Learning to Achieve – Marketplace
Succeed – Share – Celebrate
On the 27th of November we welcomed over 180 practitioners to Forth Valley College for our first Learning to Achieve event of the year. Our events are held to share highly effective practice from playrooms and classrooms across Falkirk and this year we had 32 stalls ranging from ELC to Secondary. Our aim is to celebrate the successes we see in our settings, sometimes those things that we think as individual practitioners that it’s just what “everybody does”.
What was on show?
Our practitioners created amazing displays showcasing their improvement work, focussing on aspects of practice, (often small changes with big impact). These were all effective practice that people could take straight back to their setting. Thank you to our stallholders who brought along creative displays, resources for others and engaged in lots of high-quality discussion with colleagues who attended and other stallholders too. Please find a list of all stallholders at the bottom of the blog.
“There was a such a buzz in the room – it was great to network with those I’d previously worked with and see new ideas for my class”.
We asked those that attended to describe the event in 3 words:
What’s the impact?
Feedback from the Marketplace suggests the event has had a positive impact on practitioners and children and young people already – here’s a snapshot of what colleagues had to say:
“I’ve already tried (the new idea) with my class and I definitely noticed an increase in motivation and taking more time and care into the work they were doing. I also plan to use the formative assessment strategies such as uno which I think my class will find more fun and engaging”.
“After attending I’ve realised that I don’t always need to reinvent the wheel and I’ll not be afraid to contact others and ask for support”.
“ I love that it’s got people from all sectors together. We’ve had great stem conversations with secondary colleagues who want to learn more about our Froebelian approach to woodwork, cooking and gardening in ELC”.
“Having everyone in the same room is great, you can see so many different ideas and strategies to take back at the one time”.
What next?
- ASN Inservice Day
Our colleagues in the ASN team have created an exciting Learning to Achieve ASN workshop focus day, see below for details.
Learning to Achieve Festival – spread across two weeks. Visit schools and hear and see different practice.
Would you love to share what you or colleagues do at our next event in March?
Contact Lysa Thomson or Lisa Buchanan:
Contact lysa.thomson@falkirk.gov.uk or lisa.buchanan@falkirk.gov.uk
We would like to say a huge thank you to the settings below for their commitment, time and enthusiasm – you really made the Marketplace impactful for others.
Feedback – Lauren Shaw, Westquarter PS
Outdoor learning across the Curriculum – Carrongrange
Inclusion in our ELC – Comely Park ELC
1+2 through drama – Laurieston PS
1+2 languages through play – Bonnybridge PS
Partnering with families to unlock every child’s potential – Parkhill ELCC
Developing phonological awareness – Comely Park
Supporting Learners through partnership working – Bo’ness Academy
Maths through stories – Laurieston PS
Effective Modelling – Kinnaird PS
Building Thinking Classrooms in Primary – St.Francis
Our progressive outdoor curriculum – Airth PS
Reading fluency in a nutshell – Bonnybridge PS
Digital Learning and Apple Learning Coach – Carrongrange
IDL through LfS within CIC context – Wallacestone PS
Teaching Backwards – Wallacestone PS
High Quality Questioning – St.Mungo’s HS
Supporting individuals through outdoor ed – IWBS
CPA – Conceptual Numeracy
Our Play Journey – Whitecross PS
Our Frobelian Approaches – Whitecross ELC
Using Clay in early level – Larbert Village
Child-centred pedagogy at Carron ELC – Carron ELC
Child-centred pedagogy at St.Francis – St.Francis ELC
Approaches to equity in early language and communication development – EY Pedagogues
Using technology in writing – Wallacestone PS
Empathy through stories- Library Services project with Braes High School
AI in the classroom – Head of Muir PS
LfS – Developing outdoor learning across the curriculum Falkirk HS
LfS Developing outdoor curriculum – Braes HS
Equity and high quality child centred ( and family) learning – Glenburn ELCC
CLPL Spotlights
In terms 1 and 2 we delivered five online Spotlight CLPL sessions, which focused on developing Learner Driven Assessment. Over the series, we explored how small, intentional shifts in our pedagogy can empower children and young people to take ownership of their learning journey.
What did each session explore?
- Cultivating the Culture. We looked at how to move assessment from being something “done to” a pupil to something “owned by” them. We reflected on building a classroom culture where mistakes are seen as opportunities for learning. High expectations and pupil accountability were identified as key components to drive learner engagement.
- Powerful Lesson Starts We shared strategies for hooks that don’t just engage but immediately activate prior learning and clarify the learning intentions in a way that makes sense to learners. Provocations to spark curiosity and wonder were shared to ensure children and young people are always curious to learn more.
- The Art of Questioning We discussed how higher-order questioning and increased wait-time can uncover the “why” behind a learner’s answer, allowing us to adapt our teaching in real-time. A range of questioning strategies were shared as well as sentence stems to support cognitive load.
- Progressing through Feedback We explored how to give feedback that is “just-in-time, just-for-me, and just-right.” The focus being on actionable feedback – giving pupils the “how” so they can make improvements themselves.
- Purposeful Plenaries We looked at how to use plenaries to help learners synthesise their learning, gaining feedback that identifies next steps and helping that new knowledge move from short-term memory into long-term learning.
Who attended and what did they say? What’s the impact?
We have had practitioners join us from across Falkirk’s Primary and Secondary sectors, ensuring that the conversation around assessment culture is consistent across ages and stages.
Here’s a look at what colleagues had to say:
