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In This Issue: 1. Welcome from Colin Bell, COBIS CEO
2. Dates For Your Diaries
3. New COBIS Member Schools
4. School Member News
5. Professional Development
6. COBIS Webinars
7. News from COBIS Schools Around the World
8. Supporting Member News
9. Contact Us
Welcome from Colin Bell, COBIS CEO  Dear Colleague,
As the summer holidays are now upon us, the team at COBIS Headquarters are enjoying the opportunity to reflect on the year now passed and plan ahead for next academic year. 2014/15 sees some exciting announcements regarding an increased range of CPD events, more COBIS competitions in which your students can participate, a new COBIS Annual Research project, and, of course, the launch of the exciting new COBIS World Student magazine. More details can be found in this edition.
All these activities are made possible by the hard work of our excellent Board, COBIS Head Office team, and an army of colleagues in COBIS schools who work extraordinarily hard to ensure there are fantastic opportunities for COBIS staff, students and parents to feel a part of our global community. We look forward to enabling you to take part in more of these opportunities next year.
It may be the school holidays but the July COBIS Connect contains no shortage of great stories from our members. Congratulations to Bright Horizons - International British School of Zagreb, who have progressed from Candidate School to COBIS Members just one year after opening. The hard work of Milena and her team is clearly evident in the excellent progress made at this school over the last year. Congratulations also to Aloha College who recently received their best ever IB results. A fantastic achievement for pupils, staff and parents alike.
Finally, I would like to wish you a happy and restful holiday. I'm shortly off to the Lake District with two four year old twin boys so mine will be happy, but perhaps not so restful! The COBIS Head Office remains open and staffed throughout the summer, so please feel free to get in touch.
Best wishes,
Colin
Dates for Your Diaries COBIS Conference for Bursars, Business Managers, and HR Staff - Booking Now Open
17-18 October 2014 - Geneva English School, Switzerland
COBIS/King's Group Student Leadership Weekend - Booking Now Open
17-19 October 2014 - King's College, Madrid, Spain
COBIS Conference for Teachers and Support Staff - Booking Now Open
Leadership at all Levels – Unlocking Potential Throughout the School Community
20-21 October 2014 - The British School of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
COBIS Governor's Training Day - Booking Now Open
20 October 2014 - The British School of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
COBIS Pupil-Centred Pastoral Care Conference - Booking Now Open
7-8 November 2014 - The British School of Bucharest, Romania
COBIS Conference for Teachers and Support Staff and Four-Day Middle Leaders’ Programme
2-3 March 2015 (Middle Leaders 28 February – 3 March 2015)
St Catherine’s British School, Greece
COBIS Conference for Teachers and Four-Day Middle Leaders’ Programme
Future Learners – The Challenge of a New Environment
13-15 March 2015 (Middle Leaders 12-15 March 2015)
The British School of Beijing, China
COBIS Conference for Teachers, Leaders and Support Staff
Students Taking Ownership of their Learning
16-17 April 2015
Grange School, Nigeria
COBIS Conference for Marketing, Development and Admissions Staff
Stakeholder Engagement: the Past, the Present and the Prospective
23-24 April 2015 Dubai College, United Arab Emirates
34th COBIS Annual Conference
9-11 May 2015
Park Plaza Hotel, London
New COBIS Member Schools
COBIS is delighted to welcome 1 new school into membership and announce 1 change in membership category.
Bright Horizons - Candidate School to Member COBIS is delighted to announce that Bright Horizons - International British School of Zagreb has .png) successfully moved from Candidate School status to that of COBIS Member. The school joined COBIS as a Candidate School in September 2013. Headteacher Milena Prodanic Tisma provided the COBIS Membership Committee with a comprehensive review of how the school has grown in its first academic year, with pupil numbers growing from 9 pupils to 24 pupils. The school also provided an updated Child Protection policy, School Development Plan and staff list as well as further information on the school governing body. Milena accepted COBIS Member status on behalf of the school saying, "We are all very pleased and excited to become a member school".
COBIS would like to congratulate Bright Horizons - International British School of Zagreb on this excellent achievement.
English International School Moscow South West COBIS would like to welcome a third English International School Moscow into membership. The English International School Moscow South West joins sister schools the English International School Moscow East and the English International School Moscow West as a COBIS Member. The school is part of the Orbital school group with pupils aged from 3 – 11 years.
School Principal Christopher FitzGerald said upon accepting COBIS membership, "On behalf of the English International School Moscow South West, I'm delighted to accept COBIS Member status. We very much look forward to playing our part in the future development of COBIS".
COBIS is delighted to welcome the English International School Moscow South West into membership and we look forward to working with all the staff at the school.
School Member News
GCSE and A level Reform Consultations
The Department for Education (DfE) has recently launched consultations on reformed GCSE and A level subject content and assessment for first teaching in September 2016. The consultation closes on 19 September 2014. Click here to download the consultation documents.
Ofqual is currently consulting on the recommendations for assessment: ‘Developing new GCSE, A level and AS qualifications for first teaching in 2016’. The consultation closes on 22 September 2014. Click here to download the consultation documents.
New Education Secretary Appointed in UK Cabinet Reshuffle
Two new appointments were announced on 15 July as part of the UK cabinet reshuffle. Michael Gove has been replaced as Education Secretary by Nicky Morgan, and Greg Clark has become the minister for universities and science replacing David Willetts.
The news was covered in all UK newspapers. A selection of links is below: Recruiting New Governors - Help for Schools Available
If your school is looking to recruit new members for the Board of Governors, COBIS may be able to help. COBIS maintains a list of prospective Governors who have expressed an interest in working with British International Schools. Please contact Fiona Rogers on cpd@cobis.org.uk for more information.
COBIS SEN Survey and SEN Working Party
Last month, a number of colleagues from COBIS schools completed a survey on SEN provision in COBIS Schools, as part of ongoing work to set up a COBIS SEN Working Party. Here are some of the headline results:
- Only 17% of respondents access any support from their host country or local education system.
- 42% of respondents access some support from the UK.
- 54% of schools indicate that specialist teachers and classroom teachers work together to provide SEN provision (as opposed to classroom teachers alone or specialist teachers alone).
- TAs and Support Staff play an important role in SEN provision in many schools, although some smaller schools do not have TAs, and some schools feel that TAs need further training.
- Good communication and supportive colleagues are two of the elements that help SEN provision in schools.
- A lack of local, English-speaking specialists and timetabling constraints are two of the elements that hinder SEN provision in schools.
- Schools have a wide range of training needs relating to SEN, including strategies for effective differentiation and training on specific educational needs.
Thank you to all of the schools who contributed to this survey. COBIS Member Schools - Staff Changes
COBIS would like to ask all member schools to notify us of changes to their administrative and senior leadership staff. This will help us stay up to date with all important contacts and make it easier to facilitate dialogue with the appropriate person in each school. To inform us of any changes, please email Fiona Rogers - cpd@cobis.org.uk
Professional Development
COBIS Student Leadership Weekend, Madrid, 17-19 October 2014
Building on the success of previous COBIS Head Boys and Head Girls Conferences, the COBIS/King’s Group Student Leadership Weekend will be an exciting opportunity for senior pupils (aged 16+) from COBIS schools to come together for three days of leadership and life skills training. The programme will include sessions on presentation and public speaking skills, personal branding, university life skills, creative problem solving, and more. At the end of the weekend, participants will be encouraged to produce a short film about their experience. These films will be judged by a selection committee and one participant will win a scholarship (to be awarded when he/she is enrolled in university). The delegate fee (€375) includes accommodation, meals, and course costs. Places on the course are limited and early booking is advised. For more information and a booking form, please visit www.cobis.org.uk/ Student_leadership2014
COBIS Governors’ Training Day, 20 October 2014, Amsterdam
Governors of British International Schools are invited to book places for the COBIS Governors’ Training Day, hosted by The British School of Amsterdam. The programme will include:
- Governance and Management: Recognising the Difference
- Headteacher Performance Management: Internal and External
- School Development Planning: Process, Formats, and the Role of the Board
- The Role of Governors in Monitoring and Evaluation
The delegate fee is €195 for COBIS Members with a discounted rate of €150 for additional Governors from the same COBIS school. For more information and booking forms, please click here.
COBIS Conference for Bursars, Business Managers, and HR Staff, 17-18 October 2014, Geneva
Bookings are now being accepted for the first COBIS Conference for Bursars, Business Managers, and HR Staff. This event will take place at Geneva English School, 17-18 October 2014. The programme will include sessions on Safer recruitment, Strategic planning & management, Non-fee income, Managing staff effectively, and much more. The delegate fee is CHF 370 for COBIS Members. For full details and a booking form, please visit the COBIS website.
International Programme for Middle Leaders – COBIS, National College, BSN
Bookings are now being accepted for the 2014/15 International Programme for Middle Leaders – a ten-month programme, run in partnership between COBIS, the National College for Teaching & Leadership, and The British School in The Netherlands. More details and a booking form can be found here: www.cobis.org.uk/MiddleLeaders. Places in this IPML cohort are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. The delegate fee for the ten-month programme is £990 per participant.
New E-Safety Course for Schools
A new online course on Child Exploitation & Online Safety has been added to the EduCare for Education package. COBIS Schools and Supporting Members are eligible for a 10% discount on all courses within the EduCare for Education package and the full annual licence (which offers online training in Child Protection, Safer Recruitment, Preventing Bullying, and more than a dozen other topics for your full school workforce). For more information, click here.
COBIS Webinars
The COBIS webinar schedule for 2014/15 has just been announced. Webinars include Opportunities to Engage Your Students in COBIS Competitions & Events; Differentiation for Challenge and E-safety for students: Protecting Students Online. Visit our website to book your free place.
Recordings of all past webinars are available in the COBIS Member Area. If you missed one of our webinars, why not catch up over the holidays?
News From COBIS Schools Around the World Aloha College 100% Pass Rate in IB Diploma
Aloha College in Marbella, Spain, recently achieved its greatest IB Diploma results in the history of the  college. Last May, Year 13 pupils sat the challenging IB Programme examinations and all of them have now successfully achieved places at their first-choice university. Two students achieved the result of 43 and 44 points respectively, which place them above 99.8% of students worldwide. The photo shows one of these students.
Aloha College, which has offered the IB Diploma Programme since 1990, achieved an average point score of 35 this academic year. This means that 100% of pupils who followed the IB Programme not only passed, but did extraordinarily well. This is an especially significant achievement as the international pass rate for the Diploma is generally about 80%. COBIS would like to congratulate all students, parents and staff at Aloha College on this excellent achievement.
Supporting Member News
Welcome to New COBIS Supporting Members
COBIS would like to welcome the following new supporting member who has recently joined us: Independent Schools Teacher Induction Panel (IStip) - Consultancy and Professional Development
The IPC Releases New Units to Support National Curriculum Change
In response to the recent National Curriculum changes, the IPC has released some rigorous new thematic units as well as a number of support documents including sample route plans and cross-reference documents. Click here for more information.
COBIS World Student Magazine - Invitation to Advertise
This new print and digital magazine is being published by John Catt Educational, in partnership with COBIS. Starting with the launch issue in November 2014, multiple print copies of World Student will be distributed to all COBIS schools, with additional print and digital versions being sent to students at 2,000 other international schools around the world. The magazine has the aim of inspiring students in international schools around the world to make full use of their excellent education. The articles will be inspirational and aspirational in tone, on topics that will encourage students to consider their performance in forthcoming examinations, their further and higher educational options, their careers, their futures in general.
COBIS Supporting Members are eligible for a 15% discount on advertising rates and we encourage you to consider using the magazine to further strengthen your association with COBIS members. Editorial opportunities are also available for those who support World Student with paid advertising. The final booking deadline is 30 September 2014. Click here to view the media pack.
For more information on this exciting new publication, please contact Madeleine Anderson at the publishers, John Catt Educational. Advertising space is limited and is already being booked up, so please don't delay if you are interested.
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
Luke Nelson, COBIS International Marketing Intern - intern@cobis.org.uk
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Telephone: +44 208 240 4142
Address: COBIS, St Mary's University, Waldegrave Road, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, TW1 4SX, UK
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