The Schools & Academies Show 2024: Mapping the Future of Your School
#SAASHOW, known as the Schools & Academies Show, returns to Birmingham with an Exciting New Co-Located Show! This year the show will provide a space for school and academy leaders to connect, inspire new ideas, and explore key challenges and emerging trends that will shape the future of education. The Schools & Academies Show makes its highly anticipated return to NEC Birmingham on the 20th of November, presenting not just one, but two co-located events. This bi-annual event provides a pivotal platform where the education community can collaboratively prepare for the dynamic changes ahead. We invite teachers and school leaders to join this essential, bi-annual education policy event, offering attendees access to over 30 hours of CPD-certified content across 13 themed seminar theatres. Topics include SEND, Business & Finance and School Improvement, ensuring that the event appeals to a wide range of education professionals and key decision-makers. Register for free here. This year’s The Schools & Academies Show will feature both the EdTech Summit and the Independent Schools Conference, offering frontline teachers from diverse school settings valuable examples of classroom best practices. These insights are designed to empower educators to drive positive change and enhance outcomes for all students. Visitors will also be able to hear from over 200 leading practitioners, experts and government officials including: – Catherine McKinnell MP, Minister for School Standards, Department for Education – Sir Michael Wilshaw, Former Chief Inspector of Schools in England and Head, Ofsted – Simon Kidwell, Immediate Past President, NAHT – Emma Balchin, Chief Executive, National Governance Association – Sam Freedman, Senior Fellow, Institute for Government – The Rt Hon. Lord Knight of Weymouth, Minister of State for Schools (2006- 2009) and Chair, E-Act Multi Academy Trust – Sir Ian Bauckham CBE, Chief Regulator, Ofqual – Lee Owston, National Director, Education, Ofsted – David Clarke OBE, Chief Executive, Paralympics GB Each speaker, an expert in their field within the education sector, will present through a CPD accredited session, live debate, discussion, or specialised workshop. The goal is to leave attendees feeling empowered, inspired, and equipped with key techniques, guidance, and resources to drive improvements across their organisations. The Schools & Academies Show also offers attendees numerous opportunities to meet new people, forge connections, build relationships, and discover new organisations through dedicated networking spaces. Explore the ConnectEd Lounge or the dedicated Networking Lounge for The Educator’s Networking Hour for refreshments at end of the show, where you can connect, share experiences and develop key partnerships with peers. The exhibition floor will host over 200 innovative education suppliers, showcasing the latest cutting-edge products and services designed to support school improvements. With dedicated zones for specific exhibitors, including Estates, Workforce and Business, this is a place for attendees to source solutions for their school, academy or MAT and test the latest innovative products. Registration is completely free for Schools, Academies, MATs, Local Authorities, Central Government, Specialist Charities and the wider education sector. Register your free place to attend and be a part of the conversation with over 4,000 visitors across the show floor expected. Register your free ticket here
Schools urged to act fast ahead of new food waste legislation
Schools, colleges and universities across the UK are being encouraged to act fast and get prepared, before stringent new food waste legislation comes into effect early next year. Applicable to all businesses that generate food waste on site, the new rules state that all commercial food waste (be that preparation waste, offcuts, spoiled produce or plate scrapings) should be separated at source, stored and collected for recycling by a reputable service provider. Any business that fails to adhere will be liable to significant penalties. Richard Poskitt, head of supply chain/commercial at ReFood, the UK’s leading food waste recycler, believes that the move is a significant step forward. He said: “Every year, the UK education sector throw away a huge volume of food waste, contributing to a national mountain exceeding 10.5 million tonnes. When left to rot in the ground, food waste releases greenhouse gases considered 21 times more damaging to the environment than CO2. For this reason alone, mandating a ban is simply common sense.” While businesses may be concerned about the cost and disruption of embracing food waste recycling services, Poskitt explains that working with a proven supplier can make the whole process quick, simple and seamless. What’s more, it can significantly improve your sustainability credentials alongside. Mr Poskitt continued: “Legislation can often put added pressure on businesses, but the ban on food waste to landfill will instead offer immediate benefits. With the opportunity to streamline processes and improve environmental credentials, it’s a real win-win situation. “However, with just a few months to go before guidance becomes law, there isn’t time to waste. If you don’t already recycle your food waste, now’s the time to engage with providers and implement a reliable service. It’s important that you partner with a supplier that understands your business and can offer the flexibility needed to minimise disruption. This is key to achieving the best possible results.” As the UK’s leading food waste recycler, ReFood operates three state-of-the-art anaerobic digestion (AD) sites in Doncaster, Widnes and Dagenham. Working with businesses across the supply chain, ReFood collects 480,000 tonnes of food waste every year and recycles it to generate clean, green, renewable energy. Nothing is wasted during the process, with the residual digestate repurposed as a sustainable liquid bio-fertiliser for local farmers. Perfect for the education sector, ReFood’s unique ‘bin swap’ service sees full bins exchanged with clean, sanitised, replacements. This means that bins can be hygienically used indoors, enabling staff to separate at source with no disruption to service. For more information about ReFood, visit www.refood.co.uk, or call 0800 011 3214 and speak to the team about your requirements.
How to integrate reading for pleasure from Reception through to Year 6
By Leia Sands – School Librarian School libraries have been found to impact pupils’ general academic attainment, reading and writing skills, wider learning skills, and more. I am passionate about the need for every school to have a library, as I imagine every headteacher is, but sadly, I know of too many schools whose budgets are being squeezed and hard decisions are being made. Many libraries are being pushed to the bottom of the ‘essentials’ list, getting smaller or worse, going completely. Whether your school has a large, small or even no library at all, integrating reading for pleasure is crucial – from the moment children walk through the door to the moment they leave for secondary school, each and every year. It’s not something that can be done overnight, it’s certainly not something that can be ticked off a list, but by asking yourself six questions, it is something that can be embedded throughout the whole school. Q1. What do you know about your children? As the children walk through your classroom door each autumn term, take the time to find out what their reading journey has been like so far. Who are their favourite authors and/or illustrators? What are their favourite books? Do they have any specific hobbies, likes or dislikes? Are they reading at home, with and without adults? By getting to know your children as readers, you can tailor any reading corners you may have to the children’s interests, select enticing books for your year group and recommend exciting books to read. By taking the time to talk to your children, maybe by completing a simple reading survey, you can get the information you need. Q2. Do your children have access to books? To promote reading for pleasure, you need to have books that your children want to read, books that are diverse, exciting and inviting in a range of fiction, non-fiction, picture books, graphic novels, poetry, magazines and more. Easier said than done, I hear you say. Approach your PTA and see if they can support you with funds to purchase books, contact your School Library Service if you have one, apply for grants and approach your local bookshop to set up a wish list where parents can buy a book that the children would enjoy. Display your books too to create interest and conversation. During the World Cup we created a display of football books, in January we share books that the children may have watched film adaptations of over the holidays, share your best poetry books to celebrate National Poetry day in October – the possibilities are endless. And remember, books don’t just need to be in a library or book corner, they can be anywhere – on a table in the corridor, by reception, near the canteen or hall, in the playground, in a reading shed. Give your children the opportunity to pick up a book wherever they may be. Q3. Are your adults knowledgeable? Do teachers, teaching assistants, helpers and members of SLT show themselves as readers? Have you thought about starting staff meetings with book recommendations? We have a staff WhatsApp group, Book Buzz, where we share children’s literature that we are reading. I encourage all adults to follow authors on social media, attend author visits and participate in initiatives like the Reading Agency and Open University’s Teaching Reading Challenge, especially over the school holidays when they may have more time to read. Q4. Are your children excited about reading? We have dedicated reading assemblies which helps us embed a reading culture across the whole school. One for Reception through to year 3 and another for pupils in year 4 – 6. This allows us to tailor the books to the ages of the children and gives us a platform to create a buzz around reading, sharing different books and highlighting different authors. The texts we use focus on key events of awareness days such as Anti-bullying Week or World Mental Health Day or highlight books that reflect our children’s experiences, such as young carers. We also encourage our children to take an active role in our reading assemblies. We have ‘Books that made me a reader’ segments where children interview a member of staff to find out their current and childhood favourites. At the end of the academic year, year 6 pupils run the reading assembly, sharing their favourite books from their time at the school. It is lovely to see the younger children being inspired to read some of their favourites. Q5. Is reading a focus all year round? Whether it’s fiction, non fiction, magazines, newspapers or poetry, it’s important for your children to see that reading is important all year round. As well as the informal conversations you have as part of daily school life, think about the time of year – Christmas stories, Black History Month and World Book Day as well as writing and reading competitions – external and internal. In my experience, children are often motivated to read by their peers. Our Pupil Librarians/Reading Ambassadors provide book recommendations and act as reading role models throughout the academic year. Their enthusiasm is often more effective than us teachers telling our pupils to read, particularly as the children get older. Q6. Is there focus and communication at staff level? At Steyning, we noticed that pupils were struggling to connect with poetry so this became a whole school focus. We now have a poem of the week and a half termly poet focus in assemblies. We display poems on the back of toilet doors, office doors, classroom doors and walls, basically wherever a child could be. We hold a termly poetry slam that has rapidly grown in popularity as the children become inspired by their peers. Embedding all of these things into our school routine has worked wonders. Creating a love of reading is a journey. It’s developing a reading community which involves the pupils as well as teachers, parents, family members and any others that may come into the school. I
Are we doing enough to ensure our school communities have sufficient AI training and resources?
By Katherine Howard, Head of Education & Wellbeing at Smoothwall Many of us now find ourselves well into the rhythms of the new school year. Yet, amongst much of the consistency and familiarity, it feels as though the battle to protect children from online harm is becoming tougher and even more unpredictable from one year to the next. Keeping up with digital advances, particularly AI and its negative connotations and applications, requires time and most importantly, resources; both of which we all know are in short supply. So, while the dedication and commitment of school leaders and Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs) continues as the fundamental backbone to protecting students online, it’s critical to ask ourselves: are school communities truly being supported and adequately equipped to protect their pupils and themselves from the benefits and dangers of AI? It is of course important to say that AI has the potential to be – and in many applications of learning already is – a powerful and effective tool for good. Within the last few years alone AI has been deployed to enhance academic development, child safety, inclusivity and organisational efficiency. But we are fast approaching a scenario where if left unchecked and under supported the good will soon be outweighed by the bad. As the volume of AI applications grows, school communities are understandably feeling increasingly overwhelmed and underprepared. Without proper training and support, it will become more difficult to shield students from growing risks, such as exposure to inappropriate content and the sharing of explicit materials. Qoria recently surveyed school communities in the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand to determine the level of understanding around the impact of AI, specifically as an enabler of creating harmful content and CSAM. The survey found that almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents reported that limited staff training, knowledge and time were the primary challenges they faced when addressing the dangers posed by AI, CSAM, and the sharing of explicit content among students. This is a clear call from those in the school community for additional resources to enable the delivery of safeguarding roles more effectively. One UK college leader surveyed said “AI is a rapidly growing area that as a college we are trying (and probably failing) to keep up with.The goalposts move so fast that we are constantly playing catchup”. Navigating these challenges is no small task for any educational organisation, however big, well funded or professionally staffed, to overcome. For those on the frontline, it is essential that the whole school community – from leadership teams to students – are fully aware of the potential issues, understand them and ‘tooled-up’, in order to be properly prepared to deal with these challenges. The government has a role to play here too. School communities should not be left to navigate these challenges alone. They need clear guidance and resources from policymakers in the form of regulation to ensure that schools can access the training and support they need. The UK government does currently invest in AI in education, yet its focus is on the aforementioned benefits AI can provide to the quality of education. It needs to acknowledge the challenges it poses to students’ online safety and work with the school communities to provide regulation, policies in place and provide educators with the support and guidance they truly need. Supporting the school community now While some school communities may feel helpless, there are many proactive and proven approaches to address this growing threat. Whilst we wait for the government and wider communities to switch on to the issue, there are things schools can do: Develop an AI working party – we’ve heard from many schools that they are setting up an AI working party. This is a great way to align all of the stakeholders around a common understanding and put strategies in place to support the whole community. Regular meetings and discussions will also improve communication, empower staff, enable shared responsibilities, and promote professional development in AI, risk management, and response. Review and update school policies – by ensuring that your incident management procedures include those relating to AI-based incidents, with particular reference to victim support. Schools can also review their student curriculums to include education on AI, as well as explore its positive applications. Increase staff training – a better understanding of these issues would allow everyone involved to be better equipped to detect, intervene, and educate about the risks and consequences associated with AI. There are steps you can take to invest in ongoing professional development and tools for staff, such as scheduling targeted and regular training on the latest digital trends, understanding the psychological and social dynamics at play that underpin poor online behaviours by students, or policy sessions focused on intervention and support strategies through the tooling they use. Extend education to parents – measures that are put in place to educate, support and protect staff and students need to extend beyond the school community. By involving parents and guardians, you can make sure that awareness will help provide support and protection in the home environment too. Increase digital risk visibility with technology – those involved in digital safety within the school community know that they don’t have enough eyes and ears to monitor the situation effectively. Digital monitoring solutions, which are often supported by human moderation, can provide real-time insights into potential risks such as exposure to harmful content, inappropriate conversations and online grooming. These solutions can help you identify issues early to prevent any escalation at all. Crucially, this technology allows the school community to be informed, providing a swift and accurate intervention or response. There are content filtering solutions available that intervene earlier, preventing students from accessing online content that could be harmful to either their physical, mental, or academic wellbeing. School communities provide hope There is no doubt that AI has introduced benefits to education, however it has also introduced significant new challenges for the school community when it comes to keeping students safe
Join BBC Teach for an Anti-Bullying Week Live Lesson
In partnership with the Anti-Bullying Alliance, BBC Teach will be broadcasting an interactive Live Lesson for primary schools during Anti-Bullying Week. The programme will inspire children to handle disagreements constructively, without turning to bullying. Children will help CBBC celebrity, Hacker T Dog, put on the ultimate sports match where the players come together and respectfully work out their differences. There will also be lots of classroom activities to get everyone thinking about the different ways we can show respect to one another. Activity sheets and a teaching guide will be available to download on the BBC Teach website to help teachers prepare for the lesson. BBC Teach will be running a live commentary page on the day, giving shoutouts to schools taking part. Schools can send their shoutouts to live.lessons@bbc.co.uk with Anti-Bullying Week in the email heading or by using the hashtag #BBCLiveLessons. The 30-minute Live Lesson will be broadcast at 11am on Tuesday 12 November via the BBC Teach website (as well as available on-demand) and on CBBC. www.bbc.co.uk/teach
From Student to Educator: CV Tips for Those Entering the Teaching Profession
Transitioning from being a student to a teacher is exciting and scary. A good CV is a great asset as you prepare to enter the teaching profession. It shows your qualifications, experience, and your passion for teaching. Knowing how to present them is crucial to grab the attention of potential employers. Let’s look at some top tips for your new teacher’s CV. Understanding the Role of a Teacher Getting a teaching job is more than a degree in education. New teachers are expected to do: Lesson Planning Developing lesson plans to the curriculum and to the diverse needs of students is key. This means creating engaging content, choosing the right resources, and incorporating different teaching methods to cater for different learning styles. Classroom Management A positive classroom environment is essential for student success. This means setting clear expectations, maintaining discipline and creating routines for respectful behaviour. Good classroom management means students feel safe and motivated to learn. Building Relationships with Students Building a relationship with students is important to their academic and social development. Teachers need to show empathy, understand individual student needs, and create an inclusive environment that celebrates diversity. By connecting with students on a personal level, you can build confidence and a love of learning. Use experiences such as student teaching, internships, and academic projects. These experiences can showcase teaching skills such as communication, problem-solving and adaptability. Highlighting these skills in the CV positions you as a well-rounded person ready to take on the teaching role. How to Format a CV for New Teachers The layout of a CV is critical to presenting qualifications effectively. A well-formatted CV makes it easy to read and ensures crucial information stands out to employers. Here are the top tips for creating a standout CV for new teachers: Consistent formatting and clear headings will keep the CV professional and easy to read and make it more attractive to employers. A clean, modern font and plenty of white space will help with the presentation. Bullet points should be used for lists to make them clear and scannable. Soft and Hard Skills If you want to achieve a teaching position, you need to show a mix of soft and hard skills. By highlighting both types of skills, you can position yourself as a well-rounded person for the teaching profession. Here are the essential skills: Familiarity with educational technology is also important, as these skills can support teaching strategies and student engagement. Including extracurricular activities and volunteer work shows leadership and a commitment to a positive learning environment. How to Showcase Relevant Experience A CV should use practical teaching experience. Roles such as tutoring, mentoring or educational volunteering will give insight into your teaching abilities. Highlighting specific teaching placements or notable achievements will show your growth as an educator. Also translating transferable skills from non-educational jobs into the teaching CV can be helpful. For example, experience in customer service shows strong communication and conflict resolution skills, which are essential for any teaching role. Your Personal Statement The personal statement is an integral part of the CV. It sets the tone for what follows. This section should show your passion for teaching and the impact you hope to have on students’ lives. Thinking about your teaching philosophy and relevant experiences that match the school’s values will give insight into your commitment to ongoing learning and professional development. This is your chance to show you are engaged and enthusiastic as an educator ready to contribute to student success. Writing a CV when going from student to educator can be tough. However, with some thought and focus on presentation, you can create a strong document that will appeal to employers. A CV should show your commitment to teaching and qualifications. With these tips, you’re off to a good start in your teaching career.
How do you take your curriculum outside the Muddy Way?
Are you looking for ways to enhance your curriculum? To be more inclusive for your neurodivergent children? Then let The Muddy Puddle Teachers help. Here are a few of our secrets: The Rope Method Any picture a child has to make inside the classroom can be created outdoors; you just have to think big. We often ask children to draw pictures, illustrations and diagrams to represent their learning. But have you thought about taking this area of learning outdoors? The children can use more than just their fine motor skills in this activity if they take it outdoors. This is the joy of teaching outside the cross-curricular benefits, which are enormous. How to use the Rope method? Place the children in small groups and hand them a rope. This could be a plain coloured rope, the type you use for climbing, or a coloured one. A skipping rope will do, but you must tie several of them together. They can be cheaply purchased on Amazon and come in different lengths; you need at least 8m length ropes. Ask the children to work as a team to create the desired picture flat on the floor you want them to achieve. For example, children in their early years may learn about ‘themselves’ and you ask them to make a person flat on the floor using a rope. The rope is not easily manipulated, so it will push them into turn-taking and working together. Extend and Support Extend with chalk if you are on cement and ask the children to write captions or describe the process. If you are on grass or astroturf, use rocks and chalk to weave in English skills. Reflect This also becomes an excellent communication and language lesson, so ensure that every group talks about their picture and explains their learning to the other children. 2. The Bamboo Method Often, indoor practices can easily be translated outdoors and impact those objectives more because of the power of the cross-curricula and socialisation skills the outdoors brings. For example, grids! We use grids a lot as teachers to help children organise their learning, such as phoneme frames, tens grids, number lines, coordinates, whole and part models, fractions, and SPAG. How to use the Bamboo Method? Place the children in small groups and ask them to use 1m bamboo canes to make the desired grid, depending on the objective they are working on. Ask the children to make it flat on the floor and to do it together as a team. This could be a three-box storyboard, a tens frame, or a board game with many boxes. Extend and Support If on cement, use chalk to write in the grids. For example, you may ask the children to write out the word ‘cat’ on a phoneme frame, one letter per box. However, if you want the children to reuse the grid, using stones and chalk pens is the best option. Ask the children to write their letters on these and then place them in the boxes. Alternatively, in a tens frame, for example, natural resources can be used to make the units or represent the numbers. Reflect This also becomes an excellent time for children to use mathematical language and explain their learning, which is an excellent link for depth of knowledge. If a child can explain their learning, we know they have understood, which is far more impactful than writing on a worksheet, where we can not always tell if they have genuinely understood! Written by Sarah Seaman BSc/PGCE/MA – Outdoor Learning Consultant/Author/Podcaster and CEO The Muddy Puddle Teacher Limited Download our resource and take a 60-day free trial www.themuddypuddleteacher.co.uk Try a FREE Level 1 Outdoor Learning Course www.themuddypuddleteacher.co.uk Buy our Books with Bloomsbury – Click here
How prioritising staff retention can help address teacher shortages
Teaching recruitment is in a period of crisis, thanks to a perfect storm of factors that are limiting supply and encouraging a brain drain to other sectors. Little can be done by schools to affect the national trends, but taking control of retention is one sure-fire way to help limit vacancies, and maximise stability. The Department for Education (DfE) has consistently missed its own teacher training targets for seven years in a row, at a time when teaching pay has declined by 20% in real terms. Additionally, teachers are dealing with inflexible hours, excessive workload, increasing demands, expanding responsibilities, peer bullying, and even behavioural issues in children. Combined, these factors have led to a 93% increase in job vacancies for 2022/23 compared with the previous year, according to statistics published in the Teacher Labour Market Annual Report. The outgoing Conservative government committed to a £1.5 million mental health fund, new anti-bullying guidance, and steps to reduce teacher workloads, with proposals developed by the Workload Reduction Taskforce to reduce the working week by five hours within the next three years. The incoming Labour government has pledged to recruit an additional 6,500 more teachers, at the same time reviewing Ofsted services and standards, as well as focussing on children’s resilience and behaviour. While a step in the right direction, the measures will only go partway to addressing the 13,600-teacher gap left by previous years’ recruiting shortfall, and the outflow of teachers to less stressful roles. Schools, therefore, must take charge of their own workforces, and implement measures that boost retention while national measures take effect. From 6 April, updates to the Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 came into effect, entitling employees to make two flexible working requests per year (instead of one previously) and to do so from day one of their employment, instead of after 26 weeks. What’s more, employees are no longer required to evaluate the potential impact of their request on the role, and employers must make a decision more swiftly, within two months. Many in education have expressed concerns that while the regulation is positive, it can be impractical to implement within the education sector where term-time only working and concentrated workloads can make flexible working a challenge. Traditional models such as compressed hours and remote working don’t always match the practicalities of a school setting, which means schools must innovate to offer the benefits of flexible working, in a teaching-friendly way. Here’s how: • Timetable innovation & homeworking – In the past, timetabling has been quite rigid, with staff expected to be present on-site for all teaching hours. However, with the introduction of AI-powered predictive analysis tools, timetabling can now be optimised to ensure that each teacher is fully utilised while on-site, allowing for scheduled time for working from home or privately. • Adjusting the workload weight – The scope of teaching responsibilities has been growing; however, not all aspects of the role necessitate a teaching qualification. By reassessing all the different responsibilities and recognising opportunities for other staff members, you can expand the pool of potential employees while also enhancing teacher retention. Some positive outcomes have been observed by re-evaluating the requirement of QTS teaching qualifications in favour of industry experience in secondary education, as well as by seeking additional teaching support and resources for specialised subjects like music or mental health, which may not be considered core teaching skills in primary education. • Proactive supply staff management – Despite the fact that every school uses supply teachers, the management of supply staff often feels disorganised. However, we have found success in several schools that take a proactive approach by forward planning their supply resources. These schools employ “floating” personnel who provide support and cover classes as needed. More than £0.5 billion is spent on recruitment agency fees annually; about £30,000 per school. By better managing their supply staff, schools can reduce costs and ensure more efficient distribution of resources. • Incorporating technology – Digital solutions are often considered as a great complement to teaching, offering unique, engaging, and low-resource options for educating. However, there are other digital resources – such as information management systems for example – which can streamline teacher workloads and their administrative burden, freeing up valuable time to be allocated elsewhere. • Looking for partners – charities and businesses locally often offer services that can help alleviate teacher workloads, while teaching children key skills around resilience, behaviour, or social skills for example. Alleviating both the direct pressure on teachers, and the pressure created through bad behaviour can have an ongoing impact to teacher retention. Current government guidelines also suggest offering part-time working and job shares, as well as staggered or annualised hours. Having a more flexible approach to term-time annual leave for personal or family days for example, can be used to encourage loyalty and minimise frustration. Not to be overlooked is the need to make the school an attractive proposition for supply teachers, to make up the shortfall you do have. We have schools that our supply team can’t wait to go back to, which makes it easier to place and retain those candidates for long-term cover. Five years ago, the average supply teacher was working 2.6 days per week, but this has now risen to 3.5 days per week to keep up with demand. Making the school an attractive proposition, including being part of a team and making an impact, can support schools to attract this supply base. Many innovations have made the news recently, from St Peter’s Catholic School in Solihull who will be giving teachers one working day off in ten this term, to All Saints Catholic College in London who are switching to 12-hour days (with an atypical teaching pattern to cover the hours), to improve pupil’s soft skills and life skills, and provide time for better interaction. The sector is losing some of its best and most experienced teachers to other sectors with more ‘favourable’ employment terms. We need to look at how we work together as a sector to retain the talent we have, and to ride out what will hopefully be a temporary shortfall in much-needed funding. Insights from Naomi Howell, Managing Director, Class People Recruitment, a specialist education
Aurora Orchestra launches new service to aid primary school music lessons
By Jane Mitchell, Artistic Director, Aurora Orchestra At Aurora Orchestra we spend all of our time thinking about how to reach and move people with orchestral music. The ways in which we do this vary enormously, from opening up symphonic works and performing from memory at the BBC Proms to inviting our audience to lie down amongst musicians in our late-night series. One of the initiatives we feel most proud of is our Far Far Away (FFA)series, which presents immersive storytelling concerts for children in EYFS in KS1. When we perform our FFA concerts to families and schools we can immediately see the powerful impact music has on the young people attending. But we’re very aware that we are lucky at Aurora Orchestra – we have access to some of the best instrumentalists in the UK and our creative team has years of music training and performance experience to build our work on. We know that being confident in using music to engage young people does not necessarily happen easily. Over the past 10 years through our FFA series, we have built up relationships with primary schools, running CPD sessions and developing resources for teachers as well as performing regularly to pupils. This has been fantastic, but around five-years-ago we began really thinking about how we could make this work go further. Firstly – we wanted to find a way to leave teachers with more tools to use in the classroom. Seeing the children’s responses to our ideas, we wanted to find a way to give these over to teachers to use themselves. It’s easy for arts organisations to go into schools and deliver lovely creative projects, but it’s also expensive. At Aurora we’ve always felt that the way to reach more children sustainably and regularly would be to find a way to collaborate really deeply with teachers. We’ve also become increasingly struck by how powerful children’s responses are to seeing instruments played to a very high standard. We believe quality matters to children – we’ve seen whole classes respond when something is beautifully phrased or a particular colour of an instrument enters a piece of music. And so, we started thinking about how we could use our musicians to make recordings and films that a teacher could have to hand, to use for music, but also for any part of the school day. As 2020 brought a pause to our live activity we spent a lot of time thinking about how we might answer these thoughts, and decided to create one of our most experimental projects yet – Aurora Classroom. We built a set of online resources made up of 100s of films and recordings presented as part of flexible libraries and structured units of work. At the heart of Aurora Classroom is the idea that given the right support and resources, all teachers should feel they are able to use music in the classroom regularly and confidently. We realised from the start of this project that if you want to support teachers who don’t feel very confident teaching music you cannot do this lightly. Our team at Aurora know more than anyone that one of the main reasons we can do what we do is that we are sitting on years and years of music training. We didn’t want to provide something that suggested ‘you don’t need to know anything’ because we don’t believe this. Instead, we thought and talked and piloted until we found a way to provide a resource which combines our music expertise with layers of scaffolding, enabling teachers to lean on us as much and for as long as they need. One of the main ways we’ve done this for our KS2 and Early Years programmes is by creating a simple tab system for every activity so teachers can choose to lead themselves, using high-quality audio recorded by Aurora’s musicians and a detailed plan, or they can choose to follow a film with their class, and have an Aurora workshop leader lead the activity. Through focus groups and pilots in schools we found that teachers really appreciated the flexibility built into this, so that the decision to lead something themselves could be made at any point. As this resource developed we knew we wanted real expertise central to these resources and so one of the first things we did as soon as we could was to welcome two primary school music specialists onto our staff. As we had suspected, combining the worlds of concerts and classrooms unleashed a whole new way of thinking about reaching children and we are all learning so much about each other’s worlds. We’ve now made over 400 films and recordings for primary schools and yet, it absolutely feels like the tip of a very exciting iceberg!