Challenge and Support: The Key to Success!

It’s been another busy term with lots of CPD activity going

on around the school. There’s been external training on

coaching for eight of our expert staff, training from

Plantsbrook School for staff aspiring for middle and senior

leadership positions around the theme of ‘Getting the Best

out of People’. Not to mention or own internal training which

has focussed on continuing to embed the Friary Framework

through implementing Classroom Support Plans and taking

a close look at questioning in the classroom. There has also

been plenty going on with the Next Steps programme which

has seen our NQTs and PGCE students receiving training on

getting the most out of parents evenings and planning

effectively for SEND students.

There’s also been plenty of quality assurance work going on

as we continue to strive to provide the very best education

for all of our students, with a particular focus on marking

and the quality of assessment during this half-term.

Inside this half term’s issue, we’ll be taking a close look at

questioning and getting the most out of CSPs. There are also

plenty of the usual features, including, the science

department in focus, a safeguarding

update and

a whole

host of

hints and

tips to take

away and

use in the

classroom.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Questioning….2

CSPs and SoS….3

ToT and Coaching...4

Safeguarding .............. 5

Leadership Training and NQT Update…..6

Department-in-Focus….7

Competition…..8

The Friary School CPD Magazine

Edition 2

December 2016

The PE Department get to grips with questioning

“Whilst there is a place for getting the ball rolling with closed questions, more open questions provide a greater degree of challenge and can lead to highly effective de-bate and discussion”

So, what were some of the key hints and tips?

1. Build in wait time to allow all students to process what they have

been asked.

2. Random selection can be good to keep students focused, however,

thinking time needs to be built in.

3. Use the pose, pause, pounce, bounce strategy to develop answers

and start to work towards higher order thinking skills.

4. Use open questions to generate discussion and debate—get

students involved, get them thinking, get them engaged.

5. Use a question ladder to help plan key higher order thinking

questions at key points during the lesson.

6. Think about the root words for questions. Instead of asking ‘what

is’ or ‘where is’ go for ‘how might’ or ‘why will’ to encourage a

greater level of explanation in the response.

7. Use challenge questions as a focus for learning—present students

with higher level question at the start of lessons, revisit it at the

mid-point and/or end to see if they can answer it.

8. Use your objectives to help plan questioning—link both to

Blooms.

QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS!

QUESTIONINING CONTINUED….

One of the key areas for development to come from our most recent round

of observations was questioning. As a result, a focus of some of our training

has been on developing questioning in lessons, particularly looking at

planning questioning which challenges students by scaffolding them

around higher order thinking skills.

Questioning is absolutely crucial for checking understanding, but also for

developing understanding and deepening the students’ learning. For this

reason, our training focussed on planning questioning which is based

around the higher order thinking skills of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Questioning is also a highly effective tool for engaging students in lessons

and avoiding passive learning. Whilst there is a place for getting the ball

rolling with closed questions, more open questions provide a greater degree

of challenge and can lead to highly effective debate and discussion.

OBJECTIVE ACCOMPLISHED...ALMOST

After a really big push on learning objectives during the first half term of this academic year, there’s an increasing amount of outstanding practice going on in this area, which is fantastic!

Learning walks and conversations with students and staff show that everyone has really embraced the idea of planning learning around Bloom’s taxonomy and, in many cases, this focuses on developing higher order thinking skills.

It is now vital that everyone keeps up the great work by ensuring that these are standard day-to-day practice in every lesson, every day. We also need to continue to commit to developing and refining to get the very best out of our students.

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CSPs

One of the most

challenging

aspects of

teaching and

learning is

getting differentiation right. Whether it’s called

differentiation, inclusion, personalisation or challenging

the most able, this key area is one which has been the

sources of much discussion and debate over the years.

One thing that is essential, is getting the planning right. In

order to do this, we need to know as professionals what the

individual needs of students are, especially our SEND

students. If only there was a programme that brought all of

the information together in one place...welcome SENpic!

Our October Inset day was entirely dedicated to the launch

of this new and exciting programme which now means

that every child at The Friary with special education needs

has bespoke strategies planned and in place for every

lesson that they attend. There are also lots of strategies in

place for a number of our other vulnerable students,

including pupil premium.

The day led to some fantastic discussion about the most

effective strategies, from writing frames and seating plans

to techniques to challenge the most able and motivate

students who are falling behind.

Mr Allman, Mr Cain and Miss Mayland read through every

single one and there is certainly lots to be proud of in

terrns of the quality of planning. The key message was that

strategies need to be sufficiently personalised and relevant

to the needs of students, yet they also need to be

manageable and delivered in every lesson, every day.

Questioning has been another of our key focus areas this

term and it’s no coincidence that high quality questioning

can often be the most effective source of differentiation,

especially when it comes to stretching the most able

students.

The challenge now is for all of us to implement these

strategies in the classroom in order to ensure that every

child makes at least good progress.

SECRETS OF SISRA

Want to be a data guru?

Want to get the most out

of SISRA?

Every half-term our own

SISRA expert will give

you a great tip to help you

on your way.

Tip #2

Using the Tracker Chart function to check on performance compared to target grade over time for a class.

Open a report (E.g. Y11 DC2)

Click on ‘qualifications’ and then on your subject area.

Click on the class that you want to look at.

There are 4 tabs at the top of the list of students called: Table, Chart, Tracker Table and Tracker Chart.

Click on the ‘Tracker Chart’ tab.

A drop down menu appears. Click on ‘Grade’.

A series of graphs appear – one for each student – showing how their predicted grades have changed since DC2 in Y10.

This is useful when looking at patterns of predictions over the two

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TWEETS OF THE TERM

@Teachertoolkit—stand out from the crowd. How to create a fuss on social media By @teachertoolkit buff.ly/2gW0mIw #edtech

@willmartie

Sir Michael Wilshaw: 'We cannot let FE off the hook' over #GCSE resits #OfstedAR16 http://ow.ly/gXkA306HOdP

@tes

What are the stats behind @teshelen's story that the number of pupils with #SEND in mainstream schools is rapidly decreasing?

School News @schoolsontap PISA beyond the rankings: pupils’ aspirations and future plans http://ow.ly/uQAo3073FCT | IOE GuardianTeach @GuardianTeach Should universities take control of schools? The government thinks so

LEADERSHIP TRAINING

On 17th November we welcomed

Jason Farr (Deputy Headteacher)

and Caroline Ash (Assistant

Headteacher) from Plantsbrook

School to deliver leadership

training on ‘Getting the Best out of

People’. The training was attended

voluntarily by 21 aspiring leaders

from across the school including

teachers and support staff alike.

During the session

participants learned about

different leadership styles

and were able to reflect on

their own leadership and how

to develop a skills set to take

them towards whole school

leadership. There was also

invaluable advice on how to

manage challenging

conversations with colleagues

and how to hold people to account.

Feedback from the training was

outstanding and staff had many

positive things to say about it:

Lesley Gill - Inclusion Manager

The training was a great reminder

of managerial skills that can

sometimes be lost or forgotten in a

busy school environment. The time

spent sharing good practice with

colleagues and leaders from a

different educational

establishment was invaluable in

my leadership development. The

refreshed skills will be useful when

going on to the next stage of my

career where I will be leading and

managing adults within various

Lichfield and Cannock schools.

Reflective practice is always

priceless and this training gave us

all the opportunity to do this in a

fun but dynamic way.

Kelly Harrell – Head of RE

The Leadership training really

made me think about what kind of leader I am and what qualities I have. It helped me to realise what I need to do to develop further and which aspects of my leadership style I need to work on. It was also really useful to reflect on the best way to deal with difficult situations or conversations. But most importantly, it made me consider how I can develop my department and help us all to move forward by getting the best out of everyone and focussing on our individual strengths.

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5

SAFEGUARDING FOCUS: DOMESTIC ABUSE

Safeguarding—First steps in all cases: Domestic abuse is any type of

controlling, bullying, threatening or violent behaviour between people in a relationship. But it isn’t just physical violence – domestic abuse includes emotional, physical, sexual, financial or psychological abuse. Abusive behaviour can occur in any relationship. It can continue even after the relationship has ended. Both men and women can be abused or abusers.

Domestic abuse can seriously harm children and young people. Witnessing domestic abuse is child abuse, and teenagers can suffer domestic abuse in their relationships.

Domestic abuse can include:

sexual abuse and rape (including within a relationship)

punching, kicking, cutting, hitting with an object

withholding money or preventing someone from earning money

taking control over aspects of someone's everyday life

not letting someone leave the house

reading emails, text messages or letters

threatening to kill or harm them, a partner, another family member or pet.

Witnessing domestic abuse is really distressing and scary for a child, and causes serious harm. Children living in a home where domestic abuse is happening are at risk of other types of abuse too. Children can experience domestic abuse or violence in lots of different ways. They might:

see the abuse

hear the abuse from another room

see a parent's injuries or distress afterwards

be hurt by being nearby or trying to stop the abuse

Domestic abuse can happen in any relationship, and it affects young people too. They may not realise that what's happening is abuse. Even if they do, they might not tell anyone about it because they're scared of what will happen, or ashamed about what people will think. Around 1 in 5 children have been exposed to domestic abuse.

It's often difficult to tell if domestic abuse is happening, because it usually takes place in the family home and abusers can act very differently when other people are around.

Children who witness domestic abuse may:

become aggressive

display anti-social behaviour

suffer from depression or anxiety

not do as well at school

Things you may notice If you're worried that a child is being abused:

Withdrawn and/or anxious

suddenly behaves differently

clingy

depressed

aggressive

problems sleeping

eating disorders

soils clothes

takes risks

misses school

changes in eating habits

obsessive behaviour

Drug and/or alcohol use

self-harm/suicidal thoughts

Many thanks to Michelle Painter (Head of Forensic Scene Investigation and Major Crime - West Midlands Police) of our Governing Body for providing this update.

If you have concerns about a student, see the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) If students approach you directly, explain that anything they tell you will need to be passed on. Never promise to keep it secret. Ensure that if a student does speak to you that the conversation cannot be overheard See them on their own – even if they attend with others See the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) The DSL will... Consider whether a referral to children’s services is necessary after assessing all the information available This might involve: Talking to the student in a private, secure environment Contacting the Local Area District Officer (LADO) if appropriate or other specialists

NQT-ASTIC

As part of focus on continually developing the quality of teaching and learning across the school, we have launched a coaching programme, As part of this, eight The Friary’s finest have embarked upon a coaching training programme. Here’s what some of them thought of the first session: “I attended the coaching training with the hope that it would further my own practice as a classroom teacher but also with the hope it would give me an insight into the best ways of supporting other staff with their own professional development. I admire colleagues who are good at getting the best out of their teams as I think we, as teachers, often make awful learners as we like to be the ones in control! I also hate staff training when it involves role play; I was concerned I was going to be asked to act out various

scenarios in front of colleagues who would then realise I was rubbish!

Joking aside, being given time to stop and reflect on our own practice as teachers doesn't happen very often and I left the session feelings really positive about the impact coaching can have on our school. The message we were given was that getting the best of our your team, or colleagues across school, is about supporting them in making small changes to produce a big impact. You must have the ability to really listen to what they are saying and recognise when there are barriers in the way they need support with removing.” (Sam Male—Achievement C0-Ordinator Y7) .

The coaching training that I received this term was engaging and informative. At the start of our two hour session I had little

idea of how to act as a coach during a coaching session. I wondered what degree of advice I should give and how much to listen to the coachee. Generally I was just a little unsure as to how I could aid others in their development. During the session coaching was defined and its difference to other forms of self-development such as mentoring were explained. As a group we critiqued coaching models before being given the opportunity to act as the coach and coachee. This was a challenge at first but helped massively for my first real world meeting as a coach. Following the session I now understand much more about the role of the coach and its parameters and am ready to give it a go… (Richard Havill—Head of Art).

Having had a very bust term, another one of our NQTs has kindly taken the time to put together a brief account of their experience so far in

the teaching profession at The Friary. Thanks to Cole Hickman in the PE department for putting this together.

My transition from student to NQT has been an exciting one. There has been plenty of new information to take on board and lots to learn about teaching on a day to day basis. The biggest difference for me has been the continuity of seeing the same classes regularly and , therefore, being able to support the same students in their learning on a day to day basis, something that you don’t necessarily get from your PGCE year. I feel as though I have been incredibly lucky to be working with a very cohesive and supportive department who

have made me feel very welcome at the Friary and provided quality guidance and support when needed.

The CPD opportunities and the next steps programme at the Friary have also contributed to making this transition easier. The programme has allowed me to adapt to the policies at the school quickly and has also developed my pedagogical knowledge by giving me access to the advice and guidance from experienced members of staff.

In particular, I found the session on marking and assessment helpful as It gave me some good guidance and ideas on adapting to the schools marking policy and some excellent AFL strategies that I have begun to implement into my practice.

COACHING

6

“A number of new strategies are up and running for intervention to support our Year 11 students, including a group of key pupils who have weekly work-lists to review during regular mentor meetings”

There’s been lots of exciting stuff going on in the science department

during the first term of this year. Dave Brown has kindly put together an

article showcasing some of the highlights!

We have focussed on a number of key areas over the past three months, mostly assessment and feedback…

The department have been working hard on developing the knowledge/application assessment model through the assessment timelines. We have had a greater emphasis on ensuring that pupils are not being expected to apply their knowledge ’too soon’, before they have proved that they have retained the basic knowledge.

This has had several positive impacts: It has improved responses and performance in past papers; it better enables teachers to identify the cases of underperformance; It has also boosted pupil confidence; the basic knowledge tests prove to some pupils that they can learn science facts even if they do struggle to apply them at times.

The department has also been working to develop systems that provide better opportunities for pupils to respond effectively to teacher feedback. A new system based around a departmental marking template allows pupils to take however many steps are needed so that they can reach their target grade.

A number of new strategies are up and running for intervention to support our Year 11 students, including: a group of key pupils from the Core and Additional cohort attending weekly after-school support sessions; in addition to this, this group of pupils have weekly work-lists to review each session. The group also have praise stamp cards; stamps mean prizes! The triple science pupils identified each have a science teacher as their mentor. These pupils are supported

through fortnightly meetings with their mentor. The meeting allows the mentor to review the pupil’s progress on their work-lists and set short-term targets.

Question ladders are being displayed in all science rooms and learning walks are revealing evidence of these beginning to drive learning.

In other news, Carrie Cain and Nicola Barker are working hard to make links with outside agencies who deliver work-related STEM challenges. The most recent of these received a fantastic response, Kyle Broadhurst said, “I was surprised to learn about the range of engineering opportunities out there; it has given me a different viewpoint and it was so much fun”.

Finally, the department have applied to be part of a novel and exciting research project. Project M - 1000 samples, 100 schools, one great big experiment and the research group are hoping to publish their results in a scientific journal. Fingers crossed we’ll be selected…

DEPARTMENT-IN-FOCUS: SCIENCE

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CPD DATES FOR YOUR

DIARY

5th Jan—Next Steps

10th Jan— Next Steps

12th Jan—G2O 5

19th Jan—Next Steps

23rd Jan—T&L Twilight

2nd Feb—Next Steps

9th Feb—Next steps

COMPETITION

There is a prize up for grabs in our monthly competition.

Simply choose one of the options below and return your

answer to Jason Cain’s tray in the staff room to be in with

chance.

Good luck!

Got an item or topic for The Friary School CPD magazine? Get in touch

at jcain@friaryschool.com

—we’d love to hear from you!

As it’s Christmas, we’re going for a caption competition.

The most witty caption to go with this picture wins a

prize...