The new primary Maths curriculum came out last September and affects all Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 teachers. A good Maths education provides a foundation for understanding the world, and a good teacher of Maths can inspire a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject. Yet with change come concerns... Primary Mathematics Consultants Anthony Reddy  and Laurence Hicks address these in the  one-day workshops running here at Our Learning. Anthony, who has  been delivering  high quality Maths training in several LEAs for 15 years, will provide advice, support and - very important! - resources to teach the  programme of study. You'll end the day fully engaged with the new curriculum and confident about planning quality teaching to encompass the changes.
Anthony  and Laurence will be running three courses, covering Years 1 to 6:
 Years 1 and 2 (on May 2nd) will focus on developing early mathematical understanding, taking elements from place value, knowledge of the number system, counting skills and key resources such as Numicon, 10 Frames and Number Rods.
 Years 3 and 4 (March 17th/June 16th) offers clear advice towards the development of ‘number  sense’ as a whole school system for developing understanding of number. 
Years 5 and 6 (March 18th/May 21st) proportional reasoning, algebraic thinking and a clear structure for calculation at Levels 4 to 6.

Anthony and Laurence's courses have always been very popular and entertaining. One attendee described the day as "A reminder of how Maths can and should be fun!" If you'd like more information or to book, please get in touch with us on our contact page.

If you're looking to teach GCSE Computing, the best way to go about it is to learn from someone who's already doing it successfully. Cue Alan O'Donohoe (@teknoteacher on Twitter), Principal Teacher of ICT and Computing at Our Lady's Catholic High School Preston, an Ofsted-rated Outstanding school. 

Alan moved his department from Powerpoint to Python several years ago, and was actively engaging pupils in computational thinking even before such thinking occurred to Michael Gove. Feedback from the many Computing events Alan has led both within and outside of his school pay testament to his enthusiasm, commitment and dedication. Indeed, Alan's courses are usually fully booked months ahead, so if you're interested, seize the moment! For teachers completely new to Computing, Alan is offering a one-day basic programming introduction in his Teach GCSE Computing Day 1 workshop. (Dates and details are in the flyer) If you have some experience, you can develop your effectiveness in Teach  GCSE Computing Day  2: Achieving Success. (Again, dates and more information can be found in the flyer) While you don't have to attend both days, it's worth ensuring you have the skills from Day 1 if you only wish to attend day 2.  And if you'd like to book either or both - and hurry! - then please get in touch with Paula or Gill via our contact page

Google Ofsted Literacy and you’ll find the Chief Inspector of Education declaring Improving standards of literacy must be a priority for all our schools. Ofsted’s annual report 2012/2013 states that Raising levels of basic skills in literacy and numeracy is critical for national competitiveness.

Google George Kulbacki and you’ll discover not only a published author and playwright but an outstanding teacher sharing a wealth of materials.  A  classroom teacher for 30 years and Head of Department for 17, George  works at Our Lady's Catholic High School Preston, a school rated Outstanding by Ofsted in 2012.  George worked with the school's literacy co-ordinator Sarah Ainsworth to develop and implement  a whole school literacy initiative, resulting in  inspectors commenting  on the good practice in literacy across all subjects.

Drawing on his experiences working with teachers at both school and county level, George has been  visiting schools to run full day and twilight workshops on Literacy Across the Curriculum, aimed at supporting staff in implementing a whole school literacy policy .  The strategies he offers for developing literacy skills in different curriculum areas were devised by Sarah Ainsworth and  have of course been proven successful in their own school where again, according to Ofsted, all teachers are confident in developing students’.. reading writing and speaking skills.   But it’s not just talk! Those attending George’s workshop receive, not only nuggets of wisdom and advice on best practice but a bundle of free resources he has personally used to inspire staff and engage students.

If you would like to discuss George running a Literacy INSET at your own school (no limit on numbers) or would like more information, please get in touch with us via our contact form.

Geography… so the saying goes, .. is all around us. Sadly, despite it being permanently topical, rich in cross-curricular links, ideal for socio-economic debates (not to  mention field trips!)  Geography is often far from “all around us” in  many secondary schools. Whether this  is down to the way it is taught in individual schools,  or to the unfortunate fact that it is a subject often given to reluctant non-specialists, some Geography departments struggle to get sufficient numbers at KS4 and the GCSE numbers are dropping nationally.


At Our Lady’s High School Preston however, the opposite is true, and this is all down to the outstanding work of Principal Teacher of Geography, John Hankin. In the time he has been at the school, the department was awarded the prestigious Geography Quality Mark; the school and department were rated Outstanding by Ofsted and Geography has become the most popular optional subject.

How does he do it? With great passion and commitment as you’d expect, but also with determination to draw only  the best from his pupils. I think differentiation is really important, says John, but that doesn’t mean lowering standards. All the pupils are challenged, and encouraged to learn collaboratively too. And these are not just words: in a mixed ability  Geography GCSE class last year, 100% achieved A* - B (of which 70% were A*)
Not surprisingly, the Geography department was one singled out in the school’s  2012 Ofsted report: All students make outstanding progress because teachers plan lessons that are expertly matched to the needs of learners.

The next date for John’s  popular course Raising Standards in Geography through Engaging Learners will be published soon. John will share with you his strategies and resources for effective revision and Assessment for Learning and will take you through how best to plan lessons which differentiate while still challenging each individual child.

As Principal Teacher, John has a full timetable, so dates for the course are limited. If you’d like to be informed of the next date or for any further information, please get in touch via our contact form.