Are You Dropping the Baton?

From effective collaboration to all-through schools - your guide to improving transition

By: Dave Harris

£24.99

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Products specifications

Attribute name	Attribute value
Size:	297mm x 210mm
Pages :	192
ISBN :	9781845900816
Format:	Paperback
Published:	February 2008

Foreword by Gervase Phinn.

Tackles transition head on, provides countless examples of how primary and secondary schools can work together more effectively to ensure students enjoy a smooth and effective move from primary to secondary school. It advocates several different approaches to facilitating this from soft federations between schools to the all-through 3–18 solution.

This practical, pragmatic text places young people at the centre of their learning and provides complete guidance on all that is needed to arrange activities between schools. The wide range of activities catered for includes:

- Short term ‘one off’ activities for primary and secondary pupils to carry out together
- Longer projects that allow primary and secondary pupils to develop working relationships
- Activities which place the pupil in the role of educator for others
- Projects which are ideal for collaboration between teachers with very different experiences and skills
- Development tasks for leaders of schools who are keen to develop closer relationships with each other
- Guidance on different routes of collaboration

Dave Harris found that working with unfamiliar age groups challenged his truths of education and reminded him why he first joined the teaching profession. The more you work with other phases of education the more clearly you view the differences and the more you understand why so many pupils suffer at transition between schools.

Are You Dropping The Baton? gives teachers practical help to remove the boundaries to progress and help rekindle their passion for teaching.

Dave Harris

Dave Harris has worked for over 20 years in school leadership, including 12 years as a school principal across both primary and secondary phases. During this time, he has developed a reputation for innovative thinking and practice, which he is now sharing with school leaders across the world. He is a sought-after speaker and writer and is also Business Director of Independent Thinking.

Read Dave's feature on page 26 of Leadership Focus Magazine - March 2013.

Reviews

Jackie Beere OBE

The challenges relating to KS3 behaviour and achievement are always high on the list of priorities for school leaders. So often the transition process from primary to secondary school is the key to developing an engaged and happy secondary student. In this book Dave Harris tackles all the issues around transition with an entertaining an informal style that also challenges our thinking. There is a great range of examples and strategies that cover many aspects of school leadership that can help create a school where children really thrive. It includes practical advice about developing an all through model of education and many case studies of best practice combined with lots of useful resources. A great read that will inspire and enlighten you.
Alec Williams

A great summary, in Crown House's practical and focussed style, of how important the primary/secondary transition stage is, and some of the pitfalls to avoid. I regularly run courses on promoting reading at the transition stage, and it's a title I'll recommend to school library staff, so that they can see their important role in a wider context.
John T Morris

A key area of focus at all levels in education is transition. It is a difficult process for children and adults at a range of levels, but a focus area is the Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3 journey. Within this excellent book David Harris has developed a practical guide rich in ideas to make the journey over the rope bridge exciting, challenging, enjoyable but above all safe and achievable. This book is essential reading for all school co-ordinators in years 6 and7, and management teams. Hopefully an increasing number of teachers will be inspired to follow the examples of excellent practice in this book.
Headteacher Update

THIS book tackles transition head-on providing many examples of how primary and secondary schools can work together more effectively to ensure students enjoy a smooth and effective move. It advocates several different approaches to facilitating this from soft federations between schools to the all-through 3-18 solution. Practical and pragmatic, this text places young people at the centre of their learning and provides complete guidance on all that is needed to arrange activities between schools.
Kathleen Ginn

This book is interesting in that it introduces a fairly "radical' solution to creating cohesiveness within a system that has focused so much on fragmentation in the last 100 years. I liked the way David has brought together different minds within the education field to give an opinion on finding a way forward in terms of creating a system of education that supports children throughout their time at school.

I believe the power of this book will become far more sellable when different schools around the country implement the suggestions within the book and come back as endorsements and testimonials for the system. So that instead of educators commenting on the content of the book, it will actually be people of all levels (educators, system managers, government officials, children) endorsing the system by the results they have achieved.
Jo Edwards

Dave Harris, with his usual passionate and forthright style, brings vividly to the attention of the reader issues within our education system which are so familiar they are frequently over-looked.

His often humorous approach to these serious issues only helps to illuminate their deep rooted nature and the need for us all to review that which we take for granted with fresh eyes.

I sincerely hope that this exciting review of our transition systems will help to ignite a long overdue discussion across the education profession and beyond which will benefit the generations of the future.
Toby Partridge

This book aims to help schools make the transition between primary and secondary school as smooth as possible for students.

It gives practical examples of how primary and secondary schools can combine efforts to ensure students have an easy transition between years 6 and 7.

It advocates several different approaches to facilitating this from "soft federations" between schools to the "all-through three to 18 solution".

The book looks at placing the transferring students at the centre of their learning and provides guidance on what is needed to arrange activities between schools, which the author feels is necessary during transition.

There is a range of ideas including short-term activities for primary and secondary pupils to take part in together, and longer projects that allow students from both schools to develop a working relationship.

Projects that aim to give the student ideas about the role of an educator, and development tasks for building relationships between the leaders of schools are also included.

The book has received praise from a range of practitioners, including Dr John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, and Jo Edwards, the headteacher of Moorside Community Primary School.
Andrew Russell

Are You Dropping the Baton? Is a very thought provoking and challenging publication that poses many answers to the questions we ask every year: can we "do' transition better? It is full of practical examples of good, successful and proven initiatives. But, it's not just aimed at KS2 to KS3 practitioners; it holds a challenge for all school leaders to think deeply about how they do things and consider fundamental changes in school structures.
Roy Leighton

Dave Harris has provided a practical guide for all those wishing to make the journey for our children not only productive with clear outcomes but also inspiring, innovative and enjoyable at whatever age. His bravery and creativity as a leader and educator is matched, nay exceeded, by his own personal example of courage and transformation.

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