two centres offer students a realistic working environment in which they can learn about product movement, from the initial receipt of goods through to storage, picking, packing and despatch as well as forklift truck training and HGV operations. An elevated viewing gallery will allow students to observe a working warehouse in action. Rt Hon George Howarth MP officially opened the facility. He said: “This new development is a very important step forward in training local people for an employment growth area – logistics. I hope this will prove the first of many such training opportunities.” The Northern Logistics Academy has been designed and developed with key employers to meet the future skills needs
of the sector, helping to bridge skills gaps and develop tomorrow’s workforce. The equipment, resources and facilities will create a training environment that prepares both young people and adults for a career in this growing industry by providing qualifications and training to update and complement existing skills and to develop new ones. Anne Pryer, Principal of Knowsley Community College and Jette Burford, St Helens College Principal welcomed guests to the event and added: “Logistics is central to the dynamic growth of the Liverpool City Region and our work with key employers in this sector has contributed to shaping our Northern Logistics Academy. “Our aim is to provide a pipeline of professionals to the sector over the next 20-30 years. The opportunities that this presents to young people and adults cannot be underestimated and we believe that the Northern Logistics Academy will be truly transformational in creating an employer centred approach to skills development for logistics.”
Food for thought Pupils of Holy Family Sixth Form were only to aware as winter months approached that it is important to remember those who are not as fortunate. This has encouraged the pupils to collect food for the local food bank. The pupils first started in October when the sixth form came together to collect food to donate to those in need from the local community. The students and sixth form staff visited the foodbank located in Waterloo and presented them with 15 full crates of food and toiletries. The sixth form students are continuing with their collections throughout the winter months.
www.gmlpf.net
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Advertorial
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Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
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Education News
Former pupil returns to deliver legal careers talk
PCS: Law solicitor, Derek Dawson, returned to his former Aigburth school to share his experiences with current pupils. The Liverpool lawyer returned to his former school, St Margaret’s CE Academy (SMA), to deliver an informative talk to Year 10 - 12 pupils about careers in law. PCS: Law is the commercial division of Paul Crowley & Co solicitors, based in Liverpool’s commercial district. Derek talked to pupils about his role as head of commercial litigation at the leading Liverpool law firm as part of the school’s newly launched ‘work inspiration programme’. SMA’s ‘work inspiration’ programme delivers weekly careers talks from selected industry professionals, giving students key information on various vocational options. Students were keen to hear about routes into the legal profession, how long it takes to become a qualified solicitor, different specialisms within the law, as well as potential earnings. A representatives from the University of Liverpool Law School also attended the event to answer all of pupils’ questions. Derek Dawson, head of commercial litigation at PCS: Law, said: “It was a pleasure to return to St Margaret’s to speak to pupils about my experiences in
the law and answer their questions. “The students were incredibly engaged in the discussion and helped to direct an informative and dynamic session. “Trying to decide on a future career path is an incredibly hard process, which requires a lot of careful consideration. Asking the right questions and seeking guidance is an essential part of this process. “Fostering local talent is incredibly important, and as a firm we are always on the look out to help and guide future lawyers across Merseyside.” Greg McLean, careers at post-16 data manager at SMA, said: “It was great to welcome Derek back to St Margaret’s with his wealth of knowledge and experience. “As a former student, he was able to offer a former student’s perspective on careers in law and gave a very insightful and engaging talk about options open to students. “In such a highly competitive job market, it is vital students have all of the necessary tools to help them achieve their career aspirations, and our ‘work inspiration programme’ is key to equipping pupils with the right skillset to help them progress and succeed. “I am very grateful to PCS Law and in particular, Derek, for giving up his time to speak with our students”.
Teachers Outstanding Achievement
Jess Bolton a teacher from Merefield School in Ainsdale has been awarded the National Primary Science Teaching Trust Award. Merefield School is a special school which provides education for 92 children/young people aged between 4 and 19 who all have severe and complex learning difficulties. What is remarkable about Jess’s award is the fact that in 2012 Jess had a placement at Merefield during her Initial Teacher Training Programme which inspired her to pursue a career within the SEN Sector. In September 2013 Jess was appointed as an NQT within Merefield with a further appointment in September 2014 as a permanent member of staff. During the academic year 2014/15 Jess was the lead co-ordinator for a collaborative science project involving all special schools’ within Sefton. This project was funded by the Primary Science Teaching Trust ( PSTT ). During the course of this project the work that Jess was doing with regards to science teaching within the SEN sector was recognised and she was put forward to be accepted as a Fellow of the PSTT. In May 2016 Jess Bolton was successfully accepted as a Fellow of the Primary Science Teaching Trust (PSTT). This in itself is an outstanding achievement - only 25 teachers each year are accepted as Fellows and Jess is only the second teacher to be accepted from the SEN sector. Headteacher Sue Clare, said: “For Jess to receive such a prestigious, national award after only three years of teaching is an amazing achievement for both herself and Merefield School as it clearly demonstrates the support and CPD that Jess has received during the past three years. “Words cannot express how proud I am of Jess and this achievement and how excited I am by the future opportunities this partnership with the PSTT will create here at school”.
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UNFORGETTABLE DAY Sky’s the limit for school’s special guest Professor Brian Cox spent a “wonderful and fascinating day” at St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School in Netherley as the Year 6 classroom became a temporary TV studio. The celebrated physicist and broadcaster joined pupils to oversee experiments for The Royal Society about heart rate which were carried out both in the classroom and outdoors. Teacher Kate Ridley was selected alongside the scientist and TV presenter to help create a set of teaching resources to support primary school teachers to be able to create inspiring experiments for their Key Stage 2 pupils to be able to do at school. After a morning of filming indoors, the action switched to the school playground as the children conducted experiments under the watchful eye of Professor Cox who is Professor for Public Engagement in Science for the Royal Society.
A final moment from a memorable day
Professor Cox casts an expert eye over the test results
Professor Brian Cox
It wasn’t a typical day at St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School!
The cameras kept filming!
Testing a resting heart rate as Professor Cox looks on
The children were filmed conducting their own experiments around heart rate
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THE BIG COUNTDOWN TV presenter Rachel Riley visits school An exciting event aimed at inspiring young women to study STEM based subjects took place at Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School. Organised and hosted by Merchant Taylors’ School and facilitated by All About STEM, the day included a special appearance by Countdown’s Rachel Riley as keynote speaker. Rachel talked passionately about her background in maths and put her skills to action by working with pupils on different maths equations. The day also included talks from guest speakers Dr Anna Slater and Dr Melanie Windridge and a careers fair with a wide range of companies and universities in attendance such as Unilever, Sellafield, Landrover, Amec and Liverpool Hope University. Other schools from across the region were also invited on the day, including Chesterfield High School, Hillside High, Deyes High, Archbishop Beck, Broadgreen International, Formby High and St Michael’s.
The TV presenter happily posed with a few sixth from students
LIPA had a stand at the careers fair
The TV presenter discussed her background in maths
Pupils could move around the stands and chat to staff
The Sellafield stand was very popular
A quick snap with Rachel Riley for the visiting pupils of Chesterfield High School
The girls listened to an enthralling talk from Dr Anna Slater, a prominent scientist
Keynote speakers Rachel Riley and Dr Anna Slater
Some stands had challenges for the pupils at the careers fair
In the classroom!
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A group shot outside the new building
NEW ERA FOR SFX COLLEGE School celebrates opening of new facilities St Francis Xavier’s College (SFX) celebrated its new £7.6 million facilities with a special Mass attended by selected students and visitors. A new plaque was unveiled which will hang pride of place in the school’s reception area. The refurbishment and new buildings include a brand new science block to replace the existing temporary accommodation, sixth form facilities, sports hall and music department. The main entrance has also been moved from Beaconsfield Road to Woolton Hill Road. The Liverpool school has been refurbished and partly rebuilt as part of Mayor Joe Anderson’s schools investment programme. Attended by Father Andrew Burns, a number of dignitaries, past and present headteachers and pupils, the day was a celebration of old and new. Different artefacts were brought forward representing the history of the College, including a tapestry from the original school in Salisbury Street.
Head girl Ellie Barlow, Year 13, made a reading
The plaque will hang in the school’s reception area
Father Andrew Burns from Bishop Eton parish led the Mass
Executive headteacher Les Rippon got proceedings underway
A number of dignitaries attended the service including two visiting Brothers from France
Jake Henry Year 7 There was a musical opening to the blessing
Pupils stood for prayers during the service
Past and present headteachers of SFX attended
Pupils from all school years attended the service
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Sixth Form Open Evening
Tuesday 7 February at 6.30pm State-of-the-Art, Science, Sport & Creative Media Sixth Form Facilities We aim for excellence and our commitment to this is reflected in the investment in our new, state-of-the-art Sixth Form Science, Sport and Creative Media facilities. Our Sixth Form offers a wide range of subjects and remains firmly committed to maintaining a first class reputation with employers and Higher Education institutions.
To find out more please call 0151 288 1000 or email admin@sfx.liverpool.sch.uk St Francis Xavier’s College, Woolton Hill Road, Liverpool L25 6EG
www.sfx.liverpool.sch.uk
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HOLD THE FRONT PAGE Bickerstaffe take over Educate HQ! By pupils Freya Ramsden and Sophie Ralfs
The editorial team from Bickerstaffe Primary School paid a visit last term to the Educate offices. There were many activities to do. Freya was in a group with Luke and Lilly; Sophie was in a group with Alex, Erin Martin and Lottie. The activities were lots of fun, we had people to show us around so we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get lost and their names were Lydia, Sarah and Hannah. The activities included photography. In photography we had the chance to learn about the different types of lenses. Even though the cameras were really heavy some of us managed to lift them; we learned to use a zoom lens and a wide angle lens. It was really exciting to learn a new skill. The next activity was learning how to be a journalist. While we were journalists we had to research ten different facts about Christmas which will probably be in our school magazine, The Juicy Word. We also got to design a new T-Shirt for Running Club which we will get made. Another part of the activity was designing the front cover of The Juicy Word, which turned out great. We got to learn all about what the other workers were doing, it was very interesting. After that we had to go back to school but it was a great visit and we hope we can return again soon.
The Bickerstaffe editorial team
Erin designs a T-shirt
A thumbs up from Lottie A photo taken by a Bickerstaffe pupil
Natasha Young, editor of Your Move Magazine, working away
Alishia in the office Mr Draper tweets
Lydiah and Erin
Erin concentrates on her design
Busy bees working on cover designs
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A TALE AS OLD AS TIME
The performances were packed with proud family members!
Classic story wows local audiences Students from St John Bosco Arts College took part in a spectacular production of a “Tale As Old of Time”. Their creative retelling of the classic musical Beauty and the Beast included a stellar cast of Year 7 students. Students worked on the production in their own time, costumes were designed by KS5 fashion students and a team of staff and students helped work on the props. Three performances took place including a matinee for local primary schools and two evening performances, which were all received with standing ovations!
Caitlin Price shone in the role of the ‘beast’.
The production followed the adventures of Belle, played by Lauryn Fitzpatrick
Lauryn Fitzpatrick and Bella Jones
Mia Mapp and Cara Vadgama act out a dramatic scene!
Serena Knockaert, Abigail Asemota and Zoe Onwu take the stage!
Pupil Shannon Gaskell played the role of ‘Cogsworth’
The creative retelling of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ was a huge hit
A big round of applause for the whole cast!
Pupil Kamby Anakwue hit the stage in a costume designed by KS5 fashion students
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OLYMPIC APPROVAL St Silas celebrate opening of new sensory room St Silas Primary School in Toxteth have officially opened its new sensory room with the help of special guests. Team GB boxer Natasha Jonas, the first woman to box for Great Britain at the Olympic Games was on hand to cut the ribbon alongside Ashley Lewis from the Morgan Foundation. The sensory room, funded by the Morgan Foundation is named ‘The Bubble’ and is a place for children from pre-nursery to Year 3 to learn new skills in lots of different areas. The sensory room will help pupils develop speech and language and will support emotional and social skills. The room will also be a special place for reflection and mindfulness. The school’s head girl Lucy Chor and head boy Omer Abobakar led the official opening and welcomed guests to the new facility, alongside pupils from prenursery and reception. The morning ended with the cutting of the celebratory cake, which everyone enjoyed!
Natasha Jonas cuts the ribbon to officially open the new sensory room
The sensory room is named ‘The Bubble’
The schools head boy and girl welcomed guests
A big cheer for the new facility
A cake to mark the occasion was cut by Morgan Foundation’s Ashley Lewis Team GB boxer Natasha Jonas was the guest of honour
The plaque to commemorate the opening
The sensory ball pond is great fun
The school’s pupils at the sensory table
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CROWING GLORY FOR BOOKER Schools go head-to-head in sporting challenge Booker Avenue Junior School have been crowned Liverpool Sportshall Athletics Champions after a pulsating competition at Archbishop Beck Catholic Sports College in Liverpool. The pupils from Mossley Hill emerged triumphant from a thrilling afternoon of sporting drama when no fewer than 275 schoolchildren battled it out at the event organised by the Liverpool Schools Sports Partnership (LSSP). Ten schools: Booker Avenue, Childwall C of E, Dovedale CP, Lister Juniors, St Anne’s, St Austins, St Cuthbert’s, St Margaret’s (Anfield), St Michael’s in the Hamlet and St Sebastian’s qualified for the finals day. The top four teams also qualified for the prestigious Summer Games which will be held later this year. Organiser Jay Watkinson from LSSP said: “It has been an excellent competition and Booker Avenue are worthy winners although each and every team can be very proud of their efforts. “I have been genuinely surprised at the quality of the performances we have seen today – it has definitely improved since last year – and we have been watching many future stars in action.”
Booker have now qualified for the end of season Summer Games
Handover!
“Houston, we have lift-off!”
The relay races were thrilling
A leap for victory
This young competitor keeps his eyes shut as he makes a throw
Support for all the teams was fantastic
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A medal for the winners
Who has won? All will be revealed...
The Booker Avenue kids can’t believe they’ve won
The tension is unbearable as the results are read out
The jumping event was very demanding The event was held at Archbishop Beck
‘On your marks’…
The picture which tells of a great afternoon of sport
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‘EGG’CELLENT DAY OF STEM
Ready for the drop
Pupils drop in for a day of ‘egg’citement As winners of the STEM Project of the Year Award at the Educate Awards 2016, Gateacre School know a thing or two about exciting STEM initiatives. The school teamed up with STEM Project runners up Rudston Primary School and Norman Pannell Primary School to design and create parachutes using only binbags, string, paper and sellotape. The parachutes needed to safely deliver a present – an egg! – from three floors up within Gateacre’s atrium. The younger students were ably assisted by Gateacre students from Years 8-10 and managing director of All About STEM, Michelle Dow. Students had a great time seeing which parachute would work, and ‘egg’citement reached fever pitch when many of the chutes managed to survive the drop from the top floor. Miss Walters, deputy headteacher, Rudston Primary School, said: “It was a fantastic opportunity for our Year 5 children to learn and apply their science knowledge in a fun and creative way.
Total concentration from Su Min
All smiles from Harry and Heidi
Sadie and Georgia watch in anticipation Finn pays full attention
A Gateacre pupil explains the experiment
Christopher puts the final touches to his design
Paddy - finding ways to improve his parachute
Karl and Christopher enjoy the fun
Listening to advice from Gateacre children
The Oompa Loopma class with teacher Miss Walters
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Dorothy meets the Tin Man
WIZARDLY WONDERS A memorable performance of a classic tale Students from Sacred Heart School, Crosby wowed audiences with their annual big stage production this year, The Wizard of Oz. Over three nights, St Edward Hall was packed to the rafters as joyous crowds were entertained by Dorothy, the Tin Man, Scarecrow, Lion and not forgetting Toto. Year 10 pupil, Ethan O’Shaughnessy said: “I have loved every second of this show. I made so many friends and the whole cast was amazing. So many memories have been made; I’m so thankful for the opportunity. From the rehearsals, all the way up to the performances, I will never forget a moment. The performance also made an impression on Year 10 pupil Hannah Thompson who said: “This production has been a fantastic opportunity. I have really grown as a person and my acting skills have improved. I have made some amazing memories and met some of my best friends. I will never forget this show”. Dorothy follows the Yellow Brick Road
The Scarecrow
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The Wicked Witch of the North
The Tin Man, Lion, Dorothy and Scarecrow are off to see the wizard
Dorothy takes a bow
An outstanding performance
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RECOGNISING ACHIEVEMENT Calderstones celebrate Awards Evening Each year Calderstones School celebrate the achievements of their pupils at their annual awards ceremony. On each occasion they invite a guest speaker to present the awards and address the audience of pupils, parents, teachers and school governors. This year’s guest speakers for the evening were Richard Thompson, headteacher of Booker Avenue Junior School and Kath Wyke who works for Career Connect. Over 100 pupils from each year group were invited to receive awards for attainment, diligence, academic, sporting or music success. Following the sad loss of former pupil and professional footballer, Zoe Tynan over the summer, the school posthumously awarded The Kelly Spurgeon Award to Zoe, the award was presented for her outstanding services to the school. The school is also supporting a number of initiatives such as the Alzheimer’s Society to help raise awareness and money for causes that Zoe supported and over £500 was raised on the night.
A glorious array of awards
Outstanding Leadership - Ciara Brodie and Haseeb Tahir
The Paul Reeve Award – winner Rachel Farrell
John Windever Memorial Trophy Claire Youds
The Brian Humphreys Award - Ben Rimmer The Phil Gibbons Award - Eve Adamson
The Philip Hammond Award - Emily Hindley
The Frank Longworth Trophy - Louis Saha
The Arthur Emmet Award: Year 9 Netball Team – City Champions 2016
The KS3 Student Leadership Award - George Nolan
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MAKING A SPLASH Emmaus shoot their way to water polo crown Emmaus Primary School have been crowned water polo champions of Liverpool after coming out on top after a brilliant day of competition at the Wavertree Aquatics Centre. The school emerged victorious to clinch the winner’s shield after eight schools competed against each other on a roundrobin basis in front of Team GB water polo star Tom Curwen. 41 teams initially entered the competition with just eight qualifying for the finals day and the chance to be crowned city champions. Following an initial round of matches, the teams were seeded with the top four sides battling it out for the coveted trophy of Liverpool champions and it was the team from Croxteth Park who came out on top. Event organiser Niki Horton said: “This was one of the most thrilling days of competition we’ve seen in the pool for a long time. “Emmaus are worthy winners but it was very close and all schools that took part should be proud of how they performed.”
Great goalmouth action
The goalkeepers started many attacks off
Racing for the loose ball
A pass is made to launch an attack
Looking for the right pass
The block is on!
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The goalkeeper sets off an attack
Overall winners Emmaus School
A brilliant save is made
GB star Tom Curwen
Action from Northwood (red) and Our Lady of Good Help (blue)
Looking for that opening pass
A long shot on goal
The competition took place at Wavertree Aquatics Centre
Runners up were Christ the King School
The agony of a missed chance is clear to see
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READING ROCKS ‘Phenomenal’ event promotes reading The District C of E Primary School held a “phenomenal” and “uplifting” event as the St Helens school hosted its inaugural Reading Rocks day. Primary school teachers and librarians from throughout the UK attended the event which was organised exclusively over Twitter using the hashtag #ReadingRocks16 and was designed to discuss ways to make reading rock for every pupil. Delegates spent the day listening to keynote speakers – including notable talks from James Clements, the founder of Shakespeare and More, who works with schools to develop the teaching of reading and Mat Tobin, a senior lecturer in English and children’s literature. There was also a live broadcast of the school’s radio station. Event, organiser Heather Wright said: “Today has been a phenomenal day. I cannot tell you how uplifting it’s been to be part of such a buzzing day.”
The brilliant Radio Club
A book-themed cake was the prize in the raffle
Reading Rocks 2016!
Emily took time out to read from her favourite book
Two of the school’s pupils wait to go live
Authors Charlotte and Adam Guillain are interviewed live on radio A delegate enjoys a quiet moment in the Story Shack
Staff welcomed guests to the school’s fantastic Story Shack
These delegates had travelled from Scunthorpe to attend
‘Reading gives flight to imagination’
Delegates enjoyed a break in the superb book-themed playground
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Book Review
In association with
5-8 Years The Adventures of Dog Man - Dav Pilkey £6.49 Dog Man, the newest hero from the creator of Captain Underpants, is still learning a few tricks of the trade. If only the chief would throw him a bone every once and a while... Dog Man needs to dry up the drool, dust away the dander, and roll out of the refuse if he's going to impress the chief, and he needs to do it fast! Marge in Charge - Isla Fisher, Queen Bee Productions £5.99 Meet Marge, the mischievous babysitter with rainbow hair who loves to make a mess and bend the rules... at dinnertime chef Marge cooks up chocolate soup, and at school Marge the muscian conducts a chaotic concert in the playground! Jake and Jemima have brilliant fun with their new babysitter, but will they manage to tick off all the jobs on m0ummy's list? The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop - Clare Balding £5.50 Charlie Bass is a horse-mad nine-year-old who dreams of owning her own pony. So when her eccentric parents announce that they are going to buy a racehorse, Charlie is thrilled. The horse they buy, Noble Warrior, looks the part: strong, fit and healthy. There's just one problem - he won't gallop. In fact, he won't even trot round the field without his best friend, Percy, a naughty palomino pony, at his side.
9-12 Years Fiction The Goldfish Boy - Lisa Thompson £5.49 A story about finding friendship when you're lonely and hope when all you feel is fear. Twelve-year-old Matthew is trapped in his bedroom by crippling OCD, spending most of his time staring out of his window as the inhabitants of Chestnut Close go about their business. That is, until the day he is the last person to see his next door neighbour's toddler, Teddy, before he goes missing. The Boy Who Sailed the Ocean in an Armchair - Lara Williamson £5.49 Becket Rumsey is all at sea. His dad has run away with him and his brother Billy in the middle of the night. And they've left everything behind, including their almost-mum Pearl. Becket has no idea what's going on - it's a mystery. So with the help of Billy and a snail called Brian, Becket sets out on a journey of discovery. It's not plain sailing but then what journeys ever are? The London Eye Mystery - Siobhan Dowd £6.99 11.32am. Ted and his sister Kat watch their cousin Salim get on board the London Eye. The pod rises from the ground, high above the city. 12.02am. The pod lands and the doors open. Everyone exits - everyone but Salim. Has he spontaneously combusted? (Ted's theory.) Has he been kidnapped? (Aunt Gloria's theory.) Is he even still alive?
Teenage Fiction Holding Up the Universe - Jennifer Niven £5.99 Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed 'America's Fattest Teen'. But no one's taken the time to look past her weight to get to see who she really is. Since her mum's death, she's been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby's ready: for high school. The Sun is Also a Star - Nicola Yoon £6.49 Natasha: I'm a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I'm definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won't be my story. Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy - Cassandra Clare £9.99 Simon has been a human and a vampire, but after the events of City of Heavenly Fire left him stripped of his memories, he isn't sure who he is any more. When the Shadowhunter Academy reopens, Simon throws himself into this new world of demon-hunting, determined to find himself again.
Are you a librarian, teacher or purchasing manager? Do you buy books for your school? Waterstones Liverpool offers a comprehensive account sales service. Contact Sarah Hughes, Children's Department, Liverpool ONE, 12 College Lane, Liverpool, Merseyside L1 3DL. Tel: 0151 709 9820
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School News
Lego house builders Lessons in bridge building inspire the next generation The bridge builder behind Halton’s new river crossing is giving lessons with Lego to inspire the next generation of civil engineers. Merseylink - the construction joint venture building the iconic Mersey Gateway bridge - offered the special lessons to local primary schools so children can find out how to become bridge builders when they grow up. Mersey Gateway volunteers are delivering the creative sessions using Lego to raise awareness of the civil engineering industry with children at an early age. Youngsters learn what civil engineering is and what civil engineers do, how structures are built and what makes a well-built bridge. Pupils are then given the opportunity to put their knowledge to the test by using Lego to explore different ways of building bridges. Widnes Academy West Bank was the first primary school in Halton to host Merseylink’s Lego lesson with pupils from Year 4. Teacher Anna Myles said: “The children thoroughly enjoyed their morning of Lego bridge building. They were able to develop their creativity and teamwork skills and it has inspired some future budding civil engineers.”
The pupils enjoyed the day and said: “That was the best session ever, I now know what I need to do to be a civil engineer,” and “when I grow up I am going to design a new bridge.” Karen Nicholson, Merseylink’s liaison Officer, said: “The Mersey Gateway is one of the biggest infrastructure projects
currently underway in the UK and it’s right on the doorstep of many local primary schools. “We hope that by delivering these sessions in a fun and interactive way we will encourage children to think about becoming civil engineers when they are older”.
Drumming up a beat Members of BKO Quintet, an African group whose music is based on traditional Malian rhythms, visited St Luke’s CE Primary School, Formby and led djembe workshops throughout the afternoon. The band were in Liverpool at the beginning of their UK tour and were invited to St Luke’s through links with Africa Oye, hosts of the annual African music and culture festival and Gafro, who teaches drumming at the school. Aymeric and Ibrahima performed and shared their expertise with over seventy children – a truly unique experience - and the drumming club members performed a short piece for the visitors. African drumming has been taught at St Luke’s for five years. All junior children have lessons and some take up the chance of masterclasses with Gafro after school. Jennie Harper, music and arts co-ordinator, said: “This was a wonderful opportunity for the children to take part in a workshop led by international musicians. “Music of all genres is very much celebrated in school but this afternoon has been the highlight of the year”. 108
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Aymeric and Ibrahima shared their expertise with the pupils
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Girls’ Fashion
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School News
Stuart wins recognition at awards Stuart Elsworth at teacher at St Christopher’s Primary School in Speke, Liverpool has received the MCC Teacher of the Year Award at the Chance to Shine Annual Awards. Stuart was recognised for his hard work supporting grassroots cricket and received his award from England Cricketer Jason Roy and Chief Executive of the Marylebone Cricket Club, Derek Brewer at Lord’s Cricket Ground. The Chance to Shine Annual Awards celebrates clubs, individuals and schools who help to spread the power of cricket and make the charity such a success. The winners on the night came from those involved in both the schools and street programmes, rewarding them for their efforts, enthusiasm and commitment to the game. Outside of the school hours, Stuart dedicates his free time to regular break, lunch and after-school cricket sessions to prevent vulnerable children from getting into trouble and create a fun, safe space for participants to enjoy. Stuart has built a cricket community and raised the profile of the game in Liverpool. After receiving the award Stuart said: “It’s been a fantastic evening and I’m just absolutely delighted to have won. All the hard work is worth it when you see the children just enjoying the game. “It’s just about building their confidence up and showing them that if you try your best and put the effort in then you can
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Jason Roy, Stuart Elsworth (MCC Teacher of the Year) and CEO MCC Derek Brewer
achieve things. Cricket has been amazing for the children and it means the world to me to be recognised by Chance to Shine.” Dave Goodall, LCB’s cricket development coach who delivers the Chance to Shine programme at St Christopher’s said: “Usually five or six schools used to dominate cricket in Liverpool and from the blue St Christopher’s suddenly emerged and started to win. It was Stuart’s enthusiasm which makes the kids feel good and he wants the pupils to actually realise and achieve success.”
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WHERE CAN WE GO? Our pick of what’s happening out & about in the region
28 January
Liverpool Peace Proms 2017 Echo Arena, Liverpool, Kings Dock, Liverpool Waterfront, Liverpool L3 4FP 0844 800 0400
ndStau o tt even
Almost 3,000 children from primary schools in Liverpool and beyond will take part in Peace Proms at Echo Arena Liverpool. The massed choir of 3,000 children will sing with Ireland’s most celebrated youth symphony orchestra – the Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland. The performance will be conducted by internationally acclaimed Greg Beardsell, who is one of the most outstanding and inspirational conductors of his generation. Soloists will include virtuoso violinist Patricia Treacy; stunning vocalists Zean Donnelly, Eoin Hynes and Lauren Murphy, 21 - 25 February
Book! now
Michael Rosen’s Bear Hunt, Chocolate Cake & Bad Things 28 January - 23 April Liverpool ONE, 5 Wall Street, Tel: 0151 729 2232
Step inside a humongous chocolate cake and explore a secret larder, swishy swashy and splash splosh your way through a Bear Hunt. And dare you explore the Bad Things in the Dread Shed? Discover hidden rooms and brilliant clues that show what inspired Michael Rosen’s writing including his grandparents’ sitting room and his classroom. The experience focuses on some of Michael’s most popular books! Discover hidden rooms and brilliant clues that inspired Michael Rosen’s writing. A typical visit to Z-arts to see Bear Hunt, Chocolate Cake & Bad Things, would start with a walk through of Michael Rosen’s books in an immersive world of bear caves, rivers, forests, snowstorms and chocolate cake – not to mention the dread shed!
Sprung a Leak 2016 by Cécile B Evans
Roald Dahl’s The Twits
“Mr. Twit was a twit. He was born a twit. And, now at the age of sixty, he was a bigger twit than ever.” This mischievous new show promises to be just as disgusting and repulsive as earth worms disguised as spaghetti – the perfect treat for all the family. The Twits really are the most spiteful and revolting couple you could ever hope to meet. They spend their days playing wicked tricks on each other and mistreating Muggle-Wump monkeys. They also have a particularly sticky trick to catch Roly-Poly birds for their bird pies. But not for much longer because the monkeys have a cunning plan to teach those terrible twits a lesson. 112
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FUTURE EVENTS
Playhouse Theatre, Williamson Square, Liverpool L1 1EL Tel: 0151 709 4776
Dig tec andital hn olo gy
11 - 12 March Tate Liverpool, Albert Dock Liverpool Waterfront, Liverpool L3 4BB Tel: 0151 702 7400 Sprung a Leak 2016 explores the movement of data, artificial intelligence, and the relationship between humans and machines. This brand new installation examines the increasing influence that new technologies have on how we feel and act. Sprung a Leak 2016 draws on research in the fields of science, technology, film and theatre. Visitors are invited into a narrative loop that unfolds across multiple screens, robots, a fountain and other sculptural elements. Through conversations between the robots and human performers appearing on the digital screens, a story will unfold exploring emotions and vulnerabilities in an ever evolving, digital world.
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8 - 25 February
4 February - 22 April
FILM and APP REVIEW The LEGO Batman Movie Will be released on Friday 10 February
Pirates, Pants & Wellyphants Kirkby Gallery, 1st Floor, The Kirkby Centre, Norwich Way, Kirkby L32 8XY Tel: 0151 443 5617 Nick Sharratt is an illustrator and an author and his job is to draw pictures and create stories for children’s books. He’d like to invite you to this exhibition which is all about him and his work.
The Narnia Experience St George’s Place, Liverpool L1 1JJ. Tel: 0151 225 6909 The experience itself is a walkthrough theatrical experience, where visitors step through a wardrobe of fur coats stumbling upon a wintery forest full of pine trees. Visitors take the role of either Lucy or Edmund and follow the story from their perspective, meeting all the characters.
Saturday 25 February
Thursday 23 February
Directed by Chris McKay Starring: Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes Verdict: ★★★★★ By Andy Kelly
Free event
The LEGO Movie proved to be a worldwide phenomenon, the self described leading man of the group - LEGO Batman- gets the chance to star in his own big screen adventure: The LEGO Batman Movie but there are big changes brewing in Gotham, but if Batman (Will Arnett) wants to save the city from the Joker's hostile takeover, he may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up.
Planet Earth II (DVD)
Meet the Scientists Victoria Gallery & Museum, Ashton Street, Liverpool L69 3DR Tel: 0151 794 2348
Night Run The Walk, Speke, Liverpool L24 1XD Tel: 0151 427 7231
Come along and meet scientists from the University of Liverpool and find out about some amazing animals! There will be lots of hands-on activities and experiments suitable for children of all ages and there is plenty to do for adults too!
Discover Speke Hall in a different light and explore the grounds and estate in the dark. Night Run will give you the opportunity to test your running skills at night in a beautiful setting. Open to all ages.
Saturday 15 April
19 - 23 April
Alice in Wonderland Knowsley Leisure and Culture Park, Longview Dr, Huyton L36 6EG. Tel: 0151 443 2200 Follow Alice and the White Rabbit as they set off on a colourful, topsy-turvy adventure like no other and meet a host of outlandish characters including Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, the notorious Queen of Hearts and of course, the Mad as a Hatter.
Gangster Gran Liverpool Empire Theatre, Lime Street, Liverpool L1 1JE Tel: 0151 702 7320 It’s Friday night and Ben knows that means only one thing – staying with granny! There will be cabbage soup, cabbage pie and cabbage cake and Ben knows one thing for sure – it’s going to be sooooooooo boring! But what Ben doesn’t know is that granny has a secret!
Presented by David Attenborough By BBC's Natural History Unit Verdict: ★★★★★ By Andy Kelly
It’s been ten years since the eleven part Planet Earth was released. Now the BBC’s film units have returned with the latest technology including motion stabilizers to recapture the natural world. The results are far more than just eye candy though, David Attenborough’s narration fills the screen time with informative facts without ever making you feel like you’re being bombarded or distracted from what you’re viewing. Still Planet Earth II reveals some remarkable facts about the jungle which we’re told covers just 6% of the earths’ surface but accounts for 50% of all land based plants and animals. In some jungles just 2% of the sun’s light reaches the ground and one third of spider monkeys die before reaching adulthood. Attenborough also injects a little humour into his narrative a points one little humming bird he says “goes to great lengths” to avoid conflict. In terms of who can watch this, I’d say the series is suitable for all round family viewing, and there is little blood or gore so young children should be okay, a few upsetting scenes though in episodes 5 and 6.
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My School Days Dan Purvis - artistic gymnast
Crosby born gymnast Dan Purvis is an international elite artistic gymnast, and three-time British allaround champion in men's artistic gymnastics.
My schools: I attended Great Crosby Primary School and Sacred Heart Catholic College. My favourite teacher: Oh! that’s a difficult one, there have been so many great teachers and I couldn’t possibly pick out one. Favourite subject at school: Art and of course PE. I loved to draw as a kid but my main subject was PE. Were you streetwise or a bit of a geek? I was a shy boy in primary school but through gymnastics I made a lot of friends as I got older, it certainly helped that you were able to do backflips in the school playground. My favourite childhood band/singer: I love all types of music from Eminem to the Back Street Boys. My favourite extracurricular activity: The Beavers, I loved it, but unfortunately I had to give it up as my
commitments to gymnastics became more and more in the way. My favourite book: George R R Martin’s Game of Thrones books and I am really looking forward to reading his latest book. Do you remember your first school crush? It was probably one of my teachers in reception! But I do remember an incident involving a Valentine’s day card which didn’t go down too well for me. School dinners: I really enjoyed school dinners and they certainly got more healthier as I got older, but I always remember the sausage butties we used to get at school, not very healthy but great to eat. My ambitions at school: I wanted to get as many GCSE’s as possible, I always knew that I was going to be a gymnast but I also wanted some qualifications to fall back on if things didn’t go to plan. Who knows I might even go on to further education and get some more qualifications!
In 2012 Dan Purvis led the British team in qualifications for the European Championships in Montpelier, despite having been ill with food poisoning the previous night. After only three hours sleep he started the competition on vault and fell into a judge's lap, he rallied, and went on to qualify with the highest all-around score. The team went on to win Britain's first team gold in the finals. Dan has recently opened his own gymnastics club called Dan Purvis Gymnastics which is based in the Nac Netherton and Dunes Southport.
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Liverpool John Moores University
Are e you interested in nterestted in finding out what it is like to study one of many subjects at LJMU? Then sign up for our taster events available to Sixth Form students: www.ljmu.ac.uk/outreachevents Also check out our upcoming Open Days www.ljmu.ac.uk/opendays
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