Portal Connect - March 2022 (Education)

Childcare Management Qualifications Portal Programme Impact

A word from Gwawr

School in the Spotlight

COURSE OF THE QUARTER DISCOUNT

Word of Welcome Gair o Groeso wrth Gwawr Welcome to the 1st edition of our new customer newsletter We are incredibly grateful to you all for your support which, in many cases, has developed to genuine friendship over the years. We hope this newsletter shows our pride in you as valued customers and learners by sharing your successes and stories. As well as being the first to hear about Portal events, you will also receive further insights in to existing and new qualifications that we offer and have access to offers and discounts. Right, enough from me, put the kettle on, make a cup of tea and sit down to read your first quarterly update from us at Portal. Enjoy!

New from Portal ACTIVITY LEADERSHIP QUALIFICATIONS If you’re looking to enhance and develop the delivery of Physical Education (PE) or school sports within your setting, we can now offer fully funded Activity Leadership Qualifications at levels 2 and 3.

LEVEL 2 FOUNDATION APPRENTICESHIP IN ACTIVITY LEADERSHIP Level 2 is designed for staff who support the delivery of PE and school sport activities, under the supervision of a more qualified individual, such as a Level 3 Physical Education and School Sport Leader or a qualified teacher.

In addition to developing their knowledge and skills, the qualification will introduce learners to the principles of safe, ethical, and effective practices, as well as helping them to understand their rights responsibilities as an employee in the Active Learning and Leisure sector.

Download Level 2 Activity Leadership Brochure

LEVEL 3 APPRENTICESHIP IN SUPPORTING THE DELIVERY OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SCHOOL SPORT Level 3 is for learners who have the opportunity to demonstrate competence in supporting the delivery of PE and school sport activities, such as: sports coaches, teaching assistants, sports development officers and sports leaders.

This qualification will help learners develop their knowledge and skills in order to independently lead the delivery of PE and sports programmes in a school sport environment.

Download Level 3 Activity Leadership Brochure

Meet Shawn Shawn joined the Portal team in 2021, bringing with him his incredible passion for work-based learning, and a wealth of knowledge and experience. Shawn will be your point of contact for Activity Leadership Qualifications within the school setting and CCPLD. Contact Shawn: 07706 330206 Shawn.staples@portaltraining.co.uk Connect with Shawn

Childcare Management Qualifications In addition to our Level 2 and 3 Children’s Care, Play, Learning and Development (CCPLD) apprenticeships, we are now able to offer Level 4 and 5 fully funded Childcare Management Qualifications.

Available in both Welsh and English, you can find out more about our higher level CCPLD qualifications in the brochures below.

Download Level 4 Childcare Management Brochure Download Level 5 Childcare Management Brochure

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0491

Sub-brand Development

Portal

Date — 18-03-2020

Contact — stiwdio@bwtic.co.uk

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To find out more or to apply for these qualifications, why not contact the newest member of our Business Development Team, Shawn Staples.

School in the Spotlight NEWTOWN HIGHSCHOOL

For this edition of the Portal Connect, we caught up with Rob working with the local authorities on secondary school improvement strategy.

Edwards, Headteacher at Newtown High School, Powys, to learn more about how Leadership and Management Rob said: “I am incredibly proud of the team. They have qualifications helped lead his school out of special measures. been on a steep learning curve, are resilient, driven, In May 2015, an Estyn core inspection found the school to be incredibly humble and reflective and are always looking at “adequate”. A monitoring visit in 2018 found that the school how they can become better” had made insufficient progress against a number of Reflecting on the school’s journey so far, Rob said: “Portal recommendations and was placed in Special Measures. has played an important part in the school’s journey, and Estyn made seven recommendations, which varied from the quality of leadership guidance that my staff have had, improving standards, and improving teaching and learning, has been absolutely first class” but with a specific recommendation to address leadership “I am incredibly proud of my staff to get through this across the board in the school. qualification, in addition to taking the school out of Special Rob was appointed as Headteacher in 2018, with a clear remit Measures and to deal with the challenges of the pandemic of taking the school out of the Estyn category, and in October all at the same time. I would also like to thank the staff at 2021, Estyn deemed that the school had made sufficient Portal for the support and belief they have had in my staff. progress to be taken out of special measures.

There have been times where they have understood where “That’s not to say that we are the finished article. We will there are pressure points and provided some freedom but not be complacent. There are areas for development that also when staff need to have that extra challenge to get we need to address as we aim to become a consistently over the line. Portal staff have definitely provided a good good school”. Rob said. blend of support and challenge and we are grateful for this.

Over 20 staff at Newtown High School have completed an We concluded our catch up with Rob by asking the ILM Leadership and Management apprenticeship, but the million-pound question, what advice would you give to qualifications have also led to five members being promoted other schools in a similar to the Senior Leadership Team. situation, or looking to improve Rob said: “The current “Excellent leadership is about bringing their leadership? leadership team is a team people with you. You have to believe in “You’ve got to have a strong that I’ve been able to shape your ability to bring about change. vision, have the emotional and professionally develop intelligence to understand that You’ve got to understand change, and staff using a range of systems you’ve got to have that moral purpose excellent leadership is about and processes. The ILM course bringing people with you. You has really challenged staff, to want to make a change”. have to believe in your ability to and it’s helped develop a bring about change. You’ve got reflective culture within the school where leaders are able to understand change, and you’ve got to have that moral to highlight their strengths and identify areas for purpose to want to make a change”. improvement, using a range of diagnostic assessment tools “Part of that is about developing culture and climate in and reflecting against the leadership standards”. your school, where you get buy in and that discretionary On top of completing their Leadership and Management effort, where people go the extra mile”. qualifications, Rob and his team agreed on their own “A good phrase that I use is from a book by Stephen Covey: leadership values for the school, and created “The Six Cs of ‘Keep the main thing, the main thing.’ You can get caught Leadership”, which includes Culture, Climate, Consistency, Collaboration, Capacity and Challenge. There is of course the up in so much peripheral stuff, but keep it the main thing, as the focus is key”. seventh C, good communication, which is absolutely key.

“Leadership is about inner steel and determination but also He added: “It’s what we call our cultural norms, something that we would hang our hat on, this is what I would expect about keeping everything in perspective and having a good sense of humour. There will be plenty of occasions where it’s good leadership to show on a daily basis at the school.”

In addition to achieving the goal of leading the school out of not going to be your day, and you need to be able to reflect, switch off, spend time with loved ones and come back special measures, the improved leadership resulted in improved student outcomes, improved learning experiences stronger the next day, and be ready to go again.” and student wellbeing. There has been a significant improvement in behaviour as well as increased attendance, rising from 94% when Rob first joined the school, to 95.5% in just 12 months, moving from the bottom of BMQ 4 to the top of BMQ 1. The school successfully managed to maintain that percentage until the Covid-19 pandemic. As schools recover from the pandemic the same attendance structures are in place that ensure that attendance is the best that it can be.

The qualifications also opened up some exciting opportunities for the staff. Two members of staff are working with Partneriaeth, Ceredigion and Powys, leading middle leadership training across the region. Three other leaders are

Portal Programme Impact We continuously monitor and collect feedback from our learners to ensure they are getting the best out of their qualifications with us. Here are some of the most recent impact statistics from our learners:

99%

more confident in managing and facilitating change

98%

more confident in directing and leading in your area of responsibility

How can we help?

We understand that implementing the New Curriculum in Wales can be a daunting task, but did you know that our ILM Leadership and Management qualifications could help support you and your staff through this change?

With the new curriculum set out to ensure that schools from 3 to 16 cover the same core learning and to secure a consistent approach for learners across Wales, networking between schools is more important than ever.

Through an ILM qualification, you will develop and enhance your networking and communication skills, through a number of units including: • Develop working relationships with stakeholders • Develop and maintain professional networks • Develop Relationships of Collaboration with other organizations and their management.

Download our Leadership and Management Brochure For more information or to apply now, contact: Shawn Staples 07706 330206 shawn.staples@portaltraining.co.uk

Your Stories

Portal Events

St Cyres – Employer Feedback Video: youtu.be/_UjoVerfTNg

PORTAL PROMISE Thank you so much for joining us at our most recent Portal Promise event with Andy Williams on the topic of preventing “Burn Out”.

Look out for further updates on future events such as Taster Sessions and free CPD Enrichment Events.

We love hearing from you, whether you’ve been a customer for years or are just starting your Portal journey, we always welcome your feedback.

"We have a number of staff benefitting from the ILM programme and, without exception, all comment on the high quality of mentors at Portal Training. The personalised level of support has, in fact, been superb… Improved confidence and independence, successfully delivering training, leading on whole school projects and an improved awareness, and understanding of leadership and management are starting to impact positively on our pupils as a result. I would recommend the training to all teachers those working towards their first middle leadership role and those aspiring to be future senior leaders."

Anna Parfitt, Assistant Headteacher, Newbridge School, Newport.

CARDIFF LIFE AWARDS We are so excited to have been shortlisted for two Cardiff Life Awards. We have been named as a finalist in the Education category, as well as the People Services Category. Wish us luck for 31st March when the winners will be announced at a ceremony at City Hall.

Learner Feedback Video: youtu.be/Bh0SxtaI6eY

COURSE OF THE QUARTER DISCOUNT 5% discount for individual learners 10% discount for a cohort of 8 or more learners Quote discount code MarchNL22 when enquiring or reply to this email to redeem your discount.

Contact Phil O’Brien 07713 287957 phil.obrien@portaltraining