Myscience Alumni Conference 2013

Alumni Conference 2013

by Yvonne Baker

Everyone has a right to their view on education – and boy, do most people like to exercise it. But this weekend, I saw things which I wish others of all philosophies, persuasions and mindsets could see, with a group of the hugely committed teachers, technicians and enthusiasts about STEM subjects coming together – literally through snow, blizzards and everything else mother nature could chuck at us. They came to share ideas, experience and inspiration as well as just the occasional bit of frustration – and in doing so, put the Myscience Alumni conference firmly on the map.

A bit like when you are throwing a party, we planned the conference, for teachers, technicians and others who have used the National or regional Science Learning Centres and/or the National STEM Centre resource centre and eLibrary, more in a spirit of hope than expectation. Would anyone come? If they did, would they enjoy it, find it useful, think it worth the bother? As the date drew nearer, the weather tipped the balance against us – but still our pathfinder alumni came, threw themselves into everything and left asking for more. What else could you possibly want?

Discussion at the conference

We discussed curriculum change, communications, recognising CPD, what makes inspirational STEM teaching and how we can further support STEM teaching and learning across the UK.  Attendees spanned primary, secondary, FE, teaching staff, technicians and those interested in apprenticeships and beyond. The conversation over Friday’s dinner and into Saturday was so interesting, entertaining and enthusiastic that I would gladly work every weekend, if only I could be guaranteed such positive and inspiring company! And contrary to some views that talking education always has to be intense, ‘worthy’ and serious, we laughed a lot  – educating young people is an important subject, but if you can’t do it with humour as well as gravitas, surely something is wrong.

What I wish people from all sides of the education debate could have witnessed is the simple, but absolute commitment of all those who participated to the young people with which they work. Many talked about how they choose to work in challenging situations. Even in schools which are not so challenging overall, several described how they assign themselves to difficult groups to alleviate the pressure on others. Everyone agrees on the crucial importance of subject knowledge – but also that it has to be communicated in a way which has meaning to today’s students, in a world where technology and science moves at an alarming rate.

Alumni Conference feedback session

Education debate is rarely without rhetoric, ideology or sometimes plain ignorance. What this weekend proved to me is that the simple truth spoken by those ‘at the coal face’ is far more powerful – that, whatever flashes and bangs we use to get young people interested in STEM, the quality of teaching is key; and that STEM subjects are different because they move so quickly, making it vital that teachers, technicians and others have easily accessible support to help them reflect accurately new technologies and discoveries as well as established bodies of knowledge.

Perhaps the most humbling feedback from the whole experience was the number of those present who thanked us ‘for listening’, suggesting that all too often those actually working with young people feel ignored in debates about what works and what doesn’t. That’s not just a waste of talent, it’s just plain daft.

So an enormous thank you to everyone who came – we owe you a huge debt of gratitude for not only battling through the weather but also reminding us of what a privilege it is to support you in your crucial roles. Keep in touch and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Inspiring inset

Participants at the National Science Learning Centre

By Chris Baker

Recently a teacher on a National Science Learning Centre course mistakenly asked me, “What is the best inset you have ever delivered”. Cue a huge list of the inset and training programmes in the areas of science and leadership that I have been involved in over the past few years. But what a good question! How do you judge the value of inset?

Was it the two day conferences I organised in my time as an ASE field office – impressive numbers – 500 teachers and huge range of workshops? Or the analytical techniques programme I organised for the Royal Society of Chemistry; hundreds of chemistry teachers over several years learning about the latest use of techniques from experts in university and industry.

Perhaps it was the massive national cascade inset programme I started as a “master trainer” for performance management? Two of us trained lead trainers, who trained trainers who trained performance management consultants, who trained every headteacher and teacher in the country. It surely deserves a place in the Guinness Book of Records but good inset? No – cascade training is notoriously ineffective.

So what characterises the best inset?- here’s my list:

• Inspirational – you can’t wait to try out some of the ideas
• Beneficial and relevant – concrete ideas you can use immediately
• Enjoyable – you don’t want it to end, you look forward to the next session
• Developmental – you have grown personally and professionally as a result
• Impact – it makes a difference. Not just to you and not just to the students you teach but also to your colleagues and the students they teach

Does a course exist which does all of this?  Well I think that the New and Aspiring Heads of Science course (NaHoS) does. Sometimes referred to by participants as the New and Perspiring Heads of Science, the course is the most comprehensive and effective preparation there is for leading and managing a science department.

The course involves four three-day residential sessions over 18 months. It’s a bit like those army films where you see a disparate group of recruits miraculously transformed into a super fighting unit that defeats the enemy against all odds. Towards the end of the course we give the teachers a seemingly impossible task in which they are all to work as a team in a ridiculously short timescale and they invariably come up trumps. Given the same task at the start of the course, they would have spectacularly failed.

The course leaders provide a mix of timeless leadership advice, concrete practical ideas to improve learning together and constantly change elements of the course to reflect the very latest developments such as the new appraisal and capability procedures. There are fresh ideas and tips from the very best practicing heads of science and expert input from guests on specialised topics such as new inspection frameworks.

We see people grow. Witness the triumphant email from a course participant who got his coveted Head of Science post after attending just one residential period and it was all down to the session on departmental vision. Well, probably more than that, but it certainly contributed to his success. We see gap tasks where teachers have made great strides in a wide variety of areas from assessment to differentiation to effective practical investigations.

However, the main gain is in the difficult and thorny issue of dealing with people through leading more effective meetings, team building, coaching and improving difficult relationships. Even harder is dealing with underperformance involving playing two roles simultaneously; that of the guardian of standards who holds people accountable and that of supporter and coach. Teachers who learn the skills and develop the confidence to tackle difficult areas like this really do make an impact.

Teachers on the course talk about an invisible force which carries them along, the bonhomie and camaraderie which helps them through difficult periods and the techniques and skills learned which make the job easier.
So not only is NaHoS the best course I help to deliver, it is also the most rewarding and enjoyable. The majority of teachers signed up for this year’s cohorts are there through personal recommendation.

Need I say more?

Progress and Progression in the new Ofsted Framework

By Ian Richardson

The word around schools and staff rooms is that satisfactory is no longer good enough. How can this be?

In January 2012 the new Framework for the Inspection of Schools came into force and it was updated in March 2012. Also in January 2012, Ofsted published supporting material such as ‘The evaluation schedule for the inspection of maintained schools and academies from January 2012’. For those in education who desire to understand the inspection process both documents need to be read.  They may be found as follows:

Framework for the Inspection of Schools

Evaluation schedule

The new framework requires fewer judgments than the previous version.

The evaluation schedule sets out the aspects of the school’s work that inspectors will evaluate, gives outline guidance about the evidence that inspectors may gather and grade descriptors to guide inspectors in making their judgements in the inspection of maintained schools and academies. These criteria are designed to be used by teachers and schools themselves in their self-evaluation activities.

The evaluation schedule should be interpreted in the context of each school being inspected. Inspectors will interpret grade descriptors in relation to pupils’ age, stage and phase of education.

The four judgments cover:

• the achievement of pupils at the school
• the quality of teaching in the school
• the behaviour and safety of pupils at the school
• the quality of leadership and management of the school.

The evaluation schedule for the inspection of maintained schools and academies only has two references to PROGRESSION which is taken to mean the next stage in education, training or employment. The word PROGRESS occurs many times and refers to progress aligned with learning and is relative to their starting point. The two areas of the schedule addressing progress are:

• Achievement of pupils at the school
• The quality of teaching

Groups of pupils:

Inspection is primarily about how individual pupils benefit from their school. It is important to test the school’s response to individual needs by observing how well it helps all pupils to make progress and fulfil their potential, especially those whose needs, dispositions, aptitudes or circumstances require particularly perceptive and expert teaching and/or additional support.

Achievement of pupils at school

This section deals with academic achievement. Achievement takes account of pupils’ attainment and their progress over time, together with the quality of learning and progress by different groups of pupils including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Inspectors will evaluate:

• how well pupils make progress relative to their starting points
• how well gaps are narrowing between the performance of different groups of pupils in the school and compared to all pupils nationally
• how well current pupils learn, the quality of their work in a range of subjects and the progress they have made since joining the school.
• how well disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs have achieved since joining the school
• the extent to which pupils develop a range of skills well, including reading, writing, communication and mathematical skills and how well they apply these across the curriculum
• the standards attained by pupils by the time they leave the school, including their standards in reading, writing and mathematics.

Ian will be running a workshop at the Science Teaching and Learning Conference on 25 June 2012, entitled Demonstrating Progress – What is Ofsted Looking For and How Can Teachers Influence the Inspector?

Have you recently been through an Ofsted inspection?  Does Ian’s article match your experience?  What can you add to Ian’s ideas on progress?