Four students from a Cheshire secondary school have won a major anti-hate challenge organised by the University of Southern California (USC) Shoah Foundation and global edtech leader Discovery Education.

The students from Sandbach High School, were awarded top prizes in the UK category of the international Stronger Than Hate Challenge after creating pieces of artwork and a short film about hate crime. Inspired by the testimony of holocaust survivors, the students’ winning entries were designed to encourage people around the world to unite against racism.

Impressing US-based competition judges, the four students received scholarships and iPads. The judges said that the Sandbach students “demonstrated excellence in leveraging testimony and creativity to promote empathy, understanding, and respect in their local communities.”

The 4 winning students are:

Joint first prize Chloe Heath and Sophie Kaler

Chloe’s winning entry was ‘Silence is Compliance’, a beautiful iPad drawing inspired by the testimonies of holocaust survivors. Chloe said:

“After watching the testimonies, I have been filled with hope. I have learnt about many beautiful acts and how they have drastically improved countless lives.  My work reflects the disappointment I feel for the people who silently stood by and watched genocides take place and also represents how genocide destroys communities emotionally and physically.

Chloe will receive a £5,000 scholarship.

Sophie’s winning entry was ‘An Anti-Racist World’, a colourful piece of art inspired by Diane Uwera, a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide. Sophie said:

“I have a dream of an anti-racist world. I hope that more people will come to realise the need to be kind to everyone, everywhere. I hope they will strive to create a world like the one on my piece; we should all want to live in a colourful, diverse, anti-racist world, where people like Diane shouldn’t have to suffer or hide. I hope that my work inspires others, just like Diane inspired me.”

Sophie will receive a £5,000 scholarship.

Third prize Evelyn Tickner and Eleanor Taylor

Evelyn and Eleanor were awarded joint third prize for their animated short film, ‘Love is a Gift’. Watch the video here.

“In order to spread the stop hate message, we will share it with our friends and family, put it on our church page, share it on our social media and throughout our school”, said Evelyn and Eleanor.

Evelyn and Eleanor will share a £500 scholarship.

Now in its third year here in the UK, The Stronger Than Hate Challenge was launched in March along with special classroom resources to help teachers and students recognise and counter hate and discrimination. Freely available at TeachingWithTestimony.com/challenge-uk, these expert resources and videos will empower students to employ empathy, build critical-thinking skills and become inspired to create a brighter future after listening to first-hand accounts from survivors and witnesses of genocide.

“Research shows us that students are facing a mental health crisis. The Stronger Than Hate Challenge empowers students to creatively express the power of empathy, understanding, and respect. Congratulations to the 2022 winners and the change you’re already making in the world,” said USC Shoah Foundation Interim Director of Education and Outreach, Lesly Culp.

“Teaching with Testimony – and the Stronger Than Hate Challenge – are wonderful examples of how students are creating a more peaceful and collaborative world,” said Amy Nakamoto, General Manager of Social Impact at Discovery Education. “We are proud to stand alongside USC Shoah Foundation in putting testimony in classrooms nationwide.”

Roughly three quarters of recruits are over 25 years old – as the National Institute’s any time, any place model attracts second-career recruits.

And against worrying warnings from NAHT and others of a possible exodus of school and college leaders following the pandemic, courses to enhance the expertise and skill of experienced staff are showing a rise in interest and applications.

Core to these achievements are the National Institute’s flexible programmes, which blend online learning with local school-based practice, giving aspiring teachers access to nationwide sector-leading training. Meanwhile, multiple start points, part time routes and modular courses are attracting older and second-career recruits, further expanding the pool of skilled teachers.

All National Institute courses are apprenticeship-approved, meaning schools can use their apprenticeship levy to fund training at no additional cost. This is providing a convenient and financially-effective route for experienced teachers to enhance their skills – with a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership and Senior Leader Apprenticeship, alongside coaching and CPD courses, providing cradle to grave development for teachers at every stage in their career.

• The West Midlands saw the most applications to the National Institute, followed by London
• 31 is the average age of its initial teacher training student
• While the more traditional ‘tuition fee’ route is the most common route into teaching here, salaried and apprenticeship routes are growing in popularity, indicating an increasing trend towards training on the job
• 96 professionals enrolled on the National Institute’s Masters course in its first year, and around a third of trainees on its leadership courses are below 35

Professor Geraint Jones, Executive Director and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, National Institute of Teaching and Education, said: “Recruitment and retention issues in teaching have been getting worse over the past two decades. The new National Institute of Teaching and Education is aiming to help address these issues and is demonstrating that high quality courses, combined with more flexible training models, can attract more teachers into the profession, and also upskill and inspire those further into their careers. We need to make it easier for teachers and school leaders to access the best training that can be completed at a time and location suitable for them. Continuous professional development for teachers is the one way to develop a truly world class education system in this country.”

www.nationalteachinginstitute.org

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.