ACADEMIC PLANNER
The academic planner outlining all meetings is available to download below. Staff are expected to attend the relevant published meetings outlined on this calendar.
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A3 printed copies can be collected in September from reprographics. Please be aware sometimes the odd thing changes throughout the year and it is the online version which is updated – this can be accessed through MS Outlook. There are 4 main calendars – staff, student, exams and school holidays. If you any of them are missing from MS Outlook or your iCal app then please go to IT and they will help you.
Our aim is to preserve Friday as a meeting free day. Meetings should be purposeful and short! A good rule is to aim to finish by 5pm at the very latest. They should not, however, take place for the sake of it so if you don’t need to meet then please cancel. All meetings must have Learning and Teaching as the main focus of the agenda; otherwise we can get bogged down in administration and lose sight of why we are here!
DEPARTMENT MEETINGS (DM)
Department meetings dates/times are not scheduled centrally. This is to allow CLs to schedule their meetings as and when is most appropriate for their team. As a minimum we expect the whole department to meeting once per half term but many departments choose to meet more frequently. Please get the dates directly from your CL so that you can put them in your diary straight away so that you can attend.
STAFF DEVELOPMENT MONDAYS
Every Monday there is 1 hour set aside for staff development. Period 5, 6 and 7 are 40 minutes long and the school day finishes for the students at 2.55pm so as to allow all for the weekly development time (Every Monday 3.10-4.10pm). This time is broken town into: whole staff meetings, CfM time (Collaboration for Mastery time) and elective CPD sessions.
This ‘Collaboration for Mastery’ time, will be used specifically for the development of subject pedagogy and practice so that as a school we can better realise our vision for learning. All this time will be directed by the Curriculum Leader based on their curriculum action plan. It is expected that all members of staff working on those days, will attend the meetings. Please see James or Anna personally if you wish to miss a Monday development hour for exceptional circumstances.
STAFF MEETINGS (SM)
This takes place once every half-term on a Monday; it sits within the staff development time. All teaching staff are expected to attend despite other commitments. All support staff are also invited. Please see James personally if you wish to miss a staff meeting for exceptional circumstances. However, dates are published in advance so please make arrangements to ensure you can attend. Staff meetings are led by Emily Cavell and learning and teaching will be the main focus of all staff meetings. There will be 30 minutes of ‘input’ all together followed by 30 minutes of time as a department to undertake set activities and discussions following on from the input. Meetings start at 3.10pm promptly.
YEAR MEETINGS (YM)
These take place once per half term. All form tutors are expected to attend these meetings despite other commitments. The meetings are led by the Head of Year and will be the main vehicle for supporting with the delivery of the PSHE curriculum next year.
INSET DAYS
Throughout the duration of the year there will be a number of days set aside for staff INSET days both internally and across Xavier CET. Some of this time is spent as a whole staff where we may have an external speaker or alternatively colleagues present key strategies in relation to our school priorities. You will also have valuable time working within your own department.
Part-time staff are expected to attend the proportion of INSET days that they work. If an INSET day falls on a day that you would normally work then you are expected to come in but should it fall on a day that would normally be your day off then you may come in and either take a day off in lieu, get paid for it or stay at home – your choice. Certain dates are really important e.g. all part-time staff are asked to attend the INSET day on Monday 4th September 2023.
LEARNING GROUP (LG)
This takes place once per half term. Staff from across all departments, as well as the MAT, meet to share L&T ideas in relation to our school priorities. Staff at Learning Group also support research projects that are undertaken and support in trialling out ideas/ strategies before they are shared on INSET days or in staff meetings. Everyone is welcome to come along; please speak to Emily Cavell for further information.
COLLABORATIVE LEARNING TEAM (CLTs)
There are 3 CLTs that meet regularly each term to explore 3 specific aspects of learning and teaching identified as areas for whole school improvement. These teams are research driven, discussion based and staff within them trial strategies that arise from this. These are then disseminated through staff meetings and INSET.
This year (2023-24) the foci are:
- Sixth Form CLT – Feedback – Getting students to respond to feedback effectively
- 4C CLT – Disciplinary Literacy – Reading for pleasure & explicit vocabulary instruction
- Mastery CLT – Oracy and classroom talk
Everyone is welcome to join at any time during the year, please speak to Emily Cavell for further information.
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