Jonathan Savage

If you are free on the 18th September, why not try and attend the Sempre Researching Music, Technology & Education conference at the Scarborough Campus of the University of Hull. You can get further information here and the line up of speakers and sessions looks excellent.

Over the last few days I’ve been considering some of the debate surrounding the Academies Bill, and wondering whether or not it would be an appropriate move for the school where I’m a Governor. I’ve prepared this paper which presents some of my own thinking in this area. There are a number of key areas surrounding academies that are worth considering carefully. This paper presents these, together with key quotes from other headteachers, Professors of Education and professional bodies. I’ve also shared a folder from my Dropbox account here which contains many other articles from the press, academic journals and policy pronouncements, etc.

For the record, last night the school where I’m a Governor voted in favour of becoming an academy subject to certain assurances. I voted against this decision. It was made after a short period of consultation organised by the Headteacher, including a letter to parents (from the Headteacher), a staff meeting chaired by the Headteacher held during morning break, and a two hour drop-in for parents – again held by the Headteacher – which only one parent attended. In this case, there has be no meaningful, sustained consultation organised by the Governing Body which is regrettable in my view.

It also seems strange to be making decisions about the future of the school when the Academies Bill is still working its way through Parliament, when the impact study done by the DfE clearly shows that limited numbers of schools will be able to make this change each year (probably around 200 or so) and so many details are still unclear. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been loving this series (Disappearing Acts) from the Guardian. There have been some fascinating insights into how various beautiful objects are made, including violin bows and silver watches. The craftsmanship is, in a near equal balance for me, amazing and sobering. Amazing in the attention to detail and sheer sophistication of the design, creative and production process; sobering in that in this age of mass-production, so many of these skills are being lost.

Writing at home today has its benefits. One has been trying to work accompanied by our new pet caique – Poppet! Needless to say, they are not conducive to work as they are far too entertaining and playful even at 3 1/2 months old (as Poppet is). Before anyone asks, they don’t talk a massive amount but they do pick up on loads of other stuff. Poppet does a great wolf whistle (who taught her that?) and we are working on the opening theme tune from the Simpsons.

The new Oxford Road Wing at the RNCM was opened this week by the Duchess of York. We all dutifully attended and had a rather good time. Two fantastic concerts (one by the RNCM Concert Orchestra) and another, in the evening at the Bridgewater Hall, by the Symphony Orchestra were very well received. Here’s how the MEN reported the whole event.

I love little music games like this and this. Loads of fun and kids love them too. Whilst you at that site, why not have a look at some of the toons. On the Moon episode 9 is a blast. Where do people get the time?

I like Ewan McIntosh’s blog – Edublogs. Working on the principle that it is always good to try and learn from someone who is a bit further down the road than you are, I stand in awe of some of what he has been able to achieve! I’ve blogged about this before, but I noticed the link on his homepage to Coming of Age which is a great, free publication about the ‘new’ world wide web (you know, that one they call Web 2.0 or ‘emerging technologies’). Whatever, it is a great read and has loads of ideas for all you good people trying to stretch the boundaries of education.

Do you have any stories about creative approaches to teaching or learning in secondary education? With my colleague from UCE, Martin Fautley, I am writing a book for Learning Matters that will be structured around three main themes: teaching creatively, teaching for creativity and creative learning. Having discussed the three main themes, a number of supplementary themes will be explored in the book. These will include how teaching creatively, teaching for creativity and creative learning relate to:

• Inclusion
• Assessment
• New technologies
• Behaviour, engagement and motivation
• Approaches to curriculum development
We’d like to include loads of practical examples focused from any curriculum subject and which address any of these themes. Do visit this site to feedback your examples.