Four Shifts to Drive Real Change

16th July 2025Website Admin

Four Shifts to Drive Real Change

David Jackson

This article explores insights from the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), which, in its 2023 report ‘Out of Kilter’, proposes four shifts, which together encapsulate the fundamental changes needed to rethink education.

Introduction

Conversations about rethinking education often centre on a long list of issues that need to be addressed, for instance funding, or school buildings, or teacher recruitment and retention, or admissions and so on….

But if you believe that all young people have the right to an education that builds their self- esteem and efficacy; that recognises and values their unique talents; that helps them to form meaningful relationships and sets them up for fulfilling progression pathways from school, then addressing these ‘nuts and bolts’ issues, while necessary, is woefully insufficient.

Education is in need of a transformational vision. Schools do a great job in the circumstances, but the system is broken and the model of schooling out of date.

There is no worse example of this than SEND provision. However, the fault lines in SEND are just one component of the system’s challenges. SEND is not the problem, it is the symptom of a more all-embracing set of issues.

Four Shifts That Could Transform Education

I listened recently to a presentation discussing the findings from a 2023 report called ‘Out of Kilter’ by the Institute of Public Policy Research. Not heard about it? There’s a surprise! The report was the result of a massive consultation exercise and proposed some very significant changes with huge potential, but it was released to a largely indifferent policy audience.

At the heart of ‘Out of Kilter’ sit four proposed shifts, which IPPR identify as necessary to create an education system that unlocks the potential of all young people, enabling them to thrive. If these four shifts resonate with you, that is unsurprising, since ‘Out of Kilter’ draws on the findings of a major consultation with young people, parents and employers.

Rethinking Education First Requires Rethinking Assessment

The order in which the four shifts feature is also important. The first shift, from a system narrowly focused on attainment to one that values a wider set of goals, is the ‘crucial cog’; the magic key that will unlock all others.

To question the current system is to be accused of undermining standards – ‘standards’ as a synonym for approaches developed many decades ago to sift and sort society, with assessment approaches that condemn 40%+ of young people to leave school feeling that they have failed, rather than that all can succeed.

Until the UK has an assessment system that is able to reward and recognise the diverse aptitudes, talents and passions of all young learners; one that values learning and achievement other than academic subject knowledge; one that recognises the wider interests and passions pursued by all young people, both within school and out of school, we will have a system that maintains the status quo and fails too many.

‘Out of Kilter’ was authored by Harry Quilter-Pinner, Efua Poku-Amanfo, Loic Menzies and Jamie O’Halloran, September 2023, published by the Institute for Public Policy Research and supported by Big Change and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.  The full report can be accessed here: Out of kilter: How to rebalance our school system to work for people, economy and society | IPPR.

David Jackson has been a teacher, a headteacher, a founding director at the National College for School Leadership and, for the last 15 years, has supported educational innovation projects in the UK and internationally. He is a member of the editorial team for The Bridge.

Professional Prompts

1. To what extent does your school’s assessment system “reward and recognise the diverse aptitudes, talents and passions of all young learners”?

2. Do pupils feel that the school recognises their culture, beliefs, wider interests and passions pursued within school and externally”?

3. What might need to change for this to happen and for every learner to feel that their beliefs, culture, ideology, talents and interests are affirmed?

STUDENT MOVIE: Rise of the NutKing

19th May 2025Website Admin

Anaphylaxis Awareness Week 2025 in the UK takes place on 1st June to 7th June. This annual event focuses on educating the public about anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction, and provides support to those living with severe allergies. One such person who has experienced this first hand is our School Council Secretary, Liam. Following an anaphylaxis episode a couple of year ago, he had significant anxiety around the potential of a repeat incident, and felt a loss of freedom and independence in his day to day life.

To support with this, our school dramatherapist worked with Liam to process these feelings creatively. This long-term piece of work resulted in a short film called “Rise of the NutKing” that explores Liam’s experience of living with a nut allergy in a creative and metaphorical way. Liam had the following to say about his own real-life experiences:

“Anaphylaxis is nothing to joke about – people die every day as a result of severe allergy symptoms. However, we can stop this by helping raise awareness, and to help people afford the essentials to avoid the devastating impact of anaphylaxis. I hope my film educates in a way that revokes some of the fear that some people living with allergies may have, and makes it easy to understand in a fun way. Please share this movie with friends and family to teach more people about the dangers of allergens and how to deal with them.”

For more information on how to support individuals with significant allergies, please visit https://www.anaphylaxis.org.uk/.

Link to the Movie “Rise of the Nutking” Nutking Video

from Gesher School on Vimeo.

Hiring: Jewish Studies Teaching or Support Role

25th April 2025Website Admin

Jewish Studies Teaching or Support Role

(KS2/KS3 teaching/support within a creative and amended curriculum)

Part-time (2 days equivalent with the potential of more days depending on the candidate) 

Required for: ASAP

Working Days: Monday- Thursday (the equivalent of 2 days within) 

Pay is based on experience: MPS for qualified teachers, UQT for unqualified teachers and Support salary based on roles and responsibilities. 

Gesher School is a unique all-through school that provides a specialist, meaningful, and functional learning environment for young people with special educational needs. These needs include language, communication, and social-pragmatic difficulties. We specialise in autism spectrum challenges (ASC).

Young people are at the heart of Gesher School, where we foster a sense of belonging and community.  Our school offers a happy, safe, friendly, and stimulating environment in which young people are supported to learn, interact and have fun. We believe that all young people have the potential to achieve, but that every child is individual and requires a tailored, young person-centred approach to learning.

The Gesher approach is warm, friendly, and nurturing. Emotional health and resilience, as well as developing young people’s independence and learning, are at the core of our vision.

To deliver and achieve these outcomes, we want to add a confident, enthusiastic and highly motivated Jewish Studies KS2/KS3 educator to join our expanding team at Gesher as a teacher and/or teaching support. This post would suit a passionate, dynamic and adaptable individual who ideally has experience teaching and leading within a SEND environment. 

This post would suit someone passionate about creating meaningful personalised learning that meets all individual needs and interests. The right candidate would be open to working within a transdisciplinary team, including teachers, therapists, teaching assistants, parents, and carers. 

It would be desirable for the candidate to have experience designing/delivering interactive learning opportunities that focus on engaging students and connecting them with their faith. In addition, the candidate would need to be an upstanding role model of positive morals and values to help the students build confidence in their sense of self and become builders of meaningful relationships. 

This position offers fantastic opportunities to develop your skills as a practitioner within an innovative, supportive and collaborative team environment. 

We can offer you the following: 

  • Paid half day Friday closure in the winter months
  • 12 weeks paid holidays plus paid extra Jewish holidays throughout the year
  • Monthly well-being events and inset days 
  • Additional days off awarded following long service
  • Protected time for planning and preparation 
  • Regular social opportunities
  • A Competitive salary 

You will be a fully integrated and integral member of the whole school team. See us in action here: https://vimeo.com/407682934/a9a6af1bc8 and http://gesherschool.com 

Being part of our learning community, you will be able to use your creativity and shape the way our school provides excellent learning opportunities for our young people.

For further information, please visit www.gesherschool.com. 

Please email [email protected] for an application form and any further information. 

Interviews will be organised on a rolling basis. This ad may be withdrawn if a suitable candidate is identified. 

Diversity is a core value of Gesher School. We believe the power of diversity enriches all of us by exposing us to a range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design and deliver solutions. As such, we actively encourage people from a variety of backgrounds to apply for roles at our school. 

Gesher School is committed to safeguarding young people and staff. Successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced DBS check.

The Post Holder Will:

  • be passionate and secure in their Jewish knowledge and confident with differentiating and personalising Jewish learning
  • be comfortable planning and delivering high quality hands on learning within a supportive team environment 
  • be comfortable with reading, writing, speaking and teaching Hebrew
  • be a proven, successful team player with excellent motivational and interpersonal skills

Main Areas of Duties and Responsibilities

  1. To work within a team to deliver high quality Jewish Studies learning across KS2 & KS3
  1. To promote the Jewish ethos, values and middot throughout the school and be a personal and professional role model for our students
  1. Planning and supporting the implementation of Enrichment Days (school celebration of festivals), Tefillah throughout the school day and Shabbat/Havdallah/Chagim assemblies
  1. To support children with their Hebrew Reading.
  1. To work alongside the teaching and learning team to accelerate pupil progress and raise attainment
  1. To support teachers with building cross curricular links, embedding Jewish learning within the projects. 
  1. To support the implementation of the B’nei Mitzvah program at Gesher. 
  1. To engage in performance management and attend training and meetings as part of professional development.
  1. To keep informed of the latest Jewish Education trends and implement appropriate strategies/schemes through training staff.
  2. To develop established and new partnerships beyond the school to support curriculum learning and development within the Jewish Community.
  1. To liaise with parents and support them in their child’s Jewish education
  1. To carry out responsibilities/duties with regard to Equal Opportunities, Safeguarding and Health and Safety Policies.

For further information, please visit www.gesherschool.com. 

To apply, please complete an application form that can be found here: https://gesherschool.com/about-us/join-our-team/. 

Please complete and return your application to [email protected]. CVs will not be accepted. 

Interviews will be organised on a rolling basis. This ad may be withdrawn as a suitable candidate is identified. 

Diversity is a core value of Gesher School.  We believe the power of diversity enriches all of us by exposing us to a range of ways to understand and engage with the world, identify challenges, and to discover, design and deliver solutions. As such, we actively encourage people from a variety of backgrounds to apply for roles at our school. 

Gesher School is committed to safeguarding young people and staff. Successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced DBS check.