"As you can see from the new 'Outstanding Ofsted' logo on our letterhead, the school has had a fantastic journey over the last few years and we were really proud of the outcome achieved last November. You have inspired us so much and we have used many of your ideas, especially in approaches to learning and through an innovative and engaging curriculum. It is now time to start sending other representatives from our school to learn and take on further ideas.
One of the many strengths that Ofsted reported on was the effective leadership across the school. Thank you for all your help and ideas over many years. Even Southampton are on the up and up!."
"We all appreciated the time Paul had spent on preparing for the day as it was not easy presenting to 5 schools all at different stages in curriculum design. All schools really appreciated the day and there was very positive feedback from each school."
"The staff felt the surgery in the afternoon was the most beneficial as they could talk to Paul about implementing the curriculum and the issues faced. Our staff really felt empowered after talking with Paul and we reviewed the impact of the day in our next staff meeting. We have clear steps to progress our curriculum."
"Paul was scored highly by all delegates. On a five point scale his lowest score from 45 delegates was 'Good', but the majority were 'Excellent' or 'Very Good'. No-one scored him 'Satisfactory' or 'Poor'. Some referred to him as being inspirational and thought provoking and from my point of view I got on really well with Paul."
"I liked how flexible Paul was in terms of meeting our needs. It was extremely useful for the staff to be given the context of where the curriculum is heading nationally. Seeing it in practice in Paul's school and allowing time for teachers to plan were the most beneficial parts as staff were very inspired by the morning's delivery and were able to share ideas and develop their own planning."
"I found the whole day inspiring and it has given us a great launch into developing our curriculum."
"Excellent. All aspects of the process were first rate and I have already recommended you to a primary colleague in Liverpool, who is interested in the 'Creative Curriculum'. Thank you for everything, it was a very successful day."
"10/10."
"From helping to meet our initial needs to the day itself we found the service to be excellent. Paul in particular with his delivery and infectious enthusiasm made the day a great success."
"From helping to meet our initial needs to the day itself we found the service to be excellent. Paul in particular with his delivery and infectious enthusiasm made the day a great success."
"Dave spoke eloquently about making changes to the curriculum and how this looked in practice. His talk was peppered with practical advice and understanding that the pace of change needs to be carefully tailored to the needs of the school and the staff. Feedback from colleagues was very positive.."
"Excellent day, tailored to our needs and yet incorporating all CQ ideas. Dave gauged the mood of all staff expertly and was both enjoying and challenging."
"Staff from both schools found the day enjoyable and interesting, just what we wanted. There was a good mix of input from Dave and opportunity for discussion. An excellent starting point for us to develop our curriculum in school."
"The day was a real success. It met the needs of both schools. Dave’s enthusiastic presentation inspired staff. Having the opportunities to discuss and brainstorm ideas was brilliant and gave staff starting points to use back in school. Ideas Dave suggested in planning a curriculum have already been adopted in our school."
"From booking through to delivery instructions were clear and people were helpful."
"Excellent booking procedure, excellent service on the day and good follow up in place."
"Having the opportunity to look at the key skills for Early Years and using this as a basis for our planning rather than EYFS. We spent a long time doing this and discussing the planning process and format for the medium term plan for September (new to pre-school staff from Greenhead and Herdley Bank) Although the plan is very much in its early stages it was good to bring all the Pre School and Reception class teachers together for the first time to plan a joint curriculum. Claire took the day slowly to accommodate those staff who felt less confident."
"Having the opportunity to work closely, and share ideas with teachers from schools within our federation, and using the skills based curriculum to further develop our Key Stage 1 medium term planning, in particular for September. Claire was very knowledgeable and was able to support us through the first time of all three schools planning together."
"All of them, but particularly work with staff in planning a unit."
"Thank you for an excellent day with Claire Render on Tuesday. We all found it very useful and thoroughly enjoyed her time with us."
"Would you please thank Claire for an excellent INSET Day. The day certainly set my staff buzzing. They planned to get together over half term to continue with the planning."
"The whole day was useful but especially the sections which gave staff practical ideas around how to structure a lesson so that children were immediately engaged, kept involved and maximised pupil thinking and learning."
"Claire is an entertaining and thought-provoking speaker and kept the pace right, giving staff time to discuss each section as it unfolded. I felt that the whole event was tailored to our needs as a school exactly and know that as we begin to include the many new strategies into our planning and teaching, it will definitely have a positive impact on standards.."
"A great starting point to reorganising our curriculum. All staff felt enthused and motivated."
"The practical points to consider when planning a 21st Century Curriculum."
"Simple techniques put into practice, lots of discussion between staff and reflection time."
"Reviewing where we are, what we want to achieve and how to get there. Discussion amongst staff around the ideas suggested. For younger less experienced staff the clarification of what ‘personalizing learning’ means in reality. Handouts for future reference/suggested literature for purchase."
"Excellent in all aspects."
"Very good value for money."
"Opportunity to inspire staff to think outside QCA and to feel confident about our own needs as a school community. Will was able to do all the above!"
"All of it. We were motivated and inspired by Will and intend to use him again."
"On both occasions the sessions were planned meticulously to meet the needs of the staff and our requirements. Both days entertaining with lots taken from the sessions."
"There was a very good mix between group work, individual thought time and presentation."
"The most useful part was staff having the opportunity to reflect on present practice and how the school needs to change and move forward towards a skills based curriculum."
"Very easy and professional, consultant contacted the school well before event and ensured messages were as tailored to our school as possible – spot on!"
"Great! Thanks for a fun and inspiring day."
"Staff were very impressed with Will, his knowledge and experience. It is certainly one of the better INSET days provided by an outside provider. Within the context of our day, there was nothing I would have changed."
"Excellent - helpful from the very first communication."
"Very good."
"The day gave us the opportunity to talk openly about the curriculum in a different way. It gave everyone the chance to view the planning, teaching and assessment in a different way. It confirmed everything I believe about a more creative approach to teaching."
"Whole day was inspiring and thought-provoking. Has given us knowledge and confidence to introduce the creative curriculum."
"It was great seeing how the creative curriculum works and how we can achieve coverage of all subject areas. We concentrated on some of the foundation subjects and it was exciting to see the possibilities. There was also a great mix of group work and discussion with a teaching approach."
"Most important of all was the way time was created for staff to engage and discuss. June was a very responsive consultant who, through discussion, met the needs of the school well."
"The whole day was useful and productive. June led the INSET in the style of Chris – presentation/talk time. This allowed the staff to digest and discuss the important points as we went along."
"June was good at relating the theory to practice and drawing on her experiences as a Head. The whole staff felt that the day was productive and we now feel confident to move our curriculum planning forward."
"Step-by-step guidance through the requirements of the new curriculum"
"Clear answering of questions with answers which referred to actual experiences in a school setting"
"Guidance for choice of drivers within skills-based curriculum"
"Personalised approach to redesigning the curriculum at our school"
"Warm, approachable course leader."
"A thought provoking and liberating day, thank you!"
"Service from initial enquiry to delivery has been excellent."
"Excellent! Thank-you."
"Thank you again, for your excellent training on Monday. I know that many teachers were inspired and I am certain that the key skills and planning frameworks will definitely be used in 3 more of the schools. The practical session certainly helped to consolidate elements for them. The examples you shared from the various schools you have worked with were sensational and one can only imagine the sophisticated levels of learning they must have represented for their children."
"The opportunity for discussion among colleagues and in particular the task set for the afternoon session where colleagues were asked to plan a unit of work. Feedback from staff was very positive and the SLT are keen to move this work forward."
"Opportunities to discuss and decide our whole school drivers (which led on to us reviewing our curriculum vision the following day!)"
"The day enabled us to have a great springboard to the second day of our INSET thank you! We now have a new topic curriculum that everyone is committed to and very excited about!"
"Staff found the whole day very informative. There are so many uncertainties at present, due to the new government, but Karen dealt well with the questions raised. This gave us a lot to think about!"
"We found the day very useful, concentrating as it did on the topic of Planning for the New Creative Curriculum."
"No improvements needed. Well planned and well delivered. Good feedback from all who attended."
"Excellent, all paperwork prepared and received well before the event."
"A really good day that inspired us all to re-look at our curriculum for our children! Thank you Karen!"
"Very stimulating and informative."
"Excellent."
"The whole day was inspiring and relevant. The following areas really stood out: The group activity where schools selected their curriculum drivers. This presented us with the opportunity to identify strengths and weaknesses in our curriculum. The emphasis upon in the need to embrace change and the possibilities change can bring about for our children. Stressing the importance of quality outcomes."
"Stephen was an inspiration to all. His approach and well planned delivery ensured everyone progressed in their thinking and were fully included during the day. The content was exactly what we expected and will undoubtedly have an impact on the children. He is clearly passionate about the impact the curriculum has on all learners including the staff. Many thanks!"
"The day was excellent, thanks. It was appropriate to the school's needs and useful in terms of next steps. The 'gambling' game really helped to show some 'less positive' staff members the value of all pulling in the same direction."
"The whole day provided us with many valuable starting points for reforming our current curriculum and making it more creative, challenging and cross curricular. The opportunities to look at specific examples of how a more integrated curriculum could work in practice were especially useful."
"Stephen listened sensitively. He didn’t just deliver, he planned the day with just the right balance and we came away with a clear direction for the future."
"The whole day was relevant and thought provoking. A most enjoyable day and Stephen helped us along the next ‘leg of our journey’. The day itself was a good balance of fun, active activities and a time for thought and reflection. Thank you very much indeed!"
"Identifying our reasons for curriculum change as a whole, and then identifying the core strengths that we want to build on."
"It was useful to learn about the new curriculum and to start thinking how this might be part of developing a curriculum that will suit our needs. A useful beginning to developing a new curriculum."
"Our consultancy day went well and was a useful day. Stephen was good at meeting our needs especially as he didn't know our school or staff. He Provided us with a good starting point which we needed before we begin to revise our curriculum."
"The message that all children must have a key say in the new curriculum and parents are partners."
"An opportunity to review and reflect and consider the curriculum from different perspectives. To look at how the new curriculum could look and to begin to map out the process of revising the curriculum."
"Stephen is an enthusiastic, engaging speaker and the day flew by! In fact my Deputy and I are now also attending a course in June."
"Excellent - the day ran extremely smoothly thanks to good communication."
"Excellent from start to finish. Many thanks. We'd love to work with you again."
"I would rate the quality of the booking very highly. Stephen was an inspiring speaker. All the staff, without exception, found the day to be interesting and most importantly useful."
"I thought Stephen was an excellent consultant. He was informed, he listened and his delivery was superb with plenty of humour along the way. We are really looking forward to our next day in June."
"Excellent. Very prompt replies and communication, both through emails and over the phone."
"Having worked for 4 Education Authorities it was one of the best training events I have attended."
"The whole day was extremely useful and the pace allowed all staff just enough involvement for Rob to gather the important information for our new SEF."
"Guidance upon whether the commentary matched the judgement."
"Some helpful pointers on the commentary and the length of commentary too."
"Rob undertook 12 joint observations back to back over the two days, 12 feedbacks to observers, several to SLT and a 20 page document on main findings. Throughout this process Rob was excellent."
"Excellent - in-depth scrutiny of our SEF and suggested improvements."
"Excellent. I couldn’t believe the speed that the information was returned to me and Nicola was so helpful on the phone and getting the information to you was also very easy. So well done."
"Excellent."
"I was very pleased at the speed of turnaround of this useful document."
"Very efficient."
"Both days were absolutely invaluable. Clive was able to fulfil my dreams of having a near completed SEF. With his profound knowledge of appropriate terminology and OFSTED jargon he was able to perform a miracle."
"Clive was undaunted by the massive challenge and he worked tirelessly to achieve what I thought was the impossible."
"Having the time and space to discuss issues with Clive was extremely helpful. Whilst we were looking at the SEF, he also supported me to develop ideas which will benefit our school in the future."
"Clive was very supportive and knowledgeable."
"Outstanding. I am truly indebted and wish it was only possible to have him as our next OFSTED Inspector."
"Excellent."
"Really good service."