Bedford Borough Council is working closely with schools, colleges, and other providers on a range of innovative schemes to boost education outcomes across the Borough.
Children’s imaginations and confidence are being given a boost by a new project which more than 100 teachers, nursery staff and childminders have signed up to.
Helicopter Stories is a scheme where an adult sits with a child, listens to their story, and writes it down word for word. Once every child’s story has been transcribed, the class gather around a stage, ready to act them out.
Staff at 42 schools and 32 preschools, nurseries and childminders will be trained in the scheme over the coming months, fully funded by Bedford Borough Council.
Meanwhile, headteachers from 16 Bedford Borough Primary schools are also developing their skills, by taking part in a Leading For Impact leadership course, facilitated by University College London’s Institute of Education. The leadership reflection programme is made up of four sessions plus two visits to high-performing schools.
The sessions are designed to develop, broaden, and deepen the headteachers’ leadership knowledge and capabilities, make a real difference to pupil outcomes in their own schools.
UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society has been consistently ranked number one for Education for a decade in the QS World University Rankings.
Last month, staff from 35 Bedford Borough primary schools joined a Key Stage 2 Reading Fluency Project run by HFL Education.
The project is designed to benefit children aged between seven and 11, with strategies to make them more enthusiastic and confident readers.
And the most recent Bedford TeachMeet event saw more than 50 educational practitioners meet up to swap stories, experiences, and advice so that best practice is employed all schools across Bedford Borough.
Cllr Jane Walker, Portfolio Holder for Family, Education, Children’s Services said; “We never stop looking for new ways to support our teachers and other educators in giving all of our children the best possible opportunities in life.
“There are so many fantastic schools, with amazing staff, who never stop trying to improve themselves.”