FCTSA Newsletter 2

NEWSLETTER MARCH 2015 We have much to celebrate this month at the Fylde Coast Teaching School Alliance. Our partnership continues to grow and recently two of our strategic partnership members . ,The Breck Primary School and Hambleton Primary Academy, have been confirmed as Teaching Schools which further secures and bolters our strenght and capcity as an alliance for the Fylde Coast. We continue to grow as an alliance and welcome interest from all schools in becoming associate members of the alliance.

The Alliance has a large cohort of designated Specialist Leaders in Education (SLEs) and these continue to support schools and individuals across the Fylde Coast and beyond. This month saw our annual SLE conference take place where SLEs were briefed on the National, Regional and local priorities and system leadership. Our SLEs have a vast range of skills and specialisms and are available for deployment in a number of different ways. SLEs can work one to one with members of staff, acting as a coach or mentor. They can work with Heads of Departments on leadership aspects, facilitate at INSET or other CPD events or take responsibility for a project or task within a school. Please contact us if you would like to know more about SLEs and their work.

Our staff training and development continues to thrive with over 750 staff from across the Fylde Coast attending our twilight programme to date and plenty exciting sessions left for the remainder of the year. Please see page 5 or visit our website (http://www.fyldecoastteachingschool.blackpool.sch.uk/CTTS) for more information. We have successfully begun a third cohort of the Middle and Senior Leadership National Professional qualifications with a further intake planned for 2016. In response to local demand we are developing courses for business management and teaching assistants. Anyone interested in attending any of our courses should contact info@fctsa.co.uk Our School Based Initial Teacher Training continues to develop and we are proud to be the only Fylde Coast based accredited provider of QTS training. We still have places available for 2015-2016 and would encourage anyone who is thinking of embarking on a career in teaching to come and and see how we can offer you a way to train locally in our alliance schools.

Louisa Carter-Davies and Tim Freeman Directors of Fylde Coast Teaching School

Key dates /events this coming month : 05.03- Strategic Partnership Meeting, @ Hambleton Primary Academy 11.03- Implementation Team Meeting, @ Westcliff Primary School 13.03- Multi Academy Trusts Conference, @ Blackpool Sixth Form College

Specialist Leaders of Education : Our Alliance is proud to have 32 SLEs, specialist in over 20 subjects and are ready to support schools in our area. The FCTSA SLE conference took place at Hodgson Academy in February and the majority of our 32 SLEs attended. On the agenda was among other discussions on the role of the Specialist Leader in Education in the school led system and thoughts on a possible strategy to ensure SLEs are fully utilised in system leadership.

Cherryl Drabble, Assistant Headteacher at Highfurlong School, became an SLE in November 2014 : “ SLEs must be successful leaders in their own right.

They are not ‘experts’ parachuted in to help schools which have fallen in to a category. Coaching and discussion is the preferred method and solutions will be found by working in collaboration. I’m a listener and a thinker and part of being an SLE is listening to and helping others to think things through, to reach better outcomes between the two of you. Being an SLE is a two way learning process. I have already discovered that it helps me to develop my skills further and it helps the middle and senior leaders I am working with to clarify their thinking. We can work together and have a big impact on the school’s leadership. “ Read more about Cherryl’s thoughts on becoming an SLE on her blog : https://cherrylkd.wordpress.com and follow her on Twitter @cherrylkdn

What is a Specialist Leader of Education and how to become one ?

This is the subject of our Twilight Session at Blackpool Sixth Form College on the 11th of March. Interested in joining ? Contact us : info@fctsa.co.uk

Multi Academy Trust Conference 13 of March at Blackpool Sixth Form College Sign up for this free DFE conference featuring eminent key speakers :

Initial Teacher Training School Direct and SCITT programmes : Our current School Direct trainees are working extremely hard in their host schools this term. We have trainees in Hodgson Academy, St Mary's Academy, St George's and Millfield. They are taking on much more responsibility, quickly becoming part of the teaching department and managing their own classes independently. The planning and marking is piling up!!

In February they all spent a week on an enrichment placement at a local primary school. It is vital for them to understand how children learn from an early age, and the transition from Year 6 to Year 7, so they observed Early Years and KS1/KS2 being taught at different levels in schools such as Breck, Singleton and Mereside.

Whilst on placement they are observed weekly by their Subject Mentors [experienced teachers who are assigned to support and mentor them through this training process] and given specific targets and tips on how to improve. The trainees attend workshops at Blackpool Sixth Form every Friday, and share their experiences of the working week, building on their knowledge of pedagogy.

We have some excellent news too! 5 of our trainees have all been successful at recent interviews and secured jobs in our local schools to start in September!

Our 2015/2016 recruitments process (SCHOOL DIRECT & SCITT) is well underway. We are interviewing candidates but we still have places available.

Have yo

u ever Train to though abou tb teach w ith us o ecoming a tea n th ch Help us spread e Fylde Coast. er ? the w

ord !

Last year, I made the life changing decision to leave my job after 17 years in order to pursue my teaching dream. The ITT Programme has equipped me with sound knowledge of theory. I have had the excellent opportunity to enrich my teaching experience in places such as sixth form, a pupil referral unit, a special needs school and also a primary school. I truly feel that my achievements on the programme so far reflect the dedication, support and outstanding teaching practice offered by the programme.

Michelle Glass, ITT Trainee 2014/2015

Continuing Professional Development : We continue our Developing Teaching & Learning programme with 4 courses of PHASE 2 “Gateway to Consistently good” : 05.03 -@ Hodgson Academy 09.03-@ Blackpool Sixth Form 18.03-@ Breck Primary 26.03-@ Hodgson Academy

We continue with our Middle Leadership short course and the module Working efficiently with Data : 18.03-@ Hodgson Academy

Contact info : Kate French Teaching School Administrator Email : info@fctsa.co.uk

“Clear content and delivery engaging.

Useful !!”

We have the following twilight sessions this month :

04.03—Presentation Skills for pupils that improve attainment, @ Hodgson Academy 11.03—Using enterprise activities to engage students in learning, @ Highfurlong School

“Very insightful and trainers had an up to date, real experience of the subject”

11.03—Specialist Leaders in Education, who are they, what they do and how to become one, @ Blackpool Sixth Form

“Inspirational experiences from 3 outstanding heads!”

Do you want to train as a facilitator ? A new opportunity has arisen to develop our new TA course from primary to secondary phase and to train as a facilitator in order to deliver the course.

For further information please contact Tim Freeman or Louisa Carter-Davies.

Our partner schools in the news

Lytham Hall Park Primary School

Lytham Hall Park Primary School invited a range of organisations in for its dedicated ‘happy, healthy week’, encouraging youngsters to look after themselves. Teacher Katie Newton, PSHE co-ordinator at the school, said: “It’s been a really successful week. We wanted to promote keeping fit and healthy, raising the profile and importance of it, as well as promoting aspects of safety with the younger children.” ( Blackpool Gazette 18.02. )

Breck Primary School & Hambleton Primary Academy

Norbreck Norbreck Academy Primary Primary Academy

Hambleton Primary Academy and Breck Primary School, both outstanding schools, have been named as National Teaching Schools. They will now be able to train teachers and support other schools to help guide and approve.

Their headteachers Pamela Birch and Cheryl Brindle are now national leaders of education. “This is a bonus for our schools but it is more important for our area. We are committed to this area so we are strengthening our schools.

Through our partnership with other local, good and outstanding schools through the Fylde Coast Teaching School Alliance we aim to improve children's’ life chances on the Fylde Coast ” (Blackpool Gazette,12.02.)

Norbreck Primary Academy’s choir has won one of just 18 places to perform on stage of one of the world’s leading venues. They will be competing in Barnardo’s National Choral Competition at London’s prestigious Royal Festival Hall . Mrs McCarter, headteacher and choir master, says:”it is an honour for us all, and testament to the achievement of the hard work of us all. It’s the fact we’ve been chosen from so many entrants. To think that we can be that good, and can compete on a national stage is a great achievement.”

Blackpool Gazette, 24.02.

Ways to get involved with the FC Teaching School :

Join us as an Alliance Partner Become an Associate Member of our alliance Join us in one of the following areas of our work : ITT—placement for trainees and developing school-centred Initial Teacher Training.

CPD- take part in our teaching programmes

“Our school’s involvement with the Fylde Coast Teaching School Alliance has seen phenomenal outcomes, allowing staff to share with and learn from colleagues in other schools to improve their work”.

Mrs Brindle ,Headteacher of Breck Primary School

Who is who at the FC Teaching School : Louisa Carter Davies, Director of Teaching School l.carter-davies@hodgson.lancs.sch.uk

Tim Freeman, Director of Teaching School tim.freeman@blackpoolsixth.ac.uk

“The concept of the teaching school alliance = improvement for all ”

Aly Spencer, Teacher Development Leader in FCAT aly.spencer@blackpoolsixth.ac.uk

Lill Johansen Parker, Commercial Manager ljohansenparker@fctsa.co.uk

Kate French, Teaching School Administrator KFrench@fctsa.co.uk

We are currently updating our website www.fctsa.co.uk and will soon have a fully functioning website that is kept up to date for our members to use. Please make sure your staff are aware of this website.

We also welcome our schools having links to FCTS through their own school websites.

You can also follow all our latest news and updates on Twitter @fyldecoastTS