Prep School Magazine - Summer 2020 Issue 98 by John Catt Educational

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Summer Term 2020 ▲ Issue 98

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Summer 2020 ▲ Issue 98

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CONTENTS

SUMMER 2020 | ISSUE 98

From the editor

A sense of (re)purpose, Nick Gallop and Steven Newton

Talking to our children, Jonathan Perry

True colours, Jane Prescott

Quiet leaders need to shout, Christopher Barnes

Top tips for leadership, Andrew Hunter

You can’t win anything with kids, Alastair Armstrong

Shaken and stirred, Ian Morris

The new normal, Ailsa Lawn

A literacy toolkit, Alex Boyd-Williams

27 Cubes, Grant Whitaker

Pastures new, Quentin Edwards

Shaping my world, Harry Hastings

Widening channels of communication, Ben Evans

In defence of debate, Ellen Manning

Teaching environmental issues, Paul Baker

Green living, Reverend Andrew Gough

SATIPS Handwriting Competition, Joseph Davenport

Changing direction, Phillip Serrell

Therapy for the soul, Emma Spybey

Looking on the bright side, Jenny Burrett

A new space for learning, Liz Marden

Leading the way, SOCS

How to be top at school, Mark Hedges

Teach Like a Writer, Jennifer Webb

Picking up the pieces, Natasha Watson

SATIPS Broadsheet: Maths, Dr Matthew Reames

SATIPS Directory

42 0

60 Viewpoint Editor Paul Jackson Managing Editor Meena Ameen Designer Scott James Advertising Gerry Cookson, gcookson@johncatt.com Steering Committee Bill Ibbetson-Price; Ben Moir; Richard Tovey MBE

ISSN: 0963 8601 Printed by Micropress, Reydon,Suffolk IP18 6DH Publishers’ Notice Prep School is published three times a year, in January, May and September, by John Catt Educational Ltd. £25 for a two-year subscription, post paid; discounts for bulk orders are available. Opinions expressed in Prep School are not necessarily endorsed by satips; likewise advertisements and advertising features are printed in good faith. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement by satips.

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From the editor You will all understand that writing at this moment in time is a very daunting task. I need not have worried. I am so grateful to Kate Grimsdale, a former pupil at Old Hall School Prep and now Head of School at Wrekin College, for allowing me to use extracts from her inspirational message to the school community which, to my mind, says it all. ‘Under any other circumstances I’m sure that if someone had told us we’d be finishing school a week early for Easter, we’d all be delighted. So how come it

doesn’t feel like that? Exams don’t define us, we’re not judged at this school by what grades we get, we’re judged by our work ethic and our “can do” attitude, which employers in later life will crave. So embrace this whole new way of working, be positive – put your hand up and join the party. For upper sixth and fifth form, the formal exams may have been cancelled but that doesn’t mean online lessons are pointless. If everything you did at school was simply to pass an exam, we’d all just read the specification and simply do what was required, but we don’t. We get a broader knowledge and acquire skills that will help us in the future. I appreciate it’s so hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but when you leave school there’s no exams

but the best of us never stop learning. My mum has joined the community choir recently. She can’t read music, has never sang before, except for in the car doing our little carpool karaoke sessions where me and my sisters all attempt to be the singer, backing singers, harmony parts, accompaniment and tambourine at the same time. But she has loved it. Learning never stops and as long as we surround ourselves with people who we can have a good time with, whether that’s in the virtual world or the real world, we can’t go far wrong. 2020 will go down in history. There will be lessons about this pandemic in years to come. So, as we take our place in history, let’s make a pledge together to make Wrekin proud. Let’s be the best we can be in the face of adversity.’

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A sense of re(purpose) When school closures coincided with an alarming scarcity of protective equipment for the nation’s healthcare workers, the Stamford Endowed School’s design technology department stepped up to the challenge, writes Headmaster Nick Gallop and Head of DT Steven Newton We regularly remind the young people in our care of the perils and hazards associated with social media, but the platform also allows for the rapid free sharing of ideas and has proved to be the stimulus for significant social, political, technological and economic changes. What started in late March as an informal online collaboration amongst design technology teachers and enthusiasts, rapidly spiralled into an urgent response to a life and death situation, and one with surprisingly far-reaching consequences. Opportunity in crisis Just like the rest of the UK’s social and economic institutions, our entire education system faces truly unprecedented challenges. In fact, it is difficult to imagine a more suitable use for the term ‘crisis’ – not just for our schools, but for so many people, and in so many walks of life. The word ‘crisis’ comes from Ancient Greek, meaning ‘turning point’. In classical times it was applied to the critical moment at which a patient recovers or gets a whole lot worse. Since then its meaning has broadened and, in some cultures, it refers as much to difficulty and to threat as it does to opportunity. Late March, in the early weeks of the spread of the Covid-19 virus, saw a sudden and wholly unforeseen need

for face visors. It was a need for very specific protective equipment that could cover the only exposed parts of healthcare workers’ skin and provide far more effective protection than goggles and masks covering mouths and noses alone. The despatch of surplus latex gloves, aprons, sanitisers and goggles to healthcare centres was undoubtedly helpful, but the real need was for a substantial physical barrier between the faces of our healthcare workers (and indeed any essential worker) and the compromised environments that they were working in. Cue: the ingenuity and innovation of design and technology teachers within our sector. Design 138 Over several days, visor designs were shared and critiqued online, until prototypes began to be generated in what became a real-life case study in ‘iterative design’, precisely the kind of challenge that our A Level and GCSE students are confronted with every year, though this time the timescale was shorter and the stakes far higher. With the likely national need for many thousands of these visors, the relative slowness of 3D printing meant that a solution involving laser cutting, not 3D printing, was

needed. Over the course of ten days, 137 separate design iterations were envisioned, trialled and discarded as being impractical or unworkable, until version 138 rolled off the laser cutter. With its reduced number of component parts, the speed with which sheets of polypropylene could be precisely cut, and its ease of assembly, version 138 proved to be the one that was most sustainable. This final design saw visors made from 0.8mm polypropylene headbands attached quickly by hand to curved 0.5mm PVC screens.

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Demand and supply The first 200 visors, made in the first 24 hours, were despatched to intensive care (ICUs) and A&E units in the region, with an immediate and overwhelmingly positive response. The subsequent media wave saw further demand coming in almost instantaneously from many dozens of other health and emergency organisations, all requesting the visors. By early April, after just over week of production, the school had received orders for around 6000 visors from an enormous range of organisations including local paramedics, emergency services, police, pharmaceutical agencies and GP surgeries; from regional ICUs and emergency departments; and from hospitals and healthcare trusts all over the country. At the height of the demand, the school was receiving around 100 emails and messages every day with requests for the protective equipment. Dealing with the soaring demand soon became as big an occupation as the production of the visors themselves. Collaboration and coverage By the end of the first week, many other schools and colleges had swung into action too, and the school’s design had been shared with over a hundred DT departments nationwide. Such rapid distribution via social media also allowed for other manufacturing centres to adapt and innovate the designs based on their own facilities and materials. Further refinement, and the great response of assembly-line teaching staff, meant that production at Stamford – thanks to the many generous donations of materials from suppliers who rallied to the call – rose to the astonishing levels of more than a thousand a day. Media interest in the production process was extraordinary too, catching colleagues within the department entirely unawares. There appeared to be no end of fascination as to how a school had contributed, in such substantial fashion, to the protection of many thousands of the nation’s healthcare workers. The way

that the department, and its teachers, rose to the challenge in such an efficient and effective manner was showcased on regional television and radio – East Midlands Today and Look North – and on national television with crews from Channel 4 and BBC’s Panorama coming to the school in quick succession to film the production of the face visors and interview staff. Needless to say, the objective was never to turn the school’s design technology department into a mini industry of protective clothing manufacture in the fight against the virus. Instead, it was to plug the gap – estimated to be around three weeks long – between the outbreak and spread of the virus, and the ability of the government itself to manufacture appropriate clothing and equipment for key personnel in the frontline of the fight. With this in mind, requests for the school’s visor designs came from many large manufacturing companies, the UK government and the World Health Organisation too.

A final word of huge thanks to the small number of teachers who, throughout the Easter holidays, were in the school undertaking this enormously impressive and immeasurable beneficial task. And thanks too to those that kept the department supplied with the vital materials, several of them using their own equipment to cut and deliver component parts or driving several hundred miles to donate the muchneeded polypropylene and PVC sheets to keep production going. The school deliberately chose not to support this enterprise through any direct appeals for financial support, or by crowdfunding. Instead, by refocusing our existing skills within the department, by repurposing the machinery at our disposal, and through the generosity of suppliers and other material donors, we hope that we were able to make a positive difference to the lives of some very significant workers, at a very difficult time.

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Talking to our children Jonathan Perry, Headmaster at Lambrook School, considers how we should talk to our children about the coronavirus We haven’t had a situation quite like it in living memory; the smallest of organisms having one of the largest impacts on so many areas of society, and indeed, the world. We are probably feeling anxious about the future ourselves and with so much uncertainty about what life will look like in a few days, a few weeks and even a few months, it is hard to know what to say to our children as we try to make sense of this pandemic for them. At Lambrook, we are keen to be working together as staff and parents, ensuring that the message that we give our children is clear and informative, without making them fearful. As parents and teachers, we need to be speaking with our children about the coronavirus, letting them lead the conversation, giving them the opportunity to ask lots of questions. This will help to work out what children know already and what gaps that may need filling or myths that need to be dispelled. It is so important to be truthful and honest with our children; we do need to shield our children from some areas, but it is important that they trust us and continue to want to talk to us about such issues. Our children are a part of living history and will reflect on this period for many years to come. We should be leading by example – if we are telling our children and pupils that panic-buying is ineffective then we shouldn’t be doing it ourselves. Children watch our actions extremely closely and will certainly pick up on any anxiety

that we may be showing. Children love responsibility and we can empower them in their everyday lives as we encourage them to take on household chores, to work hard with their remote learning and, of course, to wash their hands properly and have good hygiene – good hand washing practice will hopefully last a lifetime and will keep our society much healthier and bug resistant in the future! We currently have many people who are going above and beyond in our country and the current situation gives us many opportunities to highlight some of these heroes: our scientists working hard to find a cure, our NHS workers taking on additional shifts and caring for those who are ill, and those working in supermarkets making sure that there is enough food available for us each day. We can encourage our children to think of ways that we can be thankful to these workers but also to be mindful of those who will be most affected by the virus, such as the elderly and the vulnerable. Showing kindness to others by baking or drawing a picture for a neighbour or speaking to relatives over the phone while they are in isolation, can make such a difference. We can also be grateful for the technology that we have available to us, enabling us to be able to support one another more easily. It is very easy for the coronavirus to be the main thing that we are speaking about in these times, which can sometimes cause worry in our children as they pick up on conversations both at

It is vital that we talk to our children about current events, but we shouldn’t let it dominate and take over our children enjoying being children home and through television and online means. It is vital that we talk to our children about current events, but we shouldn’t let it dominate and take over our children enjoying being children. In these uncertain times, it is good for our children to have routine and normality, to play outside and to laugh with family. We can remind our children that this time will pass and although it is an extremely sad time for those we know that are affected by the virus, there will be an end to this period. Our thoughts and prayers go to all those affected at this time.

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True colours Jane Prescott, the 2020 President of the GSA and Headmistress of Portsmouth High School GDST, explains how values in GSA schools have been brought to the fore during the lockdown As I write this, children, parents and teachers all over the UK have come to the end of the first week of a new reality forced upon us by the coronavirus. Remote learning on the one hand, and ‘normal’ school amid social distancing on the other. How quickly things can change.

had been working hard behind the scenes to find new ways to deliver the curriculum at a distance. Most have adapted a mix of email, file sharing and video conferencing technology, with the aim of keeping students’ spirits up every bit as important as teaching lessons.

those schools. I am reminded of a line from a popular song by Cyndi Lauper: ‘I see your true colors shining through’. So many of them have reached out to help their wider communities whilst continuing to provide an education to their own pupils in innovative and inspiring ways.

And yet, how quickly people adapt. Children perhaps more so than adults. What has absolutely inspired and moved me has been the way in which children in GSA and other schools all around the country have embraced distance education, despite teething problems with initially unstable online platforms or tetchy logins. We all saw the closure of schools looming ever closer and teachers

It’s still early days – fatigue may well set in – but right now I am humbled by the effort and determination all around us from teachers, pupils, parents and support staff, many of whom are also diligently working from home.

As examples, I can cite the GSA school which delivered all its perishable canteen food to a local community charity, the many others who collected goods for their local food bank and vulnerable individuals, and those who donated their science lab protective goggles and surgical gloves to their local NHS hospital or GP surgery. Students in several GSA schools also committed to writing

The effort made by the independent schools’ sector, in which I work, has been a direct reflection of the values of

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letters to older people in isolation or living in residential homes, as part of an organised programme. Other efforts in the independent sector include the small school that offered to help its neighbouring state school to build its own online learning platform, the technology students who developed a virus protection shield for doctors in their local hospital, and the schools who opened their doors to the children of keyworkers as well as their boarding accommodation to keyworkers unable to return to their families. These actions directly reflect the values of UK independent schools. We educate children to play their part in society, to contribute, to be aware of the world around them and to have the self-confidence and ability to take responsibility for helping those less fortunate than themselves. It’s one of the reasons so many parents choose to invest in a GSA education for their daughter, knowing that it is a whole, all-round education package that is so much more than the sum of its parts. GSA schools are always at the forefront of charitable endeavour, now and in less unusual times. Cake bakes, collections, ‘own clothes’ days and all sorts of other activities raise funds for charities such as Guide Dogs for the Blind, Breast Cancer Now, DiabetesUK, Jeans for Genes, the Alzheimer’s Society, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Macmillan Coffee Mornings, Children in Need, a wide range of developing world charities, and Comic Relief – a charity which was co-founded by an old GSA school pupil – to name just a few. Giving back, playing your part, doing what you can. These are all part and parcel of life for pupils in GSA schools where certain events may be open to the general public or shared with children from local state schools. Some schools hold volunteering fairs where sixth formers can meet organisations, local and otherwise, with which they can volunteer their services. Visiting local care and

residential homes to help serve tea, chat, lead singsongs and/or perform to residents is also a common activity in our schools. We also enable our students to use their developing academic expertise to come up with innovative solutions to real-world problems. At my own school, for example, one of our sixth form pupils developed a supermarket trolley tracker which was cheap to produce and easily installed. Another team of Portsmouth High School pupils invented a solution to birds – and, in particular, seagulls – taking litter out of bins. Innovation is what we do. In fact, innovation is one of the values of the GSA and indeed all independent schools. I have never been so conscious of this as I have been these last couple of weeks, as staff in all our schools have pulled out the stops to develop online learning that supports the curriculum and each individual subject syllabus, but does so in a lively, interactive and enjoyable way. One thing is for sure – this is going to spark a real shake-up in how schools operate in future. Our teachers and students are experiencing a whole new way of operating and, despite the stressful circumstances that have

prompted it, the opportunities and ideas this will bring in the months to come are hugely exciting. Right now, our staff are focused on providing a full, vibrant education for however long we are all in lockdown. As and when children can return to their schools, I foresee a new way of being able to work. We have now educated a generation about online collaboration which will change the way in which we meet and develop ideas in a group situation. At my own school, for example, pupils come from all over Hampshire and West Sussex and will consider working remotely on homework projects. Children have learnt how best to join in a virtual meeting, remembering to mute their microphone when not speaking to cut out background noise, and to use the chat function rather than speaking over each other. These workers of the future, who will be repairing our economy, will be able to do so in a smart way. I am pleased that my own pupils already knew how to use their mobile phones to advance their learning, just as many others in GSA schools around the UK already knew how to use their iPads or school Chromebooks in the classroom. They would say they are already a step ahead.

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Quiet leaders need to shout Christopher Barnes, an experienced school leader who has taught in independent schools for 20 years, says it’s time for quiet leaders to speak out Four years ago, I enjoyed reading an excerpt from Mary Myatt’s wonderful book High Challenge, Low Threat, specifically the chapter discussing the ‘Death of the Hero Leader’. We’ve all come across them, haven’t we – those with their finger in every pie, who do everything amazingly well, yet are the ones doing all the leading. Their impact is solely based around them being there, rather than empowering others to build and develop systems for continuing improvement. Whilst, on face value, the number of hero leaders is decreasing, a quick read through job adverts for school leaders suggests that the extrovert ideal has not. Having been through the recruitment process during the last couple of years, the same words and phrases seemed to recur in job descriptions and person specifications, so I took a random sample of 20 schools: ten maintained and ten independent.

parents or pupils to select phrases describing their ideal teacher, irrespective of their position in a school’s hierarchy, those that they would select would include: passionate, industrious, enthusiastic, motivated, dedicated, caring, personable, and emotionally-intelligent. Interestingly, all of these are words that describe teachers with a more introverted persona. Yet despite the increase in literature and publications about introversion, there is still a relative lack of school leaders who could be characterised as such. It is almost as though there is a nervousness about appointing someone who would be more of a listener than a talker, or who gives thought as to the impact of their words rather than making a swift response.

The words and phrases that were used most commonly are: passionate, inspiring, dynamic, industrious, enthusiastic, motivated, outstanding individual, imaginative, energetic, outstanding leader, talented, ambitious, remarkable, driven, creative, highly qualified, and forward-thinking.

Many of the words in the first list above are likely to make many candidates – not just introverts – recoil prior to considering application. What would be more helpful is if school groups, governing bodies and leadership teams were to take a different tack when drafting job descriptions. The ethos of a school is what attracts families and staff. Ultimately, whether leaders will be able to model and exemplify this should be a key factor in whether they are appointed.

Perhaps it’s a sense of self-deprecation, but I know that when completing job applications, I find it extremely difficult to align myself with many of the above! If you asked colleagues,

When appointing a head or member of senior leadership, a governing body will have a fairly set idea of what it is they are looking for. Depending on the school and the turnover of the

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

governing body, they may appoint only one or two people into positions of leadership during their tenure. By and large, governors are a mixture of alumni, parents, professional people, ex officio members – head, bursar, etc – and some who are one or more of the above. Aside from those ex officio members, they may or may not have a background in education, which means that their perception of what constitutes an effective school leader could be quite different. A business acumen is necessary in leading an independent school, but this should be discreetly used in the background. To all members of the community, a school still needs to feel like a school: the pastoral and academic must be more evident to those at the front-of-house than the fiscal – other than that they can see that it is being used to benefit the members of the community. Some governing bodies make use of a consultant or educational consultancy to advise and support them through the process. When discussing the content of this article with colleagues, all were united around one point – the importance of diversity in the teaching body and on a school’s leadership team. Preparing children for life in the 21st century is about exposing them to a range of teaching styles and personal qualities. It is also about ensuring that they encounter people in leadership positions who can lead in different

ways. In this way, the myth about quiet leadership being ineffective can be dispelled. For the past eight years, I have had the privilege to work in partnership with a senior leader at a day/boarding school in the Midlands. He is invariably quiet, courteous and charismatic, respected and liked by students, parents and colleagues alike. His command of logistics, coupled with an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of pupils and families at the school, are just two of many reasons why he is so highly regarded. A useful analogy is to think of the leadership team and teaching body as a jigsaw: it is the whole picture that is more important than the component parts. A head might be introverted – quiet, calm, reflective, detailoriented – but complemented by more extroverted, driven and (outwardly) energetic members of the SLT. What is important is for governors to recognise that quiet is not the same as ineffective. Stephen Hawking’s oft quoted saying that ‘quiet people have the loudest minds’ was never truer. It is often the case that a panel interview format does not bring out the best in quieter, more reflective candidates. Being able to come up with an answer to some questions on the spot – no matter how well you have prepared – can be a challenge, and I don’t doubt that many of us drive away from interviews with the perfect answer formed in our minds! The ‘sit down and reflect’ approach – being given a range of tasks on paper, where candidates have to go and think about them, then go away and write

their answers before discussing them – is fairer to all. Likewise, meeting a selection of pupils (some of whom, after all, you would have to teach!) and answering their questions gives governors a more realistic picture of candidates, both personally and professionally. At interviews or on pre-visits, it is always good to walk around the school and then take the opportunity to talk with the head or a member of SLT. This gives you as a prospective candidate the possibility of asking specific questions – remembering that interviews are a two-way process – and likewise helps a prospective employer to form a more accurate impression of you. In a recent interview I was asked to place the following in order of importance: pupils, parents, staff and governors, and to explain why I had ordered them thus. I really liked this as a question, as it gave the opportunity to share opinions without any preconceptions and without there being a correct answer – the interviewer made it clear that they were more interested in the thinking and reasoning behind the answer. For those who are more natural thinkers and reflectors, this kind of approach is proverbial meat and drink, and helps to demonstrate a better insight into their character and approach. Having been a senior leader for 13 years, I understand that being an introvert gives opportunities for misunderstandings. The higher level of role visibility can mean that quietness is mistaken for aloofness or diffidence. A relative lack of

verbal contribution in meetings can be – often unfairly – assumed to mean that you are not interested, rather than that you are reflecting or processing the information. However, a school community that values a quiet approach sees someone that is genuine and interested; pursuant of long-term and deep relationships rather than shallow conversations and quick answers; that you are an active listener and more deeply engaged. Such people understand that a lack of small talk does not mean that you are disinterested but, rather, that you value opportunities to engage on a deeper level about fewer topics. I believe that it is crucial that all school communities have greater exposure to introverts in positions of leadership and thus see links between quiet, calm and authority. This helps them to see that cerebral, thoughtful people have an impact on them, often in more ways than they realise because it is done in an unassuming way. The ‘reward’ is in seeing that all has gone well, rather than anything overt. It is, therefore, difficult to measure the impact of quiet leaders because what they do isn’t always tangible: for example, careful construction of timetables; consideration of duty rotas; the daily running of the school; weekly, termly and annual calendars; the logistics of special events – and yet their influence can be felt everywhere.

I believe that it is crucial that all school communities have greater exposure to introverts in positions of leadership and thus see links between quiet, calm and authority PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

Top tips for leadership Andrew Hunter, retired Head of Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh, shares his views on leadership As I write this in December 2019, recent months have certainly been fascinating in all sectors of education. I retired from the headship of Merchiston in August 2018 after 20 years of headship and I found myself thinking in my final year of the concept of ‘reversing into the future’. I thought it would be useful to reflect on 37 years of being involved in different schools, learning from those leading them and working alongside leaders at all levels. Every August/September is a new beginning. Within a school, no year is ever the same. This makes the job exciting! Every year your audience changes, new pupils arrive, new staff employed, new parents to get to know, new governors are appointed, and there could even be a new chair at the top. Set the tone and values you expect within your community. Reinforce your messages, up and down, throughout your pupils and staff.

Try as much as you can to get out and about in your school. Have some fun and with your leadership teams get out of the meeting rooms. Get out and about and see all the amazing things that are happening within your school; drop into classes and houses to see what is happening. We used to call these Learning Walks which enabled us to collect rich data to sit alongside observation and dialogue. See the school in action! You can’t look after others if you don’t look after yourself. Try and book some time out; plan a weekend away or holiday. Take up a new hobby, do something different and have something to look forward to. I was never very good at this part! Reinvent yourself. Read, read and read. No doubt the staff of Merchiston may no longer miss my postings on interesting articles but I think reading is one of the most important roles of the head. What became fun is that often, I received the reverse from

staff. ‘Andrew, by return, you might find this of interest.’ It meant that I learnt from my staff. Nurture your well of resilience. How can you nurture your ‘well of resilience’ for when it will be needed? Sadly, you will need it! When things go wrong the head’s actions are judged even more. I had so many different types of occurrences and, every year, I read about heads and schools coming to terms with personal and professional challenges. At these moments, any leader will have to dig deep into that ‘well of resilience’. Keeping every audience, staff, pupils, governors, alumni, parents, prospective parents, agents informed, calm and on board is never easy. They all feel they have a right to know. Prepare a press statement immediately and share this with your leaders. Employ a professional ‘go to’ public relations guru to manage the press. Build up a relationship with him or her. This needs to be set

Every year your audience changes, new pupils arrive, new staff employed, new parents to get to know, new governors are appointed, and there could even be a new chair at the top 14

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

Look after yourself. Everybody thinks that because they have been to school, they can run one! Sometimes, I think leaders in schools are at huge risk. up before any emergencies, as does seeking the best legal advice. Don’t forget to contact the school’s insurers! Don’t wait for the first test of your ‘well of resilience’ and kick into action then! It’s too late! How are you going to unload? Who with? How are you going to repair the damage that being resilient does? Have your governors thought about this? I understand that there are many heads who feel that heads need their own clinical psychologist with whom they can meet every second week. Senior leaders should not be frightened of being vulnerable. After all, that is ‘authentic leadership’. But sharing the need for help with governors is sometimes difficult and there may be a potential blockage for heads. Look after yourself. Everybody thinks that because they have been to school, they can run one! Sometimes, I think leaders in schools are at huge risk. So, ensure that your union subscription is active but back this up with your own personal legal adviser who obviously will be different to the school’s. In this job, there are sometimes ‘buffetings’, for let’s remember that African proverb, ‘smooth seas do not make skilful sailors’! Again, set this up before any ‘buffetings’ occur. Remember too that governors are there to challenge, monitor and support us as leaders. They are there to live the 3C mantra of challenging us, being critical friends and championing us.

Reversing into the future. I realise that this does not apply to many of us reading this (it will apply to some!) but it was a phrase given to me in 2017. At that stage, which comes to us all, how does one reverse into the future? Headship. Tom Sherrington, a former maintained school head, was speaking in Scotland in 2017 and he summed up the vital parts of headship as: ‘Ethos, vision, communication, strategy (including finance) and people – with people being the most searching part of headship.’ He also said try to ensure in your school that the teaching inspires awe and wonder! I was representing Saxton Bampfylde, the global partnership search and leadership consultancy at the 2019 HMC Annual Conference and I had the privilege to listen to Andy Buck. Since then I have been awestruck by his book, the third edition of the bestselling leadership manual Leadership Matters 3.0. If you have not read it, it’s a cracker! Values, values, values. We are very blessed with some extraordinary practitioners. One of these is Professor Bart McGettrick, and I am delighted to read the impact Bart has had on Thomas Garnier of Pangbourne College. Pangbourne’s flag values of kindness, selflessness, moral courage, initiative, industry, resilience and integrity were inspired by Thomas listening to Professor McGettrick at the 2006 BSA

Conference at which Bart said: ‘Time spent on values is not time wasted. All the evidence suggests it is like the tide rising: everything rises with it.’ At a different course, in 2004, I heard Professor McGettrick say: ‘The purpose of education is never the curriculum but to form people of love, care, compassion and a sense of beauty who will serve the world with these gifts. Leadership is about ethical courage and developing humanity through education is the end point. The barometer of humanity is the quality of how we work with children, the vulnerable and the marginalised.’ Personally, I think these pieces of advice are timeless. In my new role as a partner and consultant at Saxton Bampfylde, I have really enjoyed meeting Professor Bart McGettrick again and having the opportunity to listen and learn from him. Finally, it’s a great job, through the lows and the highs, so smile, and keep smiling! It makes you feel good. It’s a great comfort to others, welcoming and infectious! As I said, educational leaders face increasing challenges, whether this is south or north of the border. Leadership is a solitary journey and it’s important to experience learning walks with others. With hindsight, and I know that is a very fine thing, I wish I had done even more leadership services, as I think I would have been a much better leader. So, that’s my last tip!

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

You can’t win anything with kids Alastair Armstrong, Director of Teaching and Learning at Fettes College, Edinburgh, reflects on the school environment In August 1995, Match of the Day pundit Alan Hansen criticised thenManchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson after his team had gone down 3-1 to Aston Villa, stating firmly, ‘you can’t win anything with kids’. Of course, United duly went on to win the Premier League and FA Cup that season and the world was introduced to the sparkling young talents of Gary Neville (aged 20), Paul Scholes (20), Ryan Giggs (21), David Beckham (20) et al. However, let us not forget that side also contained the experienced spine of Peter Schmeichel, Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister and Eric Cantona. The average age was only 26 but there was experience in key positions and despite the mockery Hansen has received ever since, he was in many ways correct. All top sporting teams search for that synergy between wise old professionals and fearless young starlets. Finding the right balance is often the key to success and it’s something which I think is equally applicable in schools. Indeed, I had a letter published in The Times in 2011, responding to an earlier discussion piece which had lamented the apparent loss of experienced, older teachers in the classroom. The implication was that staff bodies were getting younger, perhaps as a result of stringent budgets and possibly a consequence of burn out and disillusionment. Most of us in middle age – lamentably, I speak for myself here – entered the

profession in the belief that we were becoming career teachers. However, a recent TES article by Jack Worth published on the 28th of June 2018 revealed that in 2016-17, 9.9% of teachers left the workforce, compared to 9.2% in 2010-11. Overall, the number of working-age teachers leaving the profession has increased from 25,000 in 2010-11 to 36,000 in 2016-17. These are worrying statistics and whilst I suspect that the independent sector does not suffer quite so badly due to higher salaries and a more attractive learning and teaching environment, they are not immune from recruitment issues, particularly in STEM subjects. The knock-on effect of all this is that the average age of teachers is falling. In an article published in The Guardian on the 12th of May 2018, it was stated that government figures show that the number of older teachers has dropped significantly since 2010. The loss of such experience is draining schools of valuable expertise. My thoughts are that the quality of learning and teaching is higher when we have a balance of young and old teachers in schools, and that both can learn from each other. I know from my own experience how inspiring it can be to work in a department filled with inspiring teachers who are experts in their field. When I landed in a wellknown co-educational boarding school, I had a first-class history degree under my belt, a PGCE from Cambridge and a determination to inspire the next

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

generation of early modern historians. My first upper sixth A Level set remains one of the brightest I have taught, and I did everything I could to foster their enthusiasm, flex their intellectual muscles and get them thinking for themselves. Their final A Level results were mediocre – the result, no doubt of my own over-confidence, inexperience and crucially my reluctance to tap into the expertise around me. My colleagues were hardened practitioners who never wanted a management position, they were in it for the genuine love of teaching. Virtually all of them were A Level examiners, most of them had written the corresponding textbooks to the course and all of them had well over 20 years of experience in the classroom. Sure, I had watched the odd lesson that year, admired their command of the subject and rapport with the pupils – indeed I had tried too hard to live up to that in my own classes. Yet no NQT can possibly teach to the same level as someone who has been doing the job for a length of time. What I didn’t see was the meticulous exam preparation, the clear and ongoing advice over how to plan and structure essays and the precise (often face-to-face) feedback that put their pupils in such a strong position ahead of the final papers. It’s often the ability of older teachers to be able to reflect on common mistakes made before by pupils or to use past precedents to gauge pupil progress which can make all the

difference. They often know what’s about to happen before it actually does. We need those old heads who know what it takes to cajole and motivate pupils who can’t see how on earth they are going to get through the course, not to mention pass their final exams. On top of this, I suspect that experienced teachers are more skilful in their use of questioning. The hours spent in front of classes and the familiarity with the material allows for greater assurance and confidence in probing the class for responses and crucially to develop their ideas utilising open questioning. Not for one second am I suggesting that younger teachers with less experience cannot do this, but I do feel that with experience comes an awareness of what works and what doesn’t, what to say and when to say it, as well as a whole bank of case studies relating to pupils of the past to call upon in order to re-assure themselves and their pupils that it will all work out in the end. Like many professions, it takes time to develop your skillset and the same goes for teaching. Often older teachers are the best and most inspiring in the school. Recently a colleague of mine who has been teaching for over 20 years was thinking about applying for a promoted post but was concerned that she was not up to date with the latest educational research. As we discussed the current trend for ‘direct instruction’, content rich curriculums and regular low stakes testing, she was pleasantly reassured that such traditional approaches were shown to be effective. As Doug Lemov says in his 2010 book Teach Like a Champion, ‘teacher driven dissemination of material is critical at times […] it’s one of the best ways to share knowledge’. The advantage that experienced teachers hold is that they tend to know the material inside and out, allowing them to control the pace of lessons, gauge understanding in the class and digress where appropriate. At the same time, striking the right balance between young and old can

be mutually beneficial and certainly in the interests of the pupils. Younger teachers often appear as more relevant and aspirational role models for the pupils – cool, approachable and someone they can relate to more easily. It’s a powerful thing and something that new teachers must always bear in mind when they first enter the classroom. Straight out of a PGCE, it can often be that younger teachers are more willing to share ideas, reflect critically upon their lessons and call upon the most recent research to enhance their own practice. There is a tendency for older teachers to get stuck in their ways, a reluctance to teach new topics or change their attitudes towards key aspects of the profession. Assessment springs to mind as an area in which younger staff tend to extol the benefits of peer assessment and selfassessment more effectively than older colleagues. The whole idea of formative assessment as a means of promoting pupil progress, putting the onus on feedback rather than marking, has been shown to make a huge difference in pupil attainment. Indeed, whilst we value experience, there’s always the problem that some teachers feel that they can’t, or don’t, want to improve. They have become over-reliant upon resources and a

certain bank of subject knowledge which gets them through year on year but are reluctant to try out new ideas or learn from other colleagues. So, I’ll leave this one with you. Staffrooms across the country are getting younger. If you are over 40 years old, then you are already above the average age of teachers in the UK. The impact of this steady drain of experience is difficult to measure but it must influence the overall quality of learning and teaching for all the reasons discussed above. Governing boards and heads need to properly value older teachers in unpromoted posts – they are often prize assets, which graduated pay scales should acknowledge accordingly. My message to heads is that in recruiting new staff, don’t always fall back on the NQT option just because it’s cheap – take a step back and look at the age range and body of experience amongst your staff. To those in charge of INSET and professional learning, you could do worse than organise groups which contain a mixture of experienced and inexperienced staff. Making sure younger staff are properly mentored by their older colleagues and encouraging experienced staff to take the lead in teach-meets or staff meetings can all help to improve the overall quality of our schools.

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

Shaken and stirred Ian Morris, Chaplain at Bishop’s Stortford College The Tree of Life stood tall and proud, glittering and sparkling like a Christmas tree. Swathes of tinsel and coloured flashing lights ran around and round from top to root, flashing in random, disorienting rhythms. Upon every branch hung a breadth of baubles and trinkets of bazaar proportions. Shiny and glittery, tasteful and tasteless ornaments of sophistication and kitsch. These modern-day necessities each had their place, these incongruent shop-bought or homemade items were reminders of what was and a symbol for why now was now. And between the glass, the metal, the plastic, porcelain and fabric was the confectionary hanging by golden thread or hooked by its umbrella handle. The chocolates, cookies and candy canes tempted and teased making this tree so utterly irresistible. With every passing year more was added for more had been made, and more was surely better. More stuff, more treats meant more of life and so they just kept on adding more and more. No one noticed when the breath of a wind first blew, and no one was quite sure when the breath became a breeze. It was only when they heard the jangle of ornaments as they swayed and bumped that they took notice. They looked and they pointed and they talked endlessly about the origins of this breeze. And they muttered and complained when the first ornament

was bumped from its branch and fell to the floor. But as the breeze blew, complaints turned to concern as ornaments were shaken and smashed and the swathes of tinsel unravelled and flapped helplessly in the aeolian.

together they worked to stabilise the tree. And as they tied the ropes around that tree so they found themselves bound together. The storm that had shaken now stirred them and life was being lived.

‘Twas before the dawn of a day, before most had woken, that the fearful few and self-centred whipped up by this wind, plundered the tree; grasping to keep hold of what remnants remained. Yet such was the strength of the gale that these symbols of what was were forced from their grasp. And they, like the tree, were stripped bare of the trinkets, the stuff they needed to make life more. The sparkles, the glitz, their modern-day necessities were no more, and all that was left was that evergreen tree.

The life now lived was not the same; more edgy than entertaining, more purpose than pleasure but people wondered whether this storm had sown the seed of a better life to come. Should this tree, this glorious tree, go back to being nothing more than a clothes horse for stuff we wanted? Were the trinkets really the treasures that our lives were to find or was there a greater treasure that they had discovered? For all agreed that the community they had unearthed was of greater value than the commodities they had grasped. Though at times they had been frightened, they felt more content. More alive through the friendships they had forged than living life alone stuffed with the stuff that was nice but really not necessary.

As dawn broke and the sun rose, they saw for the first time its stark beauty. No longer did their stuff get in the way; no longer were their trinkets the beauty to behold. Instead they saw its whorls of strong upturning branches, and the formation of its needle like leaves that made every twig resemble a giant, green, hairy caterpillar. Stripped of its ornaments they saw the tree had a life of its own as it danced in the storm. And for once they saw each other. And they saw that this Tree of Life now needed their support. What mattered most was keeping the tree standing in the storm. So they gathered ropes and ties and tools – and

As the storm rages and we’re called to social distancing and self-isolation, we may want to ponder not only how we will navigate the storm but how we will navigate life after the storm. What ‘was’ does not have to dictate what will be. Let’s continue looking out for each other and take care.

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

The new normal Ailsa Lawn, Head of Junior School at Lomond School, Helensburgh, reflects on their journey from normal operation to virtual school community, looking at some of the challenges faced and reflecting on those that may await when we return to normal Day by day, news of the coronavirus steadily became more commonplace; very gradually something that seemed distant and possibly irrelevant to us and our lives, crept closer. Most schools began to think about the impact a pandemic could have in our own settings and started trawling through contingency planning that had been created for pandemics that never came, such as Avian flu and SARS. Initially, we began to consider the basics, like improved hand hygiene and infection control but it quickly moved on to looking at how our school could operate with a much lower level of staff. Like most independent schools, our staffing ratios are good and with some small alterations to timetabling, these things seemed manageable, at least on a short-term basis. Even when schools began to close in Europe and our planning continued, it still felt like we would find a way around this. With this in mind, school leaders turned to our staff and asked them to begin thinking about how we would deliver a curriculum should the school close. There was a fine balance to be struck here; we had to be prepared but our teachers work too hard to dedicate time to something that may never happen. When things began to escalate and it became clear that national school closure was likely, it was the hypothetical conversations we had, often over coffee around the staffroom table, that proved to be invaluable sources of inspiration. In some ways, our school philosophy made things very straightforward. Our Junior School curriculum is based

on the principles of rigorous teaching of the basics of reading, writing and maths – the core aims of primary education. Everything else is built around a philosophy of promoting a love of learning through rich and varied experiences covering all curricular areas. Preparing an approach to the academic requirements was the easy part. In our planning, we were already also considering what this may look like on the other side; a much more complicated question and arguably the more important one. Lomond School is, and always has been, a family school and in situations like this, the wellbeing of the entire family had to be considered. What challenges would children have if they did not come back to school this school year? This pandemic was going to affect every child and every family differently and a ‘one size fits all’ approach could not work here. We quickly came to recognise that academic progress could not come first and that children and families who felt isolated and lonely may struggle to reconnect with the wider world when the doors opened again. In planning the structure of activities and learning, we quickly came to the conclusion that we must do this with our parents in mind. Many of them would be working from home, and most of them are not teachers or educators. Families were also dealing with business and financial concerns alongside worries relating to the health and wellbeing of relatives and loved ones. Asking them to ‘teach’ or participate in complicated activities would only add to that ‘pressure cooker’ environment.

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

In contrast, some parents were eager and able to work with their children and were already contacting us about the resources we would be providing. Trying to balance these two extremes was a daunting prospect. We already know how important a feeling of community, or ‘connectedness’ is to developing positive mental health and for a school who puts this at the heart of everything it does, we realised that this must be our priority. A situation like this takes all members of a school community out of their comfort zone. Keeping everyone together when working apart is not easy but we knew that when this pandemic is over and life resumes, our school must still feel like a community. The further up the school, the more straightforward things seemed. Google Classroom and online tutorials would allow for straightforward and clear lines of communication between pupil and teacher, with parental involvement optional. The challenge was greater for our youngest classes and we decided that investing in some high quality online learning platforms, used alongside simple tasks, was the solution that would best meet their needs. In all cases, regular timetabled face-to-face contact with teachers and other children was a crucial aspect of our plan. Virtual playtime quickly became the norm. A short time each day where children could come together without close supervision, to talk about nonsense and laugh. We received emails from parents about the joy they felt hearing the giggling voices. Children learning in isolation was

not what parents wanted. Very simple structures, such as online group activities or virtual peer marking ensured that the learning could happen alongside these vitally important social structures, which we all too often take for granted. As hard as this situation may seem, optimism always prevails, and it was clear there was also opportunity here. We work hard to embed our school values into our pupils, but sometimes society doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t support them. Consumerism, wastefulness, selfishness are all too commonplace. We want our children to be responsible, but days are so busy for families that opportunities to learn to do some of the basics can be hard to find. It is always slower and messier for children to do things themselves in the beginning and often todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents just cannot afford the time. Children lack independence and too often are unable to fill their own time as they are so accustomed to their heavily structured schedules. And now we are presented with the gift of time! No activities, no rushing, days to fill and trips to the shops are limited; the opportunities are endless. Our final assemblies focused on children playing their part throughout the crisis, by being positive, by being busy and by helping out. We restructured our House Point

system and asked parents and staff to submit points each week based on how much children have contributed to the home. Each Friday, the whole school comes together to celebrate these points. For children and parents, this link to the school houses was positively received and parents appreciated that they could still use the school to motivate their children. In the initial stages of the closure, we thought our families may feel frustrated that a routine had just been established before the Easter break commenced and we discussed continuing our Learning from Home programme throughout. However, day by day, it became clear that for most families a break was needed but they could now do so knowing what was waiting for them at the start of next term. Parents reported that they felt overwhelmed by the number of different activities being shared on social media that they could be doing with their children. In response, we created an Easter programme with simple, but very open-ended projects rather than a list of short activities and we shared articles with our families to help them learn about the importance of self-directed play.

family is different, and you have to be strong enough to find the right path for you and your child. There is no right and wrong here. This pandemic will change the way we teach forever. It has forced everybody to see the power of virtual resources, but it has also made it clear that the teaching that takes place in the small classes of independent schools cannot be replicated virtually. A teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to pick up on body language or intervene early when there is a misconception just cannot happen in the same way in the virtual world. The ability to make adaptations to tasks to stretch or support pupils or to replicate the rich and diverse conversations and dialogue that happen in classroom environment are also lost. When our pupils come back to school, some of them will have continued to make excellent progress in Maths and English, other less so depending on personal circumstance but what they will all have missed out on are the experiences and interactions that make our schools so special and which are equally, if not more, important than academic progress. The return to normality could well be our biggest challenge.

Throughout all of this, the message to our families was clear and strong; every

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

A literacy toolkit Alex Boyd-Williams, currently Headmaster at Uppingham School and Head of Sixth Form at Framlingham College from September, offers some feedback, guidance and advice to schools After teaching and talking to a large number of new senior school children, over several years, it appears that some prep school leavers arrive in good academic shape to cope with the demands that will soon be upon them, whilst others do not. I have taught English at Uppingham School over the last six years and with no prep school, we receive boys and girls from a wide range of UK and international schools with an extraordinarily diverse range of literacy skills. Some children arrive ready to start GCSEs, whilst others are still not able to confidently capitalise letters or even write a sentence with grammatical accuracy. There are endless reasons for such discrepancies in knowledge and academic ability. Some have been exposed to complex literature or overheard sophisticated vocabulary, some are more advanced in their development, and some have been taught more effectively. A key factor in children’s ability to skilfully write and read is whether they are in the habit of reading. At the start of the academic year I always ask pupils

if they are in the habit of reading, and usually about 3 of the 20 children will raise their hands. I then ask which of them used to be in the habit. Nearly all the children will raise their hands. Years 3 and 4 are a critical time in whether children will continue a healthy habit of reading; the other key time is when children are in Years 6 to 8, prior to joining senior school. There are many things that we can do in order to help children both sustain the habit of reading and continue to enjoy reading. The school holidays present a really good time to start reading something – it does not have to be a large book, it could be a thin book or even a well-written magazine. The key thing is that children read and keep on reading. It is not always easy to start, or continue, this habit in term-time, but the holidays are a great time to switch off the TV, and any devices, and lose oneself in a story for a few hours. As children get older they often have less time to read and one key question for prospective parents of any senior school, especially a boarding school is, ‘What protected

time will be put aside for my daughter or son to read during the week?’ When children can read at an expert level, a whole world is open to them. Children who do not read create walls around them that prevent them accessing information that will enable them to attain good grades at school and a mature understanding of the world. Admittedly, reading is harder for some children and may not have been something that they have ever enjoyed. However, it is important that all children keep trying to read and keep trying to find a way to make reading something that is fun and something that they want to do. If children are not in the habit of reading, then they are missing out on stories that will change their lives for the better. It is, therefore, very important that they are encouraged to acquire the habit of reading every day. If children are not in the habit of reading, they are being denied an education and we need to help them to turn this around. The key thing is to find something that each pupil wants to read.

The challenge of finding the right book for the right child is a difficult one, which is why all schools need a positive, passionate, well-read and enthusiastic librarian 22

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

Children should not read something because they think it will be good for them. There are so many brilliant books out there. If children have a hobby or interest, then they should nurture that passion by reading more about it. Some enjoy reading graphic novels or about sport while some really enjoy listening to books. If children have a long journey or flight coming up, they might enjoy putting their devices down and listening to a book instead. The challenge of finding the right book for the right child is a difficult one, which is why all schools need a positive, passionate, well-read and enthusiastic librarian. Parents and teachers can also help children choose something that might help encourage them to develop what will be a very healthy and important habit to help them in every aspect of their education. To help make this happen, it will help if parents immerse themselves, as much as possible, into books aimed at the age of their children. Some of our best writers are known as ‘children’s writers’, yet their books should be enjoyed by all readers. The wonderful author Katherine Rundell evokes that children’s books celebrate the imagination and it is, therefore, the responsibility of all of us to read children’s books, because the imagination is essential for seeing the world. There has also been much research done to show the benefits of sharing stories and reading aloud, and being read to aloud at home. The more stories that children experience, the more words they will hear and understand. If we want children to be able to read and write well, then we must help them be immersed in words, stories, poems, magazine articles, newspaper articles, blogs and online articles. Children, of all ages, usually enjoy being read to and embrace having the opportunity to read alongside a parent. It’s a great idea for a parent to sit with their child and take it in turns reading pages of a story that they can experience and enjoy together. It’s also beneficial if parents share things that they’ve read aloud – perhaps

a newspaper or magazine article – and create an environment for discussion and sharing at home. Some families happily share books together on long car journeys – this doesn’t work for every family, but if it can it’s well worth doing. The key for families and schools is to create a culture of reading and sharing the love of words and stories. I should perhaps add that it is not at all unusual for children to lose the habit of reading at some point in their coming of age. It’s important to remember, in Daniel Pennac’s wise words, that all readers have a ‘right not to read’!

7. Does the child understand/know what a metaphor is? Can the child, without scaffolding, give an example of a metaphor? 8. Can the child read and understand an extract from a novel? 9. Can the child read and understand an extract from a newspaper article? 10. What sort of books does the child enjoy reading? Ask the child to name the last book that they really enjoyed and say what it was that they loved about it.

One wonderful outcome of all of this reading and hearing and sharing of words is that children’s brains will benefit from a wealth of exposure to repeated words, sentence patterns and structures. The repetition from reading stories and listening to stories will lead to the development of children’s mental schema so that they are more confident about language and their ability to speak it and write it with eloquence. Solomon Kingsnorth argues, ‘As mysterious as the process of writing may be, there is one thing we know for sure. Everything that ends up on each child’s page was retrieved and synthesised from a physical location in their brain. It didn’t come from thin air: in other words, what children need in order to be successful is either in there or it isn’t.’

I would argue that any child that gets a ‘yes’ for all the questions above is very much on the right trajectory for a positive senior school academic experience. I also think that it would be very beneficial for children and their families if prep schools and senior schools, at the time of pupil transition, communicated more about the literacy needs of each child. If this happens – and explicit checking for understanding occurs – when a particular boy or girl is not able to do all of the tasks above, they will receive the necessary help and support that they need in order to close the gaps.

Before children enter senior schools, it may be useful for teachers to assess – in the most low-stakes way possible – their pupils’ ability to complete the following tasks: 1. Can she/he write a simple sentence? 2. Can she/he write a complex sentence? 3. Does the child capitalise? 4. Does the child use full stops? 5. Does the child know how to use a semi-colon? 6. Does the child understand/know what a simile is? Can the child, without scaffolding, give an example of a simile?

A child’s journey through school can be quite a clunky and confusing one in which they encounter a number of challenging examinations, from Common Entrance to GCSE to A Level/ IB Diploma, all of which demand different cognitive skills and schema. The lack of alignment in all of these examinations is currently tough for pupils, parents and teachers. We are at an exciting time in education in which there is much talk about creating an evidencebased, 4-18 school curriculum, that is aligned to both the academic needs of children and the needs of our society. However, until that curriculum emerges, for the time being, the very best way to help a child thrive at school from one set of examinations to another, is to help them get into – and find ways to help them sustain – the habit of reading.

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27 cubes Grant Whitaker, Director of Studies and Head of Mathematics at Gayhurst School, explores an activity that supplements his teaching I came across Izak9 purely by chance. Casually glancing through my emails, I was attracted to the unusual name. The rest is history! I am now the proud owner of two sets of Izak9 cubes and I have spent the last year integrating this resource into my mathematics teaching. Izak9 comes in a box with 27 colourful cubes accompanied by an online support area of tasks and questions most suitable for pupils aged between the ages of 8 and 14. However, such is the flexibility of this product that pupils from Early Years to Year 2 will also be able to access some of the activities. It is very much a hands-on and tactile learning experience. Each cube in the box has its own unique six sides. When the lid comes off the pupils are instantly engaged in a visually beautiful resource. There are geometric shapes on each side making up the six outer faces of a larger cube. This is made up of smaller cubes, with each one containing combinations of numbers, percentages, fractions and colours. Tasks and challenges are provided by an online tutorial introduced by two

likeable characters named Helix and Abacus. Within each box of cubes there are three identical versions of the combinations of the numbers available, allowing three teams to engage in the activities simultaneously. Two boxes of cubes are ideal for whole class use. I have found groups of 3 or 4 work best. A team leader can be elected to coordinate each task as the pupils work collaboratively to the solve the challenge. Izak9 provides a shared learning environment rich in problem solving and reasoning and where pupils can develop team work and resilience.

Izak9 really comes alive as pupils discuss openly how challenges can be solved. The classroom is soon buzzing with cubes being stacked and ordered and rich mathematical language is being exchanged and discussed. Izak9 cubes are accompanied by an online portfolio of support material containing animated tasks, tiered questioning, a lesson planner and support videos. However, the challenges donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just stop there, as one of the most powerful activities is to get the pupils to set the challenges themselves. They have a wealth of resources at their fingertips â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the possibilities are endless. The vast majority of the mathematics curriculum can be delivered using the resource. From teaching algebra and prime numbers to fractions and measures, Izak9 can be used for them all. For a hands-on, collaborative mathematical experience you need look no further. The resource enables pupils to take control of their learning, it gives them confidence, engagement and at the same time challenges them to expand their knowledge and understanding.

The resource enables pupils to take control of their learning, it gives them confidence, engagement and at the same time challenges them to expand their knowledge and understanding PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

Pastures new Quentin Edwards, former Head of Bilton Grange, Rugby, and his wife Maggie, who was the very first Head of the Pre-Prep there, now pursue a very different life in Wiltshire In 2003, Maggie and I left Bilton Grange after 11 years. We decided to move back to the family farm and I had been fortunate enough to become a regional director for the ISC Information Service, a body that no longer exists. My work involved driving to schools all over the South West, discussing public relations, marketing and advising parents on their choice of school. The role was a perfect fit with the experience of headship and gave me an opportunity to assist other schools and families seeking the right education for their child. The role had a natural timescale, so that after four years away from the coalface, it was difficult to see how one could keep in touch with the rapidly moving world of education. Meanwhile, I had been observing as the farm’s fertility and nutrition declined and the tenant grew less satisfied with the results. It seemed clear to me that the farm of 180 acres that I knew from my teens when my father was farming, was a very different place to the one I was looking at now. Maggie and I arrived very quickly at the decision that we wanted to take the farm back in hand and run it ourselves. The common reactions

were of surprise and amusement, with questions such as if it were an enormous leap for us to take, could we cope with such a different way of life and did we know anything about farming? The answer to the last question was ‘not a lot’ but we both enrolled in agricultural college to try to fill some of the gaps. Additionally, my father, who had farmed all his life, was still alive to advise. The idea of running a farm had always been an ambition and I’m lucky to have had the opportunity as we already had a family farm. The other piece of good fortune was that we were aware it is very difficult to make money on a small farm and very easy to lose it. So, we went in with our eyes open, able to plan on that assumption. In order to address this problem, Maggie decided that she would run a B&B and we had the opportunity to convert the old piggery, milking parlour and tractor shed into holiday cottages, which we rebuilt as new selfcatering units. This gave us enough income to see us through the early stages where we were reinvesting in the farm and deriving very little income from it. The first job was to find suitable cattle for the farm and we sought advice

from local farmers whom we knew and read up on native breeds as we wished to run a unit that was sustainable and support one of the English breeds that have largely been neglected in the last 50 years and many of which have become breeds at risk of extinction. Fortunately, one of our friends had a herd of Red Polls and he advised us on the advantages of a breed which is naturally hornless, very quiet, easy to handle and produces good maternity traits in its cows. So, how have we found the change from teaching to agriculture? Has it been as challenging and strange an alteration as some people anticipated? The simple answer is that, in many ways, the change from the pastoral care of children to the pastoral care of animals involves many common elements. The key responsibility of those in charge of the care of children is to ensure that they are safe, happy and healthy. The same can be said for those responsible for the care of cattle. When I walked into the school in the morning, it was a matter of habit that one looked over the children to ensure that there were no sad faces, that eyes were bright, that hair had been brushed, that clothes were clean, and that the interaction between

Meetings are held. We receive visits from advisers. We are encouraged to attend conferences and meetings. Sounds familiar? 26

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

children was happy and friendly. When I walk into the farmyard in the morning exactly the same concerns predominate. I am looking to see if there are any animals standing away on their own, whether their heads are down, whether their eyes are bright, their fur is shiny, and they have a generally wholesome, healthy look about them. In order to produce good meat, all these conditions must prevail. Some have suggested the advantage to farming over education is that if you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t approve of an adult cow you can send them off to slaughter, where as in the school you have to put up with the awkward parent and do the best you can! I work on the farm largely on my own and that has perhaps been the biggest change that I have experienced. However, cattle are extraordinarily companionable animals, they genuinely seem to like my company and my ridiculous chatter which goes on all the time I am with them. There is a tangible sense of relaxation once they realise it is only me coming into the building. One of the great joys of our farming venture has been the opportunity to meet a completely new range of people, with the countryside as a common element of interest. The farming community is made up of very independent souls, but several

factors have brought us much more together in recent years. We are increasingly working together on matters concerning the environment and forming clusters of like-minded farms to pursue particular policies. I have recently planted an acre and a half of disease resistant elms to try to reintroduce the beautiful elm tree into the English landscape. I am one of five farms in this area who are undertaking this project, encouraged by Natural England, the government agency that oversees our farms. We have learnt to cooperate over matters like tuberculosis and our attempts to control that terrible disease. The government is trying hard to keep agriculture alive and in exchange for financial support expects us to participate. Meetings are held. We receive visits from advisers. We are encouraged to attend conferences and meetings. Sounds familiar? One thing that our school experience certainly prepared us for was the accountability paperwork that comes with modern farming. When my father was helping us to get our business going, the one area he could not help us with was the huge increase in form filling, grant application processes, inspection and so forth. The culture of accountability has entered farming in the same way that it did in education and, as such, felt very familiar territory.

Maggie now produces lists of our cattle on wonderful colourful spreadsheets, just us she did with childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s names. Instead of recording and forecasting results, we are now busy recording and forecasting weight gain, finishing and calving dates. Our annual inspection by the Soil Association takes a whole day. More than anything else, what we have been able to do is start a new part of our lives, using different skills and developing different interests. This has been a refreshing experience at a time when many people are considering their retirement. Maggie and I consider ourselves very fortunate to have been able to take on the farm and make it a wonderful base for our grandchildren and family gatherings and we have worked hard to try to define a way in which this essentially unviable small farm might survive into the future. We still both enjoy staying in touch with our former lives, revisiting the schools where we worked. Farming has allowed us time to be governors of several different schools, which has kept us in touch with education. The welcome we receive when we visit reminds us of a very fulfilling and pleasurable time of our lives. Pastures old and pastures new.

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

Shaping my world Harry Hastings, Headmaster at Ardingly College, shares a new initiative his school is embarking on Children are ridiculously busy these days. Modern parents find their weekends balancing the fine arts of taxi driving and tutoring as their offspring require ferrying from sporting event to drama or dance class, a paintball party in the next county, and occasionally some crazy science project set last thing on a Friday by some inspirational teacher who demands the work, ‘first thing on Monday please!’ Modern children have never had it so good. Or, have they? Have we got the balance wrong? Are they doing too much? Do they spend their week in total exhaustion or are the lives of modern children just different to the previous generation? How can we prepare them for their adult lives?

These are all questions worthy of lengthy articles by people far more qualified than me. Nonetheless, I wanted to share what we’ve recently introduced at Ardingly College in a bid to get our children ready for the next stage. This summer term saw the launch of the exciting new ‘Shaping My World’ initiative which included participation from the whole prep and pre-prep school in acquiring characteristics and skills which will stay with them for life. Originally devised to support the whole college pupil journey around its renown ‘World Ready’ programme, the young pupils embraced activities over a six-day programme created to build invaluable skills for life. These activities were aimed at differing age

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

groups from reception to Year 8 and included creating a three-course meal, sewing, conversation skills, problem solving, critical thinking, teamwork and collaboration, negotiation skills, self-awareness, financial budgeting, community work, creating an app, and even learning to clean their own shoes or do the laundry. The list of activities carried out in this vibrant six-day period was enormous and staff and pupils embraced every challenge, returning to form time at the end of each day retelling their quests to all and sundry. The whole programme is built around pupils embracing and showing evidence of the four ‘US’s: generoUS adventuroUS, ingenioUS and curioUS.

We want our pupils to feel prepared for the next stage of their busy lives and indeed life as a whole The idea is that everyone is in it together, hence ‘us’. The real test came alive when Year 8 pupils were challenged with navigating across London using the underground on an old-fashioned scavenger hunt. The entire Year 8 were taken to London on the train and split into groups of six at Victoria Station. Receiving a tube map, and some instructions, their task was to get from Victoria to Covent Garden as quickly as possible via six other tube stations as far apart as Baker Street and Monument. We included the complication of Bank station too in a bid to really test the resolve of our pupils. All 61 loved it and all returned home full of stories of adventure, that included a dash across Parliament Square avoiding another Brexit protest and an attempt to scale the hundreds of steps up the Monument. Years 5-8 had two well-spent hours with our college maintenance team. The lucky pupils were taught how to wire a plug, paint a wall, put up a shelf, use a drill, and practise with an electric saw. The expertise from the team and the trust in the pupils saw both sides gain enormously from the experience. Year 8 enjoyed a morning in the centre of the village filling the wooden planters made by the maintenance team with earth and flowers. These have been much admired and enjoyed by the villagers of Ardingly. The pride of our pupils was tangible. We were lucky enough to welcome various inspirational speakers into school too. Year 7 had a parent workshop on possible careers. We didn’t go for the usual expected

careers sometimes discussed at this level but welcomed a pilot, a silversmith, a structural engineer, and someone whose company deals with the online security of various well-known banks. Dave Cornthwaite spent the afternoon with the entire school discussing his ‘Say Yes More!’ campaign. Dave was a graphic designer ten years ago and one day packed it all in to travel across Australia from west to east on a long skateboard called Elsa. That was the first of 25 non-mechanised journeys over 1000 miles by Dave. His inspirational approach to life allowed many to go away questioning the way our everyday lives work. Meg Dyos rowed across the Pacific with the Coxless Crew. Her epic tales of fear, courage and excitement warmed everyone’s hearts. Visits from people who have put themselves out of their comfort zones can only help prepare our children for the next stage; they must be encouraged to express themselves and ask questions. The Shaping My World initiative has now become commonplace as part of the timetable from this September. Every child now has a weekly Shaping My World lesson. We have divided the four ‘us’s into an eight-week block so every pupil should gain the knowledge, understanding and experience of being generous, adventurous, ingenious and curious. They should be well-versed in the benefits of these characteristics; we want our pupils to feel prepared for the next stage of their busy lives and indeed life as a whole.

wherever they go. There will be a time when their parents are not ferrying them to whatever commitment they have, nor helping them with their homework. We want our pupils to feel our school made a difference to their lives and most of all, taught our pupils to be genuinely independent. Generous: Showing a readiness to give more of something than is strictly necessary or expected. ‘That’s what I consider true generosity: You give your all, and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing.’ Simone de Beauvoir Adventurous: Willing to take risks or to try out new methods, ideas, or experiences. ‘Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.’ Neale Donald Walsch Ingenious: Creative, original, and inventive. ‘There is no innovation and creativity without failure.’ Brené Brown Curious: Eager to know or learn something. ‘I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.’ Albert Einstein

We feel these four characteristics will be the start of that successful journey

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

Widening channels of communication Ben Evans, Headmaster at Edge Grove School, advises on how best to communicate with parents during these unprecedented times The recent impact of the coronavirus outbreak and the need for schools across the UK to deliver learning remotely means communication between home and school has never been more important. During times of uncertainty, ‘staying in touch’ is perhaps the most important challenge we all face. It is critical that schools communicate openly and transparently during such an unsettling time. Never has it been more crucial for schools to strengthen their homeschool partnerships, the goodwill which exists among the parent body, and to foster that strong sense of community. Clear, concise and open communication is key. Whilst regular emails from the chair of governors and the headteacher are important and reassuring to parents, communications must be more personalised and tailored to individuals. A learning curve Parents expect, and certainly deserve, regular and individual contact from their children’s teachers or tutors in the form of a minimum weekly phone call, which will be an invaluable opportunity for them to ask questions relating to their children’s particular circumstances and to receive feedback on their child’s progress. Giving feedback to the school regarding their remote learning provision is also an important element of the whole process, which is a learning curve for everyone. Equally important is regular contact between pupils and staff. Ideally, for

children in Year 1 and above, this should be in the form of a daily tutor session via an online video conference platform which allows the child to see and interact with their peers as well. Communication is important but so is maintaining a feeling of connection with school, friends and life as normal. This will also allow staff to spot any wellbeing issues which may be developing and to be a source of motivation, reassurance and comfort to the children, just as they would be at school. Above all, schools must be proactive in communicating with all stakeholders, including staff who will be working from home and suffering from feelings of isolation. The communication should be regular and purposeful whether it is a weekly newsletter, daily videos or regular curriculum information letters. Remember this is a marathon, not a sprint As with all aspects of remote teaching and learning, as parents and teachers we are all entering into uncharted territory and must consider it a marathon and not a sprint. It is important to accept that we will get things wrong, attempt to do too much too quickly and have to constantly reassess, adapt and evolve our provision. This is also true of communication. Most importantly, schools shouldn’t start off by over communicating and then have to rein in on that because it is simply not achievable week in and

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

week out. This would understandably knock parents’ confidence and reflect poorly on the school. It is far better to put in place a well-conceived, achievable programme of regular and purposeful communication, meeting the school’s aims in guaranteeing parents feel well-informed and supported. Initially, schools should be putting together clear and detailed information booklets outlining their school’s provision of remote learning. These will be designed to ensure parents are fully aware of the programmes in place, how they will work in practice and on a daily basis, and what measures are in place to support pastoral care and pupil wellbeing. Establishing daily contact This first publication should have been a high-level overview so as not to daunt parents with too much detail. The remaining information should be drip fed on an ageappropriate basis, ensuring parents only get the information relevant to them and their child. It will then be important to establish either daily written contact (especially for children in EYFS and pre-prep) with details of the expected learning and/or weekly curriculum outlines by subject for older pupils. These will set out the learning outcomes, activities, resources and forms of assessment to be followed, clearly and precisely to avoid any confusion or misunderstandings.

As parents, we will become very reliant on this information to inform our children about the week ahead and to discuss the learning expectations with them. In addition, the following communication should be happening between home and school: • A daily message from the head – written or video to maintain contact with pupils and parents and to ensure a sense of normality where possible. • A weekly phone call to all parents from their child’s class teacher or tutor. • Daily and very regular social media posts keeping parents and staff updated with news from the school. This will help to maintain a connection. • A weekly information letter and newsletter. This should be published just as if the school were still open as normal, albeit in slightly amended forms. • Details of rewards (and sanctions) for good work, effort and, if necessary, sanctions for noncompletion of work. Rewards systems are powerful motivational tools and should still be in operation to encourage and motivate children when they will need it more than ever. Retaining a familiar ‘classroom’ approach Children will need to understand that whilst they are working at home, they are not operating remotely or in isolation. Teachers are still ‘present’ in their Google Classrooms and supporting their learning as well as marking tasks set and providing feedback. Teachers are there to support and encourage as well as correct any lapses in good behaviour or poor levels of effort. This is crucial to provide support to those parents who may be struggling home. Above all, schools must be reinforcing and strengthening their home-school partnerships

and ensuring an open conduit of communication exists at all times. Normal school hours should be observed and staff emails monitored to respond promptly and efficiently. This gives pupils and parents the confidence that school is absolutely still ‘open’ and is operating as normal as possible. Schools will need to think creatively and outside of the box to ensure all areas of communication are covered, many of which will not have previously been necessary in normal school operation. One most important factor will be to gain regular feedback from parents to inform the development of remote learning and the adaptations which will be necessary. This is most likely to be in the form of a simple questionnaire that will gain a deeper insight into how parents are coping with the delivery of the home learning and how pupils are faring in terms of their achievement and wellbeing. Get information from the horse’s mouth School should also not shy away from using platforms such as WhatsApp as parents will be using it to support each other and share their views around remote learning provision. It is familiar and easily accessible. Schools

should embrace it as an excellent way of communicating with parents. However, it is far better for parents to write to their school with any queries and for misunderstandings to be rectified, rather than asking each other and risk being misinformed. Out of any challenging and difficult situation, positives will also emerge. If schools get the next few weeks right, they will foster excellent goodwill with parents and establish deep seated confidence and faith in their ability to tackle adversity and put pupils and parents at the forefront of everything they do. This will be essential for all schools’ continued success in what will be a challenging economic environment. Communication, again, is always key. Schools should not assume that parents already understand remote learning or that they should just know. Ensuring that every aspect of children’s education is communicated clearly and appropriately, placing customer service as a priority, treating everyone as individuals and tailoring the communication to their needs and requirements is vital. Seeking feedback and acting upon it is also something which should emerge as a positive and necessary aspect of all future school communication.

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

In defence of debate Ellen Manning, formerly of Arnold Lodge School and Oakham school, shares her experience of prep school life When you’re a child in private education, there are myriad things you take for granted. School trips, the chance to play a musical instrument, facilities, small classes and sporting excellence. The list is endless. It’s only when you get a bit older that you come to appreciate the opportunities that come with such an education and the benefits it brings in later life. In an ideal world, every child would benefit from such an experience, preparing them for life and everything it throws at us. For some of these advantages, the key is money and we all realise that fee-paying schools have a financial advantage when it comes to providing many of these opportunities. But that isn’t to say that some of those benefits can’t be universal, and it’s often the most innocuous and inexpensive that can have the biggest effect, both on individuals and on the society we build as a whole. As a pupil at Arnold Lodge School in Leamington Spa – a co-educational prep school – I remember taking part in a debating exercise. Fox hunting was the subject. We were tasked with adopting a position, researching the issue, then setting out an argument to persuade the audience to adopt our view. And so we did, carefully piece together arguments and speeches that would convince our classmates. We were perhaps too young to have firmly cemented our own views on such a controversial subject, so the exercise ran as was planned. With the level of emotion limited to that of standing up in front of one’s classmates at the

age of 12 to deliver a speech and all the embarrassment, nervousness and discomfort that comes with it, the argument was the focus. I don’t even remember if we won, but I remember the point of the exercise. That people can be persuaded with sound, reasoned argument, and that debate does not always equal discord. Given the current political climate, many would perhaps disagree that things are quite that simple, but perhaps it is something we should be less quick to dismiss and more ready to strive for. The past three years have seen politics – both that occur within the confines of Westminster and the broader political landscape that extends throughout society – change unrecognisably, even for me, let alone for those far older and more experienced. On both sides (however one might choose to define those sides) we have seen a difference in views become a reason for abuse and threats, we have seen argument replaced by soundbite and we have seen logic dismissed in favour of lies. If you Google ‘argument’ you will find two definitions – the first describing it as ‘an exchange of diverging or opposite views, typically a heated or angry one’ and the second the definition I am alluding to: ‘a reason or set of reasons given in support of an idea, action or theory’. For a child of 12 growing up in this climate, I would wager that the only definition they’re aware of is the former and without education to the contrary, why would they think any different?

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

We live in a world where argument and debate is automatically associated with confrontation. Is it any wonder, in this climate, that people are no longer able to disagree or debate without anger and upset? And the result? A society in which we surround ourselves with people who agree with us and espouse the same views as we do, because anything else is difficult at best and traumatic at worst. The ‘echo chamber’ that has been referred to repeatedly in the post-mortem over the latest general election is a by-product of our inability to construct an argument and present it effectively in far too many situations. By not teaching children how to argue effectively, we serve only to perpetuate issues like this. The concept is nothing new. It dates right back to Ancient Greece and Plato through Socrates. It forms the basis of everything from dinner party conversation right up to debates across the Commons that have become primetime TV viewing. Yet all too often, from chats about who we like on Strictly Come Dancing to which political party we support, it’s reduced to being ‘just a matter of opinion’. If the last few months and years have taught us anything, it’s that educating children on how to construct an argument, how to back up their views with facts and logic, and how to present those arguments in a way that is robust and forthright, yet respectful and moderate, is more important than ever. The ability to think critically, to construct an argument, and to debate in a way

that is both respectful and direct, has never been more important than now. In a world of fake news, social media Chinese whispers and the so-called ‘echo chamber’, it’s incumbent on us to equip the adults of the future with the tools to be able to deal with such a world. A one-off afternoon debating, or debating clubs themselves, may be dismissed as highbrow, or seen as fun rather than useful, but these are the parts of formal education that are most relevant in the world we live in – now more than ever. Fortunately, they also happen to be the cheapest to provide, compared to sports facilities, theatres and cultural trips across the

world. For such a minimal investment of factoring in the time to teach such skills and to encourage the practice of them, not just within set sessions, but within school life as a whole, the return is invaluable, both for the pupils themselves and the society they will form in the future. Don’t take it from me. Take it from Salman Rushdie, who once said: ‘A mature society understands that at the heart of democracy is argument.’ And if this seems too lofty or too trite and you simply want to ensure the children you educate are the bestequipped they can be for later life, whether personally, in business, or

as wider cogs within our society, go with the words of author and political satirist Christopher Buckley: ‘That’s the beauty of argument, if you argue correctly, you’re never wrong.’ Ellen Manning is a freelance journalist and writer. A former student of Arnold Lodge School and Oakham School, she has written for national and regional publications for 16 years, covering some of the major stories of recent times. Ellen writes on a range of subjects, appears regularly on BBC radio and offers PR consultancy and media training.

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

Teaching environmental issues Paul Baker, who has spent 38 years teaching geography in independent secondary and prep schools, discusses enlightening students on environmental issues through literature There are many picture storybooks or fiction and non-fiction books for children in Years 1 to 6 which deal with environmental issues constructively, sensitively and creatively. If you are not a member of the Geographical Association, then I recommend it for schools teaching Key Stage 1, 2 and 3 pupils. We live in an ever-changing world and the children in schools today will have to face a future that will be very different from the one we know now as adults. For the young geography pupil, picture and storybooks can demonstrate the beauty as well as the problems. One of the greatest reasons, I believe, for using story and picture books about environmental issues in geography lessons is that they help raise questions about the future in the safe environment of a classroom. With young children it is important not to cause stress through negative approaches. They need to foster a sense of environmental wellbeing. There are many sustainability issues that as children they encounter on TV and the internet, such as pollution, poverty and climate change. Children often want to know how they can help to improve the issues, and so need to be encouraged through geography to examine these issues. General awareness of environmental issues through reading

allows young children to be prepared, ask questions and improve their overall understanding. Many fiction storybooks on environmental problems are written for the young. These can also be used to introduce both a global perspective as well as a local one, develop thinking skills, creative imaginations, identification skills, allowing them to consider sustainable futures, and enjoy their learning while engaging in responsible citizenship. Well-considered book choices as a stimulus can be a powerful resource to allow teachers to use them as an engaging development to any study of a geographical/environmental topic.

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

A good storybook can be the hook to improving understanding. Teacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s explanations and illustrations can be used to add to the stories. It is important that the book chosen will allow the teacher to know that they can clarify and prioritise the details that the children will need for any follow up work. It, therefore, goes without saying that the teacher needs to plan carefully. Planning has two major parts: a need to consider how the story is to be read; and the balance between teacher talk and pupil interaction must be aligned to the environmental issue in the story and the lesson objectives.

Planning is, therefore, vital but also the reading or being a part of the story will encourage literacy and encourage the desire to read more. The high order questioning, prompting the children to use thinking skills during the lessons, will lead to discussion and then to the reading of further nonfiction books on the environmental topic. Teachers need to have a planned chronology of lessons from the storybook as this hook, to a further progression of pupil’s knowledge and understanding of the environmental topic in future lessons. There is also at the end of the topic and during the lessons, the opportunities for the children to reflect on where the story has taken them and it will hopefully conclude with all the pupils having learnt more about the topic and given them the opportunity to take their interest forward through rich discussion and further research. Throughout lessons looking at environmental issues, the teacher needs to plan for both reading to the children as well as individual reading by the children themselves. Talking with partners and group work is also vital for their learning. The need for a balance of these will allow learning objectives to be attained by all, despite their reading abilities. Discussion in lessons and questioning is very effective in exploring environmental issues. Questions about the future and even writing about ‘What will happen next?’ allows younger pupils to engage geographically and creatively with the world they live in. Perceptions are enlarged, alternative views discussed and through careful planning a wide range of thinking, processing and enquiry will occur. This will also help evaluation skills to be developed as they proceed with the topic. Picture and storybooks I believe allow teachers and the children they teach to engage geographically and creatively with the world. The books can demonstrate the beauty of our globe. Well-chosen books can help teachers

engage the children with geography and the environment. Perceptions are enlarged and alternative views discussed in the classroom. Skills such as processing, reasoning, enquiring and evaluation are certainly enhanced in a well-planned lesson. Expressing opinions and listening to others is an essential skill for young children to learn in their younger years. Debates and discussions can be generated by teachers and oral skills as well as reading and literary skills can be advanced in children aged 4 to 11 with the reading as the hook. The environment is an issue we have seen the young take a great deal of interest in. Most children appear to believe that environmental problems are urgent and the Greta Thunberg impact has seen pupils involve themselves in climate change protests. The young of today believe that unless something is done, they themselves will suffer in the future the consequences of the mismanagement of the global environment. After all, the children being taught today will likely live into the next century. Teaching using good non-fiction sources as well as good fiction, containing environmental issues, will help the young to increase their knowledge and understanding and should be a part of both their literacy and geographical education at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. I believe that environmental problems can be studied through the topic of migration too. Over the last 20 years many countries have found themselves dealing with an increasing migration problem. In many cases this has affected environments. In the past, shanty towns have been used in urban geography topics but with the ever increase in pressure from migration, environmental geography has had to include physical, environmental and emotional aspects due to the movement of people. Key Stage 1 and 2 children see more of the environmental consequences of migration on TV. Good quality picture books can introduce younger children

to articulate and share opinions on migration. Teachers need to use strategies to allow pupils to reflect and analyse the environmental and human consequences of migration. Let me repeat what I said at the start as an important reason for using story books, non-fiction and fiction books to highlight these geographical and environmental issues. ‘They allow pupils and teachers to raise questions about the future of our world in the safe environment of a classroom.’ The writing task given to the pupils associated with their reading and the discussion of the issues they are studying needs to be well planned. One method that many have found useful in teaching younger pupils is to use a ‘story planning mountain’. The idea here is that the pupils start to climb the mountain for planning their writing: 1. Opening: They start with a brief description of the issue. 2. The build up: As they progress up their mountain they provide details supporting their opening. 3. The climax: They reach the top of the mountain by which time they have included all the details regarding the issue. 4. Resolution: The pupils then start the descent and begin to look at ways to solve the issue. So arriving at their conclusion as an ending. This planning is important as part of their learning and will allow them to write about the issue in a way that will provide their ideas for protecting the planet they live on. This then can lead to debate and discussion as they present their ideas to others. Helping pupils through cross-curricular work, using non-fiction and fiction books, engage like minds, setting challenges that will empower the children and get a wider community involved. The children’s understanding of environmental geography and literacy will benefit from this and allow them to progress to more advanced work as they become older.

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

Green living Reverend Andrew Gough, Chaplain of Bishop Wordsworth Church of England Grammar School, shares some thoughts on an eco-friendly lifestyle As I write this at the beginning of April, week two of the school closures, we face a very uncertain future. The first draft of this article was written when coronavirus was something affecting others. I decided to stay with the topic because I am confident that when it is read in the Michaelmas term, ‘green living’ will be, if anything, even more appropriate as we emerge from the shut down into a rather different world of 2021 onwards. I want to explore how we ourselves can live, and present to our pupils, a well thought through and deeply

real ‘green’ approach to life; and avoid mere virtue signalling, eco fashion, superficiality. There are a worrying number of highly intelligent young people who have bought into the delusion that buying the vegan options peddled by global chains like Subway is ‘helping the planet’. I would like our schools to be challenging this. We can widen their understanding to show that homemade sandwiches using home baked bread, with a filling of eggs from the chickens who live in the garden, or even the nonvegetarian option of chicken from free range birds reared in the local farm, is

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

an infinitely more ‘green’, ‘sustainable’ and ‘helping the planet’ way of living. I suggested to my grammar school, top UK intellects, Year 13, RS set that it would be more effective if they did their Extinction Rebellion Climate Strike on a Saturday. They really could not see that taking a Friday off school (where the teachers would catch up the missed work somehow) was essentially a day’s holiday hanging out with their friends. XR Climate Strike on a Saturday would mean, as they themselves pointed out without any hint of irony, would not work because they have jobs to go to.

I would like schools to have the courage and knowledge to teach our pupils to recognise, and then avoid, merely virtue signalling the last eco fashion. How can we enable them to use their intelligence and education to follow through to a much deeper level of analysis and understanding? Doing this will require the adults to behave like adults. I cannot think of any other time when so many adults pretended to have their thinking shaped by a 16 year old. Personally, I want to be informed on things eco by people with at least degree level academic study. I would much prefer them to have years of post doc research, combined with a mature understanding of how societies work gained through life experience. Sustainable living must be just that, i.e. it sustains the economy while it is steered in a different direction. Adopting an ‘eco living’ approach must move beyond ‘going vegan’ as a fashion statement. It must be about developing a radical new relationship with the world and the way we interact with it. Many of these genuinely sustainable was of living will be deeply countercultural. This will not however be in the way XR think they are countercultural. XR strike me as totally conformist and mainstream in the university educated under 25s and ‘aging hippie’ demographics. Our pupils need to be countercultural to that section of the youth culture to which they belong. This is likely to include activities such as growing vegetables, keeping chickens, baking bread, repairing their own phones and laptops, making and mending their own clothes, buying from charity shops, DIY recycling and upcycling projects. XR’s doomladen, misanthropic propaganda is a contributory factor to the mental health crisis in UK. Teaching our pupils the skills and mindset to adopt some simple, practical, deliverable ‘green’ activities and life changes is likely to be a route to countering this and producing good mental health now and in the future.

I would like to use my son as an illustration. He is anything but the standard eco warrior. He is a typical product of Independent Sector schooling: robustly and highly educated, rugby player, CCF, ‘Muscular Christianity’ of Anglican School Chapel, self-reliant and keen to serve others. His radically countercultural life – including neatly cut hair and smart clothes for work – probably means he has done more for the planet than the vast majority of virtue signalling eco warriors on XR protests in London. Some examples: his transport is a self-maintained, 30 year old Land Rover, for several years this was run on used vegetable oil from industrial kitchens. The tractor he bought to maintain his mother-inlaw’s paddock is a 1960 Fordson. His petrol lawn mower is from the 1970s. He has a well-equipped workshop in which he can transform other people’s discarded material into whatever they may need to equip their smart townhouse. He is a great forager on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, in skips and elsewhere. Many of the skills he uses had their origin in his DT lessons at school. What can prep schools do to sow the seeds in our pupils of a real ‘green lifestyle’ as shown by my son – and those others who inhabit internet forums dealing with repair, recycle, upcycle, maintain-old-machinery – and lead them away from the anxiety inducing propaganda of XR? The Right to Repair movement is one the children can probably relate to. They are a generation deeply attached to their smartphones; also the demographic which breaks them. Can they learn how to replace a screen themselves? Simply identifying this is an option could be enormously important for when they are older. In technology lessons, or a tech club, dismantling an iPhone could be explored – my guess is there are plenty of old smartphones in draws in the children’s homes. Can we introduce our pupils to ideas of selfrepair, re-use and upcycle?

A search on YouTube for ‘home recycling’ will identify a range of ideas along these lines. Building your own smelter to turn aluminium cans into ingots, and then sand casting, may be going too far for prep school age. Nonetheless, such projects can sow seeds for future ‘green living’. For now, there are plenty of channels with that Blue Peter cereal packet and sticky back plastic approach to making things. This may not be where our affluent and sophisticated prep school children are right now, but a real green agenda in school would be pointing our pupils in this direction. If they are going to acquire something and then throw it away six months later, it makes sense for the raw materials to be something heading for the bin anyway. Have a look at @iFixit and @RestartProject for links to selfrepair. The Precious Plastics network shows what genuine recycling can look like with their use of open source plans and small industrial units to take plastic waste and turn it into useable and saleable items. I hope people will be reading this edition of prep school in a world which, although changed, is still basically functioning. Many independent schools will be financially hit by these closures. Many aspects of life are likely to be radically rethought as we emerge from school closure. Learning selfsufficiency and self-reliance; gaining an understanding of the technology we use and the ability to repair it; having the ability to grow our own food and make more of our own food even if the ingredients are bought. All these will be enormously useful – and very ‘green’ – skills which will equip our pupils for whatever world they face as adults. Equipping our pupils to be far more creative in their use of the Earth’s resources could in fact be a major element in keeping our schools functioning and providing children with the top class education which has always been delivered by prep schools in the UK.

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SATIPS Handwriting Competition This ever-popular competition continues to attract entries from schools all over the country, Many congratulations to all who took part, in particular to St Faiths, Cambridge, who were the overall winners! We are grateful to Deputy Head Joseph Davenport for this report.

In a world where handwriting might be considered a lost art, St Faith’s children showed that the pen is mightier than the keyboard as we became the second school to win the SATIPS National Handwriting competition. We were delighted to welcome Amanda McLeod, Chief Judge, and Kevin Sadler from Nexus, the sponsors, to St Faith’s to present

the Nexus Shield to Ryan, Pippa and our Head of English, Jane Greaves. Amanda talked to the children about the judging process and explained the many things that she looked for when judging the standard of handwriting. The shape of each letter to the need for consistent height and depth of letters, as well as the spacing between

letters and words were just a few of the features she looks for. Amanda explained the many benefits of handwriting and how handwriting helps us with quicker recall of information and to have a stronger understanding of concepts. For St Faith’s this award is very much an endorsement of the handwriting programme which starts in the pre-prep.

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Changing direction Many people look to teaching as a career after sensing the need to change from their original metier. Phillip Serrell’s move in the other direction is not only a great loss to our profession but is daytime TV’s gain as the ever popular Flog It and Antiques Road Trip prove. I had both the pleasure and privilege of sharing the Loughborough experience with Philip in the mid-seventies. In 1973, as a young 19-year-old boy, my life seemed to live and revolve around sports fields with cricket and rugby being my major passions. There was only one place to even consider going to in order to further my sporting career and that was Loughborough College of Physical Education. I applied and after the interview I was offered a place provided I obtained one A Level at the lowest possible grade. I thought I was pretty good at my chosen sports but Loughborough was a great leveller. It really didn’t matter who you were or what you did, there was always someone better than you. I had the best three years of my life there. It had its moments, of course, like the time a fellow student, who was the first Briton to clear seven feet at the high jump, beat my personal best at the pole vault! For those of you who have been on rugby or cricket tours, this was like a three-year tour. The end had to come, however, and I returned to my parents’ in Worcestershire armed with a piece of paper telling the world that I was now a teacher. There is always one that slips through the net and I was that one. Teaching was not for me – a fact my academic results spectacularly demonstrated. My father was mortified. He had spent his life driving around a small corner of Worcestershire on a tractor. In his eyes, I was the first Serrell who would go

to work in a collar and tie and instead I was walking away. After one of his daily interrogations, I announced that I was going to become an auctioneer, which I thought I was well qualified for based on going to farm sales with him and seeing a bloke with a big stick shouting a lot. I got a job with a local firm and my boss was Major Ernest Edward Foley Rayer, a wonderful man who smoked a pipe which the ash constantly fell out of and set fire to his clothes. He was a terrific mentor in the early years, and I think the only let down was that he was very much an agricultural man and that was not really the route I wanted to pursue. One day he asked me if I would ever recommend any of my friends to an unqualified lawyer. Rather pompously I told him most definitely not, at which he pointed out that I had no professional qualifications. I then embarked on a correspondence course which took about eight years. At one point, the qualifying authority thought I had died; they wrote to me a lot and I didn’t respond. Eventually, I completed it, but academia and I have always been strange bedfellows. I spent the first 20 years of my professional life running a provincial saleroom, largely under the radar but thoroughly enjoying the experience and going to work each day. More importantly, I had saved a whole

generation of children from academic disaster by not being in the classroom! Then, about 20 years ago, my life sort of took a different turn. I had a call from a lady from the BBC asking me if I would appear in a new programme they were making. My initial reaction was no, but I changed my mind on the basis that it would probably only be for one programme and, as Andy Warhol once said, everyone is due their 15 minutes of fame. That 15 minutes has turned into 20 years and I’ve been lucky enough to appear on several BBC programmes which, seemingly, have become quite popular. I think the two highlights for me have been appearing in the ‘View from the Boundary’ slot on Test Match Special and winning Mastermind. It was the ‘celebrity’ version and I think I got the easier questions but it’s firmly on my CV now as my principal academic achievement. If you’re going to have a dream and a wish, always be quite specific about exactly what it is. In those early days at Loughborough, it was always my ambition to have someone ask me for my autograph at Twickenham. About ten years ago, I was at an England rugby game and someone walked up to me armed with a pen and a piece of a paper. ‘Are you Philip Serrell?’ I smiled, nodded and grasped the piece of paper to add my scrawl. ‘It’s for my Gran – she loves you.’ You know, it’s always for the gran!

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

Therapy for the soul Emma Spybey, Head of Swimming at Windlesham House School, reflects on the benefits and importance of swimming Swimming offers a multitude of benefits for children. Aside from keeping the blood pumping through their bodies and brains, which is essential for development, those children who live active lives are reportedly happier, healthier and smarter. But swimming is not just about encouraging good physical health, there are benefits to mental wellbeing too. Swimming can give children an immediate emotional boost and is great for inspiring body confidence and self-belief both in terms of athletic ability and social skills. When it comes to overall health,

there is no better sporting activity than swimming. From heart health, to circulation and building muscle, swimming challenges the body and helps to release endorphins, which also induces feelings of happiness. In many cases, the skills developed through swimming are also very transferrable to the classroom and to everyday learning. Anything that supports wellbeing and happiness will undoubtedly have a profound effect on a child’s capacity to retain information and indeed their approach in class. It’s true that after a swimming session, pupils

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may appear more alert and able to focus more intently in lessons. This transfers to academic studies too, because even though swimming is an individual sport, it does teach self-reliance and encourages children to push boundaries to achieve their individual goals. It’s a great form of self-motivation and certainly equips children with those vital preparation skills ahead of important exams. Jump in and shine It’s no secret that the mental wellbeing and emotional health of the young has been a growing concern for schools and parents alike. Although

swimming events such as relays are popular with pupils in terms of training and competing, they also have a huge impact on their social wellness. Finding common ground as a team can see different friendship groups connecting via their love of swimming. It is not uncommon to see children finding new social skills, bonding with others and creating memories and forever friendships through their love of the water. In some cases these have been children that have struggled socially, but jump into the pool and shine. Swimming teams can become a family and that water world becomes their home. Unlike some other sports, swimming doesn’t need to be about competing either, from the advanced to the beginner, anyone can develop and share a love of swimming. Fears around mental illness and anxiety in children can be a real worry and often simple activities like swimming can really give pupils clarity and focus. There are few things more uplifting and relaxing than stepping into a warm pool and swimming a few lengths at your own pace. The rest

of the world stops and there is often a sense of tranquillity to be gained from being in the water. It also allows one to focus on important aspects like breathing. This in turn, supports all kinds of anxieties and mental health issues. The water often conveys calming feelings of safety and peace. Hidden benefits Of course, swimming has hidden benefits too. For example, for those children that want to be football or rugby players, there is often a reluctance to engage fully in swimming related sports. However, once pupils are in the pool and learn that swimming is the best kind of fitness not only for cardiovascular health but also for their joints, it does become a lot more popular. It is hugely beneficial to all sports and for generally keeping fit because it is more generous on your body while still giving you a full-body workout. When it comes to water-based activity it’s not just about swimming either, there are so many different skills to be gained. Water polo is growing in popularity in prep schools today too. This is where children can transfer

their team sports skills to the pool. Equally, fundraising swims can really help to create a sense of purpose around the pool, London to Brighton for example is something many aspire to. Younger children love the water too and often activities such as water aerobics can be fun and exciting for energetic little ones. It also means that those pupils that struggle with their strokes can participate on a level playing field with everyone else. Finding your rhythm Probably most importantly, swimming allocates time just for you. It is a break in your day where facts and figures don’t matter. It is a time where you don’t have to be up with the latest trend, it doesn’t matter if you’re not the best, the most fashionable, the funniest, or the coolest person in school. It is just a time to be you. Because it really focuses on your breathing, swimming also helps with mindfulness and meditation. Breathing techniques learnt in the water can also be transferred to outside of the pool during times when you may feel anxious. Those who embrace swimming will usually find a rhythm in the pool that they can use in everyday life both now and in the future.

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Looking on the bright side Jenny Burrett, Director of Education and Strategy for the Wishford Schools and Editor for the SATIPS Pastoral Development and PSHCE Broadsheet, shares some tips on lifting the spirits It is great to promote happiness as a goal, but this must be better understood and worked towards. Sometimes it shines down easily as everything flows, falls into place and we are delighted with the outcomes of our efforts. But for others, the going is tough, it seems as though there are obstacles everywhere. Relationships can prove very challenging. It is at these times where we need strategies, experience and the right language that informs us that we know we can get through a difficult time. Helping children through this experience takes time and patience and it is important to be clear that we are gradually building self-knowledge, decision-making, initiative, adaptability, self-belief, independence, confidence and resilience, to name but some key qualities that are needed. It is also key to have successful wellbeing strategies in place. A balanced diet, healthy hydration, exercise, good sleep and feeling safe with a sense of belonging are the fundamentals before any effective learning can be done or any selfesteem built. Maslov told us that in 1943 and this message has only been reinforced and developed. Anthony Robbins, a well-known coach and philosopher, claims that his six core human needs may help us to explain what we need in the first place. The first two are the needs

of the personality: certainty – the need for safety, comfort, order and control; uncertainty or variety – the need for surprises, challenges, chaos and adventure. The next two balance each other, too much of one could lead to boredom: significance – to have meaning and pride, to be needed and wanted, and a sense of importance; love and connection – the need for communication, approval, intimacy and attachment. Finally, the needs of the spirit: the need for constant emotional, intellectual and spiritual development and the need to care, protect and serve others. Do you agree with these needs? Can you relate to these six core human needs in yourself and in others? How are you meeting your core human needs? Emotional Quotient (EQ) is still a new concept compared with IQ, having been around for 30 years. Psychologists Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer described it in 1990 as a form of social intelligence with the ability to observe feelings and emotions in yourself and others, using this to guide your own thinking and action. In his book Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman popularised the need for EQ skills to be taught as part of the school curriculum, convincing us of the high costs – monetary and societal wellbeing – of failing to teach children how to deal with their

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

emotions. Voltaire offers guidance that’s relevant today when he said ‘we must cultivate our garden’. It is key to instil meaningful values in that child’s garden and grow them alongside knowledge, skills and personal characteristics. It is for the child, with the help of parents, teachers and friends to grow what they have, take responsibility, recognise and appreciate difference, be the best each of them can be and empower themselves as stronger learners and leaders of themselves. Many schools now have taken the advice of those such as Guy Claxton and build learning power using a specific language of learning. Claxton promotes the seven Cs: confidence, curiosity, collaboration, communication, creativity, commitment and craftmanship. Heywood Prep has found this works well as a language of learning. Some of the most effective have been really simple. Cricklade Manor Prep has introduced ‘challenged, motivated, prepared’ and taken time to make sense of that in every context with the children. It can certainly work alongside Anthony Robbins’ description of our personality and spiritual needs and helps the children to make sense of their responsibilities. If the mindfulness journey values living in the present, not catastrophising the past,

anticipating the future when it comes, thereby bringing momentby-moment awareness of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and the environment, characterised mainly by ‘acceptance’ – attention to thoughts and feelings without judging whether they are right or wrong as well as gratitude for what this brings – then it is worth teaching children to pay attention and be reflective about the value of that awareness, ideally in the moment, but equally looking back over short periods of time, especially since we know that mindfulness supports with stress and challenge. Reflective diaries in which pupils are noting how they think and feel help teachers and parents to understand them and it helps them to understand themselves and value their experiences. In the early stages of Key Stage 1 this may be about symbols in response to questions asking them about how they think and feel about aspects of school life, what they respond to positively and what is harder.

In Key Stage 2 pupils can build to something much more expressive and their reflections can be really telling to both themselves and others. Certainly, we know that pupils can find their own voice through reflective diaries, identify strengths and weaknesses, and reflect on a range of feelings. Often they come to really understand the power of choice and how they are empowered to make decisions and take actions. We know that tutorial systems are hugely supportive of personal growth, providing staff are well trained and know how to help a child to understand their reality and set the right challenges for development.

teaches the importance of firm roots, the power of choice, the will and the joy of one’s own essence, and the importance of finding one’s own voice to blossom. So much of this can be achieved in a talking school that sets up dialogue and reflection opportunities for its pupils, a school in which teachers or peer mentors help pupils to find their own solutions to issues by exploring their options rather than just setting teacher-led targets, a school that really knows what its people think and feel.

We know that it is vital that pupils learn to build a positive relationship with themselves, others and the world around them and build that as they go along. Coaching is another way of really getting pupils and teachers to build themselves. My own GROWSUNFLOWERS programme is a simple way of supporting children’s self-esteem and mental health and

So all of the above helps to build a realistic kind of happiness with the recognition that it is not going to be plain sailing all the way, but with the knowledge that the means are in place to get through the tough stuff.

It may come to the need for counselling which is a very effective way of getting over an obstacle, but it does not need to be the first port of call.

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Liz Marden, Founder & CEO of Early Excellence, explores why quality environments Liz Marden, Founder & CEO of Early Excellence, explores why matter in early education and shares how Stockport Grammar School transformed quality mattercuriosity, in early education and learning. shares how their EYFSenvironments toFounder fully nurture children’s creative thinking Liz Marden, & CEO of Early Excellence, explores whyand quality environments

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Liz Marden, Founder & CEO Early Excellence www.earlyexcellence.com

Liz Marden, Founder & CEO Early Excellence Liz Marden, Founder & CEO www.earlyexcellence.com Early Excellence www.earlyexcellence.com

Early Excellence Inspirational Early Learning Early

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PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in prep & junior school world PREP the best bestin inprep the prep & junior school PREP SCHOOL SCHOOL Reflecting Reflecting the & junior school worldworld

Creating delightful corners Offering learning experiences Creating Promoting mastery Delightful Corners Offering Core core Learning Experiences Promoting Mastery Learninglearning of curiosity It is these decisions thatthe form the Creating spaces are appealing, It is these of Curiosity decisions that form Creating spaces that arethat appealing, Alongside continuous provision, planning forbecomes what becomes our continually and to familiar Alongside continuous provision, creating planning for what our continuous continually availableavailable and familiar creating delightful corners of curiosity continuous provision the core youngenables children enables deeper delightful corners of curiosity enable us to provision – the core learning –experiences youngto children deeper learning enableinspiring us to introduce inspiring learning experiences we consistently learning – as return introduce enhancements to bring we consistently provide for children each as children return to,children repeat and extendto, to bring new learning to provide for children each day as they newenhancements repeat and extend their ideas learning to our classrooms – enriching day as they enter the classroom. their ideas over time. This promotes our classrooms – enriching language, the classroom. over time. This promotes language, deepening understanding and Ifenter a curriculum aim is to develop mastery behaviour as children are mastery deepening understanding and behaviour childrenwith are introduced independent providing opportunities to embed prior learners, then the intelligent introduced to andas supported If a curriculum aim is to develop providing to embed prior supported with the use of learning in newopportunities and diverse contexts. classroom provides learners, accessibility – the the usetoofand carefully selected highindependent then learning in new and diverse contexts. If we consider the words of empowering children to lead their qualitycarefully resources.selected high-quality intelligent classroom provides resources. Maria Montessori, then we truly have own accessibility learning. Each resource needs to be chosen – empowering children to If we consider the words of Maria the Montessori, opportunity tothen create Resources carefully organised to not Each only connect children’s weclassrooms truly have the lead theirare own learning. resourcewith needs to be chosen that become an effective andclassrooms that to make them visible to adults and interests and their natural curiosity opportunity to create to not only connect with children’s Resources are carefully inspiring ‘teacher’. – not hidden away butorganised valued and to investigate butand alsotheir withnatural its purpose become an effective and inspiring interests curiosity tochildren to make them visible to presented adults and celebrated! They should also be in mind. We always need to know why ‘teacher’. investigate but also with its purpose children – them not hidden away but valued in ways to make not only appealing we have particular resourceneed or area ToTo request inamind. We always to of know requestaa brochure: brochure: and celebrated! They should also to support incidentalalso provision how we keep whyand wecritically, have a particular resource or to usebebut design@earlyexcellence.com design@earlyexcellence.com presented in ways to make them design@earlyexcellence.com using it to support learning across the how learning, e.g. using labelling and area of provision and, critically, exploreour our design not only appealing to use but also to ToTo explore designservice service to reinforce early literacy curriculum. we keep using it to support learning shadowing earlyexcellence.com/design support incidental learning, e.g. using and numeracy. earlyexcellence.com/design across the curriculum.

labelling and shadowing to reinforce early literacy and numeracy.

Once the classroom was set Once thethe classroom was was set up, up, Once classroom set up, we we saw immediate benefits and we sawsaw immediate benefits and impact. impact. immediate benefits and impact. We an amazing first We had hadWe an had amazing first day! day!first day! The an amazing Case study The children were calm and settled children were settled The children were calmcalm and and settled and they fully engaged with resources. and they fully engaged the and they fully engaged with the thewith resources. It resources.“their” It wasclassroom definitelyand ‘their’ It was was definitely definitely “their” classroom and they “their” classroom and they The werecosy ‘their’ they were were “their” resources. resources. The cosy corners made the children feel safe cosyfeel corners made cornersresources. made the The children safe and and secure, and play talk evolved andquickly. secure, and secure,the andchildren play and andfeel talk safe evolved quickly. play talk Over the past 24 months, we Over theand past 24 evolved months, quickly. we have have seen a deeper level of learning than seen a Over deeperthe level of 24 learning than ever past months, weever have before and we feel that the layout and a deeper level learning before seen and we feel that theof layout and than resources supported in everhave before and westaff feel that resources have supported staff in the layout understanding fully the vision and and resources have supported staff understanding fully the vision and The whole process to refurbish our principles we wanted to embed. in understanding fully the vision and principles we wanted to embed. indoor learning environment in Our parents are incredibly impressed principles we wanted to embed. Our parents are incredibly impressed partnership with Early Excellence environment, looks so with the the environment, which looksimpressed so "The whole process to refurbish our start to with Our parents arewhich incredibly worked really well from inviting and welcoming but also inviting and welcoming but also indoor learning environment in with the environment, which looks finish. purposeful and appropriate purposeful and with with appropriate partnership with Early Excellence so inviting and welcoming but also We felt that Early Excellence challenge. They often comment that challenge. They often comment that they they worked really well from start to finish. purposeful and with appropriate embodied our philosophy and ethoswant to stay, play and learn too. challenge. They often comment that want to stay, play and learn too. We felt that Early Excellence with their neutral, minimalised, We are also seeing a clear impact on they want to stay, play and learn too. We are also seeing a clear impact on embodiedhigh-quality our philosophy and ethos furniture and children’s and levels of Weprogress are also seeing a clear on children’s progress and their their levelsimpact of with theirresources. neutral, minimalised, development. children’s progress and their levels of development. high-quality furniture and resources. We worked with an experienced The Early Thedevelopment. Early Excellence Excellence environment environment has has We worked with an experienced EEx EEx Curriculum Consultant to not only transformed our not only transformed our Curriculum Consultant to design the The Early Excellence environment design the room. He was open andprovision to provision but also helped to deepen deepen room. He was open and friendly and hasbut notalso onlyhelped transformed our friendly and really took the time our understanding and develop our understanding and develop really took the time to understand our provision but also helped to deepen to understand our expectations our practice.” our understanding and develop our our practice.” expectations and requirements, and we and requirements, and we were practice. were particularly impressed with some particularly impressed with some Catherine Hampson of the innovative ideas to maximise Hampson Catherine Hampson of the innovative ideas to maximiseCatherine EYFS Co-ordinator space andspace the use of shelving to create EYFS Co-ordinator EYFS Co-ordinator and the use of shelving to Stockport Grammar School cosy corners. Stockport Grammar School School Stockport Grammar create cosy corners.

Case Study

Inspirational Inspirational Learning with learning with Stockport Stockport Grammar School Grammar School

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Leading the way SOCS is used by over 800 schools worldwide to manage and communicate sports and co-curricular activities; they offer a comprehensive online school calendar solution that integrates with the sport and co-curricular modules SOCS has worked with Millfield Prep for a decade. For any school, the planning of the sports and co-curricular programme is a huge undertaking and requires careful management and effective communication, but at Millfield Prep there are more than 500 activities on offer each term. During the last academic year, the school played over 2000 fixtures. SOCS enables the staff at Millfield Prep to ensure that parents are kept up to date with their child’s activities, fixture locations and results, and other calendar events that take place at the school, including cancellations and last-minute changes to schedules. Parents can also log in and sign up to activities that are available to their child. Staff use SOCS internally to take registers, generate reports and ensure that the pupils are taking part in a balanced range of activities. Jo Morgan-Hughes, Director of Sport at Millfield Prep, said: ‘Adopting SOCS to administer our provision for sports and activities has been without question our most significant development in my lengthy tenure as Director of Sport at Millfield Prep School. With busy children, participating in multiple sports and activities our internal organisation has been transformed. Communication problems with parents have disappeared. Parents can view live team sheets, synchronise electronic diaries and check activity schedules. All activities are registered electronically. With safeguarding such a priority, we know exactly

where every single pupil is at any point in the day. Pupils with medical conditions are flagged to staff. ISI inspectors are hugely impressed!’ He added: ‘SOCS also helps to retain historical data. We know exactly how many and which fixtures every pupil has participated in. We can monitor heavily committed pupils and importantly ensure that we do not have students missing out on selection. SOCS has had a positive impact on recruitment. Prospective parents can view fixture lists on the web pages, and we use SOCS on open days to demonstrate our provision. SOCS Big Screens are located outside the changing rooms and students can easily check team sheets or match details. Busy parents with more than one child can also see where they are playing sports fixtures and what kit for clubs is needed. We quite simply could not operate on the same scale without SOCS!’ The full SOCS system consists of separate modules for managing the school’s calendar, sport and co-curricular offerings. SOCS helps to manage fixtures and team sheets, run activity sign-ups, communicate

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club schedules and content and take registers. SOCS also provides competition microsites, making it easier for schools to operate competitions each season. Like Millfield Prep, most schools are opting to use the full range of SOCS modules, but it is also possible to pick and choose the aspects of the system that are most needed to strengthen the existing systems at a school. Lucy Watkins, Head of Client Management at SOCS, said: ‘We are delighted that Millfield has chosen SOCS. With our help, their busy parents are able to cut through the noise of the school life and follow their child directly, by synchronising their smartphone to their child’s activity calendar. This way they are always up to date on where their child is and what time they need to be picked up. Having a system that is kept up-todate on the latest data protection standards that staff, pupils and parents can use safely has been at the centre of our strategy from the start.’ Contact the SOCS team for a product demo: sales@misocs.com

How to be top at school When Mark Hedges penned this editorial for the September 2019 edition of Country Life magazine, he was putting out a clarion call to independent schools to face up to a possibly imminent political attack. Little did he know that, just around the corner, there lurked a far more dangerous threat not only to our schools but to our world. I am very grateful to Mark for permission to use his article as his words have even more pertinence to our situation. What do Robert Walpole, Pitt the Elder, William Gladstone, Harold Macmillan, David Cameron and Boris Johnson have in common? Answer: they all attended Eton College. Never mind that the new Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary and Chancellor are State educated, the arrival of the latest Etonian – the 20th – in 10 Downing Street seems to be too much for some people to take. Labour Against Private Schools intends to propose a motion at the party conference this month to abolish the charitable status (and tax benefits) of fee-paying schools. It wants a university intake of only 7% from the private sector and to nationalise the assets of historic places such as Harrow and Winchester. If passed, it will be written into Labour’s election manifesto. Apart from the sheer bitterness of it, where’s the open-minded, freemarket vision that recognises healthy competition, choice and variety in life? The motion creates an unfair dichotomy for voters who would like freedom of choice and it deserves the obvious response that it might be more constructive first to campaign for much-needed improvements in some state schools.

Independent schools must respond by trumpeting loudly that they’re not leeches on the economy and are an important contributor to the GDP. A report commissioned by the Independent Schools Council (ISC) shows the sector added £13.7 billion to the economy in 2017, generating £4.1 billion in tax revenues and supporting 303,000 jobs – more than the equivalent of employing the working population of Liverpool, it asserts. Less tangibly, but no less important for individuality, the ISC points out that its schools can afford to offer the new scientific skills that could ultimately benefit everyone. They can preserve niche subjects such as archaeology, classical civilisation and astronomy, plus languages, music and the sports – cricket, rowing, rugby, sailing – in which Britons from all educational backgrounds excel. Like other criticised sectors – landowning, fieldsports, agriculture – independent schools need to spend less on unnecessary luxury and promote louder their contribution to society (‘Partnership not patronage’, School Life, page 138). Pretty much every independent school has charitable partnerships at home and abroad, shares its facilities locally,

Apart from the sheer bitterness of it, where’s the open-minded, freemarket vision that recognises healthy competition, choice and variety in life? instils in pupils a social conscience and offers full bursaries. Cathedral choir schools offer a superb education to children who are naturally musical. It’s an irony that the most frequently touted names, among them Eton, were founded to nurture social mobility, not quash it. However, if these schools are to retain that moral high ground – and perhaps their autonomy – they must focus on their charitable responsibilities and put the fees from wealthy overseas parents to more altruistic use before building another Olympic-sized swimming pool.

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Teach Like a Writer Jennifer Webb shares an extract from her much anticipated second book Writing is reaching out. It is making a connection with our fellow women and men, with the power to bridge space, time and culture. People who can successfully communicate have capacity to change things, to campaign, and to show their worth and talent. People who cannot express themselves are naturally disenfranchised; they do not have the agency to direct their own lives, communicate their decisions or speak out against personal or professional injustice. Be honest with yourself, beyond the classroom, how do you view people who can’t write? How many employers simply discard applications because of poor writing, regardless of the content? How many of us judge the intelligence of others based on their poor writing, spelling, punctuation or spoken expression? The ability or inability to write has an impact on people’s confidence but also on social hierarchy; people are all too painfully aware of how their poor writing and expression influences others’ impressions of them. Poor literacy leads to a lack of engagement with vital services and ultimately people feel distanced from their communities. In short, adults who can’t write are at risk of being victims who are not full participants in society. My entire philosophy of education can be summarised very simply: I believe that we should have impeccably high standards and be unapologetically aspirational and academic. Some

might wonder why, then, I have opened this book, not with lines of the great canonical poets, but with hip-hop verses. Some might go so far as to assume that this book is going to be about expression and fluff, rather than rigour and ‘proper’ writing. Opinions like this seek to polarise education debate into ‘progressive’ or ‘traditionalist’ camps that never meet. I reject this approach entirely. I

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simply love great writing, and whether that is coming to us from a 16th century playwright, or a 21st century single mother sitting in a flat in east London, I will give it space to breathe. The simple fact is that the written word is not a useful form of expression for many of today’s young people; they don’t know how to use it properly. This book is progressive in its outlook because it encourages freedom of

expression and a more inclusive approach to writers and their voices. It is also ‘traditionalist’, if you want to call it that, because it champions excellence in technique, high expectations and a fidelity to form and genre as experienced by professional writers in their respective fields. With this book I hope to sweep aside what English teachers think a short story or a political speech might consist of and, instead, hear it direct from the experts. Let’s stop chasing shadows and start learning from the masters. Writing: function vs. art and the problem with exams Writing is art. All writing. It sits on a spectrum from functional to abstract, but all is art nonetheless. For reasons I don’t fully understand, the teaching of writing has been gradually reduced to something functional and far removed from its artistic reality. This is, no doubt, partly because of the way writing is examined at primary and GCSE level. The pressure teachers are under to teach students to write specific forms in short time frames and within very stringent parameters, has inevitably led to formulaic, tick-box pedagogy. The aim of this book is not to provide fool-proof quick-fixes for examined writing tasks. These tasks are contrived and far removed from the way people write in the real world, and the only way to escape our current situation is to do something different. Writing a newspaper article in 30 minutes on a completely alien topic with no preparation, research or moral imperative is, as you will see from Alix Robertson’s chapter later in the book, ridiculous. Certainly, there are time pressures in journalism, but to expect students to create something meaningful out of thin air simply produces work that is contrived, and skill that has limited application beyond the exam. Similarly, the notion that a student should be able to write a mature, developed short story in 45 minutes seriously ignores the actual artistic process. Later in the book, Jacob Ross shows how fiction writing is a long,

exhaustive process of re-drafting and crafting words and phrases; it should not be a desperate scrabble through stale narrative structures crammed into us by English teachers with no choice. The most significant issue here is that we are not examining real writing skill. We are testing whether students can write in fictional circumstances in which they will never find themselves again. No career will ever test a student’s ability to write a leaflet on an unprepared topic in 30 minutes. Why, then, do we test students like this? In his excellent book, Don’t Call it Literacy, Geoff Barton argues for the growth of ‘disciplinary literacy’. This is the recognition that every form of writing has its own unique conventions and needs, and to simply teach writing or speaking in a uniform way in all circumstances does not recognise this diversity within disciplines. Students should learn not just how to write, but how to write like an historian or a biologist. In English, there are huge differences between writing like a novelist, a journalist or a politician. The current way we examine writing does nothing to prepare students for these potent and vital forms of writing. This means, unfortunately, that we have had nothing driving our profession forward with regards to brilliant teaching of writing – we are all stuck in a GCSE quagmire. This book aims to pull us out of this mess and teach writing for its own sake while still laying the foundations for excellent exam performance. It is possible to do both. To complicate matters… It’s an unspoken secret terrorising English corridors: English teachers are not writers. Our subject is vast and unforgivably complex. We teach functional and critical reading, analysis, comparison, critical theory and application, contextual study, essay writing, spelling, punctuation, grammar, writing in a range of forms (formal letters, articles, short stories, poetry, speeches and so on), and if we’re really lucky, we have time to do some cool things like

proper linguistics, language change, acquisition and power (though these things aren’t examined outside of A Level Language, so tend to be squeezed out earlier on in students’ lives). No single degree can possibly prepare an English teacher to do all of this. We have to identify our own weaknesses and work constantly to plug those gaps in our knowledge. How, though, do you ‘plug’ the gap to writing poetry or political speeches? Excellence in these forms takes more than just a list of conventions; they take feeling, judgement and time. I have known a handful of English teachers who write in their spare time (one who was even writing a fantasy novel) and, funnily enough, they have always been much better than me at teaching writing. These colleagues have a ‘way in’ to the world of writing that many of us do not possess. I have scrabbled around for years trying to find ways of teaching short story writing or poetry, but the mercurial art of creating a finished piece is something which most of us are both awed and confused by. There is a void in our knowledge which we don’t really talk about, and we have filled that void with some very sad things: acrostic poems, funny haiku and endless acronyms and initialisms (DAFORREST et al), which we hope will give some structure to this wilderness. I am proud to be an English teacher, and I believe that we are all doing the best job we can under considerable pressure but, deep down, we all know that many of these gimmicky, quick-fix writing strategies are not hitting the mark. Teach Like a Writer is available to buy now on the John Catt bookshop johncattbookshop.com

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Picking up the pieces Natasha Watson, Anthony Millard Consulting Operations Director (previously a prep school teacher and boarding houseparent in UK and Kenyan prep schools), looks to the future for prep schools in this rapidly changing world Coronavirus is both a catastrophe for the independent sector and also a challenge that will offer new opportunities. Sadly, some schools will close and others will be forced into consolidation but the ‘new normal’ – when we reach it – has the potential to bring about revolutionary changes in education. Already the rush to virtual learning and remote working are changing the way we teach and children learn. More will follow and the architecture of education (quite literally) will change forever. Technology, personalised learning and enhanced collaboration will alter the shape of schools both physically and psychologically. The classroom which Shakespeare would have recognised was still the lingua franca when Anthony Millard was at school in the 1950s. The schools of the future will truly provide for personalised learning, small group tutor work, and whole year or even whole school sessions. But some items will remain the same. The value of great teachers in touching pupils’ lives and the inherent need of children for positive socialisation are just two. The team at Anthony Millard Consulting (AMC) consists of ‘insiders’, all passionately committed to supporting great schools.

Our team of experienced heads are engaged with many of our current and previous clients to deliver advice and support in the battle for survival post coronavirus. School heads, bursars and governors across the country and internationally have spent the Easter break planning in meticulous detail the fees to be charged to parents for this summer term but should also have been trying to look well beyond this point.

independent sector will survive? Will there be any boarding schools left? How many families will be able to afford school fees going forwards? When may overseas pupils be able to safely return to their schools? What can schools do for the exam cohorts whose public exams have been cancelled? All of these thoughts, and more, have undoubtedly been causing many a sleepless night over the last few weeks for school leaders.

Plans regarding any future building projects or expenditure may well have to be shelved, the forecasting of pupil numbers is an even greater challenge than usual, the unpredictable needs for recruitment of staff; all must be considered to ensure the school’s general longevity and to find the best route to prosperity through this global pandemic that is having such devastating consequences not only for schools, but for the worldwide economy, which in turn has major implications on the affordability of private education.

Not all is doom and gloom, however. As a sector which takes pride in motivating and inspiring children, we must remain upbeat and seek the positives during this crisis and for the possibilities beyond it. Whilst so much is uncertain, this is a true test of adaptability, resilience, patience and flexibility for all of us and, of course, particularly for those in leadership roles. As schools find ways to operate differently (many providing a superbly inspiring spread of virtual lessons, assemblies, form periods, games challenges, pastoral support and more), aspects of virtual education will undoubtedly be here to stay. Many schools and pupils are doing a wonderful job of getting to grips with mastering online learning (I am in a house with a prep school teaching husband and a ten year old who is engrossed in his timetabled online lessons!).

There is no doubt that coronavirus has already changed the world of education profoundly and much of this change is yet to be realised. At this moment there is only a very faint glimmer of ‘the end of the beginning’. Key questions on education leader’s minds are: How much of the UK

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These changes are offering us all the opportunity for creative thinking, modifying our lifestyles and creating good habits that might last well beyond this current lockdown stage. Children have been exposed to ideas and opportunities which they may not have done if this pandemic had never happened, such as ways to fundraise for the NHS or those in need, helping and supporting their neighbours, discovering alternative ways to maintain and develop friendships, and the learning of new skills. Eventually we will return to a ‘new normal’ where we all – pupils, parents, teachers and heads – will pick up the pieces and continue to need great

schools and great educationalists. At AMC we are continuing to work closely with schools and we have successfully adjusted to remote working in support of clients and staff as we continue to deliver quality search recruitment and consultancy advice.

options and offer a sympathetic ear to hardworking individuals who are operating under extremes of pressure. This service is offered entirely free of charge. We are prepared to think the unthinkable and are ready to help you pick up the pieces.

In addition to our usual services, at this time of such pressure and anxiety for school leaders, AMC are offering a confidential listening and advice service aimed at heads, bursars and governors. The AMC team possesses over 130 combined years of headship experience and over 30 years of bursar experience. Members of our team are ready to help schools think through a range of practical and strategic

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Dr Matthew Reames is a maths teacher at the Daniel Morgan Intermediate School and the SATIPS Broadsheet editor for this element of the curriculum

In this term’s broadsheet, I share an interesting set of problems that require pupils to use multiple steps when solving (and include a hefty dose of decimals!). I also include thoughts on a book I have been reading – and how that book might be useful for those involved with maths teaching and learning at multiple points across the 3-to-13 age range.

Lawrence, using five crates of mostly 1p and 2p coins. The accountant, however, refused to accept the coins as payment. It probably didn’t help matters that Mr Fitzpatrick dumped the crates of coins in Mr Lawrence’s front garden. This story raises a number of questions, particularly regarding how Mr Fitzpatrick managed to transport all those coins!

As you move through the term, please consider sharing with us your lesson ideas, your thoughts about mathematics, and your questions, particularly ways to provide our pupils with positive mathematical experiences. Please send them to mreames@gmail.com for inclusion in a future broadsheet.

I also shared a set of eight questions that involve those skills and concepts mentioned, specifically multistep problems that include money and decimal skills. While possibly slightly more complex than the Common Entrance exam questions, they will provide good practice and opportunities to pupils to reason mathematically. (My solutions follow after the questions.)

I’ve recently been looking at the ISEB Mathematics Syllabus for the 11+ Common Entrance Exam, specifically those elements that are somewhat over and above the Years 5 and 6 National Curriculum expectations. In particular, pupils are expected to solve multi-step problems using the four operations, as well as to solve money problems involving decimal skills. A number of years ago, I shared a story of a gentleman called Robert Fitzpatrick who attempted to settle a debt of £804 to his accountant, Phillip

Questions 1: If Mr Fitzpatrick attempted to pay his entire debt with 1p coins, how many coins would he have needed? 2: A 1p coin has a mass of 3.56g. What is the mass of £804 worth of 1p coins? 3: Since September 1992, 1p coins are 1.65mm thick (between 1971 and September 1992 they were 1.52mm thick). Assuming that you could stack

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them all on top of each other, how tall is a stack of 1p coins worth £804? 4: The diameter of a 1p coin is 20.32mm. If you placed £804 worth of 1p coins in a straight line, how far would they stretch? 5: The papers reported that Mr Fitzpatrick used approximately 60,000 coins when he attempted to settle his debt. If he used only 1p and 2p coins, how many of each coin might he have had? 6: Suppose Mr Fitzpatrick had a mixture of 40,200 1p coins and 20,100 2p coins. Each 2p coin has a mass of 7.12g. What is the mass of his mixture of 1p and 2p coins? 7: Mr Lawrence was not required to accept all of the coins because of a concept called ‘legal tender’. This means that silver-coloured coins larger than 10p (20p and 50p coins) are legal tender for amounts up to £10, while silver-coloured coins up to and including 10p (5p and 10p coins) are legal tender for up to £5. Bronze coins (or ‘coppers’), 1p and 2p coins, are legal tender for up to 20p. Both £1 and £2 coins are legal tender for any amount.

Assuming that Mr Lawrence would accept coins up to the maximum legal tender (for example, 20p worth of 1p coins and £5 worth of 5p coins), how many of each coin could Mr Fitzpatrick have used?

numbers until the number of coins approaches 60,000 (and remember, the reports said approximately so you and your students can decide what approximately might mean in this situation).

8: If Mr Fitzpatrick used the maximum number of coins less than £1 (see number 7 above) and paid the remaining amount in £1 coins, what would be the mass of those £1 coins? The mass of a single old-style £1 coin was 9.5g (a new £1 coin has a mass of 8.75g).

Another starting point is to simply guess that half the coins were 1p and half were 2p which results in a total amount of £900. The next step would be to reduce the number of one type of coin and increase the number of the other and see how this impacts the total amount. A further way to start is to assume that half of the total amount was made up of 1p coins and the other half made up of 2p coins. This results in 40,200 1p coins and 20,100 2p coins, for a total of 60,300 coins – remarkably close to 60,000!

Answers 1: £804 ÷ 0.01 = 80,400 coins 2: 80,400 × 3.56 = 286,224g or 286.224kg (or 631lb). For comparison, an adult male silverback gorilla generally weighs between 140-200kg (or 310-440lb). 3: 80,400 × 1.65 = 132,660mm or 132.66m (or just over 435ft). For comparison, Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square is 51.59m tall (just over 169ft). If the stack of coins was to be laid on the ground, with the coins still face to face, they would be longer than a football pitch (which ranges from 90m to 120m (300ft to 390ft). How would this change if you used 1p coins from before September 1992? 4: 80,400 × 20.32 = 1,633,728mm or 1,633.728m or 1.633728km (or just over 1 mile). 5: There are a number of possible solutions to this and a number of ways to arrive at a solution. What is most interesting is the way in which children approach this problem. One way is to choose random numbers for the amount of 1p and 2p coins and gradually refine the

More advanced students may wish to use a pair of simultaneous equations to arrive at a solution. If x stands for the number of 1p coins and y stands for the number of 2p coins, then x + y = 60,000 is an equation that represents the total number of coins. The equation 0.01x + 0.02y = 804 represents the value of each coin (1p and 2p) and the total value (£804). Solving these two equations together results in x = 39,600 coins (£396) and y = 20,400 (£408). The total number of coins is 60,000 and the total value is £804. 6: 1p coins: 40,200 × 3.56 =143,112g or 143.112kg 2p coins: 20,100 × 7.12 = 143,112g or 143.112kg. The combined mass of the 1p and 2p coins would be 286.224kg. Note that even though there are twice as many 1p coins as 2p coins, the mass is the same. Why is this?

7: If Mr Fitzpatrick used each type of coin worth less than £1, he could have used 250 coins for a total value of £30.40. Coin

Number

Total value

£0.20

100

£5.00

10p

£5.00

20p

£10.00

The remaining £773.60 would still need to be paid. The £773 could easily be paid in any combination of £1 and £2 coins but the final 60p could not be paid exactly because Mr Fitzpatrick had already used his limit of coins less than £1. A better choice might be not to use any 1p or 2p coins. He could still use 220 coins worth less than £1 and the total would be £30. The remaining £774 could be paid in any combination of £1 and £2 coins. Coin

Number

Total value

100

£5.00

10p

£5.00

20p

£10.00

50p

£10.00

8: Old £1 coins: 774 × 9.5 = 7353g or 7.353kg (or just over 16lb). New £1 coins: 774 x 8.75 = 6772.5g or 6.7725kg just under 15lb). Note: The final mass of Mr Fitzpatrick’s payment (as described in questions 7 and 8) would be 8.413kg (just over 18.5lb), still a fairly heavy amount to carry around but significantly less than if he had used all 1p coins!

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Additional things to think about

worth of 1p coins or £804 worth of 2p coins?

What is the volume of £804 worth of 1p coins?

Imagine that Mr Fitzpatrick attempted to pay his debt using only 5p and 10p coins. How does this change the total number of coins? How does this change the total mass of the coins?

Which weighs less, £804 worth of 1p coins or £804 worth of 2p coins? Which is easier to transport, £804

Before decimalisation in 1971, there were 240 pence in a pound. Old pennies had a mass of 9.4g and a diameter of 31mm. What is the mass of £804 worth of old 1p coins? How far would a line of old 1p coins reach?

BOOK REVIEW Growing Mathematical Minds edited by Jennifer S. McCray, Jie-Qi Chen, and Janet Eisenband Sorkin (Routledge) I’ve begun reading this interesting book which sheds light on how children learn mathematics at a young age. Growing Mathematical Minds combines work from teacher educators, developmental psychologists, and classroom teachers and is an effort to bridge the gap between educational research and classroom practice. While primarily focusing on the mathematics development of children ages 3 to 8, this book nevertheless holds a wealth of information for those teachers of older children, particularly when those teachers wonder ‘why don’t my pupils understand ______?’ Early chapters focus on issues such as the role of adults and the learning

environment, use of concrete objects and manipulatives, and the variability of children’s mathematical thinking and learning, other chapters address pathways to computational fluency and mathematics anxiety. These last two chapters might be of most interest to teachers of older pupils. While possibly not of immediate interest to all teachers of mathematics, this book is certainly to be of interest to anyone with teaching and learning responsibilities that span across the 3-to-8 and 9-to-11 (or 9-to-13) age ranges. It would be sure to provide the basis of discussion for those teachers whose schools are concerned with curriculum alignment across multiple year groups.

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

expectations or what “works”. Writin staff to reflect on their classroom

SATIPS 1

Broadsheets are edited by Prep Schoo in their field, have taken on Why Whyshould shouldmy myschool schoolbe bein inmembership? membership? For further information about the Bro • SATIPS offers a breadth of training, networking and supportive • SATIPS offers a breadth of training, networking and supportive opportunities to schools in membership opportunities to schools in membership.editions, follow t recent • It is the ONLYsight organisationof in Britain which is dedicated • It is the ONLY organisation in Britain which is dedicated

Support and training in Prep Schools

to the needs of teaching staff in prep schools. to the needs of teaching staff in Prep Schools. • SATIPS is absolutely concerned with catering for staff ranging •from SATIPS concernedortoSenior cater Leadership for staff ranging NQTistoabsolutely Head of Department Team. from NQT to Head of Department or Senior Leadership Team. We also aim to cover all age ranges from Nursery to Key Stage 3. We also aim to cover all age ranges from Nursery to Key Stage 3. SATIPS offers a four part core of activities and support: SATIPS offers a four-part core of activities and support:

Course SATIPS offers a wide range Broadsheets and other In-Se These are published each term, Broadsheets covering a wide range of curriculum interests as These are each term, covering a wide range of curriculum well aspublished specific concerns: e.g. Senior Management, Special Needs and interests, Pre-Prep. as on the Courses can be accessed well as specific concerns: eg Senior Management, Special Needs and Pre-Prep.

Broadsheet articles are usually written by practising prep school teachers with occasional contributions fromare leaders in their field.by This ensures Prep that whatever the article is Broadsheet articles usually written practising School teachers with about the reader can be certain he orin shetheir will field. not only share subject andwhatever age-group occasional contributions fromthat leaders This ensures that, relevance but also cultural assumptions: e.g. parental expectations or what ‘works’. the article is about, the reader can be certain that he or she will not only share Writing and articles for the Broadsheets encourages staff to reflect on their subject age-group relevance but also cultural assumptions: eg classroom parental practice and curriculum expectations or what “works”. Writing articlesdevelopment. for the Broadsheets encourages staff to reflect on their classroom practice and curriculum development. Broadsheets are edited by prep school teachers who, with proven track records their field, on teachers the role ofwho, subject ambassador. Broadsheetsin are edited byhave Preptaken School with proven track records in their field, have taken on the role of subject ambassador. Further information about the Broadsheets can be found on the website. For further information about the Broadsheets, go to http://satips.org/ and, for sight of recent editions, Courses follow theand links to “Specimen Broadsheets”. INSET SATIPS offers a wide range of training courses, conference and other in-service opportunities. Courses and INSET We can advise on and facilitate INSET trainings days for schools in most areas of the country. SATIPS offers a wide range of training Courses are designed to cover a widecourses, range of Conferences interests. and other In-Service opportunities. Attention is given to course feedback which helps to shape our programme. Courses can be accessed on training the web-site at http://satips.org/courses/ School requests for is particularly encouraged.

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CoursesThe areprogramme designed tois cover a wide rangeatofthe interests. Attention is given to primarily directed classroom practitioner. course feed-back helps to shape ourare programme. New towhich the programme this year certificatedSchool courses,requests for training is particularly encouraged. more details of which are on the website. Our trainers and consultants are very carefully selected. Course presenters are very carefully vetted. Our aim is always to make use of Our aim is to always make use of known experts in their field. known experts in their field who are also first-class presenters. Full detailsschools of the training can be foundon oncourse the website. Members receive aprogramme substantial discount fees. Member schools receive a substantial discount on course fees.

SATIPS

expectations or what “works”. Writing staff to reflect on their classroom pr

Broadsheets are edited by Prep School in their field, have taken on th Why should my school be in membership? Competitions, Exhibitions Competitions, exhibitions and and events eventsfor forpupils pupils For further information about the Broa SATIPS offers a variety of pupil-focussed events. Over many years Schools SATIPS offers a variety of pupil-focused events. Over many years schools have have • SATIPS offers a breadth of training, networking and supportive enjoyedenjoyed entering their pupils intoevents that hold a anation-wide attraction with entering their pupils in events that how nationwide attraction opportunities schools in membership. standards. Currently, these events are: sight ofinrecent follow the with high standards. These events include: • It is the high ONLY organisation Britain which iseditions, dedicated Support and training in Prep Schools Support and training in Prep Schools

to the needs of teaching staff in Prep Schools. • SATIPS Challenge Knowledge • SATIPS ChallengeAnnual (annual General general knowledge quiz)quiz • National Handwriting Competition, held in conjunction • Nationalconcerned Handwriting • SATIPS is absolutely toCompetition cater for staff ranging with Cambridge University • Poetry Competition from NQT to Head of Department or Senior Press Leadership Team. • Poetry Competition • SATIPSKI We also aim to cover all age ranges from Nursery to Key Stage 3. • SATIPSKI the annual Ski competition • Annual Art Exhibition held at Hemel Hempstead indoor skiand centre SATIPS offers a four-part core of activities support: • Challenge Harry Paget (pagethar@papplewick.org.uk) • Annual Art Exhibition • National Handwriting Competition Paul Jackson (eajackson22@hotmail.com) Broadsheets • Poetry Competition Stephen Davies (shd@bryanston.co.uk) Full details of all these events areaatwide http://satips.org/competitions/ These are published• SATIPSKI each term, covering range of curriculum interests, as Gillian Gilyead (gilliangilyead@aol.com) well as specific concerns: eg Senior Management, Special Needs and Pre-Prep. • Annual Art Exhibition Alayne Parsley (A.Parsley@cheltenhamcollege.org) “Prep School” Magazine Full details of all these events are at www.satips.org/competitions “Prep School” is published three timesbya practising year. It offers readers Prep Schools Broadsheet articles are usually written Prep Schoolinteachers with a broad range of authoritative articles in ontheir educational matters with anwhatever emphasis occasional contributions from leaders field. This ensures that, Prep School Magazine on issues that concern all Prep Schools. the article is about, the reader can be certain that he or she will not only share ‘Prep School’ is published three times a year. It offers readers in prep schools a subject and age-group relevance but also cultural assumptions: eg parental broad range of authoritative articles onfurther educational issues. Whator next? seeking information? expectations whatJoining “works”.Satips Writingor articles for the Broadsheets encourages We are proud of what SATIPS offers. With all Council members and Officers staff to reflect on their classroom practice and curriculum development. stillWhat working in Prep Schools we believe we understand theinformation? demands on staff next? Joining SATIPS or seeking further working schools andteachers are to support them. We areare proud of what SATIPS offers. Withhere allwho, Council members and Officers Broadsheets edited byinPrep School with proven track records stillinworking in prep schools believe we understand the demands on staff their field, have takenweon the role of subject ambassador. Please working do contact us Broadsheets, if you would more information in school and are herelike to support them. For further information about the go to http://satips.org/ and, for or if we can be of any assistance. sight of recent editions, follow the links to “Specimen Broadsheets”. Chair Chairman Moir CoursesBen and INSET Lisa Newbould chair@satips.org SATIPS offers a wide range of training courses, Conferences chair@satips.org and other In-Service opportunities. Director of Education Courses can be accessed on the web-site at http://satips.org/courses/ Director Education Paulof Jackson Paulrange Jackson Courses are designed to cover a wide of interests. Attention is given to eajackson22@hotmail.com education@satips.org course feed-back which helps to shape our programme. School requests for training is General particularly encouraged. Secretary Director of Training Bill Ibbetson-Price Sarahvetted. Kirby-Smith Course presenters are very carefully Our aim is always to make use of gensec@satips.org training@satips.org known experts in their field who are also first-class presenters. Members schools receive a substantial discount on course fees. General Secretary Alec Synge GenSec@satips.org

Courses a SATIPS offers a wide range of and other In-Serv Courses can be accessed on the we

Courses are designed to cover a wide course feed-back which helps to shap training is particu

Course presenters are very carefully v known experts in their field wh Members schools receive a sub

articles for the Broadsheets encourages ractice and curriculum development.

SATIPS directory teachers who, with proven track records he roleOfficers of subject ambassador. adsheets, go to http://satips.org/ and, for e links to “Specimen Broadsheets”. Chairman Ben Moir chair@satips.org

General Secretary Bill Ibbetson-Price gensec@satips.org

President

Richard Tovey MBE

Vice Presidents

Finance Director Stephen Coverdale finance@satips.org

Trevor Mulryne & David Kendall

Director of Paul Jackson Education eajackson22@hotmail.com

and INSET Members of Council f training courses, Conferences vice opportunities. eb-site at http://satips.org/courses/ Lisa Newbould (lanewbould@gmail.com)

Alayne Parsley (a.parsley@cheltenhamcollege.org)

Emma Goodbourn (nedgoodbourn@yahoo.co.uk)

Paul Baker (pb3448@gmail.com)

Brenda Marshall (brendamarshall@supanet.com)

Paul Mason (paulmason@crossfields.com)

Mark Middleton (markmiddleton@orwellpark.org)

SATIPS Broadsheet editors

range of interests. Attention is given to pe our programme. School requests for ularly encouraged. Art

Jan Miller, Moreton Hall (millerj@moretonhall.com)

Classics

Emiliana Damiani, Pinewood School (emilianadamiani@pinewoodschool.co.uk)

Nicholas Richards, Christ Church College (richards.n@cccs.org.uk)

Design Technology

Vacant

Drama

Stacie Bates, Walhampton School (s.bates@walhampton.com)

English

Charlotte Weatherley, Knighton House (charlotte.e.weatherley@gmail.com)

Geography

Ben Mono, Eagle House (ben.mono@eaglehouseschool.com)

History

Matthew Howorth, Twickenham Prep (mhoworth@twickenhamprep.co.uk)

ICT Mathematics

Mark Templeman, Brockhurst and Marlston House Schools (m.templeman@brockmarl.org) Matthew Reames (mreames@gmail.com)

Modern Foreign Languages

Richard Smith (tricks6543@gmail.com)

Music

Claire Tomsett, Wetherby Prep (claire.tomsett-rowe@wetherbyprep.co.uk)

Mark Penrose, Bilton Grange (msp@biltongrange.co.uk)

Pastoral Development & PSHCE

Jenny Burrett, Wishford Schools (jenburrett@gmail.com)

Physical Education & Games

Liz Durden-Myers (liz.myers@scholary.com)

Pre-prep

Sam Weeks, Stamford Junior School (slweeks@ses.lincs.sch.uk)

Andrew Gough, Bishop Wordsworth’s, Salisbury (awg@bws.wilts.sch.uk)

vetted. Our aim is always to make use of ho are also first-class presenters. bstantial discount on course fees. Science Luke Busfield, Ludgrove (emmaandluke154@btinternet.com) Senior management

Christopher Parsons, Norwich Lower School (cparsons@norwich-school.org.uk)

Special Needs/Learning Development Claire Thurlby, St Faith’s, Cambridge (cthurlby@stfaith’s.co.uk) Classroom Management

Mark Philpott, The Elms, Trent College (markypotts1@yahoo.co.uk)

PREP SCHOOL Reflecting the best in the prep & junior school world

Viewpoint In this issue, Dr Peter Kent, Headmaster of Lawrence Sheriff, Rugby, discusses mobile phones One of the first things I did when I became headteacher in 1999 was to ban all mobile phones. There were three factors behind my decision. Firstly, I felt that they were a distraction. I know that some see them as a wonderful tool for learning and I have to be honest and say that I do not agree. As a support to further study this may well be the case, but in the classroom it is such a complex entity that the temptation to become immersed in activities is always likely to arise. Secondly, I felt that they were a cause of disputes. I sometime wonder how many issues that the school deals with have their origins in the use of mobile phones. My suspicion is well over half of all pastoral problems can be traced back to them in some way. Thirdly, and most fundamentally, the primary focus of mobile phones is on a virtual world rather than the real one. Whilst virtual worlds all come with their own set of rules, the fundamental job of education is to help students understand, analyse and create in the world as it actually is. They always say make the tough decisions early on. Whilst I was not willing to compromise on issues such as vertical tutoring or changes to the curriculum, I was persuaded to modify my stance and to accept the compromise that phones could be brought in but should not be seen during the school day. I must admit that it is a compromise which I still regret. As always with compromises, over time boundaries have been pushed and I have been concerned that the clarity of that initial ruling is becoming blurred. It was interesting to note over the summer that I am not the only one with this concern. At the end of August BBC News reported a survey of parents in which over 50% thought that all schools should ban mobile phones. At the same time the Department for Education expressed strong support for any school that choose to ban mobile phones completely. At the start of the term, I reminded the school about our rules on mobile phones and told them about my original decision. I have been very clear in saying that if concerns remain by half-term then it is likely that we will revert to our original decision that mobile phones should not be brought into school. When I spoke to the school, I finished by discussing the positive alternatives to time spent on the phone. Reading a book or newspaper, taking part in sport, music, drama or debating. Above all else, time away from the phone is an opportunity to spend less time in the virtual world and more time in the real one, talking to real people and treating them with real concern.

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