Facilitating dissemination by developing G&T Coordinator networks.
We were lucky – our cluster of 26 G&T Coordinators had a great foundation for their new roles as the vast majority were appointed in time to participate in the DfES G&T National Training programme together. This had huge advantages in enabling the 5 day course to be provided locally and gave all the coordinators plenty of shared task-based time to get to know and trust each other. They became a cohesive and powerful driving force for whole school improvement in our region.
It was essential to ensure that the invaluable resource of a motivated network of people continued to thrive and develop. Part way through the National Training Programme, local G&T Coordinator meetings were set up. It became immediately apparent that this provided a unique forum for us to develop our own local interpretation of the national G&T ‘landscape’ and to capitalise upon and share the enormous amount of expertise that existed within the network.
The half termly meetings took place after school and one of the first outcomes and positive benefits was the translation of the training programme, transferring its application to Cluster and individual school level. The coordinators’ first request was for them to hear from an existing school practitioner about what good G&T practice looked like at a school level, so the local G&T AST was invited to share her experience. This boosted the confidence of the group, as they realised that effective G&T provision was not ‘rocket science’, just an integration of what effective learning and teaching is, backed up by a clear, simple rationale and infrastructure with a ‘support’ and ‘provision’ network preferably for all students, but if not for all, then for G&T students.
As school based G&T issues arose, coordinators were able to share them and get the benefit of everyone’s thoughts to find a collective solution from the network. As a group, we were able to devise and agree a shared strategic vision and action plan for the short, medium and long term. Short, but effective G&T INSET sessions were collaboratively planned to be delivered back at staff meetings in individual schools. Coordinators took on a key liaison role for all the Cluster initiatives and got advanced notice of all upcoming opportunities. More recently, the bulk of meetings has been given over to school coordinators sharing their particular interest or strength in their G&T role. For example, coordinators have delivered presentations on Challenge Clubs; The Challenge Curriculum; The use of data to support identification of G&T students; E learning logs as a tool for G&T students to record their achievement and G&T student interviews.
A real bonus impact of this network has been that many of the G&T initiatives developed, have been implemented not just for G&T students but for all students, bringing about the whole school improvement desired by the DfES.