RM 2008 Primary Strategic Conferences

Dates and Venues

Tuesday 4th March:	Birmingham National Motorcycle Museum >>> See the presentation slides and videos at www.rm.com/primaryinform2008
Tuesday 11th March:	London Millennium Gloucester Hotel >>> See the presentation slides and videos at www.rm.com/primaryinform2008

Conference Agenda Conference start time: 9:15AM, registration from 8:30AM onwards
Opening Keynote from Professor Stephen Heppell
Professor Stephen Heppell is the founder of Ultralab, Europe's leading research institute pioneering leading-edge applications in support of proven educational precepts. Over the years at Ultralab, Stephen built one of the most respected research centres in eLearning in the world. Stephen continues to be an influence in government ICT policy-making globally. He is on a number of committees including in DfES Schools Internet Safety Strategy Group, the Advisory Group on Design of School Buildings and the Welsh Assembly's Schools of the Future committee.
Headteacher Keynote
Birmingham: Dame Mary MacDonald, Riverside Primary School - Putting fun back into the curriculum
Mary MacDonald has been headteacher at Riverside primary school in North Sheilds, Tyne & Wear for 13 years. Mary's main aim has been to put some fun back into the school day, she has done this by developing a more creative curriculum that sees greater focus on the arts such as drama, music and dance.  This has culminated in her school being awarded the Artsmark Gold. Hear about why she feels the primary curriculum need not be so academic and how Mary has achieved success for her school and recognition from both the local education authority and Ofsted.
London: Steve Lancashire, Hillyfield Primary School - Federations
Steve Lancashire is headteacher at Hillyfield Primary School in the London borough of Waltham Forest.  As well as the additional accountabilities of Executive Head and Acting Head of other schools in the borough he is the ICT lead within the federation.  In his session, Steve will share with us how ICT has been successfully used to support effective information sharing and communication across a network of schools in order to maximise resource utilisation, administration and management efficiencies.
Optional sessions (each session repeated twice during day)
1. Get hands-on with learning platforms
An opportunity to use a learning platform and gain a valuable insight as to how a Learning Platform could benefit your school and give you the freedom to achieve your vision. We will be providing a sneak preview of the latest version of RM's Kaleidos Learning Platform which includes a wealth of functionality to support primary learners including avatars for both pupils and teachers!
2. ICT for all - supporting the personalised learning agenda
ICT is a core tool in the successful delivery of a personalised learning experience for pupils.  In this session we will share practical ideas for ICT as a tool for personalisation in three contexts: the pupil. the teacher, and the school as pivotal hub within the local community.  As communication and dialogue are key aspects of personalisation, this session will also explore how ICT can enable effective, managed and secure communication between school and external agencies, and school and home.
3. Assessment & broadening use of ICT across the curriculum
Being able to assess each learner's understanding and skills is the basis for Assessment for Learning (AfL).  We are delighted to be able to share with you in this session an innovative new solution from NFER that provides ongoing, intuitive and enjoyable formative assessment for primary pupils.  This new e-assessment solution is set to become an essential part of an effective teacher tool-kit.  The primary curriculum is broadening to facilitate exciting and creative experiences, this session will also explore some of those creative areas of primary learning and provide practical examples encompassing exciting and fun technologies.
Primary Schools of the Future
Looking into the future is fraught with uncertainties, assumptions , guess-work and crystal ball gazing.   However, there are ways of seeing what's around the corner to inform our vision and longer-term strategy.  Technology will continue to evoke exponential rate of change across our society and the world. We have the task of designing a learning opportunity for children who will need skills we don't yet know are needed, which will solve problems in the future that we don't yet know exist.
Closing keynote from Gervase Phinn
Professor Gervase Phinn taught in a range of schools for fourteen years before becoming an education adviser and school inspector.  He is now a freelance lecturer, broadcaster and writer, a consultant for the Open University, Honorary Fellow of St John's College, York and the the Fellow and Visiting Professor of Education at The University of Teeside.  He has published many articles, chapters and books and edited a wide range of poetry and short story collections.  He is probably best known for his best-selling autobiographical novels: The Other Side of the Dale, Over Hill and Dale and Head Over Heels in Dales. "A colleague once said that Gervase's enthusiasm and encouragement of teachers should be bottled...an outstanding practitioner"                       (Guardian Education)
Conference closes at 3:55PM

Quotes from previous attendees of RM's primary strategic conferences

"Found all sessions stimulating and thought-provoking. Will enable us to move forward as an organisation. Thank you"       Deputy Head, Churchfields Infant School   "Very useful & enjoyable!"       Headteacher, Grange County Infant School   "Once again very informative - plenty to take away and action."       Headteacher, Camberley Infant & Nursery School   "My first RM conference and very worthwhile. I would definately like to come again."       Acting Head, St Judes CE Primary School   "Really well thought out day...the day has given me another new world to think about"       Headteacher, Sudbury Primary School

Presentations from 2007

View videos, download presentations & listen to podcasts from the 2007 strategic conferences here