HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

 I hope that everyone who reads my blog has a happy, healthy, safe and successful 2018!

And always remember that when it comes down to it the only things that really matter are faith, family and friends!

REMEMBER...

"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don’t and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said that it’d be easy, they just promised it would be worth it."

SEE YOU IN 2018!

HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS!

“I know what I want someone to give me for Christmas. I have known since I was forty years old…. It’s delight and simplicity that I want... foolishness and fantasy and noise, angels and miracles and wonder and innocence and magic. It’s hard to talk about but what I really, really want for Christmas is just this:
I want to be five again for an hour and I want to laugh a lot and cry a lot. I know that it doesn’t make sense but since when is Christmas about sense anyway?”
Robert Fulghum

THANK YOU!

Christmas is a time for people, families, love, kindness and giving and I have been lucky this year to have spent so much time with people I love and care about... you know who you are... thank you for spending some time with me during the year.

MAKING THE MOST OF EVERYONE'S SKILLS AND TALENTS!

The DfE have published their long awaited Careers Strategy...

REMEMBERING AT CHRISTMAS, THE FORGOTTEN HALF!

“Our interest is in the provision of an education that gives young people the experience and skills to continually build their careers once they enter the labour market. We urge 
that the education system be less focused on pushing young people through the hoops of assessment that lead on to higher education, and more focused on equipping them with the capabilities to progress through the labour market.

SKILLS FOR LIFE AND WORK!

This review by the Early Intervention Foundation looks at the evidence of links between social and emotional skills in children and how they fare as adults.

WORLD CLASS SKILLS MUST BE AT THE HEART OF WHAT WE DO!

High-performing countries like China, Finland, South Korea, and Singapore and those like Canada and Australia, who see a future where automation, globalisation and collaboration are changing the landscape, realise the global economic landscape has changed. In response, they are re-imagining their education systems by focusing on developing world class skills. We need to persuade the powers that be here that the future is only going to be secured if we develop a World Class Learning Framework to drive our learning landscape. A framework built on World Class Skills as well as subjects.

RESEARCH TELLS US THAT SKILLS MATTER!

It isn't just me... we all know that adults with skills have better outcomes in the world of work than their less proficient peers, have greater chances of being employed and if employed earn more!  

THE FUTURE OF SKILLS: EMPLOYMENT IN 2030!

"Jobs are the cornerstone of our economic and social lives: they give people meaning, self-respect, income and the chance to make contributions to the communities where they live!"

AND WHAT WORKS BEST IS "DOLLOPS OF FEEDBACK"!

The great thing about research is that it tells us what works and importantly what doesn't work!
The EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit reinforces John Hattie's work.

THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WORK BEST!

WHAT WORKED IN 2017!

Another year and another opportunity to reflect on what we have learned working with some great schools, great colleagues and wonderful young people. Thanks to those experiences, and the Sutton Trust, the EEF toolkit, the EPPI studies, John Hattie, Michael Fullan and Andy Hargreaves, we know, and have the evidence for, what works, and also importantly we know what doesn’t!

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER!

Another blooming Christmas and as I have said for a long time we simply need stay connected with friends and colleagues and volunteer and give to others whenever and whatever we can. Interestingly, I was re-reading some research gathered on more than 1,500 children who were about 10 years old when they were first studied in 1921. This study has been used to create the most comprehensive longitudinal evidence for how to live long and prosper.

ANYONE FOR COFFEE?

Where do the years, terms and weeks go? I can't believe that it's nearly Christmas again...another year has flown by and I am constantly reminded that I don't do enough to stay in touch with friends and family and this great story reminded me about the things that really matter...

"A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was...

GOOD FRIENDS ARE LIKE STARS!

I was in Leeds again yesterday and it was really great to have lunch with some old friends and colleagues who, after seven long years, I still miss...

PERHAPS WE SHOULD ALL GO OUT AND BUY SOME MARBLES?

In the hurly burly of life and work and our struggle against the challenges and problems life throws at us where there is never enough time or money to get by or to get ahead we can forget the things that matter and are really important. I am seeing some old friends today in Leeds and it's funny how Christmas brings everything into sharp focus.... it's a time when we need to be with friends, families and those we love.

This is the theory of "a thousand marbles."...

KEEP IT SIMPLE!

I have had a great week with some amazing friends, colleagues and young people and I constantly wonder why is there is so much negativity, criticism and unpleasantness around. Education, schools, teachers and colleagues, some working in some of the most challenging contexts, are doing a great job but are constantly criticised in the media, by OFSTED and by the DfE. We need to change the culture surrounding education and learning to create a more positive, reflective and supportive framework and critically we all need a rule book to help us live our lives.

THE 80:20 RULE!

How do we create great schools for every child, every young person and every community? Personally, I passionately believe that the answers lie in developing collaborative and creative learning organisations built on beautiful systems, deep research, intelligent accountability and the importance of discipline and character. 

BACK AT OAKWOOD HIGH SCHOOL!

I visited Oakwood High School this afternoon to meet again,​ the wonderful young people who are on the Better Learners, Better Workers pilot with Rotherham Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. This programme is led by the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust and is a consistent and coherent, employer-led approach that will develop, in this very special group of young people, the skills needed for employability and the world of the NHS.

BACK AT OUTWOOD ACADEMY CARLTON!

I was at Outwood Academy Carlton again this morning to see their Y10 'Better Learners, Better Workers: Made in Barnsley' ambassadors...

A GREAT PLACE: THE SHEFFIELD INCLUSION CENTRE!

I visited the Sheffield Inclusion Centre yesterday to see my colleague and friend Andy Ireland, who now heads up this dynamic and supportive learning environment. The Primary Inclusion Centre and the KS3/KS4 Inclusion Centre support children and young people from across Sheffield who are either displaying challenging behaviour in mainstream primary school or who have been permanently excluded from mainstream secondary schools.

MEETING WITH THE STOCKSBRIDGE AMBASSADORS!

I visited Stocksbridge High School after school yesterday and met again some of the wonderful young people who are on ambassador programmes. I was there to introduce the new BLBW materials and explain how to use the new BLBW Handbook.

HOW TO BE POSITIVE!

YES YOU CAN!

I have spent time with some really wonderful young people over the last couple of weeks and something worries me. Schools and teachers are hugely important in helping young people see themselves as capable learners or not!! So many of these young people believed it when they were told what they couldn't do and forgot to use the word yet!!!

MAKING ALL SCHOOLS IN WALES STRONG AND SUCCESSFUL LEARNING ORGANISATIONS!

I have argued for years that a new school curriculum needs a new learning culture and it is great to see that Wales is placing this at the heart of their school development strategy to ensure that all Welsh schools become strong and successful learning places. 

OUR YOUNG PEOPLE ARE THE FUTURE!

Life is never ever dull, and the last couple of weeks working in Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield has once again showed me the outstanding practice, inspirational colleagues and the incredible young people that exist in these places. Young people with skills, talents and abilities which we need to nurture and grow...

BACK AT SAINT PIUS X CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL!

I visited Saint Pius X Catholic High School today and met again the wonderful young people who we interviewed over a year ago for the Better Learners, Better Workers pilot with Rotherham Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

THE BLBW MADE IN BARNSLEY AMBASSADORS VISIT THE CUTLERS HALL!

Great to see the Year 9 'Better Learners, Better Workers: Made in Barnsley' ambassadors at the Cutlers Hall this morning.

THE BADGERS ARE MOVING THE GOAL POSTS!

I love this poem... Carol Ann Duffy tells us that all nature is in uproar, what with rule-bending ferrets, the fact-twisting skunks and the gun-jumping foxes... it explains a lot of things and makes as much sense as anything else at the moment!!

"Because the Badgers are moving the goalposts.

BLBW AUTUMN TERM NEWSLETTER

I LOVE MATHS... BUT NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE SHARE THAT PASSION!

I have a had a great week working with some amazing young people who talked so positively about their interests and passions... social media, games, netball, gymnastics, kick boxing, swimming, reading. Sadly, as a maths teacher in the dim and distant past, no one talked about a passion for number! 

WORKWISE AND BLBW: WORKING TOGETHER!

I moved on to see John Barber at the OSL offices near Meadowhall. John, who heads up the Workwise team, and I have been working on the engineering strand of 'Made in Sheffield' and now 'Better Learners, Better Workers' since the programme started in 2011.

DARTON COLLEGE

I was at Darton College again this morning working with their new Year 9 'Better Learners, Better Workers' ambassadors. Dave Bond had organised the session for me to take them through the new BLBW materials.

OUTWOOD GRANGE ACADEMIES TRUST

I moved on to Outwood Grange Academy in Wakefield for a meeting with Julie Slater. Julie is Chief Executive of Outwood Institute of Education (OIE), Executive Principal for Outwood Grange Academies Trust, and a National Leader of Education.

BLBW: MADE IN BARNSLEY!

 I was at The Dearne ALC again this morning with the steering group for the 'Better Learners, Better Workers: Made in Barnsley' programme...

WINGFIELD ACADEMY!

I was at Wingfield Academy earlier this week to see some of the wonderful young people on the 'Better Learners, Better Workers' engineering programme and take them through the new BLBW materials...

WHAT IS RESILIENCE?

HOW TO BE RESILIENT!

RESILIENCE MATTERS!

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. On a small scale, being resilient enables us to raise our hand and risk "sounding stupid." On a bigger scale, it allows us to try something really hard whether or not we're sure we'll do well at it.

CHANGE NEEDED!

If we are really serious about building world class learning in this country we need to refocus, re-imagine and re-engineer.

We need to shift the focus away from knowledge to concepts, from subjects to disciplines, from content to skills, from teaching to learning!