The Deputy Head Network

A colleague in my current cluster asked recently if I was interested in getting together with other deputies from the cluster on a regular basis, in the same way that head teachers meet. I thought this was a good idea. A couple of days later the deputy from my old school said more or less the same thing. I see three other deputies socially, regularly and we often talk shop. For me, one of the most useful things about getting together is the sharing of valuable information. For that reason I started a new FaceBook group - The Deputy Head Network. 

It presently has 35 members, of which three of us have shared ideas / links. Like other facebook groups, it is not exclusive to deputies. I am a member of the EYFS group and I appreciate the posts, love the ideas and have used one from it already. The Deputy Head Network could easily have been named SLT group or Sharing Good Edu Practice and is a place where any practitioners who have the mindset that sharing benefits children's learning and pupil progress, at a whole school level, are welcomed. It is also a place to share ideas and resources for staff meetings. In the spirit of the group, if you join it please share something great! I'll look forward to seeing you there.

Challenge (in the primary classroom)

I have been thinking a lot about challenge in the primary classroom and what it actually looks like in practice. From experience, discussions with other practitioners and through social media, it appears to be something that is hot on the OfSTED agenda (see below). Whilst I don't believe that schools should be doing things for them, I do believe that getting the best out of children comes when appropriate challenges are planned for.  So what does that mean? If you look at definitions from the Oxford dictionary:


Challenge: A task or situation that tests someone's abilities. Makes demands on.

A challenge problem: one that offers interesting difficulties

So let's take into consideration the National Curriculum 2014, which states that

 ‘Decisions about when to progress should always be based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material should consolidate their
understanding, including through additional practice, before moving on.’

The important part (in my opinion) is that they are challenged, before being moved on. We've all had those conversations with parents who want their child reading books far beyond their understanding, or completing mathematical calculations that they are unable to apply in real life.
 The teaching standards state that a teacher must:

1. Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils

Simples?!

So how do you know if you are doing that? For me, it's not just about whether they are making progress, it's whether you are fostering curiosity and a love of learning through your teaching - and how much ownership children have. In my mind that (love of learning) is a much bigger challenge than showing that you have helped them move on 2 sub levels in a subject, in a term. In my year 2 class this half term it has felt quite easy, with the topic of the Great Fire of London. Yesterday, my TA came back from taking a group down to the library and, in her words, was completely amazed by what they know and how they were talking about it passionately. A great topic can inspire this passion for learning and children are continuing their learning at home because they are interested. Next week I shall become a teacher in role as the maid one day and Samuel Pepys another. Experience tells me that the quality of writing produced afterwards will be much higher than without the drama. Appropriate challenge in the form of engaging their emotions and creating opportunities for them to ask questions.

GFoL movie made (and acted) by a 6 year olds last year

Reflecting further on my own practice, there are many ways that I believe I offer challenge, not just through differentiated tasks, but through the way that I refuse to spoon feed children (I've written a bit about that here).  They are expected to try, to use their initiative and to consider previous learning that may help them solve current problems. I know when direct teaching is needed, to rectify misconceptions (or teach to prevent them) and when they just need to learn things by rote (in an infant style of course!) I started to list all the ways that I felt I challenge children, from open-ended child-led tasks in maths, to mantle of the expert and enquiry led topic work.  My list started to grow, but as always I want to learn if there is anything else I can do, so I decided to share it as a crowd-sourced document in the hope that others would contribute to it. When you look at it, consider how many approaches you have used in the classroom.

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The OfSTED part

I have picked out some relevant parts from OfSTED guidance and have found this web page - OfSTED 2012: Challenging tasks matched to children's learning needs - interesting, especially the bullet points saying why and how.

Much of the following is lifted from guidance and is a little disjointed, but relevant to this post.

OfSTED guidance states that inspectors must consider whether teaching engages and includes all pupils with work that is challenging enough and that meets the pupils’ needs as identified by teachers. They will consider whether assessment is frequent and accurate and is used to set challenging work that builds on prior knowledge, understanding and skills.

Inspectors must consider the rigour and effectiveness of systems to drive improvement, including:

• monitoring the quality of provision and children’s outcomes; the professional development of staff; evaluation of the impact of actions taken; and setting challenging targets 
• (The lesson's) effectiveness depends on the impact of the quality and challenge of the work set.

Evidence of learning over time may include:

• the level of challenge provided, and whether pupils have to grapple appropriately with content, not necessarily ‘getting it right’ first time, which could be evidence that the work is too easy (183).

And under grade descriptors:

Outstanding - Provision across all areas of learning is well planned and based on regular and precise assessments of children’s achievement so that every child undertakes highly challenging activities.

Good -  Learning opportunities are well planned and based on regular and accurate assessments of children’s
achievement so that every child is suitably challenged.

Jackie Debeere has written about the perfect ofsted lesson, which is a good read.

The New Girl...

I have just looked at the draft of my 'Being SENDco' post that I have been writing since November and realised that it is a muddled recount of moving schools and becoming a SENDco. It wasn't what I set out to write. So before I re-write it as a New SENDco advice type post, I am going to share the reasons why moving schools was so right for me. I will include some reflections of  my first half year as a new Deputy Headteacher, but will start with some tips for changing jobs. This is not really a post full of advice, but more a journal entry of my experiences. I'm sure I will enjoy looking back at it in my old age!

1. Get your colleagues to complete a 360 review for you. Mine was incredibly positive and showed me that I was viewed as a leader at Roydon. The written feedback was constructive and the lowest score I got was given by myself! The only area that I needed to work on (according to my colleagues) was my ability to deal with conflict. They had mostly been tactful and pressed the neutral, middle button on the survey (or better), but I had scored myself low on this and felt that they may have been polite with their views. I know I need to get better at leaving my emotions out of it when tricky situations arise with people I care about. 

2. An obvious tip -think carefully about your next steps and your career progression. You may need to step sideways to achieve them. I always thought I would end up in an advisory role, but when these started disappearing in Norfolk I had to rethink. Another AST I knew went from the outreach role into a headship of a small school. I didn't feel I had the right skills for that, so being a deputy of a large school with strong leadership was what I needed to look out for if I wanted to change. 

3. Don't stay put just because you love your school. You will love another. The easiest way to ensure you will love it is to find a similar school, so do your research. I know other teachers who have the view 'I will only leave my current post if a job comes up at ...' and deputy at East Harling was mine. Why? Location, size and rural nature of school, ethos, reputation and the fact it was part of a cluster that my own children belonged to. I had worked with other headteachers in the cluster and knew that they were passionate, innovative and dedicate educators, with happy thriving schools. 

4. Trust your first instincts about the headteacher. You have to work closely with them; they must be someone you will respect. I am fiercely loyal and would support a respected colleague even if I disagreed with them (I would voice my opinions of course, but I know that there are many ways to skin a cat). Ask yourself if you would do that for the person you meet. 

5. Don't be afraid to say you don't understand/know something. I started my new role at the same time as a mature NQT who had already spent a term at East Harling. We joked that we were allowed to ask 2 stupid questions each day. I varied the people that I asked so that I didn't appear to be wholly incompetent, but you can't be expected to know where everything is. After spending too much time staring at shelves in cupboards, I realised it was much easier to ask someone if they knew where resources were kept. A simple time saver! Equally, I am not afraid to say I don't know about the big stuff, like Statement Review meetings. Better that I ask ridiculous questions than get it wrong. Even if I have to ask that same question twice because I have forgotten the answer ... I'm hoping it makes me appear more human!

6. Draw on other's experiences! I was asked if I felt threatened or pressured by the fact that there were two hugely experienced teachers at East Harling who had already held successful Deputy Headship posts. I hadn't given it a second thought! It may be that slightly ego-centric/ Asperger's part of me that was oblivious to it and not at all self-conscious, but I can honestly say that it makes me feel a whole lot better that there are experienced teachers who are passionate about the school to hold my hand if I ever need it. That's a huge bonus! 

7. Find a sustainable hobby so that you don't work 24/7. I bake, read and meet friends for lunch! Learning how to take on a new school, new way of teaching (Read, Write, inc), new roles and governorship as well as attending two different long term training courses doesn't leave much time, but free time should be filled with nice things!

8. Ask yourself if you have had an impact. Think about the changes you have made both at class and whole school level. It may be that you have to settle in before you make a big impact, but to give an example I have introduced these things so far: year 6 Film Club,  group education plans, learning profiles, blogging in class 2 (whole school blogging soon I hope!) a class 'VLE' (BB style) and a 'maths wizards' blog to help children with mental maths skills.

9. CARRY ON LEARNING! Don't sit still because you've got your ideal job! I have become a SENDco, Deputy and Governor and my head is buzzing! I know the hours I do will reduce as I become more familiar with procedures and I get used to managing the SENDco role. In the meantime, I am still working hard to be the best teacher I can be, whilst learning to be an effective and hopefully inspirational Deputy/SENDco. 

10. Lastly - don't feel like you have to justify it if you stall. Your brain may need a rest!