Day 1 - Our Seminars

Keynote

A culture of improvement: how we can collaborate so that everyone grows and develops

David Weston

In this keynote talk, David Weston will explore how each of us holds a key that unlocks our own development and helps those around us to flourish too. With a few ideas from research and plenty of practical insights, David will share some ideas that you can start using, day to day.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 8am to 8:45am

Developing Early Number Sense (EY)

Alyson Gough

This seminar will explore the key principles for developing young children’s sense of number and set them up for a life-long love of maths.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 9am to 10am

Mathematical Talk and Questioning (MP1-3)

Alyson Gough

This seminar will help you put structures and routines into place that encourage meaningful talk. It will also provide a deeper insight into the use of manipulatives to strengthen mathematical talk.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 10:30am to 11:30am

Reasoning and Problem Solving (MP1-3)

Alyson Gough

The seminar looks at different reasoning strategies and ideas you can use to help struggling pupils to access a problem, as well as extending the thinking of those who need greater challenge.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 12am to 1pm

Thinking Through Variation (MP1-3)

Alyson Gough

We explore in depth two types of variation – conceptual and procedural. You’ll develop a clear awareness of the different types of knowledge and how this insight can help when structuring mathematical tasks for pupils to explore.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 2:30pm to 3:30pm

Effective modeling and scaffolding of language (MP1-3)

Caroline Scott

Planning language needs for learner success at exit stage

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 9am to 10am

Differentiation for learners in multilevel classrooms (MP1-3)

Caroline Scott

Considering the needs of beginners alongside advanced learners through advanced use of substitution tables.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 10:30am to 11:30am

You’ve assessed - what next? (MP1-3)

Caroline Scott

Identifying a learner’s starting points and what associated classroom strategies would support their language development.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 12am to 1pm

Enabling the Environment (EY)

Caroline Scott

Considering EAL learning opportunities in the early years environment

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 2:30pm to 3:30pm

Retrieval Practice and Vocabulary Development

Tom Sherrington

How to build confidence with terminology through a repertoire of related techniques.  A case study in effective use of retrieval practice.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 9am to 10am

Questioning techniques every teacher should know

Tom Sherrington

A summary of key questioning techniques for those not attending the all-day workshop on Day 2.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 10:30am to 11:30am

Rosenshine Principles of Instruction: An overview

Tom Sherrington

What does this classic paper say and why is it so popular?

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 12am to 1pm

Curriculum as schema-building: Building on what students already know

Tom Sherrington

An exploration of how we build up our understanding of concepts through a mixture of thinking, hands on experience, prediction and narrative.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 2:30pm to 3:30pm

Good Practice with a Guided Reading Carousel (MP1-3)

Lynn Sear

We will explore what best practice looks like for a Guided Reading carousel.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 9am to 10am

Reading Journals and Home Learning (MP1-3)

Lynn Sear

We will look at a variety of activities that could be in a reading journal and benefit home learning.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 10:30am to 11:30am

Asking the Right Questions to Assess Comprehension (MP1-3)

Lynn Sear

We will examine a range of question stems and how we can use them to elicit what children know.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 12am to 1pm

Benefits of Whole Class Reading (MP2-3)

Lynn Sear

We will explore how Whole Class Reading can support the needs of all readers in the classroom.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 2:30pm to 3:30pm

Science of Learning: Why is cognitive load theory such a powerful idea in teaching?

Adam Robbins

This seminar looks at some of the findings of cognitive load theory and their implications for classroom teachers

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 9am to 10am

Interleaving and Curriculum Design in Science

Adam Robbins

Science is a deeply interconnected subject. This seminar will look at how best to interleave previous content through the curriculum to ensure students can make effective links.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 10:30am to 11:30am

How Checking for Understanding can help students work more independently

Adam Robbins

We all want students who can work independently and with initiative. This seminar looks at how checking for understanding of the task and knowledge can put students in a position to be successful and independent.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 12am to 1pm

Building Effective Retrieval Practice in the Science Classroom

Adam Robbins

This seminar will explore the evidence behind retrieval practice, the best ways of making it effective and how to avoid some of the common pitfalls.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 2:30pm to 3:30pm

Which bed did Goldilocks prefer? The one that was 'just right' (Rec, MP1-3)

Martin Morgan

In this session we’ll look at how we can differentiate effectively through understanding the starting points of all our learners, and ensuring everyone makes progress.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 9am to 10am

You should have tried harder! (Rec, MP1-3)

Martin Morgan

In this session we’ll look at how ‘Effort’ is judged in a classroom and how we get learners to be more responsible for their own learning, developing strategies to increase autonomy.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 10:30am to 11:30am

Everything we do is Formative Assessment (Rec, MP1-3)

Martin Morgan

Let’s unpick ‘Formative Assessment’ and how it is part and parcel of everything we do from instruction to activity. In this session we’ll look at models, including Professor Hattie’s and Helen Tiperley’s Instructional Fit for Feedback.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 12am to 1pm

Start with the End in Mind: Learning Outcomes and Success Criteria that enable learners to develop clarity (Rec, MP1-3)

Martin Morgan

In this session we’ll explore ways of co-constructing, unpicking and sharing LOs and SCs with our learners; so they are able to open and close their own gaps.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 2:30pm to 3:30pm

Self Regulation and Coregulation (EY, MP1)

Roberta Caminha

A child’s social-emotional development depends on their ability to regulate their emotions. The only way they can develop self regulation is through co-regulation. We will talk about that and think together about strategies to help children.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 9am to 10am

Reframing Challenging Behaviours (EY, MP1)

Roberta Caminha

Traditionally we think that the more disruptive or challenging a child’s behaviour, the more rigid and punitive we must be. I want to introduce you to a new paradigm on this subject.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 10:30am to 11:30pm

The Power of Connection (EY, MP1)

Roberta Caminha

Children need to feel safe to learn and our affective bond with them is the greatest tool there is. Relationships are what help our children with challenging behaviours.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 12am to 1pm

Positive Discipline (EY, MP1)

Roberta Caminha

Positive discipline is an approach based on building healthy and respectful relationships. It helps us understand what is behind challenging behaviours and gives us tools to deal with them on a daily basis.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 2:30pm to 3:30pm

Secondary behaviour management – Marshmallows & Traffic Cops: Thinking Motivation

Sue Cowley

This seminar will explore motivation, looking at why students break the rules and how we can motivate them to ‘do the right thing’. We will explore intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, examining ways in which teachers can build relationships, increase engagement and use creative approaches, to support better behaviour.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 9am to 10am

Secondary behaviour management – Differentiation to Support Behaviour for Learning

Sue Cowley

This session will look at how we can meet the needs of learners with a diverse range of starting points in secondary classrooms. We will explore different strategies for differentiation, examining a range of practical ways in which teachers adapt their lessons and their approaches, so that every student can succeed.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 10:30am to 11:30am

Primary behaviour management – Differentiation to Support Behaviour for Learning (MP2-3)

Sue Cowley

This session will explore a range of practical ways in which you can better meet the needs of every child in your class. We will explore the kinds of ‘differences’ that you might find between learners, and how we can build on prior knowledge, skills and interests in order to support children’s understanding and behaviour.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 12am to 1pm

Primary behaviour management – Supporting Children to Make Good Choices (MP2-3)

Sue Cowley

This session will examine the ways in which teachers can use language to support positive behaviour in primary classrooms. We will look at the ‘language of choice’, exploring how we can frame our expectations of behaviour in a positive way. We will also explore imaginative and creative approaches which help children ‘do the right thing’, including in lessons taught by specialists.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 2:30pm to 3:30pm

What is Creativity? 10 Common misconceptions about the meaning of Creativity

Charles Watson

Contrary to common belief, creativity is not as natural or easy as many self-help books would have us believe.  “Natural” for our brains, is to follow the path of least resistance, using a minimum amount of energy for the maximum anticipated return. Nature is thrifty. After all, why spend more energy looking for a new solution when an old familiar one works just as well? When given the choice, we tend to choose the well worn neural pathways –– the already tested options. Real creativity is about building bridges between the familiar and the unlikely, it’s an unending struggle between entropy and persistent self-construction.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 9am to 10m

Creativity and Limits

Charles Watson

“Freedom is chaos, with a better lighting project.” –– Alan Dean Foster

“Creativity is imagination in a straightjacket” –– Richard Feynman

I often ask lecture audiences what are the most important things about creative performance and more often than not, their answer is freedom. So I then ask what they mean by freedom and they often equate freedom with an absence of limits.

Well, most of the creative professionals who I interview, tend to think the opposite ––  too much freedom can inhibit creativity rather than stimulating it and that creative performance in the majority of cases, depends on the imposition of well defined and sometimes suffocating limits. Some of these can be restrictions imposed by life circumstances, some can take the form of rules that clearly define your activity –– a painting, a book, a sport or business choice and some some take the form of additional self-imposed limits. 

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 10:30am to 11:30am

The Engineering of Mistakes

Charles Watson

“We made the wrong mistakes” –– Yogi Bear

“There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets it.” –– Leonard Cohen

The stone-age didn’t come to an end because there were no more stones left, neither was electric light invented by extending the possibilities of the candle, or the internal combustion engine by tweaking the horse. The history of good ideas is characterised by an inherent nonlinearity, by fits and starts, serendipity, and unexpected bifurcations – many of them based on mistakes. 

Don’t forget that by definition, a mistake is a deviation from your expectations –– but so are new discoveries. So at least in that sense, mistakes and discoveries have something important in common. Mistakes often open up different pathways and lead to new insights. If you have any doubts about this, just take the time to confirm the role of “mistakes” and “chance discoveries” in the history of science, technology and medicine, never mind art: ––X-rays, anaesthesia, vaccines, antibiotics, chemotherapy, radioactivity, Redshift, Big Bang Background Radiation, photography, microwaves, velcro, and even botox, and viagra, to mention just a few.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 12am to 1pm

Persistence, hope and dopamine

Charles Watson

“Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again” –– Fred Astair 

The secret of a lasting marriage, as they say, is not to get divorced. Any worthwhile rewarding activity will be fraught with problems and marriage and creativity are no exception. The problem, it seems, is the resilience we show in dealing with them. And It’s not that creative people feel less discomfort than others––they often feel more; but they seem to have a higher tolerance for discomfort, to the point of seeing discomfort as an ally, rather than a foe. It’s a sign that they’re in the right place; in a zone where they know that important things are more likely to happen –– if they just stay there long enough. “It’s not that I’m so smart”, said Albert Einstein, “I just stay with the problem for longer”.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 2:30pm to 3:30pm

Leading for a culture of improvement

David Weston

Building on today’s keynote, how can leaders take the ideas about effective culture and conditions for staff and make it a reality in teams and organisations.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 9am to 10am

Ensuring and assuring quality

David Weston

How team and senior leaders can create a supportive and powerful process that helps teachers improve and gives confidence that standards are being kept.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 10:30am to 11:30am

Professional Development Impact

David Weston

How can we design teacher learning and development so that it has an impact not only on the adults but also on the pupils? How can we build in processes that empower staff themselves to evaluate the impact?

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 12am to 1pm

Collaboration models: teacher coaching and teacher enquiry

David Weston

These two key models are proven strategies to help teachers work together to solve problems, use research and improve practices and outcomes; find out how they work and how leaders can implement them.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 2:30pm to 3:30pm

Oracy: It’s good to talk – promoting effective talk in the classroom for learning

Freya Odell

This seminar will explore why talk is important, what constitutes effective talk and how we can provide opportunities in the classroom to maximise pupil talking time.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 9am to 10am

Oracy: the power of talk – utilising talk about learning to create confident, reflective and successful learners

Freya Odell

This seminar will explore how we can use talk for learning in our classrooms to support our pupils to become more metacognitive.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 10:30am to 11:30am

Developing a whole school reading culture – from engaged readers in KS3 to independent researchers at IB

Freya Odell

Reading is central to all aspects of the curriculum.  This seminar will explore how we can foster a reading culture across our school but also develop our pupils into the independent researchers that they need to be as they tackle their EE!

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 12am to 1pm

Academic writing – preparing pupils for the EE and beyond!

Freya Odell

The Covid pandemic has seen a regression in the standard of writing across all subjects.  This seminar will focus on the key messages from the IB about academic writing so that we can better support our pupils to write well and with the necessary academic flair.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 2:30pm to 3:30pm

Cultivating skills and character in a KS3 Curriculum

George Speller

Reflections on the integration of skills and character in a knowledge rich KS3 curriculum. The seminar will explore particularly the implications for assessment and reporting in such a curriculum.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 9am to 10am

Cultivating skills and character in a KS3 Curriculum (repeat of Seminar 1)

George Speller

Reflections on the integration of skills and character in a knowledge rich KS3 curriculum. The seminar will explore particularly the implications for assessment and reporting in such a curriculum.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 10:15am to 11:15am

Connecting Upper Primary with KS3

George Speller

Thoughts on enhancing collaboration between Primary and Secondary schools for smooth and effective transition.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 12am to 1pm

Maximising the opportunity to learn

Chris Moyse

This seminar will provide an opportunity to review the way we create an atmosphere in our classroom that is conducive to learning, further adding to our behaviour toolkit.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 9am to 10am

Understanding working memory; a classroom guide

Chris Moyse

Teaching that ignores the limitations of the working memory is flawed, so this seminar will look at alleviating the issues associated with a limited working memory in our every day teaching.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 10:30am to 11:30am

Responsive teaching

Chris Moyse

Teaching a range of children is tough, so this seminar will address the elements of responsive teaching that takes into consideration the various starting points and current abilities of your children so all are sufficiently challenged.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 12am to 1pm

Thanks for the feedback

Chris Moyse

Feedback is essential for learning, but as adults we dislike it, so this workshop is designed to look at the art of receiving feedback well so that we may continue to grow as great teachers.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 2:30pm to 3:30pm

Enabling the Environment (EY)

Katy Freeman

In this seminar we will be looking at what we mean by ‘Enabling the Environment.’ We will be discussing the connections of play and enquiry and how we use our environment to support this.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 9am to 10am

Effective Interactions ‘bringing about learning’ (EY)

Katy Freeman

We will be discussing our roles and interactions within the Early Years classroom. Looking at the implications of what we say, what we do and when we do it. How to make our interactions most effective allowing a balance for child led learning as well as teacher scaffolded learning.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 10:15am to 11:15am

Documenting the learning (EY)

Katy Freeman

This seminar we will discuss the different elements of documenting learning within an Early Years setting. What should we document, why should we document and how?

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 12am to 1pm

Reflective Practices (EY)

Katy Freeman

This seminar aims to create a better understanding of the IEYC process to facilitate learning and how to implement reflective practices through observations and planning.

WHEN:

Day 1, April 3rd, 2:30pm to 3:30pm