Constellations – In praise of The Fabulous Fifty: AP’s powerful reflections on their role and identity showcased at National Conference ‘Exhibition’ by Lynne Taylerson

The Education and Training Foundation’s #APConnect National Conference on 25 March – A story of Advanced Practice: Rethinking the Role of the Advanced Practitioner – gave the facilitation team and participants a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the many successes of this extraordinary, diverse programme. The team gathered together for one last time at the close of #APConnect to mark the moment and showcase the fantastic work done by Advanced Practitioners in all parts of the FE and Training sector.

 

APConnect Exhibitions

One of the highlights of the day was the APConnect Exhibition which gave attendees the opportunity to experience the depth and variety of the different pathways of the programme over afternoon coffee and cake. As part of this, the Living Archive charted Advanced Practitioners’ journeys in the past and present and invited attendees to help write the future of the AP role and work, with an accompanying Glossary detailing the rich language that has formed around the four years of this programme. Other Exhibition sections related how work with maths, English and digital skills development and CPD/quality improvement projects have impacted on the sector supported by a huge range of Festival Fridays and Skylarks professional learning and networking events.

 

Constellations

My personal involvement this year has been facilitating and authoring curriculum for the Constellations project pathway in which new APs (in Constellation B undertake action research-based improvements in their organisations) supported by more experienced APs in Constellation C, many of whom are Constellation B alumni.

One of the greatest pleasures I’ve had in my role as a facilitator and mentor to #APConnect’s Constellation B community has been in time spent reading and engaging with Advanced Practitioners’ amazing reflections in the vibrant Slack channels that the Constellation B and C community use. At the National Conference I showcased ‘The Fabulous Fifty’ reflections from this group of FE and Training APs, though by the day of the Conference, the Fabulous 50 had grown to well exceed that original ambition.

We’ve seen many deeply profound reflections from the Constellation B community. One of the most powerful things about this thinking and writing has been how eloquently the work charts the professional learning and growing confidence of the Advanced Practitioners on the programme. Topics included: judgement and non-judgement, changing culture and language, defeating impostor syndrome, professional solidarity, transformational learning, self-care, influencing up, working with power and potentia as well as many celebrations of the life-changing impacts of FE.

 

AP Reflections

I’m sharing just a few reflections in this blog to give a taste of what you can read in the full Fabulous Fifty: 

The six functions of the AP role remind me of the concept of “other-care”; giving support to others is… a form of self-care. Teaching and learning with emotional intelligence is who I strive to be every day.  The functions feed into the seven values, continually striving to develop myself, and self-adjust.

Observing colleagues and student teachers is a privilege. For my project… I am interested in teaching the students some of the theory of teaching and learning so they can apply it to their own learning. I am interested in using imaginary as a form of formative assessment. What excites me is when students, from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are the first in their family to go to university graduate – regardless of the classification of their degree.

Majella Brennan-Bargh

Educators have shown courage in displaying vulnerability when discussing their challenges and how they seek to improve their practice. There’s been displays of amazing generosity in the support shown by AP peers in the sharing of advice, resources and posting to growth opportunities.

It’s good to hear that the professional standards are getting a remix, although they’re very useful as they are…. My own self-assessment results were predictable and what I expected to be asked and what resulted from them produced no surprises. What was really useful was to gain the input of others (notably my line manager, a close colleague and three learners) as part of the self-assessment process for ATS; they spoke of aspects of my practice that were a welcomed pat on the back, but also highlighted some areas to me that I had overlooked to some degree. I suppose this highlights the subjectivity of this self-assessment process, doesn’t it? 

Gary Holden

 

I have, I think, finally decided on my idea for my project. I’d like to explore video CPD sessions and pdf resources that can be shared with teachers to view and build on their skills in their own time, especially given the time constraints that a lot of teachers have that prevent them from attending live sessions. I’m hoping bite-sized videos will be a more accessible option and I’m hoping the feedback will come back generally positive!

Zahra Bilides

Zahra used suggestions from APConnect mentors to produce this Bite-sized CPD Wakelet for colleagues.

The reflections that practitioners shared span a huge range of themes from critical appraisals of the purpose and use of professional standards, through spheres of influence, to deep engagement with what we term ‘values line work’. This involves practitioners considering how their core identity and values impact upon how they plan curriculum, professional practice, communication and growth opportunities with both learners and colleagues drawing on a wide range of literature.

The influence analysis was interesting to do, and to compare to the influence analysis of other APs in my organisation – some similarities but also some differences. When I think of my influence, I definitely get a dose of imposter syndrome, but the Taming your Inner Critic workshop has given me food for thought on this. When I look at the JoyFE magazine I think I could have things to contribute here. 

 Project wise, I am working on a project convincing and supporting educators to embed Education for Sustainable Development in their delivery, across all subject areas. This is something that really excites me, and I am finding allies across the organisation who I would now add to my influence analysis.

Jenny Willis

For me, the values line work and reflections around our suggested reading such as Brené Brown’s writing on Wholehearted Living and How We Return (to the ‘new normal’ post-Covid and why it matters) have been some of the most profound – and moving – writing that I’ve seen from educators in the sector. One of the most revealing ways of measuring the reach and impact of a programme such as APConnect can come through engaging with the reflective writing, the ‘impact stories’ that grow from it. At the National Conference, and on this blog it’s my honour to share just a few of those stories more widely – because they’re just too good to keep to ourselves!

I think the closing Mentimeter word cloud where we asked Conference delegates what was ‘live’ in them at the end of a busy, vibrant celebration day helps to reflect the value, support and sense of community that FE APs have drawn from this very special programme over the past four years: