Partnership Teachers @RGS
Thanks to generous funding from the Reece Foundation, we have created the roles of Maths and Physics Partnerships teachers over the past year. Recruited specifically for these roles, the Maths and Physics teachers work partly in RGS, and partly in the community: in Maths the ratio is 20:80 (in:out) and in Physics 40:60.
> We designed the roles with a consciously entrepreneurial re-mit in Year 1 (2021-22), moving towards a settled suite of projects from Year 2 (2022-23)
> For each project we collaborate with partner schools on a Memorandum of Understanding: what we will and won’t be able to do.
> One of the unique aspects of these teachers is their capacity to work in schools during the school day, as is the case with several of their projects, while retaining some flexibility to offer after-school clubs and webinars.
> We are keen to work with schools on CPD packages, particularly upskilling non-specialists and working on curriculum design.
With Proof of Concept achieved in Year 1, we were delighted to bring a Robotics teacher on board, in 2022 thanks to funding from British Engines.
Aims
The partnership teachers aim to raise attainment and aspiration among students in the North East who have potential for further study in STEM.
The activities towards this outcome vary by teacher, but include the broad themes of: upskilling non-specialists, inspiring STEM career pathways at Key Stage 2; offering stretch and challenge at Key Stage 3/4; and targeted support at Key Stage 5.
In 2021-22, we worked with 250 students from 31 schools in Maths, with 93% of these recurring opportunities and 49:51 female:male ratio. In Physics, we worked with 18 schools, delivering 2,267 student hours.
The numbers benefitting from this programme are already ahead of these projections for 2022-23.
Background
The scheme has been in place since the summer of 2021, when the Physics teacher joined the team in Physics. However, the genesis of the idea, and the bid for funding pre-date the pandemic, owes much to the work of th former Director of Partnerships, the current Senior Deputy Head and the Director of Development.
Resources
Some projects that the teachers deliver require school facilities, for example the 'Bright Sparks' Maths mornings for Year 9, which we host in the Autumn term. With the teachers working partly in RGS, they have access to RGS facilities such as Surface Pro devices, photocopying, training, admin support etc.
There is an 'in kind' RGS contribution, alongside the generous funding of external donors.
Impact
We assess the benefits of each stream of work on a case-by-case basis. While we always log the number of students, staff, hours etc, we also collect qualitative data via surveys, feedback and testimonials, in line with our underlying Theory of Change.
Pupil Involvement
The partnership teachers work with students of all ages, from Primary to Key Stage 5.
In 2021-22, both Maths and Physics delivered over 2,000 student-hours. Many of their interactions and projects are recurring, rather than one-off, ensuring meaningful, sustainable impact.
Frequency
This is an ongoing project, occurring daily during time, funded until Summer 2024.
We are keen to secure funding for the longer term, as proof of concept becomes increasingly secure.