Dear Parents,
I wanted to write to you to draw your attention to a brand-new publication from Nord Anglia Education called INSIGHTS that looks at the subjects that matter most to young people and their parents when it comes to education.
INSIGHTS ON THE LATEST EDUCATION TRENDS
Lord Putnam (a member of the NAE education Advisory Board) shared this magazine with us back in late September at our global Senior Leadership Conference. The magazine includes a range of thought-provoking content and opinions offered by the contributors. I am delighted to announce its release to our broader communities this week.
The articles cover topics such as: Can children learn how to be happy? And if they can, will it make a difference? Do children need knowledge anymore when everything’s a click or a swipe away with AI? Does learning about ‘making a difference’ (as in social impact) actually make any difference?
You will see that several of the articles resonate very closely to our approach here at BISB.
The strong focus on emotional wellbeing in “In Pursuit of Happiness” aligns closely with the work we do within our PSHE curriculum, Guidance programme and the strong pastoral structures we employ where all staff take responsibility for students wellbeing.
I was also interested in the piece around Social Impact. Something we are committed to and have focused on developing in recent years. Most recently this culminated in our NAE Social Distinction Silver Award.
Finally, the two articles “Knowledge is power” and “Life in the skills locker” focusing on the importance of knowledge and the development of skills and dispositions align closely with the way we construct our curriculum and teaching. Part of how this manifests itself in our secondary school is covered in Amy’s newsletter piece this week. It is my personal belief that it is misleading to view knowledge and skills/dispositions as opposing and the integration of both is critical to a contemporary education.
I invite you to read, reflect, and share INSIGHTS by clicking on the link here:
Ben Turner
Principal
BISB has been alive with excitement during this year's Humanities Week (3rd-7th), featuring an array of engaging activities across all year groups.
Year 7 were given just that item and asked to develop an experiment to show something they have learned during their current topic about energy changes.
As part of the Humanities Week, the department was delighted to welcome some of the parents from the community who are industry experts, to share their experiences and professional trajectories with the Year 9s at Talking Business at BISB.
As part of Children's Dental Health Month, our school's kitchen, in collaboration with the school nurse, will host the first-ever Dental Health Day on February 11. The menu will feature foods that contribute to maintaining healthy teeth.
