Allowing individuals to set and work towards achieving their own professional learning agenda is vital in supporting the development of professional capital and allowing professional autonomy. No teacher can outperform the educational system that they work within.
The view of the team at Oriel High School in Crawley organising #EducatEd2016 is that for the benefit of the students in our schools today and tomorrow, we need to build a highly functioning and effective school-based system that empowers our teachers to be the best that they can be – hence the creation of #EducatEd.
Following a successful inaugural year, #EducatEd2016 (sponsored by SAM Learning) takes place on July 1 Oriel High School. The theme is: “Towards a sustainable self-improving school system”.
A key feature in a sustainable school system is a surplus model of education; one where everyone within the system is able to make a valued contribution. This is a cultural shift from the accountability-centred rhetoric that has pervaded education recently.
In any system, underperformance will exist, but supporting individuals to grow and develop is more likely to provide a solution to the recruitment crisis, than wielding the accountability stick. As such, the conference aims are to:
- Explore strategies that contribute towards becoming a self-improving school.
- Investigate and discuss issues that may affect the sustainability of schools now and in the future.
- Facilitate the opportunity for delegates to engage in collaborative and reflective professional learning, inspiring further practice development.
- Build a professional network that supports delegates to further engage in a developmental professional dialogue.
#EducatEd2016 offers 20-minute “EducatEd” talks and longer 45-minute workshops. Keynotes and workshops include:
- Dr Rebecca Allen, director of Education Datalab (on leave from her position as Reader in economics of education at the UCL Institute of Education), will explore how schools can “Use data to discover and share your school’s strengths”.
- Author and researcher, Professor Pete Dudley – director of education in Camden and also secretary of the World Association of Lesson Study – will deliver a series of sessions that explore lesson study as a model for sustainable professional learning.
- Dr Becky Taylor, a research practitioner in the Best Practice in Grouping Students Team at Kings College London, will be discussing early findings from her work with the Education Endowment Foundation about grouping strategies for students. How do you group students in your school? Is it evidence-informed practice?
Education as a social mobiliser is the utopian ideal, although the reality is tinged with the sadness that at current rates, “closing the gap” will take one quarter of a millennia.
The implementation of the Pupil Premium funding, alongside the Catch Up Premium funding is a welcome attempt to allocate some resource towards addressing the issue of inequality due to demographic background.
Perhaps one area that is still under-explored is the difference in size of the working vocabulary of a student from an economically disadvantaged background when compared with a student that isn’t economically disadvantaged.
At #EducatEd2016, Aaron Leary from Bedrock Learning will be discussing why “Vocabulary matters” along with “How to teach vocabulary effectively”.
Oriel’s deputy headteacher Helen Everitt and school business manager Ryan Sallows will also be providing an update about their successful work around the use of the Pupil Premium funding.
Supporting the professional learning of staff is the key to effecting lasting school improvement. The Teacher Development Trust Network will be at the event exploring “Leading effective CPD” and “Evaluating the impact of CPD”.
Keven Bartle, headteacher of Canons High School in Harrow, meanwhile, will be delivering a session entitled “The Myth of a Self-Improving School System: Cultivating an ecological approach to school interdependence”. The idea that no one single teacher or organisation can be successful in isolation is a central theme to the session.
A shift towards a more collaborative, professional learning-centred approach to school improvement is essential if we are to move towards a sustainable self-improving school system. The focus on developing the teaching, without judging the teacher, must be an underpinning value.
Should you wish to join us on July 1 you would be very welcome!
- Tim Matthews is deputy headteacher of Oriel High School in Crawley.
Further information
Attendance at #EducatEd2016 costs £35. Further information is available from www.educated
cpd.com. The event is being held on Friday, July 1, at Oriel High School in West Sussex. For details, contact Tim Matthews via tmatthews7@oriel.w-sussex.sch.uk. Regular updates are available via the hashtag #EducatEd2016 on Twitter or by following @educatedcpd