Education News

Effective Leadership, Raising Morale

The Effective Leadership and Pupil Outcomes Project from the DSCF has reported that managers in improving schools are particularly good at motivating colleagues and maintaining their enthusiasm over a long period of time.  However many managers have had little training in motivational techniques.

This report fits in with a report that came out a couple of years back in which it was argued that teacher motivation was one of the simplest ways of obtaining a high level of departmental  improvement without it costing anything.

The argument is simple: in most organisations, motivating the staff is a central part of the work of the senior management.  No matter how professional ones colleagues are thought or expected to be, it is realised that they are also human – and all humans can have ups and downs.  We all like to be told we are doing well, we like hear about how our work is contributing to the overall well-being of the organisation, and when we are asked to take on new work, we like to be thanked.

In many ways the application of this to schooling is obvious.  When the choice is between the highly motivated individual with the personal drive to make a difference, or the teacher who lacks that drive and for whom teaching is what happens between holidays, there is only one answer.  We want the motivated teacher.

And yet we all of us observe the teacher whose level of motivation declines.

Teacher Motivation: the low-cost high gain approach to school improvement is a report which has been used in hundreds of schools across the UK as the model for improving motivation among teachers. 

It is provided both as a CD (which can be loaded onto the virtual learning environment) and as a photocopiable book, so that individual sections can be copied and handed to colleagues, who then return for a short in-school seminar on the particular topic being reviewed.

A sample of the book is available on line at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/education/T1573.pdf

Prices

Photocopiable report in a ring binder, £49.95 plus £3.95 delivery

CD with school-wide rights: £49.95 plus £3.95 delivery

Both the Ring Binder and the CD £56.94 plus £3.95 delivery

Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report…

By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Way, Corby, NN17 4HH

By fax to 01536 399 012

On line with a credit card at http://tinyurl.com/lxcq8b

By phone with a school order number or a credit card to 01536 399 011

When ordering the book please quote the reference T1573EMN

 

If your school has undertaken an unusual event, achieved something remarkable, or done anything that you deem to be newsworthy, you can submit the story for inclusion in UK Education News.

UK Education News was launched last term and is now being read by a growing number of parents and those looking for a school for their children.  Last term we got about 5000 stories read on the site each day, and we are expecting this to rise.

What’s more, the story will remain on our web site, so this is not just a short term piece of publicity.  Every time someone searches on the internet for a school in your area and uses any of the words contained in your article, that story will come up and you have a further chance of being read.

To submit a story – and I reiterate everything about this service is free – just follow this route…

1.  Please do take a look at www.UkEducationNews.co.uk and click on one or two stories so that you can see how the system works.  At the moment you won’t find many stories submitted by schools because this is the first announcement of the free offer, but we are hoping to run two or three a day from now on.

2.  Write out your story as a press release in Word.  You can have a link to your school web site in the piece, but you must write this link out in full in the text (don’t embed it within the text).   There is no limit to the length, but you cannot include pictures – only text.

3.  Don’t forget to give us a headline as this is what will appear on www.UkEducationNews.co.uk  

4.  Send the announcement to tony@hamilton-house.com as an attached Word file.  On the subject line please write School News.  The article will appear within a couple of days.  We can’t send you a notification of when it appears, but stories stay on the site for two or three days normally.   The story will also appear on www.schoolsare.us where it will stay permanently.

5. All we ask in return is that you arrange to have a link on your web site or learning platform to www.UKEducationNews.co.uk   Many schools have done this already and they are finding it highly valued by teachers, parents, governors, administrators and managers as a continually evolving source of news.  Indeed many parents who have previously never visited the school web site now do so each day, in order to link into UK Education News.

If you have any questions about the service, please email Tony@hamilton-house.com and write UEN Question in the subject line.  Alternatively you can phone 01536 399 013 or write to Hamilton House Mailings Ltd., Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Rd., Corby, Northants NN17 4HH.  You can submit stories to the same address.

Tony Attwood

Interactive, online and FREE – Introducing The Mini Maestro.

Imagine a situation in which your pupils demand to do more music theory lessons.  This may seem unlikely, but it is very possible.

For many students, the theory is one of the least attractive areas of the music curriculum.  It often has to be taught in an ad-hoc fashion, enabling students to scramble through a project without necessarily understanding the meaning of all those notes and symbols.

The Mighty Maestro opens up these abstract concepts for all.  Using a variety of interactive techniques, the activities break down the basics of music theory into bite-size pieces, keeping your pupils motivated and excited about progressing.

The Mini Maestro offers a taste of the full program completely free of charge.  Simply visit the webpage below and have a go.  No downloads.  No payment.  No fuss.

Click on http://www.orbeducation.co.uk/Maestro/Mini.asp?e=hh1 to try the Free Mini Maestro now

If you like the activities, then you may also download and evaluate The Mighty Maestro.

Please email me if you have any questions or need more information.

Yours Sincerely

Dan Collingbourne
dc@orbeducation.co.uk

Throughout recent speeches the government has repeatedly mentioned that efficiency has to be the new watchword in education.

And while the budget for 2010/11 remains at the level that was set three years ago, there is a clear suggestion from the schools’ minister that schools must work to make themselves more efficient.

For many school managers the question asked is, how does one do this.  How does one make a school more efficient?

The government has come up with one idea (echoing the report by the Audit Commission last summer): we should all try to cut our power bills.   Which is fine, but after that – what next?

I believe there is a solution to this issue, but it involves asking another question first, and that question is…

Who should head the efficiency team?

Evidence thus far suggests that schools in which a group of teachers are pulled together to chip in with ideas on efficiency tend not to be very productive when it comes to an end result. 

They might have ideas, but generally speaking they don’t lead to the sort of efficiencies that the secretary of state is looking for.

This is not to suggest teachers don’t have the ability to make efficiency savings, but rather to suggest that they don’t have the background and daily experience that allows them to see efficiency possibilities.

Instead once can look at the school office as a source of inspiration in this matter.  The school office has to liaise with all parts of the school.  The school office has a wide range of options as to how it organises itself.   It also deals with school finances.

To help members of the school office team begin to think themselves into this approach the School of Education Administration offers the Certificate in Educational Administration which is recognised by QCA. 

The course is taught through distance-learning so no time need be taken off work.  It lasts a year – but there is also a shorter course on Work Management and Administration, which lasts two months.

The next date for applications for the next intake on to the QCA validated, one year distance learning course is 1 February, closing date for applications 22 January.

The next intake for this two-month distance learning course (which is one module of the full National Certificate course) starts on 22 February 2010 – closing date for applications is 12 February.

An online prospectus is available at http://www.admin.org.uk/Prospectus.pdf

To request a printed prospectus please send an email to samanthabates@hamilton-house.com or phone 01536 399 007.

For more information on the one year certificate course please visit http://www.admin.org.uk/certificate%20course.html

For more information on the two month Work Management course please visit http://www.admin.org.uk/shortcourse.html

One of the many ways that teachers and administrators can use to improve efficiency is by having access to a directory of school resources.

This is what has been produced on the School Procurement Site at www.top5.org.uk

The site is divided into  nearly 100 sections, from Administration, Art, Assemblies, Asset Management and Audiovisual through to Travel, Trips, Welfare, Windows, Work Experience and Yearbooks.

Access is of course open to everyone, and many of the entries have been nominated by teachers and administrators.

If you know of any site that supplies free information or materials to teachers, and we don’t have the site listed, please get in touch via the “contact us” box on the site.

Helping young people make healthy choices in the 21^st century: a free report

It seems to me that in the modern world we face two battles in helping teenagers make healthy choices.  One is the natural disinclination of youngsters to do anything that those older than themselves say.  And the other is the overwhelming pressure from the mass media and commercialisation of childhood that pushes the students and their families towards unhealthy options.

So how do we help young people make healthy choices in these circumstances?

One clear answer is to focus on the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning because of the positive links these skills have to learning and achievement.In short, a student who doesn’t manage his/her emotions well and struggles to face challenges is likely to be a distraction to everyone’s learning and achievement.

Thousands of hours are spent every month managing the emotions of teenagers and helping them to lock into learning. The big question is, how can we help them to manage their emotions better and so reduce the amount of time we have to spend dealing with the consequences of their emotions?

This was one of the many questions which led to the development of a PSHE programme that I have mentioned before called SUMO4Schools. It gives students the tools to stop and reflect on their current ways of managing and gives them tools to manage their emotions and learning in a more effective way.But there is more – and this is what I had not picked up on before. 

Although it is intended to help the students manage their own lives better, a vital side-effect comes with the fact that the course makes the lives of their teachers much better as well.

I was prompted to revisit Sumo particularly because of a new report they have issued on the impact on society and low aspirations called ‘How society and family impact aspirations and achievement’ which is available free of charge and without obligation from secondary@sumo4schools.co.uk (which is also the address for general enquiries about SUMO).If you have any questions you can call SUMO on 07590055336, and if you would like to find out more about SUMO and how you could use it in your PSHE or SEAL lessons please click here http://www.sumo4schools.co.uk/s4s_sec_benprog.php

Or for information on the project in general there is more on www.sumo4schools.co.uk

Tony Attwood

We have been waiting and waiting and now we know.

There are no school funding cuts coming up.

First there was the worry that desepite having awarded funding for 2010/11 back in November 2007 in the three year plan, this government funding pledge would be broken.  But no.  The school funding for 2010/11 is what it was expected to be. 

Put another way, all the way up to April 2011 schools will be getting exactly what they would have got had there been no recession.

Given that we might have thought that what was to follow would be a disaster area.  But not a bit of it. 

Here’s what the Guardian says about the funding after the next financial year in a story which appeared on www.UKEducationNews.co.uk

“Schools will get modest real-terms increases in their budgets.”  

Schools will get 0.7% real-terms increase between 2011 and 2013, while funding for 16- to 19-year-olds in sixth forms and colleges will get a 0.9% increase in the same period.

The organisations most likely to see a cut are in the FE and HE sectors.

On pay the Guardian says, “Teachers face a 1% cap on their pay rises for two years from 2011. It means the 2.4% pay rise promised for 2011 will go ahead, but teachers, heads, classroom assistants as well as everyone working across the public sector will have their pay restrained beyond that.”

The Department for Children, Schools and Families will have to make savings of £350m from their central budgets and quangos before 2013. 

This all puts the issue of efficiencies in context.  Schools are being encouraged to make efficiency savings but that is not being balanced against cuts.  If the schools make savings through efficiency then that is to their benefit.  If they don’t then that’s their problem.

All in all this is much better news than many feared, and indeed should herald a resumption of regular spending from schools both in the rest of this financial year, and through the next financial year.  Schools now know exactly how much they have, and can plan how to spend it.

Tony Attwood

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From: School Trip Advisor News: http://www.schooltripadvisor.com/news

A popular school trip residential centre is facing an uncertain future.

The Hornsea Outdoor Residential Centre has been owned by Wakefield Council since

1938 and has been used by local schools for residential trips for many years.

But the council’s Lifelong Learning Overview and Scrutiny Committee have been asked to look at what should be done with the seaside centre amid fears that it is no longer providing value for money.

 A report to the committee says: “The centre has to be viable and provide value for money for schools, families and the local authority, and increasingly has to be fit for purpose in a modern setting.

“Although the centre is well utilised by local schools, it is also suggested that there are a significant number of schools in the district that do not use it.

“This along with a difficult economic climate and current financial pressures adds weight to the speculation around the centre’s future viability.”

Youngsters visiting the centre have taken part in activities including hiking and star-gazing.

Members of the committee have been to the centre to see what it has to offer.

Coun Monica Graham, committe chairman, said: “During our visit to Hornsea we were told that many schools value the centre and the facilities it provides. However, the centre has to be viable and provide value for money.”

She added that educational visits are “among the most memorable experiences in a child’s school life” and said the committee is keen that schools take advantage of the opportunities that learning outside the classroom provides.

At next week’s meeting, the committee will be considering options for the future use of the Hornsea Centre and making recommendations to the council’s cabinet.

Published Date: December 2009

By Stuart Robinson – The Yorkshire Evening Post

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Wakefield-Future-of-school-trip.5885905.jp

Book review

Ultimately the answer has to be the taking of past papers – initially working with students on individual questions and then later asking the students to take an entire paper on their own.

But the big problem that arises here is that there are very few past papers available which follow the new specifications.  If you use one paper working through the questions with the students, and then a second in which they undertake the questions themselves for homework one by one, that leaves little left for them to work through as a complete trial paper.

To help overcome this problem APT has produced a pack of five question papers, mark schemes and answers for the Unit 3: Strategies for Success.   We believe this is particularly helpful to have in this first year of Unit 3 being offered so that everyone can become familiar with the questions and approaches that are adopted in the examinations.

(Details of our other AS/A2 Level Business Studies materials for AQA and other boards can be found via the link at the end of this page).

AQA A2 Business Studies Unit 3 Strategies for Success – Qualified Questions: Five Practice Examination Papers, Mark Schemes and Answers.

Prices

Download: £60.00 plus VAT
CD: £61.50 plus VAT
Prices include delivery
You can purchase these Qualified Questions for Strategies for Success…

By post to APT Initiatives Ltd, Millstone Lodge, Eaton Upon Tern, Market Drayton, Shropshire, TF9 2BX
By phone with a school order number to 01952 540877
By fax to 01952 540877
On line with a debit/credit card or by paypal at http://tiny.cc/mnCVK
For details of other products please visit http://tinyurl.com/yg7pdx6

YOUTALK, an interactive website aimed at encouraging sixth form students to learn more about international affairs, has been launched by educational foundation The European Atlantic Organisation   (TEAM).

Through www.YOUTALK.ORG.UK sixth formers and their teachers can engage in active discussion and evaluation of world and national events.  This will help prepare them for informed and active citizenship.

The website features live news feeds and blog posts on the global issues of the day and includes a weekly quiz, polls, video clips and competitions.

Chairman of TEAM, former head teacher, Laurence Smy says school leavers often have little understanding of current issues, which get little attention in the curriculum. “This lack of understanding and inability to make a proper contribution to debates on national and international themes can lead to frustration, alienation from the political process, and a belief that only violence can change policies and attitudes.”

ABOUT TEAM:

TEAM is an independent, non partisan charity committed to making a difference. It helps school students (Years 12 and 13) and their teachers increase their knowledge of world affairs and the institutions of international co-operation. Founded 50 years ago to promote understanding of European and Atlantic matter, it has no political affiliations, is non sectarian and non partisan.

TEAM organises conferences for sixth form students on national and international themes at universities and schools. The charity offers its services free to universities and schools and speakers at its conferences who include prominent academics, diplomats, representatives of the Media, NGOs and international organisations give their time and expertise without charge.

TEAM also organises international study tours for university and school teachers to Brussels, New York and Washington DC and awards participating teachers generous bursaries to defray the cost.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Laurence Smy, TEAM Chairman,

email. info@youtalk.org.uk or call 07884351752.