Reminder: Event for teachers and other local school workers on Sunday

Work in a school? This event is especially for you

Book HERE

Message from the organisers:

There's definitely cause for celebration when we have the world's best teacher, Andria Zafirakou in our midst!  It's time to recognise the great work that so many are doing, day in day out, with children and young people in Brent and beyond.  Are you one of them?  Then you need to be at this event!  Let us show you some appreciation! 

What is the event all about?

A chance for educational professionals and anyone that works with children in Brent, Harrow and the surrounding areas to come together as a family and celebrate their contribution over a buffet dinner, whilst helping a worthy children's cause!
This event is both a networking opportunity for teachers and others in the field and a fundraiser for a successful holistic education charity project (Gift a Smile) looking to connect with UK schools. 

The International Association for Human Values along with the Art of Living Foundation are putting on this event to raise awareness of their children and youth programmes (ART Excel for 8-12 year olds and YES! Youth Empowerment Seminar for teens) and free holistic school provision in the developing world via the unique Gift a Smile programme.  Please do visit: http://www.iahv.org.uk/project/gift-a-smile/ to find out more.

EduGreat! would not be possible without the kind donations of local residents and businesses who will also be recognised on the day. Thank you!

FAQs

What's the order of the evening?
5 - 5.30pm Connect with Colleagues
5.30 - 6pm Presentations
6pm - 6.45pm Vegetarian Buffet Meal
6.45pm Raffle Prize Draw
7 - 8pm Live Music Performance 

Do I need to attend the event from beginning to end?
Please time your entry between 5 - 5.30pm so that presentations are not disturbed, however, it is entirely your choice how long you stay on for.

Are children welcome?
YES! This is a family friendly event and craft activities courtesy of Holistic Happy Birthdays and Scribble Arts have been organised to keep them entertained! 

Is alcohol/smoking permitted?
Strictly NOT.

What are my transport/parking options for getting to and from the event?
Wembley Park Tube on the Met and Jubilee lines is just a 2 min walk away.
Side Road parking off Chakhill Rd or use the Asda car park on Forty Lane (free for 3 hrs).
Pay n Display parking on Bridge Road/Wembley Park station car park available too.

How can I contact the organiser with any questions?
Please call or msg: 07946 542 876

Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?
Let's save paper - just show the eventbrite confirmation received on your phone.

Celebrate Teaching Assistants on Friday

Now Copland support staff face the axe - next teaching assistants?

Guest blog by 'Mistleflower'

The cull in the summer resulted in the end in Copland losing around  60 staff, most taking ‘voluntary’ redundancy either because they were desperate to get away from the last regime’s shambolic mismanagement or they saw the way the wind was blowing with the new one (cut Copland to the bone, close it down, flog it off). Many of the teachers who left were happy, like myself, to do supply teaching rather than stay.

I now hear that Phase 2 of the process has begun. Around 50  support staff have been informed that 32 of them are to be made redundant. These include such people as library staff, pastoral support workers, science technicians, mentoring staff, caretakers, ICT technicians and, ( in the week that ex-Copland footballer Raheem Sterling was included in Roy Hodgson’s England squad for the World Cup qualifier), the football coach. Apart from the obviously essential nature of their work, people like these liaise with parents at difficult times, help motivate students, keep them on track and generally promote the social cohesion which is at the heart of any school community. ( Those wielding the axe might need  to look up those two words ‘heart’ and ‘community’).

As in July, in all of this, agreed procedures are being ignored, possibly illegally.

Phase 3, it has apparently already been announced, will take the axe to the Teaching Assistants, the staff who provide in-class support for children with special learning, language or emotional needs, ( Every Child Matters is soooo last century).

After that? Well, what remains of the place is still sitting in a very nice location and the few staff who remain can maybe get jobs helping to clear the site for the next Carpet Warehouse. One way or another, it looks like it will be an Absolute Return for someone, but clearly  not for the current kids and staff at Copland.

Class size facts challenge Wilshaw ahead of spending cuts

This piece from the excellent Ripped Off Briton website LINK should be of interest to parents, teachers, governors and pupils ahead of next year's expected education budget cuts:

Michael Wilshaw, the Chief Inspector of Schools, said at a seminar organised by the Reform think tank: "You can't have small classes - small groups - and a highly-paid staff." Wilshaw's assertion being that by having bigger class sizes, and therefore fewer teachers, it will be possible to offer higher pay to tempt in better teachers. In this he was parroting Reform's own agenda: 

 

"Ministers should support schools that reduce numbers of teaching assistants and allow class sizes to rise. Ministers should also make the case that having a high quality teacher is more important than smaller class size."  

So, is it actually true that our schools have small classes? We produce data below from the OECD's "Education at a glance, 2012" report, which looks at and compares the education systems in the OECD countries.

For both primary and secondary schools up to GCSE, class sizes in England are among the largest in the OECD.

The reality is we already have among the largest class sizes in the OECD. The government's agenda is simply to cut spending in the government education system.

After all, those who can pay for private education can enjoy classes of 15 to 20, as you would find in ordinary schools in Austria, Hungary, and the USA.

Challenging 'A' Level stereotypes

From  today's Guardian

It was good to see the Guardian's front page story on A level results avoided the usual images of teenage girls (usually blonde) jumping up and down with excitement clutching their results.

Without taking away from the girls' achievements, with national concerns over the performance of black boys, and all the stereotypes flying around in the wake of the riots, it was encouraging to see a positive image of black male youth's educational achievements displayed so prominently.

Incidentally it is easy to blame the media for falling for the blonde girl stereotype but a journalist revealed on the Radio 4 Today programme this week that schools and colleges ring local newspapers up and say things like, "We have some exceptionally beautiful girls this year" in order to tempt their photographers along.

Meanwhile as results trickle in it looks like a good year for Brent schools so congratulations to all the students and their teachers, teaching assistants and parents.