Teacher Training
So they’re able to give pupils the best education possible, we aim to give all our teachers the best training possible, whether they’re at the start of their career or established members of the leadership team
Why train to be a teacher with Paradigm?
Paradigm Trust has a significant track record of delivering high-quality initial teaching training (ITT).
At Paradigm Trust, one of our mottos is “Teach the right things, efficiently.”
We know every minute we have with our learners is important so we never waste time. We take the essentials of every subject and make sure we teach them in the most effective way. We know what works in the classroom and we want to share that.
To deliver our high quality teacher training, we’ve built strong partnerships with several ITT providers. And as the national ITT framework aligns closely with the Paradigm framework, it allows trainees to fit in with our approach to education and have a good grasp of our pedagogy from the start.
The course combines personal learning sessions with vital time in the classroom, observing and working with established teachers to deliver a range of lessons to children. These practical sessions will account for around 80% of course time and give students the essential skills and experience they need to become a professional teacher.
Most of these practical sessions will be at Murrayfield, however we will make sure learners have time at another school to expand their range of experiences.
Career Progression at Paradigm
After their first year, teachers can look to move into a subject lead position at Paradigm. This builds experience and confidence as a middle leader. They get the benefit of working with more experienced colleagues and as a team across the wider Trust. It improves their understanding of the curriculum, of how Paradigm works as an organisation and how to develop teacher resources, all with peer support from across the Trust.
As teachers progress further in their careers, they can take advantage of training opportunities funded and delivered by us for middle, senior and principal level training.
If you’re interested starting your teaching career at a Trust that has a strong emphasis on quality training and your career progression then contact Ben Rogers (Ipswich Academy) to find out more. We would be very pleased to meet with you at any of our schools.
Parent Director (Suffolk) Vacancy
Paradigm Trust are looking for a Parent Director to join in Suffolk. For full information please click here.
World Book Day 2023
The children at Murrayfield Primary Academy had a great day celebrating World Book Day yesterday – we loved seeing all of the fabulous costumes! Here are a selection of photographs for you to enjoy!
World thinking day
Each year on the 22nd February, members of the Girlguiding movement celebrate World Thinking Day. It’s a day when they think of each other and give thanks and appreciation for the international friendship. One of the traditions of Thinking Day is that members of the Girlguiding movement wear their uniforms to school to show others they are part of the movement. On Wednesday 22nd February girls at Murrayfield who are part of the Rainbows, Brownies and Guides wore their uniforms to school and hosted our school assembly to raise awareness of this special day.
Maths Mastery Matters
When we teach maths we take what’s known as a mastery approach. This means pupils revisit the same core areas throughout their schooling, so they can achieve a level of knowledge which gives them greater capabilities in the subject.
It’s an approach which puts depth of knowledge ahead of breadth of knowledge. By teaching maths consistently, from EYFS through to KS4, as children move through the school they’re able to grasp the fundamentals and build on them, every time they revisit the topic. The way we teach is constantly tested, evaluated and modified to achieve the best results. This ensures our lessons are taught with evidence-based methods, and it also gives teachers the freedom to try new things.
At our school we have a ‘talk for learning’ ethos, which means we want a lot of conversation about maths in our lessons. A key technique we use to encourage this is the Agree, Build, Challenge (ABC) model. For ‘Agree’, we give students two answers and they have to say which they agree with, then explain their rationale to justify their answer. ‘Build’ requires the teacher to ask a student to build upon another student’s answer, elaborating or giving new information. ‘Challenge’ involves the teacher asking a student whether they would like to challenge each other’s answers and opinions in a positive and constructive way. This all leads to better discussion and thinking.
Having a strong foundation in maths gives a pupil a good advantage when they come to the more advanced topics at secondary school. From when they first join us, we build pupils’ mathematics vocabulary so they become confident in the use of maths terms such as coefficient, highest common factor and lowest common denominator. This helps pupils to have easier conversations around the subject and better success answering examination questions when they reach their GCSEs.
The most recent progress 8 score at Ipswich Academy, the Paradigm secondary school, was a strong +0.29 and Key Stage 3 attainment is above the national average. The number of students achieving between level 4 and level 9 at Key Stage 4 is also increasing. Across the five Paradigm Trust primaries, 71% of pupils are attaining level 4+ and 53.7% are working at 5+. These outcomes are solid proof that this approach is delivering great results for our pupils.