Train pupils to hand out papers

A well-argued point that I found on Twitter.

Great ideas from "Teach like a Champion" by @Doug_Lemov - Train students to hand out papers! #ukedchat #aussieED pic.twitter.com/c1KM0TTEsr
— Pete Sanderson  (@LessonToolbox) April 7, 2015

Outstanding school?

An 'outstanding' school is not one where the teachers are working twice as hard as the kids.
— Carl Hendrick (@C_Hendrick) March 16, 2015

Make your writing more colourful!

I love this display idea from @abicassidy8.

Great use of B&Q colour charts!#makingwritingmorecolourful @OTeaching pic.twitter.com/BblteuqFiL
— Abi Cassidy (@abicassidy8) February 27, 2015

Are you ready to become a headteacher?

I stumbled upon this tonight. With the subject of possibly becoming a headteacher very much at the front of my thoughts this week, this video highlights some important points for my to think about.

Are you ready to become a headteacher?

Lazy Teaching

No, this isn't an admission that I've become complacent in the classroom!

I recently read The Lazy Teacher's Handbook: How your students learn more when you teach less (Independent Thinking Series) by Jim Smith. I enjoyed the book a lot. I found it refreshing in the way it encouraged teachers to take risks and try something new. But I love the way it wants us to shift the work rate within the lessons on to the children - over the course of the lesson the children should be working hardest.

The big challenge for teachers taking on board the Lazy Way is often dragging themselves away from the safety net that is the scheme of work.

Here are some great ideas from the book:

• Like airlines - record any set routines on video. Display messages that you need to give.
• Use audio and video for teaching.
• "Too many teachers are paraphrasing children's answers then adding in anecdotal by-line for good measure meaning the majority of the students disengage with a crucial part of the learning. Why the vast majority of teachers feel compelled to repeat and add something to every response they receive is beyond me. You have a whole class of students who should be asked to comment on what has been said."
• "Send one member of the group (to be known as the 'envoy') to visit another group. The envoy is there with two missions: 1 to listen to the group's ideas so he can report back to his own group and 2 to share his own group's ideas with his hosts. This is a very lazy way of making sure everyone remains engaged with the task and hears other viewpoints."

• Use this formula to outline how much time the group has using the following formula: People x Time - Number of hours worked. If you have a group of four students working for a sixty minute lesson, this equates to four hours of time. Ask the students what they would expect an individual to produce in four hours. Use the formula to set the expectation for the group.
• Allocate specific roles to members of the group, e.g. facilitator (keeps things moving and records what is happening), time keeper, resource manager, quality checker and team rep (represents the team at 'emergency meetings'.
• Never use silent work as a punishment as it is a valuable way of working, not a consequence of poor behaviour.
• Establish how long you are going to be silent for and make it clear to your class that you do want that amount of time spent in silence and will reset the clock of people talk.
• Model working in the silent time as well.
• Have a whiteboard where questions can be posted by the students. When someone posts a question only ever tell that person the answer and write the name of the person you have told under the question on the FAQs board. Anyone else in the class who wants to know the answer to that same question can talk to their classmate rather than you.
• The 'feel good Friday' phone call: choose three students whose parents/carers you are going to ring to say just how well their children are doing.
• The high jump: Introduce the high jump approach to maths - children start the challenge just before you think it is going to get too difficult for them. There is no point in students completing work that has proved nothing, other than the fact that it is too easy or too hard.
• Have a Connect 4 Championship!

Pinterest

I love Pinterest. It's a great site for finding inspiration. Usually the ideas are brilliantly simple! You might want to follow some of my boards at http://pinterest.com/primarydeputy/.

Here are some ideas I have adopted recently:

Homework Bingo
Anyone who hands their homework in on time gets to choose a square for the Homework Bingo game. Each week two squares are chosen at random and the children who chose them are given a reward.

Reminders
I've added this to the front of my classroom. I use it to add reminders for the children about what they are working on. Like a Working Wall, I guess, but I pick the messages!

Class rules display
This helped to inspire the class rules display in my classroom.

Book recommendations display
We will be adding post-its to our very own book recommendations display in school soon.

Reward chair
Our reward chair is used by the child who wins the class merit. They get to sit on it for the whole week!

Compliment Jar
Using ping pong balls, the class have been given a compliment jar to collect compliments from other adults. They aren't allowed to put in compliments from the teachers and teaching assistants in Year Four - they have to be from other adults, and each adult can only be added once. The compliment has to be directed at the whole class. When a compliment is given we write it on a ping pong ball and drop it into the jar. When it's full (it's likely to take a while) the class will be given a reward.

Effort grade
As part of their self-assessment at the end of the lesson the children also now give an effort grade to say how hard they worked in the lesson. 1 means they didn't really try at all. 2 means they tried, but not their best. 3 means they tried their best. 4 means they tried their best and they were an inspiration to others. It's been a useful way of seeing who is challenging themselves in class.

Rewards Treasure Box
The rewards in our treasure box are used to reward children in Homework Bingo.

Homework Books
When I return from my knee injury I'll be introducing some collaborative homework books. The children will be given a book, complete a piece of homework in it before passing it to another child next week. One of the homework books will be a secret mission book, a bit like this.

Shoogle

You might like to check out Simon Haughton's excellent Ask page where he kindly offers support for anyone with a query about teaching ICT. As one of the most innovative and helpful people I've come across on Twitter, his ideas will be very helpful.

He offers support with lesson and planning ideas, product recommendations and support, ICT Class management tips, website suggestions and technical help.

Setting goals

I recently read James Caan's book, 'Get the Life you Really Want'. There were a few good pieces of advice in there about setting goals, targets and getting where you want to be in life.

"It is your mindset, not your ability, that shapes how high you will go."

Setting goals

"Asking questions and working out what needs changing is great. But then you have to move from thinking about things to actually doing them. To start moving forwards and get some traction, it is important to set targets. Otherwise you go through life like a pinball, being bounced around by other people telling you what to do."

"Try to get the balance right between positive ambitions and what is realistic. You want to feel forward movement, not frustration."

"Make sure there are short gaps between each of your milestones. Then you can see where you are going."

"You don't have to change your life all by yourself. In fact, involving other people and telling them your plans will be life-changing in itself."

Time Management

"Time management is about looking at your diary every morning. Ask yourself whether each task or activity is crucial and critical to what you are doing. Decide what is essential and what is simply 'nice to have'."

"Managing time is all about working out how you can be in control of your time, not the other way around. You are in charge."

"Don't forget to make sure you are building in time to enjoy yourself, time to relax with the kids. It is just as crucial to your well-being. Build it in to your diary and stick to it."

Week 16: 5 inspiring people that you follow on Twitter

1: Mark Warner @markw29
Mark runs various websites and you can find them all at www.teachingwebsites.co.uk. He regularly shares ideas and helps give Twitter a feeling of community by encouraging others.
2: Simon Haughton @simonhaughton
Simon's excellent blog can be found at www.simonhaughton.co.uk. He regularly shares ideas and resources.
3: Andy Ross @andyross75
A keen runner, Andy is the Head Teacher of a school not too far away from where I teach. He tweets interesting things and is good for Twitter conversations! His running blog can be found at runningbarefootexperiment.wordpress.com.
4: Tim Handley @tomhenzley
The writer of PGCE Guide, Tim always offers ideas. It's hard to believe he's only been teaching for a few years. His blog can be found at www.classroomtales.com.
5: Ian Addison @ianaddison
He seems like a nice bloke when he shares ideas and thoughts on ICT. His blog can be found at www.ianaddison.net.

Mini-Teachmeet

I have attended two Teachmeets and I have found them fun and inspiring. I've never had the confidence to present and admired anyone who does. So much good practice is happening in schools all over the country. We decided to use the Teachmeet model to share this great work in our own school.

Our 'rules' were:

• Give it a go - there's no pressure
• You should share something that works well in your own classroom
• It doesn't have to be ICT-based
• You can share a commercial resource if we have it in school

The whole thing took an hour and a half and everyone felt proud, enthused and inspired!

Here are the notes from the mini-Teachmeet:

Educating Essex

I'm never that keen on watching programmes about schools. They always seem to have some sort of gimmick, which usually tries to make out that there are issues in school that they are trying to hide from the public!

I did, however, watch and thoroughly enjoy the series of Educating Essex. I've never seen a programme about schools before which is so honest and real. This is surely the benchmark for all teaching programmes ever to be made. It was heartbreaking, funny and inspiring all at the same time.

I have such respect for the teachers at Passmores Academy who seem unbelievably dedicated to their children. Mr Drew, the deputy head, was my favourite 'character' and his consistent approach to discipline is sublime to watch. The pupils hold him with such high esteem. The head teacher, Mr Goddard, was an inspirational head. It is easy to see why the pupils and the teachers all have such respect for him. It's great to watch a head who is able to have fun with his staff.

I hope my little girl grows up to have teachers like Mr Drew and Mr Goddard.

I enjoyed reading this interview with them.

Quotables

I've really started to get into the habit of recording quotes that I like. The quotes I like tend to offer advice, inspiration, interest or humour. I record my quotes at my Quotables page.

Building Great Relationships with Parents

 In his book How to be an Outstanding Primary School Teacher, David Dunn talks about building relationships with parents. He makes some great recommendations. Communication with parents must be:


Regular
Dunn says that regular communication must be, "Quick, easy and profitable!" It must be as regular as you feel would be of benefit, but it must be brief. He also advises against only making contact when there's a problem - they love to hear something positive too.
Simple ways of communication could be:

• Whole class email
• Home/school diary
• Reading Records/Homework diary
• A quick word on the playground.

Honest

"Be honest but professional."

Helpful

"Be helpful /committed to helping their child(ren) to learn and develop." Always find the time for the parent who wants to help their child(ren) at home.

Approachable

"Have an open-door policy; be approachable." Make sure that if they ask to speak to you, you find the time to do so, or at least call them back as soon as possible.

Professional

"Always be professional. Parents will respect you for it."

As far as communication goes for me personally, I'm making a few resolutions:

• I will try to be outside to meet my class and chat to parents at least two minutes before the start of every school day, instead of being so busy I run outside at the last minute.
• I will speak to different parents each week about how pleased I am with a pupil.
• I will send a text to parents each day about how pleased I am with a child's work/attitude/progress.
• I will continue to send out messages to parents each week in our Reading Records/Homework Diaries.

Recommended book: How to be an Outstanding Primary School Teacher

I recently read this superb book. It's not often that I feel inspired by an professional book, but I certainly was after reading this. It's well worth a read and I hope that a few readers will buy a copy of the book after reading my blog. The author, David Dunn, is on Twitter, and you can also view his website here.

SWOT analysis - a different approach to school improvement planning?

In his book, 'Wake Up and Change your Life', Duncan Bannatyne talks about SWOT analysis as being an approach to improving a business and for regularly reviewing the situation. Could this be an approach schools could adopt?



SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Each part of this analysis process could easily be transferred to schools.


Strengths: What are we getting right? What do we do better than anyone else? It's easy to overlook successes, but they should always be valued and be made even stronger. After each analysis new strengths may be discovered.

Weaknesses: What's not performing well enough? This is about Identifying your vulnerabilities. Data (qualitative, as well as statistical) will be crucial for this. What part of the school is under-performing? What do your parents think we could do better? Which lessons have pupils said they aren't enjoying as much as others?

Opportunities: What is your best chance of developing further based on your current situation? What has been overlooked? Was there a part of your school's plan that has been brushed aside for a while? Could now be the right time to bring it back? What have we learned that could help the school improve? Is there a new initiative that offers an exciting opportunity for the school to try something new? 

Threats: Threats, is possibly the one business term that doesn't transfer to schools as easily. But this is mostly because we don't really use the word 'threat' in a school environment. Threats, in a school sense, might mean the effects of physical damage to the building; a member of staff about to leave; or a different issue. Basically it means what could affect your school's situation adversely?


These questions will form the basis for the school improvement planning process when I'm a headteacher. 

Three Word Branding

Duncan Bannatyne writes in his book, 'Wake Up and Change your Life',

"Branding is basically about conveying your values to your customers. You might want to indicate that your product or service us honest, fun, upmarket, ethical or fast. Values are not always easy to pin down and they can be quite abstract, but once you've worked out what they are, then it becomes easier to establish a brand that means something to your customers. The best way I know to do this is to come up with three words - just three words - that you want your customers to associate with your company."

Three words to describe yourself. Blimey. That's not very easy! But such branding is quite important. When people think of me I'd like them to say that I'm x, y and z.


In interviews that we had in school a few months ago, we asked our candidates to describe themselves in three words. It gives a quick snapshot of that person. Thinking of three words on the spot is not easy though, so I've been thinking.


I think the words that best describe me are: dedicated, motivated and responsible. 


Dedicated because I always follow through with what I believe. I have values which I try to uphold through everything I do. Once I start on a challenge I always see it through. I can be relied upon. I am loyal and will support people when I believe they deserve it.


Motivated because I am always active. I get quickly frustrated when I can't get on with things. I have plans for the future and I reflect upon things and try to develop and improve when I can. I am ambitious in the short and long term. I am fun, hardworking and I hate laziness.


Responsible. I believe that I can be relied upon to do a great job, relied upon to be a caring and loving family member, and a loyal friend. I take a responsible approach to everything I do.


Now that I have my branding, I want to ensure that others would use the same words to describe me. This has to be done through my thoughts, words, actions and interactions. 


If I was allowed a fourth word it would have to be a word best explained in this poster, featuring Barney from 'How I Met Your Mother':

Image: http://www.sharenator.com/To_our_sharenator_Veterans/barney_stinson_awesome-174144.html

Managing people

I love the advice Duncan Bannatyne gives in his book, 'Wake Up and Change your Life'. The book is about how to start a business, but lots of the guidance in the book is relevant to leading schools. The chapter on 'How to manage people' is a prime example of this. It explains really clearly how to delegate effectively:

"If you're part of a management team, you want to make sure that everyone's roles are well defined and that you each know what you are responsible for, so that you don't step on each other's toes. These are my guidelines for effective people management:

• Agree what each of you is responsible for.
• set an achievable target.
• Set a deadline for achieving those targets.
• Meet at a regular time and place to update each other on your progress. 

Aside from that, leave each person to get on with his or her own job... When you're all hyped about your venture, there's a natural tendency to want to get involved in everything, and that leads to a natural tendency to want to get involved in everything, and that leads to meddling, a duplication of tasks, time-wasting and conflict. The people who work for you need to know what is expected of them, how their work will be monitored, what they have the authority to do without referring to you and the timeframes they are expected to work to. No one appreciates a boss who micro-manages their every move, and once the boundaries have been set, you should stick to them."

Chris Gorman later adds in the same book:

"Sir Tom Farmer, the founder of Kwik Fit told us something that I've never forgotten: it's all about people. You have to remember that your staff have lives outside work, and sometimes they might have had a bad day, but the more you understand your people, the more you get out of them."

I can immediately see how this advice transfers to working in school. It's vital to have a clear management structure with clearly defined roles, responsibilities and expectations. Job descriptions for each person should be clear, possibly tailored to the person who is most right for the job. It is vital that you play to the strengths of your team. It's important to value the person as a whole so that expectations can be realistic yet forward-driven. When I'm a headteacher I must remember this good advice.

Teachmeet Cheshire 2

In June I attended the second Teachmeet to take place in Cheshire. This time it was held in Macclesfield. I was able to take a colleague with me, and so I hope to run a Teachmeet-style staff meeting in the school next year.


To be honest, I wasn't as inspired this time as I had been in the first. Much of what was shared was geared towards secondary teachers. I did pick up lots of good ideas though. Here is a quick summary of what I learned:


Remember the beachball
Remembering that things can look different from a different point of view - like the colours on a beachball.
This is based on the principles of www.sumo4schools.com.

Voicethread
I need to explore Voicethread again. When I tried it a few years ago I was impressed by its simplicity. I think I just forgot about it!


Chair aerobics
A great way to get all children active!
Ribbon hero
Learn about how to use Microsoft Office by playing games.
One Note
I learned that OneNote can be used online now. I can see this being useful...
Voki
Voki is a free service that allows you to create personalized speaking avatars and use them on your blog, profile, and in email messages.
Marking
Possibly my favourite idea of the evening was about marking. A teacher designed a system to encourage his students to read his marking. He arranged for students to have improvement time at the start of a lesson based on his written feedback. However some students didn't understand what he had written. So he introduced "Rate my marking". The students gave a number to show how effective his marking had been:
1 I understand your comments and how I will improve my work
2 I think i understand you'd comments and I'll try to improve my work
3 Help I do not understand
This process provided evidence that your marking is being used and having an impact
Kodu
Kodu is a new visual programming language made specifically for creating games. It is designed to be accessible for children and enjoyable for anyone.

eCAPH

Each year in school we have a fancy dress day to celebrate our book fair. And each year I try to arrange a course for that day so that I don't have to dress up! This year I managed to arrange one for the afternoon meaning that I still had to dress up as James and the Giant Peach in the morning and then get changed to drive to Cranage Hall for an ICT event.


eCAPH was a mini-Teachmeet intended to raise the profile of this form of CPD to headteachers and senior leaders in East Cheshire. There was also the opportunity to hear about Uniservity's learning platform upgrade and Microsoft's new software licensing plan.


Here are some of the ideas from the afternoon:


Google lit trips
This site brings books to life by using Google maps to direct you to the places where each part of the story takes place.

Prezi was recommended - it's a tool for creating online presentations, as an alternative to PowerPoint.

Jingproject.com - great for recording screencasts.

The Uniservity learning platform is due to receive a massive overhaul in September. The new version, called Life, looks so much easier to use, especially for non-techy teachers and will make it much easier to embed things like YouTube in the platform.. A migration plan will be rolled out soon with a view to beginning upgrades from September.

Songsmith is available for free from Microsoft's Partners In Learning website. This interesting piece of software generates a backing track in the key that the person sings in.

Instruction manual

A powerful quote from this fantastic book which is very relevant to the way I am feeling about becoming a dad:

"The toaster comes with health warnings and instructions in twelve languages when actually it's dead simple. Yet the most complex piece of kit on earth, a human life, comes with no instruction booklet. We literally make it up as we go along."

I just hope I learn what to do very quickly!