Bishop Veseys Grammar School

Training School - the first 9 months……….

Introduction

Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School gained Training School Status in April 2007. We immediately set up a management structure with two specialists i) a Head of Training School and ii) an Outreach Co-ordinator. We have overseen a number of new developments in this first 9 months.

Training School Developments

ALR

We had the idea of a ‘flagship’ scheme to help develop our culture of Research and Development. We call this the ALR scheme; ALR stands for Assistant Leadership and Research, a new type of post on offer to staff. The staff have been invited to apply to study/research at a variety of levels up to post graduate level in an area of their interest which also addresses elements of performance management, Department Improvement plan, School Improvement plan or Ofsted report. This comprises the research element. In addition it is expected that the candidate takes on and extra role of responsibility such as assistant Head of Year or Department or even an entirely new role for example statistical analyst. This comprises the leadership element. The full postgraduate level research position attracts a significant salary bursary in addition to course/research fees.

We have currently accepted 10 ALR applications. 7 of which are at Post graduate level and 3 are at various levels to TLA 1 and National Certificates. We even posted an internal advert for a structured Assistant Head of Year ALR post to develop tracking and target setting. Two of these positions were subsequently appointed. There is significant enough interest to double this number next year. We feel that this is real progress for a full time staff of less than 60.

TLA

Both of our Training School specialists have completed the TLA Leaders Course and we are beginning to familiarise our staff with the staged accreditation of the TLA. There is significant interest in this and it is hoped that we might eventually aim to become a TLA badged school.

There is a significant opportunity to develop links with other schools who wish gain accreditation for any research they carry out. One local secondary school has developed a really strong research ethos by appointing a Director of R & D, many decent short term research projects have been carried out, but they are unaware of how to seek accreditation. That is where we can help. There is also the possibility of developing a joint research publication which is something we are investigating.

Mentoring

We are organising a training day on April 7th devoted to the whole staff undergoing Mentor Training. We have completed yet another round of performance management. Formal lesson observations will have been made. Effectively we will have been mentoring down the management hierarchy. Every year we have a group of NQT’s and trainees of all sorts. They all need mentoring. We constantly and quite rightly
being asked to share good practise and observe across departments when we can. The role of a staff mentor is not that different between these examples. We are buying in high quality mentor specialists to deliver a programme for the whole staff. Underpinning this day will be an opportunity to learn how to observe a lesson and to draw appropriate conclusions about it. We would all benefit if we knew collectively how best to observe and communicate constructive criticism of each other. This should lead to a more credible performance management structure and may indeed encourage the sharing of practice. It might also break down so much of the unnecessary suspicion that can be associated with observations.

Initial Teacher Training

This year we have 7 NQT’s who follow a year long fortnightly induction course. In addition we run a Whole School Issues Course which runs weekly in the second term for all GTP and PGCE Students. This year we have 6 ITT trainees. Both of these were developed and delivered by the Head of Training School. We are hoping to increase the number of GTP trainees next year.

Outreach

We are developing links with local schools. We are aiming to run Promethean courses both at BVGS and at partner schools to develop staff competence and confidence in the use of interactive whiteboard facilities. Staff can gain the basic qualification online. We are funding these developments through our T.S. outreach budget.

Our Promethean project involves supporting staff in the use of interactive whiteboard software, staff will be able to achieve accreditation for this competence. Promethean interactive whiteboards are located within all the institutions selected for this project. The current climate is that staff may not be using these facilities to their full potential and also may be unaware of features within the software and other hardware to help them deliver lessons and develop resources.

Our TLA outreach project involves supporting staff CPD and performance management within a number of institutions and is planned to initially be introduced to a maximum of three partner institutions in primary and secondary stages. The introduction of the TLA stage process has provided a very good tool for staff to take responsibility for their own professional development and support their work towards performance management objectives/threshold criteria and gain some professional accreditation.

The TLA stage process and badging would require a centre to have at least one member of staff trained as a leader and a member of staff trained as a verifier. This project is aimed at supporting each phase to gain at least one member of staff as a leader with an eye to future development of a collegiate application for badging status. A TLA leader is needed in each institution to support all staff with their submissions or advice on how to complete a submission or what stage to enter their work in as well as promote the sharing ethos.

Training School Hardware

Two new laptop computers for T.S. use. 1 digital camcorder to be used in teacher training. An newly appointed office with an 8 person desk with full promethean whiteboard this is currently used for all meetings and ITT courses.

Future Plans

We are aiming to develop the culture of research and development at BVGS. This should involve an increased take up of ALR posts. A core of staff accredited to at least TLA level 1 with an increase in numbers to higher level stages. An Increase in ITT numbers for 2008 - 9. The development and structured use of an observation classroom as a tool to improve practice.

Steve Baugh,

Head of Training School                                                                        February 2008.