ADVANCED LEARNING PARTNERSHIP - Key Persons
I am a dynamic teacher of Geography, with experience of working within my own department, at a whole school level and with colleagues from various schools in the local area.
Amanda has been teaching Design Technology for 34 years, having been a head of a very large successful department for 20 years and she was the first advanced skills teacher in England (June 1998). Recently she has been promoted to a Lead Practitioner specialising in teaching & learning. She has a real passion for her subject and can advise in the teaching and management for all specialisms in this subject. She enjoys all things related to teaching and learning, particularly assessment for learning, progress and planning in DT.
Amanda has previously worked at St Michaels (3 years); Garston and Mill Hill County High school for (24 years), and outreach work in a variety of Barnet schools.
Amanda has supported several schools with teaching and learning needs in DT across the county. Amanda has qualifications in coaching, through working with London Challenge and many years of coaching teachers in school and through her outreach work. She has attended most schools in Barnet and has a reputation for having excellent knowledge of the DT curriculum, advises on refurbishments, recruitment interviews, health and safety and has vast experience in observing and supporting teachers across the authority. She has assisted several primary schools in supporting the delivery of new Scheme of Learning in DT.
As a local authority AST Amanda has provided twilight networking events and INSET. She has been part of the NQT & middle leaders programmes. She also works with individual departments on developing good to outstanding practice and has worked one-to-one with teachers in several schools. She has advised head teachers on curricular developments, staffing abilities, writing of bids related to school specialism and sponsorships. Amanda has created school partnerships with Middlesex University and more recently Goldsmiths and encouraging close links within the STEM subjects throughout schools. Her students have successfully won several national design competitions, including The London Design Museum, Design Ventura Teacher of the Year 2016, STEM competitions and National Technology Challenges.
Job Titles:
- Headteacher of Watford Grammar School for Boys
Ian Cooksey is the Headteacher of Watford Grammar School for Boys, which is a partially-selective comprehensive school. During his career to date, he has led a great variety of schools, including single sex (boys and girls), mixed, comprehensive and selective, representing schools in every Ofsted category. He joined a comprehensive school in Special Measures in 2010 as Head of School and helped to lift it out of that category in one year.
Job Titles:
- Director of Teaching and Learning - Watford Grammar School for Girls
In over 30 years of teaching History, Jane Hart has enjoyed the challenge of a number of roles in a variety of contrasting schools. During the last 17 years she has been Assistant Head, Director of Teaching and Learning and Acting Deputy Head at Watford Grammar School for Girls. She has specialized in Initial Teacher Training and Professional Development and recruitment. Jane also enjoys line managing several academic departments. She has recently been working on research based on how to evaluate progress through lesson observation.
She has worked very closely with Hertfordshire University, as a member of the Professional Advisory Group to the School of Education and chair of the School Direct Strategy group. She contributed substantially to the development and delivery of ‘Developing Professional Practice' modules for PGCE students.
Jane has responsibility for the School Direct Programme for the Partnership, working as Lead Professional mentor and works closely with other members of the Partnership team to ensure that the CPD offer is innovative, broad and balanced. She has delivered training and professional development for a number of schools, Universities and in her role as a senior A level examiner.
She is a highly experienced A level teacher who relishes enhancing her knowledge of her own teaching subject.
Job Titles:
- ALP Director / Induction Tutor
Jonathan Robinson has been teaching Modern Foreign Languages for 19 years and is a professional mentor for ITT. He graduated with a First with Distinction in German and Spanish from the University of Wales and has taught English in Germany and lectured in Education and Linguistics in China. He has led over 30 international educational study visits and exchanges and has run many extra-curricular clubs from the Arsenal Double Club for younger linguists to Linguistics for Beginners and German Cultural History for A Level students.
Jonathan currently teaches German and Spanish to A level, but has also taught Latin, Mandarin and Portuguese. He has a Masters with distinction in Leading Learning from Hertfordshire University. Jonathan has held many posts in school including subject and departmental leadership, and is currently on the senior leadership team with accountability for driving the Advanced Learning Partnership as well as promoting the Single Equality Duty at Dame Alice Owen's School and is the Professional Mentor for Initial Teacher Training. Jonathan has been a teacher tutor for MFL at Hertfordshire University for several years and works closely with the university on the delivery of their school-led PGCE.
He is a well-respected CPD trainer, resource developer and consultant in languages, an experienced leadership coach and a champion for tackling homophobia in school.
I completed a degree in Psychology before completing my Secondary PGCE in Social Sciences at the Institute of Education. In 2014 I completed the Early Professional Development Course with the University of Hertfordshire and the Middle Leader's course with the Advanced Learning Partnership.