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Previous online seminars

Recordings and related material for online seminars that have taken place are provided here.

Improving behaviour in schools - getting the basics right

9 February 2012

In this online seminar, Headteacher Charlie Taylor introduces some key principles for headteachers and classroom teachers to improve behaviour in schools.

Charlie Taylor is head of the Willows Special School in Hillingdon, north-west London and the Department for Education's expert adviser on behaviour. As a behavioural specialist for over 10 years, Charlie has taught every age group, from nursery to 16-year-olds, working in inner city primary and comprehensive schools. He is also the author of a recently published Getting the simple things right checklist on the basics of classroom management.

How peer tutoring can raise pupils' attainment

2 February 2012

Schoolchildren can boost their reading and mathematics levels when they tutor fellow pupils or are tutored by older pupils. This is one of the key findings of a two year project run in 129 primary schools in Scotland, the largest ever trial of peer tutoring.

The trial suggests that peer tutoring can be an inexpensive, scalable and sustainable way to boost pupils' attainment and to benefit authorities, schools, teachers and pupils.

This online seminar was led by two of the researchers on the project, Professor Peter Tymms of the School of Education at Durham University and Professor Keith Topping of the School of Education at the University of Dundee. They presented some of the key findings of the trial and gave practical tips and guidance to school leaders about how peer tutoring can be introduced in their schools.

Dealing with difficult people: developing an effective team

8 December 2011

Building and sustaining a highly-motivated team requires buy-in from all members of the team. But what if you have someone who doesn’t want to co-operate? Someone with low moral and motivation? What effect does this have on the rest of the team?

This online seminar provided an opportunity to consider these challenges, to understand what motivates people and approaches to take to deal with conflict.

The seminar was lead by Phil Spurr. Phil was a headteacher in Worcestershire for 17 years, leading 2 schools out of special measures. He is now a school improvement and leadership development adviser and works as a facilitator on National College leadership development programmes.

The impact of new technology on children’s learning

2 November 2011

Can an increased integration of new technology into teaching and learning lead to greater pupil engagement and an increase in standards?

In this seminar, David Mitchell, acting headteacher of Heathfield Primary School in Bolton, shared his experience of using web tools with pupils at Heathfield and the lessons he has learned about how to integrate technology into teaching and learning.

Raising the attainment of disadvantaged pupils

29 September 2011

With the introduction of the pupil premium and changes to performance tables, this academic year schools will be held publicly accountable for how they support the achievement of disadvantaged pupils. This online seminar presented lessons learned by a national project which focused on raising the attainment of pupils entitled to free school meals. The Extra Mile Project looked to see if the effective practices associated with raising pupil attainment in areas of disadvantage, could be adopted with the same success by other schools with similar intakes. The seminar was led by Professor Christopher Chapman and Professor Denis Mongon from the University of Manchester. They have written extensively on this subject and led the evaluation of the project.

Getting parents involved

30 June 2011

How do you get parents involved in their children’s education? What are the challenges both for the school and the parents, particularly those hard-to-reach parents? What are the benefits that effective engagement can bring? If you’re looking for some new ideas, this online seminar provided an opportunity to hear from school leaders who are currently developing innovative approaches to engaging with parents.

Converting to an academy

12 May 2011

This seminar looked at what's involved in becoming an academy - from what changes to what stays the same. The seminar was led by Dean Ashton, an education consultant. Dean has worked with many schools who have successfully converted to academy status.

Leading your school with reduced resources

15 March 2011

This seminar provided an opportunity to consider the impact funding changes will have on your school and how you can lead your school through this challenging time. Vivien Keller-Garnett, headteacher of a 14-19 specialist technology and language college and National College school associate, and Alex Green, headteacher of Abingdon High School, shared their thoughts on an approach to strategic financial planning which focuses on school improvement and pupil attainment, developing leadership capacity, based on best value for money.

The following activities and resources were referred to during the question and answer session: