Coherent Curriculum and Community with Jon Hutchinson, Mind the Gap, Ep.73 (S4,E10)
Mar 4, 2024
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Jon Hutchinson discusses the importance of curricular coherence in education, emphasizing the journey of each student. The conversation explores Reach's initiatives, instructional coaching, and community engagement to improve educational systems.
Educational systems benefit from curricular coherence, great teaching principles, relationship building, community understanding, and strong leadership.
Instructional coaching should balance generic techniques with subject-specific expertise for enhanced teaching quality and curriculum effectiveness.
Mino Academy's concise videos offer subject-specific history knowledge, aiding teachers in curriculum planning and engaging instruction.
Deep dives
The Foundational Principles of Reach Academy and Community Approach in Education
Reach Academy Feltham was founded with a community-focused, relationship-driven approach to education. The school aimed to build strong connections with families and capitalize on the advantages of a small, community-oriented school model. Over time, the school recognized that academic success alone was not sufficient to prepare students for a fulfilling life, leading to the establishment of the Cradle to Career Partnership focusing on broader community support. Various trusts nationwide are now partnering with Reach to adopt a similar community-centered approach, tailored to each community's unique needs.
The Reach Foundation's Partnership Model and Two-Year Program
The Reach Foundation partners with local trusts for a two-year program focused on key areas like a coherent all-through curriculum, great teaching principles, relationship building, community engagement, and leadership development. This structured approach aims to deepen understanding of children's educational journey, starting from early years and progressing through their academic path. The program encourages deep community understanding and collaboration to support children's holistic development.
The Role of Subject-Specific Instructional Coaching in Teaching Development
Instructional coaching at Reach emphasizes the need for subject-specific expertise to enhance teaching quality. While coaching often focuses on generic techniques like behavior management, there is a call for more subject-specific coaching to delve into detailed curriculum content and effective teaching strategies. Incorporating subject specificity in coaching can lead to richer teaching discussions and impactful pedagogical development.
The Mino Academy: Five-Minute Subject-Specific Knowledge Videos
The Mino Academy, founded by John Hutchinson and his brother, offers five-minute videos on primary history topics, aiming to provide subject-specific knowledge support for teachers. The concise videos focus on key historical concepts, enabling teachers to deepen their content knowledge quickly and effectively. The intention is to empower teachers with foundational historical understanding, aiding in curriculum planning and facilitating engaging classroom instruction.
Balancing Generic and Subject-Specific Coaching for Enhanced Pedagogical Development
Balancing generic coaching techniques like behavior management with subject-specific instructional coaching is essential for nuanced teaching development. While generic practices are valuable, subject-specific coaching can offer deeper insights into curriculum content and effective pedagogy. Integrating both approaches enhances teaching quality and supports teachers in delivering engaging and impactful lessons tailored to subject-specific requirements.
On this episode of Mind The Gap, Tom Sherrington and Emma Turner are joined by Jon Hutchinson. The three of them talk about Jon's role at Reach which aims to weave five important threads into their community partners' educational systems: curricular coherence, understanding the principles of great teaching, maintaining relationships, understanding the community, and strong leadership. A large part of the conversation focused on the current curricular incoherence that plagues many schools. Jon says about teachers, "You're just one small part of that kid's journey, and it is incumbent on you and on the broader system to think about that journey in a much more coherent way." Finally, the trio discuss Reach's booklets, the Meno Academy videos Jon makes with his brother, and the effectiveness of instructional coaching.
Jon Hutchinson is a former assistant headteacher of Reach Academy Feltham now director of Reach Foundation. He has taught across both KS1 and KS2, and also tutors on Ambition Institute’s Masters in Expert Teaching. Jon has sat on expert panels for the Department for Education, Ofsted and the Standards and Testing Agency. Follow Jon on Twitter @jon_hutchinson_
Tom Sherrington has worked in schools as a teacher and leader for 30 years and is now a consultant specialising in teacher development and curriculum & assessment planning. He regularly contributes to conferences and CPD sessions locally and nationally and is busy working in schools and colleges across the UK and around the world. Follow Tom on Twitter @teacherhead
Emma Turner joined Discovery Schools Academy Trust as the Research and CPD lead after 20 years in primary teaching. She founded ‘NewEd – Joyful CPD for early-career teachers,’ a not-for-profit approach to CPD to encourage positivity amongst the profession and help retain teachers in post. Follow Emma on Twitter @emma_turner75.
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