Building Resilience in the Classroom – Lily Peters and Brad Hodgson

Lily:

As part of the October conference, we delivered a session on Building Resilience in the Classroom. Our plan was to show our colleagues a few ways in which we try to cultivate a culture of resilience amongst our students. We also focused on the need for teachers to build their own resilience bank. After all, when we fly, we’re always reminded to put our face mask on first before helping others – it is important for everyone that we look after ourselves first and foremost. 

After all, how are we to talk the resilience talk if we can’t walk the resilience walk? 

Marginal Gains:

Brad introduced us to the idea of the positive impact of marginal gains – a theory discussed  widely in PE. Brad will talk about this in more detail later, but here are our examples:

The notion is that there are a number of small things we can adjust to improve our well being as teachers. Minute changes that add up a happier school day. 

Marginal Gains in Cycling

Brad Hodgson’s Marginal Gains

Lily Peters’ Marginal Gains (sorry, I’m no artist!)

What would your Marginal Gains be?

Mentally Healthy Classrooms:

The activities I presented focused on research garnered from a previous Teacher Advocates session on Mentally Healthy Classrooms. In this session, which occurred just as life was beginning to ‘get back to normal’ after the pandemic, we rated ourselves on how well we facilitated each of the following statements. I asked our colleagues to place them in a range from ‘completely agree’ to ‘completely disagree’.

In our session in October, this led to some really interesting conversations – our staff body is hugely reflective. We recognised what we do well here at CLV: picking up on any signs of bullying, responding consistently to behaviour and having clear classroom routines. All this helps our students to feel safe and in control within their lessons. In general, we agreed that we need to focus more on encouraging students to articulate their long term goals and helping them to develop metacognition strategies. Does this sound familiar to you? 

Looking at these statements, what do you think you do well? 

Brad:

For my part of the workshop I focused on establishing exactly what resilience is, and what it is not. 

I looked at the 7 C’s of resilience established by paediatrician Dr Kenneth Ginsberg to act as a framework to recognise that, whilst we will be already carrying out many vital elements needed to promote resilience, these separate elements are more effective when utilised together and can help us to recognise areas of resilience that a student, or ourselves may be missing. 

The 7 C’s demonstrate the many factors that we must consider when seeking to improve resilience and that, by its very nature, it requires a holistic approach that in turn feeds into our work on mentally healthy classrooms, meta-cognition and retrieval practice. Only once these factors are considered can we hope to achieve the grand goal that we all strive for in our lessons – the enjoyment of learning.

In my subject – Art, we often hear accepted myths such as students believing they “can’t draw”. When these are compounded by adults repeating the same phrases they begin to believe that it is a valid excuse. Through rephrasing and educating we can make students understand that these talents are in fact skills and can be learnt. Through building character and confidence we can make students realise that they can achieve much more than they may at first believe and that perseverance is necessary to achieve goals. Through modelling failure as a ‘First Attempt In Learning’, we can make students accept this as part of their learning journey and not be discouraged. Instead they should be informed of the process of learning and strive to better themselves, rather than do themselves a disservice.

As a way of recognising areas we could tangibly improve within our own lives and students in their own learning, I presented the marginal gains theory popularised by Sir Dave Brailsford in his revolutionary work as performance director of British Cycling. Brailsford believed that if you make a 1% improvement in a host of tiny areas, the cumulative benefits would be extraordinary. These simple acts of holistic reflection can have a big impact on taking control over learning and gaining responsibility on behaviour and conduct.

Through reflecting on ourselves first, we were able to recognise the areas of our teaching practice and our work and life balance that may be restricting our progress. The end of the half term acted as an opportune moment to pinpoint little changes to our routines that could have significant impacts in regards to self-care as we head into the next term with the challenges winter presents us with.

From ITT to ECT by Danielle Jackson

For as long as I can remember I wanted to be a teacher and thought it would be a simple and easy job, oh how I was wrong. When I started my ITT at Cramlington last September I was all bright eyed and bushy tailed with the false impression I gave to myself that all the students were going to love me and I would be their favourite. That doesn’t matter anymore though, since completing my ITT and becoming an ECT I have realised it is all about building relationships and understanding it does not happen overnight. The hard work and dedication to get a relationship with the student is worth it because it shows them you care. I used to be sensitive to this. If a student misbehaved or was rude to me I took it to heart, I over-thought it and convinced myself it was because I was a bad teacher. Yes, I was too hard on myself and there’s not one teacher out there that could say they did not feel the same at one point in their career. But this term has been amazing. I have gone to a residential and got to know the YR 7s on a different level and made 18 beds. I have been able to go see some of my favourite Drama at some amazing Theatres. I have been made to feel part of something and found somewhere I never want to leave.

When I received the news that I had been given a contract at Cramlington I was over the moon. It meant for me that the relationships I had already started to build could carry on growing, with staff and students. At this point I thought I had big shoes to fill with becoming the new Drama teacher here. I came to realise that this was not true, I was a new teacher, with new ideas, and a passion for laminating (which did result in some jokes in the office about my enthusiasm) I knew that I could not think about what the other teacher use to be like but to think about what I was going to be like. This gave me a huge boost of confidence and realisation that it is okay to be different to your department and have different ways and different enjoyments in your subject, that is what makes it work. But now here comes the hard bit, I never realised how much I relied on the teachers in the classroom when I was an ITT, for advice, for help with BM and just a ‘you got this’ smile. I was now by myself in my classroom with the training wheels taken off, the freedom and independence felt amazing, I finally felt like I was a ‘real’ teacher, but there are some things they do not tell you in your teacher training that make you stand still in disbelief that it has just happened, with the realisation that Zoe, Alex, Jo or Phil are not there to save the day. Interesting thing is that they are still there to save the day, the support given to you as an ECT is incredible. You have so many people looking out for you and offering you advice and guidance that you never do feel alone. 

So I would like to take the time to say some thank yous to some very special and important people who have been there for me whilst starting my teaching career. Zoe who has been my absolute rock for the past year and half, my teacher, my mentor and everything in between. You always listen to my rants and cries and laughs and my stupid questions or comments. To the rest of the Create Team, Jo, Kayleigh, Nic and Steve you have all made me feel so welcome and part of a crazy little family. You answered my endless questions in the first few weeks no matter how many times I repeated them, you checked on me after you knew I had a hard lesson or day, you have made me laugh and be so happy to be a part of a wonderful thing. Ken, who is always there to give you advice and a friendly smile in the hallways. I will always remember the lessons you taught on our Wednesday afternoons together. Things that I can see myself doing and thinking back to ‘Ken said this would come in handy.’ and for always believing I could achieve this when I did not myself. Lily, Laura and Phil, you three have made this transition from ITT to an ECT so easy and have helped us all every step of the way. I look forward to Week 1 Thursdays all the time just to catch up and hear your advice and top tips. You look after us all so much and pick us up when we’re down. 

If you have read my long spiel, I just want to finish off by saying that sometimes it is hard to remember why you wanted to be a teacher, Lily and Laura got us ECTs to write down on a post stick note why we decided to take this career. I smiled as I wrote it as it brought back so many memories. I now have the reasons written on post stick notes and put on random pages of my planner for when I’m planning and writing down things and I come across them. It gives me that warm feeling again and I remember why I am here in the first place. Give it a go it will make planning better, I promise.

To any ITTs reading this, enjoy every moment of your teacher training, take all the tips and advice that you are given, keep a journal of the good times and the bad times to look over and remember how far you have come. Volunteer for trips and things you can get involved in. You will get there.

The Power of Music by Kayleigh Griffiths

As a music teacher, I have a very obvious bias towards music. It goes without saying that music forms a huge part of my life. I have played in brass bands since a young age and without the influence of my music teachers, I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today. But I truly believe that music has a power beyond what is taught in the music classroom and that even without realising it, it is an integral part of everyone’s lives. 

Music During Lockdown

This became more evident during the great COVID lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. How many of us found solace in music during that time? How many of us missed the joy of experiencing live music? How many of us suddenly found our evenings endlessly empty because band practice was cancelled indefinitely? (Ok, maybe just me then). 

Our lives were changed so suddenly in March 2020 and people found a lot of creative and inspired ways to entertain themselves. As I sat down to write this piece, I thought back to the various activities I engaged with to help pass the time. I was surprised at how many of them involved music and the ways I kept music in my life, including – music challenges (picking a favourite song or album a day), making playlists for walking or participating in virtual performances. 

Nationally, many people also found that music helped them get through lockdown. Looking at a survey from UK Music, the impact of music during COVID is even more evident:

• 57% of adults said music had helped them cope with lockdown
• Around one million adults say they have taken up an instrument during lockdown
• 42% say they listened to more music during lockdown

When you look at figures like this, it always surprises me the way various governments and influential figures have tried to suppress music teaching in schools. We would all notice if music ceased to exist. It is something that brings people together, elevates our moods, gets us through the hard times and is often used as a force for good. 

The Power of Music

The benefits of getting more music into our lives are endless and can even improve mental health. Music therapy is used in some cases, where qualified therapists use the power of music to help people deal with feelings they cannot put into words. In school, Music Mark published an article titled 10 Things Schools Should Know About Music which makes an excellent case for the wider inclusion of music in a school-setting. 

However, is there any proof that exposing students to music more often actually helps?

Oliver Sacks poses the question in his book Musicophilia – ‘can even a brief exposure to classical music stimulate or enhance mathematical, verbal and visuospatial abilities in music?’ Studies were conducted in the early 1990s and while the listening to music may not make a child a better mathematician, Sacks argues that there is ‘little doubt that regular exposure to music, may stimulate development of many different areas of the brain, and for the vast majority of students, music can be every bit as important educationally as reading or writing’. 

In The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, he makes the case for the advantages of playing a musical instrument. Researchers put to the test the idea of developing our ‘willpower muscles’ and found that establishing habits in one part of your life can help change the way you think and behave which has a knock-on effect for other areas of your life. Their findings conclude that practising regularly can help build ‘self-regulatory strength’ which can aid students with completing their homework on time. This achievement can trigger the reward centre of our brains and strengthen the habit loop within us, which motivates someone to keep up their newly formed habit. 

Obviously, I’m not suggesting that you start wheeling out the percussion trolley every lesson but even just finding small opportunities can help in a number of ways –

• Listening to music can cause your brain to release the ‘feel-good’ hormone dopamine, which can lift your mood.
• Music can stimulate memories and help you with remembering information – there’s a reason I still use the ‘30 days has September, April, June and November song…’ to help me recall the number of days in a month!
• It’s a good motivator if you need energy or encouragement, think about the sort of music you might listen to when working out or doing the housework. For maximum energy use music which is 120 – 140bpm (bpm = beats per minute, 60bpm is the same as the second hand on a clock).
• Studies have shown that music can aid relaxation and bring about a sense of calm, which can help if you are trying to relax or fall asleep.

Tips for the Classroom

So how can all of this translate into the classroom? Music doesn’t just need to be confined to the music classroom, there are many ways you can incorporate it into your lesson without the need for complicated planning or resources. YouTube is definitely your friend in this instance. 

• The power of silence – The first tip is actually a complete contradiction to everything I am about to say. Of course, using music may create a more stimulating environment for some students who might not cope. Sometimes silence is just better, so be mindful of your students and your classes.
• YouTube tip – You can remove adverts from YouTube videos by adding a dash ‘-’ between the ‘t’ and ‘u’ in the URL. Please note that this method is blocked for students as this can bypass filters. 
• Another YouTube tip – Need to loop a video so it keeps playing? Right click on the video and select ‘Loop’ from the menu – handy for entry or background music and you need it for an extended period of time.
• Just one more – If you need a video to play from a certain point, from the same menu you can select ‘Copy video URL at current time’.
• Entry music – Having music playing can be a great way to engage students in your lesson from the moment they walk in. Can you think of a way to link your lesson content to a song and use it as students come into your lesson? A word of caution – some genres are obviously not advisable unless you like whipping your students up into a frenzy in the first 3 minutes of a lesson! The slower the tempo the better.
• Revision tool – I’m sure this one has come up before in revision sessions, but setting information to music is an amazing way to help students remember information. Listening to music activates the areas of your brain which are linked to memory, which is why certain songs can stir emotions and recollections from the past. Here are some ideas –
  • Get students to pick a song and re-write the lyrics using their revision notes. 
  • Many subjects use songs to help students remember key ideas and concepts – In music I use this video to help with note reading. 
• Tidy-up music – This concept gets used a lot in primary and infants school and I know YouTube has plenty of examples, but like with the entry music, if you can find a link in your lesson to a song and it’s a bit up-tempo, why not use it as a tidy-up and ‘sit in your seats ready to go’ song for the end of the lesson?
• Focus music – In complete contrast to the previous two suggestions, focus music is slower, calmer and can help with concentration during silent/focused tasks. Be careful not to increase cognitive load though – keep the volume low, avoid anything with too many complex musical lines and avoid using music with lyrics. 60-80bpm is a good tempo for this sort of music – this is a good website to help you work out the bpm, just play the music and tap along for the speed. Some examples include:
  • Classical music – the fewer instruments the better.
  • Lo-fi music – as recommended by Zoe Dyer and her Yr13s!
• If using music for a specific purpose in your lesson for example, creative writing, setting the emotional tone etc. Make sure your students are given the chance to listen to the music first. Songs with lyrics are fine for this purpose if needed, but give them time to absorb what they are listening to before undertaking a task. Again, this is to avoid cognitive load, meaning they can dedicate their concentration to each specific task.

Positivity within education by Tilda Macphail

Embedding a love of learning and knowledge starts with positivity across all subjects. As a teacher of Art, some pupils in KS3 try to undermine and devalue my subject saying that they “can not do it”. It takes so much more effort and time to teach because I need to break down the stigma around the subject before the students can access what I am teaching.

During the training day before half term, Ruth Patrick spoke about how she has the same issues in Maths. Students who say they “can not do it”. She asked everyone in the school to try and change their language around maths. Instead of saying that you hated maths in school, say that you found it difficult but you persisted and tried. As well as doing this with maths I thought we should do this with every subject. It would not only make our colleague’s jobs easier, but it would also demonstrate resilience to the students.

I understand that speaking with pupils about your struggles at school can strengthen relationships and make you seem more relatable. I often tell students about my own dyslexia and how I struggled to learn to read and write. Despite this, there is a way to discuss this with students without downplaying the importance of other teachers’ specialism. Instead of dismissing other subjects let’s create a culture of resilience and respect.

If you still really struggle with finding a positive thing to say, we as teachers are surrounded by people who have dedicated their lives to the love of their subject. Why not just ask them why they like their specialism so much. I know the art department could go on for days about why we love art and I am sure most other departments are the same.

Every subject teaches important skills that hopefully the students will use for the rest of their lives. Skills such as how to be resilient and stay positive when faced with a difficult task.

Leading Parent Partnership Award by Tony Brown

Cramlington Learning Village is re-awarded the Leading Parent Partnership Award for a further period of three years.

At Cramlington Learning Village we are committed to establishing and maintaining an effective and purposeful working relationship between the school and home and we recognise how parental engagement can improve student achievement, reduce absenteeism, and restore parents’ confidence in their children’s education.

Schools with engaged parents involve them in school life, communicate regularly and provide opportunities for them to take part in their child’s learning journey. Parents can show this engagement in many ways both at home and in school.  For example, at home parents can read with their child and help with or check on homework.  Parents’ can also demonstrate engagement by attending events held in school such as information evenings, parent meetings and awards evenings.

All staff at our school take responsibility for parental engagement and understand their role in involving the family in a child’s learning.

On Monday 11^th July 2022, Andrea Hamshaw from Optimus carried out a rigorous audit of the evidence gathered to achieve the award. She met with Tony Brown (LPPA Coordinator), staff, parents and pupils as part of the verification process to reassess the KPI’s for the Parent Award first awarded in July 2019. Andrea was very impressed by and complimentary about all aspects of school, but particularly the work that we do in collaboration with our parents and carers to improve the lives and learning of our children.

Andrea added, “Cramlington Learning Village has excelled in embedding the work that it does in relation to parental engagement.  This school shows how the LPPA can be done by a secondary phase establishment when leadership and management of the award is given priority to support holistic outcomes for young people, their families and the community they serve. 

The action plan and page profile to show all the necessary links shows why the most recent Ofsted report praises the work undertaken on parental engagement.  This is obviously not a “bolt on” at this school and it is a golden thread running through out every day practice where the question “what about parents?” is echoed throughout the site.”

The information gained through the Reassessment Visit highlighted:

• The continued commitment of ALL staff to work in partnership with parents, and external agency provision where necessary, to support families to achieve positive outcomes for pupils evolves in line with needs.  This is also supported by the updating of the staff handbook used as an induction tool for ALL staff so that each and every person knows what is expected when it comes to parental engagement and their respective roles at Cramlington.

Parents – Although these parents were different ones to those spoken to at the Final Verification Visit the message remains the same.  There is a partnership of which they are a huge part!  Parents are always made to feel welcome at all levels across the setting and the same welcome is provided by each member of staff.  Parents definitely expressed the opinion that, in relation to communication, ALL staff were extremely approachable and that they receive information through a variety of media from both the academic and pastoral staff.  The school has embraced their comments and continues to provide relevant and timely information across the site.  The information parents view on the website is easy to access and comprehensive – this, added to the information from the informative handbook and FROG, enables them to keep up with all aspects of school life including behaviour, celebrations and progress data.  Information is still shared on a regular basis and when questions are raised they are answered in a timely manner.    The information parents have received may have changed in its media (e.g. some has now been virtual) but the content is still valued immensely.  Links with external agencies where necessary to provide guidance including training on e-safety (amongst many others) were again described positively and parents were supported by the school to access support. Again, this provision had been enhanced during the lockdowns in an effort to provide the foundation for staff to signpost on to other services that may be able to support families in a holistic sense.

Staff – Parental engagement is at the heart of everything that happens at Cramlington.  Communication with parents is viewed as key by staff and information sharing happens through many forms including e-mails, newsletters, text messages, website and via face to face sessions as well as virtually.   The open-door policy continues to operate and, as restrictions lift, the activities programme to support parents to be involved in their children’s learning and development as well as the opportunity to take part in celebrations and performances, will be resurrected.  The pastoral provision throughout the school continues to work in partnership with teaching, learning and development to support families holistically and to provide advocacy services when the need arises. Lots of information was shared about transitions throughout the site at Cramlington.  It was apparent that relationships with parents and staff commence as early as possible when children are coming into Year 7 to enable effective communication to begin.  There was definitely the feel that the staff had put in place additional measures to communicate with home as a result of the covid-19 pandemic which had further improved relationships between pupils, families and school.  Measures which have been seen to have a positive impact will continue.

Pupils spoken to at the Reassessment visit were able to provide a significant amount of information in relation to everyday life across Cramlington Learning Village.  They shared examples of communication methods in place between home and school including website, newsletters, school visits and the wealth of information that was available on the parent portal.

Students were of the opinion that their parents were made to feel welcome by all staff when they contacted the school, whichever method of communication they felt most comfortable with.  Again, each student was asked to provide a word they thought their parents would use to describe Cramlington Learning Village.  They replied, “welcoming, supportive, friendly, warm and pleasant.”

Tony would like to thank staff and pupils who were part of the reassessment day.

You can read the report in full on our CLV LPPA website.

Community Links in Art by Brad Hodgson

Cast your mind back to the beginning of the academic year and it was a time still filled with trepidation and the hope that we could get back to providing enriching experiences for our students and building links with the local community. Opportunities that are such a rewarding part of our profession, and an aspect that sadly in lockdown and through bubbled learning, were not a possibility.

The Art department has been fortunate this year to have had a range of interesting opportunities come our way.

Northumberland Archives – Cramlington Camera Club Project

The first opportunity was presented to us by the Northumberland Archive who have been working with Cramlington Camera club to commemorate their 50th Anniversary as part of a National Lottery funded project.

Beginning in March with a visit to CLV from the Archive curatorial team led by Jo March. Jo led the students, selected from Year 8-10, through the history of Cramlington illustrated by a series of documents and photographs she had selected to get the students to actively consider how things have changed and how, with their cameras, they have the power to capture their own unique vision of their surroundings.

James Routledge gets to grips with images from Cramlington’s past

A week later we had a great talk by Colin and Paul of the Cramlington Camera Club, who were thrilled to be engaging the next generation of image makers. They spoke of their love of photography and how, even as amateurs, they have been rewarded with so many opportunities and been able to realise their own personal ambitions from photographing the Great North Run, to heading out to Kenya to be part of a photographic safari of the Massai Mara.

  Colin Livingstone from Cramlington Camera Club

Students were then tasked with their own challenge to take a photograph that would show someone in 100 years time what their town is like. 

To provide context of where their images would eventually end up, the students had a trip to the Northumberland Archives at the Woodhorn Museum. Students were treated to a behind the scenes look at the extraordinary measures that go into preserving the region’s history. From a refrigerated room to ensure that no creepy crawlies are hiding inside old documents, to the use of non-corroding metals used in their paperclips. Student engagement and behaviour was exemplary and they really did CLV proud with their conduct and curiosity throughout the trip.

Upon their return students submitted their images which as well as being preserved  permanently at Northumberland Archives, were also exhibited at Cramlington Hub near Concordia leisure centre over Easter.

Our students can be so proud of their contributions to the archive with their images displaying great use of composition and natural lighting, as well as genuine thought about what should document Cramlington in 2022.

Eleanor Armstrong

Millie Hedley

Shed Project with GCS Leisure Buildings

Another opportunity we were presented with came in the form of local business GCS Leisure Buildings, who approached the department with a challenge for our A Level Fine Art students. GCS targeted the lockdown trend of “shoffices”, a garden room or shed used for work; the demand for which rocketed through the pandemic. GCS requested the help of our students to design interiors to inspire customers browsing these buildings at the company’s base at the Azure Garden Centre.

Our Year 12 class was split into two teams of students who were given a budget, asked to prepare mood boards and present their designs for a garden office or summerhouse. They then selected a suitable shed to create their interiors for. GCS was “delighted” with their ideas and the students then brought them to life .

GCS’ marketing director Ashleigh Galloway commented on the success she has had working with our students: “They’ve been amazing. They’ve created their own artwork and upcycled furniture. It’s not just been a case of spending the budget, they’ve managed it really well. We’ve already had customers commenting that it was helpful to see what they could fit into different summerhouses and how inspired they are by the relaxing interiors the students have created.”

She added: “We could have gone to a well-established interior designer but thought this was a great opportunity for these young people to show their skills. We’re definitely keen to work with the school again. I think they’ve done a brilliant job and it would be great if other local businesses got involved with CLV.”

The themes chosen by the students were Northumberland’s Night Sky, inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night and the country’s own iconic scenery, and then a Jungle inspired concept.

The students spoke to the press and had their photographs taken inside their selected buildings, which they went to GCS’ site to kit out with their upcycled furniture.

Isabella Robson, who is keen on a career as an interior designer, said her team’s jungle concept combined nature with the office. She said: “We thought it was really nice to have vibrant colours so your workplace is nice and lively but you can still sit down, work in it and have a bit of fun at the same time.”

Gracie Mair, who was part of the Northumberland’s Night Sky team, added: “There was a bit of extra stress, considering we’ve never done anything like this before, but that challenge really pushed us to be as creative as possible. I am so thrilled. It’s been a lot of hard work and it’s really paid off.”

Year 12 students in The Journal – 01/04/2022

We are so proud of our students and the impact they have had on a local business. The students were part of a feature in The Journal which highlighted their hard work and dedication to the local community.

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee 

Like many schools across the nation this Easter, we celebrated the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II with artwork from our students going on public display in the local community. 

We were invited by Cramlington Town Council’s Community and Youth Manager Maggie Martin to contribute to a display of artwork which was exhibited on bunting throughout Manor Walks Shopping Centre. The display featured entries from all schools in the town with over three thousand portraits of Her Majesty being created

.

Our students researched the many portraits created of the Queen during her reign and then contributed their own effort in their own individual style, which, when displayed together, showed the incredible variety of styles our students have.

We had many comments from students letting us know that they had seen their artwork ‘out in the wild’ and how proud they were to have been exhibited.

As a department we have been really pleased with the diverse range of opportunities we have been able to get involved with this year and it has really highlighted what the students had been missing out on. We are so glad to be able to add this element back into our provision. We are all so proud of our students’ engagement in these projects and welcome the chance to further our links to the community through future projects.

Duke of Edinburgh by Colin Alexander

I thought I would take this opportunity to pen a few words about the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, which has really taken off this year after a pandemic-affected hiatus. I am still riding on the crest of a wave of adrenaline after three successful Bronze expeditions in the Lake District, completed by a total of 127 participants from Years 9 & 10, including looked-after children, pupil premium, SEND, ethnic minority students and LGBTQ students. I have rarely seen such collaboration and cooperation across such a diverse range of young people, who were given maps and route cards and sent out across unfamiliar terrain with only distant supervision by staff. 

There were of course occasions when we as staff had to intervene, when participants had become complacent about following the boring old route and detailed instructions provided by me. I had a school phone with me, that they could use in emergencies. 

Towards the end of day two, despite the fact that the route card told them to turn right through the gate after the ruined barn and walk down to the footbridge, (this is between Rydal Water and Grasmere), one group ignored that and continued ahead. The inevitable phone call came – “Sir, we have found another lake”. I asked them, “Is the new lake on your right, and can you see beyond it a small mountain with distinctive rocks on its summit, with a cream-coloured house at its foot?” (Grasmere and Helm Crag). Lucy Bilclough answered in the affirmative, and I instructed them to continue on the path, following it when it bends left to join the road into Grasmere village. I drove around that side but had to stop when the phone rang again. “We’re in the lake”. They had now gone beyond where the path turned left and were plodging along the water’s edge. Oh how we laughed.

At the hostel they cooked for each other and washed up for each other, and genuinely appreciated each other’s company. Those participants who felt ill or tired or sore were well looked after by their peers. When Kleidi Premtaj tripped over his laces going downhill and hurt himself badly, Erik Pettersson and James Moretti took it in turn to carry his backpack as well as their own the rest of the way.  

Whenever we as staff encountered passers-by en route, we were told what polite and well-behaved students we had in our charge. Similar sentiments were expressed by staff at the youth hostel. 

On each of the three evenings in the hostel gardens, with Lake Windermere and the Coniston massif as a backdrop, marshmallows were toasted on the firepit and the young people (which includes the staff!) were regaled with Mr Alexander’s tale from the Louisiana swamps.

Underneath the icing that is the expedition, there are three layers of cake below, made up of volunteering, skills and physical sections. Some have spent several months volunteering out of hours in school, and many have been working in the wider community, in care homes, scout groups, litter picking and so on. All participants have to develop new skills, and undertake a regular physical activity.

Mention must also be made of the fantastic members of staff who gave up their free time to make the expeditions possible, and were just as enthusiastic as the participants, namely Paul Steanson, Nikkie Jane, Laura Pearson, Alexandra Casement, Steph Gallagher, Laura Couch, Trudy Cowan, Tom Harper, Danielle Jackson and Hannah Castles. They all deserve a massive thank you from me. Long may it continue, with a new, smaller Bronze cohort next year, and hopefully some Silver and Gold participants. 

Showcasing our Big Read in Art by Lisa Corken

Big Read, Big Write, Word of the Day, all have been trialled these last few years with the sole aim of highlighting the importance of literacy to the students,weaving in, out and across all lessons, a backbone, permeating everything they do both in school, at home and ultimately, preparing them for the world of work. As a department we have tried to not just view these as perfunctory activities, taking us away from the core elements of our subject, but rather, as a collective of creative professionals we have devised Big Read projects that simply act as a friendly hiccup in our usual schemes of work; whilst being intrinsically linked to the knowledge and skills we need our students to know to make good progress in our subject. Both our department staff and the students enjoy these lessons as they are short, snappy and offer an opportunity to work in a completely different way, with a different focus.

Our Year 7 scheme of work since September has taught students a range of observational drawing techniques using dry media, whilst they get to grips with the formal elements, adding tone,exploring markmaking and honing their observational drawing skills, all whilst looking at the fascinating range of insects in the world. During our Big Read we hiccup sideways and hone our focus onto bees; we read, then discuss their historical and cultural significance across the world. How the Egyptians were expert beekeepers and fed a sacred crocodile a meal of honey, or how scientists are working hard to create robotic bee drones, or worker bees that act as scouts and perform a waggle dance to let others in their colony know where to find the best nectar or pollen. I mean who wouldn’t find that interesting? Right? Students are given the carrot early on that their reading, resulting illustrations, then hexagonal shaped bee designs will give them the opportunity to create a clay tile. Mention the word clay to a Year 7 and they are instantly hooked.

Our Year 8 are working on a project called ‘Our Town’ where they create art based on Cramlington,working from both historical and contemporary references. Hook line and sinker, we tick every bit of that Cultural Capital box and we have the students thinking and talking about their immediate locality and exploring where they live in a real, engaging way. Art staff used a department CPD session to go on a photography trek and explore the hidden world of Cramlington, their Cramlington;the underpasses, alleyways, parks and streets that the students see everyday but don’t necessarily notice. None of the department live in Cramlington so this was a useful exercise in helping us deliver an engaging, first hand experience for the students. Our Big Read for Year 8 challenges them to think of how ‘old Cramlington’ was to live in. We introduce them to North East Artist, Norman Cornish and ask them to consider how life was back then in the days when mining was one of the chief employment providers. They read a poem by Dinah Newton Patterson, ‘A picture of ‘Canny Shankhouse’ and learn about humble homes, skipping children, laughing mums with pails of water, men covered in soot and grime returning home in the evening after a day working the pits. Our students illustrate the poem using the work of Norman Cornish as inspiration, all the while being fed visual information on what life was like back then for people.

Year 9 is possibly my favourite. We start the year by creating a beautiful concertina sketchbook full of bird studies; our version of low stake testing as they recap, revisit and remember how to simplify shapes, add tone, or how mark making is used to add texture and detail to their work. We use pencils,pens,colouring pencil and have just completed a painting technique sheet when the Big Read hits the year group. The Year 9 Big Read is the biggest hiccup to our SOW as we go completely off topic then we return to painting birds when it is finished. But the task we ask them to do, directly links to the project we do after they complete the birds, so it’s all one giant spiralling steady staircase of learning. We introduce them to the wonderfully quirky artist, Grayson Perry. Even after his Art Club show on tv over lockdown, most of the students stare blankly when we ask who has heard of him. They are soon hooked after watching a couple of educational clips on YouTube and meeting his transvestite alter ego Claire, and Alan Measles, his teddy bear who features often in his work and is a kind of father figure. We selected some fantastic passages from Grayson Perry’s autobiography that give us an insight into the idiosyncrasies that let us into the artist’s world. ‘I think that’s love; love is doing someone’s toast just the way they like it’ or ‘Aunty Mary was definitely a currant bun and not a horse’ is just too unusual not to engage them. Students highlight words and passages within the text that create a strong visual, then they produce an illustrated design inspired by one of Grayson’s ceramic pots. Later in the year we come back to the work of this artist and we build upon their knowledge to create a new range of work that explores narrative and mental health issues.

Literacy initiatives, maths initiatives, next it will likely be science and I am pretty sure in art we will embrace then roll with that too, It does make me wonder though when the big educational chiefs are going to truly focus on the well being of the students and start to place more emphasis and value onto the creative subjects like art, drama, music or the practical life skills like cooking. We spent so much of lockdown in our gardens, it’s maybe about time they learned how to grow and harvest their own food too. Learning inside and outside of the classroom and nurturing the soul has its place in the grand scheme of life, so let’s send out happy, balanced students who are able to cope with what life sends next. Maybe next it will be the Big Make or the Big Create and every department will be asked to incorporate Art and Creativity into their lessons. Perfunctory activity? We don’t think so, we love the Big Read, we like a challenge…we do it with style.

Top tips for aspiring middle leaders by Karen Clark

If you are at the stage in your career where you are thinking about what the next step might be, or you are undecided which route you see your career taking, there are several things you can do to learn a bit more about yourself as a teacher and what your strengths and interests outside day to day teaching might be. 

1. Observe other teachers within your department and in other subject areas to see a broad range of teaching and good practice. It also means you can refer to a range of sources in interviews
2. Carry out research into national and global pedagogy within your subject area, read blogs and tweets from prominent teachers within your subject area. This will give you a range of ideas which work, not just those used well within your department. 
3. Shadow your Head of Department or Key Stage leads completing quality assurance tasks to see how it works.
4. Look for CPD which builds on areas you are interested in and which would be a part of your department vision
5. Share your resources and planning, this is good practise for sharing your vision with your future department.
6. Always be developing and improving your own practice, recognising strengths and areas for improvement in your own teaching is vital, you need to consider your teaching strong enough to put yourself in a position to guide and advise others. 
7. Research the different types of leadership roles available, you may find that you are more interested in a pastoral, or SEND or teaching and learning role. Equally important to research schools and find one which fits your style, vision and moral compass.
8. Familiarise yourself with the data involved in any role you are applying for as you will possibly need to complete a data task in interview or answer a question relating to data and analysing data to generate an action plan 
9. Volunteer for things – add to your experience and knowledge of the workings of a department and school 
10. Don’t rush ! Teaching is hard, managing is hard, leading is hard. Enjoy what you do, listen to your head but also your body and soul. Be happy and healthy. 

News from the TA Marketplace by Kayleigh Griffiths

During our Teaching Conference back in October, the usual Marketplace event was hosted by our SEND department. Stalls were set up throughout many classrooms with TA/HLTA hosts delivering information and content for our teaching staff. 

ELSA – Emotional Literacy Support

With Jake Murdie and Dan Freedman, we were introduced to the idea of using visual structures to help students develop their emotional literacy. One such example was the Blob Tree, which shows a ‘variety of characters expressing a variety of emotions’ and is designed to start conversations with young people to help them share their feelings about the characters and themselves. 

Jake & Dan also included examples of books which also assist with emotional literacy. Including, ‘The  Invisible String Workbook’, which features over 50 creative activities to ‘comfort, calm and connect’ and helps children to build healthy relationships. 

Supportings Students with Autism

Chris Harrison and Liza Smith provided information about how to support students with autism and once again the Blob Tree made an appearance! There was also a range of other visual aids to help students express their emotions and feelings in a healthy and productive way.

A useful discussion also took place surrounding the use of fidget ‘toys’ where it was advised that we should change our language around these devices and refer to them as ‘sensory aids’ instead as the use of the word ‘toys’ could undermine their usefulness. These sensory aids enable children to ‘feed their senses’ in a safe way that works best for them and helps the young person to focus. I learned a lot from this conversation and it was interesting to discover just how many varieties of sensory aids were available.

Literacy Intervention

Jayne Claydon and Yvonne Goddard were covering information about literacy intervention including Lexia, Lexonics & Nessy. There was a lot of detail regarding how intervention takes place and the different techniques available to help students requiring literacy intervention. Some of this included sound training through games, learning about how words are made and sound chunks, and chanting to help embed information. It was really fascinating to see just how many different ways there are to support literacy in the classroom. The example belows shows the use of Vowel Diagraphs (two vowels that when placed together generate one sound) and ‘soft’ letter rules. 

Many of the resources on show were very easy to understand and used visual prompts to help strengthen learning. 

Effective Differentiation

With Kelly Wallace and Liz Henderson we learned about strategies for effective differentiation in the classroom. Once again, we were able to see a variety of aids that can help students who need additional support with their learning. The resources included key word lists and spelling rules such as the one seen below which covers doubling of letters when using a suffix. 

The examples below show a maths key word list which provides a useful prompt that can be used for scaffolding if necessary, and an English sheet which supports with discourse markers in exam questions. 

Supporting Hearing Impaired Students

Daniel Bower and Morgan Johnston were hosting a room with information about how we can support hearing impaired students in our classroom. They presented us with some very useful tips for teachers in our lessons which can be seen below. This also includes some beneficial reminder posters which quickly and efficiently remind use to be mindful when communicating with someone with hearing loss. 

I especially appreciated the resources which explained what it was like to live with a hearing impairment, such as the one below which described the types of loss and how it can impact on daily activities that some of us may take for granted. 

Sensory Impairment

Amy Hills and Megan Whitehill provided lots of information about sensory impairment, which describes when one of our senses; sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste and spatial awareness is not functioning normally. It was interesting to see the various quotes from students with such impairments, which really helps us to understand what it is like living with sensory difficulties.

‘Sensory sensitive children notice more sensory events than others, “I complain about tags in my clothing”’.

‘Low registration children do not pick up environmental cues and can seem disconnected, “I seem unaware of normal touch or pain – I often touch others too soft or too hard”’.

‘Sensory avoidance – actively avoids sensory input that is distressing, “I cry and shield my eyes from the sun and other bright lights”’.

We also had an engaging conversation about auditory difficulties in the classroom, especially relevant in noisier subjects (such as my own!). Suggestions for helping to manage this included having ‘quieter’ times in the lesson for a break from the noise and giving students a heads-up that there may be louder periods in the lesson before it starts.

This room also further endorsed the benefits of aids for students and to let them ‘feed their senses’ in a safe way. One such example is the use of wobble cushions to help meet the sensory needs of a student. The picture below shows an extensive list of strategies to help with attention, regulation and focus in the classroom.

Classroom Strategies for children with anxieties/anger management/visual impairment

With Mel Steanson, Caitlin Sales and Rachel Cook we learned about classroom strategies for children with anxiety, anger management and visual impairment. 

Rachel Cook provided some excellent subject specific guides for effective practice of supporting students with a visual impairment. These guides were taken from RNIB which has an abundance of expert advice helping teachers provide partially sighted people with the education they deserve. In the music teaching guide from Rachel I learned about Baille music and strategies for providing inclusive access to the music curriculum. 

Mel & Caitlin were able to supply a fantastic array of resources for supporting children with anxiety and anger management difficulties. Many of these were from Wholehearted School Counselling and Mindful Counsellor Molly and their beautifully presented and bright resources not only look amazing but provide some fantastic approaches for children facing emotional difficulties. One of my favourites was this Mindfulness Choice Board which had been cut up and laminated for students to use where needed. I’ve used the ‘Cupcake Breath’ many times in the BU Group and as part of vocal warm-ups to teach singers about breath control.

Another helpful website seen in this particular room included The Pathway 2 Success which also provided a range of social emotional learning (SEL) and executive functioning supports, strategies, and resources for educators and parents.