Cygnus eNewsletter Edition 4

Cygnus Teaching Upcoming Events 2016 Date

Suitable For

Course Details

Thurs Middle or pastoral leaders 22nd Sept with responsibility for the whole school

'Brave Minds'; Making the Cultural Shift Happen: an evidence based programme committed to changing the way students and staff feel about themselves when they are asked to take a risk.

Fri Secondary Maths teachers 23rd Sept

Maths Hub’s Regional Conference, Holborn Bars, London (all day)

Wed Aspiring senior leaders or Launch of the ‘Bucks Internship Programme’; a project based programme whereby 28th Sept those wishing to apply for SLE interns complete a project in another school in order to develop their experience.

Thurs New and aspiring middle 29th Sept leaders in secondary sector

Building 'Brave Minds' in the Classroom: an evidence based programme committed to changing the way students feel about themselves when taking a risk.

Tues 4th Oct

All teachers and leaders

Outstanding Marking and Demonstrating Progress Over Time; providing a clear summary of the current context and offering practical ways to adapt current provision to maximise impact and student progress.

Thurs 6th Oct

New or aspiring senior leaders

Launch of the ‘Widening Leadership’ programme, offered in conjunction with the Institute of Education., which is designed to enhance your understanding of strategic leadership. This session covers ‘Entitled to lead: “It’s my role”.

Tues 11th Oct

New or aspiring middle leaders

Secondary Middle Leaders Introductory Session; part of a rolling programme during which experts host various sessions to give leadership training. Topics such as preparing for Ofsted, communication skills, use of data and transformation leadership skills are covered, plus Action Research.

Tues 11th Oct

All

Action Research Programme, to understand the benefits of effective school based Action Research and how it positively impacts the quality of teaching.

Wed 12th Oct

New teachers, returning ‘Getting Ready to Teach A Level Business Studies’ Twilight Session explaining teachers, new to teaching A exam board specifications, how to plan schemes of work, the importance of home Level, or second year teachers learning and methods of assessment; generally, how to advance your skills.

Tues 18th Oct

Anyone interested in teacher training

Train to Teach Event

Tues 8th Nov

Trainee teachers, NQTs or teachers in their first or second year of teaching

Maths Twilight Session ‘Challenging Negative Thinking in Mathematics’, providing an awareness of attitudes towards mathematics, how these arise and how to overcome them and promote mathematics positively.

Mon 14th Nov

New or aspiring middle leaders

Primary Middle Leaders Introductory Session; part of a rolling programme during which experts host sessions to give leadership training, plus Action Research.

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PIP Corner

Pedagogy In Practice…

In every edition, this section will publish a feature article which focuses on the latest pedagogical education research. Written by teachers, for teachers.

Extracurricular activities for all: An exploration of the barriers to female Pakistani Heritage students accessing extra-curricular provision in a secondary setting

By Vikki Jonsymth-Clarke This case study was entitled, Extracurricular activities for all: An exploration of the barriers to female Pakistani Heritage students accessing extra-curricular provision in a secondary setting. The importance of the extracurricular provision within a school establishment has long been highlighted, and there are multiple studies that explore the benefits of participation in young people. The apparent impact of extracurricular activities on both students’ well-being, attendance and learning within the school environment is well established, for example, the result of recent work by Martin et al (2013) and Fredricks (2011) showed that students who ‘participated in extracurricular activities has higher levels of achievement than their counterparts,’ (Martin et al, 2013:726) and both studies’ findings were ‘consistent with prior research showing the academic benefits of extracurricular participation in both high school and young adulthood’ (Fredricks, 2011:304). However, there are fewer examples of research in an English or national context, the most notable being Stuart, et al (2011:203), which focused on the ‘effects on students’ experiences, outcomes and future job prospects,’ after participating in extracurricular activities.

My interest in Pakistani Heritage students was based on my perception that students of this ethnic heritage did not participate in extracurricular activities as widely as their White British counterparts. The 2016 Annual Report on Education in England highlighted how, nationally, Pakistani Heritage students are lagging behind their White British counterparts academically. Although White British students’ achievement levels are lower than many of the ethnic communities represented in schools, Pakistani students are still behind them, with only 36% of Pakistani students scoring 50 points or higher in Attainment 8. With much of the literature on the subject highlighting a positive correlation between academic achievement and extracurricular participation, my study was focused on probing why Pakistani Heritage were not accessing the extensive activities on offer in the same way as their peers. In order to probe this perception an initial semi-structured, non-voluntary questionnaire was undertaken by all students within the setting, which highlighted that Pakistani Heritage students were one of the lowest participants in extracurricular activities. Upon exploring this further, some of the key themes that emerged were that students sometimes did not participate for cultural and religious reasons, students preferred to spend time socialising with friends or students were not aware of the positive impact of participation.

Completing this case study was invaluable to me as someone who is passionate about providing extracurricular opportunities, and ensuring access for all in this area is a personal goal of mine. Completing a Masters in Education has allowed me to explore different areas of my pedagogy and has challenged the way in which I approach my practice.

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Courses Corner

Cygnus Courses….

A brief reflection on some of the most popular courses delivered this term...

“Primary and Secondary Middle Leaders” The programme finished with a spectacular celebration evening on Tuesday 21st June. Delegates attended from both phases to present their Action Research findings. This was the culmination of a year of hard work and all the delegates did themselves proud. Their work was compiled into this year’s Action Research booklet which is published to all the participating schools. The course delegates also become published authors with their articles being tweeted out!

After the presentations the delegates stayed for a drinks reception, where they were given their completion certificates. Well done again to all the delegates on such a fantastic effort!

Testimonial from a Primary delegate: ‘The course has been great in allowing me to mix with others at the same stage in their career, sharing experiences all with expert guides giving us a deeper understanding and perspective. Having time and importance placed on evaluating our own practice has really helped me to develop as a teacher and leader.’

Secondary delegates: ‘The course has really helped me on aspects such as TDP, budget planning and also dealing with difficult people. It has given me the confidence to apply for more leadership roles and put myself forward for more challenging projects.’