The untold stories of our grandparents

Published
06 February 2023

"My aunt shared pictures of grandfather's medals, documents of where he served and explained how proud he was of his contribution."

 

Two years ago, a couple of my colleagues asked me if I knew anyone in my family that had fought for Britain in the First or Second World War. They asked as they intended to share the real histories of staff and pupils for Remembrance Day. My immediate response was, ‘No,’ but the question reminded me of a picture I once saw as a child of my grandfather wearing medals. I decided to track down that photograph. I contacted my aunt and, from her, discovered my grandfather to have been a proud British soldier who fought in Burma during the Second World War. My grandfather had served directly under Lord Mountbatten and spoke of him with much love and respect; his children had never seen their father cry until he heard of Lord Mountbatten’s death. My aunt shared pictures of grandfather’s medals, documents of where he served and explained how proud he was of his contribution. He even chose to be buried alongside his fellow soldiers in Brookwood Military Cemetery in Woking. My aunt shared many stories that I hope to go back and document in greater detail.

This had been an emotional discovery for me. I had not known that my grandfather was one of the 2.3 million soldiers who made up the Indian army that fought for Britain. I had never learned about the contributions that our Indian and African soldiers made to the world wars in school. Sitting through every ‘Remembrance’ assembly, as a child and in the 18 years of my teaching experience, I had no idea that these moments were relevant to the contributions of people from my own community. I never heard in school any mention of sacrifices made by soldiers from the Commonwealth, and my two teenage children tell me they have not either.

 

Picture of grandfather with medals

 

These revelations, received at the age of 41, upset me deeply. What difference would it have made to me as a young British Bengali Muslim girl growing up, if I had learned about the sacrifices that our grandfathers made for this country? What difference would it have made to my understanding of my identity and relationship to Britain? What difference would it have made to all my White British friends, if they had known about all the soldiers from around the world who fought for Britain?  The true diversity within British history is still not taught enough in our schools and, in some, not at all. I hope that, going forward, all schools will teach about the range of British contributions that were made in the world wars and that our children grow up understanding the shared history that unites us all. History helps pupils to understand the complexity of people’s lives, the process of change, the diversity of societies and relationships between different groups, as well as their own identity and the challenges of their time. There is much work to be done to diversify the curriculum, but one place to start is in sharing and exploring the powerful untold stories of all our families.  

Race equity and anti-racism: guidance on developing an anti-racist approach

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MIS (Management Information System) and moving to the Cloud

Published
25 January 2023

"Take a whole-school view, speak to everyone that uses your MIS - does it suit their needs? What changes would they make if they could?"

 

As with any financial commitment, it is good practice to review your school’s contracts on a regular basis and MIS is no exception to this. In the current financial climate, the cost is important, but there are other factors that should be considered too.

From the very earliest stage of the process, before a decision is made, it is key to engage with stakeholders in your school – start the change-management process early.  Staff that are involved and invested in a potential change will be far more open to new ideas if you do ultimately decide to make a switch of MIS. 

Nominate someone to drive the project from the very beginning, having an advocate in place from the start will help smooth the journey.  Take a whole-school view, speak to everyone that uses your MIS – does it suit their needs?  What changes would they make if they could?  Identifying the pain-points of various interested parties in school might throw up a common theme.  Encourage users to take a step back and think about their processes – are they the most efficient they could be, or are they dictated by the tools available?  For some schools, staying with their existing MIS will be the right choice, for others, moving to a cloud-based MIS will be appropriate. So, what should you be thinking about when reviewing your MIS contract and considering a move to the cloud? Here are just 3 (of many):

  1. Price – what is the total cost of ownership? This will include the MIS licence as well as any hardware and associated warranties, support, and maintenance. Think about third party products and ‘add-ons’ you are paying for: will you still need them if moving to a new MIS? Is training for staff an additional cost? Part of the consideration for a move to a new system should include indirect costs, such as staff familiarisation time.
  2. Real-time system updates – in a cloud-based system, changes and upgrades are managed by the supplier in the background and in real-time. Fixes will be applied for issues as soon as they become available, no need to wait for patches to be applied on your local server.
  3. Any-time, any-place access – wherever there is an internet connection, staff can access the data they need to, on a range of devices. This puts data into the hands of staff when and where they need it. 

Of course, this is a real simplification of the decision-making process, there are many, many other factors to take into account.  It is really important to take a bespoke deep dive into the MIS options you are considering.  All MIS in the market have a basic set of functionality that meets the core requirements of most schools, but how does a particular system manage the things that are important to you?  Refer back to your initial investigations – what are the specific pain-points?  What are your staff most concerned about?  It might not be something that your current MIS doesn’t do particularly well, it could be the fact that it does it really, really well and staff are concerned about moving to a replacement that’s an unknown. 

All MIS suppliers should be happy to spend as much as time as you need on demonstrations and talking to you about your needs, to help you make an informed decision. Are there other schools near you that are already using the MIS you are considering?  Many schools will be happy to talk to you about their experience and might even give you a demo of the system in a ‘real-world’ environment.  Work closely with your support team too.  At HFL Education, we have supported almost 300 schools with switching MIS to date and have learned a lot along the way, tap into that experience and expertise and ask as many questions as you need to.

Once you have decided on a move to a cloud MIS, how do you achieve a smooth transition to your new system? Our top 3 tips:

  1. Use a Framework to buy your licences – the HFL MIS Framework provides an easy, quick and fully compliant mechanism for schools to purchase MIS licences at up to a 35% discount. In addition to the cost savings on price, schools, settings, and trusts can save months in procurement time compared to running an open procedure and any procurement risk sits with HFL Education as the owner of the framework.
  2. Manage the change – We can’t stress this one enough. The people involved are key to making the transition a success. As early in the process as possible, get your team on-board, identify a ‘champion’ in school to drive the change process. Who are the users in your organisation that will be most affected by a change of MIS? Involve them in the planning and make sure that they feel heard and confident that their training needs will be met. Investing in training and migration support from the outset will pay off.
  3. Recognise that a new system will not directly compare to the old one – different functionality and processes may seem challenging for users to adjust to at first, but all of the MIS on the HFL Framework have been through a rigorous procurement process to ensure that they provide the functionality that a school MIS needs to operate successfully. A new system will have a different look and feel, and things will be done differently.  

For those schools tied into an existing MIS contract, this does not necessarily mean ruling out a change of MIS. Some suppliers have offers enabling schools to switch MIS while only paying for one until their existing agreement expires (subject to terms and conditions).

The MIS is only the beginning.  As the cornerstone of your school’s IT solutions, once the MIS is in the cloud, it opens up a whole range of possibilities for your digital strategy, such as cloud-based document hosting, enabling the real-time sharing of documents, enhancing truly collaborative working for staff and pupils.  In addition to achieving a saving of up to 35% on MIS licence costs by utilising the HFL MIS Framework, similar savings can be realised in the total cost of ownership when all related IT expenditure is considered. Moving to a cloud-based MIS could be the first step in your school’s journey to a fully cloud-based IT solution and attaining the economies that could come with it. 

For more information about our MIS Framework and/or migration and support services, please email us at misframework@hfleducation.org or visit our website.

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Embedding risk management in your academy trust

Published
20 January 2023

"A good risk management process allows individual risks to be analysed, understood and managed proactively so that ideally the negative impact of threats can be minimised, whilst the positive impact opportunities can be maximised"

 

What is Risk Management?

Risk Management can be defined simply as anticipating what might not go to plan and putting in place actions to reduce uncertainty to a tolerable level.  When we think of risk, we normally perceive negative events, however risks can also be positive opportunities. 

The Academy Trust Handbook states that Trusts must manage their risks to ensure effective operation.  A good risk management process allows individual risks to be analysed, understood and managed proactively so that ideally the negative impact of threats can be minimised, whilst the positive impact of opportunities can be maximised.

Risk analysis is fundamentally based on an individual’s perception and therefore it is possible for Trusts to have separate and distinct risk profiles.  The risk profile or risk appetite of the Trust is an evaluation of individuals’ willingness and ability to take risks. To understanding the risk profile of a Trust we need to understand the acceptable levels of risk that management are prepared to accept.

What are the main responses to risk?

There are typically four main responses to risk:

  1. Transfer – this is where the risk is transferred to a third party such as insurance
  2. Tolerate – this is where management are prepared to accept responsibility for the risk. This might be the case where the likelihood of the event occurring and the impact to the Trust operations is relatively low, or where the cost of implementing controls outweighs the potential benefits.
  3. Treat – this is where controls are put in place to manage or mitigate the risk and keep any potential impact to an acceptable level
  4. Terminate - this is where measures are put in place to try and eliminate or avoid the risk.   

What is a Risk Register?

The Academy Trust Handbook states that Trusts must maintain a Risk Register. A Risk Register can be used to analyse the risks identified and document the responses to risks with a clear action plan.

Who is responsible for Risk Management?

The Board of Trustees ultimately has overall responsibility for risk management within the Trust, including oversight of the risk register. The Board of Trustees can rely on advice provided by the Audit and Risk Committee.  

Why is Risk Management important?

One can argue that it is better to be proactive rather than reactive. A proactive approach means that resources can be prioritised into key operational areas to deliver the Trust objectives.

Poor risk management can have a direct or indirect impact on outcomes for pupils.  Therefore, it is important that the Trust Board, Audit and Risk Committee and Senior Leadership Team work together effectively to ensure that there is an effective internal control environment.

Failure to ensure proper internal control over key business processes may result in irregular activity occurring, triggering an intervention by ESFA or a modification of the external auditor's regulatory opinion.

What is Internal Control?

Internal controls are a key element of the risk management process. 

The risk assessment process identifies the risks, taking into account the likelihood of the event occurring and the impact on the Trust operations. 

The internal control assessment takes the process one step further by mapping the existing controls onto the risks identified and determining if there are any gaps between risks and controls that can leave the Trust exposed.  

What is the link between Risk Management and Internal Scrutiny?

The Academies Financial Handbook states that planning a programme of internal scrutiny must be a risk based exercise between the Trust Board, the Audit and Risk Committee and the Internal Scrutineer.

A programme of Internal Scrutiny should ideally be informed by the Trust's Risk Register with guidance and advice from the Audit and Risk Committee. The internal audit program should consider the risk profile of the Trust and any concerns of the Audit and Risk Committee.

The process of formulating the internal audit work program can in itself be a form of risk assessment which results in a list of potential scrutiny areas.  A good risk review process is iterative and the findings of the programme of internal scrutiny will in turn inform the Risk Register.

High risk areas identified during the risk management process should be included in the internal audit work program and undergo more thorough frequent reviews, whereas low risk areas may be given less priority particularly if controls are found to be operating satisfactorily.  A schedule of potential work can be presented annually to the Audit and Risk Committee for consideration, challenge and sign-off.

How to develop the Internal Audit Plan?

To provide effective coverage and assurance, the internal audit plan should ideally be a rolling cyclical program over a period of at least 3 years and should include reviews of both financial and non-financial controls. 

Several factors can be taken into account when assessing risk and developing the internal audit plan, such as:

  • The volume and monetary value of transactions
  • The complexity, sensitivity and stability of the system
  • Changes in senior management and strategic roles
  • Potential fraud risks
  • The strength of existing management controls
  • Whether work has been carried out on the system recently

How are Risk Management and Internal Scrutiny linked?

It is a requirement of the Academy Trust Handbook that all Academy Trusts must have a programme of internal scrutiny to provide independent assurance to the Board that its financial and non-financial controls and risk management procedures are operating effectively.

Historically, Internal Scrutiny was viewed as a “necessary evil” to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the Academy Trust Handbook.  A small amount of audit days was purchased by Trusts to fulfil a “tick box” exercise. 

A good understanding of risk management recognises Internal Audit as an independent function designed to give assurance, add value, and advise on improving business operations. To work effectively, this culture needs to be embedded in a top-down approach where the Audit and Risk Committee work closely with the Internal Scrutineer to develop the Internal Audit Plan. 

A top-down approach can demonstrate that the culture and values of risk management are embraced at the highest levels of the Trust where responsibility also sits for risk management.  This can in turn ensure that management actively co-operate with the Internal Auditor and embrace recommendations for change.  

What is a good programme of Internal Scrutiny? 

In line with the Academy Trust Handbook, a good program of internal audit scrutiny will focus on:

Risk Management

Although the Trust is responsible for identifying all categories of risk and maintaining a risk register, internal audit can assist by advising and giving the Board independent assurance that all categories of risk are adequately identified, reported and managed.

Risk Model

Internal Audit can advise the Trust on developing a risk model which in turn populates the Risk Register. We can provide training and advice to the Audit Committee on how to use the risk register to inform and prioritise the internal audit programme of work, ensuring a rolling program of work is developed and checks are modified as appropriate each year. We can facilitate the process for reviewing and updating the risk register and ensuring that the risk register is kept up to date. 

Evaluation

Internal Audit can review the suitability of, and level of compliance with, both financial and non-financial controls. We can assess whether procedures are designed effectively and efficiently and can check whether agreed procedures have been followed.

Advice and Insight 

Management are ultimately responsible for the day to day running of the Trust, but we are available to offer independent advice on how to address weaknesses in financial and non-financial controls and we can also act as a catalyst for change and improvement.  

Conclusion

HFL education can assist and advise on embedding a culture of risk management in your Trust.  We employ specialist auditors with the right qualifications, experience, and key skills required to perform the audit work and our auditors are governed by professional codes of ethics and standards.

If you would like further advice or information, please get in touch. 

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Succeeding with reading

Published
18 January 2023

"Reading is fundamental to education. Proficiency in reading, writing and spoken language is vital for pupils' success"

 

Reading is fundamental to education. Proficiency in reading, writing and spoken language is vital for pupils’ success. Through these, they develop communication skills for education and for working with others: in school, in training and at work.

DfE, The reading framework Teaching the foundations of literacy, July 2021

 

Teacher with Early Years class

 

Where did it all start?

It’s often said that humans have only been reading for around 6000 years.  That’s in spite of us having a brain that contained a visual cortex (the part that we use when we read) millions of years earlier.  Or perhaps we did actually gain the ability to read earlier?  Much, much earlier!

According to Derek Hodgson in his research paper presented in the Journal of Archaeological Science Reports (2019), he explains that he believes that it was at this earlier time because this is when humans started to make repetitive marks.  These aren’t at all similar to the later pictures that were created in cave drawings, but quite separate and distinct, repetitive symbols.  There are some shell engravings that have been discovered in South Africa containing repetitive symbols that date from 540,000 years ago! This is interesting information for us as practitioners who are required to teach children to read in that it’s nothing new, humans have apparently been ‘reading’ for over 500 millennia!  The interesting bit is that although it’s been a skill for hundreds of generations, it’s never evolved into a skill that comes naturally to the human brain.  It still needs to be taught.  And taught well.

The importance of reading

In July of 2021, we saw the publication of The Reading Framework which contains advice from the DfE about reading and ideas about how it might be taught in schools.  It has interesting information about the English language and it sets out some principles underpinning the teaching of reading.  It, of course, contains details about the teaching of phonics - the recommended strategy for teaching early decoding skills to young children, what we know to be the ‘nuts and bolts’ of early reading.  This document is presented to us alongside the validated list of phonic schemes.  These schemes are recommended to schools who are making the decision to change their current approach to teaching phonics.  The teaching of phonics has been highlighted by Ofsted as something they would expect to see being taught during their ‘deep dives’ into reading.  Gill Jones, Ofsted’s Deputy Director for Early Education explained in 2019 that phonics needs to be taught daily in Reception classes. Children need to read closely matched books and that extra practice might be seen throughout the day for those in need.  Underpinning all of this skills teaching, teachers need to instil ‘a love of literature: (through sharing) the best stories and poems’!  Something not added to this is the understanding that children really do need a good grounding in the foundations for phonics i.e. early phonics – phonemic awareness.

 

Educator sat on floor reading book with children

 

The teaching of reading - a joy or a challenge

Do you enjoy teaching early reading, or do you feel overwhelmed with it all? As early years practitioners, we understand the importance of developing children’s early reading skills to prepare them for Key Stage 1 and lifelong learning. ‘It is crucial for children to develop a life-long love of reading.’ (Department for Education Early years framework, September 2021). With the new EYFS Statutory Framework, September 2021 as well as the non-statutory guidance of Birth to 5 Matters and Development Matters and of course, the Ofsted Framework, it can be overwhelming to think about where best to start in planning a rich and comprehensive reading curriculum.

As we know, reading is a skill that requires comprehensive, sequential planning.  It also necessitates skilful adult interactions along with high-quality opportunities across the learning environment that enable children in the EYFS to practise, consolidate and rehearse their learning. Early reading skills begin at a young age when children are absorbing and responding to the language that is around them.  They then begin to communicate with those around them and, upon receiving a response, early communication and language skills are embedded.  Much of this early language acquisition may also come from books being shared with children, by parents and carers and later, in the EYFS settings and schools they attend. 

 

Teacher with Early Years children, outside

 

Taking this into account, it then becomes apparent that literacy rich learning environments that promote reading are an essential element in promoting early reading. As a practitioner, when did you last review how well your EYFS is doing this?  How well is your provision engaging children with early reading opportunities?  Taking time to review your phonics programme is another essential element of developing secure early readers.

Why not let us support you on your journey to improving early reading across practice and provision by joining the ‘Succeeding with Reading’ programme starting in autumn 2023. The programme aims to support English leaders and EY leaders to review and monitor the processes and provision that support the development of early reading in the EYFS. This comprehensive programme is based on current research and will commence in the autumn term with a ‘launch’ event, followed by a thorough early reading audit visit.  During the audit, advisers from the HfL Early Years team will review your current early reading practice and provision.  This will then be followed with bespoke training sessions in the spring term, with a final celebration of impact event at the end of the programme in late spring.

The programme aims to support leaders and teachers to:

  • develop their knowledge and skills in reviewing, developing and implementing a highly ambitious and focused approach to reading
  • using a specifically designed audit tool to monitor provision and practice
  • create a provision where there is sufficient opportunity for children to practice, rehearse and consolidate reading skills across the curriculum in meaningful, play-based contexts
  • improve the reading skills of children in their care  

Here is some of the feedback from delegates that attended the ‘Succeeding with Reading’ programme last year.

 

Text

 

The audit visit report is really comprehensive and incredibly useful for us. I know that my Reading Lead and my Phonics Lead found the afternoon really valuable and insightful.

Richard Fordham, Headteacher, Stopsley Community Primary School and Nursery

Thank you for this report and we would like to thank you for a positive and very useful audit visit. We are currently working on our Reading Action Plan and have taken on board the great advice that we received in the feedback meeting and the report and feel it will be very beneficial in developing reading in our Early Years.

EY leader, St John the Evangelist RC Primary School, Islington, London

Visit the HfL CPD hub for further information and to book your place or contact earlyyearsteam@hertsforlearning.co.uk.

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Making meaning: piece by piece – vocabulary development through morphemic analysis

Published
10 January 2023

"The National Curriculum recognises that ‘Pupils’ acquisition and command of vocabulary are key to their learning and progress across the whole curriculum.’"

 

With our Word-Utopia English conference just a few weeks away, language and vocabulary are very much at the forefront of our minds. The varied line-up of speakers - including academics, poets, authors and teachers - will present us all with a fresh look at how to support language acquisition in the classroom. But, there’s no need to wait until after the conference to get stuck into vocabulary work with your class. Join us as we revisit this blog from our former colleague, Sabrina Wright, about how we can develop children’s vocabulary through morphemic analysis.

The National Curriculum recognises that ‘Pupils’ acquisition and command of vocabulary are key to their learning and progress across the whole curriculum.’ Acquiring a broad vocabulary supports understanding in all subjects. Understanding is developed through language comprehension, and the exploration and explicit teaching of new vocabulary contributes to pupils’ developing comprehension.

‘Vocabulary is learnt both indirectly and directly. Children learn the meanings of most words indirectly, through everyday experiences with oral and written language.’ (Armbruster, Lehr, & Osborn, 2011). Wider reading is an absolutely essential part of indirect vocabulary growth; however, it is not sufficient for all students. For children to have a deep and long-lasting understanding of the vocabulary they are learning they need to meet the words they come across frequently, and in different contexts. In other words, it is not enough to look a word up in a dictionary and expect that most children will be able to understand it, use it and apply that word in other contexts. They need more to be able to build a sense of the word. So, if dictionaries won’t do the job, we need to provide children with word learning strategies and knowledge that they can apply independently. In addition to this, it is vital that we inspire children to develop an interest and love of words, their meanings and how they are built.

‘Simply put, if we want our students to become independent word learners, then we must model how to think about new words that they encounter in their reading.’

(Templeton & Pikulski, 1999)

Templeton and Pikulski (1999) talk about there being ‘four types of knowledge and strategies that enable students to become independent word learners:

  1. morphological knowledge
  2. effective use of contextual clues
  3. the application of morphological and contextual knowledge in a word-learning strategy
  4. the role of dictionaries and other word reference books.

Research has shown that being able to draw upon specific morphemic elements, and how these combine to make words, supports students in being able to determine the meaning of new words. (Scott & Nagy, 1994). With that in mind, I’d like to fly the flag for using morphological knowledge to support the acquisition of new vocabulary, and to consider the important part it plays.

So what is morphology?

Morphological knowledge is the spelling of grammatical units within words (e.g. horse = 1 morpheme, horses = 2 morphemes). It includes knowledge about the following: root words, compound words, suffixes, prefixes and the origins of words (etymology).

The National Curriculum sets out that students begin with the exploration of morphemic elements in KS1, with base words and suffixes such as adding -s/-es/-ing/-ed/-ful/-ly, and by the time they get to KS2, not only are they exploring a wider range of prefixes and suffixes, but they can begin to explore in detail the morphology of a variety of words, and use this to help their understanding of new vocabulary.

For example, knowing bicycle (Year 3/4 statutory word list NC) is cycle from the Greek for wheel, with bi– meaning ‘two’ before it, and in Year 5/6 knowing conscience and conscious (Y5/6 statutory word list NC) are related to science: conscience is simply science with the prefix con- added (these words come from the Latin word scio meaning ‘I know’), helps children to understand not only the meaning of the vocabulary being taught, but they can then later apply this knowledge to any new related vocabulary.

So how can I use morphology to support word learning in the classroom?

Basically, this strategy focuses on analysing the meaningful parts (morphemes) within in a word to support the understanding of it.

Kieffer and Lesaux (2007) suggested the following steps for effective teaching of morphemic analysis:

  1. teach morphology in the context of rich, explicit vocabulary instruction;
  2. teach students to use morphology as a cognitive strategy with explicit steps;
  3. teach underlying morphological knowledge in two ways—both explicitly and in context.

The following graphic shows an example of how you would analyse a word with pupils as part of the above model.

 

Graphic with text

 

Being explicit with the children that words that are related in meaning are often related in spelling, and that clues to the structure of the words can be clues to the meaning, is essential in supporting children in their vocabulary acquisition.

As touched on before, it is also important that teachers share with children their own interest in and enthusiasm for words, and model how they’ve thought about them. Sharing an interesting story about where a word originates from can help to develop an interest and curiosity in words. For example, I should probably tell you about the origin of the word vocabulary, but honestly I’d rather tell you about the origin of the word nincompoop. The day I got my etymology dictionary, ‘Nincompoop’ was the first word I was thumbing through the pages looking for. Curious? It turns out that there are a few stories about its origin; one is from the 17th century, where it is suggested it originates from a ‘given name Nicholas or from Nicodemus…and his naive questioning of Christ’, but the other (and my favourite) although denied by some etymologists, is from the 1670s where it was linked to the Latin legal phrase ‘non compos mentis’. How does that help me you may ask yourself? Well, I don’t use the word nincompoop often, but it certainly has stuck in my mind, and I can see how the definition is linked to its origin. What would be the first word you would look up?

There have been a number of studies that show the significant relationship between vocabulary and comprehension, and another factor to consider is that the ‘teaching of morphological awareness and decoding in school may be the way to narrow the achievement gap for children whose families differ in education and income levels, and ethnic or racial backgrounds.’ (Nagy 2007). Morphemic analysis is just one strategy of many, but it is a valuable strategy to aid word learning that will help readers unlock the meaning of new and challenging words with increasing independence.

Originally published 15 June 2016 by Sabrina Wright, who was previously an English Teaching and Learning Adviser for HFL Education.


Bibliography

Armbruster, B., Lehr, F., & Osborn, J. (2001). Put reading first: The research building blocks for teaching children to read.
Kieffer, M. J., & Lesaux, N. K. (2007). Breaking down words to build meaning: Morphology, vocabulary, and reading comprehension in the urban classroom.
Nagy, W. (2007). Metalinguistic awareness and the vocabulary‑comprehension connection.
In R. K. Wager, A. E. Muse, & K. R. Tannenbaum (Eds.), Vocabulary acquisition: Implications for reading comprehension.
Scott, J. A., & Nagy, W. E. (1994). Vocabulary development. In Purves, A. C., Papa, L., & Jordan, S. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of English studies and language arts, Vol. 2.
Templeton, S. & Pikulski, J. (1999) Building the Foundations of Literacy: The Importance of Vocabulary and Spelling Development. Houghton Mifflin Company.

Recommendations

Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins (Oxford Quick Reference) Cresserrl, J. (2010)

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Effective governance in times of challenge

Published
20 December 2022

"In times such as this 'being effective', whether as an individual or board, will be a vital support to your school..."

 

The turbulence of the past year is quite frankly astounding and will no doubt make essential reading for future students of politics and history. But in the here and now, the fallout has left governors, trustees, boards and schools picking up the pieces. Resilience is being tested in a way not seen since the pandemic, with the couple months of calm we had now feeling like a distant memory! In times such as this ‘being effective’, whether as an individual or board, will be a vital support to your school, let’s explore some effective practice.  

School funding  

The recent budget had some unexpected news on school funding from the DfE with some additional monies over the next two years which according to the IFS will return spending to 2010 levels in real terms, the highest previous level. The detail will follow but it is expected that schools will be exempt from any future energy price cap, and that the additional funding will allow for pay increases. When we add in SEND funding pressures, falling primary roles, a recruitment and retention crisis and the corrosive effect of high inflation, it’s hard to see how this money will stretch far enough. Ensuring that your 3-year forecast is robust is now essential. Too many schools describe their third year forecast as a work of fiction. It can’t and it mustn't be. Every organisation out there is having to work hard on their forecasts to stay solvent, schools should be no exception. Most current school/ academy budgets will have had some mitigation built in for pay rises, inflation and utility costs but it’s understandable that these assumptions may now fall rather short of the reality. Boards need to be working with school leaders to monitor the current and projected budgets ensuring that where savings can be made that they are. It is extremely challenging to forecast cost pressures next year, so modelling several scenarios is pragmatic. Starting from the bottom up, looking at what is essential is key to effective budgeting. Last year’s budget plus inflation is unlikely to stretch far enough.   

Boards will have been discussing energy efficiency and carbon reduction over the past few years spurred on by COP26 and their pupils amongst others, given what has happened to energy costs this is probably the greatest financial pressure on budgets – let’s face it most public buildings, especially our aging school stock, are possibly the worst examples of energy inefficiency. The Government’s announcement of further funding to reduce energy costs made last week is therefore welcome. Hertfordshire County Council has also secured funding, 30% of which will be targeted at schools, for details see here.  

Board recruitment   

In the quest to be effective we need to ensure recruitment is an ongoing focus. We need to ensure that the right people are around the table and that the workload is shared evenly across the board. Looking at recruitment it’s essential to conduct a skills audit at least bi-annually to identify skills gaps within the board and then to actively look to recruit to refresh the board and fill those gaps. As an example, a board of governors with mainly educational expertise will not be enough to deliver the full spectrum of constructive challenge that’s required at meetings whereas a mix of educational, finance, wellbeing, HR, legal, business, local community experience are all skills gaps that need filling. This is not to discount the importance of parent and staff voice represented by parent and staff governors and where they have any of the above skills then that’s a bonus! Herts County Council have revised the governor recruitment section on the HCC website and are about to launch a governor recruitment campaign, have a look to see what’s there that could help your own local recruitment drives.  

Visiting your school  

Governors should attend as many FGB and committee meetings as they possibly can, but that alone won’t make you effective. There’s no substitute for getting into your school and seeing theory put into practice. Visits are usually planned based on the link role you may have but be sure they include what you would like to see and focus on – let school leaders know in advance the year classes you would ideally like to visit, whether you would like the opportunity to talk with pupils, are there displays or children’s work that you would like to look at – you should be looking for evidence to support the schools progress/ achievement in the particular area you are linked with to enable you to put together a short visit report that can be shared with governors and retained as evidence of governor effectiveness in particular for Ofsted & HIP visits. In terms of board effectiveness planning for one or two ‘Governor in School’ sessions during the year is essential – the board would agree a particular focus and again let the school know the sort of evidence they will be looking for which will enable leaders to plan for the visit. Feedback should be done on the day if time allows, governors coming into school should be a positive experience and to share your immediate impressions with school leaders will help cement the supportive role you play and increase the visibility of governors with staff and pupils alike.  

Workload  

We have spent many years focussing on senior leader and teacher workload for obvious reasons, if the balance is right, they will be more effective at what they do. Sometimes in doing this we forget that governor workload should also be at the forefront of our thinking – we are volunteers, often with other work, caring or parental commitments. It’s important to ensure that link and key roles are shared equally across board members otherwise it will rely on a few doing the work of the many which in terms of governance is neither healthy or effective for those individuals or the board. How about a mid-year review to check in on colleagues to ensure that they are coping with the roles they took on at the beginning of the year and if not to reshare some of that workload, this way you may catch those that are about the throw the towel in and make better use of new governors who by that point will have found their feet.  

Education white paper   

The new Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, has announced that the white paper is to be scrapped, read full story here. We will consider the impact of this in our next blog and how this may impact on the drive for academisation.  

As we discussed in our last blog being crystal clear of purpose and where you want to be as a school is an essential starting point, the vision for your school should be costed and mapped out over 3-5 years with a clear of idea what needs doing and as importantly why you are doing it. Equally that this vision is shared by all stakeholders – parents, staff, pupils and even the local community need to be invested and included – together with senior leaders and the board you are all on a journey together. A famous example of this is when President John F Kennedy was visiting NASA in 1962, he stopped to ask a janitor ‘what are you doing?’ to which he replied, ‘I’m helping put a man on the moon’. In your school, if asked the same question, would all staff members reply along the lines of ‘I’m aiming to improve the outcomes and life chances for every pupil in my school.’ Having a shared purpose and for everyone to understand that whatever their role is, will ensure they are equally valued and contribute to the school’s success. When your school next achieves a milestone moment or when test and exam results are published, we should take a moment to thank not just the teachers and senior leaders but also those behind the scenes – including site staff, office staff, classroom assistants, pastoral staff, midday supervisors, catering staff, lollipop person, lab technicians, parent volunteer readers etc – who by the work they do have equally contributed to that moment of achievement or success.

If we value, we retain - not only our staff but our purpose, our reputation, our vision and our belief in what we are doing – in that way whatever the headwinds and challenges if we are ‘together’ we will be effective in overcoming and ultimately succeeding in these imperfect times.  


The HFL Governance team stand ready to support you whether it be through our acclaimed training programme, our supportive Clerking and Chairs service or our fantastic helpdesk – we wish you all a peaceful festive season and best wishes for the New Year.  

To contact us please use the following:  

Governance Helpdesk: 01438 544487   

Governance Training: 01438 544478  

Governance Clerking: 01438 544487  

Or email us at governance@hfleducation.org  

 

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Winter warmers: two books to enjoy this season

Published
13 December 2022

"Be prepared for your heart to wobble, just as Bertie's does in this wonderful story of belonging"

 

At this time of year, there’s nothing better than hunkering down with a great book. In this blog, Amanda Webb shares some ideas for writing based on a brand new, wintery story that is perfect for the season. Alongside the new book, she recalls an old favourite story and shares writing ideas for both of these winter wonders.

‘The Frost Goblin’ by Abi Elphinstone and illustrated by Fiona Woodcock

We couldn’t leave you this Christmas without failing to mention the release of this Christmas winner to share with your class: ‘The Frost Goblin’ by bestselling author Abi Elphinstone and renowned illustrator Fiona Woodcock.

‘The real story of frost has nothing to do with Jack Frost and everything to do with goblins…’

You will fall in love with the delightful Bertie from the very first moment you meet him as you join him on an exciting adventure with the Frostgobble family. Be prepared for your heart to wobble, just as Bertie’s does in this wonderful story of belonging.

A perfect story for a heart-warming read with your class on a cold winter’s afternoon. In the resource linked here – The Frost Goblin Writing Opportunities - you will find a collection of wonderful writing opportunities inspired from ‘The Frost Goblin’.

Find out more about Abi and her work.

Find out more about Fiona and her work.

‘The Santa Trap’ by Jonathan Emmett and illustrated by Poly Bernatene

We have shared this one with you before, but it is worth revisiting to enjoy afresh with a different class.

Welcome Bradley Bartleby…

 

Bradley Bartleby book cover

 

Everything that you need to know about this charmless character is conveyed on the first double-page spread:

‘Bradley Bartleby was bad.

He’d been born bad….

And the older Bradley got, the badder he became.’

The tale goes on to outline Bradley’s rapid descent from spoilt child to revenge-seeking Santa hunter!

Beyond its obvious anarchic appeal, this text provides so many opportunities for children to improve their writing skills. In the resource linked here – Santa Trap Planning Ideas – you will find our suggestions for how this text could be used creatively to develop children’s writing skills in line with the Vocabulary, Grammar and Punctuation Programme of Study for each year group. In addition, in the resource - Year 6 Christmas Planning The Santa Trap - you will find the outline for a three-week sequence of learning aimed at Y6, in terms of grammatical content, where children will be writing their own anarchic sequel to The Santa Trap.

 

Planning the Santa Trap book cover

 

We hope that this fun and feisty text will help to spread a little Christmas cheer throughout your classroom this year. The question is: who will be brave enough to present each of their children with a lovely end of term Christmas gift this year?

A nice new pair of socks should do it!

Find out more about Jonathan and his work.

With special thanks to Poly Bernatene for giving permission to use his images in this blog.

Explore more of Poly’s work.

 

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Revised forecast - key updates from the Autumn term

Published
09 December 2022

"It's that time of year again - termly update and reforecast! Why is this so important..."

 

Following on from our previous blogs on financial sustainability, it is crucial that schools keep an up to date working budget, as this will enable the school leaders and governor/trustees to make informed choices. Tough decisions may have to be made – but without realistic, up to date budget information these judgements could be ill informed. The link below shows the school resource management: top 10 planning checks for governors and could be helpful with financial management.

Gov.UK: School resource management: top 10 planning checks for governors

The recent autumn statement from the Chancellor announced that schools will receive £2.3 bn in extra funding both next year and the year after. There is currently no further information but as they say “the devil is in the detail”.

Areas that will need to be reviewed to create a revised forecast:

Pupil numbers

Make sure you update your pupil numbers to incorporate the October 2022 census that has just taken place and realistically predict pupil numbers in future years.

Early Years portal

The nursery numbers will have been updated in the early years portal by now – you will need to print off the financial summary to update your budget. This might vary considerable from the original Approved Budget Return (ABR) so make sure you make appropriate adjustment for this both in the current monitor and the budget software.

Teachers Pay Grant and Teacher Pension Grant for nursery’s and 6th Forms only

You can check your actual allocation for these two grants using the links below. These figures can then be used to update your current monitor and the budget software.

Gov.UK: Teachers’ pay grant: allocations for 2022 to 2023 financial year

Gov.UK: Teachers’ pension grant: 2022 to 2023 allocations

High Needs Funding

You should have received your HNF statements (if not contact the SEN team). This revenue can be updated on the current monitor and the budget software. Remember to consider any clawbacks for pupils who might have left the school since the ABR was set. Also, in this area – think about who will be supervising these pupils if necessary and ask yourself have you built this cost into your staffing budget/forecast?  HCC have communicated that pupils in Mainstream Schools awaiting a Special School Place will be awarded £2,000 per term while the pupil is still attending the school

Pupil Premium

Updated allocations are now available

Check how many pupils you are being funded for compared to the approved budget and make appropriate adjustments. Remember to update your income across the years and allow for reductions in pupils numbers.  Make sure you do not end up double counting costs for example within the staffing costs and within for example curriculum expenditure or counselling.

Early Careers Teacher Grant are paid in the summer term of the second year. The earliest grants to be received will be Summer 2023. This can be adjusted in your budget software if you have any ECT Grant due in Summer 2023 and onwards.

Schools Supplementary Grant (SSG)

The second payment of the SSG has now been paid to schools and academies. Check the second payment using the link below and update the current monitor and budget software.

Gov.UK: Schools supplementary grant 2022 to 2023

Other revenue sources

Whilst reviewing other areas of revenue think about student placements that you might not have included in the approved budget. Revenue from after school clubs, breakfast clubs, lettings and additional hours for nursery provision can be adjusted using year to date income data.  Have there been any staff sickness or maternity insurance claims which might be pending? If so, include these amounts if it is known that the revenue will definitely be received. Be careful to include this in the correct financial year as the staff member might not be returning until 2023/24.

Recovery Premium and School Led Tutoring can now be updated. Check in the budget software that these do not run into future years. Schools cannot carry forward these funds to future years.

Universal Infant Free School Meals

The link below will show you the final allocation from 2021/22 and the provisional allocation for 2022/23. Check that the expenditure is in line with the revenue.

Gov.UK: Universal infant free school meals (UIFSM): 2022 to 2023

PE Grant revenue

Any unspent PE & Sports Premium Grant, from the 2021/22 will be recovered by the DfE. This is regardless of any plans that a school may have to spend it during the 2022/23.  The first tranche should be paid to schools in October/November or check the link below to see the full year allocations. View latest funding (skillsfunding.service.gov.uk)

Staffing items to note and check

Budget software Action any updates available in the budget software as this will provide you with the most up to date information. You must ensure that you have updated payroll following performance management and the current pay increases. You should also ensure that all staff contracts are up to date in your budget software. 

Energy costs

Schools and Trusts do not need to do anything to be eligible for the Energy Bill Relief Scheme as the discount is automatic. Please be aware that if a school receives a message requesting bank details or other information it could be a scam, and you should report it online.

If you need any more help or advice, please contract bms@hfleducation.org.

 

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Supporting employees in a time of financial crisis

Published
05 December 2022

"The squeeze on the costs and standards of living is being felt by all and, for some, difficult choices are being made about food and heating, and reliance on food banks is increasing."

 

The current cost of living crisis and the impact it is possibly having on you and your staff cannot be ignored.  The squeeze on the costs and standards of living is being felt by all and, for some, difficult choices are being made about food and heating, and reliance on food banks is increasing.

The impact can also stretch more widely than an individual’s financial health.  Overall wellbeing is impacted when choices have to be made about the activities people engage in to help them relax and unwind such as gym membership, trips to the cinema and meals out.

The overall wellbeing of your staff is important, not only because you care but because it will impact on their ability to deliver their role successfully.

This comes at the same time as school budgets being squeezed and our ability to increase pay or offer additional benefits is limited.

We may also see the impact of this through staff attending work when they aren’t well enough to do so as they cannot afford unpaid days.  Or more staff taking on a second job. 

So, what can you do? Talking about someone’s personal financial circumstances is often seen as a taboo subject, not one we would ask someone about and not always easy for an individual to raise with their employer.  As a leader, offering space for someone to talk confidentially is a good place to start.  We are not expected to be financial experts or to be able to solve problems, but we can be the person to signpost someone to the right support and resources. 

There are a wide range of resources available and here are just a few for you to consider;

Did you know we have partnered with Wesleyan Financial Services? Wesleyan can run financial wellbeing surgeries on your school site covering a number of financial topics: Wesleyan Financial Services.

If you have a school Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), they will likely include support to an employee on finances and debt. You may have signed up to a specific EAP service or have access to one through your absence insurance. Here you can find details of EAP providers: HR wellbeing - Employee Assistance Programme. HFL Education are procuring a new EAP offer for schools for the Spring term. Promoting any service you have through staff meetings, noticeboards and email is important to make sure everyone is aware of what they can access. This gives everyone access to the information discreetly and sensitively, without them having to ask for help.

Other avenues of support that could be highlighted to staff;

Hertfordshire County Council: Help to manage the cost of living

Citizens Advice

National Debtline: Debt advice

StepChange Debt Charity: Free expert debt advice

MoneyHelper: Free and impartial help with money, backed by the government

Money Saving Expert: Energy help, credit cards, flight delays, shopping and more

Gov.UK: Benefits calculators

Work with your staff to see if they have ideas for reducing costs, could you have a car share scheme to save on transport costs? Could you buy into an employee reward scheme where employees get discounts or cashback, for example Hertfordshire Grid for Learning: Staff benefits: Herts Rewards

Showing that you are aware and acknowledging the position many find themselves in is a very positive step.  Making sure staff know about support available allows them to engage with it at an earlier stage and make decisions for themselves.

 

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Reading fluency? How do I teach that?

Published
01 December 2022

Accurate reading could be defined as being able to correctly decipher the code that is the written English language. We feel it is essential that children have a strong systematic, synthetic phonics start."

 

What is reading fluency?

At HFL Education, we have been rather obsessed with shouting loudly about the benefits of pedagogical approaches for reading fluency for quite some time. Take a look at this blog from 2016. We don’t like to think of a ‘fluent reader’ as a child who has reached ‘lime band’ and is now permitted to access the rich and varied world that literature has to offer. We recognise that fluent reading of literature can happen at all ages and stages. As Kirsten points out, a 3 year old pointing to the lure of the golden arches is fluently reading for their age! The letter m is being beautifully read with appropriate comprehension.

So how ought we define reading fluency? In a document produced by the EEF and in collaboration with HFL Education, reading fluency is defined as being a combination of automaticity, accuracy and prosody. When a child can apply these three components of reading to a text which is appropriately pitched for them, then we might say that they are reading fluently. The hope is that, when a child is able to read fluently, there will be cognitive space for comprehension, as brain power is not being consumed in the act of decoding.

"I have loved watching the children grow in confidence and start to see themselves as expert readers."

What’s the difference between accuracy and automaticity?

Accurate reading could be defined as being able to correctly decipher the code that is the written English language. We feel it is essential that children have a strong systematic, synthetic phonics start. They need to know the GPCs present in the texts that they’re reading in order to be able to decode the words. When a child reads with good accuracy, we note that they are able to read an appropriately pitched text with few or no mispronunciations, word substitutions or word omissions.

On our HFL Reading Fluency project, we often have teachers talk to us about children like Jai. Jai was in year 5; he had passed his phonics screening check. When reading a text which felt nice and easy for him, for instance a much-loved key stage one picture book or indeed a series of flash cards, Jai could decode with accuracy. However, when asked to read a more complex text, pitched correctly for year 5, all of that phonic knowledge seemed to disappear. Jai’s ability to read with accuracy deteriorated. He started stumbling over words and forgetting to use those strategies of sounding out and blending which he does possess. Jai had a lack of automaticity. We often find, when supporting schools, that children like Jai are given additional support in the form of catch-up phonics. However, we discovered Jai’s accuracy was sound when reading words in isolation; he needed to build his automaticity. He needed to be able to read those words instantaneously, on sight, without overtly sounding out and blending. This would put an end to the stumbling and crunching through words that we were seeing, and the disregard for punctuation. There was simply no cognitive space left to think about how to read with flow and expression as all the space was being consumed in the act of word reading.

How can we support our children like Jai with improving their automaticity? One of the key approaches which we employ on the HFL Reading Fluency project is repeated re-reading. In the act of reading the same text over and over, automaticity, and therefore accuracy improve. We employ strategies to make the repeated re-reading of a chosen text enjoyable and motivational. For instance, asking children to practice and perform a poem really incentivises reading over and over for an authentic purpose. Once they have done this a few times, all the words on that page will be read with automaticity and of course, many of those words appear in other texts.

Prosody

In addition to accuracy and automaticity, prosody is the third component forming the definition of fluency. Prosody is the reader’s use of expression, fluidity, phrasing and musicality. This happens both orally and in the reader’s head. Reading with prosody is clearly an outcome that we could expect our comprehensive readers to demonstrate. However, we have discovered on the HFL Reading Fluency Project that prosody is also a precursor to comprehension. When reading out loud or when reading in our heads, we use the musicality and phrasing in our internal voice to support us with comprehending the text at the point of reading. Applying prosody at the point of reading actually supports us to understand the text. There are various strategies which we employ on the HFL Reading Fluency Project to support children with developing a sense of prosody when reading. These include echo reading, choral reading, and assisted reading. When these are artfully combined with strategies for repeated re-reading, we see really powerful impact on reading achievement in a really short space of time.

Impact

Let’s consider Jai again. A child who perceived himself to be a non-reader. A child who actively avoided participating in reading lessons and one who rarely read for pleasure. As a result of 8 weeks of intervention, where comprehension has been allowed to flourish as fluency developed, Jai was able to leave primary school having reached the expected standard in reading, with a sense of pride and a determination, fully ready for the challenges of key stage three. Jai’s self-esteem improved and his teacher and parents were overjoyed with his newfound enthusiasm for books. We have now worked with over 2000 children, supporting them to achieve all that Jai did. Employing strategies designed to address reading fluency, like those outlined in this blog, will have a huge impact on those children who need it the most.

For recent analysis of our Fluency Project’s qualitative and quantitative data, please see our Reading Fluency project blog

To join us on the next round of the project (which is delivered remotely): KS1 (years 2-3) and KS2/3 (years 4-7).

 

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