APTE:TEAN 2015- Growing Partnerships

Patrick Freeman - University Of Cumbria; APTE National Exec. Secretary

3 pronged approach:

• My thoughts /views of what would make effective partnership/s- fitting case study examples (UoC) focus.

• Wider Partnership/s- published work (UCET, CfBT, Church of England’s National Education Office)

• Carter review of ITT (2015)

Titled areas / ‘Quality indicators’ ?

• ‘Definition of partnership’

• ‘Partnership Agreement’

• ‘Communication / continuous improvement’- Contact with / in schools

• ‘Capacity’ -Place or not to Place (multi-faceted partnerships)

• ‘Who holds what expertise?’ (recognition of who can do what best)

• ‘Mentoring’- effective timely progress for learners

‘Definition of partnership’

CollaborationCollaboration

UCET- Kirk, G.(2013)“10. The tight relationship between the skills of teaching and their theoretical underpinnings requires the two components of professional preparation to be closely coordinated, increasingly to the extent that the boundaries between these components are permeable, thus allowing variations of emphasis depending on the partnership model being followed. Through collaborative working, partners generate shared understandings about the purpose of the programme components, about the respective roles of tutors and mentors, about the standards against which the achievements of student teachers are to be assessed, and about the ways in which theory and practice are to be related in the growth of professional competence and understanding.”

11. Indeed, the most valuable and widely acclaimed form of partnership is now recognised to be one that is multi-faceted, in which placement and initial teacher education are embedded in a nexus of relationships involving close collaboration on continuing professional development, of the kind involved in much postgraduate professional development for teachers, cooperative teaching, curriculum renewal, collaborative research initiatives, secondments, staff exchanges and joint appointments, with university tutors engaging with their students in school settings and school teachers contributing to university-based aspects of the programme, and many other forms of academic and professional interchange, all contributing to a shared culture of professional learning and collaboration.” Carter (2015) “Across the system, schools and providers have emphasised the importance of genuine partnerships, where schools play a leading role in the recruitment and selection of trainees, course design and delivery, assessment of trainees and the on-going review of the programmes. Schools and universities alike have highlighted the benefits that all partners can gain from partnerships. We believe the most effective partnerships include a range of types of schools (ideally including Special Schools and Pupil Referral Units) as well as a university partner”.

‘Partnership Agreement’

• Roles and Responsibilities

• Assessment of the students

• Where is the student teacher’s (trainee) voice?

Carter (2015) “• Effective partnerships utilise expertise from across the partnership – from both school partners and universities and between the different phases and subjects they offer.

• Effective partnerships are built on mutual respect and a shared vision as well as clearly defined and agreed roles.”

Partnership agreement Initial teacher education partnership agreement Sections:Background and principlesRoles and responsibilities

• Students• School mentors• Class teachers• Head teachers• The University• Professional partnership tutors

Management of the partnershipQuality assurance

The University of Cumbria believes that the best model for producing high quality teachers is based on working in partnership with schools and Early Years settings. This partnership relies on the involvement of school based professionals in the selection and training of students. A balance of academic study and practical placement experience is delivered on a variety of teacher training programmes at both Undergraduate and Postgraduate level. School and educational settings play a major part in our Initial Teacher Training programmes by providing a range of assessed and non-assessed Placements & Experiences which enhance the Provision offered to our students. This, in turn, enriches the life of the schools participating in the partnership.

The continuing improvement of pupil attainment and the well-being of children are at the heart of this Partnership, and inform all aspects of the training of students to become qualified teachers.

The Partnership has a commitment to ensuring students are provided with the preparation which ensures that they evolve into good and outstanding professionals. This outcome is achieved through the distinctive roles and responsibilities across the partnership in both schools and the university. The close working relationship between University of Cumbria Professional Partnership Tutors (PPT’s) and teachers provides an environment for the exchange of ideas that informs practice across the partnership.

Roles & Responsibilities

Assessment of Students

‘Communication / Continuous improvement’- Contact with / in schools

 Continuous improvements…

•Listen!- Partnership committees / stakeholder group

•PPT role- how they engage with new partners….Starting points of conversations?

•Student and AT (school based mentor) Surveys-what this has told us….

•Shaping / planning of Cluster meetings- turning 2’s into 1’s; QA form / checklist shaping. (Mentor development)

•Recognition that each partnership works differently.

•Clarity in vision / direction of travel….Together

‘Capacity’ -Place or not to Place? (multi-faceted partnerships)

• What else are partners involved in?

• Is placement the correct term?—James Noble Rogers (Westminster Education Forum: 1 April 2014)- ‘The role of universities in the new initial teacher training landscape’

“For too long too many schools have, often for good reason, been at best reluctant partners in teacher training, often begrudgingly accepting students on placement, and ‘placement’ I would suggest is in itself an outdated term that should be consigned to history. The need to get schools more engaged is why we gave our explicit support to the development of teaching schools, and will continue to do so.”

• UoC—School embedded learning—direct link with core M level modules (MCN & RP) & Creative & effective Curriculum week

• UoC- NQT support / teacher development activities

• UoC- Leading Literacy (SSP) partners- SSP focus experiences

• UoC- Student conference foci.

‘Who holds what expertise?’ (Recognition of who can do what best)

• ‘M’ Level / Research

• Partnerships / Development

• Programme building

• Teacher tips vs critical reflection

UCET- Kirk, G. (2013):“14. One of the key contributions universities make to that relationship is their

specialist expertise in the pedagogy of teacher education. HEI tutors have very considerable experience of addressing the needs of adult learners, which complements what school-based tutors bring to the development of professional skills and understanding. Besides, HEI tutors, unlike their school colleagues, who have other demands on their attention, are exclusively preoccupied with the academic, pastoral and professional needs of student teachers. “

Mentoring’- effective timely progress for learners

Carter (2015) “However, evidence suggests that mentoring across England is not as good as it should be (Hobson and Malderez, 2013). We have found methods for identifying and recruiting mentors, training and quality assuring mentoring to be variable. Given its importance, we feel that mentoring should have much greater status and recognition, within schools and within the ITT system as a whole. The qualities of effective mentors should be better understood across the system.”

•QA Development– mentor feedback

•Online resources (distributed)

•Cluster MT

SummaryMore Questions! The nature of a quality developing / emerging partnerships?- APTE2015 July 9-10th Birmingham

From CfBT Education Trust (2014) Partnership working in Small Rural Primary schools:Ten lessons for schools 1.Build on existing partnerships and relationships – partnership grows out of partnership. 2.Keep partnerships geographically focused – distance inhibits the frequency and intensity of schools’ joint work.3.Develop strong headteacher relationships, shared values and commitment by meeting regularly, visiting one another’s schools, phoning and emailing frequently and welcoming new headteachers to a partnership school.4.Be clear about governance arrangements, funding and accountability, and involve governors in school-to-school development and training.5.Ensure that the leadership of partnerships reaches down to involve middle leaders and coordinators.6.Use action plans to prioritise and clarify what partnerships will do together.7.Focus partnership activity on improving teaching and learning through teacher-to-teacher and pupil-to-pupil engagement and learning – including the use of digital contact between staff and pupils.8.Focus any dedicated resources on providing dedicated leadership or project management time to organise activity and/or cover transport costs.9.Be prepared to engage in multi-partnership activity and for the form and membership of partnerships to evolve over time. 10.Monitor and evaluate the impact of partnership activity.

Questions I still have…?

• How do I measure the strength of my partnership?

• Is there still a “Them & Us” mindset?

• How do we continue to share best practice?

• Do HEI’s or Partnerships have the marketing expertise beyond ITT for teacher development? How strong is the shape of partnerships beyond ITE?

• How do we have standardised quality when we deal with different depths of partnership arrangements?

Microsoft Word 97 - 2003 Document

References

• Carter, Andrew (2015) DfE: Carter review of Initial teacher training. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carter-review-of-initial-teacher-training.DfE

• CfBT Education Trust (2014). Partnership working in small Rural Primary Schools. http://www.cfbt.com/en-GB/Research/Research-library/2014/r-partnership-working-2014

• Church of England’ National Education Office (2014). Working Together: The future of Rural CoE Schools. http://www.churchofengland.org.uk/education

• Kirk, Gordon (2013) UCET: The value of university-school partnerships in teacher education. http://www.ucet.ac.uk/publications

• Nobel-Rogers, James (2014) UCET-Westminster Education Forum: 1 April 2014: The role of universities in the new initial teacher training landscape

• Nunn. Jacqui (2015) UCET: School led ITE: A self audit tool to support ITE partnerships. UCET- members email- J.Mountfield March 2015.

• University of St. Mark & St. John (2014) Primary Partnership Overview- email. http://www.marjon.ac.uk/media/marjon/marjon-2013-website/course-documents/education/Partnership-Overview-PRIMARY-A4-EMAIL.pdf