The HISP Teaching School Hub based in Southampton will continue to be at the forefront of teacher training and development for schools within the region for the next four years.

The hub’s reaccreditation means it will act as the designated hub for teacher training and development for schools across the south coast.

As part of the accreditation process, the hub had to demonstrate an understanding of the barriers the areas it serves are facing, a proven track record of delivering high quality training for both experienced and new teachers, and a plan to expand its capabilities.

Deputy Director of the HISP Teaching School Hub David Higginbottom (left) said he was looking forward to working with schools for another four years, especially those in disadvantaged areas.

David added: “I’m so pleased we’ve been accredited for another four years. Our work will help to ensure that pupils across the south coast will receive the very best education – no matter their background – for the next four years.

Having access to face-to-face training delivered by local educational experts is so important for teachers at every stage of their career. We focus on techniques teachers can put into practice as soon as they leave a session with us.”

The HISP Teaching School Hub is part of HISP Multi-Academy Trust and offers high quality education, resources and support for teachers.

Blue Sky, which is based at The Lodge at Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, part of the Romero Catholic Academy, welcomed more than 20 education professionals to one of its first in-person sessions as part of a bid to help teachers in the region maximise their potential.

The session saw a mixture of teachers, teaching assistants and leaders hear about the new opportunities and take part in a seminar focussed on improving pupil engagement and progress in Maths lessons.

Will Allen, Director of Blue Sky, has collaborated with strategic and professional partners to harness talent across primary, secondary and special schools in the region ahead of the launch.

The programme aims to ensure the best possible teaching standards for the benefit of children and young people in the city by providing school-to-school support in target areas.

He said: “This is an exciting new chapter for Blue Sky as we expand our training and development opportunities to teachers across Coventry, Warwickshire and the West Midlands, and ultimately have a real impact on the learning experience of children across the region.

“The level of expertise we have across the Romero Catholic Academy is tremendous, and while we continue to make this accessible to our own staff members, our expansion means that we will also offer these opportunities to other schools as part of a bespoke support package, whether that’s for certain subjects, leadership skills, or for SEND learning.

“Our new Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme will be one of our flagship provisions following our expansion, but we will also look to extend invites to events, seminars and workshops throughout the school year, while having the capability to visit schools to deliver training in house.

“We’d love to hear from other schools and fellow education professionals about their personal development plans, and look forward to rolling out our new and improved provision in the next academic year.”

Blue Sky is delivering CPD to schools across the city throughout the academic year, including courses on Catholic Leadership, Senior Leadership Development, Subject Leadership, Teacher Development and a wide range of additional training and workshops.

For more information visit blueskytsa.org.

NFL Flag is the starting point for a possible journey into playing football professionally. As well as the regular football tournaments, there is the opportunity to qualify for a regional final played at Tottenham Hotspur in October 2022 during half time of the NFL Pro regular season game. The winners of that match will have the option to go to Florida to play the American finalists.

Becoming a regional Hub for the NFL is part of Windlesham’s drive to offer a more diverse range of sports to its pupils and to support the wider local pupil community. Pupils at the West Sussex prep school are being taught NFL Flag Football as part of the new curriculum programme and from a coaching perspective, this has been rolled out to a selection of Windlesham staff who are now fully certified.

Adrian Wallis-Adams, NFL Coach for Windlesham House explained, “Our goal, is to bring the local school community together, with an emphasis on state schools. We have launched our own League and other schools are able to play as part of this as well as enrol in the NFL Flag Football curriculum programme.”

Any school in the area can join the programme and being a co-educational sport, it has a much wider appeal. Certification is delivered through a one-day recognised PE staff training course. The NFL provides all of the training and curriculum material as well as free equipment. There is also no ongoing obligation or direct costs if you change your mind.

Windlesham is also planning some trips to support its local American football team, The Sussex Thunder, based at Sussex University, and has registered the school to attend the NFL regular season games, of which there are three scheduled for the Autumn of this year at Tottenham Hotspur and Wembley Stadium, and two further games are being played in Germany during November 2022.

Ben Evans, Headmaster at Windlesham House School said, “Following assessment by the NFL, we are delighted to have been appointed as a regional hub for the NFL. Diversity in sport has never been more important and this fun league provides both our pupils and the local community with some wonderful opportunities to train at a high level and to take their talent further afield.”

For local schools interested in getting involved, they are invited to send two PE teachers for training and will receive a 1st 4 Sport accredited qualification in NFL Flag Football as well as 10 official balls, 30 official flag belts, 6-week NFL Flag Football curriculum pack, and the opportunity to join the official NFL Flag League.

Mr Wallis-Adams concluded, “Windlesham hosted the first of many NFL Flag Football training sessions for PE staff back in March, which was hugely popular and very over-subscribed. We have already put a further date in our diary for September this year.”

The accreditation process was designed to ensure that all accredited ITT providers are able to deliver high quality ITT against the new Quality Requirements which will become part of the ITT criteria 2024/2025, and come into effect in September 2024. Recent reforms to ITT required all existing providers to re-apply for accreditation, as well as offering new providers the opportunity to apply for accreditation. 80 providers were accredited in the first wave, only one out of every three applying, highlighting the strength of the REAch2 application and the quality of the programme they will be providing.

As primary specialists, the REAch2 ITT programme will ensure trainees receive extensive training in learning how to work expertly with the youngest children, ensuring they develop a strong foundation for future learning and easing their transition to secondary school. The application also focused on REAch2’s strong track record of building partnerships between schools, across other academy trusts, and with specialist organisations, to highlight the wealth of opportunities available to trainees.

REAch2 placed the CCF offer at the heart of the application, highlighting how this entitlement would be delivered through a coherent training programme, on placement experience and intensive training and practice. The ITT programme will give trainees the opportunity to train in well-established local networks of schools at the heart of their communities, while benefiting from all the advantages of being part of a national network of primary practitioners.

Andrea Wright, Head of Early Career Teacher Development at REAch2 Academy Trust (pictured left) said: “This is an exciting new chapter for REAch2, building on the success of the REAch2 Teach Primary Partnership’s current ITT provision. REAch2 represents one of the largest networks of primary education professionals and is committed to creating expert primary practitioners and future school leaders who provide exceptional opportunities for learning for all children.

“We want trainees to: ‘Train locally, grow nationally’ benefiting from a broad and strong national network of schools who share our vision and values. We know that great teachers shape children’s lives, and we can’t wait to get started in training the next generation of expert primary teachers to do just this.”

Cathie Paine, CEO at REAch2 Academy Trust, said: “We are all delighted to be accredited as an Initial Teacher Training provider and are looking forward to helping develop fantastic new teachers. We know how much impact a great teacher can have on their pupils and I am thrilled that we can help train these teachers.

“This is also an opportunity to build upon our existing partnerships with schools to create an incredibly strong network of best practice. This will be invaluable in helping these new teachers make an immediate impact and quickly develop into outstanding primary practitioners.”

The flagship transformations include the likes of new modular furniture, book shelving and each library has benefitted from 400 new books, e-readers and audio books.

Beyond the reading space transformations, teachers at the schools will receive bespoke training to further their ability to create a culture of reading for pleasure and support that will enable them to maximise the reading spaces as hubs for imagination and creativity.

Families and carers of children at the schools will receive guidance and advice on how to support their children with reading outside the classroom, as well as invitations to special community and school literacy events including author readings.

Mel Bowman, Deputy Headteacher at Hazelbury Primary School, commented: “We’re thrilled to have the support of Chase to not only encourage a love of reading among the children at Hazelbury, but also equip parents and guardians with how they can support their children at home. Our new library provides a special space for the children to let their imaginations run wild and leave a lasting legacy that will have a real impact on their lives for years to come.”

Deborah Keay, Chief Marketing Officer of Chase in the UK, continued: “It’s fantastic to see our school library transformations taking shape and for children in the Enfield schools to now be actively using them. These three schools are part of our wider mission to transform 150 libraries across the UK to support children’s literacy across the nation. Developing early stage reading skills and discovering a passion for reading can shape a child’s life, unlocking their potential, and helping improve their future prospects.”

Director of School Programmes at the National Literacy Trust, Fiona Evans, added: “When children are able to enjoy reading for pleasure and access books they want to read, this has a positive impact on their wellbeing, their academic performance and their chances of doing well in life. This is why we are delighted to be working with Chase to deliver exciting reading spaces, resources and training to primary schools across the UK, and helping to inspire a life-long love of reading.”

The Chase Rewarding Futures school library programme, which launched in December 2021, is transforming 150 primary school libraries across the UK, 22 of which are in Enfield. Chase’s initial £1m commitment to children’s literacy will improve access to books and reading materials, reaching around 35,000 children in underserved communities across seven key areas: Dundee, Doncaster, Newport, Suffolk, London, Nottingham, and Birmingham.

The Hub officially opened on 1st September to provide high-quality training and professional development to support teachers and leaders at every stage of their career, with the objective of raising teaching standards and contributing significantly to school improvement.

It supports schools in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough – primary, secondary and alternative provision – with the Early Career Framework (ECF), National Professional Qualifications (NPQ), Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and Continuous Professional Development (CPD).

360 ECTs and 341 mentors (school teachers overseeing the ECTs) have attended local group sessions on the ECF, which gives all new teachers a funded entitlement to a structured two-year package of high-quality professional development at the start of their careers, and feedback from delegates has been hugely positive.

93% of ECTs and 89% of mentors rated the quality of their training as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ and 92% and 89% (respectively) ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that they would be able to apply their learning to their practice. These sessions have been undertaken by ECT lead provider partner, Education Development Trust (EDT), and now plans for ECT and mentor regional conferences in January 2022 are being finalised.

The Hub is also offering all six NPQs for teachers and leaders via its lead provider partners Teach First and the Church of England, and 43 school professionals having signed up to programmes beginning in November. And with the DfE’s confirmation on 1st December of reforms to ITT courses, including the role of Teaching School Hubs “to support training providers, especially locally and in disadvantaged communities”, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Teaching School Hub will step up its work with the three School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) providers in the area.

Meanwhile, a range of wider DfE and Hub approved CPD opportunities, including those with specialist Curriculum Hubs around subject-specific knowledge, have been accessed by around 40 primary and secondary school teachers.

“Our first quarter supporting teacher development from EYFS to Key Stage 5 has brought a strong start for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Teaching School Hub,” said Hub Lead Lynne Birch (pictured). “We have had a high level of engagement with schools in the area and actually exceeded the number of ECTs and mentors we were anticipating to support by around 160. Initial Teacher Training has been provided by our partners: CTSN SCITT, The Cambridge Partnership SCITT and Teach East SCITT, which is a wonderful example of expertise being drawn together through the Hub model. Recruitment to NPQs has also been very pleasing indeed and we are moving forward with all other areas. Our children deserve high-quality education and by being a centre of excellence, working collaboratively through strong, supportive partnerships which promote and value fairness, equality, inclusion and diversity, we can achieve our stated objectives.”

The Cam Academy Trust has engaged with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Teaching School Hub on several levels. “We hope and expect that both the support for ECTs and the access to NPQs will be important and significant professional development for many of our staff,” explained Chief Executive Stephen Munday CBE. “All our ECTs are registered with the EDT, the named provider for ECF support for ECTs, which has been sorted out through Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Teaching School Hub and is a crucial area of teacher support for us. Many of our staff will be registering for NPQs through Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Teaching School Hub, as well as other Teaching School Hub providers. These are an important source of leadership development.”

Mr Munday added that he was looking forward to exploring other opportunities with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Teaching School Hub. “We hope that we will be able to engage with further and wider areas of staff professional development, including contributing to the delivery and even design of these,” he said. “These would go beyond NPQs and ECT support. We will also continue to play a central role in overseeing a major SCITT that will provide much ITT in the area. Positive working relationships with key people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Teaching School Hub mean that we can work well and appropriately with seeking to move forward with the Hub.”

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Teaching School Hub, which was awarded to Histon and Impington Junior School (now Histon and Impington Brook Primary School) in January, is part of a strategic partnership called Iceni Teaching School Hubs alongside Saffron Teaching School Hub (Braintree, Chelmsford, Epping Forest, Harlow, Uttlesford) and Unity Teaching School (Forest Heath, Mid Suffolk, St Edmundsbury, Suffolk Coastal). It also works with Alpha Teaching School Hub, Chafford Hundred Teaching School Hub, Inspiration Teaching School Hub and Julian Teaching School Hub, as well as local authority partners Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council.

Emma Ringe, schools director, Whizz Education, confirms: “We know that in a typical year when students switch off over the summer, they tend to lose around two-three months’ worth of maths knowledge, known as summer learning loss.  Despite the heroic efforts of teachers, continued interruption to education due to the pandemic, plus the summer break, means many children are struggling with maths.

“The first step to address this challenge is to identify knowledge gaps.  We are now inviting schools to apply for a free trial of our support package and resources of our virtual tutor Math-Whizz to help children get back on track.  The offer includes an initial assessment so both teachers and parents can easily evaluate where individual children are concerning their maths knowledge and plan the best approach to help them move forwards.  Implementation of our award-winning, virtual tutor Maths-Whizz, which can be accessed online from any device both at school and at home, then mimics the best aspects of a human tutor, providing each child with a personalised learning pathway that adapts to their ability and pace of learning.  Tailored lessons are interactive, engaging and have been designed over many years to improve fluency across the maths curriculum.

“Included in the pilot is access to over 1200+ lessons, supporting resources and materials to complement classroom teaching, in addition, teacher training delivered by our team of experienced educators enabling staff to achieve a differentiated and more creative approach to mathematics which does not add to their workload.  Live progress data also helps teachers focus on creative lesson planning, addressing identified needs while insight reports provide detailed analysis of progress to demonstrate tangible results.”

1.5 million children around the world have now benefited from using the Maths-Whizz virtual tutor.  Research conducted with over 12,000 students and verified by independent experts, demonstrates that children who learn with Maths-Whizz Tutor for 45-60 minutes a week increase their Maths Age by an average of 18 months in their first year.

Ringe continues: “As a company, Whizz Education is committed to improving learning outcomes. We believe that every child deserves a learning experience that caters to their individual needs and pace of learning and so we are now offering the chance for a limited number of schools to access our full range of services and our Maths-Whizz virtual tutor for a trial period.  This will help teachers identify which skills need to be supported and to demonstrate how the solution can assist children in mixed ability settings to address lost knowledge and make accelerated learning gains.”

For further information and to apply for a whole school implementation free trial of Maths-Whizz please see: www.whizz.com/schools/request-pilot/

The Romero Catholic Academy, made up of seven primary schools and one secondary school based across Coventry, has announced its latest staff survey results which demonstrate just how far it has come in four years.

The Romero Catholic Academy launched its survey in 2016 and has since held them at the end of 2018 and 2020, asking employees about their understanding of the Academies strategy, how satisfied they are with management, staff and pay benefits, their role, teamwork, change, decision making, culture and values.

Despite the latest survey being held during the Covid-19 pandemic, it highlighted improvements across the board, including some significant positive changes.

This includes staff believing that their work is valued by their line manager, with almost 92 per cent of employees agreeing or strongly agreeing with this compared with 83 per cent in 2016, and that their wellbeing is considered in the workplace, with almost 83 per cent agreeing or strongly agreeing compared with 68 per cent in 2016.

Almost 90 per cent of staff surveyed also said they would recommend the Academy as a good place to work compared with 69 per cent in 2016.

Patrick Taggart, Director of Operations at the Academy, said: “Uniting eight separate schools to form a Multi-Academy Company comes with its challenges, but one thing we wanted to focus on from the start was staff satisfaction to help ensure we were an employer of choice.

“One thing we learnt early on was that the Academy’s vision, mission and aims were key in joining the schools together, so we ensured these were not just on posters and in marketing, but spoken about in performance management, covered at key events such as our annual staff conference and included in our strategic plan.

“Going from just 63 per cent of staff agreeing or strongly agreeing that they understand the Academy’s strategy in 2016 to almost 90 per cent at the end of 2020 is an achievement we should be proud of.

“Our management styles have also developed, and whereas everyone used to have their own individual styles, school leaders are now shaped by our vision, mission and aims.

“As part of this we have developed our performance management processes, adopting a culture of listening, praising and appreciating employees and giving staff the opportunity to provide feedback and be involved in decisions that will affect their job roles.

“Although teamwork was highlighted as a strength when we set up the Academy, this was when the schools still thought of themselves as separate entities, so the fact we have managed to improve these results further is testament to the joined-up approach we promote.

“Job satisfaction has also improved, and a key thing that has been a driving force behind this is how we have improved the working environment at each school, thanks to how we have handled our finances since becoming an Academy.

“We have invested hugely in technology with laptops now being replaced every three years, the installation of Promethean whiteboards in every classroom and each school receiving new LED lighting – all made possible by making savings through rationalising the supplier base and bringing services such as catering and IT in-house.

“A key part of setting up the Academy was gaining the trust of our staff, and it’s clear from our results that we have made huge progress, particularly in the last two years when we have seen some dramatic increases in employee satisfaction.

“This improved mindset within our 500 staff means we are able to deliver a better provision for our children, providing them with better life chances, which is what we strive for.”

Patrick added: “Our next steps will be improving communication with employees across all levels even further by implementing a new staff intranet site, as well as encouraging more staff innovation.

“But we want to also use these results to support other schools making that transition to Academy status or those who have already begun the process, sharing our knowledge of what we have learnt to support the education sector.”

Schools and academies looking for further advice can contact Patrick Taggart on p.taggart@romeromac.com

More than 30 schools across the country have so far partnered with the NHS service, which aims to extend the NHS standard of cleanliness to the wider community and support organisations with their infection control procedures during the pandemic and beyond.

Despite schools closing to the majority of pupils during the national lockdown, infection control remains one of the top priorities for the education sector. This is definitely the case for Billingham South Community Primary School in Stockton-on-Tees, which has kick-started the new year with staff training with a twist: a unique training programme teaching staff how to clean ‘the NHS way.’

Delivered by Tony Sullivan (left), the Environmental and Decontamination Services Manager based at University Hospital of North Tees and board member for the professional body for decontamination, the Institute of Decontamination Sciences, the NHS Deep Cleaning and Advisory Service training programme teaches the wider community how to clean ‘the NHS way’.

From touchpoint cleaning and application of disinfectants to ATP swab tests and how to remove PPE correctly, the training session covers a wide range of topics that have helped the team at Billingham South adapt the school’s cleaning strategy in line with the NHS standard, therefore helping to reduce the risk of infection.

By investing in the training programme from the NHS Deep Cleaning and Advisory Service, not only is the school enhancing its cleaning regime but it is also directly supporting the NHS. In addition to helping reduce the spread of infection in the local community and consequently easing pressure on local hospital Trusts, the income generated by the cleaning service is reinvested back into the NHS to support frontline patient care.

Edwin Squire, Headteacher at Billingham South, said: “Cleaning staff are very much at the forefront of this pandemic and it’s important they are equipped with the relevant knowledge, skills and equipment to help protect our staff, students and their loved ones at Billingham South.

“The training session delivered by the NHS Deep Cleaning and Advisory Service has been key to enhancing our cleaning regime at the school. Knowing how to clean in line with NHS standards has really boosted the confidence of our cleaning team and has better prepared our school for overcoming the coming challenges faced by the education sector due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Tony Sullivan, Environmental and Decontamination Services Manager at the NHS Deep Cleaning and Advisory Service, said: “As an NHS service, we are committed to supporting organisations across the UK with their infection control measures during the Covid-19 pandemic and thereafter.

“As I always say, prevention is better than cure and that’s why it’s important for organisations to ensure they have the correct cleaning procedures and knowledge in place to help stop the virus spreading in the first place. Having now provided deep cleaning, audits and training services to dozens of schools across the country, we look forward to continuing to build long-lasting relationships with the wider community and to support with their infection control long into the future.”

For more information about the NHS Deep Cleaning and Advisory Service, visit: www.deepcleaning.nhs.uk.

This newly launched Creative Education CPD course has been designed to help educators to reflect on their teaching and learn new skills that will allow them to implement small changes to their professional practice, and support their teaching in this new and uncertain world.

The global pandemic has massively impacted teaching staff, who have had little or no time to keep up with changes necessary or reflect on how to transform the landscape of teaching and learning.

Pupils’ deteriorating mental health, exam confusion, excessive workload, pressures of assessment targets and inspections, infection risks… The stressors in teaching are many and varied.

Led by Natalia Ernstman, Plymouth College of Art’s Senior Lecturer on their MA Creative Education: Making Learning, this new course, which will be delivered solely online, focuses on the belief that creativity is the route through which wider systemic challenges in education and personal resilience can be addressed.

Natalia said, “Teachers are at the front line of the pandemic in so many ways. Apart from having their own health to worry about, they are also dealing with increased feelings of anxiety and disillusionment among pupils, as well as fears and frustrations from parents. They are carrying enormous amounts of responsibility, yet it seems that they haven’t received the necessary support to be able to deal with this mental and physical burden. Nobody was prepared to deal with what Covid did to our society, but where other sectors have had more leeway to get it wrong and try again, teachers are under constant pressure to handle and solve the situation correctly and immediately. They are just expected to get on with it and make it work, because if they don’t, it’s our children’s futures that are on the line. It personally really worries me that so many teachers suffer from mental health issues as a result. It is harrowing to hear how many ambitious, enthusiastic and capable people decide that the teaching profession is too stressful for them and quit. It puts even more strain on the ones that remain, it’s desperate on so many levels.”

“At Plymouth College of Art, we don’t have the solutions to all of this, but we do know about creating safe and creative spaces where people can learn together to tackle challenging societal, professional and personal issues. That is what this short course is all about: creating a space to catch our breath, take stock and using the arts and research to design and implement small changes that support our teaching in this uncertain world. I have designed the course in a way that allows for ‘relaxed’ sharing of experiences and playful approaches to exploring where we are and where we want to go. Experts will share their view and will provide theoretical pedagogical underpinning.”

The course will also welcome guest speakers and educators to two of the sessions, one of which will be Dr Penny Hay, artist and educator, Reader in Creative Teaching and Learning, Senior Lecturer in Arts Education, Research Fellow, Centre for Cultural and Creative Industries; School of Education, Bath Spa University and Director of Research, House of Imagination (formerly 5x5x5=creativity).

The course is open to teachers in both primary and secondary education, as well as headteachers and managers in education, NQTs, and support workers. A limited number of places are available. The course will comprise of 5 online evening sessions over a period of 10 weeks. The first session will take place on 22 February 2021. Click here to find out more and to book your place.