Dear Colleague,
Can you believe that we're nearly at the end of another year already? 2016 has certainly been another momentous year for COBIS. There are many highlights to reflect on, including CPD events worldwide, the successful COBIS Games in Astana and Dubai, our 35th COBIS Annual Conference in London, and of course, more recently, the launch of the COBIS Patron's Accreditation and Compliance scheme. This new rigorous external validation model has been very well in the UK and overseas, especially in China and Hong Kong where I've just returned from a DIT-led Trade Mission showcasing the best of "British-Style Schools". In China, I had the opportunity to speak with the Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening MP, about our new innovative scheme for quality assurance in international British schools overseas. While in Hong Kong, alongside Jane Larsson of the Council of International Schools, together we led a 2-day conference stream on best safeguarding practices in international schools. This was at the Asia-Pacific International Schools Conference. You'll find in this edition an important update on the revised standards issued by DfE for the BSO inspection process. This may affect any COBIS schools who are planning a BSO inspection in the future. The response from the DfE to the BSO consultation is disappointing. The previously circulated response from COBIS Chairman, Trevor Rowell is published again in this edition of Connect. The launch of the COBIS Patron's Accreditation and Compliance scheme is timely and offers international British schools overseas a choice and a viable alternative to the existing 'BSO' inspection route. Already we've had a significant number of applications to register interest in training to become a COBIS Peer Accreditor. Under the guidance of COBIS Director of Accreditation, Peter Simpson, the first cohort of Peer Accreditors are nearing the end of their 4-week online training programme. As we turn our mind to the 36th COBIS Annual Conference, booking has now commenced for Supporting Members looking to secure an exhibition stand. The Conference will take place from the 6th to the 8th of May 2017 in the Intercontinental London – The O2. Exhibition stands always sell out very quickly. Please visit our website to book. If you represent a company that has not yet signed up as a Supporting Member but would like to exhibit at our conference, booking will open for non-Supporting Members this week on Wednesday 14 December at 10:30am. See our website for more details. Booking will be open for delegates in the New Year. Also, for the benefit of COBIS Supporting Members, the Board, the COBIS team and I are delighted to host the COBIS Supporting Member Reception which takes place at the Institute of Directors in London on 27 January. Invitations have been emailed. However, please contact my colleague Sharon Gallagher at COBIS HQ if you have any questions. So, in the final COBIS Connect of the year and as we approach the holidays, on behalf of the COBIS Board and team, I would like to wish you all a safe, peaceful and happy festive period and New Year. COBIS looks forward to serving and supporting your school or company in 2017 as together we continue to explore, shape and inspire. Kind regards, | COBIS CEO JOINS DIT "BRITISH-STYLE SCHOOLS" TRADE MISSION IN CHINA | "Export the best of British school education and governance, partner with the best of the Chinese education and investment sector and invest in the global knowledge economy" were the primary messages relayed by our CEO Colin Bell as he joined a DIT (Department for International Trade) delegation to China this week for the UK-China Education Development Forum on British-Style Schools. | Colin Bell in China, speaking with Secretary of State for Education The Rt Hon Justine Greening MP and Dame Barbara Woodward DCMG OBE, UK Ambassador to China. The Education is GREAT (British Style Schools) campaign aims to foster and strengthen relationships between UK schools and Chinese investors. As the only body specifically representing schools and educational exporting companies considered an official DIT Trade Challenge Partner, COBIS was honoured to accept an invitation to participate in this important trade mission. | DFE PUBLISH NEW REVISED STANDARDS FOR BRITISH SCHOOLS OVERSEAS | On 1 December, the Department for Education (DfE) published its revised standards for the BSO inspection scheme alongside a response to submissions made by various groups, including COBIS (with FOBISIA), to their consultation for BSOs. You can access the revised standards and the consultation response here. In response, COBIS Chairman Trevor Rowell released a statement welcoming the eventual release of the standards but noting there was very little, if any difference at all to the previous standards.
Having reviewed the new DfE standards, there is an obvious need for a high-quality alternative for British schools overseas, as provided by the new COBIS Patron's Accreditation and Compliance. The new COBIS system supports school improvement and reflects the best current professional practice in British international education. | SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE COBIS DITA AT THE RIVERBANK SCHOOL | COBIS would like to congratulate teaching assistants from The Riverbank School in Nigeria who have successfully completed the COBIS DITA (Diploma for International Teaching Assistants) and COBIS DITA for Early Years.
The Riverbank TAs gave enthusiastic feedback about the DITA, explaining how it helped them think about their responsibilities as educators. Particular areas of the course that the TAs identified as helpful and educational included the units on safeguarding, the role of play in learning, and special needs education.
Adetutu Arueyingho says: "I found every unit of the course to be very informative. It has served as a continuous guide to my practice as a teacher and I have been able to fully implement the skills learnt within my classroom. The safeguarding unit was an 'eye-opener' to what we often miss within our environment. It has helped us to further restructure the school's child protection policy."
For more information on how you can register for the course, visit the COBIS website or watch this short video from the TA College. | PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT and EVENTS NEWS | COBIS ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2017 TRANSFORMATIONS | Join us in London, 6-8 May 2017, for the 36th COBIS Annual Conference. The conference will explore a range of themes linked to the conference title – Transformations:
- Schools, leaders, teachers - transforming the lives of children and young people
- How schools nurture talent and evolve ideas to create better learning opportunities and outcomes for students
- Evolution of the international education sector - how the COBIS community, through working together, sharing ideas and best practice, can transform the direction of international education at local, national and international levels
- Transformative initiatives and approaches - in the classroom and beyond
- Sustainable leadership and teacher supply - developing staff and transforming leadership potential in schools
- Transforming culture in schools to create centres of lifelong learning
Booking for both delegate places and the exhibition is now open! | FORTHCOMING COBIS CONFERENCES | Booking is now open for a range of COBIS Conferences taking place next term: - COBIS Conference for Senior Managers, Middle Leaders and CPD Leaders - Reaching Excellence: It's all about the teacher - Cairo, Egypt - 3-4 February 2017
- COBIS Conference for Bursars, Business Managers and HR Staff - Lisbon, Portugal - 10-11 February 2017
- COBIS Conference for EAL Staff - Supporting EAL Students in International Schools - Bucharest, Romania - 16-17 February 2017
- COBIS Conference for PAs and Secretaries - Brussels, Belgium - 16-17 February 2017
- COBIS and Youth Sport Trust PE and School Sport Seminar - Coventry, UK - 28 February 2017
- COBIS Conference for Marketing, Development and Admissions Staff - Tokyo, Japan - 27-28 March 2017
- COBIS Wellbeing Conference - Nurturing Every Child - Dubai, UAE - 14-15 April 2017
| REACHING EXCELLENCE: IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TEACHER | BOOKING DEADLINE APPROACHING Please book your place by 14 December
Delegates and exhibitors are invited to book for this COBIS Conference, hosted by The British International School in Cairo, 3-4 February 2017. The conference is sponsored by Double First.
The conference will focus on the importance of contextualised teacher development, effective models of CPD, and how these can secure school improvement and raise pupil attainment. Speakers will include:
- Steve Munby, Education Development Trust
- David Weston, Teacher Development Trust
- Professor Deborah Eyre, High Performance Learning
| COBIS CONFERENCE FOR EAL STAFF SUPPORTING EAL STUDENTS IN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS
| The British School of Bucharest will host this conference featuring experts in the field of EAL in international schools, 16-17 February 2017.
Topics will include: - Equal Rights to the Curriculum: Promoting home languages as a right, a fact and a resource
- Interlingual Teaching and Learning
- Translanguaging
- ESL Strategies for Secondary Mainstream Teachers
- Deconstructing Academic Language
- EAL in Primary Classrooms
- And more
Visit the COBIS website for more information, a draft programme and booking forms. | COBIS CONFERENCE FOR PAs AND SECRETARIES | COBIS is pleased to offer this training event specifically for Personal Assistants, Executive Assistants, and Secretaries working in British International Schools. The conference will be hosted by the British School of Brussels, 16-17 February 2017.
The programme will include topics such as: - Time management and personal effectiveness
- Happiness at work
- Effective working relationships between Heads and PAs
- International mindedness
- Office efficiency
- And more
| COBIS CONFERENCE FOR MARKETING, DEVELOPMENT AND ADMISSIONS STAFF | Take advantage of Early Bird delegate fees - book before 31 December 2016
The British School in Tokyo will be hosting the 4th COBIS Conference for Marketing, Development and Admissions Staff, 27-28 March 2017. The conference programme will include topics such as: - School Marketing Messages
- The Role of the Head in Marketing, Development and Admissions
- Future School Transformations
- Development in Schools
- Crisis Communications
- Website Strategy
- And more
Take advantage of Early Bird rates by booking your place before 31 December 2016. Visit the COBIS website for more information. | WHAT DO CHILDREN NEED TO KNOW? ENTER THE PRIMARY CREATIVE CHALLENGE AND FILL US IN! | COBIS has once again partnered with Oddizzi to put on the Primary Creative Challenge! This year's competition theme is "Life Lessons" and we want to hear from your KS1 and KS2 students and wider school community on what they think children need to know in a short film. You are encouraged to think outside the box, or in this case, outside the classroom! Think about academic learning but also happiness, global citizenship, family values, dreams, friendships and more. We want to hear it all, even if it is advice on siblings, sandwich fillings and spelling! If people are camera shy, invite them to draw or write what they think is an important life lesson and hold it up to the camera. | COBIS YOUNG SCIENTIST FILM AWARDS | The COBIS Young Scientist Film Awards is a fun way to get your KS1 to KS5 students engaged in science! Students are tasked with creating a short film showing them conducting and explaining their favourite scientific experiment. You can get as creative as you want with your students as there are no restrictions on subject or number of students involved. Awards will be given for the "Best Film of an Experiment" in: - KS1 and KS2
- KS3
- KS4 and KS5
Visit cobis.org.uk/science for inspiration on topics, poster, full brief and instructions on how to register.
The closing date is 17 March 2017. | COBIS SENIOR SCHOOL MUSIC FESTIVAL | Registration for the 2017 Senior School Music Festival, taking place 26-28 May 2017 at King's College, The British School of Murcia is now open. Now in its third year, the COBIS Senior School Music Festival is a wonderful weekend of workshops, competitions and performances. Categories:
Solo - Woodwind
- Piano
- Vocal
- Brass
- Strings
Ensemble - Piano (no max. number)
- Vocal Ensemble Small - up to 4 musicians
- Choirs and Vocal Groups - more than 4 musicians
- Instrumental Ensemble - up to 4 musicians
- Instrumental Ensemble - more than 4 musicians
- Rock bands are welcome under the Ensemble category.
To see the full programme, click here. | COBIS ART COMPETITION TRANSFORMATIONS
| The theme for this year's Art Competition is Transformations. Students from EYFS to KS3 can enter now at cobis.org.uk/art. Schools can submit three entries in each category so we encourage you to run an internal competition and then enter the top three to the COBIS Art Competition.
The categories are: - Early Years and Foundation Stage
- Key Stage 1
- Key Stage 2
- Key Stage 3
- Group Entries
The closing date for this competition is Wednesday 5 April 2017. For inspiration from last year's winning entries, please visit the COBIS Flickr account. | COBIS STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS | COBIS Member Schools can nominate up to three students to receive a Student Achievement Award this academic year. Students in KS2, KS3, KS4 and above can be nominated for an award. The Award may be presented for: - Outstanding academic achievement
- High level contributions to school life
- Significant fundraising activity
- An act of bravery
- Another reason, at the discretion of the Head.
A written citation, detailing the reasons for the award, should be submitted along with the nomination. | DOHA COLLEGE STUDENTS WELCOME A BRAVE NEW WORLD AT MODEL UNITED NATIONS | Over 500 students from 15 schools across Qatar took part in Doha College's recently held Model United Nations, this year themed to a 'Brave New World'.
Doha College was delighted to welcome alumna and former Head Girl Mona Ahmed, Director of Legal Affairs at Qatar Museums, as a keynote speaker, as well as Her Excellency, Mrs Bahia Tahzib-Lie, the ambassador for The Netherlands, and His Excellency, Mr Christian Tudor, the Ambassador for Romania.
This year was the ninth annual MUN conference run by Doha College, an event that encourages students to view the issues affecting the world from different perspectives and the collaborative nature of MUN helps to teach our students about global responsibility.
Students at COBIS Schools have another exciting opportunity to participate in the upcoming COBIS MUN conference. For more details, visit the COBIS website. | A NIGHT OF NOSTALGIA AT ALICE SMITH SCHOOL'S 70TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS | Over 700 guests hailing from all corners of the globe attended the Alice Smith School's Platinum Gala Ball marking the school's 70 years of providing a rich British educational heritage in Malaysia.
The evening featured musical performances by students, staff and alumni, as well as a silent auction of art and photography created by secondary students. Amidst the revelry and camaraderie, the occasion was also timely to honour the school's long serving teaching and non-teaching staff.
The 70th anniversary celebrations have reflected on past accomplishments and successes and the legacies left by previous and current generations. As the Alice Smith School looks to the future, it continues to enhance the exceptional learning environment provided for every child, manifested in the caring, positive and dynamic ethos and culture of the school. | CELEBRATING 10 BRILLIANT YEARS OF BRITISH INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION IN NYC | The British International School of New York was delighted to celebrate its 10th Anniversary this past September with a series of school wide 'birthday' events for children, parents and staff.
A highlight to the celebrations was the evening party hosted at The United Nations in New York where over 220 members of the BIS-NY community enjoyed a very special night of dinner and dance.
The school was also thrilled to be honoured by the Mayor of New York who proclaimed October 21st (the night of the party), 'The British International School of New York Day'! | PARTNERSHIP ENHANCES SCHOOL SCIENCE PROGRAMME IN BERMUDA | The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Science's (BIOS) Ocean Academy Program has a new partner in delivering hands-on science education and learning opportunities to Bermuda's students: The Chatmore British International School, a COBIS Member School.
Chatmore British International School has a vision of celebrating local expertise, engaging the community as an educational resources and aligning learning experiences with students' natural interests and talent.
As a result, beginning in mid-November, BIOS educators and scientists will provide formative and relevant experiential learning opportunities for Chatmore's students. The sessions, which run until May 2017, will focus on topics in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics with the ocean as a central organizing theme.
Chatmore are very grateful to BIOS for this opportunity to make learning both active and deeply relevant. | NEWS FROM COBIS SUPPORTING MEMBERS | COBIS SUPPORTS GSL SOCIETY LAUNCHPAD DAY | COBIS International Marketing Intern Hannah Porritt assisted the Future Foundations team at their Global Social Leaders Society Launchpad Day, held at Wellington College in November.
Hannah joined students from schools across the UK in sessions on 'Community Project Planning' and 'Microfinance' and was amazed and impressed to hear the students talking eloquently and thoughtfully about issues in their communities and how they would tackle them.
The day concluded with the students having a short amount of time to deliver an 'elevator pitch' to three judges, one of whom was COBIS Student Engagement and Events Officer Catriona Lawless, where they outlined their ideas and how they would get people back at school on board. It was really great to see the culmination of the whole day in these presentations, with all of the students seeming really motivated and confident that they could make a difference.
We at COBIS are looking forward to seeing how we can continue to work together with Future Foundations to provide high-quality and impactful opportunities for students all around the globe to explore, influence, and shape their communities! | |
COBIS CPD AND EVENTS 2016/17 | COBIS Conference for Senior Managers, Middle Leaders, and CPD Leaders
Cairo
3-4 February 2017 | COBIS Conference for Bursars, Business Managers and HR Staff
Lisbon
10-11 February 2017 | COBIS Conference for EAL Staff
Bucharest 16-17 February | COBIS Conference for PAs and Secretaries Brussels 16-17 February | COBIS/Youth Sport Trust PE and School Sport Conference
Coventry
28 February 2017 | Stepping Up to Senior Leadership Course Athens 4-5 March 2017 | COBIS Four-Day Middle Leaders' Course Athens 4-7 March 2017 | COBIS Conference for Trips and Fieldwork Leadership
The Hague
17-18 March 2017 | COBIS Conference for Marketing, Development and Admissions Staff
Tokyo
27-28 March 2017 | COBIS Wellbeing Conference Dubai 14-15 April 2017 | COBIS Four-Day Middle Leaders' Course
Dubai
16-19 April 2017 | COBIS Four-Day Middle Leaders' Course
New York
18-21 April 2017
| COBIS Safer Recruitment Course
London
6 May 2017
| 36th COBIS Annual Conference
London
6-8 May 2017 | Advanced Child Protection Course
London 9 May 2017 | COBIS Four-Day Middle Leaders' Course
Stavanger
26-29 May 2017
| COBIS Primary Creative Challenge
OPEN NOW!
Closes 3 March 2017 | COBIS Young Scientist Film Awards
OPEN NOW! Closes 31 March 2017 | COBIS Student Poetry Competition
OPEN NOW!
Closes 17 March 2017 | COBIS Art Competition
OPEN NOW!
Closes 5 April 2017 | COBIS Student World Debate Competition
Marbella
3-5 February 2017
| COBIS Medical Review Schools Conference
Doha
4-5 February 2017
| COBIS Model-UN Conference
30 March - 1 April 2017
| COBIS Primary Games
Buckingham
11-13 April 2017
| COBIS Secondary Games
Sheffield
19-21 May 2017
| COBIS Senior School Music Festival
Murcia
26-28 May 2017 | COBIS World Student Magazine
Available to read NOW!
Click here to find information on writing for the next edition | COBIS SERVICES FOR SCHOOLS | COBIS Disclosure and Barring Service
Helping your school to recruit safely
Contact dbs@cobis.org.uk for more information | COBIS Consultancy Service
Offering support to schools, commercial organisations and private investors globally.
| COBIS Diploma for International Teaching Assistants
Giving International Teaching Assistants the knowledge, skills and understanding to work effectively alongside teachers whilst maximising learning opportunities for children. | GEMS Cambridge International School
Member | Galaxy International School
Member | Lead Forte Gate School
Member | NEW COBIS SUPPORTING MEMBERS | Dragonfly Training
Consultancy and Professional Development | Matific
Curriculum Resources and Publishers | TFL Education
Student Development | Schoolstoreng
Curriculum Resources and Publishers | Fairhaven
Consultancy and Professional Development | We welcome submissions from both schools and supporting members for the COBIS newsletter, Connect.
Please read our editorial guidelines before making your submission.
All submissions for the January Connect should be sent to: intern@cobis.org.uk
by 9 January 2017. | |
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| If you have any comments or requests, please contact us. We'd love to hear from you. | By Telephone: +44 20 3826 7190
| COBIS Head Office, 55-56 Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London, WC1B 4HP, UK | |
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