“It is our ambition to be a Trust of outstanding schools and practitioners providing aspirational, transformational educations for every one of our students.”
The start of the new term saw teachers and support staff from across the Northern Schools Trust gather together for a CPD day.
Hosted at The Kingsway Academy, the day served as a chance for staff to reflect on the successes of 2016, as well as explore the vision and goals of the Trust moving forward. It also provided an opportunity for staff from all departments to collaborate and consider developments and techniques within their individual fields.
Chief Executive of the Trust, Nigel Ward, kicked off the day by outlining some of the key focuses for 2017. Principals from each of the four schools then took to the stage to discuss some of their highlights from 2016 and also pay tribute to the amazing results that have been achieved through Trust collaboration. Shannon Thompson, a former UTC student, also joined us to discuss the outstanding support she received from the UTC team, which not only helped her battle and overcome cancer, but also enabled her to achieve an outstanding set of A-Level results and gain a place on a Chemistry course at St Andrews University, Scotland.
Following on from the morning talks, staff and teachers broke off into their individual departments to take part in a number of sessions aimed at encouraging collaboration, sharing best practice and developing new, innovative ways of working. It was brilliant to see staff from across the Trust interact and engage with each other during these sessions.
Once all departmental sessions were completed, staff were grouped back within their schools where each principal led a session on a specific topic. Principal at Kingsway, Shelagh Potter, outlined a strategy aimed at improving progress of students in Year 10. ‘Walking-talking’ mock exams were the topic of The Studio session, as teachers were instructed to refer to this technique when feeding back on recent mock exams. A speaker from Elevate Education, an organisation who have worked closely with a group of Year 11 students to explore the habits of high performing pupils, helped deliver the UTC session which focused on embedding these good habits into classroom practice. North Liverpool Academy continued their focus on teaching and learning during their session, as John Holt, SIO SEND/Inclusive Learning from School Improvement Liverpool, led a session on the SEND Code of Practice.
As a Trust, this was the fourth time we have held CPD days, and they continue to be a huge success. They serve as an excellent opportunity for all teachers and staff to collaborate and share their knowledge and expertise.
We certainly can’t wait for the next CPD day!