LeadingLearner

Right Person, Right Job, Right School

With decisions about the curriculum and timetables being made, for September, and budgets about to be sent to schools we are just about to enter the silly season for teacher appointments.  Over the next few months the frenzy will gradually increase until the madness of May leading up to the 31^st May resignation date.  It’s sometimes said that the job of any leader is to get the right people on the bus all sat in the right seat.  This starts with the recruitment process.  Continue reading →

RandD Community: Flipping for Success @EnglishSMCC

Last year we established Research & Development Communities at St. Mary’s Catholic College.  The members of the communities were self-selecting and the aim was to develop and embed best or emerging good practice within the College.  Each R&D Community was set up to take forward an idea, innovation or approach by a group of staff that would lead to improved standards of attainment, levels of achievement, student well-being or student personal development. 

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#SOLO Heaven

Over the past fourteen years, as a headteacher, I have led many professional development sessions for staff and introduced a number of different strategies and initiatives.  Without doubt the one that is most often been reflected back to me as having the greatest impact was introducing staff to the SOLO Taxonomy.  It has helped teachers structure the learning within lessons, projects and schemes of work in a sequential and increasingly complex manner.  The structuring and sequencing of learning is at the heart of what great teachers do in their lessons, projects and courses so maybe it should be no surprise of the extent of its impact.   Continue reading →