January 2021 • Issue 18
HES SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT UPDATE
The Newsletter for Havering's Educators
Grahame Smith
School Improvement Manager grahame.smith@havering.gov.uk 01708 433942
mindset was not ‘we can’t do that now’ but ‘how can we do that differently?’ I was also struck by the observation that whatever chaos has been going on around the world, the children have still acted and behaved as children always do - and that, perhaps, is the greatest compliment of all to the profession.
I remember early on in the pandemic, during the first lockdown, many of us reflected on the empty roads, the clear skies, the daily exercise, the family time and the genuine appreciation of the sacrifices made by our key and critical workers. And there was talk that this was a real opportunity not to return to the old ways, but to re-set and do things differently, do things better. So as we begin 2021, I wonder what our profession has learned and what we will do differently, having experienced the last year? How will we
‘build back better’ or ‘create a new different’? I think 2021 will provide both the opportunity and the answer.
Thank you to everybody for everything you did in 2020 - and I wish you all a safe and healthy 2021.
2021 - Creating a New Different
Dear Colleagues,
I hope that you have had a well-earned break over the Christmas period and managed to re-connect with at least some of your family members and friends. I also wish you a safe and healthy 2021 and hope that, with the arrival of the vaccine, eventually we can return to something like normality later on in the year.
There was certainly not much to look back fondly upon in 2020 and most of us, I am sure, are not
sorry to see the back of a most extraordinary year. Yet despite the pandemic, the anxiety, for some the pain and suffering, the
social restrictions and the limits on our usual freedoms, I was also
struck by the positives that our profession can take from such adversity. For example, the extraordinary resilience of the workforce at all levels; our school leaders; the teamwork, co-operation and spirit between schools and partners; the emergence of a common understanding of what really matters (and, really, what does not); the kindness and humanity that connects us all, even if we can’t connect in person; and finally the exceptional capacity for the profession to adapt, innovate and deliver. The collective
What's inside?
Safeguarding – Parental Responsibility English – Where does Vocabulary come from?
Assessment – The Importance of Vocabulary in Your Catch-Up Curriculum
EAL – When it comes to Vocabulary... Size Matters!
Governance – Moving into the Virtual World Maths – Mayor of London’s Schools for Success Programme 2020–21
Early Years – A Post-Lockdown snapshot Computing and Online Safety
DfE Ed Tech Demonstrator Programme – Supporting The R.J. Mitchell Primary School LGfL – Learning Resource updates to support Remote Learning
Geography – Keeping Fieldwork going
RE – Helping Pupils think about Important Issues in RE
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9-10 11 12 13 14
Leadership – Golden Moments Havering Academy of Leadership – Free Well-being Programme and Events
Well-being – Mental Health Training and support for Havering schools
Supporting Staff Well-being at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School
Teaching and Learning in the Pandemic in Denmark
SEND – Speech and Language, Fundamental to Learning
Recently Qualified Teachers – Supporting our Early Career Teachers
Havering Academy of Leadership – Are you seeking a Mentor?
Hsis Courses, Consultancy and Support 15
16 17 18 19-20 21 22 23 24
Safeguarding – Parental Responsibility
Splits in families
Many schools are seeing splits in families that have become more acrimonious or difficult since the start of the pandemic. Parents love their children, but there is great tension between the adults. School too often sees one parent trying to get you to favour their position, seeing the other parents as a less good parent.
Parental Responsibility (PR) is a legal term and applies to the mother and father named on the child’s long birth certificate. PR ceases on the child’s 18th birthday meaning parents can no-longer make decisions on behalf of the child. There are variations for SEND children.
Support the child
It is really important we do not get involved in any unhappiness between parents. We must always support the child. Family court and contact arrangements do not affect PR, even if the child lives entirely with one parent and not the other. Both parents still have PR.
The resident parent should have the stronger voice for consent regarding trips, etc. however the parents should jointly agree bigger decisions – medical etc. Both parents are entitled to information about their child. Any requests for information should be passed to your headteacher.
PR can be given through a court order to someone that has additional care for a child such as a step-parent or grandparent. This may be a Special Guardianship Order (SGO). Nationally it is very rare for PR to be removed and it is always carried out through a court. Step-parents do not automatically acquire PR, it has to be granted. That doesn’t mean that the parent cannot give their new partner responsibility, but the step-parent cannot make decisions for the child.
Penny Patterson
Senior Inspector Safeguarding penny.patterson@havering.gov.uk 01708 433829
Michelle Wain
Adviser - EAL & Safeguarding michelle.wain@havering.gov.uk 01708 431650
Carol Rockey
Adviser - EAL & Safeguarding carol.rockey@havering.gov.uk 01708 431651
Tension in the family
Any tension in the family can be very worrying for a child.
They can think that it is their fault, so, at all times, we support the child and keep them at the centre of our decisions.
Tweets & posts • Tweets & posts • Tweets & posts
Peter Ellison
Hsis Associate Adviser - English hsis@havering.gov.uk
01708 433813
English – Where does Vocabulary come from?
The importance of vocabulary
In the last few years there has been a great deal of discussion amongst teachers about the importance of vocabulary in the development of pupils’ language. This has generally been a good thing because, up until recently, vocabulary development was often overlooked.
It is now common to see explicit vocabulary teaching in primary school classrooms and pupils are much more aware of the importance of developing a wide vocabulary than they used to be. However, it is clear that explicit vocabulary teaching can never, on its own, close the gap between our lower and higher achievers. There are simply too many words and the research shows that we need to encounter new words many times before we really understand them.
So, where must this vocabulary come from if it is going to be integrated into pupils’ natural language? The answer is obvious, but not easy. It must come from reading and exploring sophisticated texts which include advanced tier 2 vocabulary. This is, of course, no easy matter. We can provide these texts through shared reading, but those books will never be enough. The only way to increase pupils’ vocabulary meaningfully is through independent reading. This means that pupils must be fluent decoders by the end of KS1 and ready to read demanding texts on their own in Y3 and 4. This is challenging.
While explicit vocabulary teaching is helpful and should form part of an effective curriculum, it is independent reading that will close the gap.
FOCUS
VOCABULARY ON
Assessment – The Importance of Vocabulary in Your Catch-Up Curriculum
Jane Downes
Hsis Associate Adviser – Assessment hsis@havering.gov.uk
01708 433813
A lack of varied, precise, ambitious vocabulary
When moderating writing last term, one of the areas which I have highlighted time and again is a lack of varied, precise, ambitious vocabulary. This is hardly surprising considering some of our pupils will have experienced reduced interaction with parents, children or books during school lockdowns. The pressure to enable pupils to catch- up with lost learning is ever-present in teachers’ minds and it is tempting to focus on reading, writing and maths.
However, a lack of vocabulary affects pupils’ reading comprehension and writing skills as well as their ability to access the rest of the curriculum.
If this reflects your experience, consider how to integrate vocabulary teaching as part of your catch-up curriculum, then here are some suggestions that may help:
• Explicitly teach antonyms and synonyms to increase the range of vocabulary pupils know and use. As a class, try collecting synonyms, for example, tired: weary / exhausted / worn out / sapped / spent. Ask pupils to rank words from the least tired to the most.
• Explore appropriate words for a given situation.
Generate synonyms for your chosen word, for example old: shabby / ramshackle / elderly / bygone / ancient. Ask pupils to choose a synonym which would best describe a home / person / coat / archaeological find.
• Prior to beginning a topic, teach the contextual
language of a class book or a curriculum subject. When discussing topic vocabulary ask ‘What is it and what isn’t it?’, for example an acute angle: sharp but not curved, wavy or square. Encourage the children to record key vocabulary and refer to this in their work.
• Teach children how to improve or vary their vocabulary choices when editing. Pupils could work in pairs or threes, depending on your seating arrangements in class at the moment. They could underline the best three words in their work - the most appropriate, most ambitious or an alternative word used to avoid repetition – and choose two words to improve together.
Removing barriers to learning
Improving vocabulary may take a little longer, however, it not only improves writing quality but also can remove barriers to learning across the curriculum.
FOCUS
VOCABULARY ON
EAL – When it comes to Vocabulary… Size Matters!
We are all speaking a new language
Having worked in the field of EAL for many (many!) years, it occurred to us as rather poignant that, this time last year, we were unaware that one year later we would all be speaking a new language; who would have anticipated that the word ‘bubble’ would take on a new meaning or that
‘social distancing’ and ‘self-isolation’ were activities that would be carried out by people not normally classified as hermits?
Language moves on quickly; as if it wasn’t already enough having an estimated 171,146 words in the English language (to be precise!), the meanings of even very simple terms are changing all the time. I’m sure we all have older relatives who reach for a pill box every time you ask them if they’ve seen your tablet! EAL learners can face real challenges when trying to cope with the multiple and ever-changing meanings of words in English. Just think about some of the difficulties posed by the mathematics curriculum with words such as ‘odd’, ‘table’ and ‘operation’ that have very specific and different meanings from their everyday counterparts.
When learning any language, linguistic competence depends on gaining both breadth and depth of vocabulary;
yes, you need to learn lots of words but you also need to learn how to use them – how words change in sentences, how they can be combined with other words to make new words, how they may have many different meanings, and their synonyms and antonyms. In order to be fluent in English, size is important: an estimated vocabulary of 10,000 word families is required. However,
Michelle Wain
Adviser - EAL & Safeguarding michelle.wain@havering.gov.uk 01708 431650
Carol Rockey
Adviser - EAL & Safeguarding carol.rockey@havering.gov.uk 01708 431651
an understanding of the first 2,000 word families will give a child access to about 80% of everyday language;
intermediate EAL learners are therefore likely to need support with about 20% of the language that they read or hear in class including high-frequency words that are used in unusual and idiomatic ways.
There is no one magic formula for teaching vocabulary but, if we project ourselves into our learners’ shoes (at a safe social distance, of course), we can make a difference.
To find out more about how to support pupils with vocabulary development, please follow these links:
https://www.teachitenglish.co.uk/wordgap
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/vocabulary- activities
FOCUS
VOCABULARY ON
Governance – Moving into the Virtual World
Maureen Smith
Havering Governor Services Manager maureen.smith@havering.gov.uk 01708 433665
Fulfilling responsibilities, but in different ways
Since March, like many other aspects of our lives, governance has moved to the virtual world. With no change to the governance regulations during the pandemic, governors have continued to fulfil their responsibilities but in different ways.
Governing Body meetings, training sessions and monitoring visits have been held via video conferencing and some clear advantages have been identified. These include greater accessibility and enabling governors who might otherwise not be able to attend meetings, due to other responsibilities or needing to self-isolate, to continue to be an active member of the Governing Board. The ability to hold short and focussed meetings without having to travel to the school can be really useful if urgent issues arise.
Virtual training sessions have been popular and some governors who have not previously attended face to face training have accessed courses.
The duty on governing boards to have regard to the headteachers’ work-life balance (School Staffing Regulations) and to have regard to the well-being and mental health of the school leadership team and teaching staff more broadly (School Governance Handbook 2020) is well known. This role for governors has never been more important than in the current circumstances.
Governing Boards could:
• Consider having a governor or academy trustee as a well- being champion
• Have a clear joint understanding of the expectations of what governing boards and schools leaders should expect of each other
• Review the number and format of meetings and the times they are held
• Ensure meeting agendas are clear, specific and manageable
• When requesting information ensure that the timing is appropriate and realistic
• When holding staff to account ensure that questions are asked in a constructive way
• Add staff well-being to the full Governing Body agenda – consider staff absence data, staff survey feedback and staff turnover and the reasons staff move on (often this occurs for positive reasons!).
The importance of maintaining contact
Maintaining contact between Governors and the School is always important. As a Governing Board you will need to determine how to manage this to ensure the Headteacher doesn’t get asked the same question by every governor!
Maths – Mayor of London’s Schools for Success Programme 2020-21
Kairen Raper
Inspector Standards and Effectiveness - Mathematics
Kairen.raper@havering.gov.uk 01708 433815
Congratulations Squirrels Heath Junior School!
“The Mayor wants to recognise the brilliant work teachers, teaching assistants, support staff and governors are doing every day to support children that begin behind their peers…
…By improving the outcomes of pupils who begin with attainment levels behind their peers, these schools are making a significant contribution to reducing educational inequalities and promoting social mobility for young Londoners.
The Mayor has decided to recognise schools that do exceptionally well with low prior attaining pupils.”
London.gov.uk website
https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/education-and- youth/schools-success/faqs-schools-success
Congratulations to Squirrels Heath Junior School who have become a School for Success 2020-21. This is in recognition of the progress children made in Maths and other areas of the curriculum.
Aoife Bush, Assistant Head Teacher, has shared the areas of focus within mathematics that have led to the school’s success:
Areas of focus:
• know the children to champion them; target support strategically.
• understand the needs of all children through targeted support
• rapid intervention 1:1 within the week
• wealth of experience of our staff to support children, continuously supported through regular CPD
• use of manipulatives
• integrated mastery approach with adapted coverage
• a practical, hands-on approach
• practical manipulatives sessions to reinforce concepts, which we have invested richly in
• investment in technology to support learning both in school and at home
• considered scaffolding to empower children to apply maths in different ways
• developing a wide range of strategies to improve mental skills
• developing a wide range of strategies to help children
“read” Maths
Squirrels Heath Junior School follows other Havering schools being identified as Schools for Success. The
Mawney Foundation School, Crowlands Primary School and Elm Park Primary School have all been awarded a place in the Schools for Success Programme in previous years. This clearly shows the dedication, hard work and commitment of school leaders, teachers, and support staff in our schools.
Early Years – A Post-Lockdown snapshot
Caroline Mitchell Senior Education Adviser
caroline.mitchell@havering.gov.uk 01708 434532
Focusing on the impact of COVID-19
As you may be aware, Ofsted have carried out a programme of research interviews focused on the impact of COVID-19 with a range of education providers. They have published their findings under the heading ‘Ofsted COVID-19 Series’. If you wish to read any of the reports, you can find all briefing papers via this link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ofsted- covid-19-series
The investigation into the effects of the pandemic on children in the early years sector, aims to find out the answers to four broad questions which are as follows:
1. What is the current state of early years provision?
2. How have children been affected by the first national lockdown?
3. How are early years providers planning to maintain standards in education and care through the pandemic?
4. How financially sustainable is the early years sector?
Almost all of the providers that took part in the interviews*
said that the first national lockdown had impacted on children’s learning and development.
Celia Freeth
Early Years Quality Assurance Manager celia.freeth@havering.gov.uk
01708 433802
Participants identified three groups of children when talking about this impact:
• those who continued to attend the setting
• those at home who were well supported by parents who were able to spend time with them
• those at home with parents who were not able to spend time with them
One in five providers thought that all their children had been impacted in a similar way. However, most were more concerned about the learning and development of the following groups of children:
• children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
• those who speak English as an additional language
• children living in poverty
• those whose parents were not engaging previously It is important to be mindful that participants were most concerned about the effect of COVID-19 restrictions on children’s personal, social and emotional development, as well as communication and language. This was most frequently cited when we asked providers to identify one area of learning that had declined the most. (see table below)
Fallen Behind Stayed the same Improved Not sure
Communication and language 29% 41% 21% 9%
Personal, social and emotional development 53% 31% 7% 8%
Physical development 19% 58% 16% 7%
Understanding the world 18% 48% 23% 11%
Expressive arts and design 15% 59% 17% 9%
Literacy 24% 57% 8% 12%
Mathematics 25% 57% 4% 13%
Responses to the question:
“overall, would you say that children’s learning and development has improved, fallen behind or stayed the same in the following areas?”
* Evidence from research interviews with 208 registered early years providers and maintained nursery schools.
Computing and Online Safety
New training videos for Switched on Computing 3rd Edition from the HES School Improvement Services team
The Hsis team have created a series of training videos for Switched on Computing 3rd Edition. These are available within the Switched on Computing area of the My Rising Stars platform. The videos provide an overview of the resources and how to use them. There are 7 videos in total, providing Computing Leaders and teachers in Years 1 to 6 with information on how to get started, what is included in the resources, an overview of the units in each year group and handy hints and tips to make the best use of the scheme.
Rising Stars have also produced two videos to help schools to understand more about Switched on Computing.
Get Started with Switched on Computing:
https://youtu.be/Z7CjwqAzBm4
Dave Smith
Senior Inspector – Traded Services (Hsis) dave.smith@havering.gov.uk
01708 433824 Amanda Jackson
Senior Inspector – Quality Assurance amanda.jackson@havering.gov.uk 01708 431662
Take a tour of Switched on Computing:
https://youtu.be/gv-06p5QpDg
How to access the Switched on Computing resources
Hsis CPD Package subscriber schools and academies can click on the following link to sign-up for free access to Switched on Computing – https://hodder-lp-live.edcowebsites.co.uk/
rising-stars/havering-education-service-switched-on- computing-discount-form/form
To find out more about the third edition of Switched on Computing visit - https://www.risingstars-uk.com/series/
switched-on-computing
Finally, please contact us if you require any assistance with the implementation of the 3rd Edition of Switched on Computing in your school.
Computing and Online Safety (continued)
Blended / Remote Learning - An APPetite for Learning hosted by Martin Bailey - 20.1.2021
As part of our ongoing series of additional Hsis courses to address blended / remote learning we are very pleased to be able to offer ‘An APPetite for Learning’ - hosted by Martin Bailey, Digital Enrichment Leader at Lanchester EP Primary School, County Durham, Lecturer in Primary Computing at Durham University and Director of Animate 2 Educate Ltd.
Who is Martin Bailey?
Martin has an international reputation for how he creatively uses apps to bring all areas of the curriculum to life,
presenting at conferences in the UK and internationally.
Following the success of his recent ‘Effective Remote Learning’ session for Hsis subscriber schools, we are delighted to welcome him back; this time to explore the use of apps for learning.
Why use Apps for learning?
Apps can help to make the curriculum accessible for all pupils and this has never been more vital with the need for alternative ways of recording outcomes, not just in school, but at home for remote learning too. The session will
feature a wide range of open-ended apps (many of which are FREE), which can be used across the curriculum for pupils of all ages, both in school and at home. Exciting ideas for combining different apps and bringing your curriculum to life will also be covered within this session. Martin will demonstrate how open-ended apps have so many great (and yet incredibly simple) uses across the curriculum and how many of the best apps are ones which can be used by pupils of all ages. Many pupils require ‘alternative ways of recording outcomes’ in lessons and Martin will demonstrate a range of great apps which support both SEND and EAL pupils and help to make the curriculum accessible to all.
Let’s get App smashing!
App smashing is the technique of combining two or more apps in order to achieve the end result. Apps on their own can be good. Apps when ‘smashed’ together can be great!
Martin is one of the best app smashers in the business and will demonstrate some of his favourite techniques.
Will it be more than iPads?
Martin will be using an iPad during this session and will be showcasing Apple iOS apps, however many of the apps are also available on other platforms and so this session is very much suitable for anyone using tablet technology in primary education.
You can follow Martin Bailey on Twitter @Animate2Educate and his school Lanchester EP @LanchesterEP
Sign-up now This course is available to HES School
Improvement Services CPD Package subscriber schools and academies via the HES Online Portal: https://hes.org.uk/
Event/130145 Course Code: SIS-OM-0121-T008
Online Safety - An internet we trust: exploring reliability in the online world
Safer Internet Day will be on the 9th February 2021 and will be celebrated in the UK with the theme: An internet we trust: exploring reliability in the online world.
Safer Internet Day 2021 celebrates the amazing range of information and opportunities online, and its potential to inform, connect and inspire us, whilst also looking at how young people can separate fact from fiction.
The campaign focuses on how we can know what to trust online, supporting young people to question, challenge and change the online world. It will explore how influence, persuasion and manipulation can impact young people’s decisions, opinions and what they share online.
To help educators to deliver practical and impactful activities for Safer Internet Day they have created a range of free resources, including; films, lesson plans, assemblies,
quick activities and more.
See the available resources by visiting the website
www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day and clicking on the age group that you work with. You will also see links for information about working with parents and carers, and what your school can do to get involved.
There are also a range of resources shown on LGfL to cover fake news and critical thinking
online at www.fakenews.lgfl.net
DfE EdTech Demonstrator Programme
– Supporting The R. J. Mitchell Primary School
Feroza Wells
Senior Lead, The R J Mitchell Primary School www.rjmitchellprimaryschool.com
An accelerated journey toward digital learning
When the unimaginable happened - national lockdown - our setting began an accelerated journey toward digital learning. As a school we had a standing start with our technological infrastructure and needed to urgently respond to ensure continuity of learning provision.
Early stages of development
During the early stages of lockdown we applied a blended asynchronous model using a combination of a paper-based and website solution. Adapting our model was the first priority so that our pupils and staff could work within a class environment and remotely at home. Once that was established, we recognised the need for a synchronous solution and with this in mind we decided to provide our teaching and learning through Google Classroom.
Additional support
After setting-up our online platform, we applied to the DfE EdTech Demonstrator Schools and Colleges Programme to gain support and advice for remote education. This was a unique opportunity for us to connect and leverage advice and guidance on a peer-to-peer basis. Our Regional Lead for London Kriss Baird was instrumental in partnering us with
‘The Reach Academy’, who had a similar digital maturity
as ours. Our partner was extremely flexible.
We held initial meetings during the summer holidays which was extremely helpful to get a head start before commencing the new academic year. When we were connected, they provided us with an extensive offer
that included digital strategy, deployment, on-going
improvements, best practices within the digital spectrum and post implementation reviews.
Highly recommended
Advice was always on point and highly relevant. Moreover, their offering and approach was very pragmatic and focused.
This level of continuous provision has been exceptional. It has certainly improved our overall level of confidence in our digital solution which is evident from the high level of engagement from our school community and parents. Using strong partnerships who are on a similar journey is something that I would highly recommend to other primary schools who are learning in unprecedented circumstances. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the EdTech Demonstrator Schools and Colleges Programme again for supporting us in the delivery of our remote learning provision.
For more information visit the EdTech Demonstrator
programme website https://edtech-demonstrator.lgfl.net/
Tweets & posts • Tweets & posts • Tweets & posts
LGfL – Learning Resource updates to support Remote Learning
Planning for remote learning
I’m sure you do not need a reminder that planning for remote learning has been complex for all schools. Now your school has their remote learning plans in place and platforms up and running, it is important to reflect and see how you can adapt and augment your existing platforms with the digital tools available to you via an LGfL Subscription.
An LGfL subscription gives you access to many high-quality resources, from Busy Things to ReadingZone Live, just2easy, Switched on Science to Ancient Egypt, LGfL’s premium learning resources are a blend of commercial content and
homegrown exclusives. Go to the discover.lgfl.net where you can browse by subject/KS or a detailed search by keyword, a programme of study or individual NC descriptors.
With remote learning in place, we have two fantastic updates to our 2 most popular resources:
Bradley Dardis
Learning Resource Consultant hsis@havering.gov.uk
01708 433813
Busy Things
Busy Things has hundreds of maths, literacy and phonics activities to help your pupils catch up after the months of disruption to schooling caused by Covid. The Busy
Things team have worked hard to give more control to teachers on their platform including being able to create a class, schedule assignments and provide feedback all via a bespoke
classroom setup.
Just2easy
The Just2easy platform provides an online virtual classroom with tools
designed specifically for primary aged students; with tools for writing, drawing, coding, animating, blogging, and much more, you can run your classroom from anywhere. The new J2homework tool is essential for any distance learning provision. The tool allows you to set homework, attach document templates or supporting URLs, assign deadlines and even record audio instructions to support your learners at home.
Another new addition, J2stars, allows for whole-class or individual points allocation, to help you reward and reinforce positive behaviour. It offers the option to define your own behaviour targets, allowing you to meet your pupils’ specific behaviour needs. Not only that, but the tool also offers a handy randomised pupil picker, and timer, to help motivate your pupils in the school or at home.
For support in using these new updates or for more information on any of LGfL’s learning content email contentsupport@lgfl.net
Geography – Keeping Fieldwork going
Ben Ballin
Hsis Associate Adviser – Geography hsis@havering.gov.uk
01708 433813
Providing children with meaningful and memorable experiences
Fieldwork is essential to Geography, bringing ideas to life and providing children with meaningful and memorable experiences. Moreover, there is clear and growing evidence that such experiences bring benefits to well-being as well as to learning. However, conducting fieldwork in the present moment presents particular challenges.
In and around the school grounds
This spring, most schools will still choose to carry out most fieldwork in the school grounds and immediate vicinity (although a limited number of other sites are open for socially-distanced visits). For advice on risk management, including onward links to government guidance, see the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom:
https://www.lotc.org.uk/coronavirus-latest-advice/.
Learning Through Landscapes also provides helpful guidance on social distancing in the school grounds:
https://www.ltl.org.uk/ltl-news/social-distancing-in- school-grounds/
There is plenty to do in and around the school: treasure hunts, journey sticks and ‘messy mapping’ for younger children;
drawing annotated plans of the site for older ones, perhaps including notes and drawings of micro-environments (e.g.
weather impacts, vegetation patterns) or marking-up land use (which parts of the school site are used for what purpose).
These can embed key locational vocabulary and concepts and be used to support locational and place knowledge, an understanding of human and physical processes and the development of mapwork and enquiry skills.
For further ideas, including for children in self-isolation / working remotely see: https://www.geography.org.uk/
Geographical-investigations-around-the-house-garden- local-area-and-school-grounds
Virtual Fieldwork
While there is no substitute for real-world fieldwork, there is a place for ‘virtual fieldwork’ as part of a blended approach.
A growing number of sites offer webcam footage that can be compared with observations of the school site at different times of day. Visit London, for example, offers a selection from popular landmarks:
https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/sightseeing/
london-attraction/webcams-of-london
Google Street View not only extends the world beyond the school gate (helping children discover where a road leads, or what a distant feature is) but also offers a ‘virtual trip’ around cities throughout the world (for example, taking a ‘visit’ to Rome as part of a regional comparison). This secondary data can then be compared with primary sources from the school site. Meanwhile, online maps and aerial views help contextualise the local site, by zooming out to different scales: the neighbourhood, region, nation and beyond.
RE – Helping Pupils think about Important Issues in RE
Julia Diamond-Conway Hsis Associate Adviser - RE hsis@havering.gov.uk 01708 433813
RE can make a great contribution to children’s thinking about values and ways in which people act. This article looks at how schools can approach anti-racism and Holocaust education. It goes without saying that RE is not the only subject which deals with these issues, but it can certainly play a role.
Anti-racist RE
NATRE, working with several other partners, has launched a project to help teachers tackle racism in RE lessons. The project aims to provide resources, case studies and plans for teachers to deliver great RE whilst challenging and confronting racism. Teachers can access a planned unit of 6 topics for primary, including a wide range of support materials. This project launched in Autumn 2020, and will be added to, revised and updated as necessary over the coming months.
To find out more, you can locate the resources on NATRE’s website at: https://www.natre.org.uk/about-natre/
projects/anti-racist-re/
If you would like to share any feedback on the resources with NATRE, there will shortly be the facility to do so via the website.
Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) falls on January 27th each year. The theme for 2021 is ‘Be the light in the darkness’. Many schools across the country mark HMD in the first half of the spring term and need to do so with great sensitivity. To enable teachers to approach HMD in appropriate ways, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust has published the following guidelines:
https://www.hmd.org.uk/resource/guidelines-for-teachers- holocaust-and-genocide-education/, whilst recommending that only pupils aged 8 and over should take part in HMD activities.
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust has a number of resources for considering HMD in primary schools including an assembly, lesson plan and creative activities. These can be found in the resources section of the website:
https://www.hmd.org.uk/resources/. Other organisations that may be helpful include the Holocaust Educational Trust:
https://www.het.org.uk/ and the National Holocaust Centre and Museum: https://www.holocaust.org.uk/.
Holocaust Memorial Day
Leadership – Golden Moments
Jacqueline Treacy
Senior Inspector - Quality Assurance jacqueline.treacy@havering.gov.uk 01708 431287
A challenging year
Who would have envisaged that in 2020 restrictions would have been in place that prevented us from seeing family and friends, eating out, going on holiday and doing a myriad of other things we enjoy and until last spring probably took for granted. 2020 was a challenging year and a high level of resilience was needed.
“Life is not about how fast you run, how high you jump, but how well you bounce.” (Vivian Komori) To ‘bounce’ well you need to enjoy a life of balance, which includes time ‘to be’, and to draw breath.
The New Year is traditionally a time to take stock and to make plans. If in 2021 you are planning to improve the balance in your life then maybe a daily ‘Golden moment’ is for you. Give yourself
‘permission’ to take the time to do something that
makes you feel good and brings a little joy perhaps to your day. It doesn’t have to be anything out of the ordinary, it could be something as simple as making the time to drink a really good cup of coffee or taking a walk. If you can, why not have 2 golden moments a day – spoil yourself!
The more ‘Golden moments’ you can enjoy the better your well-being and resilience will be. We see signs saying, ‘If you can be anything, be kind.’ Remember to be kind to yourself.
For those of you who already enjoy a daily ‘Golden moment’, well done for managing those boundaries and keeping time and space for yourself. Wishing all of you a very golden 2021.
Tweets & posts • Tweets & posts • Tweets & posts
Havering Academy of Leadership – Free Well-being Programme and Events
From January 2021, we are offering free online access to all school staff to live sessions such as Pilates, Zumba, Deskercise, Yoga, Cross-Fight, Mindfulness... or you can access recorded content on You Tube. There are multiple sessions per week, available at your convenience!
Something for Everyone
Whether you wish to join a gentle exercise class such
as Pilates or Yoga, want a break from your working day with some chair-based Deskercise or want to challenge yourself at X-Fight (Cross Fight), there’s something at our Virtual Exercise Programme for everyone. All classes are led by qualified instructors who can adjust the sessions to suit all abilities.
And do not fear, you will not need to have your camera on if you don’t want to! These sessions are for colleagues at all levels working in schools – and you can either join ‘live’ via Zoom on your own or in a Covid-secure group.
Catch-up on YouTube
Alternatively, if the time does not work for you, you can visit our You Tube page and take part any time at your own convenience: https://www.youtube.com/
playlist?list=PLlKHfvhtHVgJ3eIB-4XELRzqAmXnBmZlU
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
8am - 8:30am
Pilates (Angela) Click to join
Legs, Bums, Tums (Angela) Click to join
12:15pm -12:30pm
Deskercise - Flex ‘N’
Stretch (Angela) Click to join
Deskercise - Sit to be Fit
(Angela) Click to join
12:35pm - 12:50pm
Mindful Moments
(Angela) Click to join
12.30pm - 1pm
Body Tone/
Aerobics (Georgina) Click to join
X-Fight (Daniel) Click to join
5:15pm - 5:45pm
(Donna)Yoga Click to join
Zumba (Carly) Click to join
Weight Management
Group (Sharon) Click to join
Timetable of classes from January 2021:
Please promote these events to colleagues to help support their health and well-being.
Well-being – Mental Health Training and Support for Havering Schools
Providing children with
meaningful and memorable experiences
Havering’s Children and Young People Mental Health Transformation Group has representation from local authority health, education and social care teams, NHS partners, headteachers, and voluntary sector organisations.
With increased funding being invested in children and young people’s mental health, one of the early aims of this group was to develop a summary of the support available to schools, making it easier to identify which staff should attend which training courses, what services are available direct to pupils, and where to signpost parents for support.
This work has recently featured on the Local Government Association website.
For education staff, to support our response to the impacts of Covid-19 on mental health, ‘Wellbeing for Education Return’ training has been developed by the Anna Freud Centre and will be delivered by Educational Psychologists during the spring term. It aims to provide tools to enable staff to help children and young people acknowledge, understand and process how they feel, and prevent normal emotions from developing into more entrenched mental health issues. The CAD Team will get in touch with SENCOs to provide details.
There is also training available during the spring term from partners including:
• Charlie Waller Trust ‘Developing positive coping and resilience’
• 9.30am-12.30pm 11th February for primary staff • 9.30am-12.30pm 2nd March for secondary staff
Claire Alp
Senior Public Health Specialist Claire.Alp @havering.gov.uk 01708 431365
• Papyrus ‘Suicide Prevention Overview Training’
• 9.30-11.00am 19th January for primary and secondary staff
• 3.00pm-4.30pm 21st January for primary and secondary staff
• Beat ‘Primary Prevention of Eating Disorders’
• 9.30am-4.30pm 4th March for primary staff
For pupils, there are Five Ways to Wellbeing workshops for 13-16 year olds delivered by Havering Youth Services;
online counselling for 11-18 year olds available from Kooth;
and drop-in sessions with STAR Workers.
For parents, CAMHS delivers workshops on sleep, anxiety management, and physical and emotional wellbeing;
Havering Adult College offers a range of courses including Supporting Families with Emotional Wellbeing, and Understanding Challenging Behaviour; and Havering Mind has support available on 01708 457040.
Details on the above, alongside further training and support available to staff, pupils and parents, features in the termly resource, which can be downloaded from
www.havering.gov.uk/mentalhealthresource.
© MindEd/Royal College of Psychiatrists, Department for Education and Health Education England 2020
Supporting Staff Well-being at St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School
Making well-being a priority
If ever there has been a time to make staff and pupil well- being a priority, it is now.
We have recognised the need for governors and senior leaders to clearly communicate our commitment to a mentally healthy workplace and to take people on the journey towards that vision.
Professional well-being is one of our performance management priorities this year and we are using the Five Ways to Wellbeing programme. We have drawn some of our current ideas from this. In addition, I have recently discovered via YouTube a series of meetings on professional wellbeing for HTs, governors, SLT and staff (Sally Rundell).
Last year, we held a staff INSET day with six other schools in the LA. It was led by Pooky Knightsmith who spoke at the Havering Headteachers’
Conference a couple of years ago. This was high quality professional development which I would recommend to all schools.
I recently attended an outstanding two-day
course on ‘Mental Health and Well-being in the Workplace’
which was led by Crusaider First Aid and Mental Health.
Bernadette Matthews Headteacher
St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School www.st-josephs-upminster.net
We talk to the children a lot about feelings and I have led several assemblies based on the film ‘Inside Out’. This has resulted in displays around school which are often signposted by staff and children. Each class has a feelings bag.
Gratitude Books
As well as the thank you cards which staff use, we have introduced Gratitude Books for each class. These are hardback A4 books to acknowledge their value. It is really important for the children to know that, whilst there are a lot of challenges at the moment, we can still find things to be thankful for. Through PSHE lessons and assemblies we have considered the good things in our lives. Children, staff and any visitors to the class can write a thank you label to
be stuck into the book. Sometimes the teachers will lead a gratitude session with the whole class. Messages are regularly shared.
Guardian angel
Each member of staff has a colleague who is their anonymous guardian angel. It really raises spirits to receive a thank you card or a small gift.
Everyone agrees that it’s the kind words that have maximum impact.
Teaching and Learning in the Pandemic in Denmark
A very steep learning curve for teachers, pupils and parents
Like in all countries in the world the Covid-19 virus hit Denmark with a blow in the beginning of March. The Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, announced that all schools and kindergartens would be closed from Monday the 16th of March 2020. The headteachers and teachers had two working days to plan online teaching. In Denmark internet connections are quite good in private homes, like in the UK. There are also good resources available for digital work, but not all teachers are skilled in this, especially not when it comes to online teaching. At the beginning it was a bit chaotic. The national platform for online communication and cooperation with pupils and parents, AULA, was overloaded with traffic, so pupils and teachers could wait for hours to login - or suddenly lost connection. Because of this many municipalities bought access to online platforms like Zoom or used Google Meet if they had Google G Suite for Education. At the same time publishers made all their digital resources free during the lockdown. There was a very steep learning curve for teachers - and pupils/parents - in regards to using technology during this period. The school days were arranged differently than normal, of course – as seen in the bullets which follow.
Safety First and Outdoor Learning key
After around a month the schools and kindergartens started to reopen. A lot of things were done to do this as safely as possible. Pupils were divided into small groups in order to avoid having contact with too many others. Different surveys afterwards show that this has had a very positive impact on the way pupils felt about going to school. Another positive outcome of the teaching after the reopening of schools has been the increased use of outdoor activities in connection with different subjects. Outdoor learning was already a part of the national school reforms from 2014, but it took the pandemic for this to really start to blossom in Danish schools.
Teaching and Learning in the Pandemic in Denmark (continued)
John Kraaer
Education Consultant Educational Resource Centre – UCL, University College Lillebaelt, Odense, Denmark
joak@ucl.dk
https://www.ucl.dk/international/
cooperation-and-partners/educational- resource-centre
Ideas for even better schools now and in the future
Different municipalities and researchers have made surveys to evaluate the effects of the
lockdown and the slow reopening of schools and these are the most important experiences to develop schools, both now and in the future:
• Less conflict among pupils when the school day is organised into smaller groups and with more outdoor learning.
• Outdoor teaching gives new opportunities for pupils, who did not learn well before the pandemic.
• Flexibility in organising the school day gives better outcomes and better pupil behaviour.
For example, using longer modules instead of changing subjects every 45 minutes. It gives a possibility for the pupils to get deeper into the topics being taught.
• Online teaching gives the possibility of flexibility and anonymous feedback to pupils.
• A more secure learning environment when organised in smaller groups.
The pandemic has been challenging in many ways, but let us try to learn from it, and exchange experiences about it. Please get in touch. It would be great to learn with you too.
What is the Educational Resource Centre of UCL?
At the Educational Resource Centre, teachers and schools from the southern region of Denmark have access to an extensive collection of educational materials, as well as library and consultancy services. As a public institution the Educational Resource Centre is obligated to initiate, facilitate and communicate new didactic measures and development projects in the Danish education system. The Educational Resource Centre promotes programmes like Erasmus+ and NordPlus for primary and secondary schools in the southern region of Denmark.
We can help you build partnerships with Danish schools
You can contact the Centre about finding Danish partners for international projects – school partnerships, job- shadowing and in-service training in Denmark. We have a strong partnership with the HES School Improvement Team and have brought school leaders and teachers to Havering to observe teaching and learning in your schools.
Teachers from Crownfield Infant visited Odense to explore provision for Early Years. Teachers from Odense Kommun (municipality) undertook job shadowing at Scotts Primary too. We would be interested in making more connections with Havering into the future for the benefit of all.
SEND – Speech and Language, Fundamental to Learning
John Galloway
Hsis Associate Adviser - SEND and Inclusion hsis@havering.gov.uk
01708 433813
Challenges to learning
Speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) are the most commonly reported special educational need in schools for learners who do not have an education, health and care plan (EHCP). It is a very broad category, and these challenges to learning might arise for myriad reasons. It is a term that can mean problems with understanding, with word-finding and expression, and with articulation. These are issues that might have a direct cause in the pupil’s language development, or possibly be attributable to other learning needs or disabilities, such as a hearing impairment, or even having no underlying learning need, but are a reflection of a child or young person’s home environment.
The impact on classroom behaviour will also vary considerably. A pupil who appears distracted, looking out of the window for instance, may be having difficulties following the lesson, or possibly they are completely focused, but can’t use two sensory channels at once - they can either look at the teacher, or listen to her, but not both. Some learners may fail to follow directions, even appearing deliberately insubordinate, but this might be because they can’t hold a string of instructions in their head, losing the thread of what they are doing.
Meeting the challenges
The extent to which many of these challenges may be met varies considerably. However, there are approaches we can adopt in every classroom which will support learners with SLCN, and that may well benefit others, too.
• Limit the number of directions given at one time – try starting with three. Give them in order, and reinforce them visually, either on the board or for each pupil.
• Speak directly, avoiding metaphors and inference, so that your meaning is clear.
• Explicitly teach the vocabulary of the subject, using multi-sensory approaches where you can. This could include text, graphics, and even actions.
• Check learners understanding of the task before they start, then provide prompts and reminders. Give them a checklist to verify completion.
• Model the behaviours you want to see. Pay attention when learners are talking, be at their level and look only at them.
Communication is, after all, the essence of learning.
Tweets & posts • Tweets & posts • Tweets & posts
Recently Qualified Teachers – Supporting our Early Career Teachers
Amanda Jackson
Senior Inspector – Quality Assurance amanda.jackson@havering.gov.uk 01708 431662
A new programme for teachers from Hsis
Hsis has a new programme for teachers in the early stages of their teaching career (2nd and 3rd year). The aim is to support RQTs in the further development of their teaching practice and retain the very best practitioners within our profession. This course has been specifically designed to support both new RQTs who have experienced disruption in their NQT year due to COVID-19 and more experienced RQTs looking to take the next steps in their career.
Module 1 - Me, Myself and I - A journey towards Mastery. Module One explores what an individual must do to become a truly effective teacher and a valuable member of any school team. The Module will consider issues around human capital, professional accountability and professional mindset and how the attitude of any professional is the biggest determining impact on that individual’s future success. An effective teacher never stops learning and approaches their role with an absolute desire to continually improve.
Module 2 - Understanding Pedagogy and our learners.
Module Two seeks to consider basic pedagogical approaches that influence learning and explores how different learners learn. Recent research has begun to highlight a range of classroom interventions that have the greatest effect size on pupil outcomes. Teachers and teaching assistants must look at how they are planning and delivering effective experiences that make the most of a clear set of pedagogical approaches for effective teaching. Not every pupil learns the same way and if a teacher is to close any gaps in attainment, it is essential that they understand how their pupils learn most effectively.
Module 3 –The confident learner. This module considers the critical aspect of metacognition and how this can be developed within every classroom.
Global research into impact of classroom interventions identified metacognition as one of the classroom approaches with the highest effect size. Metacognition is more than a few words on a classroom wall and requires a carefully selected toolkit of strategies and tools that support every pupil in developing the skills of being an effective learner…in any situation.
The sessions are for Hsis CPD Package subscriber schools and will all be delivered online, 4.00pm-5.30pm. The intention is for RQTs to attend all the sessions but, whilst they are linked, they are not dependent on each other so attendance on just one or two sessions is possible.
Module dates:
Tuesday 12th January 2021, Tuesday 2nd February 2021
& Wednesday 3rd March 2021
Havering Academy of Leadership – Are you seeking a Mentor?
Free voluntary mentors
The Havering Academy of Leadership offers free voluntary mentors for colleagues at all levels within school: Executives, Headteachers, Deputies, Assistant Heads, Middle Leaders, Teachers, NQTs, TAs, Support and Office Staff. Proudly boasting 128 volunteer mentors, the Leadership Academy mentors are available for informal support, using their experience and expertise to support their peers. These mentors are proven leaders who can support new or aspiring members of staff – both teaching and non-teaching.
Check out their profiles and contact them here:
ALL MENTORS - www.haveringacademyofleadership.co.uk/mentors Executive Head/CEO - www.haveringacademyofleadership.co.uk/
mentors?mentor=2
Headteacher - www.haveringacademyofleadership.co.uk/
mentors?mentor=3
Deputy/Asst Head - www.haveringacademyofleadership.co.uk/
mentors?mentor=4
Middle Leader - www.haveringacademyofleadership.co.uk/
mentors?mentor=5
Aspect Leaders - www.haveringacademyofleadership.co.uk/
mentors?mentor=9
Subject Leaders - www.haveringacademyofleadership.co.uk/
mentors?mentor=11
Teacher - www.haveringacademyofleadership.co.uk/
mentors?mentor=6
Teaching Assistants - www.haveringacademyofleadership.co.uk/
mentors?mentor=7
Other (eg SBM) - www.haveringacademyofleadership.co.uk/
mentors?mentor=8
Governor - www.haveringacademyofleadership.co.uk/
mentors?mentor=1
To contact a Mentor, simply visit the Leadership Academy website, view the profiles of the mentors, and complete the contact form.
