Courses
Book your courses here on our website, your school will be sent an invoice, or you personally (if you are booking as an individual). No payment is required at the booking stage. Click here to view our terms and conditions.
A half-day online course to refresh the teaching of readingNon-fiction texts intrigue pupils, stimulate their curiosity and deepen their appreciation of the world around them. When teachers integrate non-fiction texts into the reading diet of pupils, they teach comprehension within the other AoLEs.
This 1-day course is part of a 3-day rolling programme. The days do not have to be done in any order and can be stand alone 1-day courses.
The Spring and Summer modules can be booked together to gain a saving. The days can also be booked as stand-alone days.
‘WATCH, WAIT, WONDER … making learning visible in Early Years’
This event focuses on capturing significant moments in learning – noticing, analysing and responding. What really matters to young children? During the day, we will explore a range of excellent systems for gathering and recording young children’s development, interests and fascinations.
Effectively and easily meeting the needs of ALN learners at your school
The Additional Learning Needs transformation programme came into practice on the 1 st of September 2021. The idea was to create a unified approach for young people from the age of 0-25.
An important part of this system is providing appropriate and effective Additional Learning Provision (ALP). Many questions still exist around ALP such as what constitutes ALP? How should ALP look in my School? Does ALP look the same in all schools? Can ALP be enhanced through recommended programmes/strategies etc. How will we fund/staff ALP?
We will explore different ALP and ensure that practitioners have a plethora of tools and ideas to assist in planning for the needs of all pupils.
In this ‘live’ online training session, you will learn how to lead drama games and activities that provide opportunities for children to work towards 100% of their progression steps in Health and Well-being (PS1).
This course is interactive, but you won’t be asked to do any ‘drama’ – you’ll learn by watching and evaluating our demonstrations, then trying out your new skills in class.
Our training and accompanying resources have been developed for the non-drama specialist – anyone can learn how to teach PS1 drama, no matter what their prior experience.
You will learn:
Three powerful Pyjama Drama techniques:
- Do Don’t Say
- I am the Leader of the Gang
- Tall Tales
How to deliver a 20-min drama lesson for children 3 – 5 years
In his ‘Successful Futures’ Report the ethos, principles and pedagogy of the current Foundation Phase was identified as a significant strength of current educational practice in Wales. It was recommended that schools build on successful ‘Foundation’ practice, philosophy and pedagogy into the middle and later years of primary education and beyond. How this works in practice needs to be carefully managed to ensure that transition issues are removed and progression is ensured.
This course is offered at a discounted rate when also booking Science & Technology AoLE in PS3 on Wed 6th March 2024
CLICK here to book the two training days at a discounted rate of £315+VAT for both courses
This course will review the new AoLE for Science & Technology at PS1 & PS2, explain key changes and terminology; suggest effective and challenging activities, resources and learning strategies to support their successful implementation.
A FREE copy of Stepping Stones for Science & Technology Progression resource, written by the presenters,
worth £150 will be available to all delegates.
This two day course gives a whole school training opportunity at a discounted price. Days can also be booked individually.
Day 1: Science & Technology AoLE in PS1 & PS2 Tue 6th February 2024
This course will review the new AoLE for Science & Technology at PS1 & PS2, explain key changes and terminology; suggest effective and challenging activities, resources and learning strategies to support their successful implementation.
Day 2: Science & Technology AoLE in PS3 Wed 6th March 2024
This course will explain key changes and terminology in this AoLE; suggest effective and challenging activities, resources and learning strategies to support its successful implementation.
A FREE copy of Stepping Stones for Science & Technology Progression resource, written by the presenters,
worth £150 will be available to all delegates.
A half-day online course to refresh the teaching of readingTo become effective readers pupils need to crack the phonic code and learn to make meaning independently. Pupils need explicit teaching to become effective readers and many daily opportunities to practise and apply their skills in live contexts. The 9 Reading Behaviours help pupils to learn what to do as they read. Initially, pupils learn each behaviour one-by-one, and overtime they learn to synthesise the behaviours, choosing the most useful strategies to unlock a text in any given context.
How do you ensure that areas such as sand/water are different in Y2 than in the Nursery?
This day will be an opportunity to think and talk about mathematical reasoning and its importance in the teaching and learning of mathematics.
We will explore:
- What we mean by reasoning and why we need to develop it;
- How to communicate our reasoning both orally and in written form;
- How to develop the language we need to communicate our reasoning;
- Ways to give learners the opportunity to reason in all maths lessons;
- How to improve reasoning skills;
- Practical ideas to be used in the classroom.
The course aims to give participants a clearer idea of what reasoning looks like in the classroom and some top tips for teaching it.
Self-Regulation for learning, according to the EFF, has a significant impact on accelerating progress (+7 months). However very few schools understand what self-regulation for learning is. Even fewer target this as part of their curriculum and pedagogical development. Likewise, effective Self-Regulation underpins much of the common inspection framework including:
- Learning
- Well being and Attitudes to Learning
- Teaching and learning experiences
- Care support and Guidance.
The Additional Learning Needs transformation programme came into practice on 1st September 2021. The idea was to create a unified approach for young people from the age of 0-25.
An important part of this system is providing reasonable adjustments in daily classroom practice, this may be enough to meet the needs of most learners but how do we know?
Many questions still exist around how to track those pupils who previously were classed as SA/SA+ and were monitored through IEPs and other formalised methods.
We will explore how to adapt our approach with those pupils who are in the ‘grey area’ and look at how to ensure we know if their needs are continuing to be met appropriately.
‘BRILLIANT BLOCK PLAY – the world through the eyes of the child’
Block play is the perfect way to support the four purposes. It offers a vast range of open-ended experiences, enriches every curriculum area and supports child development. Through block play children may investigate the basic principles of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – not to mention problem solving, thinking and social skills! Block play fosters a child’s natural curiosity.
“A successful curriculum, supported by effective teaching and learning enables learners to make meaningful progress” (The Curriculum for Wales: Progression Code para. 2.1)
This course explores effective teaching and learning in mathematics and what it means to make meaningful progress.
In the Mathematics and Numeracy AoLE, progression is based on the development of five interdependent proficiencies – conceptual understanding, communication using symbols, strategic competence, logical reasoning and fluency. This course will explain the 5 proficiencies in simple terms, using practical examples from Progression Steps 1 – 3.
A half-day online course to refresh the teaching of writing.
It is important to complete the writing process by helping pupils to return to their first drafts to improve the quality of their language and to check the accuracy of their writing. When pupils can independently craft their writing and assess their spelling and punctuation, they become more competent and effective writers.
This course will help you encourage pupils to act as real writers in your classroom.
This ‘live’ online course will explain how Drama contexts and strategies can be specifically used, to improve children’s Oracy in primary school.
Whole class Drama can be focussed, to enable children to practise and develop their Oracy skills, talking to and with various audiences, (both real and imagined). There are many Drama Strategies that support the teaching of Oracy, and each has its associated ‘talk protocols’. The strategies use various configurations and groupings and provide structured opportunities for pupils to talk purposefully, in a range of ways.
A half-day online course to refresh the teaching of readingThere are many exciting ways to develop pupils’ reading comprehension in PS3 that can work alongside guided reading or gradually replace it. In PS3, we want to help pupils to become independent, self-reliant readers who have the skills and confidence to investigate texts and reflect on themes and ideas.This course will help you to assess the best reading journey for your pupils.
This course will support any NQTs who have responsibility for managing staff within their class.
There will be a specific focus around leadership standards and the importance of effective planning.
What can I do with this concrete ‘space’?
Introducing, organising, and managing an outdoor classroom can be extremely challenging, especially in schools where there is little access to suitable outdoor space.
This event will focus specifically on areas adjacent to classrooms (the ‘bit’ outside the classroom) and will provide practitioners with the opportunity to refine and further develop current systems for organising and managing this interesting area.
This course is offered at a discounted rate when also booking the Science & Technology AoLE in PS1 and PS2 on Tue 6th February 2024
CLICK here to book the two days at a discounted rate of £315+VAT for both courses
This course will explain key changes and terminology in this AoLE; suggest effective and challenging activities, resources and learning strategies to support its successful implementation.
A FREE copy of Stepping Stones for Science & Technology Progression resource, written by the presenters,
worth £150 will be available to all delegates.
What does progression look like in Art across the primary school?
Let us show you where to start, age appropriate language to use and activities that develop skills. Leave this course with a clear understanding of the elements of art and how we can use them to appraise effectively and communicate with an audience. Packed with practical strategies, resources and ideas, this is a fully interactive day of fun designed to demystify and inspire.
- Practical ideas to inspire staff, inform classroom practice and create a positive reading culture.
- Reading for pleasure and its link to success.
- Inspiring ideas to create a quality literature spine – fiction, non-fiction, poetry and quality picture books.
- Reading readiness – getting it right with phonics.
- How to develop higher order reading skills.
- Creating a rich reading environment – indoors and outdoors.
- Practical ideas for involving parents.
- Planning the reading year: celebration days, competitions, author visits.
“Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think” – Albert Einstein
According to the Education Endowment Foundation, metacognition (‘thinking about and managing your own thinking’) can have a huge impact on a pupil’s progress and independence. Furthermore the CfW states “Assessment should support practitioners in identifying the progress learners have made… This includes an understanding of HOW a learner has learned, as well as WHAT they have learned.”
- Exploring cynefin and creativity as core principles in the Curriculum for Wales and how they link to excellent practice.
- Using high-quality texts to raise standards and inspire authentic, cross-curricular literacy work for PS2 and PS3.
- Legends and Landscapes- making sense of the Mabinogi and ideas for planning using tales from around Wales.
- Practical, accessible ideas to use poetry creatively across the curriculum.
According to the School census Wales 2023… There were 10,485 pupils with Individual Development Plans under the new ALN system in maintained schools (16.6% of pupils with ALN or SEN), up from 3,330 (4.5%) at February 2022
https://www.gov.wales/schools-census-results-headline-statistics-january-2023
The requirement is clearly there –so how do we make sure we are addressing the needs of all our pupils?
Join us for a day of problem solving! We will discuss many behaviours and additional learning needs and how to effectively support pupils.
This course will look at good practice in the mainstream classroom. You will learn about various strategies and ways to attune to your pupil’s needs. You will have the opportunity to access observations made by specialist teaching. These will be presented as examples for you to take back to school and support pupils who may be struggling or identified as having ALN.
What does progression look like in Music across the primary school?
Let us show you where to start, age appropriate language to use and activities that develop skills. Leave this course with a clear understanding of the elements of music and how we can use them to appraise effectively and communicate with an audience. Packed with practical strategies, resources and ideas, this is a fully interactive day of fun designed to demystify and inspire.
Creating and improving independent learning skills in young children.
ESTYN Inspections are regularly recommending that children improve these skills but how do we achieve this on a day-to-day basis in our schools? Independence is far bigger than children not interrupting teachers……
We must ask ourselves:
What are we doing for these children that they could do for themselves-from the time that they come into school in the morning to the time that they go home?
The course will include many, many different systems routines and real-life examples of good practice. It also includes hints and tips that will enable schools to develop this vital life-long skill in their children.
This course will clarify what is happening to the Foundation Phase under the new curriculum in Wales. It will focus on what needs to stay the same and what needs to change.
What does progression in Drama look like in primary school?
This ‘live’ online session considers how Drama could be structured and mapped by primary schools in Wales, in a way that helps ensure continuity and progression of knowledge, skills and experience.
- developing the critical skills of middle leaders
- building teams and developing effective team dynamics
- developing effective skills to support performance management
- personal development: applications, interviews and improving presentation skills
This ‘live’ online session provides guidance to teachers on how to set up and develop whole class Drama lessons. They will learn how to negotiate and set up a ‘Drama Contract’ with their class and also learn about some basic Drama Strategies that can be used in Drama lessons and across the curriculum generally. Two exemplar Primary Drama lessons will be outlined and pedagogically explained, one step at a time. There will also be an opportunity for teachers to share their practice and ideas, and to ask questions.