Samuel Ward Research School Newsletter

Issue #3

Spring term

@profbeckyallen ‏- Prof Becky Allen, UCL Institute of Education. Founded @edudatalab and @teachertapp

@TeacherTapp - the app teachers tapp to make schools smarter

@CatScutt - Cat Scutt, Director of Education & Research @CharteredColl

@B_I_Tweets ‏- Behavioural Insights Team, using insights from behavioural science to encourage people to make better choices for themselves (see great resource below)

@IpsResearchSch ‏- the newly designated Ipswich Research School

INVALUABLE REPORT

This insightful guide from the Behavioural Insights Team looks to equip parents, teachers and school leaders with more tools to make a difference in students’ academic lives by setting out simple techniques informed by behavioural science. While policymakers and educational researchers have traditionally focused on big ‘structural’ factors, such as class sizes or budgets, behavioural scientists have instead been looking at the details of what parents, teachers and school leaders say and do. This has identified a treasure trove of powerful insights to empower those closest to students (their parents, teachers and principals) to make a difference. Broken down in to three chapters Parents, Teachers, school Leaders, the guide has a real practical bent, with exercises and activities throughout for readers to try, as a complement to the concepts and ideas discussed.

A SECOND REALY HELPFUL REPORT

SIX WAYS TO BOOST CHILDREN'S HANDWRITING

Handwriting is crucial both for learning and for writing better content – so we need to value it in schools, argues Dr Jane Medwell, a leading academic in the field of handwriting and literacy and director of postgraduate research at the University of Nottingham. In the age of computers, many parents and teachers ask why handwriting remains important. There are two key reasons why: the first is that automaticity in handwriting helps us write better content; and the second is that handwriting helps us to learn what we write ...

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BLOG: SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT AND TAMING THE ‘MARKING MONSTER’

The EEF recently published Putting evidence to work: a school’s guide to implementation, a guidance report that gives schools the support they need to put evidence to work in their classrooms and implement new programmes and approaches effectively. In this blog, Alex Quigley, Director of Huntington Research School, shares a worked example for changing marking policy using the guidance report ...

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BLOG: WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT GENETICS
At the recent Research Schools Conference on 7 February, Dr Kathryn Asbury, lecturer in Psychology and Education at the University of York, presented some stimulating findings from her work on the relevance of genetics to education. Not surprisingly, the role that genetics has to play in education is an emotive topic, and one that most people feel wary of approaching. However, whilst Dr Asbury acknowledges the trepidation felt by many at the idea of even talking about using genetic information to help shape our educational strategies, she also eloquently elucidates why the time is ripe for tackling these anxieties head on ...

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Professor Daniel Muijs Ofsted's new head of research on judging the effectiveness of teachers and schools, explaining the limitations of research and how Ofsted will be seeking out research projects that will be “useful” for the education community.

Rob Webster UCL Institute of Education, leading on MITA Programme on why you're (probably) not making the most of your teaching assistant and outlining how “TAs are the mortar in the brickwork.”

REFLECTIONS ON OUR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING PROGRAMME TO SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE EEF KS2/3 MATHS GUIDANCE REPORT

Earlier this month we ran the second day of our three day programme. Maths teachers from across the region attended and feedback was really positive once again ...

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NEW MATHS TOOL

The EEF has published a Red Amber Green (RAG) self-assessment guide to accompany their guidance report, Improving Mathematics in Key Stages 2 and 3. The report set out eight evidence-based recommendations on the effective teaching of maths, and this accompanying guide describes what ‘ineffective’, ‘improving’ and ‘exemplary’ practice can look like in relation to each of the recommendations.

Download the RAG self-assessment guide

NOW RECRUITING

Seventeen EEF-funded projects are currently looking for schools, as well as post-16 settings, to take part in trials of high-potential projects. They include:

• First Thing Music: educating young children through singing, giving direct access to the world of music without the difficulties involved with the use of an instrument. Read more.
• Speech Bubbles: using drama and storytelling to develop pupils’ communication skills. Read more.
• Power of Pictures: helping teachers develop their own understanding of the craft of picture book creation and illustration as a way of improving childhood literacy. Read more.
• Young Journalist Academy: immersing pupils into a fun but realistic ‘newsroom’ environment, providing an authentic purpose and audience for writing. Read more.

SUPPORTING PUPILS WITH SEND

Three key messages for schools

Earlier this month the EEF published a new strand in 'The Big Picture' - the one-stop shop for EEF resources - focusing on relevant messages for the support of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) ..

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EEF GRANT-FUNDING ROUNDS

There are two EEF grant-funding rounds closing soon:

1. Science Teacher Retention, co-funded with Wellcome. Closing date: 5pm 22 March 2018 Read more.
2. Improving Science Education, co-funded with Wellcome. Closing date: 9 April 2018 Read more.

BRINGING EVIDENCE TO LIFE:

BESPOKE TRAINING WORKSHOPS IN YOUR OWN SCHOOL
Inputs tailored to meet your needs

eg. staff meeting, SLT, twilight focussing on your chosen focus utilising EEF Guidance Reports:

• Making The Best Use of Teaching Assistants
• Improving Literacy in Key Stage 1
• Improving Literacy in Key Stage 2
• Improving Mathematics at Key Stage 2 & 3
• Putting Evidence to Work: a school's guide to implementation
• Metacognition and Self-regulation

Conatct asamways@swatrust.co.uk to discuss how this can work for you and your colleagues.