Speaker: Hilary Messeter, E-Learning Manager, NCSL
The NCSL presentation by Hilary Messeter was very well received. The presentation opened with a background to the National College for School Leadership, detailing its core focus of developing leadership and supporting leaders.
NCSL is committed to providing a blended learning experience to all learners, offering new opportunities for personalised learning and reflective collaboration through an online environment: talk2learn. While NCSL is providing free access to a dedicated CLC community, t2l training and resources, the CLCs are providing regional enhancement of NCSL’s school leader experience through talk2learn training.
With e-learning content and the vibrant online community that is t2l, the Learning Gateway community is well worth joining. T2L will allow CLCs to develop and share project ideas in a secure space, create online resources and learning opportunities for CLC staff, disseminate project evaluations, upload case studies and engage in open forums.
For more information you can email ncsl.support@bt.com.
Download: Powerpoint slides (1.3 MB)
Speaker: Ben Hren, Head of Formal Education, WWF-UK
This presentation by Ben Hren, Head of Formal Education with WWF-UK, detailed a new pilot initiative being shared with the global learning community. This initiative stems from a convergence of agenda’s to reshape corporate practise and promote sustainability.
Sustainable schools promote caring for individuals, each other and the environment. The Sustainable Schools agenda brings the WWF together with the DfES, City Learning Centres and a software provider (GLC) through this covergence of agenda’s. Doorways for engagement with schools such as global wellbeing were also discussed.
In response to the question of how innovation moves through the community, Ben presented the notion of innovators passing the idea on to early adopters before the innovation becomes mainstream. It is these early adopters that are crucial to this process in their willingness to carry innovation forward.
The project goes live on the web on the 22nd June, but meanwhile you can already engange in some online discussion.
Video: Click the play button to start the video of this presentation!
Presenters: Anne Casey, Partnership for Schools, Zia Mehmet, Highwire and Portico CLCs, and Suzanne Miles, Ealing CLC
How do you solve a problem like promotion? In this workshop the group discussed how, as a collective group of CLCs, they could raise the profile of CLCs nationally. Three main areas were addressed – What promotion has been done before? Who are the CLCs to promote themselves to? And, how should CLCs promote themselves in the future?
Firstly there was a review of the PR company Livewire who are being used by seventeen London based CLCs. The general response was that while they were generating a lot of press coverage it was not within the right publications – and so was not as effective as it could have been. It was also agreed that while individual CLCs had a good profile within their particular locale, there was no collective push towards the national recognition of CLCs.
What is to be done? It was agreed that it was extremely important to raise the profile of CLCs in order to solidify funding in the future. Also discussed was the forming of a CLC Community based on the web, as was the idea of creating a portal. Also discussed was the idea of setting up a CLC Management Board with strong links to BECTA and some prominent Politicians. However, the main question that was addressed was: should CLCs look to get a National Champion/National Body to spread the message of the CLCs? While this decision has not yet been decided, an informal poll has been set up on this blog.
Anne Casey then finished the workshop by summarising the position of CLCs, she said “The time to raise the national profile of CLCs is now. Five years into the programme CLCs are successful, embedded and raising aspirations and attainment at a local level. BSF and the E-Strategy require transformation champions to ensure the success and sustainability, CLCs are best placed to be those champions and show what transformed learning looks like.
Download: Pan London CLC PR (Word file, 27 KB)
Presenters: Mick Gernon, KPMG, and Philip Noakes, London Borough of Greenwich
This discussion was basically an exchange of views, ideas and experience. The hope was that people would carry on sharing practise within their own authorities.
Mick Gernon, Principal advisor for schools with KPMG advisory set the scene by discussing the existing framework for the 14 – 19 agenda and the opportunities provided by it.
The basic aims of the 14-19 strategy: getting young people on the right courses, reforming the curriculum so more people stay in education and raising attainment.
One of the points made by Mick was that attendance at his school went up to 92% when kids are fully motivated. Traditionally alternative provision has only been for a small percentage with the rest of students being mainstream.
Emerging messages and considerations include the fact that partnership development is mixed and diplomas need to be embedded into curriculum models to enable sustainability and provide different pathways at different levels of learning.
On a final note, CLC’s should be leading innovation with this agenda from a strategic point with chance to influence and shape virtual spaces.
Download: Powerpoint slides (172 KB)
Presenter: Mary Baker, General Secretary, Naace
Summary coming soon…
Download: Powerpoint slides (0.5 MB)
