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BET Futures
We believe that collaboration, openness and innovation are key in providing the best opportunities for our community. Adapting to change, sharing what works and what doesn’t and thinking innovatively have all been key characteristics of successful schools during the last few years of national turbulence. Discussions around ‘what works’ in teaching and learning have never been as frequent or as meaningful.
To galvanise this, BET launched a think tank in September 2021 called BET Futures. This brought together practitioners (including teachers, IT technicians, learning support assistants and administrators) to discuss the latest thinking in education forums, to complete research and to share their findings with one another.
Whilst there is a huge amount of existing research available in the educational sector, it does not always translate into practice ‘on the ground’. BET Futures aims to shrink the gap between research and practice.
Our Aims
| BET Futures serves four purposes: |
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| 1. Positions the Trust as an organisation whose ethos is to transform schools, but is also innovative, evidence led and committed to the best outcomes for our pupils. |
| 2. Improves the offer for all of pupils by reviewing and sharing what works internally but also from other schools and research groups such as the EEF and NFER. |
| 3. Influences the Trust’s priorities, policies and in-school CPD offer to ensure it reflects the latest thinking and really challenges our staff. |
| 4. Ensures we retain excellent practitioners who may not wish to progress via leadership roles. They will gain a breadth of experience and network outside of their school. This could link to bringing greater impact and profile to projects which are completed via, for example, NPQs on Leading Teaching. |
Our research areas and impact
| During 2023-24, BET Futures explored the following three questions: |
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| 1. Technology (what are the opportunities and challenges posed by AI? How do we ensure a level playing field across our schools?) Click here to read our blog summarising the findings. |
| 2. The inclusive curriculum (which groups are and are not represented in our curriculum? Is this important? How do we ensure our curriculum is fit for the community it serves?) |
| 3. Sustainability (what could this look like in our school environment and curriculum? What are the quick and longer wins we could have as a Trust? What can we change and influence?) |
| During 2022-23, BET Futures explored three questions: |
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| 1. How can technology be best harnessed educationally and operationally? Click here to read our blog summarising the findings. |
| 2. How can we guarantee all BET pupils have the same opportunities beyond the curriculum? Click here to read our blog summarising the findings. |
| 3. How do we ensure our pupils are learning to behave? Click here to read our blog summarising the findings. |
| During the 21-22 academic year, BET Futures answered three big and important questions: |
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| 1. Is our curriculum fit for the demands and challenges of 21st century life? How can we best respond educationally to the challenges of, for example, COVID, climate change, Black Lives Matter and Everyone’s Invited? Click here to read our blog summarising the findings. |
| 2. How can technology be best harnessed educationally and organisationally? How do we ensure our pupils have the competitive edge in the future in terms of technological skills? Is our organisation as efficient as it could be? If remote education continues to advance at the pace the last eighteen months has shown, should teaching ever revert to how it was pre-COVID? Click here to read our blog, summarising the findings. |
| 3. How can we tailor the curriculum to meet the needs of our pupils at transition points? Click here to read our blog summarising the findings. |
At the end of each year findings are shared with headteachers and the BET board with researchers presenting their ideas and recommendations.
How to get involved
This year’s big questions are:
- Technology (How can AI chatbots be effectively integrated into the classroom to empower staff and students?)
- The inclusive curriculum (Which groups are and are not represented in our curriculum? Is this important? How do we ensure our curriculum is fit for the community it serves?)
- Sustainability (What could this look like in our school environment and curriculum? How can we best bring the Trust together through Green Week? What are the quick and longer wins we could have as a Trust?)
There is a launch event on Teams on Wednesday 16th October at 8am to explain more about BET Futures and to agree the research questions for this year. The link for the Teams meeting is here. Or if you would like to sign up now to take part, please discuss it with your Headteacher and then click on this form.
If you are interested in learning more about BET Futures, please email Penny Alford, Chief Education Officer: alfordp@bourne.education.
Documents
| Page Downloads |
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| BET Futures slides 2023 |
