A renowned educator and author shared his experiences and expertise with staff from South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust to help inspire them at the start of term.

Marc Rowland was guest speaker at SCMAT’s learning conference held at Chetwynde School. 

Addressing more than 200 teachers from across the Trust’s schools he shared the findings from his latest research and gave practical strategies to enhance learning for students.  

Mr Rowland is the author of several books on Pupil Premium, which is a government grant to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in schools in England. 

He advises the Department for Education on addressing educational disadvantage in schools and has worked with over 600 individual schools to support them with their strategies to improve outcomes for pupils. 

Caroline Vernon, Steve Jefferson and Andrew Wren, of South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust with Marc Rowland (second from right) at the Learning Conference hosted for Trust staff at Chetwynde School. Caroline Vernon, Steve Jefferson and Andrew Wren, of South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust with Marc Rowland (second from right) at the Learning Conference hosted for Trust staff at Chetwynde School. (Image: SCMAT)

At the SCMAT Learning Conference he urged staff to think about the role they played in a child’s life and the impact it could have. 

Mr Rowland said: “Schools should be joyful places and fun places for a child to be.  Teaching is a privilege and teachers can influence children’s lives in a way no other job does. 

“If teachers thrive, children thrive.”

Caroline Vernon, Director of Education for SCMAT who organised the event, said she was delighted to welcome Marc to South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust in response to requests from staff. 

“We run professional development networks across our Trust and, following research carried out by the Senior Leadership Teams, a recommendation was put forward for all staff to hear directly from Marc. Schools up and down the country face funding challenges and it is critical we target our pupil premium funding most effectively to meet the needs of our students so we brought in the expert.”

She said it had been a brilliant way to begin the term and feedback from staff following the event had been extremely positive.

“To provide the very best in education for all of our pupils, we need to continually check our practice as educators, making sure that we are up to date with current national and international recommendations. We need to use the very best teaching methods so that our students make excellent progress.”

Professor Andrew Wren also addressed the event to outline the Trust’s vision and support for staff as new schools are expected to join this academic year. 

“Our Learning Conference is a great way to start the term by bringing all of our member and associate member schools together to share our strengths, ideas and work collaboratively . 

“Engaged, motivated and enthusiastic staff provide a better education for our children and we wanted to start the term on a really positive note.”