Edge Hill University/ CENTRA Accreditation for School Support Staff

When CENTRA Professional Development activities include an element of reflective learning, that is, something learned that can and will be put into practice in the your workplace, you can use this to gain accreditation at Higher Education Level 4. This means you can obtain 30 credits that may be used towards some Foundation Degree programmes run by Edge Hill University.

The accreditation is linked directly to the work you will be doing as a result of taking part in CENTRA Professional Development activities.

The way your work is accredited is through a portfolio of evidence. This is a file of evidence that you collect to illustrate all the things you have put into place as a result of your training and the impact the training has had on you as an individual, the students in school and the wider school community. The following are guidelines as to how to develop a portfolio of evidence that will meet the learning outcomes of the module. You might like to use this guide or you may have your own ideas as to how to present them.

Section 1 - DEVELOPMENT AND RATIONALE
In this section you are setting the context for your project. This might include:

• What is your role in school and what does this involve?
• A brief description of your educational setting;
  • Numbers on roll
  • Primary, Secondary, Special etc
  • Location
  • Staff numbers
  • Other features of the school
• Why have you undertaken this training?
  • What is the intended benefit to the school/setting?
  • What is the intended benefit to you?
  • What is the intended benefit to the school community, pupils, parents, colleagues etc
• What are you going to do?
  • A description of your project
  • What are the ethical issues associated with this project, e.g. anonymity of children, use of photographs etc
  • An audit to establish what the current situation in school is
  • Consideration of whole school policy
• How will you do this work
  • An Action plan to develop themes and practice established at CENTRA learning events, staff meetings, INSET and other relevant training.

This section usually contains or is equivalent to 1000 words

Section 2 - IMPLEMENTATION
A summary of the investigation / research you have undertaken into your chosen theme and the rationale for wanting to review and develop existing practice.

In this section you need to describe what you did and why, and collate the evidence that was generated during the project. This might include:

• Work undertaken linked to the CENTRA (or other) courses or meetings you have attended
• Journal extracts, diaries, photos (or other media based evidence), etc. from visits to see practice and talk to school support staff in other contexts
• Audit of current practice
• Active research in school
• Individual research via the internet, educational journals, etc into current trends, ideas and analysis related to your chosen theme e.g. Every Child Matters, A Time for Standards, Extended Schools, Food in Schools etc

You need to add a commentary on your evidence to explain what it is, why you have included it and label it clearly so a person reading your text will be able to find the evidence easily. For example;
"You will see from the action plan (Document 1) that the first task was to establish current practice."

This section usually contains 'naturally occurring evidence' and a commentary that is equivalent to 2500 words.

Section 3 - EVALUATION PHASE
In this section you need to demonstrate your ability to reflect on the outcomes of the project and evaluate its success, or otherwise. You should note that your project does not have to have a 'successful'' outcome for you to be successful in gaining accreditation. This is a reflective analysis of the impact of your research and development work via your project on:

• Your own thinking and practice as a member of the school support staff
• The thinking and practice of your staff colleagues
• The impact of your experiences on the school community

This might include the following

• What happened? Results, Observations, Feedback from those involved
• Did everything go to plan? Why? Why not?
• Would you have done anything differently? Why? Why not?
• How have you changed your practice as a result of this project?
• What would you do differently now?
• What else would you want to do to make improvements to your practice?
• How has the project made an impact?

In this section you also need to show that this work links with current initiatives concerned with the school workforce and education and how your work is based on recent research and information.

This section is usually equivalent to about 1500 words

You need to complete the Edge Hill Registration Form, available from Mike Coyle or Ellen Luetchford at CENTRA.

Once registered, you will be able to access Edge Hill University's learning resources and you will also be entitled to academic and tutorial support as required in the preparation of your portfolio.

If you require any further help or information regarding any aspect of the accreditation process, please contact Alexis Moore at Edge Hill University.
Telephone: 01695 650836; e-mail: alexis.moore@edgehill.ac.uk

There are many benefits of engaging with this opportunity offered by Edge Hill University and CENTRA;

• You will get academic recognition for something you were already intending to do
• The credits that you get could lead you to a Foundation Degree in 'manageable chunks'
• You will have access to Edge Hill University's learning support service and extensive resources to help you.
• You will be demonstrating your commitment to your own professional development