Having recently become an ADE, we were tasked to reflect on the time spent post institute, referencing highlights and referring to the journeys each of us had taken. Much of my time had been spent taking stock and supporting the staff I work closely with. Below is the transcript for my video I put together using Keynote and the power of sketching and animating. After being given just 1 minute to collate life over the past 5-6 months, I think I just about managed to squeeze everything in!
Transcript:
If there’s one key message to take from institute this year, for me it is to seek resources, guidance and opportunities to communicate: reaching out to your school, your community, your tribe. For your tribe is what keeps you strong, keeps you grounded, provides encouragement, gratitude and praise for the efforts you go to when finding alternate pathways to engage and inspire the children we teach and the educators we connect with.
For many, as with myself, we must still recognise the roles of responsibility we play within our schools: as teachers, as leaders, as support. Settings differ, and as such, so do our opportunities to support and practice. Whether it be as a result of budgets, staffing, facilities or resources. I remember my initial outlook, to seek frequent moments to work closely with other teachers: to build confidence, knowledge and skills. Sometimes, it’s easy to feel as though you must facilitate this all by yourself and this isn’t always possible; there is only so much time outside of our own classroom practice that can be dedicated to this.
Instead I found through my own middle leadership development that we must find the areas where support is needed and draw on the resources we have access to as a school to meet them. With this, I spent time speaking to colleagues and monitoring medium term plans. I recognised the individual support needed and provided 1:1 tailored provisions to help build planning and delivery in computing.
I used to think ‘How can you build something long lasting? How do you know how to implement it? How do you ensure that you reach and maintain that desired impact?
I’ve learned that although this is something that will grow with time we must communicate, reach out and build and share strategies with others to take it forward.
2019 - a year to build - a year to collaborate - a year to share