Communication and partnership

From policy to practice: four foundations for stronger parental partnership

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 10:40:14 GMT

Justin Robbins and Karen Dempster, co-authors of The Four Pillars of Parental Engagement

The schools white paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, published in February 2026, sets out a clear direction of travel for education in England. It speaks repeatedly of minimum expectations for home-school partnerships, alongside clearer expectations for communication, inclusion and parent voice, to improve attendance and achieve higher standards.

For school leaders committed to evidence-informed improvement, the message is familiar. Parental engagement is not peripheral. It is central to standards, inclusion and long-term pupil success.

What the white paper provides is ambition. What it does not provide is the detailed implementation structure.

Over the past decade, our work with schools has centred on a simple framework for doing exactly that: the Four Pillars of Parental Engagement. The model is built around four interconnected foundations:

Knowledge – clarity of expectations and shared understanding
Environment – practical and welcoming conditions for engagement
Culture – consistency, respect and shared values
Communication – clear, inclusive and two-way dialogue

Together, these pillars move parental engagement from aspiration to consistent practice.

1. Knowledge: clarity reduces friction

The white paper makes clear that, for the first time, the government will define expectations around parental engagement, outlining what parents should expect from schools and what schools should expect from parents.

When parents understand how progress is measured, how attendance is monitored, when communication will arrive and who to contact with concerns, anxiety reduces. When schools are explicit about how parents can support learning at home and what to expect from school, the partnership becomes shared rather than assumed.

This is particularly important for pupils who are progressing well but are capable of more. High expectations at school must be reinforced at home. When families understand assessment language, curriculum intent and what stretch looks like, they are better placed to support challenge rather than simply completion.

For leaders, this means asking:

Have we clearly articulated what active partnership looks like?
Do parents genuinely understand our grading and progress systems?
Are expectations consistent across year groups and departments?

2. Environment: removing practical barriers

The white paper introduces minimum expectations for home-to-school partnerships, including timely communication around attendance, behaviour, progress and transitions.

However, partnership is shaped as much by environment as by information. A priority clearly reinforced in the white paper is inclusion and equitable support for all families.

This means considering whether all parents feel welcome in school, can access online information and are genuinely supported to create effective home learning routines.

Schools that deliberately consider both the school environment and the home learning environment remove unnecessary barriers. They provide practical guidance, accessible resources and predictable rhythms of communication that reduce overload.

This matters for inclusion. Families of disadvantaged pupils or those with SEND often face additional pressures. A clear, structured and respectful environment makes engagement possible rather than burdensome.

Leaders might reflect:

Are we designing systems around parents’ realities, or around convenience?
Are we offering practical strategies for supporting learning at home, especially for more able pupils who need to be stretched beyond minimum expectations?

3. Culture: consistency builds trust

The white paper highlights the need to reduce variation between schools and establish a consistent baseline offer for families. We welcome this as variation often exists within the same school, which erodes trust.

Parents may experience Year 7 very differently from Year 8. One department may communicate clearly and regularly; another may not.

The Culture pillar focuses on embedding shared behaviours and expectations across the whole school. Parental engagement should not depend on individual personality or goodwill. It should be part of leadership, induction and professional development.

When staff approach conversations with clarity and confidence, difficult discussions de-escalate more quickly. When leaders model openness and consistency, trust strengthens.

Belonging, set out as a foundation for engagement in the white paper, means high expectations for all pupils. The most effective schools demonstrate that academic stretch and belonging go hand in hand.

4. Communication: listening prevents escalation

The white paper commits to strengthening parent voice and improving complaints systems.

Schools that build structured listening approaches, such as pulse surveys, parent forums or focused feedback opportunities, reduce the likelihood of concerns escalating. Even without an official policy, when parents feel heard early, relationships stabilise.

The Communication pillar is not about sending more messages. It is about clarity, consistency and two-way dialogue.

Leaders might consider:

Is our communication predictable and jargon-free?
Do parents know when they will receive updates?
Do we have safe mechanisms for feedback before issues formalise?

In schools where communication is intentional rather than reactive, complaints reduce and engagement deepens.

Moving from intention to structure

Few school leaders would dispute the importance of parental engagement. The challenge has always been operational: how to embed it consistently across a busy school while maintaining high expectations for all learners.

The Four Pillars provide an operational framework to deliver the ambitions set out in Every Child Achieving and Thriving. And not just through ad hoc activities but through planned, sustained and focused actions that support long-term parent partnerships.

And ultimately, pupils thrive when the adults around them work together with shared purpose and mutual trust.

About the authors

Justin Robbins co-founded Fit2Communicate in 2015 and is an experienced communication expert, a Fellow of the Institute of Internal Communications and a certified DISC personality profile practitioner. Prior to 2015, Justin spent 15 years working in corporate communications around the globe – and he is passionate about making a difference for future generations, primarily through helping schools to communicate.

A highly experienced communication expert, Karen Dempster is co-founder of Fit2Communicate, a Fellow of the Institute of Internal Communications and a certified DISC personality profile practitioner. She is passionate about raising the standard of communication in all schools in order to support better student outcomes.

The Four Pillars of Parental Engagement is available to purchase now. A discount is available for NACE members on this and all purchases from Crown House Publishing; log in to our member offers page for details.

Additional free resources:

For support in implementing the Four Pillars model, register for a parental engagement masterclass or sign up for our online guided parental engagement learning programme. For anything else, you can contact the authors via hello@fit2communicate.com.

6 steps to building an effective pupil voice programme

Mon, 3 Mar 2025 10:34:36 GMT

Melanie Lloyd shares key takeaways from her experience of leading on pupil voice at Bishopston Comprehensive School, a NACE member and Challenge Award-accredited school in Swansea, Wales.

We are proud of our thriving School Senedd at Bishopston Comprehensive School. Based on our experience, here are six steps to building an effective pupil voice programme…

1. Have a clear vision

A well-structured pupil voice programme can transform the vision and direction of a school, making it feel more inclusive and empowering to all. As a first step, ensure there are key members of staff acting as facilitators working for the pupils, providing the necessary resources and support to enable them to enact change. At Bishopston, we have a designated pupil voice section in the whole-school development plan, meaning that students’ perspectives are integral to supporting effective self-evaluation and shaping the school’s future priorities. Shared goals and collaboration between pupils and staff help to foster a positive school culture and this has given school improvement purpose and direction.

2. Empower learners by providing a diverse range of ways to share their voice

There are various ways to effectively gather pupil voice, such as whole-school surveys, pupil forums and questionnaires, but it is also important to meet regularly with your students to maintain engagement. Consider modelling your pupil voice programme on a parliamentary system with sub-committees focused on developing different aspects of school life – for example, Environment or Diversity. Sub-committees can help to expand your council beyond those democratically elected, to allow everyone to be involved, not just a select few. In our School Senedd, sub-committees meet every few weeks to review not only the whole-school priorities, but also each committee’s specific area of development. This approach adds focus and provides a wider scope, while also ensuring inclusivity and representation – for example, including members of the Specialist Teaching Facility.

3. Involve pupils in all stages of curriculum development

Provide pupil voice opportunities to challenge students to become leaders of their own learning. Beyond everyday decision-making, pupils should be given opportunities to actively participate as stakeholders in shaping and co-constructing their own curriculum and learning resources. At Bishopston, we harness pupil voice data to co-design resources, with pupils providing invaluable insight into the language and approach that would be relatable to the target audience. This collaborative approach between staff, pupils and external agencies ensures the curriculum remains engaging and relevant. Becoming part of the development process, review and adaptation of curriculum resources and policy change also contributes to the metacognitive and critical thinking skills pupils need to become lifelong learners.

4. Create authentic enrichment opportunities in the community

Creating opportunities with partner agencies to work on community projects helps to create authentic enrichment opportunities for pupils. Our school has forged long-standing links with the local council, the Welsh Youth Parliament and the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, collaborating on a range of projects. We are particularly proud of the Gower Field to Fork project, which brought together several local farms and a local food distributor in a series of activities that saw pupils visiting the farms, learning about food sources and food preparation, the importance of farming, and sustainability before deciding on a new canteen dish made from locally sourced food. Real-world experiences like this can prove impactful for pupils and the wider community.

5. Connect with other student councils to share excellent practice

Create valuable cross-school pupil voice opportunities. As a school, we host Pupil Voice Professional Learning Community events, inviting secondary schools from across the county to our school to work on co-constructing the joint Swansea Schools “What Matters to Us” manifesto. Pupils develop, review and present in council chambers and to their respective schools. Directly influencing council policy, this kind of practical experience fosters pupils’ understanding of different perspectives, challenges and solutions, whilst the sharing of excellent practice has also proved beneficial to both staff and pupils. Consider if there are similar relationships that your school could develop.

6. Listen, regularly feedback, review and adapt

Listening to and acting on feedback is fundamental to any pupil voice programme as it demonstrates that pupils’ opinions are valued and that their voices have impact. When reviewing our pupil voice programme, we looked to consider whether our students were able to see evidence of tangible change. It was also beneficial to consider how we were communicating feedback on decision-making to the rest of the school. Was this teacher-led, or were the pupils being challenged to communicate the feedback themselves? Providing regular opportunities for pupil-led feedback via assemblies, visual displays or digital platforms, such as social media and podcasts, has helped to develop pupils’ leadership skills, as well as keeping the whole school community informed in real time.

Ultimately, the success of any pupil voice programme relies on its ability to value pupil voice as an activator of change and improvement. Successful pupil voice is an essential aspect of ongoing self-evaluation and school improvement where we continually adapt based on the views and needs of the pupils. By adopting a reflective approach, educators can successfully create a school culture in which every voice matters.

Supporting your child with high ability: guidance for parents and carers

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 12:37:05 GMT

Hilary Lowe, NACE Research & Development Director, introduces the NACE Essentials guide on this topic – now freely available for all families.

Parents and carers have a lasting impact on their children’s lives. They can have a great influence on their children’s achievement and success through providing early experiences which encourage children to enjoy and develop their learning. By exposing their children to new experiences, by engaging with them through talk and discussion, by giving them encouragement and support, parents enhance their children’s ability to think creatively and critically, and stimulate their curiosity about the world.

Parental support is one of the most important factors in a child’s success in school. Children whose parents are interested and involved in their education – for example, by supporting their learning at home and working with the school – do better academically and socially. This is true for all children, but parents sometimes find it difficult to know how to best support a child who has a special need or exceptional abilities. What they can do, however, makes a big difference, and our NACE Essentials guide on this topic aims to help parents and carers provide that support.

This guide has been recently updated, and is now freely available to all families, alongside a new mini-guide aimed at parents and carers of children in the early years foundation stage.

Being the parent or carer of a more able or exceptionally able child can be both a delight and a challenge. In some cases that challenge can last well into adolescence, when peer pressure, personal identity crises and an exceptional intellect or precocious talent can lead to tensions and conflict.

Living with an able child can raise many questions for parents and the rest of the family. A parent’s responses to a child’s exceptional needs will, to a large extent, depend on the parent’s values, their own experiences of education, and what they believe about their own abilities. But it is important that parents and carers think through their response, in order to support their child to develop and express their ability, to find balance, emotional harmony and personal fulfilment – and to live as a child.

Our NACE Essentials guide for parents and carers aims to provide answers to some of the most common questions about caring for and supporting a more able child:

What does it mean to be “more able”?
How do you know if you have a more able child?
How do schools identify children with special abilities?
What is the current approach to children with high ability?
What should schools provide for more able children?
What information about your child and the school’s provision can you expect to be given?
What questions could you ask of the school?
How do you overcome barriers and difficulties?
What can you do to help your child at home?

In addition, the guide includes a glossary of words frequently used when discussing the education of children with high ability.

The NACE Essentials guide for parents and carers is available to download now, free for all families. Get your copy.

16 tips for effective collaboration with parents and carers – including those with DME children

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 15:32:12 GMT

Denise Yates shares 16 tips for schools to work effectively with parents and carers – including some applicable to all, and some of particular relevance for families of children with dual and multiple exceptionalities (DME).

A positive relationship between pupils, parents/carers and professionals is essential for every child and young person in school to ensure they thrive and achieve their personal best. Research studies report time and time again that the benefits which can be realised in school from working well with families range from higher school attendance rates, better academic progress and more effective problem solving to secure solutions to challenges encountered along the way.

Some practical suggestions for working effectively with parents and carers will apply to every child, regardless of where they live, the type of school they attend, their ability or special educational needs and/or disabilities. They are worth listing to remind professionals of the positive difference getting them right can make to a pupil’s school journey.

In addition there are other suggestions which, whilst far from unique for families who have children with dual and multiple exceptionalities (DME) – meaning they have high learning potential as well as special educational needs and/or disabilities – can make a disproportionate impact on the positive education, learning and school experience of these pupils at all ages.

These first eight suggestions are relevant for working effectively with the parents and carers of every pupil:

1. Treat all parents and carers with respect and take their concerns seriously, no matter what they are.

2. Have an open-door policy which recognises the flexibilities the school needs to make to address the different challenges parents and carers face in their day-to-day lives.

3. Be a parent-friendly school and regularly involve parents and carers to review how it can be made more parent-friendly. A named person for parents and carers to contact about specific issues? Easily accessible noticeboards for parents and carers? Parent reps for each classroom? Flexible meeting times? Use of technology? Alternatives to technology for those who cannot access it? Thinking out of the box to engage with parents and carers?

4. Have a jargon-free school or at least an approach which explains the jargon used. Few of us, even in school, understand all the abbreviations we use in our education life. Yet this jargon can exclude many parents and carers who may not feel confident asking what it means. Make it easy for everyone to be on the same page.

5. Develop appropriate meeting frameworks to give parents and carers confidence. Not every parent or carer is used to meetings. Without patronising, outline structures and ask everyone what they want to achieve. Having someone to make notes and circulate these, along with clarity on who will do what and when, can help everyone to understand the agreed action plan.

6. Remain calm and positively problem-solve any challenges parents and carers bring to you.

7. Develop honest relationships based on mutual respect and trust.

8. Involve parents and carers as much as possible as experts on their own child.

Some additional suggestions which are important to remember in working effectively with parents and carers of children with DME:

9. Keep an open mind. DME can present very differently at home than at school. A child who ‘flies under the radar’ or is badly behaved at school may be doing the most amazing things at home without the pressure of having to conform to others’ expectations. Conversely, a child who hits out or suffers from high levels of stress and anxiety at home may be the ‘perfect pupil’ at school and give no cause for concern. You and your pupil’s parents and carers need to work together to build a picture of the ‘whole’ child and then put in place a joint action plan to address areas of individual concern.

10. Listen and learn about DME, what it can look like and how to spot it. By the time many parents and carers come to talk to you about DME, they will have done some research for themselves. Even where they haven’t, some of the things they say may lead you to suspect a child may have DME. When a parent is trying to understand why they see their child’s abilities or ‘flashes of brilliance’ in some areas, whilst they struggle with even the most basic activities in others, your DME alarm bells should be ringing. Make a list of strengths and areas of struggle so you can navigate the DME maze together.

11. Provide parents with customised action plans which use their child’s areas of strength to support their struggles. Taking ‘off the peg’ activities for either pupils with high learning potential or those with SEND will not work. These will often not inspire the child to learn. Many parents and carers start their DME journey in the SEND world, due to such things as the legal structures and frameworks in place (now sorely lacking on a national basis in the gifted and talented world). But ignoring their need for higher-level work delivered at a faster pace can often make a child’s learning journey worse. Negative outcomes can include social, emotional and behavioural problems, school anxiety, phobia and refusal, and worse. Working with parents and carers to meet their child’s higher-level learning needs, whilst providing scaffolding support for areas of struggle, will help you to earn respect and develop positive relationships with parents and carers of DME pupils.

12. Understand that a pupil’s response to their DME may change over time. This will depend on a range of factors, including the child or young person’s levels of resilience, their sensitivities, their abilities and their SEND. For example, in early primary school (or equivalent), a child with DME may have no sense of self or awareness that they may be different from others. In secondary school, without like-minded others to understand, support and celebrate these differences, a child with DME may become isolated and develop social, emotional and mental health problems. These changes need to be recognised and support provided before they become significant problems in the classroom and beyond.

13. Recognise and celebrate difference in the classroom and beyond. A pupil’s school journey can also be affected by the way they are viewed and treated in school and school philosophy towards such things as inclusivity and celebrating difference. A DME ‘champion’ or mentor for a child, along with a named person with whom parents and carers can consult openly about their concerns, can go a long way to building trust with parents and carers.

14. Work with parents and carers AND pupils. Many pupils with high learning potential and DME have strong opinions on what they need and how they should be treated. This can make the pupil-parent-professional dynamic quite sensitive, particularly where there is disagreement in approach between, say, pupil and parent. Working effectively with parents and carers alone is not enough and there needs to be a three-way relationship. In such situations, it is important not to blame parents or carers or to identify them as the drivers of a situation, particularly where it is negative and/or getting worse. Behind closed doors, the dynamics may be very different indeed and parents/carers often report their children’s skills and capacity for leading or controlling situations themselves.

15. Recognise that parents and carers with DME children may come into school as a last resort. They may be at their wit’s end trying to solve the problems they face and their language and behaviour may reflect this. Remember, you may not know what has been going on at home before you meet with the parent or carer. You may also not be aware of a range of things in the parent or carer’s mind before they came to meet you, including their own experiences of or attitudes towards education, their fear or nerves about meeting the professional working with their child and a whole range of other things. If we see behaviour as a form of communication (as many of us do when it comes to pupils) what is the parent or carer trying to communicate through their actions or language? Frustration? Anger at a problem unsolved or not heard? Fear? Listen calmly and see through this to problem-solve solutions which can be tested in partnership.

16. Be honest. Whilst solutions can be found – where there is a will – to most problems we face in education, sometimes the preferred option is not viable in a particular school setting. Where this is the case, although it may not seem like it at the time, honesty about what can or cannot be done to support a pupil is often the best policy. This gives parents and carers the chance to think about alternative solutions, including moving to another school where needs can be better met. This should not be seen by anyone as failure but as the mature outcome of a positive relationship between families and professionals.

In the past, parents and carers were told what was going to happen to their child in school. Then they were consulted. Then, a few years ago we had parental engagement. We now have coproduction. Developing clear policies and practices about how parents, carers and pupils will have a voice and involvement in decision-making makes sense for all families (including those which have DME children), will benefit everyone and should be actively encouraged and supported.

Read more: 12 steps to maximise the potential of pupils with DME in the classroom

About the author
Denise Yates has worked in education and training for over 38 years with a focus on enabling all individuals to maximise their potential. After 10 years as CEO of Potential Plus UK, she left in 2017 to pursue her passion, which could be summarised as ‘hidden potential’ – focusing on supporting children and young people with DME, those with mental health problems and those who have been failed by the system, for whatever reason. Denise is currently a Board member of The Potential Trust, Nisai Education Trust and Potential In Me. She is also an adviser with Citizens Advice in her local area.

Denise Yates is co-author with Adam Boddison of The School Handbook for Dual and Multiple Exceptionality, and author of the new book Parenting Dual Exceptional Children. You can follow her on Twitter @DeniseYates_

Special offer: To benefit from a 20% discount on Denise Yates’ new book, Parenting Dual Exceptional Children, enter discount code Yates20 when purchasing the book from the Jessica Kingsley website by 31 August 2022.

9 ways parents can support their child’s education at home

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 16:08:25 GMT

Emma Tibbitts, NACE Curriculum Adviser (Early Years), shares nine ways parents and carers can support their child’s education at home.

This blog post is an excerpt from the new NACE Essentials guide for parents and carers of children in the early years – now freely available for all families. Get your free copy here.

The biggest contribution a parent can make to their child’s education is to be interested in and appreciate what they are doing, know what they are interested in, and support them in what they do.

Gentle encouragement, interested questioning, concern when you feel there is a problem, and a habit of showing curiosity about the world yourself are all very important. Talking with and listening to your child are among the most important factors in the development of language.

Specifically, you could:

1. Support your child to develop language

Read with and to your child as often as possible. Have a new word of the day or week at home. Puzzles, logic games, word games and board games all help to develop language.

2. Support your child to extend their knowledge of the world and encourage discussion

Talk through your day and theirs, and encourage family discussions. Introduce an interesting fact of the week. Give them a broad range of experiences, e.g. exhibitions, music, food.

3. Support your child to develop a range of skills and a balanced perspective

Do not always focus on their obvious skills – encourage them to sample new activities. Praise and value effort and persistence, not just achievement.

4. Support your child to experiment

Give them space and free time to play, experiment and develop hobbies and interests of their own.

5. Support your child to develop their social and emotional needs

Children need to know that you are proud of who they are and not what they achieve. They need to be allowed to fail and make mistakes, and develop strategies to cope when they get it wrong.

6. Support your child by spending regular special time together

Setting aside special quality one-on-one time with your child will show them you value and appreciate them and will increase the connection between you.

7. Support your child by showing an interest in their activities

By playing with your child you show them you are interested in their activities. This will give them the confidence to explore and make mistakes and will give you an insight into what interests them.

8. Support your child by developing a warm, loving parent-child relationship

When you respond to your child’s needs in a warm, loving and consistent manner you strengthen the attachment you have with them. This provides a foundation to allow children to grow confidently and learn to manage their own feelings and behaviours.

9. Support your child to develop good two-way communication

Role modelling good communication skills is essential. Be an active listener, let your child voice their opinion and respond to any questions they may have. Ask questions to show them you understand their viewpoint.

This blog post is an excerpt from the new NACE Essentials guide for parents and carers of children in the early years – now freely available for all families, along with our full guide for parents and carers of children at all ages. Get your free copy here.

5 steps to (re)build strong school-parent partnerships

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 16:00:58 GMT

Dr Kathy Weston explores the importance of building parents’ capacity in schools in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and shares five practical steps to achieve this.

If you are reading this, chances are that you care deeply about the pupils that you work with and the families within your school community. There is also a high chance you feel fatigued following what researchers refer to as the ‘Coronacoaster’ but are now actively considering the impact of the last two years on pupils and how best to support them moving forward.

You may have started to observe some things that concern you; a decline in pupils’ academic and social skills, a rise in low-level behavioural issues and general disregard for school rules, problems with attendance and a swathe of concerning signs of mental distress. Some ‘post-Covid’ issues that coincided with a return to school included: anxiety ‘tics’ in teen girls, self-harming behaviours, and a big rise in disordered eating behaviours and thoughts (among children of all ages). That is not to say some children didn’t positively thrive during lockdowns at home; there are plenty of examples within every school community of children insisting life at home, with learning online, was optimal. This was particularly the case for children who found the social side of school a struggle and the classroom environment stressful.

The home-school partnership necessarily reinvented itself during lockdowns; boundaries shifted, were redrawn and all parties became technically upskilled in an attempt to keep learning alive. Both parties were understandably relieved when schools returned, but this return has exposed new challenges that demand an effective partnership approach if we are to minimise the impact of the pandemic and remedy harms done.

In light of the above, here are five things your school can do, to get the home-school partnership back on track.

1. Recognise what worked well

Make sure your school community (in partnership with parents, pupils and staff) recognises how well you all coped during the pandemic. What skills did we learn? Which habits do we wish to upkeep? What did we learn about ourselves and others? Tip: create a wall memorialising the school’s experience during the pandemic and drawing out ‘Covid Keeps’.

2. Reset expectations

Are online parents’ evenings staying or going? Will pupils ever be allowed to do online learning when poorly at home? When can parents email staff and expect a response? Draw lines regarding what has gone before and how things are now expected to be. Explain why you have taken these decisions and stick to them.

3. Check that parents know how to seek support

Be clear with parents that responsibility for monitoring and responding to children’s needs should be diffused. For example, parents have a powerful role to play in spotting signs of mental distress in their children, communicating those to the school and working together with school staff for the best outcome. Check that all parents understand the pathways to expressing concerns and seeking support within your setting.

4. Only use evidence-based approaches

Whether you are considering which new learning scheme to introduce to a class, optimal ways to raise pupils’ aspirations, or strategies that will reduce mental distress post-pandemic, ensure that you only use evidence-based approaches. Failing to do so may exacerbate children’s problems, sustain difficulty and inhibit pupils’ chances to thrive – as well as potentially reducing the confidence of all involved (pupils, parents, and staff) in any future initiatives.

5. Ensure that all staff and parents have access to high-quality information

In this fast-paced world with its evolving demands and pressures on children and families, it is imperative that staff are given access to as much research-informed, digestible and practical CPD as possible. Parents feel reassured knowing that staff are staying ‘on top’ of research evidence and are better able to support children as a result. Parents themselves should have access to evidence-based tips that will encourage and empower them, that help them feel supported on their parenting journeys, and that are easy to implement.

Schools should aim for a clear audit of ‘where we all stand’ post-pandemic, articulate the protective assets that a partnership approach between home and school brings to children’s lives, value parental ‘engagement’ over simple ‘involvement’, and aim to tackle any emerging mental health issues head-on, together.

About Dr Kathy Weston

Dr Kathy Weston is the co-author of Engaging Parents: 100 Ideas for Primary Teachers and Engaging Parents: 100 Ideas for Secondary Teachers (Bloomsbury, 2018; 2020), part of the 100 Ideas Series for educators. She is a sought-after keynote speaker and the founder of Tooled Up Education, a digital hub of evidence-based information and advice for parents and teachers.

New College, Oxford: school outreach opportunities

Thu, 10 Feb 2022 14:40:07 GMT

Daniel Powell, Head of Outreach and Communications at New College, Oxford, shares an introduction to Oxford University’s school outreach work, including an opportunity to join the college’s own Step-Up-Programme.

Founded by William of Wykeham in 1379, New College is one of the oldest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. Occupying a large site in the centre of the city, the college is a diverse and welcoming institution which is made up of roughly 430 undergraduates and 360 graduate students. We are looking forward to hosting a NACE member meetup next month on the theme “Rethinking Assessment”, and to working with NACE on future projects.

How is outreach organised at Oxford University?

Oxford University operates a regionalised approach to its outreach work. Each broad region of the UK will have a dedicated consortium of colleges, who hold responsibility for delivering outreach opportunities to schools in those regions. The central university team will also support schools in certain parts of the UK. You can read more about the regionalised approach to outreach here.

New College is excited to be part of the consortia responsible for outreach provision in Wales. If you are a Welsh state school and are interested in finding out about how New College and the Wales Consortia can support your school, then please do get in touch via oxfordcymru@admin.ox.ac.uk

What outreach initiatives does New College offer?

Since its foundation in the 14th century, New College has been a pioneer for outreach work. As one of the few Oxford colleges to have a motto written in English, rather than Latin, we have always wanted to be known as an institution that is available and accessible to all, regardless of background. In the last few years, the college has been able to expand the work that we do and we now have a team made up of Daniel, Shelby (the College’s Outreach Officer), and Stephen (the College’s Outreach Fellow).

In 2020, we formed the Oxford for Wales Consortia with St. Catherine’s College and Jesus College, to support the University in its regionalised approach to outreach. Daniel and Shelby, as a South and North Walian respectively, are aware of the potential barriers that Welsh students may face when considering Oxford, and are extremely keen to support Welsh teachers, students, and parents in any way that they can.

In addition to regionalised work in Wales, New College also delivers its own sustained-contact initiative, the Step-Up Programme.

What is New College’s Step-Up Programme?

Launched in 2017, New College’s Step-Up Programme is a sustained-contact initiative that is designed to inspire and support state school students throughout Years 11, 12 and 13. It is a non-regionalised outreach initiative with state schools and sixth form colleges from across England and Wales currently enrolled on the programme. Broken into a series of steps, the programme aims to ensure that students with high academic potential recognise that Oxford can be an achievable and realistic goal.

After beginning in a pilot phase with nine schools in 2017, the programme has gradually grown and New College currently works with 30 state schools and sixth form colleges across England and Wales. As a fully funded programme, there are minimal costs for schools, and sessions take place either in a school setting or at New College.

As we recognise that applying to Oxford can sometimes feel like an overwhelming prospect, each step of the programme focuses on a different aspect of the application process. We aim to dispel myths, reassure students, and support schools, so that Oxford University begins to feel like a realistic and achievable ambition.

With a group of New College students to support and offer their own ideas and advice, our outreach team works with schools to break down the barriers that students may be concerned about, providing them with the ‘step up’ they might need.

If you think that New College’s Step-Up Programme would benefit your school and students, you can read more about the programme on the New College website.

How can schools join the Step-Up Programme?

We are potentially looking to expand the Step-Up Programme. If you would like your school to be considered, please register your interest by emailing stepup@new.ox.ac.uk. Interested schools should be state-funded 11-18 schools or state-funded sixth-form colleges.

Find out more… Visit the New College website, or follow our Twitter (@NewCollegeOx) or Instagram (@newcollegeoxford) accounts for regular updates about life at New College, Oxford.

Plus... We look forward to meeting some of you in person at the NACE member meetup on 23 March 2022. Read more and register here.

10 keys to consistent provision for more able learners in a cluster

Fri, 14 Jan 2022 12:23:42 GMT

Darren Lynch is the More Able & Talented Coordinator and Vulnerable Learner Lead at NACE member Idris Davies School 3-18. In this blog post he shares 10 key recommendations to establish and maintain consistent provision for more able and talented learners across a cluster, alongside an example of a cluster-wide programme for MAT learners.

The context

Idris Davies School is an English-medium, mixed, 3 to 18 school, with around 1,000 pupils. The school draws pupils from a group of villages in the northern part of the Rhymney Valley, in South Wales. In Year 7, pupils also join from five partner primary schools. Around 33% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, much higher than the national average of 17.5% for secondary schools in Wales. Around 72% of pupils live in the 20% most deprived areas in Wales.

10 recommendations to maintain consistency of provision for more able learners in a cluster

Secure support at leadership level in all partner schools.
Engage colleagues and encourage sharing of personal experiences. Many will have unique stories to tell. Involve colleagues in pupil nominations so they have a vested interest in the growth of their learners.
Take the child, their family and their class teacher on the journey with you. Find the most important ‘cogs in the wheel’ for your individuals. As well as parents, we have taken grandmothers and aunties to universities for the first time as part of our work with The Brilliant Club’s Scholars Programme (see below for more details). All parties can learn from the experience, and each is important.
Know your individual pupils and families. Link with pastoral teams and teaching colleagues to learn about individual circumstances and the bigger ‘picture’ – gaining a wealth of intelligence that will support success.
Prioritise communication to all partners, especially hard to reach families. Some may prefer the traditional written form or telephone call, while others prefer the convenience of electronic communication.
Raise the profile of your provision – promote and publicise around the school community and online using social media. Regular updates and photographs are popular.
Be flexible and resilient. Our provisions have run continually throughout the two-year Covid pandemic, utilising the developments in online learning and online communications. Our high pupil expectations should not waver.
Seek honest feedback and prepare to refine your offer. Some partners prefer an anonymous electronic survey, whilst others welcome a face-to-face conversation.
Identify local role models, be it past pupils or local personalities, who have succeeded from your area. Being able to relate is a powerful motivator.
Identify an individual’s worries and overcome those barriers. We have adapted our provision to increase the focus on issues such a student finance and self-esteem, which our children and families commonly raised.

Example: a cluster-wide programme for more able learners in Years 5 and 6

For the last three years, Idris Davies School 3-18 and its partner primary schools have worked with The Brilliant Club’s Scholars Programme to support more able and talented learners in Years 5 and 6. Each year 24 pupils are selected to engage with the programme, which links them with a PhD tutor to work through a challenging course pitched at a key stage above the pupil’s current stage.

For some pupils, the only doctor they may have ever met is in a medical setting, but this programme opens up the world of academic research and gives young people the opportunity to study university-level work in an accessible manner, and to visit leading universities.

We have used the programme as part of a cluster-wide strategy to tackle disadvantage, targeting students who are eligible for the Pupil Development Grant, who have no parental history of higher education and who live in deprived areas according to the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD).

Benefits of the programme include:

Challenging courses on subjects beyond the curriculum, taught by a PhD researcher.
Opportunity to engage with new and challenging topics and ideas – from “Mathematics: Lying with Statistics” to “Anthropology and Archaeology: Making a Museum” or “Business, Brewing and Brawls: the Role of Women in Medieval Towns”.
Experience of university-style learning in small group tutorials.
Two visits to competitive universities. So far our pupils, their families and class teachers have visited Oxford, Bath, Cardiff Universities. Our PhD tutors have also provided insights on Nottingham, Swansea and Bangor Universities.
Develop key university-readiness skills, including self-efficacy, critical thinking and metacognition.
Cited as an effective use of Pupil Premium/Pupil Development Grant by Ofsted/Estyn.
Supports the school to meet Gatsby Benchmarks 3 and 7; embedded into wider careers programme.
Supports KS2-3 transition.

By applying the 10 recommendations listed above, this programme has been implemented consistently across our cluster, supporting our more able and talented learners as they prepare for the transition from KS2 into KS3.

Survey results: understanding the impact of lockdown learning

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 09:38:07 GMT

Professor Andrew P. Hill shares findings from a survey completed by students at NACE member schools during the recent period of remote learning.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, on 20 March 2020 UK schools closed their buildings to all but children of essential workers and those deemed most vulnerable. Since then, schools, parents and learners have adapted to a different way of learning and remote schooling.

For policy makers, government and schools alike, understanding the impact of lockdown learning on students is key to developing a recovery curriculum and support that will make sense in September. It is against this backdrop that NACE commissioned York St. John University to develop an online questionnaire to examine the study habits of students whilst at home. The questionnaire also assessed personal factors (perfectionism and perceptions of mattering) and stress. Alongside this, NACE asked senior leaders to reflect on what they were seeing in their own institutions and how this would shape forward planning – to read some of these perspectives, take a look at this term’s special digital edition of NACE Insight.

Things we measured in the survey:

Study habits. We measured how many hours students spent studying and the amount of screen time associated with studying.
Learning strategies. Learning strategies indicate how successful students are being at managing their own effort, time and study environment (e.g. finding somewhere quiet to study).
Stress. Stress is the feeling people experience when they are overwhelmed or the situation is uncertain. This typically manifests in concern, anxiousness and worry. Here we measured stress as it related to students’ future and educational and career goals.
Perfectionism. Perfectionism is a personality characteristic that we know is related to more stressful experiences in students, but also is related to academic performance. Here we distinguish between striving (trying to do things perfectly) and concerns (reacting negatively when thing are not perfect). Read more about perfectionism and more able learners here.
Mattering. Some students feel as though they matter to other people and other students don’t. We know that when people feel like they matter it has a positive influence on their lives. Read more about mattering here.

Methodology

A survey was distributed online. It was opened on 6 June and closed on 20 June. A total of 25 headteachers at NACE member schools agreed to distribute the questionnaire to their students.

A total sample of 724 students (247 males, 476 females, 1 did not provide this information) completed the questionnaire. Participants’ mean age was 14.83 years (SD = 1.22; range = 13 to 18). Students were in Year 8 (n=30), Year 9 (n=274), Year 10 (n=218), Year 11 (n=58), and Year 12 (n=132) [and 12 undisclosed]. Of the participants, 312 identified as more able and talented, 80 did not, and 330 did not know (2 missing).

Key findings

1. Strong learning strategies appear to reduce stress.

Overall students indicated that they had moderate levels of academic stress. In addition, the more stress students reported they were experiencing, the less time they were spending studying. Stress was reduced when students reported they were better able to manage their time, effort and study environment.

More able and talented students reported feeling slightly less stress and more confidence in their ability to manage their time, effort and study environment than other students.

2. Study time varies significantly and is largely on-screen.

Overall students spent 4.54 hours per day (SD=2.04) studying. Of which, 4.13 (SD=2.02) hours involved using a screen. A very small number of students were not studying at all (nine students or 1%) whereas others reported studying for 8 to 12 hours per day (58 students or 8%).

There was little difference between more able and talented students and other students. More able and talented students spent 4.68 hours (SD=2.17; range 0-12) studying per day, of which, 4.23 (SD=2.16; range 0-12) hours involved using a screen.

Those who identified as not being MAT spent 4.38 hours (SD=1.87; range 0-9) studying per day, of which, 3.92 (SD=1.77; range 0-12) hours involved using a screen.

3. Perfectionism carries both positive and negative aspects.

The more that students reported that they wanted things to be perfect, the more they reported that they were stressed. However, the more that students reported that they wanted things to be perfect, they also reported that they were better at managing their time, effort and study environment, and they studied more.

Unfortunately, the more that students reported that they reacted negatively when things were not perfect, the more they reported that they were stressed, and were worse at managing their time, effort and study environment. However, they did also study more.

These relationships were evident for both more able and talented students and students who identified as not being MAT.

4. Mattering really matters!

The more that students reported that they felt like they mattered, the less stressed they felt, and the more they reported that they were better at managing their time, effort and study environment.

The more that students reported they felt like they did not matter, the more stressed they were, and reported that they were worse at managing their time, effort and study environment.

Again, these relationships were evident for both more able and talented students and others. However, feeling like they didn’t matter was related to higher stress in more able and talented students.

Conclusions

Students surveyed are typically engaging with study at home. However, this varies considerably from none to extreme amounts.

If students are more perfectionistic they are likely to study more but will experience more stress and have mixed ability to manage their learning depending on whether they report difficulty dealing with imperfection.

Being better at managing time, effort and the study environment, and feeling like they matter to people (e.g. parents, teachers and peers), were factors related to less stress and more studying.

The experiences of more able and talented students have been similar to other students. However, MAT students appear better prepared to manage their own study, and to be likely to become more stressed by a sense of not mattering.

Key takeaways

A focus on study skills, metacognition and wider learning strategies will help students better adapt to home study, and support wider independence.
Boosting a sense of connectiveness to school, teachers, and peers is an important part of this.
A focus on connectiveness and mattering is particularly important for more able and talented students.

For more detail about the survey please contact Professor Andy Hill (a.hill@yorksj.ac.uk).

York St John and NACE are collaborating on research and resources to help schools support learners with high levels of perfectionism. Resources are currently being trialled with NACE member and R&D Hub Haybridge High School, where teachers have received training to understand more about perfectionism and are delivering PSHE lessons in the subject to students in Years 10 and 11. Learners also have the opportunity to take part in an intervention workshop. The resources and lesson plans will be launched to more schools next academic year.

How students led Upton House School to plastic-free status

Wed, 7 Aug 2019 09:05:59 GMT

Education Secretary Damien Hinds recently challenged all schools to become free of single-use plastic (SUP) by 2022 – but learners at NACE member Upton House School simply weren’t willing to wait that long. More Able Coordinator Melinda Ward shares the school’s student-led journey to going plastic-free…

A few months ago, we never could have imagined the impact one open-ended question would make as part of our drive towards achieving the NACE Challenge Award. The journey has been jaw-dropping and inspiring, with our pupils leading the whole school community into a force that has recently seen us become the first school in Berkshire to be awarded the coveted Plastic Free Status.

It started with one open-ended question, posed in an enrichment session with more able learners in Year 6: a world with or without plastic?

Pupils were given time to research and continued their mission at home. The facts that flooded back were horrifying and the effort put in exceeded expectations, leading to even deeper research and analysis. We learned about fake news, and how to consider sources and contexts.

From research to action

It soon became clear that learners were not content to simply research without acting. The Single-Use Plastic Alternative Committee (SUPA) was formed, with an invitation extended to all pupils who wanted to join the campaign to rid our school of SUP.

By the following week a band of 28 dedicated children were coming into school an hour early (with others on a waiting list) to passionately work on the campaign. Roles were allocated according to personal strengths (research, communications and so on) and a mission and action plan drawn up. Negotiation, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving and planning skills were being honed ready for action!

The mission? To rid our school of one piece of SUP per month until we could do no more.

Getting the whole school on board

Students created a PowerPoint presentation to share their project with the school’s senior leadership team. With their support, this was rolled out across the whole school, to parents and members of the local community. The response was amazing and the committee was given the green light to go for it with the support of the full Upton community. #PowerToThePupils!

To watch a video of the students’ presentation, click here.

Get (plastics) out of the kitchen!

Our next task was to find out where SUP was most in use. Surveys and questionnaires helped the girls realise that the kitchens were their first port of call. Initially our kitchen manager declared the mission “Impossible!”, but another personal presentation resulted in her full support and negotiations started about what would be first.

The children researched SUP alternatives: beeswax wraps, silicone covers, reusable sandwich wraps… As they learned more about health and safety restrictions, they began thinking laterally and persevered with their problem solving.

Resourceful solutions

Equipped with ideas and passion, learners organised an information desk for parents and other visitors, explaining the problem and showing viable alternatives to SUP.

In January we banned all single-use plastic bags used for snacks and lunches – opting for hessian nets, recycled plastic boxes and good old brown paper bags instead. Staff pledged to abandon single-use coffee cups (filled with plastic underneath that paper) and we now all have beautiful reusable cups.

In February SUP water bottles were banned from school grounds, with SUPA’s art directors designing posters asking parents to do the same and communication directors putting the message out through our weekly newsletter. The school bursar asked SUPA’s research directors to suggest suitable water fountains for refillable bottles (meeting certain criteria), and the older children made phone calls to appropriate suppliers.

In March plastic carrier bags were banned and alternative up-cycled T-shirts are being designed ready for International Plastic Bag Free Day on 3 July. The children are bursting with ideas and it’s going to be a busy few months putting their designs into production, with all proceeds to our favourite plastic-free charities.

In April we are banning drinking cartons (which take up to 300 years to decompose) and in May we’re hoping to go back to good old-fashioned glass milk bottles. Our trip packed lunches have already seen a reduction from six items of plastic per lunch to one (crisp bags are yet to be hit!).

Extending the campaign’s reach

Amongst all this, students’ business email, formal letter writing, presentation and professional communication skills have been sharpened. They’ve written to Mr Gove and Mr Hinds asking for support at government level, as well as supermarkets and IT companies to request the removal of SUP packaging.

We’re lobbying cafes and fast food companies now, and students are planning to share their expertise by running an information desk in the town centre.

In extending the reach of our campaign, we’re loosely following Greenpeace’s A Million Acts of Blue toolkit. We were also lucky enough to come across a wonderful group of volunteers called Plastic Free Windsor – part of national charity Surfers Against Sewage – who have supported us along the way.

We’ve had guest talks from a Greenpeace representative; ethical pet food supplier Lily’s Kitchen on packaging; and a free diver about changes she’s noticed in the oceans. We’ve received support from our local MP as well as councillors and other organisations, and our message has spread far and wide.

Try typing “Upton House plastic free” into Google to see a selection of our national and local interest.

What next?

We’ve realised these young people can rise to any challenge they feel passionate about – if they are allowed a voice and the chance to lead. This falls within Element 5 (communication and partnership) of the NACE Challenge Framework and has certainly made a positive contribution to the environment and connected us even more firmly with our local community. Our SUPA members are aged 9-11, so teacher guidance has been necessary, but the ideas and actions are all theirs and the educational and personal benefits have been staggering.

One child, who not so long ago was too shy to read in front of a group, recently carried out her own survey on public opinions of SUP in the town centre and was first to volunteer to be on the information desk! Another, one of our budding young scientists, carried out experiments on onion membranes to research possible SUP alternatives. Throughout the journey the children have found themselves taking risks and going beyond their known capabilities – contributing to our focus on developing Element 3 (curriculum, teaching and support) of the Challenge Framework.

The creative thinking and problem solving is amazing and endless. As staff we are swept along with it overjoyed. By the end of April our actions are on target to save 12,117 plastic bags, 850 bottles, 297 metres of clingfilm and a whopping 10,668 cartons per annum. That’s without counting the savings being made by parents at home inspired by their children.

We’re now planning a “plog” (plastic litter pick whilst we jog) and our committee’s IT directors are investigating setting up a website with fun ideas to educate other schools. Requests to make a “plastic -free mocumentary” have also been put forward!

A local nursery has asked our children to run a session with their little ones about reducing plastic use, and other schools locally and nationally have been in touch asking for information and support. In response, we’re creating a “How to be SUPA” manual for students of any school.

Being awarded Plastic Free School Status was a huge milestone, and we want a banner on our gates to encourage others. Not a plastic one of course… Anyone know anything about Bioflex?!

Feeling inspired? To share your school’s own story, and/or to request a copy of Upton House School’s “How to be SUPA” manual, get in touch.

Great School Libraries campaign: share your story

Mon, 8 Apr 2019 14:01:51 GMT

NACE is proud to be supporting the Great School Libraries campaign, launched in September 2018 to raise awareness about the importance and impact of great school libraries and librarians for all learners. In this blog post, Alison Tarrant, CEO of the School Library Association (SLA) invites NACE members to join the campaign by sharing inspiring examples from their own schools…

As part of the Great School Libraries campaign, we’re collecting data to illustrate the real nature of modern school libraries – how many there are, what they do, the many ways in which they support teachers and learners. School libraries are formed by their school’s context, and we’re keen to showcase the diversity and nuance of the activities school libraries across the nation are involved in.

To this end, we are collecting case studies to help us share real-life examples and stories, both to inform those unfamiliar with school libraries and to inspire those who are. All schools are welcome to submit case studies showing how their school library has impacted on teaching and learning and/or contributed to the strategic goals of the school.

NACE member schools in particular are invited to contribute examples showing how school libraries and librarians are supporting provision for more able learners and raising aspirations for all.

How to submit a case study

To submit a case study for the Great School Libraries campaign, complete this form and return it via email (communications@nace.co.uk) with the subject line “Great School Libraries case study”. An example case study and additional resources are available to download from the campaign website.

You may wish to focus on:

A club run by your school library
Displays that widen knowledge and promote discussion of unfamiliar topics
Information literacy – being taught, skills sessions, research projects, assemblies
Extended Project Qualification or Higher Project Qualification – how is the librarian involved in these? What value does it add?
Library lessons – reading at the heart of the curriculum, activities at your school, how these stretch/enhance teaching and learning
Outings and extracurricular activities organised by your school librarian
A lesson that has been co-developed and/or co-taught with your librarian

How case studies will be used

Submitted case studies will be reviewed with a view to identifying themes – adding rich evidence to our belief that school libraries make an important contribution to learning and outcomes. Case studies may be published on the Great School Libraries website to help spread best practice and inspiration across the education community.

Case studies can be submitted anonymously if wished.

For additional support, contact Barbara Band, Chair of the Great School Libraries Data Group (SLDG): info@barbaraband.com / 078 6663 3011

To sign up for regular updates on the campaign, click here.

Alison Tarrant is the Chief Executive of the School Library Association (SLA), and a Bookseller Rising Star 2018. She previously worked as a school librarian, and was on the Honour List for the School Librarian of the Year in 2016, as well as serving as a trustee for the SLA. The SLA is committed to supporting everyone involved with school libraries, offering training and resources to promote high-quality reading and learning opportunities for all. Launched this year, the Great School Libraries campaign is a three-year campaign dedicated to raising the profile of school libraries.

How to collaborate in a cluster to develop provision for more able

Wed, 7 Aug 2019 09:53:06 GMT

This month Episkopi Primary School in Cyprus became the second school outside the UK to gain the NACE Challenge Award – following in the footsteps of Malta’s Chiswick House School. Assistant Headteacher Rebecca Ross explains how the school has worked collaboratively within a cluster to develop high-quality provision for more able learners, in the context of challenge for all.

There is a shared partnership agreement across the six UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) schools based in Cyprus. We work in collaboration to achieve joint goals and most recently have been developing provision further for the more able. All the MoD schools on the island have followed the NACE Challenge Framework, which has ensured consistency in approaches, and has had a huge impact on provision for more able learners across the curriculum.

Below are five areas of collaboration we’ve found effective:

1. Whole-cluster meetings for more able leaders

While there is quite a distance between the schools, collaboration is of high importance and regular meetings for more able leaders has been essential for developing consistency. Investing in whole-day meetings allows quality time to focus on moderation, assessment and enrichment opportunities. More able leaders each take turns in hosting the meetings at their school. This has been a great opportunity for leaders to tour each school and share best practice. Subject leaders have also collaborated in this way, using the supporting resources provided alongside the Challenge Framework to audit their subjects. These resources have been particularly useful when identifying the characteristics of more able learners in specific subjects and collaborating on strategies to support them to reach their full potential.

2. Building partnerships beyond the cluster

Being on a small island does not limit the opportunities for our learners. All our schools are outward-facing and proactive in seeking a range of partnerships to create innovative opportunities for learning and progression. Budget cuts could limit opportunities, but as a cluster we overcome this by sharing costs and working collaboratively to build quality and sustainable partnerships. Strong links have been made with universities in the UK. For example, Leicester University’s Archaeological Department has been working with our schools for a number of years, providing digs and workshops on the island. Developing links that benefit both parties has strengthened the opportunities provided.

3. Collaborating on enrichment opportunities

A range of enrichment days are regularly run across the island for learners who have a particular talent in a subject or for those who show a true interest. These allow application of skills in new and challenging ways, as well as learning new techniques and strategies with like-minded individuals. It is also good preparation for secondary school and gives our learners the chance to meet some of their future peers. As a cluster, we draw on staff expertise to run these days and pupils travel to the different schools or visit external sites. By not limiting enrichment to just core subjects, many learners with varied talents have benefited from these opportunities.

4. Sharing expertise to support CPD

We do not have easy access to UK training courses; therefore we seek to maximise opportunities for CPD through the use of shared courses, resources, facilities and existing expertise. This is far more cost-effective and encourages staff to actively keep up to date with current research and best practice in their subject. Challenge for all has been a key focus for the Cyprus Schools Consortium and this shared and focused approach has been central to CPD. Regular cross-island subject leader meetings have included both primary and secondary representatives. This has up-skilled leaders in different phases, while strengthening transition links.

5. Collaborating to provide inspiring role models

The cluster works closely to provide opportunities that inspire learners and allow them to consider their futures. Many of our learners have spent their entire lives in a military setting and are not exposed to the same experiences as others their age might be. As a whole-island team, we know that role models are a powerful way to inspire young people about their future possibilities. It is so important for learners to hear real people from their own community and beyond, sharing personal stories of why they do what they do and how they got there – their aspirations, struggles, challenges, failures and how they overcame them. We know that this type of interaction encourages learners to discover their own aptitudes and passions and follow their dreams.

About the NACE Challenge Development Programme

The NACE Challenge Development Programme offers a complete package for whole-school review and improvement in provision for more able learners, in the context of challenge for all. It supports schools, clusters, alliances and trusts already demonstrating good or outstanding provision in this field, as well as those for whom this is a key area for improvement. Schools working with the programme may choose to apply for formal accreditation through the NACE Challenge Award.

Read more or contact us to find out how the programme could support your school or cluster.

5 reasons to join a NACE Research and Development Hub

Wed, 7 Aug 2019 10:00:25 GMT

Last week, NACE member and Challenge Award holder Holme Grange School hosted the launch of a new regional NACE Research and Development (R&D) Hub. Joanne Hendriksen, Director of Teaching and Learning, shares some of the key benefits valued by members of the hub...

1. Celebrate what is working to inspire future success

The inaugural hub meeting at Holme Grange School afforded participating schools the opportunity to share the abundant examples of best practice associated with supporting our more able learners. All too often this side of evaluation and review is omitted and we focus on what is not working, rather than purposefully acknowledging what is going well. Discussing our journeys as a group led us to the realisation that a great deal has already been achieved, and we must stop and celebrate in order to cultivate a success mindset and inspire future work.

2. School-to-school working across phases, subjects and sectors

This NACE initiative allows schools to share across phases, subjects and sectors of education. The appetite for this type of collaboration was evident at our launch meeting, where the group was formed of primary, prep, secondary and through schools from both the state and independent sectors – a diversity which was particularly apt given the session’s focus on transition. This opportunity of an open and supportive forum allowed delegates to consider their journey towards a long-term, genuine and sustainable approach towards transition across all phases.

3. Sharing evidence-based good practice

Billions of pounds are spent on research each year, but how much of this informs practice in our schools? A positive shift in culture has seen many schools move towards more enquiry-based philosophies, where leaders encourage teachers to see themselves as researchers. The hub launch at Holme Grange School saw participants relish the opportunity to share evidence-based research from work completed in direct association with key educational researchers such as Bill Lucas and John Hattie. It also sparked a desire in many to work collaboratively and move forward with in-house research to explore implications of actions on current practice.

4. Opportunities to shape the future provision for more able learners

The Holme Grange NACE R&D Hub sets out a clear ambition and commitment to continue to serve our more able learners now and in the future. The team involved in the meeting were highly experienced, credible leaders and practitioners who know and understand the educational landscape and the needs of our schools. This group will allow staff in schools, working at ground level, to be at the forefront of evidence-based approaches and discover, first-hand, the results of implementing various interventions. Projects will be guided, tested and evaluated by the group, for the group and for our learners.

5. Impact-focused, long-term collaboration

All too often CPD and INSET are costly, short-term and have very little impact on staff bodies as a whole, on learners and therefore on schools. At our hub launch, practitioners were able to collectively agree on future priorities, in the knowledge that there will be regular opportunities for support, discussion and evaluation. Areas of focus varied greatly and included writing, effective use of technology, and learner awareness of ability. The hub plans to meet regularly and encourages core members to commit to consistent collaboration and communication to gain maximum benefit. The group has also discussed involving learners in the hub, supporting cross-school collaboration between pupils.

About the NACE R&D Hubs

NACE R&D Hubs are open to all NACE member schools, offering regional opportunities to share effective practice for more able learners and to collaborate on action research projects in this field. To date, four NACE R&D Hubs have been launched, all hosted by NACE Challenge Award-accredited schools: Barry Island Primary School in the Vale of Glamorgan, Haybridge High School and Sixth Form in Worcestershire, Portswood Primary School in Hampshire, and Holme Grange School in Berkshire.

To find out more or to join your nearest hub, get in touch.

The Broxbourne School: becoming a national language hub

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 14:20:09 GMT

Earlier this year, NACE member and Challenge Award holder The Broxbourne School was named one of nine schools to become national language hubs, supporting England’s new Centre of Excellence for Modern Languages. In this blog post, Deputy Headteacher Peter Clift reflects on the school’s journey to becoming a national language hub, and what it hopes to achieve in this role.

We are delighted to have been selected as a national language hub. It is an affirmation of all the hard work of the outstanding practitioners we have in our modern foreign language (MFL) department and the enthusiasm they have engendered in our young people to learn a language.

We are constantly looking for ways in which to further develop our practice as a school and we believe this will enable us to further enhance the effectiveness of our pedagogy, not just in languages. We are also excited at the prospect of working with other schools to develop their practice; we are confident that as well as having a considerable body of expertise and resources to share, we will also learn an immense amount from the MFL colleagues we work with in other schools. Our lead practitioners are also looking forward to the training they will receive from the Centre of Excellence that will be an integral component of the MFL hub programme.

A whole-school commitment to language learning

We are committed to offering a broad and balanced curriculum to all our students and particularly our disadvantaged pupils, whose attainment exceeds those of non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. Modern languages are central to this curriculum offer. In the past year our curriculum pathways ensured that over 52% of our pupils obtained the EBacc at 4+. In the previous two years this led to the Schools Minister writing to congratulate us for being in the top 100 schools in the country for our EBacc outcomes.

In recent years we have given learners a freer choice of languages, which has helped to keep the numbers choosing a language at a very high level, despite a national decline in language numbers. We are keen that the whole school community embrace languages, and this is clear when you walk round our site and see signage in the three languages the school offers.

A good part of our success comes down to a considered approach to pedagogy – one of the reasons for our selection as a hub school was the extent to which our daily practice already exemplified the best practice outlined in the Teaching Schools Council (TSC)’s review of MFL provision and practice, which I would urge interested parties to read.

As an economics teacher, I am more than aware of the increasingly global nature of trade (despite certain challenges!) and that our young people are increasingly being asked to compete in a global marketplace for jobs. Facility in a modern foreign language can enable them to compete successfully. More broadly I believe that learning a language and the doors this opens into other cultures can engender empathy and fellow-feeling amongst people around the world at a time when a narrow nationalism seems to be increasingly and worryingly prevalent.

Developing as a national language hub

On a simple level we hope to improve the outcomes and improve the uptake of languages at our school and those of our immediate hub partners. We are looking to ensure a widespread implementation of the pedagogical approach outlined in the TSC review. We would be particularly proud if our work led to an uptake amongst disadvantaged learners, given the cultural capital that access to a modern language can facilitate.

Initially it is planned that language hub schools will work with other schools in their immediate geographical area. We are also planning a wider offer of training activities and conferences, and will certainly be welcoming as many colleagues as we can from other schools.

Another cohort we think will particularly benefit, and of relevance to our work as a NACE member and Challenge Award school, is our more able language learners. We will be looking to developing a role for them as MFL ambassadors, and from work they have done in the schools as MFL prefects we know they will excel in this.

Peter Clift is Deputy Headteacher at The Broxbourne School, a NACE member and Challenge Award-accredited secondary school and sixth form in Hertfordshire. He has been a teacher for 20 years and a senior leader for more than 10. He leads on pupil progress, able, gifted and talented provision and is the SLT lead for The Broxbourne School’s new MFL hub.

8 myths about Oxford University that need to be busted…

Mon, 15 Apr 2019 15:28:00 GMT

When it comes to Oxford and Cambridge, there are still many perceived barriers that can deter students from applying – and may deter others from encouraging them to do so. For school and sixth-form staff involved in supporting students with university applications, Oxford’s Dr Matthew Williams is keen to break down some of the myths…

My name’s Matt Williams, and I’m Access Fellow at Jesus College, Oxford University. “Access Fellow” means I’m an academic, and I’m also responsible for helping to open up the university to more aspiring applicants. This listicle picks apart some of the myths I hear in schools when I’m out trying to encourage young people of all backgrounds to apply.

1. “Oxford is socially exclusive.”

There’s a common perception that Oxford is socially exclusive and unwelcoming. It’s not true.

Let’s break down the myth. In 2016 59% of offers went to students from state schools. So a comfortable majority of offer-holders, and Oxford entrants, were educated by the state, and not in private schools.

The university and its colleges offer generous financial support to those who need it. For instance, in 2018, up to 175 incoming students will be offered a Moritz-Heyman Scholarship to provide them with bursaries for living costs, and money off their tuition fees.

Oxford’s intake is more diverse than is commonly portrayed. Of those who declared their ethnicity from 2014-2016, 18% of offer-holders were from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. In 2017 the university made more offers to young women than men.

We only make admissions decisions on the bases of academic ability and academic potential. We’re not judging candidates on where they went to school or what they look like. All are made very welcome in Oxford.

2. “Oxford is expensive.”

Tuition fees at Oxford are the same as other universities in the Russell Group – that is £9,250 per year. And those fees can be reduced for students in need of help. The university and its colleges have squirrelled away money over hundreds of years, precisely so it can be invested in bright young people who could most benefit from it.

Plus, you get a lot of bang for your buck at Oxford. We not only have exceptional facilities – including over 100 libraries – we also use the highly effective tutorial system. Students are taught in tiny groups of about two or three, usually twice a week, for their whole degree. This level of personalised attention from academic experts just isn’t possible at most other universities. Even medical students enjoy tutorials, alongside the more normal lectures, seminars and lab sessions you’d find at other universities.

Only Cambridge also operates tutorials (called supervisions there) as comprehensively as Oxford. Even the best US universities cannot usually match the tiny class sizes at Oxford.

3. “It’s impossible to get in.”

No. Roughly one offer is made for every five applications we receive. Some subjects – including medicine, law, economics and management, and engineering – are more competitive than one in five, and the applicants we receive are highly accomplished. But the point is that we do make a lot of offers – around 3,200 to undergraduates. And most students I speak to in schools woefully underestimate their own academic abilities.

4. “You have to be a genius at Oxford.”

I’m not sure what genius is, but let’s unpack this myth. You don’t need to have perfect school grades, nor an IQ of over 150 to be considered. Our offer holders do, it’s true, usually have very good grades from school. But we’re not looking for a flawless academic record. Most of our degrees require AAA at A-level (38 IB), not A*A*A*A*. Some of our degrees, such as chemistry, call for A*A*A, but for none of our degrees are students required to have straight A*s at either GCSE or A-level.

And a very high IQ is also not required. Many of our degrees use admissions tests to assess problem-solving and critical thinking skills. But we also interview about three candidates for every place, so that we can also assess motivation, passion and intellectual bravery. By bravery, I mean a willingness to think independently, and not just follow the herd. Those with perfect school grades and high IQs sometimes lack passion and independent-mindedness, and that can weaken their applications.

5. “The application process is scary.”

Our application process is longer than for most other universities. We ask applicants to submit their UCAS forms by 15 October, then there are admissions tests for most of our degree courses, then we conduct interviews in early December, and our decisions are sent out in early January.

It’s the tests and interviews that really seem to give potential applicants cold feet. But it’s not our aim (nor in our interest) to scare off applicants. The aim of our admissions process is to make best possible decisions. We collect a lot of information on each of our applicants so we can choose the very best from an excellent pool. As I wrote above, we don’t just look for perfect grades, we also want to consider the context in which applicants secured their school grades, and we want to gauge their potential to stretch themselves beyond the school curriculum. This all takes time and effort.

We want our applicants to be themselves, and at ease. Yes, taking admissions tests and attending interviews can be intellectually demanding, but it’s also very good practice for job seeking, and it’s character building!

Put it this way: deciding not to apply because the application process is a little more demanding is not a good reason. Far better reasons for not applying would be that the courses don’t suit, or the applicant would rather live and study somewhere else.

6. “It’s boring, no fun, and full of geeks!”

There are literally hundreds of clubs and societies at Oxford. Both the university and the colleges have societies for music, drama, sport, and much else besides. Each college has a packed diary of social events that will suit pretty much every different taste.

On average students will spend around 40 hours a week studying, which still leaves lots of time for fun, friends and extracurricular activities.

7. “Cambridge is for sciences, Oxford is for humanities.”

This is a myth several centuries in the making. Cambridge has had several luminary scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton, Crick and Watson, and Stephen Hawking amongst its members.

But Oxford is no scientific slouch. Stephen Hawking took his undergraduate degree with us, as did Nobel-laureate Dorothy Hodgkin. Further back, Oxford had Robert Hooke and Christopher Wren as students – both co-founders, in Oxford, of the Royal Society.

Oxford University has invested over £400 million over the past 10 years into its science facilities and infrastructure. One of our newest facilities is the Beecroft Building, a state-of-the-art laboratory and teaching facility for the Department of Physics, which will create a space for discussion, collaboration and cutting-edge science.

And, as for the present day, Oxford is very highly ranked amongst the world’s universities for its scientific teaching and research. Apart from anything else, in sciences and all else besides, there are plenty of fantastic universities in the UK, not just Oxford and Cambridge.

8. “Oxford is arrogant, and doesn’t care about its reputation.”

This is the worst myth of them all. Oxford’s strengths come from its students and staff. The pretty buildings, the money and the history are nothing without the people who daily make the university great.

So, we care deeply about opening the doors to the brightest and best, regardless of their background, personal wealth, skin colour, religion, sexual orientation and so forth. We therefore invest enormous amounts of time, money and effort to ensure that Oxford is open to everyone with academic ability and potential.

Some groups are still under-represented in our academic community and we want this to change. If you agree, then please encourage your students to apply and contribute to helping is make that change. Oxford can only be what its students make it.

Please feel free to contact me via @jesus_access or matthew.williams@jesus.ox.ac.uk

Dr Matt Williams is the Access Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford University. That means he is an academic, and works to open up the university to students from under-represented backgrounds. He came to Oxford in 2006 to take his Masters and Doctorate in political science. He has since held lectureships at seven Oxford colleges, and has written on uses of language in politics.

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What does 2018 hold for NACE members?

Wed, 7 Aug 2019 10:25:16 GMT

From all the NACE team – a very happy new year!

Whilst you settle back into the term I want to use my first blog of 2018 to share news of NACE developments and details of upcoming member opportunities. Brief updates on DfE, Ofsted and Estyn are also included.

Member-led research

At the end of last year NACE announced a key focus on member-led research and development for 2018, and I am pleased to update you on two aspects of this. First, we have selected three schools to become NACE Research and Development Hubs – Haybridge High School and Sixth Form, Portswood Primary School and Barry Island Primary School. These schools will allow us to test and refine our regional approach to improving outcomes for more able learners in practical ways, including hosting Hub meetings for NACE members, sharing resources and best practice, and undertaking research.

Alongside the Hubs initiative we will be working with the University of Winchester on an action research project. The project, which launches in March, will be open to invited Challenge Award schools, with teachers exploring an aspect of “curriculum, teaching and support" for more able learners that is being delivered or developed in their school under the NACE Challenge Development Programme. Alongside more detailed case study work, we will continue to build our evidence base and formally capture and disseminate some of the best practice in the country.

Free webinars and member meetups

To provide all members with a good start to the year, NACE is continuing its series of free webinars and member meetups. Webinar sessions on SOLO Taxonomy and learning mindset will take place on 30 January and 6 February – log in to the members’ area of our website for full details and registration.

Following the success of our first member meetup in November, the series continues this term with the English-Speaking Union hosting a secondary school event on 6 March. The Globe will host our final meetup of the year on 8 June, for both primary and secondary schools. Full details of these free events will be shared with all members via email and in the members’ area of our website.

Funding and research updates

Members will be aware that governments in England and Wales are placing an increased focus on more able. I spoke about developments in Wales in my last blog.

You may be interested to read Estyn’s latest thematic reports. Good Practice in the Humanities highlights, amongst other things, the importance of transition for learners, whilst Active and experiential learning – Effective foundation phase practice in delivering literacy and numeracy in Year 1 and Year 2 includes an online video to exemplify good practice, and includes specific references of support provided to more able learners.

In December the DfE launched Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential, its plan for improving social mobility through education. Within this it announced the Future Talent Fund, which will seek to test and evaluate approaches to supporting the most academically able disadvantaged students in non-selective state-funded secondary schools. Bidding for this fund is expected to open in the summer term, and NACE will be seeking member schools to work with us on this. Further detail will follow.

We also wait with interest to read the final report of Ofsted’s curriculum thematic review.

2018 promises to be interesting – and I look forward to sharing developments and working with you as we move through the year. In the meantime, please contact me directly if you want to learn more, or feel you can contribute to our developments.

Member opportunity: school-led research on maths mastery

Wed, 7 Aug 2019 12:08:05 GMT

Rising Stars’ Naomi Watson outlines a new opportunity for NACE members to contribute to research on effective support for more able learners in mathematics. Read on to find out how your school could participate…

NACE and Rising Stars have collaborated for over 10 years on initiatives to ensure more able learners and their teachers can benefit from challenging and exciting resources in core subjects, grounded in the curriculum while offering stretching and enriched learning.

This year, we are working together to research how schools are effectively supporting more able learners while teaching mathematics within a mastery curriculum.

As part of this project, we are looking for five NACE member primary schools who are teaching mathematics using a mastery approach to participate in a research initiative. Participating schools will receive free copies of Rising Stars’ Maths for the More Able teachers’ guides and Brain Academy pupil books, and will be invited to integrate these resources into their teaching of mathematics during the spring term.

In April/May 2018 we will bring all participating schools together for a half-day focus group (in Oxfordshire), to gather and share approaches to supporting more able learners in mathematics, and to explore ideas for future resources. The results of the project will be shared with the wider NACE and Rising Stars communities.

Alongside this school-led initiative, NACE is partnering with expert practitioners in mathematics on a series of new resources and articles, which will be made available to all NACE members. For updates on the project, log in to the NACE members’ website, and keep an eye out for the NACE email newsfeed and Insight newsletter.

Register your interest:

To apply to be one of the five primary schools involved in this project, send an email to membership@nace.co.uk, with the subject line “Rising Stars maths project”. Include an outline of your school’s current approach to supporting more able learners in mathematics, with reference to your use of a mastery curriculum.

The deadline for applications is 6 December 2017. Successful schools will be notified before the end of the autumn term.

New year, new focus on challenge…

Wed, 7 Aug 2019 10:32:47 GMT

Welcome back to a new academic year – I hope you feel refreshed for the coming term.

Like NACE, I am sure many of you spent much of the summer preparing for the new academic year – reflecting on policy and development, results and the new challenges that lie ahead.

In my first blog post of the year, I want to share with you some of NACE’s developments – and how NACE members will benefit in the coming weeks and term.

Responding to member views

At the end of last year NACE undertook its first member survey – and the results have informed much of the work we have been focused on over the summer. You told us that online resources and subject-specific materials were some of the most useful ways NACE could support you, so this term will see key resources added to the members’ section of our site; log in to see the latest additions.

Later this term, we’ll be sharing new primary maths resources, and links to partner materials, with a focus on English to follow. We’re also investing in the technology to make these more accessible to busy teachers, with a relaunch of the NACE website planned for later in the year.

NACE Insight, our termly member newsletter, has had a summer “facelift”. With a refreshed and extended format, it will offer some new regular features, including updates from Ofsted, Estyn and partners, a focus on NACE members in the news, recommended resources and your views on the key issues affecting schools.

NACE members are our strength – you are involved in testing, reviewing and developing practice for more able learners. We see in our 400+ Challenge Award schools some of the best practice in the country, representing a unique repository of excellence in teaching and learning for high achievement. Later this term we will be inviting some of you to work with us to interrogate and disseminate good practice, offering supported research opportunities.

National and international developments

As part of its role, NACE not only monitors and reviews more able policy and practice, but also seeks to inform development and debate – both at home and further afield. Here are just a few of the areas we are currently focused on:

Ofsted updates. This month marks the 25th anniversary of the formation of Ofsted, and we await with interest the first set of findings from its curriculum survey. Once Ofsted has the initial evidence, it will look at whether it needs to place a greater focus on curriculum during inspection; this will feed into the new inspection framework being developed for September 2019.
Developments in Wales. NACE is closely monitoring the curriculum and professional standard changes in Wales, and it is against this backdrop that we have been asked to work closely with regional consortia partners to support the development of regional MAT policy and practice.
International support. Further afield, NACE’s international membership continues to grow. Spanning 18 countries including Cyprus, China, Kenya, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Spain and Nigeria, there is a wide mix of primary, secondary, international, British and MoD schools. Over the past 18 months NACE has supported a number of these schools with CPD, and we’ve been delighted to welcome schools from as far afield as China, Italy and Malta to our UK conferences.
National publications. Our senior team is regularly asked to contribute to publications in the more able field. Currently our education adviser Hilary Lowe sits on the Advisory Editorial Board for The SAGE Handbook of Gifted and Talented Education, and is author of the chapter on The Education of the Highly Able in England and Wales. We will share more on this later in the year.

Updates to the NACE Challenge Framework

It is against this backdrop of constant review and development that next month NACE will announce an important update to the NACE Challenge Framework. Over the past decade, the NACE Challenge Framework has become an established and respected tool for whole-school review and improvement in provision for more able learners. The update reflects current policy and thinking and will make the framework more accessible to schools, at any stage in their more able journey. The next issue of Insight, due to arrive in schools in October, will provide more detail.

I hope you will agree that this is an exciting start to NACE’s year – and to the opportunities we can provide our growing community of member schools. I look forward to sharing developments with you as we move through the year, and invite you to contact me directly in the meantime if you want to learn more, or feel you can contribute to our developments.

Wevva for Schools: help to shape the app

Mon, 8 Apr 2019 15:20:58 GMT

Professor Simon Colton shares his experience of speaking at the NACE National Conference 2017, and invites NACE members to help develop his new app for schools.

Yesterday, I was very fortunate to attend the NACE National Conference in London and delighted to give the closing keynote address. In my talk, I introduced a few topics and projects from my research in computational creativity, where we study how to share creative responsibilities with software. I presented a few slides and videos about The Painting Fool, The What-If Machine and my latest project, Wevva.

Wevva is a "casual creator" for games, allowing anyone to make simple games in minutes rather than days, weeks or months (which is usual in game design). Wevva has taken many (difficult) months of development. But along the way, we’ve had a lot of encouragement and positive feedback from running game jams – events where people get together and make games – with students and staff at Falmouth University (where I work) and local girl guides.

We’ve also helped with an after-school club for children from the Nexus specialist STEM centre in Camborne, which was a big success. In particular, using earlier prototypes of Wevva, we enabled children to make interesting and engaging games, learning so many things about design, user interaction, art theory and physics along the way. Working with Nexus has been the one of the coolest projects I've done so far, and was a real inspiration for the next stage of the app’s development.

So, as part of my talk at the conference, I was delighted to announce the launch of Wevva for Schools, and grateful to NACE for giving me the platform to do this. Wevva for Schools is a new educational pack, an out-of-the-box game design classroom, enabling students to make videogames easily and straight away, giving them space to learn all about game design and other topics like simulated physics, colour theory and programming, and to experience what working in the creative industries is like.

We received such enthusiastic feedback from teachers at the NACE National Conference yesterday. It was great that many teachers expressed a keen interest in Wevva for Schools, and we can't wait to see Wevva for Schools being used in primary and secondary schools, to empower students to explore the joys of videogame design.

Wevva for Schools will be available for September and we are asking NACE members to help shape this educational offering. I was delighted by the positive response to this request, and around 20 people have already signed up. If you would like to help with the final development of Wevva for Schools, then please see the web pages at www.wevvagame.com or contact us at wevvaforschools@metamakersinstitute.com

The opening keynote from Lord Robert Winston was really inspiring and reminded me of my time at Imperial College. I also got to sit in on the workshop run by Jo Foster, the director of Nexus, and heard the inside track on how Nexus has been made so successful, which I’ve been able to see first-hand this year. So, all in all, it was a wonderful day at the NACE National Conference. I’d like to thank the NACE team for the invitation to talk, all the people at the conference who gave us great feedback, and the staff at etc.venues for such a great day!

A leading artificial intelligence researcher, Professor Simon Colton specialises in the field of computational creativity. He leads the Computational Creativity Group at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and holds an EC-funded ERA chair at Falmouth University, as well as an EPSRC Leadership Fellowship. He has published around 200 papers, won national and international prizes for his research, and helped create software that can make mathematical discoveries, create art, generate games and produce fictional ideas. One of his best-known projects is The Painting Fool, a computer programme designed to one day be taken seriously as a creative artist in its own right.