A sense of responsibility

There is now evidence, both anecdotal and empirical, that the learning environment can have a significant effect on children’s progress and development. Now it’s time to move from discussion to implementation, argues Murray Hudson, Managing Director and Chairman of Gratnells; Chairman of the British Educational Furniture Manufacturers’ Group from 2012 – 2016 and the inspiration behind the Gratnells Learning Rooms project.

Seventeen years ago, when I first came into this industry, there was a general awareness of the educational benefits of a well organised school and the contribution that good systems made to teaching practice. Having teaching materials readily available and easy to find were of obvious value to teachers, while for pupils a properly planned classroom with storage, display and personal space all made the school day a more pleasurable experience.

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      string(353) "competent staff, ongoing training and supervision· Ensuring job descriptions specify relevant health and safety responsibilities· The health and safety culture within the school, with a view to encouraging a positive and responsible approach to health and safety. In particular noone should take on health and safety responsibilities that they are ..."
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Folder: Leadership Briefings Issue 3.06 (30)"
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      string(2073) "competent staff, ongoing training and supervision· Ensuring job descriptions specify relevant health and safety responsibilities· The health and safety culture within the school, with a view to encouraging a positive and responsible approach to health and safety. In particular noone should take on health and safety responsibilities that they are not competent to undertake.Should the worst happen and there be  a fatality schools should be in a position to justify their health and safety procedures and policies.  As indicated above a clear audit trail is vital to this.  Likewise schools should expect a significant investigation. Following a fatality both the Health and Safety Executive and Police will be involved in any investigation and will expect to speak to staff at all levels and examine relevant paperwork.  The question of legal representation of the organisation and individuals inevitably arises and the school should be prepared to act quickly to ensure that the investigation is handled sensitively and carefully but also to ensure that as far as possible the school puts forward a robust defence of their actions and policies.An investigation by the[police and HSE following a fatality can take many years to conclude- upto 5 years or more from accident to trial. Likewise the process of investigation may be ongoing alongside an internal investigation, internal or external disciplinary proceedings, a civil claim for compensation and subject to a decision to prosecute for manslaughter an Inquest. It is recommended that schools put in place a strategy to deal with any such investigation which should also consider the question of funding taking into account the fact that different parties may need to be separately represented throughout the process.In conclusion whilst the Act does not require organisations to comply with new regulatory standards it is a warning to those who are not complying with health and safety laws and guidance that the consequences can be very severe.Andy Hopkin is a regulatory law expert at law firm Browne Jacobson"
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Leadership

Corporate Responsibility And Schools

15 May 2008

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      string(4836) "expected to share and accept challenge about the findings of your research.Develop a sense of professional curiosity for self-development.Increase your own knowledge – initially the focus should be on subject knowledge and classroom practice rather than leadership, since you need to ensure that you have a firm foundation in order to lead and support others.Be proactive – if you would like to lead a subject or aspect in the future, now is the time to become an expert – you may consider developing a personal CPD wish list.Undertake a self-audit of your own skills and knowledge to enable you to begin to articulate an awareness of your readiness for the next step.Early LeaderYour mentor should be someone who can support your leadership development and you should have PM targets that will enable you to improve your leadership skills.You may be mentoring an NQT or student.Be proactive about seeking feedback on your own performance and be self-reflective.You will have an identified area of responsibility – this may be a non-core subject or an aspect of school provision, such as Forest School or active playtimes.You may be part of a working or focus group and will have a designated role within the group, such as responsibility for handwriting within an English writing group.You will need to learn how to gather and interpret ideas, information and stakeholder views to inform decision making and understand how this links to the SDP.You will have opportunities to present ideas to staff, contribute to CPD and support colleagues within your relevant area.Continue to observe the way others lead and evaluate their practice. Consider which skills you could deploy and try them out. In your areas of responsibility, ensure you keep up-to-date with any new guidance or information – become the expert. Seek opportunities to see effective practice in other classes, year groups and phases and if possible other schools.Set up small-scale research programmes involving at least one other person and ensure at the outset you are clear about intended outcomes so you can show impact.Continue to develop your specialist knowledge so you can support colleagues – attending courses exposes you to a wider range of practice but make sure that any course you attend is relevant to your work now and you follow up and share what you have learnt promptly.If you wish to progress in leadership, look at applying for accredited or masters level programmes for the future.Get involved in and aim to contribute to professional groups, both virtually and face to face. Then bring the expertise back to school to impact practice.Collaborating across schoolsReflecting back to the heady days of the 1990s when I was a head, whatever training was available was organised by the local authority – though some LAs continue to maintain a core team or run traded services, the money and the capacity to deliver training has now moved to Teaching Schools. If, as school leaders, we are to drive the Leadership Learning Agenda, we need to collaborate as never before and be willing to put aside any competitive instincts to ensure that the next generation of leaders is better prepared than we were for the challenges of leading increasingly complex organisations with fewer resources. If your local Teaching School is active and engaged, then talking to them about a collaborative model for Leadership Learning is a starting point – if not, then talking to other like-minded heads or working across one or more Multi Academy Trusts may provide the economy of scale needed to deliver a holistic approach. A First StepWhen faced with a major challenge such as this, it is sometimes easier to do nothing, but if this article has opened up your thinking or resonates with what you see in your own school, then do something about it today. By changing your own behaviour and opening up the language of leadership, you will be creating a climate where leadership can flourish. Over time, you can build the training, mentoring and experiential opportunities, but the first step is to make the implicit qualities and skills of leadership explicit.First steps on the road to Leadership LearningAlways articulate the ‘why’ behind what you do Whenever possible, explain your approach to a problem so others can learn from itSeek feedback from others and show you can learn from experience Promote the use of the language of leadershipHeather Clements is a former head teacher and author of the Quality Assurance Matrix for Teaching and Learning, as well as the What is Good Teaching? (i-WIGT) peer mentoring tool for TeachingTimes. She currently runs her own consultancy to deliver school improvement services both directly to schools and in partnership with a range of national providers."
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Executive Leadership

Thinking Like a Boss

12 Sep 2018

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      string(3114) "and developtheir programmes and evidence-based practice tosupport them accordingly. Clinical and classroom practiceare, in fact, two sides of the same professional coin; theyhave just been artificially separated in the past.The Government’s new interest in thinking skills andthe initiative led by Professor Michael Barber toinvestigate ways of infusing the curriculum with thinkingskills, together with new money to support teachers withassistants, and the new teaching career structure, couldall combine to transform teaching into a much morescientifically rigorous and exciting profession.Feuerstein’s theory of Mediated Learning is not the onlymodel which needs be used to understand and intervenein children’s learning. But Feuerstein’s theory of MediatedLearning and the teaching programme of IE is a veryrigorous and structured platform from which teachers couldlaunch themselves off into the professional deep end.● Howard Sharron is author of Changing Children’s Minds– Feuerstein’s Revolution in the Teaching of Intelligence(1996) and is Publisher of Teaching Thinking magazine.Changing Children’s Minds is available in paperwork fromQuestions Publishing for £16.95 plus £3.00 postage &packaging, 27 Frederick Street, Birmingham B1 3HH, Fax0121 212 0959.Further information:Judy Silver at The Independent Centre for MediatedLearning, 23 Denham Drive North, London NW11 6RD UKTel: +44 (0)20 8458 2023. Fax: +44 (0)20 87316 4 0 0 . E m a i l : j u d y s i l v e r @ T h i n k i n g S k i l l s u k . o r gor visit or website on www.thinkingskillsuk.orgOr contactRuth Deutsch, 40 Gresham Gardens, London NW11 8PD. Tel/fax: 020 8922 5049. Email: ruthdeustch@cwcom.netReferencesFeuerstein, R. Rand, Y. & Hoffman, M. (1980) InstrumentalEnrichment: An Intervention Programme for CognitiveModifiability, Glenview,Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company.Feuerstein, R. (1979) The Dynamic Assessment of RetardedPerformers, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company.Martin, D.S. & Jonas, B.S. (1991) ‘Cognitive enhancement ofhearing impaired post secondary students’ in Martin, D.S.(Ed) Advances in Cognition, Education and Deafness,Washington: Gallaudet University Press.Savell, J.M., Twohig, P.T. & Rochford, D.L. (1986) ‘EmpiricalStatus of Feuerstein’s “Instrumental Enrichment” (FIE)technique as a method of teaching thinking skills’, Reviewof Educational Research, 56(4), 381–409.Skuy, M., Mentis, M., Nkwe, I. Arnette, A. & Hickson, J. (1990)‘Combining instrumental enrichment and creativity/socioemotional development for disadvantaged giftedadolecents in Soweto: Parts 1 & 2’, International Journal ofCognitive Education and Mediated Learning, 1(1&2), 25–31;93–102.● The Independent Centre for Mediated Learning offerscertified training in:Feuerstein’s Instrumental EnrichmentProgramme led by David Sassoon 6-10 August (teachingThinking Skills and Mediated Learning) and The BuildingBlocks of Learning led by Judy Silver and David Sassoon,13-17 August 2001 (training for The Early Years and KeyStage One and pre-Instrumental Enrichment)."
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Special Needs

Diagnosing learning difficulties

16 Apr 2018

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Leadership

Accountability In Education: Meeting Our Commitments

8 Nov 2017