The Bridge newsletter 2 180117

Issue 2
New Look
Fronter
Website
The Literacy and Numeracy CPD Project
Fronter website has been streamlined to
make it even easier for teachers to access
hundreds of teaching resources within a
few clicks!
The new look also includes an updated
Fronter icon for the project, click on the
Fronter icon as shown above and select
the TPL units pictured below.
More than 46,000 teachers and
educationalists now have access to
resources, videos and information relating
to the CPD Transition Project. All
teachers cross-phase and across the
curriculum have access to the Fronter
website.
The Bridge
Building Bridges to Better Learning in Numeracy & Literacy
KS2-KS3 CPD Transition Project
CPD Project’s Training Days
Fill Within Two Hours
Teachers attending training sessions
can locate the TPL Units, which include
all PowerPoint presentations, videos
and resources, used on the days, in the
Fronter website. The TPL unit training
materials can then be downloaded and
saved for use in staff and departmental
cascading sessions following the training
days.
The Wallace High School, Lisburn pupils Rebecca and Sarah with their character
jars inspired by the CPD project training days.
The demand for the CPD Transition teams’ Literacy and Numeracy cross-phase training
days has been so high, the courses became oversubscribed within two hours of the
dates being released. The training events were held in six venues located all over
Northern Ireland. However, many teachers unable to secure a place in a centre closest
to their schools opted to travel long distances to attend the two Teacher Professional
Learning Units.
A waiting list of 178 teachers for the training has led to two extra days being released
per unit. Additional days will be held in Newry and Antrim in February and March.
The first TPL Unit in October focused on Thinking Skills and Oracy. It was then
followed by the second TPL Unit on Differentiation. The resources and PowerPoints for
both of these training days are available on the CPD Project’s Fronter website.
Mrs Tracy Morrissey, Numeracy Co-ordinator at Carnmoney Primary School attended
the recent training. “The CPD Transition Project training has greatly helped in
developing the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy within our school,” she
said.
Mrs Gillian Weir, Head of English at The Wallace High School, Lisburn also commented
on the impact of the literacy training in her classroom. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the
CPD Project as it’s encouraged me to be much more creative in my classroom. My Year
9 pupils have produced some amazing personal writing using visual stimuli and Year 10
have been working on iMovies based on Heaney’s ‘Mid Term Break’.”
Contact: Mrs Pat Delaney
Newry Teachers’ Centre
Email: pat.delaney@eani.org.uk
Tel: 028 3026 2357
a
C
The third TPL Unit focuses on teacher peer observation and will take place in January
and early February. It is aimed at Heads of English and Mathematics in post-primary
schools and Literacy and Numeracy Co-ordinators in primary schools. This will be
followed in March by the fourth TPL Unit which looks at gender in the classroom based
around encouraging resilience and improving attainment.
1
23
The Bridge - 1

Limavady’s
Digital
Literacy
Focus on
Workhouse
Woes!
Craig Graham, Flynn Harrison & Jamie Craig of Limavady Central PS
Limavady pupils stepped back in time to recreate the lives
of their Victorian ancestors on film, as part of the transition
partnership between Limavady High School and Limavady
Central Primary School.
The teachers involved were inspired by the digital literacy
strategies they saw at the CPD Transition Project training
events last year.
Mrs Jennifer Given, P7 teacher at Limavady Central Primary
School and her colleague Mrs Joy Caskie, a P5 teacher
explained that film was a popular focus for their partnership
as they had used one from The Literacy Shed selection
successfully with accompanying support resources from the
Project’s training days.
“We taught fairy tales through digital literacy to add that
little bit of extra impact in the classroom and the film
resources we discovered at the training days really helped
with story boarding,” Mrs Given said.
Mrs Shauna Devine, Head of English at Limavady High School
also attended the CPD Project training events and agreed
that the close proximity of the town’s workhouse would be
an inspiring focal point for their pupils.
“Limavady is steeped in Victorian heritage, as the old
Limavady workhouse has been preserved as part of the
town’s heritage trail,” Mrs Devine explained.
Mrs Caskie and Mrs Given gave schemes of work and other
useful information to the Limavady High School teachers to
inform the planning for the transition day activities.
Mrs Given attended the transition day with her pupils.
“The pupils enjoyed the day enormously and it was most
educationally beneficial,” she added. The P7 pupils
enjoyed the event so much that they all wrote thank you
letters to the transition day organisers at Limavady High
School.
The partnership teachers were synonymous in their
praise for Mr George Dallas, Head of History and Religious
Studies who brought the historical aspect of the Victorian
experience to life on the day.
The pupils worked in pairs, on newspaper clippings from the
Victorian era followed by a Moving Image Art exercise which
incorporated a Hiring Fair role play inspired by the actual
fair that used to take place in the town.
Mrs Caskie explained that channels of communication that
didn’t exist previously have now been opened for the two
schools because of the CPD Transition Project. “For year one
a central benefit has been communication,” she said.
She added that any weaknesses found by Year 8 teachers
with regard to literacy, can now be communicated and could
be addressed in the partnership’s new Action Plan for 2016-
2017.
Mrs Devine is keen to develop consistency in literacy crossphase
throughout the range of subjects on offer in Limavady
High School. Staff training days on consistency in report and
newspaper writing etc are planned, events that her primary
school partnership colleagues are keen to share in.
Mrs Devine found watching the exemplar lessons from the
primary school teachers very informative when she attended
the CPD Project training.
“When I watched the primary lessons my expectations of
pupils entering Year 8 were immediately raised. If that’s
what teachers are doing in primary school then we are not
doing enough with pupils in Year 8,” she added.
Prior to contacting the Limavady Central Primary School,
Mrs Devine carried out a whole staff audit which revealed
that teachers of all subjects were keen to know more about
what the pupils did in primary school. “Our initial focus will
be on literacy and numeracy and then it will widen out to
incorporate other subjects,” Mrs Devine added.
The Limavady teachers are planning to extend their
transition partnership events with a focus on Victorian
poetry next time. Mrs Devine has also commenced on the
Teacher Placement Bursary Scheme with the Transition
Project which will enable her to expand and develop her
knowledge of learning cross-phase.
2 - The Bridge

Newcastle Schools’ Transition
Partnership Adds Up!
Shimna Integrated College students are inspiring and
encouraging pupils in local primary schools by sharing
their mathematical expertise in the classroom.
Mrs Pamela McDade, P7 teacher at Cumran Primary School
in Clough said that the visit from the Year 9 pupils had
created a great deal of excitement last term.
“The use of KS3 pupils as teaching experts in a P7 class,
has been an exciting development of our transition
partnership,” she said.
Mrs McDade was impressed by the Year 9 mathematicians’
contributions to her classroom. “These could be our
maths teachers of the future,” she added.
Mrs Sarah Samuel, the Numeracy Co-ordinator at Shimna
Integrated College explained that more innovative crossphase
classroom initiatives are planned as part of the
partnership schools’ new Action Plan.
She added that working with her Primary 7 colleagues
in local primary schools has enabled her to improve the
planning of teaching and to set higher, yet achievable
expectations for Shimna Integrated College students.
“Being afforded time to work collaboratively cross-phase is
invaluable and enriching to both the staff and students in
the primary and post-primary settings,” Mrs Samuel added.
“As a P7 teacher, it has been interesting to see the maths
content and activities carried out in a KS3 classroom. This
has been important in setting goals and targets for the
class.” Mrs McDade said.
“Staff training has also enabled sharing of good practice
and this has been an excellent way of developing ideas and
activities that create a continuum between the two key
stages,” Mrs McDade added.
“Year 8 students at Shimna will use iPads to record
themselves teaching a mathematics topic to the rest of
their class, this will then be used in the partner primary
schools to teach lessons. The P7 pupils will then record
their own videos to teach Year 8 classes in the form of a
flipped classroom,” Mrs Samuel explained.
The other schools involved in the CPD Transition Project
partnership include All Children’s Integrated Primary
School and St. Mary’s Primary School. Newcastle Primary
School has also joined the cluster recently.
The partnership schools have created a shared notice
boards system, where they display what is happening in
mathematics classes in each other’s schools.
“The sharing of resources and events means that the new
Year 8 students joining each September arrive with drive,
confidence and a more positive attitude to mathematics.
They recognise the links between their learning in
primary school and that in Year 8,” Mrs Samuel said.
Shimra Integrated College students in teacher role at Cumran
Primary School.
The Bridge - 3

Parent
Workshop
Proves
Partnership
Success
A successful cross-phase workshop for Primary 7 parents and carers
has grown out of the conversations that took place between schools
participating in the CPD Transition Project partnership. The ‘Positive
Endings and New Beginnings’ evening was hosted by St Joseph’s
Primary School, Carryduff. The event created an opportunity for
parents and teachers to interact in an informal way and to relay
hopes and concerns regarding the transfer. The event was welcomed
by parents and carers experiencing transfer for the first time.
The partnership schools which include St Colman’s High School and
Sixth Form College, St Patrick’s PS, Ballynahinch and Christ the King,
Drumaness, were delighted by the glowing comments received from
parents in their evaluation of the event. As a result of the positive
feedback provided, St Colman’s will host a similar event in the next
academic term.
“The CPD Project allowed us to strengthen our relationships beyond
the periphery of the classroom,” Mrs Paula Clarke the Literacy Coordinator
at St Colman’s explained. “The Parenting Workshop enabled
us to communicate to parents the expectations we as teachers have
of post-primary students,” she added.
Other innovative cross-phase events are also planned. A joint P7/
Y8 ‘Poetry Slam’ for Term 3 under the theme of friendship has been
scheduled. “In this second year of the partnership, our focus will be
on Speaking and Listening. It is anticipated that this joint approach to
developing oracy in our schools will embed skills in KS2 that we can
build on in KS3,” Mrs Clarke added.
Mrs Mary Early, Vice-Principal of St Joseph’s Primary School, Carryduff
is delighted with the results of the partnership so far. “We thoroughly
enjoyed our work in literacy with the link primary schools and St.
Colman’s. The discussions have been open, with lots of sharing of
ideas and experiences. We have followed through on our action
planning and we are looking forward to our next joint venture linked
to Speaking and Listening,” she said.
The schools are eager to work together again on the ‘Poetry Slam’
which is planned for the summer term where P7 and Year 8 pupils will
recite poems about friendship, one of the biggest anxiety areas P7
pupils have regarding the transition period.
Another of the partnership school’s foci has been to standardise
writing forms according to the Levels of Progression. “As part of our
cross-phase partnership we worked collaboratively at samples of L3,
L4 and L5 writing from P7 and Year 8 pupils,” Mrs Clarke explained.
Cullybackey College Teachers’
Superhero Transition Challenge!
With armfuls of graphic novels and picture books,
Cullybackey teachers certainly created the wow factor in
Broughshane Primary School delivering lessons on how to
write superhero graphic novels.
Mrs Paula Stronge, Head of English and Mrs Rachael
Armstrong, Literacy Co-ordinator from Cullybackey College
taught P6 and 7 pupils about graphic novels, as part of the
schools’ transition partnership focus.
Discussions with Miss Carol Neill, P7 teacher at Broughshane
Primary School led to the graphic novel focus. Miss Neill
agreed that her pupils were really engaged and had enjoyed
the process.
The Cullybackey College teachers attended the CPD
Transition Project training last year and particularly
enjoyed the picture book sections of the days. “We liked
the strategies and we were keen to try them out within a
primary context,” Mrs Armstrong explained.
The competitive Broughshane Primary School pupils vied with
each other to win prizes for the best graphic novel idea.
The Cullybackey teachers were impressed by the pupils’
existing knowledge of superheroes. “We used the discussion
cubes from the training sessions to look at the positives and
negatives about having super powers.” The teachers then
taught the classes about the structure of a graphic novel.
The idea had also been inspired by Year 9 pupils in
Cullybackey College and their enthusiasm for graphic novels.
The teachers adapted work from the Year 9 Scheme of Work
for graphic novels which was condensed into two hours in
Broughshane Primary School.
Mrs Armstrong found the dynamic of the KS2 classroom very
informative and plans to incorporate some of Miss Neill’s
ideas into the KS3 classroom. In particular, aspects of Miss
Neill’s approach to teaching spelling will be incorporated
into a cross-curricular review of spelling accuracy at KS3
in Cullybackey College. “We are really looking forward to
collaborating again,” Miss Neill added.
The Cullybackey College teachers plan to extend their
partnership focus to poetry this year. Miss Neill was inspired
by the recent CPD Project training on Creating Cognitive
Challenge which she attended in October, and this prompted
her decision to teach the Year 8 pupils in Cullybackey
College the “Image to Text” activity from the training day.
“I have taught this lesson to my own P7 pupils and they
loved it.” Miss Neill added.
In keeping with the Levels of Progression for Communication the
schools say they continue to closely monitor writing samples so that
bridging units for KS2 and KS3 can be developed. Joint training was
also offered for teaching assistants cross-phase when they explored
how to use and integrate iPads into teaching and learning effectively
for KS2/KS3. The teaching assistants linked apps to develop literacy
and numeracy in their own school setting. “The training will be
offered again as the second year of the CPD Project funding has
allowed us to continue to build on last year’s actions,” she added.
Exciting developments are also evident across the curriculum because
of the schools’ partnership. “Cross-curricular literacy was developed
in science lessons. Primary schools were invited in to make use of
the science apparatus and carry out experiments with St Colman’s
science teachers. We looked at the way P7 pupils write up scientific
experiments and compared them to our own Year 8 pupils. This
element of our Action Plan was very informative for post-primary
cross-curricular literacy,” Mrs Clarke said.
Miss Neill adapted the ‘Image to Text’ training session to
have a Victorian focus. This was part of the Transition
Project’s Thinking Skills TPL days held in October.
4 - The Bridge

Teacher Placements Extending and Enriching Cross-Phase
Classrooms Across Northern Ireland
A group of 45 teachers from schools all over Northern Ireland
have embarked upon the CPD Transition Project’s Cross-
Phase Placement Bursary Scheme. The scheme is aimed at
Key Stage 2 teachers and teachers of English and Maths at
Key Stage 3.
The bursary will provide an opportunity for teachers
to nurture and build on cross-phase partnerships in a
primary or post-primary school setting; thereby supporting
the exploration of learning and teaching in English and
Mathematics at KS2 and KS3.
The placement scheme teachers gathered together for the
first time in the Fortwilliam Resource Centre, as detailed
planning got underway. The teachers involved will have an
opportunity to focus on cross-phase transition over a five day
period. The initial three days will be spent in a partnership
school to learn more about the host school’s approach to
literacy and numeracy. The teachers will then have one day
to write a report on their experience and the fifth and final
day will involve sharing the outcome of the placement with
teachers and other interested parties.
Regional Manager of the CPD Transition Project, Dr Aidan
Lennon hopes the placement scheme will develop primary
and post-primary school partnerships in order to improve
understanding and address issues in literacy and numeracy at
transition between KS2 and KS3.
He stressed the point that the scheme was an opportunity
to enhance professionalism through engaging in dialogue
and sharing strategies and resources between KS2 and KS3.
Dr Lennon suggested that the placement scheme could also
help to develop effective collaborative learning approaches,
including the use of ICT.
“English and Mathematics resources could be shared through
the Project’s virtual learning hub on Fronter, as there will be
a dedicated space created there for the Placement Bursary
Scheme teachers to share the results of their partnership
work,” Dr Lennon explained.
A range of ideas on how to use the placement time to the
greatest advantage was suggested by Dr Lennon to the
teachers.
“You could choose to observe learning and teaching or opt
for a team teaching activity. This might include teaching a
lesson or part of a lesson,” he added.
Dr Lennon proposed that one-to-one meetings with
the Literacy or Numeracy Co-ordinator or the Head of
Department may also prove enlightening.
He advised that placement scheme teachers could request
to sit in on Key Stage meetings, department meetings or
planning meetings.
In terms of gathering evidence for writing the final report
of the placement which is due in March 2017, Dr Lennon
suggested the incorporation of formal interviews with
teachers and or students at the end of KS3 or the beginning
of Year 8.
He also stressed to the teachers that a range of approaches
can be used when gathering evidence, including samples of
work, using video footage, classroom displays, photographs
and pupil questionnaires.
Highlights of the outcome of the Placement Bursary Scheme
will be available through the CPD Transition Project website.
The Bridge - 5

Teachers from Carnmoney Primary School Share
the Impact of the CPD Project Transition Training
“Empowering teachers in our school to actively plan and deliver
open-ended maths investigations that include all learners”
“The CPD Transition Project training has greatly helped
in developing the teaching and learning of literacy and
numeracy within our school,” Mrs Tracy Morrissey, Numeracy
Co-ordinator at Carnmoney Primary School explains.
“The numeracy training led by Kathryn Taylor and Janet
Goodall, has directly influenced our Numeracy Action Plan
with Thinking and Talking Maths at its core,” she added.
Mrs Morrissey said that the CPD Project training is being
disseminated within Carnmoney PS through a series of staff
meetings, the first of which outlined theory and practice,
highlighting the importance of pupils’ mathematical
language for problem solving and reasoning.
“As a school we are now able to raise the profile of
mathematical language in our classroom,” she explained.
Mrs Morrissey added that Carnmoney Primary school is
working to ensure commonality of maths language across
the key stages, with curriculum planning being set aside to
facilitate this collaborative effort.
She said the biggest influence of the training had been in
empowering Carnmoney PS teachers to actively plan and
to deliver open-ended maths investigations that include all
learners.
that are listed in the curriculum for their specific age group,
rather I have been challenging pupils to take numeracy as far
as they can without limiting their success. My class have been
online shopping, budgeting, measuring force and velocity,
discussing pricing strategies and constantly evaluating
their own success. It has maybe taken longer than a usual
numeracy lesson, but these approaches have made my pupils
so much more interested in mathematics as they see how it
has a direct impact on their lives!”
Mrs Caroline Phelan, a P7 teacher at the school attended
the literacy strand of the training which has led to increased
collaboration and the sharing of resources and differentiation
practice within the school.
Mrs Stephanie Kenny, P6 teacher at Carnmoney PS received
the CPD Transition training during a cascading session.
“I find that through teaching open-ended maths investigations
we can focus on real life contexts and my pupils have
ownership of how far they go to solve the problem. It’s
encouraged greater mathematical dialogue and I can
observe my pupils using a range of skills such as collecting,
interpreting, organising and presenting information,” she
said.
Miss Janine Black, a P3 teacher at Carnmoney PS added:
“As a teacher, I have become so aware of the importance of
open-ended questioning within literacy. However, I did not
apply these same thoughts to numeracy. Watching Dr Small’s
video on how we question children within numeracy helped
me to develop my questioning style. Asking the children
to prove how they have reached an answer gives them the
chance to explain their thinking and by asking a friend to
back them up, shows the children another possible way of
reaching the same answer.”
She went on to say: “Dan Meyers’ Ted Talk on the importance
of asking the shortest question and being less helpful when
investigating was very inspiring, if not daunting and a
challenge I look forward to when creating investigations in
the future!”
Mr. Pete Davies, a P4 teacher at Carnmoney PS commented:
“Since discussing ways to integrate more open-ended maths
talk and incorporate investigatory real life skills into the
classroom, I have been focusing on ‘no-limits’ learning,
where pupils are not constrained to numeracy concepts
Pupils from Carnmoney Primary School enjoy their maths
lesson.
“ My class have been online shopping, budgeting, measuring force and velocity,
discussing pricing strategies and constantly evaluating their own success. It
has maybe taken longer than a usual numeracy lesson, but these approaches
have made my pupils so much more interested in mathematics as they see
how it has a direct impact on their lives! Mr Pete Davies, P4 teacher
“
6 - The Bridge

Transition Project
Training in Practice
The CPD Transition team were delighted to
hear how colleagues attending the first two
TPL Units have incorporated and adapted the
strategies for their own context.
Mrs Gillian Weir, Head of English at The
Wallace High School, Lisburn tweeted the
project@cpdproject to share the results
of the day she attended the Thinking Skills
training in October.
Belfast Teachers and Pupils Create
Digital Picture of Learning Needs
A Belfast partnership of schools has created
a new digital channel of communication to
help track and support the learning needs
of pupils as they move cross-phase.
Forge Integrated Primary School, Millennium
Integrated Primary School and Loughview
Integrated Primary School have worked with
Lagan College in the development of an
innovative e-learning passport to help their
P7 students to transfer.
‘I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the CPD project
as it’s encouraged me to be much more
creative in my classroom. My Year 9 pupils
have produced some amazing personal
writing using visual stimuli and Year 10 have
been working on iMovies based on Heaney’s
‘Mid Term Break’,” Mrs Weir said.
She added that the strategies could be
adapted for use beyond KS3.
Mrs Una Walters, Senior Leader and Head
of AEN at Lagan College initiated the
development of the interactive passport
in Lagan College which started as a paper
resource originally. “The e-learning
passport was an idea that I had which
built upon our transition work with
enhancements for newcomer students and
children with social and emotional needs,”
Mrs Walters explained.
Belfast partnership schools focus on making
transition as smooth and positive as possible.
“Whilst the project is aimed at KS3, I’ve
taken some of the ideas and used them in my
A Level classes, for example, Year 13 pupils
have made character jars to help them
explore Hawthorne’s use of symbolism in
‘The Scarlet Letter’,” she said.
Mrs Weir has had a lot of interest from other
teachers in the character jars, which are
pictured on the front cover of ‘The Bridge’.
“It’s been fantastic meeting colleagues from
other schools and gleaning an insight into
pupils’ experiences in Literacy at KS2. I’ve
loved sharing good practice on twitter too!”
“This new interactive feature enhances Lagan College’s already well-established transition
programme. Feedback from students, parent and guardians has been significant in
improving the passport which includes information on the curriculum and pastoral issues,”
she said.
“The input of primary students has enabled Lagan College to appreciate further what
young people and their families require to make the move to ‘big school’ as smooth and as
positive as possible, ” Mrs Walters added.
The four schools have engaged in a number of other cross-phase initiatives also.Training
has been led by Lagan College in the use of modelled language frameworks. Loughview
IPS teacher, Mrs Jennifer Fuller (CPD link teacher) and Mrs Walker in her role as Numeracy
co-ordinator, have collaborated on KS2 Functional Maths delivery and transferrable
skills development cross-phase, using Dienies and Numicom to support Mental Maths
development.
Mrs Fuller explained that the partnership work had really broken down barriers between
the primary and post-primary worlds. “We have created an avenue of communication
that is open and honest. Being a reflective practitioner and helping each other to explore
learning and teaching in a trusted colleague network has been of great benefit. This link
ensures that students know there is a real and tangible link between their learning crossphase.
Students can see that their learning is purposeful as they move on,” she said.
“At the end of the first year of the Cross-Phase CPD Literacy and Numeracy Project, we
noted that the CPD project had further enhanced the already excellent relationships and
shared good practice which had previously existed between the schools in an informal
manner,” Mrs Walters explained.
Sharing on Twitter @cpdteam.
“Lagan College is also sharing the Accelerated Reader programme with primary colleagues
who in turn have happily supported a bespoke electronic transfer of KS2 data sharing and
the provision of extended personal/creative writing pieces in order to benchmark students
upon post-primary entry, which the children are immensely proud of,” Mrs Walters added.
Mrs McNamee, Principal of Lagan College expressed her appreciation to all the staff from
across the four schools involved in the partnership, who are working successfully together
in this critical transition point in a child’s learning. “All aspects of our KS2/KS3 CPD
project have proved extremely beneficial to date. We know this from staff self-evaluation,
feedback and the number of teachers who have offered to open their classrooms for
learning walks and sharing good practice sessions, as well as the pupil voice,”
Mrs McNamee said.
Junior pupils Zac and Ellie, The Wallace
High School, Lisburn produced iMovies
inspired by the CPD Project training.
The Lagan College Principal also commented that her fellow Principals: Mr Watson (Forge
IPS), Mr McKnight (Loughview IPS) and Mrs Mary Roulston (Millennium IPS) endorsed this
comment. “We are delighted that Miss Colleen Haughian has also secured a place on the
CPD Project’s Teacher Placement Bursary Scheme to undertake good practice building
‘Curriculum Bridges’ in conjunction with Forge IPS. We are also eagerly awaiting the
arrival of Mr Sean Spillane, who will be taking up the opportunity to work on his three day
placement, from Glencraig Primary here within Lagan’s English department in the New
Year,” Mrs McNamee added.
The Bridge - 7

A Focus on Five Placement Bursary Scheme Tea
Teachers involved in the Placement Bursary Scheme gave us
an insight into their decisions to expand their experience
of working cross-phase. Not to mention revealing a few
surprising facts too! In the midst of their busy lives, these
five teachers took the time to share some of the moments
that make teaching so worthwhile.
Name: Pauline Burgess
School: St Malachy’s High School,
Castlewellan
Name: Kenny Baldrick
School: Newbuildings PS,
Londonderry
Placement school: Lisneal
College, Londonderry
One surprising fact about you!
I played Senior rugby for City of Derry for several
years. Before this I played rugby for Foyle and
Londonderry College, and in 1987 we reached the
semi-finals of the Schools Cup. As the school last won
the Schools Cup in 1914 this was a great achievement
for a school our size. Four of the players from the
team went on to play for Ulster.
The funniest/most memorable moment in
your classroom
Many years ago my class joined Film Club. We got the
DVD ‘Big’ starring Tom Hanks. We had only recently
replaced the video recorders within the school with
new DVD players so the technology was new. Having
watched the film first to ensure there wasn’t anything
inappropriate I noted a time when an innocent
enough exchange took place between the two main
characters. When I got to the scene I thought I was
fast-forwarding, but put the film in slow motion and
when I frantically started pressing buttons the film
froze at the scene I wanted to skip.
Why did you apply for a placement?
As a Primary 7 teacher I have always wondered
what the first year of post-primary school was like
for the children who left my class. I wanted to work
closely with a post-primary school to see what skills
and strategies they thought the children should have
coming into their Year 8. I also wanted to look at
how they use data in post-primary school and what
strategies they use for underachievers and what type
of assessment and data they would find beneficial
coming from primary school.
What are you looking forward to most about
the placement?
Underachievement in Protestant boys is one area that
has continually been highlighted as a major issue,
not only within Londonderry, but across the whole
of Northern Ireland. I would like to ensure that we
use data effectively and that we can share this data
and the strategies that we use, to jointly address the
area of underachievement in boys as well as girls. As
well as being Numeracy Co-ordinator I am also ICT
Co-ordinator within the school and I would like to
explore how we could develop the use of ICT within
Numeracy across both schools, as possibly a means
of addressing this underachievement by promoting
Numeracy through ICT.
Placement school: St Malachy’s
Primary School, Castlewellan
One surprising fact about you!
I went to primary school at the foot of ‘Narnia’ – or
more precisely, Rostrevor Forest, which inspired C.S.
Lewis’s imaginary world. One day our teacher was
reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to us
and it started to snow outside. She told us to look out
at the magical world behind us and I will never forget
that moment because that was the day I decided I
wanted to become a writer. And I did! Today, as well
as teaching, I am a published author and I write
mainly (though not exclusively) for children. I am still
trying to capture that perfect moment and recreate it
in my writing; to inspire a new generation of children
in the way that Lewis did. If I come even close, then I
will be very, very happy.
The funniest/most memorable moment in
your classroom
There have been so many funny moments I really
should have kept a log! Apart from regularly being
called Mummy, or having my surname written
down as something that would resemble fast food,
one that sticks in my memory is when I took a trip
to Stratford Upon Avon. There was a very flash
red Porsche parked near Shakespeare’s birthplace
which prompted one of my students to ask ‘Is that
Shakespeare’s car?’ At no point in the build-up to our
trip had she clocked the fact that he had died 400
years before our visit!
Why did you apply for a placement?
As a teacher and a parent I am genuinely curious
about how much joined-up learning the children
actually face at KS2 and KS3. Having taught in
the secondary sector for 25 years, I feel that I am
lacking in knowledge about learning and teaching
experiences within the primary model. The
collaboration with teachers at KS2 will hopefully help
me to promote curriculum continuity between the
two key stages. I really wish to drive forward literacy
strategies in my own school as Literacy Co-ordinator,
and develop better practices to reflect the needs of
pupils at transition.
What are you looking forward to most about
the placement?
Working with children of a younger age and tapping
into their learning potential and enthusiasm which
sometimes diminishes at secondary level. I’m also
looking forward to experiencing the joined-up
learning approach which is prevalent in primary
schools, where Numeracy, Literacy, PDMU and The
World Around Us can all coalesce under one topic
such as ‘The Titanic Story.’
8 - The Bridge

chers
Name: Susan McCullough
School: Ballyclare Secondary
School
Name: Colin Devine
School: Strandtown Primary School
Placement school: Ashfield Boys
Placement school: Templepatrick
Primary School
One surprising fact about you!
In my spare time I like to relax by doing
scrapbooking.
One surprising fact about you!
As a 6 year old, I was in the video for ‘Mull of
Kintyre’ by Wings. Can’t remember a thing about it
and still can’t pick myself out in the video but my
parents assure me I’m in there somewhere.
The funniest/most memorable moment in
your classroom
There is always something that will make you laugh
(or cry!) on a daily basis. Perhaps the funniest
moment was actually during an after school club.
First week of rugby practice and the boys are
getting warmed up. I’m making my way around
the group asking if they play for certain clubs at
weekends. One kid holds up a sheep puppet and
says, ‘Can I come to rugby too? Baaa!’ As I looked at
him in a state of bewilderment, the kid beside him
mutters: ‘The sheep can stay, but you can clear off!’
He said what I was thinking. Very funny!
Why did you apply for a placement?
This was the perfect opportunity to strengthen
links with one of our nearest post-primary schools.
We already have a cluster group with a focus on
extending children’s writing so this was a natural
opportunity to move the project forwards. We, as a
school, are keen to see how well we prepare boys for
the transition from P7 to Year 8 both within literacy
(especially writing) and pastorally. The placement
will also allow us to share resources and expertise
which we hope will open up new and exciting
opportunities for both schools within literacy.
What are you looking forward to most
about the placement?
I’m looking forward to talking to past pupils in focus
groups to see how we as a primary school have
prepared them for the transition. I’m sure I’ll be
reminded of a few stories from their Strandtown
days.
The funniest/most memorable moment in
your classroom
Year 9 Geography class singing “The Water Cycle
Song” with great gusto!
Why did you apply for a placement?
As Literacy Co-ordinator I am very interested in
the delivery of literacy at primary school level and
how this can be continued and further developed in
the post-primary setting. Also, to further develop
links with one of our feeder schools and to have an
opportunity to see literacy in action via classroom
observation.
What are you looking forward to most about
the placement?
I am looking forward to collaborating with
Templepatrick Primary School and putting into
practice literacy techniques and strategies that will
develop the literacy capabilities of pupils.
Name: Caroline Smyth
One surprising fact about you!
School: St. Louise’s College, Belfast
Placement school: St Joseph’s,
Slate Street, Belfast
During my first year of university, my flatmates and I
starred in an Irish reality TV show!
The funniest/most memorable moment in
your classroom
As an enthusiastic young teacher in my first year of
teaching, I thought I would teach a particularly difficult
topic to my GCSE students through a catchy rap.
Needless to say, I wasn’t as ‘hip’ as I first thought, and we
all ended up in fits of laughter during the lesson! (I am
still convinced it helped them learn how to estimate the
mean from a frequency table though!)
Why did you apply for a placement?
I am eager to see the strategies applied by our primary
schools in teaching numeracy, which will enable my
department to implement them into our Year 8 and KS3
teaching. This will ultimately smooth the transition from
primary to post-primary for our students.
What are you looking forward to most about
the placement?
Having recently been named as the 6th best country in
the world for maths skills in primary pupils, I cannot
wait to see the fantastic work that is being done by
primary schools in teaching numeracy, in particular how
they foster a positive attitude to the subject.
The Bridge - 9

Irish Medium Schools Gather to
Hone Their Transition Focus
Cruinniú na
agus aistriú
Irish Medium Schools from the North
West and Belfast met at Fortwilliam
recently to share good practice in
transition between KS2 and KS3.
Many of the teachers from the Derry,
Strabane and Belfast schools have
attended the CPD Transition Project’s
training days over the past two years.
Representatives from Gaelcholáiste
Dhoire, Susan Ui Mhianáin and Connla
Ó Coinn gave presentations on their
transition work with partnership
schools.
Connla Ó Coinn, Numeracy Coordinator
at Gaelcholáiste Dhoire,
Dungiven stressed the importance
of differentiation in the classroom.
“The pupils need to have different
goals, and we need to have established
curricular goals cross-phase,” he said.
Mr Ó Coinn highlighted the importance
of sharing schemes of work with
partner primary schools which would
help to avoid re-teaching. “This is
particularly important for the more
able students who get bored if this
happens. Differentiation is key to
ensuring that students are experiencing
a continuum in their learning,” he said
stressing this would have a positive
impact on standards.
Mr Ó Coinn emphasised the value of
using common mathematical terms
cross-phase. “There are limited
chances of using mathematical
language outside the classroom,” he
said. A dictionary of key mathematical
terms operating cross-phase would
ensure that the students were using
the correct version in Irish. This
dictionary could also be taken home
to parents. “This would ensure that
the correct mathematical language
is being used, which will minimise
misunderstanding,” he added.
Susan Ui Mhianáin, Senior Teacher and
Literacy Co-ordinator at Gaelcholáiste
Dhoire outlined the school’s partnership
approach to developing a bridging
unit between the two stages. She also
referenced the importance of reviewing
schemes of work and seeing samples of
pupils’ work cross-phase so that planning
for the continuum can take place, which
reduces overlap.
Mr Ó Coinn said that Growth Mindset and
the use of the power of ‘Yet’ from the CPD
Project training days had been adopted
into classroom practice in his school.
The Vice-Principal of Coláiste Feirste,
Belfast Mr Micheal Mac Giolla Ghunna is
eager to build on the benefits of transition
partnerships between Irish medium
schools.
Primary pupils in the Belfast area will have
an annual opportunity to experience what
life is like in a post-primary setting at
Blas den Choláiste on the 14 December
at Coláiste Feirste. “This will be a good
opportunity for teachers to develop their
transition partnerships further,” Mr Mac
Giolla Ghunna said.
The Principals and teachers worked in
three numeracy and five literacy focus
groups at the Fortwilliam day. It was
agreed that working on transition would
offer opportunities to share currently
limited resources and to observe
colleagues in the classroom. It was
also thought that the practice of social
conversation could be discussed and
planned further to ensure continuity
between the key stages.
Including parents in the transition process
was seen as important by the groups, a
suggestion was made that PTE and PTM
results should be shared with parents with
an accompanying booklet, to assist in
understanding the data.
The creation of bridging units to ensure
that learning is retained over the summer
months was a popular idea in many of the
focus groups.
Tháinig Gaelscoileanna ón Iarthuaisceart
agus ó Bhéal Feirste le chéile ag Dún Liam
ar na mallaibh le dea-chleachtas a roinnt
maidir le haistriú idir EC 2 agus EC 3.
Bhí go leor de na múinteoirí ó na scoileanna
i nDoire, an Srath Bán agus Béal Feirste
i láthair ag na laethanta traenála FPG a
chuireadh ar fáil ag an Tionscnamh Aistrithe
le dhá bhliain anuas. Rinne ionadaithe ó
Ghaelcholáiste Dhoire, Susan Uí Mhianáin
agus Connla Ó Coinn, cur i láthair ar an obair
aistrithe atá idir lámha acu le scoileanna
comhpháirtíochta.
Chuir Connla Ó Coinn, Comhordaitheoir
Uimhearthachta ag Gaelcholáiste Dhoire,
Dún Geimhin, an-bhéim ar an tábhacht a
bhaineann le difreáil sa seomra ranga. “Ní
mór spriocanna éagsúla a bheith ag na daltaí
agus tá gá le spriocanna curaclaim aontaithe
trasna na n-eochairchéimeanna,” ar sé.
Chuir an tUasal Ó Coinn béim, fosta, ar an
luach a bhaineann le scéimeanna oibre a
roinnt le bunscoileanna comhpháirtíochta
le go seachnófar ateagasc. “Tá sé seo
tábhachtach ach go háirithe do na daltaí is
cumasaí a éiríonn dubh dóite má tharlaíonn
sin. Is í an difreáil an eochair a chinntíonn
go mbeidh na daltaí ag dul i dtaithí ar
chontanam ina bhfoghlaim,” ar sé agus
bhéimnigh sé go n-imreodh sé seo tionchar
dearfach ar chaighdeáin.
Chuir an tUasal Ó Coinn béim ar an luach
a bhaineann le téarmaíocht mhatamaitice
choiteann trasna na gcéimeanna a úsáid.
“Is teoranta na deiseanna a bhíonn
ann le teanga na Matamaitice a úsáid
taobh amuigh den seomra ranga,” ar sé.
Chinnteodh foclóir ina mbeadh chroíthéarmaí
matamaitice agus a bheadh ag
feidhmiú thar na heochairchéimeanna go
mbeadh na daltaí ag baint úsáid as an leagan
cruinn i nGaeilge. Thiocfadh an foclóir a
thabhairt abhaile chuig tuismitheoirí fosta.
“Dhéanfadh sé seo cinnte de go bhfuil an
teanga mhatamaitice chruinn in úsáid, rud a
laghdódh míthuiscint,” a lean sé.
Mhínigh Susan Uí Mhianáin, Múinteoir
Sinsearach agus Comhordaitheoir
Irish Medium teachers meeting at Fortwilliam, Belfast.
Connla Ó Coinn
10 - The Bridge

nGaelscoileanna
mar aidhm
Litearthachta ag Gaelcholáiste Dhoire cur
chuige comhpháirtíochta na scoile chun
nascaonad a fhorbairt idir an dá eochairchéim.
Rinne sí trácht fosta ar an tábhacht a
bhaineann le hathbhreithniú ar scéimeanna
oibre agus le breathnú ar shamplaí oibre na
ndaltaí trasna na n-eochairchéimeanna, ionas
gur féidir go mbeidh pleanáil ann le haghaidh
an chontanaim, rud a laghdaíonn forluí.
Enniskillen Schools Strive for
Seamless Transition
Through Joint
Data Focus
Dúirt an tUasal Ó Coinn gur glacadh le Meon an
Fháis (Growth Mindset) agus úsáid ‘The power
of ‘Yet’, ó na laethanta traenála Thionscnamh
CPD, i gcleachtas seomraí ranga ina scoil.
Bhí fonn ar Leas-Phríomhoide Choláiste
Feirste, Béal Feirste, Micheál Mac Giolla
Ghunna, tógáil ar na buntáistí a bhaineann
le comhpháirtíochtaí aistrithe idir
Gaelscoileanna.
Beidh deis bhliantúil ag páistí bunscoile i
gceantar Bhéal Feirste dul i dtaithí saol i
suíomh meánscoile ag Blas den Choláiste ar
an 14 Mí na Nollag. “Deis iontach a bheidh
ann do mhúinteoirí a gcuid comhpháirtíochtaí
aistrithe a fhorbairt níos mó,” arsa an tUasal
Mac Giolla Ghunna.
D’oibrigh na príomhoidí agus na múinteoirí
i dtrí fhócasghrúpaí uimhearthachta agus
cúig fhócasghrúpa litearthachta ag an lá i
nDún Liam. Comhaontaíodh go gcuirfeadh
an comhoibriú ar aistriú deiseanna ar fáil le
háiseanna a roinnt agus le bheith ag breathnú
ar chomhghleacaithe sna seomraí ranga.
Pléadh fosta go dtiocfadh nós an chomhrá
shóisialta a phlé agus pleanáladh a thuilleadh
le leanúnachas idir na heochairchéimeanna a
chinntiú.
Ba é tuairim na ngrúpaí go raibh tábhacht ag
baint le tuismitheoirí sa phróiseas aistrithe,
rinneadh moladh gur chóir torthaí PTE agus
PTM a roinnt le tuismitheoirí mar aon le bileog
in éineacht leo, le cuidiú leo na sonraí a
thuiscint.
Smaoineamh coitianta i measc na
bhfócasghrúpaí ná cruthú nascaonad lena
chinntiú go gcaomhnaítear an fhoghlaim i
míonna an tsamhraidh.
Cross-phase teachers work on data.
Louie Burns and Dylon Webb P7
pupils at Enniskillen Integrated
Primary School.
Enniskillen Integrated Primary School and Erne Integrated College placed data
exchange at the core of their transition action planning so successfully that
measures are underway to expand the information being transferred between the
two schools.
The schools identified data sharing as a means to inform and reinforce teacher
planning to ensure each child’s transition is as smooth as possible, thereby
accommodating the learning continuum.
Enniskillen Integrated Primary School‘s Principal, Mrs Adele Kerr explained
that the objective of the schools’ transition planning in 2015-2016 was for the
GL Digital assessment pack to be implemented in both schools, to facilitate
information transfer and collaborative planning.
Mrs Kerr had already invested in the GL Digital Assessment pack, which uses
CAT4, PTM, PTE, Baseline, Baseline Progress and PASS attitudinal measure to
provide a detailed profile of each pupil’s learning needs and strengths.
Her decision to incorporate the GL Digital Assessment measures followed a
process of self-evaluation at her school, which identified the need for a more
coherent picture to be extracted from the data so that planning could be more
specifically aligned to pupils’ learning needs.
The data is used by class teachers to collaboratively review each teaching
group; prioritising pupils’ learning deficits and providing evidence of the need
for further testing and intervention. This monitoring of pupils’ needs facilitates
‘Precision Planning’ where the planning is targeted directly at topics where the
pupils need help.
Erne Integrated College’s, successful implementation of GL Digital Assessment
was led by Senior Teacher, Mr Andrew Kerr.
“The PTM and PTE scores of the current Year 8 students were successfully
transferred and their new teachers began working on planning for their needs in
Key Stage 3 prior to their arrival,” he said.
“The mathematics subject area has requested more information and the
transition Action Plan for this year is focused on transferring the complete PTM
and PTE profiles for next year,” Mr Kerr added.
Erne Integrated College has incorporated the data into SIMS Assessment Manager
which facilitates the sharing of data with all teachers and is now an integral part
of their target setting and review process.
Susan Ui Mhianáin
Principal of Erne Integrated College, Jimmy Jackson-Ware commented that the
use of PTM and PTE for precision teaching will have an impact across the entire
curriculum as all subject teachers will have a greater understanding of their
students and will be able to model support strategies to meet the individual
needs of students.
The Bridge - 11

Electronic Transfer of Pupil Information
Explains Everything in North West
Schools’ Partnership
Eager to provide even more academic
information about their pupils, a CPD
Transition partnership school in the North
West is developing innovative approaches to
creating a complete picture of pupils’ abilities
prior to joining their new school.
Mr Kenny Baldrick, P7 teacher at Newbuildings
Primary School in Londonderry has extended
the school’s pupil profile to incorporate the
iPad app ‘Explain Everything’. Images of
pupils’ work, current attainment and targets
are all included. Mr Baldrick adapted the
pupil profile for iPad to reflect the content of
the data profile contained in the GL Digital
Assessment. Which alongside PASS Attitudinal
Data informs teaching and learning and
monitors the impact of interventions in the
school.
Videos of each pupil’s talking and listening
tasks are also included in the information
being passed along, as well as samples
of writing. This creates a real sense of
the individual transferring, providing an
invaluable insight into the pupil and supplying
an additional layer of information to assist
the new school in planning for how that pupil
will learn best. This is provided alongside the
levels they were achieving leaving P7.
Lisneal College, Londonderry was very keen
to build on the existing academic profiles of
their new pupils and share pedagogy crossphase.
“The KS2- KS3 transition work we are doing
with our partner schools is a key element
of our long-term strategy to raise standards
in literacy and numeracy. Through sharing
expertise, observing lessons and engaging in
meaningful self-evaluation, we have already
identified ways in which we can improve
teaching and learning experiences for our
pupils,” Mr Michael Allen the Lisneal College
Principal explained.
The other partnership schools involved in
this CPD Transition Project are Ebrington
PS, Cumber Claudy PS, Lisnagelvin PS and
Fountain PS.
Mr Baldrick plans to use the CPD
Transition Project’s Teacher Placement
Bursary to evaluate the impact and use
of the information he provides to Lisneal
College. He has a particular interest in how
underachieving boys and pupils in receipt of
free school meals, can be helped through the
information being transferred cross-phase.
As part of last year’s CPD Transition Project’s
Action Plan, Mr Baldrick observed Year 8
lessons at Lisneal College. He found this
informative and was impressed with how
much effective group work took place in a 35
minute lesson.
“I also wanted to look at how they use data
in Lisneal College and the strategies adopted
for underachievers. Understanding the types
of assessment and data they would find
beneficial coming from primary school has
also been an objective,” Mr Baldrick added.
He is planning to produce a Virtual Learning
Environment (VLE) for Year 8 pupils using
iPads. “This would promote ICT links
and possibly be a means of addressing
underachievement by encouraging pupil
interaction,” Mr Baldrick explained.
The outcome of this extended focus will be
shared in the Spring/Summer term with the
partnership schools and other interested
parties in the community.
Mr Baldrick is part of a numeracy transition cluster group with colleagues from Fountain Primary
School, Lisnagelvin Primary School and Ebrington Primary School. He reported that his pupils had
benefitted from this group through the development of problem solving tasks like Tarsia and using
‘Follow me’ activities. Mr Baldrick has attended the CPD Project training days, incorporating the QR
codes he discovered at these events into his planning for differentiated lessons which pupils can access
as extension tasks using their iPads. He has also incorporated QR codes for the children in his class to
access ‘help videos’ on different aspects of numeracy, available through a VLE he had created. These
QR codes can be seen on the display above.
Our
Fronter
Angel!
The CPD Project team have
really enjoyed compiling the
Fronter room website full
of teacher resources. As it
has evolved and then been
streamlined recently, Miss
Esther Woodhouse of C2K has
been our guiding light.
As well as understanding the
intricacies of new technologies
Miss Woodhouse speaks French
and Spanish, which she taught
for nine years in a post-primary
setting.
The endlessly patient Miss
Woodhouse says she thoroughly
enjoys supporting teachers with
integrating new technologies to
enhance learning, teaching and
their own professional learning.
“While the ever-increasing
opportunities available can
be somewhat daunting, we
have seen teachers in short
timescales, often working
together within and between
schools, use new technologies
effectively, engaging students
with relevant, real-world,
collaborative learning
experiences and seeing
improved learning outcomes,”
Miss Woodhouse said.
She added : “The Literacy and
Numeracy KS2 & 3 CPD Fronter
course room created by the
project team provides a wealth
of fantastic resources, online
links and ideas and is available
to all teachers across Northern
Ireland.”
12 - The Bridge

Online Survey of Action Plans
June 2016
These are the results of an online survey sent to all 553 schools, in June. They submitted Action Plans
in the 2015-16 academic year to work on cross-phase collaboration between KS2 and KS3.
Better Communication
(Before)
Please rate cross-phase communication on
Literacy and Numeracy before this project.
Please rate from low to high on a 4 point
scale - 4 being the highest rating
(226 responses)
Better Communication
(After)
Please rate cross-phase communication on
Literacy and Numeracy as a result of this
project. Please rate from low to high on a 4
point scale - 4 being the highest rating
(226 responses)
31.6% 11.6%
7.1%
1
2
3
4
57.5%
19%
3.1%
1
2
3
4
49.8%
20.4%
Barriers to Progress?
Contact/Communication 13%
ETI
2%
Lack of Proactivity 4%
Money/Funding 3%
No Barriers 10%
Sub-cover 2%
Time 66%
The Bridge - 13

Benefits to Improving Literacy and Numeracy
Cross-Phase?
Opportunity to
develop Fronter
2%
Improved
understanding
across the key
stages
15%
Transfer of data and
tracking 4%
Opportunity to share
good practice and
inform colleagues
23%
Re-assess schemes
to avoid repetition
of work 8%
Avail of high quality
training generating
new ideas
6%
Joint marking,
annotation and
common approach
4%
Opportunity to
meet more
4%
Plan joint literacy
and numeracy
strategies
22%
Too early to
comment
12%
Benefits to Improving Transition?
14 - The Bridge

Improving School Partnerships Between
Primary and Post-Primary?
No Benefit
Yet 2%
CPD/Fronter
5%
Communication
16%
Staff/Pupils
better prepared
for transition
15%
Shared Practice/
pedagogy/upskilling/
examples of work
29%
Observations
11%
Planning/Sharing
Curricula 12%
Data/Levels/
Assessment
10%
How Teachers Evaluated the Training
Oct - Nov 2016
Unit 1 Mathematics/Numeracy - Thinking & Talking
Unit 2 Mathematics/Numeracy - Differentiation
Number of teachers attended: 176 Number of teachers attended: 173
Teacher evalua+on of effec+veness of Unit 1 Mathema+cs
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
1(low)
Teacher evalua+on of effec+veness of Unit 2 Mathema+cs
2
3
4(high) 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
1(low)
2
3
4(high)
Unit 1 English/Literacy - Thinking Skills
Unit 2 English/Literacy - Differentiation
Number of teachers attended: 177 Number of teachers attended: 170
Teacher evalua+on of effec+veness of Unit 1 English
1(low)
Teacher evalua+on of effec+veness of Unit 2 English
1(low)
2
2
3
3
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
4(high)
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
4(high)
The Bridge - 15

Summary of Comments from Teachers Involved
in Cross-Phase Development Last Year
Allowed us to develop a student passport data analysis form to be used by the 2 schools - transferable
data to be passed from the primary to the post-primary school (Use of Qualitative and Quantitative data
to identify and track the learning needs of the pupils). This project has been exceptionally beneficial as
the education links have been enhanced through the 2 schools.
Having time off timetable to discuss ideas and meet face to face with other schools was very useful.
Sharing good practice, including mark schemes, allowed schools to see how others work and to
evaluate their own methods. The cross community aspect meant that all needs were taken into
consideration. It was also useful to be able to compare a student’s work that had been completed
in primary school to what they were producing in a post-primary setting. It was good for primary
schools to know what would be asked on the day they met post-primary teachers and for post-primary
teachers to have genuine feedback on what worked.
This is a great project and will help smooth the transition of pupils to post-primary. It also allows
schools to action some of the points that were brought up in the review of ESAGS.
The project has been extremely useful and has cemented relationships and facilitated much easier
communication between schools. The provision of time and money set aside for this was invaluable and
I would also like to strongly highlight the excellent training provided - this was highly motivational
and informative. The training also provided a wealth of useful resources for schools - this was most
appreciated in the current climate where training and resources have been cut back.
This has been a very useful project which needs to continue. We have already adapted schemes
of work and taken on a slightly different approach to spelling and writing skills as a result of this
project.
All participants would agree that participation in the CPD Cross-Phase Project has provided a
wonderful opportunity to share good practice, afforded the teachers involved time to discuss
pedagogy in depth and to forge professional relationships which can only, as the CPD evolves have
a very positive impact on our transitioning students. We all agree that we see the CPD project as a
stepping stone to sustained and improved inter and intra school relationships and improved transition
experience for all our students, for a significant period beyond the CPD Project lifespan.
Thank you so much for the training, my KS2 teachers were very quick to share what they have learned
and look forward to seeing it further impact on practice.
16 - The Bridge
A really good programme with excellent support materials which were incorporated into Learning and
Teaching and Year 8 Schemes of Work. Availability on FRONTER super. Please keep this going.
There are many opportunities that have been developed by the links we have created this year- the
project has allowed us to have meaningful conversations to the benefit of our children.
The training offered was excellent as we got the opportunity to discuss primary schemes and to see
first‐hand the wonderful work completed by our primary colleagues. The resources provided and support
on Fronter are also excellent.
Designed & printed at Dungannon Teachers’ Centre 028 8772 4379