TSA OPERATIONAL MEETING
HELD AT MAPLEFIELDS ACADEMY ON 11 MARCH 2015
PRESENT:
DEBBIE WITHERS
IAN HAMES
MARK ADAMS
LYNDA MORGAN
DENISE WILLIAMS
ALISON RALPH (minute taker)
ELLEN WALLACE
APOLOGIES:
MARGY WHALLEY
KINGSLEY SCHOOL (DONNA LUCK)
TSA position
Lynda Morgan is happy to do the TSA role but not with Assistant Head responsibility.
Lynda and Debbie will look at the hours together. When it becomes full time the TSA
may need to advertise.
Feedback

See email from Donna Luck (Kingsley)
“Donna met with Steve from the uni and mike re the website and links and is making
progress and she has received the NPCICL info from Pen Green and is happy to meet up with
anyone to have a look at future modules for middle leadership”

Teaching schools linking to website, ask Donna to progress website.

Website - all schools in Northampton linking onto Northampton website.

Donna pursuing NCCIPl. Look at whether MFTSA would like to do the NPQH
course. Donna could pursue this. Application needs to be in by April if we
want to do the badged version. Denise asked would it overlap in terms of
talent spotting and succession planning?

MFTSA met with Corby Heads – there was a good response. Jean Wilkins
hopes the Corby stats can be improved. Start with teaching training courses,
have a mentor and keep this going (not necessarily the same mentor).
Looking at putting something in for trainees, looking at them as potential
leaders and put a structure around it.

The TSA could adapt this to all levels. We should look at badged version.
Everyone is a leader potentially and we could put mentoring and training in
place. Pursue through Donna the badged idea. We could apply for the
funding. Lynda will do this via email. Denise will get together with Donna and
let the rest of TSA know the outcome.
School Direct

Maplefields have tuition route places and have converted a tuition route to a
salaried route but need schools to place them in. There are more interviews
on 20 March.
Lynda asked TSA to look at capacity to support, the trainees are through
Pilgrim and Northampton University. We need clarity of what is expected and
what the trainee can ask for and about. Trainees apply for primary or
secondary. Maplefields are asking trainees about their SEN. Some have
expressed an interest in different SEN. Ian asked about placement
timescales. For this coming academic year they would start in September
and it runs through to July. They would also require a mainstream placement.
What we are offering is a job within the Alliance. Try to bring in really good
trainees into the Alliance and look at succession planning. Isebrook said they
could have one, maybe two. This would be tuition. Wren will check with
Simon about their capacity. Succession planning through leadership. Friars
could do a tuition place. The programme is there whether it is Pilgrim or
Northampton. Maplefields will carry on interviewing. MF have a secondary
English and maths place that no-one has gone for yet. This is through UCAS.
If anyone wants help applying Maplefields can support this. MFTSA will look
at how this has gone this year. In September the TSA will have to look at
places for next year. Ian said there will be a large output of PMLD. They
would like to have someone in training. If someone had primary training Wren
would consider this. Maplefields would write the course. Mark and Denise
could potentially take someone who is doing primary training. MFTSA need to
look at capacity for trainees for next year.
SLE’s
We did not get any leaders in the last round. Lynda went to a meeting last week and
there is a list of subject areas and aspect areas that are desperately needed. When
slot opens next MFTSA should advertise for those areas of need. We could look to
recruit in those areas. English and literacy were high up the list. Schools could look
within their own organisation for SLEs. Lynda said we need to establish what the
capacity is across our area. Other schools are probably doing Outreach without
calling it that. It is up to 8 days a year.
Action:
Questionnaire?
We need to appoint some of our own. We need as many SLE’s as possible. An
expert in nurture groups would be good. You have to make your application.
Next steps:
Identify anyone within own setting.
Circulate the people who came to the meeting and ask them to do a similar task.
Lynda is not sure when the window opens again but we need to be ready.
Nurture group would be great, also PMLD
S2S support
Teaching school KPI’s are all changing. The indicators are going to be when
schools are re-designated. At the East Midlands meeting they were saying it is
grossly unfair.
A bid for £25,000 for Danesholme was put in and they got £5,000. The slot is open
again and Maplefields have started working with Hazel Leys and are going to put a
bid in for them.
Maplefields are also still doing behaviour outreach which is evaluated by Helen
Johnson. This terminates on 31 December. Ralph Beresford wants a different
model. He is setting up lots of PRU’s and has decided he will go out to tender on
Behaviour Outreach. He has terminated Kingsmeadow. Up until now Maplefields
has had a service level agreement which has run parallel to teaching school.
Maplefields will have to charge (no free core offer) and need to think about a scale of
charges. Behaviour outreach from January will be part of MFTSA. Maplefields may
make a bid when they know what is wanted.
Denise spoke to her governors who would like to offer something even if financial.
We need clarification.
Lynda asked around the table if there was any S2S support going on. Ellen asked
how this would relate to TSA supporting Exeter.
Lynda and Ellen will meet to look at this.
Research and Development
Action research has been mentioned. If there is anyone in any class has any idea
and wants to do anything.
It is an opportunity for practitioners in the classroom to get work assessed.
Leadership and talent spotting
Will get together with Donna and look at producing something regarding NPQH.
Look at spotting talent and how staff can develop their own skills.
Conference
5 June – Gen Jereb. Let Pauline at Pen Green know how many staff from each
setting would like to attend. Ask Pauline to re-send flyer (email sent on 16.3.15).
Race to the top
Jessie Walker from Maplefields went to the meeting. There was a lot of talk about
the ‘race to the top’ and funding but no next steps described. Corby heads were
looking at bidding. All TSA’s were looking at doing this. If anyone gets anything
concrete feed back to TSA. Ellen is not sure what the funding is. Jean Wilkins was
suggesting level 4’s who only scrape a level 4 - what does this look like. Corby
heads say students do not want sports. Ellen thinks we need to target speech and
communication before pupils start school. In Stoke they managed to improve in that
area.
Stoke Speaks Out could be looked into. Ellen will investigate this. Check the closing
date for Race to the Top.
Next steps
MFTSA website will be up and running next week.
MFTSA have been looking at marketing. Mark has a training facility that will be used
soon, there is the bungalow at Isebrook and the Ann Hodson Centre is being
changed into use for teaching school alliance. Trying to make it more conducive to
training. Have ordered a banner “come and teacher with us”. The TSA needs to
market themselves and are looking at pens and memory sticks etc. We need
something quirky. Need links into East Midlands website. We could look at doing
something through Google where MFTSA would come up at the top. We could also
ask “why didn’t you choose Maplefields?”
AOB

Date for next meeting - 10 June – Operational at 1 pm and strategic at
3.15 pm.

Free school. Tom is partway through with the bid. If it is all age it puts
significant pressure on Wren Spinney because it could draw pupils away.
What would forecast projected numbers look like? A strategic look across the
county. No-one in the TSA has the capacity. The LA should second
someone to do that job.
Ian would have a leaning towards MLD but Denise does not feel we know
enough about it to be able to predict or say. We could be building something
that is not fit for purpose. Someone needs to be commissioned. Mark asked
if we were able to second someone for this job. Suggest to Tom that Kay
might be able to help. She knows the questions to ask.
Denise is not sure we would be able to get the information we need. Ellen
feels that Mike Brooks would have the information. ASD is on the increase.
We could ask Mike what the figures are. We could also approach children’s
centres for numbers of ASD pupils. We are looking at the North of County
and could look at children’s centre providers.
The meeting closed at 3.15 pm