Subject: FAO Head Teachers - weekly news update 6

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

Next week...it’s half term! We hope you have a wonderful, relaxing week off work.

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News and Events

Make Your Mark deadline extension!

The Make Your Mark Challenge is a free, one-day, national enterprise competition for secondary schools and colleges. It kick-starts

Enterprise Week which this year will be part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. Over 3200 young people from North East schools

and colleges are already registered to take part. The deadline for registration has now been extended to Sunday 9 November.

Go to Make your Mark challenge for more details.

11 Million Takeover Day

Let your students run the school for a day! It’s 11 Million Takeover Day on Friday 7 November and the Children’s Commissioner

for England is challenging organisations around the country to put children in charge. Last year over 15,0000 children and

young people took over roles such as Council Leader, Mayor, Cabinet Minister and even Head Teacher! Are you willing to hand

over the reins for a day?

For more information or to register what your school has planned for Takeover day, visit - http://www.11million.org.uk/

VONNE Youth Solutions 08

An opportunity to gain an understanding of the value young people can bring as leaders of services in their communities. The

event will provide delegates with concrete examples of how young people are already enabling services to meet the Aiming

High objectives, through their work achieving the Every Child Matters Outcomes. With participation from the Learning Skills

Council and Government Office North East. Middlesbrough Riverside Stadium, Wednesday 5th November, 10am-2pm.

Go to - http://www.just4youth.com/youth_solutions.html for more details.

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News round-up

· Bonuses for SATs bunglers (The TES)

· Pupils go on rampage at new academy (The TES)

· School waits year for GCSE appeal (The TES)

· Relationship lessons from age 5 (BBC News)

· Councils lack clarity over children's trusts (Children and Young People Now)

· Lessons on sex 'to be compulsory' (BBC News)

· Primaries safe from closure, ministers insist (The Guardian)

· John Prescott criticises independent schools (The Telegraph)

· Primary pupils 'need specialist teachers' (The Independent)

· Ban on fast food outlets near schools (The Independent)

· Primary schools face SATs threat (BBC News)

· Primary school absentees on the rise (Children and Young People Now)

· Parents have say on schools' shake-up (Sunderland Echo)

· Pupils to receive finance lessons (BBC News)

· 60,000 playing truant every day, despite Government campaign (The Telegraph)

· Teachers don't mind being accountable, but this was over-regulation (The Guardian)

· Literacy tests for trainee teachers show that those who can't spell, teach (The Times)

· Maths and science 'end decline' (BBC News)

· Student interest in science and languages revives (The Guardian)

· Testing times for degree as report card trial begins (The Guardian)

· Drive to improve professional development in schools (Children and Young People Now)

· Majority of schools to become 'self-governing', says Knight (The Guardian)

· Student interest in science and languages revives (The Guardian)

· Brown to splash billions on schools and hospitals (The Independent)

· Literacy tests for trainee teachers show that those who can't spell, teach (The Times)

· Teachers scramble for top job as bursars take strain (The Times)

Star pupil

Maths and Science – University funding chiefs revealed this week that the £350m programme to save maths and science is

actually working! Student interest in chemistry, physics and mathematics in particular has risen over past three years, making

the future of these subjects a lot brighter.

Could do better

Term time holiday deals- With the announcement this week that over 60,000 pupils are playing truant every day, figures show

that cut price breaks during the school year remain among the main reasons for missing classes.

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

Maggie Mitford has been a Teacher for 37 years and a Head Teacher at Brandling Primary in Gateshead since September

1997 – ’11 fantastic years’. Maggie started work as a clerk in the Youth Employment Bureau having been politely asked to leave

school because the Head Teacher of the ‘ladies academy’ (Walker Technology High School for Girls) didn’t think her parents

could afford to send her to college. About this Maggie says, ‘I am pleased I did work before going to college as the experience

made me appreciate the life out in the big world’. Maggie recently received a distinction and was runner up in the regional event

for the National Teaching awards.

This week has been a school focused week. Because I am involved in a range of consultancy work and spend some time

working or attending meetings outside of school, I have to ensure that Brandling remains a priority. This week has been dedicated

to school self evaluation, teachers performance management and working with my own staff to develop ideas to support the

further raising of standards. Unfortunately I also have to spend a great deal of time working with external support agencies linked

to families in the school.

The two best things that happened at school this week were: 1) observing some ‘cracking’ teachers as it gives me the greatest

satisfaction to know that the children in Brandling are receiving a first class education. 2) When a child was supposed to be moving

to another school came running up to me with a great big smile on her face, threw her arms around me and said, “Me mam says

am staying here”.

The biggest disappointment at school this week was having to spend a lot of time dealing with the fall out from fighting and

squabbling adults who live on the estate near to school. I only wish they realised the impact of their actions on their children.

The funniest thing that happened in school this week was a conversation in a PE lesson between the teacher and a 6yr old -

Teacher: “Now have a rest. What do you notice?” (referring to heart rate)

Pupil: “There’s nee coppers aboot”

Teacher: “What do you mean?”

Pupil: “Yee canna get arrested if there is nee coppers aboot”.

There was one more funny moment when we had a phone call saying that a child would be absent because “they had the chicken

spots”.

One thing that would have made my job easier would the email system going down...or 36 hours in every day.

Top of my to-do list for next week is to sleep then to meet friends.....it is half term.

My hero’s of the week are all the children who on the residential who took part in the “leap of faith”, (they called it the “leap of death”).

My villain of the week has to be The National Assessment Agency (NAA) who informed me that they failed to locate our lost SATs

mental maths papers. This will mean that the children who are now in secondary school cannot have their overall grade and the

school league tables will not reflect the true picture of Brandling- “An outstanding school” (OFSTED Sept 2007)

I have seen some elements of outstanding teaching this week throughout the school in maths and English as I have the privilege

of being in class monitoring. It would be hard top pick out one in particular.

The question I would ask next week’s Head is: What one strategy is successful for getting parents involved in their children’s

education?

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

FAO Music Teachers

EMI Music Sound Foundation

The EMI Music Sound Foundation offers bursaries and general awards which are dedicated to the improvement of music education

with a focus on youth. They support: non-specialist schools to fund music education, music students in full time education to fund

instrument purchase and music teachers to fund courses and training.

For more details and an application form go to - http://www.musicsoundfoundation.com/awards.html

FAO Science and Technology Co-ordinators

National Science Competition

A brand new competition open to all 13-19 year olds who have completed a project or activity in any field of science, technology,

Engineering or maths. Shortlisted competitors will be invited to attend the UK Young Scientists’ and Engineers’ Fair in London on

4-6 March 2009 with all expenses paid. Celebrity judges will select the two winners.

Go to www.nationalsciencecompetition.org to find out more.

North East in a Nutshell – know your region

The North-east enjoys more lottery jackpots than anywhere else in Britain - such as Redcar engineer John Ellis who scooped

£2m last year. Lucky us!

Wise words

"The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already."

John Buchan

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Have a good week!

SCHOOLS NorthEast Team

Katie Stonehouse

Communications Officer

SCHOOLS NorthEast

Tel: 0191 280 5037