Letter to the Area Leader

Hello Peter

Just following up from the Principal Network meeting of April 20^th and the data you showed us on a slide entitled ‘Area Issues’, in particular the NAPLAN data .

I have attached a Self-Evaluation and Strategic Plan for the then North East Highlands Network from 2009.(I was part of that network then and there are still some of us left.)

As you can see the data from that period mirrors to a certain degree the data you showed us (and also data we were shown by Mr Dunkley in 2014 and 2013 at Regional Director’s meetings that I attended) Namely: NAPLAN writing data ‘goes south’ after year 3 and Maths and Reading ‘goes south’ after year 5 and doesn’t improve in secondary school. Over 9 years our data hasn’t improved. Whatever we are doing it isn’t working.

 

In 2009 our then Network Leader Dennis Chamberlain with his executive planned and implemented a response to our disappointing Writing data with a program which included hiring Lesley Wing-Jan to run a network curriculum day, run a series of workshops for teachers during and after school hours and to work directly with schools on their writing issues. When Dennis retired our new RNL had a different agenda and eventually the networks were scrapped it is impossible to tell whether writing data could have been improved using this approach or not given such a short period of time. (It should be noted that at least one other network had similar data to us and they ‘piggy-backed’ onto our initiative.)

Since 2009-10 there has been no strategic approach by the region to address the issues you raised. It has always fallen back onto individual schools to ‘deal with it’.

 

Maybe the new network structure being organised will be a platform in which to address the problems we have in writing (from mid primary and into secondary ) and Maths/Reading (from late primary and into secondary) in a strategic co-ordinated manner with hopefully improved results.

 

Tony Shaw 

Glen Park PS

21/04/16

 

 

Hi Tony

Thanks for your email and over the next few months we will identify areas of importance and challenge and address these collaboratively with you and your colleagues through either a network approach or in smaller groups using the Communities of Practice model.

Your comments are appreciated.

Regards

Peter Devereux