1

Overall aims of the day

• To continue to prepare for the implementation of the revised Secondary Curriculum for English • To provide opportunities to learn from colleagues’ good practice 2

Functional Skills

Aims of session:

• To investigate progression in Functional Skills and begin to understand how this might underpin the Key Stage 3 and 4 curriculum.

• To update colleagues with the latest national and regional information about FS, including some of the assessment models being trialled 3

The

‘what’

of Functional Skills

S&L Level 1 Year 7 Unit 4:

Class debate - Healthy schools – should pupils have more choice about what they eat in schools?

Skill standard:

Take full part in formal and informal discussions/exchanges.

Year 8 Unit 1:

(Holes scheme) Argue for and against the view that

“harsh punishment reforms bad character.”

Coverage and range:

Prepare for and contribute to formal discussion of ideas and opinions

Year 9 Unit 3:

Non-fiction unit. Debate about privacy in the media.

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The

‘how’

of Functional Skills

•

Complexity

complexity.

: Real-life situations, as they arise, are often quite complex. Identifying the various components within a situation, the steps needed to solve a problem or complete a task, and the accessibility of the activity itself, all contribute to the level of •

Familiarity

: This reflects the extent to which a learner recognises elements of a problem or situation, utilising skills and understanding developed in other contexts, and relating this experience to make sense of a situation. In transferring or applying skills and understanding, the individual may need to adapt or reorganise their established approach in order to tackle the situation effectively.

•

Technical demand

: This reflects the range of knowledge, skills and techniques that an individual is required to draw upon in order to tackle a particular situation. These are defined in various ways, for example as national curriculum levels.

•

Independence

: This relates to the level of autonomy that learners demonstrate when tackling a problem or completing an activity. A learner’s problem-solving skills are a key element of their independence, allowing them to make confident decisions and to demonstrate their skills, without requiring the full support of others.

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Differentiation of ‘what’ will be learned

Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 What

will be learned?

(from Renewed framework) use inference and deduction to recognise implicit meanings at sentence and text level use inference and deduction to explore layers of meaning within a text use a repertoire of reading strategies to analyse and explore different layers of meaning within texts 6

Differentiation of ‘how’ learning will be applied How

will learning be applied?

Year 7 Year 8 Year 9

Teacher-modelling of being a ‘detective’ – explicit teaching of how to infer/deduce.

Chop up a poem, distributing the parts to pairs who apply the organised approach to infer/deduce. Independent of the teacher, pairs write a series of questions about what they still need to find out about the poem.

As a class, apply the learned approach to infer/deduce in order to answer the questions.

Pose the class a Q: are humans more powerful than nature? Among other evidence, provide students with 2 poems which relate to the Q (e.g. Hawk Roosting) As a class, talk about how a students might approach the task and which reading skills they might need to deploy in order to be successful. Pairs of students should then select an approach and carry out the task.

Pose a question (e.g. Are humans more powerful than nature?) and present individual students with 3 or 4 poems to which the question relates. Students plan how they will approach and carry out the task and how they will present their decisions/findings to the class. This plan should then be shared with a partner, who should ‘dragons den’ the idea celebrating strengths and pointing out possible pitfalls. Complete task and present findings.

7

How ‘functional’ do you have to be in order to achieve L6+?

APP Level 6

Reading AF3: “with some attempt at detailed

exploration

” and “comments

consider

wider implications or

significance

information” of Writing AF1 and 2: “

imaginative

materials” treatment of

appropriate

and “

adapting

needed” conventions when

Functionality

•Learners

evaluate

the usefulness of a range of texts and/or information sources •The usefulness or validity of the tools available

may not be immediately apparent

in all situations •Learners find

more than one solution

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The link between Functional Skills Level 2 and NC Level attainment becomes even more obvious when looking at L7 criteria with the focus on “ interpretation ”, “ evaluation ” and “ appreciation ”.

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Links between

FS

and

PLTs

(personal learning and thinking tools)

Independent enquirers

Young people process and evaluate information in their investigations, planning what to do and how to go about it. They take informed and well reasoned decisions.

Creative thinkers

Young people think creatively by generating and exploring ideas, making original connections. They try different ways to tackle a problem, working with others to find imaginative solutions and outcomes that are of value.

Reflective learners

Young people evaluate their strengths and limitations, setting themselves realistic goals with criteria for success. They monitor their own performance and progress, inviting feedback from others and making changes to further their learning.

1 0

Implementing the revised NC

Aims of session:

• To recap key messages about curriculum change • To review progress to date in revising the secondary curriculum for English, in relation to expectations 1 1

Curriculum change:

• a chance for schools and colleges to rethink and redesign what they offer, to make sure it is engaging and relevant and really meets the needs of young people in your community

So that:

• Learners make better progress and achieve higher standards • Young people leave school with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to live and work in the 21 st century 1 2

Planning, teaching and assessment cycle: Planning for progression Strengthening subject pedagogy Formal assessment Providing personalised intervention Strong senior and subject leadership Departments working collaboratively .

Secure self evaluation processes APP Tracking pupils’ progress

1 3

The process of curriculum review Be informed Plan changes

• •

Key concepts Key processes

•

Curriculum Opportunities

•

Strands of Progression

• •

AfL with APP Functional Skills Audit provision Build a vision

1 4

Key questions to inform all planning:

• What is the progression in learning?

• What is the learning focus?

• What are the learning outcomes?

• What is the sequence of learning?

1 5

Planning for progression

• What have you so far found successful or revealing?

• What are the challenges?

1 6

Further SNS support for planning, teaching and assessment: Autumn 2008 SLDM (6 th October) Common focus for all four core subjects:

• Pedagogy for personalisation, including functional skills in English, mathematics and ICT.

• Exemplification of effective planning of units of work that lead to increased rates of progress for all pupils.

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Spring 2009 SLDM (13 th January) Common focus for all four core subjects:

• Strengthening assessment for learning Assessing Pupils’ Progress (APP).

:

securing periodic assessment and pupil tracking using • Examples of ways schools can work to strengthen periodic assessment with a view towards improving two levels of progress in Key Stage 3.

• Introduction of APP speaking and listening materials developed by Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) 1 8

Summer 2009 SLDM (15 th June) Common focus for all four core subjects:

• Strengthening assessment for learning

:

using day-to-day and periodic assessment to improve teaching and learning.

• Local contributions, case studies and sharing effective practice.

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Sharing good practice: developing skills-led teaching at KS4

2 0

Route to improvement

lesson observation planning documents pupil interviews/ questionnaires

Information gathering Information analysis: numerical targets Curriculum

• teaching & learning • assessment • resources • action research • revision of schemes • pupil grouping • intervention programmes • pupil support • other

Identification of strengths & weaknesses: curricular targets Action for improvement Information gathering through monitoring & evaluation

formative & summative assessment data work samples

Staff development

• Inset • consultancy • department meetings • team teaching • peer observation • leading practitioner programme • reading/study • other 2 1