Kenilworth School designated a Teaching School
We hear from Kenilworth School and Sixth Form, who share some excellent news:
We are delighted to have been designated a Teaching School by the NCTL and we look forward to working with many local schools to provide unique professional development opportunities for teachers.
In the next few weeks we will be producing an exciting programme of CPD opportunities which will promote leadership, diversity and school development.
We will be looking to underpin all CPD opportunities with coaching and mentoring. At present we have introduced a coaching programme for all teachers at Kenilworth which has enabled them to develop their pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning, resulting in improved student outcomes.
One of our specific focus areas will be supporting primary schools by offering training and advice for non-specialist teachers in the core subjects as well as in music, science and modern languages.
Our links with initial training providers are strong, in particular the University of Warwick, who contribute to making our School Direct partnership the success that it is. Our Teaching School will further develop these areas to introduce further opportunities for aspiring and experienced teachers.
As a National Support School, we have gained successful experience of school-to-school support for other local schools and we have undertaken short placement and reviews in key areas of leadership. Our new designation will allow us to build on this experience.
If anyone is interested in finding out more about our Teaching School priorities or would like to contribute to our programme, we would be keen to hear from you. Please contact either Hayden Abbott or Deborah Talbot by phone (01926 859421 ext 1103) or email h.abbott@ksnadmin.ksn.org.uk or d.talbot@ksnadmin.ksn.org.uk.
Teaching Schools in Warwickshire
Kenilworth School and Sixth Form's designation brings the total number of Teaching Schools in Warwickshire up to 10.
Teaching Schools are good or outstanding schools that play an important role in a school-led system, working with others to provide high-quality training and support for school improvement in their local area. Launched in 2011, there are now more than 800 Teaching Schools across the country and their role includes:
- co-ordinating and delivering high-quality, school-based initial teacher training (ITT)
- spreading excellent practice by supporting other schools, particularly those that need it the most
- providing professional and leadership development for teachers and leaders across their network
To become a Teaching School, a school must be judged at least good in their most recent Ofsted inspection and have a proven track record of delivering initial teacher training and supporting other schools.
You can find a list of Warwickshire Teaching Schools on the
Warwickshire County Council website.
Avon Valley Students Work with stars on Hate Crime awareness video
Talented students from The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College have been involved in an exciting project which has seen Warwickshire County Council team up with both Coventry-based ‘The Voice’ star Letitia George and ‘Let It Shine’ star Jordan Charles, to create a powerful music single, called Love Instead of Hate (Give it a Try), which aims to show the true pain caused by hate crime.
The music single, which has been produced in Warwickshire by music producers Neil Williams and Chris Welch, aims to raise awareness of hate crimes and increase the public reporting of them through a new website, www.reporthatenow.com, launched after a recent study suggested 3 out of every 5 hate crimes are not reported to the police. The song, Love Instead of Hate, was initially inspired by poetry written by Stephen Crowshaw, a Nuneaton and Bedworth Police officer.
The music video produced by Warwickshire County Council to accompany the single was recorded at The Avon Valley School, Rugby, and features the acting talents of eight students all identified as talented in the performing arts.
Dan Phelan, Achievement Leader, said “This was a really exciting project, and something our students do not normally get to experience. As you will see in the video the shoot was quite messy as it involved black paint and colourful powder, however the students loved every minute of it. I’d like to say a huge thank you to Warwickshire County Council, the producers, and artists for involving us in this video, which I hope will be very successful”.
The school’s headteacher, Alison Davies, said “I am incredibly proud of the students who were involved in this project. I was fortunate to be able to watch the video for the first time with students who were involved and their reaction to the finished video was wonderful.”
View the video here.
UK Reading expert visits Boughton Leigh Infant School
One of the UK’s leading experts on teaching children to read visited a Rugby infant school where pupils follow the literacy programme she devised.
Ruth Miskin OBE was at Boughton Leigh Infant School (BLIS) in Brownsover for a regional meeting with head teachers and teachers.
All BLIS pupils follow her Read Write Inc phonics literacy programme which is designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers and willing writers.
Before getting down to formal business, Ruth took time out to meet pupils and talk to them about their learning.
She is pictured above with a child from each class and Head teacher Andrew Moorcroft.