Curriculum for Excellence - An opportunity to lead

The Big Challenge It’s preparing young people for a changing future It’s recognising the primacy of learning It’s ensuring that young people have the building blocks that they need in terms of skills, concepts and knowledge It’s having an education that supports a sustainable prosperous future

…at another level It’s poverty It’s the inability to form attachments It’s the lack of self-esteem It’s learning needs It’s health - physical and mental Schools can make a difference

The Four Capacities Successful Learners Confident Individuals Responsible Citizens Effective Contributors

Essential conditions for effective classrooms Authentic relationships- the quality of openness of relationships within the classroom Rules and boundaries- the expectations set by teachers and schools for student performance and behaviour Teachers’ repertoire- the range of teaching styles and models available to the teacher

Reflection on teaching- the capacity of the individual teacher to reflect on their own practice and suggestions from other sources Resources and preparation- access to a range of pertinent teaching materials and the ability to plan and differentiate these materials for a range of students. Pedagogic partnerships- the ability of teachers to focus on the study and improvement of the practice of teaching

Schools can….. Look at our practice. Look at our attitudes. We must see ourselves as having broad responsibilities to pupils Establish a culture of care and ambition Provide a better, more effective learning experience for all pupils

As teachers we need to….. Keep learning and honing skills Raise aspirations and expectations – of pupils and of ourselves Look at what is happening to young people in our schools and in our classrooms. Reflect on that and implement judicious change

As colleagues we need to…. Understand and support Be prepared to learn Reinforce the key messages Get it right for every child

ACfE – a chance for excellence A chance to build on good practice A chance to shape and control development A chance to do what you really want to do A chance for real professionalism An opportunity to make a difference for you and for your pupils

So……………? We need to create a culture where we all believe we can make a difference and have a common view about what that difference should be We need to listen, to learn and to act We need to disperse leadership and to take some risks We needed to build on the work done

How to achieve this The time and space to be able to help each other improve is what most teachers complain that they lack. A great deal of time has been spent in recent years on structure rather than process, on how many boxes must be ticked, rather than how to explain concepts better. Instead of having time to improve what they do in their classroom, teachers have been buried under bureaucratic demands that sapped precious energy.

Actions to take now Talk,listen, talk,listen more then talk more Build confidence and reassure staff Get together/use the networks Consider the outcomes Focus on the differentiation Identify the content Look at your assessment Work on transition Start to look at structures for secondaries

What do we talk about? Talk about learning - the medium doesn’t matter - Cooperative Learning, AifL, Critical Skills, Mind mapping…….. Look at approaches - Rich Tasks, Interdisciplinary Studies, Literacy, Numeracy across the curriculum Children and young people and how they learn/what works for them

Building confidence Relate back to current good practice/Stress what works Match to Programmes of Study Use “experts”/leaders/HMIe/Colleagues Be clear about outcomes, observe, monitor, record and assess Listen to the learners

Making use of the outcomes Translate Deconstruct Rebuild more simply Focus on the differentiation Match tasks and assessments to that Use that to build progression and continuity Recognise the familiar

Come together - right now Use the Authority wherever possible Make sure that it uses the opportunities it has Build your own - Authority groups, clusters, neighbourhoods, friends, kindred spirits Follow up on today

Transitions Essential in the new language - S1-S3 Make the networks cross sector Speak the same language Work forward from the outcomes not backwards from the terminal assessments Share the evidence that informs

Structures and Practicalities These are necessary but must not distract from the real debate and tasks Be clear what you want to do and then focus on the enablers Use the experts Don’t try to solve all the problems Focus on what you need to do for the learners in your school

What do we need from leaders? Certainty (where possible), confidence at least Early anticipation/creative response Clarity - of purpose and of expectations Cohesion Engagement Direction and support

What do leaders need? Clarity Commitment Courage Collegiality

Clarity of Purpose Purpose is not simply a target that an organisation chooses to aim for - it is an organisation’s reason for being. It needs to express what the organisation wants to accomplish in providing value to its stakeholders - and describe how these accomplishments can be measured.

Aims and ambitions Schools must make it very clear what they stand for and must have a clear vision of what they are trying to achieve. The vision will always be there for them as a goal and will support and encourage when things go wrong or are difficult. Knowing what you want to achieve is crucial. Without that, there will be no progress

A real vision..we believe that people are important, the children placed in our care, the adults who spend their working lives in the school, the parents and members of the wider community. We believe that education is about every aspect of human personality and achievement. This view requires that teachers give generously of their ideas and the community to welcome those ideas

What we teach must work for all the children and tap all their potential talents, not just some of them. The curriculum that we offer must be broad, balanced and progressive. It must reach out and touch all children in a way that makes sense to each individual child. It must motivate each child, involve each child, inspire and enlighten each child. It must be a curriculum that recognises that there are many kinds of knowing, feeling and expressing truth.