Malaysian Education Directors visit Islington for example of best practice
Three education directors from the Sabah Education Department (SED), Malaysia,
spent the day at the New North Community Primary School in Islington to
observe examples of best practice in the school’s management and their
effective implementation of the curriculum.
The visit was part of the British Council’s ongoing programme to provide an
opportunity to share best practice between Malaysia and the UK – with a focus
on the role of sport and PE in schools, effective school leadership, and
working with students who have English as an additional language.
The State of Sabah is concerned about low levels of attainment in English, and
about generally low literacy and numeracy, as measured by public examinations.
The SED has a unit with responsibility for developing effective school
leadership and curriculum management. The delegation chose the New North
Community School to investigate problem-based instructional leadership and to
hear about how the school has moved towards becoming a learning organisation.
The delegates enjoyed a tour of the school, a round table discussion with the
school’s leadership team, performances by pupils and a presentation on good
practice in ethnic minority achievement.
Mary McStay, Headteacher of the New North Community School said: ‘We were
delighted to welcome the delegation from the State Education Department of
Sabah, Malaysia, who were on a British Council sponsored visit to London
focusing on Leadership.
‘Our visitors enjoyed a tour of the school with questions and answers, a round
table discussion with the Leadership Team followed by performances from the
children. Our guests found a rendition of ‘If You Are Happy and You Know It’
in the Malaysian language particularly pleasing. ‘Each class welcomed our
visitors with the greeting “As salam alai kum”.
Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Children for Islington Council, James
Kempton, and Bill Clark, Director of Schools’ Services, CEA@Islington, joined
the party for lunch and further discussions. The afternoon concluded with
traditional English tea and scones after consideration of an information pack
of key Leadership themes.
‘It was an excellent opportunity for professional reflection and exchange of
ideas. Our visitors were a pleasure to have in school and were extremely
complimentary of The New North.’
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