School Leadership Today

More change. What's new

After a long DAY AT school, meetings WITH my ‘change management team’, consultation WITH parents AND WORK ON the school improvement plan I discover an email IN the IN–tray announcing a new white paper. Yippee, what can I look forward TO this TIME

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50 Books a Year!

A recent article in the TES entreated us to encourage children to read 50 books a year. Well said, indeed, but how do you do it? Anne Fine, celebrated (but not celebrity) children’s author, provides some ideas and expresses her views.

Date:: 01/01/1970
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Every Child Matters...What you need to know

Every Child Matters, the Government’s vision for children’s services was first published in September 2003. It proposed reshaping children’s services according to the five outcomes below.

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Newtown's Quiet Place

What can we offer children WHEN nothing seems TO WORK Most schools have reached this point WITH AT least one individual AND felt a sense OF frustration AT NOT knowing WHERE TO turn. Jane Blacklock, headteacher AT Newtown PRIMARY School, has FOUND one alternative AND NOT just OF benefit TO children.

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Understanding Learning Disadvantage

If we are truly to avoid ‘coasting’ and find out why many of our children do not make as much progress as we would wish, we need to take a harder look at the way we talk to children, how we present learning to them and our understanding of the relationship between home, family and community. A new concept is required: Richard Riddell describes his understanding of ‘learning disadvantage’.

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Teaching Numeracy Using ICT

Do you have a sneaking suspicion that your provision for ICT is not as good as it should be Stuck with the same software Want to try something new Fleur Thornton comes clean about the pitfalls and possibilities of teaching numeracy through ICT.

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MCDONALDS, MADAGASCAR OR THE MOON; ARE SCHOOL TRIPS IN TROUB

We’ve all seen the headlines and many of us fear the consequences of taking children out of school. Michael Lloyd from the NAHT gives us points for consideration when planning our next trip out.

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Child Safe School Trips

The Child Safe website is a free resource for all teachers to utilise throughout the year. The service currently contains details of venues found only in the UK, but this will be expanded during 2006 to include

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Two sides of a single coin

The indivisible links between school self–evaluation and strategic action planning. As the number of action and improvement plans seems to spiral, Chris Rhodes examines the links between self–evaluation and development planning, and suggests a simple format that will increase

Date:: 01/01/1970
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Are you Expecting The SIAS

Or have you never heard of SIAS before The new system for the Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools (SIAS) is upon us, but many of us may feel uninitiated. Nick McKerney explains what to expect from what used to be the ‘section 23’ and how it might affect headteachers in Anglican church schools.

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Understanding Looked–After Children In School

Concern still focuses upon the fate of looked after children. What are the issues and how can we support them? Dr Camilla Watters and Dr Jeanette Allen outline the theoretical context and offer some strategies to help.

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Not So Quiet In The Country

Any publicity is good publicity Not in the case of many schools where an issue has been seized by the press and made into something that bears little resemblance to the actual situation. Ken Sharman describes what happened to them at Braybrooke Primary School.

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What's your excuse?

Absence codes are about to change. Ros Price outlines what the potential impact for primary schools might be and considers the benefits and disadvantages.

Date:: 01/01/1970
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Dear Anna

Sometimes there are questions that you don’t want to ask your LEA inspector or another colleague. We’d like you to ask us. Anna Metcalfe is a former primary headteacher, Ofsted registered inspector and local authority adviser. She welcomes questions from colleagues at all levels of management.

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Time To Chat

Chat rooms have had some bad press. However, Martin Tibbetts, headteacher at Cheslyn Hay Primary School, gives an account of why he wanted to set up a school interactive website in his current school and the benefits it has subsequently brought to his pupils.

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Moving On Up

It’s got to that time of year again. The girls in Year 6 are getting fractious, the boys are beginning to notice that the girls are bigger than they are and SATs stands in the way of now and the summer holiday. By now, nearly all pupils have their secondary school allotted to them. Some parents will be satisfied – even overjoyed – and others disappointed that parental choice is just a mirage in our neck of the woods. So how can we prepare our aspirant Year 7s for making that big move

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The Primary Link Teacher

PLT doesn’t just stand for Primary Leadership Today. It’s also the acronym for for a Primary Link Teacher. Crispin Andrews explains how the PLT will act as a link between schools’ sports development and the local community.

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Constructing head teachers

Most of us in the teaching profession are at least vaguely aware of the impending shortage of headteachers. Tony Hayes provides some insight into the reasons why deputies may choose or choose not to move on. Two case studies from his own school illustrate the differences between the career deputy and the ‘rising star’.

Date:: 01/01/1970
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Key Stage Wars

The challenge to secondary schools continues. In this issue Sue Potts is once more in the hot seat as she answers the burning question: Should primary teachers be jealous of the amount of time secondary colleagues get to train out of classrooms

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Time To Go

Sue Millhouse, a wellknown Warwickshire headteacher, decides it’s time to go. Why She’s not at the end of her career and she has a successful history of headship, but like many headteachers she has made a decision that takes her away from a job in which she has invested 31 years. In the following article she gives her reasons.

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Ideas For Your Playground

Our playground has always been an issue. A vast area of tarmac surrounded by fences, railings and too many gates, we’re struggling for ideas. It has to be an area that accommodates football, that allows for netball practice and outside games and can still provide quiet areas and places to line up for the fire drill. So what do you suggest We’ve asked some providers of playground space, equipment and ideas to help solve our dilemma. The following are examples of what they’ve provided elsewhere…

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Playforce Is In The Playground

Are you still looking for ways of keeping playtime harmonious Playtimes are an essential part of the hidden curriculum and yet more trouble can be caused than at any other time of the school day. Claire Toogood describes how Playforce’s ‘imaginative zoning’ might be able to help.