    
Connect with COBIS on social media
In This Issue: 1. Introduction
2. COBIS CPD Calendar
3. Conferences for Teachers and TAs
4. Conference for Marketing, Development and Admissions Staff
5. Programmes for Middle Leaders
6. COBIS Annual Conference 2015
7. Child Protection and Safer Recruitment Training
8. Webinars
9. COBIS Consultancy Service
10. COBIS Leadership Mentoring and Support Service
11. COBIS Supporting Members
12. Contact Us
Introduction Following a busy autumn of successful conferences in Geneva, Amsterdam, Madrid, Bucharest and Kampala, the COBIS CPD Calendar for the spring and summer terms includes conferences and training for Teachers, TAs, Middle Leaders, Senior Leaders, Governors, Marketing and Development Staff, and Admissions Staff. There will also be opportunities to access online courses and webinars for the whole school workforce. Over the coming terms, there will be COBIS CPD events taking place in Greece, China, Nigeria, UAE, and UK. We are grateful to all of our host schools. Read on for more details of the conferences and training taking place this academic year. We hope to see you, or your colleagues, at some of these exciting events in the coming months.
COBIS CPD Calendar February 2015 March 2015 April 2015 May 2015
Conferences for Teachers and TAs
COBIS Conference for Teachers and Support Staff: Athens, Greece - 2-3 March  2015
**DEADLINE APPROACHING - Book Your Place Now**
Excellence and Happiness: Creating a Collaborative Learning Ethos for the Whole School
St Catherine's British School, Athens Teachers and TAs from Primary and Secondary Schools are invited to register for this COBIS Conference. In addition to high-profile speakers, the exciting programme will also include workshops on a range of topics including: 
- Coaching to improve performance
- Enabling environments in the EYFS
- Gifted education strategies for 21st century students
- Growth mindsets
- Philosophy for children
- The role of the teaching assistant
- Integrating new technology in schools
- Leading a subject area
- Developing thinking skills
- Story telling - Story mapping
- And more - click here to download a draft programme and workshop descriptions
For more information and a booking form, please click here.
A four-day programme for Middle Leaders will run alongside the conference, 28 February-3 March. Click here for more information. COBIS Conference for Teachers: Beijing, China - 20-21 March 2015
**DEADLINE APPROACHING - Book Your Place Now**
Future Learners - The Challenges of a New Environment
The British School of Beijing, Shunyi A dynamic programme has been brought together for this conference for Primary and Secondary Teachers including sessions on:  - Flipping Learning
- The Teenage Brain
- Active Engagement: Combining fun learning activities with new technology
- Writing in the 21st Century: Supporting early learners
- Personalised Learning Networks
- Making Maths Fun
- Pastoral Care in the 21st Century
- Obtaining and Sustaining the Brain's Attentive Focus
- And more - click here to download a draft programme
There will also be opportunities for optional cultural visits (Great Wall, Forbidden City, etc.) for participants on Sunday 22 March. 
For more information and a booking form, please click here.
A four-day programme for Middle Leaders will run alongside the conference, 19-22 March. Click here for more information. COBIS Conference for Teachers, Leaders and Support Staff: Lagos, Nigeria - 16-17 April 2015
**BOOKING NOW OPEN - Book Your Place Now**
Students Taking Ownership of Their Learning
Grange School, Lagos This conference for Teachers, TAs, Support Staff, Middle and Senior Leaders, and Proprietors of British International Schools will include sessions on: - Using ICT to Enhance, Extend and Support Learning
- Using Performance Appraisal to Enhance Teaching and Learning
- Leading in Learning
- Classroom Observation
- Differentiation and Personalised Learning
- And more
For more information and a booking form, please click here.
Conference for Marketing, Development and Admissions Staff
2nd COBIS Conference for Marketing, Development and Admissions Staff: Dubai, UAE - 23-24 April 2015
**BOOKING NOW OPEN - Book Your Place Now**
Stakeholder Engagement: The Past, The Present and The Prospective
Dubai College, UAE
Booking is now open for the 2nd COBIS Conference for Marketing, Development and Admissions Staff. The programme will cover a range of topics including:
- Marketing & Admissions for British International Schools
- Alumni Engagement
- School Branding
- Establishing a Development Office
- The Customer Journey
- Media Relations for Schools
- Social Media and Technology
- And more
For more information and a booking form, please click here.
Programmes for Middle Leaders
Four-Day Middle Leaders’ Course
Leading Learning from the Middle
28 February-3 March 2015 – St Catherine's British School, Athens, Greece
19-22 March 2015 – British School of Beijing, China
COBIS, working in partnership with Karen Ardley Associates, St Catherine’s British School in Athens, and the British School of Beijing, will be running two four-day courses for aspiring or current middle leaders in Primary or Secondary schools.
28 February-3 March 2015 – St Catherine’s British School, Athens (click here for more details and booking forms)
19-22 March 2015 – The British School of Beijing (click here for more details and booking forms)
Course objectives:
- To deepen middle managers’ understanding of themselves and their leadership behaviours
- To extend middle managers’ knowledge and understanding about leadership
- To develop leadership skills
IPML Facilitator Training
12-14 May 2015, London  COBIS has a formal partnership arrangement with the National College for Teaching and Leadership in the UK for the delivery of the International Programme for Middle Leaders (IPML). The IPML is running, through COBIS, in The Netherlands and Spain this year, with participants from schools in Brazil, Italy, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Romania, Spain and The Netherlands. COBIS is now in a position to train new facilitators who will then be able to deliver this programme in their own schools. An IPML Facilitator Training Course will run in London from 12-14 May 2015, immediately following the Annual Conference. Places on this course are very limited. For more information, or to book a place, please click here.
COBIS Annual Conference 2015
34th COBIS Annual Conference, 9-11 May 2015, London
**BOOKING NOW OPEN**  Measuring Success: Wellbeing, Resilience, Education and Leadership in British Schools Overseas
Sponsored by TES Global
Heads, Governors, Deputy Heads and other Senior Managers are invited to register for the 34th COBIS Annual Conference (Park Plaza Hotel, Victoria, London.) Keynote speakers will include:
- Professor Guy Claxton – World renowned authority on the development of intellectual character; author; Emeritus Professor of the Learning Sciences at University of Winchester; Visiting Professor of Education at King’s College London
- Baroness Sue Campbell CBE – Chair of Youth Sport Trust; former Chief Executive of the National Coaching Founding and former Chair of UK Sport; member of the House of Lords
- Ben Walden – Founder and artistic director of Contender Charlie - a group bringing theatre techniques into education
Seminars and workshops will include: - Developing resilience in your teaching workforce
- Mindfulness and wellbeing in schools
- Measuring the impact of leadership
- Resilient classroom cultures
- Teaching character
- Establishing a new school
- And much more.
Click here to view a copy of the conference flyer. For more information about the conference, including booking forms, please click here.
Delegates are also invited to register for additional courses, running alongside the conference, including Safer Recruitment for International Schools, Advanced Child Protection, and IPML Facilitator Training.
Child Protection and Safer Recruitment Training
COBIS is committed to the promotion of safeguarding and encourages all schools to ensure that staff members have undergone appropriate training in Child Protection and, where relevant, Safer Recruitment. There are a number of ways to access this training.
Annual Conference Shoulder Courses
Safer Recruitment for International Schools, 9 May 2015, London
Before the official start of the Annual Conference, COBIS will be offering delegates the opportunity to attend a course on Safer Recruitment for International Schools, delivered by Barabarani Education Services. For more information and a booking form, please click here.
Advanced Child Protection Course, 12 May 2015, London
On the Tuesday following the Annual Conference, COBIS will be running an Advanced Child Protection Course, delivered by Kidscape. For more information and a booking form, please click here.
EduCare for Education
EduCare and COBIS have teamed up to offer high-quality safeguarding and duty of care training to British International Schools around the world. Courses include Child Protection and Safeguarding, E-Safety, Health and Safety, First Aid, and more. An Annual Licence for EduCare for Education gives all staff members access to the online learning programmes. Registrations for individual courses are also available. COBIS Schools are eligible for a 10% discount. For more information visit the COBIS website or email laura.brain@educare.co.uk.
COBIS Webinars COBIS offers a programme of free webinars to keep members up to date with COBIS services and provide CPD without the need for travel. A full webinar schedule and booking instructions can be found on the COBIS website here. This term's webinars include: - Habits of Amazing Teachers - in association with Pivotal Education (15/1/2015)
- Third Culture Kids, Cross-Cultural Kids and the University Transition (27/1/2015)
- LinkedIn for Beginners - in association with Interactive Schools (12/2/2015)
- How Do You Measure Up? Strategies for Engaging Users Online - in association with Finalsite (17/2/2015)
- The Flipped Classroom Learning Model Analysed - in association with Boardworks (5/3/2015)
- Assessing Pupils' Progress in a World Without Levels - in association with Rising Stars (17/3/2015)
All webinars are free and recordings of previous COBIS webinars can be accessed in the Members Area of the COBIS website.
COBIS Consultancy Service If your school has specific CPD needs that would be best addressed by having training delivered by an external trainer or consultant in your school, then the COBIS Consultancy Service can help. COBIS Schools can submit a request for consultancy or training via the COBIS website. The consultancy request will be shared with some of the quality-assured consultants and training providers in the COBIS database and the school will then receive proposals from individuals or companies who would be able to deliver the training within the school’s proposed budget and timeline. There is no cost for COBIS Schools wishing to use this service. For more information visit the COBIS website or email consultancy@cobis.org.uk.
COBIS Leadership Mentoring and Support Service For Senior Leaders looking for more tailored, personalised CPD, the Leadership Mentoring and Support Service offers the opportunity to work with a trained mentor with successful experience of the professional challenges in the international school environment. For more information visit the COBIS website or email mentoring@cobis.org.uk.
COBIS Supporting Members COBIS has more than 160 Supporting Members and a number of these offer professional development for British Schools abroad. The professional development offered by COBIS Supporting Members covers topics such as ICT and Software, EAL, TA Training, Classroom Practice and Curriculum Resources. To learn about COBIS Supporting Members visit the COBIS website.
Contact Us If you have any comments or requests, please contact us. We'd love to hear from you.
Colin Bell, CEO - ceo@cobis.org.uk
Sarah Wooldridge, Finance Officer - admin@cobis.org.uk
Natalie Friend, Communications and Membership Officer - members@cobis.org.uk
Fiona Rogers, Senior Professional Development Officer - cpd@cobis.org.uk
Catriona Lawless, Personal Assistant to the CEO - pa@cobis.org.uk
Tamsin Gordon, International Marketing Intern - intern@cobis.org.uk
Follow us on Twitter @CobisDirector
Like us on Facebook
Connect with us on LinkedIn
Share with us on Google+
Connect with COBIS on social media
Telephone: +44 208 240 4142
Address: COBIS, St Mary's University, Waldegrave Road, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, TW1 4SX, UK
|
