The Learning Journey

I have joined the inspirational leadership team at J and C Academy. I am looking forward to being fully inducted into the J and C way.

Taking people on a learning journey is applicable to any leadership role. Whether you are leading a group of 25 year 2 pupils or as the CEO of a multinational corporation.

Culture is set out and discussed. Culture needs to be revisited during staff development, through the conversations that are had in appraisals and through the day today tasks that staff complete.

There are checkpoints that companies use to make sure that staff are still on message. Developing good culture regardless of whether that is in the office or in the classroom is central to success and bring those people with you on the journey. 

During my first week at J and C Academy I had the pleasure of visiting Drayton Green School to see one of our PE teachers, Owen Davies, in action. Watching the lesson got me thinking about the journey that we as teachers take the pupils on.

What journey does learning take? How as teachers can we help and guide pupils on their learning pathway?

Like any good journey it happens in stages:

Stage 1:

Where do we start? 

The starting point of any lesson should use the information gained from the previous lesson. This allows our teachers to tailor their teaching to needs of the group and build on previous knowledge and skills.

Stage 2:

Where are going? 

The learning objective sets out the end point of our journey. These are clear and shared with all those travelling. Pupils need to know where they are going so they can engage fully with the process. The destination maybe slightly different for the different pupils within the group. Some will need additional support and scaffolding to reach their destination. Other pupils will need to embark on a more difficult journey that really challenges them.

Stage 3:

When are we stopping? 

Every journey needs check points. We need to see how far we have traveled from the start and how far we are away from our destination. Are we even on the right path? Referring back to the objectives allows pupils to orientate themselves in the learning process. They can also check what else they need to master to make sure that they reach the end of the journey.

Stage 4:

How is my journey going? 

Pupils will always want to know how they are doing on their journey. Are they still on the right path? This is where feedback is essential to ensure that they pupils know how to improve. 

Stage 5:

Are we there yet? 

In drawing together the lesson at the end we can establish whether the pupils have completed their journey. Pupils have the opportunity to self-assess their own journey. Did some parts become really challenging? Have some pupils not made it to the end?

Stage 6:

How did the journey go? 

This is where our teachers complete their daily assessment forms and reflect on how pupils performed during the lesson. Did they all achieve the outcomes of the lesson? Did the outcomes provide the correct levels of stretch and challenge for all? What they would change and adapt if they were to take the pupils on that journey again.

Stage 7:

Where will go next time? 

Using the information from the journey we have just been on informs the starting point for the next journey.

I have used these stages in my teaching and during the coming weeks and months I will be helping the teaching staff at J and C Academy to further develop these skills. By developing our teaching in this way we can make sure that the progress that pupils make will be rapid and sustained.

I would love to hear your views and comments on this. 

Kind regards, 

Ben Aston

Exposed: The Truth About Exemplary P.E Teachers

I’ve been fortunate enough to have taught PE & school sports in primary schools and a variety of other sectors for over 14 years. During this time I’ve had the opportunity to observe, mentor and professionally develop hundreds of PE teachers throughout the UK.

In my formative years, I embarked upon every UKCC (United Kingdom Certificate in Coaching) training course in every subject I could find, and gained over 16 sporting qualifications by the age of 21. However, when matching my pedagogy against Ofsted criteria, I found that I was teaching beyond the relevant criteria and I had to learn to scaffold my approach to ensure that every child was developing at a positive pace; leaving no child behind.

What Makes an Outstanding PE Teacher?

It’s been long discussed with schools, coaching organisations and teachers about ‘What makes an outstanding PE teacher?’ and what qualifications they should have…

The truth is that qualifications are an entry parameter for progress and should never be used as a sole identifier for teaching success. 

Since the implementation of specialist PE teachers in primary schools there has been no primary school PE teaching qualification, which means that secondary teachers and primary school ‘coaches’ had to re-align their perspective, expectations, delivery mechanisms and pedagogy to meet the needs of primary school pupils… In my experience I've found that;

QTS PE teachers typically enter the profession with:

•   Good teaching and learning skills
•   A high level of professionalism
•   Excellent structure and reporting of lessons to meet NC requirements

& to become exemplary they develop skills in:

•   Accelerating progress within lessons, ensuring excellent pace and interaction throughout
•   Imparting passion for physical development with dis-engaged pupils.
•   Progressing skills beyond NC requirements

‘Coaches’ with a range of UKCC qualifications typically enter the profession with:

•   Good teaching and learning skills
•   Ability to extend learning for gifted and talented pupils
•   A natural ability to engage learners in physical education, including those who are reluctant

To become exemplary they develop skills in:

•   Effective assessment and reporting aligned with school processes
•   Scaffolding learning to ensure all learners make excellent progress
•   Setting clear expectations for learning aligned with the school framework 

The Combination of skills required:

The key thing for sports professionals, schools, teachers and coaches to recognise is that both entry parameters to primary school physical education have their place in education. It is the acute combination of effective teaching and coaching methodologies that are required to deliver primary PE to an exemplary standard.

At J and C Academy, we have a range of PE teachers who we have professionally developed aligned to their needs. For instance, exemplary QTS teachers like Sarah Saputo and Anthony Nelson have worked in the secondary sector for several years before re-aligning their methods to meet the needs of primary pupils. 

Similarly, we have exemplary PE teachers like Samir Sawhney (See his PE Masterclass Video here) and Sean McGeeney who have several years’ experience in the primary sector and through good practice and training have developed into role model teachers.

P.S – Take a look at an example of 2 PE Teachers who helped ensure Newport School gained an Outstanding Distinction Grade from the AFPE (Association For Physical Education) Quality PE Mark.

Best regards,

Jazz Rose
Director of Education
J and C Academy
www.jandcacademy.com

J and C Academy Values: Passion - Positivity - Productivity - Performance - Progress

Achieving Excellence In The Wider Curriculum

When I first visited Christ Church CE (Brondesbury) Primary School in July 2015, the head-teacher Joy Donaldson asked me a salient question which I had never been asked before: "Can you describe your perfect partnership with a school & what that would look like?"

Amongst others I went on to describe our relationship with Drayton Green Primary School and after spending the summer break looking after my new born son, I couldn't wait to meet with Karen (Drayton Green's Head-teacher) to discuss the school's relationship with J and C Academy and how it has helped to raise attainment.

To give you a little background, Drayton Green is one of our flagship schools where we deploy a full time PE teacher, a Music teacher 3 days per week, a French teacher every Friday and a lunchtime clubs sports coach, Monday through Friday.

In this short interview with Karen Doherty you will learn how the school amassed an exceptional creative education programme for their pupils whilst saving over £38,000 in the process.

Read the interview: Achieving Excellence in The Wider Curriculum

I hope you enjoy the read and I would LOVE to hear your feed-back, comments and questions.











Best Regards,







Jazz Rose
Director of Education
J and C Academy
www.jandcacademy.com

The Legacy Concept

Last month I was asked by 3 different #Headteachers - "How do you recruit and retain outstanding teachers when so many schools are struggling to do the same?"

At J and C Academy we aim to ensure that teachers feel valued and empowered to add remarkable value. To ensure that every pupil that we come into contact with receives the best possible #Education we deliver 6 modular training courses per academic year. Each course has a core focus on exemplary practice such as 'Differentiation' or 'Pedagogy'. Regular focused training modules helps to keep teachers ticking; evaluating new ideas and concepts which helps to avoid complacency among experienced teachers.

The Legacy Concept takes this ideology one step further where we focus on continuous #Progress and evolution. New teachers are inducted, trained and mentored by senior teachers. When this is done well, new teachers develop the J and C style of delivery and work towards becoming a senior teacher; otherwise known as a 'J and C Legend.'

'Legendary' status is an aspiration for all J and C teachers and can only be achieved through receiving 3 consecutive outstanding performance reviews & 100% positive feedback. On Friday 19th June for the first time in 11 and a half years, we hosted our first ever official Awards Ceremony. We also presented an 11 plaque 'Teacher of The Year' shield engraved with the winners name and our teachers are inspired to get their name on the plaque in 2016.

Empowering Teachers
To help build a lasting legacy for schools, and for teachers to be empowered to achieve beyond the scope of a standard job description,  we feel it's important to share positive news and exemplify positive practice. It's the reason we send a Focus e-mail every Monday to remind teachers of best practice, and a feature e-mail every Wednesday where we celebrate the success of an individual from our team.

By developing a continuous cycle of inspired, activated and engaged #Teachers, we are organically inspiring more children and instilling positive values within them; where they feel that they too should work to the best of their ability.






As I clock off the blogging to focus on preparing our next Best Practice Module: 'Learning Environments'; please do leave a comment to find out more about #TheLegacyConcept & how J and C Academy can add value to your school.
Alternatively, if you would like to become a #PE, #Music or #MFL teacher at J and C Academy, please simply get in touch:

jazz@jandcacademy.com

Best regards,

Jazz Rose
Director of Education

The Value of Education

When I was 15 years old, I was on trial with Brentford Football Club. I turned up on my 4th week, and was told I'd be playing in the higher age group (under 19s) as well as playing in a new position (I had always played in the centre of defence but for the first time I was asked to play on the left side of defence).

I remember it like it was yesterday because even though I had played football since I was 5 years old, I had never ever taken a throw in and was never taught how to throw a ball. I was not prepared for this new position and didn't know how to adapt when asked to throw the ball in from the sideline. I looked super uncomfortable and was laughed at repeatedly when we reviewed the video of the game the next day in training.

My reflective thoughts however were positive: "What if every child received high quality physical education and were therefore more adaptable to change?" At that moment the concept for J and C Academy was essentially born and I started the company just 2 years later, delivering PE in schools. (Learn more about our services)

Are we preparing our children for the future?

As we live in a world which is increasingly becoming driven by creative science, the key question is: "Are we preparing our children for a market force driven by creative corporations such as Apple, Google and Virgin?"

Imagine a society where every child has received an excellent physical education, has developed 'natural' musical awareness and is bilingual; able to easily converse with people all over the world despite the seperation of water. How much more productive and fluid would our workforce be in just 15 years?

In my view, the value of education is what determines the happiness and progress of our future. Teacher by teacher, Child by child, School by school, we are all responsible for Improving Schools by enabling each child to develop self esteem, cultural awareness and transferable skills which add value to our social world.

The J and C Values form the core essence of every decision and action taken. Would it be fair to say that all schools should embody these values in some form?

Passion: Every teacher must be passionate about inspiring children and that passion should be infectious to the children. #LoveLearning

Positivity: Address every situation in a positive manner. 'How can we address this problem to ensure productive progress?' #Praise

Productivity: How can we maximise the learning in every lesson and how can we help every school improve, in the most efficient way possible. (Read about our CRM Communication Portal named Alex.)

Performance: Every #Teacher that delivers well, improves the performance of their pupils, which in turn improves school performance. #PeerAssessment

Progress: What is your number one goal and how can I help you achieve it? (This is a genuine question so please let me know in the comments box below).

My number one goal is to #ImproveEducation and I will achieve it by personifying the #JandCValues. Please comment, smile and share by clicking the buttons below.


Have an outstanding day!


Jazz Rose,
Director of Education
J and C Academy

Improving Schools:

Following a positive performance review at Thomas Arnold Primary School in Barking, I was keen to learn more about the head-teacher; John Halliwell and how he transformed a school that was in the bottom 5% of schools in the country, to a school with ‘Outstanding Leadership and Management’.

An Interview with a phenomenal headteacher: John Halliwell:

When you visit Thomas Arnold, it is prominent that children are Thriving, Happy, Open Minded Achieving Students who respect their surroundings, but also have the freedom to express themselves positively.

Beyond running an exciting school, John likes to keep active by swimming & running. He also enjoys socialising with family and friends.

I asked John about what inspired him to become a head-teacher:

“I started my teaching career in 2001 wanting to teach food education to help ensure healthy education in secondary and primary schools. However, I found I was enjoying the primary experience and teaching a range of subjects appealed to me.

As time went on I wanted to make more of a difference…to be able to think about my own vision passionately and creatively but also balance it with also being able to teach.”

What’s the biggest challenge as a headteacher in 2015?
 “There’s a lot of pressure from government and media which hinders creativity and limits ability to create a well-rounded education that all children need.”

In spite of these challenges, John confesses that it’s a rewarding & humbling experience to develop pupils, staff and a whole school in a short space of time.

John’s experience with J and C Academy:
I’ve spent almost a year working together with J and C Academy as we wanted to introduce Spanish as part of the new curriculum. Children love the lessons delivered by Nora and J and C Academy have been an amazing asset to our curriculum.”

Intentions for his new School:
“When I move to Applegarth Academy in September, my focus will be helping to create a shared vision and expectations of really high standards; as well as ensuring the curriculum is fit for purpose. I need to make it clear to the community how we intend to create well-rounded individuals…”

Please feel free to comment on and share this blog. To find out more about schools we work with, please contact us: admin@jandcacademy.com

Enjoy Education!

Jazz Rose,
Director of Education,

www.jandcacademy.com

3 Personality Traits of Phenomenal Teachers!

As I sat down to have a cup of tea with John Halliwell, head-teacher of Thomas Arnold Primary School recently; we were discussing how important it is to have teachers of the right culture fit for a school, beyond teachers who can simply deliver 'outstanding lessons'.

In this short article I've outlined 3 key common personality traits among Phenomenal Teachers! Which of the brilliant traits below are most important in your school & why? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Charisma:
As outlined in my recent blog on school leadership, excellent schools seemingly employ teachers who possess a shared sense of values and often a shared style of working. A confident smile, accompanied by a divine sense of dress and positive mannerisms are common traits among phenomenal teachers.

These are the type of people who can walk into any classroom in any school and command, (not demand) attention, with the subtle raise of an eyebrow or a huge smile and a raised hand.

An example is during my first week at a primary school teaching PE, I walked into a dining room of supervisor staff trying to get their voices heard over 200 children. I walked in calmly, began clapping a rhythm and within seconds they were all following me with engaged smiles. Then I placed my finger on my lips.

Subject Knowledge:
Whilst observing Spanish teacher Nora Ferguenis at the same school; Thomas Arnold, she reminded me of the deepened value in shared discussion. It was brilliant to assess not only how much words and phrases the children could 'remember' but how confident they were in debating how they themselves could further develop sports terms. They were able to confidently communicate through dramatic expression and role play so others could guess the sport in the target language.

Excellent teachers have a plethora of knowledge but what fantastic teachers like Nora do is to impart snippets of that knowledge; and then get the children to expand upon it, so that knowledge sharing becomes a reciprocal process as opposed to a directed one.



Leadership Style Communication:
From children to adults, communication is key to success in any walk of life. I remember when our head of services, Sam was teaching PE and he remarked; "No, not 'kind of like'; with confidence tell me what peripheral vision means?", before receiving a more clear and astute response from the pupil.

Brilliant teachers communicate like leaders; with assertion and clarity. They often report more frequently and more thoroughly than what is outlined in their role requirements and their assessments are usually more thorough than their counterparts. They are distinctly aware of how to communicate with the right person, at the right time, so that they get what they need. By proxy their seniors get more time to focus on other areas of development for the school.

In an era of growing cultural diversity in schools it's essential for companies who supply teachers to schools to employ teachers who are chameleon like and are able to deliver phenomenal teaching in almost any environment. Phenomenal teachers such as these are a rare breed. However employing teachers with the appropriate personality and culture fit for your school ensures that with an effective CPD programme, schools, children, parents and the community will benefit in all manner of ways!

To find out more about sourcing teachers with the right culture fit for your school or organisation, look out for my next blog post: An interview with a phenomenal head-teacher: Mr John Haliwell.

Feel free to share this blog post & comment your thoughts below. I'd love to hear from you!

J and C Values: Passion. Positivity. Productivity. Performance. Progress.



Best regards,

Jazz Rose
Director of Education
J and C Academy
www.jandcacademy.com
admin@jandcacademy.com

L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P - What it takes to be a phenomenal Leader!

As I sat in a meeting recently with one of our largest and most influential clients - a head-teacher from a London primary school; it progressively became apparent to me how she managed to receive an 'outstanding'  Ofsted grade in a school which resides in a climate that others may refer to as 'challenging'.

With 43% of their pupils having English as a second Language (EAL) and approximately 38% pupils receiving Pupil Premium funding, it is clear from the pro-activity of the head-teachers, the deputy head-teachers to the administrators that exceptional leadership has been the key to this schools' progress.

Through adopting a flexible approach to learning and a shared responsibility among staff to make children successful learners, Mrs G's indomitable will to see her school succeed is nothing short of phenomenal! 

On my way home from visiting this wonderful school, Mrs G inspired me to write an acronym about Leadership, and what it means to be an outstanding leader in what may otherwise be notified as 'challenging' circumstances.

Lead by example
Educate others through on-going training procedures
Always be Learning
Delegate and share responsibility
Engender a shared set of values
Relationships are crucial; Create bespoke CPD according to individual needs
Strategically plan for progress & have a backup plan for potential failures.
Harness individual talent
Inspire your team to inspire their learners
Pupils come first & progress is the performance indicator.

1. Which of the above points resonates with you most?
2. Which of the above points can you develop further to embed a stimulating and successful working environment?

Since progress is the performance indicator, I guess we've all got work to do; because ultimately we can never stop making progress!

In an attempt to inspire more children through education, I'm about to get back to it...and on my return I hope to see your comments in the box below. (,")

Have an outstanding afternoon! #BePhenomenal

Letting the Leaders 'Lead': CPD @ J and C

Delegation: #Leaders #CPD@JandC

#CPD@jandc - Classroom #Learning

Best regards,

Jazz Rose
Director of Education
J and C Academy
www.jandcacademy.com

Linked Learning

I want to share with today you an example of how a positive personality along with imaginative ideas are essential tools to creating a strong desire to learn and achieve from your pupils.

Sarah Saputo, a PE teacher at Park Way Primary School in Kent has quickly risen to become one of our most passionate and inspirational contributors.

Her philisophy is to "educate young people on the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle whilst making it fun yet challenging at the same time".

Sarah has used "outside of the box thinking" to engage pupils in other areas of the curriculum through PE this term, using a variety of ways including:

• Encouraging literacy every lesson by children reading the whiteboard and filling in the missing letters of key words

• Using numeracy in dance.  Pupils are shown a dance move for each number and they had to dance out their date of birth etc. This was progressed through dancing out maths calculations and adding decimal points to add a challenge This was great for showing children that anyone can choreograph a dance with just a few moves. The boys loved this too!

•  Science in sport. During a sprinting lesson pupils place a cone to where they think they could sprint to in 3 seconds. They had to move the cone to where they actually got to. This can be then replicated for 6 seconds, and so on. This can then lead into Q and A about acceleration and is a good differentiation tool for mixed ability classes.

Sarah adds that the outstanding teachers should "support best use of language and show your audiences how to use the knowledge gained of subjects within the real world to develop skills which are transferable" 

I hope you find this information useful. Please feel free to share this blog with anyone who may benefit from receiving it.

Best regards,

Samir Sawhney,
Progress Manager - Head of Multiple services
E: bookings@jandcacademy.com
T: 0203 291 4387
W: www.jandcacademy.com

5 Awesome Reasons to Teach with J and C Academy

Teaching is a fantastic vocation when well delivered, but also one which has received plenty of criticism for excessive paperwork and assessment overload. J and C Academy offer a fresh approach where they focus on dynamic delivery, whilst also ensuring that every teacher feels supported & valued.

Jazz has spoken to some of the J and C Academy teaching team this week, and with the new academic year in rapid pursuit, we thought it was about time to share with you;
'5 Awesome reasons to teach with J and C Academy.'

1. A Positive Environment
After a successful induction with one of their senior teachers, when you join J and C Academy, they immediately receive productive e-mails and videos about how to initiate and sustain a great career at the company; along with positive guidance around their bespoke but simple systems.

J and C leaders all have vast experience teaching (mostly at J and C Academy) so have key understanding of how to make productive progress. Once teachers settle in to their role, they can then truly focus on what they love to do. #Teach

2. Easy to digest Lesson Plans
Have you ever thought about how awesome teaching would be, if you didn't need to do excessive planning as it was all done for you? This forms another great reason to #TeachatJandC

3. A Long Term Career
To ensure you have a sustainable career path where you are truly valued and appreciated, J and C Academy maintains a remarkable teacher reward scheme, which includes ongoing professional development training, annual salary increases (up to 10% pa), plus a range of other rewards for your progress.

4. Teach the Subject you Love
Teaching at J and C Academy means that you will teach the subject you enjoy teaching most, (P.E, Music, French or Spanish) on a permanent, part time or full time basis, depending on your needs.

5. Fun Factor!
When I asked the director about some of his most enjoyable moments, he affirmed without hesitation that he loved seeing the team celebrate their success, as teachers share their stories and knowledge over a fun game of bowling, dinner at a nice restaurant or an awards ceremony at a luxurious hotel. "It's something to look forward to every term!"

Once you work at J and C Academy you truly feel part of an ever expanding team. A team of professional people who have one common goal; 'to deliver dynamic and inspiring lessons for the next generation of primary school children so that they too can develop a lifelong passion for learning and self improvement.'

If you would like to find out more about how to have a fantastic career at J and C Academy, contact the team by visiting: http://www.jandcacademy.com/careers.

As always, if you find this article interesting, please share with your friends, acquaintances or colleagues.

Best regards,

www.jandcacademy.com
careers@jandcacademy.com

"Intelligent well detailed course material provided, good pay & placement in good schools" Elsa, J and C Academy teacher

"Professionalism, originality and creativity make you the best company to work with" Florentina - J and C Academy teacher

"...great rates of pay and professional continuous support", Filippo, J and C Academy teacher

7 tips for Outstanding P.E in Primary Schools

7 non-negotiables for Outstanding P.E in Primary Schools

Inspired by J and C Academy P.E teachers James Eaton, Alex Lewis and Paul Meakin during my
visits to schools this morning, I was inspired to share with you just 7 non negotiables for
outstanding PE lessons in Primary Schools.

1. Safety is of paramount importance. A great example of this today was when James positioned a green cone for the batter and a yellow cone a few paces behind for the catcher, thereby minimising any risk of injury.

2. Always include a whiteboard or power-point reference for your key learning objectives / learning focus. Pupils tend to remember more about the lesson if the key ideas are communicated  verbally, physically and visually. I was most impressed when a year 4 pupil confirmed that he was learning about 'symetrical' and 'asymetrical' balances in Paul's gymnastics lesson.

3. Maximise Activity and Learning. Following your key instructions and teaching points, get the children moving. During intermissions, give pupils an activity or exercise to keep their hearts racing or their brains boggling. The best way to prevent children from fidgeting or misbehaving is not to give them a chance to think about it.

 I really enjoyed this about Alex's netball lesson today as everything was really swift and pupils were constantly moving (except key reflective moments and demonstrations.)

4. Talk for Learning: Rather than spending 2 minutes explaining something, get the children to discuss the key context for learning with their peers and develop understanding among themselves. e.g. "I'm going to give you 30 seconds to quietly discuss with your partner, how you might be able to find space so your partner can throw you the netball, without it being intercepted by the defender."

This helps children think independently whilst keeping them mentally engaged. As a result, you will spend less time saying "stop fidgeting with the ball" and more time praising the children for progressing so swiftly, and advising them of the next steps for learning. #AccelerateLearning!

5. Teaching Assistants must wear trainers and be actively involved in supporting the learning. Help them to add value to the lesson by supporting key individuals or groups.

6. Group Calling is a tactile way to get pupils to remember key words and retain information. The skill is to use your body language (e.g. opening of your arms) to indicate that all children should respond in choral. e.g. "When we are travelling around the hall, we will be looking for (open arms nice and wide...children respond together) "Space"

7. James demonstrated differentiation in an expert manner today when he was teaching cricket. He asked pupils to hit one of 2 large cone targets before asking some who were still developing the technique to aim for 3 cones, and the pupils who were performing well, to aim for just one cone.

All the children were working at their own skill level, rather than 'one size fits all' approach which inevitably means that all children were able to make active progress.

I hope you find this blog useful. For further information about outstanding P.E, simply get in touch via our website; www.jandcacademy.com. Until next time, have a great week! #HappyTeaching

Jazz Rose,
Director of Education,
www.jandcacademy.com