08.21.10
Posted in Uncategorized tagged Bolton, DianneSpencer, Headteacher, heathfieldcps.net, twitter.com, ukedchat at 9:35 pm by headteacher
Last Thursday I joined in with my first ever #ukedchat. The pace was rather fast and furious, I found it really tricky to keep up with the tweetspeed whilst trying to maintain my own thought process – must be my age!
But great brain gym!
The theme for the discussion was how we manage the classroom in order to optimise the learning environment. Lots of fantastic ideas were shared, I love the online collaboration and sharing philosophy but one part of the discussion has caused me some serious reflection.
Result! Serious reflection is always a good thing. Thanks @colport for leading the discussion!
“The human brain is designed as a problem solving organ. We need
the stimulation of mental challenges in order to keep our brains
healthy and functioning.”
We are back in school in just over one week and I want to be sure that ALL of my staff start the year in the best way they can, ensuring that the children in their classes feel as safe and secure as is realistically possible in this super fast and super demanding environment that we live in.
On #ukedchat I happened to mention how incredibly important it is to get those first few weeks *right* with the children. Because of this, like many other schools, we suspend the *formal* curriculum for 2 weeks and instead spend the time on developing basic confidences and skills. (We haven’t yet fully developed our skills based curriculum)
*Emotional Development and Readiness to Learn*
- The children are invited to take part in surveys to investigate their learning styles (I’m a nature and visual learner – no surprise there!);
- Once they’ve looked at their learning styles the children talk about ways that they can develop/extend their *weaker* styles of learning and who they could partner up with to optimise their learning;
- The children devise a set of class rules which they all sign, and the school Moral Code is revisited;
- The children are involved in lots of crucial PSHCE activities which are designed to develop self confidence, mutual respect and team building;
- The aim is also to create a class of children who *gel* together and who are mutually respectful, caring and supportive of each other;
- The children are given the opportunity to talk about who they are friends with, who they work well with and what will most help them in their learning;
- TAs spend time with key individuals who we feel need a bit of a confidence boost.
*We go back to basics!*
- The teachers revise the basic skills that should have been consolidated last year but may have been forgotten over the holiday;
- These include – don’t laugh- but really basic skills such as how to draw a straight line with a ruler and when to use the full date or the digital date;
- Marking ladders are introduced to assist children to self evaluate work;
- Self help strategies are shared, such as VIP;
- Teachers show the children the class expectations, what work should look like in each subject;
- Basic handwriting is revised and pen licences are prepared;
- Individual learning targets are discussed with the children;
- Children are informally assessed – (not tests!) and skills ladders help to inform foundation subject levels.
And many other activities which are too numerous to share.
So why am I concerned?
Well, I received a number of tweets from teachers telling me that they had in fact asked their HTs if they could carry out similar induction activities but had been told that there *was not time*.
OUCH!
When I first became a HT I had the very same discussion with my staff who were very concerned that I was *banning* the Literacy and Numeracy frameworks for the first two weeks because they felt that they couldn’t then fit in all of the *units*. The framework is not nor has it ever been statutory.
I strongly believe that if you don’t have induction time with your class at the start of the year, and, when necessary, each term, you will never get that time back or gain the optimum enjoyment and attainment from your class. The building bricks of induction are absolutely crucial in learning.
Just as you prepare your classroom with great displays, and you plan your lessons for engagement and learning so you must do your utmost to ensure that the children are as emotionally *tuned in* to learning as possible!
Ask any craftsman about the importance of
good preparation and laying down firm foundations–
AFTER ALL
GREAT TEACHERS ARE MASTERCRAFTSMEN
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07.31.10
Posted in Uncategorized tagged headteacher blog, heathfieldcps.net, mrs spencer, school improvement, Year 6 at 6:39 pm by headteacher
The main issue with being a teacher is that most of us enter the profession because we really want to make a difference to the way that children learn. Most good teachers are passionate about what they do. They care deeply about the welfare of their children and of the families and often the local community. Most good teachers are highly reflective and often they are their own most severe critics. Few teachers enter the staff room to say, “Wow, I’m an amazing teacher, I’ve just achieved all my targets!”
Teaching is a highly emotive profession; we have the potential to have a huge impact on the quality of life for many children. Intrinsic to this we are always seeking to improve our technical skills and develop new ideas.
I have been told on various occasions that I am “passionate” about my role as Headteacher. I have also been told that I am “driven” by my desire to see sustained school improvement. Just as a class teacher I was always determined to improve my skills and techniques year on year; “good” has never been good enough for me. This can be seen as a very positive characteristic. If not managed with care it can also be quite damaging. I have seen too many senior leaders face burnout after only two or three years.
And so I come to the end of my second full year as Headteacher. We have had many successes. The name of Heathfield Primary School is now on the Bolton, national and the global map. My staff are becoming increasingly independent and are making more decisions about how they can become more effective both in their class and across the school. Year 6 have had an amazing year – I will miss them deeply, so many delightful youngsters heading off to secondary school. How many schools can boast of 60% Level 5 in English? Writing has been a phenomenal success for us this year and I am so proud of both the children and the staff, supported brilliantly by our parents.
The next step??? Well I am completely exhausted! There is nothing left! The next step has to be a jolly good rest! I will be donning my trainers and looking for mountains this summer! One of my happiest memories from last summer was when I was sat on my own on a rock on the top of a mountain enjoying a 360’ vista of snow capped mountains. And then the most enormous eagle flew up over the crag in front of me gliding effortlessly on a current of air – it was within 20 metres of me. Amazing.
Why am I writing this? I am trying to remind everyone who reads this, particularly the younger, excited, energetic teachers – have a rest, take a break. It’s good to be passionate – but take care of yourself and make sure that this summer you give yourselves a well deserved break. Recharge your batteries – you will be ten times more effective and you will have happy memories!
As for me? Well, I’m signing off the blog for now. I have to go recharge my batteries and look for an eagle.
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07.24.10
Posted in Uncategorized tagged Headteacher, headteacher blog, heathfieldcps.net, moral purpose, mrs spencer, school improvement at 6:11 pm by headteacher
I think one of the most challenging aspects of my work over the last 6 terms has been the sheer volume of information that comes to me as a Headteacher and the pace that it arrives (via the LEA bag/via email/via My Briefing/via the post/via staff). Having to filter out what really matters and more importantly, what I should be dealing with and what can be delegated can be so difficult! On the one hand I want to protect my staff from too much beaurocracy and paperwork; on the other hand if my staff know that I trust them then they can feel free to make decisions without always needing my “ok”. Increasingly staff are coming to me to tell me that they have sorted something out, checked it with the DHT and would I like to pop it in my diary? Hoorah!
The tension comes then, from the plethora of unexpected information that I have to “manage” on a day to day basis. I can get very “bogged down” in mundane tasks if I am not careful. I want to be strategic. I want to lead school improvement. The task therefore, is to find ways to empower staff so that they have both the confidence and the expertise to take responsibility for decision making at middle management levels. However is this always enough? We can send our staff on NCSL courses, we can train them and coach staff, but if we are not careful this can still be a very passive act. We can empower them and help them to develop confidence, but how to we develop the personal motivation to take that extra step to become an emergent school leader?
I guess this is where we head back to basics.
- Share the moral purpose. Again and again and again;
- Share the aims. Illustrate how this is a win-win situation;
- Engage the staff in the long term view;
- Create the common agenda, *YOUR AGENDA IS MY AGENDA*;
- Model the expected behaviour and attitudes;
- Most people feel a great sense of achievement from making a successful and “purposeful” decision;
- Give honest praise where it is due;
- Know your staff and know how to manage the delegation process;
- Some staff are more confident, more experienced so personalise your approach.
NEVER kick someone when they are down. If a member of staff takes a risk and it all goes horribly wrong I can guarantee that you cannot punish them any more than they will punish themselves. Give them space and when they are ready coach them through the experience – with a nice cup of tea!
I don’t lead a large school. We don’t have a Bursar, we have an Office Manager. We don’t have a Site Manager, we have a Caretaker. We don’t have Learning Mentors, we Have Teaching Assistants. We have one Deputy Headteacher and no Assistant Headteachers.
What we do have is a small but an amazing team who are hard working, dedicated and single minded in the process of school improvement.
Motivation Is Everything.
My Agenda = Our Agenda
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07.11.10
Posted in Uncategorized tagged Headteacher, heathfieldcps.net, moral code, rules, Year 6 at 3:40 pm by headteacher
I am already thinking about the new year in September and there are a few activities that we now have in place that seem to be making a significant impact on the well-being, behaviour and attainment of the children. I don’t think any of these activities are revolutionary or particularly original, but I am a great believer in sharing and stealing ideas. So if you have any further good ideas and are happy to share please post your comments.
July
Moving Up Day and Parent Pop In
Reception Class Home Visits and Visits to School
September
Display Board photos and names of our new children
Year 6 Meeting
2 weeks of induction activities including:
- Lots of PSHCE including circle time;
- Moral Code is shared and signed by children and teachers;
- Class Rules are devised and signed by children and teacher;
- Children carry out surveys to decide what kind of learner they are;
- Lots of Art, DT, ABOUT ME displays and group tasks.
The plan is to ensure that the children feel safe and secure in their new learning environment and with their learning partners. It also gives the teacher lots of opportunities to talk to the children about different aspects of their learning and individual targets can be set. Literacy and Numeracy take a back seat whilst basic skills are revisited.
During my assemblies I introduce key standards for the year. These include, “The Golden Rules,” which many of you will be familiar with, and “The Moral Code,” which I will post later this week.
I have posted below one of my favourite Assembly themes. It is a quote by Frank Outlaw and I find that it is a very powerful piece of text. So powerful indeed, that once explained in real terms, my Year 6 children can repeat it back to me after one hearing.
Watch your thoughts;
They become your words.
Watch your words;
They become your actions.
Watch your actions;
They become your habits.
Watch your habits;
They become your character.
Watch your character-
For it will become your destiny.
John Outlaw
Just try sharing this with your class – it’s a fantastic starting point for any set of class beliefs. There are lots more starting activities that go on in schools during September and I would welcome your ideas!
Thank you!
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07.10.10
Posted in Uncategorized tagged children, Headteacher, heathfieldcps.net, learning, staff at 4:15 pm by headteacher
I cannot believe that it is nearly the end of 2009 – 2010. Only two weeks of term left. Wow! This year really has flown by!
For those of you who don’t know me quite so well……I have been a Primary Headteacher for just over two years now. I was appointed on April 1st (hmmm) 2008. Prior to my Headship I worked in four different schools, two very different LAs, was a Leading Teacher for Early Years for some time, then was an Assistant Head, then a Deputy Head.
Luckily for me I have worked for a number of truly inspirational Headteachers who have helped to shape my values and my actions. The last two years have been very challenging but also very rewarding. During this time the governors and I have appointed four new teachers to the school, including an outstanding Deputy Headteacher who has supported me throughout the last twelve months.
Our school is moving from strength to strength! We have an outstanding team!
My staff have consistently worked hard for the last seven terms to ensure that our school develops and progresses both academically and in so many other ways. An outstanding feature of our school is the dedication that the staff have to the children. The staff will always make the time to spend with the children, before school, after school, during breaks and at dinnertimes, nurturing them and talking to them about their worries and aspirations.
Outside of the school I have been supported and challenged by Headteachers in Bolton and school has recently gained the support from a Local leader in Education programme. This help should be cross hierarchical and will filter across to all of the staff in school, including the RQTs and the NQTs.
I am happy for my staff to become experts in their fields. I have no fear that some of my staff have strengths that will exceed mine – I embrace the opportunity to learn with my staff! And I want my staff to teach me in the same way that I can teach them!
My plan for the next three years is to reach out and experience as many outstanding schools as possible and thus to develop a clear sense of the character of HEATHFIELD SCHOOL. How can my staff become outstanding unless I immerse them in outstanding learning? I want to immerse myself and my staff and my children in OUTSTANDINGNESS! How very exciting! I am already planning 2010 -2011!
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07.08.10
Posted in Uncategorized tagged aborigine, community cohesion, Headteacher, heathfieldcps.net, Year 4 at 11:14 am by headteacher
Today has been a very special day for our school. We have had a wonderful visitor called Frances Firebrace to Heathfield. Frances is a mixed heritage Aborigine/European who has a remarkable philosophy of life and of brotherly love. Frances uses traditional Aborigine stories, music and art to capture the imagination of the children and the staff to illustrate his philosophies and beliefs.
Frances was asked to visit our school by Miss Wiggans who has produced a fantastic Australian project for our Year 4 class. Frances arrived at Heathfield School this morning and within minutes he was making the staff smile with his kind words and big hugs. What a breath of fresh air!
In Assembly Frances talked about personal differences and about equality. Frances talked about the colour of our skin and the beautiful person within. Every child from Reception Class through to Year 6 was held, riveted by his genuine message of friendship and love.
I will come back to this post later today and hopefully add some fantastic photos!
This morning has been so special for our children and for our staff. How I can translate the message of today into everyday action and enduring school ethos is the challenge!
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06.18.10
Posted in Uncategorized tagged author, headteacher blog, heathfieldcps.net, writing at 12:31 pm by headteacher
The children at Heathfield are amazing! I was looking through some books this week and found this…..How old do you think this young aspiring author is?
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06.17.10
Posted in Uncategorized tagged Blackpool teachmeet 2010, Headteacher, heathfieldcps.net at 9:49 pm by headteacher
A BIG THANK YOU to all the lovely teachers that I met yesterday at the Blackpool Teachmeet. I had a fantastic evening (I don’t get out much!) and catching up with all my twitter friends was great fun. @mister_jim and Tom Sale did a fantastic job organising the event and keeping the crowd (particularly the twitterville crowd) under control.
The evening began with a presentation from Professor Heppell, education online expert and hugely inspirational leader for many of our innovative teaching folk. There were so many creative ideas, presented so well and clearly well within the capacity of many non techy folk like me. It’s not hard to preach to the already converted but when you can simplify a project so that folk like me can *get it* then we know that together we can make real progress in new technologies. I can’t remember the exact order of events but, here are just a few highlights of the evening…..
Zoe Ross presenting Guilty Pleasures, illustrating her obvious natural gift of perfect comedy timing, and Bill Lord using giraffes to illustrate the amazing writing potential of our youngest learners. I love to see samples of emergent writing; it takes me back to my very happy days in the EYFS. It was also a real pleasure to meet Simon Haughton who is tireless in his capacity to give support and advice on twitter to non techies like me.
@colport, @hgjohn @zoeross19 @primarypete_ @bevevans22 @DeputyMitchell @janweb21 @simonhaughton @Joga5 @ianaddison @spanishsam @jacksloan @mynictle @jacksloan @ideas_factory @mister jim @chrisrat
Did I enjoy myself? Absolutely! I feel really privileged to know such a dedicated group of fellow teachers! And I am so looking forward to meeting my twitter friends again! Thanks again guys for a great evening out! Superstars one and all!
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06.13.10
Posted in Uncategorized tagged blog, Headteacher, heathfieldcps.net, teachmeetBlackpool at 9:15 pm by headteacher
This next few weeks are going to be extremely busy at school. We are just in the process of organising all of our schedules and timetables for next year. Even in a small school such as ours, organising ICT, PE and Hall times is not easy. Some teachers will be changing year groups, Teaching Assistants also have to be allocated to classes and resources and equipment are being audited. Allocating the Teaching Assistant timetable is becoming an increasingly complex activity, we have a wealth of statistical and contextual data from which to draw and it is important that we make the best possible use of our “Human Resources”. How we can ensure that all of our children receive their educational entitlement is a huge priority, so many children have so many “special needs”.
Teachers are also busy writing reports and I have stacks of paper work to complete, The School Profile, the SEF, Governor Reports and evaluation of the School Development Plan (plus a few more bits and pieces).
On Wednesday I have been asked to attend a Teachmeet, this would mean leaving school at 3.30pm in order to drive up to Blackpool. However if I stay at work until 6.00pm as I usually do on a Wednesday I could get lots and lots of paper work done. Paper work is very important and we are all accountable but……
“BUSY IN THE THICK OF COMPLETING VERY THIN TASKS?”
However, if I am truly honest with myself I know that the reason that I don’t want to go to the Teachmeet is because I know that the teachers presenting and attending will make me feel like a dinosaur!!! The technology and the ideas that are being discussed on twitter are so beyond me that I think I will be overwhelmed! How do I understand it all? What if I look dumb? How do I keep up?
More importantly, what if I don’t attend? It’s hard enough keeping up with the children already! Avoidance is not the answer.
So I guess that it is time for me to be very brave and “FACE MY FEARS” – attend Teachmeet at Blackpool and meet all the lovely (and slightly scarily clever) tweeps that I have been talking to for so long…….
Take a deep breath…what is life but a leap of faith after all…….
AFTERTHOUGHT:
I really am such a selfish person. It didn’t occur to me that all of the very clever ICT bods on twitter might actually be nervous about presenting! I am so dumb at times!!
Good luck and thank you to Jan, Colin, Nicola, David and all the other good folk/presenters who are going to be helping me to be better at my job.
THANKS!
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06.10.10
Posted in Uncategorized tagged Bernadette Ballezza, blog, Headteacher, heathfieldcps.net at 2:24 pm by headteacher
Some weeks ago I published a lovely short story written by a lady called Bernadette Ballezza. Today I was absolutely thrilled to get an email from Bernadette, who lives in the USA. I am constantly amazed by the power of blogging and how quickly messages travel from one continent to another. Bernadette has kindly given me permission to share some more of her ideas with you- I wonder how quickly my PLN can share this truly positive message and I wonder how many countries and continents we can influence for the better by just a few well chosen thoughts and comments?
KINDNESS by Bernadette Ballezza
We don’t always have to be brave.
Sometimes we lack valor.
We don’t always have to be fearless.
Sometimes we get lost in despair.
We don’t always have to be trusting.
Sometimes we have doubts.
We don’t always have to be right.
Sometimes we are to blame.
We don’t always have to be happy.
Sometimes we become disheartened.
We don’t always have to be the winner.
Sometimes we feel conquered.
We don’t always have to be infallible.
Sometimes we make mistakes.
We don’t always have to be grounded.
Sometimes we lose our way.
We don’t always have to be strong.
Sometimes we are fragile.
But we must always try to be kind.
Bernadette Ballezza
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