At Etone College, we are committed to promoting staff wellbeing. This week we saw another successful Time to Talk event where our teaching staff came together to enjoy a drink, cake and a catch up after work as part of our wellbeing initiatives.  We were also delighted to continue with our staff book club as part of World Book Day.  Both reading for pleasure and professional development are key and we were delighted to provide a lucky winner with a copy of The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse this week.

At Etone we are dedicated to high quality professional development for all of our staff like most schools. However, our dual focus on wellbeing is what enables us to stand out and ensure we are a supportive and progressive environment in the education sector. 

One of the corner stones of our CPD provision is the Christmas Teachmeet. The session features a unique blend of pedagodgy and wellbeing to provide staff a chance to share best practice and reflect on some of the high points across the year. 

This year the focus was on reading with staff sharing some expert strategies to support the culture and use of reading in lessons. With some amazing ideas on offer, we know all staff will be trailing these in the new year.

Tuesday, 9th July saw our ECT End of Year Qualification Celebration Event. We have had an amazing community of 19 ECTs this year who have built a wonderful rapport with each other and have taken part in a range of social events each half term. This afternoon saw the culmination of all of their hard work.

ECTs and their mentors had a wonderful time searching for miniature ducks; competing in ‘The Great ECT+ Quiz’ and receiving their awards and pin badges.  A huge table of food and drink, laughs, stories and a reveal of achievements and secrets were enjoyed by all present. Prizes for the winners were eagerly selected and coveted.

We are absolutely delighted to share that two Etone ECTs, T Monro and W Kitching won Certificates of Excellence, and E Greenhalgh won a Bronze Certificate from Pearson’s Teaching Awards, 2024 a huge National recognition of their contributions to education.  We are certain that we have more awards to look forward to in the years to come.

At Etone, we are immensely proud of all of ECTs and this afternoon really recognised their huge efforts and engagement in their induction into the teaching profession. We know these first years pave the way into incredibly successful careers for all.

On Tuesday our staff were invited to join our next instalment of Time to Talk. As a school we recognise the importance of wellbeing not just for our pupils, but our staff as well and encourage them to join us for a cuppa and a biscuit. Each time we are impressed with the turn out and this time was no different. As a special treat Miss Fernandas offered us the chance to create out own imprints, making many of us feel like world class artists. It is these kinds of events and the values held by our staff which makes the Etone Community what it is. A big thank you to all staff who supported through attending and especially to Miss Stafford and the team for organising.

On Tuesday our ECT’s had their termly social. This time the event: The Great Etone Bake Off. With an hour on the clock and a basic recipe our ECTs showed their Teamwork skills as they raced to create the best cup cakes within the limit.

At Etone we really value our staff and non more so than our early career teachers. With a full program of events and benefits to support staff wellbeing, the ECT social is an important one. Whilst it is always important to realise the need for pedagogical developments, having the time to try new skills and mix with peers is a valued opportunity at Etone.

Whilst the creations were equally brilliant we of course have a winner, in the best looking category Miss Hylands Cherry on Top cakes took 1st Place. However for the taste it was Mr Daniels, Mr Logan and Mr Monro who won with their creations.

It was a big success well enjoyed by all.

This week our Teaching and Learning team were very excited to be hosting the annual Christmas Teachmeet. The brainchild of the brilliant Miss Stafford, the session is a unique experience where festive fun meets pedagogical techniques. Each year there is a slightly different take as our teachers explore some of the latest strategies, whilst enjoying the chance to celebrate a long Autum term.

This year our event started with a Christmas Research: Swap Shop. Here each teacher was tasked with sharing a piece of research that has informed the development of their practice. During a 5 minute slot they would have a chance to explain the research and how it has supported them, before listening to that of their colleagues. During the aspect of the event there were over 80 different pieces of research used which has informed the practice of our teachers across this term. This underlines the importance that Etone places on the value of using the most up to date and robust research to inform our learning environments.

After this our staff were eager to find out the winners of the Etone Admin Awards 2023. Where our support staff shared their thanks to our teachers for their efforts across this year as well as our Heads of House Awards for Form Tutor’s of the Year. We would like to celebrate and congratulate the efforts of Mrs Beasley (Centaur), Miss Lower (Dragon), Miss Bryant (Griffin), Mr Key (Phoenix).

With that it was time for our ECT staff members to thank the rest of the staff for their support this term as they shared their top teaching tip, before feeling the pride as we watched the Yearly Review of our achievements at Etone over 2023.

Finally our staff were able to enjoy some Christmas Merriment with the traditional sing along of the 12 Days of Etone, complete with Three French Books, Two Mini Whiteboard and Lots of Employability. Before ending with Mr Astall’s second rendition of Celebrity Look-A-Likes. Although we will save those for another time.

Striking the balance between providing the best education possible, whilst looking after the wellbeing and workload of staff is something that we are committed to at Etone and it was lovely to be able to host this event. We hope all our staff enjoyed it and look forward to hosting again, same time next year.