Monday – What is Equity in Education?

Morning Session 09:30-11:30 Developing Knowledge and Understanding
Understanding the role of Equity in Education
Dylan Williams, Partneriaeth
An introduction to the key principles of equitable provision and what this can look like in the classroom and as part of a whole school approach.

https://forms.gle/HY7rYiCDmbZhV7i26

Afternoon Session 13:00-15:00 Practical Whole School and Class Based Sessions
Equity in Education – Case Studies:
This session will provide you with the opportunity to hear how a range of schools / settings are working to embed equity in their education system.

https://forms.gle/g493SaRu7cb5HmCE7

Tuesday - Mitigating the Impact of Poverty on Achievement and Attainment

Morning Session 09:30-11:30 Developing Knowledge and Understanding
Understanding and Mitigating the Impact of Poverty
Children North East
This session will examine how to mitigate the negative impact that poverty can have on attainment and achievement for learners and their families.

https://forms.gle/5Zp1b8TLwSbkpF418

Afternoon Session 13:00-15:00 Practical Whole School and Class Based Sessions
Mitigating the Impact of Poverty in Schools – Case Studies:
This session will provide you with the opportunity to hear how a range of schools / settings are working to mitigate the impact of poverty.

https://forms.gle/BxBUWi23ic5HEWUH8

Wednesday: Mitigating the Impact of Trauma on Achievement and Attainment

Morning Session 09:30-11:30 Developing Knowledge and Understanding
Understanding Attachment and Trauma
Helen Worrall, Independent Education Consultant
This session will help you understand how disrupted attachment and/or experience of traumatic events can impact on the ability to self-regulate and be ‘ready to learn’.

https://forms.gle/x4JZNxTxrzDYevcJA

Afternoon Session 13:00-15:00 Practical Whole School and Class Based Sessions
Supporting Learners to Self-Regulate
These 90 minute sessions introduce practical approaches to supporting learners to self-regulate:

• Relationship Based Play

• Sensory Regulation

https://forms.gle/cJAcn1erommPRCaX9

Thursday : Family and Community Engagement

Morning Session 09:30-11:30 Developing Knowledge and Understanding
Understanding Family and Community Engagement
Dylan Williams, Partneriaeth
This session will focus on why engaging with families and communities can be part of your school’s approach to securing equitable provision. You will also have examples of how this can be achieved by using Welsh Government’s Family and Community Engagement (FaCE) Toolkit.

https://forms.gle/jS4LYvJbnsBPcPAn7

Afternoon Session 13:00-15:00 Practical Whole School and Class Based Sessions
Family and Community Engagement in Schools - Case Studies:
This session will provide you with the opportunity to hear how a range of schools / settings have developed their approaches to family and community engagement providing clear examples of what they have found to be effective.

https://forms.gle/kspJafyeuuDRVcmF9

Friday : Social and Emotional Literacy

Morning Session 09:30-11:30 Developing Knowledge and Understanding
Developing Social and Emotional Learning in the Early Years
Think Equal
There have been numerous studies that evidence the positive impact of high quality social and emotional learning programmes in early childhood on lifetime effects. This session will introduce you to the fully resourced Think Equal programme for learners ages 3-6. You will have the opportunity to hear from schools who are already using the Think Equal programme. You will also receive guidance on how Think Equal can support your Health and Well-being provision.

https://forms.gle/TaQVVDFhWpZa9s8EA

Afternoon Session 13:00-15:00 Practical Whole School and Class Based Sessions
Emotion Coaching: A Whole School Approach to Developing Social and Emotional Literacy
Partneriaeth
This introductory session will provide a walk-through of the Emotion Coaching technique which uses moments of heightened emotions as opportunities for learning and developing social and emotional skills. Emotion Coaching is a trauma informed approach and you will have the opportunity to hear from schools who have embedded Emotion Coaching as part of their whole school approach to supporting emotional and mental health.

https://forms.gle/81VJYVbUFujxXwH4A

Dylan Williams Regional Project Lead for Equity and Wellbeing dylan.williams@partneriaeth.cymru

Target audience: Senior leaders

Reducing the impact of poverty on educational attainment is a national priority and all schools and settings are asked to consider how they are working to mitigate poverty within their setting.  

Poverty Proofing© the School Day is a powerful tool for identifying the barriers children living in poverty face to engaging fully with school life and its opportunities. Focused on listening to the voices and experiences of young people, it offers a pathway for schools to address often unseen inequalities within their activities, helping them reduce stigma, break the link between educational attainment and financial background, and supports schools to explore the most effective ways to utilise Pupil Development Grant.

• Attendees will gain a better understanding of the unseen barriers society creates for those learners and their families who are living in poverty.

• Attendees will have opportunities to understand how systems and processes in schools can either build or remove these barriers.

• Attendees will leave with practical tools to help them make the first steps to poverty proofing the school day.

• Attendees will also have the opportunity to take part in a whole school audit once they have completed the 2 day training programme.

Event details:

19th & 20th September 2023 09:30-15:00
Ysgol Tan Y Lan, Swansea SA6 7HN
Book here

23rd & 24th January 09:30-15:00
Y Llwyfan, College Road, Carmarthen SA31 3EQ
Book here

22nd & 30th April 10:00-12:00
Online
Book here

Dylan Williams Equity and Wellbeing Professional Learning dylan.williams@partneriaeth.cymru

Target audience: Any practitioner working across the wider education sector – focus for school senior leaders and staff within engagement / community roles in schools.

Families exert a powerful influence on how children get on at school. Schools that are both ambitious and successful recognise that to raise standards and improve learner well-being they need to engage effectively with parents, carers and the wider community. 

Involving parents and carers in their children’s education can remove barriers to learning and improve attitudes and behaviour at school. We know that the most meaningful and effective family engagement develops when schools welcome parents, carers and the wider family as valued partners in their children’s learning. 

Wider community engagement also has a positive influence. Schools that reach out and actively engage the community in the life of the school and the school in the life of the community have a positive impact on educational outcomes. Community engagement contextualises learning, improves adult basic skills and provides positive role models.

Considered also in light of the new Community Focussed Schools Guidance and increased expectations on all schools to consider how they can develop their Family and Community Engagement this is an opportunity to explore and develop understanding of the Welsh Government Family and Community Engagement Toolkit (FaCE) and what good and effective practice looks like in different settings and communities.

• Practitioners working across the education sector will develop a deeper understanding of proven and practical activities around FaCE

• Practitioners are provided with knowledge and understanding in order to review their own engagement with families and the wider community. 

• Practitioners  are able to make changes in order to develop their engagement with families and the wider community.

Event details:

Termly sessions 

9th November 2023 09:30-14:30
Yr Atom, Carmarthen SA31 1BH
Book here

18th March 2024 09:30-14:30
Vivian Hall, Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea SA1 1RR
Book here

25th June 2024 10:00-14:00
Online
Book here

Dylan Williams Equity and Wellbeing Professional Learning dylan.williams@partneriaeth.cymru

Target audience: Any practitioner working across the wider education sector – focus for school senior leaders and staff within engagement / community roles in schools.

Supporting the most vulnerable and disadvantaged learners should be a priority for all schools and settings. If we expect all learners to be ready and able to learn then we have to ensure that we understand the impact of disadvantage on the learner and what can be done to mitigate it. 

Thinking Differently for Disadvantaged Learners (TDFDL) is an online professional learning programme based around six recorded training modules available to all staff (and governors) to access at their own convenience and/or for schools to incorporate into their whole school professional development plan. The programme includes over 12 hours of materials presented in bite-sized sessions, designed and produced by leading experts who have a wealth of experience in leading school improvement for disadvantaged youngsters. 

Each training module is divided into a series of short video sessions (viewable online only) and there are accompanying additional reading materials as well as reflective worksheets (that can be downloaded).

All schools and setting across the Partneriaeth region have open access to TDFDL until 2030 and the programme can be accessed at any time. 

Access to the programme is through an individual school log in (one login per school) and can be set up HERE 

The TDFDL Programme has been developed by Challenging Education, the team behind the RADY Programme and is a perfect accompaniment to RADY or designed to also be used as a standalone PL resource. 

• All schools and settings are aware of the Thinking Differently for Disadvantaged Learners Programme and how to access for their school/setting and staff.

• All schools/settings that have registered for TDFDL are actively utilising the resource for staff and practitioner development .

• Positive feedback about the resource from all schools/settings signed up the resource.

Event details:

‘Introduction to TDFDL Programme’ – September 2023

Book here

Dylan Williams Equity and Wellbeing Professional Learning dylan.williams@partneriaeth.cymru

Target audience: Senior leaders

The achievement gap in Wales remains disproportionally high and reducing the impact of disadvantage on educational attainment continues to be a national priority. 

The RADY Programme (Raising Achievement of Disadvantaged Youngsters)has been developed by Challenging Education and is a strategic whole school change programme, designed to support senior leaders to develop a better understanding of their disadvantaged learners and the areas of support and intervention that could be put in place to improve outcomes. 

Participating schools will have a  bespoke programme of support and activity, designed to improve attainment of disadvantaged learners. Each school will develop a new approach to targets and expectations for their most disadvantaged learners and put in place plans that to raise expectations and prioritise support.

• All schools signed up to the RADY Programme are actively engaging with the set activities and meeting the expectations set down by Challenging Education within an agreed time scale.

• All RADY schools have a clear plan of activity and can demonstrate the changes and developments in their school because of the RADY programme.

Event details:

RADY Information Session 09:30-10:30

Book here

Dylan Williams Equity and Wellbeing Professional Learning dylan.williams@partneriaeth.cymru