Over the coming year I’m going to be working with local authority directors, heads of service and other key stakeholders to support the implementation of a Curriculum for Excellence.
What questions should we be attempting to answer to assist with its effective implementation?
Here are some possibilities:
How do Local Authorities ensure that Skills for Work, GIRFEC, More Choices More Chances and Curriculum for Excellence are linked together as part of a coherent implementation study?
What sort of data would demonstrate that Curriculum for Excellence is being implemented in schools?
How do we release resources to support implementation?
How can we make optimum and effective use of available continuous professional development time?
How might partners share resources to assist the implementation process?
How do we enable teachers to work together to develop innovative curricular solutions?
How might school design need to change to take account of a Curriculum for Excellence?
How do we promote a nurturing environment in all secondary schools?
I’d welcome suggestions as we are shaping up the programme for our first meeting and the programme for the coming year.
I am hoping thoughts on some of the CPD / collegiate work issues will come from our Building Windmills event next week. CPD leaders from almost all of the local authorities and from national organisations like LTScotland, HMIE, SQA and GTCS are gathering in Stirling to discuss just that.
There will be an opportunity to join the event online and beaming in on the Open Mic slot from whereever you are is always a possibility.
More on the CPD Team blog at http://ltsblogs.org.uk/cpdteam/2009/01/19/building-windmills and the online event is happening at
https://portal.glowscotland.org.uk/establishments/nationalsite/CPD Central/Building Walls/default.aspx
The latter needs a Glow user ID and password!
How do we promote a nurturing environment in all secondary schools?
A good start might be asking the pupils, parents as well as teachers, and other school staff what they think would help them to feel that the school cared about them.
‘Nurturing’ is a great word in that it implies fostering, through care and attention, the growth and development of individuals. Therefore, it is what schools as well as parent should be in the business of doing.
However, as a teenager though I undoubtedly needed nurturing, I am not sure that I would have responded well to this word. I think this is because I percieve nurturing as something that is done to you, whereas as a teenager I was keen to try out independance often from the very people who had spent years of their life nurturing me. It might be semantics, but I think I would have prefered to have been in a school that promoted a supportive, even challenging, environment for my development than a school that nurtured me.
However at 46 I will take all the nurturing I can get
Regards
Steven Wray