Aug 31, 2020 | Leadership, Partnerships, Professional development, Updates
This blog first appeared on the website of the Independent Schools Council on 28 August 2020: https://www.isc.co.uk/media-enquiries/isc-blogs/spotlight-on-partnerships-in-a-time-of-coronavirus/ Christina Astin, head of partnerships at The King’s School in Canterbury and founder-chair of the Schools Together Group, offers support for partnerships coordinators ahead of the return to school. What are school partnerships going to look like this term? Most partnership projects necessitate students and staff coming together from different schools;...
Jul 27, 2020 | Leadership, Professional development, Secondary, Updates
It’s been the biggest shake-up in education. Ever. And this time it hasn’t come from Ofsted, the government, from your multi-academy trust or senior leadership team, but from a tiny virus. It has posed the biggest challenge to the teaching profession of all time, and we are all in it together. Change is always difficult. It’s tempting to focus on the negatives – aren’t we always rather good at that? – and to pick apart our differences of approach – rather good at that too – but just look at how far we’ve come...
Oct 25, 2019 | Professional development, Secondary, Updates, Young Scientists Journal
Earlier this month I was invited to speak at a conference of Nordic international schools who meet regularly for information exchange and professional development. It was refreshing to learn from others at this conference and to have an opportunity to share my ideas about science education, particularly through the workshops I led on teaching numeracy skills in science, and on Young Scientists Journal. Meeting teachers and educational leaders from across the Nordic and Baltic countries was very enriching; it’s always great to meet...
Sep 11, 2019 | Professional development, Secondary, Updates
Five years ago I went part-freelance, to support teachers as a trainer, mentor and advisor. And we read that half of all physics and maths teachers are now leaving the profession within five years. I’ve been reflecting on what has been going on in schools during those 5 years; amid all the challenges I think there’s some good news… From deprived urban academies to thriving international schools, all have been busy coping with the rapid shifts in education and responding in diverse ways. The differences within schools seem to me to be...
Jun 28, 2018 | Business, Updates
One year ago, six schools and a university in East Kent agreed to do together what we could not do alone. A year into the partnership and over thirty events later, what have we learned? This article has grown from a talk we gave twice to gratifyingly large audiences at the Schools Together Group conference in York in May 2018. We were pleasantly surprised that so many schools were interested to see what can be achieved in a year and are delighted to share our experiences if it helps others considering doing something similar....
Oct 27, 2017 | Secondary, Updates
To celebrate National Mentoring Day, and to help develop my own practice as a mentor, I’m offering a free mentoring session for up to 5 Heads of Science before Christmas. To take up this offer, please contact me and tell me a bit about yourself and your role. Who needs a mentor? We ALL need a mentor! From trainee teacher to established headteacher, it is important to have someone with experience and expertise whom you can call on for confidential advice. Heads of Science, being rare beasts, are often appointed with little experience...
Feb 4, 2017 | Secondary, Updates
OK, we’ve finished the course; time for some revision! But how best to lead revision with a whole class? We always hope to have a bit of time at the end of Year 11 to review the whole course and do some practice papers. And yet if we do have time for revision it can be deadly: going over all the same old material again with students who are way less motivated than we think they should be. We start nagging: “if you fail to prepare – you’d better prepare to fail!” Who is groaning more: the students or the teacher? So, is there a way of making...
Aug 7, 2016 | Secondary, Updates, Young Scientists Journal
John Holman (RSC, Wellcome Trust, University of York) ran a session at the ASE meeting in January 2016 on attitudes to practical science at schools around the world. This was my response to a call for reflections in July following the meeting. “Thank you for your email and the attached report. John and I have met since the ASE meeting in January to discuss the role of Young Scientists Journal in encouraging and inspiring school students to engage in science projects with publication as a motivating end-point. I would like to...
