Year: 2013

Sharing the learning in a blog for primary 1 classes at Denny Primary School

Malcolm Wilson, ICT Curriculum Development Officer in the Curriculum Support Team of Falkirk Council Education Services, supported staff at Denny Primary School to set up a joint blog for pupils in the primay 1 classes to share their learning journey.

This was set up at the request of staff so they can post about what’s happening in their classes so that the posts can easily be seen by the school, parents and wider community.

Posts have included photographs, videos, slideshows and descriptions of the activities in which the pupils are involved. The blog is set up so that staff create and publish the posts while others are also able to add comments.

Click here to see what’s happening at the primary 1 classes at Denny Primary School

Class Blogging in Avonbridge Primary School P5, 6, 7

Malcolm Wilson, ICT Curriculum Development Officer in the Curriculum Support Team of Falkirk Council Education Services, supported staff at Avonbridge Primary School to set up a class blog for pupils in the Primaries 5, 6, 7 class to share their learning journey.

This was set up at the request of staff so they can post about what’s happening in their class so that the posts can easily be seen by the school, parents and wider community.

Posts have included photographs, videos, slideshows and stories. And other pupils are also commenting on the posts, showing they are engaged in the blog.

Well done staff and pupils in the primary 5,6,7 class at Avonbridge Primary School for sharing their learning journeys. Click here to see what’s happening at the primary 5,6,7 class blog at Avonbridge Primary School

Kinneil Primary School whole-school blog

Malcolm Wilson, ICT Curriculum Development Officer in the Curriculum Support Team of Falkirk Council Education Services, supported staff at Kinneil Primary School in setting up a whole-school blog to share the learning journey of pupils.

This was set up at the request of staff at the school so that individual classes can contribute to one blog in one place, rather than separate class blogs, so they can post about what’s happening in their class and by tagging and choosing from their class on a list of categories, the posts can easily be seen by the school, parents and wider community.

Although all staff in the school are set up as full administrators of the blog, Kinneil Primary School also has a team of pupils called the K.P.S Blogging Team who are publishing blogposts describing the work going on in classes. They upload photographs, videos, slideshows and write the stories. And other pupils are also commenting on the posts, showing they are engaged in the blog.

Links are provided to the school website and the school’s page on the Falkirk Council website. Safety features are set up on the blog. Well done staff and pupils at Kinneil Primary School for sharing their learning journeys – click here to visit the whole-school blog for Kinneil Primary School.

Whole-school blog for sharing the learning at California Primary School

Malcolm Wilson, ICT Curriculum Development Officer in the Curriculum Support Team of Falkirk Council Education Services, supported staff at California Primary School in setting up a whole-school blog to share the learning journey of pupils.

This was set up at the request of staff at the school so that individual classes can contribute to one blog in one place, rather than separate class blogs, so they can post about what’s happening in their class and by tagging and choosing from their class on a list of categories, the posts can easily be seen by the school, parents and wider community.

Links are provided to the school website and the school’s page on the Falkirk Council website. Safety features are set up on the blog. Sharing of the learning journey in California Primary School can now take place in one more avenue – click here to visit the whole-school blog for California Primary School.

Getting Ready for Employee Review and Development!

  • All our schools are moving forward on implementing the new Employee Review and Development (Glow login required) process( ERD). Some have already begun while others are getting ready. Anne Hutchison (CPD Co-ordinator in the Curriculum Support team of Falkirk Council Education Services) co-leads the implementation strategy at service level along with Anne Pearson (Service Manager: Curriculum Support team) and today they were out and about in schools across Falkirk working with staff from Grangemouth High, Graeme High, Laurieston, Hallglen, Victoria and Westquarter primary schools. Preparation is key to getting this effective way of working off on the right foot. So what were we doing?
    1. Speaking to support staff to let them know that they are key players in supporting the delivery of high quality teaching and learning for all children and young people
    2.Raising awareness of what an ERD meeting looks, feels and sounds like. Big thanks to Hazel Cunningham (Primary Probationer Supporter:Curriculum Support team) and Fiona Anderson (HT:  Head of Muir PS) who bravely modelled the role of a self evaluator whilst Anne H and Anne P acted as Validators. The role of a validator is to support, extend and challenge the self-evaluator.
    Everyone has a role in this important improvement priority. During January and February of this year all Headteachers and Early Years Managers are using their work profile as a self evaluation tool in preparation for their ERD meeting. To support them in their preparation a series of 90 minute training sessions have been designed and delivered by the Curriculum Support team . By session 2014-15 the aim is that:
  •  all  Falkirk schools are implementing the revised scheme
  • the revised ERD scheme is integrated with schools’ ongoing self evaluation and quality improvement processes
  • we can see evidence of cultural change in relation to self evaluation
  •  GTCS registered staff are well prepared for Professional Update
  •  we can see evidence of the impact of ERD on our children and young people’s learning experiences

Selection and Recruitment

A two day training programme for senior managers was held recently and included tutoring by Anne Pearson, Curriculum Support Manager of the Curriculum Support Team.

Anne Hutchison , CPD Co-ordinator and Marian Boyle Curriculum Support Officer  Health and Wellbeing of the curriculum support team along with QIOs Tony Bragg annd Lorriane McFarlane  and Caroline Sweeney Depute Headteacher at Carmuirs Primary. All of this being led by Sheena Liddell.

Participants undergo a full selection and recruitment process inclusding live interviews with aspiring principal teachers  or aspiring Depute headteachers who have

The  outcome of this training is that:

Participants are familiar with expected standards relationg to Learning to Achieve section 4

We are looking for participants to adopt a behavioural event interviewing approach, as the best indicator of future performance is past performance. There are no “what would you do if…” questions but instead “tell me about a time when…” questions.

We are recruiting the best teachers and future leaders for our schools which in turn improves the quality of the learning experience for children.

Enterprising Approaches to Skills Development

January 2013 saw the Primary Probationer Teachers undertaking Enterprising Approaches to Skills Development facilitated by Lynne Lauder, Enterprise Co-ordinator and arranged by Hazel Cunningham and Clare McEwan, Probationer Supporters of the Curriculum Support Team.

The sessions were active and engaging and  all activities came from enterprise resources which are currently available in Falkirk Schools. 

The Probationers were working against the clock and having to be very creative and supportive of each other.  Thinking ‘out of the box’ was the order of the day and this brought with it much laughter and fun.  There was of course a serious message  as the  teams reviewed their work (and teamwork) to identify the skills they had been utilising and developing through engaging in the tasks.

The photographs  show teams using balloons to create a sculpture which reflects the Spirit of Falkirk and then the identified skills pinned up on the whiteboards.

The session included the ‘Shift Happens’ video which brought home the fact that we are preparing young people for jobs that don’t yet exist. Using technologies that haven’t been invented in order to solve problems we don’t even know exist yet.

Technologies in the Classroom Group

Falkirk Council Education Services is about to embark on a significant year of change with regards ICT in the Classroom, so in order to involve staff in in educational establishments in this process a Technologies in the Classroom group has been formed, facilitated by Stuart Lennie and Malcolm Wilson of the Curriculum Support team, along with Roy Robotham, ICT Programme Manager.

January 2013 will see the start of several major technology improvement projects. These are:

  • a review of Internet Filtering policies (with specific reference to YouTube for possible pupil use)
  • the rollout of wireless infrastructure in education, allowing support for Council and personal devices
  • data protection guidance for staff
  • the implementation of the next iteration of Glow
  • methods for sharing and supporting technology use in education

In order to involve staff in this process a Technologies in the Classroom group has been formed. The group is made up of keen teachers and support staff from all stages of education, who have agreed to give some time towards ensuring that ICT in Falkirk Council Education establishments is meeting the needs of pupils.

The group will meet regularly, mainly online, and will work with pupils, parents, and colleagues to produce guidance documentation and materials to support and implement change.