Specialist Leaders in Education
Clare Hill
SLE Specialism: Secondary Mathematics
School and Role: Director of Maths at Twynham School, Christchurch. She has worked in secondary education since 1998 as a Subject Leader in schools judged as outstanding, in both London and Dorset.
Areas of expertise:
- Subject Leadership
- Improving progress at Key Stage 5
- Data management and progress from KS2 to KS4 - particularly with C/D borderline students
- Use of Lesson Study as an integral part of departmental CPD
- Developing teaching for conceptual understanding in mathematics.
Recent Examples of work with other schools:
- Supporting new faculty leaders in creating a successful department
- Developing understanding of multiplicative reasoning with primary school colleagues
- Leading a Lesson Study project with primary school colleagues
- Developing use of concrete materials (Numicon and Cuisenaire) in Key Stages 2 and 3
- Supporting first teaching of A Level Mathematics in a new Sixth Form
David Ennion
SLE Specialism: Closing the Gap
School and Role: Head of Pupil Premium and Intervention at Twynham School, and teacher of Business and Economics.
Areas of expertise:
- Reviewing whole school approaches to closing the gap for disadvantaged students
- Using data effectively to understand Pupil Premium performance
- Planning intervention strategies aimed at closing the gap and monitoring their impact.
- Tracking and improving progress and attainment for disadvantaged students at KS4
- Planning and delivering CPD for teachers and teaching assistants about disadvantaged students.
- Reporting on closing the gap to parents and governors.
- Raising the profile of disadvantaged students within a school.
Recent examples of work with other schools:
- Conducted a joint Pupil Premium Review of a Middle School deemed 'requiring improvement' by OFSTED to look at how effective their Pupil Premium strategy is and what improvements could still be made.
- Tracking Pupil Premium expenditure and analysing the impact based on GCSE performance.
- Working alongside Senior Leadership to track the progress of disadvantaged students and then planning interventions to close the gap in attainment.
Diana James
SLE Specialism: Literacy, Special Educational Needs and Assessment
School and Role: Twynham School literacy co-ordinator, specialist literacy teacher, assessor, SSAT Lead Practitioner
Areas of Expertise:
- Raising attainment and standards in literacy across the curriculum, including introduction of literacy conventions
- Whole school assessment procedures and targeted intervention
- Implementation of Reading Plus programme, key word Spelling Bee challenge and Word of the Week competitions
- Training of staff to support development of literacy
- Collaboration with English subject teachers to specifically target literacy
- Identification of SEN students
- Creation of schemes of work and resources to support SEN students
- Training of staff to support SEN students
- Progress tracking with targeted intervention
- Creation of designated literacy specialists to work with individual year groups at KS3
- Identification and intervention of support for students with weak working memory
Recent examples of work with other schools:
- Training and support of literacy teacher at federation school
- Sharing of resources with federation school
- Support of staff undertaking assessment qualifications
- Inset training for local schools
- Collaboration with local PhD student to trial Lumosity to boost working memory
- Regular visits from local schools to observe teaching and to discuss intervention
Kate Ball
- Planning and delivering CPD
- Evaluation of teaching and learning
- Lesson Study
- Leading Teaching and Learning dialogue group
- Effective marking and feedback
- Effective questioning
- Positive climate for learning
- Effective differentiation
- Team teaching / planning
- Coaching and mentoring teachers ( 1:1 support)
- Lesson observations
- Supporting trainee teachers
- Collaborative work with senior/middle leadership to plan CPD opportunities at partner school.
- Supported leadership in raising attainment at KS5 Biology.
- Supported mentoring/coaching of trainee teachers in 11 different training schools.
- Planning and supporting training program for newly appointed SLEs
- Planning and supporting training program for NQTs
Laura Lombard
SLE Specialism:Primary Mathematics
School and Role: Deputy Headteacher at St Andrew’s CEVA Primary School
Areas of Expertise:
- Developing whole school approaches for the teaching and learning of maths
- Implementing policies in line with National Curriculum expectations
- Coaching staff on the planning and assessment of primary maths
- Tracking and improving progress and attainment in maths at KS1 and KS2
- Planning and delivering CPD for teachers and teaching assistants
- Monitoring and evaluating teaching and learning
- Managing change
- Implementing and reviewing effective feedback
- Supporting and developing skills of effective differentiation and maximising progress, both within individual lessons and across units of work
- Coaching and mentoring teachers (1:1 support)
Recent examples of work with other schools:
- Working alongside senior/middle leadership to review data and implement improvements
- Working alongside middle leadership to monitor and evaluate practice within their own setting
- Mentoring a middle leader to develop their professional skills using a personalised work plan
- Training leaders on planning and assessment for the new National Curriculum expectations
Joanna Shale
SLE Specialism: KS1 English
Role: Assistant Headteacher, English Subject Leader, Year Two Class Teacher.
Areas of Expertise:
- Teaching across key stage to ensure achievement is high in the core subjects
- Use of Talk for Writing to improve writing outcomes for children
- Evaluating school processes and approaches to identify strengths and areas to develop to improve outcomes for children
- Developing effective, creative and consistent whole school strategies to deliver the National Curriculum and all staff have clarity of purpose
- Developing effective assessment processes to ensure accuracy and consistency against National Curriculum expectations including moderation practices so clarity in what good progress looks like is achieved
- Identifying and developing opportunities for teachers and teaching assistants to undertake appropriate areas of responsibility to drive improvements in practice and provision.
- Coaching and/or mentoring individual members of staff to build confidence and expertise to perform roles effectively leading to professional growth
- Working with subject leaders to develop an Action Plan for literacy, design effective monitoring processes/procedures and develop role to help raise standards
- Developing short and medium term plans that ensure curriculum coverage and facilitate delivery of lessons and units of work to children at all levels supporting them to make good progress
- Facilitating opportunities to share examples of best practice leading to improvements in practice
- Developing systems based on lesson study, coaching & collaborative enquiry as a tool for continuous CPD
Recent examples of work with other schools:
- Training leaders and teachers on KS1 assessment to ensure clarity of purpose and consistency
- Leading cluster moderation activities to gain consistency in judgements at a local level
- Leading developments in assessment within our cluster of schools to ensure effective, efficient and consistent practice
- Moderation for the Local Authority
- Inviting teachers and leaders from other schools to observe and discuss new approaches to teaching and learning
- Working with ITT provider to develop talk for learning programme
- Collaborating on a cross key stage research project to develop the teaching of fractions
Georgina Bidde
SLE Specialism: Primary English
School and Role: English Leader at Christchurch Junior and previously in a Hampshire junior school. Teaching primary for over 10 years; working in Year 6 for the last 6 years.
Areas of expertise:
- Subject Leadership
- Action planning
- Whole class reading
- Engagement and enjoyment with English – developing teachers’ planning.
- Effective marking and feedback
- Coaching and mentoring teachers
Recent examples of work with other schools:
New to the SLE role 2017
- Collaborative work with Year 6 colleagues across Christchurch schools.
- Collaborative teaching and planning.
- Supported modelled writing with colleagues in school.
- Delivering training to English leaders at Dorset LA subject leaders’ forum
Emily Spray
SLE Specialism: Secondary English and Drama
School and Role: Head of English at The Grange School.
Areas of Expertise:
- Subject Leadership
- Curriculum design, planning and assessment
- Progress tracking with targeted intervention at Key Stage 3 and 4
- Marking and feedback procedures to complement life after levels
- Coaching and mentoring teachers
Recent examples of work with other schools:
- Creation of schemes of work and resources to support reading interventions at KS3/4
- Delivering training to staff on questioning and effective marking and feedback
- Working alongside Senior Leadership to track the progress of key groups of students and planning interventions to close the gap in attainment.
- Working alongside other middle leaders to develop a skills based curriculum model to support middle ability progress
- Coaching other staff to develop their professional skills
Karen Barker
SLE Specialism: Religious Education
School and Role: Head of RE at Twynham School, Christchurch. She has worked in secondary education since 2001 and has been actively involved in Dorset SACRE and NASACRE since 2008.
Areas of expertise:
- Subject Leadership
- Improving progress across the Key Stages
- Planning and delivering CPD
- Evaluation of teaching and learning
- Effective marking and feedback
- SMSC and British Values
- Effective differentiation
- Team teaching / planning
Recent Examples of work with other schools:
- Supporting new faculty leaders in creating a successful department
- Review of departmental schemes of work and collaborative work to develop focused learning opportunities
- Supporting the review and development of the locally applied Dorset SACRE syllabus
- Developing understanding of the Dorset SACRE syllabus and its implementation at all Key Stages
- Provision of training for SCITT students on SMSC and British Values
- Supporting first teaching of A Level Religious Studies
- Collaborative development for the first teaching of GCSE Religious Studies
- Support for local schools with A Level and GCSE through the Dorset RE Exchange (Hub) through network meetings as well as the provision of a Key Stage 4 conference on Islam.
Becky Walters
SLE Specialism: Secondary Mathematics
School and Role: Lead Teacher of Maths at Twynham School, Christchurch. Accredited as a Maths Advanced Skills Teacher in 2011, she has worked in schools in Cambridgeshire, Surrey and now Dorset.
Areas of Expertise:
- Collecting data from numerous sources to better allow colleagues to reflect upon student learning
- Conducting research projects across numerous schools and in collaboration with universities to help accelerate teacher learning
- Planning and delivering professional development programs to teachers and teaching assistants
- Lesson Study, coaching and the use of video observations to enhance post-lesson professional dialogue
- Use of student voice to explore in depth the learning experiences in the classroom
Recent examples of work with other schools:
- Leading TAG-focused interventions with Numeracy Co-ordinators at neighbouring primary schools
- Supporting Heads of Maths with staff development and training, focusing on teachers’ development preferences and students’ experiences in the classroom
- Managing multiple action research projects across a Maths Faculty so that teachers feel more confident that their decisions are evidence-based
- Most recently, becoming a trainer to create scalable and sustainable improvements at Key Stage 2 across 16 Dorset primary schools as part of a DfE-funded 5 term project
Daniel Kelly
SLE Specialism: Secondary MFL
Megan Walter
SLE Specialism: Secondary Science