  
|
Posted By Bev Humphrey,
04 June 2020
|
Bev Humphrey, Literacy and Technology Consultant and Digital Content Manager at the School Library Association (SLA), shares some of the ways in which school librarians are rising to meet the challenges of lockdown life.
These strange times during the coronavirus pandemic have left many school librarians feeling as though they’d gone to sleep and woken up in one of their least-liked dystopian novels. New skills have had to be learnt and different ways of communication sought, amidst worries about staff and students’ mental health whilst stuck at home.
Some of the challenges and creative responses so far include:
Finding new ways to share inspiring reading material
Naturally, with schools closed, librarians have not been able to loan out books in the usual way. This has been very distressing, especially with all the evidence regarding the positive effect of reading on the brain and mental wellbeing.
Some schools were lucky enough to have already invested in an online reading platform and this has made things easier for them, but many librarians have needed to hastily arrange some e-reading options for their students. Others have advised staff and students of the digital offerings from their local public libraries or have taken advantage of the limited-time offers from companies allowing access to their platforms on an extended trial basis. Some authors are reading their own books aloud online too – Cathy Cassidy and Marcus Sedgwick for example – and alerting students to these helps keep their love of reading alive.
Librarians have created a wealth of online content to keep kids reading, often learning new techniques at the same time – as with this fantastic Sway created by Ms Williams from Addey & Stanhope School. Some colleagues are involved in leading online reading periods that are slotted into the virtual timetable set up by their schools. Others are keeping the reading excitement alive by monitoring online book quizzes and giving out praise and prizes.
Collaborating with teachers to support learning online
Although not currently able to collaborate in person, countless librarians are even more involved than ever in helping their teaching colleagues plan online lessons and projects. Many have turned to sites such as padlet.com to create collated lists of resources for school staff to access, and are constantly on the lookout for more content to flag up to teachers. The lists provided by the School Library Association, CILIP School Library Group and others have enabled librarians to disseminate information about fantastic resource banks like the Massolit collection of over 3,000 lectures.
Promoting information literacy and tackling fake news
Misinformation and fake news have been rife during this pandemic and who better to lead you through this confusing tangle of facts than information professionals for whom this is second nature – definitely a case of Librarians Assemble! On social media librarians have been the calm voice of reason on numerous occasions, with large numbers of them using this time to build on their own knowledge, especially of inquiry-based learning systems such as FOSIL. This method of inquiry is of huge benefit across the curriculum and is a highly effective way of embedding information literacy skills in every subject.
Investing time in online CPD
Unfortunately some school library staff have been furloughed and therefore have had their hands tied and felt frustrated at being unable to help their students and fellow staff members. Many have turned to online CPD to fill their days productively: embarking on massive open online courses (MOOCs), completing courses with the Open University, and taking part in webinars run by the School Library Association, CILIP and Elizabeth Hutchinson, for example. At the end of this month the SLA weekend course, due to take place in Ashford, has been moved online with a range of excellent keynote speakers from the world of education (see below for details). For some staff this has been the first time they have used apps like Zoom and GoToMeeting, but they have met the challenge of adapting to new technology with equanimity and enthusiasm.
Planning for the future
As we slowly start to come out of this most unusual time and education returns to something approaching “normal”, there are many considerations to take into account in the school library and countless questions causing sleepless nights. How will we ensure students adhere to social distancing? Will we have to disinfect all the books? How can we best support students and staff who are displaying signs of having poor mental health? SLA and CILIP SLG have produced comprehensive guidance on the return to work and school library staff have been extremely proactive in putting plans in place for when their library reopens.
In a time of chaos society needs professionals to be the voice of reason and librarians are definitely rising to this challenge admirably.
SLA annual conference (19-20 June 2020) – 10% discount for NACE members
The School Library Association (SLA) is running its annual weekend conference “Digital Education: Reading and Learning Opportunities” as a virtual event on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 June, featuring an impressive line-up of experts in online education and learning technologies, joining authors and publishers in live presentations, discussions and demonstrations. Use the code NACE19 for a 10% discount when booking.
Tags:
collaboration
CPD
free resources
libraries
literacy
lockdown
reading
technology
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
|
Posted By Sue Riley,
10 September 2019
|
NACE CEO Sue Riley outlines upcoming opportunities for NACE members this academic year…
A warm welcome back to the new school year. I hope that you are returning refreshed after the break and looking forward to welcoming new learners and teachers alike to your school this term.
For schools at all phases, the summer brought with it a focus on exam results – whether SATs, GCSEs, A-levels or other qualifications, schools have been celebrating pupils’ achievements at all levels.
As schools that work with NACE know, a whole-school focus on challenge and high achievement benefits all learners. Putting a spotlight on our most able learners, the FFT Education Datalab analysis of GCSE results in England certainly provided a cause for celebration – with 818 learners entering at least seven GCSEs and achieving a grade 9 in each of them (Ofqual reported 732 for 2018). As the FFT noted, this shows real mastery of subject matter; those gaining multiple grade 9s should realise quite what an achievement that is. In Wales too, Education Minister Kirsty Williams shone a spotlight on improved exam performance.
Looking ahead to 2019-20, here’s a brief look at what’s new and how to get the most from your NACE membership this year…
Website relaunch
We relaunched our website at the end of the summer term, making access to resources and information easier. Opportunities to collaborate online with other member schools will be coming soon – keep an eye on our monthly newsfeed email for updates.
The new site also provides individual accounts for each staff member, making it easier to share the benefits of membership across the whole school. If you haven’t already logged in, click here for an overview and how to get started.
R&D Hubs
Last year we piloted the NACE Research and Development (R&D) Hubs – regional opportunities for members to meet, learn from one another, exchange effective practice, develop in-school research skills and collaborate on enquiry-based projects. Each Hub is led by a Challenge Award-accredited school, and this year the programme also includes a free online course run by the University of Birmingham and the Chartered College of Teaching.
To find your nearest Hub and for details of this year’s Hub meetings (including sessions on challenge, audit, memory retrieval, transition and parental engagement), click here.
Courses, conferences and consultancy
Take a moment to look at our new professional services brochure , which outlines the range of membership benefits, CPD and consultancy on offer for 2019-20. Early-bird rates are available for members on many of our workshops. For colleagues in Wales, I am delighted to announce that the national conference returns to Cardiff next summer, hosted at a new venue on 16 June. The programme is available here, with early-bird bookings now open.
Plus...
We have lots more planned over the coming year, including reporting on our current Challenge Award research case study project, the launch of our Headteachers’ Forum and continuation of our highly popular member meetups.
On behalf of the NACE team – we look forward to working with you in the coming months.
Tags:
collaboration
CPD
enquiry
partnerships
policy
research
technology
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
|
Posted By Sue Riley,
04 July 2018
Updated: 07 August 2019
|
We’re quickly moving towards the end of the term, and I want to use my final blog of the academic year to look ahead at some of the support and opportunities in store for members in 2018-19.
Share your expertise
Opportunities to work alongside and learn from one another have never been greater. Our members have always played a central role in supporting NACE events, research and publications. This year more than ever you have shared your expertise in many ways: contributing blog posts, speaking at member meetups, running workshops at events, co-authoring NACE Essentials publications and webinars – there are many ways to get involved.
A growing number of our members are becoming NACE associates too. If you’re interested in sharing your knowledge in a specific curriculum area, supporting other schools to develop their more able offer, or sharing your experience of working with the NACE Challenge Framework, do get in touch.
Expanding our regional work
Next term we’ll be exploring further regional working with member schools. Are you part of a group of schools that would benefit from working collaboratively with NACE? Could you host an event? Contact us to find out more.
Member-led research and development
This year NACE has focused on facilitating member-led research and development, as part of our “excellence to evidence” theme, bringing research into the classroom.
Amongst other projects, we were pleased to announce the launch of the NACE Research and Development Hubs, as well as opportunities for members to become NRICH maths ambassadors and to work with Rising Stars on maths mastery resource development. We also launched a new collaboration with the Expansive Education Network at the University of Winchester, giving members the opportunity to develop their own action research projects, exploring an aspect of curriculum, teaching and support for more able learners.
The coming year will see us sharing the outcomes of these projects, as well as offering opportunities for members in Wales to contribute to more able research in a new collaboration with Cardiff Metropolitan University. Additionally, we will be undertaking detailed case study research with our Challenge Award schools as we continue to build our evidence base and formally capture and disseminate some of the best practice in provision for more able learners.
Getting ready for the year ahead
Our focus this term has been on the role of those leading on more able provision – a key ingredient to high-performing schools. If you missed our recent webinar offering practical advice on how to review and update (or create) your school’s policy for more able learners, log in to our members’ area to access the recording and supporting resources – and while you’re there, catch up on the latest NACE Essentials, other webinar recordings and member updates.
Next term we’re launching a new three-day course for those leading on more able policy and practice, aimed at supporting senior and middle leaders, SLEs and coordinators, with close links to the NACE Challenge Framework. Practical in nature, it will explore contextual factors, key principles, curriculum review, audit planning and professional enquiry, leaving each delegate with an individual action plan for their school or cluster.
Free member meetups
Finally, our full 2018-19 CPD programme is now available – including details of our free termly member meetups. We’re very much looking forward to welcoming members to new partner venues – the Science Museum, Oxford University’s Jesus College and Wales Millennium Centre – for meetups exploring questioning in science, independent learning and enrichment. The meetups are free for all staff at NACE member schools; do share the details with colleagues and book online as soon as possible to secure your place.
On behalf of all the NACE team, I would like to wish you all a good summer break, and we look forward to working with you in the coming year.
Tags:
collaboration
CPD
enquiry
partnerships
research
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
|
Posted By Rob Lightfoot,
06 June 2018
Updated: 23 December 2020
|
Rob Lightfoot has coordinated more able provision at Haybridge High School and Sixth Form for 10 years. In this blog post, he discusses the benefits of getting involved in the new NACE Research and Development Hubs initiative and the additional benefits of being a NACE member school.
Haybridge High School and Sixth Form first achieved the NACE Challenge Award in 2006. A continuing drive for further improvement, in which more able learners have a high profile, has enabled the school to achieve second and third accreditation in 2010 and 2015 respectively.
The staff at Haybridge work tirelessly so that every student can achieve to their full potential. We are delighted to have been chosen as one of the first three NACE Research and Development (R&D) Hubs, in recognition of our experience and high-quality provision in working with more able learners over a number of years.
As a NACE R&D Hub, we are inviting NACE member schools in our area to join and form a regional network to share expertise, research and resources around supporting learners recognised as more able. Over time, we hope to contribute to new research in the field and envisage that the hubs will share results and recommendations with the NACE community and more widely, through online and print publications, new resource creation, and via NACE’s annual CPD programme.
Launching our R&D Hub…
We are the first of the hubs to run our launch meeting, which took place on 1 May 2018. As a result of our geographical position, all schools present were from across the Midlands. There were 16 colleagues present from 15 schools, and five more who expressed an interest in being involved but were unable to attend the first meeting. We had representatives present from across all phases of education. A number of colleagues sought more information on NACE’s Challenge Framework while others wanted more specific support with the following topics:
- Support for writing at KS1 and KS2
- Support for more able disadvantaged learners
- Support for more able coordinators in schools
- Developing a growth mindset
For the last two in this list, we were able to point colleagues towards the free webinars on these topics, available to all NACE members by logging in to the members’ site. I have already used the webinar on learning mindset for staff training at Haybridge.
NACE is developing a new three-day course to support those leading on more able provision which is now open for bookings, with an early-bird rate available until 31 August. This, and other NACE materials, will feed into the guidance available at future hub meetings.
An integral part of the R&D Hubs is the opportunity to share best practice. There is so much excellent work being developed across NACE schools, much of which never gets shared. None of us have all the answers, but between us all we can get close to the perfect formula. We are confident that improving our provision for our more able learners has improved our outcomes for all.
One of the privileges of running a hub is that we get the opportunity, first-hand, to see what is being developed in other schools.
Getting involved in action research
Since being accepted as one of NACE’s R&D Hub schools, I have had the opportunity to take part in an action research initiative run by NACE in partnership with Professor Bill Lucas at the University of Winchester. I have developed a number of ideas over the years as to what works in mathematics and I have found it to be an invigorating experience to test one of my many hunches!
The first session of this project, led by Professor Lucas, took us through the process of conducting action research effectively. As teachers, we all had so many ideas and it was difficult to hone our thoughts down to just one research question. I eventually settled on the following:
If I give extended thinking time without direct support, will students better answer multi-layered questions by understanding it is perfectly acceptable to make errors along the way?
I suspect that students who are prepared to take risks and not worry about making errors along the way progress at an accelerated rate when compared to their peers who cannot put pen to paper until they know exactly how to work through a problem. I am concerned that I step in too early to support a student, rather than emphasising the need to start a problem using the knowledge they have already obtained.
The free webinar on learning mindset, available for all NACE members, has been very useful in developing my own ideas for this piece of action research.
I am very much looking forward to our next support session in July, and reconvening next academic year to analyse our findings.
Joining the NRICH ambassador scheme
Through our NACE membership, our mathematics department has also had the opportunity to join the NRICH ambassador scheme. This initiative is run over three termly support sessions, with the aim of developing collaboration and resilience in mathematics alongside the development of curiosity and mathematical thinking. During these sessions we:
- Receive support with resources, approaches and ideas for our own mathematics delivery and gain confidence to share and signpost with other colleagues in school;
- Consider how we can use these approaches with our wider networks;
- Have the opportunity to test and review NRICH materials in development;
- Contribute to new ideas for NRICH and NACE.
Rob Lightfoot has worked as a teacher of mathematics for 25 years, teaching students across Key Stages 3, 4 and 5. He joined Haybridge High School and Sixth Form in January 2001 as Head of Mathematics. He has worked as part of the school’s senior leadership team for 16 years and has led on curriculum and teaching and learning. Rob has coordinated more able provision at Haybridge since 2009 and has also worked nationally as a lead practitioner with the Specialist Schools Trust on curriculum design.
To find out more about any of the initiatives mentioned in this blog post, or to join your nearest NACE R&D Hub, get in touch.
Tags:
collaboration
CPD
enquiry
research
Permalink
| Comments (0)
|
|
Print Page
Blog Home
All Blogs
RSS