Central course programme for teachers and school leaders

Why not join other schools on one of our central CPD courses for teachers and leaders? Enjoy inspiring presentations in comfortable, high quality venues. Engage in well designed and thought provoking activities. Take away electronic materials and resources for use in school. Participate in professional dialogue and debate. Have the opportunity to reflect on your own practice and action plan. All of our training courses focus on practical solutions, recognise the needs of busy teachers and leaders, and represent value for money.

Deputy Headteacher Programme - throughout the year 2018/19

Come and be challenged every half term!  Re-energise and re-focus your efforts, tackle complex problems and deepen your knowledge and understanding of key educational and leadership issues.  Leave each session with valuable resources and a clear route forward. 

 

6 face to face training days – one each half term – covering:

  • Setting out a school wide vision and action plan.  Identifying strengths and weaknesses through critical analysis and school self-evaluation activities.  Learn how to navigate the data and use it to your advantage. 
  • Strategies for influencing and developing the quality of teaching across the school, including inspiring others, promoting good practice and tackling underperformance.
  • Leading and managing others – how to grow middle leadership in the school.
  • Developing knowledge and understanding of what makes good practice across a range of issues in order to lead confidently, advise others and manage problems.  For example: closing the gap for disadvantaged pupils, learning in EYFS, key issues in the delivery of English and Mathematics, common areas for development identified by Ofsted.
  • Writing evaluative reports, presenting to governors, and evidencing impact.
  • Increasing personal effectiveness and improving day-to-day efficiency. Work through complex problems with other leaders and re-focus on half termly goals.
  • The course culminates with a celebration to which headteachers and governors are invited.

“This has been one of the most informative, interesting and useful courses I have been on.”; “Excellent ideas and suggestions, especially when dealing with tricky issues. I would recommend this training to others.” ; “Vicky created a safe environment to discuss some challenging issues openly and in a reflective manner.”

This is six half days across the year. Day one is 9.15am - 3.30pm Monday 1st October 2018, followed by a Friday 16th Nov, Fri 11th Jan, Wed 6th March, Fri 3rd May and Fri 21st June. Lunch is provided on each of the days. Book now by returning the form below via email, fax or post. £1150 for the first delegate covering all six sessions, 10% discount for second delegates from the same school. Course code: DHT1. This course is held at Weetwood Hall, Headingley, Leeds. (Please note prices are excluding VAT.)

Download flyer and booking form

 
Phase Leadership - 4 days across the academic year 2018/19

This course focuses on leaders having impact beyond their own classroom and influencing the teaching of others.  It supports colleagues to grow and develop their leadership, increase their effectiveness and efficiency, and have the means to evaluate both the quality of their phase and their own leadership. The course provides leaders with a deeper understanding of the issues for their particular key stage and practical solutions to challenging problems.  It builds knowledge of teaching and learning so that participants feel confident in leading developments.


Covered across the course are a number of themes:

  • Understanding phase leadership, including the demands of the role, whole school perspectives and Ofsted.
  • Influencing and developing the quality of teaching within a phase.
  • Undertaking school self-evaluation: book reviews, learning walks, lesson observations, developing stakeholder voice and unpicking data. 
  • Creating and maintaining a vision and fully utilising an action plan.
  • Using emotional intelligence, and as part of this: Inspiring and motivating others; leading by example; holding others to account and having difficult conversations.
  • Personal efficiency and effectiveness – getting the day to day basics right.
  • Writing evaluative reports and presenting evidence of impact to others.
  • Understanding key national issues, e.g. most common cited issues by Ofsted; changes and development in assessment; policy changes.
  • The course culminates with a celebration to which headteachers / governors are invited.

“Vicky’s whole course was outstanding.” ;" Excellent guidance.  Very interesting and informative.  As always I’m leaving buzzing with ideas and a plan of action.” ; “The chance to plan a focused line of enquiry for monitoring and improving the phase was excellent.” ; “The gap task discussions were great.  I really enjoyed working through complex problems with the support of others.”

9.15am-3.45pm, this is a four day course. The first date is Monday 15th October 2018 followed by Monday 14th January, Friday 15th May and Tuesday 4th June 2019. Lunch is provided on each of the days. Book now by returning the form below via email or post. £650 for the first delegate, or schools may wish to send all four phase leaders for £2400. Please get in touch for other combinations. Course code: PL1. This course is held at Weetwood Hall, Headingley, Leeds. (Please note prices are excluding VAT.)

Download flyer and booking form

 
Years 5 and 6: teaching writing 2018/19

This is a unique opportunity to study in-depth the most effective ways of teaching writing.  Working together throughout the year provides teachers with a different experience to a single day course.  Participants can track the impact of their practice and develop their expertise through a rich blend of coaching, individual support, face-to-face training and an online learning platform. 

Teaching writing is demanding; a pursuit worthy of continual professional development. Weaving together complex concepts, technical aspects and creative thought in a way that enables pupils to make progress requires teachers to dig deep into how pupils learn to write.  How do we turn evidence based approaches into practical classroom actions?  How do we create a writing community?  How do we ensure pupils become discerning in their use of techniques?  How do we ensure writing fits within a mastery approach to teaching English?

Course coverage:

  • Making it real – real pupils, real lessons, real progress.
  • Understanding the writing demands of Year 5 and Year 6. 
    Unpicking the standards and addressing the challenges.
  • Sequencing lessons and planning for progress. 
  • Teaching writing within a mastery approach to English.
  • Grammar – improving own knowledge and exploring how to
    teach grammar effectively.  How can we ensure pupils use techniques independently, and discerningly, in their writing? 
  • Addressing common barriers and difficulties pupils experience when writing. What stops pupils from achieving the expected standard?  How do we bridge the gap between the expected standard and greater depth? 
  • What is high quality writing instruction?  What does the research say are effective strategies for helping pupils to make progress?  What does it look like on a day-to-day basis?
  • How to use book reviews to strengthen practice.
  • With support from the course leader and other Year 5/6 teachers, participants will be able to examine the progress of their class and the impact of their teaching throughout the year.  The course culminates with setting new goals, preparing for transition and celebrating children’s writing.

“Fantastic trainer – very inspirational and knowledgeable” ; “Excellent variety of resources and ideas that I can’t wait to try out in school.” ; “Lots of practical ideas.  Great illustrations of how to really embed learning.”;  “Fabulous resources, good themes for group discussions, lots of opportunities to share ideas and a variety of leaning tools.”

The course is four full days across the autumn and spring term. The first date is Thursday 4th October 2018 followed by Monday 19th November, Friday 1st February and Monday 25th March 2019. 9.15pm-3.45pm. Lunch is provided on each of the days. Book now by returning the form below via email or post. £650 for the first delegate, £500 for second and subsequent delegates from the same school. Course code: Y56W. This course is held at Weetwood Hall, Headingley, Leeds. (Please note prices are excluding VAT.)

Download flyer and booking form
Sink your teeth into reading comprehension - Two Full Days

See a clear path forward for pupils in your school by taking a fresh, in-depth look at reading.  Advance your knowledge and understanding of how pupils make progress in developing comprehension and consider how the curriculum and your lessons meet the challenges of Key Stage 1 and 2.

 

Covered within course are a number of themes:

  • Selecting texts and considering different ways of developing comprehension skills;
  • Exploring fiction and non-fiction, including how to use several texts to explore a theme;
  • The ‘big 10’ reading comprehension strategies that teachers need to develop;
  • Use of whole class texts, independent reading and collaborative reading;
  • Questioning and improving the quality of book talk;
  • Ways of interacting with different types of texts;
  • Exploring the issues of progression – what difficulties do pupils experience with comprehension and how can we address these problems;
  • Reading and disadvantaged pupils;
  • Considering ways to improve pupils’ ability to read aloud with confidence, fluency and intonation that shows understanding;
  • Assessing reading comprehension and unpicking end of key stage assessments.

“Extremely useful.  The course is already having an impact on reading.”
“I feel totally inspired and determined to improve reading.”
“Wow! Superb – brilliant ideas that I can use straight away in class.  So many new resources which I know will engage the children.”
“Everything!  It has given me a real boost to think more about how reading is taught and what the children need.  Thank you for all the brilliant resources.”

 

This course is two full days. The first date is Thursday 11th October 2018, 9.15am - 3.45pm, followed by Thursday 24th January 2019. Lunch is provided. Book now by returning the form below via email or post. £390 for the first delegate, £300 for second and subsequent delegates from the same school. Course code: SR1. This course is held at Weetwood Hall, Headingley, North Leeds. (Please note prices are excluding VAT.)

Download flyer and booking form

Marking Feedback and post-production activities, Thur 23nd Nov 2018

Covering both mathematics and English, teachers will leave with a wealth of ideas and practical strategies for harnessing the power of feedback.  Work produced in books is often a hinge point in learning – grasp the opportunities this presents and help pupils to move forward.

 

Effective marking and feedback is proven to have impact on pupil attainment and progress. Despite developments, it continues to raise questions about how to strike a balance between teacher time and quantity/quality of feedback. In addition, post-production activities are underutilised and pupils often struggle to make meaningful revisions.  Teachers need to be more strategic in using post-production activities to address misconceptions.  Teachers are working very hard, but impact often remains elusive.  Come along and find real solutions to the challenges marking and feedback present.

Session outcomes

  • High impact marking strategies. Developing feedback in all its forms.
  • Improving pupils’ ability to respond to feedback.
  • Running effective feedback sessions and post-production input sessions. Consider how feedback from the teacher helps pupils to tackle common problems, and how this approach leads to more effective and accurate writing.
  • Developing peer and self-assessment and using strategies for encouraging pupil ownership.
  • Supporting the less able / more able to use feedback in a meaningful way.
  • Introduction to a range of ‘post-production’ activities that are guaranteed to improve rates of progress.

"Fantastic mix of activities in order to understand how they would work in school.  Fantastic trainer who has excellent subject knowledge and made training purposeful.”
“Excellent resources to take away.  I’m looking forward to sharing all the ideas with the rest of the school.”
“Lovely atmosphere created by Vicky – I felt confident to share.  A fantastic day, I feel really inspired.”
“It was brilliant – best course I’ve been on in a long time.”

Thursday 22nd November 2018, 9.15am-3.45pm. Lunch is provided. Book now by returning the form below via email or post. £195 for the first delegate, £175 for second and subsequent delegates from the same school. Course code: MF1. This course is held at Weetwood Hall, Headingley, Leeds. (Please note prices are excluding VAT.)

Download flyer and booking form

Improving teaching via observational feedback 29th Nov 2018, 9.15am-3.45pm

This course focuses on three facets:

* Engaging in observations and providing high quality feedback (at a senior level and cascading this to ensure all teachers can participate).

* Training colleagues how to make the best use of the feedback they receive.

* Creating a feedback culture, including developing self and peer observations (e.g. video lessons, observational pairs and triads, working parties). How do we engage everyone in feedback?

This course is designed for headteachers, deputy headteachers and assistant headteachers.

* What are we looking for when we observe? How does this link to the school development plan? How do we ensure there is a common understanding of what good teaching involves? How do we triangulate observations with other forms of information?

* Who is observing? How do we involve all practitioners in self-observations and peer-observations? How do we support our middle leaders in utilising observations as part of driving forward change and sharing good practice?

* Across all industries, research shows that many people find receiving feedback difficult, often failing to act on the feedback they receive. This course seeks to equip schools with a plan for how to improve teachers' ability to utilise feedback.

During the day there will be the opportunity to explore video recording of lessons.

“Lovely atmosphere created by Vicky.” ; “Excellent trainer – very inspirational and knowledgeable.  I was engaged and enthused throughout.” ; "It was thought provoking and gave me lots of actions to work on to develop my skills and those of my team."; "Excited about the impact this can have!"

9.15am-3.45pm Thursday 29th November 2018. Lunch is provided. Book now by returning the form below via email or post. £195 for the first delegate, £175 for second and subsequent delegates from the same school. Course code: OBS1. The course is held at Weetwood Hall, Headingley, Leeds.(Please note prices are excluding VAT.)

Download flyer and booking form

Strategic leadership day Friday 18th January 2018, 9.15am-3.45pm

This is a great time of year to bring the SLT and governors together for a facilitated review day. Take time to consider the school development plan, reflect on systems and processes, and fine tune next steps. Consider as a team the information that monitoring activities have revealed. This is a chance to re-group and re-fire. The course provides an opportunity to consider and address typical barriers to school improvement.

  • “Superb resources.  Action plan to go away with.  Thank you for a brilliant day!”
    “Very informative.  Lots of food for thought and ideas for impact.”
    “Inspirational.  Thought provoking."

    9.15am-3.45pm, this is a full day course with lunch provided. Friday 11th January 2019. The cost is £360 for two colleagues attending from the same school and £120 for each additional colleague (or governor) from the same school. Book now by returning the form below via email or post. Course code: ST2019. The course is held at Weetwoood Hall, Headingley, Leeds. (Please note prices are excluding VAT..

    Download flyer and booking form

Developing non-fiction writing in KS1 & KS2, Two day course2019

This course considers what needs to be in place for pupils to flourish in non-fiction writing. How can we harness research findings to our advantage in the classroom? What are the typical barriers pupils and teachers face, and how can we overcome these?

 

How do we ensure that non-fiction writing becomes increasingly sophisticated across KS1 and KS2? How do we ensure that recounts are more challenging in Year 3 than in Year 4? What should non-fiction writing look like in Year 5 in order to support pupils to achieve the expected standard and greater depth in Year 6? What does progression look like?

What are the sentence level techniques that teachers should focus on in different types of writing? What resources will pupils find most useful? How can we engage pupils in collaborative writing?

The session covers: recounts, instruction writing, information texts, writing to persuade, and book reviews.

"Fantastic mix of activities in order to understand how they would work in school.  Fantastic trainer who has excellent subject knowledge and made training purposeful.”
“Excellent resources to take away.  I’m looking forward to sharing all the ideas with the rest of the school.”
“Lovely atmosphere created by Vicky – I felt confident to share.  A fantastic day, I feel really inspired.”
“It was brilliant – best course I’ve been on in a long time.”

TWO DAY COURSE Thursday 14th February 2019 & Thursday 21st March, 9.15am-3.45pm. Lunch is provided. Book now by returning the form below via email or post. £390 for the first delegate, £300 for second and subsequent delegates from the same school. Course code: MF1. This course is held at Weetwood Hall, Headingley, Leeds. (Please note prices are excluding VAT.)

Download flyer and booking form

how To Develop Metacognition, 26th February 2019

This course provides a practical approach to developing metacognition across the school, but particularly in KS2: metacognition in problem solving and mathematics, metacognition as a key component to developing reading comprehension, metacognition in developing independence, the role of metacognition in developing deeper thinking and its link to cross-curricula learning; and using metacognition to improve academic outcomes and close attainment gaps.  Return to school with resources and materials to drive forward developments.

This is a full day course (9.15am-3.45pm) Tuesday 26th February 2019. Lunch is provided. Book now by returning the form below via email or post. £195 for the first delegate, £175 for second and subsequent delegates from the same school. Course code: MC01. This course is held at Weetwood Hall, Headingley, Leeds.

Download flyer and booking form

 
If I would like ONE OF THE CENTRAL course delivered in my school...

The above courses can also be delivered in your school.
Prices do vary, please email sales@ictwand.com for a quote.

can you arrange a venue and catering for us?

If in Leeds, the answer to this usually 'yes'. I can source a local venue for approximately £40 per person. Refreshments and lunch can be provided. An off site venue can often be advantageous, particularly when working as senior leadership team or training with colleagues from more than one school. Please allow at least 6 weeks notice if you wish to book training with an external venue. Payment for external venues is non refundable and payable in advance of the event.

CAN'T FIND THE COURSE YOU ARE LOOKING FOR?

Have a bespoke programme designed to meet your needs.