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New Perspectives: courses, programmes, support, and consultancy for primary school heads and teachers.

'New Perspectives...' is a small, independent educational consultancy established in 2003 by Dr Tony Eaude. Drawing on his experience as a headteacher, researcher and consultant, he provides an innovative, personal approach to offer teachers and headteachers in primary schools new ways of approaching school improvement. This is based on three core principles, that:

• the capacity for improvement resides within schools, and the role of outsiders is primarily to empower and support;
• school improvement is intimately linked with the values and beliefs espoused by the school community;
• success depends on building, and building on, the learning ability of children and the professional expertise of teachers and other staff.

The emphasis is to offer support to schools in:

• identifying, and addressing, the elusive but important elements of education too often overlooked in the drive for improved test scores;
• trusting and encouraging teachers, and others, to innovate, to adapt and to be reflective and self-evaluative; and
• creating and sustaining, among and between staff and pupils, learning, caring communities.

Tony Eaude's particular interests are in the areas of:

• spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, values and creativity;
• cultural diversity, urban education and bilingualism;
• how young children learn and the implications for the learning environment and for teachers.

A summary of a talk called 'What really matters? -looking beyond the standards agenda' at the National Primary Teacher Education Conference in September 2007 gives a brief indication of Tony Eaude's thinking. The text can be downloaded at naptec (doc, 62K) A recent publication, in March 2009, called 'Bowling Alone - what can schools do to promote cohesive communities?', launched at the 3rd Annual NET Lecture given by Shami Chakrabarti, can be downloaded at bowling alone (pdf, 2758K) A hard copy can be requested by contacting the author.

Most of Dr Tony Eaude's work is in the area of evaluation, teaching, training and consultancy. He is a Research Fellow, Department of Education, University of Oxford. He is a trainer for the Values Education Trust and was appointed in November 2008 to the roster of consultants for the General Teaching Council (England). In summer 2008 and 2009, he led a module 'Contemporary Issues and Debates' on the MA Course in Primary Education at the Institute of Education, London and hopes to be doing so again in 2010. Examples of his recent work in evaluation include a report for the DCSF on Institutional Quality Standards and for the National Education Trust on 6s&7s. More details can be found on this website especially on Previous projects and Current and planned projects.

Tony Eaude has led a series of successful one-day courses for the National Union of Teachers and local authorities called 'Enhancing the Achievement of Young Bilingual Learners'. He can offer this as a day course or with versions specially tailored for schools or local authorities. Details of this and other courses available can be seen on Short courses.

If you would like to be informed of the work done by New Perspectives, and receive regular updates, please contact tony.eaude@education.ox.ac.uk