Critical Friendship Groups: Think ‘Fireside Chats’

15th December 2022Website Admin

Critical Friendship Groups: Think ‘Fireside Chats’

David Jackson

Gesher School serves children who learn differently — many of whom have had highly stressful school experiences previously.

To do a brilliant job for these children, we want to be the best that we can be — the best in well-being, best in assessment, in project-based learning design and facilitation, in exhibitions, best community links, best staff development, best parent engagement, skilled in the use of technology and so on.  Not best or better in any comparative way — just the best that we can be to serve the young people, adults and families who are part of our school community…

We need to be the most informed and intentional learning organisation that we can be.

To do that we need to be the most informed and intentional learning organisation that we can be, and one feature of that is to reach out to people who have relevant knowledge and experience to help us with dilemmas or ‘problems of practice’ and to debate with us key elements of our ambition. One strategy for this is Critical Friendship Groups.

Critical Friendship Groups (CFGs)

Gesher started as a primary school and is now an all-through school. For the first 18 months of its existence as an all-through school, it is emphatically in learning mode. We plan to harness the goodwill and professional generosity of the school’s multiple partners and connections to establish a small number of CFGs around key themes that are central to the school’s success.

At the time of writing we have held one CFG so far, on the theme of well-being, when we asked our critical friends:

How do you empower young people to manage and own their own mental and emotional well-being through adolescence and beyond school?

Eight people from backgrounds as diverse as the Anna Freud Centre and Place2Be, and as geographically spread as Bolton to Israel, met online for two hours to engage in a facilitated conversation, the outcomes of which will be featured in Issue 3 of The Bridge. We plan to share both a think-piece distilled from that session and also a tool or framework that might be of practical value to teachers.

Critical Friendship Group Objectives

There are four objectives to CFGs, which are:

  1. To connect Gesher with advanced practice and thinking around issues linked to the school’s ambitions, and to the needs of the SEND sector.
  2. To build relationships with people who have experience, knowledge and insights that can help to advance Gesher’s work and the work of the sector.
  3. To generate usable knowledge and ideas around key ‘problems of practice’.
  4. To create an informal space that allows people to engage and contribute to Gesher’s evolution.

We hope, of course, to learn a huge amount. And we plan to share the things that we learn which are of collective value through the journal.

For the moment, we offer up the idea of ‘fireside chats’ with a group of people who know stuff and who care about young people’s learning, as one that might have value for other schools.

Our journey to Outstanding: How our second Ofsted inspection has proved real change is possible.

12th October 2022Ali Durban

by Ali Durban, Gesher Co-Founder

Gesher School started life almost 10 years ago.  An idea driven by a difficult lived experience of the education system for our own children and a vision and desire to create something better for many other children.  The first couple of years were intense.  Sarah, my co-founder, and I met in a school playground, at the time we had children in the same class at the school.  We both had full time jobs, young families and, although we were educated, neither of us had a background in education. 

It was an ambitious project.

And so, we educated ourselves, researching data, visiting schools across the UK and understanding the daily struggles of the unmet needs of what we discovered to be thousands of children and young people with mild to moderate learning differences.  

We knew there was a desperate need for change, something transformative.  We began a dialogue with our local Jewish community in North London, and advocated that, with the right start in life, this marginalised group of children and young people, who were typically under-served and failed by the current education system, could have different outcomes in life.  

We surrounded ourselves with experts and poured the very best of our shared knowledge into our collective vision.  However, translating an idea into a reality needs more than passion, purpose, and knowledge, it needs funding.  

So, at the same time we learnt to fundraise and to share our vision with people who cared about this group of children and their outcomes in life as deeply as we did.  They too believed that real change was possible. We call them Gesher Champions and together we raised £2m to kickstart Gesher.

In 2017, Gesher opened as a primary special school in Cricklewood with seven children who were differently able and who had learning differences. Seven families who had taken that leap of faith with us. These children were going to have a different educational experience. The feeling on the first day of seeing those children was immense.  A year later OfSTED visited and judged Gesher to be Outstanding in all Areas and, as the inspector shared his views, we all cried tears of joy. 

The school continued to develop and grow until eventually our site was full, with waiting lists and our primary children who were graduating had no specialist secondary schools to progress onto.  Then the pandemic hit, and amidst the challenges of supporting our children and families we were desperately looking for premises to expand and once again the funds to support our growth.

The universe tilted in our direction and in 2020, Gesher relocated to Pinner and opened as an all-through school, at full capacity it will be a school for 120 students aged 5 to 16.  To date we have raised over £5m with our Gesher Champions to support this second phase of growth.  Our vision remains the same, to build upon the success of the primary school and deliver an exceptional learning environment for children and young people who are differently able.  

We have been working hard over the last two years to create a new evidence-based model of teaching and learning for students with SEN that is academically rigorous with the long-term ambition of sharing our practice with other schools and learning communities.  Joining the dots and creating system change from the ground upwards.  

This September, Ofsted visited a second time and, under the new inspection framework judged Gesher to be Outstanding in all Areas again.  Given that we were expecting a ‘Good’ under the new framework, once again we were floored and in tears. In particular, the inspectors noted:

Pupils receive an exceptional quality of provision. Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum which is taught by the school’s expert staff. 

Together, the curriculum and therapies encourage pupils’ independent living skills and emotional well-being very successfully. 

Therapists, teachers and teaching assistants work together seamlessly as one team. They truly understand how to meet pupils’ varied special educational needs. While staff are nurturing, they also have high expectations of all pupils. As a result, pupils work hard and learn well.  

We are all immensely proud of this. 

Gesher is a learning community filled with agency, purpose and passion which puts children and young people at the heart of school life and this achievement is more than an endorsement. 

This is a signal of hope for thousands of differently-abled children and young people and perhaps most importantly – an offering of what is possible in education.

 

-ends-

 

Reflection from Gesher’s co-founder Sarah Sultman

5th April 2022Duncan Robertson

A reflection from Gesher’s Co-Founder, Sarah Sultman, on the experience of mobilising the creation of Gesher School

 

Before we could go to any donors in the community we spent over a year researching the need in the community.

We began by hosting what were essentially ʼtrunk style eveningsʼ in local synagogues and around kitchen tables, where we invited people through Facebook and word of mouth, to come and hear about our plans and to gather people who wanted to get on board. It wasnʼt us dictating to the community our vision but more like sharing our ideas and asking them – what did they want in a school, did they have skills they could help us with.

We knew that ideas alone werenʼt enough to create a school. We needed an entire community of volunteers to freely give up their time and expertise to get the project up and running and we were fortunate to have met so many remarkable people who so enthusiastically wanted to get on board.

The first people that came on board were a retired lawyer and an accountant – we needed to register as a charity and to have some sort of an idea about the finances involved in setting up a school.

This very basic, crude, mind map is from 2014 but this was our starting position! This led us to meet all the people that came on board. It gives you just a small idea of all the different areas we have to find expertise in. We created a network with people introducing us to other people as well as cold calling.

I think our passion, determination and tenacity went a long way but really, once we were armed with the data and the numbers, it was obvious that this school was desperately needed. Most people didnʼt take that much convincing.

We have heard of many others wanting to set up a school and many of them give up before theyʼve really even started. It takes commitment, time and dedication. We thought we could do it in a year but it took us from 2013 – 2017 when our first pupils arrived at the school. There is no official ʻhow to set up a SEN school from scratchʼ manual. If there was, it might have saved us a year or two but equally we wouldnʼt have acquired the knowledge that we did by educating ourselves every step of the way.

How to Lead Profound Educational Change: A Reflection from Big Change

29th March 2022realsmart admin

How to Lead Profound Educational Change

Caitlin Ross and Caireen Goddard, Big Change

Have you looked at our traditional systems of education and thought, “Surely we can do better for young people?” Big Change is an organisation that is generating a national conversation around ten hopes for how we could do just that.

Gesher School caught up with Caireen Goddard and Caitlin Ross, who lead the impact team at Big Change, to hear about these hopes and what it might take to change the system.

Gesher
First of all, thanks for speaking to us today and for letting us hear about the hopes of Big Change. I’m going to dive straight in: What needs to change about the education system?

Caireen Goddard
When I came to Big Change I had spent a lot of time in and around the education system, including learning from educators in the UK and examples from around the world where people were doing things really differently. I recognised the frustration of people in our schools and local authorities who wanted to do things differently, and to support young people in different ways, but who had blockers put in their way or were under pressure to deliver against certain kinds of outcomes. There was, or is, a double tension of a narrowing focus from above together with a lack of autonomy or freedom to lead education in a way they thought was really needed for young people.

I think it boils down to two really key questions:

  • What should be the purpose of education?
  • Whatʼs really important for children and young people to learn – for themselves and for society?

Across 2021 we ran a Big Education Conversation where we asked these two questions. Most people we heard from agreed that we need to rethink the purpose of education and shift to a system where childrenʼs enjoyment of and engagement in learning is paramount.

Gesher
It sounds like thereʼs a real drive for change, but what should that change look like?

Caireen
Thatʼs right, we know thereʼs an appetite for change. And we think that ʻbig changeʼ would:

  • Recognise that a one-size-fits-all model actually fits no-one.Even children who are ʻdoing wellʼ within the current system arenʼt satisfied with it because of the modes of learning and pressure from exams.
  • Create an inclusive learning system that prepares all children well for the real world.
  • Take a broader perspective on who our educators are. If we want our young people to learn skills that equip them for life, look at the degree to which the broader community,
    employers, parents, and young people themselves are involved in the nature of learning provision.

Gesher
So, tell me more about Big Change and your hopes for changing the system?

Caitlin Ross
We want to be a catalyst for change by working with and through others. We want to learn from others and create the space for hope and ambition, and to disrupt the status quo. Our Ten Hopes, which have been published as a call to action to frame our work and invite others on the journey, have really resonated with a lot of people. Instead of getting caught up in how negative the system and all its problems can feel, we wanted to orientate towards the hopeful.

Gesher
With that in mind, how do you work with change-makers like Gesher?

Caitlin
I lead on our grantmaking work and was lucky enough to be part of Gesherʼs application process. Before we met today, I took a look back at their application to see what it was that stood out.

What we really liked, and what we would look for with change-makers, was the drive to challenge the status quo on what education is and how it can be delivered. We really liked their goal around ensuring that all pathways through education and into work are valued, and also:

  • An ability to think outside the box about what traditional models of ʻsuccessʼ should be
  • The ambition for young people with special educational needs and disabilities to have meaningful professional and wider lives
  • The desire to convene everyone who will be supporting these young people at different stages of their lives
  • Challenging common sense and really looking at what young people with SEND need to live rich, fulfilling lives
  • The drive to bring other schools and professionals along with them on their learning journey. They really want all ships to rise with their tide and that is the perfect service we can provide for children.

Gesher
What advice would you give to Gesher, and others, when trying to implement change?

Caitlin
You need the right conditions to see these goals through. So, I would really say that you need:
• An ability to think about the whole system
• To be open to insights from elsewhere, all over the world
• To observe what you are learning and question yourself – to interrogate
• Be ambitious about the change you want to create with and for young people, while being humble enough to work collaboratively and learn from others
• To be strategically generous – donʼt hold on to your knowledge
• Recognise that you will always be learning.

Gesher
It feels like this could be quite a daunting challenge to take on. Whatʼs one thing people who want to lead change should think about?

Caireen
I donʼt think itʼs helpful to give the impression that any of this is straightforward or easy. Being a path-finder means you are taking a risk in the context of young people and their learning, which understandably isnʼt a hugely risk-inclined environment. I think itʼs about finding opportunities to do things differently and being confident to try new approaches. Looking to others for support and inspiration, both domestically and internationally, because we need real collaboration over competition.

Caitlin
I agree with that and would also say, donʼt just surround yourself with like-minded people. One way to create significant change over time is to collaborate and align with people who
have quite different views from you. Those unlikely alliances are really important, but like all partnerships they take a degree of willingness and trust to make happen, as well as humility.

Gesher
This has been fascinating. Just to end, do you have any final thoughts or advice you would like to give to Gesher or other change-makers?

Caireen
I would say that itʼs easy to lose sight of the quick wins, so celebrate the small successes!

Caitlin
I think having a clear vision of the change you want to create for and with young people and putting them at the centre of the work is really, really important to drive any change.

 

Caireen Goddard leads Big Changeʼs global insight network and their system change strategy in the UK, which is centred on Subject to Change, a new national project that will empower young people and the public to set a new direction for learning. For over 20 years Caireen has worked on learning, strategy, networks and innovation projects with schools, local authorities, charities, various national and global bodies, and central government.

Caitlin Ross leads on the identification, funding and support of pioneering project partners. She also leads on Big Changeʼs impact strategy, making sure that they gather the insights needed to keep growing and learning, both as a charity and as a funder. Caitlin has a frontline background in microfinance and in youth work, working on the ground with organisations in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. She brings her experience delivering scalable, impact-focused interventions to Big Changeʼs grant giving and impact work to support pioneers who are helping young people to thrive in life.

 

Professional Prompt Questions

  • What would you want life to look like in 20 yearsʼ time for the children you teach and how well are current schooling practices preparing them?
  • What would you choose to assess if you set up an education system that prepared children to be good citizens?
  • Who do you view as educators of children and young people?
  • How do you raise all the ships around you when you are gaining knowledge and trialling new educational approaches?
  • Who do you look to for ideas?