Bleasby Primary School takes the honey bee crown
After a month-long search, Bleasby Primary School is the winner of £500 worth of gardening supplies in a competition run by The Cornerhouse. Nottingham’s premium leisure and entertainment venue launched the National Honey Bee competition back in August, asking parents across Nottinghamshire to nominate their chosen schools, with Bleasby Primary School, in Bleasby, gaining the most nominations. Centre manager of The Cornerhouse, Suzanne Green, said: “We were amazed with the response to the competition, with over 1,200 nominations. It’s great to see such strong support for our local schools and green initiatives. “The new equipment will help Bleasby Primary School to achieve its school gardening goals and help promote the importance of green living in their community.” The Cornerhouse also has its own outdoor vegetable patch, with annual donations of fresh vegetables being given to Emmanuel House, a charity that supports homeless and vulnerable adults in the city. Ann Town, headteacher at the school, said: “We couldn’t be happier to have won the Honey Bee Day competition. We’ve seen lots of enthusiasm for the Gardening Club from parents and students. “Using this prize money, the club will be able to buy some much-needed supplies, such as more gardening tools and equipment and hopefully a small shed, that will really help the school continue to teach our green-fingered students more about healthy eating and sustainable living. “We would like to thank everybody who nominated us and The Cornerhouse for running such a great competition.” The Cornerhouse also has its own collection of beehives on the third floor, and managed to raise over £1,000 for the national learning disabilities charity Mencap, through the sales of its homemade jars of honey. For more information on The Cornerhouse, visit www.cornerhousenottingham.co.uk , www.facebook.com/TheCornerhouseNottingham/ or www.twitter.com/Cornerhousetv.
Make hand washing part of the daily school routine
If schools are to avoid the spread of germs and bacteria, hand hygiene is crucial. Paul Jakeway, Marketing Director at skin care expert Deb, explains. Children are naturally curious. They like to explore things – and for this they often use their hands. At school, this comes with a risk. Hands can become a breeding ground for germs and bacteria – and the main vehicle for their transfer. Illnesses such as colds and the flu can be the result. On average, children have 3 to 8 colds a year as their immune system is more vulnerable to infection. Illness is the largest contributor to absenteeism from school, constituting almost 60% of all absences across schools in England. This can massively impact children’s learning and class performance. Absenteeism also affects parents, who are forced to take time off to look after their ill children. The simplest way for schools and parents to help avoid illnesses at school is that age-old mantra of effective hand washing. It is important to note that water alone does not clean hands effectively. Over 75% of people either don’t wash their hands at all or don’t use soap to clean their hands properly. This lack of education about the importance of soap when washing their hands could be contributing heavily to the spread of infectious diseases in school. A survey by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine unearthed that only 63.8% of primary school pupils regularly washed their hands with soap at school, a figure which dropped to 39% for secondary school pupils. Every primary school in the UK is obliged to teach pupils how to maintain personal hygiene and improve their health and wellbeing as part of the National Curriculum. Schools must adhere to this and value effective hand washing as a priority within schools to improve attendance and reduce illnesses, and one way this can be done is by informing school children of the generally accepted technique for hand washing. The correct technique is to wet, lather, rub, rinse and dry, however this aspect of hygiene education isn’t being effectively taught in school. Many school children are unaware of the importance of correct and thorough hand washing, or the impact it may have on their health. If schools were to make the hand washing procedure fun, engaging and memorable for schoolchildren, then it is likely to increase overall hand hygiene compliance. Teachers and parents also have a responsibility to promote hand hygiene awareness and compliance to school children. Both should be leading by example and be seen to wash their own hands frequently throughout the day, using the proper techniques. In order to reduce germ transfer, it is advisable that primary schools set up a sealed cartridge soap dispensing system, a far more hygienic, economical and environmentally-friendly option than bar soap or bulk fill systems. These dispensing systems are easy to operate for children, and maintenance costs are minimal for schools. To further encourage hand hygiene compliance and reduce the transfer of bacteria, schools must also understand the value of investing in brightly coloured and attractive dispensers to help engage children in the hand washing process. In addition to these visually enticing dispensers, schools should also ensure that education materials are in plentiful supply throughout the school. Posters for children on how and why they should wash their hands with soap are crucial to reinforce the message, as is providing teachers with well thought-out lesson plans and activities on the topic. Effectively conveying the importance of hand hygiene compliancy from an early age and getting children into the habit of washing their hands as part of a daily routine at school and at home will help to ensure that this practise becomes part of their lifelong routine.
The Importance of Hands on Learning in Schools
Alex Dalton, Managing Director of woodworking machinery specialists Daltons Wadkin, takes a look at the importance of hands on learning, and why subjects such as Design and Technology are important. I think the best example to outline why hands on learning is hugely important is when trying to teach someone to ride a bicycle. You can try and teach them in a classroom, but to actually learn, they should go out and actually ride it. There is the argument that learning from books or academics is the best way to learn, however you can’t ride a bike from reading a book, no matter the number of books you read about cycling, you are still likely to fall off the first time you try! So it is clear that certain situations that hands on learning is vital. It is often hard to properly understand something you have never experienced. This is why hands-on learning is so important in education – there are now more vocational courses that provide more work based experiences than ever before. Hands-on learning allows students to directly take on board and understand what is happening, or how to do something. This is a particularly successful way to teach kinestheticlearners, who learn best by example. However, classes such as art, music, woodworking and mechanics are few and far between these days, which is a shame. This types of classes provide important avenues for both education and career success, not to mention they motivate kids who love hands-on activities to remain interested in coming to school and learning. They also teach practical problem solving, and introduce students to highly skilled trades. Subjects such as Design and Technology (D&T) incorporate many aspects of hands on learning, and give children the opportunity to develop skills, knowledge and understanding of designing and making functional products. D&T is often a misunderstood and misrepresented subject. For many people, including employers and parents, it is still perceived as the subject they probably studied when they were at school, i.e. woodwork or metalwork. But it is vital that pupils develop an understanding of aesthetics and its role in the design of everyday items and architecture, as well as developing communication skills through designing and group work. In reality, it helps to put the T and E into STEM, and does so within school curriculum time, not as part of extra-curricular, enhancement and enrichment activities. We feel it is vital to nurture creativity and innovation through design, and by exploring the world in which we all live and work. The design process is central to project work and as a method of problem solving. It is the act of generating, developing and communicating ideas for products, services, systems andenvironments. Hugely important in responding to user needs and wants and/or market opportunities. Both digital and traditional design tools may be used. Addressing needs though this problem-solving, creativity bounded by constraints and combined with hands-on practical manufacture are the fundamental skills of an industrial economy. Lastly, there is a huge shortage in this country of people to fill jobs in the highly skilled trades. There are many high paying jobs for auto mechanics, certified welders for the oil industry, electricians, and so on. These are jobs that are intellectually challenging, and offergreat job security. Long live Design and Technology!
Is Outsourcing ICT Support Becoming Inevitable in Education?
Martin Pipe, Head of Service Scope & Design at RM Education, explores the growing trend in schools seeking to outsource or co-source their IT support services as a measure to not only save time and cost, but to manage risks, access expertise and future-proof their technology provision. According to RM Education’s latest annual survey, a growing number of schools are now considering outsourcing and co-sourcing their IT support in order to keep up with the constant changes in technologyand minimise overall support costs. As moving to the cloud continues to help schools drive down expenditure and enhance learning, educational institutions of all sizes are also beginning to look for IT partners who can not only help them transition to the cloud, but provide ongoing IT support and expertise as the breadth of available technologies develops. In guidance issued in July this year, the Department for Education (DfE) reiterated that the marketplace is increasingly seeing cloud services as the way forward, but advises schools to select a knowledgeable and experienced service provider that shares the school vision and can provide both initial and ongoing assistance. They also stipulate that ‘as the complexity of locally hosted, school based ICT solutions increases, it can become more and more challenging to ensure the same level of reliability in respect of the ICT provision in schools’ – making the support of a trusted partner in this journey essential. So what are the key influencing factors driving a growing number of schools to outsource or co-source? Central motivators “You’d think there would be a clear starting point, but the motivators for outsourcing IT services are different for every school as it depends entirely on the long-term and unique issues they face,” says Martin. “However, there’s often a more critical driver, such as their existing systems aren’t working well enough, technology is too slow or failing during lessons, infrastructure isn’t supporting new apps and software, the cost of in-house IT support is too high or they’ve had a change of senior leadership who has brought in new ideas.” Cost is still a prominent factor in the decision to outsource IT support and services – almost half the schools surveyed cited cost as a central influence for bringing in third party support – whilst riskmanagement is another key driver, both from a technical and a staff perspective. Outsourcing IT support allows schools to transfer the risk of day-to-day mishaps and any other risks associated with IT to the service provider, as well as providing cover for sickness and holidays. It also minimises any disruptions from technology, as IT partners providing managed services to schools can run proactive checks on the schools’ systems throughout the day to instantly pick up and rectify issues before they become a problem. Conversely, co-sourcing IT support can fill in gaps in internal expertise and save schools time, money, and effort in recruiting additional staff. By combining services from within the school and from a well-chosen partner, both parties can work to achieve the same goals. Bridging the gap However, perhaps the greatest motivator of all is no longer simply about cost, but about addressing the widening technology skills gap; in today’s competitive marketplace and with technology moving at a rapid pace, schools are finding it increasingly difficult to attract the right type of IT specialists to support them. This trend is again reflected in RM’s survey, with 60% of schools citing the need for additional skills and expertise as the most important motivating factor. “Schools have so many of their own challenges that recruiting top IT talent – quite understandably – tends not to be their main priority,” says Martin. “However, the problem is that when they do try to find the right staff, the marketplace is tough – they’re competing with the enterprise IT market and candidates can often get much more from an organisation than from a school. “As technology becomes an increasingly integral part of education, schools need IT expertise in multiple types of technology, which leaves them with two choices; to find a single IT support specialist with the knowledge and expertise of five different people, which is almost impossible – or to employ multiple experts to cover the vast range of technologies, which is very expensive. “When an IT issue occurs that goes beyond the expertise held locally – such as server failure, or pupils not being able to log into something – schools have to rely solely on their Network Support Manager or IT technician, who may not always be able to help. This puts schools in a vulnerable situation as it could ultimately lead to hours of lost teaching time and major classroom disruptions. “And that’s where outsourcing or co-sourcing IT support can become a major advantage for schools, as whatever the issue, they have access to the infinite expertise of a much larger organisation with every possible skillset they need.” Reclaiming time But while existing IT support staff may perceive outsourcing as a threat, the reality is often that they are not only benefiting from broadening their skillset by working with third party IT support providers, butare actually freed up to concentrate on offering more practical, hands-on IT support around the school. The DfE’s guidelines agree that ‘reducing the costs of managing and supporting a school’s ICT infrastructure can make more effective use of available in-house technical support’ and that ‘staff may be refocused away from purely technical support of a multitude of in-house systems towards supporting the uptake of the ICT and thus delivering improved benefits for the teaching and learning outcomes.’ Martin adds: “When you think about the sheer scale of what an IT technician has to do – from in-class support for teachers using ICT and proactive and reactive management and repair to monitoring security updates and load times and everything in between, it’s becoming almost impossible for them to achieve everything on their list without the support of a third party. “For Network Managers, the plethora of responsibilities is even more pronounced; in addition to network and server management they have to manage tight budgets, constantly monitor performance, implement and manage filtering and safeguarding policies, produce monthly reports and manage their team – as well as staying up to date on the changing technologies and developing an intrinsic understanding of how they can support teaching and learning. Ultimately, that model isn’t sustainable.” Bringing in a third party IT partner allows IT technicians, Network Managers and Business Managers to reclaim the headspace they need to focus on the more important tasks; rather like having a smoke alarm – you can confidently walk around your house knowing that if anything happens, you’ll be told. A good IT partner should understand
Being a Primary Deputy Head, This Much I Know…
Laura Knight When I was 11 years old I knew that I wanted to be a primary school teacher. It wasn’t just the influence of having parents as teachers (they didn’t put me off!) I just knew that I liked doing pretty much everything. I loved learning and I loved the day-to-day variety of being busy doing different things at school. It’s this sense of being into ‘everything’ that has seen me progress from class teaching into my current role as a Deputy Headteacher. Being a Deputy Head is an ‘everything’ job. Teaching commitments aside, not that this is in any way a small part, the sheer range of tasks that a Deputy may be required to perform means that the role is a very unique one indeed. Spinning Plates The job title signposts that on some occasions, when the Headteacher is out, you have to do all of the things they do. And then some. I have worked with a number of Heads who say that the Deputy Head role is harder than their own. Whether this is accurate or not, it is certainly true that as a Deputy you have your fingers in a great many pies. First and foremost most Deputies teach! Teaching children and the reward you gain from watching them learn is central to why we do what we do. It’s what stands teaching apart from so many other run of the mill jobs. I no longer have a whole class teaching commitment. Instead I continue to interact with the children through cover, intervention groups and mentoring. Now the highlight of my day can follow a tentative knock on my office door, when a small person brings me their best work to celebrate. I know that when you are a Deputy, balancing fuller teaching responsibilities alongside your leadership role can be a demanding and challenging task. Maintaining high quality planning, preparation and marking whilst ensuring you fulfil other strategic and supporting roles as well as the day to day business of helping to lead the school can require skill, organisation and a persistent drive. In many schools it can be the Deputy Head who is on the ground, involved in developing effective practice, focussed on improving teaching and learning. As such, much of a Deputy’s time can be taken up with coaching, support and discussion. Working with staff can be as rewarding – and frustrating! – as working with the children. After the children the school’s greatest resource is the teaching staff and the relationship you develop with them is fundamental to the success and happiness of the school. I know that a crucial part of a Deputy, or any Senior Leader’s role, is nurturing the staff, training them and facilitating development opportunities and trusting people to do a great job. Taking the time to reflect upon and appreciate the positive impact you make as a Deputy is important whether that be with the progress children or other teachers make. “Have you got a minute?” ….And the answer, although sometimes I dearly wish to say ‘no, sorry’, is always ‘yes, of course.’ As a Deputy you find yourself in the middle of everything, the go-between, bridging the ‘gap’ between the teaching staff and the Head. This can be quite an interesting place to be to say the least. At times, in any school, hard questions have to be asked and you can find yourself having challenging conversations. Finding the best way to deliver a difficult message takes diplomacy and sensitivity, the more constructive you can be the better. Remembering to temper tough issues by reinforcing the positive and using praise can make the difference when trying to support others. Sometimes this can make you popular and sometimes, well, not so! You have to resolve yourself to the idea that you cannot always get everything right for all people but I know that you always need to have an open door, a box of tissues and a listening ear. I once worked with a Head who explained to me the 80:20 rule. In schools this translates to the way in which you spend 80% of your time focussed on 20% of children, staff or parents. For example I spend 80% of my time supporting 20% of our teachers, specifically the NQTs. Sometimes it means that I don’t always get to see all staff regularly and out of the classroom this can be quite isolating. Popping into classes, getting into the staffroom and being a presence around school or the playground can be important to ensure that you are accessible and approachable for all. The one person you can probably spend more time working with and have a far greater understanding of than anyone else in the building is the Headteacher. Now I have worked with many, many Heads in my career and they have all had their special foibles, talents and quirks. The reciprocal relationship between Head and Deputy is a distinctive partnership in any school. With a great Head you can learn what can make a really great school and be cultivated into a great senior leader yourself. The place of a Deputy Head to support and challenge the Head can also be an exceptional position to be in. And whilst you can be the buffer for the staff to share their worries with, it’s important that you and the Head are there to back each other up too. Relieving tension by having the occasional moan can be supportive, as can be finding things to laugh about. As a Deputy I know that from listening to woes, to answering questions, to sharing jokes and relaying tricky messages being a good communicator really helps. To do or not to do? Like many teachers I love a good to-do list – I have long handwritten ones, colour coded ones with deadlines on my iPad, collections of scribbled Post-it notes and even a bedside notebook or two. In truth, at my school, my Girl Scout preparedness and slightly OCD organisation is a cause for
Varidesk standing desk review
Time to boost fitness levels using a height-adjustable standing desk? Review by Shirley Chisnall, Editor, QA Education magazine The NHS website explains ‘Why sitting too much is bad for your health’, and the general advice is that adults aged 19 to 64 should try to sit down less throughout the day, including at work and when travelling to and from work. It’s not as if we’ve only just discovered the importance of being more active – according to the NHS website the link between illness and sitting first emerged in the 1950s, when researchers found London bus drivers were twice as likely to have heart attacks as their bus conductor colleagues. Although we’re frequently urged to consume less sugar and take more exercise, it’s taking longer for designers to plan our schools and offices to meet the requirements to be less sendentary. Some of the UK’s largest companies have taken steps to remove chairs from reception desks. Customer service points too, are increasingly managed by staff who are required to stand most of the time, while many supermarkets let employees choose whether to sit or stand at the checkout. The fact remains that even if you proactively work on your fitness and go to the gym, or walk for 30 to 45 minutes a day, if you work in front of a computer screen and sit down the rest of the day you would still be categorised as having a ‘sedentary lifestyle’. Varidesk standing desk review I was recently invited to test the Varidesk, a solution designed to fit on top of a standard desk which can easily be raised with a handle at each side to bring the computer to a convenient height to use when standing. The Varidesk offers the option of sitting or standing at different times of the day – and apart from the health benefits, standing is known to improve concentration. A height-adjustable desk set to transform the working environment, Varidesk point out that concentration often wanes as we mentally exhaust ourselves in our day by day jobs and as we sit, we become more tired and lose focus. Daydreaming, forgetting meetings and tasks all become more common as we are mentally fatigued. Sitting all day has negative impacts on your mind, and can affect your performance at work. You can combat this by simply adjusting your position whilst working throughout the work day and this can vastly improve your state of mind. Using a standing desk can help you fight out of the mental block you found yourself in. This can help you get back your focus and improve your productivity. With a standing desk you can also burn up to an additional 50 calories per hour. In the editorial department at Euromedia, we’re all keen to reap the benefits but we’re also perhaps a bit set in our ways. However, I really like the fact that when lowered the Varidesk has a raised platform that brings the computer screen to a convenient eye level. It is also excellent because it can be converted so easily, and raised and lowered, to add variety to the working day. For standing to become a feature of the modern office environment the Varidesk is certainly a great option. Who knows as we get more used to standing at work perhaps we will also more readily adopt the advice to stand while we are chatting on the phone – and not spend too long on the sofa when we get home. On an average day, we sit while driving to work, and even the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn apparently prefers to sit while commuting on the train, many people also sit at work for around 8 hours a day, and after another commute, then sit in front of the TV for on average 3 hours a night, before going to bed for 7 to 8 hours. It means although we are very busy and tired we just aren’t as active as we could be. Using a standing desk offers to break this cycle. The Varidesk Pro Plus 36 costs £335 from Varidesk . For more details see varidesk.com
Mayor’s Fund for London supports legal education project with primary schools in London
Almost 1000 primary school pupils have gained an insight into the workings of the justice system through taking part in the Mayor’s Fund for London Theatre of Law project during this academic year. This innovative legal education project is delivered by the National Centre for Citizenship and the Law (NCCL) who have an education team based at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. The project works with primary school pupils from London and aims to improve students’ understanding of the law and the contemporary justice system. The project consists of two days – one at school and one at the Royal Courts of Justice. At the start of the project, pupils are asked to consider how much they know about what happens to someone who breaks the law and how much they know about the different people who work within the legal system. This is then reassessed at the end of the project, usually resulting in a positive increase in knowledge, awareness and aspirations to see the law and related areas as a future career possibility. Matthew Patten, CEO Mayor’s fund for London said: “Working with young people to understand the law and their role in society at an early age is essential to ensure they play a full part in London’s future. Theatre of Law meets this need and promotes social and emotional skills that underpin effective learning and positive behaviour.” During the Mayor’s Fund for London Theatre of Law project, pupils work on creative crime stories inspired by real cases, learn about the consequences of crime, write scripts to prepare for their mock trial at the Royal Courts of Justice and debate punishments. The project aims to improve participants’ knowledge and understanding of the justice system and the consequences of what happens when someone breaks the law. It helps pupils gain an insight into the workings of the justice system and the roles of legal professionals, encouraging students to raise their aspirations to see the law and related areas as a future career possibility. Pollie Shorthouse, Executive Director, NCCL said: “The professional environment of the Royal Courts of Justice is an ideal venue for this project and allows pupils to learn more about crime and punishment and the legal system as they explore real courtrooms. The Mayor’s Fund for London Theatre of Law project provides opportunities to enhance knowledge and understanding of the law among young Londoners and to raise aspirations. This is something we are very passionate about.” One primary school participant told the NCCL team that through the project they had learned: “How many people can be affected by a crime… I didn’t understand how serious crime can be”. Theatre of Law participants are encouraged to develop a variety of important life, literacy and social skills through their involvement in the project. This includes attainment in spoken language, reading and writing, analysis, confidence, public speaking, debating and team work. The project also includes a set of comprehensive resources for schools to use throughout and legal education experts from NCCL are on hand to support and guide pupils in all activities. A teacher from Parkwood Primary School, London stated that the best part of the project was that: “It helped the children to understand the legal process – and getting to see a real court was fantastic. It was also very good that the judge who spoke to us was female.” This helps reduce stereotypes. Another teacher from Roe Green Primary School, London commented: “We really enjoy it and find that it gives the children a really clear idea of law and how the court works.” Schools interested in taking part in future Theatre of Law workshops should contact: london@nccl.org.uk or call 0207 947 7047. Theatre of Law is available for primary schools across London with above average free school meal eligibility. The project is funded by the Mayor’s Fund for London which means that schools only have to contribute £9 per pupil.
Multi-Academy Trusts: What now for quality assurance?
While the softened, non-legislative path to drive English schools to become academies within a wider multi-academy trust (MAT) seems an inevitability, let’s remember that it’s also a path that remains at the heart of the Department for Education plans. For new or potentially expanding MATs, this move has a significant impact on how their senior leaders choose to oversee and monitor quality within each school under their control, says Louise Doyle, a MAT trustee and maintained school governor as well as director of self-assessment and improvement planning resources specialist, MESMA. Currently, 2,075 out of more than 3,300 secondary schools are academies, while 2,440 of 16,766 primary schools have academy status, according to the latest figures. Slightly less than 1,000 of those conversions are part of a MAT (although it is fair to say some only have one school in them). Against such a backdrop, it would be reasonable to suggest that the notion of converting as a stand-alone academy is one that will likely be consigned to the recent past. What’s clear moving forward is the expectation that those converting will be either planning to, or already be part of, a proposed MAT as opposed to the solitary academies. Mesma’s Louise Doyle says that no matter what the size and shape of a trust, quality assurance and more robust governance is critical In the main, for individual academies within a trust, it will be – for those that provide good education for their students – business as usual. Ofsted will inspect them in line with the Common Inspection Framework, while the head teacher will manage internal quality arrangements. Where things may start to differ is the way in which the central MAT leadership team decides to monitor the arrangements across each constituent part of the trust. The need to make decisions based on consistency of reporting, a solid process in place for self-assessment and improvement planning, a clear line of sight to when corrective action needs to be taken based on comparable data are compelling. This notion of consistency and comparability is likely to drive technology decisions that result in changes to business as usual for schools and (hopefully) the delivery of better education for all. Sir Michael Wilshaw in his letter to the Secretary of State in summarising the outcomes of Ofsted’s focused inspections of academies in 2016 said “A MAT needs to provide robust oversight, challenge and support to ensure pupils in all their academies receive a good quality of education”. Whilst giving a nod to examples of good practice, the tone of the letter was one of serious concern about whether or not MAT Trustees were any better at driving improvements in educational provision (particularly for those children who most need it) than the local authority from which the academies came. He went on to highlight seven key weaknesses with those levied at leadership concerning confused governance, lack of challenge, an acceptance of information presented and a lack of strategic oversight. In this harder, perhaps less tolerant landscape, where quality assurance – and the effective management of it – is increasingly to the fore in a culture of accountability (and culpability), the adoption of intuitive technologies have to be seen as an integral part of an effective deliverance strategy. Where such tools are adopted, the balancing act must always be about the holistic improvement of educational provision and not using the data produced as the proverbial stick to beat teaching staff with. Their involvement and engagement in self-assessment is crucial. What we must do is avoid a repetition of the negativity that has surrounded graded observations for example, where the process and outcome should be one of development and support. It’s clearly evident that within our brave new world, no matter what the size and shape of a MAT, there’s going to be a critical requirement for quality assurance and more robust governance. Indeed, in the face of recent findings by Education Policy institute, which found that 20 of the largest multi-academy trusts (MATs) – running more than 300 schools – fall ‘significantly below’ the national average for improving pupils’ attainment, the importance of self-assessment not just within each school but right across the trust, is perhaps more important than ever before; and goes to the heart of addressing the issues raised in the all-party parliamentary group’s (APPG) 21 questions http://www.nga.org.uk/News/NGA-News/Pre-2016/21Q.aspx
Tackling low-level disruption
According to the teachers’ union, NASUWT, the main concern for staff in schools in all areas, is the growing pressure from ‘low-level disruption’, which is recognised as the most common form of poor behaviour. Therefore, in order for teachers to encourage productivity and boost attainment, in-class disruption must be kept to a minimum. Allie Palmer, ex-teacher and training and support manager at MINTclass, discusses the importance of creating pupil seating plans and the role they play in significantly reducing the impact of pupil disruption, making teachers’ lives easier and creating an effective learning environment. In Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) Annual Report 2012/13, concerns were raised about low-level disruption in schools. As a consequence, inspector guidance was tightened to place greater emphasis on the issue in routine inspections. In addition, HMCI commissioned a survey to ascertain the nature and extent of low-level disruptive behaviour in primary and secondary schools in England. The findings from this survey showed that teachers, parents and carers are rightly concerned about the frequent loss of learning time through low-level, but persistent, disruptive behaviour. Low-level disruptive behaviour includes talking to friends off-topic or passing notes between one another, which tends to only last a couple of minutes, but can significantly impact the flow of a lesson. As a teacher, if you are faced with low-level disruption in your class, there are some simple steps you can take to make your life easier. From my experience, it usually occurs when there’s inconsistency in school processes being applied, for example, not always sticking to a strict behaviour policy. The responsibility ultimately falls to senior leaders to enforce consistency when it comes to behaviour, which in turn, makes classroom teaching much easier and more productive. Praising the positive behaviour is also a good tactic. By focusing on the disruption, you can trigger more negativity and commotion in the classroom. Therefore, it’s important to concentrate on rewarding those students who are delivering. If those who behave are rewarded by being allowed to sit next to a friend one lesson, then disruptive students may take note and follow suit. Allie Palmer However, I’ve found that one of the easiest, yet arguably most powerful steps, is to create a seating plan! In order to avoid disruption in a class, you need to be in control of your students, right from the beginning. It’s important to set expectations; line them up outside and tell them where they need to sit as they enter. Doing this avoids any confusion and also focuses them on finding their name on the seating plan, rather than talking to, or messing around with friends. It also ensures that your students know how every lesson will start, so they’ll begin to accept the routine. Historically, teachers would have to manually create their own seating plans on Word or Excel, which means endless copying and pasting, for it to all change and be out of date after a few weeks, when the whole process would have to be created again from scratch. What may work for one subject, may not necessarily work in another, and the typical alphabetical or boy, girl, boy plans aren’t always the most effective. Thankfully, there are now digital seating plans available that make this process much easier. Once you get to know your pupils, their behaviour and friendships within the class, you can easily and quickly move them around, using the data collected to assess who they will work best with. This can be done regularly, every half-term for example, or on an ad-hoc basis, whenever a child’s behaviour suggests that they may benefit from being moved away from potential disruption. Every teacher will take a different approach when it comes to classroom organisation, but the important thing is to ensure that you have a process in place, which is enforced and integrated consistently into the routine of the lesson. It’s likely that the students will challenge your decision as they will want to sit with their friends, but remember, you have arranged the seating plan to maximise their attainment, so it’s vital to stick with it. The layout of your classroom may seem unimportant in comparison to everything else that a teacher has to deal with, but being in control of this means you can also manage disruption whenever it occurs, encouraging a productive learning environment and maintaining the highest levels of attainment.