inset days & School staff Training

Staff inset days

Outspark can provide an interesting, intriguing and team-focused INSET day for the staff at your school. Our day would provide a mix of Philosophy, Improv, critical thinking and team games.

The day would be split into a carousel of activities, with an opening activity before the staff team are divided into teams of roughly 13 people. The day would then finish with a fast-paced finale that brings everyone together.

‘Opening’

Philosopher’s Cocktail Party; milling around, lots of conversations about a mixture of questions from the absurd to the deep and serious that are thrown over the heads of the “guests” like confetti. Gets everyone talking and mixing, and people can have the full list of questions to use as fillers/registration activities with the children back at school.

‘Inscapologists’

The team Is confronted with a large, locked chest and an envelope containing instructions for a challenge. Once completed, they will be able to unlock the chest to reveal... Another chest!

Working their way through a series of diverse challenges that draw on different kinds of collaboration, problem-solving and creativity, they will work their way through the series of “Russian chests“ to a final puzzle, on completion of which they will be able to locate a prize.

‘Mindmeld’

In this workshop, the team will collaborate together creatively in a series of games and exercises drawn from the world of improvisation. The three core principles of improv are:

● Listen - Noticing someone else’s ideas..

● “yes, and...” -building on those ideas with your own..

● Commit - Being wholehearted in your engagement with the team..

But those principles, which are an excellent basis for teamwork in any situation, are very much smuggled in on the back of having a lot of fun with a lot of laughs along the way.

Lots of the games and activities are suitable for use in the classroom too, and reminders of them will be made available to staff.

‘Thinking on Your Feet’

This will be based around Thinkers’ Games, a mini book about making thinking physical by Jason that combines philosophy for children methods with games that make for great dialogue and engagement. Staff on INSETS for P4C have often said that it’s actually a very good team building exercise, because you have both playful conversations about ridiculous questions and serious discussions about important things in the safe space it opens up.

‘One Minute Missions’

A fast-paced finale with frenetic competition with a mix of team challenges and all three teams competing directly against one another.

Please get in touch to check availability and to book your INSET day.

navigation workshops

This one-day intensive course can benefit either KS2-aged children with their understanding of maps, coordinates and distances, or as a useful precursor for D of E with KS4-aged students.

An experienced and qualified Outspark staff member will visit the school for a full day and will provide training on map work and navigation. A series of navigation exercises will then start in the classroom, moving out in to the school grounds.

We have found these navigation days to be extremely popular with school staff and engaging for the learners.