CPD Team

The theme of the recent SELMAS dinner on May 24th at the St George’s Centre, Edinburgh was Donaldson and Me and a succession of impressive speakers shared their personal responses to the Teaching Scotland’s Future review.

The themes picked up by the various speakers didn’t hugely surprise: Linda McTavish, Principal of Anniesland College was enthused by the prominence of partnership working in the review and talked about how this was a functional necessity in her setting – without their partnerships with business, industry, schools etc the college really couldn’t operate. This addressed the issue of providing a bit of the “how” that discussion was identified as missing from the report – bearing this in mind sharing the Anniesland experience in partnership building and working might be a useful thing to do.

Jaqueline Scott, HT at Trinity Prmary School Edinburgh mentioned improving quality and entry selection as priorities, and also called for greater flexibility with time commitments for probationers, suggesting greater flexibility with time management and allocations for probationers. She suggested longer continuous stretches in class, then concentrated, focussed periods out of class to really reflect, share, consolidate and build on their experience. The weekly 0.7/0.3 split is sometimes seen as rigid and disruptive, and it stands to reason that a more flexible system would be more user friendly. Something for further discussion at the Probationer Support event we’re organising next week at SMC.

Gillian Hamilton was on her favourite subject – leadership; and asking what difference Donaldson will make to this theme. Looking to the future, the role of HTs will no doubt change, as it already has since Gillian was in the role and not necessarily in a positive way, with more attention to risk assessment, budgeting, behaviour and grievances tending to sometimes eclipse the HTs role as lead learner in a school. The virtual college, as suggested by Donaldson via the national CPD team, will provide a focus for CPD and connecting school leaders and should also help shape and support the various leadership roles a forward-thinking profession for the future might require.

The most contentious discussion of the evening came during the panel discussion at the end when Cara Aitchison Head of School at Moray House, Edniburgh saw Donaldson’s recommendations as an invitation to the TEIs in Scotland to diversify and offer specialisms, but suggested that the “traditional” model of teacher education ( research and university based) is best suited to an institution like Edinburgh, and more “vocational” approaches might be better if left to ” institutions in the west.” Not surprisingly, there was quite a reaction to this Interesting! No matter how teachers enter the profession, there is some merit in what Stephen Heppell says: “if they can’t make schools spectacularly good, what are they doing training teachers?” It makes sense – TEIs should be modelling the best in education and for a profession fit for our times, is that best done through lectures, essays and seminars? This relates tangentially to the discussion but is relevant none the less.

Other memorable moments: HT from Govan said his best teacher was his granny because

she knew him
she loved him
she knew how to get the best out of him. Simple, really.
And another HT from Edinburgh expressed some concern at the homogeneity of students coming into the profession; regretting the demise of the outlyers, the mavericks, the independent thinkers (and operators) who took risks, often defied authority and still commanded respect, made big impressions and like the aforementioned granny, got the best out of young people.

Sadly the discussion was just beginning to get interesting when the evening was brought to a close. SELMAS is a loosely constituted, open organisation which provides a forum for leadership – I hope we continue the conversations.

The article that follows was published in TESS on 20 May, 2011.

There have been big changes in our expectations of school leaders in the years since business managers first appeared as members of school management teams. Increasingly, headteachers report that their role in leading learning and raising standards is growing in complexity. New partnerships, internal and external, are now required to ensure that the educational experience of all young people is of high quality. So it seems a good time for business managers to review and develop the contribution they can offer to support school systems and school leaders.

In Continuing to Build Excellence in Teaching, the Scottish Government’s response to the Donaldson report on teacher education, it says there is a need for a “genuinely collective” effort to put excellence in teaching at the heart of Scottish education. To succeed in this, the report describes the need for everyone involved in the delivery of school education to maintain a focus on activities that make a difference to children’s learning.

Everyone is aware of the added value that comes from the professional skills of business managers in areas such as human resources, finance and administration, but less well understood is the contribution they can make to the creation of a positive and inclusive learning environment.

In the best circumstances, where there is a culture of engagement, business managers can play a key role in meeting the challenge of educational reform, building staff capacity to act creatively and innovatively, and supporting effective planning and resource management for best value. They can work with teaching colleagues to seek new opportunities for engagement in the wider community, and to build partnerships across professional boundaries. They can support other colleagues through offering coaching, mentoring and high-quality professional review and development.

They help to develop systems that focus on what matters and ensure all staff can spend their time on what gives best value to learners. And, crucially, they model best practice in terms of reviewing and planning their own professional learning and engaging in collegial learning opportunities.

The environment in our schools is very different today from 15 years ago, when the first business managers took up post, but the need for their expertise is greater than ever. They need to push the boundaries of practice in ever more innovative and creative ways in response to changing political and economic drivers for change. By doing this, they can offer a steadying hand in some of the stormy waters that lie ahead.

Margaret will speak at the first national conference on School Business Managers in Scotland: Efficiency, Effectiveness and Excellence, 8 June in Edinburgh. www.mackayhannah.com.

CPDMeets

CPDmeets are lively, quick, convenient and informal CPD opportunities which use Glowmeet to connect educators around a theme of common interest. Coming soon …….
• SQA Academy on Glow (http://bit.ly/cpdf1628) is hosting a series of CPDMeets starting on May 17th at 12 noon. Each CPDMeet in this series will be on a different aspect of e-assessment, and if you are interested in these CPDMeets, please sign up for the first . It is hoped that a wide range of interested parties, including students, will take part in these discussions to help shape the future of e-assessment
• Catriona from the team will also lead CPDMeet 31 on intercultural awareness and MLPS on May 18th at 4pm. Please sign up
• Guitarmeet was so successful we’ve planned a follow-up on Monday May 23rd at 18:30 Sign up here: http://bit.ly/cpdmeet32
• Pam Currie from the Glow team will also be exploring making learning relevant and the cross-curricular potential within the daily online newspaper for students, the Daily What! On Tuesday June 7th at 4pm. SHope you can join us for one or all of these – all the meetings take place in our CPDCentral discussion room. Hope to see you there.

This is the May 2011 edition of the CPD Team Newsletter.

We hope you find it interesting – let us know! And do feel free to re-circulate it to anyone who might be interested.

Team plan 2011

The team has prepared a plan for the next six months with five key areas of work and we’d love to hear your thoughts on these. They are

• PRD and Measuring Impact
• Leadership Development
• Support for innovative, creative and cost effective professional development models.
• Support for online professional development
• Support the development of more effective policy and support for professional development from national level.

Check out the details here http://bit.ly/teamplan11  

CPD Network Conference, 21st June 2011           

The summer conference again addresses a very topical theme – “Leadership – Principles and Practice”. This time it will be held in Verity House, Haymarket and we are delighted with the very positive early response. The programme will include opportunities to trial the interactive Leadership Framework

If you haven’t booked your place yet do so now please by contacting ruth@cosla.gov.uk

Learning Rounds

Learning Rounds continues to excite interest in a wide range of schools and centres. In response to a number of requests the team are offering a one-day training session in Edinburgh on June 7th. This will take the same format as last year’s successful event. We would like to invite small teams (3/4 colleagues) from authorities who are interested in learning more about the potential of Learning Rounds to offer system-wide change in the context of Curriculum for Excellence. A team might be made up from authority staff, and/or school-based staff. There will be no charge for this event.

Intended outcomes:

• Resources and expertise required to use Learning Rounds as a vehicle for system change in schools and authorities are shared
• The potential of Learning Rounds as the basis for a professional learning community is explored
• The implications of the model as a driver of systemic and collegiate change is explored
• Participants record a high quality personal learning experience with the potential to change practice
• The new LR’s Glow Group is launched

Places are limited so contact Ruth@cosla.gov.uk  as soon as possible if you are interested.

Learning Rounds Community

The Learning Rounds online community is now fully up and running. As well as providing access to the Learning Rounds Toolkit which gives a comprehensive insight into the why and how of the approach, it has up to date news on LR activities, a question and answer facility, and most importantly a means to engage with colleagues across the country whether you are a veteran or a beginner. Membership of this community will give you access to all of the benefits, including an official LR logo which, once you have registered your LR, you are very welcome to adopt on your local authority and school documentation.

Its success depends on a healthy uptake so please sign up now on http://bit.ly/lrounds   

CPDCentral

CPDCentral continues to grow its membership with over 370 members. Con Morris of the team has been working with a number of colleagues across Scotland to build ‘affiliated’ communities using the CPDCentral model and tools. There are now communities for Global Citizenship (http://bit.ly/cpddgc), Games-Based learning (http://bit.ly/cpdconsolarium) and Internet Safety and Responsible Use (http://bit.ly/cpdcisru).

Con also led a session with West Lothian Music specialists in early May which serves a good example of how CPDCentral can be used to add impact to a face-to-face event. Colleagues were invited to introduce themselves, share practice and share intentions. The result is also a ‘mini-community’ that any music specialist can now join (http://bit.ly/cpdcmusic). You can see a version of Con’s talk and a wide variety of online CPD examples on http://bit.ly/cpdlinks

If you are not yet a member of CPDCentral, please join now (http://bit.ly/cpdjoin). If you want to know how you can add tailored CPDCentral tools to your CPD programmes or events, see the CPDCentral affiliation guide (http://bit.ly/cpdcaffil) and/or talk to Con (c.morris@ltscotland.org.uk).

CPDFind feedback required

It was great to see that CPDFind (http://bit.ly/cpdfind) got a specific mention in the Donaldson review. Regular readers of the CPDNews will know that CPDFind is changing to reflect the personal and local nature of effective CPD. See the blog post CPDFind is changing http://bit.ly/hyFzeD for more details. We are looking for a local authority CPD manager and establishment CPD managers who would be willing to spend a few hours with us testing the new environment and making it even better for its introduction in August of this year. If you are interested, please contact Con at c.morris@ltscotland.org.uk

CPDNet

• Have you visited CPDNet – the online home of our CPDNetwork – recently?
• Have you checked out the resources and ideas shared by colleagues from the Network?
• Have you added your own intentions, local innovative practice, ideas or insights to our interactive Donaldson (Teaching Scotlands’ Future) tool?

All the latest from the CPD Network is here http://bit.ly/cpdnet

Probationer support community

After the response to the item in the March edition of the CPDNews, we are going ahead with an event and programme to build a national community for probationer teachers and their supporters. There are still a few places on the programme, the face to-face element of which is an event in Stirling on 1st and 2nd June. If you are interested, please drop Con a line at c.morris@ltscotland.org.uk

CPDStepin

Our CPDStepin community for supply teachers continues to grow in strength. Here are some upcoming highlights – please share with all contacts who work with supply teachers

• CPDMeet: Reflecting on approaches to working with disaffected young people: 12 May 4.15. In this CPDMeet, David Noble CPDStepin Mentor will facilitate a ‘collaborative problem solving’ session to improve the way we work with this group of students. Sign up here http://bit.ly/cpdmeet34  
• TeachMeet Supply 18 May 6.30pm : University of West of Scotland Hamilton Campus. CPDStepin is delighted to be hosting this Teachmeet to provide supply colleagues with this face to face opportunity to learn, share and network with colleagues from across the country.  TeachMeets are informal gatherings of those curious about teaching and technology. Anyone can share great ideas they’ve trialled in their classrooms, ask important questions or simply sign up to take part in learning conversations. Sign up here http://bit.ly/tmsupply

Next month on CPDStepin

We are looking forward to launching our first CPDStepin Summer Summit – In the 3rd week of June, CPDStepin will host daily CPDMeets with a special focus on Additional Support for Learning.  Our experienced practitioners will be sharing their knowledge on Dyslexia, Aspergers and Autism – more details to follow.

Also in June we aim to be launching phase 2 of our online coaching pilot using Glow tools and we are in the process of recruiting a small team of coaches and coachees. Watch this space for more details.

 CPDMeets

The National CPD Team is making great use of the new Glow meet system with its continuing programme of CPDMeets.  Since the last update,  we’ve  had  George Smuga, on BYC- the senior stage;  Hugh Smith of the University of the West of Scotland leading some keen teacher-learners through a simple methodology to learn how to play the guitar. Due to popular demand, this one has a sequel which will take place on May 23rd at 18:30 – 19:30, in the CPDCentral meeting room as usual. We’ve also had an in-depth discussion on non-directive coaching lead expertly by Kate Coutts from Uyeasound School on Shetland.

Coming up

• SQA Academy on Glow (http://bit.ly/cpdf1628) is hosting a series of CPDMeets starting on May 17th at 12 noon. Each CPDMeet in this series will be on a different aspect of e-assessment, and if you are interested in these CPDMeets, please sign up for the first (http://bit.ly/sqaac1). It is hoped that a wide range of interested parties, including students, will take part in these discussions to help shape the future of e-assessment
• Catriona from the team will also lead CPDMeet 31 on intercultural awareness and MLPS on May 18th at 4pm. Please sign up http://bit.ly/cpdmeet31
• Pam Currie from the Glow team will also be exploring the possibilities within the daily online newspaper for students, the Daily What! On Tuesday June 7th at 4pm. Sign up here http://bit.ly/cpdmeet32.

Leadership Framework

We are continuing to develop the Leadership Framework based on the principle of progression through 3 broad levels of early, middle and school leadership.

Through the Professional Review and Development process and using the Framework, teachers are in position to critically reflect on their leadership skills to inform their professional needs and identify suitable CPD opportunities.

The Leadership Framework is an interactive resource. Currently we are working on populating the professional actions at each of the 3 levels of leadership. This allows online access to a wide variety of resource materials for each of the professional actions. The menu of resources includes video extracts of leaders in school operating at each of the 3 levels and talking about their own experience and practice on their leadership journey.

A number of focus groups have considered the Framework and have provided valuable comments which we will now further consider for final draft form.

Join us on June 21st at the Network meeting to find out more.

PRD Initiative

Thanks to everyone who has welcomed Catriona and Bob to their school or authority recently.  They have met with a range of colleagues to continue the process of learning about different systems and approaches to PRD.  Despite some of the negative messages we have heard about PRD, it is becoming clear that there is some really encouraging practice to celebrate and disseminate.

The challenge for us all is to use the good practice that exists to bring about a levelling-up in the PRD experience for everyone, and so we hope to share descriptions of interesting practice and support materials in PRDShare which is an area of CPD Central (or it will be by the time you read this!)

To quote Richard Elmore when he last visited Scotland: “If you can’t see it in the classroom, it didn’t happen”.

Our aim, when we finish this programme, is to ensure that you will be able to see the impact of PRD and CPD in the classroom.  We’re getting there….

As always, if you know of a school we should be visiting to add to our store of interesting practice that should be brought to everyone’s attention, please get in touch catriona.oates@cosla.gov.uk; bob.cook@cosla.gov.uk

And so that’s all folks – happy CPD’ing!

Margaret

Margaret@cosla.gov.uk

This is the team plan for the next six months. We’d welcome any comment, feedback, issues, etc.

Some of you may like me have fond memories of the International Thought Leaders Programme which we ran in 2006/2007. We were lucky enough to have visits then from people of the calibre of Terry Dozier, Ellen Moir, Richard Elmore, etc. The impact of these visits is still being felt and you can see the final report here if you are interested.