Play In A Day

On 25th September 2018 our Primary PGCE trainees produced and starred in a fabulous production of, ‘Matilda’ by Roald Dahl. Many brought their own considerable skill and experience in dance, music and drama to the session.  The play was well-received by a huge audience made up of BA QTS trainees who then went on to produce their own play, with children, in a local primary school.

The BA QTS Year 2 trainees rose to the occasion on 29th October 2018, when they went into Netherleigh and Rossefield Primary school in Bradford to work with children in year 2, 3, and 4 to put on a version of, ‘Joseph and his Technicolour Dream Coat’, by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The trainees’ confidence increased throughout the day in taking the lead, rather than the tutors.  The children were a delight to work with.  The super short musical was performed in the local village hall to the rest of the children and staff in the school. Feedback from the school was very positive and the College have been asked to repeat the session with the school in the future.

Summer School 2018

This year Bradford College trialled a summer school for our PGCE Primary trainees intended to improve their life skills, broaden their experiences and increase their confidence prior to starting their course.  Trainees undertook a range of activities including an introduction to the Alexander Technique, a raft building exercise to encourage teamwork and problem solving, sessions on voice control and classroom presence and a field trip to Saltaire. Although we were targeting this at trainees in order to widen participation, it was opened up to all applicants and drew participants from a wide range of backgrounds and experience.

Summer School Pic 1

Initial feedback from attendees was very positive; many of them feeling that it was very beneficial in fully preparing them to begin their training in September.

Summer School Pic 2

Trainees quote: I’m so glad I attended the Summer School for the PGCE Primary course as it really gave me insight into how the course would be taught and what would be expected of me from September.

Course leaders are making plans to repeat the event in August 2019 to build on the foundations of a highly successful venture.

Partnership Steering Group Update and Opportunities

The newly re-formed Primary Partnership Steering Committee is now chaired by Linda Wright, (Head of Riddlesden St Mary’s CE (A) Primary School and Nursery).

The Committee is jointly co-vice chaired by Jacqui Vaughan (Head of School, Bradford College) and Philipa Varley (Deputy Head, Peel Park Primary School).

There are 10 school members on the group, all of whom are senior leaders or aspiring senior leaders. Their role moving forward will be to act as a board of governors in the same way they do for schools, they will challenge our decisions and hold us to account.

We welcome this level of support and involvement with our leadership and management of the partnership.

Each member of the panel will have a designated responsibility. If this is something you may be interested in for the future, please get in touch and we will let you know the application process. j.vaughan@bradfordcollege.ac.uk

Ofsted Rated Good!

Bradford College Teacher Training Primary Partnership inspected by Ofsted in June 2018.

Ofsted Good Pic

Following months of preparation and hard work from teaching and administrative staff at the college, Ofsted undertook a 4 day re-inspection. We are delighted to  announce our provision was graded Good. This would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment provided by our partner schools who work tirelessly to produce Good and Outstanding Teachers.

The following are comments taken from Ofsted’s inspection report:

‘The PPSG has recently been overhauled to focus on strategic rather than operational management of the partnership. Although early days in the PPSG’s current form, the recruitment of leaders from successful schools in the partnership is strengthening this aspect of leadership and management. These leaders are enthusiastic and determined to continue the partnership’s improvement journey. They are well placed to start to use their skills to support and direct college leaders in strategic improvement planning, while challenging and holding them more rigorously to account for their performance.’

‘Leaders’ and tutors’ fast response to individual personal and training needs helps trainees to achieve their ambitions. This better practice is contributing well to the supply of teachers, both locally and regionally.’

Current Developments in Primary Teaching

A knowledge and skills based course ideal for returning teachers. This 40 credit masters level course can also support career development for current practitioners.

Girl Smiling

Course Content

This module updates secondary and primary school educational professionals on the latest developments in primary education. The module develops knowledge, skills and understanding with regard to relevant developments. We learn how skills can be transferred to meet the current requirements of teaching.

Key Aims

 To develop a critical understanding of current developments in primary education and the potential impact on children’s learning.

·         Demonstrate a critical and reflective approach to how the QTS standards and professional development issues are addressed.

Course Delivery

The course is delivered in twelve taught sessions. Each session has a task set which is part of the assessment. Elements of these tasks will link to school experience through student teacher placements in school.

Practical Experience

Course students are required to attend ten teacher placement days. These days can be arranged with Bradford College partner schools or schools known to the students. Teacher placement could include salaried roles. The aim is to provide relevant practical situations for students to develop tasks set during taught sessions.

Start Date: 29th January 2019

Times: 5pm – 8pm Thursday evenings

Venue: Lister Building, Room D23, Bradford College

End Date: 30th April 2019

Fee: £600

Course Elements (twelve taught sessions)

  • Review recent and current developments in primary education

o   considering personal reflection

o   areas for professional development

  • Primary classroom environment and organization

o   Working with colleagues

o   Managing/ leading staff

o   Maximizing the learning environment

  • Effective behaviour management and behaviour systems, including the role of parents
  • SEN/Inclusion/ EAL

o   ensure all children have access to education

o   maximise classroom support

o   classroom organisation

  • Safeguarding –

o   outside agencies,

o   e-safety

o   how safeguarding issues impact on a child

o   methodologies and best practice

  • Effective and relevant use of IT in the classroom. The advantages and disadvantages of ICT
  • Current developments in the curriculum with particular regard to the changes in the 2014 national curriculum

o   Speaking/Listening/ Drama / Poetry

o   Language, reading, writing

o   Maths

o   Science

o   Humanities and foundation subjects

o   The Arts

  • Curriculum planning – how to design a relevant curriculum reflecting current developments and referencing age-related expectations.

How to apply

To apply for this course please contact HE Admissions. Email: headmissions@bradfordcollege.ac.uk

For further information regarding the course please contact course tutor Peter O’Hare. Email address: p.ohare@bradfordcollege.ac.uk

CPD Opportunities – Masters in Education Course

Ash

The Masters in Education course is currently working on three modules, Professional Development (for year 1) and Research Methods (year 2) and their Dissertation (year 3). There are some really interesting insights being shared about what makes great professional development and how it can develop someone’s career. In the research methods module teachers are honing proposals for their future dissertation and there are some really interesting ideas; action research about how to help children achieve Early Learning Goals if English isn’t their first language, how leaders in schools can support staff with new initiatives, how year 7 science teacher can make judgements about achievement at the primary phase and many more.

We have places available to start in January 2019 so make this the year you start your Masters!

Evening and Saturday sessions

Reduced Partnership fees available for schools who provide placements to Bradford College trainees.

Contact headmissions@bradfordcollege.ac.uk  for an application form or email d.rolls@bradfordcollege.ac.uk if you would like to talk to the course leader.

Partnership News

Please click the link to see our latest Partnership Newsletters   Newsletter June 2018  Newsletter April 2018

A key focus over the past few months has been on Quality Assurance

Feedback from the new round of QA visits has been positive from schools, link tutors and trainees. Sample schools have received visits since January and feedback has been shared with schools by the QA team making the visits and also across our teams in college. The focus for each QA visit has been different. We have looked at how trainees are being supported to prepare for their placement during serial days and ‘Prep’ week, as well as looking at the assessment moderation process. In particular, potential Grade 1 trainees have had QA visits to ensure their assessment is being done with consistent rigour.

Thank you to all our school partners for supporting us in this key development. If you have received a QA visit and have comments to pass on, please contact Head of School, Jacqui Vaughan.

j.vaughan@bradfordcollege.ac.uk

 

 

NQT Conference 2018

Catch up

To all NQTs and RQTs

Maths: Teaching for Mastery Conference 2018

As part of our CPD programme for NQTs and RQTs we are holding a mini conference at David Hockney Building, Bradford College, BD7 1AY, on Wednesday 23rd May 2018.

The focus of the conference is “Maths: Teaching for Mastery”.   Jill Todd, our Primary maths lead and Teaching for Mastery Lead for the West Yorkshire Maths Hub (NCETM), will lead the input.   The agenda for the evening is below:

Catch up at 4th floor café David Hockney Building                             3.30pm to 4.30pm

Maths: Teaching for Mastery                                                                      4.30pm to 5.30pm

Q and A opportunity / is there anything we can do to help?           5.30pm to 6.00pm

 This is an excellent opportunity to receive up to date information in relation to the teaching and learning of mathematics, whilst reconnecting and sharing knowledge and experience as part of your ongoing CPD. Please feel free to bring any other NQTs/RQTs that may be interested in this event along with you.

You have the opportunity to catch up with each other before the conference over coffee.

Please look out for further CPD events promoted by Bradford College in the future.

 

Please RSVP to Jan Marston  j.marston@bradfordcollege.ac.uk  by April 30th 2018