The 2016 Let Teachers SHINE Winners!

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We’re delighted to announce this year’s Let Teachers SHINE winners. After receiving 126 applications from teachers across the country, we’ve selected 10 projects that use innovative teaching strategies both inside and out of the classroom. We’re looking forward to partnering with these teachers to develop their ideas, and hope to boost their projects to reach more children in need of learning support.

Becky Arnold: Wymondham College
Year 8 can be a difficult year for some boys in terms of engaging in their own learning journey. Becky will use her grant to start a Motivation and Engagement project; leading boys in year 8 from her school with low literacy levels on a positive pathway towards their GCSEs. She aims to raise aspirations, develop a sense of caring masculinity, and enthuse students to positively engage with school.

Charlotte Mellor: Littletown Junior, Infant and Nursery School
As any primary school teacher aims to do, Charlotte is teaching her students the grammar rules they need to discuss their reading, writing and spoken language. Except Charlotte is doing so with an innovative and fun technique; by replacing the words in popular songs to help her pupils secure new terminology in an exciting way. Now That’s What I Call Grammar! will run both in school and after, with pupils producing a CD to take home and help them practice.

Have a look at Charlotte’s piece on the Capita Sims blog to find out more about her project.

Hannah Gosling: Drapers’ Brookside Junior School
The majority of SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) children fail to reach the Age Related Expectation at the end of KS2. Hannah’s Musical Maths Robots project plans to empower SEND children through use of an open-source multimedia hardware and software platform. This project proposes to address a need for engaging, youth-focused technology programmes targeted to groups with low engagement and attainment.

John Corbett: Writhlington Academy
Textbooks can be extremely costly for both schools and parents, which is why John created Corbettmaths. The website has freely accessible eBooks, which contain resources and worksheets suitable for both the classroom and as homework. Corbettmaths has already earned over 4.8 million views in 2015, with students and teachers testifying to how helpful it’s been.

Have a look at John’s piece on the Capita Sims blog to find out more about his project.

Michelle Hayfron: Belleville Primary School
Michelle has developed a cost effective, high quality programme for primary maths teachers. Guided Eye for Maths Mastery coaches teachers to use the highly effective ‘Singapore-style’ of mastery maths teaching; focusing on why students need numeracy as well as how to do it. The course will be taught from her school, with resources, exemplars, and follow-up guidance.

Michelle Lockwood: Saint Bernard’s Catholic High School
Michelle will use her grant to develop Spelling Beats, a project that addresses spelling – the most common problem she has experienced amongst students who struggle with their literacy. Michelle is creating rhymes, raps and mnemonics to help students remember each spelling rule quickly and with enjoyment. Spelling Beats will become a website available to all, with recordings, activities, and clear plans for teachers to use in their own classrooms.

Have a read of Michelle’s piece about her project on the Capita Sims blog.

Mike Baldwin: Belvue Special School
Mike developed Finding My Voice after the special school in which he teaches acquired a two acre plot of woodland. The woodland-based curriculum helps children with severe learning disabilities to learn new words, develop functional speech, and encourages them to meet their own sensory and physical needs. Mike will use his grant to develop an action research project, that studies the impact of verbal communication of moderate and severely learning disabled young people.

To find out more about Mike’s project, visit this page.

Peter Scutt: Isambard Community School
Following the introduction of the new GCSE Combined Science, schools are in need of new resources and schemes of work that inspire and support students of differing abilities. Peter has created affordable online programmes including schemes of work, lesson resources, and revision resources both in Combined Science and in single topics. He’s already successfully sold many through TES, but will use his grant to create an Achieve in Science website.

Rebecca Turvill: Handcross Primary School
Post-16 students who have failed their maths GCSE are at risk of educational disadvantage and subsequent issues such as low employment. Rebecca’s peer mentoring in maths project will engage these students to tutor KS2 students. The maths based games and activities will nurture both parties’ understanding of the curriculum, whilst providing valuable mentoring experience to the post-16 students.

Suraj Rai: Ken Stimpson Community School
Suraj’s Created by Schools project will bring students together with their teachers and subject experts to create English, maths and science resources for schools. The project will target students who are struggling at school, and allow teachers to collaborate with them over a series of ‘hackdays’ – identifying effective teaching techniques and sharing them online. Created by Schools will encourage other schools to run their own hackdays with resources and training available.

For more information about Let Teachers SHINE you can visit this page. If you’d like more information about the projects described or the Let Teachers SHINE programme, you can get in touch with us at teachers@shinetrust.org.uk.