Moving On

I have finally decided to move my blogging over to a Edublogs which is wordpress based. We use wordpress at my school, BCPS, and I enjoy the ease-of-use and flexibility that it has.

So I hope that you, if you are a subscriber (for which I am most greatful), will take a moment to modify your feed to http://neiljones.edublogs.org/feed/

Thank You & Happy Blogging

Are the media finally catching up?

The rise of teachers' blogs News crumb EducationGuardian.co.uk

Its wonderful that the Guardian have published this piece about blogging by teachers. But there is far more to teacher blogging than the "welcome to my world" approach that is discussed here.

The links at the side of this blog testify to the use to which blogging is put in the sharing of information and the spread of ideas. There is too much of the diary-style blogging around, its the sharers like Andy and Doug that need the spotlight.

Heads 'do not improve schools', but what about Roy Keane?

BBC NEWS Education Heads 'do not improve schools'

Another in the occasional series "Why On Earth Do You Want To Be A Head?" starts this time with research from the Policy Exchange think-tank - "The Leadership Effect: Can Headteachers Make A Difference?". Well an initial (and sarcastic) response to that question would be no, because even teachers can't make a difference, that would be the job of the classroom assistants!

The research has found that changing headteachers does not necessarily effect a great deal of change in poorly performing schools. Good schools remain good, poor schools, poor. What the report suggests is that only root & branch reform - changes in Senior Management & Governors - can really make improvements in school performance and therefore pupil achievement.

However, it is not the Head that makes the difference but the management style that they offer. I believe that any Head worth their salt in today's educational climate does not rule as an autocrat, but motivates pupils and staff. Provides the community with the tools that it needs to operate effectively. It can be about micro management, but the essence of successful leadership is how to best delpoy one's resources and keep a happy ship. Now if I can get my NPQH based in that soundbite...

As Martin Ward of the union ASCL points out:

In fact, the report says that the most important thing heads can do for their
pupils is to make sure that there are good teachers in their classrooms

The world of football management is rife with hirings & firings on a whim from chairmen of underperforming clubs. There are innumerable examples of how hiring a new manager because they are a "name" has backfired completely. Yet then there is Roy Keane. As agressive and antagonistic and talented on the pitch as any player could be, he had a reputation for being as hard-as-nails. Yet, in taking over at Sunderland when they were at the foot of the Championship, he has displayed a style of management that has belied what was expected from him and he has had huge success this season.

I am certainly no Sunderland fan, however, as a student of management styles his is one worth further investigation. A useful article providing some insight is from the Belfast Telegraph. And clearly his is a richer and more rounded approach than he perhaps was expected to provide. It certainly reinforces my view that sound management stems from an awareness of what the organisation requires from you not what you think the organisation ought to be.

A second look at school life | News crumb | EducationGuardian.co.uk

A second look at school life

How about this? Moodle on steriods! By using second life pupils have been taught in virtual classrooms within the ever more popular 3D online "meeting place". Reading the article it seems to be a really rather impressive application of web 2.0 combined with online gaming. Very impressive.

Now...when are they going to implant that cable into my brain?

Learning Brain Conference

Phil Whiston has sent the following information regarding the second Lerning Brain Europe conference.

The Learning Brain Europe Conference
4th – 5th June (Oxford) and 7th – 8th June 2007 (Harrogate)

The Macclesfield and Bollington EIP has sent delegates to the BrainExpo conference in the US for
several years and found it to be a major influence on our drive to develop teachers’
understanding of learning and their ability to create more effective classrooms.

They decided to re-create the BrainExpo experience in the UK, and the first conference was held
in 2005. It was attended by 1300 teachers and feedback was extremely positive. To ensure an
even better experience for 2007, they have invited back some of the most popular speakers with
new presentations, and have added a number of new names. All are renowned for their knowledge and their ability to inspire and motivate."

An important development in British Education & one which Phil is eager to promote through our blogs. So here is my bit to help.

The Tipping Point

Although I'm not a Watford fan, an interesting feature in February's Observer Sport Monthly caught my attention. Apparently Aidy Boothroyd is an avid student of management theory and is an advocate of both The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell and Moneyball by Michael Lewis. Although it hasn't done much for Watford's fortunes it serves to emphasise the importance of applying broader principles to the management of your chosen field.

Now, I wonder what Martin Ling's (Orient manager) been reading - probably his final warning from Barry Hearn!

The Ideas Hamsters

Searching for killer apps...

Peter Ford gave me Phanfare a online photo-sharing application. By registering as a school you can set up the site as it it were a section of your schools own webite or blog.

Then there is Netvibes. Like Yahoo's or Google's personalised home pages, but better.

After Doug's bubbl.us link there are also a couple of other online brainstorming/drawing tools: Gliffy & Freemind. Both different but worth looking at. Doug has also put a great deal of work into the world of Google and the tools that may be of use to teachers.

An interesting development from the Google universe is Google Co-Op. It is very much like Roll-Yo, which came out a while back (and I think I learned about through Doug). It allows you to create your own search engine. It is worth trying the Edublogoshpere. It could work very well for students, especially young ones like mine, who need fewer sources to wade through.

And then there are many more such as Twitter, Writely or PB Wiki

The list of tools (killer apps) is seemingly endless and is the cause of much wasted time! However the search for something that might make digital life a little easier makes the search all the more intriguing.

Bubbl.us

Here is my attempt at the use of Bubbl.us with my year 4's. They loved it! And were particularly patient while I fiddle at the computer!

Ideas Hamsters

That veritable ideas hamster Doug Belshaw continues to come up with more exciting & interesting toys for your blog.

One of them, bubbl.us, worked really well with my year 4's as a visualisation of our disscussion about the reasons for settlement & migration over the centuries.

Incubation Times and Infectivity

You know how its important to think outside the box in school management? Well here's a little gem that might help school leaders in dveloping Health & safety policies!!

Incubation Times and Infectivity - Patient UK

Because you never know when you will be called upon to act as an epidemiologist - one of your many roles as a Head!

More On The Headship Crisis

In attempting to work through what it takes to aspire to headship, I have to wonder about the current bad press that the role of the Head is getting. Take this blog from Mr Read's 'How Not To Teach'. It is a distillation of the recent debate on the paucity of applicants for headships in the state sector.

His links make for interesting, and frightening, reading & I include them here as a ready reference:

Falling
numbers of applicants
The psychological effects on Heads
Health survey
Numbers
aspiring to headship

As someone aspiring to headship from the Independent Sector it is clear that the lack of contact with the classroom is a big factor in the alienation that Heads may feel. They become desk jockeys that no amount of Leadership Training ever prepares you for. If we are to be prepared for Headship I feel that we must be prepared for they administration that defines the role. That then will provide us with a very different skill set from the one that has been previously promoted.

As Mr. Read puts it...

With workload and hours a major issue it probably wasn’t brilliant timing
to demand that prospective Heads have to pass the National Professional
Qualification for Headteachers. Its supporters claim that it’s a rigorous course
that will prepare candidates for the managerial qualities needed in a modern
education system. An alternative view is that that the paper-laden NPQH is there
to churn out a line of lobotomised robots who will uncritically implement every
directive from the DfES rather than produce excellent pedagogues who can inspire
and enthuse a new generation of teachers.

However it has to be that unique blend of pedagogoue & pedant which makes for a sucessful head. And the NCSL must look to how this can be done & not march on with motivational courses which inspire but do not prepare.

Snow Day

When it snows...

With the excitement of our current snowy, winter wonderland, here is some advice to those who feel that they ought to add to the choas on the roads...

...stay home & build a snowman



Snow Day 07 on Vimeo

The Challenge of Headship

Independent Online Edition > Schools

To add my twopenny worth (from the Independent...)

In theory there has never been a better time to be a head teacher. In the
secondary sector, salaries have soared in recent years, with £100,000 packages
not unusual for the larger urban schools, while Brent in north-west London
recently advertised for a primary head at £90,000.

I have, at last reached my career enlightenment and finally understand that Headship is not simply a progression from Deputy. It is entirely another job altogether, one that we are not prepared for just by teaching for years.

As Peter Stanford, in the Independent points out:

She [Kerry George of the NAHT] also believes that imposing
career expectations from the commercial sector on to the teaching profession can
be a mistake. "There seems to be an assumption in government thinking," she
reflects, "that every classroom teacher has a headteacher's baton in their
knapsack. But that isn't why many people go into teaching and the whole way
teacher training is set up has little to do with an expectation that you may one
day end up as head."

And yet, I have met many inspiring teachers in both the Maintained & Independent Sectors who should be the leaders of their communities yet do not feel that it is for them. I am very afraid that what we will get are passionless, vision-free heads who are simply a safe pair of hands. And who's decision will that be?

A safe pair of hands is exactly what Authorities and Governors want, of course. But it is, I am convinced, only part of the story. A head has to carry their passion for education with them from their career as a teacher. However, they have to understand how to realise that vision in a way that carries the whole community along. Communicating to children, parents, governors and any others with an interest in the school. And the sooner that the teachers with real passion for education are trained how to do this, the better.

Use Your Head, Teach at Hornton

With the IAPS Aspiring Heads conference this weekend, a timely reminder of our priorities in leading a school. Now if only the governors who interview candidates were looking for the same person...

Who really Matters

With the IAPS Aspiring Heads Conference this weeken, here is a timely reminder as to where our priorities lie when leading a school.

Horton School Wants A Head

Now, if only the governors had the same person specification...

Miles Berry :: Weblog :: Those learning platform service providers in full...

For Future Reference...
Miles has listed a number of Learning Platform providers & points out the continued lack of air space being given to those open source providers like Moodle. Still bills, must be paid!

Miles Berry :: Weblog :: Those learning platform service providers in full...

Is this the future?

A fascinating read through the Primary IB information...

With our increasing disquiet over the National Curriculum, its constraints & its assessment, the time is approaching to reconsider just what & more importantly how we are delivering learning opportunities to our pupils.

IB Primary Years Programme curriculum framework overview