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Schools Alliance for Excellence (SAfE) regularly host webinars, network meetings and training programmes to help support our Surrey Schools community.
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About SAfE
SAfE is an alliance made up of schools and other partners to deliver a high quality, cohesive, coordinated school-led improvement system in Surrey and the wider area. We provide a central place for schools to go where they know they can find high quality support, information and professional learning opportunities which are open to all schools and settings across EYFS, Primary, Secondary and Special phases.
What's coming up at SAfE?
Cross Phase
Primary
EYFS Leads Network
19 May 2022 - 19 May 2022
This event will allow EYFS Leads to share good practice across Surrey schools. The event will provide opportunities for schools to discuss the new EYFS reforms, the Baseline Assessment and EYFS Profile. Schools will have an opportunity to consider their intent, implementation and impact statements and discuss their EYFS vision with other leaders. This network will run once a term. Dates for future terms will be released in due course. Intended impact on practice:
- EYFS Leaders will be able to learn from other schools to ensure best practice in their settings
- Strong leadership will ensure quality first teaching and good outcomes for all pupils
- Strong leadership will focus on ensuring all pupils keep up with the curriculum including their communication and language
EYFS Leadership Conference
16 June 2022
The target audience for this is EYFS Leaders across maintained and private schools. This would also be a suitable event for PVIs nurseries. As this is a twilight conference, EYFS Leaders can bring their whole team to facilitate discussions around their school’s own provision and next steps. 3:45-3:50 - Introductions 3:50-4:25 Polly Jones - Responding to covid and improving speech and language in EYFS 5 minute break 4:30-5 - Ray EYFS Leader - Adapting the curriculum to the new reforms 5 minute break 5:05-5:35 Cathy Potter - Leading on Computing in the Early Years: Using technology to accelerate progress 5:35-6 Vikki MacRae - Leading on Inclusion in the Early Years and an Introduction to using Makaton Intended Impact on practice:
- To help EYFS leaders develop a consistent clear intent and ethos for their settings
- To enable EYFS teams across Surrey to receive high quality CPD and facilitate discussions within their school teams
- Enable leaders to continue to respond to the individual needs of their cohorts e.g ameliorate the covid gap through speech and language interventions
- Train leaders on preparing pupils for the changing world through high quality computing curriculum
- Build on inclusion in EYFS settings with a talk from an inclusion manager and learn the basics of Makaton
- Improved speech and language and social communication
- Opportunity to receive a broad and balanced curriculum with the opportunity to develop technology and computing skills
- Improved classroom environments with quality first teaching run by leaders who have a good knowledge of inclusion
- Impact on speech and language and social communication to provide a solid foundation for KS1 and beyond
SAfE Vocabulary Project
4 July 2022
This project will focus on the development of children’s vocabulary in order to raise attainment across the whole curriculum. Working with Shareen Wilkinson (nee Mayers), sessions will include:
- The latest research on vocabulary and its importance for all children
- Using reading to support vocabulary development
- Implicit and explicit vocabulary instruction
- Adaptive teaching to support children with SEND
- Etymology and morphology and their roles in supporting spelling
- Vocabulary and its role in SATs
*This event is open to Surrey LA only*
Secondary
Raising Outcomes for Disadvantaged Learners with Marc Rowland
27 June 2022
All Surrey Secondary Schools’ Headteachers, Chairs of Governors and Pupil Premium Leads are warmly invited to this celebration event; whether or not you have participated in this 2021-22 project. It is the culmination of a year-long project between SAfE, Surrey Secondary Schools and Marc Rowland, working in partnership to better understand and narrow the learning gap for disadvantaged pupils. The beliefs, knowledge, understanding and/or teaching practices this programme aims to address:
- Marc Rowland will share his research findings from work in Surrey Secondary Schools over the past year, which will provide an expert insight into understanding the 'Surreycentric' issues around the impact of socio-economic disadvantage on learning.
- The case studies will reveal how two schools addressed different issues; high expectations and impact of quality first teaching. This will highlight the process of leading change from identification of a high leverage issue to embedding improved practice so that disadvantaged learners benefit.
- Having a Surrey specific view on the key issues around learning for students affected by socio-economic disadvantage will equip school leaders with even sharper tools to understand and address this issue in their own settings.
- By learning about specific issues, and gaining insight into how two schools addressed some of these, school leaders will be able to learn and reflect upon the impact of their own provision, and be able to develop their PP strategy.
Secondary Curriculum Forum
4 July 2022
All secondary subject leads are invited to our Secondary Curriculum Form which replaces the separate Subject Network Meetings for this term.
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- In this session, schools who have recently had Ofsted inspections share their subject deep dive experiences in subject-specific break-outs.
- Hear from Anne Cullum, Executive Principal of the ElmWey Learning Trust and an Ofsted Inspector about what to expect from a Deep Dive
- Opportunities to network with other subject leads and discuss common issues.
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- Delegates will gain an understanding of what to expect from Ofsted Deep Dives and will have an opportunity to discuss in subject specific groups.
- Opportunity to discuss subject-specific common issues
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- Knowledge to support curriculum development
- Enhance subject leads' understanding of the expectations of and Ofsted deep dive.
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- Curriculum, together with QFT are the two biggest levers for impacting pupil progress and ensuring educational inclusivity.
Literacy Across the Secondary Curriculum
6 July 2022
About: For all secondary subject teachers, for English teachers and/or senior leaders with a lead on literacy or a line management responsibility for literacy within the schools. The ticket price is per school, and you are encouraged to involve as many staff as have the time for each session. This programme includes three sessions: Session 1: The Importance of Literacy in Secondary Schools Wednesday 23rd March Led by Eimear Mullane and Xander Odeneal from Salesian School, this session covers:
- Why is it important that every teacher is a literacy teacher?
- Understanding the importance of literacy and the role it plays across the curriculum
- Explore research into practical strategies for improving literacy, including the seven recommendations of the EEF 'Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools'
- Focus on disciplinary literacy
- The primary curriculum perspective and transition to KS3
- The importance of literacy in secondary schools across the curriculum
- Exploring the gaps within the literacy provision, focussing on vocabulary and reading
- How to develop a literacy strategy
- Effective reading and writing strategies
- Provide opportunity to explore a range of practical strategies based on up-to-date educational research,
- Explore gaps within the literacy provision within the context and how to develop a literacy strategy within their school,
- Reflection of impact strategy in school and next steps
- Understanding of the English hub and the benefits of engaging,
- Improve literacy in secondary schools by empowering colleagues with a responsibility for literacy to make effective changes within their context
- A focus on literacy and subject specific vocabulary in secondary schools will ensure all, including those with fewer opportunities to gain a varied vocabulary can access the curriculum more effectively.
Calendar of upcoming events
Whole Education SEND online CPD sessions
26 April 2022
WE Send are offering a variety of free sessions to our Surrey Schools. To find out more about the Whole Education SEND network please click here.
To find out more please click the links next to the sessions or contact events@wholeeducation.org
Wednesday 3rd November - Working with learners and families
Gareth Morewood, is Educational Advisor for Studio III (www.studio3.org) and worked for 25 years in U.K. schools; the last 17 of which were as SENCo. He will share some of the strategies he has found effective when working with learners and their families.
Please click here to find out more.
Monday 6th December - The role of the SEND leader in High Quality Teaching
Author of The Perfect SENCO and The Teachers’ Guide to SEN, Natalie Packer has a wealth of experience in SEND leadership. Natalie will explore:
● What is meant by inclusive HQT?
● What works: an evidence-based approach to HQT?
● How SEND leaders can support colleagues to embed inclusive HQT in the classroom?
Please click here to find out more.
Wednesday 12th January - Provision Mapping
Abigail Hawkins was a SENDCO for nearly 25 years of her teaching career and is experienced in leading SEN reviews in schools to establish the strengths and areas for development. This session will explore what effective provision mapping looks like.
Please click here to find out more.
Thursday 10th February - Maximising the impact of Teaching Assistants
Matthew Parker (MITA) delivers the MITA school improvement course for school leaders and Maximising the Practice of TAs training for school staff. This session is open to all staff teams, and will be particularly useful for SENCos, LSAs and TAs.
Please click here to find out more.
Tuesday 8th March - Intent: developing a strategy to improve outcomes for the most vulnerable
Marc Rowland is a nationally recognised expert on Pupil Premium and disadvantage. In this session Marc will explore the importance of having a clearly defined ‘intent’ for supporting vulnerable learners.
Please click here to find out more.
Tuesday 26th April - An inclusive approach to assessment
In her second session of the series, Natalie Packer will share her experience of:
● The principles of an inclusive approach to assessment
● A holistic model for SEND assessment and progress
● Examples of useful tools for the assessment of pupils with SEND
Please click here to find out more.
SENCO Update for Surrey Schools
25 May 2022
This event is for SENCOs from all Surrey Schools (Primary, Secondary and Special Phases) and will be delivered by Kenny Wheeler, SAfE's SEND Consultant and Surrey County Council.
SAfE has been commissioned by the Local Authority to run School-Age SENCO networks (not to be confused with the Early Years SENCO networks). The network meeting will provide an opportunity for SENCOs to be informed about local and national developments, build better communications between schools and other partners and to share good practice and solutions to common challenges.
For those who are unable to attend the webinar live, but would still like to receive a copy of the recording of the event, please still book a ticket, as both resources and recording will be available.
Please log in to book this course.
*This network is for Surrey LA schools only*
SENCo New to Role Autumn 22
22 September 2022
This event will provide information about Surrey’s policies and procedures on Special Educational Needs and Disability, in a period of constant change and challenge. There is also guidance for new SENCos on strategies and approaches that will help them manage their role. Intended impact on practice:
- New SENCos aware of the appropriate paperwork to use when working with children, families and the Local Authority.
- Analyse current approaches to identifying SEND to ensure need types are accurate and all learners with SEND are receiving additional to or different from provision.
- Greater awareness of how to engage professional support services across Surrey.
- Reflect on how they can ensure the graduated approach is understood and implemented consistently across their setting.
- Gain an insight into systems they can adopt in order to manage their SEND workload.
- Understand how to monitor and track interventions in order to be able to gauge the impact they are having on learners.
- Appreciation of the different person-centred approaches that can be used in order to work with and engage learners and their families.
- Clearer awareness of Surrey’s approach to supporting SEND pupils will help new SENCos to target how additional provision meets the needs of pupils to help them better access the curriculum.
- More focused support to help pupils engage with the curriculum will help support overall progress.
- Person centred approaches will help pupils to develop skills that will help prepare them for the next stage of their education.
- Support for disadvantaged learners targeting their needs with input from professionals across Surrey.
- Tighter monitoring of interventions will help in refining content so that support meets the needs of this group of pupils.