TAPS has already run a successful full cohort programme in the city. A professional learning community to develop meaningful and manageable assessment in Primary Science. EEF associated National Lead, Sarah Earle, will support Stoke on Trent Primary schools in understanding how current best practice can inform decisions about what to do, what not to do and how to be more effective with what you do.

TAPS cohort 2 was part way through the programme when the COVID school closure stopped face to face CPD events. To ensure that the thinking around assessment is developed in line with national best practice is to relaunch TAPs with a refreshed new group open to all schools. Feedback from attendees has been really positive. As such if you are a school that has benefitted but would like further teachers to engage directly with Sarah Earle hen plesae request a place, if you are a school that has herad about TAPS but had not yet started then you are very welcome to join as the new programme will cover all principles in full, and if you were a school in cohort 2 you can join the full programme or just the sections that you missed.

Effective elicitation of pupil ideas and responsive teaching will be even more important as new curriculum plans have to be flexible to address the inevitable knowledge gap for every child in every year group.If your school is seeking to raise attainment, improve pupil attiutudes and monitor and enable progression of working scientifically then look to be an active participant in this group.

The change model for CPD involves sustained and regular support through three face to face sessions, gap tasks for in school development, linked assessment champions for school to school dialogue between meetings and a final teacher impact conference .

Schools are expected to link two members of staff to join- This would usually be the science subject leader and one other (often a different key stage- or sometimes the school assessment leader). Where two teachers can not attend it is envisaged that a buddy link in school will be helping to try out ideas in a practioner reflective cycle.

key dates are

TBC post decisions regarding COVID

This community has been created through Opportunity Area funding and so is fully funded and free to Stoke on Trent state funded schools. Non attendance once registered may result in an administration fee as places are limited.

Assessment Primary Science FOCUS4TAPS New dates Autumn 2020