Bringing STEM to life through real-world engineering – NAPE 056
Dr Hilary Leevers, Chief Executive at EngineeringUK talks to Mark Taylor about Neon. Neon brings together the UK’s best engineering experiences and inspiring careers resources to help teachers bring STEM to life with real-world examples of engineering.
Finding engaging activities to show where engineering is used in the real world can take time. So, we do the hard work for you, curating the most brilliant experiences so you know they are engaging for your students, are linked to up-to-date careers information and highlight real-world applications of engineering.
Hilary joined EngineeringUK as CEO in January 2019 and leads the organisation in its ambition to inform and inspire young people and grow the number and diversity of those coming into engineering. Previously she has been: Head of Education and Learning at Wellcome, building a team to improve science education through research, advocacy, funding and interventions; Assistant/Interim Director at Campaign for Science & Engineering working on a breadth of policy issues; and Assistant Professor at the Centre for Molecular and Behavioural Neuroscience, Rutgers. She is a governor of a 5 to 16 comprehensive school.
Social Media Information
https://www.facebook.com/NeonFutures
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EdTech – Covid and beyond with Al Kingsley – NAPE 055
EdTech has been central to our lives in education during the current pandemic. Today I chat to Al Kinglsey and explore how our old and current thinking can support us in planning a strategy for the future of your school.
Al Kingsley (MD of NetSupport) has been a school governor for the last 15 years and is currently Chair of Hampton Academies Trust in Peterborough and KWEST Trust in Norfolk. Al was appointed the Chair of the Cambridge & Peterborough county SEND panel in 2018 to steer focused improvements across the Local Authorities Special Educational needs and Disabilities support provisions. Al sits on the Regional Schools Commissioners Headteacher board for North London and the South East, and works closely with the local authority and all schools across the region to help improve standards of leadership, governance and develop greater levels of challenge and accountability in our schools.
About NetSupport
With 31 years’ experience and 18 million users, NetSupport’s market-leading solutions have been providing a complete solution to managing school technology, safeguarding students and boosting learning outcomes via a comprehensive range of teaching tools – all across mixed learning environments.
@AlKingsley_Edu
@NetSupportGroup
@classroomcloud_
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Eco Schools with Edd Moore – Nape 054
Please welcome our new National Council member Edd Moore.
Edd is a teacher and Eco Coordinator at Damers First School, Dorchester, Dorset. Edd has built up the eco work at Damers over the last 8 years from a blank canvas. Under his leadership, achieved the Eco Schools Green Flag three times in 2016, 2018, 2020, won Eco Schools Primary Eco School of the Year, Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Schools Champion and Jane Goodall Roots and Shoots Best Group in 2019.
With the help of volunteers Edd started a school garden from scratch including a bottle greenhouse so children can garden every afternoon planting vegetables which are then used by them to produce meals. The school gained RHS 5* status in 2017.
For three years running the school won the Young Enterprise Fiver Challenge with their environmentally friendly products including: Garden Grenades – recycled school paper mixed with wild flower seeds; Spick n Span – a multipurpose cleaning product; Waxtastic No Plastic – an alternative to cling film raising a total of £7500 in the process which was used to fund a nature area with pond and a giant solar powered stopwatch for the playground.
Edd has made Damers into one of the top Eco Schools in the country embedding the environment into the school’s curriculum. He started the Plastic Free Dorchester campaign with the Damers children who have made the school single use plastic free and help the town to achieve Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Community Status in July 2019.
The children and Edd took their “All in” Deposit Return Campaign to Westminster and met Michael Gove and the children appeared on Newsround. They have also inspired the community and people further afield to collect items that normally cannot be recycled at the curb side such as crisp packets, biscuit wrappers toothpaste tubes to raise money for the school’s eco projects and outside area, saving 100s of kg of waste going into land fill. The community has collected so much of this recycling that the local WI now sort and pack it up on a regular basis. They also formed part of the team to make “Boomerang Bags” an idea Edd discovered in Australia where groups make material bags for people to borrow from shops and so reduce the use of plastic bags. Prince Charles launched this initiative in May 2019 in Dorchester, even providing material for some of the bags.
Read Edd’s article in Primary First here.
http://www.damers.dorset.sch.uk/curriculum/eco-schools/eco-news/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/edd-moore-a0369b86/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/plasticfreedorchester/
Sustainable growth in multi academy trusts – NAPE 053
Since September 2015, Mark Lacey has served as Chief Executive of the Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust. The trust comprises of eighteen academies, across Wiltshire and Dorset. The Trust serves 3,500 pupils and has a clear and active growth strategy as it seeks to drive forward improvement of its academies, the vast majority of which entered the Trust under sponsored arrangements.
The Diocese of Salisbury Academy Trust has a vision for the growth of thriving learning communities, that provide everyone with the opportunity to achieve more than they ever thought possible. Christian values and service are at the heart of all we do, as we help young people to develop excitement in learning.
Mark served as Headteacher in a large challenging primary school in South Bristol. Appointed to headship at the age of 30, Mark led the school from inadequate to good. Key to the success of the school was the relentless focus on creating and maintaining an empowering vision for all members of the school community. Alongside this, development of people was key, and the school developed its own programme of coaching for all staff as well as being recognised as a Gold Level Investor in People.
Mark also led the development of the Malago Learning Partnership, a collaboration of 9 local schools. As Chair of the group he guided the development of a highly successful school improvement strategy, an in-depth joint practice development programme and a range of curriculum and assessment programmes. In 2012 he led his school through the academy conversion process. He has also served for a number of years as a governor at a secondary school within the partnership. which achieved its first ever ‘good’ inspection outcome during this time.
In addition to his work in school, Mark was very much involved in the development of the Local Leader of Education of education programme in Bristol through the National College, working in a coaching role with Headteachers to support them in the development and growth of leadership capacity; working with Headteachers to find solutions and ways forward within their own organisations.
Mark has a Business Degree from the University of Bath as well as a Masters, with distinction, in Educational Leadership and Management from the University of Worcester, the latter of which focused on the effective features of collaborative partnerships between schools. Mark has four children of his own and is very active in the work of his local church.
www.dsat.org.uk
Twitter: @thedsat
Linked In: Mark Lacey
Mark was involved with new research produced by PrimarySite. It questions how easy it is for multi academy trusts (MATS) to grow and how Covid-19 has made expansion harder.
Sustainable Growth in Multi Academy Trusts interviewed and surveyed MAT leaders and experts to get their insight on how MAT could grow. It identifies five important challenges: lack of available schools wanting to join MATs, a risk averse culture, competition from other MATs, a shortage of senior leaders with the right expertise, and limited access to funding to support growth. The research also found that managing immediate issues linked to the pandemic needed to take priority and would slow the growth of MATs plans for growth.
You can view the report by clicking here.
Physical Literacy Programme with Beth Tweddle – NAPE 052
As Britain’s greatest ever-female gymnast, Beth’s impressive achievements include being an Olympic Bronze Medalist, a triple World Champion, a six-time European Champion, a Commonwealth Champion and seven-times consecutive National Champion.
Along with her unrivalled success Beth has competed at three Olympic Games; Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012 – where she won Bronze in the Uneven Bars.
In recent years Beth has shared her passion for learning and education through her business Beth Tweddle Gymnastics. Following the success of these in person classes Beth has now created an online resource for schools.
PHYSICAL LITERACY PROGRAMME
Beth and the team are passionate about ensuring all children are still given the opportunity to have fun and stay active in school. Following government guidelines, we are launching a brand new Beth Tweddle Physical literacy programme.
This is a 10 week scheme of work, aligned to Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 outcomes across Science, PHSE and Physical Education, and is centred around the development of physical literacy and our Beth Tweddle Values.
The complete 10 week programme can be used for the whole school and each week is centred around one of our Beth Tweddle Values, such as Teamwork, Determination, Aspiration and Bravery. Your weekly pack will consist of videos and resources provided exclusively from Olympic Medallist and World Champion Gymnast, Beth Tweddle MBE.
https://www.bethtweddlegymnastics.co.uk/
For more information email samantha.scotland@btgymnastics.co.uk