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The SchoolOf EducationAlumniNewsletter 2010We want to keep in touch with our alumni and so this newsletter has beenproduced in order to inform you about exciting new developments in theSchool and feature updates about our students. We hope you will enjoyreading the newsletter and we would like to encourage you to pass it ontofriends and colleagues in your own networks who may be interested inopportunities to come and study with us here at Sheffield. You know howmuch you enjoyed your time with us, but don’t keep it to yourself – why not tellothers about the Sheffield experience!

2 The University of Sheffield

Welcome to the School of Education Alumni Newsletter 2010I am delighted to welcome you to our 2010 alumni newsletter, which is nowin its fourth year of production and goes from strength to strength, as I amsure you will agree. This is my first year as the Head of the School ofEducation and I have been immensely proud of the achievements ofstudents, both past and present. The alumni newsletter provides us with anopportunity to celebrate these achievements and to keep past studentsinformed about the School's developments. We have undertaken a range ofexciting work this year, some of which is detailed in these pages. However,it has also been a year in which we have said goodbye to a number ofvalued colleagues who have retired from the University. First of all,Professor Peter Hannon, who was Head of School from 2006-2009. He hasmade a very significant contribution to the School over the years and weare pleased that he will remain involved in the life of the School as anEmeritus Professor. Second, two longstanding and valued members of staffretired from the Institute of Lifelong Learning, Dr Phil Sidebottom andFreda Chapple. Last, but of course not least, four members of our supportstaff retired this year: Chris Gaffney, Sue Hargreaves, Kath Wainwright andCarole Worboys. Many of you will have dealt with one or more of thesestaff members over the years and will agree with me that their service tostudents was outstanding. So, whilst we are very sorry to lose theircontributions to the School, we know that they are moving on to aproductive stage of their lives and wish them a long and happy retirement.For the rest of us, there are many exciting developments in the months and

years ahead in the fields of education and lifelonglearning and we look forward to ensuring that theSchool's research and teaching continue torespond to these changes. In the meantime, dokeep in touch with us in the year ahead and let usknow what you are doing – we love to hear frompast students and, of course, we would like toinclude your stories in next year's alumninewsletter!

Professor Jackie Marsh Head of School

3The School of Education Alumni Newsletter 2010

Winner of the inaugural Rutland Prize for EarlyChildhood EducationJackie Musgrave MA in Early Childhood Education (Graduated 2010)In January the inaugural Rutland Prize for Early ChildhoodEducation – sponsored by The Rutland Hotel, Glossop Road,Sheffield – was presented to Jackie Musgrave, who waschosen from a shortlist of candidates studying for aMasters Degree in Early Childhood Education.

Jackie received an engraved paperweight, £100 cash and acertificate to mark her success – and celebrated with acomplimentary stay at the Rutland Hotel. Jackie is now astudent on the School’s EdD in Early Childhood Educationprogramme.

Prizewinner Jackie said: "I was delighted to receive theRutland Prize. Just to know that I had won it would havebeen enough without the amazing generosity of theRutland Hotel. I spent most of my prize on an importantnew book for my doctorate.

“Staying at the Rutland for the two years I was doing my MAwas hugely enjoyable. The hospitality was homely and at thesame time professional. I was especially grateful that thehotel always catered for my gluten free diet so imaginatively."

Dr Jools Page, Programme Director for the MA inEarly Childhood Education, added: “The MA in Early

Childhood Education at the University of Sheffield drawsstudents from all parts of the globe. It is testament to thequality of the programme and to the calibre of workproduced by the students that a shortlist of six nomineeswas put forward."

Professor Cathy Nutbrown, Director of Studies inEarly Childhood Education, said: "We are delighted thatour established partnership with the Rutland Hotel hasled to the sponsorship of this new prize. It recognises thequality of our MA in Early Childhood Education anddemonstrates the way in which The Rutland values havingour students as guests during their study schoolweekends in Sheffield."

The Rutland´s contribution was also recognised byProfessor Jackie Marsh, Head of School of Education."The School of Education is delighted to work inpartnership with the Rutland Hotel in the development ofthe Rutland Prize for Early Childhood Education. The prizerecognises the outstanding nature of the work of ourstudents."

Katey Dent, Sales Manager at the Rutland, added: "Our hotel enjoys a long-standing relationship with theUniversity and we were very keen to get involved in thisnew award, which demonstrates our continued supportfor one another."

Achievements of our Past StudentsLet us know about yours! Send stories andphotographs to [email protected]

Left to right: Katey Dent, Cathy Nutbrown, Jackie Marshand seated, Jackie Musgrave


Helen PerkinsMA in Early Childhood Education (Graduated 2009)

Our Foundation Degree students’ experiences were thefocus of my dissertation; I have been able to use my findingsto reassure new undergraduates that they can achieve, tosecure a contract for funding and to inform my work withthe Life Long Learning Network (LLN). I have had theprivilege to work with another Sheffield Alumnus, DanielleCarey. With Danielle and other LLN colleagues, researchingwhy early years practitioners are not participating in highereducation (‘Facilitating progression: towards a ‘fit forpurpose’ progression model for early years practitioners’(Carey et al 2009).

I have long been an advocate of professionalising thechildren’s workforce; I have a mantra that I unashamedlystole from Honorary Emeritus Professor Tricia David:

‘If we regard children as brilliant, capable, strong andclever, then we must show that the people who workwith them are also brilliant, capable, strong andclever’ (David 2004 p.27)

Not satisfied with giving our students the bare minimum,we have stretched and challenged our students and staff.Improving teaching and learning has been a critical factorin raising the achievement of our students. I have workedwith QIA to develop resources for Teaching and Learningas well as carrying out research exploring ‘learners asresearchers’ in which students asked 'What does goodlearning look like? I was invited to present the findings ata National Conference (The resources and video clips areon the QIA Excellence Gateway).

Current challenges in FE and Early Years surround theintroduction of new CWDC and TDA qualifications and thechallenge regarding reduced HEFCE places at a time whenwe are to increase the number of graduates in ECE. MyMA has empowered me to challenge when I see thingsthat are not right for the profession and for children. Inow have the confidence and ability to stand up and becounted, thank you.

Carey, D. Cramp, A. Kendall, A. Perkins, H. (2009)Facilitating progression: towards a ‘fit for purpose’progression model for early years practitioners. Finalreport of the Barriers and Solutions project to theBirmingham, Black Country and Solihull Lifelong Learning Network Progression Agreement subgroup.

http://www.bbcslln.ac.uk/summary/hsceye/outcome/HSCEYE3.pd

Developing the Expert Learner (2008) Learners asResearchers Quality Improvement Agency. ExcellenceGateway http://tlp.excellencegateway.org.uk/tlp/xcurricula/el/learninghowtole/learnersasresea/index.html

Lee SullivanMA in Early Childhood Education (Graduated 2008)

Early one morning back in the spring of 2005, anadvertisement caught my eye. It read something like, 'anopportunity for professional educators to continue withtheir academic studies through long-distance learningbalanced around the obstacles of modern day life'. It wasan advertisement posted by the University of Sheffield forthe chance to study an MA in Early Childhood Education.

For the last 2 years, I had worked as a Year 1 practitionerin a primary school in the historic town of Hastings.Although I loved every minute of my job working withyoung children, ever since BA graduation, it had been mydream to continue my academic studies and further myknowledge. However, my circumstances (i.e. personalrelationships, mortgage, full-time job, etc) led me toquestion whether it was really possible to make such asacrifice and commitment.

After careful consideration and summoning up thecourage, I successfully applied and gained a place on thecourse. Once in Sheffield, I realised many of my peersinitially shared the same concerns as I did. Some witheven more testing circumstances than mine!

Instantly, the cohort bonded and a widespread belief wasinstilled into us. For all their talent, expertise and experience,Professor Cathy Nutbrown, Dr Jools Page and the rest ofthe early years team provided an almost family-basedunit. Looking back I am incredibly grateful for this, as thisgave me the confidence and self-belief to approach myresearch with an open mind and enthusiasm. For all theirachievements, it has always stayed with me how humble,approachable and friendly the early-years team remained.

Once my dissertation was completed in the summer of2007, I resigned from my teaching position and decided togo backpacking, in need of reflection on my time andachievements in Sheffield. Regrettably I was unable toattend the MA graduation ceremony, as I had accepted a

Helen Perkins (centre)

Lee Sullivan in Kenya


teaching post in an international school in Cairo, Egyptduring my travels.

As a result of my MA qualification, I was soon promoted toYear 2 Leader, leading a team of British teachers andsupport staff, responsible for the delivery andimplementation of the British Primary Curriculum toEgyptian and expatriate children.

Studying at Sheffield has given me a deeper insight andappreciation of the amazing difference I, as well as otherearly-years educators, can make in young children's lives.Whenever employers look at my CV, they are alwayscurious about my time spent studying at the University ofSheffield. It has opened so many doors for me and I havebeen fortunate enough to have met some amazing peoplealong the way. My work internationally includes manycharity projects in schools ranging from Kenya toPalestine. I now look forward to taking up my newteaching post in Kazakhstan in September 2010.

I would recommend studying at the University of Sheffieldso much so, that I am seriously considering continuing mystudies in the near future on the School of Education EdDprogramme.

Kate Banfield and Angela SugdenMA in Early Childhood Education (Graduated 2004)

Over the last 4 years Kate and Angela have workedtogether in Kirklees writing and developing The KirkleesChild’s Journey Framework. The framework will belaunched on 7 June.

The Child’s Journey Framework puts parents at the heartof partnership working. It values them as experts in theirown and their children’s lives and enables them to bemore confident carers and educators. The metaphor ofthe journey was chosen as it best expresses theadventure of childhood and our experience of life.

It is a journey not made alone, but with parents andothers who are also discovering and learning and it is theywho face the challenge and have the responsibility forshaping and guiding their child’s journey. We wish toexcite parents and carers about the miraculous journeythat their child makes in the early years of life and showthem how Children’s Centres can support them.

To achieve this we have developed the concept andframework of the Child’s Journey. This is based on fourareas of development that are crucial to all children. Wehave called these areas components and they areattachment, communication and language, developmentalmovement and play. There is nothing in this frameworkthat is new or untested. In fact, most of the messages andinformation are well researched and understood. TheChild's Journey has a very clear child development, health,education and social perspective. It springs directly fromthe Every Child Matters agenda and the Sure StartChildren's Centres Core offer.

The innovation is perhaps in combining the fourcomponents in a framework of concepts and activitiesand having the ambition to develop a common language,joint training and resources that brings agencies together.

The Child’s Journey Resources include:

• A booklet for parents including a DVD to be given toevery family with a new baby in Kirklees that outlinesthe 4 components and the support that Children’sCentres can offer.

• Activity plans and resources for parents to participate in that support the 4 components.

• Child’s Journey Loan Bags linked to the componentswith a range of resources including suggested activitiesfor parents to use at home.

• A Child’s Journey Booklet for professionals outlining the framework.

• A multi-agency training programme delivered on arolling programme so that a skill base is developed andmaintained.

• 4 Training handbooks and toolkits for professionals tosupport each component.

Melanie PearsonMA Working with Communities: Identities,Regeneration and Change (Graduated 2010)

Graduation day in January was an exciting day for severalreasons: slithering through ice and snow in high heelsearly that morning to get to the graduate dress hire intime – seeing my classmates looking so smart in theirgowns and mortar boards, and our tutors in all theirgowned and tasseled finery – walking across the stage toa huge noisy cheer from my family in the audience – themoving experience of being surrounded by so manystudents from so many different places in the world, withsuch an extraordinary range of talent – and to cap it all,arriving home later that afternoon to the offer of a job!

Studying for my degree (Working with Communities:Identity, Regeneration and Change) really was life-changingin that I started out as a community development workerinterested in learning more about good practice, and endedup deciding to make a career change and take my communityknowledge into work in research and social policy.

The course had emphasized a person-centred, action-research approach, and opened my eyes to the idea ofresearch as a future career – certainly something Iwanted to do more of.

Then again, I was a woman of a certain age with no researchexperience outside the department, and the employmentprospects for new graduates were looking pretty grim.

So it was a wonderful surprise to be offered a graduateinternship at the DWP, and an auspicious finale to theceremony itself.

After what seemed an interminable wait for security checks,here I am in the civil service (still blinking at that, as forpeople who know me it would possibly be the most unlikelyoccupation imaginable) and as a fairly novice researcher,working on an evaluation strategy for a £12m nationaloutreach programme investigating intergenerationalworklessness amongst social housing tenants indeprived areas.


Apparently what swung it for me at the interview was myinterest in community oriented research principles andenthusiasm for connecting the gaps between people andpolicy.

I owe this entirely to the Working with Communities course,the lively group discussions in my class, and my tutors Dr Michele Moore and Dr Kate Pahl, with their passionfor the subject and for encouraging their students tothink deeply, ethically and rigorously but if necessary,outside the academic box…

I’m still scared (can I really do this? do they realise I’mjust making it up as I go along?) and learning all the timebut doing my MA (and getting a distinction) was a massiveboost to my confidence and belief in myself and it helps toremember that. As for the research work, it’s invigoratingto think that even in small ways, I can potentially useknowledge and values developed on the course to make adifference to the way a national organization responds toits customers.

Dylan Yamada-RiceCurrent PhD Student

Dylan has been awarded the United Kingdom LiteracyAssociation (UKLA) Student Research Prize 2010 for thedissertation she completed as part of the MA EducationalResearch.

Bill EsmondCurrent EdD Student

Like others on the EdD, I found it something of a struggleat first, and wondered if I had the necessary academicbackground. As a relative newcomer to education, I hadjoined the EdD to catch up on the kind of things othershad been reading about whilst I’d been working in industry.I work in HE in an FE College, an area that I suspected hadbeen neglected by research because of its marginal statusin higher education and its minority status in colleges. Buttutors at Sheffield encouraged me to start a thesis in alargely untouched area: the part-time, adult studentmajority in ‘HE in FE’. This was serious Outsider Research!

I carried out some interviews that produced what Ithought were quite powerful accounts: others on thecourse seemed to find it interesting too. To help me makesense of it all, I started to look for feedback from othersand put a few papers in to conferences. ProfessorGareth Parry pointed me towards conferences where Iwas likely to get a response, rather than grander eventswhere my contribution wouldn’t attract much notice. Thisstrategy worked: I’ve been taken aback by the kindness ofpeople who have put aside time to read through my workand send me comments: it’s been really helpful.

Gareth suggested the LSRN conference: I thought I’dmissed it but Gareth went to the trouble of checking

with the organisers, so I had to do it. They asked for full7000 word papers and I only got to work on it the day ofthe deadline: then I lost my WinScp connection to workand had to throw it together on the afternoon. But thedata’s really interesting, so I suspect this counted for a lotwith the judges.

Jill Jameson announced the prizes, describing the winningentry as work about the problems of adults, carried outwith adults. She said, ‘The winner will by now probablyknow who they are,’ but I certainly didn’t! And I didn’texpect the congratulatory emails from Sheffield staff; orto be asked to contribute to this and other publications.But all these things have given me much-neededencouragement to carry on with my work. And there arestill plenty of times when I need it!

Owen Barden – Go with the FloeCurrent EdD student

At the last weekend, our new editor Brendan approachedme to write a reflective piece on how the EdD hasinfluenced my professional practice. Other people gotassignments like photographing the Kenwood Hall ducksor compiling fashion tips, but there you go. Anyway, toput things into context, I have completed the first twoyears of the course, and my professional practice centreson my role as dyslexia tutor at Oldham Sixth FormCollege.

Apart from that first "Value-Free" assignment, all of mywork for the course so far has been themed around theCollege, though with a different focus each time – from acase study of an individual student to a cross-collegesurvey of student and staff dispositions towardseducation (no, there really is no escaping Bordieu). As aresult the EdD has helped me to develop a much deeperand fuller understanding of my students, my institution,and how both of these fit into the broader educationaland social landscape.

More satisfyingly perhaps, and proving that even the mostmodest educational research can have real impact, theCollege decided to change its Mission Statement inresponse to the survey I carried out. Incidentally, I foundthat themeing my work in Part One in this way was agreat help in framing and focusing my ideas andcompleting much of the groundwork for the thesis I'mabout to begin.

It's more difficult to pinpoint changes in my teaching that I can directly attribute to the EdD, but I do think myresearch has led me to new ways of thinking about mystudents, about learning, and about the opportunities and barriers to learning that adolescent students withdyslexia face.

It has also contributed to the realisation that things likeFacebook and YouTube hold real educational potentialand attraction for dyslexic students.

I think now is a really exciting time to be researching therelationship between adolescence, dyslexia and technology,and encountering and exploring the work of thinkers likeFoucault has helped me to conceptualise and understandthat relationship in interesting ways I never would haveotherwise.

Achievements of ourCurrent StudentsLet us know about yours! Send stories andphotographs to [email protected]


On a more pragmatic level, having a journal articlepublished did validate an experimental way of teachingreading I'd been using. This was something I'd beenworking on prior to the EdD, but the process of writingfor publication (see previous issues) taught me a lotabout the craft of writing, persistence, frustration, andthe workings of the academy. It also offered plenty ofopportunity to deploy some choice swearing.

All of my experience is in post-compulsory education, first in a large FE college and now the sixth-form. Meetingwith colleagues three times a year has illuminated theconnections between different niches in the educationecosystem: hearing resonances when primary teacherstalk about the way they teach reading; hearing teachers of multilingual pupils talk about the way language shapesidentity; seeing similarities between my own thesis proposal and those of colleagues working in early years,teacher-trainers, and those working with the families andcarers of disadvantaged children – I've only shown the tipof the iceberg, but all of these things have left me betterprepared to negotiate the waters I find myself in, and readthe map of the oceans.

Paula Richardson gets published Current EdD student

Kissock, C. & Richardson, P. (2010) Calling for actionwithin the teaching profession: It is time tointernationalize teacher education in Teaching EducationVol. 21, (1) March 2010 pp.89-101

(This paper was also presented at the 54th InternationalCouncil on Education for Teaching World Assembly,December 14-17, 2009 in Muscat, Oman.)

Following an earlier career which encompassed teaching,local authority advising and university teaching I now workpart-time in a small organization, Educators Abroad,which places student teachers from both the US and theUK, overseas for their final teaching practice placements.

What teachers need to know for the future teaching oftheir students is a contested area. In many caseseducators continue to focus on preparing teachers forschools in their local communities, ignoring the realitythat we live in a globally interdependent world, are part ofthe global (not local) professions of teaching and teachereducation, and that teachers now are preparing toeducate young people who will live past the year 2100.The article above, which was also presented at an ICETconference by my co-author, was based on my EdDresearch which investigates how well the participants inoverseas student teaching experiences feel they havebeen professionally and personally prepared for a moreglobal role as an educator.

Research Excellence FrameworkRecording Student Publications

You will probably be aware of the Research ExcellenceFramework (REF) which has replaced the ResearchAssessment Exercise (RAE) as the mechanism for assessing the research performance of universitydepartments.

Research environment is one of the areas which thepanels consider and student publications falls under thisumbrella. Therefore, if you have had any work published in peer reviewed journals, edited collections,research monographs or elsewhere since 2008, please letus know. Details should be sent to Judi Duffield<[email protected]>.

Dame Gillian Pugh –EdD Weekend GuestSpeakerImproving Outcomes for Young Children: Can we Narrowthe Gap?1

This talk explored the considerable developments in bothearly years policy and in provision of services for youngchildren in England since 1997, noting the role that suchservices have had in informing the broader Every ChildMatters agenda. Early education is now a legal requirement,nearly all three and four years olds take up free nurseryeducation, and some 3,500 children’s centres have nowbeen established. The Early Years Foundation Stageprovides a curriculum framework based on key principlesof children’s learning, parents are recognised as central totheir children’s learning and development, and a keypriority for government is to improve the training andqualifications of the early years workforce.

There are however many challenges, for in the rush toexpand the quantity of provision, quality is at risk, andthere is a danger that many new services are notsustainable, particularly in the current economic climate.The numbers of children still living in poverty is also ofgreat concern, and the extent of inequality in the countryis having a serious impact on the well-being of largenumbers of children, with a long tail of under-achievement and a growing gap between those who dowell and those who do not. The work of the Narrowingthe Gap project, now being built on by the Centre forExcellence and Outcomes (C4EO), was described, whichshowed that interventions focussed on children in theirearliest years do have the potential to improve outcomesthat are fundamental to future life chances, as well asnarrow the gap between disadvantaged and other children.1 An earlier version of this paper has just been publishedin Early Years, 30, 1, 5-14


Ever thought of studyingfor a doctorate? Join ourEdD Programme!For those of you who enjoyed your masters study with us,we would be delighted to consider your application for ourdoctoral programme, which is one of the most popular and longstanding EdD programmes in the country. We havea number of EdD routes, all of which are taught by leadingeducational researchers. They offer flexibility, combiningtaught units with in-depth research, and are relevant to awide range of professionals in education and related fields. Most students complete within 4 years. You willattend three study school weekends a year at the 4*Kenwood Hall Hotel in Sheffield. Our current routes are:

EdD (Educational Studies) – a general programme thatstudies educational theories and research across the broad field of educational studies.

EdD (Children, Schools and Families) – new for 2010, thisroute is for those who wish to research their practice withchildren, schools and families in more depth, for example,whether in youth or family support work, home-schoolliaison or extended schools.

EdD (Language Learning and Teaching) – offers a criticalunderstanding of key contemporary issues in Englishlanguage teaching and the teaching of modern foreignlanguages.

EdD (Early Childhood Education) – developsunderstandings of critical issues in early childhoodresearch, policy and practice.

EdD (Higher Education) – engages students with thedebates and understandings of theories, policies andpractices in relation to further and higher education.

EdD (Literacy and Language in Education) – providesprofessionals with a critical understanding of keycontemporary issues in relation to the teaching andlearning of literacy and language in all sectors of education and training.

For further details, please contact the programmesecretary, Jacquie Gillott:

Tel: +44 114 222 8096. Email: [email protected] [email protected]

BA Education, Culture and Childhood We are launching this new degree in 2011/2012, which willenable students to gain a detailed understanding of thethemes underpinning current educational policy andpractice and critically engage with issues surroundingchild development and the meaning of childhood. Formore information please visit our website:http://www.shef.ac.uk/education/courses/cultchildhoodor contact the course director Dr Darren Webb. Email: [email protected]


Recent StaffPublications Lavia, J. and Moore, M. (eds) (2010) Cross-CulturalPerspectives on Policy and Practice: DecolonizingCommunity Contexts, New York: Routledge.

The motivation for the book came from the commitmentof its editors and contributors to social justice and thenecessity to pursue such an agenda within educationalsettings. The book takes change as its focus and thediscursive engagements within the text acknowledge thatthe origins and significance of change are often found tobe unsettling. Theoretical perspectives, innovativepractice and policy are interrogated in each of thechapters as they explore how community is experiencedand interpreted within a range of cultural settings.Autobiography, citizenship, resistance, peacemaking,critical literacies and second-chance opportunities areexamples of unifying themes throughout. Coherentthemes have been addressed; perceptions of injustice andoppression are articulated which generates strongrecurring ideas for decolonizing practice through thevaluing of indigenous knowledge and perspectives.

Discernable global shiftsthat impact on thedecolonization ofeducation andcommunities have alsobeen interrogated inconjunction with localboundaries and tensionsthat influence and shapechange.

Sikes, P. and Piper, H. (2010) Researching Sex and Lies in the Classroom: Allegations of Sexual Misconduct inSchools. London, Routledge Falmer.

Every day, in everyschool in the UK, everyteacher faces the risk ofhaving a false allegationof sexual abuse madeagainst them. If such anaccusation is made thenthe chances are thatthe teacher’s life willnever be the sameagain with theconsequences being farreaching andsometimes tragic. Thisbook explores theperceptions andexperiences of maleteachers, and ofmembers of theirfamilies, their friendsand colleagues, whohave been accused of sexual misconduct with femalestudents which they say they did not commit and ofwhich they have eventually been cleared or the case hasbeen dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

Professor Jerry Wellington's new book MakingSupervision Work for You was published by Sage inMarch. The book is based on research he has been doingover the last four years into the supervision process andhas been nominated by the Journal of Qualitative Inquiryfor book of the year.

Dr Julia Davies has published a new book, co-authoredwith Guy Merchant from Sheffield Hallam University,entitled 'Web 2.0 for Schools: Learning and SocialParticipation'.

A book which features The Institute for LifelongLearning as a case study in a chapter written by HelenMathers has been published by NIACE: 'UniversityContinuing Education 1981-2006' (eds Jones, Thomas andMoseley). Professor Gareth Parry has also written achapter for the book.

Dr Mike Pomerantzhas published a newbook (with BelleWallace, Sue Leyden,Diane Montgomery,Carrie Winstanleyand Sally Fitton) byDavid FultonPublishers entitledRaising theAchievement of AllPupils Within anInclusive Setting:Practical Strategies for Developing BestPractice. Schoolseverywhere areconcerned withraising standardsaccording togovernmentrequirements, particularly for those pupils who couldbe termed 'more able'. The key challenges revolvearound government initiatives such as Every ChildMatters, independent learning, inclusion anddifferentiation, thus making learning effective andsuccessful for all pupils. The authors of this highlyengaging book carried out extensive analysis of 12 keyschools, selected for their representation of commonchallenging educational circumstances includingworking with children from:

• multi-lingual and multi-ethnic communities• low socio-economic and disadvantaged communities• small rural schools and big inner city communities• schools with high levels of special educational needs.

All the case-study schools subscribe to the educationalethos of creating an environment for all pupils todiscover their gifts and talents, and the authors showclearly how these findings can be applied in any school.Raising the Achievement of All Pupils Within an InclusiveSetting describes the strategies that have beendeveloped to provide equal opportunities for all pupils,whilst accommodating different individual needs andrates of development. A major focus is on identifyingand resolving underachievement in schools. Drawingupon intensive interviews with staff, pupils, parents andgovernors, the authors provide practical guidance forsuccessfully raising motivation, achievement andeducational standards in any school environment.Teachers, Gifted and Talented Co-ordinators and schoolleaders seeking guidance and inspiration from real-lifeschools will benefit from the down-to-earth, achievableadvice offered in this book.


School of Education Research CentresWe are an inclusive research community and embracediverse approaches to research and theory. We encourage collaborative involvement withprofessional groups, community projects and manymore. Our research is organised in four Centreswhich foster the sharing of ideas, and collaborativeand interdisciplinary initiatives, students areaffiliated to the Centre in which supervisors arelocated.

Our Research is organised within Centres:

The Centre for the Study of Children, Families andLearning Communities (Directed by Professor TomBillington) is committed to research which understandsand supports the development of the lives and learning ofchildren, parents and practitioners through inclusive,participatory and emancipatory methodologies. TheCentre comprises many academics and practitioners whobelieve in the value of research which is theoretically andethically sound and which engages with the needs of bothparticipants and research users. The Centre comprisestwo research groups, Early Childhood Education andEducational Psychology.

The Centre for the Study of Educational Developmentand Professional Lives (Directed by Dr Chris Winter)brings together researchers variously involved in usingauto/biographical approaches to study aspects of livesand careers, and/or those who are interested ineducation policy, curriculum, teaching and learning, bothin the national and in the wider global, context. Centremembers share a commitment to critical andtransformative inquiry and to investigating conditions for,and influences on, the part played by education (in itsbroadest sense) in the quest for social justice. There isalso a strong strand of work focusing on the developmentof contextually appropriate, ethical research methodologyand practice.

The Centre for the Study of Higher Education andLifelong Learning (Directed by Professor Sue Webb)includes work focussed on a broad range of relatedstudies such as: Higher education policy; Access andbarriers to participation in Higher Education and LifelongLearning; Pedagogy and ‘teaching excellence’, andProfessionalism of Higher Education teachers.

The Centre for the Study of New Literacies (Co-Directedby Drs. Julia Davies and Kate Pahl) focuses on new ways ofconceptualising literacy and looking how new technologiesare impacting on literacy practices. This includesunderstandings of ‘new’ and ‘digital’ literacies as well asmultiliteracies and multimodality. Members of the groupshare interests in exploring literacy practices in everydaylife and learning contexts, using methods from disciplinessuch as visual studies, cultural geography, anthropology,sociolinguistics, psychology and the humanities. TheCentre addresses issues such as migration and newemerging identities and contexts within contemporarysociety in relation to texts, practices and communication.


As part of my work as a Widening Participation –Aimhigher Project manager based at The University ofSheffield, I have been working with members of theSomali community, one of the fastest growingcommunities in Sheffield partly because the populationhas a high birth rate rather than this being attributed tonew immigration. The disadvantages faced by the Somalicommunity results in poor educational attainment,exclusions from school and unemployment with low takeup of entry into higher education.

Sheffield City Council and key members of the SomaliCommunity formed a task group to take a solution-focused approach to try to find a way forward. At thesame time I had built up a level of trust within thiscommunity as I engaged with adults/parents incommunity settings and set up many information‘Progression to HE’ sessions using translators and Somalicommunity workers. Parents were naturally struggling tounderstand the system in UK schools. Children wereoften the only English speaker in the family. Parentssometimes didn’t understand the letters sent fromschools giving information that their child may beexcluded from school and did not know how to get help. Iworked with Somali parents, colleagues at the Universityand other organisations to provide ‘Information &understanding of the British Educational system’ sessionsin the community. We also brought parents into theUniversity and held meetings here. It was clear thatparents were desperate to help their children oftenpaying for private tutors from meagre benefits or lowfinancial situations that they could ill afford. As part of acollaborative attempt to raise aspirations and educationalachievement, the Somali mentoring project was launchedin December 2009 at Sheffield Town Hall.

Parental concern was obvious following the ‘Mentoring’launch day when 150 parents and young people came andshowed their anxiety regarding the children’s pooreducational attainment. We had recruited 15 Somaligraduates who were interested in mentoring youngSomali people. 66 children from schools and colleges inSheffield were registered for the programme. We had toagree in the first instance to only mentor those from Yr 9and above due to restricted numbers of mentors andclassroom space.

I managed to negotiate rooms at the Octagon Centre atThe University of Sheffield and it was agreed we wouldoffer mentoring sessions on Saturdays every week fromJanuary to July as a Pilot scheme.

As the levels of attainment for Somali children are belowthe national average particularly at KS3/KS4 we set outthe aims for the project as follows:

• To improve GCSE/VCE/A and AS Level grades.

• To provide students with positive role models – Somaligraduates and UoS undergraduates/postgraduates whowould share their stories/experience of their ownjourney to HE.

• To help raise mentees’ confidence through newunderstanding, information and guidance around theirindividual educational needs.

• To provide students with an understanding of theopportunities offered by higher education and on thebenefits and attractions, also demonstrating thatuniversity life is exciting and fun.

• To demonstrate that going to university is an investmentwhich is both possible and affordable.

• To support parents/adults with advice, information andguidance regarding their own educational progressionneeds.

The Somali graduates we recruited all completed theAimhigher Associated, Mentoring Training, which involved:

• Child Protection – ‘What if’ scenarios• The National Curriculum Key Stages and transition

points• Higher Education Progression Framework• Role play/peer observation• Scenarios/possible educational problems• Ground rules• Study techniques, revision and exam technique• Goal setting/Action planning• Monitoring• Mentor personal development.

The emerging information coming out of the weeklymentoring sessions will be useful to teachers/parents/young people in terms of what could be offered aspossible extra-curricular support.

All 40 children who have been mentored so far are askingfor help with Maths, English and Science. So much so thatthe main aims of the project, such as raising aspirations, arenow changing to mentors actual teaching. This is what theyoung people want and absolutely this is what parents want.

I have also enlisted the help of Student Ambassadors fromThe University of Sheffield to help with Science, Maths andEnglish support. Eleven undergraduates and some MA andPhD students who are studying Medicine/Engineering andEnglish have begun to work with us mentoring the students.

The project is growing and is very exciting, we have lots ofideas and plan to offer group sessions/visits to see andparticipate in activities at the University. I have alsospoken to Somali World News BBC TV CorrespondentRageh Omaar. He has offered to support the project andwill come to TUoS to visit the young people and thoseconnected to the project. I also received a message from

Research ProjectsSheffield Somali Mentoring ReportMargaret MitchellWidening Participation/Aimhigher Community Learning Project Manager


the VC from Somalia University who had tracked medown at the University to offer support following readinga press announcement that was in Times Higher aboutthe project.

There is a real need for this project and others like it tocontinue. This pilot only runs to July and everyoneconnected to the project wants it to continue, especiallythe children who have shown in the interim evaluationthat they are progressing well and are very well motivatedto improve their grades and are stimulated throughworking with our mentors and undergrads/postgrads.They and their parents want the project to continue.

It is remarkable how many children are seeking help andwho are willing to come every Saturday to the mentoringsessions. The emerging information will be very useful toschools/teachers who may want to find a way to offerextra support in the areas most needed. The success ofthis project perhaps is unique in that for the first timeaccording to the Somali parents we are providingsomething that is community-led and directly addressingtheir concerns – that is working with parents/youngpeople/Sheffield University/Connexions/SheffieldCouncil/Colleges/Aimhigher. We now need to approachschools to develop ways of integrating this project intomainstream wherever possible. This project is only a partof my role and does not allow for me to fully manage thisproject permanently, Community members are beingencouraged to manage the project in the future withsupport from all the agencies concerned.

In the meantime I will continue to co-ordinate thementoring project/sessions and look forward to seeingthe young people that we are working with blossom.

Children’s PlaygroundGames and Songs inthe New Media AgeTwo members of the School of Education are taking partin an exciting research project entitled Children’sPlayground Games and Songs in the New Media Age,funded by the AHRC Beyond Text programme. ProfessorJackie Marsh and Research Associate Dr Julia Bishopare working on the two-year project in collaboration with colleagues at the University of London’s Institute of Education, the British Library National Sound Archiveand the University of East London. The project has three strands:

• the digitisation of recordings made by pioneer children’splay researchers, Peter and Iona Opie, in the 1970s and ’80s,

• the gathering of contemporary data about children’splay in two primary schools, one in Sheffield and one inLondon, and

• the adaptation of playground games for physicalcomputer game interfaces such as the Nintendo Wii.

Children are involved in all facets of the project, includingthe design of a British Library website to showcase aselection of the Opies’ material and today’s play as foundat the two schools. Children at both schools are involvedin documenting their own play and some have anadditional role in a panel which advises the researcherson aspects of the project as well as providing feedback onthe computer game experiment.

One year into the project and it is clear that many olderforms of play are still very much alive and enjoyed, suchas tiggy (chase games), clapping, football, handstands,skipping, counting out or ‘dipping’, building ‘nests’, andgames of pretend. These are learnt from many sources butare primarily passed around by the children themselves.The influence of the media, already present in the Opies’earlier examples, is also found in forms of play such assinging, dancing, cheerleading, fantasy and role play. Thereis evidence that children are beginning to turn to theinternet as a source for jokes, dance routines and clappingrhymes. These in turn seem to revitalise the repertoireand stimulate further inventiveness among the children.

For further information about the project, including arecent conference featuring interim findings, seehttp://projects.beyondtext.ac.uk/playgroundgames/. A book on the project’s findings, as well as the BritishLibrary website, is also planned.


Curious aboutLiteracy?An exhibition of literacy practices in homes recentlyappeared in a kiosk on The Moor in Sheffield. Dr Kate Pahl, from the Centre of the Study of New Literacies had a set of images in the exhibitioncalled: Materializing Literacy: The uses of literacy in Rotherham and Sheffield. The images come fromtwo studies of literacy practices in homes inSheffield and Rotherham. This exhibition was part ofthe Curious Festival. Curious is a festival of excitingand engaging events organised by the Faculty of Artsand Humanities.

Further details about the project are available on theweb at http://www.inhabitingspace.org/ and bloghttp://inhabitingspace.blogspot.com/

Making it REAL:Raising EarlyAchievement inLiteracyProfessor Cathy Nutbrown and Professor PeterHannon have developed a pioneering programme toimprove literacy levels among pre-school children. Havingshown, through a longitudinal study (1994-2006) that themethods used in the REAL (Raising Early Achievement inLiteracy) Project can benefit children's early literacydevelopment, the programme is now being rolled out toschools and children's centres in two UK local authorityareas.

The National Children's Bureau won Big Lottery funding todevelop the original REAL project into a new initiative,'Making it REAL: Raising Early Achievement in Literacy'.Cathy Nutbrown is now working with the NCB which iscurrently supporting 16 teachers and practitionersworking with some 320 families with children under five.The Early Childhood Unit began work on the new Makingit REAL (Raising Early Achievement in Literacy) project inAugust 2009 which will continue for three years. REALbuilds on what parents already do at home to help childrenlearn. The relationships developed between practitioner,parents and children are central. Parents receive supportto provide more opportunities for their children to learnthrough books and stories, songs and rhymes,environmental print and early mark making activities.

Parents, practitioners and children will be directly involvedin evaluating the effectiveness of the project. Anticipatedoutcomes are increased parent confidence and knowledgeof how to join in with children, model practice, recognise,and respond to children’s progress – and improvedcommunication and social skills for young children.

More can be read about REAL in Nutbrown, C. Hannon, P. and Morgan, A. (2005) Early Literacy Work with Families, Sage Publications.

Further information on the origins and findings of theREAL Project is available at: http://www.shef.ac.uk/research/stories/socialsci/22.html

Professor Gareth Parry has recently been invited to jointhe Expert Group on the Drivers of Education andTraining Policy in England (Chair: Baroness Estelle Morris)and the Steering Group for an LSIS-funded Project onHigher Education in Further Education: Strategic Options,Operational Challenges (Chair: John Widdowson). Garethalso recently made a presentation on Higher Education inFurther Education at the Invitation Seminar convened bythe Leadership Foundation in Higher Education, theAssociation of Colleges, the 157 Group and the MixedEconomy Group of Colleges, London.

In February Dr Kate Pahl gave a talk at the DiasporasIdentities Migration Final Event, a trans-disciplinaryresearch programme funded by the Arts and HumanitiesResearch Council (AHRC), on the Narratives of Migrationand Artefacts of identity project at Tate Britain. In Marchshe was invited to talk about the Diasporas IdentitiesMigration Project at a workshop, also funded by theAHRC, on South Asian Families: Transnationalism, Genderand the Life at the University of Sussex.

Dr Darren Webb was given the 2008 Eugenio BattistiAward for Best Article in Utopian Studies.

Dr Jennifer Lavia, Dr Jools Page, Professor Pat Sikesand Jayne Rushton were all nominated for a ServiceExcellence Award by our students. These awards arepresented to recognise and celebrate the excellent levelof service provided by individuals and teams from allareas of the University.

In November 2009 Dr Michele Moore presented a paperat the National and Capodistrian University of AthensDisability and Policy conference entitled 'Telling cross-cultural stories about inclusion: problematic views ofdisabled children's lives'.

Dr Terry Lamb wascommended by theFrench Prime Ministerfor his work onestablishing a jointAnglo-Frenchqualification and hislongstanding services to language teaching.

He was awarded the title of Chevalier dansl’ordre des PalmesAcadémiques whichtranslates to Knight inthe Order of theAcademic Palms.

The medal was presented to Terry by the FrenchAmbassador, Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, at his officialresidence in London. One of the world’s oldest civilawards, originally created by Napoleon in 1808, the ‘Ordredes Palmes Académiques’ rewards distinguishedmembers from the field of education notably for theircontribution towards the expansion of French languageand culture throughout the world. It is the mostsignificant award in academia in France.

In his speech, the Ambassador presented the reasons whythe French Government was awarding this honour,referring to Terry’s work both nationally for the Universityof Sheffield and internationally as President of theFédération Internationale des Professeurs de LanguesVivantes (the International Federation of ModernLanguage Teachers).

Terry said: “I am honoured to receive this award by theFrench Prime Minister. It is recognition of the importancenot only of French but of language learning generally, andshows a genuine desire for our countries to work moreclosely together and to offer our young learners theopportunity to have their learning recognised by bothcountries. This is a highly significant step which willhopefully lead to similar collaborations with other countries.”

Recent Successes for the School ofEducation


Research GrantsProfessor Cathy Nutbrown has been awarded agrant from the HEIF 4 Knowledge Transfer fund forwork on developing a Raising Early Achievement inLiteracy (REAL) project website.

Professor Tom Billington was awarded funding fora project in which he will be working with theJudiciary and the Merseyside Family Justice Council(MJFC) to develop a secure, on-line system formanaging information relating to Expert Witnesses(for example, psychiatrists, psychologists,independent social workers).

Dr Tim Corcoran was awarded a knowledgetransfer grant for a project working with NHSCalderdale Child & Adolescent Mental Healthservice on exploring classroom teachers’ viewsregarding their roles in school-based mental healthpromotion.

Retirements in 2009/10

Professor Peter Hannon

Amongst those whoretired from the School ofEducation in 2009 wasProfessor Peter Hannon,well known to students,staff and hundreds ofalumni of the School.Peter joined the Universityin 1979 as a Lecturer inEducation. From 1998 hewas a professor; between2006 and 2009 he led theSchool of Education as itsHead. In his 30 years in

the University, Peter worked with colleagues on manyteaching developments, including Masters’ programmes inLiteracy and in Early Childhood Education. He supervisednumerous PhD students, some of whom subsequentlywent on to University posts. His many research projects in literacy and early childhood education brought Peterinto contact with schools and families in Sheffield,particularly in disadvantaged areas of the city. His workhas been recognised nationally and internationally. As anEmeritus Professor in the University, Peter continues toresearch and write about issues in children’s developmentand in learning which first drew him into academic life buthis retirement now gives him the opportunity to spendmore time in outdoor pursuits and the arts.

Professor Greg Brooks

For decades I hadpromised myself I wouldnot flog on to 65, and had62 in mind, but my lastexternally funded projectsat Sheffield ran to March2008 and I was doing a lotof work on the RAE returnin 2007, so the actualmoment was at midnight,31 December 2007 – at thefirst gong I yelled “I am afree man” and toasted allthere – I was 631/2 to the

day and it was the (official) end of seven very fruitful andhighly enjoyable years working with excellent colleaguesand friends.

How is retirement so far? Busy (as they all say), butgetting gradually less so. I have continued to look afterthree students, and still have a toehold in a projectdirected by Gareth Parry. In 2008 I gave 20 presentations

and had 16 items published; in 2009 seven presentationsand seven publications, and in 2010 (so far) onepresentation (via the internet to a family literacy dayconference in Budapest – I was meant to be there butEyjafjallajökull interfered) and two publications, withseveral more of each in the pipeline, including a seminarat the Royal Society of Arts in April, and one at GlossopRoad on 25 May. Since 1991 I’ve been actively involved withthe International Development in Europe Committee ofthe International Reading Association, which formed itselfa parallel entity called the Federation of European LiteracyAssociations in 2008 – this is legally registered in Belgiumand I helped with ensuring that the official documents(they are in French, which most members of theCommittee don’t speak) have an English translation whichis certified as legally accurate.

Other research: In 2008-09 I took part in a nationalevaluation of family literacy programmes in England (thusrevisiting an area I’d first directed in 1994-95); in 2009,Maxine Burton and I worked on an EC project and deviseda glossary of 67 terms in the adult learning field, in all 28official languages of the EU and associated states (wedidn’t have to know them all – we had help from aninternational network); and in 2010 I’m working onanother EC project, a Europe-wide review of parentalsupport for early literacy development. I’ve alsocompleted several statistical projects, three to do withthe progress in literacy of young people who haveoffended, and one for the Learning and SkillsImprovement Service on how long it takes adult basicskills learners to move up one level of the NationalQualifications Framework (now the Qualifications andCredit Framework). Also this year, Maxine and I areevaluating a programme in English for women who speakother languages in Brixton, I have been involved in settingup a national evaluation of the Book Trust’s Bookstartinitiative (Peter Hannon chairs the Advisory Group forthis), and I’ve almost finished devising the content for anintended DCSF website giving schools advice on literacycatch-up schemes.

In October 2008 Maxine and I moved the 200 miles fromSheffield to a village in Surrey (we are now living within 6miles of where I was born and grew up), and in April 2010another 200 yards to a somewhat larger house on thesame street. This means I can now provide more supportfor my 93-year-old dad who lives just a few miles away.And Maxine and I have managed several trips in ourcampervan, including 9 days in France last September.

So can I recommend retirement? Oh yes, and the verybest thing so far is the arrival of my first grandchild,Hannah Elizabeth Brooks, on 28 February. She is of coursethe most gorgeous baby ever born.


SchoolOf Education

Final Words…We hope that you have enjoyed reading this newsletter. We aim to produce the newsletter on an annual basis, soplease do let us have your news for the next one. If you haveany contributions or questions for us, or wish to talk to usabout further study in the School, please contact us usingthe details below or by taking a look at our School OfEducation Web Pages: http://www.shef.ac.uk/education/

School of Education388 Glossop RoadSheffieldS10 [email protected]

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