Bryan Slater Director of Education	Distribution
	To all primary and special schools

The attached document is provided for your information:

INFORMATION	Title	Primary National Strategy: Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching in the primary years
	Summary of contents	This letter alerts schools to: · the learning and teaching CPD materials soon to be available through the Primary National Strategy (PNS); · the 2 introductory guides to the materials sent recently to all schools.
	Associated documents	PNS Supporting School Improvement (DFES 0344-2004G) PNS Continuing Professional Development (DFES 0244-2004G)
	Date	7 June 2004
	Effective from	7 June 2004
	LEA Contact	Roger eagle	(	01603 433276
	E-mail address	Roger.eagle@norfolk.gov.uk
	Norfolk Self Review reference	3. How well are pupils taught? 5. How well does the school care for its pupils?
	Document reference	MI 127/04

Primary National Strategy: Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching in the primary years

Supporting high quality learning and teaching

Professional development materials to support schools in their work to improve learning and teaching are currently being developed by the Primary National Strategy. These materials lie at the heart of the Primary Strategy in promoting excellence in teaching and enjoyment in learning. Leading practitioners, for example, Shirley Clarke in the Planning and assessment for learning theme, have been involved in their development. The materials will be grouped under three themes, with each theme supported by two professional development units:

Planning and assessment for learning: - Designing opportunities for learning

- Assessment for learning

Creating a learning culture: - The conditions for learning

- Classroom community, collaborative and personalised learning

Understanding how learning develops: - Learning to learn: progression in key aspects of learning

- Key aspects of learning across the primary curriculum

These professional development materials will be available from September 2004. They are intended to be used flexibly to support your school’s long-term programme of development. There is no intention that schools should work their way through all the materials and there is no fixed timetable for their use. They will not be sent automatically to schools; schools will need to order the specific units which are appropriate to their priorities. Essentially, the units should be used so that they:

· fit in with the timescales of your school’s improvement plans;

· complement existing development work in learning and teaching taking place in your school.

Planning for using the professional development materials

Schools will need to review their own development plans carefully in deciding how to make the best use of the units. You will have received recently two introductory guides to the professional development materials:

Introductory guide: supporting school improvement

Introductory guide: continuing professional development

These guides are intended to help schools plan for the effective use of the materials. They provide high quality support for school leaders in continuing to improve learning and teaching by:

· reviewing current practice and deciding priorities for improvement;

· selecting appropriate materials from the professional development units;

· planning successful CPD programmes involving all staff.

The guides emphasise the central role of imaginative CPD strategies in ensuring that your school’s improvement targets are carried through to classroom practice. The key to using the units successfully lies in developing an approach which helps the staff ‘develop as a community of learners via collaborative enquiry.’ It is recognised that this takes time and skilful planning.

During the autumn term visit your RDA will be able to support you in deciding how to make best use of the units. For those schools whose results remain low, additional RDA time will be allocated for this purpose. This will be in addition to the one day already allocated to all schools for target setting and self-review.

The DfES publication ‘Excellence and Enjoyment’ proposed key principles for learning and teaching. These principles have been further developed following consultation with teachers. ‘Excellence and Enjoyment: learning and teaching in the primary years’ aims to help schools put these principles into practice. We look forward to working in partnership with you to make the best possible use of these materials and to raise standards further by stimulating successful learning within a broad and rich curriculum.

Yours sincerely

Roger Eagle

Senior Primary Adviser