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.

Sharing the learning with an online class discussion tool

Continuing Professional Development Session

A Continuing Professional Development session presented by Malcolm Wilson of the Curriculum Support Team with staff at Bowhouse Primary School in Grangemouth provided the opportunity for staff to further explore the use of a class discussion tool within their own class Glow page.

Class Example

An example was shared of the use by P7C where pupils had been set the task by the teacher to create their own versions of a poem inspired by The Selkirk Grace by Robert Burns. Pupils responded with their own creative and humorous verses updating the words of the bard for today.

Discussion Space for Class Sharing the Learning

Well done P7C, and a nice example of where the Glow discussion tool provided a facility for sharing work within the confines of that class so that peers and teacher could share in confidence with peers in their learning journey prior to sharing it more widely in public elsewhere.

Feedback from Participants

Comments from participants included:

“I’m going to use the ‘news’ and discussion’ tools with a class”

“I intend to continue to use Glow discussions as a way of gathering pupil work””