Fenland and East Cambridgeshire Opportunity Area
Schools Newsletter 28 February 2019
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Message from our Chair
In this February edition of the Opportunity Area Schools Newsletter, you will read about the initiatives and projects we are undertaking within the Opportunity Area. Some of the articles will be updates on activities already underway and some will be about new initiatives. The programme is generating pace and we are grateful to so many of you for your feedback, ideas and suggestions. In my introduction to the delivery plan, which was published in January 2018, I said this: “The plan is a working document and we want the debate to continue.” These words are still true today.
Since the last newsletter, we have held three breakfast meetings across the Opportunity Area and the team has welcomed the chance to attend local cluster meetings. We are now halfway through the programme and the words ‘legacy’ and ‘sustainability’ come to mind. The Partnership Board meets monthly and those words are high on the agenda. In our discussions on specific proposals, we consider sustainability, deliverability, value for money and equality implications. Sustainability lies in strengthening partnerships and sharing good practice. All programmes and initiatives need to be evaluated in terms of effectiveness and impact. We hope that the Opportunity Area programme will produce many case studies of good practice which can be shared.
If you would like to speak to the Opportunity Area team about any aspects of the programme please do not hesitate to contact them on OpportunityAreas.EAST@education.gov.uk. They are always keen to hear new suggestions and to hear from schools looking to benefit from the programme so would be delighted to arrange a phone call or visit to your school.
Tricia Pritchard
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Contents
In this newsletter:
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Local Feedback
We have recently received lots of feedback about how the Opportunity Area has made a positive difference to local schools and young people so we wanted to share some of these examples with you.
Jackie North, Head of Benwick Primary School, has told us about how her school has benefited from the Read Write Inc. training, funded by the Opportunity Area through the Evidence Based Fund:
“We had identified that we needed to improve our early reading and phonics in Key Stage 1 and chose Ruth Miskin’s Read Write Inc. Phonics programme. This is a highly structured programme which involves assessing the children half termly and teaching them in small ability groups. It is an expensive programme and we would not have been able to fund it without the Opportunity Area funding which we secured in the summer of 2018.
The training brought the staff together as a whole and has empowered the teaching assistants as they are responsible for their group for half a term. They have weekly meetings with the English Lead who updates their training and regular drop-ins and observations which enable them to improve their delivery. The teaching assistants have commented that it has been excellent for their own professional development.
In the first half term our Year 1 cohort were 21% on track in October whereas at Christmas this had risen to 61%. Our Reception children have picked up the sounds very quickly and are now segmenting and blending confidently.
We would highly recommend this programme for the delivery of phonics as the structured nature and consistent approach is key to its success.”
Rob Litten, Head of two schools in Whittlesey, has experienced great benefits from the programme:
“At Park Lane Primary School & Nursery and New Road Primary School in Whittlesey we have benefited hugely from the many opportunities funded by the Opportunity Area. Leadership has benefited at every level from the National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) and colleague engagement in the NAHT Aspire programme.
The fully funded training delivered by Read Write Inc. has transformed how we teach early reading and writing in the two schools. Our two reading leads have benefited hugely from working with highly qualified and experienced coaches from Read Write Inc.
As a result of the funding and support from the Opportunity Area, New Road is no longer in special measures and now has outcomes that are in line with national averages at every key stage. Moreover, Park Lane has been transformed from a very weak ‘requires improvement’ school that we battled to keep out of special measures to a very strong ‘good’ school in which outcomes continue to improve at every key stage. In Park Lane’s most recent OFSTED the inspection team recognised and commented on the impact of the Opportunity Area funding.”
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Stakeholder Meetings
You may have recently received invitations to our upcoming Stakeholder Meetings in March, May and July. Due to a conflict with another conference on 22 March we will be rearranging some of our Stakeholder Meetings to enable more schools to attend. We will circulate revised invitations in due course so please do keep an eye out for these.
If you have not received the Stakeholder Meeting invitations and would like to attend, please email Bethan Du-Mont, Opportunity Area Programme Coordinator, at Bethan.DuMont@cambridgeshire.gov.uk to be sent details of future meetings.
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Primary School TA Training
We are pleased to inform you of a new fully funded training offer available for primary teaching assistants (TAs) working in the Opportunity Area. Delivered by experienced training providers, the courses, which are running in the 2019 spring and summer terms, focus on topics highlighted by local TAs as key areas of need:
Funding is available for two TAs from each primary school in the Opportunity Area to attend each course. If more than two TAs from your school would like to participate in any of the training courses, please get in touch with the relevant provider to express your interest and they can contact you if more spaces become available.
If you have any general queries in relation to this training offer, please do not hesitate to contact Bethan Du-Mont, Opportunity Area Programme Coordinator, at Bethan.DuMont@cambridgeshire.gov.uk. For any course-specific queries, please contact the relevant provider using the email address above.
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National Professional Qualifications (NPQs)
The Department for Education has developed a reformed suite of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs). The scholarships funding has been hugely popular with much of the delivery taking place in areas most in need of improvement. It is anticipated that the demand can be met up until the end of March 2019, although this position is continuously being checked, so if you would like to access these funded qualifications and have not done so already now is the time to do it! In the event of oversubscription, funding will be prioritised for teachers in Opportunity Areas to ensure demand in these areas can be met first. Providers have been set firm deadlines to submit participant data to the DfE to ensure that applications can be processed promptly.
See here for the full list of providers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-professional-qualifications-npqs-list-of-providers/list-of-national-professional-qualification-npq-providers. The following NPQs are available:
- National Professional Qualification for Middle Leadership (NPQML)
- National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL)
- National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH)
- National Professional Qualification for Executive Leadership (NPQEL)
Each provider will have a slightly different approach and curriculum, so please contact your preferred provider for details about their course.If you have any queries about this, please contact OpportunityAreas.EAST@education.gov.uk
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Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund (TLIF)
The Department for Education is funding five programmes in Fenland and East Cambridgeshire through the Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund. These are free for all Fenland and East Cambridgeshire schools. The programmes are:
- Institute of Physics – The Future Physics Leaders Programme provides professional development and support for specialist physics teachers, newly qualified teachers (NQTs) and non-specialist physics teachers. Now recruiting for 2019. Contact Claire.Aspinall@iop.org
- Ruth Miskin Training – Literacy CPD in the teaching and leadership of phonics and early reading. Fully subscribed but places may become available. Contact NinaCoglin@ruthmiskin.com
- Tom Bennett Training – Two courses offered: one for teachers (Running a Room) and one for leaders of all levels (Running a School). These courses raise knowledge and skills for all staff, enabling them to design, build and maintain an optimal culture of positive behaviour. Now recruiting for 2019 and 2020. Contact n.tishauser@tombennetttraining.co.uk
- The Geographical Association in Partnership with the Association for Science Education – Development programme Geography Science Teaching, specifically aiming to develop pedagogy that enables teachers to acquire knowledge in science and geography through critical use of evidence and argument that leads to improved engagement and attainment. Further details are available at www.geography.org.uk/projects or by contacting jbeattie@geography.org
- Education Development Trust in partnership with the Chartered College of Teaching – Development programme for early career teachers. A sustained professional development programme which provides expert support for newly qualified and early career teachers (in the first five years of their career), accelerating their progress to become an excellent classroom teacher. The programme also includes input for school leaders and existing in-school mentors in the participants' school with the aim to increase in-school capacity for development and support. Further details TBC.
Visit https://tlif.education.gov.uk/ to find out more, or contact OpportunityAreas.EAST@education.gov.uk to discuss any of these programmes further.
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SEND Reviewer Team
We are pleased to welcome Abigail Shepherd and Laura Mills who will be joining the Opportunity Area team as SEND Reviewers from 4 March and 11 March, respectively. Their role will be to work with, and provide bespoke and personalised support to, schools across the Opportunity Area. Alongside Tiffany Middleton, the SEND and Inclusion Regional Lead, the SEND Reviewer team will be exploring opportunities to develop collaboration between schools as well as support schools to enhance parental support systems. The SEND Reviewers will also work in partnership with current services, including the SEND Specialist Teaching team, to build upon capacity and support for schools.
If you would like to know more about the SEND Reviewer team and how the Opportunity Area might be able to support your school to improve outcomes for pupils with SEND please email Tiffany Middleton, Opportunity Area SEND and Inclusion Regional Lead, Tiffany.Middleton@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.
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Mental Health Training
We have partnered with YMCA Trinity Group to offer a range of funded mental health training for schools and early years settings. Many of you have already taken up this training and we’ve received great feedback about it. This feedback included a participant who described the training as “a useful training session in which I was able to use my current skills and knowledge to support peers and ultimately I feel I have learnt much to support my role as mental health lead”.
Due to this positive response and the high demand for this training, we are pleased to announce that we are extending this offer to allow more schools to take part. The training on offer to Opportunity Area schools is:
- 2-hour Whole School Introduction to Mental Health Training (any education setting) – To help raise awareness amongst all staff of how mental health issues develop, how to spot the signs, and what you can do to support those going through trauma.
- CACHE Level 2 Certificate in Understanding Children & Young People's Mental Health (any education setting including parents) – An accredited distance learning programme (equivalent to a GCSE) to provide a detailed understanding of mental health conditions, legislation, and the impact mental health concerns have on young people and others.
- 3-day Mental Health Champions Training for designated staff (primary and secondary schools only) – A Train the Trainer programme to enable key members of staff to cascade training on specific mental health issues to other staff, including resources, clinical advice, and a 1-day refresher course after 12 months.
- Level 4 Counselling Skills Training; Level 4 Counselling & Psychotherapy Skills Training or Level 4 Diploma in Counselling Skills (any education setting) – The opportunity for designated leads to access further training to enhance their knowledge of counselling based on a training needs analysis.
For more information about this training, please email Lisa.Smith@ymcatrinity.org.uk.
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Teach Fenland and East Cambridgeshire
The Opportunity Area has partnered with Athene Communications to run a marketing campaign advertising teaching in Fenland and East Cambridgeshire. This campaign will include online advertising, social media and print advertising. The focus will be on advertising Fenland and East Cambridgeshire to current teachers working in other areas of the country to encourage them to relocate here, and on advertising teaching as a career path to people currently living locally. The campaign will go live in early March, so keep an eye out!
You will have received a request from Athene Communications to send through some details about your school in order to help create the content for the campaign. Please do send this information to Ryan@athene-communications.co.uk.
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Teach First
All non-selective primary and secondary schools in Fenland and East Cambridgeshire are now eligible to recruit trainee teachers from Teach First.
Teach First is a charity working for equality of education, and finds and trains talented people to become inspirational teachers in the schools that need them most.
Trainees are unqualified teachers in Year 1 of the programme and begin teaching at 60%, progressing to 80% from half term 2. In 2018, 79% of East of England trainees gained Grade 1 in their assessment for QTS. Trainees commit to a minimum of two years in their placement school, completing a Post Graduate Diploma in Education, and receive expert support across both years of the programme.
You can find more information on Teach First here, or contact Rhian Harris, School Partnerships Manager, at rharris@teachfirst.org.uk or on 07447 180056.
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Recruitment Incentives Grant
We know that recruiting teachers can be a challenge, and that recruiting the right people to vacant posts is of huge importance to your schools. Our recruitment incentives grant is available to schools in the Opportunity Area who are struggling to recruit to vacant posts.
The grant is for up to £10,000 to be spent on a range of incentives for new teachers. These incentives include CPD (including Masters courses), learning visits to other schools (including in other parts of Europe), driving lessons, childcare vouchers and cover for personal days. You can mention the incentives in your job adverts. Schools who have already benefited from this grant have reported that these incentives have helped to attract applicants who otherwise would not have applied to the school.
If you would like more information or to request this grant, please contact Briony.Davies@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.
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Researchers in Schools
Researchers in Schools is an opportunity for schools to recruit PhD graduates to train and teach in all EBacc subjects. Participants on the programme commit to working in your school for three years during which time they receive training and support from award-winning education charity The Brilliant Club to lead activities that champion university access, disseminate subject expertise and promote education research within your school’s context.
One school in the Opportunity Area has already benefited from the programme and we were pleased to hear the positive feedback from the school’s head, Richard Spencer:
“Ely College are delighted to be participating in the ‘Researchers in Schools’ programme. Our participant brings a deep subject expertise in Physics to the college and is making good progress towards becoming an effective teacher. We see the programme as an excellent way of bridging the world of academic research and education, with a flexibility that can be of great benefit to both participants and schools. We are very grateful for the support that we have been able to access from the Opportunity Area which has helped facilitate our participation.”
More details about the programme can be found here and if you would like to discuss it further, please contact amy.emery@researchersinschools.org.
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Foundation Teacher Training Programme
We know that there are brilliant teaching assistants in your schools, who would make ideal teachers but face barriers in accessing teacher training programmes. We have partnered with Cambridgeshire County Council's Teach in Cambridgeshire to offer a funded two-year schools-based route into Qualified Teacher Status. This is open to both primary and secondary schools in Fenland and East Cambridgeshire. For more information, please see the attached flyer here.
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