GRIT = PERSEVERENCE + PASSION... PASS IT ON!

Developing character is increasingly being seen as important alongside great academic results. Grit is a character trait that involves perseverance and passion to accomplish a long term goal no matter what challenges lie in the way.

ATTITUDE MATTERS... PASS IT ON!

CUTLERS' 'MADE IN SHEFFIELD' AMBASSADORS VISIT SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY

I was at Sheffield Hallam University yesterday with some of our Year 9 engineering ambassadors.

CUTLERS COMMITTEE MEETINGS.... PASS IT ON!

I was in Sheffield this morning meeting with the Cutlers' Education Committee which is guiding the Cutlers' Made in Sheffield scheme. 

CHARACTER SKILLS... PASS IT ON!

We need to develop skills, behaviours, character traits alongside knowledge and understanding if we want to help our children and young people compete and succeed.

CHARACTER COUNTS... PASS IT ON!

Behaviour, integrity and character should lie at the heart of everything we do with children and young people and should guide our provision and practice at every stage of a child's learning.

MINDSET MATTERS... PASS IT ON!

There is a great difference between failing to achieve a result and the conclusion you draw about yourself. In Carol Dweck's book 'Mindset' she explains that those who stay down after a setback make a judgment that they have failed, not just that their attempt failed. Moreover, people with a 'fixed mindset' often generalize from their “failures” to conclusions such as, “I am a loser,” and “I will probably always fail. Therefore, they assume, there is no point in getting up and working at problems and issues. So they quit, they give up and they seek a more comfortable option such as eating, drinking, shopping whatever to avoid facing what they consider to be their personal failure.

THE HECKMAN EQUATION... PASS IT ON!

At the heart of the Cutlers' "Made in Sheffield" approach is a recognition that to be successful young people need skills, behaviours and character traits alongside knowledge and understanding and that we need to develop a curriculum entitlement that develops all of these.

CHARACTER MATTERS... PASS IT ON!

I was re-reading Paul Tough's book 'How Children Succeed'. In this great read he highlights the qualities most likely to ensure a better job, a better degree and a better and more fulfilling life... grit, curiosity and character. 

TEACHING YOUNG PEOPLE TO BECOME BETTER LEARNERS... PASS IT ON!

The last two years, working in Sheffield on the Cutlers' Made in Sheffield programme, has helped me to better understand that developing better learners and better workers requires us to pay attention to students’ mindsets, skills, strategies, and behaviours as well as their content knowledge and academic skills. Interestingly, this approach is supported by something I have been reading...

TOGETHER WE CAN... PASS IT ON!

I have visited some great schools over the last term and each visit makes me realise that leadership, teaching and teamwork are what matters.

HAPPY SUNDAY... PASS IT ON!

Another cold, frosty but sunny morning here in York...

...hope that the sun is shining where you are!

THINGS ARE CHANGING... PASS IT ON!

THE 'MADE IN SHEFFIELD' ENGINEERING STRAND.... PASS IT ON!

While I was in Sheffield today, I also met with colleagues from the schools working on the engineering/advanced manufacturing strand of the Cutlers’ “Made in Sheffield’ Programme. These schools are Bradfield School, Firth Park Community College,  Handsworth Grange School, Stocksbridge High School, Westfield School and Yewlands Academy.

MADE IN SHEFFIELD HEADTEACHERS SESSION... PASS IT ON!

I was in Sheffield today for a breakfast meeting with headteachers, principals and colleagues from the schools involved in the Cutlers' Made in Sheffield scheme. We are meeting twice a year to review the progress we are making and to look at how we can continue to develop the work we have been doing. 

TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING EVERYTHING... PASS IT ON!

We have come a very long way since I started out in this wonderful profession and together we have achieved so much with technology changing the learning landscape beyond anything I could have imagined. And by the way don't believe those miserable individuals who constantly run down what our schools and our young people are achieving… all the evidence suggests that our young people are smarter and cleverer than ever and so are our teachers!

KINDNESS MATTERS... PASS IT ON!

While there is a lot wrong with it, at its brilliant best, the NHS is simply wonderful...

CONNECTED LEARNERS MATTER... PASS IT ON!

What always surprises me is how much potential there is out there. Our job as leaders, as managers, as coaches, as teachers, as parents, as people who care, is to help individuals set their goals, realise their enormous potential and understand that this is not as good as it gets! And, I realise more and more as I get older that it is all about co-operation, teamwork, networking and partnering. 

REMEMBER TODAY...

HAPPY SUNDAY... PASS IT ON!

It's a glorious day today... beautiful blue skies and the sun is shining!

Hope you have a great day!

PASSION MATTERS... PASS IT ON!

Education is a passionate enterprise built on the interaction between human beings: teachers, students and parents. 

BE THE CHANGE... PASS IT ON!

BE THE CHANGE MOVEMENT... PASS IT ON!

REMEMBER CHALLENGES CHANGE US... PASS IT ON!

CUTLERS ENGINEERING AMBASSADORS

I had a great day today at Brindsworth Training in Rotherham with colleagues from Workwise who were working with Year 9 and 10 ambassadors from the five schools working together this year on the Cutlers 'Made in Sheffield' Project!

DREAM AND DREAM BIG... PASS IT ON!

This year we all need to remember that exploring, sharing, connecting and contributing is what learning is all about.

HAPPY NEW YEAR... PASS IT ON!