Emma Hall at BNC is currently working towards becoming the science lead at Barnby and North Cove Primary School and has written about the path she is taking in order to do this.

"In order to prepare for this role I have been taking part in science lead CPD run by STEM learning and teaching science CPD from the Science Museum in London. Thankfully, all CPD has been online and so easily attended after school. The science lead CPD will guide me through the role and expectations and provide me with the support I need to take on this new role. 

An important fact highlighted during one of these CPD sessions was that very few girls were taking an interest in science from upper key stage two and beyond. Also the general feeling towards science dropped around this age. It is believed that the image of scientists was not particularly positive (think Big Bang Theory characters). Science is not cool, is the general feeling. 

I found this very interesting but also disappointing. I particularly loved science in school and took it further to a degree. 

So I found myself thinking, how can I improve the science capital of the children in our school, in particular with KS2 and with girls?

My first thought was to initiate an afterschool science club. Lots of fun investigating and experimenting without the sitting, listening and writing aspect that comes with our usual classroom lessons. Freedom to explore independently, (with supervision for safety of course). The club has proven to be a hit, and the children have thoroughly engaged with the challenges set. 

My next thought is to highlight the range of scientific role available out there, and hopefully bring some representatives into school to talk about how science is important to their career.  We need to prove that there is more to science than lab coats and bunsen burners!

I am looking forward to developing my role in science through these CPD sessions."

Written by Emma Hall, BNC

---

Andrew Euinton

I came relatively late to teaching, having made the switch from legal practice a few years ago and all of my previous teaching experience has been in larger two-form entry schools - and mostly in central London. One of the things I found most useful when working in a two-form entry school was the daily reflective conversations I would have with my parallel teacher. It was a great opportunity to consider what went well, how we could do things better and unpick thorny issues. Having joined a much smaller village school within the trust, I'd say that these reflective conversations with someone who has directly shared experience but different perspectives and ideas, is the thing I miss the most.

Which brings me to the thing I am finding very useful for my own personal development - the regular virtual meetings of the English Leads within the trust. They quite clearly align with the PD Drivers (particularly re reflection / self-improvement and collaboration) but just as importantly, they allow me to work through ideas, unpick problems and bounce ideas off people with more closely shared experiences - there is a genuine value to this. 

As someone new to the Trust and just as new to the role of English Lead, it has also helped me to identify ways to improve my own practice quickly and efficiently. A good example of this is that in the last meeting, I shared that one thing I felt I needed to build on quickly was an understanding of what external moderators look for and received recommendations for CPD courses (which, with the support of Henry here at Barnby, I am booked to go on next Monday) and the names of people within the Trust with particular expertise in the area for me to reach out to. 

This is helping me to target my own personal development as efficiently as I can and also to feel part of a wider community which is just as important. 

Written by Andrew Euinton, BNC

Glebeland were collaborative in their efforts to raise funds for Children in Need by being 'Spotacular' and taking on Joe wicks 'Bearpees' challenge.

Our assemblies focused on the work the charity does to support children and how our donation would be supporting others.

Exhausted and covered in spots our pupils and staff raised £46.83

The Inclusion team and Glebeland staff have been showing determination and resilience as we collaboratively created a new Nurture class for pupils requiring extra SEMH provision throughout their school day. The space was cleared and set up to resemble features of the Link provision that they previously attended, providing space for teaching the curriculum alongside areas for regulation and reflection.

Our Reception class has had a major re-vamp courtesy of the Estates team with repainted walls, displays to create a clean and welcoming environment ready for our exciting addition of a Nursery/reception class next year. We have invited the community to join us for an open session to showcase the provision we will be delivering and to start the building of new relationships. 

Staff CPD

Chris led a very engaging CPD session in October, encouraging staff to use a variety of drama techniques to engage and enthuse writers in the classroom. We were all involved and were collaborative workers ourselves. Many of the techniques we were shown have already been used with the children in the classroom.

Pupil Parliament

A group of children from Greenfields joined the other schools in participating in the Pupil Parliament meeting in early November. The day was themed around bullying with the children being asked to contribute to the Anti-Bullying policy for the trust, engaging in a debate about online bullying and preparing resources for using during Anti-Bullying week. Many of the children were risk takers, contributing their views in a room full of people they did not know. They certainly had the opportunity to be reflective and collaborative too.

Trip to Hampton Court Palace

Some of our Key Stage 2 children at Greenfield travelled to London to visit Hampton Court Palace as part of our Three Monarchs topic. We explored the palace and collaboratively identified key historical people and facts. We had a workshop where we learned about typical traditions in a Tudor Christmas, comparing them to the traditions introduced by the Victorians that we still use today. This was the first time some of our children travelled to London and were very resilient with the long journey and being that far away from home. The children were able to reflect on their learning across the term whilst they explored the palace. 

Reflecting and Adapting our Writing Curriculum at Helmingham

Helmingham have been adapting their writing curriculum to incorporate their new Outdoor Learning focus. The new Nature-based writing curriculum puts the children at the heart of our writing cycle as they collaborate as a class to choose what to write following an immersive activity. The staff reflected on how we could improve the engagement of children in writing, and this is the outcome. Here you see the children being immersed in a writing stimulus outdoors where the children discovered a huge, mysterious footprint in the woods. 

Part of our PD day this half term staff reflected on the Nursery Vision, mission and Culture.  Our offer to families and how we can enhance this.  Staff worked collaboratively and agreed on targets that we can implement this term.  This has supported actions detailed in the Nursery development plan.

         

This term staff have identified areas for personal and professional development within their PPDR’s and we have already had lots of CPD attended and arranged.

One of the members of staff at Kirkley has focused on how music is embedded in the Early Years and how this supports children’s development. She recently attended a full day Little Beats training session at the seagull theatre with several other Early Years’ practitioners from local settings. The session was very interactive and she found herself taking risks, trying something new and also had the opportunity to network with other professionals. 

https://www.suffolkartlink.org.uk/projects/little-beats-cpd-and-networking-for-early-years-practitioners-and-musicians-in-lowestoft/

We have been fortunate to have another staff member enrol on her level 3 SENCO accreditation.  Providing early help and intervention, supporting children as early as possible to give them the best opportunities and access to learning.

A further staff member has successfully enrolled on ELKLAN training to support children’s language and learning development.

We look forward to feedback from training and implementing new strategies to enhance the provision that we provide for all children.

Parent Partnership

Kirkley Nursery held a week of Parent consultations in November, key persons shared professional conversations with parents and provided ideas on how to support children’s learning in Nursery and at home.  It was very successful and lovely to hear lots of positive feedback from our parents.

Staff worked collaboratively creating transition documents that have been shared with parents ready for a number of children moving into their next classroom from January. The children will start a three-week transition from the beginning of December.  This time and preparation provides the children with a secure confident start in their next phase of learning.

Year 6 working with the MHST

Over the last 8 weeks our Year 6 cohort have been taking part in Brain Buddy sessions with the Mental Health Support Team (MHST).  Pupils learn about how their brains work and emotions and strategies to help keep calm and in control. They learn that there are no good or bad emotions, they feel different emotions depending on what is going on around them. It is about how they act towards themselves and other people that is important.  Each session begins with a check in exercise so pupils have the chance to think about their starting point and there is also an exit checklist too for each session so pupils have time to reflect on what they have learned and how this could be used in their daily lives.  

The sessions then build up throughout the weeks with clear aims as follows: 

1. Learning to describe emotions and how these affect their bodies.

2. Learn about thinking and their survival brain, to know what happens when we 'flip their lids'.

3. Learn about the zones of regulation, how to lift themselves up and calm themselves down.

4. Learn about body skills to help with their emotions.

5. Learn about thinking skills to help with their emotions.

6. Recognise their thoughts and how this impacts on their emotions.

7. Learn about how to beat the 'brain basher' and think about the brain buddy support team.

8. Think about how to problem solve and what happens when we worry.

Pupils complete various activities and tasks to do along the way in each session from reflecting on scenarios, breathing exercises and completing self care plans.  Feedback from the year 6 cohort has been positive as Felicity, Aurelia and Hollie explains, "I use the body scanning technique.  You sit down and relax, close your eyes and think about scanning your body.  You start with your head and relax that part, then you think about your arms and relax them picking out each body part until you get down to your feet.  Then you would start the whole process again. You do this about three times, it does take a while but it makes me feel better especially before bedtime I am totally relaxed then and ready for sleep". 

"The adults who run the session are kind and understanding, they listen to us and I feel that they really value our opinions".  

Hollie went on to explain, "Brain Buddy's has helped when handling all different  kinds of situations especially friendship conflict.  I have to remember that thoughts are not facts and to see the situation that others are in."

We have seen a real positive shift with how our pupils tackle conflict and understand each other, which was reflected in the recent pupil voice survey.

Adam Blyth is one of our new HLTAs who has been at Riverwalk for 10 years as a TA previously He is releasing teachers for their PPA across the school. He has also taken on the role of being our new 'Eco Champion' and has so far developed a leaflet for all staff and ideas for recycling Christmas craft items. He hopes to launch having pupils as Eco Champions too. He is also getting parents involved with bringing in items to recycle into Art projects.

This exciting news is also being shared on our new Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553648642586

 

At Warren school, collaboration is at the heart of being a community school, which is why ‘Unity’ is one of our chosen school values. 

One of the most enduring and successful examples of this is Warren Association. On Saturday, they put on the annual Christmas Fayre, bringing together volunteers, visitors and crafters from the school, the community and from far and wide across the county – even Father Christmas dropped by to join in the merriment. The fayre raised over £2,800, with money still coming in for the raffle. 

This unity continues throughout the festive month, with children, parents and carers sharing an afternoon to ‘get their glitter on’ and create all kinds of Christmas decorations on the 5th.  

On the 11th, two of our Secondary classes are joining St. Mark’s church for a carol service, which we are hoping will become an annual event. 

The 19th brings more carols and cocoa, with children, parents and carers singing and signing all our favourite Christmas songs. ‘Sing Happy’, from a local theatre group will be putting on a performance and our own signing choir will be leading the joyous celebration. 

Finally, we are so blessed to be making new friendships and finding support from colleagues across the Trust, helping us all be the very best that we can be. 

 “God bless us, everyone.” 

One of the main characteristics that we have continued to develop in our daily practice and as part of the Whole School Culture is that of being Collaborative. Staff have shared Staff CPD sessions which take place in both schools. There is now much more emphasis on working together to improve the provision and outcomes of the partnership. This can be clearly seen in the shared planning responsibilities where named staff take on the planning for the different curriculum areas. It is not just in the lessons that it is evident but also in the educational visits that have either taken place or planned for. The whole of our Early Years and Key Stage one classes recently visited ‘Jimmys Farm’. Costs were reduced by utilising the size of the coach to match the number of children across the two schools.  Residential visits are also scheduled across the partnership for Key Stage 2 next year.

  

A curriculum area that we are really enthusiastic about is that of creating a ‘Reading for Pleasure’ culture. This has really challenged our staff to be resourceful in the way that they use both time in school and to encourage pupils to read outside of the school day. At both schools we have established a ‘Book Burrow’. This was funded by the Parent Associations. Children are able to engage in conversations with parents as they borrow and swap books. This has really increased the profile of Reading to everyone. Our Early Years classes have also investigated the possibilities of visiting local libraries during the school day. Our Acorn class at St Edmunds are already attending Eye Library. We continue to seek funding opportunities to develop our library provision in both schools.
  

Clip and Climb After-School Club

This half-term we have introduced our first off-site after-school club at the Clip and Climb climbing facility at the Marina Centre in Great Yarmouth. For a number of years now, we have tried to give our children a range of opportunities and experiences that many don't have outside of school to enhance each child's personal development. However, finding space for this within the busy curriculum can be difficult so this year we decided to offer a Climbing Club as one of our after-school club provisions. 

The Marina Centre allowed us to block book the whole climbing facility for the half-term at a great rate of £5 per child which meant that it was half the usual price for members of public. We decided to include transport (using the Trust minibus) to and from the Marina Centre for all the children attending to ensure that it was accessible to all. 

The Clip and Climb aspecting of the climbing develops independence as the children use each wall completely independently with the mechanism automatically tightening the rope as the child climbs, and then releasing them once they reach the top. As you will see from the video below, even though we are only half-way through the sessions, children of all ages and abilities can independently climb at a level that is suited to them. 

As part of the progression of the sessions, the children have learnt about the difficulty level of the different walls and understand how they can challenge themselves in different ways - this may be by only using certain routes on a wall, using different types of wall, or completing the wall in a quicker time. This has meant that the children have had to be reflective on their abilities and show qualities of risk taking, determination and resilience to progress and improve further. 

Although climbing may seem like an individual activity, our children have shown amazing collaboration in the way that they have supported each other - understanding that achievements are personal to each child - they have enjoyed celebrating the successes of every individual at their own personal level. Whilst one child may be celebrating the success of managing a few more steps away from the ground than they managed the week before, another child may be celebrating reaching the top of one of the most challenging walls, whilst another may have been working on the speed of their climb rather than the difficulty. One of our children even joined Climbing Club to see if it would help them overcome their fear of heights - the dedication and commitment they have shown has been outstanding. 

Thank you to Mr Smout for organising this opportunity for our children and to Mrs Saunders, our Office Manager minibus driver, and to Mrs Molloy, one of our TAs who accompanies the children. Finishing the school day at 5pm rather than 3.15pm is a big commitment to our children and something that we are very grateful for. 

Sponsored Firework Fun Run 

This term we have launched our fundraising campaign for our new outdoor play equipment to replace our current trim trail which is over 15 years old and will soon need to be removed, if it cannot be replaced. We are hoping to raise a minimum of £12,000 with fundraising and the support of the local community, in addition to applying for grants and using a small part of our budget (and other donations from members of the public) that we have been saving for the last few years. 

For us as a school, one of the most effective ways to raise money is through a sponsored event. We decided to launch the campaign with a sponsored Firework (due to it being on 3rd November) Fun Run. This involved the children and staff walking through the village until we reached the dunes, running across the dunes, and up to the beach cafe for a pit stop, before walking back through the village - in total 1.2 miles which was completed by all children from Nursery to Year 6. Parents supported us as we finished the run on the dunes and joined us at the cafe to celebrate. Each child was given a sponsor form and asked to ask friends and family to sponsor them in cash which they brought back into school after the event. 

We were blown away with the amount we raised - £1360! This was also a great way to launch our Go Fund Me webpage as it showed that we are committed to raising the money and that we have made a great first attempt. We have shared our Go Fund Me webpage through our Facebook page and emailed local businesses and celebrities. We were amazed to receive £1000 from a local Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe winning actress - never underestimate the power of a small school!

Yox Valley Hub Staff Personal Development

This term the children and staff across the Yox Valley Hub have taken part in the virtual Big Sing at Snape Maltings.  This was a fantastic development opportunity for the staff involved.  Creativity and musicality are vital elements of developing the whole child and being upskilled in this area by professionals has been a unique experience for our staff.  Our Key Stage Two teachers from across our hub of schools took part in a CPD workshop at the concert hall at Snape Maltings where they learnt different vocal warm ups and games to use within their own music lessons.  As well as gaining an understanding of the aims of the now annual event teachers have also reported an increase in self-confidence with the teaching of singing within the curriculum following their reflections on the training received.    

During the term, music leads from within the Britten Pears organisation visited Yoxford & Peasenhall, Middleton and Southwold Primaries to lead a workshop for the children and of course staff participated demonstrating collaboration between themselves and professional musicians.  Between the initial staff only workshop and the school based workshop our teachers showed both reflection and self-improvement by introducing and practising the songs required for the final performance.   

On the day of the Big Sing event, staff supported the leading of children through their warm ups and rehearsal ready for the live streamed performance of a selection of songs from the Friday afternoon sessions at Snape Maltings.  At the concert hall, over 700 children from across schools in Suffolk sang collaboratively to produce a fabulous choir.  The children and staff experienced the live piano playing by a professional concert pianist, had learnt sign language to be able to sign one of the songs and were led by 2 professional conductors throughout the morning event.

Staff have valued this experience to develop, or in some cases enhance, their musical abilities and confidence when teaching this more specialised area of the primary curriculum.  They have certainly shown themselves to be risk takers by moving out of their comfort zone to facilitate wonderful learning opportunities and links to the real world for our children.