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iNet are delighted to have hosted a delegation from Beijing Institute of Education in October. The day focused on leadership and included an input by John King, Headteacher at Gable Hall School. The day concluded with a visit to Chelsea Academy. We look forward to working with Beijing Institute of Education in the future.
On 16 October 2010, Elizabeth Reid, Chief Executive of the Specialist and Academies Trust, attended the 60th anniversary of Beijing No. 11 High School, China. The district mayor and the director of local education authority were present to the event. As the only international guest invited by the school, Liz sent a congratulation letter to the school and gave a speech.The honour was bestowed as a result of Wendy’s magnificent work for the catholic church. Her work as Head of iNet Australia featured in the citation which accompanied the Honour.
Beijing No. 11 High School was the very first school in China to affiliate to iNet. They have participated in the 4th iNet International Conference in Beijing and visited England as part of a study tour. The school also contribute to the ‘Towards the Olympics’ project which ran from 2006 to 2008.
The iNet team and the staff of the Specialist schools and Academies Trust would like to congratulate the Head of iNet Australia, Dr Wendy Cahill, on her recent award of a Papal Honour. Wendy has been bestowed with the Honour of Dame of the Order of St Gregory the Great by Pope Benedict 16th. A formal ceremony was held in Melbourne this month and Wendy will also travel to the Vatican in Rome as part of the acceptance ceremony in October.
The honour was bestowed as a result of Wendy’s magnificent work for the catholic church. Her work as Head of iNet Australia featured in the citation which accompanied the Honour.
Our very warmest congratulations go to Wendy on this outstanding achievement.
We are delighted to announce that our next international conference will be taking place in Michigan, USA, on 14 – 16 February 2011. The conference theme is ‘Navigators of Learning’. Find out more...
On Wednesday 14 July 2010, 47 developing leaders from Wales came together to celebrate completing the two year leadership programme. The programme is unique in that it is designed and delivered by practicing headteachers and education leaders, as they work to transform secondary education in Wales and beyond. Read more...
In June 2010, six principals and senior leaders from Xicheng Education District Commission in China visited England. They visited Robin Hood Primary School. Watch a video of the MOU signing at Robin Hood. We look forward to working with Xicheng Education Dstrict Commission in the future.
140 delegates gathered over three days to attend the 6th iNet International Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. Delegates from seven countries discussed equity and excellence in education and explored strands from the iNet Charter for Action. A full conference report will be available shortly.
iNet releases Charter for Action which sets out how school leadership should be exercised in the years ahead to ensure success for all students in all settings. Read the iNet Charter for Action...
Filey School presented with the International School Award by broadcaster and journalist, George Alagiah at a high-profile ceremony in London on 16 October. Find out more...
Congratulations to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Human Resources in Mauritius for winning a Good Practice Award 2009. Find out more ...
iNet recently hosted visitors from Abu Dhabi. Their visit concluded with meetings in our London office following participation at the SSAT's Achievement Show and school visits.
The SSAT sponsored the 2009 teaching award for 'Outstanding new teacher of the year'. Our congratulations go to Cathy Young from Pembroke School, Wales and Clare Campbell from Saint Patrick's College, Northern Ireland for winning these awards.
65 principals and other school leaders from seven countries gathered in Mauritius to discuss the essential skills for living, learning and working in an era of globalisation. The workshop was opened by Dr the Hon VK Bunwaree, Minister for Education and Mr Nick Stuart, Chairman of the SSAT. Keynote presenters included Professor Brian Caldwell and Professor Yong Zhao.
The workshop culminated in delegates signing a Charter for Action which sets out how school leadership should be exercised in the years ahead to ensure success for all students in all settings. The Charter will be released to all iNet members shortly.
Michigan State University (MSU) are in final preparations for their third annual Internationalizing Michigan Education Conference on Friday 27 February 2009. At the conference iNet will be introduced as a resource to connect educators and students around the world. The conference will also be a celebration for the 200 schools in Michigan that have recently joined iNet. Read more from the MSU website.
The formal training programme for 20 teachers from Hubei, China, concluded this week with a meeting with Mr Qi at the Chinese Embassy. The group spent an hour with Mr Qi discussing their visit and other topics. On Friday 13 February the group visited the London office to receive certificates from Elizabeth Reid, SSAT Chief Executive. The group also discussed their observations from their school visits and what innovation they could implement in their classrooms. We would like to thank all of the schools who hosted the group.
20 teachers from Hubei are on a two-week training programme learning about the English education system and the innovations taking place in schools in London. The teachers joined the iNet team in our London office to learn about the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and gain an overview of English education. The programme continues with school visits and cultural activities.
With over 2000 delegates at the conference, this was our most ambitious and inspirational conference to date. Highlights included the international showcases and partnership fairs. Showcase and keynote presentations can now be downloaded.
Read the full story
Over 50 schools from Michigan, USA, have joined iNet. We welcome them to the network and look forward to working with them in the future.
Students from across England flew to China to witness the opening of the Olympic Games and take part in the final stages of the SSAT's ‘Towards the Olympics’ project. The trip is the final stage in the educational project, which has involved English students sharing cultures, language and sporting activities with their Chinese counterparts, as well as developing an online resource for students of both countries.
Find out about the Hackney Study Tour from UK
The first two student online conferences this year have encouraged wide-ranging discussions on new technologies and climate change.
Students from over 20 countries joined in the discussions on the messageboards, with many also contributing essays, presentations and video clips to express their views.
A new feature this year was the inclusion of polls, which revealed, among other things, that despite new technologies, students still see teachers as more important than computers or books for their learning, and that students believe a solution to climate change will be found within their lifetimes.
System redesign 1: the road to transformation in education, by Professor David Hargreaves, was published in December 2007 to coincide with the SSAT National conference and the launch of the System redesign programme.
Now this publication, introducing the concept of system redesign, is available as a free download to all iNet members.
It's a busy month for iNet publications. System leaders in the global age, edited by David Hopkins, is the latest volume to be published.
Based on the discussions at iNet's workshop for school principals, it provides an overview of where education is at in a number of countries, and asks important questions about how to personalise and lead education into the 21st century.
The end result is a kind of manifesto for transforming education to benefit all young people in all countries.
INet has published a report of the first project for Mauritian schools in iNet, Mauritius on the move: Re-imagining school leadership. An account of a small, multicultural country's move towards a world-class education, it will interest leaders at all levels of education.
iNet have been working with UNESCO in China to provide Chinese schools - in Beijing in particular - with opportunities to network internationally and access iNet's resources. This signing of an MOU was a momentous occasion for both parties and recognises our commitment to working together in the future.
Recent weeks have seen exciting growth in iNet's membership. As well as 85 new members in South Africa, and numerous new affiliations in Australia, Chile, New Zealand, Wales and Northern Ireland, we are pleased to welcome our first affiliated schools from three new countries:
Students from Barrow Hill Primary School in London will jet off to San Francisco in November. Their website, Global Tales, won third prize in the ‘12 and under’ category in the international ThinkQuest competition. The team also won first prize in their age category and the prize for Global Perspectives in the UK competition.
Global Tales features a collection of folk tales from different cultures. The team utilised the school’s diverse community; with pupils from Japan and Iraq translating folk tales. They also collaborated internationally, with a pupil in India contributing an Indian folk story. These qualities, along with the easy to use realistic page-turning design of the website greatly impressed the judges.
40 or so teachers gathered at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff to start the first ever iNet Developing leaders programme in Wales. Delegates travelled from as far apart as Bangor in North-west Wales and Newport in the far South-west to attend the event.
Professor David Hargreaves set the agenda with two presentations on personalising learning and school-led innovation. Delegates also had oportunities to meet with the academics and school leaders who will mentor them throughout the two-year programme, and also to meet with teachers who have already completed a year of the English Developing leaders programme.
Five students from Greenford High School travelled to Beijing to celebrate winning a national competition and learn about Chinese culture. Students at the specialist language college in Southall, west London, flew to Beijing along with headteacher Kate Griffin and two assistant headteachers. The trip was their prize for winning the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust’s (SSAT) Student voice competition with a CD-ROM they had put together on their role in developing student voice initiatives at the school.
School leaders from around the world will meet in China this week to drive forward an agenda that ensures all students are equipped to live, learn and work in a globalised world. The 4th iNet International conference, held in Beijing between 18-21 September, follows a meeting last year at which 100 school principals from 14 countries identified four major themes challenging educators across the world: leadership; personalised learning; curriculum development; and wellbeing. These will be the main topics of the 4th iNet conference.
150 students and school leaders in Hamilton, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch had the opportunity to listen and learn together at the August 2007 iNet New Zealand seminar series. The seminars, led by Gabrielle Leigh, director of three school campuses in Caroline Springs, Victoria, looked at the challenge of 'making the school the student's community' through authentic student voice.
More than 140 children from 13 schools across England recently returned to the UK after representing their country in a cultural exchange visit to Beijing ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Following the successful ‘Towards the Olympics’ event, English and Chinese students as well as organisers of the trip have been describing what it was like to learn about a different culture’s sports and activities, and the importance of the visit on a specially produced webcast.
The webcast from China Radio International’s English Service (CRIENGLISH) contains photographs and audio clips from the trip, and the organisers.
The Bulletin magazine - one of Australia's oldest and most prestigious publications - has named Executive Director of Schools in the Diocese of Parramatta, Greg Whitby, as the nation’s smartest, most innovative and creative person working in education in Australia today.
Greg was selected from a shortlist of 10 finalists as the winner of the education category of the 2007 Bulletin Smart 100 List. Greg is a member of the iNet Australia national strategy group and was a keynote speaker at the recent national conference.
We are delighted to announce that Tony Bloxham, head of iNet, has been appointed headteacher of Preston School, a Business and Enterprise college, in Yeovil with effect from 1 July 2007.
Tony joined the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust in 2004, initially as head of leadership programmes. He played a major role in establishing the Developing leaders programme, and, in partnership with the National College for School Leadership, set up the primary programme.
In 2005, he became head of iNet and has played a significant part in developing the affiliation scheme, establishing new networks in China, Mauritius, Sweden, USA, Northern Ireland, and Wales. Other achievements include the highly successful G100 conference for principals from 14 nations in Beijing in July 2006, and the 3rd iNet international conference in Boston in October 2006.
Tony has always been keen to move to headship, and SSAT has a principle of encouraging and supporting staff to return to the school system in a leadership capacity. We look forward to seeing Tony at iNet events in his new role.
Sylvia Paddock, who has worked for SSAT for a number of years, will be responsible for iNet from 1st June to 31st December 2007. Sylvia has already been closely involved with iNet; she attended the G100 conference and played a central role in establishing the network in Mauritius.
Tony Bloxham, Head of iNet, recently attended the ICP convention in Auckland, New Zealand. He delivered a presentation about iNet and its aims to the ICP Executive Council and to Council Members. This builds on our recent signing of a memorandum of understanding with ICP in November 2006. Also at the conference was Jim Spinks, who spoke about a iNet's project looking at school resourcing.
iNet continues to publish materials which both share details of the outstanding work going on in schools around the world, and also develop emerging educational themes and ideas.
(published on April 1)
Providing a structure by which school leaders can integrate social, intellectual, financial and spiritual capital in transforming their schools.
Case studies of innovation from schools and academics across the world, looking at both primary and secondary education.
iNet Wales recently held its first workshop for school leaders. The iNet Wales headteachers' steering group was involved with setting the agenda for the day, which focused on the benefits of eLearning, in particular the opportunities presented by the use of virtual learning environments.
Keynote sessions by David Carter - headteacher of the award-winning John Cabot City Technology College in Bristol - and by Paul Hynes, SSAT's ICT strategies coordinator, outlined how technology can provide new ways of engaging with and supporting the learner. A range of showcases from both Welsh and English schools demonstrated a number of examples of how the ideas are being put into practice.
One delegate had the following to say about the event:
'I have seen clear demonstrations of the different types of VLE, but very importantly, also the rationale behind using them.'
The International Confederation of Principals (ICP) is a professional association of school leader organisations. The ICP is the only global school leaders’ umbrella professional organisation
ICP and iNet have many common interests concerning the provision of high quality education for young people. Acknowledging the growing importance of internationalism, we anticipate that by working together we will be able to support schools in the following:
Read the letter introducing the partnership in full.
We have three days of agenda-setting programmes led by outstanding speakers from across the globe. Throughout the conference you will have the opportunity to engage with leading practitioners, students and academics from around the world.
The 4th iNet International Conference will be more stimulating and challenging than ever before.
More information will be available soon - including a full programme and booking information.
Last week the iNet office welcomed a representative from Prince George School in St Helena. Jeanette Williams is head of maths at the school, which is the only secondary school in a country of less than 5,000 inhabitants. As part of her visit to England to visit family, Jeanette asked us to help arrange activities to enable her to experience education in England.
St Helena is an isolated island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, so contact with other schools is very limited. After meeting with key staff members in the iNet office we arranged for her to visit Christ's College, Finchley, a specialist maths & computing college. This was a rare opportunity to share ideas with teachers from another school, something which iNet is always happy to support. Jeanette also took with her a range of iNet publications to share with colleagues back home.
Elizabeth Reid, Chief Executive of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, was presented with an award from the 48 Group Club for her pioneering steps to expand the learning of Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture in English schools.