QUALITY MARK CRITERIA
The criteria for the Mantle of the Expert Quality Marks is divided into three Key Aspects:
- An ongoing commitment to the practice of Mantle of the Expert in an educational setting.
- An ongoing commitment to continuing professional development.
- A developing understanding of how Mantle of the Experts works as a pedagogy to support students’ learning.
Evidence for Key Aspect 1 – An ongoing commitment to the practice of Mantle of the Expert in an educational setting –will take the form of planning Mantle of the Expert contexts and integrating them into a school curriculum; teaching using the approach; sharing work with others; writing articles and/or blogs; conducting observed lessons; and organising and running training events, including study days, conferences, online events, INSET, and others.
Evidence for Key Aspect 2 – An ongoing commitment to continuing professional development – will take the form of reading; attending training courses (live or online); keeping a reflective journal/blog/etc; observing demonstration lessons; planning, teaching, and reviewing their own work in dialogue with a mentor.
Evidence for Key Aspect 3 – A developing understanding of how Mantle of the Experts works as a pedagogy to support students’ learning – will take the form of a journal, a blog, or some other media; workshops planned and run by candidates, including staff meetings – live or online; articles, research papers, PowerPoints, or other forms of articulation and dissemination, through the Mantle of the Expert website or other media; teaching an observed lesson.
Evidence of these aspects can be collated in any form that suits the candidate. For example, portfolios, floor books, photographs, video, planning, journal, blog, articles, research papers etc. The evidence and the form of the evidence will depend on the level of Quality Mark – see below (at the end of each level descriptor) for details. Please note, for those quality mark levels that require evidence of practice using Mantle of the Expert – Trainer, Advocate, Advanced, and Practitioner – an observed lesson of thirty minutes or longer is needed as evidence. This can be either a live lesson – attended by a QM Trainer – or in the form of an uncut video recording of a lesson taught by the candidate.
How to Apply: If you or your school would like to apply as a candidate for one of the Quality Marks or have a question or would like more information about the quality marks or the pathways please contact us using the ‘Contact Us’ button at the bottom of the page.
The Mantle of the Expert Quality Mark Categories
Training School Quality Mark is a whole school process that takes approximately two years to complete. The Training School Mark is for schools and other appropriate settings wishing to be recognised as an example of what can be achieved when Mantle of the Expert is securely embedded into everyday pedagogic approaches and the impact such work can have on children’s standards of achievement and attainments. Such a school is likely to have invested significant amounts of training funds to the approach in order that its teachers are skilled in the use of Mantle of the Expert in their classrooms. Teachers are also committed to sharing their practice with visitors and the SLT and Governors have a clear vision of the development of the approach, as well as a clear recognition of the impacts beyond instrumental standards. Evidence: Key aspect 1 – planning Mantle of the Expert contexts and integrating them into their school curriculum; teaching using the approach; sharing work with others; conducting observed lessons; and organising and running training events, including study days, conferences, online events, INSET, and others. Key aspect 2 – supporting teachers in reading; attending training courses (live or online); keeping a reflective journal/blog/etc; observing demonstration lessons; planning, teaching, and reviewing their own work in dialogue. Key Aspect 3 -supporting teachers to: keep a journal, a blog, or some other media; to attend and organise workshops, including staff meetings – live or online; to write articles, research papers, PowerPoints, or other forms of articulation and dissemination, through the Mantle of the Expert website or other media; to and attend observed lessons. Important: to qualify for the Training School Quality Mark the school will need to have QM Practitioners at each Key Stage of their setting (for example, Early years/Kindergarten; infants; junior; or senior).
Trainer Quality Mark is for advanced users of Mantle of the Expert who have demonstrated their practice in public (through lessons demonstrations, etc); have developed a portfolio of their work training others (organising training events, planning and running workshops, conducting INSET training, etc); have a history of contributing to the development of Mantle of the Expert (for example, writing articles, posting planning on the website, writing a blog, etc); demonstrated a significant understanding of the approach (for example, conducting key notes – live or online, running training days, being a workshop leader on long courses, etc). To apply for the Trainer Quality Mark write to mail@mantleoftheexpert.com. Evidence: Key aspect 1 – planning Mantle of the Expert contexts and integrating them into school curricula; teaching using the approach to an advanced level; sharing their work with others ie through the MoE website, workshops, and other forms; conducting observed lessons; organising and running training events, such as study days, conferences, online events, INSET, and others (online or live). Key aspect 2 – reading widely on the subject of MoE, Drama for Learning and inquiry; regularly attending training courses (live and/or online) including to an advanced level; keeping a reflective journal/blog/etc; observing demonstration lessons; planning, teaching, and reviewing their own work in dialogue; Key Aspect 3 – to attend and organise workshops, including staff meetings – live or online; to write articles, research papers, PowerPoints, or other forms of articulation and dissemination through the Mantle of the Expert website or other media; to demonstrate an advanced level of understanding of the approach. Important: to qualify for the Trainer Quality Mark a candidate will be required to demonstrate a history of teaching the approach to an advanced level through observed lessons – video recorded or live; to have conducted a keynote (live or recorded) on the key aspects of the approach; and to have demonstrated a history of contributing to the development of MoE. This level requires a Mantle of the Expert mentor, please contact us to discuss this criteria further.
Advocate Quality Mark is for teachers who are interested in sharing their experience and understanding of Mantle of the Expert with others. Teachers qualifying for this category will demonstrate all the qualities of the QM Teacher category as well as a portfolio of the work they have done in dissemination, support, and advocacy such as – workshops, staff-meetings, mentoring, planning, and other writing. Evidence: Key aspect 1 – planning Mantle of the Expert contexts and integrating them into school curricula; teaching using the approach to an advanced level; sharing their work with others ie through the MoE website, workshops, and other forms; conducting observed lessons for colleagues; organising and running training staff meetings and workshops (online or live). Key aspect 2 – reading widely on the subject of MoE, Drama for Learning and inquiry; attending training courses (live and/or online) including to an advanced level; keeping a reflective journal/blog/etc; observing demonstration lessons; planning, teaching, and reviewing their own work in dialogue; Key Aspect 3 – to attend and organise workshops, including staff meetings – live or online; to share their work through the Mantle of the Expert website or other media; to demonstrate an advanced level of understanding of the approach. Important: to qualify for the Advocate Quality Mark a candidate will be required to teach an observed lesson to an advanced level.
Ambassador Quality Mark is typically for schools-leaders, advisors, academics, and other educationalists with an extensive understanding of Mantle of the Expert, who use their role to promote the approach, support others as they develop their use and understanding, and have a passion for sharing their thoughts and experiences of Mantle of the Expert. The assessment process will involve the compilation of a portfolio of work done in advocating the approach and supporting the development of others, and a discussion around the elements of the approach – how it works in practice, the impacts on student learning, etc. Evidence: Key aspect 1 – supporting others in using planning for Mantle of the Expert contexts and integrating them into a school curriculum; advocating use of the approach through staff meetings and workshops (online or live). Key aspect 2 – reading widely on the subject of MoE; attending training courses (live and/or online); observing demonstration lessons; Key Aspect 3 – to facilitate workshops, including staff meetings – live or online; to facilitate teachers sharing their work through the Mantle of the Expert website or other media; to promote and advocate for the use of Mantle of the Expert in their own setting and beyond. Important: unlike candidates on the Practitioner route, Ambassadors do not have to teach an observed lesson unless they wish to move up the teacher practitioner pathway towards Advanced Practitioner, Advocate, and Trainer.
Advanced Practitioner Quality Mark is for practitioners who have attended a number of courses in Mantle of the Expert at an advanced level (some courses can be online); have a history of using Mantle of the Expert regularly in the classroom and/or other settings; can demonstrate a high level of understanding of the approach and its application (for example, blogs, articles, academic papers, etc); have taught an observed lesson at an advanced level. Evidence: Key aspect 1 – planning Mantle of the Expert contexts; teaching using the approach to an advanced level; Key aspect 2 – reading widely on the subject of MoE, Drama for Learning and inquiry; attending training courses (live and/or online) including to an advanced level; keeping a reflective journal/blog/etc; observing demonstration lessons; planning, teaching, and reviewing their own work in dialogue; Key Aspect 3 – to attend workshops and other training, including staff meetings – live or online; to demonstrate an advanced level of understanding of the approach. Important: to qualify for the Advanced Quality Mark a candidate will be required to teach an observed lesson to an advanced level.
Criteria for Advanced Practitioner Observation:
– Creating a context involving the five elements of story
– Use of the three forms of representation – symbolic, iconic, enactive
– Use of inductive language and collaborative questioning
– Use of teacher in role – stepping in and out of the fiction – the role could part of the team, doesn’t need to be a defined role
– Use of taking the students into the fiction to represent a point of view
Practitioner Quality Mark is for practitioners who wish to be recognised for their use of Mantle of the Expert in practice. Practitioners qualifying for this category will demonstrate an understanding of the approach and a commitment to using it regularly in their practice. The assessment process will involve an observed lesson from one of the Mantle of the Expert training team and a discussion around planning, teaching, and impact. Typically, the assessment process will take half a day. Evidence: Key aspect 1 – to use planning Mantle of the Expert contexts; regularly teaching using the approach; Key aspect 2 – reading on MoE, Drama for Learning and inquiry; attending training courses (live and/or online); keeping a reflective journal/blog/etc; observing demonstration lessons; planning, teaching, and reviewing their own work in dialogue; Key Aspect 3 – to attend workshops and other training, including staff meetings – live or online; to demonstrate a practical understanding of the approach. Important: to qualify for the Advocate Quality Mark a candidate will be required to teach an observed lesson demonstrating a practical understanding of the approach.
Learning-Support and Teaching Assistant Quality Mark
Colleagues in this category would fulfil the following observable behaviours in classroom activities supporting high impacts on learning: A willingness to actively engage in dramatic play or drama in a make believe context with the children they are supporting under the leadership of the class teacher; Records of taking an active part in extensive practical Mantle of the Expert training events run by the school or members of the Mantle of the Expert National Training Team specifically for learning support colleagues and with teacher focussed training events where possible; Personally be able to be involved as a Full Role in dramatic activity by classroom application in learning contexts under the direction of a member of the teaching staff: Know how dramatic tension works and how this can be applied to learning contexts requiring dramatic activity; Know the difference between play and drama, make believe and pretence, and be able to use a range of language codes to shift learning responsibility to learners; Be able to articulate the benefits of dramatic activity in learning and to be able to describe the three circles (Drama, Inquiry and Mantle of the Expert) sufficiently for other LSA colleagues to become familiar with the basic tenets of the system.
Please get in contact if you have any questions or would like to apply for a Mantle of the Expert Quality Mark.
For further detailed information on the criteria for the QM please click here.