ECO Friendly Design

“A Hub on the Hill”

This was the vision for the site overlooking Plymouth Sound, articulated by the then Principal Helen Mathieson when we first met in December 2011.

The school is sited in an area which falls in the lowest quartile of overall deprivation in England. The investment in Marine Academy Plymouth (MAP) is therefore an important catalyst for the regeneration of the local area, and this is a key part of the school’s vision. Historically, the St. Budeaux area of the city has not been well served by new education establishments. In response to this, the academy aims to meet the challenge of multi-generational worklessness in its local community by creating a through-age learning hub to provide a focus and a vehicle for change.

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      string(5630) "Leadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.SCHOOL FUNDING PRESSURES IN ENGLANDKeywordsSchool funding,pressures,local authority,maintainedschools,balances, cashflow, deficit,financialstrugglesSummaryThis new report by the Education Policy Institute examines the latest trends in local authoritymaintained school balances, and assesses whether all schools will be able to meet costpressures over the next two years, following recent government funding reforms.It shows that the number of state secondary schools falling into deficit in England has almost trebledin the last four years to more than a quarter.The EPI report focuses on local authority schools because the data is publicly available. It excludesacademies, which account for about 60% of secondaries and 20% of primaries in England.The research adds to growing evidence of the financial struggles faced by a significant minority ofschools. The report also found two-thirds of council schools spent more than their income in 2016-17,while 40% have had balances in decline for at least two years in a row.Key Findings: ■ The number of local authority maintained secondary schools in deficit reduced from 14.3 per centin 2010-11 to 8.8 per cent in 2013-14. Strikingly, however, over the period of four years up until2016-17, the proportion of local authority secondary schools in deficit nearly trebled, expandingto over a quarter of all such schools – or 26.1 per cent. The average local authority maintainedsecondary school deficit rose over this 7 year period, from £292,822 in 2010-11 to £374,990 in2016-17. ■ The number of local authority maintained primary schools in deficit has also risen. In 2010-11, 5.2per cent of local authority primary schools were in deficit – this reduced in the following year to3.7 per cent, before staying at a level of around 4 per cent until 2015-16. However, in 2016-17,the proportion of primary schools in deficit increased significantly, to 7.1 per cent. The averageprimary school deficit also noticeably increased, from £72,042 in 2010-11, to £107,962 in 2016-17. ■ At a regional level, the South West had the highest percentage of local authority maintainedsecondaries in deficit over this period – with 22.1 per cent of schools in deficit in 2010-11, risingconsiderably to over a third of schools (34.9 per cent) in 2016-17. The East had the lowest – with7.5 per cent of local authority maintained secondary schools in deficit in 2010-11, rising to 17.5per cent in 2016-17. ■ The North East had the highest number of local authority maintained primary schools in deficit inWeek Commencing 26th March 2018https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Schools-funding-pressures_EPI.pdfLeadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.2016-17 at 10.1 per cent. The East of England consistently had the lowest, with 2.6 per cent indeficit in 2010-11, rising to 3.4 per cent in 2016-17. ■ A large proportion of local authority maintained schools are now spending more than their income.Over two-thirds of local authority maintained secondary schools spent more than their income in2016-17. Significantly, such events are not just occurring for one year – we find that 40 per centof local authority maintained secondaries have had balances in decline for at least two years in arow. ■ Similar figures are found for local authority maintained primary schools – in 2016-17, over 60 percent were spending more than their income. A quarter of local authority maintained primarieshave had a falling balance for two years or more. ■ Funding allocated by the government through its new National Funding Formula for schools(NFF), fails to meet pressures on schools budgets produced by this cost alone. This is despitethe announcement of an extra £1.3 billion in funding for schools by the government in July 2017. ■ As many as 40 per cent (around 7,500 schools) are unlikely to receive enough additionalgovernment funding in 2018-19 to meet these pay pressures alone. For 2019-20, this proportionrises to nearly half of state-funded mainstream schools in England (around 9,000 schools). ■ Schools are facing a variety of cost pressures, yet this analysis shows how many schools arestruggling just from this staffing cost alone. In addition, our assumption of 1 per cent staff payincrease over the next two years is cautious – with the government having signalled that futurerises in teachers’ pay may be higher than the current 1 per cent cap over the next few years. ■ For a significant proportion of schools in England, being able to meet the cost of annual staff payincreases from a combination of government funding and their own reserves looks highly unlikely,even in the short term. ■ In response to pressures, schools have undertaken various efficiency measures to deliver costsavings, such as switching suppliers, reducing energy usage and reducing the size of leadershipteams. ■ However, education staff account for the majority of spending by schools – around two-thirds. It islikely that schools will find it difficult to achieve the scale of savings necessary without also cuttingback on staff. Many schools will face the challenge of containing budget pressures and"
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Leadership

School Funding Pressures In England

22 Mar 2018

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      string(5622) "34Vol 3.6School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comLeadingLearningGlobal educationDiogenes Laertius, Greek philosopher (AD 220) once said: “I am a citizen ofthe world”, as he looked at his life in a wider context. The concept of globalcitizenship is not a new one, but in our present time we have the ability forthis to become a reality. Christopher Columbus and co. would be glad tohear that the journey for information to travel across the world today no longer needtake weeks, days or even minutes as technology has made the world seem increasinglysmaller. This globalization has caused increased focus on interdependence,interconnectedness and cultural diversity meaning that today more than ever, theworld is a part of our everyday local lives.Young people are aware of global events, and understand that issues and eventsacross the globe affect them too. 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However, this does not have to bean additional subject; it is an ethos that caninvolve all those in the educative process– it can be promoted in class through theexisting curriculum. It covers such a widerange of topics, it can be incorporatedacross the curriculum; learning about otherbeliefs in RE, the environment in geographyand biology, and other cultures andsocieties in history and languages.Educators should take theseopportunities to encourage children andyoung people to explore, develop andexpress their own values and opinions,whilst listening to and respecting other people’s points of view. This will in turnencourage a wider appreciation amongst young people of the world around them.Cherry Duggan, Head of Schools and Communities, WWF said: “Young peoplewill shape the future of our world. 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Leadership

Globalising education

15 Mar 2012

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      string(5568) "Tudors 1712-1914 Hanoverians1603-1649 Stuarts 1914- WindsorWe can represent this information as a time-line, using one centimetre foreach hundred years:Chinese dynastiesHere is a list of the dynasties that have ruled China. Construct a time-lineto show how long each ruled.1766-1122 B.C. Shang-Yin 618-906AD. T’ang1122-221 Chou 907-960 The Five Dynasties221-206 Ch’in 960-1279 Sung206 B.C.-220 A.D. Han 128-1368 Yuan220-589 The Six Dynasties 1368-1644 Ming589-618 Sui 1644-1912 Ch’ing1912- RepublicIf you use the same scale as above you will either need a very large sheetof paper or divide it into sections. Begin with the year 0 in the middle:217Analogies                                               EXTENSIONVocabulary booksAdd to your vocabulary books some of the words you have studiedin this chapter.EtymologyLook up the etymology of some of the words you have met in thischapter.Enter them in your vocabulary books.Explaining things to childrenChoose part of any subject which you know well.Try to explain it to a young child (e.g. seven or eight.)You will almost certainly find yourself using analogies.218EXTENSION                                              Chapter 24Chapter 25 – The language of ideasUsing variables and systemsIn this chapter you will learn:1. To use variables as a way of thinking2. To recognise variables in a text3. 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Then they cansometimes change their situation by changing one of the variables.If you have a cough, which of the variables above could youchange?Which ones could you not change?220smoking animals in the homediet traffic fumespolitical opinions watching television germsheredity (what people inherit from their parents) povertyanxiety (worries) obesity (fatness) religionCORE                                                          Chapter 25Variables in academic textsRead the text and use it to label the diagrams below:(Note that in labelling the diagram you will use the words in bold type – theyare the variables in this text. You will use one word more than once.)221Floating and flyingHave you ever wondered why it is that some things float and other don’t?When a boat floats, two forces act on it. One force acting on the boat isweight. Weight pulls the boat down. The second force is calledupthrust. This is a force pushing upwards on the boat. Normally, theweight is balanced by the upthrust.Although it may seem strange, similar ideas apply to a boat on water, toan aeroplane in the air and to a car on the ground!As an aeroplane moves through the air, the shape of its wing means thatthere is an upwards force called lift acting on it. This force just balancesthe downwards force of the aeroplane’s weight.The weight of a car is exactly balanced by an upwards force called thereaction, produced by whatever surface the car is on.Using variables and systems                         COREVariables in a textWe shall now look at a text which have have already studied and considerthe variables in it.222Agriculture in Western NorwayThe West coast of Norway consists of high steep mountains known asthe Scandinavian Highlands. The coastline is indented by narrow inletscalled “fjords”. The high plateaus, or “fjellen”, are covered in snow allthrough the year. The ground descends steeply, often directly to thewater’s edge. There is little flat land, except for terraces, benches anddeltas built up by the rivers in the millennia since the Ice Age. Theclimate is cold and wet, with short summers and long winters.Agriculture is difficult in such harsh conditions.The most profitable kind of farming in these circumstances is animalfarming. The steep slopes can be used for grazing cattle in the summermonths and the animals can be kept indoors in the winter. This systemof farming is called “transhumance”.Under this system, the cattle are taken to pastures high on themountainside in the summer. The farmers spend the three months ofsummer living in small wooden huts. These huts, called “saeter”, arevery simple with just a stove, bunk beds and a table.The milk from the cattle is sold to the co-operative dairy in thelowlands. Mountain streams may be used to keep the milk fresh. It isthen transported in churns down the mountainside by whatever meansare available. 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Creative Teaching & Learning

Breakthrough to Learning Book 2: Reading for Learning

23 Feb 2012

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      string(5420) "an app, which also reminds patients of medical appointments.  ‘LYFE’, an app created by a team from Sutton Grammar School, can be used by members of the public to diagnose injuries or illnesses and advise first-aid treatment.Another example was ‘FROHES LEBEN’, an app to support healthy lifestyles in people aged 40 and above by providing information on common diseases, exercise, and healthy meal plans all in a combined format. This was devised by young people from Eritera Youth Club, who wanted people to self-manage illnesses such as diabetes and arthritis through healthy eating and targeted exercise, thereby reducing pressure on the NHS.Living BetterIn this category, finalists worked hard to imagine solutions such as ‘Remember When’, an app constructed by a team from Fairfield High School for Girls to support people with dementia with customisable games to help with memory retrieval and reminders for important events and tasks, such as taking medication. Equally impressive was ‘Sanasniper’, designed by students at Wirral Grammar School for Girls, a protective phone case with a built-in hand sanitiser dispenser and infrared thermometer, with an app to remind users to use them. Also featuring among the ideas within this theme is ‘LifeMosaic’, a smart display and app devised by Richmond Park Academy students that enables young hospital patients to express their feelings via colours and symbols.Better Sleep, an app fromTeam BED, Churston Ferrers Grammar SchoolMeanwhile, young people from the Dalriada School in Ballymoney designed ‘Go with the Flow’, an app to tackle period poverty, which negatively affects female participation in sport and exercise. The app allows girls to order free monthly hygiene packs wherever they are, to set sports goals and to receive motivational, mental health-related tips. Aimed at young women aged 10-24 affected by poverty, the app was set up to ensure that girls of all backgrounds would have access to sanitary products, so they would not miss days at school, social events, and sporting activities.Living GreenerPollution and climate change were key issues for this category.  A team from Stamford High School developed ‘ElectDoor’ which uses kinetic energy harvesters to accumulate energy and generate electricity from the movement of doors while a team from Liverpool Life Sciences UTC developed a self-contained box that uses mealworm larvae to break down non-recyclable plastic waste, aptly named ‘Plasticivore’.Bio Clear from Team Elektrica, Wimbledon High SchoolOther noteworthy entries included ‘Bioclear’, a spherical robot devised by a team of students at Wimbledon High School to remove microplastics from water ecosystems and marine life, to limit the impact on the environment and our food. The robot detects microplastics through its infrared sensors, then traps them via magnets while filtering purified water through a net. The team discovered that microplastics was underrepresented and hoped that their entry could generate data about levels of microplastic pollution fro further studies. ‘Rainforest DRAGEN Project’, devised by students at Mendip Studio School, was also dedicated to preserving the natural world. The product uses a remote data logger to record environmental data, with a focus on rainforests and conservation. The idea also encompassed a companion educational website for sharing data, so young people across the world could  increase their rainforest knowledge. Working alongside schoolchildren in Sarawak, Malaysia, and Rwanda, the team has collected data in the field and helped to develop local science education.Living TogetherThis category spawned solutions to keep people stay better connected in a way that is easy, safe, and environmentally friendly as well as solutions to deliver more sustainable transport. Designed by students from Walton Priory Middle School, ‘A to Befriend’, a car-sharing and road-pricing app, encourages people to share their electric car journey with elderly people. St Paul’s Girls’ School developed ‘BSL: Educate-2-Translate’, an app that uses AI to teach sign language using sign to audio, text translation capabilities, to porvide an interactive learning hub.Notting Hill and Ealing High School were concerned at the high suicide rates of young people who identify as LGBTQ+ so they designed ‘LGBTQ+ Youth’, an app and website to provide them with a safe space where they can chat about their experiences, get advice from others, read helpful resources, and participate in interactive activities. In fact, the team plan to integrate an anonymous texting function to ensure that users can communicate freely in a safe environment. Although the product mainly targets members of the LGBTQ+ youth community, the team one day hopes to expand the intended audience.To see the full 40 finalist teams and their ideas, head to longitudeexplorer.challenges.org. and check out our curated STEM, enterprise and careers resources for your school at https://longitudeexplorer.challenges.org/more-inspiration/  Maddy Kavanagh is a Programme Manager for the Amazon Longitude Explorer Prize at Nesta Challenges. Before joining Nesta Challenges, Maddy worked at The Prince’s Trust, where she developed a range of employability programmes to support young people and NEETs across the UK into employment."
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Applications and Software

Inspiring Young Innovators Across the UK

14 May 2021

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      string(4441) "making particularly good progress in modern languages by the end of KS4. We could also show that we were already applying many of the principles highlighted in the 2016 MFL Pedagogical Review.We reach out to partner schools through the Pavilion and Downs Teaching Alliance which has appointed me as Specialist Leader in Education for Modern Languages. We organize Hub Days of concentrated CPD and we deliver NCELP training in partner schools. There is of course national collaboration between the 9 NCELP Lead Schools across the country so that we can calibrate our practice.We provide support to local schools that have expressed a distinct interest in improving uptake in GCSE modern languages. And, naturally, we work closely with our main primary feeder schools through outreach and direct specialist teaching to support primary-secondary transition in modern languages.We aim to forge closer training relationships with local authorities and regional ITT providers in the future.TeachingTimes:Modern Language teachers have been claiming for years that, in particular, the GCSE French and German exams are unfair because candidates find it harder to achieve higher grades at GCSE in these subjects. Schools and students have voted with their feet. Are you optimistic that the forthcoming subject content review of GCSE Modern Languages exams will reflect and indeed promote the NCELP schemes of work?Joe Fincham:Yes, I am optimistic. The NCELP schemes of work are in full alignment with the National Curriculum programmes of study and the new OFSTED Framework.In November 2019, the Government finally conceded that there was sufficient research evidence to show that indeed French and German GCSEs were ‘consistently harder’ than other subjects. It ordered grading adjustments to make French and German more accessible to pupils.The Government then set up an independent panel of experts to carry out the ‘Review of Subject Content for GCSE Modern Foreign Languages’. The panel will be chaired by Ian Bauckham who, as you will recall, was Chair of the Teaching Schools Council MFL Pedagogy Review in 2016 that gave birth to NCELP.The panel also includes Professor Emma Marsden, Dr Rachel Hawkes and David Shanks, all of whom are involved in the leadership of NCELP and the roll-out of its pedagogy and resources across the country.I now see clear joined-up thinking at the highest levels to stem the decline in modern languages in our schools. Research informed pedagogy is the way forward not just for ML but for all subjects. I hope colleagues who care about modern languages teaching will inform themselves about NCELP and climb on board. The resources are excellent and free.Simon Sharron is a former headteacher of a 3000 student European school in Brussels, operating in nine different languages, and a MFL specialist and adviserJoe Fincham is head of Modern Languages at Blatchington Mill School in Hove,  one of the 9 hub centres of the NCELP strategyReferencesDfE and NCELP, 2019 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-centre-for-excellence-to-boost-modern-foreign-language-skills NCELP, https://ncelp.org/ MFL Pedagogy Review 2016, https://ncelp.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/MFL_Pedagogy_Review_Report_TSC_PUBLISHED_VERSION_Nov_2016_1_.pdf NCELP French SOW, https://resources.ncelp.org/concern/resources/3f462554x?locale=en Joe Fincham, Teaching GrammarMFL teaching aids: Asking effective questions – grammar building blocks (KS3) – BBC Teach MFL Subject Content Review 2019https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gcse-modern-foreign-languages-subject-content-review-panel/review-of-subject-content-for-gcse-modern-foreign-languages-independent-panel-members The Pavilion and Downs Teaching Alliance http://www.pavilionanddowns.co.uk/ Primary Bee, Routes into Languages, https://www.routesintolanguages.ac.uk/events/primary-bee-registration The Language Magician, European Union Erasmus +, https://www.thelanguagemagician.net/ MFL Subject Content Review, DfE 2019 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gcse-modern-foreign-languages-subject-content-review-panel/review-of-subject-content-for-gcse-modern-foreign-languages-independent-panel-members Inter-subject comparability, DfE 2019 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/inter-subject-comparability-in-gcse-modern-foreign-languagesRachel Hawkes and Emma Marsden, GCSE Subject Content for Languages 2021 TRG 3.2: GCSE Consultation // NCELP"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Can The Collapse of Languages Learning in England Be Reversed By A New Government Strategy ?

21 Mar 2021

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