Latest thinking

What can social leadership learn from design?

Article

13 Sep 2013

Melanie Andrews

Building a neural net of wishes and sharing experience at the #RSARDIsummerschool filmed by Dr James Furse-Roberts

Putting collaboration into practice

Blog

09 Sep 2013

Louise Bamfield

If I was to tell you that collaboration is vital for teachers’ professional learning and hence for improving student outcomes would you: (a) prick up your ears at this exciting new insight into school improvement; (b) nod politely, whilst mentally (or indeed physically) switching off because it’s so boringly familiar; or (c) immediately start composing an irate comment piece attacking this narrowly fixated, reductionist view of what matters in education* [*insert alterative critique as appropriate].

Lost, unhappy and at home

Blog

04 Sep 2013

Joe Hallgarten

 “Most members of my family were Nazis”. This first line of the first speech to commemorate the laying of Stumbling Stones, in the German Rhinegau town of Oestrich-Winkel, set the tone for a morning of remembrance and reflection. "I feel ashamed for the deeds of my parents", she concluded, before introducing my uncle. In the main shopping street of the town of his birth he recounted my own family’s history.

'Making sense of school league tables’: A new OPSN report

Blog

04 Sep 2013

Ben Lucas

The RSA is delighted to support today's launch of a new Open Public Services Network (OPSN) report on ‘Making sense of school league tables’, which uses publicly available data to assess the quality of teaching in UK schools. A roundtable event to mark the report launch is taking place on Monday 9th September at the Guardian.

Join a history of enlightened thinking

Blog

20 Aug 2013

Alexandra Barker

What do you say to people when you talk about the RSA? Do you mention a great lecture you’ve seen, a Fellow you’ve met or perhaps share an animate online? It’s easy when you’ve got an example but sometimes when you’re on the spot, it can be difficult to in articulate all the many aspects of the RSA’s work. It’s a multi-layered, multifaceted organisation that is governed from a huge house which can feel like a bit of a labyrinth -  so where do you begin?

The problem with kittens is they grow into cats

Blog

12 Aug 2013

Joe Hallgarten

The only consensus achieved during last week’s discussions about the UK’s baby boom was that yes, we are definitely having more babies. The facts can’t be denied; 813,000 babies were born in the UK last year, the highest number since 1972. With 254,000 more births than deaths over the year, and a smaller net migration gain, our population is rising faster than any other EU country.

It’s time for teachers to take curriculum control!

Blog

11 Aug 2013

RSA and The Institute of Education launch a national pioneering movement in curriculum design.

Learning through facilitation and working in partnership

Blog

06 Aug 2013

Kate Monkhouse

As a Regional Programme Manager I get to contribute to a number of events covering a wide variety of different topics. When you run an RSA event, you are sometimes unsure of what the feedback will be, but after the recent facilitation workshop that we run in Bristol a key piece of feedback was how hot and sweaty it had been – not a common occurrence in Bristol! Luckily, we received more than just that, as can be seen from the graphic below:

Half a Century in Community Education

Comment

05 Aug 2013

In 1930 the first village college opened, modelled on the ideals of Henry Morris of Cambridgeshire. Maurice Dybeck FRSA argues that we should go back to Morris’ vision, assess what was achieved and salvage some of the things since lost.