Subject: Head Teachers Weekly news update 12

Text Box: SCHOOLS NorthEast weekly update
The future of our region is in school

This week.....listen out for the government’s plans for major public service reforms which aim to lift the aspirations of Britain’s

least ambitious children – white, working-class boys in northern cities.

Also...have a great last week in school before the holidays. Please go to - http://www.schoolsnortheast.com/content/news.html

and click on Christmas card to see the card that SCHOOLS NorthEast have sent to you with best wishes for the festive season.

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News and Events

Several places still available!! SCHOOLS NorthEast surgery: Working with the media

Want practical help from the experts on how to deal with journalists, get positive publicity for your school and manage any issues

that could jeopardise your reputation? SCHOOLS NorthEast launches the first of a series of support surgeries on working with media.

This introductory session will help you to understand how to approach the media and the techniques you need to ensure that you get

your message across. The event will be held on Thursday 22 January from 9.00am-11:00am at One NorthEast’s Head Offices

in Newburn Riverside, Newcastle. The session is free and open to all, but places are very limited so get in quick! Further sessions will

be offered subject to demand.

For more information and to register your interest in attending please email – k.stonehouse@schoolsnortheast.com or call 0191 280 5037

Keep those case studies coming!

Many thanks to those of you who have sent in case studies for us to use for the implementation of an action plan from the recommendations

of the National Council for Educational Excellence. This work has attracted national interest and is your opportunity to showcase your school

on the national stage, so please continue to send case studies into us.

For those who missed it:

SCHOOLS NorthEast is co-ordinating a response to the recommendations of the National Council for Educational Excellence. In the new

year we will be holding an event to develop an action plan for the implementation of the Council’s ideas in the North East, working with

Universities for the North East and regional business leaders. Throughout this work, we want to showcase the fantastic activities already

happening in our region’s schools so please let us know if your school has any interesting case studies on how your school has:

· Worked with business or industry

· Worked with universities

· Worked with other providers, schools and/or colleges

· Demonstrated an innovative approach to engaging parents

Email us at info@schoolsnortheast.com or call 0191 2805037 if you want to shout about your success! (and make sure that lots of others hear about

it too).

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News round-up

Local News

· Pupils go to school on other side of the world (The Journal)

· Unions dismiss schools review (The Journal)

· Schools echo to the sound of music (Sunderland Echo)

· Schools wait to hear their fate (Sunderland Echo)

· Schools to be given performance grade (The Journal online)

· Nunthorpe School Makes its Mark (Bdaily bulletin)

· Lottery grant boost for schools (Sunderland Echo)

· Schools to benefit from £390,000 Government grant (The Northern Echo)

· Young apprentices Nativity scene at St Nicholas Cathedral (The Journal)

· Faith schools set to unite on single site (The Journal)

· Shotley Bridge head suspended at ‘top of class’ school (The Journal)

Primary review

· Jim Rose's school's report is flawed: Comment (The Telegraph)

· Review of Sats in primaries urged (The Guardian)

· Primary school subjects overhaul (BBC News)

· Primary school children ‘should be taught technology, not tradition’ (Times online)

· History and geography lessons in primary schools should be scrapped, says report (The Telegraph)

· Six themed areas to streamline curriculum (The TES)

· Now it's geography that's going to be history (Times online)

SATs marking fiasco

· More face sack over Sats fiasco (The Independent)

· Exams chief quit after seeing damning report on Sats chaos (The Guardian)

· Exam watchdog facing criticism (BBC News)

· Serious flaws behind Sats tests claim job of QCA head Ken Boston (The telegraph)

· Exams chief ken Boston resigns over marking debacle (Times online)

· New SATs fiasco looms over delay in finding firm to mark papers (Daily Mail)

Report cards

· ‘Report cards’ would rate schools (BBC News)

· Balls outlines report cards plan for schools (The Guardian)

· ‘Report cards’ on schools to help parents to choose (Times online)

· New 'report cards' to grade schools by health eating (The Telegraph)

· The end of league tables? (BBC News)

White, working-class boys attainment

· Poor white boys still lag behind (BBC News)

· White working-class boys 'worst performers at school' (The Independent)

· White working class boys among worst achievers (The Guardian)

· White pupils most likely to leave school at 16 (The Guardian)

Maths and Science

· English children 'best at maths in Europe' (Times online)

· England’s pupils in global top 10 (BBC News)

· Dramatic improvement in science and maths (The Independent)

· English pupils get better at maths and science - but enjoy them less (The Guardian)

· Education targets on numeracy and literacy being missed (The Telegraph)

· Maths piloted as ‘twinned’ GCSE (BBC News)

Other educational news

· Government plan to raise aspirations of millions of children (The Guardian)

· Schools to become early intervention centres (Children and Young People Now)

· Play recommendations short-change children says expert (Children and Young People Now)

· Government to create more playgrounds to combat Britain's 'no ball games culture' (The Telegraph)

· Playground push brought forward (BBC News)

· Special needs battle highlighted (BBC News)

· Comprehensive to set up chain of academies (The TES)

· British pupils the 'easiest' in the world to teach (The TES)

· Text message slang found in school work (The Independent)

· Lollipop gap puts children at risk (The Guardian)

Star pupil

Nunthorpe Specialist Business and Enterprise School - have been crowned North East regional winners of the 2008 Make

Your Mark Challenge, thanks to help from the Redcar and Cleveland enterprise team. The Make Your Mark Challenge 2008

challenged students to devise a business idea based around the values associated with the 2012 Olympics or Paralympics.

Could do better

"Text message speak" – Teachers are being left baffled as children increasingly use ‘text message speak’ and street slang in

their written work. A recent study claims that one in four Teachers fail to understand their pupil’s work as it is littered with obscure

language. That’s whack, innit.

Head to Head - a week in the life of a North East Head Teacher

Gill Naylor has been Head Teacher at Kirkleatham Hall Special School, Redcar, since 1997 and has worked at the school for over

22 years. Gill started teaching in mainstream primary and loved it, then left to have my daughter. She returned to teaching in the Home

Tuition Service, then went to cover a maternity leave in a special school and was hooked. Gill says that she was lucky enough to

get a permanent post at Kirkleatham Hall and that it’s a very special place to work

Last week was busy as ever. The role of head is so diverse and in a special school catering for pupils from 4 to 19, you can

imagine the range of issues that need to be addressed on a daily basis. So last week I have attended a BSF meeting; a secondary

Heads’ meeting; led a PD day in school where half the staff completed their Team-Teach refresher (which I led), others undertook

hoist training and the rest worked on the curriculum which we are modifying; had a meeting with the Sports Partnership Manager

reflecting on how well our school sports co-ordinator had done in the past year; attended governors’ meetings at another special

school where I am governor; saw spiders and snakes when Zoo lab came into school; attended the LA’s SEN Panel which meets

every fortnight to look at referrals for Statements. All this as well as running the school and getting through a Health and Safety audit.

The two best things about last week were; 1)watching the dress rehearsal for our Christmas Nativity Play, due to take place

before Christmas in the church across the road from the school. It was absolutely delightful and all our primary pupils (53) have a

role to play, so you can imagine the work that’s gone into costumes and learning lines and songs!! We always have a good turn

out from parents and families for our church services, then they come back to school for refreshments afterwards, so that is a good

opportunity to chat to them all. 2) Starting to think about our own school’s vision for BSF, where hopefully we will be co-located with

a local mainstream secondary school and get a new build.

I’m really lucky because I wasn’t been disappointed by anything last week.

The funniest thing that happened last week was watching the three kings, bumping their way to the stable to the song, “Bumpy Road”,

they almost lost their crowns as they were going up and down whilst walking so enthusiastically!!

One thing that would have made my life easier would be having less emails to deal with every week! Once it was opening the post,

now it’s opening up your email box and seeing the great long list each day.

Top of my to-do list for this week to enjoy the Christmas activities in school especially the last day of term when the Salvation Army

band come to play carols and we have a surprise visitor every year who gives out all the sacks of Christmas presents. Watching the

children’s faces when Santa appears is always so lovely, even those older ones who try to be very nonchalant love getting a present!

My hero of last week was one of the pupils who, knowing I hate spiders, told me to stand still while he quietly took one out of my

hair when I was doing playground duty. I told him he was my hero and he was so proud of himself.

My villain of last week has got to be any bright young spark who sits in the DCSF building and thinks up interesting new initiatives to

make more work for schools, because they have nothing better to do.

If someone donated £20,000 to my school at the moment it would replace a very old bubble tube in our Sound and Light room and

probably go towards employing a part time music therapist, as the money parents raised, which allows us to have her in once a week,

will soon be used up and the children are benefitting so much from her input.

My question for next week’s Head Teacher is: Which famous person would you like to visit your school and why?

If you would like to take part in our ‘Head to Head’ feature and tell us all about your week, please contact the team at

info@schoolsnortheast.com or call us on 0191 2805037.

Funding and opportunities

The Inclusion Development Programme (IDP)

DCSF’s IDP programme supports primary and secondary schools and early years settings to increase their skills and knowledge

in removing barriers to achievement for pupils with dyslexia or speech, language and communication needs. The free web-based

materials include teaching and learning resources, training materials, guidance on effective classroom strategies, and sources of

more specialist advice and training.

Visit the inclusion area at: http://www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies to download the materials or for more info.

FAO: All primary schools

Off by heart - poetry competition

The BBC is running the UK poetry recital competition to encourage all primary school pupils to engage with learning and reciting

poetry. Every primary school in the UK can enter a child aged 7 - 11 to compete for the title of UK Poetry Recital Champion,

and have the chance to represent their school and region in what will be an exciting BBC competition, shown on BBC TV in spring

2009. For information on how to nominate and register one of your pupils, and for the terms and conditions, go to –

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/teachers/offbyheart/

North East in a Nutshell – know your region

The energy market in North East England employs around 8,000 people and is currently estimated to be worth around £900m

Wise words

"The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year."

John Foster Dulles
Former US Secretary of State

SCHOOLS NorthEast is your network. Please get in touch with your ideas, concerns, views and experiences- email: think@schoolsnortheast.com

....and don’t forget, if you’ve missed any of our previous weekly news updates, you can find them at:

http://www.schoolsnortheast.com/content/new-resources/weekly%20news.html

To unsubscribe to this weekly update, please email us at – info@schoolsnortheast.com

Have a good week!

SCHOOLS NorthEast Team

Katie Stonehouse

Communications Officer

SCHOOLS NorthEast

Tel: 0191 280 5037