Welcome!
Thanks for coming to this special page for schools in Northumberland. I've recorded a 60 second intro below - it's probably the best place to start!
1. Alliance / Trust Meetings - Guest CPD (no cost)
We regularly run workshops at Heads' meetings and conferences and I'd be delighted to extend this offer for yours, at no cost.
Heads have told me they most appreciate taking part in a couple of our "easiest-win" activities, and learning ways to cascade this down to staff to try out. The guest spot can be of any length that suits you.
I've sat through enough "workshops" that actually turn out to be sales pitches (and wouldn't wish this in anyone) so you can be guarantee to get 100% useful CPD, 0% advert.
The workshop will:
- Give you a range of new ideas for staff to try out in class
- Further copies of our minibooks to hand out to Oracy champions
- A selection of curriculum-based resources for immediate impact
(*We're trusted to run CPD for The Government of Jersey, Association of Essex Headteachers, The Speakers' Trust, the Government of South Australia, and many more).
2. In-school workshops with twilight INSET (low cost)
Showing our working to teachers with their pupils, in their classrooms, on their topics, is what we do week-in, week-out. We work with primaries, secondaries and Sixth Forms. Once a school gets us in once, it often leads to a longer-term collaboration, so I'd be delighted to come in and run a half-day of oracy workshops with any class(es) at your school, plus a twilight INSET for all staff, at an introductory rate of only £150 + travel expenses.
You can read more about what this looks like at https://www.thephilosophyman.com/oracy-training
3. Alliance/Local School Oracy Competitions (low-cost)
We've recently been commissioned by Essex County Council to run the Essex Oracy Network Competition - a chance to help young talkers develop and show-off their oracy skills through a series of activities involving debate, discussion and improvisation.
This is running across the entire county, and can easily be scaled for an Alliance or cluster of local schools to compete in. I'd love to find willing schools to pilot it in Northumberland - once again, at a nominal price p/school just to ensure attendance!
4. The "Philosopher in Residence" Programme (high immediate impact, best value)
Over the last 10 years I've been a Philosopher in Residence in many schools. This is the fastest and most intensive way to boost oracy at your school - I'm in your school once a week, for six weeks, running workshops that quickly progress your students' oracy skills through a tried and tested sequence of sessions.
It has three core benefits:
1. Pupils make rapid progress in their thinking skills thanks to a sustained programme of oracy lessons.
2. Teachers observe the range of ways they can use our oracy strategies in their curriculum, and feel inspired to try it out themselves.
3. Teachers immediately embed more oracy into their practice by running their own sessions, under our guidance and using our resources. There's no case of "I'll get round to that one day..."
Click the button on the right to learn more.
Need more books?
All of our books, including:
- Help Me Find My Voice - A Practical Guide to Oracy for Schools
- Thinkers' Games - Making Thinking Physical
- Philosophy Circles - How to Embed P4C into Your Curriculum
- Thinking Moves A-Z: Metacognition Made Simple
...are available in our shop and begin from only £2.99.
