Category: Leadership

A coffee, a croissant and a controversy!

Carol Paton, Curriculum Support Officer Secondary, Falkirk Council Education Services Curriculum Support Team recently led a session on the Glasgow University Research Paper  ‘Assessment at Transition’.  Sixteen Headteachers and Deputes from across Falkirk explored together some of the key challenges from this research paper around the purposes and potential of assessement at transition. Together they examined their current transition programmes in respect of planning, pedagogy, progress and standards. They challenged each others’ thinking and took inspiration from some of the transformational practice described.

Participants said:

Assessment Centres – Getting the right person for the job

Ann Peoples, Administration Assistant, Falkirk Council Education Services, Curriculum Support Team has undertaken the administraion for the running of the assessment centres.

The administration is essential to the smooth running of each assessment centre.  Staff within the Curriculum Support Team and QIO Team are being trained.

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.