Subject: Weekly news update 21
This week.....think
Science! With the start of National Science and Engineering week (which
actually last 10 days!) last Friday
and the launch today of a
government drive to encourage more leading scientists and engineers from
industry to visit schools, step
up to what STEMNET refer to as
the ‘next decade’s biggest challenge’ by nurturing some little scientists in
your school.
Don’t forget that International Women’s day was celebrated
across the globe yesterday. In recognition, why not sign your female
students up for the north east women leaders conference on the 24 April in Newcastle (see listing below) to
inspire a new
generation of women leaders in our region!
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News and Events
SCHOOLS NorthEast Summit
Hopefully you have now put the
SCHOOLS NorthEast Summit in your diary for Friday 19 June at Wynyard Hall
in Cleveland.
Look out for announcements on
the high-profile line-up of speakers and the exciting programme of workshops and
skills sessions
in the next few weeks.
Our new Trustees
At the SCHOOLS NorthEast Board
meeting last week, four new Trustees were elected from our current Board. We
would like to
welcome Ken Fraser from
Macmillan Academy, Gillian Mitchell from New Silksworth Infant School, Tony
Hobbs from Bydales School
and Danny Eason from Fishburn
Primary School onto the Team of Trustees. We look forward to working closely
with them.
Leading ladies
The north east women leaders conference is a
day of inspiration, information and motivation for 500 young women aged 16-18
from the region’s schools.
Leading women from business, cultural arts, public service, academia, science
and sports will share
their experiences and offer
advice on how to achieve ambitions, make the most of your talents and break
through the glass ceiling.
Students will also be
challenged to focus on their futures using their creativity and enterprise in
hands on workshops led by our
region’s rising stars and
future leaders. Speakers include:
·
Margaret Fay OBE, Chair of ONE NorthEast
·
Helene Speight, business women and finalist in The Apprentice
2008
·
Professor Sharon Mavin, Associate Dean, Newcastle Business
School
·
Loran Moran, CEO of NRG (Northern Recruitment Group)
·
Erica Whyman, Chief Executive, Northern Stage
·
Sarah Green, Director, CBI NorthEast
To be held at Newcastle
Business School at Northumbria University (City Campus East) on Friday 24
April. There is no limit to the
number of places per school but
overall numbers are strictly limited and so we cannot guarantee that you will
receive all the places
you request. To book
places, please email NEWleaders@schoolsnortheast.com
or call 0191 280 5037 with contact details and the number of
students you would
like to bring, by Friday 27 March. We will then get back to you to
confirm your allocation.
Get buzzing at the Bees
conference
Interested in finding out more
about business, ethics and enterprise in schools? Want
your students to be involved in social enterprise
and your school to be more
engaged with business? Sign up for the Bees conference to explore the
role social enterprises can play in schools.
Learn how
to work more effectively with employers and broaden your understanding
of ethical businesses and co-operatives. The conference
will be hosted by Wendy Gibson,
with Tim Campbell (winner of the Apprentice and social entrepreneur) as guest
speaker, all delegates will
receive a free Enterprise
Education resource kit.
Date: Thursday 25 June 2009 at
The Sage, Gateshead from 9.15am - 4.30pm
Cost: £195+VAT per
person. For more information, contact Lyndsey Archbold – archboldl@benetenterprises.co.uk,
0787 87 99 444 or go to
our website – www.schoolsnortheast.com to download
the flier and booking form.
Maths
in Work conference
A
conference aimed at Secondary teachers looking at Rich Tasks, Maths 300,
Cross curricular teaching, Bowland and the history
of
maths. ‘Maths in Work’ has been designed to offer glimpses of the real world of
work via video clips, to help students appreciate
not
only the relevance of mathematics but its importance in everyday life. The
clips feature the people who are actually ‘doing the
job’
and explain some of the maths processes that they are involved with on a daily
basis.
To
be held at Newcastle University, Monday 30 March, from 9.30am until 4pm.
For more information or to book your place at the meeting
contact audrey.keating@ncetm.org.uk
FAO: Tees Valley schools
Know any rising sports stars?
Are any of your pupils talented
at sports? If so, enter them in The Evening Gazette 2008/2009 Sports Awards
before the end of the
week and make them Sporting
Champions of the region. The awards scheme is designed to showcase the great
wealth and depth
of sporting talent and
achievements, from Grassroots stars to tomorrow’s Olympians, within the Tees
Valley region. Supported by
both local and national
athletes, this exciting event is very much focused on the local community and
aims to showcase some of the
wonderful work taking place throughout
January 2008 to March 2009. An awards presentation for finalists will be held
at The Riverside
Stadium, Middlesbrough Football
Club on Monday 18 May. The lucky winners will receive a cash prize
and trophy.
Fill in the online entry form by Friday 13 March. - www.gazettelive.co.uk/sportsawards
or contact Teresa Peters - teresa.peters@ncjmedia.co.uk.
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News round-up
Local news
·
Radio
visit for Teesdale schools (Northern Echo)
·
Pupils
join bananas attempt for Fairtrade Fortnight (Northern
Echo)
·
Crook
pupils victorious in the Wolves Lair (Northern Echo)
·
Parent
Prosecuted For Child's Truancy From Northumberland School (Northumberland County Council)
·
Sunderland
pupils' fund-raising drive to help grow wildlife haven (Sunderland
Echo)
·
Newcastle pupils’ joy at moving into brand new
building (Chronicle Live)
·
Steps
to be taken at Stockton school after Ofsted report blow (Gazette Live)
·
Pupils
create cuisine with chemistry (Northern Echo)
·
Pupils
show they're the best school singers in Sunderland (Sunderland
Echo)
·
Darlington
pupils earn awards for arts achievements (Northern Echo)
Teenagers and lie-ins (Dr Paul Kelley from Monkseaton
High School, North Tyneside)
·
Head urges lie-ins
for teenagers (BBC News)
·
Teenagers 'improve grades' with a lie-in (Telegraph)
·
Headmaster Paul Kelley gives pupils a two-hour lie-in (Times)
·
Teenage pupils deserve 11am lie-in, says head (Observer)
Head
dismissals
·
Five-fold leap in
number of heads sacked (TES)
·
Big
rise in head teacher sackings (BBC News)
·
Heads fear
redundancies as the recession bites (TES)
·
150
heads and deputies sacked last year (The
Guardian)
·
Head
teacher dismissals rise five-fold (Daily
Telegraph)
·
Head
teachers 'are being sacked like football managers' (Daily Mail)
Admissions
·
Twins
hoping for the same class placed in schools 18 miles apart (Times)
·
Turned
away at the school gates (Daily Telegraph)
·
Appeals
begin here (Sunday
Times)
·
Thousands
of pupils are denied first choice of primary school (Times
online)
·
Parents'
admissions trauma is down to gross inequality outside school gates (Guardian)
Private schools and GCSEs
·
Gifted pupils are failed by GCSEs, warns Eton head (Daily
Mail)
·
Top
grammar school will abandon GCSEs (Independent)
State
school A levels
·
Private
school pupils 'four times as likely' to get straight As at A-level (Daily
Telegraph)
·
State schools slip farther behind private schools at A-level
(Times)
Other educational news
·
Drive
to boost science in schools (Financial Times)
·
STEMNET
press release on biggest challenges facing globe (STEMNET)
·
Focus
on fact is stifling schools, warns top head (Observer)
·
Lib
Dems back state faith schools (BBC News)
·
Pound-wise heads
count pennies (TES)
·
Ultra-tough but oh
so girly - exclusion shows its face (TES)
·
Excluded pupils to
get taste of work if PRU moves into office block (TES)
·
Dyslexia reading
programme praised for its 'moral cause' (TES)
·
Discrimination
robbed teacher of £30k over 15 years (TES)
·
Balls looks to wider
role for leadership college (TES)
·
Minister's challenge
on autism achievement (TES)
·
Parents
'want snap inspections' (BBC News)
·
Expose
youngest pupils to risk, says school leader (TES)
·
CCTV installed to monitor classrooms (Daily
Telegraph)
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Star pupil
Egglescliffe school – Crowned ‘School of the Month’ by the School Food Trust for the
innovative ways they have achieved a
45% increase in children eating school meals. Egglescliffe, in
Stockton on Tees, have received a full page of recognition for their
hard work in The TES and £5,000 worth of equipment for their kitchen or dining room
as reward for their wonderful achievement!
To be in with a chance of
winning School of the Month, sign your school up to the Million Meals campaign
and make positive changes to your
school lunch experience – www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/millionmeals
Could do better
Head
dismissals - The number of senior teachers and Heads sacked because of poor
exam results has increased five-fold in just
four years, according to figures published by The Association of
School and College Leaders (ASCL). Reports claim that many of
Heads are ‘losing their jobs without being given adequate time’
and Union leaders state that the pressure to turn around
schools was
"unrealistic"
and leading to a waste of decent heads.
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Head to Head
Paula
Williams has been Head Teacher of Whitburn Church of England School since
April, 1999. She began teaching science in Ham,
near
Twickenham, in what she claims was the ‘mid-Silurian’ era . Paula is also a SCHOOLS NorthEast Trustee.
Last
week was marked by the publication of our latest Ofsted report. We were rated
‘outstanding’ across the board and apart from
being
pleased for pupils and staff, my main emotion is one of pleasure that they
won’t be back for a while.
The
biggest disappointment at school last week was hearing some Heads bleating on about
the GCSEs not catering for exceptionally
able
children. Such children must always be challenged appropriately by effective
teaching which will not rely on an examination system
to
do that for them – ask Plato!
The
funniest thing that happened in school last week was seeing the
disappointment of the nice chap providing training for our Estate
Manager
on the new heating plant, when we told him we weren’t satisfied with looking at
the new boilers through a crack in the door by the
light
of a mobile phone!
One
thing that would have made my job easier last week: Just doing my job and
not having to remind members of the LA, architect’s
team,
furniture suppliers, IT contractors, Uncle Tom Cobbly and the man who painted
the 4-storey chimney the wrong colour to DO THEIR
JOBS
on time and as agreed.
Top
of my list to do this week: talk to the children every day; last week I had two full days
of meetings and only managed a few ‘Hellos’.
My
Heroes of last week and every week – my amazing staff, who always go the extra mile for the pupils
and are gentle with me when I
am
suffering from my regular ‘new building befuddlement’.
My
villains of last week and every week are Heads that moan about their job, rather than admitting how
lucky we are to have this
wonderful
job which is also great fun; it is very busy but that’s why we get paid more
than the rest of the staff.
The
one thing I would change in schools to have the biggest impact on children would be to encourage
all Heads to fully implement
the
workforce reform agenda as the benefits to teachers of reducing administration,
‘rarely covering’ etc have a direct and positive impact
on
pupils and their learning.
The
bit of my job that I actually really enjoy, that doesn’t involve being in the
classroom is...I have always wanted to work in a
school
that was run for the children and their learning. As a Head I have the
very great privilege of being able to fashion just such a school;
our
systems, policies, procedures, decisions etc are made in the interests of all
learners (pupils, staff, governors) and not in response to
any
external agenda. This means I minimise paperwork, for instance, we complete no
SEF or School Improvement Plan and I commend
everyone
to the joy of opening your post next to the re-cycling bin!
My
question for next week’s Head is: Do you really need to write a SEF?
If you would like to take part
in our regular ‘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.
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Funding and opportunities
Secondment opportunity -
Preventing Violent extremism
Government Office North East
(in conjunction with DCSF) is offering a secondment opportunity to work
alongside Local Authorities
across the region in supporting
schools in adopting the Preventing Violent Extremism toolkit for schools
(Learning together to be safe).
The main purpose of this
secondment is to ensure that there is a proportionate response in the region to
the Prevent agenda in relation
to the implementation of the
Learning Together to Be Safe toolkit for schools. The post could be a part-time
or full-time and will until
March 2010.The successful
candidate will have experience of working with children in educational or other
settings and an understanding
of community cohesion and
safeguarding issues. Submit an expression of interest, a CV and an indication
of whether the current
employer has been approached
and agreed in principle to a secondment. Applications to be sent to - jackie.mchanwell@gone.gsi.gov.uk
by 5pm on Monday 16 March. For more
information, contact Jackie McHanwell - 0191 202 3742 or Pixley Clarke on 0191
202 3748.
Put
your pupils on the BIG commitee...
The
Big Lottery Fund are looking for young people to join their decision-making
committee for the Young Peoples Fund 2; Local grants
(YPF
2) programme. YPF 2 Local
Grants is the latest round of funds that will offer up to £38
million pounds to improve and change the
lives
of young people all over England by putting them in charge of projects and
services. The committee will make some tough decisions
about
which projects should receive funds. For children and young people aged between
10 to 25 years of age. Members will be trained
and
will work in a team with experienced grant-makers. A great opportunity for your
pupils to learn new skills, meet new people and help
make
life-changing decisions for other young people.
Eligible
for a food technology room?
If
your school is maintained, not in BSF waves 1-6 and does not have a food
technology room, you may be eligible to apply for £300,000
funding
to get yourself one. The DCSF is offering funding to those schools that will be
required to deliver compulsory food technology
from
September 2010. Voluntary-aided and City Technology colleges may apply for the
funding through their local LA. Academies and
special
schools are not eligible to apply. Read the Guidance on the Teachernet website
– www.teachernet.gov.uk, before contacting
your
local
LA who will apply on your behalf. Deadline for applications is 17 April 2009.
Save
cash on TV
A
new Teachers TV programme could help heads save thousands of pounds on IT,
cleaning or staffing. The makers of Save Money 2
need
more schools to take part in the second series of the programme, where Claire
Dicks, procurement expert from the Department
for
Children, Schools and Families, pores over their accounts to identify where
they can make cuts. She has already found one school
could
save £40,000 by not employing anyone to manage its cleaning services. She saved
another school £17,000 by advising it to use
the
local authority’s photocopying lease rather than buying a contract. To take part, phone 020 8600 3461 or email gemma.gibbs@illumina.co.uk
Looking
for alternative Leadership models or a School Business Manager?
In
today’s economic climate, having a School Business Manager (SBM) on your
leadership team could be a real help in securing funding
streams,
saving costs and improving inefficiencies. TES Prime are offering free
consultations to help you find your School Business
Manager
or Bursar and/or help you define your Leadership structure. TES Prime work with
Head Teachers and governors and search the
Education
and commercial landscape to provide the biggest pool of talent for you to
appoint from.
Arrange
your free consultation today - info@tesprime.com,
020 3194 3038.
FAO:
Maths Teachers
Maths
Outside of The Classroom
The National Centre for
Excellence in Teaching Mathematics (NCETM) actively promotes the learning of
mathematics outside the
classroom. Visit their website
to download free resources and to learn about good practice in the North East
and other parts of the
country. Share your own ideas
and maths projects on the site too.
Go to - http://www.ncetm.org.uk/Default.aspx?page=13&module=res&mode=100&resid=9268
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Wise words
“The definition of stupidity is doing the
same thing again and expecting a different result”
Albert Einstein
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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