We hope you have had a good summer and that you are feeling relaxed and refreshed and ready to pursue some professional development opportunities.

In this edition of our newsletter we:

announce the opening of bookings for our Introduction to Effective Timetabling and Intermediate Timetabling courses
highlight CALL Scotland’s autumn training programme for those supporting learners with additional support needs
share an invitation to contribute to a research project exploring how education policy is helping or hindering secondary teachers in their work
offer a final chance to join 2 courses starting in September – our Froebel in Childhood Practice Course for early years practitioners and our Returning to Teaching Course.

Professional Learning Courses and Events

Introduction to Effective Timetabling

This intensive 3-day course has been designed for staff who are new to constructing a secondary school timetable.

The tutor, Grant Whytock, will share his wealth of timetabling knowledge and experience, and course participants will have the opportunity to engage with a range of practical exercises based around a real school timetable and real curriculum designs.

The course aims to:

Give participants the basic skills and techniques required to produce a secondary school timetable
Promote efficiency within timetabling
Provide an opportunity to share curriculum structures and development ideas with fellow timetablers
Introduce techniques that can widen curricular offerings to learners
Demonstrate software that supports the timetabling process.

This course is always popular and early booking is recommended.

Dates:
-Wed 1 – Fri 3 November 2023 (Online)
-Wed 6 – Fri 8 December 2023 (In person, central Edinburgh venue)
-Wed 17 – Fri 19 January 2024 (In person, central Edinburgh venue)

Cost: £550

Intermediate Timetabling

This one-day course is for those who have completed the Introduction to Effective Timetabling Course (see above) or who already have prior knowledge/experience of timetabling.

Course participants will:

Look at the parameters within which a curriculum is designed and constructed: eg teacher contracts, structure of the school day, SQA subjects offered, length of teaching units, etc.
Meet with colleagues to share different school curricular arrangements across all age groups of learners and share timetabling experiences delivering different designs
Look at some examples of different approaches to timetabling the senior phase in Curriculum for Excellence. eg. single cohorts of pupils from S4 to S6
Learn how to use computer software to allow pupils to make free subject choices at key transition points in their education
Consider ways of delivering pupil entitlement subjects across all the year groups.

Practical exercises will complement the techniques and ideas examined during the day.

Date: Wed 28 February 2024

Delivery: In person, central Edinburgh venue
Cost: £139

LAST CHANCE TO BOOK: Froebel in Childhood Practice Academic Year Course 2023/24

The University of Edinburgh’s Froebel in Childhood Practice Course is one of only two courses in the UK endorsed by the Froebel Trust.

Our annual online course will start on 9 Sept 2023, with teaching delivered in 10 x 3 hour sessions on Saturdays.

Grants of up to £428 towards the course fees are available from the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) for applicants who earn no more than £25,000 per year (gross) and who meet the SAAS residence conditions.

Teaching starts: Saturday 9 September 2023 (see our website for full list of dates)
Location: Online
Cost: £850
Booking/payment deadline: Friday 18 August 2023

LAST CHANCE TO BOOK: Returning to Teaching Course

In this 10-week online course, participants will be thoroughly briefed on Scottish education policies, priorities and issues and will also receive guidance on applying for teaching posts.

Please note, participants must be eligible for registration with the GTCS (General Teaching Council for Scotland). If you are not already registered, please contact the GTCS directly.

Date: 22 September – 9 December 2023

Delivery: Online
Cost: £450
Booking deadline: Friday 8 September 2023

Call for Research Participants: Secondary School Teachers in Scotland and Wales

What makes a good teacher? Are you being supported to develop as a good teacher in the current educational climate? How can you be better supported to develop as the teacher you want to be?

These are some of the questions that Moray House PhD student Amy Auckland will be considering in a research project exploring the extent to which recent education policy in Scotland and Wales is helping and/or hindering secondary school teachers to do their jobs well.

Amy is currently looking for practising secondary school teachers in Scotland and Wales to give voice to the profession. She is seeking teachers who are willing to participate in a 1-hour interview that will engage with questions such as what you think makes a good teacher, how you understand and experience teacher professionalism, and the support you feel you need to do your job well.

Interviews will take place between now and December 2023 and can be either in-person or online. Following the interviews, participants will be invited to join a professional development workshop in which these issues will be discussed in more depth.

For full details and to sign-up, visit: www.spotlightonteachers.co.uk or contact Amy on amy.aukland@ed.ac.uk.

CALL Scotland Courses and Webinars

Communication, Access, Literacy and Learning Scotland (CALL Scotland) helps children and young people to overcome disability and barriers to learning created by their environment.

Between Sept-Dec 2023, CALL will be offering a series of 1-hour online courses on subjects such as:

inclusive learning environments
assistive technologies to help autistic learners to access the school curriculum
making the most of Word and Word Online’s built-in tools to support learners with literacy difficulties

Full list of courses

CALL’s autumn programme also includes a series of 20-minute webinars, with topics including:

Full list of webinars