What school leaders are asking each other; our first webinar and more.
Sam Strickland (The Duston School); Cassie Young (Brenzett Primary School); Clare Fletcher (Yare Education Trust).
This is the free We Are In Beta Newsletter - written by me, Niall Alcock. We - the education community - Are In Beta - always learning. Sign up to learn how school leaders are tackling big issues in schools.
I hope you’ve all enjoyed the sunshine this weekend. Responsibly.
Last week, I mentioned Series 3 of the We Are In Beta Podcast - as we had been preparing it - was postponed. Understandably, all of our in person interviews were called off due to coronavirus.
In times like these, it’s important we stay connected. So, Jay (We Are In Beta’s Producer) and I have been making calls to school leaders around the country to check in and find how they are innovating and explore the questions they are grappling with at this strange time.
🎧 Getting meals to students
In the first episode, we spoke with Clare Fletcher - Director of Schools, The Yare Education Trust. We talk about some obstacles with catering in schools, getting meals to students at home (before the DfE announced its voucher scheme) and what her new work routine looks like.
👂 Listen on Spotify | iTunes | Stitcher | Libsyn | TuneIn 🔉
💬 Join the conversation with Clare Fletcher and @NiallAlcock. We’d love to know what you think.
👀 Read the full transcription and access all of our premium content for free, for a limited time only here . Soon this will be the only place you can access it. 📖
🎧 Touching Base
In the second episode of two last week, we spoke with Cassie Young - SENCO and Head of School at Brenzett Primary School in Kent. We talk about how to balance the expectations put on parents as well the importance of staying connected with students while they're at home.
👂 Listen on Spotify | iTunes | Stitcher | Libsyn | TuneIn 🔉
💬 Join the conversation with @ModernCassie and @NiallAlcock with #weareinbeta
🌐 We Are In Beta Community
Our online community for school leaders continues to grow. Members continue to ask each other questions and share answers. This week they’ve shared advice, resources and stories about:
How they can update safeguarding policies with regards to COVID-19.
What the best apps are to communicate with parents at this time.
How they are working to ensure the gap between vulnerable and disadvantaged students and their peers doesn’t widen while schools are closed.
How one school has received a sizeable donation from a local charitable trust to buy laptops.
How they can advertise jobs for free at the same time as giving potential candidates a helpful insight into what it’s like to work at their schools.
If you’re a serving school leader or teacher and you want to join this free, dedicated group hit the button below. If you are not a serving school leader you won’t be granted access at this time. This might change in the future but for now it’s just for them. Any questions, let us know.
🎥 Webinar: Implementing a knowledge-rich curriculum with Sam Strickland (Principal, The Duston School).
Join 200+ registered attendees on this webinar today at 5pm to hear how Sam led his school from a place where it was on track for a predicted -1.8 Progress 8 score in 2017 to a school that is now in the top 30 most improved schools in the country.
📆 Monday 6th April 2020
🕔 5.00pm
Thanks for reading and playing your part in making education the place we all know it can be.
Speak soon,
@NiallAlcock
️️❤️ If you find being connected to other school leaders and sharing approaches useful, hit the like button.