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School spotlight
According to the Schools Register, there are approximately 28,787 state schools in the whole of the UK. That breaks down to 22,667 in England, 1,842 in Wales, 3,010 in Scotland, 1,202 in Northern Ireland and in the Channel Islands, 66. Then there are the 2,218 special schools in the UK (which breaks down to 1,841 in England, 125 in Wales, 199 in Scotland, 47 in Northern Ireland and 6 in the Channel Islands). For the newly qualified teacher, that's an enormous pool from which your first job will (hopefully!) come. But it's not just about the sheer quantity of schools on these islands. There are myriad types of school too. From community to voluntary aided or voluntary controlled, foundation to independent, city technology colleges to pupil referral units, there's a school to suit all teachers. Some have just a handful of pupils while others have many thousands. And each one has its own identity and character. View From:
The Coombes School is an ordinary school working in an extraordinary way. Taking the statement, 'striving for excellence, where everyone matters' as a starting point, the staff there have the declared intention of maintaining a learning community which works in a holistic way, 'joining together spiritual, moral, aesthetic, physical, social and intellectual strands in our everyday practice'. Headteacher, Mrs Susan Rowe, expands on this: 'We do what we do in the way that we do it because we believe that it's every child's right to have this sort of quality of education; every child's basic human right should include education that touches on the whole person and not just the academic. 'We explore Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences, looking at each and every one of them in turn. It's absolutely vital that each teacher teaches to all of those intelligences. I'm also very strongly of the view that it's the hand that's at the cutting edge of the mind. That really is at the bedrock of our philosophy here. It's not just children who have these rights. It's our right as adults to be guided through this educational process in a multi-sensory experiential way because we know that's how we learn best; all of us'. It's encouraging and inspiring to see. While working within the scope of the national curriculum, teachers at The Coombes School aim to create breadth by involving the local community, and in particular parents, in the whole learning process. Children go on frequent excursions and there's a commitment to ensure that the environment around the school is 'of a quality to match what is going on inside' and able to provide rich and complementary educational resources. 'We're a learning community here', explains Mrs Rowe. 'We are all learning. And the day that any one of us stops learning then we should be in the profession. 'All that we do here is very much within the mainstream. We have to teach the national curriculum, literacy and numeracy. It's how you do it that gives it its edge and how you get children working as engaged learners rather than passive recipients.' Susan Rowe's route to being headteacher at the school clearly contributes to the school's mission and ethos. 'I started out here as a helping Mum' says Susan. 'I've had a really curious career path - helping mum to headteacher! I've actually been teaching at the school for sixteen years but have been associated with it in one way or another for twenty-eight years. My children attended this school and that's how I got interested in it.' Essentially, teachers at The Coombes School teach using real life experiences. Children are encouraged to participate with their whole body in a learning experience to ensure that this learning is absorbed and remembered. As the school website states: 'We seek to develop the immeasurable, not just the parts of education that can be easily labelled, tested and accounted for'. There's a real sense that this school has always functioned in a similar manner. As Susan explains, 'The changes I have helped to implement since I've been here were seeds that were already evident in the school. It has always had this culture. It's always been truly child-centred and people-orientated. 'A lot of people who visit us say things like 'this is fantastic but we could never do this' or 'would you mind if we tried this idea?' There are not many who dislike what they see. 'There genuinely is a team approach at this school. We're not into linear management models here. We don't have a senior management team, everybody is part of the leadership group because we distribute that leadership and share it around so that there's a role for everybody. 'NQTs coming to this school have as much to offer as our longest serving members of staff, possibly more, because they come in bright and fresh.' Not all schools function in this way, but many operate in the inspirational way that suits their children and communities. The character and ethos of a school is certainly something that new teachers should consider when going for jobs and planning a career. For Susan Rowe, there's a clear message that new teachers should receive: 'Give children the education you want for yourself and your children. Teach them to be lifelong learners. It's this approach and attitude that helps to make teaching the best job in the world.' The latest figures from the Schools Register (these are approximations) show that there are following numbers of schools in each category:
Originally published in Foundations for Teaching, Spring 2004 |
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