FEEDBACK: Future Primary Leaders delighted by Positively MAD experience 25 Apr 10

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Earlier this month, the Hampshire College of Teaching and Leadership ran a series of training events for middle leaders in primary schools. One of these events was a whole day course called ‘Linking Thinking Skills with your own Learning’ – a bespoke workshop created by Positively MAD’s Alan David Pritchard.
Delivered at the New Place centre, the course had 30 delegates from schools across the county, all of whom were keen to develop their leadership skills in preparation to becoming Head Teachers.The aim of the course was to get teachers to reflect on how they have taught thinking skills in their schools and to consider how the same thinking skills could be used as leadership tools.

Alan made sure that the day was crammed with useful and practical ideas, lots of and lots of ‘serotonin moments’ and many opportunities for reflection.  After the course, the delegates were asked to provide a star rating for their training and their feedback is nothing short of tremendous. Here is what the teachers had to say:

Delegates who rated the course as 4 STARS justified their rating as follows:

• I have really enjoyed recapping VAK methods with actual, useful examples that can be taken back into the school. It had the right balance of reflective / practical and knowledge based activities. You were enthusiastic and interesting to listen to, with great ‘serotonin’ moments to keep it feeling human and light-hearted.- Hanna Watts
• An inspiring course that provides a wealth of creative thinking skills that motivate a different approach to aspects within the classroom. Very well delivered. – Ian Wallace
• It was a very interesting day for learning about encouraging pupils to learn.
• Good strategies and tools for thinking skills, practical applications. Excellent pacing and presentation. Thank you. – Carleen Parker
• Good ideas and practical ways to remember information. Inspirational speaker. Good balance between key speaker talking and talking in small groups. – Sarah Porter
• Lots of really useful ideas to use in the classroom and to help children (and me/staff) remember things. Fun!! Enthusiastic presentation. – Sue Burnage
• Lots of practical ideas to try out with both staff and children. Engaging presentation. A good balance of time to discuss and reflect. Loved the serotonin moments! – Mary Simms
• Inspirational speaker. Interactive and enjoyable and fun. Sharing experiences. Practical activities to use in the class and use for colleagues. – Janine Ivemy
• These were all inspiring, practical activities to help us as individual teachers in the classroom, staffroom and SLT meetings. – Mrs Sharyn Oliver
• Enjoyable. Relevant to me/ my needs. Although it was great and I have learnt loads I can use, I didn’t see how it was specific for a leadership learning programme. – Alison Ryan
• Lots of strategies – I learnt something new! It was fun. I work in the EYFS and some content was KS2 based. – Rachael Baxter
• Plenty of opportunities to practise different things. Pace was good. Good use of interactive programmes / downloads to break the sessions up. Relevant examples for when different techniques could be used.– Paul Williams
• Really useful ideas which could be used within the classrooms. Helps people with their ability to question children. Useful ideas to help develop both thinking within children and teachers. Very good pace of the day – quick but still had time to explore activities without getting bored. Linked well with the curriculum. – Lyn Vodden

Delegates who rated the course as 5 STARS justified their rating as follows:

• Interesting delivery. Lots of content. Interactive, but without us having to do all the giving of information – learning from expert not always each other. Fast paced but we were kept engaged throughout the session. – Claire Mathias
• I have really enjoyed today. I am going away with lots of wonderful ideas that I hope to integrate into my classroom as well as my leadership role. Thank you for such a great day! – Stacey Lovell
• Lively, energetic and thought-provoking. Gave lots of useful ideas to change and improve learning within the classroom. Also, a chance to think how these strategies could be used in management. Loved the way we were given ideas we can use tomorrow! – Charlene King
• Lots of fun. Very busy – no time to lose focus which normally happens in courses. Relevant. Lots of ‘tricks’ to help teachers / leaders. Lots of new ideas – not rehashing the old ones. – Tricia Sillence
• Very useful tools to use in the classroom and as a management tool. Enjoyable, inspiring day – helping me to structure my own thinking better. – Sue Restell
• It was fun, informative and inspiring. Excellent presenter! Great ideas given for ways of remembering things. – Sarah Huntley
• A very informative session, packed with ideas that can be taken away and used immediately with little adaptation needed. Suitable for all key stages and experiences. – Michelle Pepper
• I have got lots of good ideas and have enjoyed the day. The clips and amusing stories helped to make the day fun. There are lots of useful ideas I intend to try. – Erica Lucas
• I felt it was pacey and interactive. I have come away with LOTS of ideas (both practically and theoretically) to take into class and into management meetings. I was engaged throughout. I have done lots of reflecting and evaluating throughout the day. – Amy Clark