Wigan school leaders gather to hear of the Westfield way

Westfield Community School played host to the Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors (CIEA) which has set up its first UK-based assessment hub at the school in Montrose Avenue.

The event featured speakers Mick Walker, Vice Chair of the CIEA, and Westfield’s deputy headteacher.

Teachers and school leaders from over 15 local schools attended the event which focussed on curriculum and assessment, a particularly topical area for many senior school leaders following recent changes made to the Ofsted inspection framework.

Headteacher of Westfield Community School, Tim Sherriff said: “I am delighted that Westfield has been chosen to be the CIEA’s first hub nationally.

“At Westfield we believe that accurate assessment is fundamental to gaining an understanding of how well pupils are achieving. We look forward to working with other schools in the North-West to develop this.”

Ross Aldridge, Deputy Head at Marus Bridge Primary School, was one of the many attendees at the hub launch. He said: “Mick Walker is an inspirational speaker who articulates, with a touch of humour, a clear vision of how curriculum and assessment are inextricably linked.

“Using the support of CIEA, Westfield are leading the way in providing meaningful assessment in schools and we, along with a number of schools, are therefore really looking forward to future collaboration and training with them!”

Westfield Community School is perfectly placed to host the Assessment Hub having recently achieved re-accreditation as an Excellence in Assessment school, a CIEA accreditation process which quality assures the assessment practices and processes in a school. Additionally, Deputy Headteacher Sharon Baker is about to complete her training to become a Chartered Educational Assessor.

Mick Walker, Vice-Chair of the CIEA said: “Westfield Community School has a national reputation for the quality of education it provides for its pupils and the support it provides for its own staff and others in the region to develop their expertise. I have worked extensively with the excellent WOWS consortium of schools in Wigan so I am delighted to see this collaboration with an esteemed national body.

"Educational assessment is at the heart of high quality teaching and learning, so this is a great opportunity to celebrate and develop education in the Northwest of England.”

The CIEA welcome all teachers and school leaders from across the region to attend Hub events. The first training course to be held at the Wigan Assessment Hub will be the Chartered Educational Assessor training which will be held at Westfield Community School on January 29-30 2020.

For further information contact [email protected]