12.30 Welcome and Introductions Tilden Suite Ger Graus Chief Executive, Children’s University Dr J Sandy Bradbrook Chair, CU Trust.

12.30 Welcome and Introductions Tilden Suite

Ger GrausChief Executive, Children’s University

Dr J Sandy Bradbrook Chair, CU Trust

Schools and Academies HE and FE

CU Managers

National CU Office CU TrusteesChancellors and Patrons

New local CU legal Structures

Department for Education

Partner organisations

Children

Local Authorities

The future

Continue our Growth

Better and More Effective Publicity and Belief in the CU

More Funding not just from Government

Innovative Partnerships

Society will Benefit

You are Successful

Children do Benefit

12.30 Welcome and Introductions Tilden Suite

Ger GrausChief Executive, Children’s University

Dr J Sandy Bradbrook Chair, CU Trust

Winner of the 2011

Everyday Impact Award - New Enterprises

13.00 Spaces, Dreams and the Children’s University … Thoughts about Informal Learning

Tilden Suite

Dr James BradburneDirector General of the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, Florence (Italy) and National Children’s University Patron

14.05 The Children’s University: So What …?! Tilden Suite

Megan Boyden and Taylor YoungColchester Children’s University

14.45 - CU Seminars and The Market Place

Delegates will have the opportunity to attend four different Seminars (see the back page of the programme for session details) throughout the afternoon sessions as well as visit The Market Place.

14.45 Session 1

15.20 Session 2

15.55 Session 3

16.30 Session 4

17.05 Session 5

Please refer to the Seminar Attendance Form in your delegate pack to find out when you will be attending each Seminar.

17.35

17.35 The Market Place continued William Turner Suite

Various

08.45 Twinkle twinkle little Star – Achievements, Developments, Things to Do and Smiles

Tilden Suite

Ger GrausChief Executive, Children’s University

Achievements

We are here!

We have the Evaluation of the Children’s University 2010

DfE continue to support for 2011 to 2013

Support from

75 local CUs by April 2012 (actually … NOW!)

In 2010 there were …

85,000 7 to 14 year olds

1,075,000 hours of CU learning

There are currently …

1,625 public Learning Destinations

and over 1,000 restricted ones

123,500 Passports To Learning in use

… which means if we take into account mums and dads, brothers and sisters, granddads and nanas and throw in a few aunties and uncles for good measure …

…in the region of 1,000,000 people are with us!

We have …

Launched the E-Passport

Introduced Planning for Volunteeringand the Passports To Volunteering

Made a start with CU for 5 and 6 year olds

Welcomed Lynne and worked with Richard (and they are still here …!)

We have …

Started

Grown

Developed

Transformed

And … We are still here!!!

And in … 2011-13 ?

Developments

7 to 14 year olds

Who need it most

Voluntary participation

Outside normal school hours

What we all do …

Quality !

Include ages 5 to 7

E-lectronic Passport

CU national Volunteering

Develop CU Lectures and Seminars

What we also do …

Create national win-winships

Listen … talk … help … turn up … provide funding … help us all become more sustainable … and come up with new ideas …

Children’s University Challenge or CUC

Such as …

Things to Do

What we need you to do with us… to get even better and make sure we are still here next year too … !

Be in it together (really!)

Market yourselves and you will market us all

Help with evaluation and data

Plan for change and change when you need to

Keep talking!! Pick up the phone, come to meetings … email or even

And please respond on time to requests … emails … returns …

Stay passionate … it’s what we’re good at … !!!

Smiles

“Turning upside down makes you happy because the sad feelings get all dizzy and fall out.”

Tom (aged 6)

09.30 Children’s University – National Evaluation and Research

Tilden Suite

Professor John MacBeathProfessor John MacBeath – Professor Emeritus at the University of Cambridge and Projects Director for the Commonwealth Centre in Education

10.00 Achievement for All Tilden Suite

Professor Sonia BlandfordNational Director of Achievement for All and Professor of Educational Leadership and Innovation at the University of Warwick

Professor Sonia Blandford

9th December 2011

Achievement for All is a whole school improvement framework which raises the attainment of the 20% vulnerable, special educational needs and disabled learners, in partnership with schools.

By focussing on outcomes rather than processes, Achievement for All builds on current school systems and further develops the good practice that many schools already model.

In practice Achievement for All is implemented through 4 elements• Element 1: Leadership of Achievement for All- to ensure schools

maintain a sharp focus on the achievement, access and aspirations of the 20% of vulnerable, special educational needs and disabled learners.

• Element 2: High quality teaching and learning- leading to improved progress for all pupils (assessment and target setting).

• Element 3: Structured conversations with parents/carers – to improve parents’/carers’ engagement with school and their involvement in their child’s learning and achievement.

• Element 4: Wider outcomes – to support the participation, enjoyment and achievement of children in all elements of school life.

Aims

• Increase progress of children in schools with SEND

• Improve engagement of their parents with the school

• Improve wider outcomes of children with SEND

Achievement for All:Not just another initiative

Resounding success of pilot (2009-2011) in 454 primary, secondary and special schools and pupil referral units across 10 local authorities in England (DfE, 2011-Manchester University Evaluation)

Leadership of SEN and inclusion

• Leadership central to Achievement for All –pilot focussed on 4 key areas of inclusive leadership identified by National College-vision, commitment, collaboration and communication (NCSL, 2010)

• Research shows importance of head teacher in developing an inclusive school (Kugelmass, 2003)

• New Ofsted Framework for Inspection 2012-inspection will evaluate extent to which leaders and managers at all levels ‘demonstrate an ambitious vision for the school’

Key Findings(National Evaluation, DfE, Nov 2011)

• Achievement for All had a significant impact on progress in English and mathematics for pupils with SEND.

• There were significant decreases in persistent absenteeism.

• Schools reported clear improvement in pupils’ behaviour, along with reductions in bullying

• There was increased parental engagement in their child’s learning, including among hard-to-reach parents.

• Schools liked using the Achievement for All frame work and found it provided a sustainable programme owned by the school leadership and adapted to their needs and priorities.

National Evaluation: other relevant findings (DfE, Nov 2011)

• Many schools reported an increased awareness of and focus on SEND and inclusion issues

• Many schools reported a greater emphasis on understanding and addressing pupils’ wider needs.

• In many schools teachers began to take a more active role in the assessment and monitoring of pupils with SEND in their classrooms.

• In many schools, continuing professional development (CPD) associated with Achievement for All, particularly around the structured conversations were applied more widely in day‐to‐day interactions with staff and non‐Achievement for All parents.

Policy: the positive impact of Achievement for All

• Special educational needs code of practice (DfES,2001) does not clearly define SEN leaving much open to interpretation at school level (Gibson and Blandford, 2005).

• Lack of definition of SEN could attribute to the variation in the proportion of pupils identified with SEN in mainstream schools across England (DCSF, 2010)

• Lamb Inquiry: Special educational needs and parental confidence (DCSF, 2009)- recommended, amongst other issues, more inclusive approach, accountability of head teachers (embedded in leadership) and increased parental voice

• Green Paper (Consultation document)-Support and Aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disabilities (DfE, 2011) reflects the move away from ‘over identification’ of children and young people with SEN.

Achievement for All-a framework for practice

Central to the challenge of narrowing the achievement gap for children and young people with SEND is changing the aspirations and expectations held by the professionals who work with them.

Raising Aspirations

• To raise aspirations there needs to be a focus on attitudes, confidence, parental aspiration, motivation and school and teacher aspiration.

• Help children to believe in themselves-reflected in a ‘can do’ mentality displayed when a child decides to meet challenges and gain access to learning

• Pupils with low aspirations do not always hold their future in high regard and may not have a vision for further education or extra-curricular activities.

(source: adapted from Blandford et al. 2011)

Changing school and teacher attitudes

"It’s about saying, is this progress as good as it should be? And if it isn’t, why isn’t it? And what are we doing about it?" (NS Regional Advisor)

Focus on raising attainment=learning + attainment in the

classroomIn practice:

•Rigorous assessment and tracking of pupil progress

•Set challenging targets for pupils

•Interventions-where appropriate

•Improve literacy and numeracy

Changing teacher attitudes- a model for practice

• Schools question their monitoring, tracking and intervention for children

• Teacher assessments of children’s attainment in English and Maths-an opportunity to consider how the data is collected, its accuracy and reliability, and how it is used to set appropriate targets for children that can be supported by intervention in the classroom.

Identifying SEND- how accurate?

By end of pilot- 5.6% of pupils in the target cohort were no longer considered to have SEND by their schools (the majority were previously at School Action)

(Source: DfE, 2011)

Possible reasons for change: a systematic approach? (adapted from

DfE, 2011)

Case Study- Caludon Castle School, Coventry

• Caludon Castle is a Business and Enterprise school with 1,525 11-18 year olds on role.

• The assistant head of inclusion was chosen to lead Achievement for All.

• She worked closely with an English teacher to support development of wider outcomes.

Key challenges

The English teacher had a year 7 class in which two Achievement for All pupils with social difficulties were identified as needing to become more independent learners. Neither pupil was involved with extra-curricular activities. Pupil A was extremely shy and reluctant to attend school. Pupil B was sociable, but lacked confidence and self-awareness.

Approach

• The teacher initiated a faculty ambassador programme, starting with English.

• She recruited for it generally but personally invited the two Achievement for All pupils to volunteer.

• The group of eight volunteers met with the teacher every two weeks for approximately half an hour to practise a range of social skills related to specific roles they would be undertaking.

• The skills sessions were run by the teacher with occasional involvement from other staff. The teacher was provided with a small budget to purchase badges for ambassadors to wear when in role. Examples of work developed by pupils and photographs were shown.

Specific roles undertaken by pupils

• Meeting and greeting visitors and new pupils

• Contributing to curriculum development• Carrying out observations of English

lessons to provide feedback• Supporting transition for incoming year 6

pupils, including supporting a drama performance involving new parents and pupils.

Planned outcomes for pupils

• Increasing pupil voice

• Raise their enjoyment of school both in and out of lessons

• Boost independent learning.

General Outcomes

• All ambassadors made vital contributions to changes and there was an increase in requests for group work and peer assessment from pupils.

• Pupil A and pupil B were provided with opportunities to interact with a wider variety of adults and other pupils enabling them to improve their social and communication skills.

And:

One teacher wrote:

“Subject teachers have noticed an increase in confidence in lessons and report that both are more independent learners. The ambassadors are now involved in coaching other pupils from another local school who are just introducing the initiative.”

Outcomes for Pupil A• He is willing to be in class and spends less time being

taught in isolation.

• He is less dependent on the support of a teaching assistant and is managing distractions better.

• His performance in drama has improved significantly and other pupils have noticed this.

• As a result he has more enthusiasm for attending school and his enjoyment of learning has increased.

• He has a sense of purpose thanks to his role as ambassador.

And, he confidently reports:

‘At the start of the year I had no reason to come to school. I didn’t like it. But then once I was asked to come into the English ambassadors I got more confident and was coming nearly every day’.

Outcomes for Pupil B

Pupil B has become more aware of herself in social situations. From September to July she exceeded her target grades in English and has since become more reflective as a learner. She feels a sense of pride and responsibility drawn from her position as a faculty ambassador, noting that it makes her feel important as she represents the whole year group in English.

Key learning points

• Start with a small group and include the Achievement for All focus pupils amongst them to develop inclusion and detract from the SEND stigma.

• Try to use ambassadors of a previous cohort to support new ones.

• Share the successes of the pupils with other members of staff and parents.

Staff say Achievement for All is not just another initiative

‘this one we can tailor very specifically, so we’re looking at it in a very different light. And for once we actually felt this is something we can see will make a difference with the children and we’re not doing it just because we are told this is what we have to do’ (School 11, LA F)

Other key findings from the national evaluation: Progress in English and Maths

(DfE,Nov 2011)•  37% of SEND pupils in Achievement for All pilot schools

achieved or exceeded expected levels of progress in English compared to ALL pupils nationally.

• ALL pupils with SEND in Achievement for All pilot schools made significantly better progress in English than pupils with SEND nationally.

•  41.5% of SEND pupils in the Achievement for All schools achieved or exceeded expected levels of progress in Maths compared to all pupils nationally.

•  ALL pupils with SEND in Achievement for All pilot schools made significantly better progress in Maths than pupils with SEND nationally.

• All SEND pupils in the programme made significantly better progress in reading, writing and maths than pupils with SEND nationally

Achievement for All-building communities of practice

‘What we were seeing last year was a pattern, children who were socially excluded or getting in trouble frequently at lunchtime, were on and off the special needs register and it was often that they just didn’t have the right skills to be in the playground…so we are trying to make sure that they are having a fun time, not excluded’. (AfA Lead)

Outcome: Behaviour and Attendance

•Teachers reported clear improvements in positive relationships with students and reductions in behaviour problems.•There was a 10% drop in persistent absenteeism.•Schools had an increase in positive relationships.•Teachers reported reductions in teacher-reported bullying of pupils with SEND.

•Example: School B saw exclusions for pupils with SEND fall from 101 incidents in 2008/9 to 25 incidents in 2010/11

Wider outcomes

• "It’s about giving pupils opportunities to shine in other ways and develop their strengths in other things, but also providing activities that will develop confidence ‐ I think that’s a big thing". (AfA Lead, School 18, LA I)

Outcome: Empowers, engages and includes parents

• The number of Achievement for All schools reporting that they now have excellent relationships with parents increased by 36% during the pilot.

• Achievement for All schools reporting poor relationships dropped from 11% of schools to 1.5%.

• Achievement for All has changed the relationships with parents, more than 90% of participating schools are to continue with structured conversations

• Structured conversations involved parents in reviewing learning targets.

What the parents say

• ‘... as the weeks progressed we became more involved, more of a family’ (parent of year 9 child)

• ‘I can know how (her) work is progressing, that we can take action – how we could help her, how we could help her engagement. It’s important.’ parent of year 11 child (school action plus School C)

And:

•“I know exactly what type of support my son is receiving and what his targets are so that I can help him more too” (Year 5 parent, May 2010)

•“I feel listened to and really valued in the structured conversations” (Year 5 parent, January 2010)

•“My son is now more confident, he interacts better, he is learning more and he feels better about himself. He used to really struggle and was so clingy with me” (Year 1 parent, March 2010)

Outcome: Leadership

• School leadership (head teacher) involvement helped drive Achievement for All forward.

• Achievement for All shines a light on [critical] areas.

• The principles of Achievement for All are embedded in school practice.

• 100% of schools were involved in evaluating the impact of Achievement for All.

• 90.2% of head teachers placed Achievement for All within their school improvement plan.

69

Where are we now?: looking to the future

• Extending to all schools in England – national roll out

• Policy impact – Green Paper / DoH / Trusts / Schools

• Quality Mark and Quality Lead Status – OFSTED

• National College – Leadership modules

• National Charity – a good partner

11.00 Rapid Information Exchange (learning from each other)

Tilden Suite

Find out more about each others’ Children’s Universities through our own version of ‘speed-dating’. Learning from each other through discovering and sharing practice – from the curriculum to validation and from data management to …?!

12.15 Thoughts, Reminiscences and Crystal Balls… Tilden Suite

Professor Sir Tim BrighouseFormer Professor of Education at Keele University, Chief Education Officer for Oxfordshire and Birmingham and Teacher

ContextGuiding Ideas from politicians

• Autonomy• Choice• Diversity

• Equity• Equality

• Accountability• Excellence

The passionate teacher

‘Of some of our teachers we remember their foibles and mannerisms, of others their kindness and encouragement, or their fierce devotion to standards of work we probably didn’t share at the time. And of those we remember most, we remember what they cared about and that they cared about us, and the person we might become. It is this quality of caring about ideas and values, this fascination with the potential for growth within people, this depth and fervour about doing things well and striving for excellence that comes closest to what I mean in describing a ‘passionate teacher’’

Robert Freid

Room for Manoeuvre

• 85% - 15%

• Timetables

• Sets of Experiences

• The need for Enthusiasts and the power of Hyacinths

One HundredThe child has a hundred languages, a hundred way of thinking, of playing, of speaking.

A hundred, always a hundred, ways of listening, of marvelling, of loving; a hundred joys for, for singing and understanding,

A hundred worlds to discover, a hundred worlds to invent, a hundred worlds to dream.

The child has a hundred languages (and a hundred, hundred, hundred more) but they steal ninety-nine.

The school and the culture separate the head from the body.They tell the child: to think without hands, to do without headto listen and not to speak, to understand without joyto love and to marvel only at Easter and Christmas.

They tell the child: to discover the world already thereAnd of the hundred they steal the ninety-nine.They tell the child: that work and play, reality and fantasyscience and imagination, sky and earth, reason and dreamAre things that do not belong together.

And thus they tell the childthat the hundred is not there.

The child says:No way – The hundred is there

Pablo Casals: ‘Joys and Sorrows’

Sometimes I look around me with a feeling of complete dismay. In the confusion that afflicts the world today, I see disrespect for the very values of life. Beauty is all around us, but how many seem to see nothing. Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe; a moment that will never be again. And what do we teach our children? We teach them that 2+2 makes 4, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are?

We should say to each of them: do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In the entire world there is no other child exactly like you. In the millions of years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. And look at your body – what a wonder it is. Your legs, your arms, your cunning fingers, and the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel? You must cherish one another. You must work – we must all work – to make the world worthy of its children.

The Need for Alliances

• Dependent = Shallow

• Independent = Deep

• Interdependent = Profound

12.45 And finally… Tilden Suite

Ger GrausChief Executive, Children’s University

“If I could draw stars then I would draw you a special one …” Anna (aged 6)