The power of diversity in school
The provision of a diverse and multicultural environment has become an important factor for parents in choosing the right school for their child and a unique selling point for schools to differentiate. Not only does a diverse pupil roll support the school as a community, but it also nurtures a more united school body. True diversity, however, often means breaking down traditional barriers and accepting the fact that everyone is individual and that brings a whole new dimension to the school. For the school environment to be truly diverse, pupils should not be expected to conform to a fixed criteria or fit into a specific ‘mould’ because everyone is unique both in character and learning styles and abilities. Removing the racial, cultural and sociological ‘norm’ means that individuals are free to express themselves and become anything they want to be. In turn, this helps children to build their own independence, resilience and self-confidence. Many schools believe children work better in a diverse classroom environment because it allows them to push themselves outside of their comfort zones when they have people of varying backgrounds working alongside them. Often creativity is enhanced and education is generally more powerful due to the abundance of varying points of view, which also encourages the potential for collaborative working. School communities that span a wealth of nationalities and religions can really offer a powerful dynamic to the classroom environment and those that are able to build on that cultural diversity will, as a result, find they are able to provide a much richer, more diverse, academic and co-curricular programme. Yet, leading a diverse school is not just about embracing difference, actions always speak louder than words. For example, ensuring that you celebrate a range of different cultures, nationalities and religions as part of the academic and co-curricular programme in school, is vital. Celebrating cultural experiences and sharing knowledge whether it’s Chinese New Year, Harvest Festival, or German Lantern Festival means those important events are recognised across the whole school community. Acceptance of other cultures and beliefs helps children to understand what it means to be different while also encouraging a greater sense of comfort with these differences and also, to feel more comfortable in themselves. On the same token diversity is also about learning that as human beings, we are all the same and should be treated equally, respectfully and with the same level of consideration. Today, we find ourselves living in a world where integration and diversity should be at the very heart of a school’s ethos. As teachers, we have a genuine responsibility to identify those all-important cultural building blocks that our pupils already possess, so that we can continue to help them to build a greater understanding. Every child will respond differently to the curriculum and we must constantly flex and adapt to make sure that our teaching methods on diversity are also evolving and fit for purpose. Today’s diverse classrooms and schools are preparing children for careers in job markets with much less concern or confusion around national or community boundaries, which can only be a positive step. More importantly, as children grow and move forward in their educational journey, they will be able to adapt to new environments and cultural differences more fluidly with greater ease and confidence as they head out into the future world. By Rose Hardy, Headmistress at St Margaret’s School About St Margaret’s School St Margaret’s School is an independent day and boarding school for girls aged four to 18 years. Based in Bushey in Hertfordshire, the school is steeped in history and is among one of the oldest in the UK dating back to 1749. Offering a range of flexible boarding options for both UK and international pupils from the age of 12, the school is set over 60 acres of beautiful grounds and places its renowned pastoral care and proven track record of academic success at the heart of its culture and ethos. With a rich programme of extra-curricular activities, its girls are encouraged to discover their talents in a caring environment that fosters a genuine enthusiasm for learning in an evolving world filled with complex challenges and exciting new possibilities.
How video communications can be used in schools
What is the point of education? It is to create the best learning opportunities for as many students across early and secondary education as possible. Unfortunately, not all educational institutions have the ability or resources to offer the enriched programmes that they wish they could offer, and students could be missing out. New research has found that 91% of schools in the UK have had their funding per pupil cut and the impact of this growing crisis is leaving teachers and educators frustrated and feeling hopeless. So, with budgets being squeezed ever tighter, schools, administrators, and teachers need to take as many opportunities to save money in the future, without compromising learning. The children of today are gearing up to become adult citizens of tomorrow. The growth is parallel to the future of our country, reflected through the quality of the present education system. A school must stimulate curiosity in the young, impressionable minds and equip them with tools to be better human beings every way they can. One way in which teachers and educators can offer meaningful learning experiences for their pupils, bringing the world into the classroom, without overspending, is through the use of video communications. In our increasingly global society, it’s more important than ever for students to have an appreciation for and understanding of the world around them. Video communications can enrich a class through the addition of virtual field trips, collaboration exercises with remote classrooms and access to subject-matter experts all around the globe. From visiting world-renowned museums to learning about the stars from astronauts who have seen them from space, the power of HD video in the classroom can facilitate incredible, interactive learning experiences. One educator based in the US who is devoted to connecting their students to people and places from around the world is digital learning coach Ralph Krauss. He is passionate about connecting students with primary sources of education through the use of innovation and technology – something he calls edutainment. His edutainment learning has brought various experts in a number of fields to students including Grammy and Oscar winners to astronauts, governors, presidential candidates and many others. In our increasingly global society, it’s more important than ever for students to have an appreciation for and understanding of the world around them. When he began using video conferencing in the classroom it was primarily for 5th–8th grade (age 10–11). However, he has now branched out offers his edutainment service to nursery and preschool all the way up to through to school leavers and university students. Ralph explained: “I was a classroom teacher for a variety of grades from kindergarten (nursery) to fifth grade for eleven years. I found that there were certain topics and subjects that just weren’t sticking when I would simply read from a textbook. So, I decided to contact expert guest speakers to physically come in, so that my students could learn from a primary source of information. The distance was an issue, so I decided to connect my students over video conferencing with speakers.” An example of how Ralph brought these speakers into the classroom, without physically having to pay for them to come in, was when he used video communications to aid a project around the assassination of President Kennedy. He said: “I accepted a position to work as a digital coach at Pinecrest Academy of Nevada in 2016. This position was essentially a tech specialist position that had me supporting fellow teachers with adopting technology in the classroom. A colleague of mine was teaching his students about the assassination of President Kennedy and I decided to try this idea out with his students. I was able to connect the kids with retired Secret Service agent Clint Hill, who was present during the assassination. From his office in California, he was able to connect with students in Nevada to not only share his story but also answer their questions. This kind of learning takes on a deeper level than simply reading from books – it brings the facts to life.” Ralph went on to explain how these kinds of practices are not only enriching the learning experience for students but changing the approach of teaching. Statistics show that 65% of us are visual learners and this type of engagement is essential to make learning easier. Ralph continued: “I believe we have only begun to scratch the surface of what is possible with the use of video conferencing and visual engagement. We as a species are auditory. From the dawn of time, it has been one story handed down from one generation to the next orally and it has transcended cultures everywhere. Textbooks have proven time and time again to not always be the most accurate. What could be more accurate than a leading expert in a particular field?” But it doesn’t stop there. Video conferencing can be used to engage children and teachers in so many more ways than you can imagine. Children love field trips but unfortunately, due to budget, transportation, and timely preparation issues, these are becoming a rare thing on a school curriculum. By using video conferencing, children could visit a safari park in Africa or see icebergs in the Arctic – all without leaving the classroom. For teachers, the technology has endless possibilities. Teachers can broadcast administrative updates and school news straight to the classroom over video rather than holding assemblies. Or conduct remote parent-teacher meetings to help minimise scheduling conflicts or host video staff meetings and provide a recorded session for those who are unable to attend the live meeting. In higher education it allows for face-to-face meetings with professors and lecturers across the world in different times zones; it provides access to online courses and meetings with faculties from different universities. Plus, students are using these tools to connect with other students and experts across continents, to collaborate and work on projects together. Video communication enables students to take advantage of collaborative and hybrid classrooms. Using it to attend regular, in-class sessions for a particular course shows
Tackling teacher shortages – Aussie teacher placements
Romford Principal Stuart McLaughlin is tackling ‘head-on’ teacher shortages in the London Borough of Havering by flying out this October to Australia – where there is a surplus of teachers – to recruit qualified antipodean staff for his Borough’s 94 schools. English, maths and science teachers for the Borough’s secondary schools and main scale primary teachers will be top targets. Departing in October, Stuart will be flying out from Heathrow to Brisbane for eight days – courtesy of recruitment and retention specialist Supply Desk (trading as Teaching in Australia). He will meet a pool of candidates with a minimum of a Bachelor of Education Degree pre-vetted by its Australian recruitment team. A formalised matching process will be set up to enable Stuart to identify candidates suited to the specification given to him by each school in Havering, followed by a Skype interview with the leadership team of the relevant Havering school for those that are successful. Appointed overseas candidates for Havering will be invited to live with local families to help them to integrate well into school and community life. Clare Othman, Managing Director of Supply Desk Ltd, said, “When asked to identify the advantages of overseas recruitment, school leaders reported that international recruits brought different perspectives and experiences to school, which helped to diversify the staff profile, introduce new content and texts to subjects and broaden students’ horizons. These were perceived as secondary positive outcomes, rather than the primary motivators for recruiting teachers from abroad. The main advantage was that a previously unfilled post was filled by a subject specialist. Stuart, who is Principal of Bower Park Academy, Romford, will be charting his innovative journey in a video diary and will also be producing engaging 8-9 second video clips on his progress for use on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Commenting on this innovative approach to recruitment, Councillor Damian White, Leader of Havering Council, said, “Partnering with Supply Desk is an important strand of Havering’s recruitment and retention strategy which seeks to attract the very best teaching staff to Borough from across the UK and abroad to enrich its’ talent pool. “Our schools have reported that it’s getting harder to attract the right candidates, so earlier this year we also launched a campaign to promote Havering as a great place to live and work.” Please click on the link to see the video Living in Havering “It has the benefit of being in close proximity to London, whilst also having award-winning parks and great cultural facilities. It is also one of the more affordable places to live in Outer London. “We are very much looking forward to welcoming a new team of strong candidates to enrich our growing teacher cohort.”
How to overcome the challenges of a growing classroom
GCSE students will collect the results of two years of their labour today and begin planning for the next stage of their lives – whether that be another step in academia, or out into the working world. But as the class of 2019 departs, the onus immediately falls back onto school leaders to prepare for a new year, and an entirely new set of learners – and a growing classroom, too. 2018 saw the largest proportion of secondary school class sizes of 31 or more pupils in 35 years, figures which are set to increase this coming September. Meanwhile, the DfE projects that the number of pupils in state secondary schools will be 10% higher in 2023 than at present, and the swelling numbers are putting pressure on teachers, whose already heavy workload is being exacerbated by them having to dedicate more time to administrative tasks, such as reports and test marking. The growing classroom is inevitable, and so education leaders must find ways to overcome the challenges it presents. So how can this be done? Growing classrooms, growing challenges First, let’s take a closer look at the perfect storm of challenges facing teachers and learners alike as classroom sizes grow. The obvious issue is that the larger the classroom, the less individual attention each learner receives from the teacher. This is detrimental not only to those individuals’ learning but also to the teacher’s wellbeing and job satisfaction; after all, most teachers enter the profession hoping to lavish attention on pupils and enable every individual to fulfil their own potential. Many tasks, such as marking and reporting responsibilities, increase in volume as classroom sizes increase because certain tasks have to be repeated for every learner. Larger classrooms can also make it harder for individual learners to participate really actively, especially if they are particularly shy or anxious. In turn, the teacher has to work harder to generate an engaging, stimulating and rewarding environment which works for all learners – and, once again, this increases stress and may reduce effectiveness also. All this means that larger classroom sizes make it vitally important for teacher time to be optimised, particularly when it comes to those per-pupil responsibilities such as marking which grow alongside the register. Marking currently takes up over a quarter of the average working day, with many hours accumulated during evenings and weekends – add five pupils to the classroom, and that’s five more exercise books to add to the list. Assessment and learner progress have also become the intense focus of teacher accountability and evaluation, and whilst these qualities are certainly critically important, they again add substantial workload for every new learner in the classroom. And all this is happening amidst a broader context of substantial teacher pressure. Recent research suggests that a quarter of teachers quit within their first year, and another poll suggests that 40% of teachers plan to leave their profession within the next five years. The demands of an ever-changing curriculum and assessment framework, alongside punishingly long hours and wider political uncertainty, mean that many teachers are already struggling to maintain morale and even a basic work-life balance. Increase their average classroom size and that balance begins to slip even further in the wrong direction. It’s about time Yet many of these challenges circle back on a relatively simple issue – teacher time. Growing classrooms mean more time spent on marking, reporting and administration – and therefore less time on the business of teaching. Larger classrooms mean less one-to-one time between individual teachers and learners. Save teacher time, then, and we can begin to alleviate many of the challenges associated with larger classrooms. And this is an area where Educational Technology (EdTech) can really help. Many teachers have understandably been resistant to EdTech which they see as faddish, technology for technology’s sake or time-consuming to get to grips with. Interactive whiteboards, for example, have widely been regarded as a failure, having gone ahead without teacher support and driving no significant benefits for learners or teachers. They look impressive, but they are not nearly as high-impact as they seem. More low-key, yet far more impactful, is EdTech which focuses on streamlining and automating those tedious, but necessary, teacher tasks which take time away from the actual business of teaching and which scale up irrevocably as classes grow: marking, completing reports and assessments, and basic administration. There are now solutions available, for example, which enable learning materials to be quickly and easily tailored to the needs of different classes – or different individuals within a class, dramatically cutting down on planning time. Or solutions which provide classroom worksheets that can be automatically marked in real-time. Or solutions with integrated digital analytics so that the performance of individuals and groups can be tracked – and fed into reporting templates – far more easily. Harnessing these benefits depends on having an EdTech procurement strategy which is teacher-led, thinking not just about those tasks which are most appropriate to streamline via digital technology, but also about aspects such as how long teachers need to spend being trained on or on-boarded to new technology. It depends, also, on having the right infrastructure in place to support the technology chosen – that is reliable, high-speed connectivity throughout the entire school premises. And it depends on recognising that the most effective EdTech isn’t generally the flashiest device or piece of hardware to display to a classroom, but rather the tools aimed at streamlining convoluted processes and automating manual tasks, thereby freeing up teacher time. Growing classrooms are always going to be a substantial challenge for teachers and schools to meet – but EdTech can make the journey far easier. Written by: Stuart Hales, CEO of EdTech specialist, Wand Education.
Parents no longer needed for homework
Parents no longer needed for homework help as modern generations become empowered by smart devices, Lenovo™ survey finds New research released today by Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) shows how education around the world has been positively transformed thanks to smarter technology, creating a generation of independent learners and problem solvers. The research, which surveyed over 15,000 individuals globally – including the US, Mexico, Brazil, China, India, Japan, UK, Germany, France, and Italy – reveals that over two-thirds of UK parents (69 per cent) say their kids are more likely to look something up online than ask them for help when it comes to a question about schoolwork. The countries where this was most prevalent was India (89 per cent) and China (85 per cent), both of which have also seen a rise in parents using technology to assist with their kids’ learning in recent years[i]. The least was in Germany, at 54 per cent, where according to the Lenovo survey people are reported to be more wary about tech in general, especially in the classroom. However, tech adoption is beginning to become more wide-spread in Germany following an initiative from the government in 2018, to equip more than 40,000[ii] schools with newest computers and software. Parents depend on tech, too On the flipside, 62 per cent of UK parents also say they have, at least once, looked something up online and then pretended they already knew the answer when helping their child with schoolwork. This was most common with STEM subjects such as Mathematics (47 per cent) and Science (33 per cent). And this may link to schools too, with 82 per cent in the UK believing today’s students already have a better understanding of tech than those teaching them. Most UK respondents (83 per cent) agreed that advances in technology in education are helping both girls and boys perform better in school, equally. Likewise, a substantial majority of working parents (78 per cent) in the UK said current and new technologies encourage more parents to remain in the workforce due to the personal benefits it brings while also enabling them to stay more connected with their families. Tech empowering a new generation of independent learners While technology has many positives in aiding learning (use of high-speed Internet, automated translation tools, and accessibility features), 73 per cent of UK respondents said they have concerns it could create dependencies in young people, potentially affecting social skills, and 71 per cent feel it is affecting memory skills of students as well. On the contrary, 66 per cent of the UK said they trust technology is aiding future generations to be “more independent learners and problem solvers”. This notion was felt lowest in the US (59 per cent) and highest in India, with 91 per cent agreeing, which could be related to the country’s growing reliance on technology to help educate younger generations. A recent report[iii] established that the majority of mothers in India are using smartphones for parenting, with eight in 10 believing technology has made parenting easier. This suggests that parents in the country are seeing the true transformative power of technology, for example how some schools are beginning to adopt VR to create inclusive and immersive learning environments, supporting students facing physical, social or cognitive disabilities. As for youths themselves, Gen Z and millennials in the UK generally feel that technology has had a positive role in their education, with 31 per cent agreeing it makes it easier to find out about causes or social issues they care about. The sentiment was shared by the general population, too, with almost half (48 per cent) in the UK believing technology will be “extremely important” in solving future challenges in education. Psychologist and founder of Digital Nutrition, Jocelyn Brewer, comments: “Not only has much of the curriculum taught across the globe been revamped and updated in recent decades, but pedagogy and ways of learning have shifted as well. Many parents regularly report feeling unequipped to help their children with aspects of study beyond moral support and emotional encouragement to achieve in school.” “Parenting in a digitally saturated world can pose additional challenges for modern families, as educational technology might feel quite foreign to their own experiences of learning and socialising. Parents might feel overwhelmed and confused about how to best support their children to develop the academic, social-emotional skills that help them achieve life success as well as satisfaction. They are seeking practical and positive support that balances the value of technology to support learning and avoiding sources of distraction.” Dilip Bhatia, Vice President of User and Customer Experience, Lenovo, commented: “There is no doubt that the world of education is being transformed due to smart technology, offering children the opportunity to be adventurous and independent learners, who are empowered to find out the right answers themselves. As with everything, it is important to strike the right balance on and offline, but technology can be a uniting force for families. It is also important to remember that some parents are better equipped to offer children answers on educational subjects than others, especially in different regions across the world.” “However, our technology solutions allow students to experience immersive, active learning that is not confined to the classroom. And so it’s clear to see that world-over, tech is a universal leveler, allowing more children access to a plethora of information sources rather than being reliant on the expertise of adults in their immediate proximity.” About the research Lenovo surveyed 15,226 people in eight languages across 10 global markets, including the US, Mexico, Brazil, China, India, Japan, UK, Germany, France and Italy. The respondent sample was nationally representative of the online adult population (18+) in each market. The survey was conducted March 31st – April 27th, 2019 and the overall margin of error is +/- 1 percentage point (at a 95 per cent confidence level); the margin of error within each country is +/- 3 percentage points (at a 95 per cent confidence level). The survey probed respondents on how they view the role of technology in their lives and in society, both today and in
Collaborative working in STEAM and maker spaces
The current rise in popularity of robotics, coding and programming in STEAM activities is a sign of the times. Technology is moving fast and in the digital age we live in, the coding, robotics and indeed AI industries are becoming hugely important future employers for the students of today. The industry, quite obviously, sits on the T of the STEAM spectrum but it is an industry encompassing the whole spectrum of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. The programmer, the product developer and the packaging designer could all have benefitted from a broad STEAM education. These are individual functions with their own areas of expertise but they must cross over, interlock and be collaborative. The teaching of STEAM based subjects in a maker space environment fosters this sort of collaborative working and will stand students in good stead in their future career choices. Just as in any organisation, in a maker space environment, students with different abilities come together to think, solve, create and see projects through to completion. The collaborative way of working on a peer-to-peer level mimics real work situations. Just as an organisation needs to be organised, so it is with a maker space and the right choice of fixed and mobile storage options are an important part of getting it right. Students perform better when they take ownership of their own maker space, selecting their own resources, returning unused items and keeping their kit organised. For the teacher, it’s a win-win as self-service resources reduce set up and take down time, leaving more time for teaching and learning. Furniture and storage choices may all seem a long way from AI and coding but leaders in this area, developing products and activities with STEAM in mind are also recognising the importance of the physical side of maker spaces. In a recent collaboration, Gratnells donated several maker products to the Institute of Imagination in London. Here, they run daily maker workshops for a range of age groups so activities are planned ahead and organised into Gratnells trays. When needed, these trays a loaded into the award-winning MakerSpace and the recently launched MakerHub trolleys to create collaborative, mobile work spaces that can be taken anywhere in the building. This type of maker furniture and storage totally mirrors the flexible and collaborative nature of maker spaces. www.gratnells.com 0800 169 6854
Dorset School Wins Countrywide Gardening Competition
Hazelbury Bryan Primary School in Dorset, are the winners of this year’s Wilkinson Sword and Town & Country Gardening for Schools Campaign. The competition invited schools from across the nation to design a fruit and vegetable garden for a prize of £150 to spend on Wilkinson Sword tools and £150 on Town & Country gloves. More than 50 garden designs were entered from all around the country. This fantastic school in Dorset runs a weekly after school gardening club every Tuesday with the help of volunteer Samantha Sedgbeer. The club is attended by pupils of all ages and the winning design for the garden takes pride of place in the school hall for all to enjoy. Samantha Sedgbeer said; “It has been a privilege watching the children so engaged with the garden. It promotes well-being and self-esteem and it helps with literacy and maths, not to mention encouraging patience, resilience, team working and nurturing qualities”. Representatives from Wilkinson Sword and Town & Country visited the club on their last day of term to see the results of their efforts. The judges were impressed by the school’s design which highlighted the importance of wildlife, the environment and the benefits of gardening. Samantha expressed her excitement for winning the competition; “We were thrilled to win the competition, proving that although we are a small rural school, we are mighty! The tools and gloves have encouraged the children with their project and helped to make it all possible. We are so proud of each and every one of them and what they have achieved, and we very much look forward to continuing with the project in the new term”. Abbie Warner, marketing executive for Wilkinson Sword and Town & Country said: “We had no idea how popular this competition would be, but we were so impressed with the standard of design that the Hazelbury Bryan Primary School children came up with. They impressed all of the judges with their imaginative and competent design which made them the natural winners of this competition.” On the day of the visit the pupils demonstrated an enthusiasm for growing their own fruit and vegetables including potatoes, peas and strawberries. They took great delight in digging up their produce and sharing out among themselves to enjoy later at home. Further information about Wilkinson Sword’s and Town & Country’s range can be found at www.wilkinsonsword-tools.co.uk & https://www.townandco.com/
3 tips to help you promote your school at a fair
Richard Cutmore, Director of TFH Gazebos gives his best advice to promote your school at a fair. Whether you’re there for a school, college or university, attending a fair can help you recruit new students for the next academic year. But with so many other groups in attendance, how can you make yourself stand out from the crowd? Here, I’ll share with you my three top tips on how to promote your school at a fair. Decorate your stand When attending any sort of exposition, whether it’s a trade show or a school fair, the biggest mistake people make is not decorating their pitch. You want people to notice you and recognise your school as they walk by, as this will make them more likely to approach and speak to you. Decorate your pitch with your school colours and logo, including tablecloths, pop-up signs, banners, bunting and even a gazebo. This will make your stand instantly recognisable, and you’ll be showing potential students that you have pride in your institution. Use technology The best way to reach out and promote yourself to young people these days is by making full use of the technology they use in their daily lives. This includes adding video and photo elements to your stand to show off your school grounds to potential students. You could also make use of social media. These platforms can be a great way to reach out to students and parents, but they’re also useful for advertising. In the run up to the fair, post about your attendance and generate a buzz. Make sure you tell students where they can find you if they’re interested in speaking to you. You could also use these platforms to invite people to an open day. Give away freebies Everyone loves a freebie, and they’re an effective marketing strategy when it comes to fairs and expositions. Give away items that will be useful for students to use in their everyday school life. For example, you could give out pens, pencils, rulers and erasers with your school logo and colours on them. This way, they’re still going to be reminded of your school well after the fair has finished. Follow the tips in this guide and you’ll be able to stand out from the crowd when you promote your school at a fair.
Can technology help the most overburdened teachers in Europe?
Once again, teacher workload is in the news. The issue has been at crisis point for some time, and its impact on retaining members of the profession is profound. Recent figures from the 2019 Teaching and Learning International Survey show that teachers in England work more hours than anywhere else in Europe. Our secondary school educators pledge, on average, 47 hours a week to developing their students – nearly 10 hours more than the European average. Some will say that teaching has always been a demanding profession where going ‘above and beyond’ is the norm. Others will say that teaching is a vocation which calls for dedication and passion, and which is impossible to ‘switch off’ from come the end of the day. However, if we look carefully at the root causes of the strain being put on teachers, it’s rarely the actual teaching aspect of the job which raises problems, it’s the non-teaching aspects. It’s worth remembering comments made just over a year ago by Kevin Courtney, the joint general secretary of the NEU: “The continual long hours spent on unnecessary work such as data collection for arbitrary government targets is not only demoralising but is unsustainable mentally and physically.” Retention rates are down, with a third leaving the profession before they reach the five year mark. Teachers and unions have essentially been saying the same thing for a long while now: admin is killing the joy of the job. Adopting a new solution This year’s Education Technology Strategy unveiled by the Department for Education did instill a sense of direction. A technologically emboldened Damian Hinds pledged to strip away workload that doesn’t add value in the classroom and give teachers the time to focus on teaching. But, while the sentiment is laudable, what’s still lacking is concrete guidance on how this can be achieved. Importantly, schools need support on how to balance lowering workloads whilst improving measurement and increasing accountability; tasks which simply call for more work to be done. Investing in technology might be the strongest argumentfor Hinds to ‘have it both ways’ in terms of improving measurement and accountability while managing workload and positively impacting teacher retention. Mirroring the use of data in the commercial world, we now see more sophisticated adoption of analytics in education – with tech-enabled virtual learning environments powering this move. A learning management platform, such as Canvas, that is fully embedded in your school and used properly, helps save time by automating administrative tasks and reporting processes, driving better teacher and student collaboration, and a less admin-heavy approach to teaching and learning. Whilst some teachers may be concerned of automated systems removing control from the classroom, the right learning management platform and technology partner will not only replace old, time consuming systems and approaches that are not fit for modern teaching but also enable a new way of working that actually frees up teachers’ time to do what they do best – teach. Better measurement allows educators to understand students’ learning behaviours, which courses are being consumed and where students are excelling or struggling. This allows them to personalise students’ learning journeys and demonstrate added value. Why automation works So, automation should no longer be a dirty word in education. Indeed, just as students have to prepare for an increasingly automated workforce, and adapt their skills accordingly, teachers need to do the same. This means seeing technology as an opportunity to change how teachers educate and measure, as well as to tackle the untenable levels of admin. And with continued pressure over Ofsted results, technology can help schools retain or shoot for ‘outstanding’ or ‘good’ ratings. Freeing up teacher time to focus more attention on students is exactly the kind of practice that inspectors will be keeping a close eye on as part of the refined requirements around Quality of Education in the framework. Further to this, Instructure’s ability to capture data on learners in a more sophisticated way via the Canvas learning management platform has also fundamentally changed the way that schools can measure progress. Instead of standardised tests, which measure the ability to absorb and regurgitate rote materials, ongoing assessment must appraise research skills, applied knowledge, and practical ability. These tools are vital in paving the way to employment and beyond. The need for education to embrace automation is two-fold – develop technologically and reap the rewards of next-level data analysis or stand-still and risk missing out on the high level Ofsted ratings that are so sought after by educational institutions. There is an opportunity to both manage workload issues and take a more in-depth approach to embrace measurement and learning. However, for this to work, automation needs to be positively viewed and education technology needs to be embraced, even by the most traditional of educators. Sam Blyth Director of Schools, FE & Learning Providers – Europe Canvas by Instructure