Themes and Reports
'The visit made a massive impression on our team. They were highly energised by the experience and we have agreed a schedule of follow-up meetings to develop training material for use in our schools and to help with wider dissemination'
The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has identified the themes listed below as priority for investigation, in line with current policies. No more than two of the themes should be chosen as the main focus of any one TIPD visit. Groups must also be able to demonstrate
- why the theme(s) are relevant to their school/ LA
- how their study might improve the quality of teaching and learning and raise levels of achievement.
Other themes may be considered if they are suitably justified and where good practice can be identified overseas. Please click on the links below for a summary description of each theme. You can also read reports from past visits.
Groups must provide a post-visit report for dissemination purposes to their school(s), the co-ordinating LA, and the British Council, four weeks after the activity has taken place. These will be routinely shared with the DCSF, and usually with hosts also. Templates for reports are provided in Documents and Resources. A sample report from a past visit on each of the themes which we have addressed to date is provided below.
Literacy in primary schools
Teachers participating in the TIPD programme might wish to consider how schools abroad ensure pupils (depending on their age/level): -
- read and write with confidence, fluency and understanding;
- understand the sound and spelling system and use this to read and spell accurately;
- have fluent and legible handwriting;
- have an interest in words and their meanings and a growing vocabulary;
- know about, understand and be able to write fiction and poetry;
- understand and be familiar with some of the ways in which narratives are structured through
- basic literary ideas of setting, character and plot;
- understand, use and be able to write a range of non-fiction texts;
- plan, draft, revise and edit their own writing;
- have a suitable technical vocabulary through which to understand and discuss their reading and writing;
- are interested in books, read with enjoyment and evaluate and justify their preferences;
- develop their powers of imagination, inventiveness and critical awareness through reading and writing and also how teachers monitor pupils reading and correct their mistakes.
Read the report (MS Word) of a past visit based on this theme.
Numeracy in primary schools
Teachers participating in the TIPD programme might wish to consider how schools abroad ensure pupils (depending on their age/level): -
- choose and use the appropriate operations of addition and subtraction to solve problems, explain methods and show working;
- choose and use the appropriate operations of addition and subtraction to solve word problems involving time;
- calculate angles in a triangle and around a point;
- know approximate equivalents of imperial and metric units for lb and kg, miles and km, litres and pints;
- record estimates and readings from scales used to measure length, mass and capacity;
- find perimeters of simple shapes and their areas by counting squares, and begin to use the formula in words for the area of a rectangle;
- read scales to a suitable degree of accuracy and extract and interpret data from tables and charts to solve problems;
- solve problems involving ratio and proportion;
- use tests of divisibility and factors of numbers to inform and check division calculations;
- use a given relationship expressed in words to develop a sequence and describe in words the rule for a given sequence;
- use knowledge of number facts and properties of numbers to solve number problems and also how teachers monitor pupils numeracy and correct their mistakes.
Read the report (MS Word) of a past visit based on this theme.
Transition from primary to secondary
The main aim here is to improve continuity and progression when pupils transfer from primary to secondary school. By the age of 11, pupils educated in England will have been developing for six years. Between the ages of 5 and 11, very rapid development takes place and pupils gain a wide range of knowledge and skills on which to base future learning. It is widely recognised most pupils need help with adapting to their new learning environment.
Teachers participating in the TIPD programme might wish to consider the following in the context of transition strategies overseas : -
- how effective links are established and maintained with primary feeder schools;
- teaching and learning styles;
- classroom organisation;
- language and conventions used;
- assessment and recording systems;
- resources, tools, equipment and materials; and
- time available and the way time is structured.
Read the report (MS Word) of a past visit based on this theme.
Key stage 3
There has been widespread recognition for some time that children do not make sufficient progress in the middle years of their education i.e. between the ages 11 and 14 or “Key Stage 3”. Evidence shows that for many pupils this is a time of falling motivation and rising disaffection.
Teachers participating in the TIPD programme might wish to consider how schools abroad deliver the four key goals that the Key Stage 3 Strategy is trying to achieve for pupils in the 11-14 age group (or similar stage) i.e.: -
- Higher standards
- Good continuity (between primary and secondary education)
- Greater motivation
- Better teaching and learning.
Read the report (MS Word) of a visit based on this theme.
Teaching and Learning strategies
TIPD is about improving classroom practice to bring about improved pupil standards, therefore examination of effective teaching and learning strategies used by teachers in other countries is a legitimate area of study. The focus could be on a particular curriculum area or a specific school phase provided that it links to Local Authority and school development plans e.g. the introduction of foreign language learning in primary schools. More general objectives will also be considered.
Read the report (MS Word) of a past visit based on this theme.
Raising standards in inner city and rural areas
Teachers participating in the TIPD programme may wish to consider how schools in the host country: -
- raise standards through high expectations of all pupils;
- ensure delivery of provision;
- link with the community to help in raising pupils’ motivation;
- provide the local community with sports and other facilities;
- reinforce the fact that all education relates to the wider community and the world of work and professional practice;
- provide study support, before and after school and in holidays, embrace a wide range of voluntary learning activities that young people participate in and enjoy, such as homework clubs, creative ventures, sports, games, mentoring and opportunities for volunteering and community service; and
- how resources are used to best effect to ensure pupils receive a balanced and stretching curriculum.
Read the report (MS Word) of a past visit based on this theme.
Turning around schools in challenging circumstances
Teachers participating in the TIPD programme may wish to consider how schools in the host country : -
- set targets for improvement and what action to take;
- how staff are trained, developed, deployed and motivated during the process;
- made changes that have impacted in the classrooms;
- made changes for individual pupil (e.g. one-to-one teaching support);
- involve parents and the community in education matters;
- targeted pupils with below average grades to bring the levels up;
- took responsibility for, managing and carrying out each of these tasks;
- monitored and evaluated the process to show progress, and what success criteria were attached.
Read the report (MS Word) of a past visit based on this theme.
Special Education Needs (SEN) and Inclusion
Teachers participating in the TIPD programme may wish to consider how schools in the host country : -
- identify children with Special Educational Needs (SEN);
- support pupils with SEN ;
- promote high standards of education for children with SEN;
- encourage children with SEN to participate fully in their school and community and to take part in decisions about their education;
- work in partnership with parents;
- regularly review practice, the child’s progress and the views of the child, their teachers and their parents;
- work with other statutory and voluntary bodies to provide support for children with SEN; and
- secure training, advice and support for staff working with SEN pupils.
Please note that the definition of SEN differs from country to country.
Read the report (MS Word) of a past visit based on this theme.
Gifted and talented pupils
There are many definitions of gifted and talented;
'gifted' pupils such as those who have abilities in one or more subjects in the statutory school curriculum other than art and design, music and PE.
'talented' pupils such as those who have abilities in art and design, music, PE, or in sports or performing arts such as dance and drama.
Therefore the pupil who is an all-rounder will be regarded as both gifted and talented.
Teachers participating on the TIPD programme may wish to consider how schools in the host country :
- identify/assess pupils as gifted and/or talented;
- make provision for nurturing and developing such pupils;
- design the curriculum and organise its delivery for such pupils;
- organise on going assessment
- provide the necessary teacher development skills to ensure gifted and/or talented pupils achieve their full potential.
Read the report (MS Word) of a past visit based on this theme.
Classroom/Department/Curriculum Management
Teachers participating on the TIPD programme may wish to consider how their counterparts in the host country effectively :
- manage and organise classrooms/development including staff (teaching and other) and resources;
- plan lessons to achieve desired outcomes;
- prioritise and organise subjects in the departments;
- organise timetables; and
- manage the curriculum.
Benchmarking of school performance
Benchmarking is the term given to the process of measuring standards of actual performance against those achieved by others with broadly similar characteristics. Teachers need to be familiar with the process and the information it provides to assist them in their planning for class and school improvement. Some schools are far more successful than others in helping pupils to achieve their potential and it is important to try to identify why and how others can lean from their success.
Read the report of a past visit based on this theme.
Teachers’ Professional Development & Teachers’ Learning
Teachers participating in the TIPD programme may wish to consider how their counterparts in the host country : -
- participate in appraisal and training;
- participate in initial teacher training;
- mentor newly qualified teachers;
- advise other teachers;
- team teach
- provides high quality teacher development within school;
- make effective use of individuals expertise skills knowledge experience etc to develop others in the school and bring about change;
- produce high quality teaching materials.
Read the report (MS Word) of a past visit based on this theme.
Productive use of ICT
Teachers participating in the TIPD programme may wish to consider how schools in the host country : -
- make appropriate and effective use of ICT as a tool for learning in the classroom/subject area;
- use ICT to improve the quality and standards of pupils learning.
Read the report (MS Word) of a past visit based on this theme.
Citizenship
Teachers participating in the TIPD programme may wish to consider how schools abroad ensure pupils (depending on their age/level): -
- become informed, thoughtful and responsible citizens who are aware of their rights and responsibilities;
- are provided with an education which promotes spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, making them more self-confident and responsible both in and beyond the classroom;
- are encouraged to play a helpful part in the life of their schools, neighbourhoods, communities and the wider world; and
- are taught about the economy and democratic institutions and values; encouraged to have respect for different national, religious and ethnic identities; and develops pupils’ ability to reflect on issues and take part in discussions is developed.
Read the report (MS Word) of a past visit based on this theme.
Thinking skills
Thinking combines the related structures and processes of perception, memory, forming ideas, language and use of symbols — the basic cognitive skills which underlie the ability to reason, to learn and to solve problems.
Teachers participating in the TIPD programme may wish to consider how their host school(s) encourage:-
- use of vision;
- use of hearing;
- use of touch;
- co-ordination of the use of senses;
- predicting and anticipating;
- remembering;
- the understanding of cause and effect;
- linking objects, events and experiences; and
- thinking creatively and imaginatively.
Read the report (MS Word) of a past visit based on this theme.
Creativity
Pupils can be encouraged to be creative if they take part in lessons in which the class has the time to use different strategies to generate a wide range of design ideas. Pupils can become innovative by taking some of these ideas and turning them into useful applications.
Teachers participating in the TIPD programme may wish to consider how their host school(s) : -
- create a stimulating environment in which creativity, originality and expressiveness are valued;
- carry out a wide range of activities that children can respond to by using many senses;
- give sufficient time for children to explore, develop ideas and finish working at their ideas;
- gives opportunities for children to express their ideas through a wide range of types of representation;
- uses resources from a variety of cultures to stimulate different ways of thinking;
- creates opportunities to work alongside artists and other creative adults;
- creates opportunities for children with visual impairment to access and have physical contact with artifacts, materials, spaces and movements;
- creates opportunities for children with hearing impairment to experience sound through physical contact with instruments and other sources of sound;
- gives opportunities to children who cannot communicate by voice to respond to music in different ways, such as gestures; and
- are accommodating children’s specific religious or cultural beliefs relating to particular forms of art or methods of representation.
Read the report (MS Word) of a past visit based on this theme.
Vocational education and alternative training
Teachers participating on the TIPD programme should look at how schools abroad: -
- link education to the Labour Market both local and national;
- innovate concepts for the integration /reintegration of disadvantaged young people into vocational training;
- introduced vocational options and business schemes into schools;
- maintained pupils motivation through vocational and alternative provision;
- provide for work placements and part-time jobs;
- provide for a flexible mix and match provision – part in schools, part in college and part in work experience;
- provide for a mix of qualification and types of study which better suit the needs of young people and their entry into working life (e.g. combining academic and vocational study);
- deliver, assess and accredit basic skills;
- provide the necessary advice, guidance (including on careers) and support for young people.
Read the report of a past visit based on this theme.
Behavioural Management
Teachers participating in the TIPD programme may wish to consider how schools abroad ensure pupils with behavioural difficulties (depending on their age/level): -
- are supported with their behaviour management;
- are given feedback on their behaviour;
- are encouraged to take on responsibility; and
- are monitored and evaluated
Read the report (MS Word) of a past visit based on this theme.
Social Inclusion and Behavioural Support
Teachers participating in the TIPD programme should study how host schools tackle social inclusion for individual and groups of pupils who may be excluded from any or all aspect of school life, but especially in relation to achieving their full potential: -
Boys’ underachievement
- the programme(s) developed by host schools to raise standards for boys
- special tuition given to raise standards for boys
- special initiatives introduced to raise standards
Working with minority pupils
- how minority pupils are included in the classroom
- how minority pupils are encouraged to mix
- facilities provided for minority pupils to help language learning
- how high expectations for minority pupils are communicated and achieved
Truancy and disaffection
- programmes developed to successfully tackle truancy and disaffection
- how local communities are involved
- how parents are involved
Read the report (MS Word) of a past visit based on this theme.
