Workshops - Conference 2012

Delegates can choose to attend either one 3 hour workshop or up to two 1.5 hour workshops.  Workshops D.'Developing literacy in your school', H.'Preparing for inspection' and J.'Getting the best from your staff' are the 3 hour workshops, the rest are 1.5 hours.

A. TARBIYAH STRATEGIES FOR YOUR SCHOOL.  1.5 hours, to be repeated.  Sh. Ahmed Babikir (Islamia Primary School, London)  

This workshop will explore key strategies, methods and habits for establishing and improving the tarbiyah of your students and staff using practical examples currently implemented at Islamia Primary School. This workshop is aimed at teachers and leaders from both primary and secondary tiers.

B. SETTING UP & CHANGING A NEW INDEPENDENT SCHOOL.  1.5 hours, to be repeated.   Stephen Bishop (Department for Education)

In this workshop we will cover what the promoters of a new independent school need to do to gain registration of the school by the Department for Education. This will include discussion of the Independent School Standards, and how the registration process works. The workshop will also cover the subject of changes to schools which require DfE approval, such as increases in capacity and changes in age-range. Aimed at new independent school proposers.

C.  SETTING UP A FREE SCHOOL. 1.5 hours, to be repeated.  Ayub Ismail (Rainbow Free School, Bradford)

This workshop ill provide attendees with expert overview, advice and guidance on each stage of the application process and how to act on feedback after an application submission.  Aimed at Free School proposers. 

D.  DEVELOPING LITERACY IN YOUR SCHOOL.  3 hours, to run once.  Humaira Saleem & Nyla Ghazi (Suffah Primary School, Hounslow)

This course will help you develop a school-wide approach to raising the quality of literacy teaching and learning in your school. It is designed for class teachers, literacy subject leaders and senior leaders. We will focus on a range of issues such as developing a conducive physical environment for reading and writing; holding whole school literacy-related events; linking Literacy to a creative curriculum; as well as improving standards of planning, teaching and assessments. 

E. EMPLOYMENT LAW.  1.5 hours, to be repeated.  Kerstie Skeaping (Hill Dickinson, Education Law Experts)

This session aims to give practical advice and guidance about your rights and responsibilities as an employer, providing an overview of current employment legislation relevant to educational settings.  Aimed at school leaders and proposers of new schools.

F. NURTURING GIFTEDNESS & CREATIVITY.  1.5 hours, to be repeeated.  Mohammad Akram Khan-Cheema OBE (MAKC Consultancy & AMS UK)

We know that it is possible to systematically nurture gifted and creative behaviours in children and that this will lead to better performance in school and beyond.  Of course no one finds learning easy all of the time and parents are well aware of that even though some families are less willing than others to accept this truth. Helping children to unleash their giftedness and creativity is about encouraging not ‘pushing’ but more crucially ensuring that they persevere when early success gives way to some disappointments.  Gifted and creative behaviour in children only occurs when it is systematically nurtured. Gifted and creative behaviours include inquiry, risk-taking, enterprise, open-mindedness, high level thinking skills, self-regulation, interest in complex ideas, meta-cognition (transfer of ideas from one context to another) strategy flexibility (able to think unconventionally) and strategy planning (able to approach tasks systemically). These are the areas you need to nurture if you are to help your child attain high levels of performance. 

During this workshop we will remind ourselves of research which shows that a child’s own personal motivation, stamina for learning and persistence are crucial in reaching a successful outcome. This means that helping children to become confident and happy individuals is the vital first step to nurturing giftedness and creativity. We will insha’Allah share good practice on how to inculcate a ‘Qur’anic’ mindset and inspire each other to unleash our own potential towards ‘learning to learn’.  “Gratitude is the Attitude” – towards life-long learning.  Aimed at teachers and leaders. 

G. LIVING ISLAM BEYOND THE CLASSROOM: CONNECTING LEARNING WITH COMMUNITY ACTION.  1.5 hours, to be repeated.  Waqaus Ali (1st Ethical)

Why is Islam more than a ‘religion’? Are there any aspects of the 'Deen' your school curriculum is not covering? How can your pupils demonstrate Islamic values in the community? This interactive session will equip front-line educators with the necessary skills to better educate their pupils with a 'holistic' understanding of Islam. By identifying gaps in existing curricula, we will be exploring niche yet important subject matters which can easily be incorporated into Islamic Studies such as financial matters (mu'amalat), social dealings (mu'asharat), da’wah skills etc. And don't just restrict learning to the classroom! We will further demonstrate how you can empower your pupils to benefit wider society by exporting classroom learning ('ilm) into community action ('amal) through faith-based campaigns and student toolkits.  This workshop is a MUST for all PSHE, Citizenship, Islamic Studies and Living Islam teachers.

H. PREPARING FOR INSPECTION.  3 hours, to run once.  Tahir Alam (AMS UK)

In this session we will be discussing the role of inspection in school improvement and giving practical help in preparing for a Section 162a inspection using examples to provide context.  Aimed at school leaders in both primary and secondary tiers.

I.  IMPLEMENTING AN ISLAMIC BEHAVIOUR POLICY.  1.5 hours, to be repeated.  Mustafa Styer (AMS UK)

Infusing our school with the vision of Islamic tarbiyah alongside modern best practice. This training will involve an introduction to a previously developed policy built on prophetic and traditional views of tarbiya welded onto a practical behaviour policy catered to the reality of modern schools. This policy has been developed by a team of experts and conveys enough theory of Islamic tarbiya for teachers to transform behaviour problems into tarbiya opportunities. Teachers will walk away with a policy they can tweak to fit their school, enough knowledge of tarbiya to understand how the Quran and Sunna should be implemented in their classroom and an Islamic vision of the human being which many feel is missing from the OFSTED view of behaviour, the human being and the teacher's role in helping students draw closer to the prophetic model of character.  For teachers and leaders.

J.  GETTING THE BEST FROM YOUR STAFF.  3 hours, to be run once.  Someera Butt (Al-Noor Primary School, Ilford)

This session will focus on helping leaders and management turn challenging staff into motivated staff by using role plays and discussions, addressing problems such as poor performance, misconduct and a lack of professionalism using effective and sensitive communication and management techniques.  Essential for leaders.

K. SELF EVALUATION: TOOLS FOR IMPROVEMENT.  1.5 hours, to be repeated.  Jahangir Akbar (Madani High School & AMS SIP Officer)

Overview and Audience: This INSET on self-evaluation offers head teachers, deputy and assistant head teachers, senior leadership teams, teachers  and governors valuable training in drawing together evidence to evaluate your school’s provision and outcomes, and how to develop a school improvement plan.  The training will also provide a clear step-by-step approach to evaluating your school’s provision and outcomes, set against the Ofsted Inspection framework. It will also identify future areas for improvement which can be included in your school’s improvement plan.  Suitable for both Primary and Secondary phases.  

L. WHAT IS OUTSTANDING TEACHING & WHAT MAKES AN OUTSTANDING TEACHER - AN INSPECTOR'S PERSPECTIVE.  1.5 hours, to be repeated.  Israr Khan (Hamd House Preparatory School & Independent Schools Inspector)

Most teachers can pull off an outstanding lesson if given adequate support. This course looks into what it means to be an outstanding teacher - such that the delivery of outstanding lessons becomes an everyday reality. Consistently outstanding teaching should be the aim of every teacher and headteacher - not just an 'outstanding lesson' on the day of an Ofsted Inspection! This course would be of benefit to experienced teachers as well as those mentoring teachers. Headteachers in particular would find the content of this course useful for planning overall school improvement.