#APConnect – Skylarks: Up, Up and Away! by Mary Conway

And we’re off!

Great to see the Education and Training Foundation’s #APConnect Skylark Pathway fully launched with all Skylarks poised for take-off or already in full flight. We hope you Skylarks are feeling the wind beneath your wings and are conscious of a clear sky above and the chance to soar.

Of course, some of you are already higher from the ground than others. Some have already launched events and engaged numerous participants; others are pulling out all the stops and gearing up for what will be fantastic professional learning programmes. What has been clear from all of you is a powerful will to embrace the values of #APConnect and to share them through the communities you are building, in and beyond your organisations.

So much is happening

Although each organisation is required to bring in at least 50 named participants, many are planning for more than 50, as their events get off the ground and grow in purpose and popularity. Already monthly Skylark reports are telling of exciting work, including Thinking Room sessions, Ideas Rooms and Swap Shops, Action Learning Sets, Communities of Curiosity, whole organisation launches, resource sharing, dedicated logbooks, the Sustainable Curriculum, embedding English and maths, big exchange events and more.

And this is only the beginning…

Mel Coleman of the South Thames Colleges Group invites you all to join her and Andrew Meadowcroft for an AP Networking event on Monday 13 November from 2-4.45pm. The meeting will be on zoom and you can access the link to register here.

The event is primarily designed for those in a TLA role (Advanced Practitioners, Teaching and Learning Coaches, TLA Leads) but teachers and anyone else interested in TLA are welcome.

The great impact of these early activities is that they enable Skylark leads and their teams to grow in capacity and confidence, expanding to more ambitious and deeply planned professional learning community events that engage more and more professionals and steer us into a clear and purposeful future together. Skylarks are beginning to grow in number, sing out their song with confidence and fly together ever upwards.

Skylarks are never alone

The name of the Skylark game is community. And one of the questions we asked our Skylarks on PD zoom day was:

What communities do you belong to that truly impact on your work?

Increasingly Slack is mentioned as a significant platform for our Skylarks. It enables all project teams to share insights, ask questions, call out for ideas and generally support one another. It also alerts our Skylarks to the wider #APConnect constellation work and to the wealth of networking and practical learning opportunities available on our Festival Fridays and the JoyFE, Wednesday pm public Ideas Room.

Support

Communities thrive when they offer mutual stimulation and support, and the Skylark throng sets the pace in this.

All Skylark leads and teams have constant access to stimuli of all kinds through the #APConnect online platforms. They are also invited to attend Friday lunchtime meetings hosted by mentors Mary Conway and Chloe Hynes where they can show off their progress, connect with others on the programme, share ideas and revitalise. We call it the #SkylarkChoir and it acts like a refuge for hardworking professionals where they can pause in their activity and take stock together.

There are also many other opportunities for Skylarks to attend Ideas Rooms and Thinking Spaces and to book time with Dr Lou Mycroft as a 1:1.

Find everything you need to know using the landing page as a first port of call.

Supporting you to support others

And, of course, you can still access our dedicated Skylark professional development from our PD page This will provide links to:

• PD1 Introduction to Skylarks livestream on YouTube – a stimulating introduction to the Skylark Pathway and a big morale booster (don’t forget to complete the register if you watch this to help with ETF reporting!)
• final PD2 Building Communities with a Practice of Care mop-up running on Thursday 9 December – two hours with Dr Lou Mycroft for those who missed the full day. Don’t miss this.
• PD3 Creating Networks and Exchanges Wakelet – such a brilliant, live resource to learn from movers and shakers in the field and contribute your own online community- building ideas.

All in all, we’re on a  great journey together and the next few months will be a telling time.

Dates that matter

This first year of the Skylark Pathway runs until the end of March 2022. There will be lots of opportunities in the final month to share all that has been achieved, not least at the #APConnect National Conference on 25 March 2022.

In the meantime, Friday zoom drop-ins with Mary and Chloe are ready and waiting. You don’t need to book. Just turn up. The zoom link is pinned at the top of the Skylarks Slack channel. If in doubt DM (direct message) Mary or Chloe.

Friday #SkylarkChoir Drop-in Dates. Just turn up:

1- 2 pm on Fridays:

• December: 3 and 17
• January: 14, 21, 28
• February: 4, 18 and 25
• March: 4, 11 and 18

Any other enquiries about the programme may be addressed to: alison@touchconsulting.net

Now we wish you all a Very Happy Christmas/Winter break and renewed purpose and energy in 2022!!!

 

I’d like to give a public appreciate for @Chloë for our mentor session today. I can now see that collaboration with our partner college doesn’t have to mean doing every event together, but collaborating and planning our events together and sharing our ideas rooms will be our starting point. Professional development that works for both of our organisations that we can both learn from and be enriched by. Thank you for your time, insightful questions and listening Chloe

If you would like to read other blogs in the Skylark series, simply follow this link or click on the Skylarks tag below.