National Stress Awareness Day and Well-being at Welling

Yesterday marked National Stress Awareness Day and to mark the event I've been looking at the issue of stress amongst the teaching profession and sourcing some resources to support you. Teaching is frequently named as one of the most stressful jobs in online polls and surveys, and at Welling we want to support staff in dealing with stress. In launching the CPD Learning Breakfasts I wanted to ensure that there was a strand dedicated to staff well-being, and at our INSET Day on December 11th a whole afternoon will be dedicated to Well-Being.


The Teacher Support Network has produced lots of really useful resources to support those of us in the profession to better manage our stress and to achieve an improved work-life balance. I thought I would share these with you and any other goodies I come accross.


This Wheel of Well-Being is a great exercise to determine whether your work-life balance is 'out of synch':
http://teachersupport.info/uploads/1/Wheel_of_Wellbeing_Template.pdf


Here is a link to the 'Teacher Support Network' online stress-test. This assessment is designed to give you an indication of the kinds of stress and wellbeing issues that may affect you. It is intended to help you to reflect on your own experience of stress and pressure, and to find ways of improving your wellbeing in both your work and home life.  This is not a clinical tool and if you have any symptoms or concerns about your physical or mental health, you should always consult with your G.P.There are three sections to complete and you will get an instant result for each section.
https://tsn.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/tsn.cfg/php/enduser/doc_serve.php?&5=87


Here are some links to the ISMA (International Stress Management Association) and affiliated partners (lots of downloads - posters, questionnaires, games, videos etc) :


http://www.isma.org.uk/national-stress-awareness-day/downloads-products.html
http://www.isma.org.uk/national-stress-awareness-day/game.html


ISMA : 7 POSITIVES FOR A BETTER LIFE
1. Change the thought - Change the outcome:
This is the starting point, reprogramming your brain by replacing an unhelpful negative thought or belief with a new positive one. Use your imagination to visualize or „show‟ your brain what you want. The power of the mind cannot be under-estimated!


2. Self-belief starts with you:
This is an empowering way of taking more control in your life rather than relying on others to make you feel good. Do something fun or caring for yourself today!


3. Don’t just do what you did last year:
Repeating what you always do will bring you the same outcome unless others change & this is not in your control. So if you didn‟t like all that happened last year make plans & set new goals, do something different!


4. Deal with difficult decisions now, not later:
“Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today” We all know this but positive action is required to make it happen. Prioritize & do the difficult tasks first in the day so you have a clear focus for the rest of the day making you less stressed & more productive!


5. Find reasons to say “yes”:
“I would love to but….” here comes the negative reason why you can‟t! It can be a really positive experience to just say yes, if it is possible & what you want, then try to find ways that will allow you the opportunity, maybe you need others to persuade you, take control & decide for yourself!


6. Renegotiate:
Stuck with what you have always had & now want a change? Look at learning to develop & use your assertive skills, ask for what you want, discuss your changing needs, expectations with yourself & others to reach the deal that works for you!


7. Flip it!
There are always two sides to every situation, sometimes more. Take time to look at all your options, don‟t just assume, maybe ask others & make informed choices based on facts!


If you would like help and support with dealing with stress you can call the free, Teacher Support Network confidential Support Line which is available 24 hours a day on 08000 562 561 in England.

6th Form Student of the Month - October 2009

Year 12: Harry - In the last month Harry has worked consistently hard both in lesson and at home and has had excellent attendance. His efforts are paying off now and he is on the brink of making some real innovations in his designs.

Year 13:Jordan  - Jordan has worked hard since the beginning of the year. He has worked even harder this month and made some real breakthroughs in his personal idea development. He has constructed the first draft of his essay intelligently and well informed by his detailed research of the Dada movement. He has been seen reguarly around the art department and is always polite and positive.

A brilliant collaborative experience with Andee Collard - When Music met Art

I wanted to share with you all, a fantasic lesson I had with Andee Collard born out of the last CPD Learning Breakfast on Visual Literacy.  Last Thursday, my Year 8 class listened to 3 very different pieces of music and created art work to represent the mood. The 3 pieces of music were - Metallica - can't remember what the song was as it was angry and aggressive - the artwork was wild with lots of colour and swirly and spiky shapes; the next was Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield as we have been studying Horror Music and how music can create tension/suspense - the art work consisted of weapons made from cardboard, bold and bright blocks of colour that were very different to the first piece and the final piece of music was by an Icelandic composer whose name I can't remember but it was a very melancholy piece of piano and cello music - the artwork was made up of much lighter colours and pieces of clight coloured paper delicately twisted and attached! There was very little teacher direction just an opportunity for the students to express themselves and hopefully make the link of how powerful music can be on the emotions of the listener - hence linking back to our project about creating music for a horror scene - maybe after this session they'll be able to see it in terms of the art as well? We were supported by Andee's Sixth form students and I can say 100% that every student took something new away from that lesson. This collaboration came from Andee's learning breakfast on Visual Literacy. Thanks Andee!


I'll post some photos of student work here shortly.


Jenni Tyler Maher

Welling School PMR Training Resources 15/10/09

Welcome to the first 'Twilight' CPD Session this year focusing on the Performance Management Review process. I want to begin by asking you to get into small groups of 8-10 and putting the following in what you consider to be a 'priority' order:

What is the Purpose of Performance Management?

1. To provide an opportunity to consider CPD
2. To identify areas for development
3. To set measurable targets
4. To provide constructive critisism
5. To promote equal opportunities
6. To provide support
7. To inform salary assessment
8. To put an emphasis on Teaching and Learning
9. To recognise achievement
10. To inform salary assessment

 Here is a short (15 minute) Teacher's TV programme about PMR to inform:
http://www.teachers.tv/video/26534

Negative Brainstorming

Purpose: To collectively decide what is essential in delivering a successful PMR

Task 1: Write down on the post-its provided every idea you have to deliver the WORST Possible PMR

Task 2: In small teams share your WORST possible PMR and group ideas into similar themes or approaches.

Task 3: Now discuss a 'Positive Solution' to these

Task 4: Nominate someone from your group to feed back

Link to TDA Standards:
http://www.tda.gov.uk/teachers/professionalstandards.aspx

'Raise your child's attendance' - a useful presentation to share with parents

This is a useful presentation to use with parents but it also has some good factual slides about attendance that are good to share with students. It might be of use to HOY and tutors.

Ninax

Raise Your Childs Attendance

View more presentations from DHUMPHREYS.

This is no ordinary report....this is a hand crafted, beautifully constructed, lucid Welling School Report : Report Writing CPD - 9th October 2009

Effective Report Writing

View more presentations from Nina Moore.

Exemplar Tutor Reports

Changes to the OFSTED Framework

What are the key changes to the inspection framework that school staff should be most aware of?
The main changes to inspection fall into four central areas:

Frequency: the frequency of inspections will now be linked to how well a school is doing. The better a school does, the less frequently it will be visited. Schools judged 'good or 'outstanding will be inspected again once within five years. Those with a 'satisfactory rating will have their next inspection after three years, although a proportion of these schools will also receive monitoring visits. Schools judged 'inadequate will receive regular no-notice monitoring visits and be re-inspected after less than three years.

Notice: in nearly all cases, schools will get one or two days notice of an inspection.
More time in classrooms: inspectors will spend more time observing lessons around double the amount of time will now be spent in the classroom. The length of observations will vary: some will last for nearly a whole lesson or session, while others may experience much shorter observations, for example when an inspector observes a narrow aspect of activity across a large number of classrooms. The focus here might be on differentiation, looked-after children, girls or a particular minority ethnic group.

Staff questionnaire: another new feature will be the option of completing a staff questionnaire, responses to which will be voluntary and anonymous and will contribute to inspectors judgements about how the school is doing. The headteacher and chair of governors will decide whether such a questionnaire is used. If in your school the head and chair of governors decide not to have one, staff will still be free to talk to inspectors in private to get across any comments and concerns they may have as well as positive feedback.
What might most usefully feature in a schools

For more detailed information about the new framework have a look at the OFSTED site:

http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/