Category Archives: education

Ofqual changes to GCSE examinations – implications for SEN children

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I received an email from an exam board today which said:

Ofqual have announced changes to GCSE qualifications which will be of interest to schools registered with WJEC in England and in Wales.

Changes in England

Ofqual, regulator for qualifications in England, announced that they will introduce changes to GCSEs for candidates starting two-year courses in September 2012.

 For awards in summer 2014 onwards, linear assessment will be compulsory for candidates in England. They will sit all their examinations at the end of their GCSE course, rather than having the possibility of taking them at different stages during the course as they do at present.

Further details of the changes are available on the Ofqual site here

Once again politics and Westminster teacher bashing takes precedent over the opinions and advice given by the teaching professionals who actually work with our children.  Apparently our exams are too easy and we have to do something to make sure they aren’t.  Of course these changes have far-reaching implications for our students, big ones for some.

My children are low attainers as you might expect (they attend a special school).   About half do entry level qualifications and the rest work at GCSE level.  There are children like mine in every mainstream school across the country – they aren’t that unusual.  These are children that have to be reminded what they did last week (sometimes they forget what they did earlier in the day).  These students will now have to remember what they learned up to two years ago.  Whilst it is possible to build in revision sessions (after all how can students with low literacy levels reasonably revise at home?), it isn’t possible to revise everything in sufficient depth for the students to do themselves justice.  I struggled getting enough revision in when we did modular exams.

So what is the answer?  Not only are the exams being made harder but at the same time pressure is put on schools to achieve better and better results.  The only conceivable way my students can achieve a GCSE-equivalent qualification that reflects their ability is to do a vocational qualification like BTEC where the assessment is portfolio based (although even this is being changed – more about BTEC changes here).

Of course none of these changes are pupil centred or put the student first.  Mr Gove hasn’t considered how my students will feel if I enter them for a qualification they are doomed to fail.   After the media and political attention drawn to the disaffected youth following the recent riots I thought the Government might have started to change its approach.

For now I’ll be plodding along following BTEC science with my students and trying to convince them as we go that they aren’t failures and that they have a place in society.  Let’s hope I am right!

Teaching students to cooperate and correcting unacceptable behaviour

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It’s easy to lose track of personal and social skills when faced with Fisher Family Trust targets, IEP targets, predicted grades and the other hurdles that we have to try and get students to jump.

I work in a special school.  All of our students have very different needs, some can’t read or write, some are autistic, some have other disorders but most have problems with personal and social skills.  As teachers we have a duty to improve the social skills of our students, as well as working on the academic skills.  This poses a problem for teachers in all settings, though smaller group sizes and higher staffing ratios mean that special schools are able to devote more time to developing these skills.

Last week I took my tutor group to Matlock Bath for the day.  It was pleasing to see them getting along as a group (although they don’t always!).  Not only are they better at cooperating with each other now than 30 months ago but they look out for each other around the school (well sometimes!).  It wasn’t an easy journey, nor are they where I would like them to be.  To get here I’ve followed my students around school being sworn at, spent hours on the phone to parents, and listened in detail to the complaints of other staff & students about my boys.

What tips would I give to others in the same position?

  • Be consistent
  • Don’t threaten without being prepared to follow through
  • Model good behaviour and spell out what you expect to see
  • Praise and reward good behaviour and cooperation
  • Plan opportunities for students to work together into your lessons (and be prepared for the times they don’t cooperate!)
  • Plan lessons in detail and include a range of activities
  • Give students chance to take on responsibility
  • Keep the lines of communication with parents open and work together
  • Don’t expect too much – remember progress will be in small steps
  • Don’t get stressed – and don’t take bad behaviour personally.  It will be a learned response and chances are other teachers will be having the same problem
  • communicate with other teachers and find out what works and what doesn’t for your students
  • stay calm. Save shouting for special occasions. Don’t get drawn into arguments.
  • take ownership of any sanctions you impose and similarly any rewards.
  • use teaching assistants and other adults effectively (you need to do this to get a good Ofsted lesson observation grade!)
  • above all treat your students with respect.  Take an interest in them – a relationship built on mutual respect and understanding is one of the most powerful tools you can have.

I hope this list is useful to some of my readers.  Feel free to add comments with suggestions of your own, or to ask any questions.

Image “Foot Action” © Puck90 on Flickr

APP for teaching assistants

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Whilst APP isn’t perfect, it does provide a useful framework of outcomes for teaching assistants to use with the students they are supporting.

Teaching assistants working with individuals or small groups of students could use the APP criteria to ask appropriate questions with the intention of moving individuals on.  Using the APP gives a structure to this process and allows the TA to select appropriate questions.

I wrote a short document for teaching assistants in my local authority.  Feel free to download it and distribute it to your own teaching assistants.

APP For Teaching Assistants (PDF)

APP For Teaching Assistants (.doc format)

Health and Safety – whatever happened to common sense? (Local authority advice)

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snow I was forwarded a copy of the email sent to site managers/heads across my local authority.   It seems we live in an age when no-one can take risks, and common sense cannot be left to the individual.

These are some of the pearls of wisdom offered to site managers and heads:

  • Details should be drawn to the attention of all employees working on the premises so they are aware of the safest ways of entering and leaving the premises.
  • Arrangements should be made for access routes to be inspected regularly following the salting and gritting to monitor its effectiveness. It is recommended that this is done before the end of each session. PLEASE NOTE: TEMPORARY SIGNS DENOTING SAFE ROUTES MAY BE NECESSARY.
  • All staff should be reminded of the need to wear appropriate footwear when coming to work in severe weather conditions as it will seldom be possible to clear all snow and ice from a site. In particular, walking from a parked car to the nearest access path may be hazardous.
  • In the past, there has been at least one instance of pupils in a first school picking some crystalline salt granules off the playground and tasting them, thinking they were snow or ice particles. Heads of Establishments with young children are therefore advised to purchase salt/grit mixture rather than pure crystalline salt for treating icy surfaces. Children should be warned accordingly.
  • Suitable clothing, particularly for caretakers who will be working outside, should be used
  • Ensure that there is a suitable and sufficient risk assessment for snow and ice clearing activities

Do we live in a society where individuals have no common sense?  Do we live in a society where we want to remove each and every risk, no matter how small?  Do we live in a society where school managers (and the LA) are frightened of being sued?  I suspect the answer to all these questions is yes – and until there is a change of culture we will continue to be treated like a nation of children.