inspire - education magazine issue 06 (spring 2012)

ISSUE 6 WINTER 2011

AN INSIGHT INTO WORKING

IN EARLY YEARS

THOUSANDS VIEW THE OLYMPIC TORCH

IPADS IN THE CLASSROOM – IS THIS THE fUTURE

Of LEARNING?

2 www.northampton.ac.uk/education

Contents

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www.facebook.com/theuniversityofnorthampton

@Soeuninorthants

uninorthamptonSoe

an intimate observation of disability

early years

researCH

iPads in tHe Classroom

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neW sCHool of edUCation

olymPiC torCH

GradUation

life after Uni

3 inSpire magazine. iSSue 6, winter ‘11

45

select the respective application (Qr reader) from your usual platform and upload it onto your smartphone (there are free reader apps, such as the ‘i-nigma’ app.

open the application on your smartphone and hold the camera exactly over the Qr code on one of the pages of this issue.

When the camera registers the Qr code your smartphone will activate the link to the multimedia content.

inspired provides multimedia content that you can access via the small square icons - known as Qr codes – on some pages. With your smartphone and the right software you can link to websites, photo galleries, videos and social media pages. follow the instructions and give it a try. you need an iPhone (3Gs or later) or a smartphone with the android operating system. We recommend at least 2 megapixels for the camera on your phone.

Inspired Interactive Written and produced by The University of Northampton School of Education all submissions are property of Inspire magazine.

the entire content ©Copyright the University of northampton school of education 2011, and cannot be reproduced in whole or part without prior written consent.

Editor & Words: Paul bramble [email protected]

Photography: design depot ltd, the University of northampton, neil shelby long

Design: design depot ltd www.designdepot.net

Print: Portland Print ltd

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visit from

GREEN OAKS SCHOOL CHILDRENChildren from Green oaks school visited the University this week to work with our year 1 science specialists on a project about fairtrade Chocolate.

as well as learning about the reversible and irreversible change, they learnt about the chocolate making process, what Fairtrade means and how chocolate is packaged. But best of all, they enjoyed tasting different types of Fairtrade chocolate and making their own chocolate creations to take home with them. if only cadbury’s was as creative!

Inaugural British Early Childhood Education Research Association (BECERA)School of education colleagues presented papers at the inaugural British early childhood education research association (Becera) conference in Birmingham this week:

professor denise hevey, Jeanne Barczewska and hayley hunter: Attracting graduates into Early Years Work: Experience of the Early Years Student Associate Scheme.

eunice Lumsden: The Individual and the Collective: Perceptions of Early Years Professional Status.

Jane murray: Young Children’s Explorations: Young children’s research?

professors chris pascal and tony Bertram organised the conference to complement the larger annual european early childhood education research association (eecera) conference. conference highlights included professor Jean mcniff’s keynote – Exploring Practice Based Research – and professor philip gammage’s workshop focused on what we may usefully emulate and avoid about early childhood education and care in Finland.

School of education partnership film is now live on the School’s Youtube channel. the aim of the film is to provide information on our partnership and show how diverse we are to perspective students, parents, school heads and other organisations.

news from an education graduatebriony Webb (Hill) who works in milton Keynes as an art specialist teacher in a primary school, has been working over the last six months with a group of year 5 children alongside a blacksmith artist on the take one Picture project based on tobias and the angel.

with the help of scrap metal they have created a life size ‘Summerfield School guardian angel!’ they had a visit from the national gallery and were delighted to find that their angel had been selected for display at the exhibition in London.

PARTNERSHIP fILM

The University of Northampton hosted 110 Year 12 students to ‘Be. An Inspiration’ event in June.

this day was specifically designed for those interested in our School of education courses; teacher training, early Years and childhood and Youth. included in the day were subject-based workshops and campus tours, as well as careers advice for the group.

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www.northampton.ac.uk/education6

on tuesday 15th march, Peter Wells, as a representative from the University of northampton attended the ‘leicester City achievement in Childcare awards’ and presented an award to the early years foundation degree student of the year.

cristina devecchi has been awarded the outstanding author contribution award at the Literati network awards for excellence 2011 for the chapter ‘Leadership for inclusive schools and inclusive school leadership’ published in advances in educational administration which she co-authored with professor ann nevin.

EARLY YEARS fOUNDATION DEGREE STUDENT AWARD

There were more than 120 people,

including shortlisted nominees, attending

the event organised by Leicester City Council.

there are eight categories of awards for nomination,

including foundation degree student of the year; childminder of the year;

worker of the year; work with parents; outstanding contribution to the whole setting; quality workforce team; and enabling environments.

workers in group early years and childcare settings (nurseries, playgroups, crèches, out of school clubs) have nominated colleagues/teams for the group care categories. childminders were

nominated by parents that use their childminding service.

there were over 100 nominations across the award categories and there was a maximum of three shortlisted nominees in each category.

winners received a plaque and a winners photograph.

OUTSTANDINGAuthor AwArd

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anita devi delivered a paper at the fourth international oxford conference on preparing for academic practice. these conferences were initiated and led by one of the 74 centres of excellence in teaching & Learning (ceLts), which were awarded funding by the higher education Funding council for england (heFce) for five years, from 2005-2010.

the theme of this year’s conference was “academia as workplace: linking past, present and future.” anita spoke on ‘the significance of experiential learning to support the achievement and inclusion of international students on post graduate education courses’.

AERA ConferenceCristina Devecchi and Mary Doveston presented a paper titled ‘Are they worth the money? Exploring the role of adult support in English mainstream and Special Schools in a time of financial constraints’ at the american educational research association annual conference, new orleans, on monday 11th april.

the paper focused on the research on the employment and deployment of hLtas carried out last year by mary, paul Sedgwick and Johnson Jament, and funded by Leicester city council.

Ann Shelton Mayes and Hilary Burgess (Leicester university) presented a paper entitled ‘Imaginative learning communities: a case study of teacher professional development in English rural primary schools’.

CONfERENCE NEWS

university LEARNING & TEACHING

ConferenCea number of education academic staff gave

presentations at the fourth University learning and teaching conference – ‘learning Global’.

Gareth Honeyford and Bob Hopkins presented posters which shared information gathered by students about the use of technology in local schools and details of staff/student collaborative wiki called ‘ictapedia’. For further details please contact Bob or gareth or

look at their posters which will be displayed along with some posters created by Year 2 students in mX04.

anna cox and estelle tarry gave a presentation on ‘researching the experience of an expatriate indian community in the united kingdom; a perspective on cross-cultural research’

estelle tarry also gave a presentation on “is west really best? Social and cultural tensions, international students; experience having studied at British universities”.

cilel Smith gave a presentation on “the impact of prior learning on future education as a global learner”.

this was the first time all students

who study at different sites at

northampton, Leicester city and

South Leicester college have

come together.

keynote speakers were angela

Sugden and kate Banfield,

Sure Start children’s centre early

Learning managers for kirklees

council presenting ‘the child’s

Journey’ and dr Liz Brooker,

whose publications include

Starting School-Young children

Learning cultures, and Supporting

transitions in the early Years

presenting ‘Learning

to belong: what does the key

worker do?’.

Students had the opportunity to

complete reflection activities based

on displays set out in h39 and the

library foyer.

early feedback is overwhelmingly

positive, commenting on: the

exhibits including displays of their

own work; opportunities to talk with

students from Year 1 and 2 across

all venues; the scale of the course!

thanks go to cynd, Lorraine and

everyone who contributed to

making it such a success.


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Year 1 physical education specialists hosted a Year 3 multiskills festival at thomas Becket School. Seventy children, from three of the feeder primary schools, participated in a number

of events designed to develop their basic movement capabilities in a non sports specific contest. it was very successful and we have been invited to return next year to host a similar event.

PE ITE Studentsyear 2 Physical education specialists triumphed at an annual orienteering competition against shuttleworth College outdoor education students, retaining the trophy. special congratulations to natasha Jackson and ben Pritchard, the overall winning pair.

EARLY YEARS fOUNDATION

DEGREE CONfERENCE

on thursday 19th may 2011, all students enrolled

on the sector endorsed early years foundation degree

attended a conference at the University of northampton.

Trip to ThailandSteve Cullingford-Agnew has recently returned from a trip to Thailand (Bangkok), which was organised by the Village Education Centre, Bangkok.

the visit was to consider work with international schools in Bangkok to develop cpd opportunities in Special educational needs and inclusion. currently this is in the early stages of investigation.

during his time there Steve visited patana international School which is a very large not for profit school. Bath university currently works with the international Schools and our hope is to develop similar links to include the university of northampton.


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Indian Visitorthe school has hosted a visitor from india working

on development of a masters degree programme to be run in Bangalore through

a partnership with the university.

Jayashree amarnath rajanhally represents

the Brindavan educational trust, an ngo that has for more than 20 years been providing education for children with a range of

learning difficulties and has trained teachers across

karnataka state in south india.

the main focus of this professional development opportunity is to explore ‘curriculum adaptation and the application of p Scales in uk’. the Sen team are working in partnership with the university of cambridge’s Faculty of education on this development. the 10 visitors from hong kong were at the university of northampton in June as part of their 10 day study tour in the uk.

the group includes two officers from the hong kong education Bureau and eight principals

from Special Schools in hong kong. during their stay they will be visiting Special Schools and college settings as well as having discussions with headteachers and senior school improvement advisors from the east midlands and the eastern regions. an integral part of this visit will be exploring the potential for the university of northampton to provide future professional development opportunities for hong kong schools, including exchange visits with uk schools.

Year 2 BA QTS Displays

Year 2 Ba QtS early Years education students

exhibited a range of innovative and imaginative

“parent information displays”.

the work showcased information for parents about cross-curricular

provision for a focus child’s learning, incorporating an

educational visit.

displays included “the Seaside”, “the roald dahl museum”, “twycross zoo”

and “the Beach” and formed an impressive collection.

hong Kong visitors

the Hong Kong education bureau has commissioned the sen & inclusion team to provide training for Principals of Hong Kong special schools.

Flexible teaching spaces now accommodate twenty-first century technology designed to support more effective teaching and learning activities appropriate in meeting the needs of all our students. the co-location of teaching and administrative teams has also been a priority in the new building with positive feedback from colleagues suggesting that this has been a success.

it is five years since ann Shelton-mayes (dean of School of education) and di Stoncel (principal Lecturer) began a research project (‘effective Learning environments’) drawing on student and staff perspectives of their teaching and learning experiences on professional courses, the

outcomes of which informed aspects of the design and planning of the new build and refurbishment. Students on professional education programmes who were consulted as part of the research project, emphasised the importance of high quality higher education environments to support a range of learning and teaching approaches. in redesigning the building we have taken into account our students’ need to experience teaching and learning within environments that impact positively on them as learners in order to effectively support their professional development.

Both staff and student perspectives have focused on the configuration of teaching spaces and rightly emphasised the need for flexibility as well as personal comfort.

But as a School of education we are cognisant of the need to highlight pedagogy and then consider how space and technology impacts on teaching and learning activity. a further research project is planned for 2011/12 that will focus on the ‘implementation and operation’ stage of how the new building is actually being used and the impact this is having on teaching and learning – watch this space!

the school of education is building upon its successthe 2011 autumn term has witnessed new beginnings for both the school of education staff and students as the sulgrave building reopened its doors again after a year of extensive work, which has seen the building double in size.


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he annual celebration event for teaching assistants in northamptonshire and

Leicestershire schools was held recently at the university of northampton.

the event celebrated teaching assistants who have gained hLta (higher Level teaching assistant) status in the previous 12 months.

For the new hLtas and their guests, this was an opportunity to celebrate their achievements and all of the hard work that the candidates had put in to gain the status. it was fitting that so many of them were

accompanied by family members or school leaders who had supported them throughout the process. everyone was very positive about the experience and enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with friends and the hLta trainers who had prepared them for their assessments.

ken Bland, hLta programme Leader, School of education, spoke about the achievements of hLtas in both counties and gave certificates to the successful candidates.

“The final and most important consequence is that we have created a flexible, professional body of staff who are all capable of working individually and in concert for the greater good of the children in this school.

I hope they feel that they are important to the school and that they are valued as co-professionals, working unstintingly in that cause.

Nobody here is doing a job. Everybody is serving others and I for one would not wish it to go back to being any other way.”KrySS DUrLING, HEAD TEACHEr of PArK JUNIor SCHooL, KETTErING, NorTHAMPToNSHIrE

altogether 175 teaching assistants have gained hLta status in northamptonshire and Leicestershire in the 12 months to may 2011, having been supported in the process by 152 different schools

and study centres. Since 2003, when hLta was introduced, 1,233 teaching assistants have gained the status in northamptonshire and Leicestershire. nationally the figure stands at over 38,000. these hLtas

are working across all phases of the curriculum, in primary, secondary and special schools, enhancing the educational experience of hundreds of children.

“We have created a flexible, professional body of staff who are all capable of working individually and in concert for the greater

good of the children” “Everyone was very positive about the experience and enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with friends and

the HLTA trainers”

HIGHER LEVEL TEACHING ASSISTANT STATUS

CelebrAted At AnnuAl event

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Brooke weston academy, corby and Fairfields School, northampton have been successful in their bids for gaining teaching School status with the first cohort from 1st September 2011.

the School of education supported both schools in this bid and we are looking forward to working with them in partnership.

richard rose recently returned from completing a consultancy at the UniversitiKebangsaan (National University of Malaysia) in Bangi near Kuala Lumpur.

during his visit, in addition to completing an evaluation of research recently undertaken by academics in the Faculty of education, he was able to visit schools and work with phd students. a link has been established with plans to hold a video conference between our own phd students and those with whom he worked in malaysia.

Visit to Malaysia

TEACHING SCHOOL STATUS

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stArs for

the June evening occasion welcomed over 100 staff and representatives of nurseries, preschools and other early years settings from across the east midlands, in a celebration of best practice.

Some 40 students from the university’s School of education were presented with ‘star’ trophies by Vice chancellor, professor nick petford, in recognition of having gained early Years professional Status - described by the children’s workforce development council as the ‘gold standard’ for early Years practice.

this is the third year in which we have run our partnership evenings, bringing together students and many of the employers who support them through day-release or who provide vital work placements.

we were very lucky on this occasion to have Liz magraw, a leading early Years consultant, to present our keynote speech on outdoor play.

having recently been graded as an ‘outstanding provider’ for early Years professional Status (eYpS) to add to its grade 1 outstanding ofsted rating for teacher training, the School of education is looking forward to another highly successful

and challenging year. more than 120 additional students are due to be awarded eYpS by december 2011 and 160 new undergraduates are expected to enrol on the first year of their early years studies from September.

national and local research is starting to show that early Years professionals are improving practice and raising standards in early Years’ settings.

“This is why we are here. We know our students rate our courses highly but the bottom line is, can they make a real difference to children and families, particularly in the most disadvantaged areas? The answer coming from research is that they can.”ProfESSor IN EArLy yEArS, DENISE HEVEy

UNIVERSITY’S EARLY YEAR PROfESSIONALS

Some of the students from the University’s School of Education with their awards in recognition of having gained Early Years Professional Status.

the university of northampton held a special awards ceremony earlier this year for its students in front of key partners working in the field of early years.

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the university of northampton has been unveiled as one of only four teacher training providers in england to be ranked as ‘double green’, with teaching of english and mathematics both being rated outstanding.

the double green ranking is only made to higher education institutions that are rated as outstanding in the teaching of english (including phonics) and mathematics in the nQt survey. the results, made public in the latest newly Qualified teacher (nQt) Survey, mean that the university’s position in terms of excellence in teacher training has been further reinforced. it is already ranked as an outstanding provider by ofsted.

these new results mean that the university of northampton shares its double green status with just three other institutions - the university of cambridge, northumbria university and the institute of education.

“Government Ministers are looking very closely at university performances in the teaching of mathematics and phonics, so these results are excellent news and bode well for our future. future funding for teacher training may well be based on a university’s ability to demonstrate that they are developing teachers well and can deliver outstanding mathematics and phonics training. These results prove that we are doing just that.

This is testament to the outstanding work our staff, both at the University and at our partner schools, undertake with our students.”PATrICK SMITH, HEAD of INITIAL TEACHEr EDUCATIoN, SCHooL of EDUCATIoN

over 500 trainee teachers study at the university of northampton each year on both postgraduate and undergraduate programmes. recent statistics demonstrate a high proportion of those who complete their training successfully secure their first teaching post within 12 months of qualifying.

english and mathematics teaching hailed

in nQt survey

‘Outstanding’

www.northampton.ac.uk/education

DOUBLEGREEN

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this award system is validated by the association for Science education and the national network of Science Learning centres. it celebrates the development of quality science teaching and learning in primary schools.

elaine Batchelor, Senior Lecturer in education, the university of northampton’s School of education, is the hub Leader and explained more about the award scheme:

“I am delighted to be working with science coordinators to raise the profile of science in primary schools.

Learning science offers children an opportunity to develop and create knowledge and understanding about their world.

Through experiments, models and creative thinking, children can discover how science ideas contribute to their daily life and technological changes.

Through the PSQM award scheme, the School of Education is supporting science leaders in primary schools as part of their continuing professional development. Hub meetings held at the School of Education will enable each school to achieve a bronze, silver or gold Quality Mark which is valid for three years.”ELAINE BATCHELor

in the ofsted report into Science teaching 2007-10, published in January 2011, inspectors identified

the primary Science Quality mark as an important mechanism for bringing about improvement in primary science:

inspectors’ interviews with staff in the schools that participated in the initiative confirmed the improvements in teachers’

confidence and ability to teach science, with a consequent positive impact not only on pupils’ performance but also on their engagement and enjoyment.

the primary schools that will be working with the university of northampton will soon be confirmed.

Further details on the award scheme can be found at www.psqm.org.uk

EDUCATION MENTORS SCHOOLS IN SCIENCE TEACHING

ten primary schools will be working towards achieving the Primary science Quality mark award over the next year, with support from the PsQm Hub at the University of northampton’s school of education.

Learning science offers children an opportunity to develop and create

knowledge and understanding about their world.

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Sue griffith’s research into dyslexia-friendly teaching materials and methods in heis, jointly authored with a colleague from newman university college, Birmingham, was presented via poster presentation at the higher education academy conference.

this poster presentation won the delegates award at conference. congratulations to Sue, this puts the School of education on the hea map. the poster can be seen on the education shared drive under general information and education publications.

CPD IN HONG KONG steve Cullingford-agnew and annie fergusson are delivering seminars and training workshops for Principals, curriculum leaders and teachers in Hong Kong.

this work, for the hong kong education Bureau [edB], has developed from the university’s role over the past three years, in organising three professional development study tours for edB officers and Special School principals to look at curriculum assessment and reporting for pupils with Sen in the uk.

100% OVERALL

SATISfACTION

RATINGScongratulations to the Ba (hons)

childhood and Youth and Foundation

degree in Learning and teaching

team for achieving 100% overall

satisfaction ratings in the national

Students Survey (nSS) this year.

the School had a very good

performance in most categories

but we will be working hard with

programme and subject leaders to

improve them further. there will be

a new requirement for universities

to publish key information Sets,

including nSS ratings, employment

rates and teaching contact hours,

on the ucaS sites so that students

can compare programmes

before applying.

during october Professor John visser, who joins the school of education as visiting Professor gave his inaugural lecture at the sunley Conference Centre.

John, who is known internationally for his work in the area of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, gave a most interesting lecture with the title “past wisdoms: Future practice. meeting the needs of children and Young people with Behaviours that can challenge”. an audience of academic colleagues, research students, friends and relations heard John give a most thought provoking presentation. John, who has previously held positions at the universities of exeter and

Birmingham as well as having a distinguished career teaching in schools, is working with colleagues in the School of education on the development of research bids as well as doing some teaching, research training and phd supervision.

Inaugural Lecture

DYSLExIA-fRIENDLY TEACHING MATERIALS

inSpire magazine. iSSue 6, winter ‘11 17

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the course, the first Level 4 certificate for teaching assistants in an international context, is going to be used to train the staff at haileybury, one of Britain’s oldest and most prestigious independent boarding schools in the uk, to launch the new english School in astana.

“The University has developed the Certificate as part of our agenda for internationalisation and has been designed to develop host country and expatriate Teaching Assistants knowledge and skills to an internationally recognised standard.”Dr ESTELLE TArry, SENIor LECTUrEr IN EDUCATIoN AT THE UNIVErSITy of NorTHAMPToN

the School will open its doors on 1 September 2011 to pupils from the age of 3 to 10 years and has plans for

a boarding school for pupils aged from 13 to open in September 2014.

“Education is not the process of filling up an empty vessel, but lighting a fire in the hearts and minds of the young with whom we are privileged to work.We offer a special blend of discipline, respect and life skills in a calm, modern environment. our British-based education programme is internationally competitive and we are very grateful to The University of Northampton for helping us to create and maintain the highest academic standards.”ANDrEW AUSTEr, HEADMASTEr of HAILEyBUry IN ASTANA

the certificate for teaching assistants in an international context was developed following

research on behalf of the council of British international Schools (coBiS) and launched at their conference on 30 may 2011 in London.

“The University of Northampton’s accredited and bespoke training for classroom based support staff in international schools has been well received throughout the growing CoBIS global network.”CoLIN BELL, CoBIS ExECUTIVE DIrECTor

the new course is part-time over one year consisting of six days face to face teaching supported with online blended learning and takes a flexible approach in developing the students’ skills.

“This Certificate is designed to meet the specific needs of teaching assistants working within international primary settings and is designed to develop their understanding of intercultural teaching with children in the age range 5-11.”Dr ESTELLE TArry

the partnership between the School of education at the university of northampton and the haileybury in astana was facilitated by the university’s Business and commercial Services team which offers a range of support services to businesses, voluntary and community groups.

NEW UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP WITH BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL IN KAzAKHSTANa new support staff training course developed by the University of northampton is helping train teaching assistants for the first british independent school in astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.


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Children from Hunsbury Park Primary school presented their project Growing talent for learning to trainee teachers at the University. this project was facilitated by mrs mary James (deputy Head and senCo), mrs sally Hough (Class teacher) and educational Psychologist, Jo Ward.

growing talent for Learning is a whole class intervention devised in northamptonshire by mary doveston, Senior Lecturer in education and marian keenaghan, Senior educational psychologist. the project uses appreciative inquiry and Solution Focused thinking to develop the social dynamics within a group to create an effective and enjoyable learning climate. hunsbury park primary School is one of over twenty northamptonshire Schools to have used this approach since 2002.

for learning

gROWing taLEnt

Brindavan education trust, Bangalore, is an ngo started in 1993, working with children who have Learning difficulties (Ld), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd), and associated problems. an important area of our work at Brindavan has been to educate mainstream teachers about various aspects of teaching children with these difficulties and work towards inclusive education.

Seminar 2011, with the theme “inclusive education: pedagogies & issues”, was held

on 22nd and 23rd of January 2011. the first day was open to teachers and others associated with the field. the second day was an in-house event for special educators and parents of children who attend Brindavan. the event was a big success with over 200 delegates participating. the seminar touched on perspectives and

It shared ideas that teachers could implement in their

classrooms to include children with ADHD and other difficulties

in learning.

Professor richard rose and dr Johnson Jament recently visited india to work on course development with colleagues. during their visit they presented their work at a seminar in bangalore. mrs. Jayashree amarnath rajanahally sent us this report from bangalore.

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issues of inclusive education. it also shared ideas that teachers could implement in their classrooms to include children with adhd/other difficulties in learning.

in his keynote address on the first day, professor richard rose outlined the inclusion scenario in the uk and the modifications needed to transfer it to india. dr. Shobha Srinath, a psychiatrist working with adhd and autism Spectrum disorders (aSd), gave a very practical presentation based on her experiences in the process of introducing classroom interventions. the panel discussion chaired by mrs. rukmini krishnaswami, director of the Spastics Society of karnataka, was on the realities

in mainstream schools of moving towards inclusion. mrs. kalpagam prabhakar, a very creative and experienced teacher shared a wealth of information about inclusive teacher interventions that she has been using in her teaching

for many years. dr. Johnson Jament, made a presentation on the co morbidity that exists with Ld, adhd and aSd and the interventions needed to include these children in classrooms.

Brindavan released the 4th issue of its bi-annual newsletter “Little Details”, its first book “Making Math Language Magic”, by founder director mrs. kusuma narayanamurthy, and “KATS” – kids assessment tool for Ld, a software tool developed by mrs. anitha Yadalam and mrs. Jayashree rajanahally along with two engineering students Soumya Venkatraman and Sneha prabhu. honouring seven mainstream teachers who made inclusion happen with awards, was another first that Brindavan initiated.

the second day had professor rose and dr. Jament presenting on teacher education, and home school partnership fostering inclusion, respectively.

Inclusive Education: Pedagogies & Issues

SEMINAR 2011

organised by brindavan education trust, bangalore, india.

The event was a big success with over 200 delegates participating.


olymPiC torCH

and enjoy sports at the

University of Northampton

THOUSANDS VIEW

OLYMPIC TORCH

More on the

olympic

Torch event


over 2,700 members of the public, students and staff got their picture taken with the official coca-cola olympic torch and participate in a massive range of free sporting events.

the event was held at the university of northampton’s park campus on a gloriously sunny day (Friday 28 october).

the queue for photographs with the olympic torch stretched into the hundreds for the entire day as everyone patiently waited to see a special piece of history. the event came about after a successful bid by the university’s Students’ union to be the only university in the east midlands to host the torch in a nationwide search for inspirational young people - Future Flames - to carry the olympic Flame during the London 2012 olympic torch relay.

hundreds of visitors also found out more about, and took part in, sports activities on campus and at nearby Benham Sports arena, including hockey; climbing; Football; cricket; Boxing; Basketball; martial arts; Badminton; wheelchair Basketball; table tennis; Stick Fighting; rugby union; trampolining; Boccie; handball; nordic walking; Sailing and rowing.

highlights of the day were also watched live via the web by over 830 viewers across the uk, the united States, the eu, gibraltar, hong kong, pakistan, italy, austria, india and Sweden.

the university’s olympic spirit was further bolstered by the presence of Bobby white, team gB handball captain; tim male, an olympic rower who represented Britain in rowing at the athens games in 2004, and christopher davidge, chairman of the university’s Foundation trustees and a former British rower who competed in the Summer olympics three times in 1952, 1956 and 1960.

president of the Students’ union, tim Joaquim, said:

“this has been a fantastic event and a once in a lifetime opportunity for people to see and hold the olympic torch. it’s been great to see our students and the wider community really embrace the

olympic spirit and enjoy all of the sports available to have a go at today.”

university Vice chancellor, professor nick petford, added:

“this has been a hugely successful occasion for us and we’ve had thousands of people on campus.

we’re very proud of our Students’ union and we’d like to offer a big thank you to all of our supporting partners in this event, including our own Sports and exercise Science team; northamptonshire Sport; northampton town Football club; Benham Sports arena; all the clubs and coaches that have supported today, and all of our staff who have helped make the event such a success.”

ceremonies closed with a 15-minute spectacular fireworks display, courtesy of the Students’ union.

olymPiC torCH

“This has been a fantastic event and a once in a

lifetime opportunity for people to see and hold

the Olympic Torch”


GradUation

3,532 students from the university of northampton graduated from the higher education institution between 19 – 22 July, 2011 during four days of ceremonies at park campus. 8,000 visitors were welcomed onto campus during the events.

amongst the leading figures receiving honorary awards from

the university of northampton’s former Vice chancellor ann tate, returned to campus at the northampton Business School ceremony on 22 July to pick up her honorary doctorate.

honorary Fellowship for inspirational autism expert professor gary mesibov was also awarded.

professor mesibov was recognised for his outstanding contribution over more than 30 years to the understanding and support of children and young people with autistic Spectrum disorders.

as director of division teacch at the university of north carolina, professor mesibov’s work as a clinician and academic has influenced change in support for countless children, not only in the uSa but internationally.

for the first time, the University of northampton web streamed the ceremonies live in collaboration with streamexchange. the ceremonies were viewed online by 35 countries so friends and family overseas could share in the event. the school of education celebrated graduation in July with around 300 graduates attending with family and friends.

fOUR DAYS Of GRADUATIONS ON CAMPUS... and online for the first time


GradUation

after being presented for his award by professor richard rose of the university’s School of education, professor mesibov commented: “i’ve worked with so many wonderful people at the university of northampton. it would be difficult to find a more talented and professional group of people.

“i’ve been lucky enough to work with colleagues across many institutions, starting with my education at Brandeis university, Stanford university and the university of michigan. all have helped me cross the bridge from academia into touching the lives of so many people.

“people often don’t appreciate the pressures and stress involved for families coping with a young person on the autistic Spectrum. a key challenge for the future is developing and training people who fully understand the disorder.

“developing staff who sufficiently understand autism is absolutely vital. training these people, along with further research into special educational needs is an important focus for both myself, and the university of northampton.”

• The course is very well designed.

• The Programme Director provides inspirational leadership and a unifying force where tutors share the same vision and approach.

• Sessions were skilfully led by knowledgeable and enthusiastic staff.

• The participants interviewed had very high respect for the integrity and judgement of the programme team.

• Weekends were intellectually challenging and there was a clear step up between modules one and two. the learning came through mathematical engagement and reflection upon it. it nevertheless felt like master’s level activity. this was not easily achieved.

• Participants were helped to develop ‘deep understanding’ of relevant mathematics for themselves.

• The problematic question of the inter-relationship between subject knowledge and pedagogy is explored subtly, in ways that are consistent with what we know about how professionals learn.

written feedback from participants is very positive and those whose views were sought were conscious of the transformatory impact of the programme as a whole.

Mathematics Specialist Masters ProgrammetHe matHematiCs sPeCialist masters ProGramme Has reCeived an exCellent external evalUation rePort, Key Points made Were:


life after Uni

fter university i continued to work with the family support team in huntingdon as a

child and family worker and was fortunate enough to carry out some life story work which i really enjoyed and gave me the opportunity to work with a wide range of professionals independently.

then i went off on my travels with Steph gilder to South east asia, where we had an amazing time and visited some fantastic countries! cambodia was my favourite place, i learnt so much about the history of the country and how the khmer rouge and still shadows over the people today with an entire generation of society missed out.

my eyes were really opened by the shocking reality of the street children there too. as much as

i had read about it prior to visiting and heard many stories nothing prepared us for facing the children ourselves and being chased down the streets by them at crazy times of the night begging for the shirt off your back, it really was heart breaking. it urged us to look into the charities that support these children and we visited an orphanage and carried out some teaching in a local school.

even the day of teaching was an eye opener as the children receive just one hour of education a day by a cambodian teacher who stopped several times during her lesson to check with us that she was using the correct english terminology or punctuation. Still, this hour of learning was so valuable and worthwhile for the

children. however, it highlighted the need for strong english speaking teachers and a considerable amount of funding to keep these schools running, or even provide more. as this school was over 5km for some of the children, which they walked or cycled each day.

returning to england i continued to work for the family support team but due to lack of funding there was very little work, it was then i made the decision to leave for australia with my boyfriend. So that’s where i am at the moment!

we are on a one year working holiday visa and working for our 2nd year at the moment, not sure if we will stay here permanently but i am enjoying each new experience. i initially got a job as an early Years educator in a day care in perth, working as the qualified in the toddler room. the role was slightly different here compared to the uk as you are seen as the ‘teacher’ if you are the qualified for the room. our degree truly is like gold dust here!

by Kelly youlton

MY TRAVELS AfTER UNI

Since graduating from the BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies course at the University it has been a fun packed year full of new experiences, new countries and new cultures giving me a

completely different insight into the way people live and work in societies in deprivation.

Steph and I playing a game with one of the Cambodian children, they showed us the many games they play with just small rocks and stones. Their hand and eye co-ordination was amazing!

Steph and I with one of the orphanage children, she was very grown up and confident and told us what she had been learning at school (she has her school books in hand)

The street children chased us, begging for the shirt off our backs. It was heartbreaking.

A


life after Uni

By 2014 every manager within a centre must hold an early childhood Studies degree so i was actually seen as ‘early’ with the degree and was the only person in the centre with that degree. needless to say i was snapped up!

i really embraced my role and surprised myself just how much i enjoyed it, especially as my main interest was in social care throughout university and my employment. i entered a room with 20+ toddlers that was being run by an assistant who lacked confidence and was at times very rough with the children.

i was supported in bringing a routine into the room and given the role of mentoring the staff. this was my first experience of taking on a leader type role and i will happily admit i made several revisits to my Leadership and management lecture notes! the main assistant in the room had been there for many years and was really ‘stuck in her ways’ with very little enthusiasm. this was the perfect opportunity for me to take those role plays and put them into practice.

the manager was really pleased with my work and even offered me

a sponsorship which would give me a four year visa into australia. i also had several compliments from parents and other staff members telling me i had made significant improvements to the room. which i can only thank you and the team for as i found myself putting so much of the theory i had learnt at northampton into practice and although at times it was challenging i felt confident with my decisions.

working in this position really made me realise just how much i had taken from the course as it was a

Me with an elephant in Chiang Mai, Thailand after trekking


life after Uni

role i never saw myself in and an area of work i did not think i would pursue, but with the knowledge and experiences i had gained from university i was able to fulfil this role and really enjoy it.

the manager also said i had the perfect balance between nurturing and discipline, which i believe again comes from the early childhood Studies team and their teaching. without being taught the importance of nurture and nature within the early Years i may not have portrayed this so naturally in my workplace.

it was also really good for me to work with a different framework as in australia they follow the ‘early Year’s Learning Framework’ which maintains different principles and outcomes. as the qualified i had to ensure the children’s portfolios were kept up to date and i had to carry out the programming for the room, linking these to the framework and the children’s progress. having carried out observations and case studies whilst at university has helped me considerably as

i understood how to link these to the framework and each child’s stage of development. Further to this i was then able to meet each child’s needs and help them develop in areas of need.

So that’s me pretty much up to date and right now i am enjoying some travelling around australia and recently spent some time on a 1.9 million acre cattle ranch in the middle of the desert! Just goes to show the ecS course really does take you more places than you could imagine and it is surprising just how valuable it is in other countries, not just for its degree level but for the knowledge and experience that comes with it.

i hope things are going well at northampton and the course is still thriving. may i also take this opportunity to thank you and the team for all the hard work, support and knowledge given to me during my time at northampton.

Best regards, kelly

Here I am (left) leading the cattle out on the cattle station in the middle of the desert that we stayed on for a few weeks, an amazing experience.

Our local beach here in Perth, Australia which we are fortunate enough to visit whenever we like due to the climate! :-)


an intimate observation of disability

CRIP ON A TRIPthis is the title of an award winning Channel 4 documentary, described as ‘an intimate observation of disability. 18-year-old dominic Hyams has brittle bones - but that’s not going to stand in the way of a european adventure with his gang of able-bodied mates...’

the title of the documentary was deliberately chosen by dominic himself and is guaranteed to provoke a response and generate debate. this is exactly what happened as students on the module ‘current issues in Special educational needs’ were fortunate to participate in a Q and a discussion with dominic as part of their studies.

topics raised by the students included labelling and political correctness; international differences in regard to access; the nature of editorial direction; family support and relationships and personal drive and motivation. underpinning all of this however was the realisation that dominic’s story is far less about disability and far more about the power of friendship.

dominic was open and candid in his responses and the students critical and reflective in their questioning. whilst many of the topics raised were serious and important, dominic’s frank, humorous and sometimes irreverent comments gave the debates a clear human dimension.

a theme of the module is the impact of the media within the field of inclusion and disability and students have the opportunity to develop this area in their assessed work.

The title of the documentary was deliberately chosen by Dominic himself and

is guaranteed to provoke a response and generate debate.


baCKGroUndmy passion for wanting to work with children began from an early age. i am from a family of five children and have a large extended family that all grew up in the same geographical area. whilst growing up my mother was a registered child minder and her mother had fostered children for many years.

on leaving school i attended dunstable college to train for my qualification in nursery nurses examination Board (nneB). the placement experiences i had during these two years were both enjoyable and challenging. i was able to experience working in several

schools, day nurseries and spent two weeks working on a maternity ward.

after successfully gaining my qualification i became a live in nanny for several families in rural

locations. the job was enjoyable and i was able to play an active role within the family life. when the children began full time education i moved from the family home and

relocated to northampton with my soon to be husband. i realised that my passion was embedded within early Years and was offered a job within a day nursery working with three to four years olds. i had always believed that those early experiences were crucial to young children and was able to be part of a focussed team with a shared vision.

after two years i left work to raise my own family and was able to have a career break of four years, during which time i was able to volunteer to work in a local pre-school. with my two sons in school i was ready for a new challenge and applied for a job within acorn childcare uk.

Working in Early Yearsby debbie Hasson, Head of acorn Childcare at Headlands Primary school

early years

As Acorn has charity status, there are many fundraising

events organised throughout the year


WHere i am noWi joined my current organisation as an early Years practitioner within the two year old age group. i found that the children could actively explore the world around them given the right opportunities and were curious within their play. the setting supported training and i was able to develop and extend my knowledge as an early Years practitioner. i also became an nVQ assessor.

the setting was established in 1992 and is a registered charity. it is based on the site of a primary school and has close links to the Sure Start children’s centre on the same site. this has enabled us to work as part of a multi professional team and showcases multi agency working. in addition we and also offer before and after school facilities for older children aged between four and eleven years and holiday play schemes.

acorn is overseen by a management committee who regularly meet to develop the establishment. the members are all parents who play an active role in making acorn the success it is. as acorn has

charity status, there are many fundraising events organised throughout the year to enable us to achieve our goals. through my own studies within the university i was able to develop and extend the knowledge of the staff surrounding Safeguarding and this is visible in the way that we extend our practice.

acorn follows all of the principles within the early Years Foundation Stage. ofsted have graded the nursery as outStanding in all areas.

PartnersHiP WitH tHe Universityas part of my own ethos i value the training opportunities of the staff that work at acorn childcare uk. as part of my job role i organise the staff performance reviews and

place a high emphasis on continued personal development within the early Years sector. within our organisation we have 30 staff who work directly with the children, of those 27 have a relevant Level 3 Qualification in early Years. in addition two have their Ba honours degree, two have their early Years Foundation degree and two staff members are currently working towards achieving their Foundation degree. one member of staff has their early Years professional Status (eYpS) qualification and i am currently working to complete my dissertation and have recently completed my gateway review to complete my eYpS.

as well as our staff attending the university of northampton we also support university students in placements and value their contribution towards our setting. we offer each student a mentor who can support them whilst in placement. as a staff team we welcome the contributions that the students can offer and make them welcome within our team. we have created a framework for partnership working not only between the

early years

I love working in the Early Years Sector,

I could not imagine a more rewarding job!


students, mentors and nursery but also with the university. many staff attend the partnership evenings that the university holds to extend their knowledge and network with other providers.

tHe fUtUreas a mature student working full time as a manager the road to becoming a graduate has not always been smooth but it has been worthwhile. the course i have chosen, early childhood Studies with the professional pathway to achieve eYpS has made me a

more reflective practitioner. the knowledge i have learnt through this process has consolidated my understanding of the early Years which i have gained through my 25 years experience.

i hope that my experiences have inspired my team to continue to develop their own understanding. i have thoroughly enjoyed my experience and feel that i am proud of my achievements so far. i love working in the early Years Sector and find the rewards fantastic, i could not imagine a more rewarding job.

early years

acorn headlands centre, headlands primary School, northampton, nn3 2nSt: 01604 415362 e: [email protected] www.acornchildcareuk.org

peaL (parents, early Years and Learning) training a nationally funded project for a number of years initially to support early Years settings develop strategies for involving parents in their children’s learning. the aim of

the day was to experience peaL training and to explore connections with delegates own professional role and area of interest. partner schools, early Years settings, assessor and mentors were invited to attend alongside members of the academic staff from the School of education.

the training gave delegates an opportunity to identify areas where the peaL model could be used to meet the needs of both early Years and primary student and tutor groups. having representatives from our partner settings paved the way for ensuring that students are supported in continuing to develop links between theory and practice.

the session was fast paced and totally interactive giving a range of opportunities for delegates to explore in depth many of the wider social issues surrounding parental liaison. the peaL ethos seeks to embed the strong principle which values promoting parental involvement throughout their schooling.

the first few years of a child’s life are fundamentally important. evidence tells us that they shape a child’s future development, and influence how well children do at school, their ongoing health and wellbeing and their achievements in later life’ (Sarah teather and anne milton 2011 Supporting Families in the Foundation Year: dFe publication.)

the peaL training day enabled staff to take time out from their busy schedules to focus on these important issues and consider how best students can be supported in taking these messages forward when they join the workforce.

Working with Parents “a joined up approach” Early Years and Primary Education attend PEAL training together

early years


KEy oBJECTIVES WErE:

3 to build on participants current

knowledge of the importance

of engaging parents in their

children’s early learning,

3 indentifying how aspects of

peaL are currently integrated

into our current he modules

3 to make greater links with

the research underpinning

benefits to outcomes of parental

partnership and engagement in

children’s learning within and

beyond early years

3 to plan future work based on

the peaL model within the

university of northampton and

feed into the ncB’s national

development strategy.

in June stAff from the sChool of eduCAtion Joined forCes for A trAining dAy presented by the nAtionAl Children’s bureAu.


THE UNIVERSITY Of NORTHAMPTON HAS WON A PRESTIGIOUS CONTRACT TO BECOME ONE Of ONLY EIGHT ORGANISATIONS IN THE UK TO DELIVER EARLY YEARS PROfESSIONAL STATUS (EYPS) TRAINING.

the eYpS training will be delivered to graduates, and the primary provider for the east midlands.

the contract, worth £4million over three years, means the university is now inviting regional graduates and those with Foundation degrees who already work with babies and children, aged up to five-years-old, to sign up for the programme, which will start in January 2012.

in addition a full time training programme with bursary is available to graduates of any background who are interested in a career change to work with young children.

there are already more than 8,000 graduates with early Years professional Status (eYpS), and this regional win means a further 530 people will now be able to benefit from the training and assessment.

University Wins £4m Contract to Provide Early Years Training

early years


eunice Lumsden, Jane murray and a group of early years’ students attended the kidsaid inaugural conference on thursday 29th September at St. andrew’s hospital, northampton. kidsaid is a national charity supporting

early intervention for vulnerable children and their families. Speakers were drawn from a range of children’s services professions and included malcolm Stevens (uk commissioner, international Juvenile Justice observatory,

Brussels), al aynsley-green (professor emeritus of child health, ucL), dr. ernest gratton (consultant Forensic psychiatrist) and dr. margy whalley (director of research, pen green centre, corby).

KidsAid Inaugural Conference

profesor denise hevey, who heads up the eYpS programme at the university of northampton, said:

“We have an excellent track record for all Early Years programmes here at Northampton and were named as an ‘Outstanding Provider’ of EYPS last year. This new contract builds on our success and on the good work of all those Early Years Professionals who have trained with us and are now really making a difference to children’s lives. I hope parents will now get

the message and start asking their nurseries and pre-schools whether they are employing a graduate with Early Years Professional Status and if not, why not?”

early Years professional Status (eYpS) is a status awarded by the children’s workforce development council (cwdc) for graduate level curriculum leaders working with young children across the new early Years Foundation Stage.

research has found that organisations and companies which employ a graduate

leader with eYpS have made significant improvements in quality, especially in their provision for pre-school children.

under the banner of the east midlands eYpS network, the university will now work in collaboration with nottingham trent university, Bishop grosseteste university college and 11 Local authorities to deliver eYpS across the east midlands region and to support continuing professional development for the wider community of established early Years professionals.

For more information and an application form, go to www.northampton.ac.uk/eyps.

early years

This regional win means a further 530 people will now be able to

benefit from the training and assessment

Notable dates for forthcoming events:


For further information on the events on the left contact [email protected]

we are also running partnership projects with early Years settings. the first of these begins in november and will result in a ‘Festival of movement’.

the second of these begins in march and will be in partnership with the royal and derngate theatre. this is entitled ‘Spaces that inspire’. For further information about either of these please contact [email protected]

early years

Early InspIratIons: A networK for Continuing professionAl development in eArly yeArs eduCAtion

Saturday 25th February, 9.30am to 3.30pm

researching young Children and their Learning: I am a Practitioner researcher Keynote by Jean McNiff

Jean mcniff is one of the most influential action researchers in the world today. her writings bear witness to her sustained commitment to support action research in local, regional, national and global contexts.

Thursday 29th March, 6pm to 8.30pm

‘I listen and I believe, I see and I understand’: a collective reflection approach to understanding children’s experience.

carmen mohamed, from the university of Leicester, will share her recent findings from a research project ‘tuning into children’ (funded by Youth music), exploring children’s musicality and its impact upon practice in early Years Settings.

The University was very pleased to welcome the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dr Maggie Atkinson, to speak at the Annual Children and young People’s Lecture. Dr Atkinson took up her post in March 2010 and has a 30 year career advocating the interests of children and young people.

the evening was well attended with an audience of academics, professionals and students working within the children and young people’s sector.

dr atkinson’s lecture, promoting and protecting children’s rights, was extremely well received and provided the audience with an

opportunity to question how far both policy and practice live up to the promises made to children and young people in the ‘united nations convention on the rights of the child’.

Following a welcome and introduction by ann Shelton-mayes, dean, of the School of education, eighteen students were presented with their early Years professionals awards by Vice chancellor, professor nick petford.

the evening ended with a reception, providing delegates with an opportunity to network, but to also experience the new Sulgrave Building.

Children’s Commissioner for England Headlines the annual Children’s lecture

“Myself and our team felt inspired to continue pushing for the rights of the children in our community”

soCial WorKer, disabled CHildren’s serviCes

early years

ithout a doubt, this was seen by all as both an inspirational

and entertaining conference. Delegates (and organisers) ended the day with their heads swimming with ideas, clutching their box full of storytelling provocations with smiles on their faces. A great achievement for a Saturday with temperatures soaring and the sun beating down.

the day commenced with professional Story teller, Jo Blake, enchanting us with enthralling narratives. this led us wonderfully into our keynote by the well respected helen Bromley, fuelling the debate around the ever increasing use of media in young children’s lives.

“Working on a Saturday just shouldn’t be this much fun! It was so exciting to be part of the Weaving Magic Conference on 1st October. The enchantment began as soon as you entered the building, with gorgeous displays and boxes of treasure for all the participants.

The storyteller who opened the conference was spellbinding and set the tone perfectly for what was to prove an inspirational day. I loved every minute of it and truly didn’t want to leave! I came away with loads of ideas and some fabulous new children’s books. A massive thanks you to the organisers!”HELEN BroMLEy

“I just wanted to thank you so much for organising such an informative and inspiring day. When in my setting on Tues I decided to try some of the things I had learnt and used the Dragon’s Tear idea as stimulus for the story. I used one of the stones you had given us, the children thoroughly enjoyed it and I don’t think they have ever sat so quietly. My staff team were in awe and could hardly believe what complex and thoughtful story suggestions they were giving. I will carrying this on following the children’s thought patterns on Fri using a larger stone as a dragon’s egg as there were lots of discussions to whether the dragon had a baby (many of the children have had new brothers and sisters) so I hope this goes as well. Thank you again.”

CoMMENT froM A PrACTITIoNEr

“Delegates were given the opportunity to discuss and create, with an array of exciting resources to fuel their imaginations.”

tellers of tAlesWEAVERS Of MAGIC

W



the community is one with a distinct identity from a state in south indian with a local language widely spoken and presently there are approximately 100 families who have relocated to northamptonshire. dr. anna cox, dr. estelle tarry and dr. Johnson Jament established working relationships with the community over the first 4 to 6 months of the project, through a range of contacts with community members. this included holding an evening social event at the university where traditional regional food was shared and members of

the research team participating in community celebrations, such as the onam Festival.

data about parental expectations of primary schooling was gathered via group interviews with 20 families. these took place in domestic settings offered by community members and were supported by Johnson, who is himself a speaker of the community language used by the group. thematic analysis of the data revealed that although these parents were highly educated they encountered some difficulties with their children’s primary schooling.

there was a widely held view among parents that the British education system was closely related to their own experiences of colonial style education in india. they expected more formal teaching and less small group work, less learning through exploration and less differentiation than was their children’s experience in British primary schools. they indicated that they felt they did not know enough about more up to date British education. they felt that their knowledge of current educational practices sometimes restricted their engagement with schools. they sought the opportunity for up-to-date, accurate and timely school communication; they wanted more information about precise ways to support their children’s learning (including particularly homework) and they greatly valued high academic achievement.

indian schools’ Projectmembers of the school of education took part in schools Project funded by the tda, which ran from april 2010 to september 2011. the research investigated the expectations that a distinct indian community based in northamptonshire held for the Primary education of their children. the provision and support schools provided to these parents and their children were also investigated.

researCH


researCH

the second phase of the study involved contact with schools providing primary education for these children and families. all schools used by children in the sample group of families were contacted and a number agreed to one to one interviews between a member of school staff and a researcher. the teacher interviews revealed that on the whole schools were aware of the local indian community and had in place measures to facilitate communication with families. there was less awareness of the specific community group taking part in the study. Schools indicated that parents were made welcome, for example at special assemblies, and that the take up of opportunities for teacher consultations was high. they noted that parents were often strongly focused on academic achievement and wanted to know how children behaved towards school staff and fellow pupils. in contrast to parents concerns for firm behaviour management schools reported the children’s behaviour to be very good.

Findings from the two groups showed some strong relationships, for example the parents’ focus on high academic achievement was very clearly understood by schools. what seemed to be lacking was parent initiated contact with schools and more detailed information about the taught curriculum and how children’s learning could be most effectively supported in the home.

anna and estelle presented a paper in February 2011 in istanbul outlining the initial first stage of the research, the parents’ aspirations and expectations. this was followed by anna and estelle presenting a paper at the university of northampton teaching and Learning conference in may 2011, on the lessons learnt in undertaking cross cultural research. they are presently in the process of extending this into a journal article and intend to report their findings to the schools as a contributution to school/parent relationships.


dianna richards, ba (Hons) education studies, spent a year in Uganda undertaking voluntary work in a rural special school prior to starting her university studies. for her dissertation research dianna returned to the same school in Uganda to chart the development of special educational needs (sen) provision and practice.

She adopted a case study approach to examine the impact of national policy developments on the life of a 10 year old boy with speech and language difficulties. as well as in-depth study of the boy’s individual needs and development and the level of support received, her study involved interviews with government officials, teachers, students and parents. From her research dianna identified issues of teacher training, resources, knowledge and awareness of Sen assessment as specific contributing factors to the future successful support of children with Sen in uganda.

Introducing Fruit and Vegetablescatherine massie adopted an action research approach to her Ba (hons) early childhood Studies dissertation. with current concerns around childhood obesity and junk food consumption, catherine decided to investigate ways of influencing the seven children in her care towards eating more fruit and vegetables.

catherine first assessed their food preferences directly and confirmed a reluctance to even try some vegetables. She then designed

an intervention that was partly educational and partly experiential combining learning about different foods with planting, growing, cooking and tasting a range of vegetables for themselves.

the intervention took place over an eight week period and was successful in encouraging children both to sample new foods and to continue to eat a broader selection of fruit and vegetables than before.

eYpS in rural pre-schools Sue Burgess is the deputy leader of a rural pre-school who recently completed the early Years professional Status (eYpS).

Sue decided to investigate attitudes to eYpS among staff and committees of community run rural pre-schools for her Ba (hons) early childhood Studies dissertation.

through questionnaires she identified differences between pre-schools and also between the attitudes of staff and committee members, many of whom did not understand what eYpS was about.

She then identified a number of issues to follow up through in-depth interviews with key staff and committee members.

Spotlight on innovative undergraduate research. Just a small selection of the innovative research that takes places within the School at undergraduate level.

RiSEresearch in School of Education

sPeCial edUCation needs in UGanda


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Colleagues from the School of Education (including Annie fergusson from CeSNER and Professor Philip Garner) have successfully completed a major scoping of curriculum practice for the Australian government’s Assessment, Curriculum and Reporting Authority (ACARA). The report, which was produced jointly with the University of Adelaide, was delivered at the end of April, 2011.

a spokesperson for the australian Special education principals’ association (aSepa) stated that ‘this report is significant in that it will assist us to make a strong claim that our new australian curriculum needs to offer a more obvious commitment to meeting the needs of students with disabilities and special educational needs’.

the report contains a series of recommendations in respect of curriculum practice in special education, and is further indication of the capacity of colleagues from ceSner to offer

high-quality, experience-based advice at policy level on aspects of special educational needs.

the school of education and

professor philip garner has been working alongside colleagues from the university of warwick’s centre for Learning Behaviour in supporting uniceF’s efforts to promote approaches to ‘violence reduction’ in macedonian schools. the work, which involves direct training inputs, school visits and reflective evaluations, has been taking place since october 2010 and is set to conclude in September, 2011.

“working with uniceF offers us a wonderful opportunity to maximise our own professional expertise whilst supporting the development of one of the emerging ‘new’ nation states from South east europe”, commented professor garner.

“what is really reassuring is that our evaluation surveys are showing that the faciliators we are working with are showing an increasingly strong grasp of the principles of positive behaviour management”, he added.

the School is also discussing other potential projects with colleagues from warwick and with uniceF itself.

The School of Education is currently involved in a UNICEf consultancy project in fYR Macedonia.

Australia Report Delivered

inaUGUral leCtUre from neW visitinG Professoron october 6th professor John Visser, who joins the School of education as Visiting professor gave his inaugural lecture at the Sunley conference centre. John, who is internationally known for his work in the area of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties gave a most interesting lecture with the title “past wisdoms: Future practice. meeting the needs of children and Young people with Behaviours that can challenge”.

an audience of academic colleagues, research students, friends and relations heard John give a most thought provoking presentation. John, who has previously held positions at the universities of exeter and Birmingham as well as having a distinguished career teaching in schools, is working with colleagues in the School of education on the development of research bids as well as doing some teaching, research training and phd supervision.

RESEARCHING IN AUSTRALIAprofessor philip garner and

ann Fergusson have recently completed work in australia

resulting in the publication of “curriculum, assessment and reporting in Special educational needs and disability: a thematic overview of recent

Literature” a research report published in collaboration with colleagues from the

australian Special education principals’ association and the university of adelaide.

researchers from the School of education are continuing

to work closely with colleagues from several

parts of australia.

40

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the Centre for education and research in the school of education has recently been part of a european consortium that has successfully bid for funding to conduct a europe wide project.

the european agenda on ‘the Social dimension of education and training’ states that recognising prior learning and providing individualised support enhances participation of underrepresented groups and non-traditional learners in higher education (he).

this project brings together researchers from netherlands, Finland, denmark, uk, Slovenia, romania, France and czech republic to investigate actions

being undertaken to make he more accessible for underrepresented groups and non-traditional learners by focusing on flexible lifelong learning-strategies, opened up by a tailor-made VpL-approach. the university of northampton input will be led by professor richard rose.

NEW fACILITIES fOR RESEARCH

STUDENTSthe redevelopment of the School of education has

included the provision of a new room for phd students.

this facility provides individual work spaces, secure storage and social space for students

undertaking work towards their doctorates.

Successful European Research Bid

www.northampton.ac.uk/education


researCH

reCent PHd sUCCessestwo students have recently successfully completed their studies and achieved their doctorates. dr coralee murray conducted research into the management and impact of change in special needs policies in two Local authorities. dr henry kum’s research focused on aspects of refugee status in education in the uk.

as a research student in the School of education, i was delighted to have the opportunity to exhibit my research work in the house of commons at the million+ launch of ‘research that matters’ on 17th may 2011.

the ‘million+’ group of universities (of which the university of northampton is a member) launched this report which highlights the importance of the research that staff and students at modern universities undertake and emphasises the need to ensure that continued public funding for and investment in research is distributed fairly.

myself and Judy Sayers (both from the School of education) and richard hazenberg (from northampton Business School) were invited to showcase our research, accompanied by david watson, from the graduate School.

we enjoyed a memorable day on the terrace of the house of commons, presenting posters about our research areas and talking to mps, fellow researchers from other million+ member universities and other guests.

my poster, titled ‘a Senco for all Seasons’ was about my investigation into the impact of Sencos (Special educational needs coordinators) on teachers’ abilities to address Sen (Special educational needs) in english primary Schools. Being a first-year phd student, the main objective of my poster presentation was to elicit comments and questions regarding my research design and proposed methodology.

Judy’s poster, titled the pedagogical consequences of a Laissez-Faire individualistic Society’ presented some of her initial research findings

about how primary teachers of mathematics conceptualise the whole class aspect of their work; the justifications for, and the knowledge and beliefs that underpin their actions. Findings were also presented about the ways in which their espoused beliefs resonated with their actions.

david willetts mp, minister of State for universities and Science, was the keynote speaker for the day. delegates were also addressed by Liam Burns, president-elect of nuS and david Sweeney, director of research at hefce.

on the whole, the event was informative and enlightening. it was indeed inspiring for me, being a first-year research student, to see and ask questions about research that is being done across various disciplines and fields.

A visit to parliament for the launch of ‘research that matters’

THE PARLIAMENTARY LAUNCH Of ‘RESEARCH THAT MATTERS’ – A REPORT BY THE MILLION+ GROUP Of UNIVERSITIES, AT THE HOUSE Of COMMONS, LONDON 17TH MAY 2011

by saneeya Qureshi


Since then, and thanks to the support she has received from her professors and colleagues to develop her research and academic writing skills, she has been delighted to be involved in a number of individual research projects. These have married some of her personal interests, inspired by her own teaching experiences in schools, prisons, community, further and higher education, and working on international projects.

Sheena is particularly interested in providing inclusive educational opportunities for adults who have been disadvantaged by the current education system, including those with disabilities and special educational needs. She is also interested in support for people with dyslexia and the teaching of reading, and in line with her current role, the provision of appropriate professional development for specialist teachers.

Sheena’s research and writing has ranged from small scale, individual research investigations, to successful bidding for funding

and the execution of large research projects in collaboration with not only colleagues from northampton, but also from other universities, including trinity college dublin and the university of applied Sciences in Jyvaskyla in Finland. She has published papers outlining her research findings around the themes outlined above in a number of peer reviewed journals such as the Journal of research in reading, the Journal of teaching and teacher education, teachers and teaching: theory and practice, the Journal of Special educational needs (JorSen) and Support for Learning. She has presented papers at 10 international conferences, promoting the work of the university of northampton and presenting evidence for the importance of lifelong inclusive education.

with dr cristina devecchi and colleagues from trinity college, dublin, Sheena is currently preparing the final report for an 18 month funded research project for the national council of Special educational needs in ireland: a study of the access and progression experiences of students with special educational needs (Sen) moving from

compulsory education to further and higher education (Fe/he). She is currently in the early stages of an international project involving Finland, estonia and the czech republic which will run for two years and include four international workshops towards inclusive Learning environments in Vocational education and training (tiLe).

Sheena finds her research role challenging and fascinating and it has complemented her own teaching at the university as well as moving her on with her own personal development.

European Project on Inclusion in Vocational EducationSheena Bell and andy Smith in partnership with colleagues from Finland, estonia and the czech republic will manage a project titled towards inclusive Learning environments in Vocational education and training (tiLe).

SHEENA BELL

sHeena bell Joined tHe University in 2006 as a senior leCtUrer and a

member of Cesner: Centre for sPeCial needs edUCation and researCH.

researCH

staff sPotliGHt:


in new orleAns for

cristina devecchi, mary doveston and phil ellender joined another 14,000 researchers in new orleans for the annual american educational research association (aera) conference.

the theme of the conference was “inciting the Social imagination: education research for the public good”, and mary and cristina presented a roundtable paper titled ‘are they worth the money? exploring the role of adult Support in english mainstream and Special Schools in a time of Financial constraints’.

this paper presented findings from an empirical research on the deployment of support staff in primary, secondary and special schools in one local authority in england.

the study used questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to hLtas and school leaders to explore hLtas’ deployment and employment, the impact training had on their roles and responsibilities, and which barriers prevented them from using their knowledge and skills in supporting children with special educational needs (Sen). the study suggests that while the training has the potential to enhance hLtaS’ role, localized practices can be a barriers to effective use.

the findings have implications for their future employment since local authorities and schools are compelled to cut unnecessary expenditures in the present economic and budgetary crisis.

the paper was well received from the other colleagues who presented with them.

coteaching in the inclusive classroom: a Study of two Secondary english classrooms. tabetha Bernstein-danis, university of pittsburgh (phd student).

collaborative teacher network: Findings related to increasing teachers’ knowledge of content-area reading Strategies. marie tejero hughes; michelle parker; angela Bryant; Jaime Lynn zurheide; Joanna keel; ghonecsar muhammad; georgette g. Lee - university of illinois – chicago.

comparing Scores on alternate assessments Based on modified achievement Standards and Scores on general assessments. katherine m. nagle, Sri international; patricia Joann almond, university of oregon.

THE ANNUAL AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATION CONfERENCE

From left to right: Mary Doveston; Philip Smith, Eastern Michigan University (chairperson); Cristina Devecchi; Michelle Parker- Katz, University of Illinois – Chicago; Tabetha Bernstein-Danis, University of Pittsburgh

researCH


Behaviour2LearnDeveloping positive classrooms

Thinking of becoming a Partnership school?The School of Education works in strong partnership with schools throughout Northamptonshire, Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire and Leicestershire.

We value the contribution of our partner schools very highly and work collaboratively to produce inspiring teachers of the future. Our partner schools have a clearly defined shared responsibility with the School of Education for programme development, recruitment of students and for improving and increasing students’ school based experience.

Schools have welcomed this increased involvement in teacher education not only for the insight it gives them into general professional development but also for the access it gives them to a pool of high quality Newly Qualified Teachers (NQT’s).

We are always looking to increase the number of schools within our partnership and offer free in-house mentor training for all staff members and an ongoing program of regional training for all staff involved in mentoring our students.

Behaviour2Learn (formerly Behaviour4Learning) exists to support the development of positive behaviour and learning in classrooms, schools and other settings.

It provides practical resources and information for trainee teachers, Newly Qualified Teachers and those working with children who are in the early phase of their career development. The materials on the new Behaviour2Learn website are drawn from a variety of sources. Each item has been carefully selected in order to inform and enhance our belief that pupil behaviour is firmly linked to the learning they experience.

www.behaviour2learn.co.uk

If you would like to find out more please contact the Partnership Team on: 01604 892473 or email [email protected]



or me the beauty of the ipad is its flexibility and ease of use, forgive me for a little

reminiscence. i spent some of the summer in galway and some of the evenings listening to excellent music in pubs. at the same time i was emailing home, photographing and videoing the pub, my friends and the performers and sending the images to folks back home (to ensure they knew what a great time i was having.) i was also looking up the lyrics of some of the more obscure songs and checking my route back home. i could have been, but wasn’t finding my nearest supermarket, tweeting, updating my Facebook status, completing sudokos or reading a novel. perhaps unsurprisingly, i wasn’t the only one,

apparently, her husband had little previous computing experience but i felt comfortable with a strong recommendation.

the ipad is lovely to work with and the interface intuitive even for a diehard windows user like myself. the ipad’s high quality images and touch sensitive on-screen keyboard

are a delight. it looks good, feels good and seemingly almost anyone who uses one, wants one – even if they don’t quite know what they will use it for! this neat Youtube video seems to indicate that even very young children find the interface quite natural. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axV-yafmQNk).

whilst i was using a new ipad2, others had iphones and perhaps other Smartphones as well. a fellow listener arrived at the table to see what was going on and wanting to know if she should get one of these ipads for her husband who was about to retire.

iPads in the Classroom by Bob hopkins with gareth honeyford

iCt wise there’s a new kid on the block. the face of iCt is changing with the new format from apple linking computing to mobile technologies including iPhones. the iPad itself looks like an overgrown iPhone, sleek and stylish with a strong emphasis on design.

The iPad is lovely to work with and the

interface intuitive even for a diehard Windows

user like myself.

f


the ipad is a lot of fun but are there practical uses in the classroom. Some secondary schools have already bought them for all their pupils (http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/oct/30/smartphones-handheld-computers-battleground-schools) and i know from discussions with members of the northamptonshire BLt (http://bltnorthants.net/) that some local primaries are buying them for group work in the classroom.

whilst my ipad is fitted with a mobile phone Sim to allow access to the internet anywhere with a mobile phone signal, most schools will opt for the wireless only version. in response to the question – what can teachers and pupils do with an ipad the answer has to be almost anything! to start with the device offers access to the bulk of the internet and all that that offers and the beauty access ing via the ipad is the ‘book like’ nature of the experience, allowing pupils to huddle together in the ‘book corner’ or work together round a table, or even in school grounds. the one drawback of accessing the web via

the ipad is the lack of support for ‘Flash’ and therefore some websites aren’t available. additionally, the screen shows films, home movies and photographs in high definition. Linking with itunes provides opportunities to build up a huge

playlist of music and audio books. iplayer and 4od (the channel 4 equivalent)make for good catch up television and the range of books available on iBooks is growing all the time.

perhaps the greatest strength though is the vast array of resources that can be downloaded from apple’s app Store. this online store gives access to over 140,000 programmes or ‘apps’ for the ipad, many of which are free, others of which can cost as little as 69p and others at £1.49. having received my ipad for the first time i visited the

app store and within minutes my ipad was (for free) a compass, an earthquake detector, a spirit level, a teleprompt and a virtual fishpond with ‘real’ splashy water. amazingly i can hold the computer up to the sky and see the constellations that are there, even in the middle of the day. next, i gained access to Flickr, google maps, the university’s own app, Facebook, google earth, Skype and dropbox. i could even download a ‘kindle emulator’ to access e-books aimed at that platform.

it’s to the app store that we’ll probably have to turn to answer the questions about the classroom. it’s a common phenomenon these days to find useful things given away free on the internet or app store but which are really cut down versions of even more useful apps that are chargeable. Some apps are also free because they carry advertising which at times may be distracting or inappropriate. whenever a topic comes up for discussion there’s likely to be an app about it. taking some common themes from the classroom it’s easy to say “there’s an app for that” and some are of very high quality whilst others most definitely are not. this is where teachers will have be very discerning to chose the gems from the vast array of content they are bombarded with and perhaps increasingly to signpost parents towards the most appropriate apps to use with their children at home. For example if one considers ‘interactive e-books for children’ some this variation is stark. Let us consider three texts, all available in free (Lite) versions and paid for (FuLL) versions. the version of alice in wonderland produced by atomic antelope (http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/alice-for-the-ipad/id354537426?mt=8 ) is


This could be a way forward for schools if a new era in

computing is about to begin

Are iPads useful in the classroom?



beautiful and inspriring and has been described as being a modern twist on the pop up book. the collection of picture books for 8interactive (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/read-me-stories-30-book-library/id413791565?mt=8 ) whilst not inspiring me seemed popular with a colleagues daughter and seemed ‘fine’. in contrast the Fairy tales produced by iBig toy (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/classic-fairy-tales-10-in/id449087981?mt=8 ) were shocking in their inappropriateness for the uk market as they were voiced by non native english speakers and

certainly did not model clear phonic accuracy. perhaps there’s time for two further points before your survey of useful apps begins. Some of the points mentioned already emphasise the ability of computers and of ipads in particular to facilitate the act of “consuming” or “receiving” information. we are now able to watch and listen much more effectively and conveniently than ever. But perhaps the ipad will be the spur that makes children the creators and rather than the consumers of material. if the facilities of the ipad encourage our children to create their own stories, picture, photos and videos and if they offer the ability to communicate rapidly and accurately at the same time, the uses in the classroom grow.

Secondly the ipad may go a long way to making the use of computers a collaborative exercise. its size,

weight and robustness all lend themselves to groups working together, and not only at a traditional table and certainly not in the computer suite. the ipad will be more than a new selection of software; rather it may represent a new way of working, moving into an area of more pupil involvement and engagement. one of the major obstacles to taking full advantage of the features of the functions on the ipad is the commitment we all have to traditional computing. Schools already have a significant investment in windows based laptops, often networked. Schools invest in the kind of computers that others invest in. there needs to be critical mass of ipad users before a

change of platform is considered. Some years ago when governments held the purse strings, single computers were placed in those schools that were willing to train up a senior member of staff together with one other. this could be a way forward for schools if a new era in computing is about to begin. Should schools decide to invest in an ipad for a senior member of staff and for a keen colleague the undoubted opportunities for learning offered by the ipad could be investigated. our students have access to ipads as part of their studies. asking them to bring one into your school with them may give you a chance to see the opportunities for yourself.

Perhaps the greatest strength is the vast array

of resources that can be downloaded from

Apple’s App Store

for more information try following the links below

There’s an excellent article on using the iPad in a classroom setting available at http://www.ipadineducation.co.uk/iPad_in_Education/ the article is useful, not least because it breaks down available opportunities into subject areas. But these are just the beginning!

for many more apps try tinyurl.com/6ed7m3u

and, if you would like to see ipad apps to help with your work as a teacher try the list published here. interestingly, it is especially some of the ones suggested by other readers in the comments section that might appeal. tinyurl.com/3sp98eb

please, do take a look at the ipad in the classroom, both as a teacher and on behalf of your pupils and, if you’re new to the area, perhaps our students can be your first guide.

if you have any apps that you feel would be useful for our students to know about then please email [email protected] or tweet your ideas to @BobHopkins and @Garethhon

For further information and an application form please contact [email protected] www.northampton.ac.uk/teachingassistants

or call 01604 892 651

Transformed.Inspired.

Do you want to enhance your role in school?Do you want to gain a recognised qualification?The University of Northampton offers a range of opportunities for the continuing professional development of support staff.

The Foundation Degree in Learning and Teaching (FDLT)This course is designed for a range of support staff who are currently working in schools and who wish to enhance their role. There is the opportunity to extend study into a third year by following the BA (Hons) Learning & Teaching course.

Certificate in Higher Education Supporting Learners (CHESL)Specific work related modules can be studied as one-off units or built up to gain the full CHESL award, depending on your needs. Modules can be arranged on a needs basis locally.

FDLT and CHESL Open Evenings: Date Time VenueMon 6th Feb 4.30pm-6pm Beauchamp College, OadbyTues 7th Feb 4.30pm-6pm University Centre Milton Keynes, Silbury BoulevardThurs 9th Feb 4.30pm-6pm Sulgrave building room 29, University of NorthamptonMon 19th Mar 4.30pm-6pm Beauchamp College, OadbyTues 20th Mar 4.30pm-6pm University Centre Milton Keynes, Silbury BoulevardWed 21st Mar 4.30pm-6pm Sulgrave building room 29, University of NorthamptonMon 14th May 4.30pm-6pm Sulgrave building room 14, University of NorthamptonWed 16th May 4.30pm-6pm Beauchamp College, OadbyThurs 17th May 4.30pm-6pm University Centre Milton Keynes, Silbury Boulevard

Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA)We offer HLTA programmes at a variety of venues throughout the East Midlands.

HLTA Open Briefings: Date Time VenueWed 21st Mar 4pm The University of NorthamptonTues 27th Mar 4pm Forest Lodge Education Centre, LeicesterMon 18th Jun 4pm Forest Lodge Education Centre, LeicesterWed 4th Jul 4pm The University of Northampton