Shotton Hall Research School

Do you know someone currently studying an MFL or STEM subject? Let them know about our paid teacher training internship!

Successful candidates will receive £1,365 for completion of a 3-week summer internship programme at one of our North East Learning Trust schools.

Find out more and apply here: https://www.northeastscitt.co.uk/intern

Calling all university students - our paid summer internships are back! 📣

We're looking for enthusiastic university students who are interested in supporting a school’s physics, chemistry, maths, DT, computing or MFL department. Successful candidates will receive £1,365 for completion of a 3-week summer internship programme at one of our North East Learning Trust schools. 👨‍🏫🍏

Find out more and apply here - https://loom.ly/WZqJ7fk

Free research school webinars!

Join Shotton Hall, Town End, and Newcastle Research Schools for a series of free, evidence-informed webinars designed to support teachers and school leaders across all phases.

From reading interventions and addressing disadvantage to metacognition, SEND, and formative assessment – each session offers practical, research-based insights you can apply straight away in your classroom or setting.

All sessions are free to attend and led by experienced facilitators from the Research School Network.

Sign up by contacting: [email protected]

🚀 Fast-Forward to Fluency is back!

After a successful pilot with 21 schools and 410 pupils, Shotton Hall Research School is launching the next phase of our TA-led Reading Fluency Intervention this September.

📚 Schools must be in County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside, and Sunderland.

💡 Includes:
🔹 Comprehensive training for TAs
🔹 1:1 support and personalised action planning
🔹 Bursaries available to support participation
🔹 Final impact evaluation and networking opportunities

📅 Launch Webinar
🗓 Thursday 11th September 2025
🕒 3:30pm
🔗 https://loom.ly/tq6WmM4

📩 Contact: [email protected]
📎 Flyer attached for full details!

forms.office.com

Want to support struggling readers in your school? 📚 We're looking for 10 North East secondary schools to take part in our peer tutoring reading intervention project starting in September 2025! 🙌

✅ Support Year 7 students struggling with their reading
✅ Evidence-based reading intervention that works
✅ An easy-to-implement solution for busy schools
✅ Full training for all staff members involved
✅ Support from the SHRS team with identifying the right students

Find out more here: https://loom.ly/VK1lQPs

Lesley was central to creating our Research School and is still very actively involved - huge congratulations!

We are proud to announce that our founder and chief executive officer, Lesley Powell CBE, has been made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in His Majesty the King’s 2025 Birthday Honours list.

Recognised for her services to education, Dame Lesley has dedicated her career of almost 40 years to teaching.

As founder and chief executive officer of the North East Learning Trust, she has led the rapid transformation of numerous underperforming schools across the region, where NELT is now recognised nationally as a leading model for school improvement.

A lifelong advocate for equality of opportunity, Dame Lesley, has worked with schools in some of the poorest areas of the country to improve the life chances of children.

Her expertise is also recognised beyond the region where she actively contributes to national educational policy development including amongst others, the National Secondary Heads Reference Group, National, Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy Group, Head Teacher Standards Review Group, and the NPQ Expert Advisory Group.

Dame Lesley said:

“I am delighted to have received this honour and especially thankful to the many people who made my nomination possible. I am incredibly grateful to be surrounded by a dedicated team of exceptional educators who work tirelessly to give the children of the region the best possible start in life. This honour is recognition of the passion we all share to ensure that every child, regardless of their background, has access to an excellent education, and is testament to the positive change we have collectively made for the children of the North East.”

Maggie Saxton, our Chair of Trustees at the North East Learning Trust added:

“Lesley’s unwavering commitment to equality of opportunity is matched only by her work ethic where she has tenaciously pursued excellence for the region’s children. She is a talented, visionary and compassionate leader who is an asset to the North East and the wider UK education sector. Her Damehood is thoroughly well deserved and we are all delighted she has been recognised with this award."

We've teamed up with Town End Research School and Newcastle Research School to produce a series of blogs on the complexities of writing.

In this blog, Sarah Stock writes about what we do for pupils who find handwriting difficult.

https://loom.ly/eGSibKQ

We've teamed up with Town End Research School and Newcastle Research School to produce a series of blogs on the complexities of writing. These blogs look at the (not so ) Simple View of Writing.

In this blog, Stella Jones writes about how executive function supports writing.

https://loom.ly/R9KeAQ8

Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities have the greatest need for excellent teaching. ’s new guidance on the effective deployment of teaching assistants has recommendations to support all pupils to thrive. Browse: https://loom.ly/JTQyOKI

Deployment of Teaching Assistants Guidance on deploying TAs to boost attainment for pupils with evidence-based strategies and best practice.

We've teamed up with Town End Research School and Newcastle Research School to produce a series of blogs on the complexities of writing. These blogs look at the (not so ) Simple View of Writing.

In this blog, Alicia McConway writes about how we support pupils in the MFL classroom to put pen to paper.

https://loom.ly/kZOpsb4

Text Generation - Putting Pen to Paper What do we do for pupils who find themselves struggling to put pen to paper?

Teaching assistants are a powerful resource to support and enable high-quality teaching. recognise this in their new guidance focused on how best to deploy teaching assistants. Download now: https://loom.ly/JTQyOKI

Deployment of Teaching Assistants Guidance on deploying TAs to boost attainment for pupils with evidence-based strategies and best practice.