Welcome to The Ethos Project
Training and Development Agency for Schools

Commissioned by the TDA

Phase 1: e-fora

There are three topics for discussion at fixed dates and times in the calendar. These discussions are entered through the website (register or login, and go to the "e-fora" tab at top) and open to all. Each is hosted by one or more members of the course team.

As with the plenaries, and perhaps even more so, the aim of the e-forum opportunities is to respond to the needs and views of, and support course participants sharing ideas, experiences and planning collaboration opportunities.

Like the plenaries, each e-forum has a title or theme. There will be similarly be resource material for each e-forum, providing prompts for thought about the topics and downloadable shortly before each e-forum occurs. As with the plenaries, the e-fora are an opportunity for participants from multiple centres to communicate and share ideas. The Plenary titles are dates (times are always 7.30 – 9pm) are:
  1. “Student rights, student voice and self-led learning”: 25th March, 17th June.
  2. “Citizenship versus Character”: 29th April, 1st July.
  3. “Challenging social & organisational prejudices”: 13th May, 15th July.
Every e-forum has pre-reading which you can access here.

Unlike the plenaries, which are dedicated to open-ended (“blue sky” or “think tank”) considerations of possibilities for Character Education, the e-forum discussions are intended to be extremely practical and focused on real in-school experience of participants, considering the opportunities for, and barriers to, real change in participants’ actual context.

It is anticipated that participants will take part in at least one e-forum, and we encourage you to take part in all three. Each e-forum occurs twice, to offer participants the flexible choice of two dates. The e-forum discussions remain visible publicly thereafter as a resource for all to reflect on. (In this regard they complement the open discussion boards present on the website throughout the project.)

Note that e-forum threads occur in real time and are distinguished (on the e-fora page) from "Discussion Boards" where people post views, requests for advice or homework ideas or comments over time. Discussion Boards are in some cases limited to certain centres, where e-fora discussions are open to all. (Including for onward comment after the event has closed.)