Becoming an Outstanding Teacher PG/CE PCET Conference: Celebrating Achievements and Sharing Good Practice 8th June 2015

On the 8^th of June, PGCE PCET students approaching the end of their programme attended a conference aimed at celebrating achievements and sharing tips and resources for improving practice. This was an opportunity for trainees from both the part-time and full-time provisions to meet and work alongside each other, sharing their experiences as student teachers and identifying development priorities to work on during their upcoming Professional Formation Year.

Through the day trainees were split into subject specialist groups to meet other practitioners interested in the same area. Here they intimately discussed the successes they felt they had achieved throughout the course of their training, presenting the resources they had crafted and used as developing teachers.

The day concluded with trainees being asked to consider what they had taken away from the conference, as well as what they intended to work on as they approached the start of their new journey as qualified teachers. The conference was received very well by all students, and offered students a chance to say goodbye and thank you to their tutors who had supported them through the course. 

We will shortly be putting the resources and case studies submitted by the student teachers online in order to continue to help our past trainees as they enter their first year of teaching, as well as to begin to support new PGCE PCET students starting in September. Watch this space for further news! 

Practitioner Research Success! ETF Summer Conference 2015

On Tuesday 7th July, SUNCETT's Research Development Fellows were invited to deliver their research alongside other practitioner researchers at the Education and Training Foundation's Summer Conference at Mary Ward House, London.

The day opened with a motivating talk by David Russell, CEO of the Education and Training Foundation, after which over 35 research papers and numerous posters were presented throughout the day.  This was a fantastic opportunity for practitioners in the Further, Adult and Vocational Education (FAVE) sector to share best practice, give each other advice and receive feedback on their work from some of the sectors leading figures such as Professor Lorna Unwin, Dr Norman Crowther and Paul Wakeling to name but a few.

The themes of the day ranged from papers researching issues around curriculum, English and maths, ESOL, offender learning, professional development and technology, all of which captured the sector at it's most current status.  Most importantly, the day captured the passion, dedication and enthusiasm that practitioners in the sector shared by practitioners striving for excellence, innovation and change through their research projects.

Professor Maggie Gregson, SUNCETT and Brian Todd, Research Fellow with his poster at the ETF Summer Conference 2015

The day concluded with a Q & A session with Emeritus Professor Lorna Unwin from UCL Institute of Education and Dr Norman Crowther from ATL who reflected upon the success of the day and discussed what the future might hold for the FAVE sector in the coming years.

SUNCETT would like to personally thank their 2014/15 Research Development Fellows for their hard work and dedication throughout the year and for their outstanding contribution to the ETF Summer Conference.

The ETF Stall at Mary Ward House, London

Practitioner Research Support 2015-16: A Message from the Education and Training Foundation

We will shortly be announcing details of our new support programme for practitioner-led research projects during October 2015 to July 2016. Once we publish the application form and further programme details, the period for making an application will be during August and September with a deadline of the end September/beginning of October. Please keep checking our website over the next few weeks for information about how to apply; we are, however, able to provide some preliminary details below.

Do you have a good research idea but need some support and some thinking time to make it happen?

The Education and Training Foundation is committed to seeking opportunities to give practitioners the time and space to reflect, experiment, apply, and also generate their own, evidence, in order to improve their and their colleagues’ practice and ultimately outcomes for learners.

We are pleased to demonstrate this by offering opportunities, for another year, to practitioners wishing to undertake a supported action research project during the academic year 2015-16.

Our approach builds on the significant work in recent years in our sector to champion and design good models of research by education and training practitioners for the purposes of improvement, innovation, and the development of professional practice.

The programme also reflects the commitment to reflection, enquiry and evidence based practice as outlined in the Professional Standards for Teachers and Trainers in our sector.

These opportunities are aimed at those working in Skills Funding Agency-funded organisations and we are keen to ensure that all types of providers, practitioners and roles are reflected in the applications we receive.

Turn your good idea into great practice!


In 2015-16 there will be two types of opportunity (both programmes will accept applications from any region of England, any type of provider and any type of practitioner role):

1. The Research Development Fellowship (RDF) Programme which has been running since 2009 in partnership with the University of Sunderland Centre for Excellence in Teacher Training (SUNCETT).

Successful applicants to the RDF programme will:

• attend three residential events, of three days each; these will help participants refine the design of their research project, 
• collect and analyse data and support and guide them to see their project through to completion, as they prepare to share and further disseminate and implement the outcomes and findings of their research with the wider practitioner and research community 
• be eligible to submit their final report for MA credits to the University of Sunderland’s examination board 
• be allocated a critical friend and research mentor from the SUNCETT team who will work with them throughout the project 
• receive a small bursary made payable to their employing organisation and which is intended to support the research and to cover release costs, travel and subsistence costs of attending the programme’s 3 residential events 
• have the opportunity to present their project and /or research poster at the annual ETF Research Conference. This will take place in early July 2016.

2. The Exploratory Research in maths and English Programme. These opportunities are intended for practitioners who would like the opportunity to further develop their research idea focused on maths and English teaching. This programme will also be delivered in partnership with SUNCETT. It will complement the other opportunities which the Foundation is already providing for teachers, trainers and leaders in our commitment to supporting practitioners to confidently teach maths and English both as separate subjects and also as an essential part of vocational teaching.

Successful applicants to the Exploratory Programme will:

• attend two residential events of 1.5 days each; these are designed to help participants refine the design of their research project, collect and analyse data and support and guide them to see their project through to completion as they prepare to share and further disseminate and implement the outcomes. 
• be allocated a critical friend and research mentor from the SUNCETT team who will work with them throughout the project. 
• have the opportunity to present their project and /or research poster at the annual ETF Research Conference in early July 2016. 

Both programmes will be fully funded by The Foundation, with the exception of the costs of travel to the residential events.


http://www.et-foundation.co.uk/supporting/research/practitioner-research-support/