Archive: June 2020

Do you want to further your knowledge of SEND and expand your skillset? Real Training’s MEd SEND Programme can help you gain a postgraduate qualification through subject-specific SEND modules, delivered through Campus Online, allowing you to study in your own time, wherever you have access to the internet.

We understand that life often throws us unexpected challenges and that’s why flexibility is at the heart of all of the courses we offer. Our MEd SEND is no exception. Not only are you free to study at your own pace, but you can also tailor the course to fit your own specific needs. Our latest prospectus contains the full list of courses available, as well as information on how you can build your own study programme from the available modules and target areas of knowledge and practice that are most relevant to you, your setting, and the children in your care.

Put your existing masters credits towards our MEd SEND qualification

If you have already completed modules within the MEd SEND programme, such as our popular National Award for SEN Coordination and the Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing with us, you will know that you already hold masters level credits that can be transferred easily into our MEd SEND programme. From here, you can contact one of our course advisors to check how many further emodules you would need to complete in order to attain your full Masters of Education qualification, taking your expertise and skills to another level.

If the credits were achieved with another provider, you may be able to transfer them into our SEND Programme.

Simply email us now to request a copy of our Accreditation for Prior Learning (APL) forms.

Our next cohort begins on 15 September 2020. To register for this cohort, please visit our online booking form. Because it takes time to process your application and payment, we strongly recommend completing the form as soon as possible.

Here are what our delegates have said about our SEND Programme 

“I greatly enjoyed the course. I appreciate that the tasks and assignments that I have been asked to complete directly relate to my own school experiences and have a further application in supporting my school to develop next steps.  I feel Real Training is doing an excellent job.” – Richelle Pearce, Social, Emotional & Mental Health Difficulties 2020 delegate

“The resources were fantastic and gave me the opportunity to read about so much of the research done on Dyslexia and how to support children effectively.”– Charmalyn September, Dyslexia: Leadership and Intervention 2020 delegate

“My tutor was amazingly responsive. She answered my questions thoroughly and graded my assignments very quickly. I would (and have) highly recommend Real Training.”- Ruth Haske, Speech, Language & Communication Needs 2020 delegate

“I am so impressed! I’m a new student. I previously studied my PGCE through Moodle. This exceeds by far! So intuitive, well laid out, so many resources. I am just….amazed! Thank you.” – Sadie Moseley, Cognition & Learning 2020 delegate

Last month, we announced that alongside the National Professional Qualifications (NPQs), we were hoping to run a July cohort in 2020 for our National Award for SEN Coordination (NASENCO), subject to approval from Middlesex University.

We are delighted that we can now announce the July 2020 cohort for NASENCO has been officially approved, and will, therefore, go ahead, starting on 15 July.

We understand that this academic year has been like no other, and many educational professionals have found themselves with an unexpected opportunity to get ahead with their career development. In addition, with uncertainty still surrounding how face-to-face learning institutions will be operating come September, many are turning to Real Training to deliver their course online flexibly, and with the knowledge that this was how they were designed from the start.

Our regular September cohort is still available as normal, so if you feel this date would suit you better, you can book your place today by visiting our online booking form. Registration only takes a couple of minutes.

If you’re already booked on to our September cohort and have been thinking about moving to our July start date, but perhaps haven’t decided yet, there is still time. Please be advised that places for our 15 July cohort may be limited, so it is advisable to get in touch as soon as possible, we’d be happy to talk through which start date could work best for you. Give us a call on +44 (0)1273 358080 to discuss with a member of our enquiries team. Alternatively, please feel free to contact us here. 

Alongside our online study option for the Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (CCET) we are continuing to offer face-to-face events via our online classroom Campus Live for those who prefer a more intensive and interactive approach. We have recently added two new CCET Intensive Campus Live Events dates for the new academic year:

• 23-25 September, Campus Live face-to-face event
• 14-16 October, Campus Live face-to-face event

At present, all of our intensive courses are being hosted on Campus Live, our online classroom. If you prefer in-person, face-to-face learning, this format is perfect for you. This is a three-day course that will take you through the theoretical content, with only the practical work to be completed and uploaded via Campus Online.

What is Campus Live?

Campus Live is a browser-based solution that requires nothing to download, no software installation, and is optimised to deliver excellent video quality. It is as fully interactive, as if you were in the room with the facilitators, with the ability to ask questions, work in groups, and get access to all the course materials you need, live within the online classroom environment. There is also the ability to screen-share and collaborate with fellow delegates, interactive whiteboards, and a live chat feature, ensuring your experience is fully immersive.

How are the CCET Intensive Campus Live Events delivered?

To reassure, the course content is no different from our normal intensive courses and requires nothing different from you as a delegate. All you need is a computer or tablet with either Chrome, Firefox or Opera browsers installed, an internet connection, a webcam, microphone and speakers or headphones. Of course, if you do happen to encounter any technical difficulties, our IT support team will be on hand throughout the course to swiftly get you back on track.

Campus Live has been designed to accommodate all delegates through a variety of different work environments, ensuring you will always feel supported. Equally the course has been designed with you in mind too, allowing for plenty of comfort breaks to ensure the smooth running of the course for the ultimate learning experience.

Our Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (CCET) qualification

Our Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (CCET) is an open-access course, meaning to be eligible to enrol, you only need to be working in or have access to an educational setting, and have access to psychometric tests for the duration of study.

CCET allows schools to bring expertise in psychometric testing to assess children and determine their strengths and specific learning needs ‘in-school’, and in turn allows schools to work more effectively with their educational psychologist and make better use of their time.

With our CCET qualification, among other things, you will be able to identify, administer and analyse tests within an educational environment, understand how to write and interpret reports, understand the legislative and policy framework, as well as being able to identify and overcome barriers to learning.Other benefits to the school include:

• Access to a wealth of practical resources, academic research and interactive materials
•  Access to discounted educational tests and other resources
• Development of effective support for the most vulnerable children in your school
• Apply for the BPS Test User Educational qualification after successful completion of the CCET course to join the British Psychological Society’s Register of Qualifications in Test Use (BPS RQTU) – a publicly searchable database of competence that will bolster your professional reputation.

If it would be useful to be qualified to carry out access arrangements in your setting, you could enrol on the Certificate in Psychometric Testing, Assessment and Access Arrangements (CPT3A). This course combines CCET and the Access Arrangements Course (AAC) to give you the opportunity to become your educational setting’s qualified exam access arrangements assessor. You need to meet certain criteria to be eligible for the CPT3A course, and you can check our website or contact us to find out more.

If you are interested in booking on one of these dates, you can book your place here. It is ‘training as usual’ here at Real Training, so if you have any further questions, either in relation to the course or the Campus Live platform, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

We are always eager to collect the thoughts of our delegates and their learning journey. The majority come after they have completed their course. However, given the current circumstances, we felt it would be insightful to reach out to some of our current delegates to get their views on their course experience so far, and how studying during a global pandemic has affected their progress.

An interview with Eugene McFadden – NASENCO, intensive CPT3A

Eugene completed his intensive CPT3A course in 2017, and two and a half years later, joined Real Training again to begin his NASENCO qualification in January 2020, just as the enormity of the global pandemic was beginning to make itself clear. Here is his story so far.

How did you find out about Real Training and the CPT3A course?

“I became an assistant SENCO 3 or 4 years ago maybe, and I needed to do the access arrangements course because no-one else in the school was trained. I was speaking to one of the other SENCOs who said “You’ve got to do the Real Training one – it’s a lot quicker when you do the intensive course.” Because work is very busy and I have kids, I thought I’d rather have one, intensive hit. It was a really, really good course. It just worked really well. It was really professionally done, really well tailored to what was realistic and what we needed to do.

You’re now studying NASENCO with us. Tell us about why you chose Real Training for this qualification.

“I was looking around at other NASENCO courses, which looked mind-numbing, and then I saw Real Training’s course. For one, it was cheaper than local council’s one, and the fact that it’s all online and flexible. Some [school] weeks are 60 hours, so fitting things in is a bit of a nightmare, but with a course like this, I can think “oh, I have an hour to myself, I’m just going to hit it hard and do something”. The access to the big database is really helpful as well. I really like the bar at the top1. It’s actually really, really positive when you’re really busy.”

How has your experience with the online NASENCO course been versus your expectations, and versus your intensive experience with CPT3A?

“The intensive works really well with CCET as you’re learning to do one specific skill in testing, so you really want that intensity. This (NASENCO) is a bigger-picture thing. You need to step back and digest more. I have a two-year old who doesn’t sleep through the night yet, so I’d find myself rocking her to sleep at 2am reading things I’d downloaded. It gives you a chance to just think, make the notes and everything. A lot of the bigger articles I ended up printing out, to put in a folder where I can take it home and read it at my leisure.”

What parts of the NASENCO course have you found particularly interesting so far?

“There’s the wider reading; you’ve got the Lamb report, you can see how one thing informs another, which is actually really important. It’s interesting to have a timeline of when things happened and why. We’re kids of the 80s and things were very different back then. It’s good to have that time to just think and take it apart.”

Have you been able to put anything in particular into practice already?

“Well, ironically, I’ve been interviewing people for HLTA jobs through Google Meets. It’s been interesting to be having discussions with them, and having interviewed successfully, I’ve got someone to train up. I thought about how my training on the NASENCO course has informed me  and have been giving them reading to do from that course, which is quite helpful. So yeah, it’s definitely been having an impact. It’s interesting because I’ve been reading about outreach work into primary schools, because we’re quite a big MAT, and we’re going to have some primary schools placed in our secondary school for a few weeks for summer term 2. I want to incorporate that as my primary placement.”

How has the current lockdown situation influenced your studies?

“It’s actually given me more time to do it! It’s difficult, because the first few weeks were just trying to set things up, and I’ve been into school a fair bit as well running things on certain days, especially for some of our higher-needs kids. But the days when I’m home… the first few weeks were difficult, trying to get my head-space around being at home and working while at home with kids running around. Once I got the hang of it, I thought I’d set aside a day here and there, turn the emails off, and crack on with the NASENCO course. There’s always someone knocking on the door with a problem [when you’re in school]. My quality of life has actually improved – I’m not working 60 hours a week and have time to spend with the kids.”

What are your hopes and expectations for the rest of the course?

“Definitely to get it done – that’s the first thing! Definitely start to use what I’m learning to move forward. I’ve already kind of moved forward. I’ve been on a journey with my TAs (I’ve got TAs and HLTAs), and I’ve been on a journey with everyone’s practice board [a reflective practice of how staff are working with SEN pupils], tweaking that practice, fine-tuning it more and more. It’s good, because a lot of the things I’ve come across I already believed or knew or learned about already, so it’s nice to have those things reinforced. My focus has been on wave 1 teaching, and I’ve brought the SEN team so far, and now it’s all about raising all teaching and learning – the best input for an SEN kid is going to be in the classroom, the teacher teaching them right – it’s now given me that confidence to start addressing the bigger picture. It’s like “that’s gone alright, now we need to start doing this…” A rising tide raises all ships!”

¹ Campus Online holds a comprehensive online library containing all of the reading necessary for completing the courses. Additionally, access to EBSCO online journal databases allows for further reading to expand knowledge and understanding of the course material.

Dawn Johnson – SENCO, North West Kent Alternative Provision Service – NASENCO Course

What drew you to study with Real Training

I have heard of Real training as a reliable provider from a number of colleagues. Your company has a good reputation, and my DH/SENCO at the time had already mentioned your course before we had a little reshuffle of roles and I began to transition out of the English classroom and into the SENCO role.

How your learning journey has been vs your expectations so far

I have completed online training, including a PAPAA one-year course in the past with other providers and am very impressed with Real Training’s approach to online learning. I have found the site incredibly easy to use, the resources are quite varied and the discussion boards are well organised and easy to use. I am still learning how to use EBSCO but am sure, once I am used to the process, it will become faster and easier to access exactly what I want (I have only been enrolled since the end of April, so have not used every element of the site fully yet). The online notebook is very useful as I can make notes as I read or access slideshows. Overall, I would say it is a surprisingly well-presented, flexible course with an intuitive design for users.

What elements have been of particular interest/use to you so far

I have engaged far more with the discussion activities than on any previous course and have found the notebook, library of previous essays and general range of resources very helpful.

How you are managing your time to complete the work

I am stuck at home shielding with my husband who is also working from home. I work on the course more in weeks where I am needed less for school-based work, as I also run whole-school CPD and, during the lockdown, we have had to adapt this rather a lot! The flexibility to use the course from half an hour to a whole day at any point has made this possible.

How the current lockdown has affected your learning journey

I have had a lot of tasks to complete at home for school but have had a lot more time than I had anticipated for the course. I was taking on areas of SENCO work while still preparing all of my classes for GCSEs and only working 3 days a week prior to Covid-19 – in a way, the lockdown has helped a lot with my availability to train! Being able to continue to work and train on something useful and relevant while shielding has definitely helped me to maintain good mental health during this time.

Your hopes/expectations/ambitions for the remainder of the course and beyond

Well, if we are talking hopes and dreams, I dream of a world where nobody has to use Harvard referencing ever again! (I completed my PGCE in 2000, that’s a long time to forget how to do these things…) Ultimately, I hope to be able to furnish myself with the theory and knowledge to succeed on my return to school, when I assume more of the role and responsibilities of the SENCO post. I would like to know I am doing everything I possibly can to support our pupils and this course will help me to ensure this. I have considered possibly using the points from the NASENCO course and my PAPAA to go on and complete a Masters…we’ll see.

You spoke, we listened.

With the current COVID-19 situation and how this is affecting schools, we have heard from many educational professionals who were not able to get enrolled on our May cohort for the National Award for SEN Coordination (NASENCO) or the National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) that they would like to get started before the next scheduled cohort in September. We fully understand that September might involve more work than usual after such disruption, and therefore starting your studies ahead of the new academic year could provide benefits for some.

As a result, we are delighted to announce we will be running July cohorts for NASENCO and NPQ 2020 courses. Both cohorts will start on 15 July. (NASENCO July start date subject to approval with Middlesex University). This will allow those delegates who feel they have the capacity in the current climate to get started on the course material before the new school year begins in September. With the uncertainty surrounding how universities and other face-to-face training providers will be able to deliver courses, many educational professionals are choosing Real Training to deliver their courses flexibly, online, just as it was designed to be.

“I took the course to deepen my own knowledge and to have a more structured approach to headship and you have met those needs head on and in an enjoyable but informative manner.” – Liam Bellamy, NPQH

“I feel the course has not only provided me with an exceptionally secure foundation but also a deepened knowledge and understanding of the role of a SENCO in order to successfully take the school in the direction that is required.” Danielle Brunton, NASENCO

This extra cohort is in no way a replacement for the scheduled September cohort. If you feel September works better for you, and you would rather use the summer break for a well-deserved rest, then we encourage you to enrol onto the September cohort. However, if you feel July would enable you to get ahead before the new school year commences, that option is open to you. If you have already booked onto the NASENCO or NPQ September cohorts, but would actually prefer to start in July, please contact us and we will be able to help in moving your start date. If you or your staff are interested in booking onto our July or September NASENCO or NPQ programmes, you can book your place here. If you have any questions with regards to anything relating to any of our courses, please do not hesitate to get in touch here.