I was motivated to become an SLE as I believe that true collaboration not only benefits teachers that I work with but develops my own expertise. After gaining Lead English Teacher status (2002) I trained as an AFL coach with Barnet LEA. Subsequently, I gained Advanced Skills Teacher status (2003) and worked alongside teachers to support them on their journey to becoming outstanding practitioners.

In 2007 I moved from London to Manchester, joining Trinity as Head of English and Assistant Headteacher.  I have had the pleasure of leading my staff through a time of rapid change and in 2016 we achieved our best ever GCSE results (80% A*-C). We have devised schemes of work to meet the demands of the new syllabi and adapted our teaching accordingly. I have marked for AQA Examination Board for the last few years and this has informed much of our planning.

As Assistant Headteacher, one of my whole school responsibilities is Literacy. I have introduced various policies and procedures to ensure that Literacy is built into all subject areas.

Providing teachers with the necessary skill set has also been a key aspect of my work. I regularly lead CPD sessions (ranging from whole staff to small group sessions) to engage and motivate staff on issues such as varying sentence structures, acting upon feedback and using spelling strategies. Pupils have also been trained as ‘Literacy Leaders’ and led elements of staff CPD sessions. I have enjoyed filming our ‘Literacy Leaders’ at work in the classroom and this has been a powerful training tool with staff.

Of course, the literacy demands have increased in a range of GCSE subjects. When working with the P.E. Department, it became apparent that the pupils’ Literacy skills had prevented them from obtaining full marks in a question that demanded extended writing. I worked alongside two P.E. teachers, who provided the subject knowledge, to develop resources that supported the modelling process. We initially used these scaffolds to team teach lessons but, over a period of time, teachers have become more confident in delivering Literacy and I have been able to take a step back.

Through ‘Teach Manchester’ I have been given the opportunity to form cross-phase partnerships; I continue to reflect upon my own teaching after observing best practice in primary and secondary classrooms.

Current Scheduled CPD Opportunities

In addition to being available for deployment to support specific schools, Emma is currently

Trinity CofE High School

Trinity is a vibrant, diverse, creative and innovative academy, promoting the values of the Church of England yet at the same time welcoming students of other faiths. It has been graded as ‘Outstanding’ by both OFSTED (2014) and The National Society (2016). The school is based in the centre of Manchester. A large majority of students are from ethnic minorities and 35% of students speak English as an additional language. 50% of pupils receive pupil premium funding.

View our rates and the deployment process

 

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