Edition 5 eNewsletter

2016-2017

eNewsletter 5 12 September 2016 CREATING EXCELLENCE IN SCHOOLS

Welcome to the September 2016 edition of the Cygnus eNewsletter I hope that you have all had a relaxing summer and a great start to the new term. Over the summer Karen Lloyd moved on to a new post, we thank her for all the work she put in to making the Teaching School such a success last year. I have been appointed as Teaching School Manager and will be working with Elizabeth Mansir who is the Director of Professional Learning at Wycombe High School to ensure that the Cygnus Teaching School Alliance provides the highest quality courses to meet your CPD needs. I hope that we can continue to build on the strong working relationships that Karen made.

We have a busy Autumn term scheduled, this newsletter aims to give you a taste of what we have on offer, you will find the Autumn Term course programme at the end. Please note that a number of our courses offer Masters Level credits. I look forward to having an opportunity in the near future to meet with some of you and will be delighted to discuss your training requirements. We hope to welcome you to one of our courses soon.

Sarah Yarwood

Secondary Teacher Subject Specialism Training (Mathematics) To help address the shortage of specialist teacher in Mathematics, the NCTL has funded a course of twelve, two hour sessions, (ten of which will be twilight) which will provide high quality blended professional development to those non-specialists currently teaching or planning to teach maths in secondary schools. The TSST maths course is a track proven, innovative blended learning approach to developing the confidence and pedagogy needed to teach maths topics up to and including higher tier GCSE. The TSST (Mathematics) is delivered in partnership with Oxford Brookes University, the Bucks, Berks and Oxon Maths Hub and Cygnus Teaching School Alliance. The course will be led by Jude Stratton, Associate Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University, who has trained many of our local maths teachers and is a very popular course leader for Maths Hub programmes. Up to 40 masters credits are available for those who complete the course.

We are the only school in Buckinghamshire to run this course and are delighted to offer 20 secondary TSST places, FREE OF CHARGE, to teachers in our region. The programme will be formally launched on Thursday 15 th September, for further details or to book a place, please contact: mathscourses@whs.bucks.sch.uk

Widening Leadership — Training for Senior Leaders “The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one who gets people to do the greatest things.” Ronald Reagan If you’re a new leader in a senior leadership role or an experienced middle leader, the Institute of Education Widening Leadership course will give you an opportunity to explore what makes a great leader and how you can reflect this in your own practice.

The aim of the course is to help you: 

To lead yourself, your team and beyond your team



Clarify your communication style and strengths



Understand the use of motivation as a leadership tool

Visit our website at http://cygnustsa.co.uk/ Follow us on Twitter @Cygnustsa Cygnus Teaching School Manager - Sarah Yarwood at SYarwood@whs.bucks.sch.uk Teaching School Administrator - Rachel Cross at cygnustsa@whs.bucks.sch.uk

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

Advance your skills in leading and influencing others



Intensify your impact on learning and teaching practices



Deal with contentious issues and whole school initiatives

Widening Leadership is a professional leadership development programme for senior leaders and is run by the Institute of Education (UCL) in partnership with Cygnus Teaching School. This programme will require attendance at 3 face to face sessions, the completion of intersessional tasks and attendance at a final learning conversation and celebration session. During the course, leaders will carry out Action Research which will involve working across the school or within another team. There is an option to use this programme to gain 30 masters level credits towards a Masters Degree. For further details, please contact Sarah Yarwood: SYarwood@whs.bucks.sch.uk

Middle Leaders Course – Primary and Secondary The Middle Leaders course is aimed at new or aspiring middle leaders who are ambitious for their own career progression and is suitable for both teaching and non-teaching staff. Sessions are on a wide range of topics linked to the role of middle leader.

The courses aim to help you to: 

To understand the key attributes and responsibilities of a leader



To understand why middle leadership is so crucial



To recognise the different styles of leadership and when these are best utilised



To understand how leadership can make a difference and put this into practice



To develop personalised action plans for effective leadership



To undertake action research to further understand leadership in practice

The course comprises of eight sessions led by senior leaders and other professionals linked to Wycombe High School. The course content is both informative and highly practical, aiming to give crucial leadership training to both teaching and nonteaching staff who are in a leadership role in a school context. Over the course of the year, all participants on our Middle Leader Course are expected to complete an Action Research Project, under the supervision and support of staff who lead the Masters in Education programme at Wycombe High School. It is expected that completing an Action Research Project will dovetail perfectly alongside the Middle Leader Course to support participants in further understanding leadership in practice.

The project can also be used to gain credits towards an MA Education with a partner university. (N.B. Any delegate wishing to gain this credit will have to pay the associated university costs.) Please visit our website for further details: http://cygnustsa.co.uk

Testimonials from the 2015-2016 Middle Leaders Course Primary delegate: ‘The course has been great in allowing me to mix with others at the same stage in their career and 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 delegate: ‘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.’

Visit our website at http://cygnustsa.co.uk/ Follow us on Twitter @Cygnustsa Cygnus Teaching School Manager - Sarah Yarwood at SYarwood@whs.bucks.sch.uk Teaching School Administrator - Rachel Cross at cygnustsa@whs.bucks.sch.uk

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Launch of the 2016-2017 Internship Programme – 28th September 2016 Wycombe High School is now in its fourth year of offering The Internship Programme to secondary schools across Buckinghamshire. Its aims are twofold: to give aspiring middle and senior leaders the opportunity to gain further experience in another school and to give host schools the opportunity to benefit from the intern’s knowledge or skills whilst working on a project in their school.

The programme is aimed at excellent practitioners who are ambitious for their own career progression. It involves the intern reviewing the agreed area / theme via lesson observations, student panels, work scrutiny, meetings with key staff and data analysis. The findings and consequential action plan are written up and presented to the host school’s senior team and, often, governors. We will be launching this year’s programme with an event for CPD leads to be held at Wycombe High School on Wednesday 28th September, from 4.14- 5.15pm and will be delighted welcome you there. To book your place please email: cygnustsa@whs.bucks.sch.org

School Direct Training Our School Direct Initial Teacher Training has grown significantly this year and we will have more than 100 places on offer in over 20 Primary and Secondary Schools across our Alliance. There are salaried and non-salaried places across a range of subjects and include a few primary places. If you have not applied to have a trainee with us but would like to get involved, please do get in touch and there may be an opportunity, if not as the main placement but as a second placement, for which you would be paid. For further information about how you can be involved in Initial Teacher Training please contact our Director of Professional Learning Elizabeth Mansir: emansir@whs.bucks.sch.uk or our School Direct Administrator, Victoria PlunketCheckemian: vplunket-checkemian@whs.bucks.sch.uk

Specialist Leader in Education In the Summer term, we were delighted to recruit and train 3 new SLEs. We now have SLEs in Leadership, Maths, English, Geography, History and MFL. If you are interested in commissioning the services of a Specialist Leader in Education to for example run a subject or thematic review, or to mentor a member of staff, please contact Sarah Yarwood: SYarwood@whs.bucks.sch.uk

Bucks Berks and Oxon Maths Hub Wycombe High School is home to the BBO Maths Hub. The Maths Hubs programme brings together mathematics education professionals in a collaborative national network of 35 hubs, each locally led by an outstanding school or college. Maths Hubs harness all maths leadership and expertise within an area, to develop and spread excellent practice, for the benefit of all pupils and students. There are many funded opportunities for schools so please make sure your school is signed up to receive our regular newsletter which promotes all the activities and events your maths department can be involved in – most of what we offer is free! Please register by email to mathscourses@whs.bucks.sch.uk

Visit our website at http://cygnustsa.co.uk/ Follow us on Twitter @Cygnustsa Cygnus Teaching School Manager - Sarah Yarwood at SYarwood@whs.bucks.sch.uk Teaching School Administrator - Rachel Cross at cygnustsa@whs.bucks.sch.uk

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Cygnus Teaching Upcoming Events 2016 Date

Suitable For

Course Details

Thurs Teacher Subject Specialism 15th Sept Training (Mathematics)

The launch event for the FREE (TSST) Mathematics course. Suitable for non specialists currently or planning to teach maths at KS3.

Wed

Middle or pastoral leaders with responsibility for the 21st Sept 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”.

Mon 10th 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, plus Action Research.

Tues 11th Oct

Non-specialists teaching KS3 Mathematics

Teacher Subject Specialism Training (Mathematics); a free professional development programme for non-specialists currently or planning to teach Maths in secondary schools.

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 Negativity Towards Mathematics’, providing an awareness of attitudes towards mathematics, how these arise and how to overcome them and promote mathematics positively.

Mon New or aspiring middle 14th Nov leaders

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

Visit our website at http://cygnustsa.co.uk/ Follow us on Twitter @Cygnustsa Cygnus Teaching School Manager - Sarah Yarwood at SYarwood@whs.bucks.sch.uk Teaching School Administrator - Rachel Cross at cygnustsa@whs.bucks.sch.uk