CREATIVITY
This summer,
Ontario outlined long-term sustained improvement in
literacy. Their collaborative approach was based on the
assumption that the expertise was in the schools and
Edinburgh
only required to be developed and supported and on the
pragmatic search within and across schools for good
headteacher
practice and its subsequent dissemination.
Their perspective was not geared to the particular,
Alex Wood
but insisted that all regionally funded innovation
programmes were based on school innovation being
replicable across all schools.
attended the annual
Steve Munby, chief executive of the National
College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s
Scottish International
All
Services in England, insisted that collaboration was
the best way to overcome variation across the school
Summer School on school
system. He described the alignment of “failing” schools
with Support Schools (schools with strong leadership,
leadership, where the
high attainment and an outward looking tradition) and
the resulting improvements, not only in the “failing”
schools but in the Support Schools too.
theme was creativity
about
Mr Munby also drew attention to the demographic
crisis in school leadership as an ageing cohort of heads
REATIVITY AND Innovation
C
in School Leadership: Realising
the Potential of Curriculum for context
move to retiral. He suggested that context matters and
that succession planning requires local solutions and
collaboration.
Jim Conroy, dean of education at Glasgow University,
asserted that teachers require a clear understanding of
Excellence was the full title of the what they do and why they do it. Loving children, he
Scottish International Summer suggested, was an insufficient reason to enter teaching.
School again held in Edinburgh’s Loving learning and exciting children to be interested
Royal College of Surgeons. essential if human beings are to reassert any ability to need to identify and nurture Scotland’s future school was the purpose of education. We require to understand
At the event, Bruce Robertson, Aberdeenshire’s affect their own lives, he argued. leaders. the post-modern world and its negative impact on young
director of education, stated that a much enhanced What kind of learning, Mr Fryer asked, will be Ewan McIntosh, of Channel 4, suggested that people and young teachers. The slide into educational
leadership capacity is essential to implementing required for young people to surf that society with identification of developing leaders, mentoring, and populism has reshaped the teaching profession, with
Curriculum for Excellence. delight? Learning to know and to do, education for close personal support were the best strategies to confusion over control and authority creating a world
He praised the leadership of Scotland’s last two knowledge and skills, were no longer sufficient. develop a new generation of school leaders. He also in which young people are subjected to a loss of their
education ministers, Peter Peacock and Fiona Hyslop, Imagination, inventiveness and creativity were essential quoted George Church, that “in a changing world, childhood. He suggested that we get technically more
but questioned whether, across Scottish schools, there in a world of uncertainty. inaction can be the radical action”. and more competent at teaching more and more rubbish.
existed the quality of risk-taking leaders able to grasp Fiona Hyslop, Scotland’s cabinet secretary for Raymond O’Hare, of Microsoft, argued that the two We require to return continually to purpose. Mr Conroy,
the current challenges. education and lifelong learning, praised the positive urgent requirements were leadership and motivation however, endorsed Curriculum for Excellence as a
Mr Robertson stressed that a solution-focused, qualities of Scottish education, particularly the highly and urged practising leaders to identify and focus on unique opportunity, to be grabbed with both hands, for
“can-do” leadership would not be limited by outdated skilled, qualified and motivated teaching force, but essential core improvements and to concentrate on teachers to take learning and teaching back under their
hierarchies, and that a three to 18 curriculum could insisted on the need to reverse the recent decline in the practical daily relationships with colleagues and own control.
not be delivered in 20th century structures, quoting his reading and maths standards. Confident and resilient learners. A remarkable unanimity on the potential of
own authority’s rebuilding of Alford Academy as an young people required confident, resilient teachers as Jim Spillane, chairman in learning and organisational Curriculum for Excellence but substantial differences
inclusive three to 18 centre. role models, committed to values-based schools. change at Northwestern University, Illinois, argued on the importance of context and on the appropriate
Bob Fryer, chairman of the Campaign for Learning, She insisted, despite discussion in England on the that good practice always requires to be tailored to educational reaction to ever-increasing social change
was enthusiastic about Scottish education. An era virtues of selection, that the Scottish government was the particular situation. While arguing strongly for characterised another hugely successful summer
of profound and wide-spread economic, social and committed to comprehensive education and noted the distributed leadership, he also stressed that leadership school. SecEd
cultural change, all gave Curriculum for Excellence its OECD’s (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and management are not opposites but are closely
significance. Living in an age of risk, of unreliability and Development) endorsement of the inclusiveness of related functions. • Alex Wood is headteacher at Wester Hailes Education
and uncertainty, relevant and engaging learning is Scotland’s comprehensives. She also emphasised the A group of school leaders from York Region in Centre in Edinburgh
EVENTS
Book listings
From Monday, September 28
National College Models of Leadership Event
Captivating Your Class: Effective Teaching Skills
This free event, organised by the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services in Joanne Philpot
England, will tour England from September to November. It will discuss a range of leadership issues,
Continuum Publishing: www.continuumbooks.com
including a look at different models of school leadership, and succession planning. There will also be
ISBN: 978-1-84706-267-3
optional lunchtime seminars from Teachers TV. The event will visit London, Guildford, Peterborough, Exeter,
£17.99
Nottingham, Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester, and Hull.
Captivating Your Class aims to equip teachers with the confidence to work
Venue: Various
effectively in Advanced Level (A2, AS, Level 3 qualifications and IB)
Contact: www.ncsl.org.uk/modelsofleadership-index
classrooms.
It argues that generic lesson plans are unsuitable in such environments, and
Thursday, October 1 that personalised planning of lessons is essential.
Fourth Annual Delivering Diplomas Conference: Engagement and Collaboration Ms Philpot encourages teachers to bolster independent learning among
SecEd and Delivering Diplomas continues the successful series of Delivering Diplomas events, with a day
Advanced Level pupils; she claims a “cage” has been built around learning
of workshops and addresses from employers, FE and secondary Diploma deliverers. The focus is on how
due to the league table culture in schools.
to implement successful partnerships, and work together to secure effective Diploma delivery. We have
The book is split into easy-to-read chapters. After each significant point of
speakers and educationalists from all sectors, including Rolls Royce, the Learning and Skills Network, all 10
discussion and at the end of each chapter, there are boxes containing a concise
summary of all that has been discussed.
of the Sector Skills Councils for Phases 1 and 2, and a group of first year Diploma students.
The book contains exercises, which could be tried in class including
Venue: Aston University Conference Centre, Birmingham.
“Guess Who” – a game involving writing a word, name or place associated with the lesson on a sticky note.
Contact: For the full programme, visit www.deliveringdiplomas.com
The teacher should put it on a student’s forehead (with the writing out of sight from the other students).
After that is completed, the other students must guess who (or what) is written on the sticky note through
October 6 and 7 a series of questions.
School and Public Health Nursing
Captivating Your Class also provides the reader with a comprehensive list of books for further reading
This event is being hosted by SecEd’s sister magazine, the British Journal of School Nursing, and aims to
and insight.
provide school and public health nurses and partner agencies with an update on some of the challenges and
Drivers of Change
opportunities facing the specialty. It will showcase personal examples and case studies to help improve and
Chris Luebkeman
enhance performance and practice. It will look at commissioning services for school-aged services, as well as
Arup and Prestel Publishing: www.prestel.com
health and wellbeing in schools and changing behaviour in young people.
ISBN 978-3-7913-4224-5
Venue: The Centennial Centre, Birmingham
£40
Contact: 020 7501 6762 and laura.denne@markallengroup.com
Drivers of Change was originally a series of cards developed for architects and their clients to anticipate
Wednesday, November 4
possible changes in circumstances. Drivers of change are planning tools, which are designed to help the user
One-to-One support: Developing the Agenda for Mentoring and Befriending
ask the right questions in order to plan for the future. It is a method of predicting change.
National charity the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation is hosting its annual conference for all education
The cards were not just useful to architects; they have been adopted in other work sectors, including
secondary schools.
professionals wanting to explore the impact of one-to-one support for young people with a specific focus on early
The 175 cards are divided into various topics – energy, climate change, waste, water, demographics,
intervention strategies. The conference will bring together over 250 policy-makers, funders and commissioners with
urbanisation and poverty. The cards pose a question on the front,
mentoring and befriending leaders and practitioners. Held in partnership with CoSA, SecEd and The Third Sector.
whereas on the back is a brief summary of the issue. The text
Venue: Inmarsat Conference Centre, London on the back features a graph, bar chart or map illustrating
Contact: 0161 787 8600 and nationalconference@mandbf.org.uk the point.
For example, a question appears on one card saying:
November 17 and 19
“Does transportation improve your life?” On the back of
Fifth National Autism Today Conference
the card is a brief analysis of the role infrastructure has on
country development.
Hosted by SecEd and its sister magazines 5to7 Educator and Early Years Educator, this event is aimed at
These cards aim to be useful in encouraging debate in the
all those working with individuals on the autism spectrum. The second day of this event will focus on the
classroom. They touch upon hard-hitting and important issues,
sharing of strategies and successful practice in education. The focus will be on diagnosing and managing
such as ageing populations and the future risk of conflict over
Autism Spectrum Disorder and productive approaches to education.
water supplies.
Venue: Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh
Contact: 020 7501 6762 and laura.denne@markallengroup.com Charles Gubert
18 SecEd • September 17 2009
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