The role of Teaching Schools and National Support Schools is to work with others to provide high-quality training and support for school improvement in their local area. Regional networks in Maths and Scienec exist to support the professional development of schools.

Teaching schools lead in 6 areas:

  1. delivering school-led initial teacher training (ITT), including School Direct
  2. providing tailored continuing professional development to staff across their alliances
  3. supporting other schools, usually working with a school or academy in challenging circumstances to bring about improvement
  4. identifying and developing future leaders
  5. recruiting and managing specialist leaders of education: outstanding middle and senior leaders who develop leaders in other schools
  6. building on existing research and sharing new research and development

We have 4 Teaching Schools and a National Support School in Northumberland. Links to each school are below.

The schools offer a wide range of personalised support through Senior Leaders in Education (SLE’s) and National Leaders of Education (NLE’s). This can range from support for new curricula, through departmental reviews to providing leadership capacity. Details of each SLE/NLE are available below;

If you would like further information on Teaching Schools or National Support Schools, or would like to discuss bespoke support that they may be able to provide your school through SLE’s and NLE’s, please contact Dave Cookson (Northumberland Teaching Schools & National Support Schools Co-ordinator).

The Dales Specialist School
Sele First School
Ponteland Middle School
The King Edward VI School
Ponteland High School

Subject/Phase Networks:

KEVI run a number of subject/phase networks, to ensourage staff to meet and discuss a wide range of subject/phase specific issues.

If you would like to join a particular network please contact the appropriate person.

If there are networks that you would like to see set up please contact Dave Cookson and he will liaise with the Teaching Schools/National Support School on your behalf.

Continuous Professional Learning in Schools Network – Northumberland

The aim of this new network, run by Ponteland High School, is to provide an opportunity for teachers to engage in discussion and activities which enable them to take ownership of learning through reflection of their own classroom practices.

Teachers will also have the opportunity to engage in learning structures designed to create reflective and better-informed teaching. This might include participation in some of the following:

  • Small scale, teacher-led Action Research investigations

  • Participation in informal coaching and mentoring partnerships

  • Using technology such as video to create more reflective conversation regarding teaching development

  • Contributing to teacher research projects within local university provision.

The focus of the network is individual teacher ownership of their research interest. It is designed to compliment, but not be directed by school improvement priorities. We envisage interested teachers will have the opportunity to create networks across schools and learn more from one another as research-informed evidence is collected and shared.

Teachers from all phases are welcome.

Future meeting dates will be publicised once available.
The Great North Maths Hub’s objective is to improve maths education for children and teenagers, by developing and increasing collaboration between mathematics education professionals, schools, colleges and universities.
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