Woodard Hub

Wren Academy has been appointed to lead the Woodard Teaching and Learning Hub from September 2015, a role we are very proud of and excited by. We recognise the wealth of outstanding teaching practice and great ideas across Woodard schools.  Our role as hub leader will be to co-ordinate the sharing of effective approaches as well as providing a range of support to those schools which want to take advantage of what we have to offer.

 

To book yourself on one of our CPD programmes or to find out more about the other opportunities provided by the Hub please contact susan.hannigan@wrenacademy.org

For Woodard schools to improve further, students must make better academic progress so that they can achieve as highly as possible.  Woodard schools are at various points on the journey to getting consistently excellent progress from all of our students and there are things all of us can do to be better.  It is generally recognised that one of the best ways to hasten student progress is to make teaching and learning as effective as possible.

 

The Teaching and Learning Hub was established to help ensure that all Woodard students attend schools where they have the opportunity to make excellent progress.  Whilst Wren leads the hub and organises its activities, the emphasis of our work is very much upon encouraging partnership working between Woodard schools.  We believe that collaborative working is something Woodard schools can do better to our mutual benefit.  

 

The Woodard family of schools is supportive and relations are cordial.  However, formal links made in order to bring about school improvement are rare amongst Woodard schools.  We know that Woodard schools have much expertise to share and we want this hub to encourage us to work more closely together to our mutual benefit.

 

Wren is being funded by the Woodard Corporation to lead the Teaching and Learning Hub. Our collaborative work, consultancy services and professional development programmes will be free to the fellow Woodard schools we work with.  It makes sense for Woodard schools to consider using the hub before resorting to other sources of training and support.

Hub Activities

• Senior leaders
• Heads of faculty and department
• Teachers wishing to be consistently outstanding in their practice

2. Consultancy
Wren senior and middle leaders are skilled and experienced in providing consultancy services to schools in a wide range of settings and circumstances.  Some examples of the types of consultancy we can provide are:

• guidance for senior leaders on specific aspects of their work such as the use of data or the management of change
• producing reports and recommendations on areas identified as being in need of improvement. Alternatively, we can carry out an audit into any area of your school you feel may need to be improved. These activities might encompass individual departments or more general areas of school life such as assessment or student voice.
• coaching and mentoring support for school leaders at all levels in the organisation

How will The Hub develop over time?

The hub has initially been established for a three year period but we hope that it will prove its value and therefore become a long term fixture in the Woodard landscape.

 

During the academic year 2015-16 the hub will establish its core menu of activities.  As these become embedded in our collective practice, we hope that the hub will broaden its offer to include additional provision. This might include: