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Website: www.durhamteachingschools.org.uk
Email: information@durhamteachingschools.org.uk
Welcome to the Durham Teaching School Alliance
Issue 8 April
Values and Mission:
The Durham Teaching Schools Alliance aims to inspire learning for all through: support and
collaboration, reflection and enquiry, sharing and dissemination, access to expertise and nurturing
talent. Together we can shape the future of learning in Durham by: improving teaching, developing
leaders, raising achievement and promoting positive attitudes to learning.
The Durham Teaching School Alliance is a Cohort 3 teaching school alliance.
Alliance Schools: The following schools have signed a Memorandum of Understanding
underlining their commitment to the teaching school alliance and partnership working.
Aclet Close Nursery School, Bowburn Infant and Nursery School, Crook Nursery School, Tudhoe Moor
Nursery School, Lumley Infant and Nursery School, Cockton Hill Junior School, Esh Winning Primary
School, West Cornforth Primary School, North Park Primary School, Timothy Hackworth Primary
School, Chilton Primary School, Ludworth Primary School, Peases West Primary School, Langley
Moor Primary School, St Michael’s CE Primary School, Burnopfield Primary School, St Helens Primary
School, St Mary’s RC Primary School, Evergreen Primary School, Vane Road Primary School, Deaf Hill
Primary School, Shotley Bridge Infant School, Cockton Hill Infant School, Staindrop CE Primary
School, Escomb Primary School, Woodhouse Community Primary School, Fishburn Primary School,
Langley Park Primary School, Consett Infant School, Etherley Lane Primary School, Moorside Primary
School, Blessed John Duckett RC Primary School, Horndale Infant and Nursery School, Sugar Hill
Primary School, Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery Unit, St Anne’s CE Primary School, Kirk
Merrington Primary School, Durham Gilesgate Primary School, Easington Colliery Primary School,
Wheatley Hill Primary School, St Mary’s RC Primary (South Moor), Gainford CE Primary School.
King James 1 Academy, Wolsingham School, The Oaks Secondary School, Seaham School of
Technology and St John’s School and Sixth Form College (47)
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Any school can be part of the Durham Teaching School Alliance and all are welcome. All schools have
something to offer and there are significant benefits to being part of the Durham Teaching School
Alliance
To find out more about joining the alliance please contact Joe Sonnenfeld.
What does the Durham Teaching School Alliance offer?
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School to School Support
Opportunities for CPD
Succession Planning
Research and Development
Initial Teacher Training
Access to Specialist Leaders in Education, SLEs, and National Leaders in Education, NLEs.
The Durham Teaching School Alliance Organization/Governance
Lead School:Prince
Bishops Primary School
Strategic
Lead:Crook
Primary
Strategic Partner:
High Force SCITT
Strategic Lead:
Our Lady and
St Thomas
Lead School: Etherley
Lane Nursery School
Strategic
Lead:Ramshaw
Primary
Strategic Partner:
Northumbria
University
Strategic
Lead:Bowes
Hutchinson’s
Primary
Strategic Partner:
L4NE
Strategic Lead:
Fishburn
Primary
Strategic Partner:
Durham EDS
Schools in the wider alliance
North East Teaching Schools
The Durham Teaching School Alliance is part of the North East Teaching School Alliance, (NETs),
which now has a membership of 40 teaching school alliances from across the North of England. NETs
has its own governance and quality assurance systems and is committed to collaboration and leading
innovation for schools and settings in the North of England. To see what’s happening in NETs browse
www.netalliance.co.uk
National Leaders of Governance (NLG)
Congratulations to Mr Joe Buckham, Chair of Governors at Prince Bishops Primary School, who has
been designated a National Leader of Governance. National Leaders of Governance are highly
effective chairs of governors who use their skills and experience to support another chair of
governors to improve school performance. NLGs have contributed to raising standards in their own
school by providing support and challenge and developing the governing body.
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The Durham Teaching School Alliance is looking for Lead Practitioners.
Do you have non teaching staff in your school whose practice is exceptional or innovative?
We are looking for: School Business Managers, TAs, HLTAs, Learning Mentors, Attendance Officers,
PSAs, Midday Supervisors, Caretakers…….. who are willing to share their practice with colleagues
from other schools. Please encourage them to apply to be a Lead Practitioner. The application
process is very simple. Application forms can be downloaded from the website.
Once completed you must endorse the application by providing a short reference and then return
the form to me. Lead Practitioners are not expected to engage in any outreach work.
Please browse the Lead Practitioner Directory on the teaching school website
Lead Teachers
Lead Teachers are teachers whose practice is judged outstanding by their Headteacher and EDP. If
you have a member of staff whose practice is consistently good or outstanding we want to hear
from you. Simply download the application form from the website complete it and send it to me. I
will request a reference from school and your EDP. Names will be added to the data base which can
be accessed by all schools. Teachers from across the County will then be able to visit your school,
subject to capacity, to observe excellent practice. If you currently have a Lead Teacher on the data
base who has changed year groups or left your school please let me know so that I can keep the data
base up to date. The Lead Teacher role does not involve any outreach work.
Please browse the Lead Teacher Directory on the teaching school website
School Direct ITT
Do you want to specialize as an early years teacher?
The Durham Teaching School Alliance still has vacancies on its Early Years Teacher Status
programme. To find out more browse the ITT section on the website.
School to School Support:
If you need support in your school from an NLE,LLE or SLE please refer to the website for further
information. I am very happy to talk to you or come out and visit your school.
Name of SLE
Mrs K.Bushby
Mrs A. Grayson
Mrs E. Sturrock
Mrs T. Kidd
Mr P. Atherton
Mrs L. Cooper
Miss R. Stanhope
Mrs K. Costello
Mrs K.A Lee
Mrs J. Crosby
Mrs C. Speight
Mrs J. Madgwick
Mrs K. Lee
Mrs R. Newbold
Mr P. Robertson
Specialism
Curriculum/English
Curriculum
English
Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics
Attendance
IT
ITT
EYFS
EYFS
EYFS
School Business Management
Behaviour
MFL
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Continuing Professional Development
The National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL)
The Durham Teaching School Alliance in partnership with Leadership for the North East, (St Bede’s
Teaching School Alliance), is offering teachers the opportunity to gain the NPQSL. This programme
has been developed to support teachers who want to be highly effective senior leaders with the
skills, knowledge and confidence to contribute to the strategic direction and development of a
school.
The NPQSL programme costs £1,400 (RRP) with the following scholarships available:
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‘Full’ scholarships: 95% of the recommended retail price
Available to NPQSL applicants working in primary schools with 100 or fewer pupils on roll and
secondary schools with 500 or fewer pupils on roll.
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‘Half’ scholarships: 45% of the recommended retail price
Available to NPQSL applicants working in schools with 101 to 250 pupils on roll.
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Part scholarships approximately 8.5 % of the recommended retail price
Available to NPQSL applicants working in primary schools with more than 250 pupils on roll or
secondary schools with more than 500 pupils on roll.
In summary NPQSL
RRP £1400
Scholarship
You pay
With full scholarship
£1330
£70
With half scholarship
£630
£770
With part scholarship
£118
£1282
Please contact me by email: j.sonnenfeld200@durhamlearning.net to book your place. Please
provide: your name, your school name and your contact email and telephone number.
Deadline for expressions of interest Friday 17th April
To find out more about this programme please browse the website.
The Durham Teaching School Alliance is very fortunate to have secured the services of Dr Tom
Robson for a whole week in June. (Tom is booked up to a year in advance) Many of you will have
heard Tom Speak or worked with him in your schools. Tom is a truly inspiring and motivational
educationalist.
1. Tom is running a conference for TAs, HLTAs and Learning Mentors on Wednesday 17th June at
the DLC. There are still a few places left. Contact me now, don’t delay your booking.
2. Tom is running a conference for Deputy Headteachers/aspiring Deputy Headteachers and/or
recently appointed Headteacher on Thursday 18th June at the Manor House Hotel. There are
still a few places available. Please book your place now to avoid disappointment.
3. Tom is the Key Note Speaker at the Creativity and Innovation in Learning Conference for
Headteachers, Senior Leaders and Governors at Greenfield Community College on Friday 19th
June. There are still places available. Please book now to reserve your place.
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4. Lynn George, Headteacher of Prince Bishops Primary School, together with Mark Boyes and
Lisa Winters, Learning Mentors and Lead Practitioners will be leading a day of training for
Learning Mentors, social inclusion workers and staff with a pastoral support role at Prince
Bishops Primary School on Friday 22nd May 9.30 a.m- 3 p.m
5. Dominic Brown, Headteacher of Ramshaw Primary School and St Chad’s RC Primary School,
will be leading two Ofsted workshops/briefing sessions for Teaching Assistants in June and
July. Dominic is a Local Leader in Education and an Ofsted inspector. Please look out for flyers
with dates.
Charges for CPD
The Durham Teaching School Alliance will always endeavour to keep its charges for CPD as low as
possible. Whenever we can we will pass on savings to you and keep you informed of funded places/
opportunities.
Charges for CPD will now be made directly to your school budget following training events. You
will not be sent an invoice unless you request one. If you would prefer to pay your own invoice
please let me know.
Cancellation Fees:
If a member of your staff cannot attend a training event no charge will be made to your school
providing you give me a minimum of one week notice. You will incur a cancellation fee if you
withdraw from a course giving less than one week notice. Your school will be charged the full cost
for non attendance at a training event.
Confirmation of CPD:
All bookings for training are made by email. Confirmation of places on training events is sent to all
schools within 24 hours of a booking. The confirmation is sent to the person making the booking or
to the email address given by the school. A reminder is sent to all schools a week to ten days before
the training event. Please make sure that delegates booked on courses from your schools receive
the necessary information.
Leadership Tools
Danny Eason, Headteacher of Fishburn Primary School, has designed an on line forum where leaders
can meet to discuss and share ideas and create discussion areas. Please browse http://leaderslounge.co.uk
Danny has also created a site for School Business Managers/Office Mangers..where you can get
quotes for projects really easily, it’s a recommendation site like trip advisor and can be seen
at:http://www.schools-marketplace.co.uk
Higher Level Teaching Assistants
HLTA North have a new website which contains lots of useful information about HLTA status
including, new qualifications and application materials. Please browse@
www.hltanorth.com
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Improving Attendance Workshops
The Improving Attendance workshops are led by Rachel Stanhope, Specialist Leader in Education for
attendance. The workshops are drop in sessions for practitioners in schools with responsibility for
attendance. All of the sessions have received excellent feedback from attendees. The next sessions
will take place at:
Burnside Primary School on Tuesday 9th June @2.15 p.m. The session will be repeated at
Prince Bishops Primary School on Wednesday 10 th June @1.30 p.m
FAQs:
How many teaching school alliances are there in the Northern Region?
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There are now 40 teaching school alliances in the Northern Region (soon to be 600 nationally)
How many teaching school alliances are there in County Durham?
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There are now 5 teaching school alliances operating in County Durham
Can I be part of more than one alliance?
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Yes you can
Is the Memorandum of Understanding a contract or binding?
The MoU is an agreement NOT a contract and is not binding. It contains a short mission statement;
explains the management structure and governance of the group and asks alliance schools to work
collaboratively and inclusively.
What are the benefits to my school of joining the alliance?
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You become part of a family of schools committed to collaborative endeavour.
You can engage in an increasing range of opportunities for CPD
Your staff can gain professional qualifications/accreditation inc: NPQML, NPQSL, HLTA status,
MA…etc.
The alliance can design and deliver bespoke CPD for your school.
The alliance can provide or broker bespoke support for your school.
Your staff can become involved in the work of the alliance e.g as an SLE, School based Mentor,
Lead Teacher, Lead Practitioner...etc
Your school can become involved in the work of the alliance e.g as a placement school for ITT.
Your school could be involved in a Research and Development project.
How can I find out more about the Durham Teaching School Alliance?
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Look on the website: www.durhamteachingschools.org.uk
Contact Joe Sonnenfeld j.sonnenfeld200@durhamlearning.net tel 01388 451278
Best wishes Joe Sonnenfeld
April 2015