WELCOME TO OUR FIRST NEWSLETTER

Although it does not seem like it we are very nearly one year in to ELTSA. Whilst teaching school status was awarded last March it takes a few months to get going.

The web-site is now up and running www.eltsa.co.uk

However we have not stood still. The alliance has grown, we have appointed our first SLEs and our first School Direct trainees. School to school support is taking shape and ELTSA staff have attended CPD sessions at each other’s schools.

We are working with other alliances and are planning hard for next year.

To have Falu Fri in Sweden as part of our alliance is a great strength and please read their principal’s contribution to this newsletter.

A key part of our role in moving forward is to embed the school led improvement system and by focussing on all areas of the big 6, ELTSA will continue to do this to support all our students.

Jeremy Julian - Director of Teaching School

SCHOOL DIRECT TEACHER TRAINING

ELTSA  has been allocated 32 School Direct Places for 2015-16.

The places include a wide variety of subjects and naturally enough there is a healthy allo-cation for Maths and Science places on  salaried or training routes. At present all are agreed that the current recruitment round will be a challenging one. ELTSA wants to try and fill its School Direct allocation including those in STEM subjects. Word of mouth is still the best recommendation so if you know of any good young graduates or any career changers looking to come into teaching, direct them to the ELTSA web site or get them to email us directly.

www.eltsa.co.ukc/o St Angela’s Ursuline School T: 020 8472 6022

LondonTEACHING SCHOOL ALLIANCE

East Spring2015

ELTSA

Newsletter 1

Next whole alliance meeting at

St Helen’s Primary School

on March 5th 2015

Summer Term CPD free to all ELTSA members.

ELTSA ON THE BUSES!

Outstanding CPD

Outstanding teacher training

Links with other alliances

OUTSTANDING TEACHER PROGRAMMEFor many years now OLEVI have been the market leaders and have developed a unique approach to individual teacher improvement. ELTSA has OLEVI trained facilitators and will be offering the OTP on the following dates:

Keep a look-out for ELTSA School Direct adverts on the back of local buses. Let us know if you spot one.

Thursday 23rd April  9:30 am – 3:30 pm

Tuesday 28th April   12:00 – 3:30 pm

Thursday 7th May   12:00 – 3:30 pm

Friday 15th May  12:00 – 3:30 pm

Wednesday 20th May  12:00 – 3:30 pm

Wednesday 10th June  12:00 – 3:30 pm

We will be offering this very highly regarded programme at a very good price to ELTSA members- make sure you book early.

Please contact nicky@eltsa.co.uk for further details.

“Action not Words”

Proactive in all areas

of the Big 6

www.eltsa.co.uk

More SLEs wanted- next

window opens in May.

SLEs

Congratulations to the first ELTSA SLEs

Chris BellamySt Angela’s Ursuline SchoolDrama and leadership of curriculum Bernard Jones

St Angela’s Ursuline SchoolSociology, PSHE & Health and Social Care

An SLEs role is really all about developing leadership potential but they are also a vital link in developing school led improvement.Get in touch for more details if you would like any input from one of our SLEs.More SLEs wanted- next window opens in May.

Sal MilkiRokeby SchoolInformation & Communications Technology and Computer Science

Alan ChanThe Palmer Catholic AcademyITT & NQT developmentAssessment, Leadership of CPD

Martha SharmaThe Palmer Catholic AcademyMaths

• Initial Teacher Training• Continuing Professional Development• School to School Support• Specialist Leaders of Education• Succession Planning and Talent Management• Research and Development

The Big Six

Spring2015

www.eltsa.co.uk

Next whole alliance meeting at

St Helen’s Primary School on March 5th

2015

Summer Term CPD free to all ELTSA members

ELTSA c/o St Angela’s Ursuline SchoolSt George’s Road, Forest Gate, London, E7 8HUT: 0208 472 6022e: info@eltsa.co.uk

One of our partner schools, Falu Fri, in Falun, Sweden has a particular focus on independent learning skills at Key stage 5.

Principal Marie Pettersson tells us more:

Falu Frigymnasium is a private secondary school located in the town of Falun. Its aim is secondary education, targeting age groups 16 to 18 (three-year programs). Falu Fri has at present about three hundred students divided among five different programs. Four of the five programs we offer (Technology, Natural Science, Social Science, and Humanities) give access to university studies, while one (Nursing) leads to direct professional outcomes. Regardless of necessary structural differences between the programs, the whole school is defined by a very specific culture which reflects in general the received direction of the Swedish Curriculum, and that, more in particular, develops its teaching on a pedagogical ground in which the ideas of democracy, responsibility and creativity are emphasized.

The Swedish education system has focused in recent years on the development of a pedagogical culture grounded on the idea of Independent Learning. As a consequence of its particular pedagogical focus, our school has been (and still is) at the forefront in this

respect. Our students don’t merely acquire the knowledge relative to the subjects they study, but they gradually learn how to plan, practically perform and finally reflect on projects

that present central questions related to their studies. Our students learn how to take responsibility for independently devising learning solutions, they work in an

environment where they have the freedom of devising them, and their ideas are often very creative and personal. We feel that this causes their motivation in learning to remain very high and they often show high levels of commitment towards their projects.

In this context our exchange with St Angela’s Ursuline School in Forest Gate has been a key element of interest as far as the Humanities Program is concerned. Our students’ task was to be able to reflect on cultural issues of their own

choice, both concerning differences and similarities in our respective education systems, and concerning the development of a new awareness of our own

(Swedish) culture (perhaps not limited to an educational context) by reflecting on the mutual meeting in itself. This reflection has been relevant as far as courses such

as Philosophy and History of culture are concerned, and has benefited both from the ordinary experience of attending parts of lessons and daily student-life at St Angela’s, and

from the visits to places of cultural interest that our hosts in St Angela’s had organised for us. Not least, a point of great interest has been a reflection on the modalities in which both the participation to lessons and the visits outside the school had been organised.

The exchange will continue in the immediate future with an on-going contact between our students and St Angela’s students, and will reach a highpoint in our yearly Model UN week in March, when the St Angela’s students who are taking part in the exchange will be able to visit us in Falun. Apart from the organised participation in the Model UN, St Angela’s students will be offered activities of a cultural nature that their Swedish counterparts will have a complete free-hand in organising.

In the belief that our two educational (and not only educational) cultures have a lot to benefit in a reciprocal meeting, to whatever level, we would like to express, finally, our appreciation and enthusiasm in having been asked to participate in the ELTSA partnership and are looking forward to activities, meetings and further exchanges that could deepen our relationships within the network.

Very best wishes,

Maria Pettersson

Principal

ELTSA IN SWEDEN