Key Voices thekeysupport

This week we talk to Alex Quigley, author of both ‘The Reading Gap’ and ‘The Vocabulary Gap’. Alex speaks in more detail about these “gaps” and the impact they are having on our education system.

This week we talk to Will Millard, Head of Engagement at The Centre for Education and Youth (CFEY). We start by attempting to define social and emotional learning (SEL), emphasising its increased importance in a post-COVID world. We discuss the evidence linking SEL to improved academic outcomes and consider issues such as parental involvement and how cultural differences impact the teaching of SEL. 

This week we talk to Nicola West Jones, Head of Market Research at The Key, and Stephen Morales, CEO at the Institute of School Business Leadership (ISBL), about The Key's latest research examining how the role of the school business professional (SBP) has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. 
 
We dig into the findings around changes to working hours and wellbeing. We also examine how many SBPs felt the focus of their work had shifted to spend more time on health and safety, and premise management. We hear about what SBP’s thought about the advice they received from the government, local authorities and their trusts (where relevant) and where else they might be going to for support. Looking to the future, we share some recommendations for schools, national and local government and professional bodies and training providers. We end by appreciating the heroic work done by school business professionals serving in our schools. 
 
You can download a free copy of The Key’s report  ‘The challenges of school business management during COVID-19’ here. 
 
You can also read more about the research in this blog. 

“We’ve been speaking out about [issues that affect the sector] in a way that is always respectful, always calm. Nevertheless, we’ll quite often have cut through and we’re hearing back from government and HMCI, so we know that our voice is being heard” 
This week we talk to Professor Dame Alison Peacock, CEO, and Cat Scutt, Director of Education and Research, from the Chartered College of Teaching. We learn more about the purpose of the College and the benefits of membership. Given the fierce debates around education in recent months, we consider the role of the College as an independent, evidence-informed voice of the profession. 
Dame Alison also explains the College’s #FutureofTeaching campaign and the establishment of the Education Exchange to share learning and ideas about this on a global scale. Cat tells us about some of the work that has been done to support schools responding to Covid-19 including their research, adapting their professional development offer and to challenging the Prime Minister. We also hear more about the training and resources they have made available more widely (links below).
You can get involved in the conversation about the future of teaching at the Education Exchange.
The College’s research summary on catch up and remote learning is here. 
You can access the online courses that were mentioned below:  
Leadership of Education Technology in Schools here
Using Technology in Evidence-Based Teaching and Learning here 

“This is all about making tutoring a tool of schools rather than an add on.”
 
This week we speak to James Grant, Co-Founder and Managing Director of MyTutor, Susannah Hardyman, Founder and CEO of Action Tutoring and Jed Cinnamon Senior Programme Manager at Nesta, about the National Tutoring Programme and its proposed role in helping students “catch -up” learning lost as result of COVID-19.  
 
Jed covers the principles behind the programme, timelines schools should be aware of and how the provision of support via academic mentors and tuition partners will work. Suzannah and James both run tutoring organisations that were involved in this summer’s pilot programme. They explain how each of their organisations works collaboratively with schools to make tutoring effective and simple to co-ordinate. We also hear more about the impact tutoring can have on the motivation and academic performance of young people, and the different ways they source, train and support their tutors. We end by considering the future role for tutoring in the education sector. 
 
You can read more about the National Tutoring Programme here 
 
You can learn more about the work of MyTutor here and Action Tutoring here

“When you are dealing with emotional uncertainty between the DfE guidance and the staff you are responsible for, you become a sponge of emotion.”
This week we talk to Ernest Jenavs, Founder of Edurio, and Nicola West Jones, Head of Market Research at The Key who joins us to share some of the insights she has picked up from her conversations with school leaders over the last 6 months.
Our conversation covers findings from Edurio’s survey of pupils, parents and staff conducted over the summer, looking into how English schools responded to COVID-19. This research sought to better understand the experiences of these three groups, when it comes to learning, community, leadership and wellbeing during partial school closure,and to help schools learn for the future. We dig into topics like pupil anxiety, the role of parents in education and the challenges faced by school leaders. We also shine a light on the great work many schools have done to communicate frequently and honestly with their communities. 
You can read Edurio’s report in full here.