Norfolk Leading Practitioners Scheme

Norfolk Leading Practitioners
We have recently re-launched the Leading Practitioners Scheme in Norfolk, and we will be offering both demonstration lessons and more tailored support in some schools. The new scheme will offer a much more comprehensive package in terms of subject areas covered. We have groups of Leading Practitioners to support the areas listed below. The adviser named against each is the person who will be managing the work of those Leading Practitioners.

* Mathematics - Micky Harcourt-Heath
* Literacy - Katie Leightell
* Primary Languages - Joan Dickie
* Foundation Stage - Elizabeth Pitcher
* Science - Kevin Blogg
* SEAL Schools - Hilary Anderson
* Virtual Learning Environments - Paul Andrew

Brief details of what we can offer now and what will become available later in this academic year are provided below but we will be open to other suggestions should you have more individual requests. Please contact the subject area adviser listed above with regard to these requests.

Mathematics

• Demonstration lessons and support in other schools. This could be more extended support for a Newly or Recently Qualified Teacher. This support can be requested immediately.
• Planning from the Renewed Framework. This is likely to be workshop-type support with a Leading Practitioner working with a group of teachers. This support will be offered from January.
• Mathematics professional development specifically tailored to Year 1, 3 and 5 teachers. Part of this development is in school and requires the teacher to work with a colleague. In many small schools this is not a possibility so Leading Practitioners may act in that role.

Literacy

• Leading Literacy Practitioners will be available for general literacy support until Christmas.


• From the 1st February, Leading Practitioners may support planning and teaching with the Renewed Framework, with a focus on successfully embedding sentence and word level work within the teaching sequence. Such support could be on a one to one or small group basis.


• Literacy professional development specifically tailored to Year 1, 3 and 5 teachers. Part of this development is in school and requires the teacher to work with a colleague. In many small schools this is not a possibility so leading practitioners may act in that role.

Foundation Stage

Leading Practitioners will support schools in the preparation and implementation of Letters & Sounds and EYFS initiatives.

Primary Languages

From February 2008, demonstration lessons or work-shops to support KS2 foreign language teaching.

Schools requesting this support should have attended the KS2 Framework for Languages briefings: Part 1 for subject leaders and Part 2 for head teachers and have delivered at least one full staff meeting as feedback on the Framework. Teachers requesting this support should have attended the full staff meeting on the Framework and, if possible, a strategy-funded methodology training session and/or a 6 week beginners' language course.

The demonstration lessons or workshop-type support will focus on the needs of classroom teachers who do not have strong foreign language skills and will use a published resource as the 'first voice' of the language. The four options offered will focus on the Framework's Y3 and Y4 teaching and learning objectives and will suit Y3/4 or Y5/6 in their first two years of language learning:

* Teaching French using the Rigolo1 resource
* Teaching French using Early Start ' Salut ca va?'
* Teaching Spanish using Early Start 'Tu y Yo'
* Teaching German using Early Start 'Wie geht's?'

Embedding a foreign language in classroom routines (French, Spanish or German) will be included in all options.

Science

Providing demonstration lessons and support in schools. This is likely to contain a focus on investigative science.

SEAL Schools
Work towards this initiative is currently taking place so that we should be able to offer support to schools at some point during the Spring Term. Further information will be sent to schools in due course.

Virtual Learning Environment
This development is also in progress and further details will come to you during the Spring Term.

Access to the Leading Practitioner Scheme
If one or more teachers in your school would benefit from some professional development provided by a Leading Practitioner, please make a request by emailing Danielle Youngs in the first instance with details of the support that you require. Danielle will suggest an appropriate Leading Practitioner who you can contact direct to make arrangements. We will fund supply cover for the Leading Practitioner but you will need to release the appropriate staff and we are unable to cover that cost.