June 2008

1) Conference 2008 – Have you booked your place?

We can now announce further details of what promises to be a very interesting conference:

CONFERENCE 2008

20th – 21st October, 2008

The National College for School Leadership, Nottingham

Our theme this year builds on increasing interest nationally in the importance of the middle years:

Meeting the needs of Adolescents

The importance of the middle years

A generation of British "tweenagers" - children aged between eight and 13 - are at risk of losing interest in school and experimenting with drugs and alcohol as the problems traditionally associated with teenagers come into effect earlier, a minister warned yesterday.  - Ed Balls, the Guardian, Tuesday November 20 2007

Key Speakers

• Elizabeth Schroeder, speaker on sexuality education, youth development, curriculum, and counselling - from USA

• Mick Waters, Director of Curriculum, QCA

To include launch of co-development report – Middle Schools Matter in Practice

• Sian Carr, Operational Director, Stakeholders & Networks, National College for School Leadership – The Strategic Leadership of Change

Planned workshops

• Elizabeth Schroeder – workshop sessions

• Stewart Goacher  -  Deputy Head of Shepshed High School, Leicestershire (10 to 14) and leading for the Making Good Progress pilot at KS3 in the authority

• Elaine Hamber – Teacher from NZ – the New Zealand school system

• West Moors Middle school – Dorset – project using pupils to observe lessons

• Jenny Symonds – Transition From Childhood to Early Adolescence in Middle School and Secondary School: What We Can Learn from School Transfer at Age 11

Further information and booking form available from the NMSF website – click this link:

http://www.middleschools.org.uk/next.php

2) QCA NMSF Co-development

Is your school doing some interesting work on implementing the QCA Big Picture – taking perhaps a more integrated approach to curriculum planning?

Then you might like to write about your work for the forthcoming NMSF publication to be launched at conference.

Projects in participating schools need to be submitted to Nigel Wyatt by the end of July 2008.

Please contact me to talk over your propose work (or I may be able to visit you to discuss it further).

Details of the project, and guidance on how to write up your project, are to be found on the website – please click this link.

http://www.middleschools.org.uk/co-development-downloads.php

3) Regional Meeting specifically for Middle Schools

NCSL have planned four regional meetings, specifically for middle school senior staff and leaders, to be held in four middle schools in November

This is the first time I can recall a national organisation running regional events specifically for middle schools – and is to be hugely welcomed. Further details shortly.

Dates for your diary:

Event 1- Tuesday 11th November

Parkside Middle School

Bromsgrove

Event 2 – Thursday 13th November

Meadowdale Middle School

Northumberland

Event 3 – Tuesday 18th November

St Osmund’s Church of England Voluntary Aided Middle School

Dorchester

Event 4 – Thursday 20th November

Lincroft Middle School

Bedfordshire,

Nigel Wyatt

Executive Officer

Tel: 01722 710511

nigel.wyatt@dial.pipex.com

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