Newsletter Achieving Excellence Together July 2017 – Issue 22

HER CANOL DE CYMRU Central South Governors' CENTRAL SOUTH CHALLENGE w Conference: Successful Futures Emma Saunders, Governor Support Officer at CSC In This Issue... On Wednesday the 7th June, Cardiff City Stadium was abuzz as the Central South Consortium held its very first conference specifically aimed at governors. The theme of the conference was centred on Welsh Language Charter p3 Successful Futures and the new curriculum. Greenfield Celebrates The aim of the conference was to share information on the key Double Excellent p4 changes to education in Wales over the coming months and years Future Middle Leaders as well as giving governors the opportunity to network, socialise Programme p5 and share their experiences. Teaching Awards Cymru p6 Governors play a key yet often unseen role within schools and the School Improvement Central South Consortium aims to recognise all their hard work Groups p8 by organising events like this, ensuring they feel supported and Focus On: Modern Foreign prepared for the many challenges they face in their role. Languages p11 Ninian Park Primary School were perfect hosts, greeting guests Valleys Schools Visit to and ensuring all governors were signed in and allocated a badge School 21 p14 and resource pack on arrival. Governors were then entertained by pupils from Ysgol y Wern which was an excellent start to the day. We were delighted that Professor Donaldson, author of Successful Futures, was able to join us on the day, delivering what governors described as an ‘amazing’ opening speech, where he For more information on the discussed the vision for Successful Futures Central South Consortium or if and the impact it will have on schools going you would like to contribute to forward. This was streamed live via Twitter on this newsletter, contact us at: the day and can be viewed here. Both CSC and [email protected] external providers, such as Welsh Government, or telephone 01443 827500. Estyn and Governors Wales, were on hand throughout the day hosting briefings on key areas including the Sign up here to keep up to Digital Competence Framework, the new Inspection Framework date with the latest news and and curriculum reform. Governors also had the opportunity to updates from the region in our attend a variety of workshops including an update on changes to weekly school bulletin, see our GCSEs, self improving schools, hwb and Pioneer Schools. new CSC blog and follow our Both the briefings and workshops were very well received by those Twitter feed @CSCJES who attended and speakers were described as ‘first class’. The sessions generated a healthy discussion and governors were fully engaged throughout the day. Continued on page 2

www.cscjes.org.uk The Pioneer Schools workshop, delivered by Luke Tweedley, Lead Practitioner for Teaching and Learning at Cadoxton Primary School, was extremely popular. With the new curriculum on the horizon, governors were excited to see the excellent work being done by current Pioneers and share good practice and experiences. This conference has helped and supported governors’ knowledge and learning with regards to the new curriculum. Professor Donaldson’s keynote speech covered many of the concerns that governors may have, and the Q&A session also allowed for questions directly from the floor. The world of education is ever-changing, so to support governors across the region we will provide informative events annually. These are important networking opportunities for governors, in addition to our Governor Improvement Groups (GIGs), and will certainly be a catalyst for more school to school working within the region. On behalf of the Central South Consortium, we would like to extend thanks to those governors who attended and the excellent providers who joined us to host briefings and workshops on the day.

During the day, we were fortunate to spend some time with Professor Graham Donaldson who took questions on Successful Futures from the Chair of the CSC Governor Steering Group, Dr Martin Price. Professor Donaldson spoke about the background to his report, the Welsh and international context and gave some useful tips for teachers and governors. You can watch the interview in full here.

We received some great feedback from governors who attended the conference. A big thank you to all who attended!

"It was a great "As a parent and a "Thanks for a very successful and idea to run this parent governor, I conference and have have enjoyed the worthwhile conference. Please start planning the next one!" Governors feel part time to become of a bigger team." informed and feel a part of Education in

Wales." "Excellent programme, very informative and well organised."

"I now feel more confident our school is going in the right direction with regards to delivery of the new curriculum and Professor Donaldson’s Vision for our children in Wales."

www.cscjes.org.uk 2 Launch of the Welsh Language Charter Richard Carbis, Welsh Standards and Policy Officer at CSC I would like to present our offer of support and commitment to all schools who are aiming to gain the bronze award through the Welsh Language Charter Framework. The Charter is part of a campaign by Welsh Government to ensure that our pupils in our Welsh medium schools have every possible opportunity to use the language, not only in the classroom or within the school walls, but also beyond school. As Alun Davies, Minister for the Welsh Language said: "Creating a bilingual country is something that the whole nation needs to do together. No politician can impose this, only lead the way. I am keen to ensure that people are given the opportunity to learn Welsh and receive Welsh medium education in all parts of the country, and are then confident to use the language and wish to use it at every opportunity." It was a pleasure meeting the Minister on the Maes at the Eisteddfod recently to discuss the importance of the Charter for young people in our region. Putting this in the context of the new curriculum:

"The value attached to the Welsh language by children and young people should be promoted... and its importance in enabling children and young people to achieve a good understanding of the cultural life of Wales in the past and present." (Successful Futures, Graham Donaldson) I am confident that by implementing the Language Charter and the new curriculum, the recommendations in Successful Futures should become a reality. I strongly believe that we need to promote the use of the Welsh language and take advantage of every possible opportunity to use the language whenever we can. Our Language Charter superheroes Seren and Sbarc will help us on our journey! Here's Seren and Sbarc meeting Anna Brychan, Strategic Adviser for Leadership, Strategy and Workforce Reform at CSC, to share their vision for the Welsh language within Central South. The Charter takes us on a journey that looks to encourage the use of the language, which takes us beyond mastering the language. As Gwennan Jones, Welsh Language Charter Coordinator, said during our launch event: “Passing on the language is a fairly straightforward processes. Ensuring that a child is confident in his or her Welsh identity is another matter.” Bethan Davies will be joining us in September as our new CSC Welsh Language Charter Officer in order to support you. In the meatime, remember to use the information available via Cronfa, and the Hwb network.

Be a Welsh language superhero and join us on our journey to develop bilingualism in our region!

www.cscjes.org.uk 3 Greenfield School Celebrates Double Excellent in Estyn Inspection Ron Hall, Challenge Adviser at CSC Staff and pupils at Greenfield School in are celebrating after gaining a double excellent in their recent Estyn inspection. All of the teachers, learning support staff, governing body and all stakeholders are delighted with the pupils' achievements. The school ethos is built firmly on mutual respect, pride, creativity, resilience, ambition and family atmosphere that aim to develop open minded, flexible, resilient individuals with the skills and attitudes to be successful in tomorrow’s society. According to the Estyn report, the school’s current performance is excellent because nearly all pupils make strong progress in their learning, nearly all pupils make extensive progress in their Welsh language skills in relation to their needs, abilities and starting points, nearly all pupils have outstanding attitudes to learning and pupils’ behaviour across the school is exemplary. The school provides a highly effective range of learning experiences that has a positive impact on pupils’ learning and wellbeing. Teaching is consistently good throughout the school. The school provides a very high level of care, support and guidance for its pupils. The school’s prospects for improvement are excellent because the Headteacher provides a very clear strategic direction for the school, the senior leadership team promotes a culture of high aspirations and expectations for all staff and pupils the school responds positively and promptly to local, regional and national priorities, which has a positive impact on many aspects of the school’s work, the school’s arrangements for self-evaluation, quality assurance and planning for improvement are well established. The school has an extensive range of highly developed partnerships which support pupils and staff development successfully. The school manages its budget very well. Headteacher Wayne Murphy said he was proud to the lead the school and thanked his staff: "This is a wonderful achievement for the school and is recognition of the hard work of pupils, learning support staff, administration support staff, teachers, leadership team, governors, parents and carers and all stakeholders. We are delighted that our ethos and values of our school have been recognised as excellent practice." You can download the full inspection report for Greenfield Special School here. We publish links to recent inspections from schools across the region in our weekly CSC bulletin. You can sign up to the bulletin here and view previous bulletins here.

www.cscjes.org.uk 4 Future Middle Leaders Programme Sara Rees, Deputy Head at Ysgol Melin Gruffydd It was quite a challenge putting together a bespoke and practical programme for Welsh Medium Future Middle Leaders, considering the number of related professional standards and the possible range of experience and understanding that the prospective leaders would have when attending the course. A natural starting point was to consider the needs of experienced teachers from the local area and their career progression, and we gathered information on which sections of the Leaders Professional Standards were least visible to them, or areas that they hadn't yet experienced, and we gathered this information via a survey. The responses enabled us to create a responsive programme that focussed on the priorities highlighted, and activities and a bank of resources were created that developed professional skills relating to the standards. The main content of the programme this year was personal self evaluation, structures relating to learning and teaching, data analysis identifying trends and setting targets, together with considering the role of leader in general terms, and what forms and drives stakeholders' vision. There was also an opportunity at the end of the programme to refine the contents of one session to respond to the needs of individuals e.g. support with drafting an application letter. We have already re-sent the questionnaire to enable the content to the tailored to the possible needs of stakeholders before re-running the programme. We were very keen to create a programme that was self evaluative, looking at personal skills, aspects of learning and teaching or considering activities relating to leadership, and stakeholders undertook tasks in their own settings between each section of the programme in order to develop their skills and understanding further. There were regular opportunities to share good practice and questions and stakeholders formed a strong partnership as a result of this open approach. In assessing the programme, it was clear that a smaller number of stakeholders had been keen in facilitating open discussions and this enabled them to build good professional relationships, and this would be very valuable as they develop and move on to the next challenge in their careers as middle leaders. Their feedback was very positive, with two out of three going on to gaining promotion within a few months. We're looking forward to developing the programme further in 2017-18. Here are some comments from evaluations: "A useful and practical course to understand the expectations relating to the role of middle leader." "The data analysis skills will help me to raise standards... and to understand how powerful and useful understnading how to use data is." "I have already taken aspects back to the classroom and have gained confidence going forward." For further support for leadership, please see the new CSC 2017-18 professional learning offer here.

www.cscjes.org.uk 5 Teaching Awards Cymru: Promoting Pupil Wellbeing at Parc Primary David Williams, Headteacher at Parc Primary School After my appointment in 2012 as the Headteacher of Parc Primary School, I recognised a greater need to engage parents in the pupils’ educational experience. As a result, the post of Family Liaison Officer was created and the appointment of Mr Christian George soon followed. A specific room was created for Mr George to support families and children, with specialist services and interventions such as emotional literacy sessions which help to improve pupils’ social and emotional development. A recent Estyn inspection in November 2016 highlighted that Mr George’s work had been significant in fulfilling the above goal. It reads that, ‘The highly effective Family Engagement Officer who assists vulnerable families has a very positive impact on family engagement and wellbeing. Through such initiatives as family learning programmes, barriers to engaging parents are being broken down and, as a result, parents’ understanding and confidence in helping their children at home is improving.’ Mr George ensures that parents’ opinions are valued highly and he encourages them to express their thoughts and ideas through the school’s open door policy. He meets and greets everyone at the gate daily and his drop in surgery has been incredibly popular. Mr George has helped establish a highly effective parent council which has led to greater involvement of parents in school improvement. Members are actively involved in reviewing school policies and practices. Mr George also conducts home visits which help families engage with the school from the beginning, following this there is a personal tour of the school, helping improve the transition process for new starters, in year admissions and their families. A parent that Mr George had been working with for some time, nominated him for the award. Mrs Bowen wanted some recognition that the role of a family liaison officer was a vital part of the school and that Mr George had made a significant difference in providing high quality care and support for many pupils and their families, not just her own. Parc Primary is a welcoming, inclusive and caring community that celebrates the successes of its pupils well. There is a calm and purposeful ethos in the school and Mr George epitomises this as the Family Liaison Officer. Speaking about winning the award, Christian George said: “I’m delighted to win this award. The importance of well-being and the Family Liaison Officer role is invaluable to our school and something I strive to execute with the utmost enthusiasm, care and passion.”

Continued on page 7

www.cscjes.org.uk 6 Teaching Awards Cymru: Promoting Relationships with Parents and the Community at Pen y Dre High School Keith Maher, Headteacher at Pen y Dre High School Pen y Dre High School in Merthyr Tydfil has won the inaugural Professional Teaching Award Cymru in the category of Whole School Award for Promoting Relationships with Parents and the Community. The Senior Leaders, Governors and I were presented with the Griffith Jones Award at a prestigious ceremony at the City Hall, Cardiff on Sunday 7th May 2017. The judging panel said the following about the school: ‘Pen y Dre High School is at the heart of its community. The Senior Leadership Team and its staff, along with the governing body, provides strong leadership and recognise the responsibility they have beyond the school gates. The positive atmosphere is palpable and there is a strong sense of self-belief instilled in the pupils. An encouraging and inclusive ethos promotes strong values of care and respect which permeates all areas of school life. Collaboration with numerous organisations and community groups has offered additional enrichment activities outside of the classroom, which has impacted positively on learner confidence, helping improve standards. Many parents praise the transition arrangements and the level of involvement with the primary feeder schools, which provides both parents and children with confidence and high expectations as they plan their move to the high school. Parents reflect on the work that goes on at Pen y Dre and comment enthusiastically about how well the staff know their children and go above and beyond to ensure their individual needs are met.’ It’s lovely to win this award, particularly because it reflects the work of the whole school team and how we work with our community. We are passionate about what we do, and the pupils take enormous pride in saying they are a pupil at Pen y Dre. One of the keys to our work is trying to engage as much as we can with our parents and carers, because understanding their needs and drivers is often the key to success for their children. We feel we have developed some good strategies over the years, and we really enjoyed and profited from being part of Schools Challenge Cymru programme. We are always willing to learn from others and we are so proud of our pupils and the community we serve. One of the comments that really captures what we are about was actually made by Estyn in their inspection report published in 2016: ‘ The school works relentlessly to improve the life chances of all pupils, and its motto of “Aspire Achieve Believe” permeates all aspects of its work. There is a very positive and inclusive ethos, which promotes strong values of care and respect. There is a relationship of trust between pupils and staff, which contributes significantly to the overall atmosphere in the school.’ Kirsty Williams, Cabinet Secretary for Education, said “These prestigious new awards are an opportunity to say thank you to our teachers and educational professionals and formally recognise the best leadership and teaching from across Wales.”

www.cscjes.org.uk 7 School Improvement Groups: Success from Sharing - Secondary SIG Working Mark Jones, Headteacher at Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun There is a wealth of good practice happening through the School Improvement Groups at both primary and secondary levels. Our SIG is no different, although the journey has been a little different from the others. We started off on an ambitious footing by merging two SIGs to form a large 15 school SIG. Although some schools didn’t engage, we had a core group of 14 schools who worked together. There have been some minor changes to the SIG, with us inheriting three additional schools and losing one to work in another SIG. Even now, three years on from the inception of the SIG, we still hold regular meetings and have a number of working groups which are active. We decided that we would look at a number of different workstreams which would address development needs within our schools. Common areas were attendance, performance in core subjects and geeting to grips with the Welsh Baccalaureate. The groups have changed over the past few years and we currently have working groups in the following areas: Welsh Baccalaureate (which also attracts members from other SIGs); 5A*/A; Heads of Science; Digital Literacy and Competency; ALNCos; Curriculum Deputies; Training programme for TAs; Pupil Voice; Family Engagement; Data managers; Facilities Managers. In addition, the SIG runs mini Leadership seminars, looking at the following areas: Vision; Capability; Teaching and Learning; Budget, Health and Safety, Curriculum; Staff development; Dealing with parents and managing conflict. The Headteachers/Senior Leaders also meet once per half term as a strategic SIG. This group oversees the working groups, receives feedback presentations from working group chairs and also arranges learning walks and workshops, e.g. a recent workshop was held on managing exclusion appeals. Success comes from being well organised and there are dedicated roles for convener, secretary and treasurer. We have a basic website which provides information on working groups as well as sharing minutes of meetings and any resources produced. The site can be accessed via http://centralsouthsig.pbworks.com Another strength is in the flexibility of school to school working. We have a directory of senior leaders who are available to provide support to other schools across the subject range. Other schools have supported each other with support for teaching and supporting departments who need additional help.It is difficult to keep schools engaged and there has to be a number of Continued on page 9

www.cscjes.org.uk 8 reminder emails and telephone calls to chase up dates and minutes! To the future? We will re-run the leadership seminar and focus our attention more on Donaldson as well as continuing with some of the more popular working groups. We also need to look more at outcomes since the groups are now quite mature. Each group determines success criteria which will be examined by the strategic SIG. We have to keep reinventing ourselves and judge whether our working groups have reached the end of their usefulness. Many ideas continue to flow and we hope that the spirit of collaboration and mutual benefit will continue.

Growing a New SIG Steve Williams, Headteacher at Sully Primary School Having recently taken over as Headteacher of Sully Primary School in the Vale of Glamorgan, I was keen to develop an ‘outward’ looking ethos for the school and learn from some of the great practice that I know exists across the CSC region. I was fortunate that during my previous Headship, I had experience of working within a successful SIG group so I knew the positive impact that being a member of a SIG could bring to my school, whether that was developing staff CPD or improving pupil standards. As Sully Primary School was not a member of a SIG, my first port of call was to contact Louise Muteham at CSCJES and enquire whether any existing group wanted a new member, I soon discovered that a number of schools for a whole host of reasons were looking to join a SIG, I collected contact details from Louise and started emailing. Not all schools responded, however, those that did were positive and so from that point we arranged our first meeting. Our first meeting gave the opportunity for Headteachers to meet, it was at this point that the need for a convenor was first raised - every SIG needs an individual as a point of contact for colleagues and the CSCJES, I was happy to act as convenor and so from that point we were officially ‘SIG 29’. The initial meeting was a ‘getting to know you’ exercise where we made introductions, shared background about our schools and SIP priorities. This allowed us to gauge the common areas that we could possibly focus upon as a SIG. Now that we were an official SIG we were able to access funding to ensure that the SIG was supported financially and was therefore viable. Further meetings were arranged on a half termly basis where we were fortunate to visit our fellow SIG schools and learn a little more about the very different experiences of each. Our schools come from right across the CSC region – the Vale of Glamorgan, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil and . It was agreed that a shared area of focus for the group would be developing pupil voice and extend learning in the outdoors. Subsequently, staff were able to meet with pupils and colleagues and collaborate both face to face and electronically. Up to this point we have shared lesson ideas and resources and the children have undertaken action research; presenting their findings to fellow SIGgers, as a result, our immediate future plans include a ‘Forest School’ engagement activity for pupils and staff. The future of SIG 29 is an exciting one, members are enthusiastic, open to new ideas and experiences and are honest. I look forward to the group developing further in time and seeing the positive impact on standards across all of our schools.

www.cscjes.org.uk 9 Approaches to Digital Learning in SIG 23 Chris Coole, Headteacher at Darren Park Primary School Over recent years, schools from SIG 23 have dramatically changed how they approach teaching and learning and school-to-school collaboration through digital learning. Initially, schools developed the project Blitz: Wales at War, a World War 2 project. It focused on a child’s experience of war from within each school’s community. As well as historical enquiry, the project developed purposeful opportunities to develop digital competencies, literacy, and numeracy. Schools collaborated using Office 365 tools, available through Hwb, and a shared Hwb+ site. After researching their community, each school used their findings to build their own World War Two community using Minecraft Education Edition. This was then used to create a multimedia presentation which was between schools for pupils to gain an understanding of how a child’s experience of World War Two. Schools also created a shared animation which focused on the journey of an evacuee from Cardiff to the Valleys. Following this, schools from within SIG 23 were keen to develop further DCF rich projects. The Wonderful World of Roald Dahl was a DCF rich literacy unit designed to celebrate Roald Dahl’s 100th birthday. Pupils from over eighty schools, from Wales and the wider world, developed their reading and writing skills using Minecraft Education Edition, Office 365 and Hwb+. The project, led by Darran Park Primary School, has received international acclaim, and has since been developed by Minecraft and the Roald Dahl Foundation into a global project. James Protheroe, Assistant Headteacher, Darran Park Primary, was also invited to share this project at the UK launch of Minecraft Education Edition in Edinburgh last November. This year, SIG 23 schools Darran Park Primary School and Llandough Primary School developed a digital learning project which included schools from outside the SIG: St Bernadette’s Primary, Ss. Gabriel and Raphael Primary and Junior School. As well as developing the Producing and Interacting and Collaborating strands of the DCF, the aim was to develop standards of writing, particularly for boys and eFSM pupils. Within this project, pupils used OneNote (through Office 365 available on Hwb) to collaborate on a project; accessing shared texts, communicating and sharing work. Most recently, SIG 23 has worked collaboratively to develop a project focusing on the Citizenship strand of the DCF. During this project, schools worked in pairs to develop collaborative resources focusing on safety. These were shared using Skype and Office 365. As well as developing the DCF, many schools from within the SIG have reported that this approach to digital learning has developed literacy and numeracy skills -this was reflected in last year’s end of KS2 data. It has also had an impact on pupil leadership – with many schools developing effective digital leader councils because of this collaborative approach to digital learning. A number of schools have transformed their learning environments as a result of this approach to digital learning. Through developing their understanding of their wider community, pupils developed as ethically informed citizens, ready to be citizens of Wales and the world. Pupils are becoming ambitious, capable learners through using digital technology creatively to communicate and collaborate purposefully.

www.cscjes.org.uk 10 Focus On: Modern Foreign Languages Amy Walters-Bresner, Head of Languages at Bryn Hafren Comprehensive and Strategic Adviser for MFL at CSC Global Futures was launched in 2015 by the Welsh Government in light of the worrying decrease in pupil numbers opting to study studying a modern foreign language (MFL) at key stage 4 and key stage 5. The three strategic aims of Global Futures and the regional needs of the heads of department for MFL in CSC have driven the professional development offer this year for MFL within the region. The MFL professional offer of enquiry lead programmes (ELPs) have been a mixture of input sessions by recognised experts within a specific field and focused action research by teachers attending these programmes. The CSC Learning Community on the HWB network houses all of these research outcomes and resources in order to share good practice throughout at both a region and then regional consortium level. The ELPs were: • The use of digital technologies within the MFL classroom • Multilingualism and Triple literacy: • GCSE new specification – French, Spanish and German: • A Level new specification – French, Spanish and German: • Teaching of MFL in Key Stage 2 In addition to these, MFL regional meetings take place once per term with the agenda being driven by HoDs' priorities. From these meetings, the development of modern teaching resources that are relevant and effective in supporting learning and teaching for CSC MFL teachers across all key stages was identified as a priority. There is now in place an up-to-date digital toolkit for all CSC MFL teachers to access and use within their learning and teaching on HWB. The creation of an MFL GCSE Development Group was fundamental in facilitating the creation of high quality learning and teaching resources designed and produced by MFL teachers to support their colleagues with the new GCSE specifications. Consequently, each topic and sub-theme for the new GCSE in French, Spanish and German have related resources and assessment tasks on HWB. MFL Curriculum Hubs, and Y Pant have developed schemes of learning and resources in the teaching of MFL in key stage 2. These are blocks of 6 teaching weeks that can be used in year 5 or/and 6 in French. In 2016-17, Y Pant will be developing the same set of teaching resources but for Spanish. These French resources are currently being translated ready to be launched in a primary showcase event to be held on June 29th in Y Pant. This event will not only launch the teaching resources but also importantly be a celebration and awards event to recognise the hard work of the primary schools taking part in the project. The event will also act as a transition day for year 6 pupils as they will take part in interactive fun MFL workshops throughout the day. Continued on page 12

www.cscjes.org.uk 11 Building on this project further, there are teaching and learning research projects underway in 2 primary schools. This is a really exciting opportunity to develop further the teaching of MFL in key stage 2. The schools are Llansannor Primary School and Primary School. Llansannor are developing a whole school approach to the teaching of French and Spanish from Nursery to Year 6, while Pontygwaith are developing a transition MFL project with Ferndale Comprehensive and Comprehensive. CSC has been working closely with the British Council by facilitating 3 French Assistants to work with Y Pant, Treorchy and Pencoed in teaching all of their cluster primary schools. All 3 schools will be working on transition projects for years 5/6 and 7 to then share with all CSC MFL teachers via HWB and regional meetings in summer 2017. CSC is continuing to work with the Italian Institute and offering 10 hours of free Italian to Glantaff, Bishop of Llandaff, Sully Primary, Trelaw Primary and Jenner Park Primary in 2016-17. Bryn Hafren, Porth and have hosted Spanish teachers for 2 weeks respectively this summer term. This has been an excellent opportunity for pupils to gain first hand language experiences from native speakers and the schools have enjoyed welcoming these Spanish teachers. Four CSC schools, Bishop of Llandaff, Cardiff High, Ponypridd High and West Federation, have been developing action research in learning and teaching linked to one of the strategic aims in Global Futures. These schools are leading on digital technologies and the development of a toolkit to up-skill both teachers and pupils with key strategies for translation from and to the assessed language. Each school has submitted a case study of their projects. These case studies and accompanying resources have been uploaded on to HWB to be shared across the region. CSC have also been working with the Confucius Institute and Bryn Hafren Comprehensive in developing a Mandarin teaching and learning project of 6 sessions focusing on Chinese culture and traditions through fun and interactive sessions. This project will now be offered to all schools across the region both primary and secondary. Sully Primary are also working with the Confucius Institute and hosting a China week full of exciting sessions such as Chinese cooking and Tai Chi. 12 schools in the CSC region took part in the MFL Mentoring Programme provided by Cardiff University aimed at specifically raising pupils' aspiration in studying a language post key stage 3 in 2016-17. The rationale for the schools being selected was based on ensuring a variety of demographics and Welsh medium schools were involved. Schools with particularly low up-take or no up-take in KS4 were also targeted. Bryn Hafren Comprehensive hosted a visit by Kirsty Williams to see the project in action and meet with MFL teachers and pupils. Involvement in this project has been very positively received by these schools as they felt that this was a very tangible and high profile project that supported pupils-up take and it did help to raise the MFL department’s profile with both pupils and parents. Feedback has been extremely positive and both teachers and pupils have enjoyed being part of the programme. For further information on professional support for languages, please see our range of opportunities available. You can also browse and book via Cronfa here.

www.cscjes.org.uk 12 MFL: Broadening Horizons and Expanding Opportunities Debra Walsh, MFL Teacher at Brynteg Comprehensive School Against a backdrop of reduced option choices and competition from new or presumed 'easier' subjects, encouraging students to continue with modern foreign languages after KS3 can be tough. Within the constraints of the curriculum framework, there is a lot we can do to revitalise modern foreign languages teaching and learning. At the heart of language learning is an understanding of the grammar of that language and in my view, any scheme of work must have this as its focus. Researching new and creative ways of presenting, teaching and facilitating the learning of new grammar and structures is paramount. Learning the structure of language and appreciating a culture go hand in hand and provides a context. Having an awareness of the diverse interests of the group sitting in front of us, allows us to find material that may appeal to them. With a little bit of thought, knowledge about such areas as the French Resistance, the Tour de France, French music and literature can all be conveyed at all key sStages using target language in varying degrees. Promoting cultural appreciation gives meaning to the language that goes beyond the generic topic-based approach that still pervades much language teaching. Extending language learning opportunities beyond the classroom is also essential in order to cultivate interest. In Brynteg School, we have involved ourselves in the Routes into Languages Cymru Spelling Bee Competition for French, German and Welsh. Our annual Year 7 ‘Linguavision’ competition is the highlight of the school calendar. It is our interpretation of the Eurovision Song Contest and comes from an idea I adapted from the brilliant Rachel Hawkes’ (Director of International Education and Research for Comberton Academy Trust, Cambridge) ‘Spanglovision.’ Via the Bridgend Town Twinning Association, we organise our annual French exchange visit, in conjunction with our neighbouring comprehensive school, Bryntirion. As well as the obvious linguistic and cultural benefits, the exchange has many intangible advantages in terms of life skills. Seeing students grow in confidence in their ability to deal with new situations, move out of their comfort zone and become more independent is rewarding. In Brynteg School, we have also been involved in a Student Mentoring Project via Cardiff University and had visits from the inspirational businessman, Tim Penn, a great ambassador for languages and their work place application. Above all, inspiring students to continue with languages at GCSE and beyond is to do with establishing rapports, conveying passion and showing genuine interest in individuals. It is about building up resilience and setting sights high. The level of motivation on the part of students is an essential part of the successful Debra has recently been awarded by formula. A teacher can facilitate but the student needs Oxford University as an Inspirational the determination and drive. It is a collaborative effort Teacher after being nominated by between student and teacher, developed over time, one of her former students for her with both parties pushing in the same direction. The support and encouragement to pride one feels when seeing one’s students achieve study modern foreign languages at their potential is enduring and serves as an important university level. reminder of why we do this job.

www.cscjes.org.uk 13 Didn’t we have a lovely day, the day we went to... School 21? Huw Duggan, Strategic Adviser for Closing the Gap at CSC It was indeed a beautiful day, when 24 intrepid teachers from South Wales boarded the bus to London; but unlike the infamous trip to Bangor, there was no lunch on the way for under a pound, and very little singing of our favourite songs as the wheels went round. Instead we had a much more serious purpose. The 16 valleys schools involved in this project from both Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taff were going to London to observe best practice and develop the oracy skills of learners to improve outcomes for eFSM pupils. This project, entitled 'The Valleys Project', was funded by the Welsh Government and it proposes to tackle the stubborn issue of disadvantage by developing pupils' oracy skills. After all, the ability to communicate effectively ensures learners can build positive relationships, collaborate for a common purpose, deliberate and share ideas and be more effective citizens. It is through speaking and listening that we develop our views, apply knowledge and extend our capacity to think critically. In a knowledge-based economy, the ability to articulate what we know effectively is needed more now than ever before. The ability to communicate is the number one skill required by employers. However, whilst oracy across the region is good, the stark reality is that children from disadvantaged backgrounds enter school with lower levels of oracy and smaller vocabularies. This can become a significant barrier to learning and some children never catch up. Poor oracy skills affect reading, writing and wider social and emotional interaction. Regional data would suggest it is indeed the valleys schools where this issue is more prevalent. Therefore, the strategic aim of this project was to improve standards by improving learners' oracy skills in particular at key stage 2. It is hoped by developing the skills of teachers in teaching oracy discreetly, combined with developing oracy rich classrooms, we can have the greatest impact on the attainment of eFSM pupils. A fundamental part of this project was to visit School 21 in Stratford, London. School 21 is a pioneering new 4 to 18 years school for girls and boys and children from all backgrounds in Stratford, East London. With a significant cohort of eFSM pupils, this school has achieved outstanding judgements in all areas in their most recent Ofsted inspection. The three founders of School 21, Peter Hyman, Ollie Die Botton and Ed Fidoe, came together with a shared belief that education must be done differently. They found a school which was to give their pupils a voice and placed oracy at the heart of the curriculum, giving it an equal emphasis to reading, writing and numeracy. Ofsted commented: “School 21 is an exciting place to learn. Outstanding leadership has produced a highly effective school within a short time... and pupils develop extraordinary skills in listening, speaking and questioning and become skilled at planning and redrafting the work so they can continue to improve.” Continued on page 15

www.cscjes.org.uk 14 So for the 24 teachers descending on School 21 on that sunny day, expectations were high. However, upon arrival we were decidedly underwhelmed. The refurbished former secondary school was not the slick purpose built academy with bells and whistles and Ofsted gradings touted from the railings which we were all expecting. Instead, the modest building that resides just off the Stratford High Street, itself a juxtaposition between slick brand-new executive flats and the world-famous Olympic Village of 2012 along with the drab East End pubs and shops, was decidedly functional and unassuming. This perhaps best sums up School 21 in a nutshell. The practice we were to observe in the teaching of oracy in School 21 was not innovative, groundbreaking or revolutionary. The opposite is true, we observed strategies and practices that have been continuously used in a number of classrooms across the region such as, Talk for Writing and Philosophy for Children. However, what was truly unique was the outcome achieved by each member of the hard working staff. The standard of oracy was astonishing. We witnessed Reception aged children effectively critiquing each other’s oral presentation, using complex sentence stems, referring to each other’s presentations as “eloquent” and “articulate”. We witnessed an assembly where Foundation Phase pupils discussed the Buddhist philosophy to life and effectively grappled with the question “Is it possible to climb life’s mountain from any side and at the top do all trails join?” We also witnessed year four pupils independently managing their own discussion, inviting reticent participants into the conversation, using phrases like “building on...” and “I challenge that point...” We interviewed a panel of key stage 2 pupils, who gave the 24 Welsh colleagues excellent advice on how they should improve oracy in their own classrooms and its potential impact on the learners. I challenged one of the panel with the statement “my Headteacher insists my children record everything in their books, how can I persuade her that talking about learning is more important than recording it?” Quick as a flash the child responded “It must be visible and valued! Why don’t you invite your Headteacher into your classroom to observe your discussions, and she will see how important it is to talk about your learning before you write it down.” So what is it that School 21 do so differently that has such astounding results? First of all, it is about strong and innovative leadership. The school is founded on an inspiring vision, strong and ethical values and clear attributes that are promoted by all staff and learners. Expectations of all pupils are astonishing; pupils are required to be professional, eloquent and resilient, with a pledge to honour the school's core values. There is a relentless commitment from all staff and pupils to make learning engaging and relevant and every lesson is seen as an opportunity to develop pupils thinking and oracy skills. In all lessons, learners lead the majority of discussions, teachers construct challenging learning opportunities, they facilitate discussion and manage outcomes. But primarily pupils own their own learning. The 24 weary Welsh teachers left School 21 after a very busy day and headed back up the M4 with this paradox in mind: having seen nothing new or innovative we did witness creativity and a school that has the potential blueprint for the future of education. Having seen nothing that we could not achieve in our own classrooms, we left with the resolve that we must develop, and improve our practice, with a greater focus on creating oracy rich environments. Wales after all has a rich history of the spoken word; “it is a Land of poets and singers, and people of stature!” For more information about developing oracy in schools, or raising standards for eFSM pupils please get in touch with Huw Duggan, Strategic Adviser for Closing the Gap at the Central South Consortium on [email protected]

www.cscjes.org.uk 15