So hot in the news the last week was Michael Gove's proposal to extend the school day, as though that will sort out under achievement of every kind! I agree with the views of many, many other educational bloggers, whose opinions I have been interested in finding out.... get the time in school right; put outstanding teachers in front of the kids, embed robust systems to manage behaviour, make learning fun, invest in parental engagement and support and there really, really, really should be no need, surely?? Parents views would be interesting to hear on this one.
I too am a parent and from that perspective, I would oppose the extended day partially for the very same reasons. Also, I want my children to have time to pursue other interests and (heaven forbid) have some time to relax and reflect on their day! Childhood is precious and although we all want the best for our kids (including the receipt of strong academic standards), I think it is important to make the most of the time we have with our children outside of school hours; family values may suffer as a result.
Sunday 28 April 2013
Tuesday 23 April 2013
A bit about how we improve our teaching...and what this means for the children.
Iris Connect- Cutting edge evaluation technique
My vision statement is "Success is in the journey, not the destination; we are ALL learners".
This year, we have implemented the use of an evaluation tool called IRIS to allow teachers to reflect on their practice and make improvements where necessary. Iris is the creation of a company called IRIS Connect, who describe the tool as an "innovative and powerful system for school improvement. By fusing a mobile system, data collection tools and a secure web community, IRIS Connect provides a practice based, effective professional development system for your school".
In a nutshell, teachers are able to film their lessons using a secure encrypted account, which can only be accessed by other members of staff if they are "invited" via the system. They can then analyse their lessons, picking out areas of strength, areas for development and direct their own self improvement. As a school, we are striving to create a learning community, where teachers and staff recognise the importance of learning, growing and improving just as much as the children. I am working hard to embed a culture of honesty and reflection amongst the teaching staff, which gives everyone the opportunity and confidence to share what they do best as a way of improving and exploring alternative teaching methods. I have already been in two classrooms this week where teachers have been filming their lessons, ready to share an approach to teaching literacy,which has evolved. Myself and the teachers now feel that there is an improved and highly effective model that can be shared across school via the video clips.
I will be brave enough to say that there are times when approaches ornew ideas may not always be the greatest but the key factor for improvement in my opinion, is teachers knowing it wasn't great, why it wasn't great and what will be done in order to make improvements and impact positively on learning. I am a great supporter of Sir Ken Robinson's message that “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with something original”. This is a message I give to staff and it is certainly a message that translates to children in class. I think it is important that we as the teachers can model reflective practice; show children that we may not always be right but strive to be the best we can be and continuously work together as a learning community to maximise our chances of success. Children perform best when they can take some ownership over their learning and improvement.They produce the most innovative and original outcomes when they are given the freedom to explore, make mistakes, find out for themselves, self evaluate, collaborate, share and enjoy!
At Robin Hood, our curriculum has evolved so that children are now taught how to be reflective learners and lead and direct their own learning. The skills involved in this approach will prepare them for life beyond primary school. Simply imparting knowledge is not sufficient to prepare children for life in our ever changing and rapidly growing world. To maximise the chances of success later in life, our children need to be exposed to a curriculum which prepares them for life in the 21st Century. It is a challenge to ensure that this happens but I feel more confident than ever, that the children of Robin Hood recieve an education which promotes skills for success in the future.
My vision statement is "Success is in the journey, not the destination; we are ALL learners".
This year, we have implemented the use of an evaluation tool called IRIS to allow teachers to reflect on their practice and make improvements where necessary. Iris is the creation of a company called IRIS Connect, who describe the tool as an "innovative and powerful system for school improvement. By fusing a mobile system, data collection tools and a secure web community, IRIS Connect provides a practice based, effective professional development system for your school".
In a nutshell, teachers are able to film their lessons using a secure encrypted account, which can only be accessed by other members of staff if they are "invited" via the system. They can then analyse their lessons, picking out areas of strength, areas for development and direct their own self improvement. As a school, we are striving to create a learning community, where teachers and staff recognise the importance of learning, growing and improving just as much as the children. I am working hard to embed a culture of honesty and reflection amongst the teaching staff, which gives everyone the opportunity and confidence to share what they do best as a way of improving and exploring alternative teaching methods. I have already been in two classrooms this week where teachers have been filming their lessons, ready to share an approach to teaching literacy,which has evolved. Myself and the teachers now feel that there is an improved and highly effective model that can be shared across school via the video clips.
I will be brave enough to say that there are times when approaches ornew ideas may not always be the greatest but the key factor for improvement in my opinion, is teachers knowing it wasn't great, why it wasn't great and what will be done in order to make improvements and impact positively on learning. I am a great supporter of Sir Ken Robinson's message that “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with something original”. This is a message I give to staff and it is certainly a message that translates to children in class. I think it is important that we as the teachers can model reflective practice; show children that we may not always be right but strive to be the best we can be and continuously work together as a learning community to maximise our chances of success. Children perform best when they can take some ownership over their learning and improvement.They produce the most innovative and original outcomes when they are given the freedom to explore, make mistakes, find out for themselves, self evaluate, collaborate, share and enjoy!
At Robin Hood, our curriculum has evolved so that children are now taught how to be reflective learners and lead and direct their own learning. The skills involved in this approach will prepare them for life beyond primary school. Simply imparting knowledge is not sufficient to prepare children for life in our ever changing and rapidly growing world. To maximise the chances of success later in life, our children need to be exposed to a curriculum which prepares them for life in the 21st Century. It is a challenge to ensure that this happens but I feel more confident than ever, that the children of Robin Hood recieve an education which promotes skills for success in the future.
Thursday 18 April 2013
HOME LEARNING AT RH
I am so, so, so impressed with the home learning which has come in this week. I must give a special mention to our Year 6s who were given an optional project to carry out as they were required to complete some prep for their up and coming Sats. Not only did most of them create a Space themed outcome but the quality was phemonenal.
Here are some outcomes from Mrs Brook's class:
These outcomes extend beyond being "just an information poster". They are sheer works of art.
I think the quality of home learning has increased hugely over recent years. I put this down to a number of factors. School continually reviews the curriculum to ensure that the topics we study with the children are highly interesting and highly relevant. Of course we have have to fulfill our statutory requirements but the way we deliver our topics has really transformed in the last 2 years. There is a much larger emphasis on outcomes for a purpose (e.g performances, in house school museums, carnivals, charities etc...) adding meaning and a reason to succeed to the learning process. The children know that what they produce will be valued and will give them a great insight into the topic they are about to learn.
It makes me really proud of the children to see the level of commitment they give to thinking outside of the box and that healthy competetive streak that they show in striving to create something that will stand out of the crowd.
Phenomenal ideas, expertly constructed, lovingly prepared...........Inspirational!
Here are some outcomes from Mrs Brook's class:
These outcomes extend beyond being "just an information poster". They are sheer works of art.
I think the quality of home learning has increased hugely over recent years. I put this down to a number of factors. School continually reviews the curriculum to ensure that the topics we study with the children are highly interesting and highly relevant. Of course we have have to fulfill our statutory requirements but the way we deliver our topics has really transformed in the last 2 years. There is a much larger emphasis on outcomes for a purpose (e.g performances, in house school museums, carnivals, charities etc...) adding meaning and a reason to succeed to the learning process. The children know that what they produce will be valued and will give them a great insight into the topic they are about to learn.
It makes me really proud of the children to see the level of commitment they give to thinking outside of the box and that healthy competetive streak that they show in striving to create something that will stand out of the crowd.
So many children choose to create 3D, interactive pieces with incredible attention to detail.
Phenomenal ideas, expertly constructed, lovingly prepared...........Inspirational!
Tuesday 16 April 2013
I would like to start my blog by sharing a few interesting images that I have captured, whilst on my wanders around school.
An apt one to start with I thought is my shot of the school logo. I was so happy the day the previous Headteacher decided to ditch the rather old fashioned (actual) Robin Hood (himself) logo and it with this contemporary design, which represents us as a school so much better. I have set up four house teams this year. (Seemingly unimaginatively) named Yellow, Blue, Red and Green, they have in fact been named after the colours seen on the emblem and each class has a display which allows children to write their house points onto the colours themselves.
Our messages of encouragement adorn the walls in school and I found it interesting to "home in" close up on certain very small sections which exemplify in words exactly what I aim to achieve....
The robot models have been hanging from the ceiling in the mall for a number of years now and have in more recent times been joined by some bright Koinibori Japanese fishes. Our innovative approach to display is what sets our environment apart from other schools. We think outside of the box and maximise the impact of our large scale and collaborative outcomes....
An apt one to start with I thought is my shot of the school logo. I was so happy the day the previous Headteacher decided to ditch the rather old fashioned (actual) Robin Hood (himself) logo and it with this contemporary design, which represents us as a school so much better. I have set up four house teams this year. (Seemingly unimaginatively) named Yellow, Blue, Red and Green, they have in fact been named after the colours seen on the emblem and each class has a display which allows children to write their house points onto the colours themselves.
Our messages of encouragement adorn the walls in school and I found it interesting to "home in" close up on certain very small sections which exemplify in words exactly what I aim to achieve....
The robot models have been hanging from the ceiling in the mall for a number of years now and have in more recent times been joined by some bright Koinibori Japanese fishes. Our innovative approach to display is what sets our environment apart from other schools. We think outside of the box and maximise the impact of our large scale and collaborative outcomes....
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