Support for the Essex Disadvantaged Strategy
Saffron Teaching School Hub has been delighted to witness the early successes of the Essex Disadvantaged Strategy, and is working in partnership with the LA, the Education Endowment Foundation and the Research Schools Network to support this county-wide initiative. Here are some examples of what we currently provide and how we can support you with the core elements of the strategy. We will provide information about additional opportunities in future newsletters, as and when appropriate.
Essex Partnership Programmes
Improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in Essex through evidence-informed professional development
We are excited to launch a regional partnership between the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), Essex County Council, Alpha, Saffron and Chafford Hundred Teaching School Hubs and Unity and East London Research Schools.
This collaboration aims to co-ordinate and cohere the school improvement offer across the county, improve pupil outcomes in Essex - particularly for the most disadvantaged - and further embed a culture of evidence use in schools. Through funding from the EEF, schools in Essex will be able to access subsidised training that is high-quality, evidence-informed and tailored to local needs.
What does the partnership involve?
Across the academic year 2022-23, 6 cohorts of training will be available to Essex teachers and leaders, co-delivered by the Research Schools Network and local Teaching School Hubs. These training programmes will explore the evidence base and review best practice within 3 thematic evidence strands:
Each programme will bring the evidence to life with practical tools and exemplification, and in addition, participants will engage with additional wraparound support with implementation through a series of collaborative meetings or one-to-one coaching.
We are delighted that our Evidence Leads in Education will be involved in the delivery of these programmes.
Click on the links below for further information about each of the three programmes:
For details of how to register, click here.
Support for the core elements of the strategy
Language development and comprehension
In addition to the Language and Communication Partnership Programme detailed above, Professional Learning Network (PLN) as a Strategic partner of STSH have for several years run a highly successful Developing Reading Comprehension programme with and beyond Essex for both primary and secondary phase schools. Information about the programme can be found here.
Metacognition and self-regulated learning
You may wish to look at our Spotlight article about the resources available from the Education Endowment Foundation which can be found here.
Support for Early Years
Crucial to ensuring the core elements build on the strongest possible foundation
Essex Primary SCITT, based in Chelmsford, delivers the EYITT programme across the STSH region, and beyond. The year-long programme, offered as both full time Graduate Entry and part-time Graduate Employment Based routes, leads to the DfE accredited award of Early Years Teacher Status. More information can be found here.
Evidence informed practice development
“Research evidence should be used to inform decision-making. It should be used to challenge assumptions and beliefs, not simply to justify actions already taken”
Addressing Educational Disadvantage – The Essex Way
Visit our Evidence Led Practice area here – this is where we Spotlight key evidence based research, including materials that link to the core elements of the Disadvantaged Strategy, and provide examples of Evidence in Action via our ELE Blog. You will also find about our team of Evidence Leads in Education (ELEs), practitioners who have been accredited with the EEF/Research Schools network as leading practitioners in evidence informed school improvement approaches.
We continually seek to develop our programmes in light of school need, so do get in touch - you can contact us here.
You can download this news article as a pdf below.