Real Training | Confidence through competence

Just a matter of weeks after being awarded the top 5-star award for our SEND programme by Teach Primary Awards, Real Training has also reached the finals of the EducationInvestor Awards as Provider of the Year for Content & Education Provision Skills. In 2018, we were finalists in the category of Exporting Excellence, recognising our efforts in developing and delivering courses and qualifications to suit the international market, such as our innovative iSENCO qualification and delivering our CCET programme as a face-to-face course overseas. This year, the Skills Provider of the Year award recognises how we support a large number of educators, both in the UK and overseas, with our full range of qualifications including our professional assessment courses, our qualifications for SENCOs, the SEND Programme, our MA in Leading Inclusive Education and also our DfE-accredited NPQ qualifications.

After each course, we gather and review feedback from our delegates to ensure that our qualifications continue to meet the needs the schools, educators and the children that they are supporting. In the 2018/19 academic year, we launched new modules in our SEND Programme which were developed as a result of us listening to this customer feedback and monitoring the needs of the ever-changing education sector in the UK and worldwide. These include the International Award in SEN Coordination (iSENCO), Psychology for Education, Cognitive & Learning and Evidence & Pedagogy for Inclusion. iSENCO is a unique qualification developed for SENCOs and Inclusion Managers working in international settings. This qualification combines key skills and knowledge required for all SENCOs with expert guidance for SEN professionals facing unique and specific challenges in international education, such as local legislation and culture, the impact on learning of third culture kids and language challenges for EAL students.

This time last year, we had delegates in 50 territories worldwide. Over the past year, we have extended our reach to almost 80 regions. This is something we are incredibly proud of as it means we are making an impact all over the world, not just with the educational professionals we are training but also with the children and families they are supporting.

We believe in supporting educators to improve the outcomes for ALL children, regardless of background, circumstance or challenge. If you believe in the same goal, get in touch with one of our course advisors on +44 (0)1273 35 80 80, email info@realgroup.co.uk or visit our website and we’ll be happy to help you and your educational institution achieve the goals of identifying and improving the outcomes for vulnerable learners in an inclusive environment.

We are now delighted to announce, with an enormous amount of excitement, that our SEND Programme is a 5-Star WINNER in the CPD category of the Teach Primary Awards 2019! We were also finalists for two Teach Secondary Awards for our Certificate in Psychometric Testing, Assessment & Access Arrangements (CPT3A) qualification and our sister company Dyslexia Action’s Dyslexia & Literacy CPD Programme.

The Teach Company Awards are designed to help teachers seek the very best educational resources, and the finalists and winners are decided by a panel of education experts, based on how the entries score in key areas such as originality and educational impact.

Here’s what one of the judges had to say:

“The SEND Programme recognises that by improving the professional learning of teachers and staff in regards to specific pupil needs, schools can raise pupil attainment, with a disproportionate benefit to the most vulnerable learners. The online learning modules are challenging and rigorous, with Masters level courses quality assured by Middlesex University offered at comparatively low rates compared to many face-to-face courses. The resource is innovative in its flexibility for busy primary school staff; offering the individual to tailor their choice of modules and plan in studying alongside their own timetable.”

– Maria Cunningham, Teach Primary Awards judge for the CPD category

We are absolutely delighted to be a 5-Star WINNER in the CPD category, and also to have reached the finals for two other awards! You can read more about the awards here.

Book a place on our 5-Star WINNER SEND Programme for January 2020 and enter our PRIZE DRAW!*

To celebrate the 5-Star WINNER award for our SEND Programme, 5 lucky winners who book a SEND Programme module for the January 2020 cohort by 31 December 2019 will win a £60 Love2Shop voucher.

Choose from any of our SEND Programme courses:

Our SEND Programme has been developed to give you confidence and core skills to meet the needs of the most vulnerable learners and provide benefits to your school. You will receive first-class instruction and support, all from a programme that is quality-assured by Middlesex University. All modules have been developed in conjunction with leading SEND experts, educational psychologists, and partners, providing you with complete flexibility to plot a career development path that best suits you and your school’s needs. Please contact our course advisers on 01273 35 80 80 or info@realgroup.co.uk if you have any questions about the programme or the prize draw.

*Winners will be contacted on 2 January and vouchers will be distributed once your booking is confirmed (when initial payment is made and your registration forms are complete).

Trust the people who know your setting best to improve and lead SEN provisions in your school through effective SENCo training.

Concerns over recruiting qualified teachers to international settings have been spoken of time and time again, all the more so when trying to recruit UK-qualified SENCOs.

With the need for improved SEN provision and leadership being at the forefront of the minds of leaders in international settings, it’s time to look in-house where knowledge and ideas of the needs of your setting are already growing. It’s time to nurture these colleagues, train them to become qualified SENCOs and transform the SEN provision and leadership of your school with the International Award in SEN Coordination qualification.

Making UK excellence work in the international setting

Having spoken to many senior leaders in international settings – we have current delegates in 79 countries across the world – we understand the National Award in SEN Coordination may not always speak fully to the international educator. Therefore we have taken the skills and knowledge we have gained by being one of the world’s leading National Award providers and redesigned it with a focus on the international setting. Looking at global perspectives and international policy surrounding SEND and inclusion, the International Award in SEN Coordination is made to fit within the context of your school, culture and the challenges your students and staff may face. With this focus, UK Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) is not a requirement for this course, broadening your pool of appropriate delegates.

A bespoke SENCO training solution, to fit your school’s aspirations

The International Award in SEN Coordination focuses heavily on the needs of globally mobile and third culture kids, more common in international schools. It’s suitable for aspiring SENCOs looking to develop aspects of English ‘academic language’ with their students whose first language may or may not be English.

Seven ways our level-7 qualification can benefit your school:

Retain and motivate your staff through career progression.
Optimise the knowledge already held by staff to improve SEN provision and leadership in your setting.
Meet the needs of students with SEND and students of determination in your school.
For delegates who do hold QTS, the opportunity to also gain the UK-recognised National Award in SEN Coordination with our free ‘top-up’ module.
Support for delegates with personal one-on-one tutoring.
Fully-online, flexible learning which can be delivered in any setting and works around teachers’ real lives.
Graduates exit the programme with a Middlesex University-validated Postgraduate Certificate and can choose to continue their learning journey by joining either of our SEND (MEd SEND) or Leading Inclusive Education (MALIE) Master’s programmes.

If this is SENCo Training course that would benefit your school and pupils and you would like to know more, contact us at info@realgroup.co.uk or call us on +44 1273 35 80 80. If you or a member of staff would like to book onto one of our September, January or May cohorts you can do so here.

Developing leading inclusive education practice to support the needs of all learners is one of the most important challenges facing education professionals today. The Masters in Leading Inclusive Education (MALIE) is a high-quality distance-learning pathway for education professionals from all phases and settings, who wish to progress into leadership roles or to develop their leadership skills, in the crucial area of inclusion.

The Masters in Leading Inclusive Education (MALIE) is now available to book through Real Training for the February 2020 cohort, this unique joint venture partners London’s top modern university with the UK’s leading provider of professional training for SEND practitioners. It has been developed and is delivered and assessed by Middlesex University, in partnership with us. It is also quality assured by Middlesex University.

The Masters in Leading Inclusive Education is open to graduate professionals working in any educational setting – early years, schools, specialist settings, FE colleges, and universities – in the UK and internationally.

Develop the skills and confidence to lead inclusive practice in your setting.
Enhance practical leadership strategies.
Receive high-quality support from experienced tutors.
Access a wealth of academic research, interactive materials, and resources, including a free electronic textbook for every module.
Build a professional network within your setting through collaboration and discussion with other delegates.
Utilise an exceptional virtual learning environment that allows you to study from anywhere.

Modules that make up the Masters in Leading Inclusive Education (MALIE)

Compulsory first module:

The leadership of inclusive practice (30 or 60 credits, depending on prior learning credits)

Two optional modules from this list:

Gender and Sexuality (30 credits)
Communities and Culture (30 credits)
Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties (30 credits)
Learning Difficulties (30 credits)
Learning Conversations, Coaching, and Mentoring (30 credits)

Compulsory final module:

Enquiry-Based Inclusive Practice (60 credits)

Experience state-of-the-art practice-led learning that combines our latest virtual learning environment technology (Campus Online^TM) with the extensive resources of Middlesex University.

For more information on programme content, costs and what is on offer, you can visit the website or speak to one of our expert course advisers on +44 1273 358080 or info@realgroup.co.uk.

Learn how to administer educationals tests within your current setting with CCET

We are excited to be coming back to Singapore to deliver another Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (CCET) course. The intensive 3-day educational tests course will be held on 15-17 November at the Lakeside Campus of the Canadian International School in Singapore. It will be facilitated by Jalak Patel and another of our international educational psychologists. Jalak has previously worked in Hong Kong for five years so is familiar with the challenges of supporting children in international schools.

What is CCET?

CCET is a high-quality course in educational testing, designed to provide you with the skills and knowledge required to be able to identify the correct psychometric test to use in your setting, to use it effectively and to interpret the results. You will be able to apply this knowledge of psychometric tests to a wide range of assessments used in your setting – assessments for progress as well as some special educational needs.

The benefits of CCET

Bringing educational testing services in-house has a wide range of benefits. Here are our top 5:

Work more effectively with external service providers, e.g. educational psychologists, making better use of their time (and your money).
Have the ability to test a greater number of students without time delays or budget limitations.
Develop effective support for all the children in your setting – including the most vulnerable children.
Save money on tests with a 10% discount at the Dyslexia Action Shop.
Use CCET as a springboard to further professional development – become a qualified Access Arrangements Assessor, gain a postgraduate qualification on our SEND Programme or complete our flexible route to gain the SpLD Assessment Practicing Certificate.

Do you want to book a place for our CCET Singapore intensive course?

Whether you’re thinking of taking the next step in your career or simply looking to develop your leadership skills in your current role, our online and inclusive National Professional Qualifications (NPQ) offer you a flexible route to achieve these high-quality qualifications approved by the Department for Education (DfE).

Through our NPQs, you will further develop your leadership skills, including those needed to effectively implement new improvement plans and strategies into your school, something that the Education Endowment Foundation believes is currently lacking in many schools – see their article ‘Putting Evidence to Work – A School’s Guide to Implementation‘ for more details.

Fully-funded NPQs starting in September

The DfE has confirmed funding is in place for our September cohort so we would advise for you to plan ahead and book now to secure your fully-funded place for September. Funded places are available for leaders and aspiring leaders in:

Maintained schools, academies, free schools and PRUs in category 5 and 6 areas
All schools in a MAT which includes at least one category 5 or 6 school
All schools in a Diocese which includes at least one category 5 or 6 school

Please note: Places within a school, cluster, MAT or Diocese are not limited – so if you have colleagues who you think may also be interested, please don’t hesitate in forwarding this information to them.

We offer NPQs at three school leadership levels – middle leaders (NPQML), senior leaders (NPQSL) and headship (NPQH) – take a look at our dedicated pages online for more information on programme content, funding rules and what you can expect from our leading-edge, inclusive leadership programmes.

Why bring professional assessment in house?

With increased pressure on budgets to support children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), now is the perfect time to invest in upskilling yourself or another member of the support team to ensure that you can provide the best support for your students and work more effectively with your external service providers. Our Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (CCET) is a great way to start making savings and provide more effective in-school services straight away.

Make a greater impact by gaining educational testing skills

Saving money on external services is incredibly important but it is not the only benefit of CCET. By bringing these educational testing skills or services in-house, you also save time as you do not need to wait for someone else to fit your school into their busy calendar. You will be able to test the children who need testing according to your own schedule. So, without time or budgetary limitations, you are likely to be able to test a greater number of children in the school and therefore make a substantial difference to the lives of these children. This is what our delegates have found:

“A greater proportion of students will now be tested as there will not be the need to call in outside agencies. This will help to measure the impact of interventions more and ensure that we have appropriate strategies in place.”

– Emma Rushton, CCET delegate 2018

“I am now in a position to test children that the school has not being able to afford to test, as we currently buy in that expertise at a great expense. This will open avenues to many children previously unable to be tested as needed.”

– Sandra Francis, CCET delegate 2018

To find out more, take a look at our dedicated CCET page online, or our CPT3A page if you are looking to become a qualified Access Arrangements Assessor. We have intensive face-to-face CCET courses coming up in September in Manchester and London, so plan ahead for the new academic year and book now to avoid disappointment. This is a great way to study for the CCET qualification as it gives you the chance to fast-track your educational testing skills and share best practice ideas with the other delegates and the facilitators over the three days.

Last week’s rallies in London, Bristol, Leeds and Birmingham demonstrated the nation’s frustration regarding the lack of funding for SEND provision in schools.

With increased pressure on budgets to support children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), now is the perfect time to invest in upskilling your school staff to ensure you are working more effectively with your external service providers. Our Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing is a great way to start making savings and provide more effective in-house services straight away.

NEW dates released:

Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (CCET):

• BIRMINGHAM – 26-28 June
• LONDON – 3-5 July and 18-20 September and 27-29 November
• LEEDS – 24-26 July
• MANCHESTER – 18-20 September

CCET and CPT3A (for Access Arrangements) are also available to complete flexibly online.

– Sandra Francis, CCET delegate 2018

“I believe that by assessing the students myself, rather than the Ed Psych, I will learn so much more about a pupil.”

– Elizabeth Jones, CCET delegate 2018

– Emma Rushton, CCET delegate 2018

CCET quick facts

Learn how to choose the correct psychometric test, administer it and interpret the results in your setting.
Develop effective support for the most vulnerable children in your setting.
Study fully online or through blended learning options.
No prior qualifications required – suitable for teachers, SENCOs and student support staff.
Receive 10% discount off tests and assessments through the Dyslexia Action Shop.
Combine with the AAC to become a qualified Access Arrangements Assessor (qualification to teach required).

To find out more, take a look at our dedicated CCET page online, or our CPT3A page if you are looking to train a staff member to be an Access Arrangements Assessor.

Annie Grant talked to RIX Research and Media to discover the potential of intelligent technology for learners with the most complex needs.

a picture of a young person interacting with a robot

The young people of Charlton Park Academy in South London are very comfortable working with new technology. The school has a wide range of assistive and interactive technologies, and also houses the Centre for Motor and Associated Communication (CENMAC), which supplies assistive technologies to children right across London.

‘We are always keen to explore the potential of new technology because it is hugely engaging, it can remove barriers and for some young people with learning disabilities it can be everything’, explains CENMAC team leader Kathryn Stowell. ‘When eye-gaze technology first came in, for instance, it meant that, for the first time, our students with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) could do something without any adult support and really demonstrate their level of understanding.’

Personalising learning

It was the Academy’s vision and enthusiasm for technology that led Gosia Kwiatkowska, Senior Lecturer and Co-director of RIX Research and Media Centre at the University of East London, to approach Charlton Park to help pilot MaTHiSiS (Managing Affective-learning THrough Intelligent atoms and Smart InteractionS) a personalised and adaptable e-learning system, developed by a team from across Europe and funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 Framework Programme.

This cutting-edge technology continually adjusts online learning paths to keep learners motivated. It does this through an algorithm that determines a user’s engagement through combining their performance on e-learning tasks with their emotional state, as indicated by their facial expressions and body movements. Although possible applications of the technology are wide-ranging – as part of the project, MaTHiSiS was piloted with users in mainstream and special schools, industry and careers guidance – the RIX Centre’s involvement focused mainly on the potential of the system for young people with PMLD and ASD.

‘This is the group whose needs are hardest to meet and who will benefit most from the technology because securing engagement is crucial if they are to learn,’ says Ms Kwiatkowska, who was also excited by the possibility of the young people themselves influencing the design. ‘As a group, people with PMLD are so often overlooked because they don’t have a voice, but in this project, they have the opportunity to contribute directly to the design of this technology, maybe not consciously but, nevertheless, they are the pioneers,’ she adds.

The MaTHiSiS learning platform has the capability to be used in conjunction with several different interfaces simultaneously so that teachers can create learning experiences personalised to meet the different needs of their students. ‘You could have a child in one corner of the classroom working on a computer, while students work individually or collaboratively on tablets or a big screen,’ explains Ms Kwiatkowska. Charlton Park, who had purchased a robot, were very keen to explore the possibility of linking the platform with this new hardware.

a picture of students interacting with a robot

But the main attraction of MaTHiSiS for RIX and for Charlton Park Academy was its potential to enable students with PMLD to work more independently, without constant adult oversight. Typically, a child with PMLD will have an adult beside them at all times, assisting with tasks and regulating their emotional state and behaviours by recognising and responding to signs of, pleasure, motivation, frustration or distress. By using a specialist webcam, MaTHiSiS continuously assesses a child’s engagement, assigns an emotional state and then presents learning materials in a way that is most likely to keep them motivated to continue learning. ‘It means that students don’t get bored because material is too easy, or frustrated because it is too difficult,’ explains Ms Kwiatkowska.

Evaluation of the project has indicated that because MaTHiSiS is able to detect emotional states from a range of very subtle indicators, it may be better at assessing engagement than an adult sitting next to the student. But Ms Kwiatkowska is keen to emphasise that the system does not replace the teacher. ‘It potentially increases independence for students by removing the need for an adult to anticipate their responses and keep them on task, because the machine will do that,’ she says.

Technical development

The MaTHiSiS project ran for just over three years, finishing in March 2019. It had three phases:

Driver – developing the algorithm and the learning materials
Assisted – RIX and schools piloting and evaluating the technology together, and
Real-life – Teachers integrating technology into their day-to-day classroom teaching.

In the ‘driver’ phase the project partners worked to develop the algorithm. Across Europe, children’s facial expressions were recorded while they were working on online tasks. Education professionals who knew children really well annotated the video material, indicating points when children’s reactions indicated that they were engaged, motivated, bored or frustrated etc. As the information from hundreds of observations was fed into the algorithm, it was able to learn more and more about the different ways in which young people show engagement.

Teachers also worked closely with RIX during this phase to develop the learning materials to upload to the learning platform. ‘For our target group we were looking at very simple tasks involving cause and effect, matching and basic literacy and numeracy,’ explains Gosia Kwiatkowska.

Assisted implementation

With the platform in place and functioning, the pilot moved on to the second ‘assisted’ phase, in which RIX worked with teachers and teaching assistants at Charlton Park Academy to set up the prototype system and to test its usability, before the final ‘live pilot’ stage. In practice, things didn’t go as smoothly as hoped. ‘Although we could see it had great potential, the learning platform didn’t really work very well when we came to implementing it in school,’ remembers Kathryn Stowell. ‘We had technical issues and the learning materials weren’t really a good fit for the needs of our PMLD students – even though they were simplified, they were still too difficult for children to access – so we moved to testing the system with more able pupils with complex needs.’

a picture of two teachers and a student with the robot

Miss Kwiatkowska agrees that things didn’t go as well as planned but points out that it is only through prototypes being piloted in these very early stages that difficulties can be identified and corrected. She applauds Charlton Park Academy’s open-mindedness and willingness to persist with the pilot so that the system could be improved for the future. ‘Early pilots of complex technology do take teachers and students out of their comfort zone. They can disrupt the operation of day-to-day activities and sometimes it’s great for students, and sometimes it’s not,’ she explains. ‘But it was so helpful to be able to feed their comments back into the development process, to improve the functioning of the platform in the future for groups who so often get left out’.

Because of technical difficulties, the pilot was never able to proceed to the ‘live’ stage, where teachers integrated the technology into their everyday teaching, without support from RIX. But the system did become more stable as time went on and the school obtained some success in using MaTHiSiS with their new target pupil group, generating some interesting and useful feedback and data for the project.

Increasing independence

A success of the pilot was the algorithm, which seemed to predict pupils’ emotional states accurately, challenging students and moving their learning a little further without triggering negative behaviours. But if the system was really to free students to work more independently, teachers and support staff needed to believe in it and learn to trust it.

In a feedback interview, Claire, a teaching assistant at Charlton Park Academy reported that her concern about the welfare of students tended to make her second guess the technology and jump in when she anticipated that students might begin to struggle. ‘I didn’t trust the computer to be able to assess their level of frustration as well as I could,’ she explains. ‘I knew by their body language when they were becoming anxious and, although you want to encourage students, you don’t want to harm them either.’

On the other hand, Anne, an experienced teacher, was more confident to step back and see how well students interacted with technology on their own. ‘There was a temptation to jump in too soon because you were anticipating when they might be getting bored or frustrated,’ she says. ‘But I realised it was OK to hold back a little and I noticed then that system not only stretched them a little bit, but it made them a little more independent. It reduced their reliance on the adult and I thought, well hang on, maybe sometimes it could be the adults that are holding them back.’

Gosia Kwiatkowska recognises how decisions that teachers make with the best intentions, can limit opportunities for students. ‘Children with more complex needs come to rely on adult’s ‘protecting’ them from things that may be perceived as too challenging, but MaTHiSiS gives students the chance to make mistakes and to try again and again, without the teacher stepping in, so long as the system assesses that they are still motivated to do so,’ she says. ‘And by allowing students to take those extra steps, MaTHiSiS can challenge teachers’ preconceived ideas about the abilities of students with learning disabilities and reveal capabilities that teachers may not previously have understood or realised they had.’

Engagement and progression

At first students at Charlton Park were a little wary of the new set-up but they soon gained in confidence. And while it was never possible to make the robot work with MaTHiSiS during the pilot, it was used as a reward to encourage them to participate and persevere with the online tasks.

a picture of a student interacting with the robot

The robot was a key motivator for some children but others surprised staff by their determination to succeed in the online tasks, without an incentive. Gosia Kwiatkowska recalls one student who couldn’t get over a barrier in one of the online tasks. ‘The system kept presenting the same activity over and over again and he was still failing,’ she remembers. ‘We asked if he wanted to stop and play with the robot but he said no. He was motivated and engaged by the activity and the system was recognising that and pushing him to try again, and he felt an enormous sense of achievement when he got through it.’

Students with learning disabilities typically make very small steps in learning progress and the MaTHiSiS system recognises and reports on this, along with data about how much and when a child has remained engaged. Kathryn Stowell recognises the usefulness of this for tracking and reporting on students’ progress and for teachers as they choose learning resources. ‘It added to the information we have to demonstrate students’ cognitive abilities and encourages teachers to think more critically about the resources they use in the classroom, in terms of their ability to engage and motivate students,’ she says.

Looking to the future

After three years the project is now at end and an evaluation has been prepared. Generally, teachers who had used MaTHiSiS were positive about it and despite concerns about technical issues, believed strongly that the system contributed to greater engagement and independence for learners.

Gosia Kwiatkowska hopes that new funding may be available in the future so that the technology can fulfil its potential and, eventually, become a commercial package available for all schools to use.

A major area for development is the appropriateness of the learning materials for target groups, especially those with PMLD. ‘It’s important that the technical teams and practitioners continue to work together so that everyone has a good understanding both of the potential of the technology and the needs of different groups of children, so that the product is really fit-for-purpose,’ explains Kathryn Stowell. Ms Kwiatkowska recognises this challenge. ‘Students with PMLD are unique and we all need to recognise that and take account of it going forward. You cannot develop a ‘PMLD persona’ and develop materials for just that one persona,’ she says.

There are of course other challenges, particularly around the stability and usability of the platform to support individual and collaborative teaching and learning in a busy, inclusive classroom. And staff training will also be needed to address what Ms Stowell describes as ‘a step change in teaching approach’, similar to that required when eye-gaze technology became available for teaching and learning.

Despite the challenges of the project, Kathryn Stowell remains really positive about the potential of MaTHiSiS. ‘We have a long-standing relationship with RIX and it was really exciting to be involved in a project that focused on the needs of young people, especially those with PMLD. It’s really important that their voice is heard when new educational technologies are developed so that they can show the potential they have to learn and achieve.’

This article was originally written for RIX Research & Media.