“Most people don’t read the writing on the wall until their backs are up against it.”

Posted on 09/10/2014 by jameswilding

quote-man-is-a-strange-animal-he-generally-cannot-read-the-handwriting-on-the-wall-until-his-back-is-up-adlai-stevenson-178108My colleague John Carr introduced me to this lovely epigram, attributed to the American vice- president, Adlai Stevenson. If you consider the various headlines published this last month, most of the situations highlighted seem to remind us of Stevenson’s caution.

For example: In some senses it  would have been easier for the Westminster parties to have lost the Scottish referendum vote. Instead, they now have to solve how they give greater devolved powers and authority to Scotland, whilst removing from Scottish MPs the rights to vote over English, Northern Irish and Welsh dominion. What is known as the West Lothian question is insoluble as our current arrangements stand – you simply cannot have a totally devolved Scottish Assembly on the one hand and have Scottish MPs voting on English business on the other.

Well you could, actually and therein lies the rub. Because the whole business about being a United Kingdom is that we can all sign up for a national strategy for the UK, whilst leaving the tactics devolved to the regions (wherever they are found) for delivering local solutions that meet local needs.

In the education space, the state sector finds itself divided into millions of pieces, each fighting for its bit of space amidst  local authorities which are no longer funded to be concerned about that provision.  I have written before how odd it is that the Independent Sector, atomised as it is of course, have invented their heads’ associations, overarching councils and professional inspectorate to ensure that its schools are held to account for issues and problems as and when they arise. My own Association, ISA is the second largest of the Heads’ Associations with over 340 members, and we have a vast raft of activity going on each year that ensures pupils and teachers have access to regional and national opportunities for competition, collaboration and professional development.

So what are we to make of the Chief Inspector’s comment that Mediocre schools need maverick heads, says Ofsted chief: Sir Michael Wilshaw wants teachers ‘who aren’t afraid to ruffle feathers’ to take charge:
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2785813/Mediocre-schools-need-maverick-heads-says-Ofsted-chief-Sir-Michael-Wilshaw-wants-teachers-aren-t-afraid-ruffle-feathers-charge.html#ixzz3Ff1pFhSJ
He might be right, but he could be colossally wrong. What does he mean by “Mediocre schools need maverick heads” actually. What makes successful schools is the deeply embedded professional supportive culture that supports all kinds of learning for all kinds of children. “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” and it particularly does so in schools. Willshaw and others within the DfE seem to imagine that the coasting/failing schools are full of complacent teachers too afraid to challenge the status quo.  The reality is that in the vast majority of those schools, those that lead them are not provided with either the resources or the know-how to make that leap forward into a better, more successful place. The dismantling of the local authorities has taken away the obvious way of providing knowledgeable local support, and their replacement by chains of academies mean that the support by its very nature will be less focused and distributed more widely across the country.

Establishing and maintaining a highly successful culture is not something just for schools either. The international PISA tables highlight just how strongly the South East Asian countries do in attainment, and Wilshaw and DfE suggest we could learn lots from those schools, even though for some, their schools ppermit caning. Again I have written about this previously, because I certainly would oppose any introduction of corporal punishment into my school! The latest detailed research into this area has been conducted by Institute of Education, London looking at the performance of Asian Children in Australian schools.  And guess what – these children do as well in Australian schools as they would have done in Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong or Japan. Here’s the news story around that research – http://goo.gl/le8WCv and it really does underpin the Claires Court approach – it’s about a school’s culture silly, not endless and repetitious drill and kill to achieve passes in national tests every year or so.

I am not alone in speaking out about this;, the retiring HM of Eton College, Tony Little has made this clear time again this last year.  Testing children ’til they drop’ is not what Singapore does; supportive culture to ensure the child never falls behind or is made to feel worthless by being offered feeble tasks different to their peers.  The curriculum is not overburdened, yet is made sufficiently challenging not because there is too much knowledge to learn, but because knowledge and skills are juxtaposed to solve questions and explore new areas of research.

Nor it is a good idea to find all the gifted and talented children and put them in one place to ‘hot house’ them to a brighter future. As Malcolm Gladwell explained in his seminal work on achievement ‘Outliers’, it was not the early gifted and talented violinists in Germany that made the grade as adult violin students. None of the naturally gifted had risen to the top. The psychologists found a direct statistical relationship between hours of practice and achievement. No shortcuts. No naturals. Read more here: http://www.wisdomgroup.com/blog/10000-hours-of-practice/

So when Wilshaw and others thrash around looking for answers on how to improve individual students, groups, teams and whole schools, they really need to do a lot better than suggest mavericks and/or lots of tests/inspections. I guess when your back is against the wall, your freedom of manoeuvre is very limited so soundbytes are perhaps the only way forward.  The success of the Asian communities is to instill family values of hard work in their children, and not give in to the mantra that ‘only bright children can achieve’. Success at school is about learning to learn, which takes hours and hours, and school and home need to provide such opportunities with relentless regularity. You don’t luck into learning the scales on the piano or being able to hit a golf ball to 5 foot to win the Ryder Cup, as Jamie Donaldson did at Gleneagles last week. When your back is against the wall, it’s that relentless practice you have had hitherto that makes the difference, come rain or high water. You certainly don’t have time to turn and read the writing!

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To couple or decouple, that’s the political question we teachers face for the General Election

Posted on 03/10/2014 by jameswilding

Michael Gove announced in March 2013 that the current system, by which Sixth Form students take AS levels at the end of Year 12 and then complete them at the higher A2 level in Year 13 would cease at the end of this year.  For most subjects (but not Maths and Geography), all change is currently underway, as the Examination boards scrabble to put in place 2 Year A level programmes with no half-way house available.   This is called decoupling, and although students may be able to take an AS, it is not half-the subject nor are the skills examined to be the same either. For subjects such as English, the Sciences, History,and MFL (the Russell Group Facilitating subjects) the changes are quite profound, and will in some ways lead to  a better Year 12 Educational experience, with time given over to developing the highest level skills required for leading University success, and skills perhaps not so fully tested under the current modular regime.

Losing AS levels as a half-way house to A level success is not something either the majority of schools or indeed the majority of Universities wish, and it is quite bizarre that the then Secretary of State chose to go against their recommendations.  University courses are all now modular in nature, with students being able to weave their way through areas of interest and expertise. University admission tutors like being able to review AS performance prior to making an offer, as AS performance is much more likely to indicate probable success at Degree level than broader range GCSE outcomes. Indeed the DfE’s decision to decouple AS was based on research that has now been shown to be very flawed indeed.

On 15 July 2014, Nicky Morgan was appointed Secretary of State for Education in Prime Minister David Cameron’s reshuffle, replacing Michael Gove. On her promotion, she retained her post as Minister for Women and also added the equalities brief to it, thus also becoming Minister for Women and Equalities.  She has quickly become a busy lady (no surprise there) and is doing her best to smooth the stormy waters within Education. Morgan has to work hand in glove with another impressive female leader, Glenys Stacey, who is CEO of Ofqual, an NGO that reports directly to Parliament in Westminster and the Northern Ireland Assembly. While they are independent, they give advice to Government on qualifications and assessment based on their research into these areas.  Trouble is, that research means nothing when politicians decide!

Glenys Stacey is now in the unenviable position of supervising the migration of our national qualifications through a General Election.  Unless Nicky Morgan causes a stay of execution, decoupling takes place and AS as a route to A level dies, if the Conservatives are elected to power in May next year. If Labour are elected, then AS will be recoupled to A2, the Universities will breathe a sigh of relief.  Stacey is having to openly remind schools of this fact. And therein lies the rub for teachers – whether Coalition or Conservative, our vote there goes for another 2 years of turmoil, rewriting of schemes of  work and catering for a mixed diet of coupled Maths and Geog with decoupled everything else in Year 12.  A whole raft of new resources will need to be bought or otherwise developed and that takes time.  Please don’t think this is all that secondary schools have to worry about, as Gove also blessed us with the complete reform of GCSEs at the same time.

Secondary schools with ample specialist staff such as ours can cope with the work load, though it is a sincere waste of time that could be put into the classroom and supporting individual children.  Many secondary schools don’t carry the breadth of specialism we do, so will really find this extra demand hard. Further down the line, as we look back, the ‘Haves’ will be seen to be doing so much better than the ‘Have Nots’, and there is no easy way to assist in bridging that gap.   it’s not the facts that are the problem, but the intellectual, specialist knowledge that is needed to shape academic courses to fit the criteria once revealed.  This coalition government are committed to ensuring greater equity for all, whatever their circumstances, as indeed are all the other main parties. The extraordinary turmoil this and previous governments have caused through their constant meddling with public assessment methods is not something the Teaching profession find easy to manage, so it particularly gets ‘all of our goat’ when we are told we are not doing anything to assist in improving access for the less well off.  To mix the animal metaphor…It’s difficult enough to pin the tail on the Donkey anyway, but blindfolded and with one arm, and with the said beast of burden itself hugely agitated by circumstance, the job’s well nigh impossible!

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“You have only failed if you have given up. Until then, it is called Learning”

Posted on 26/09/2014 by jameswilding

One of the notable assets of successful learners is their tenacity. So in creating a curriculum that promotes enquiry and interest, as an academic faculty we have got half way through the conundrum that faces teachers every day they go to work.  That is, to ensure their charges are engaged in their learning. Now the next bit that follows is to ensure some ‘Trying’ happens. As Anne Atkins reminded us last week at Speech Day, it was Winston Churchill’s maxim to “Never, never, never, never give up”.

But what happens if you are told that you are never going to be clever enough? That in the ‘Smartness’ stakes, you have a way to go?  All too often, in Education at least, the rule is ‘To the Victor the spoils’.  Well that is all very well, but in adult life, Gifts and Talents are not measured by test and exam, but by track record and witness. When I write references on employees or students moving on to pastures new, I refer to the achievements they have gained and the contribution they have made.  Earlier this year, in recognition of Maya Angelou’s contribution to humanity, I quoted perhaps her most remembered thoughts: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Before Dear Reader you feel I am going soft on school achievement, I am happy to confirm I am not. But what is so obviously the case in a school that chooses not to select by ability is that we attract a substantial number of children who will be known as ‘Divergent Thinkers’, but who in their school years are rather more obviously labelled as Dyslexic and/or Dyspraxic, to name but 2 ways of thinking that are not of the convergent, linear kind. Of course we have a clear duty to ensure such learners gather the strategies that assist them in coping with their inabilities to spell or lack of fine motor control, and in the main that happens by some discrete withdrawal from class.

But what such children do obviously have in abundance is other talent.  Much of the time, these different ways of thinking highlight our better actors, artists, creatives, music technologists, sportsmen and computer ‘geeks’. It may be true that perhaps it seems they could do with learning to spell better, but actually spending more time on that won’t improve their accuracy. What you do notice is that they can spend inordinate amounts of time engaged with some very difficult problems that need solving, or practicing relentlessly to ensure that a dance movement or rugby conversion is reliably accurate.

And it is not just that they show tenacity, but they also come at problems from new and different angles. Now that might frustrate their teacher who was rather expecting a logical answer to the 2+3= question, but in the bigger picture that’s not the case.  And it is their obvious other strengths that so enrich the friendships and achievements within their peer group, and as we encourage a very good deal of collaboration in what we do, it is no surprise that their relative strengths and weaknesses help our balance more generally.

GCHQ_2684658bAnd it is not just me that thinks this, by the way.  GCHQ need to employ over 100 ‘spooks’ who have this  have just opened up some serious recruitment opportunities for Divergent thinkers, in their ‘Thirties it seems, to assist in their higher level problem solving and code breaking. read more about that here in this week’s Daily Telegraph.

However much we would like to think that it is all about traditional routes to success, actually it is far from that for so many now and in the past.   As Richard Branson’s nomination as the UK’s most admired businessman of the last 50 years indicates, dyslexics not only can get to the very pinnacle of achievement, but also carry with them a feel-good factor too. Because he struggled every day at school, he knows and appreciates that for many, life does not come easy. Here’s a nice article that wraps up Branson’s learning and life in one easy read, and as we know, he’s certainly an example of someone who never gives up!

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“The greater prizes are to come…” Anne Atkins at Claires Court Senior Speech Day

Posted on 19/09/2014 by jameswilding

On Thursday 18 September 2014, Claires Court Senior School celebrated its prize giving, and what an endurance feat it was too. It is never my intention for events such as Speech Day to last more than 100 minutes, but whilst I am the architect of Speech Day, and may lay some of the foundations and even dictate some of the methods of construction used, actually Speech Day at Claires Court is a construct of some 100+ voices of teachers and students whose contributions are aggregated into our annual celebration. You can whip through the main scripts of the Sixth Form Heads of School here – http://goo.gl/WUAFRp – and the powerpoint that goes with their work will appear here shortly.  We did have to wait some time for our guest to speak…prizes to award, don’t you know.
image

Central to the celebration though was our principal guest, the broadcaster and journalist Anne Atkins, whose presence was both stimulating and warming. You can hear her whole 10 minute talk to the students and wider audience here – and core to her theme was the concept that prizes won at Speech Day are just tasters for the bigger prizes to come. It is a lovely notion this, and one I have not heard in recent times. She makes clear to us that the arrival of marriage, children, career and progression too are just tasters of what is to come. In short, we must live life to the full, enjoy the rewards when they arrive, but set not too much store by them, because they can be false gods, to which we can fall prey.

Prizes are there to inspire and encourage, within everyone’s reach so long as they know how to persist and persevere. Anne Atkins drew our attention to 2 awards her children have made her – large pictures to remind her of the challenges in life.

Here’s the first – “The courage to ignore the obvious wisdom of turning back!”

Courage to ignore the obvious wisdom

yourcourage

The second picture she has to energise her says “Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution will bring us Victory!”

What endeared us all to Anne’s thinking is she made it quite clear she had never won prizes whilst at school, she had three great tops for the future adult in the hall.

1.  Dare to dream your dreams!

2. Let your dreams develop!

3. Never, never, never, never give  up!

(Courtesy of Winston Churchill talking at Harrow School, 29 October 1941)

“The prizes you will win in adulthood too won’t last, so they too are a foretaste of what is to come”. Anne reminded us of the words of the second most influential person the world has ever known (St Paul) “Many people strive for a crown that won’t last (ref Olympic games), but you can strive for a crown that will last forever.”

The reference is to the broader message from St Paul, asking us to strive not to be just great, but dedicate our lives to Jesus Christ and by doing so and really training hard, winning an everlasting crown into the next life.

Postscript

Anne arrived from Bedford to Maidenhead by train and folding bicycle, and she took the same route home, via an early evening meeting in Marylebone. Even on her return to Bedford, her precious floral tribute from us remained intact. On cycling then back home, she was mugged, knocked to the ground and the presentation flowers crushed to the floor.  “I held on to it, fought and kicked and screamed blue murder. Not what the police advise but in the heat of the moment… It did at least frighten off the assailant and bring someone to my aid”. The police of course were involved and were both considerate and supportive, but really not bothered about her flowers. Fortunately her lodger was, rescued the bouquet and reset them in a vase.  Anne woke the next morning with a lovely floral tribute of her work with us in all their glory. By any measure this short story is indeed an inspiration to us all – it being all about persistence and perseverance despite circumstances.

Hannah solo: http://youtu.be/xdS_CBOyjnM

Staff choir: http://youtu.be/OeSInleCc3A

Ensemble: http://youtu.be/mJo-8ocvWic 

Year 11 boys choir: http://youtu.be/D0YyPLHklAE

Year 8-10 girls choir: http://youtu.be/9HQAcox2ofI

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@SirKenRobinson: “We don’t know who we can be until we know what we can do”

Posted on 12/09/2014 by jameswilding

@jameswilding “Ask not How Good are We, but How are We Good?”

In the educational journey that we promote at Claires Court, we understand that the most important aspect of our provision must be to ensure that a positive and supporting culture exists, one that permits difference, failure and opportunity in equal measure.  Ken Robinson’s recent book, “Finding Your Element: How to Discover Your Talents and Passions and Transform Your Life”, is both an inspirational check for Educators who want to reach past a system driven by government- imposed metrics and a testament to the success of those ordinary people who chose to change their lives following Ken’s philosophy that there are no limits to what individual humans can achieve.

I am interested to read today that Wellington College, closeby here in Berkshire, has established a research unit in conjunction with the Institute of Education here in London and Harvard Graduate School of Education to support their further curriculum development, in  conjunction with three other schools in their sphere of influence. Their ‘Eight Aptitudes’ approach, follows Professor Howard Gardner’s ground breaking  work to demonstrate that Humans have multiple intelligences, not just the one needed to pass the 11+, Verbal reasoning.  We too are are a researching school, and whilst we don’t have the resources to have a research unit, we do have great links with education groups, from schools of all kinds, great Universities to world corporates. As it happens, our specific focus this year is to look at the learning of Languages, with a specific focus on the earlier years below secondary, and our partner in this work is the University of Reading.

I remember hearing Howard Gardner talk live 12 years ago at the HMC conference in Celtic Manor, and read his work subsequently too, and whilst he is clearly most scholarly and passionate about his lifetimes work, I did not get the feeling he really believed  that  humans have the capacity to reach past the limiting mind-set of fixed intelligences. In my view, we already have some really clear voices in terms of World research into education, from the UK based powerhouses of CEM centre at the University of Durham, NFER and the Sutton Trust/EEF to name but three, and the additional views from world research such as the OECD and Professor John Hattie in Queensland.  In short, teachers the world over can see quite clearly what modern research is surfacing. What schools need are educators within who have kept abreast of such thinking and continue to reflect how best to make use of the recommended processes for the children in their care.  For let us make one thing very clear – those working in education come to work to ensure their pupils get the very best opportunity to raise their skills and develop gifts and talents beyond measure.

Because of the evidence from this research, I diverge from Wellington’s thinking in a number of ways at secondary level. Whilst I appreciate the many benefits the Middle years curriculum for the International Baccalaureate, that programme was invented to bring coherence across multiple countries for an itinerant set of pupils. We are a  day school, serving a local area and families cannot be expected to afford all of what we do at the expense of portability between us and other local schools. More importantly, the best results are gained when children collaborate and teach each other, find resources and share experiences, and despite the bad press, the English curriculum is extraordinarily well supported by teachers, institutions and publishers, surfacing fantastic learning opportunities and new points of focus almost daily. Here’s the British Museum’s latest translation of its 100 Objects project for schools, one example of how an individual teacher can find age and stage appropriate stimuli for enhancing learning in class.  In short, I feel the school’s curriculum should be a strong reflection of the wider world in which the child is brought up, with much that is familiar and nearby at its heart.  Hands-on education is not that easy if visits and practical outdoor activities are not made possible.

At Sixth Form, I have seen the benefit of the IB programme for some students, but it does require a breadth of thinking and approach which holds back the specialist learner willing to dig somewhat deeper into subject-based study.  For Scientists and Medics, A level is a more certain and challenging (and shorter) route to qualification. I have also seen that within our creative subjects at Sixth Form, the very best students have a need to stretch their specialism at the expense of other subject-based literate and cognitive thinking skills. There comes a time when the actor, artist, dancer and sportsman needs to spend so much time on their ‘element’ that the other ‘elements’ don’t need to be assessed in a formal exam structure.

With Speech Day next week, I am working with the headboys and headgirls to speak about our work of the last 12 months. All 4 have extraordinary gifts, Academic, Music, Sport and the Arts, and during their Year 12, their focus in terms of what lies beyond has deepened and opened new possibilities. Perhaps the most surprising thing all speak of is their discovery of both the elasticity of ability and time.  They never have enough of the latter, but in such diverse ways, they never seem to miss a deadline or a quality benchmark!

All though continue to reappraise their next steps, because their ability to focus on their futures is sharpening their act. No longer would any be prepared to listen to a rhetoric that suggested they were not mature enough to know their own minds, yet all will continue to listen to their own and others’ thoughts about their current chosen pathways. In my view, all four are lucky because they can see/hear the sirens/voices attracting their peers onto their next step.
?Should he really switch from Actor to Lawyer? ?Should she sacrifice such incredibly academic talent for a Gap decade playing professional sport? How does a potential 1st in Natural Sciences deny the ‘riff playing skills he has on guitar? ?How does an as yet politically neutral young adult realise they could inspire a nation in politics?

And this is where @Jameswilding wins at his level – ‘Keep working at the skills so each know in what way they are good, nudge them if they need it when self-identification does not work, and highlight to them those multiple pathways that are open for individuals with a mix of skills at hand’. I really like Sir Ken’s notion of ‘Find your element’, but to be frank I thank most need a nudge, a hand, a mighty big shove or even more. Ken’s stories are about how he saw people miss those opportunities, or by exception make them happen, or permit the arrival of adulthood to permit the remaking of choices because ‘one can’. For most, it too late as adults to start with this notion of Learning liberation, and certainly most by adulthood have learned by bitter experience that multiple intelligences need a patient and inclusive culture yet to appear on their horizon that permits different paces/strokes for different faces/folks.

And therein lies the rub for those of us who work in this space of ‘growing up children’. How does 21st Century Billy Elliot happen outside of the state sector, when no school is monetised for this level of nurture outside English and Maths? The national Music and Ballet scheme can barely touch the demand that exists for a skewed education delivering amazing vocational skill development and yet securing the Academic results that provide a traditional safety net into higher education. Whilst I fear for those in public education, because of its growing asymmetry between great highly selective schools and the rest, I don’t fear for our own within Claires Court. We continue to develop a culture in which children of all kinds are able to find their element, because so much is possible.

I will, if I may, leave the last word to Sir Ken: ““Human resources are like natural resources; they’re often buried deep. You have to go looking for them, they’re not just lying around on the surface. You have to create the circumstances where they show themselves.”

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ISANet Newsletter Monday 8 September 2014 – Beyond fulfilling your potential…

Posted on 08/09/2014 by jameswilding

ISANet Newsletter Monday 8 September 2014

http://goo.gl/jWbZ6o for the full picture edition.

Beyond fulfilling your potential…

At the start of every new Academic Year, teachers and pupils have a chance to reset how other people perceive them. There has been a substantial break, a chance to refresh and renew, an opportunity perhaps even to reinvent their personae.

And many choose to make that step, and because of their change in attitude, change what others perceive they might achieve. We have been back at school for 2 days (3 days for Year 7) and whether we  are 6, 16 or 60, it seems those of us that believe we can change for better are giving it a go. The extensive evidence from science around how neural pathways are formed, how they can be further changed and developed with time has developed rapidly over the the last decade. And as the evidence grows exponentially to support the principles of ‘Growth Mindset’ theory, it’s notable that educators need to take these principles on board if they want to extend the achievements for their pupils, themselves and their school.

For those of you that need an easy-peasy guide to Growth Mind set theory, here’s Eduardo Briceno at a TEDx event in 2012 – http://goo.gl/OqggAZ.  Now don’t go shuffling about now thinking, do I really need to know this stuff, you do. It’s teachers using the wrong kind of language for praise that sets boundaries and limits for children.  “You’re really smart” rewards intelligence and encourages others not to try hard. “You must have tried really hard” rewards the learner and encourages the others to do the same.

Post-modern Western Parents tend to protect their children from making a greater effort by siding with their children when the going gets tough.  “I used to find Maths hard too” or “I gave up X as soon as I could, I just didn’t get it” are typical examples of Parent-speak. It’s very noticeable in Far Eastern cultures, such as Japan, that getting Maths is a requirement that requires effort not genius, and they’ll work at it much more obviously to achieve a good standard.

Here’s a new-ish National Numeracy for everyone, for life website that rather helpfully shows us how we can move Maths into a Growth mindset approach.  Judging by the enormous struggle we still have nationally to get our 16 year olds up to scratch, we could do with a bit more Challenge in this neck of the woods – why don’t you take the National Numeracy Challenge and restart your own willingness to improve your Maths!

Beyond Michael Gove…Morgan the Mighty

The sacking of Mr Gove is now yesterday’s news, and it is amazing just how suddenly the soundbites in education have dried up. The worry remains that those Ministers (Morgan – Surbiton, Laws – St Georges, Gibb – Bedford Modern, Nick Boles – Winchester, Timpson – Uppingham, Lord Nash – Milton Abbey)  that drive education policy were educated privately, so can’t represent the wider Education community that is still (93%ish) state educated. I am not so sure about that – after all, there is a signficant volume of senior markers and subject leaders in the Exam boards who work in our sector, as inded tehre are represented in many other facets of education, and the whole system would be lost without that contribution. There was a nasty scare last week that our new Secretary of State, Nicky Morgan, was about to direct Sir Michael Wilshaw that his inspectors were to find in favour of universal setting and streaming at secondary level.  Now that really would have been the worst kind of political interference in an independent inspectorate, and I honestly think Sir MIchael would have welcomed such a call. Fortunately, such was the outcry from those who are specialists in education, here as reported by the BBC for example, that NM backed tracked very smartly.

What else can we now look forward to?  The good news is that she’s has not put a foot wrong yet, and peace making seems more important than news.

Special Education Needs Reform

I quote from the Torygraph: “In July, the House of Lords approved the long awaited final version of the 0-25 Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice for England.

The SEND reforms are the largest overhaul of services for children and young people with special educational needs in the last 30 years, and will see education, health and social care services joining up to provide a more holistic approach to service provision.

Currently the needs of children and young people in England are assessed and detailed using statements of Special Educational Need (SEN) and Learning Disability Assessments (LDAs).

From this September, these will be replaced with Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans and will bring together all the education, health and care needs of the child in order to form a more cohesive support package, placing the needs and aspirations of the child at the centre of the process.”

The thing to watch here is that Needs that are underpinned by SEN statute are compulsory, and those by Health are advisory.  This ‘great revolution’ could be undermined by local authorities and central govt. slipping the ring fence from one to the other, for example with Speech Therapy services, and thus permit the ‘I know it is desirable, but we don’t have the cash’ excuse’.  Think ‘Nice’ for example. At the start of the year, RCSLT ensured that govt. kept these services within Education statementing, but there is bad news too.  The needs identification does not include joint commissioning; if the child’s GP felt that a Child’s needs required some extra support at school, they can’t just write a chit. And typically what will emerge is that some LAs are going to be more generous than others, so the arrival of a postcode lottery is feared – so what’s new? A good explanation of this here by Newcastle Uni blogger James Laws. Independent Schools need to join up to the EHC movement too –

Five things Schools need to know about the SEN Reforms.

Nice Guardian article here covers our responsibilities, but as Independent Schools don’t have to be involved, their children might miss out. I don’t see that it is schools interests not be part of the offer, but let me know if you think otherwise!

Looking after the Tiger… from my Twitter stream


What an extraordinary story – who’d have thought?  Here’s the ITN movie clip…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqkzJoRua5U


And finally…

The research bank at Wilding Towers has captured a vast number of interesting snippets over the last 8 weeks. I like…

Teaching History with 100 Objects by the British Museum

Design Thinking an Animated walk-through by Ana de Armas

Five Research-Driven Education Trends At Work in Classrooms by Katrina Schwartz

Top independent school puts lessons free on iTunes by the Stephen Perse Foundation

US pediatricians call for delay to morning school start for teens – everywhere

 

Future Dates

Saturday 18 October 2014 – Google’ Hub’ Event at Claires Court.

It’s 3 years since Claires Court went to the cloud, and our ‘Hub’ community numbers over 30 schools across the country.  This event, co-sponsored by Claires Court and C-Learning, seeks to bring those communities for a lively day of chit&chat – booking opens next week.

Objective of the day:

  1. a) to allow staff from the 30 – 35 schools who have gone done the “Hub” route to get together and share experiences of how they have evolved their use of Google Apps and other resources to create their Cloud based learning service
  2. b) to show these schools new products and services that they may wish to add to their own services including Chromebooks, Chromeboxes, Chromebases, Chromebox for Meetings, Google Play for Education, Tablets, Google Vault, Synergyse, Securly, etc

In terms of the schedule for the day

9.30am to 10am – Arrival & Tea/Coffee

10am to 11am  – Welcome to Claires Court & All Schools – Hub Show & Tell

11am to 12.15pm – Streamed sessions for Prep/Primary Schools and Secondary / Seniors schools for them to continue their Hub Show & Tell as there are uses which are age specific

12.15pm to 1.45pm – Lunch, Networking and hands on trials of Chrome devices, Tablets and Google Glass

1.45pm to 2.45pm – Software demonstrations (all) – 5 minutes plus discussion on Google Vault, Backupify, Synergyse, Classroom, Hapara, Securly, GoGuardian, Google Play for Education

2.45p to 3.15pm – Panel Q&A and Close

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Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

Posted on 04/09/2014 by jameswilding

Welcome back to Claires Court for another fully-committed and high-energy Academic Year.  Please do read my last post, Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it,  in which I highlight the sweet and the sour of the Summer, celebrating the best of our students’ results at A level and GCSE, opening up as they do other doors for their future, and somewhat selfishly reflecting that if only he had them for one more term…

We have received two major pieces of evidence this week, both of which highlight just how well our Sixth Form provision promotes excellence for all in our care.  Here is what the Edexcel Art Moderator wrote to our Head of Art, Jan Price.

” I would like to thank the centre for taking the time to talk me through the course structure, and congratulate them on the accuracy and rigor applied to its assessment. The centre should celebrate and feel confident in its richly mature and dynamic approach to Art practice; I would happily recommend the centre to Edexcel as a model for its exemplary standards. Thank you for all your hard work and hospitality in respect of this moderation. It was a pleasure visiting such an exciting and organised centre.”

Now lets face it, dear reader, it is difficult not to swell with pride reading that.  We have received general praise for other departments too, from History to PE, and I don’t think I have ever had a Faculty of Teachers quite so strong as just now.  And here’s an example of one of our colleagues, Huw Buckle, Head of Y11, teacher of Business Studies and Master in charge of Cricket, as reported in the Press:

Berkshire Cricket Coach of the Year 2014

Congratulations to Huw Buckle, teacher at Claires Court who has been awarded ‘Coach of the Year for Berkshire’ by the ECB (English and Wales Cricket Board) Coach Awards. The award is in recognition for his contribution to Girls’ cricket, having been instrumental in developing the Girls’ Section at Maidenhead & Bray, which is now in its third year.

Several of the Claires Court Girls play for the teams, who have had great success, winning the U12 County Championship in 2013, the U14 County Championship this year and later in September the U12 Girls are in the County Final again.

Mr Buckle received the award during the recent England v India Test match at the Oval, where he was presented with his certificate by former England batsman Mark Ramprakash, on the pitch during the lunch interval.

This broad ability school also received really strong A level and GCSE results in August for our students, and here’s a sample of our reporting of that on our website:

100% Pass Rate at Claires Court – Exceeding the National Average

For the third year in a row, Claires Court students are celebrating a 100% pass rate at A Level, with 19.6% of the grades at A* and A, up nearly 6% on last year. This marks a year of excellent academic and personal achievements for students at the school with over 93% getting their favoured University choices.

Across a wide range of subjects the grades reflected the hard work of students and staff, Andy Giles, Head of Sixth Form said: “This is a fantastic set of results, we encourage our students to aim high and they have been justly rewarded for their hard work. Our cohort has a diverse ability and it is pleasing to see across a breadth of subjects, from chemistry to economics, art and psychology, success and achievement of such a high quality. We wish them all the very best for the future.”

What our Academic Auditor, CEM Centre University of Durham feeds back to us is how our performance as an  institution  stacks up against all other schools in their project, which covers over 50% of all A levels sat. In 2013, our performance placed us in the top 20% of schools, and this year we have moved up a gear and now are  placed  in the top 15% of Sixth Forms. The most important message of all is that our best do as well as the best, whatever their core natural ability or intelligence.  Some entered the Sixth Form with 6A* or more, others with 2Bs and some Cs, yet by their own lights they have achieved so very much at the highest end of their capabilities.

We started school today, Thursday 4 September with some 994 pupils on roll, and we have 3 more students to join us who arrive next week.  We have a further 4 children in the pipeline for a new start this month, so I have my fingers crossed we’ll nudge past 1000 any time soon.  And that number is a great achievement in these times of austerity; in itself indicative of tremendous confidence our parents and wider community have in us to nurture, inspire, engage and  energize  the young boys and girls in our care.

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Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.

Posted on 28/08/2014 by jameswilding

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power & magic in it. Begin it now. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Claires Court is about to return to work. Since the publication of A level and GCSE results, the fingers of many have been itching to get back to business. There is a serious rule, for both children and adults that enforced rest is important. It’s not that I  imply  by that statement that school is a bad thing, but that independence from focussed demand for a sufficient space of time is. I am not the only adult, parent or teacher, who was able to look into the eyes of the young and realise that come mid-July, we are all done in. Ready for a break. Kaput.

For the last 2 weeks though, the staff have begun to stoke the boilers, review the pipework, read the manuals and check their directions. After all, come week beginning 1 September, we’ll be ready to take off – gently, steadily, watching for wheel spin and friction burns of course – and bit by bit, as we load the crew, first Sixth Form, then Year 7, then the sportsmen and women, then everybody else, we will gather speed for the run up to the Autumn then winter of this, the first term of 2014-15.

As results from the Summer show, teachers and pupils know how to make the good, and more often excellent, happen. It is bitter sweet of course because the best and oldest of Claires Court are on the  move  to pastures new, to University and a chosen path for higher education for most, for some the path to work. I am delighted that they have their chosen ways open to them, yet of course always mindful of the selfish gene within, that would have wished for one more term, one more spin of the wheel, one more dash for glory.

And yet, as research evidence continues to show, for the best schools the best is yet to come. We have learned so much in the last 10 years on on what works best with those that can be enabled by their school. The realisation is that for the  most  the best is always yet to come is a mantra we must adhere to.  There have been golden years in the past, largely because they are done and dusted and the pain of their creation largely forgotten. Like all harvests, the joy is in reaching their fruition, and recognising that this is now the time to rejoice and reflect. But progress was never made by standing in the shadow of the past.

So let’s be brave and look forward to a future steeped in what we believe; that all may achieve by their lights, of whatever cadence and hue. And it is by the mixing of our lights, by the sharing of both their heat and other energies, that all are able to reach to those possibilities beyond reason.  Trying our best is never good enough; it is through the inspiration of our peers and our forebears that we recognise that there is a quality in all for which we aspire, and beyond that, a pursuit of excellence that once gained to be shared unselfishly for all to enjoy.

 

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Making things happen…

Posted on 23/08/2014 by jameswilding

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them. George Bernard Shaw.

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Nutrition, Diet Fads and Tablets – a take on virtual learning.

Posted on 19/08/2014 by jameswilding

‘If Music be the food of love, play on’ spoke Duke Orsino in Twelfth  Night. His courtship for the Countess Olivia is not going well, and he rather hopes that an overdose would perhaps cure him of his  appetite.  The play is full of mistaken identities and misplaced trusts, but all works out in the end for the lovers (x 3 sets) and Music gets to take a back seat after all.

I recall much of the plot of  Twelfth  Night as if it were yesterday, partly because I studied it as my set text for O’Level and partly because I have seen it quite a few times since on stage. As a fourteen year old, I was given a much read and  previously  annotated edition of the play in hardback copy, and we worked through the set text for some 3 months with our teacher, the venerable Father Dunstan, whose myopic eyesight required pebble-sized glasses but whose grasp of the set text and his student audience was pretty tight.

In recent years, I have chosen to grapple positively with learning in the digital age, and pleasingly received some attention, support, recognition and such like for my efforts. Just now, as I type this article into WordPress’ frame, I have a wide variety of tablets (Apple and Android), laptops & chrome-books nearby, as I rehearse for new teacher induction how best our soon-to-be employed staff can make use of our Google Apps for Edu and Google Classroom environment. I know I need to do this preparation, for my new colleagues will in the main have no idea at all how collaborative documents and paperless assignments work. 

As I browse the Internet looking at world research and corporate bravado, it’s quite clear that for many schools the pressure is on to go digital, move paperless, use Apps and be seen to be 21st century learners.  But rules for what actually works in this brave new world are not that easily found, and frankly might work on day 1 or 2, because it is all new and bright and shiny, but into the second term and beyond might be found  wanting.  As a school, we have been truly digital for 30 months now, and yes our A level results are certainly better than we might have expected, but the positive difference is perhaps just a vanity at  this stage.  I like what the technology can bring, imediacy and intimacy of contact between teacher and taught, but of the other benefits of this internet age, I am rather more wary. 

A recent post by Alex Quigley, Hunting English, pointed me at a research paper by Dunlosky et al, published by the  Association for  Psychological  Science, one of those groups seeking to provide evidence-based research to advise what works best in the classroom.  Here’s a couple of testers for you: what would you rather do – read through a chapter and highlight the key points, or alternatively, sit regular practice tests on the content to test your understanding and knowledge?  Which student is going to do better, the one that reads and re-reads the set-text or the one that makes summary notes of same?

Three rules of thumb are recognisable:

1. What is easiest to do works least effectively 

2. Practice makes perfect

2. Teacher-feedback makes  the difference.

So in example 1, practice tests beats rereading for learning hands down.  In example 2, since there is no practice or teacher feedback, neither are  terribly  useful.  You can read the article here – http://goo.gl/SxowHv – and it’s a beauty.  Like much other cognitive research emerging at present, it tells us a lot more than just confirm prejudices.  It is  particularly interesting to note that approaching problems in diverse ways may actually be less effective than just nailing the problem head-on, because a variety of practice does not necessarily mean sufficient attention is spent on the memorising or the technical skills involved. 

Imagine now that I was given not an old, well thumbed edition of a play, but a bright shiny digital artifact on my iPad screen instead.  Yes, I can see straight away I am missing  those  helpful notes written by others before me, so I have to start writing on my screen straight-away to add those memories of what the words mean. Hang-on, the pdf doesn’t allow me that choice.  Never-mind, I can quickly surf the internet, review what others think and make those thoughts my own.  That’s cool, I can rather more readily research and rework the material than perhaps I could using paper and print. But will that help me learn the lines, quote the examples I need and raise my self-awareness sufficiently to become the best student I’d like to be?

I have developed a rule of thumb that suggests that up to 33% of work can be created in digital form, and that assignments and such like should measure up in similar manner. But more than that would take children and teachers away from the other necessary learning activities that cause real learning to occur and growth mind-sets to be established. It is  interesting  to note that recent UK research highlights that students who sit 3 A levels do better than those that sit 2, and so sixth form advisers better watch out if they slim students diet to 2 subjects so that they can do better, because the evidence is to the contrary. I’ll join this research with my own practice, highlighting perhaps that people’s cognitive engagement has got to be full-on for them to learn best.  So learning just in a virtual world will certainly not be as effective as working in a broader mixed economy to include paper, people and practice.

We are just beginning to see the first research papers out showing the warning signs for those institutions that have gone fully paper-free, highlighting that the early successes of Tablets in the classroom can’t be maintained into the long term. As ever with such research, it’ll need some peer review and publication by APS, CEM centre and others before I’ll make it a real headline.  Real learning has to include a digital dimension, so familiar and available that the children can deploy its use as appropriate. But like TV dinners, not the diet of choice all the time.  The last thing we want is to supersize our children through a diet of easy-to-acquire information and apps-that-do-the-work into Learning Obesity, whereby excess gratuitous study & activity has accumulated in the learner an undeserved confidence to the extent that it has a negative effect on mental health, leading to reduced academic performance and/or increased health problems. It is not just about knowing how to find the information; for  Shakespeare  that was always obviously in his  completed  works. But studying, revising, forgetting and memorising takes time and energy, yet are indeed the food of learning, and need to play on for many years to come. 

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