Dear RSAs,
Hope things are getting off to a good start at school. Here is an update on RSA arrangements for this year, which I will also post on the blog for reference.
Number of days
The programme for the next couple of terms will be less intensive than the previous phases, and we have set a target that all regions will hold 12 workshops between now and March. On average this will mean around 6 days of work for each of you, although there may be some exceptions. To keep things simple, we would like to arrange that all your contracts refer to 6 days of work (apart from coordinators). However, the contracts will make it clear that you may work either more or less days, subject to agreement with ALL. If there are fewer RSAs in the region (eg. in the South East), then you will almost certainly be working for more days.
Breakdown of days
There will be one planning meeting with the other RSAs in your region each term, as well as the RSA meeting in March. The 6 days overall are likely to work out as follows:
1 day RSA meeting in London
2 x half-day regional RSA planning meetings
4 days for an average of 4 events per person, either in your own region or elsewhere
Workshop focuses
The regional meetings will be ideal for reviewing the Phase 2 workshops and planning how you can make them even better and bring in new elements, including the renewed KS3 Framework and other possible new approaches. Sara Vaughan, Sarah Brooks and Rachel have all developed some useful documentation which I hope they will post on the blog for sharing. Please keep sharing your work – and PLEASE post things on to the blog so that they are there for others to benefit from.
What to do if you are asked to run a KS3 Framework session!
I would recommend that you say YES if approached about this, because the LA concerned may not want to run more sessions that are ONLY about the new curriculum, so we need to take the opportunities that arise. But you will need to explain that the session will explore how the Framework helps with planning the new curriculum, with practical examples and some suggestions for how the new Framework objectives could be used in SoW (Sarah Brooks is working on an exemplar SoW for this). Of course, the Framework is aligned with the new curriculum so the two are really inseparable. But, as discussed at the London meeting, what we can’t do is spend an hour familiarising people with the content, ie. ‘On this page it tells you…, this part is about…’ type input. You can of course show them how to access the objectives online.
What to do if you are asked to run a Links event
It is fine to run an event for your regional Links centre and count it as an RSA day. Make sure that it is co-badged in some way, eg. a line that says ‘in collaboration with the Association for Language Learning’, and, as with local authority events, don’t forget to ask for a copy of the delegate list so you can log them! However, if the Links centre asks you to deliver some of their ‘core’ CPD programme, that would be separate as it involves delivering a specific Toolkit that has been prepared.
Cross-regional working
As usual, your regional coordinator will be responsible for managing the programme of events in the region. We would like to encourage some ‘cross-regional’ work as well, so that delegates have a chance to see some new faces. Please arrange this through the coordinators to avoid muddles. It is worth discussing with your coordinator what focus you would like to offer for an event in another region. The coordinators can then confer and send invitations to RSAs in other regions, which of course you can accept or refuse. There may also be cases where an LA makes a specific request for a topic for which there is an obvious choice of RSA in another region.
Submitting invoices
As usual, you are asked to submit a report of your activities to the ALL office along with the invoice for the actual days worked. ALL can’t pay the school unless they have a copy of the report. From now on, please send a copy to Liz Fotheringham rather than to me, as she will be keeping track of the events.
Logging events
We are now required to log all delegates within 5 days of the date of the event. It is also essential to enter each event on the CfBT database as soon as it is arranged. You can make changes if necessary later on, including cancelling it. We will still be trying to involve schools that are facing relatively more challenges – this could involve a personal phone call to see if someone would like to come along, or discussion with an LA contact to see if they could get in touch with the school to encourage them. Not forgetting Liz’s masterful solution, which is to send at least 3 emails to each school to advertise the event!
Evaluation forms
Some of you have been using out of date versions of the evaluation form, sometimes without making it clear which event they relate to and without the summary sheet (which is very useful from an admin point of view). There is now a new, simpler form and an accompanying summary sheet which we would like everybody to use. They are on the RSA team blog, in a recent post on the home page and also on the admin documents page. Please send the forms to Liz Fotheringham from now on. Thanks! I will still make sure I get a chance to see them when Liz and I meet once a month.
I am sure I have forgotten to mention something – just drop me or Liz a line if you have any questions.
Very best wishes,
Kathy
