HWRK Magazine: Issue 5 - Autumn 2018

the essential magazine for teachers

HWRK

WRITTEN BY TEACHERS

for TEACHERS

REDISCOVERING YOUR MOJO REIGNITING YOUR PASSION AFTER THE SUMMER BREAK

AUTUMN 2018 / ISSUE 5 / FREE WWW.HWRKMAGAZINE.CO.UK

Suzanne Murray LEARNING WITHOUT LIMITS Dame Alison Peacock’s great impact

20 GHASTLY BOOKS FOR HALLOWEEN SUPER SPOOKY LITERATURE

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OUT LEARNING WITH AL EE LIMITS: HOW ON ING TEACHER IS TAK !

ON THE WORLD

FIND YOUR WORK-LIF E BALANCE

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T H E S EC R YOU IN THET TO KEEPING E CLASSR OOM

BENDING THE RULES

BRING THE FUN INTO YOUR CUR BACK RICULUM

Investing for expats- Millionaire teacher shares his tips

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HWRK MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY TEACHERS

for TEACHERS

REDISCOVERING YOUR MOJO REIGNITING YOUR PASSION AFTER THE SUMMER BREAK

AUTUMN 2018 / ISSUE 5 / FREE WWW.HWRKMAGAZINE.CO.UK

AUTUMN 2018 / ISSUE 5

Suzanne Murray LEARNING WITHOUT LIMITS Dame Alison Peacock’s great impact

20 GHASTLY BOOKS FOR HALLOWEEN SUPER SPOOKY LITERATURE

HWRKMAGAZINE.CO.UK

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OUT LEARNING WITH E EAL LIMITS: HOW ON G KIN TEACHER IS TA ON THE WORLD!

FIND YOUR WORK-LIF E BALANCE

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THE SECR YOU IN THET TO KEEPING E CLASSRO OM

BENDING THE RULES

BRING THE FUN BACK INTO YOUR CURR ICULUM

Investing for expats- Millionaire teacher shares his tips

Follow us on twitter @HWRK_Magazine

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BIG List

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DamE aliSON pEaCO0Ck iN prOfilE

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BIG Profile for the classroom tales

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SplaSh Of COlOur

20 creepy, kooky and downright spooky books to bring Halloween to life this term WORDS: JENNY HOLDER

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lESSON iDEaS & TEaChiNG TipS

id you return from the holidays inspired from a summer in Tuscany or Paris?

Or did your imagination fail to get past the check-in desk at Thomas Cook? If it’s the latter, never fear, HWRK has got you covered.

The Arty Teacher, Sarah

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Crowther, has got some fascinating tips on how to rediscover your art teacher mojo this month and ensure your start the new school term full of wonder and promise.

Inspiration is just a couple of pages away – see page 44.

Dame Alison Peacock is at the helm of the Chartered College for Teachers – isn’t it time you set sail too?

Kingham Primary do Shakespeare

WORDS: SUZANNE MURRAY

Mulan brought to life in papier mache

hallOwEEN rEaDiNG

EXPAND YOUR MIND ONE SUBJECT AT A TIME

GEOGRAPHY MATHS STRATEGY HISTORY RELIGION COLUMNIST

Tips to rediscover your arts mojo

London from every cultural angle!

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BIG Question

Here we go again!

The new school year is upon us and excitement both inside the classroom and the staff room is at fever pitch – those damn NQTs! But regardless of whether you’ve spent the last few weeks of summer counting down the hours or simply counting down the glases of wine, not much beats a new school term.

Ill-fitting blazers, tears at the gates, blister-beguiling new shoes and packed out pencil cases – and that’s just the staff!

Don’t miss Paul Delaney’s top 10 tips on cutting yourself a break this month – see page 20!

AR TS

READY, STEADY, PAINT!

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BIG Advice

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Why did King Henry VI ban kissing in 1439?

BEWARE� TERM TIME TREADMILL

wOrk-lifE balaNCE TipS After 10 years of grind, JON LOVE has finally found his work-life balance and urges you to do the same WORDS: JON LOVE

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WORDS: DOMINIC KIRBY

iT’S all abOuT ThE riGhT quESTiON

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CONTENTS curriculuM

FeatureS

artS

HealtH

eXperience

12 MatHS

23 Spooky taleS

40 tHe gallery

50 water carrier

76 budapeSt’S brill

A primary approach to solving facts and figures.

20 books to ensure your Halloween’s not ghastly.

Shakespeare brought to life in Oxfordshire.

Shed fat fast by juggling your water jug!

The Yorkshire couple who are thriving in Hungary.

17 HiStory

28 Fun oF learning

42 ScHoolS view

52 playground puMp

78 eal aMbaSSador

How to effectively teach chronology in schools.

Tips on how to get around traditional teaching.

How one primary used Mulan as inspiration.

The 15-minute workout you’ve been waiting for.

How one teacher is slowly changing the world.

18 religiouS StudieS

59 penSion power

44 Find your Mojo

53 Happy Meal

70 bullieS out!

Is RS the key to unlocking every other subject?

How to ensure your pay goes a very long way.

Top 10 tips on how to rediscover your style.

Discover the foods that’ll put a smile on your face.

Our anti-bullying charity partner’s engaging stories.

20 gueSt coluMn

68 balancing act

46 london calling

54 SportS day rockS!

81 pgl oFFerS

The loneliness in being a male primary teacher.

How to get your work-life balance absolutely right.

How the capital inspired one Year 6 adventure.

The highs and lows from a year as a PE leader.

Book your next school trip to recieve massive savings.

@hwrk_magazine

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H W R K M A G A Z I N E . C O . U K // M E E T T H E T E A M

CONTRIBUTORS W R I T T E N BY T E AC H E R S FO R T E AC H E R S DEPUTY HEAD

EAL SPECIALIST

PEOPLE’S POET

Sarah Wordlaw

Beth Southern

Paul Delaney

@smwordlaw A regular contributor to HWRK, Sarah is now a primary deputy head. A Year 6 teacher with a real flare for writing, especially about project-based learning and music or performing arts, she’s a real star.

@Bethan_Southern Founder of the brilliant ealhub.co.uk website.

ARTY TEACHER

Sarah Crowther

@ArtyTeacher Dedicated and seasoned host of TheArtyTeacher.com.

CEO

TIME TRAVELLER

Linda James MBE

Dominic Kirkby

@BulliesOut Founder of award-winning charity BulliesOut.

@DPoetryBuzz Primary teacher turned author and performance poet.

OVERSEAS TEACHER

Chris Russell

@britinterschoolbudapest Head teacher at British International School Budapest.

@History_Chap History teacher by day, Army Reservist by night.

Late Medieval and Early Modern historian with penchant from cross-curriculum learning. Loves all things outdoors. May contain a sense of humour.

LITERARY LEADER

Jenny Holder

@JennyHolderLiv Liverpool Learning Partnerships reading coordinator.

COVER STAR TEACHER REBORN

Jon Love

@jonthelegend Formerly in SLT, a Year 6 teacher and an OLEVI ITT provider, Jon is now back standing in front of the classroom in East Lothian in Scotland, and could not be happier. And he’s here to help!

PE LEADER

Sam Stewart

@samstewart93 Year 5 primary PE, school sport and wellbeing leader.

ASSISTANT HEAD

Richard Corner

@MrCornerTDS Heads up teaching and learning at Deepings School.

Suzanne Murray

@thinkpix_suze A specialist dyslexia teacher and assessor, Suzanne has got the experience and advice to help you to engage every child in the room. This issue she shines a light on the work of the inspirational Dame Alison Peacock.

PERSONAL TRAINER

MATHS MANIAC

DEBATE QUEEN

Kevin Kearns

Lloyd Williams-Jones

Gemma Papworth

@BurnwithKearns School touring anti-bully campaigner and fitness guru.

MONEY EXPERT

Andrew Hallam

@aphallam Expat in Canada, author of Millionaire Teacher.

@smwordlaw Brilliantly bearded assistant head from Kings Hill in Kent, who leads Year 6 maths by day and fronts his own band by night. At weekends can be found on the rugby field.

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@PapworthRe L&T Lead for RS across GLF, Head of RS in Surrey, M Ed. HISTORY BUFF

Stuart Tiffany

@Mr_S_Tiffany Author of the brilliant Mr T does Primary History blog.

@hwrk_magazine

H W R K M A G A Z I N E . C O . U K // M O N E Y S H O T

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‘toil and trouble’ WHO

Irish Students from Mercy Secondary School, Tralee, on their final year of study.

WHAT

An unforgettable four day excursion for 51 Irish students and 6 enthusiastic teachers.

WHERE

What seems like the whole of London! From strolling Buckingham Palace’s State Rooms and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, to spectating the Crown Jewels and the Serengeti, not to mention managing some mischief at Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!

WHEN

September 2017

BY

Andrea Thornton.

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EXPAND YOUR MIND ONE SUBJECT AT A TIME

GEOGRAPHY MATHS STRATEGY HISTORY RELIGION COLUMNIST

Here we go again!

The new school year is upon us and excitement both inside the classroom and the staff room is at fever pitch – those damn NQTs! But regardless of whether you’ve spent the last few weeks of summer counting down the hours or simply counting down the glases of wine, not much beats a new school term.

Ill-fitting blazers, tears at the gates, blister-beguiling new shoes and packed out pencil cases – and that’s just the staff!

Don’t miss Paul Delaney’s top 10 tips on cutting yourself a break this month – see page 20!

0 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // A u t u m n 2 0 1 8

@hwrk_magazine

Concerned about your health? Tired all the time and have no energy? Feel unfit?

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You’re not alone… let us help you.

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CURRICULUM

GUEST COLUMN

Back to school again!

PEOPLE’S POET PAUL DELANEY takes flight with some new school year advice

PA U L’ S T O P 1 0 N E W S C H O O L T E R M T I P S Flashback to Friday July 20th 2018. The longest summer since ’76. A young teacher is sat in Tesco, enjoying two sneaky choc au pains and a latte with her non-teaching fiancée. Weight Watchers’ points don’t matter anymore. It’s holiday time! She’s on a high. Six precious weeks off. Yes six, not five. And all on full pay!

Her mind wanders. Mel Gibson’s Braveheart suddenly pops into her head, free from the trials and tribulations of daily teaching.

“Freedom!” the young teacher yells, springing to her feet, throwing the remains of her choc au pains over the café balcony. Passing shoppers look up, bemused. “Must be another teacher,” somebody says. “They’re always the same at this time of year!”

Out of the corner of her eye, she notices it. The back to school aisle, its racks jam packed with uniforms, black shoes and cheap stationary.

Above, ‘Back to School!’ signs hang on invisible string from the ceiling, as invited as hot and sticky dog dirt on the sole of a brand-new trainer.

Soon, William Wallace is being hung, drawn and quartered.

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Teachers are back in their stuffy staffrooms, wondering what happened to those precious six weeks. They’re Titanic survivors sitting in lifeboats, staring at a cold, empty sea, their holiday cruise ship now lying at the bottom of the ocean along with Jack’s drawing of Rose.

And then, the ‘demon’ head teacher walks in, followed by the school business manager driving a forklift truck, its forks buckling under the pressure of countless reams of A4 paper. Handouts!

“Hope you’ve all had a great holiday?” Miss Terious cackles, opening up her diary. “Ofsted’s still snooping around…”

You’re back to school with a bang, memories of ice cold G&Ts under a rare English summer sun fading like Gareth Southgate’s waistcoat or embarrassing Football’s Coming Home! chants.

So how do you survive yet another school year, especially if you’re an NQT, young, fresh-faced and ready for classroom action?

The new school year is like a flight; Check-in: September 1st 2018… Expect some turbulence on the way!

But with some top flying tips, you’ll soon be cruising at 10,000 feet, peering out of your tiny window, enjoying the view…

fact!

You are NOT superman or superwoman. Accept that

Take advice from older members of staff. They’ll tell you what will work and more importantly, what won’t!

Turn the ‘I did this’ into ‘We did this!’ Effective, collaborative teaching is always better. Who wants to be an island anyway?

Be proud of your school.

Don’t gossip! Remember the famous WW2 poster – ‘Careless talk costs lives!’

September is important for establishing initial relationships. You’ll hit stormy turbulence… and teaching may never be the same again.

It’s July again - 2019.

September 2018 a distant blur.

You begin your descent. Your jumbo jet lands at the airport.

“Teaching is not a job, folks!” the captain mumbles through the PA system. “It’s a way of life.

Remember that and you’ll be fine!” (An old teacher once told me that – I’ve never forgotten it.)

Feeling stressed and overworked? Tell someone.

Came into school with an annoying worry? Perhaps one of the children in your class has too. Look for the signs.

Fed up of that certain member of staff already?

Recognize staff as individuals – look for their strengths.

Have a midweek night off.

Some will scoff at this idea but I did it for years! Leave school at 6pm and then do no schoolwork for the rest of the evening. You’ll return the next day recharged and energized!

Pop a cork at the end of your first term. Have a little party with new colleagues or by yourself. Celebrate your success!

Soon, you collect your baggage at the carousel. Anything to declare? Nothing. Will you fly again? Probably…

See you on September 1st – Flight FR5241. Please watch the information board for the gate number.

Here I go again. Which class have I got? Oh dear…

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CURRICULUM

Taking tips from the best A PRIMARY APPROACH LLOYD WILLIAMS-JONES discusses lessons learned from Mr B’s brilliant book

Mr Barton’s ‘How I Wish I’d Taught Maths: Lessons learned from research, conversations with experts, and 12 years of mistakes’ has already had a profound effect on the way I approach not only maths, but all my teaching in the primary classroom.

I saw Craig speak last summer and it really has changed the way I view teaching and learning. He humbly states ‘this is a book in a secondary context, but if primary teachers can benefit, then great.’

He’s absolutely right they can benefit – immensely.

The strategies from Craig’s wonderful book can be applied, and are alive and kicking in my primary classroom. So far, it has had a measurable impact on understanding in my class. I have grand plans to roll out these strategies and approaches down the school.

Below are the main takeaways that have already had a profound impact on my teaching, and hopefully demonstrate how they can be applied in a primary setting.

P R O B L E M PA I R S

One of the key elements of the book is the majestic problem pair. And it’s a game-changer. Granted, I am teaching Year 6, however, I believe the principles of this technique are easily transferrable right the way down the school, particularly in the skill acquisition phase of learning.

I began working through problems with similar structures and then providing worked examples for the children alongside the questions. I thought I had the per-

fect setup, but it swiftly became apparent that trying to create worked problems to fit alongside the actual problems was taking an age to prep.

With one eye on the beast that is workload, I realised, after reading what Craig does, that the process of children copying down the example (a model of excellence) was a time saver and helped with dual coding.

The children responded really well to this approach and the success and understanding has been clear in multiple lessons for me.

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maths

REDUNDANCY EFFECT

This one is heavily influenced by the work of Peps McCrea alongside Craig’s book (listen to their podcast interview and get hold of ‘Memorable Teaching’ by Peps). The idea that any information that’s presented to children that is not linked to the learning becomes redundant and has a bearing on the working memory.

Granted, this can cause somewhat of a stir in a primary setting as I know many teachers like colourful engaging classrooms with plenty of support on walls for children.

I am not advocating nothing on the walls, more of a refinement on what we present. I have trialed (along with another Year 6 teacher) working walls that are very long and split horizontally in two – we are fortunate to have the space to do this.

Since taking this photo (below), I’ve moved the flipchart off to allow full space

SILENT TEACHER

Now I know this is nothing new in education and has been around a few years, but coupled with the problem pair, the silent teacher proves a wonderful tool to help the encoding process. I’ve been delivering the problem without any narration and my TA has ensured all children are silent and giving the board full attention.

Once this process is finished, the class then explain the process (with guidance) and are then set to try their own. It really does pay attention to the phonological loop and the visuospatial notepad and the implications on fragile working memory.

I asked my children what they thought about the process and they feel it helps them concentrate and really understand the ‘key bits’ of the maths.

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FA D I N G

This has been a more recent technique I’ve employed and again fits perfectly with the development of germane load – the idea that our working memories need exercising at the right level.

By fading out the worked examples as we’ve gone through, it’s allowed children to start predicting and filling in the rest of the problem, thus leading to better understanding of problem structures. It really does work.

I tried this with some percentage questions with a similar structure. At first, some were hesitant and looking for support. But with the right climate over the lesson we were able to make headway and they really started engaging with the process.

on the board. This now tracks the learning we are doing and is a record of key worked examples as we move through a unit. The children have responded wonderfully to it and it has helped with clarity of thought for myself.

Another thing that’s disappeared is my clock. I never really considered what a cognitive distraction it was, particularly for Year 6! Finally, I have also stripped back any distractive displays from the front and focused the visuals on what I want them to think about.

Pick up a copy of Craig Barton’s How I Wish I’d Taught Maths: Lessons learned from research, conversations with experts, and 12 years of mistakes for just £13.99 from Amazon.co.uk

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CURRICULUM

SCHOOL STRATEGY

Working together A S S I S TA N T H E A D T E A C H E R RICHARD CORNER reveals his strategy for effective use of Pupil Premium

One of my responsibilities is Pupil Premium and the progress of our disadvantaged students. The Pupil Premium is additional funding that the school receives with the objective of raising the achievement for identified students.

As with most schools, improving the performance of our disadvantaged students features extremely highly on our list of priorities and since joining the school just over a year ago, we have used the Pupil Premium funding to provide many different interventions, equipment and aspirational events.

However, we have always felt that we needed to be smarter and have a clearly defined strategy in place to ensure best use of the funding and therefore provide the best opportunities for our students.

In October, I read a fantastic post by Danny Bullock on the SSAT website about four Pupil Premium pathways, which matched our ambition completely and inspired me to develop something similar.

We now feel we have a well thought out, personalised approach, that we are due to launch across all staff on our training day in September.

Whilst constructing our strategy, we have focussed on two key criteria:

Not a homogenous group We have looked at the characteristics of each of our Pupil Premium students and given them a score based on a number of elements such as KS2 attainment, attendance, SEND, behaviour and their reason for being in receipt of Pupil Premium (FSM, Ever 6, Services, etc.)

From here, we have sorted our students into three distinct groups, with each group having their own personalised needs. For example, Group 1 students may be Ever 6, very well behaved but have poor attendance, whereas, Group 3 students may be FSM, low prior attainment and a record of poor behaviour.

Two of our Pupil Premium Progress Leaders are allocated to working with the students in these groups. They will devise sixweek support and intervention

If you are interested in finding out more, contact Richard Corner on Twitter: @MrCornerTDS

plans for the students that will provide personalised support to address the barriers that we have identified. On completion, the plans will be reviewed and the impact measured. Where needed, we will then devise a new plan and continue the cycle.

opportunities that are within the reach. The third Pupil Premium Progress Leader is allocated to this group and will devise the support and intervention plans for students in this group.

the specific support strategies that have been identified for each student.

+ Teacher awareness

High attainers = high profile

For the system to be successful, it is vital our teachers can quickly and with minimal fuss, find out which group a student is part of and what they can do to provide support. We subscribe to an excellent online system in which teachers create their seating plans by organising student ‘cards’ in to the right place within their classroom layout.

The student ‘cards’ contain a thumbnail picture of the student and it also identifies if they are Pupil Premium, and if so, which group they belong to. By clicking on the student, teachers get rapid access to the support plans and

We know that grouping our students as I’ve described is not going to instantly improve the attainment and progress of our disadvantaged students. What it will do, however, is ensure we are providing personalised support and challenge for our disadvantaged students to help them close the gap between them and their peers.

We know that over the course of the next academic year, our funding will support the implementation of the intervention plans and I am confident that the school, but most importantly, our disadvantaged students, will be in a far better place in 12 months’ time.

As well as the three groups previously described, we will have a fourth group of students.

The fourth group will consist of all students that have arrived at the school as high prior attainers. These students will receive different support plans to students in groups 1-3 as we aim to stretch and challenge them across the whole curriculum.

They will also be able to access aspirational activities as we try to encourage them to think more about higher education and other

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+ Next steps

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history

Effective Teaching of Chronology PRIMARY HISTORY STUART TIFFANY presents some handy guidelines to ensure history runs smoothly

A recent poll I ran on my Facebook page – Mr T does Primary History – revealed the most commonly taught concepts in primary school history is chronology – thank goodness! But, what does effective teaching of chronology look like and how can we show progression throughout the primary school phase?

Let’s start with the misconception: you don’t have to teach in chronological order and it doesn’t improve children’s understanding of the past. It is vital children are able to make links between their history learning so it does not compartmentalise their knowledge.

Combining the elements below is a sure-fire method to effectively teach chronology and enable us to show progression throughout the whole primary phase.

Sequencing This is the most commonly taught skill when understanding chronology. This process can start in the Early Years and Key Stage 1 using the children’s own life experience. Ordering ages and referring to being a baby, toddler etc. can reinforce counting the years and chronology at the same time.

In Year 1 and 2, this can be developed by constructing practical timelines using numbered scales. When you create timelines by placing dates in order, this is sequencing.

It’s important that children understand the linear nature of time and how BC/AD influences how long ago an event was. By the time children reach Upper Key Stage 2, they should understand the principle of sequencing and be able to understand where eras occurred in relation to each other.

Scaled Timelines To really understand the scale of history we must teach children that events do not

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Cleopatra VII Philopator was the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt

occur one after another. There are quite often years, decades and centuries between events we choose to study and using scaled timelines can really reinforce this.

In Key Stage 1, using practical multilink timelines allows children to see the difference between events (simply more cubes =

“I’d thoroughly recommend using ChronoZoom to explore the scale of time in a fun and engaging way” more time). In Key Stage 2, however, children should be able to identify the approximate number of years between events and create their own scales.

I’d thoroughly recommend using ChronoZoom to explore the scale of time in a fun and engaging way. A quick question to consider: Imagine a timeline with the construction of the great pyramid of Giza at one end and the modern day at the other. Which would Cleopatra be closer to?

Duration Explaining how long something took place for can be a tricky concept. Once again, doing it practically using a scale is really beneficial. When selecting events to use for a timeline, ensure there are some that have a duration of time.

Here’s a simply example: the Greco-Persian war lasted for approximately 50 years, therefore could be represented by a bar measuring 50cm. The Peloponnesian war lasted for approximately 27 years, so can be represented by a bar of 27cm, meaning the duration of each event is clear for everyone to see.

This reinforces the practical multilink timelines suggested in Key Stage 1.

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Critical Thinking PRIMARY HISTORY GEMMA PAPWORTH explains why Religious Studies is now more important than ever in shaping young minds

Religious Studies, the marmite subject of the school curriculum – everyone has an opinion, but why is Religious Studies so imperative for today’s younger generations? The answer is simple – critical thinking.

Critical thinking is a skill that can make you stand out above others, a skill that needs to be nurtured from the very beginning and it’s something RS can play a key role in developing.

Over the course of time, RS has developed from building up a community devastated by war, an attempt to instil good Christian values in young people in schools, to the critical RE of the 1990s, developed to incorporate links to human rights and citizenship.

Religious Studies opens up a world of valuable, rich insights into the beliefs and values of others. By encouraging empathy and personal opinions, students can develop into more holistic, well-rounded young people, ready for the wider world of adulthood and employment.

Religious education has not been without its critics from the very beginning, a subject historically synonymous with inculcation, something that seemed to disappear until more recently in light of the media’s portrayal of religion since 2011.

BELIEFS & VALUES

As Religious Studies teachers we should be offering students the opportunities to learn about different beliefs and values, religious and nonreligious, philosophical and ethical - understanding them and evaluating them, relating them to their own lives and experiences.

For example, students can contemplate the idea of belonging, linking to the idea of the Sikh Khalsa and how baptised Sikhs have a sense of belonging through the 5Ks that bond a community together. Or they can consider the crucifixion and

1944 Education Act

resurrection of Jesus and how this supports the idea of belonging to Christians, all the while thinking about where they belong – family, school, hobbies...

With the introduction of Philosophy and Ethics into the GCSE and A-Level curriculums, students have further opportunity to think about and justify their own ideas against those of the Ancient Greeks or the philosophers of the past, like David Hume or more recently Joseph Fletcher.

Ethics allows for students to consider the behaviour of others and make a valid decision based on their own views. Giving students case studies and asking them what they would do is a key way to get them to think critically.

They could be given a visual stimulus, something they can discuss and develop their own justifications about. They can then align religious views with theirs, focusing similarities and difference and why this may be, all the time encouraging them to develop their own views.

1970s

The 1944 Education Act responded to the devastation of war by extending what was learnt in Sunday Schools into the classroom, a coalition government looking for ways to make sure a world war did not reoccur.

Ninian Smart’s phenomenology meant it was no longer acceptable to follow a confessional curriculum, students needed to be offered a deeper insight into other world religions.

1960s It was decided a better way to teach Religious Studies was to relate it to everyday issues students would face, figuring things out using their own ideas alongside Christian values. Critical thinking was born.

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religious studies

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Religious Studies is a rich tapestry of different experiences and ideas that invites students to investigate and develop their own reflections and opinions. This is a skillset that’s transferable across the curriculum: analysis of sources in history, justification of ideas in geography, formulation of opinion in English, etc.

RS gives students a glimpse of the wider world, something many of them may not have experienced. It gives them an opportunity exercise empathy and ask questions about others, gaining an insight into the importance of an appreciation of an eclectic mix of views and beliefs.

Not everyone believes in an afterlife, not everybody likes to discuss it, whilst others have a very certain view.

Religious Studies gives students access

to a plethora of ideas, allowing them to ask questions and think about their own beliefs.

The common misunderstanding of Religious Studies is that it’s been designed to ‘convert’ or ‘make’ someone religious. This may have been the case in the past, following a World War, but today, in a world where people are fighting to be heard and feel misunderstood, Religious Studies plays a key role in opening up the world to all, giving them a voice and supporting appreciation for all.

The role of Religious Studies is fundamental in the curriculum as it can ensure students have the tools to develop into well-rounded, empathetic and appreciative young people.

People who are able to think critically about the world and opinions around them, with an appreciation of the rich diversity this has to offer them on their journey in and beyond school education.

Be critical of relgions Students should be encouraged to be critical of religions too.

Religion is complex, often ambiguous and students need to understand this.

It’s not enough to take it and accept it at face value. Students need to have the opportunity to explore the uncertainty openly and work things out for themselves rather than succumb to the unfortunate spoon-fed approach that many sadly adopt.

1990s Critical thinking in Religious Studies took on a deeper meaning where educationalists like David Hay developed an experiential approach that was designed to support the student explore their inner life of spirituality.

1988 Education Reform Act

Now known as ‘RE’, a process of systematic instruction, aiming to educate students in the “principal religions represented in the UK”, but also recognising the “fact that religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian”.

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1990s This brings us up to date, where practising students can often be more expert than yourself!

Critical thinking plays a key role in providing students the tools to analyse and evaluate different ideas to form a judgement of their own.

A u t u m n 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 1 9

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guest column

Answer: He made £20 profit

This was the instruction I received at The University of Winchester in 2010 during my Men in Teaching lecture. It was held in a room built for 200 yet there were only seven of us. Seven out of 75 on my course. For a few it was a second career. The whole thing, for me, felt farcical.

Fast forward seven years and the number of men teaching in primary schools sits at around 15%. Why? What prevents men from joining the teaching profession, from inspiring our youngest minds and from taking on an incredibly hard, but fulfilling challenge?

A significant part of the problem is pay. Let’s not beat around the bush, teachers are not paid well. With men still representing 59% of the main earners in a household, pay naturally has an impact.

This is why so many men want to climb the ladder so quickly.

To maximise earnings in a sector that they love and wish to remain in. This is the quandary I myself am in. However, this can’t be the only reason.

It seems to me it’s reputation.

Or lack of reputation for male teachers in primary. Even more so if you want to work with our youngest children.

I genuinely feel that for many men primary teaching is simply not presented as a ‘normal’ career option. I have lost count of the number of sympathetic ‘oh that’s nice’ responses when I tell people what I do, lost count of the confused looks and ‘did you not fancy secondary?’

It’s not a joke, it’s a real issue and many male teachers have got in touch with me to discuss their experiences. Lots of

them unfortunately are rooted in safeguarding. There is an underlying suspicion of men in primary, one that people do not speak of but is certainly there.

Once children reach Upper Key Stage 2 they generally split to get changed. This works fine if there happens to be a male and female in say a two form school.

But what if it was two men?

I don’t enter the room when the girls are changing but teachers, and teaching assistants that are female, will think nothing at all of walking in on the boys? One teacher contacted me to say his TA actually entered the room saying, ‘It’s ok boys I’ve seen it all before!’

Let’s be frank, that’s blatant

‘You teach primary, but you’re a bloke?’

KING IN THE CLASSROOM BEN KING discusses the lack of support and understanding teaching primary as a male

Children routinely fling their arms round female colleagues, especially younger ones. I’ve fantastic support in my current school but in previous ones I’ve been told that I’m not allowed to receive a hug because I’m male.

In a primary school in Liverpool a male teacher was told children couldn’t sit on his lap if upset but could if it was a female member of staff. When he challenged this it was met with

“I see nobody supporting people like me. Nobody representing or helping young men who want to work with small children” sexism. There is an assumption being made that I am a risk or that I’m under suspicion. An assumption not made of female colleagues. It gets worse when changing for swimming or water sports is involved.

I’ve been told of female members of staff that have stayed inside communal changing rooms whilst children change.

Admittedly, this was several years ago and was to ‘stop them mucking around’, but it left me cold imagining the headlines if I were to do such a thing.

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‘well you’re a bloke.’ Apparently we can’t be trusted.

Working in an industry dominated by women has many benefits, but it can have its drawbacks. Many men report feeling isolated and locked out of conversation with staff rooms simply not worth visiting. Others that spoke to me about being mothered and treated like little school boys themselves having to leave their school in search of respect and to be treated as a professional, an equal.

WomenEd do a fantastic job in

supporting aspiring and existing female leaders in schools but if I were starting my career again I see nobody supporting people like me. Nobody representing or helping young men who want to work with small children.

The negative assumptions that surround men in schools, the almost sympathetic attitudes from the public and the lack of awareness of male viewpoints among the faculty are all impacting on numbers of men in primary settings. Being a man in a primary school can be lonely.

I now work in a fanatic school where I feel respected, my opinions valued and I genuinely believe that all staff are treated equally and have the support of SLT, but sadly this is simply not the case everywhere.

Within an hour of asking for thoughts and experiences from my twitter followers I received 12 messages of concern and two from people that have left the profession over related issues.

They speak of feeling isolated and not fitting in. The vast majority of teachers of both genders are wonderful, fantastic people that would never mean to generalise men or women for that matter.

However, these issues are occurring, they are effecting morale and there are men leaving the industry because of it.

Something needs to be changed going forward, conversations need to be had or the problems will persist.

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BIG List

e c h l t a s r s o f r o s o e l m a t 20 creepy, kooky and downright spooky books to bring Halloween to life this term WORDS: JENNY HOLDER

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A u t u m n 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 2 3

s the nights begin to draw in and we get closer to Halloween, many adults and children find themselves drawn towards activities which border on the creepy and the kooky, mysterious and spooky.

Adults will find a larger proportion of horror films available for them to watch both on TV and at the cinema whilst families often choose this time of year to visit theme parks and scare experiences.

It, therefore, makes sense that many teachers will look at this time of year for providing reading matter which reflects this interest in the more frightening side of life. However, there is a question of how appropriate it may be for teachers to promote scary texts in the classroom.

Should we really be encouraging children to seek out books which could potentially give them nightmares?

Actually, yes. Reading scary stories is a safe way for us all to face our fears and test our reactions to this within a safe setting. Horror fiction is an outlet to explore fears and anxieties, to feel exhilarated and excited by them.

The good thing about scary fiction is that sense of artifice – we know it’s not real and, therefore, know we can stop the narrative at any time by closing the book.

It’s also important for children to know what different emotions feel like and how to deal with them. Reading a spooky story can help to start conversations about coping mechanisms when feeling scared.

Life (sadly) isn’t always safe and comfort-

ing, so having experienced fear safely will only make us more equipped for what we may face in the future.

Saying this, we do need to be mindful when thinking about sharing a book with frightening elements with the children in our class. Not all people enjoy the physiological changes that come with the sense of terror of a spooky stories.

Some children may not have the most stable of home lives and for them, horror fiction may feel too real. We want to ‘thrill’ children and get them excited about the possibilities of fiction. We don’t

want them to be too scared to sleep!

Many scary books for younger readers have one foot firmly entrenched in the comedy genre. If the fear is ultimately diffused by humour, it’s much easier for a young child to deal with. Just like the Boggart in the Harry Potter universe, laughter is a great way to overcome fear.

Ultimately, it all comes down to knowledge: knowledge of the books you’re recommending, knowledge of what would be appropriate for that age group and knowledge of any issues that may be triggered to a particular child.

Here are a selection of spooky books for your reading area or library:

The Apprentice Witch James Nicol

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Gangster School 2 Kate Wiseman The second installment in the celebrated Gangster School series, trouble is brewing at Blaggard’s School for Tomorrow’s Tyrants.

Teenage adventure fun, it’s got everything from a secret society, to a robot dog turned invisible superhero and so much more.

Dealing with the death of her mother whilst also starting a new school, The Apprentice Witch tells the tale of Arianwyn Gribble on her journey to become a proper witch. A book as popular with teachers as it is with young teens.

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BIG List st

EYFS

A Dark, Dark Tale Ruth Brown A Dark, Dark Tale uses repeated phrases to build the tension as we follow the black cat through the dark wood, into the dark house, down the dark stairs and to the surprise at the back of the toy cupboard. This is a beautifully illustrated picture book with a lovely ending for young readers.

What’s in the Witch’s Kitchen Nick Sharratt

Ten Little Monsters Mike Brownlow and Simon Rickerty There’s lots to spot and count in this fantastic rhyming picture book featuring the cutest ever versions of typical horror story monsters!

A fun rhyming book with a liftthe-flap twist! The witch has a variety of different foods in her kitchen! Children can lift the flaps in different directions to discover either a treat (“nice strawberry tea”) or a trick (“nasty goblin wee”)!

KS1

First Day at Skeleton School Sam Lloyd I Want To Be in a Scary Story Sean Taylor and Jean Jullien Although the narrator tells him it may be a little too frightening for him, Little Monster insists he wants to be in a scary story.

However, when he sees the dark and scary forest he starts to demand changes be made. A great way to begin conversations about what we find scary or funny

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The Hairy Toe Daniel Postgate Children will love joining in with the refrain “where’s my hairy toe?

Who’s got my hairy toe?” in suitable creepy voices. The brooding atmospheric tension leads to the inevitable jump scare, making a great model for how to structure a scary story. It’s also a great way to open conversations about how being scared can make us feel.

Even monsters need to go to school! In this colourful and funny rhyming book, we find out what games they play, what lessons they learn and even what they eat in the canteen! Children could spend a long time studying the map on the endpapers and writing their own stories about what happens in each of the different rooms in the Skeleton School!

A u t u m n 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 2 5

LOWER KS2

There’s a Werewolf in my Tent Pamela Butchart, illustrated by Thomas Flintham

The Worst Witch Jill Murphy First published in 1974, The Worst Witch has inspired several onscreen adaptations and become a modern classic. Although there are slight creepy touches, underlying this tale of young witch’s going off to boarding school is a message of friendship and loyalty.

Stitch Head Guy Bass, illustrated by Pete Williamson Stitch Head, the tale of the forgotten creation of a mad professor, has its basis in classic gothic literature but is full of humour and warmth. This is a fun, quirky story which is accompanied perfectly by the Tim Burton-esque illustrations of Pete Williamson.

Izzy is excited to go on the school camping trip but when she and her friends get there they quickly realise that their teacher is actually a werewolf! Why else would she have such hairy legs?

An absolutely hilarious take on werewolf lore.

UPPER KS2

The Whitby Witches Robin Jarvis Coraline Neil Gaiman A modern day Alice in Wonderland tale, where a young girl travels through a hidden door in her new house and finds herself in an alternate universe where her ‘Other Parents’ have buttons for eyes. Genuinely creepy but completely delicious.

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Doll Bones Holly Black When is the right time to stop playing with dolls? Zach, Poppy and Alice play every day after school until Zach’s dad throws his action figures away, triggering a series of chilling events that no-one would have foreseen. Doll Bones is a beautifully written but creepy ghost story which also focuses on the transition from childhood to adolescence.

Recently released with a stunning new cover, The Whitby Witches is a modern classic piece of supernatural horror for young readers.

An atmospheric and spooky story where two children move in with their new foster mother, only to realise that there’s more to her and her elderly friends that meet the eye.

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BIG List KS3

Lockwood and Co: The Screaming Staircase Jonathan Stroud When the dead come back to haunt the living, Lockwood and Co step in! The Screaming Staircase is the first in a series of gripping and suspenseful novels about the Lockwood and Co Psychic Investigations Agency.

Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror Chris Priestley, illustrated by David Roberts

Tinder Sally Gardner, illustrated by David Roberts The stunning but frightening image on the cover reflects the beautiful writing but chilling nature of this reworking of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Tinder Box. Tinder is set in the time of the 30 Years War and tells of how Otto Hunderbiss is given a pair of shoes and a set of dice - a gift which will change his whole life.

When Edgar visits his uncle he is regaled with a range of stories about the odd and curious objects in his house. After a while though Edgar realises that the stories are getting more creepy, more frightening and that Uncle Montague may be more involved in these stories than he originally thought.

A fantastic range of eerie and chilling scary stories, linked with a connecting frame narrative.

KS4

We Have Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson

The Haunting Alex Bell The Haunting is the tale of an old Cornish inn called the Waterwitch, built from timber salvaged from a shipwreck of the same name, and the effect that it has on those who live there. We follow Emma, a young girl whose grandmother owns the Waterwitch and hasn’t visited the area since the mysterious accident which left her unable to walk.

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Grave Matter Juno Dawson, illustrated by Alex T Smith Alex T Smith’s beautiful yet creepy black and white illustrations mean that this is a beautiful book to treasure as well as a cracking good read. Grave Matter has been printed on thicker paper in a dyslexia friendly font as part of Barrington Stoke’s super-readable range of books.

Merricat Blackwood, her sister Constance and their uncle Julian live in isolation from the rest of the town since the mysterious death of the rest of their family.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a dark and brooding mystery novel dealing with themes of ‘otherness’ and persecution - a perfect choice for those wanting their chills served without gore.

A u t u m n 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 2 7

WHAT IS LEARNING WITHOUT FUN? Don’t allow traditional methods to hold you back. Rearrange the class, switch up the curriculum and engage your pupils by bringing them together and enjoy the school year ahead WORDS: SARAH WORDLAW

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BIG Read

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A u t u m n 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 2 9

eaching is the best job in the world – no day is ever the same and children are far more interesting to work with than adults. I started my educational career many moons ago, volunteering as a Teaching Assistant in a primary school in South London – and I loved it.

I loved the way you could shape young minds and the eagerness at which they learned. Soon after I was offered a paid job as a TA, and I worked across two schools in South London with very different challenges. One, situated in a very affluent area, followed by one in an extremely deprived area, and it was then I made my decision that this was the type of school I could really make a difference at.

After five years of working as a TA, I moved to work in the school office at a secondary school, which was a baptism of fire! The school office is its own ecosystem of efficiency and I found it very tricky. One chilly Christmas party, after several wines I might add, a teacher asked me why I wasn’t a teacher.

I couldn’t answer. I guess I never thought I could do it. That night, at 3am, I went home and applied for my PGCE and have never looked back. Fast forward seven years and I started my new Deputy Head position in September.

Teaching is a privilege. It is our job as educators to provide learning experiences for children which are both relevant and memorable. And fun! After all, what is learning without fun?

When we reflect upon the things that stuck with us most throughout our lives, nobody remembers the run-of-the-mill lessons, we remember the experiences that had an emotional impact on us; happy, sad, excited or scared.

CREATIVITY COSTS NOTHING To make learning fun can often be misconstrued as making learning expensive. I’ve heard teachers citing a “lack of resources” as reasons why learning can’t be enjoyable, but they’re wrong. An injection of creativity costs nothing but can prove priceless.

For example, if you’re reading Kensuke’s Kingdom, why not turn all the tables upside down to make a boat and spray the children to get them to gather ideas about what it might be like for Kensuke.

If you’re studying inheritance, why not

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give the children jelly babies to cut up and demonstrate how characteristics are inherited through generations?

If you’re learning to measure, grab some ingredients and bake a cake. Furthermore, sell those cakes at school and get children to calculate money then write your baking instructions for a writing opportunity.

Direct experience is essential in creating memorable learning experiences. There are so many free (or very cheap) places you can take classes to, to give them an immersion into a topic.

Museums, historical sites, areas of natural beauty, taking part in workshops are all invaluable. In addition, experiences such as going to a restaurant and then running the school kitchen for the day, having a child bring a pet in or having parents/carers/professionals come in to talk about their jobs, faith or life experiences provide children with fantastic learning opportunities.

Direct experiences also provide the following six advantages:

Gives students the opportunity to see new things and learn about them in a more unstructured way. particularly important for those children who struggle in a school setting (SEN students) Switches focus to interest-driven subjects, not teacher and curriculum driven

Energises students with excitement of leaving school environment

The chance to experience a more holistic, integrated picture of the information that, in the classroom, may have only been presented in a textual and abstract way

Allows children to develop life skills through the transportation to and from a destination

Enriches and reinforces learning with superimposing sensory and intellectual inputs

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BIG Read Something I would like to work on as I move further into leadership is developing independence of thought and, for want of a better phrase, ‘common sense’ in young people, through residential trips. I don’t believe a residential has to be just for Year 6.

All children could develop valuable life skills – which can be transferred to in-class learning – through activities like camping.

Even if it is only on the school grounds. The

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most wonderful progress in children I have seen over my years of teaching, have been on school trips.

Outward Bound in particular provide fantastic experiences for children. The Outward Bound Trust (@OutwardBoundUK) is an educational charity that uses the outdoors to equip young people with valuable skills for education, work and life.

They help them become more confident,

more effective and more capable at school, through exploration into some of the most beautiful places in the UK (and indeed throughout the world).

To watch a child, who perhaps finds classroom learning tricky, flourish in a real-life situation is one of the biggest joys I’ve had the privilege of seeing. And year upon year I see more and more of it, which truly makes my heart smile.

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PROJECT BASED LEARNING

TEAM BUILDING WORKS

These amazing learning experiences can be harboured to enhance classroom learning.

In particular, I love Project Based Learning (PBL). Too many students – especially those furthest from opportunity – are unprepared for the challenges of the 21st century and the modern economy.

PBL tackles this head on by preparing pupils for academic, personal, and career success, readying young people to rise to the challenges of their lives and the world they will inherit. Projects are cross-curricular and are worked on for an extended period of time, starting with a driving question and direct experience to apart children’s interest.

The driving question is a meaningful real-world problem to solve or answer. Students make decisions on how to go about answering it and what their final product will be. My personal favourite question (suggested by a 10-year-old) was, ‘How could robots change the world?’, and I was astounded at what my class came up with.

One, created a walking stick for the blind, which had built in GPS while another created a ‘happy watch’ for people with stress which sensed your stress levels and gave you practical distress tips on its screen (I mean, what teacher doesn’t need a happy watch?).

Why was this project so successful? Because children used their own interests and experiences to drive it. PBL also encourages collaboration between children and enhances children’s ability to work together effectively.

This brings me nicely on cooperative learning. I am also a firm advocate for Kagan Cooperative Learning (@KaganOnline), which is a pedagogy based on extensive research by the educationist Dr Spencer Kagan. This is a whole-school approach for simultaneously boosting student learning and creating a kinder, more caring generation of learners.

The basic principles of cooperative learning are that children are sat in mixed ability tables, where every child has a number.

These tables are developed as teams, which change every half term.

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children used their own interests and experiences to drive it These teams have opportunities for team building, which then allow children to feel more confident and comfortable when working together on a task. There are no hands up (to answer questions) as all children are accountable for their team and could be asked a question at any time.

The success of each team for each task is based on positive interdependence and simultaneous interaction. Teaching is done through the use of different cooperative learning structures, which allow thought showering, talk for learning and the deepening of understanding.

The structures are fun, encourage structured talk and also allow children to develop their social skills (how to maintain eye contact, how to thank and paraphrase another person etc). I’ve seen cooperative learning transform schools, particularly in areas of deprivation, but not exclusively.

I’ve been blessed to work with teachers who embrace this pedagogy and there is a tangible buzz of learning as you walk into their classrooms – that’s the kind of learning experience we want to offer children.

So, as I sit and ponder the school year ahead, imagining what the next step in my career will bring me. I smile with excitement, looking forward to seeing new things and continuing to provide memorable learning experiences for a new set of young minds.

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BIG Read From Russia with Love

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Dame Alison Peacock is at the helm of the Chartered College for Teachers – isn’t it time you set sail too?

WORDS: SUZANNE MURRAY

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BIG Profile

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BIG Profile have been troubled by the number of NQTs leaving the teaching profession, with articles in the press about stress and mental health issues, workload and the breakdown of trust in the area of SEND. Exclusions are high and tension within SEND provisions is causing distress to children and families. It’s hard to see a way out: increases in accountability measures has led to a system which feels at breaking point.

In my first article for HWRK I quoted Dame Alison Peacock. I had watched her TedTalk but had never seen her speak in person. With hope in my heart, I went to see her deliver an address recently as part of the Oldham Learning Festival. I was not disappointed.

As she spoke, my synapses sizzled, connecting lots of ideas and concepts, my heart swelled. With this formidable and inspiring woman leading the way, how could the Chartered College fail?

It’s up to teachers to make it a success of course and that requires a commitment to the ideology behind the Chartered College.

Does teaching without limits appeal to you?

Membership of Chartered College is free for student teachers; alternatively £45 per year.

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What is the Chartered College?

There are three ways that the Chartered College of Teaching aims to help educators: Education Research Access Professional Recognition Creating a community of Educators Currently, it is difficult for teachers to access academic research. Impact, the termly journal of The Chartered College, connects research to classroom practice, enabling teachers to critically discuss research and how it applies to practice.

The Chartered College wants to see teaching excellence celebrated and shared, with greater interaction within the academic sector, i.e. professors working in schools together with teachers, bringing new, effective ways of working to light. It aims to empower individual teachers via networks across the UK; so far there are more than 80.

Who is Dame Alison Peacock?

As a Head, she built a reputation for turning failing schools around. She is a bold visionary, buying an old bus to turn into a library and making a music garden out of junk. She is also known for her ‘Learning Without Limits’ research, which was turned into a book.

Together with nine other teachers, Alison took part in a research project for Cambridge University which ex-

plored effective approaches to teaching and learning beyond the confines of notions of ‘ability’. Three key principles underpinned all of their practice: Trust Co-agency (teacher/pupil) Everyone (inclusion)

Learning Without Limits Dame Peacock has worked in High School, as 1-1 support and in Primary and declares, ‘children have the right to surprise us’. Yes, they do.

She talks powerfully about her time turning a failing school around. There was no extra money, just belief, hope and a commitment to making the curriculum ‘irresistible’.

How was this achieved? By being open to opportunities; in one case, some old mammal skulls offered by a friend and in another with some ancient, filthy Victorian bottles bought at a jumble sale electrifying a Year 2 classroom, turning the learners instantly into archaeologists. Within three years, the school was outstanding.

What could things be like?

Dame Alison Peacock believes that amazing things can happen, if fixed thinking can be changed to a notion of ‘transformability’. Use research to try things out and don’t be afraid to innovate, this is where transformation happens.

She is striving to create happy learning communities, with high standards, working together to produce a broad and balanced, ‘irresistible’ curriculum. The overriding message I hear is inclusion and empowerment of teachers.

‘We can’t have a teaching profession that is not a learning profession’

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Based in St Leonards on Sea

READY, STEADY, PAINT! id you return from the holidays inspired from a summer in Tuscany or Paris?

Or did your imagination fail to get past the check-in desk at Thomas Cook? If it’s the latter, never fear, HWRK has got you covered.

The Arty Teacher, Sarah

Crowther, has got some fascinating tips on how to rediscover your art teacher mojo this month and ensure your start the new school term full of wonder and promise.

Inspiration is just a couple of pages away – see page 44.

AR TS

Kingham Primary do Shakespeare

Mulan brought to life in papier mache

Tips to rediscover your arts mojo

London from every cultural angle!

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THE GALLERY

SHAKESPEARE LIVES ON IN OXFORDSHIRE “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires” – Macbeth or the last 12 years, Kingham Primary School pupils have had the privilege of studying in-depth and then performing one of William Shakespeare’s masterpieces.

Pupils have met dark and complex men such as Macbeth and Hamlet to the often hilarious and incorrigible characters of Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing.

Catherine Harrison, Year 6 Teaching Assistant says: “I firmly believe all children, if

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taught with knowledge and passion, will embrace the words of Shakespeare. There is no ‘dumbing down’ here; we have copious amounts of blood (fake of course!) screams of terror and despair, lovesick heroes and maidens, and plenty of laughter and frivolity.”

The school’s latest production, Macbeth, left parents flabbergasted by the pupils comprehension and delivery of Shakespeare’s works.

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ARTS

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ART CLASS

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ARTS

THE MAGIC OF MULAN University lecturer Maria Vinney enjoys a taste of China at Malmesbury Park Primary teach Art and Design at the University of Winchester to students who are training to become primary school teachers and part of my job is to go in and watch them teach across the curriculum and give them feedback. As an added bonus, I also get to see some of the fantastic artwork children are doing in school.

As someone who is passionate about the arts in general, I love it when I walk through the doors of a school and I can see straight away that this is a community who really value the importance of art to young children, and that’s just what happened when I arrived in Malmesbury Park Primary School, a large, lively, multi-cultural community school in Bournemouth.

For a start, I was greeted by two papier-mache animal sculptures perched next to the signing in book ¬– and it just got better. As I made my way through the school, I could see evidence of the children’s love and enjoyment of art everywhere I went.

As many schools do in the second half of the summer term, both children and staff had been working hard on a post SATs performance of Mulan. But what was so lovely, was the way every year group had clearly been involved and had taken the Chinese theme from Mulan as the stimulus for some fantastic art work, starting with the creation of a cherry blossom canopy as you

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came down the corridor, which every child had contributed to - all 600 and something!

All the children, right from nursery through to Year 6, with the help and support of some enthusiastic and talented teaching and support staff, had been working hard developing their art skills across lots of different projects. There were beautiful paper fans, each individually painted and unique, willow pattern plates and lotus flowers decorated with buttons and beads, long fabric banners hung in corridors, painted with beautiful blossom designs.

I saw lots of examples of fantastic print-making from different year groups, which really helped highlight the importance of progression of art skills across the school and included Year 1 children’s very own terracotta army!

As well as individual pieces, there was some wonderful collaborative work such as the huge fire-breathing dragon, made up from painted paper plates, where the children had used a strong but restricted colour palette and had been encouraged to use their creativity in their personal design, using Chinese symbols and patterns.

However, my personal favourite had to be the pandas! Sitting bright and perky on a shelf, against a back drop of printed bamboo, sat some rather lovely and very individual, pandas, made from air dry clay who, couldn’t help but make you smile!

“I could see evidence of the children’s love and enjoyment of art everywhere I went”

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ART & DESIGN

REDISCOVERING YOUR ART TEACHER MOJO Don’t dread going back to school after the summer break, The Arty Teacher is here with some great suggests on how to reignite your passion Words: Sarah Crowther

t’s that time of year when art teachers around the world are preparing to go back to school. On social media, it appears that some of us are looking forward to it more than

1

others. So, what do you do keep your teaching fresh? How do you stay motivated? I posed this question to Art Teachers around the world, and this is what they told me.

PLAN NEW WORK

Teaching the same old stuff can make your teaching feel stale. Don’t try and change everything, but either make small changes or change a few projects that you teach. This will keep your teaching fresh and you will pass this on to your students. It may be teaching the same project but using a different artist as a starting point.

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GET SOCIAL: PART 1

Get excited by looking on Instagram and Pinterest. The beautiful things and numerous art teaching projects and exemplar work will soon get you motivated!

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3

TEACHER TALK

Katherine Campbell: “find what peaks your interest and attack it with most of your energy.

I’ve been super into pour painting/exploring the creative process this summer, so I structured my classes to do the same. Making stuff and experimentation is what I’m excited about, so I want to share that with them, not elaborate data tracking or fancy displays.”

4

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Reinvigorating your teaching with new ideas can work wonders, and you’ll pass this enthusiasm onto your students.

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5

TEACHER TALK

Jeanna Peña: “Plan your own PD! Don’t wait for your school/district to do that for you! Soo many opportunities are out there and networking with like-minded folks in the community, state, and even nationwide… is spirit lifting!”

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GET SOCIAL: PART 2

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LEARN TO SAY ‘NO’

Speak to other teachers in person and on social media. Knowing that other teachers sometimes feel the same can help. Share ideas and resources.

Don’t take on any more extracurricular activities than you know you can cope with. Sometimes it’s the workload that can be overwhelming.

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GET SOCIAL: PART 3

9

ARTS GET BALANCED

Could teaching part-time be the answer for you?

This is not always possible but an improved work/life balance may be just what you need.

10

TEACHER TALK Mark Williams says: “The only element that’s dissatisfactory in art education is the ‘education’ part... Art itself is delectable, delicious, shiny and sweet and the archaic culture of schooling is what damages art.

“Art already knows how to be art. Art already tells us how to teach art. All is innate in Art. Hail Art!”

Have some arty fun yourself and go hang out with an art teacher friend. Visit a gallery or draw together. Play with materials and have fun.

Remind yourself why art is the best thing ever!

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ARTS

culture club

LONDON’S CALLING Keep calm and go to London’ alm... I’m not sure that this is the most apt adjective to describe the four jam-packed days that 51 Irish students and their 6 enthusiastic teachers spent embracing every inch of lovely London last weekend.

Exciting; unforgettable; magical: London baby!

Travel opens your mind, broadens your heart and fills your life with stories. It also tires your feet. Not that they were complaining! I have it on Fitbit authority that this eager group marched a marathon from Buckingham Palace’s State Rooms to the dark, dank alleys of Jack the Ripper’s Whitechapel.

They time-travelled to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre where Macbeth’s “hangman’s hands” ended the life of King Duncan and circled back to the Serengeti just in time to celebrate the birth of another king - a lion cub named Simba.

Music. Mystery. Museums. From Victoria and Albert’s cultural collections to the crown jewels in the Tower and from six-storey

whale skeletons to WWII Spitfires, these thirsty students were swimming in history, science and art.

London has it all, and more.

Much more.

Their final morning took them on a journey from red phone boxes and cobbled streets to flying cars and magic broomsticks. As an educational tour, naturally it was imperative to include a visit to England’s most famous school: Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Dumbledore’s domain did not disappoint.

Chocolate frogs and magic wands, butter beer galore and backstage secrets. Even the teachers jumped on the Hogwart’s Express, donning Gryffindor robes and casting spells.

Whether it was wizardry, or London itself, one thing is for certain: this was one bewitching school break.

Renewed and invigorated, amazed and inspired, these students now face their final year with a cache of communal memories and maybe just a little bit of magic.

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HEALTH

Start on the right foot G etting the work-life balance is key to a happy life and it’s easy to throw yourself into school in the opening term.

But finding time to exercise and eat properly will actually make you a better teacher than spending every night revising plans, marking books and reheating microwave meals.

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So, curfew your school hours, commit to designated times to check your emails and above all else keep stress at the door by focusing on your own development and mind-state more than anybody else.

HWRK Health is here to ensure you’re healthy and happy both in and out of the classroom.

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Instructions

1. Place the flour in a bowl and beat well with the egg and cottage cheese.

2. Finely chop the ham, tomato and mushrooms, and stir through the mixture with a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper.

3. Put a large non-stick frying pan on a medium-low heat. Once hot, add spoonfuls of the mixture into the pan to give you six biscuits.

Leave them to golden for a few minutes, then flip over and gently flatten to 1cm thick.

4. Once golden on both sides, remove from the pan and turn the heat off.

5. Finely grate the Parmesan into the pan to melt. Place the biscuits on top, wait for the cheese to sizzle and go golden.

6. Once the cheese has crispier up, remove from the heat and plate one or two and allow the rest to cool before bagging ready for the fridge.

4. Swirl some chilli sauce through the yoghurt, toss the rocket in a squeeze of lemon juice and serve both on the side of your breakfast biscuit.

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BREAK TIME FITNESS

Breakfast

A 15-MINUTE WORKOUT FOR THE CLASSROOM

HEALTH DON’T JUST DRINK IT The single piece of kit that brings an entire gym to your classroom s we all know, water is vital for survival, a keen ally in the battle for weight loss, a loyal friend when it comes to muscle function and, let’s not forget, when you’re dehydrated your brain does not work that well either.

But before digestion water can also be a formidable training buddy. Most people don’t realise a gallon weighs around 8lb, which may not sound like a lot, but when you use it with dynamic variable resistance training (DVRT) then things get interesting.

DVRT is when your body and muscles have to constantly be on its toes or ready for those constant variable changes in the weight. And a large water jug is all you need.

Before you start make sure your water jug is sealed otherwise it will make a big mess.

Complete the following exercises in a circuit fashion to make it more time efficient. You can switch around the exercises to suit, but try and complete all seven to ensure a full body workout.

A

personal coach Kevin Kearns is an acclaimed strength and conditioning coach, nutrition advisor & anti-bullying campaigner

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1

GOBLET SQUAT Grip the water jug in both hands and hold out in front of you with your feet shoulder width apart and knees bent.

Squat down keeping the water jug at shoulder level.

3

Targets: Legs, core & shoulders

2

AROUND THE WORLD Hold the water jug over your head.

Now you are going to draw a big circle from the right side of your body to the left side of your body while you squat down and then raise back up.

Targets: Arms, core, shoulders & legs

10-30 reps x 3 sets

4

5

6

7

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OVERHEAD LUNGES With the water jug raised over your head in the standing position step forward and do not let your knee go pass your toes. Push back and return to your original position. Alternate sides.

Targets: Upper body, core & legs

CORE TWIST Hold the water jug in front of your chest with your arms extended. Now rotate it to one side of the body as you rotate the onto the opposite ball of the foot. Then rotate to the otherwise of the body.

Targets: Core, arms, shoulders & hips

SHOULDER CIRCLES Hold the water jug in front of your face with your knees bent. Now make a box around your head in a slow circle. Then reverse the circle.

Targets: Shoulders, arms & back

WATER KAYAKS Sit on the floor with your knees bent and feet on the floor. Now take the water jug and bring from your right hip to your left hip. For a real challenge, elevate your feet.

Targets: Abs, lower back & hips

WOOD CHOPPERS Hold the water jug over your head with your feet shoulder width apart and knees bent. With one motion, swing the water jug through your legs as your squat down. Then return the jug to the overhead position.

Targets: Arms, core & legs

A u t u m n 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 5 1

HEALTH

nose and hold it for 10 seconds.

Repeat on opposite leg Targets: Upper body & core

4 MONKEY PULLS With your hands on the monkey bars perform a simple pull-up. If you can’t go all the way, go halfway, or put your feet on a small child’s head.

Targets: back & biceps

PLAYGROUND PUNCH A simple bodyweight workout you can do during break – with or without the pupils

E

very playground has a picnic table, swings and monkey bars, but what most people don’t comprehend is that these pieces of apparatus can be the perfect substitute for the gym.

1

A quick workout is key when you’re a teacher as time is precious, plus don’t we all wish we have played a little more when we were kids? Hit this circuit aiming for 10-30 reps of each exercise.

2

5 KNEE TO OPPOSITE ELBOW With both hands on the bench, bring your right knee to the left elbow, then left knee to right elbow. Hold for 10 seconds.

Targets: Upper body & core

6

STEP UPS Stand facing the bench with one

LATERAL STEP-UPS WITH ABDUCTION

SWING OUTS In a plank position, with your

foot on the seat and the other on the ground. Press your heel

Standing beside the bench with one foot on the seat and the

arms on the swing seat and your hips not dropping, push the

down on the seat and bring your other leg up. For more explosive work, drive your leg past the seat and up into the air..

Targets: Legs & bum

other on the floor, press down through the leg on the bench and raise the other leg off to the side.

Targets: Legs & hips

swing and your elbows away from the body.

Targets: Upper body & core

personal coach Kevin Kearns trains professional athletes, kids and professionals

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LUNCH BREAK TRAINING

KNEE TO BELLY With both hands on the seat of the bench, lift your knee towards your

SCHOOL YARD CALISTHENICS IN 30 MINUTES

3

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LUNCHBOX FOR...

HAPPINESS Sometimes the working week can drag you down; we’re here to help

TURKEY The tryptophan in turkey

BLUEBERRIES They may be blue, but they

increases levels of serotonin, a

keep us from feeling that way

neurotransmitter that regulates

by reducing blood pressure

mood. helps oxygen production.

and improving brain function.

BLUE POTATO

HONEY

Blue potatoes are loaded with anthocyanins and iodine,

Packed with quercetin and kaempferol that reduce

nutrients that reduce brain

inflammation, keeping your

inflammation and regulate mood.

brain healthy.

RED PEPPER

DARK CHOCOLATE

The high concentration of

Cocoa gives you an instant

vitamins helps to improve your mood, as well as boost your

boost in mood and focus, and improves blood flow to your

immune system.

brain to keep you energized.

SPINACH Iron deficiency, a problem many women face, can really sap your energy. Spinach is also laced with mood-boosting B vitamins.

FULL-FAT GREEK YOGURT Protein-rich Greek yogurt

in the brain, elevating your mood along the way.

WHOLE GRAIN BREAD A complex carb that can curb your hormones and improve the amount of good bacteria in your gut that can impact your mood.

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Y

probiotics fight depression.

HONE

BEETROOT Beets contains betaine, which supports serotonin production

increases levels of pleasureboosting neurotransmitters as

80

carbs, 18% water, and

% 2% vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.

BANANA-ALMOND SMOOTHIE fight depression and anxiety with milk’s vitamin D, banana’s potassium and the the almonds omega-3s.

A u t u m 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 5 3

HEALTH

SPORTS DAY EVERY DAY! Long hours and busy weekends – the first year reflections of a PE Leader

T

he summer holidays are a time for reflection as teachers and often our only opportunity to look back at the academic year we’ve had as practitioners and remember the successes we often overlook in the midst of term time.

For me, it has certainly been the busiest year I’ve had in my short teaching career. To my delight, I took up the role and responsibilities of PE leadership at my school – a junior school of 390 children, located in Surrey.

As an NQT+1 I was very aware the opportunity to become a subject leader was one I’d love to take on and PE was the ideal subject for me.

I have been a sportsman all my life, studied Sports Science and Sports Coaching at university and worked as a sports coach prior to my teacher training. Coupled with another year of teaching in Year 6, there was no such thing as a quiet week.

SEAFOOD PASTA

Simple prep, easy to cook and deliciously healthy too King prawn pasta with tomatoes and garlic 250g jumbo king prawns, cooked and peeled 3 tbsp flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped 150g Pappardelle fresh pasta ground black pepper 160g green beans

Instructions 1. Add the green beans to a steamer or boiling water.

to soften. Stir in the prawns and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring, until the tomatoes are well softened and the prawns are hot through.

2. Heat the oil in a small frying pan over a low heat. Add the garlic and chilli and cook gently for five minutes or until the garlic is soft but not coloured, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the chopped tomatoes and lemon juice and cook for two minutes or until beginning

4. Quickly warm through the pasta in a boil of boiling water, once soft add to the pan.

5. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the parsley, season with lots of pepper and serve with the beans.

HEAD CHEF Chef Ian Leadbetter has spent 20 years in restaurants across Europe and works as a nutrition consultant

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pe leader Sam Stewart is a Year 5 Primary School Teacher in Surrey. A PE, School Sport and Wellbeing Leader and a SCITT Mentor

15-MINUTE DINNER

Ingredients 1 tbsp olive oil 2 garlic cloves, sliced 1 long red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped 150g cherry tomatoes, halved ½ lemon, juice only

MOTIVATOR Without a doubt, the greatest strength of leading PE in my school is that it allows you to know every child, something I don’t feel necessarily happens if you lead on any other subject. I oversee the planning and delivery of timetabled PE lessons, lunch and after school clubs, sports teams and sporting events (e.g. Sports Day, Sport Relief) across the year, which genuinely enables you to come face-to-face with every child at your school.

You learn their quirks, their interests, their motivators and you become a figure that is universally respected. Children will want to give you high-fives in the corridor, embrace it. They will want to share their sporting success from outside school, embrace it.

Children will want to show you the new football tricks they can do, embrace it.

PE leadership puts you in an unrivalled position, you become a prominent figure and a well-known face around the school and even the wider community.

All of this will seem quite bizarre at first, however, it becomes the norm very quickly. @hwrk_magazine

DELEGATOR

COMMUNICATOR

I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve been surrounded by an amazing group of children. They’ll push themselves in ways you can never imagine, they’ll do everything for the school in fixtures, try new ideas you’re keen to roll out and always do it with a smile on their faces.

The staff have been no different and due to the sheer amount of work PE leadership entails, it’s incredibly helpful to have those around you who are happy to run clubs, drive the minibus, collect the kits, etc.

At first, I was terrible at delegating – many teachers are, we have a fear that jobs won’t get done the way we’d do it or that in the time you’ve explained something, you could have got it done yourself. Both of these scenarios are probably true, however, for your own sanity and the illusive work-life balance, it’s essential.

Surrounding yourself with like minded people will make your life so much easier. Excitingly, I will be taking over further responsibilities next year by chairing the association and I’ve got ambitions of growing it further in the coming year, including football and netball leagues with weekly fixtures.

It’s crazy how many sporting items fill your diary as the PE leader and virtually every day of the week you’ll have something going on – well I certainly did.

Clubs, fixtures and meetings will all become a daily occurrence for you. If you are good at managing your time and particularly as a Year 6 teacher this was crucial, you’ll be fine. However, if you find this tricky, speak to someone.

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The worst thing you can do is bottle up your anxieties and hide from the problems. If you’re snowed under, speak to someone. Also, learn to say no to things. On occasion, I had to withdraw us from a couple of sporting events, as it simply became too much for myself and the children. You’ll feel guilty but you don’t want the children to burnout, or you for that matter.

>>

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HEALTH PROMOTER

BENEFACTOR

My year has been full of memorable highlights, magical moments that I look back on fondly. Sports day is always a fantastic event, one that we really go for at my school. Firstly, a morning of inclusive mass participation events that promote the sporting values of the School Games and secondly, a traditional sports day athletics programme in the afternoon.

This year we had over 400 spectators and the atmosphere was incredible. It is a seriously demanding event to organise with weeks and weeks of preparation, becoming used to being the first in and the last out of the school in the build-up and logistically managing that many people all in one space are just some of the challenges you face.

But I cannot describe how amazing it feels when it all goes to plan and everyone has a wonderful day taking part in sport. Some of my other highlights include: being awarded the Gold School Games mark, qualifying for multiple county finals across a range of sports, successfully introducing a new PE scheme of work (Real PE), awarding Sportsperson of the Week/Term trophies in celebration assemblies and working so closely with so many outstanding children.

Day to day, I’d bet on PE leaders being the busiest of all the subject leaders in a school.

Not a day goes by when you aren’t writing letters to parents, running a trial, taking a team to a fixture, pumping up the footballs, liaising with other schools, replying to sporting emails, the list is endless.

Would I have it any other way? Absolutely not. Is there a subject to lead that gives you more satisfaction? Absolutely not. Would I discourage a fellow teacher to take up the role in their school?

Absolutely not. It’s the best job you can get aside from being a class teacher and one you have to wholeheartedly immerse yourself into, however it is worth every minute of hard work.

The final whistle never really blows on a PE leaders responsibilities, as I’m always looking ahead to the next event, yet if you’re into your sport and have competed previously, you’ll know that is simply the nature of the beast.

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My year has been full of memorable highlights, magical moments that I look back on fondly.

Sports day is always a fantastic event

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BIG Saving

Tracking Your Pension Selecting the right investment for teachers overseas WORDS: ANDREW HALLAM

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A u t u m n 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 5 9

xpats often get a raw deal on their pension – usually they can’t pay into UK pension schemes and, if they are eligible to join their company’s scheme, it may also let them down.

Andrew Hallam, a British expat who built a million-dollar investment portfolio on a teacher’s salary provides a few tips designed to help Britons abroad save for retirement. His own interest in investing began as a 19-year-old when he spent his summer holiday washing buses to save money for college.

“One of the guys I worked with (a mechanic) was worth more than $1 million,” Hallam explains.

“I could hardly believe it. He took me aside, taught me about the power of compound interest and convinced me to start investing a small amount every month.”

By the age of 37, Mr Hallam, who immigrated to Canada from Nottingham with his parents when he was three, became a millionaire thanks to his investment portfolio.

Andrew spent 11 years teaching at an international school in Singapore where he gave regular presentations to other teachers about low-cost investment options.

According to Mr Hallam, a combination of poor investment performance and high management fees can make some company schemes a bad deal. “[My friends’] accounts were layered with ruinous fees. There were start-up

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fees that ran for as long as 18 months; ongoing annual account fees, and the underlying fees of the funds they bought. The more unfair the financial products were, the more prolifically

“Those fees could make the difference between dining on caviar or dog food upon retirement” they appeared to be sold to British expats. Those fees could make the difference between dining on caviar or dog food upon retirement.”

Look for example at a portfolio growing by 10% a year. Once fees of 0.2% are deducted it gains 9.8% a year. Over 30

years, investing £5,000 a year it would grow to £869,564. But if that same portfolio had annual fees of 4% it would only grow to £419,008 – a difference of £450,556.

So what should Britons abroad do with their pension savings?

“British expats shouldn’t speculate with their money,” suggested Mr Hallam. “Instead, they should build portfolios of low-cost tracker funds. Depending on where they live, they could use offshore accounts, giving them virtually tax-free gains.

“They would need just three tracker funds: one tracking the British stock market, a second tracking the international market and a third made up of British government bonds.”

Having sold more than 40,000 copies of his first book Millionaire Teacher, Andrew Hallam followed up with The Global Expatriate’s Guide to Investing, published by Wiley.

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A u t u m n 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 6 1

Why did King Henry VI ban kissing in 1439?

A lesson in why curiosity doesn’t kill the curriculum cat WORDS: DOMINIC KIRBY

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BIG Question

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A u t u m n 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 6 3

he 17th-century political philosopher Thomas Hobbes (think social contract theory and impressive Roman nose) once wrote that ‘curiosity is the lust of the mind.’ Lust speaks of desire and I have always found that the best learners, irrespective of ability, are those who are naturally desirous to know and understand more than they do already – and those who are naturally curious enough to actively do so.

I try and keep this somewhat grandiose thought in mind whenever I have the following conversation with one or more of my Key Stage 3 or 4 pupils. The conversation usually runs thus: Me: “Can you remember what the word history means?”

Pupil: “History is the study of the past.”

Me: “Yes, it is. That’s certainly one of the things it is. But I didn’t ask you what history is. I asked you if you can remember what the word history means.”

Pupil: “Umm” Me: “Any more thoughts?”

Pupil: *Incurious silence*

t's all Greek to me it really is So, I remind them what the word history means. For those of you whose knowledge of Ancient Greek is as indifferent as mine, the English word history ultimately derives, via Latin, from the Ancient Greek word ἱστορία (historía) meaning ‘inquiry’.

The word does have other meanings, but when there’s a double lesson with ‘that’ class (we’ve all got one, they’re generally Year 9) to get through on a hot Friday afternoon, it doesn’t do to overcomplicate matters.

Although I have a passing interest in etymology, I’m more interested by the fact that, in this etymological context, history is a verb and not a noun. In other words, history is a doing word – the study of the human past is something which is actively done. And I’m a great believer that if something is worth doing (and studying the past certainly is), it is worth doing well.

I match this with the fact that most children, certainly when they start secondary school, are naturally quite curious (the same may not be said when they finish).

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This being so, I try and tailor some or all of my history lessons towards letting my pupils explore the past through the medium of their curiosity.

Above all, I tell them that to be a good student in general and a good history student in particular, it pays to be curious – as curious as a cat.

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BIG Question o, why did King Henry VI ban kissing in 1439?

Every good teacher knows the importance of trying to capture their pupils’ natural curiosity and harnessing it as a vehicle for learning, but how many of us actively plan for it on a weekly basis?

Like all good history teachers I usually start (most) of my lessons and (almost) always my schemes of learning with an over-arching, historical inquiry question.

Sometimes these inquiry questions are in lieu of a learning objective, sometimes they are not. Either way, I do so in order to capture my pupils’ imagination and to draw them into the subject.

For example, when teaching a lesson on the consequences of the Black Death (there were many), I always start the lesson with the question: Why did King Henry VI ban kissing in 1439?

To a bright Year 7 class the prospect of discussing why a mad king (the last of the Lancastrian kings suffered from prolonged periods of insanity) didn’t want his subjects to kiss each other is a far more engaging way for 11 and 12 year olds to explore what daily life was like for a peasant in 14th century England.

Imagine the reaction if I had asked them to write, ‘What were the socio-economic consequences of the Black Death?’ at the top of the next blank page in their exercise books. I would have lost them at the first hurdle.

King Henry VI tried to ban his subjects from kissing in July 1439 in a futile attempt to try and prevent the spread of the plague in England. More specifically, Henry tried to ban it so that his knights didn’t kiss him when performing

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an act of homage to him, thus apparently reducing the chance of the king and his courtiers catching the plague. Like the vast majority of attempts by successive governments throughout history to try and control human nature (the Roman emperor Tiberius tried the same thing in the 1st century AD), the law simply didn’t work.

A u t u m n 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 6 5

illing Bloom’s taxonomy with two bullets I don’t like Bloom’s taxonomy – I never have done. I was force-fed a pedagogical diet of it in my teacher training year and the taste has stuck in my mouth ever since.

While I accept the need for some kind of structured categorisation of cognitive and metacognitive thinking-skills, I strongly believe that, as a profession, we teachers place far too high a premium on the sanctity of Benjamin Bloom’s taxonomy.

Also, Bloom’s taxonomy has not aged well with the passage of time since its first appearance in the 1940s and 1950s. Those of us who completed our teacher training more recently than some of our older colleagues will know that Bloom’s model was subsequently revised by other American educationalists into its current incarnation.

One of the key revisions was to re-order the higher-order thinking skills. At the very top of the pedagogical pyramid sits the skill of creating.

Somewhere towards the bottom sits the skill of understanding. This structure lends itself very well to inherently creative curriculum subjects such as art, music and drama but it lends itself far less well, I feel, to the academic study of the past.

One of my professional hobbyhorses is cross-curricular learning – I’m a great believer in the value of it. I was recently talking to a maths teacher who agreed with me that understanding is far more of a higher-order thinking skill in our respective sub-

jects than the feted pyramid allows.

Take the First World War for example. The underlying, long-term causes of the First World War are as numerous as they are complex. Europe was plunged into total war in 1914 in no small part because of a tangled web of political, diplomatic and military alliances between numerous nations, some of which dated back to the mid19th century.

Most of my pupils are capable of creating colourful A4 mind-maps on the causes of the First World War but for a Key Stage 5 pupil, let alone a Key Stage

3 pupil, to genuinely understand the significance of the link between Britain declaring war on Germany on the 4th August 1914 and a diplomatic treaty signed two years after the accession Queen Victoria (the Treaty of London in 1839), would be for them to show real mastery of this subject.

I find with the First World War, as with the majority of historical topics, the more curious a pupil is, the more likely they are to have that lightbulb moment. When a pupil tells me ‘now I get it sir’ and I know they mean it, I am immensely satisfied.

"THE MORE CURIOUS A PUPIL IS, THE MORE LIKLEY THEY ARE TO HAVE THAT LIGHTBULB MOMENT"

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BIG Question

ow did two bullets cause nearly 70 million deaths?

As with the Black Death with Year 7, I use an inquiry question to explore the causes of the First World War with Year 9, again to try and capture their curiosity (never any easy task with this year group).

I begin the first lesson with the question: ‘How did two bullets cause nearly 20 million deaths?’ Most readers will know the two bullets in question were fired by the Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28th June 1914, killing the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austro-Hungary, his wife the Archduchess Sophie (it was their 14th wedding anniversary) and along with them the prospect

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of peace in central Europe.

This fateful event sparked the July Crises which led to the outbreak of war a month later. By the end of the First World War in November 1918, nearly 20 million people had been killed or wounded (even 100 years later, the exact number is still unknown).

If a 13 or 14-year-old is not curious as to how and why these two bullets caused the deaths of so many human beings, then it’s a safe bet to say they’re probably not curious about much at all.

In order to really understand something – whether the origins of the First

World War or why the sky is blue – it immeasurably helps if you’re genuinely curious about it in the first place. Perhaps the thing I dislike most about Bloom’s taxonomy, both the revised and un-revised versions of it, is that it does not lend itself to curiosity.

Pedagogy is all the poorer for it.

So, whatever subject you teach and to whatever year groups, please try and allow for curiosity in your lessons. Where curiosity in the classroom leads, your pupils’ enjoyment of learning will follow… perhaps.

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BIG Advice

After 10 years of grind, JON LOVE has finally found his work-life balance and urges you to do the same WORDS: JON LOVE

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A u t u m n 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 6 9

eturning to school should be a term of celebration for teachers, yet all too often it’s filled with dread as it’s back to those long, long stretches of time spent at school. On the treadmill.

We often don’t even realise we are on a treadmill or that achieving a work-life balance is something that we can realistically accomplish.

t sometimes feels like it’s expected and accepted that we will always be knackered and overworked, underpaid and sometimes undervalued.

Take myself as a case study. One that will be all too familiar to many teachers out there.

I used to work in an inner city school. You know the type. High levels of deprivation, huge social problems, an estate with a city-wide reputation for drugs and drinking, thievery and violence. I’d be at school by 6:30am telling myself and anyone else that would listen that this was when I’m most efficient. I’d work through my break and eat my lunch at my desk (marking or prepping or reading an edu-book).

Okay, I was out the door at 4:30pm, but I justified that by telling myself it took two buses to get home with a door-to-door time of about 90 minutes.

Then it was cook dinner, get the kids

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BIG Advice

to bed, read the bedtime stories and do the brushing of the teeth etc. Then it was back down to the kitchen table, laptop out, a stack of literacy and numeracy books piled up next to me. I’d be at this until around 11:30pm before calling time.

Add to this a break-time duty, one dinnertime detention duty, a staff briefing Monday and Tuesday mornings, staff meeting on Wednesdays after school and a Key Stage meeting on Thursday lunchtime.

Emails were sent out on an hourly basis, and at weekends, which most staff accessed by either their personal phones or via the iPad that we were all given to help us be more productive and mobile in our work habits.

Books were collected every Friday (a random sample chosen by the HT) planning collected Friday afternoon and subject learning walks took place regularly with every member of staff having an area to monitor and show impact in.

Writing this now, it seems crazy to think how this could ever have been sustainable, but I did this for 10 years! And I know I

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wasn’t the only one. It’s not that we were encouraged to work like this, but weren’t discouraged either. I was crazy ambitious.

I had to have the best presented books.

The shiniest of all shiny Smart Notebook

“It’s not that we were encouraged to work like this, but weren’t discouraged either. I was crazy ambitious” presentations for each lesson, with every lesson resourced to the max.

My L.O.’s and S.C.’s were works of art.

I was spending more time thinking about and prepping for a lesson than actually de-

livering it. I used to be asked by my mum, in a way very reminiscent of sixth-form, if I had done all my work. The answer was invariably no. There was always more to do. More to read. More to analyse. More to prep.

To add to this craziness I was convinced this work-life imbalance was making me a better teacher. But I know now that it wasn’t. What it was doing was making me a lousy dad and husband. What’s strange is that at the time I didn’t feel it was excessive. I couldn’t see it. I didn’t even know if I enjoyed what I did.

People would ask me and I’d answer that I didn’t spare the time to think about it. I was always on the go. Always a meetings to attend, training to complete, schools to visit and collaborations to be established.

The stupid hours, the ridiculous number of meetings with no clear purpose, the then never ending cycle and merry-goround of triple marking.

Add into the mix being Year 6 lead, an OLEVI teacher trainer and a SAT marker.

Something had to give.

A u t u m n 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 7 1

BIG Advice It did. My wife’s job did. NHS funding disappeared and probably saved my life and career. Fast forward three years and a move of houses, schools and country - and things could not be more different. Emails at home? Can’t be accessed. We only get one or two a day anyway.

Staff meetings are once a month. I’m in school at 7:45am (still before most others).

And I’m home by 5:30pm, with all the kids in tow. By 6:45pm dinner is done and we are away to the beach.

Those beach walks recharge the batteries

7 2 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // A u t u m n 2 0 1 8

for me like nothing else. The air. The sea.

I’m not suggesting everyone may need such a radical move as we did, but even a small change can make all the difference.

I know now the problem lay not with the job (which I love still) but my school and with me. I needed to change.

Stepping out of the system enabled me to do that. It’s like what Ferris Bueller once famously declared to the screen; ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.’

“Those beach walks recharge the batteries for me like nothing else. The air.

The sea”

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What are you waiting for? eaching is a vocation rather than a profession, so if you’re not leaping out of bed every morning at the thought of another day in front of the class then perhaps it’s the location of your actions that is not quite right.

Teaching overseas is an opportunity every educator must experience before retiring. Have you given it much thought?

Discover what teaching in Budapest is all about in this issue – see page 76.

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A u t u m 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 7 5

Budapest After cutting their teeth in Vietnam, Chris Russell and his wife found a home teaching in Hungary n 2003, after several years working in Leeds and North Yorkshire, my wife and I decided to explore international teaching and we haven’t looked back since. It’s a bold step, packing up your belongings and renting out your home, but it’s one we’ve not regretted since we first stepped onto international waters.

Initially, we joined the British International School in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and it was evident from the first moment that in Asia the teaching profession and education was held in very high respect. The two years spent in Vietnam gave us a chance to travel to countries such as Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar.

Professionally, this was a very exciting time to be in Vietnam, working alongside now lifelong friends in a school that is now classed as one of the most highly regarded schools in Asia.

But we wanted more and soon our feet grew itchy once more.

In 2005 we had the opportunity to move to Hungary. At the time, the Nord Anglia Education group had just five schools and The British International School Budapest had a total of just over 300 students. Budapest was a mystical and enchanting city back then, and still is. Its Austro-Hungarian heritage and architecture entwined with a love of the arts and culture makes the city a fantastic place to live and work.

Teaching the British National Curriculum, we follow new initiatives and curriculum adaptations just as we would in the UK. Keeping up to date with recent UK and international developments can be challenging for international schools and so anyone wanting to teach internationally must consider this.

Fortunately, Nord Anglia Education highly values staff professional development with its Nord Anglia University and its range of online courses through 7 6 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // A u t u m n 2 0 1 8

to a fully funded Masters in collaboration with Kings College London.

Tethered to this is a desire to develop and support people to grow within the organisation. I’ve personally benefitted from this by attending middle and senior leaders courses, which helped me prepare for my current Head role.

At BISB we are fortunate to have a stable Primary staff that enables us to work as a close team, embed good practice and work on giving the children a memorable but challenging primary

Are you teaching overseas and would like to share your story with faculty in the UK? Then drop us an email at editor@ hwrkmagazine.co.uk

education. For our non-native students, we help them appreciate the language and history of the region through our Hungarian Culture lessons and we support our Hungarian students with their language development through a bi-lingual support programme.

The Primary school now has just over 400 students, taking the total for the school to over 900. The British International School Budapest caters for children aged 3 - 18 at which stage they complete their International Bac@hwrk_magazine

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A collection of Chris Russel’s experiences in Vietnam and Hungary

calaureate Diploma exams and exit to universities across the globe.

My wife and I have had two children since living and working in Hungary who also now attend and love the school. As a teaching couple, the school were very supportive with the birth of our children by allowing us to job share.

This meant collectively we could share the childcare whilst continuing to work in the profession and at a school we love.

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We are often asked why we have stayed in Budapest for as long as we have. This is truly a mixture of being in a great school that has given us professional challenge and living in such an exciting city as Budapest. The community of the school is a very special one.

We have over 70 different nationalities who combine to create a community of respect for one another and a collective understanding that we can ‘achieve more together than we can

alone’. We are blessed with having some wonderful students and supported by a set of parents who want to help enhance and improve the school and community together.

I’m proud of the school, it’s students, teachers and parents. I have been honoured to be part of BISBs journey into the successful school it is today. I am, of course, equally excited to be part of its very bright future.

A u t u m n 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 7 7

Bullying is everyone’s business

For further information on the Peer2Peer or Playground Pals Programmes please visit: bulliesout.com

The importance and value of peer mentoring inside the school gates ith one in two young people reporting to have been bullied, childhood bullying has become a huge societal issue. We are all aware of the damage bullying can do to a person and how it can affect their wellbeing. We need to convey the message that bullying is everyone’s business and we believe that to reduce the effect and prominence of bullying, everybody has a role to play.

We do understand that in a school environment, with some bullying incidents, the difficulty for teachers is that what actually occurs between students is not often visible to them.

Bullying can occur online or via mobile phones out of school hours, or sometimes in parts of the school where no teachers are present.

By monitoring the social dynamic of a class climate and identifying how children and young people are interacting and engaging with each other, teachers will be able to identify those who seem isolated or vulnerable in some way. This may be an indication of bullying.

The most important thing a teacher can do to prevent bullying behaviour is be proactive. They should never assume that just because they don’t see it happening then it’s not going on. Pupils need to be taught about what is socially and culturally acceptable behaviour.

7 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // A u t u m n 2 0 1 8

If their language or behaviour at school is inappropriate, it needs to be challenged and responses such as, ‘I was only joking’, or ‘it was just a bit of fun’ should not be acceptable in a supportive school environment.

The power imbalance that defines bullying is also reflected in classroom social relations and this makes it more of an issue than ‘one

“A peer mentoring scheme is a resource that many schools find valuable” child bullying another’. Those who bully are frequently considered ‘cool’ or ‘popular’, whereas those who are bullied, are more often than not rejected by their peers.

Creating a space for young people to explore problems and report issues, knowing that they won’t face any judgement, is crucial and a peer

mentoring scheme is a resource that many schools find valuable.

Peer support is well liked by young people.

It is effective and creates a culture of listening, empathy and support. Mentors provide valuable support and are able to help identify low level behaviour issues and help them to be resolved before escalating further.

It is important to encourage young people to shift their role from supporting bullying to preventing it, because when bystanders intervene, more often than not they are successful at stopping the bullying and the more witnesses who intervene, the stronger the message to the perpetrators.

In a school setting, by making young people aware that a safe, respectful world is everyone’s responsibility, we empower them to take positive actions – like reporting a bully, flagging a cruel online comment, or not forwarding a humiliating photo – that ultimately can put a stop to an escalating episode of cruelty and humiliation.

Research findings constantly highlight how bullying affects a person’s emotional wellbeing and mental health. This is why we have to work together to support and empower young people to be more than passive bystanders and make bullying everyone’s business. @hwrk_magazine

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The Texas School Funding Massacre What you know about funding... doesn’t even come close.

t should come as no surprise to educators around the world that the state of Texas is in the middle of a school funding nightmare. A quick Google search reveals school funding fights in nearly every US state, a legislative battle over school funding still boiling over in the UK, and similar problems from South Africa to Japan.

The lesson? Getting the money which our schools need to operate at full capacity into the hands of the administrators that distribute it is a global problem.

Is this just a problem on paper? Won’t our resilient teachers and the grit of our students help the state float in choppy waters? The data indicates – no.

The Texas School Funding Massacre, as I like to call it, has teeth. The state of Texas has now fallen into the bottom half of all major annual reports on educational quality. One piece of research, Education Week’s Quality Counts report, ranked the state as low as 43rd. There is a growing gap in performance on standardized tests between white students and students of color.

The Lone Star State, the swaggeringly-huge territory full of braggadocio and bullets, boasts the tenth-largest economy in the world. Our GDP crushes that of traditional edu-darlings like South Korea and Finland. We have the money. Is it really that hard to distribute it equitably among the state’s 5 million students?

Think of it another way: the districts which the state doesn’t favor pay more taxes to subsidize those better-funded districts, whose residents pay less in taxes. Students and parents in non-favored districts suffer to prop up their peers in the state’s favored areas. Example – the district in which I work (Houston ISD) has lost as much as $14.1 million, according to estimates by the Reason Foundation, thanks to the Target Revenue System.

Problem #2: The Purse Clamps Tight on Texas’ High-Need Students Texas uses several factors when adjusting a district’s allotment. The state pays the bills based on a wide range of factors, many of which are buried so deep in legislative red tape that you’d be hard-pressed to find them. But I have a secret. Not one of those indices consider contemporary student need.

Go ahead, look it up. Texas’ Cost of Education Index, which considers demographics and factors like student need, is a huge factor in determining how much money each district gets. This Index has been stagnant since 1991, regardless of the fact that the state has changed a great deal in the past thirty years. This Index is responsible for the allotment of more than $2 billion of taxpayer funds, and it doesn’t reflect anything resembling the Texas that exists today.

Problem #1: The State Plays Favorites (and it’s 100% legal!)

Problem #3: Rich Kids Have More Quality Choices Than Poor Kids

Without showing too much of my legislative wonk side, I must talk a little bit about state law. The state tends to spend more money on some districts and spend less on others. The cause? Something called the Target Revenue system, added to existing legislation in 2006.

That year, local taxation was compressed, thanks to House Bill 1. The result? A funding floor assigned to each district, essentially legislating district spending in an inequitable way.

The problem? Target Revenue plays favorites, with its funding amounts tied to “historical factors” instead of contemporary numbers. In other words, the district’s purse is only as full as it needed to be in years past, and doesn’t have anything to do with current district-based spending.

We know that charter schools (especially public-charters, which carry the support of a school district) are effective at serving our state’s poorest kids. Stanford University’s Center on Research on Education Outcomes was hired by the state to consider the effectiveness of our charter schools. Their finding? Poor students who got into charter schools had a significant learning advantage in both reading and math. Why, then, do our state’s charter schools currently have more than 150,000 students on waitlists?

Our state lawmakers are partially to blame.

Senate Bill 2, passed in 2013, raised the number of charter schools that can operate in the state to 305. This sounds like a good thing; however, the devil is in the details. Authority

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over all the state’s charters was moved from the Texas Board of Education over to a new office, the Commissioner of Education. That meant new application standards, new forms to fill out, and a huge nightmare in terms of student files and existing applications. The result? Application is increasingly difficult to access, especially for low-income students.

Added bonus – fewer charter school systems are showing interest in Texas, thanks to the new mountain of paperwork and pile of hoops to jump through.

All this red tape stands directly in the way of low-income students’ access to quality schools.

The demand from parents is strong – anecdotally, I get questions about Texas charter schools monthly from my students’ guardians.

We know that the poor students of Texas are enrolled in failing schools at much higher rates than students with wealthy parents. More than ten percent of the state’s low-income schools are currently listed as “Improvement Required,” the lowest rank for a school in the state.

Compare that to the number of higher-income schools listed as “Improvement Required” and you’ll see this problem clearly. Fewer than one percent of schools in middle or upper-class areas are listed with that low rating.

Texas is one of the wealthiest states in the wealthiest country in the world. Our inability to figure this problem out has made a laughingstock out of our schools. It won’t surprise any teacher reading this that our schools are absolutely stuffed with talented teachers giving their all to expand the minds of our learners.

But what can be done? What can the parents of students in our districts do? When low-income students are ten times less likely to get a quality education than their wealthy peers, and when most of our students are classified as low-income? What in the world can be done?

We can continue to teach. We can continue to lead. We can continue to build curious, confident, capable human beings. We teachers in low-income areas will continue to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars each year for our learners. We will lecture, we will question, we will give feedback, we will laugh, we will cry. We’ll write referrals and call mamas and show up for choir concerts and dance team auditions and One-Act Play competitions. And we’ll do it all with significantly fewer resources than we need, and the biggest, realest smiles you’ve ever seen.

A u t u m n 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 7 9

Beth Southern How a passion for EAL learning led this skydiver into taking flight as a consultant What made you decide to become a teacher?

My journey in to teaching was not exactly a direct route.

When I went to university to do a law degree it was probably the furthest career from my mind. However, during my first year I became involved with the university skydive club, ended up as club president, and suddenly my weekends were consumed with skydiving and training other people.

It was during this time that I found a real passion for helping people to grow and develop, and it gave me enough doubt over my original career plans that I put them on hold and decided to apply for school-based jobs. In 2005, I became an assistant boarding school house parent at an International school in Somerset and this is where my passion was truly ignited. Soon after arriving I was desperate to teach and so completed the Trinity CertTESOL month-long course which began my career into teaching.

I taught English to international students aged from 7 – 18 and I thrived on watching their English improve and their confidence grow. Most of the international students we taught took their GCSEs in just one year, so their progress was rapid and very easy to track.

Is that why you decided to specialise in EAL? By 2007 I was ready to embark on a PGCE and although my love of working with EAL students remained, the option to qualify as an EAL specialist was not available, which I thought was strange.

I decided that once qualified I would do everything possible to specialise within the area of EAL, doing additional training as required.

I undertook a school centred primary PGCE in Cumbria and applied for inner city teaching jobs in Manchester, where I knew there would be many opportunities to work with EAL pupils and develop my experience.

I secured a position in an academy in Moss Side and undertook my NQT year as a PPA cover teacher, which had both positive and negative attributes.

As soon as it was completed I began the process of pushing to set up a whole school EAL department across the 3 – 18 academy.

No stopping you!

How did that work out?

I was never one to hold back and before long I had secured large amounts of funding and I became Head of EAL in 2009. I set up the EAL department, recruited staff, implemented functional skills, undertook staff training and took the department through Ofsted successfully. By 2010 the department was fully functional and running well in conjunction with the English department.

In 2011 I was offered a funded MA by Manchester Met University and jumped at the chance to do a PgDip in Teaching Bilingual Learners and an MA in Language Education. I was amazed by many of the discussions from other students on my course, such as how little CPD there was within the area of EAL. So many teachers said they were teaching EAL learners but that teacher training barely touches on it and many felt ill prepared to know what to do, day to day, in the classroom. It was then I decided I wanted to move in to consultancy and training at some point.

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“I thrived on watching their English improve and their confidence grow” Tell HWRK about the summer school you used to run?

In 2007, my husband and I set up, marketed and ran an international summer school for children from around the world to come to the UK during the summer to learn English. It was the hardest thing I had done in my career to that point, such a tough market to break in to and to become established in.

However, we did become established and we ran in the end for five years on two sites (Bristol and York) with a massive team of staff and 100s of students. @hwrk_magazine

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What are the short-term goals for EAL HUB?

If you’d like to know more about EAL teaching visit: ealhub.co.uk

Why did you discontinue that?

In the end, it really took over family life. We still needed to be at one of the sites most of the summer; we were expecting our third child (we had three aged 3 and below at one point!) and so we decided to pass it on at a time when it was thriving and we walked away with a huge sense of achievement and a wealth of experience in so many different areas.

Is that when you finally moved over to consultancy?

I set up consultancy and training privately and also worked for a local council as a Lead Teacher of EAL. I visited lots of schools and saw loads of interesting teaching but my overriding sense was that there was still a real lack of training and understanding of how best to support students, particularly new arrivals.

Many teachers asked me to recommend EAL teaching resources or websites that they could visit for teaching support and ideas and I was often unable to offer very much.

I decided at the start of this year I would take the leap of faith and move full-time in to setting up EAL HUB. I just had a huge desire to better support teachers globally and also to give EAL pupils the best chance to remain in lessons as much as possible and thrive.

To build the resources as much as possible whilst keeping them at a high standard. We are still developing new ideas and concepts, but the PIVOT Packs and Reading Hero Packs are proving really popular with teachers and pupils nationwide. We are also getting regular book requests, as well as daily downloads of the standalone resource sheets, videos and activities.

The free resources are doing so well, to date we have had around 13,000 downloads in under six months, so there is clearly a real need for the extra resources!

We have also found that lots of schools are also using many of the resources for children that aren’t EAL but that have specific literacy needs, so we are looking at this side of things too, to ensure we are meeting that need.

I am currently working on pushing my CPD and training. I am keen to get out in to schools to offer training within areas such as: welcoming and providing for new arrivals; how to boost reading and writing in Advanced Bilinguals; EAL Coordinator training and TA training and Assessment.

I am also excited to visit some international school overseas in 2019.

And what are the long-term goals?

The long-term goal is simple – to offer an amazingly versatile and holistic EAL support hub that is the go-to place for teachers in need of support, resources and training for students learning English.

We are also marketing across the globe at the minute, with some exciting collaborations in the pipeline, so our long-term goal is to get EAL HUB in to as many schools as possible!

“I just had a huge desire to better support teachers globally and also give EAL pupils the best chance to remain in lessons” HWRKMAGAZINE.CO.UK

A u t u m n 2 0 1 8 // H W R K M AG A Z I N E // 8 1

AFTER FOUR DECADES IN EDUCATION, WE’VE UNLEASHED THE BEAST TO SHARE SOME OF ITS FUNNIEST TRUE TALES

The incriminating telephone bill

P

hil was the deputy head in the main building. It was his job to do the ‘sub’ list first thing in the morning to ensure all absences were covered. Interruptions were not encouraged before it was complete.

The only exception to this was his boss, Joan Pendleton, who was a feisty, pugnacious lady whose leadership style could kindly be described as dictatorial.

On one particularly sunny summer morning Phil was driving towards school.

He could see that the boss was in early and was leaving the car park. She stopped suddenly, causing a bus to swerve around her at the last moment. Oblivious to the carnage she’d almost caused she approached a member of staff and waved a piece of paper at him.

“Oh no!” thought Phil. As she saw him approach she reversed her car back into the car park. Phil parked up and got out of his car, shooting a cheery and hopeful “Good morning Joan!” in the head’s direction.

“Don’t you ‘good morning’ me!” she shot back.

“Have you seen this?” she waved the aforementioned piece of paper in Phil’s face.

“Er, No Joan” “Well it’s the phone bill and someone’s going to pay!”

“We do normally, don’t we Joan?”

“Don’t be facetious,” she responded sternly.

“Someone is taking the mickey and making international calls from the school! It’s your fault, you’re too soft with them.

You and Michael (the deputy in lower school) are going to

find out who’s making these calls and you’re going to do it today!” She stormed off, got into her car and headed to lower school.Phil rushed into the building and called Michael to warn him of the impending storm.

“ DON’T GO HOME UNTIL YOU’VE FOUND THE CULPRIT ” After assembly they got their heads together and divided the staff up between them to interview.

The process was conducted like a police operation. Only the tape recorder and spotlight were missing.

By 10am everyone knew the boss was on the warpath and by the end of the

day Phil and Michael had interviewed all of the staff. The boss had chipped in by asking everyone she met whether they had relatives in Australia or not. The school was reeling from the consequences of the phone bill.

As she was leaving school, Joan put her head in Phil’s office.

“I’ve got to go now. Any joy?”

“No Joan. Not yet.”

“Well don’t go home until you’ve found the culprit. Stay and interview everyone at night school.”

She closed the door before Phil could protest. Phil and Richard both stayed and interviewed the night school staff.

Nothing.

The next morning Phil was at his desk completing the ‘sub list’ as usual when Joan put her head around his door.

“Morning,” she said, smiling at Phil who was about to admit her two deputies’ failure to identify the culprit.

“You know that phone bill?” she asked quietly.

“Yes.” said Phil warily.

“Don’t tell anyone, but it was the gas bill,” she smiled again and closed the door. That was Joan.

HWRK MAGAZINE PUBLISHED BY PICTURES UP DESIGN LTD 5 Hackins Hey, Liverpool L2 2AW, UK E: enquiries@hwrkmagazine.co.uk T: 0151 237 7303 CONSULTANT EDITOR Nick Peet PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Alec Frederick Power DESIGNER Jessica-May Wright MANAGING DIRECTORS G Gumbhir, Alec Frederick Power Legal Disclaimer: While precautions have been made to ensure the accuracy of contents in this publication and digital brands neither the editors, publishers not its agents can accept responsibility for damages or injury which may arise therefrom. No part of any of the publication whether in print or digital may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owner.

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MSC Magnifica from Southampton

We are a well-established online travel company based in the UK and provide cruise holidays departing from the UK to various worldwide locations. As part of a travel group we have excellent deals with numerous cruise lines, airlines and hotel groups; offering you some of the lowest deals around the world. We are passionate about finding you the right cruise holiday at the right price and will work with you to help you find your perfect holiday.

As you’ll see, our portfolio incorporates a huge range of cruises with many of the world’s leading cruise lines and river cruises.

We have something for everyone; from a 5-day Mediterranean cruise to a four-month ‘round-the-world’ cruise at affordable prices. We can cater for all your travel needs, from flights to hotels, travel excursions to travel extras and much more. *Terms and Conditions apply. Please contact us for more information.

For any bookings, reservations or travel enquiry please call or email as detailed below:

Tel: 020 8782 4491 Fax: 020 8900 0681 Email: sales@worldwidecruisesuk.com Alperton House, 2nd Floor, Bridgewater Road, Alperton, Wembley HA0 1EH