For this episode, Tom and Emma chat about several recent accomplishments, a special anniversary for Tom, and a new program Baccalaureate that Tom is interested in. To start, Emma’s new book Simplicitus: The Interconnected Primary Curriculum & Effective Subject Leadership is available for purchase and has already reached Amazon's bestseller levels of success. Visit edCircuit.com to watch this episode.
Next on the list for exciting celebrations is the 10-year anniversary of Tom’s Teacherhead blog. What began as a way for Tom to share ideas with fellow educators has become a site with over 7.5 million views and hundreds of articles that have been read in nearly every corner of the world (except, as Tom points out, the West Sahara). Tom's following in the education community includes a number of experts, educators, and researchers.
Tom then discusses his and other English educators' work on creating a framework for a National Baccalaureate program. Based on the International Baccalaureate (IB) system, the program Tom is supporting would increase access to a more well-rounded and student-driven curriculum than anything currently available to students in England. A major focus for Tom is how disparate he feels the education system can be due to socioeconomic limitations. Tom hopes a more well-rounded Baccalaureate initiative could address that gap.
About the participants:
Tom Sherrington has worked in schools as a teacher and leader for 30 years and is now a consultant specializing in teacher development and curriculum & assessment planning. His books include Teaching WalkThrus, Rosenshine’s Principles in Action, and The Learning Rainforest Fieldbook. 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 is the founder of ‘NewEd – Joyful CPD for early-career teachers’, a not-for-profit approach to CPD to encourage positivity amongst the profession and help to retain teachers in post. Turner is the author of Be More Toddler: A Leadership Education From Our Little Learners, Let’s Talk About Flex: Flipping the flexible working narrative for education, and Simplicitus: The Interconnected Primary Curriculum & Effective Subject Leadership
Follow Emma on Twitter @emma_turner75
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