| | West Somerset Research School at The Blue School, Wells, Newsletter |
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Welcome to our first newsletter of the summer term. The start of May finds us running Day Two of the three-day Leading Learning programme and enjoying the buzz that's always generated by a room full of senior leaders collaborating and sharing ideas. We've heard expert contributions from Lorwyn Randall, Director of Kingsbridge Research School with a timely presentation on Memory and Metacognition. Timely, of course, as we're all busy studying the recently published EEF guidance report on Metacognition and Self-regulated Learning. You'll find links to the report below, together with a blog about it from Huntington Research School.
This edition also includes information about the professional development opportunities created by the West Somerset Opportunity Area plan and we're very pleased to introduce Mark Woodlock, our Headteacher at The Blue School here in Wells who has written a blog for us on the importance of ethos when looking at professional development in schools.
Please forward this newsletter to colleagues who may be interested and encourage them to register to receive updates direct to their inbox.
** SCHOOL-LED SUPPORT FOR EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE **
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NEW GUIDANCE ON HOW TO DEVELOP PUPILS’ METACOGNITIVE SKILLS PUBLISHED
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has published its latest guidance report, designed to support teachers in changing their classroom practice to improve their pupils’ metacognitive skills – in short, their ability to plan, monitor and evaluate their own academic progress so they become better at learning and studying.
The new Metacognition and self-regulated learning guidance report reviews the best available research to offer schools and teachers seven clear and actionable recommendations on how to develop their pupils’ metacognitive skills. The report also ‘myth busts’ common misconceptions teachers have about metacognition.
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IEE INNOVATION EVALUATION GRANTS
Applications are now being accepted for the final round of IEE Innovation Evaluation grants.
Applications for funding to carry out evaluations of innovative teaching and learning practices are invited from schools that are working with Research Schools. The deadline for applications is Friday 15 June 2018.
More information on how to apply |
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NEW EEF FUNDING ROUND
The latest EEF grant-funding round is seeking applications for high-potential projects which aim to improve attainment and related outcomes for disadvantaged children and young people.
There are three categories for which the EEF is particularly keen to receive applications:
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improving teaching in secondary schools;
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popular programmes that are widely used by schools, and where there is demand from schools for better evidence of impact; and
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proposals aiming to support 16-18 year-old learners who have not achieved the expected standard (grade 4 or above) in GCSE English or maths by age 16.
More information can be found on the EEF website |
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THE WEST SOMERSET OPPORTUNITY AREA (WSOA) - WHAT'S IN IT FOR TEACHERS?
As a designated Opportunity Area, West Somerset is strengthening its ability to ensure all children have the opportunity to reach their full potential - from nursery right through to starting work. This is being driving through the WSOA Plan which is arranged around four priority strands:
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Priority 1 - Every child has a great start in life
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Priority 2 - Educational excellence in the classroom
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Priority 3 - Transition to adulthood
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Priority 4 - Skills for employment and business.
Drilling down to the next level, the Priority 2 strand “Educational excellence in the classroom” focuses on five specific areas of work: Professional Development, SEND Provision, Phonics Development, Transitions and Excellence in Maths.
This focus on Excellence in the Classroom opens up Professional Development opportunities for School Leaders, Teachers, Support Staff and Governors which are described in the document What's in it for me?
If you or your school are interested in taking advantage of these opportunities, take a look at the links above and get in touch with the us or with the OA direct:
Email: opportunity.areas@education.gov.uk
Twitter: @WestSomersetOA
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BLOG: WHY DOES ETHOS MATTER?
Mark Woodlock, Headteacher at The Blue School in Wells, explores the importance of ethos in schools and the extent to which we involve individual members of the teaching profession in helping to support and develop their own expertise. Teaching can be a lonely occupation; classrooms can become islands in their own right. Do our school systems break down these barriers and allow teachers to share, develop and grow?
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BLOG: MAKING SENSE OF METACOGNITION
Getting pupils to think more about how they learn is an effective way of improving pupil outcomes and evidence suggests that when they are supported to apply this metacognitive knowledge to their schoolwork, they learn more and get better results. In this blog post, Alex Quigley, Director of Huntington Research School, explores how schools can use the latest EEF guidance report to understand not just metacognition and self-regulation, but how pupils best learn.
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BLOG: IS CONTEXT KING IN SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT?
The Education Endowment Foundation’s Families of Schools database provides a wealth of information to help schools learn from each other. In this blog post, James Richardson discusses how it can help schools understand and overcome their common challenges.
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Our 2018 Leading Learning programme is now well underway. The 30+ delegates come together from Somerset, Dorset, Bristol and Wales to spend a few precious hours away from school distractions learning, sharing, networking and focusing on how to make sure next year's CPD plans are evidence-based. We look forward to Professor Jonathan Sharples, Senior Researcher from the EEF joining us at the final session on 11 July, when we'll be talking about how to implement these plans in a way that gives them the best chance of success.
We'll be running our Leading Learning programme again next academic year, so please contact us if you'd be interested in joining.
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How useful has being connected with a Research School in a new Opportunity Area been to you? We are interested in your experience!
As a subscriber to this newsletter, you should have recently received an email inviting you to complete an online survey, conducted by the University of Nottingham, asking about your experiences of the Research Schools. The survey forms an important part of the overall evaluation of the Research Schools Network which has been commissioned by the Education Endowment Foundation and will gather much-needed evidence to help schools nationally to use research and evidence-based practice for improvement.
The Nottingham Team would like to hear from everyone, no matter how engaged they have been with the Research Schools. Please check your emails for your survey invitation and we hope you will contribute to this important evaluation by completing the survey.
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