Developing independent learning skills across the curriculum

scameron — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:49:39 +0100

School context

Ebac humanities: a saviour or a curse?

scameron — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:02:32 +0100

At a glance
The Ebac has arrived and includes its own selection of subjects under the heading of humanities. Suzanne O’Connell analyses:

Advancing teaching and learning: capitalising on professional development

scameron — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 13:02:18 +0000

To continually improve on teaching and learning, you need to ensure your staff are equipped and skilled at delivering the latest initiatives. This means they need regular and ongoing professional development opportunities so that their practice continues to advance to the next level.

Managing curriculum change: being prepared for the future

scameron — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 17:12:33 +0000

As curriculum managers gear up for the latest regeneration of the curriculum to be metamorphosed by the forthcoming White Paper (the date of which was still to be announced when CMU went to press), arguably your skills as managers of change are going to be in more demand than ever.

Making connections across the curriculum

scameron — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 16:16:45 +0000

Many of you will be intrigued as I am by children's questions. Questions are a sign of thinking - a very healthy sign, as they suggest that connections are being made between previously unconnected items of knowledge. Some of my very recent favourites from school and family sources are: Why do we have a skeleton? What causes global warming? When does your memory start? Why was Tutankhamun afraid of dying?

Making creativity central to all learning

scameron — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 17:12:14 +0100

School context

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Technological age: using ICT to transform T&L

scameron — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 10:49:11 +0100

It is sometimes surprising to think how far ICT use in schools has come in just the last decade. This month’s Case in Point takes a look at some of the key ICT development issues (here).
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The role of ICT in the curriculum

scameron — Mon, 24 May 2010 14:08:31 +0100

Are you taking a bold line in the great ICT debate ahead of pending government decisions on qualifications? Some schools, because of their vision, foundation or status, take their own strong view of how new technologies should contribute to the curriculum and be accredited.
The framework for ICT assessment and qualifications has yet to be announced: whether ICT will be more fully integrated, or have greater stand-alone status as a subject, awaits clarification.
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Using assessment data to improve your school

scameron — Fri, 21 May 2010 12:19:13 +0100

We can differentiate functions, occasions and agents of assessment. Doing this helps provide a more realistic, sympathetic and productive approach than the binary formative versus summative. Here then is a threefold construction of assessment, highlighting what assessment is for, when it happens, who does it, and who controls it.
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Assessing Pupil Progress (APP)

scameron — Mon, 10 May 2010 09:54:59 +0100

To assist APP, the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) is developing files of pupils’ work that exemplify standards across key stage 3 national curriculum subjects, using the new programmes of study. Files of individual pupils’ work at levels 3 to 8, containing a wide range of evidence and annotations, are being published on the web.
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A quick roundup of the main political parties’ school manifesto points

scameron — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:58:34 +0100

With the 2010 general election looming, if you want to know more about what the main political parties want to do with education should they get the chance, this information sheet excavates the relevant sections of their manifestos for an at-a-glance guide.

Planning for effective learning

scameron — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:40:38 +0100

Effective learning in school doesn’t happen by accident. Good lessons have to be planned for. But you can over-egg a pudding, and too much precision in planning can make learning fall flat. There needs to be space for magic moments in learning when pupils’ own ideas can take the teaching and learning (T&L) to a different level.
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Rarely cover and one-to-one tutoring

scameron — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:28:05 +0000

Rarely cover
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Developing a curriculum for Assessment for Learning

scameron — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:54:30 +0000

The checklists presented here build on the outstanding insights provided by Paul Black’s team* at King’s College London University. You can use them to confirm strengths in your policies and practices, and then choose focuses for further development.
There are policy moves to make, for example:
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Reflecting on PLTS

scameron — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:07:34 +0000

Personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS) are promoted by the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA). Previous attempts to build life skills, such as initiative, imagination and integrity, into programmes of learning and assessment schemes include: the Certificate of Personal and Vocational Education (CPVE) and the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) in the 1980s; cross-curricular strands in the 1990 national curriculum; core skills and key skills through the last two decades.
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Developing the role of support staff to boost learning

scameron — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:13:28 +0000

When a new teaching and learning (T&L) initiative, or the latest directive from QCDA, or most recent change to the Ofsted requirements hits your desk, what’s your first thought (apart from, here we go again!)? Do you think, ‘How on earth am I going to accommodate this within our newly shaped, carefully designed curriculum?’; or ‘How much is this going to cost in staff time – not to mention morale?’; or ‘How am I going to squeeze this into an already crammed timetable?’ The list of responses could go on.
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Changes to GCSE and formal assessment in general

scameron — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:49:17 +0000

Controlled assessment at GCSE
Controlled assessment is replacing GCSE coursework. The system allows students to produce extended personal responses to areas of their learning. Courses incorporating controlled assessment started teaching for most subjects in September 2009. New arrangements for English, English literature, and information and communication technology wait another year, and science with controlled assessment starts teaching in 2011.
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The new Ofsted framework

scameron — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:16:34 +0000

The shortest possible notice is given for inspections. The minimum is no notice, but in special cases the maximum is up to 20 working days.
When the first Ofsted inspections were carried out, the inspectors alone passed judgement. Now it matters also how well you think your learners do. Ofsted inspectors used not to look back or ahead; they only named strengths and weaknesses as they found them. Now it matters that you have been improving, and that you are able to improve further.
The new framework has adjusted:
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Facilitating a culture of collaboration and creativity

scameron — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:02:31 +0000

This is the first fortnightly e-bulletin for Curriculum Management Update subscribers; present and prospective. I want it to cover topics of interest to you.
Before half-term I contacted some of you and asked ‘What is top of your in-tray?’ The answers were:
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Teaching primary schools MFL

scameron — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:53:57 +0100

Irrespective of whether they go on to take languages at A-level or beyond, children can get an awful lot out of learning languages at primary school. An understanding of other cultures and countries, for a start. Not to mention a better chance of getting MFL GCSEs and other accreditation. And should they venture abroad one day, they might actually be able to understand some of the signage or even talk to people.
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Linking sport to positive behaviour

scameron — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:25:48 +0100

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority’s PE and School Sport (PESS) investigation concluded that physical activity has a motivational impact on children, increasing their self-esteem and general wellbeing. It also found that PE and sport helps children to develop essential social skills such as concentration, self-discipline, cooperation and an awareness of the need to think of things and people other than themselves.
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Integrating sports psychology into PE

scameron — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:14:01 +0100

‘Not using sports psychology as a tool is like teaching geography without maps’
Mitch Lyons, basketball coach and founder of Get Psyched, a non-profit organisation working to promote better mental health in student athletes.
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Helping students who want to work in sport

scameron — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:59:19 +0100

There are more than 200 possible roles in the sport and active leisure sector, yet many school leavers are only aware of the traditional options, coaching and instructing. If they consider themselves ill-equipped for these jobs, they are likely to abandon all thoughts of a career in sport or leisure.

In reality, the sport and leisure industry is one of the country’s fastest growing sectors, and with the battle against inactivity and obesity high on the government agenda, the demand for skilled
staff to deliver its objectives will only continue to rise.
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Developing an enquiry-based curriculum

scameron — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 12:04:09 +0100

In issue 16 of Learning and Teaching Update, Anna Reid wrote about her early experiences as a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) associate, working on a research project in Bedlingtonshire Community High School in Northumberland. The project was designed to create an assessment framework for enquiry skills for Key Stage 3 pupils. In this article, we outline how the process affected us and our practice and how it benefited our students.
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Achieving global dimension: a case study

scameron — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:46:47 +0100

Helen Gosnell, Advanced Skills Teacher for Global Dimension and Sustainable Development, Sir John Lawes School, Harpenden, Hertfordshire
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Making global learning central to your curriculum

scameron — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:37:48 +0100

We live in a global society and I believe it is important that young people, wherever they are in the world, have an understanding of how their actions and choices impact on the lives of others – not only in different countries but on different continents. From the food we buy to the way we get to work, our everyday decisions have consequences for the world around us and we need to understand those consequences if we are to build a fairer, more sustainable society.
Gordon Brown, ‘Introduction’ to Global matters, DEA, 2008a
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How to develop independent student learning

scameron — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:07:41 +0100

William Parker School is an 11 to 16 comprehensive school in Daventry, Northamptonshire. In its first year as a specialist humanities college, priorities were established to develop opportunities for both students and staff that would impact on learning across the whole school. The specialism would support a sustainable improvement in achievement for all students. As Daventry, and its local area, is changing rapidly we were particularly aware of the need to develop our students’ personal learning and thinking skills.
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Lesson planning: a case study

scameron — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:34:06 +0000

Claire Pass, Advanced Skills Teacher, Saint Benedict School and Performing Arts College, Derby

School context
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The secret to successful lessons: planning

scameron — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:39:58 +0000

To ensure successful learning and teaching, teachers must use a number of skills from their considerable learning armoury. These include: planning, recording, challenging, demonstrating, securing, managing, adapting, explaining, discussing, interrogating, reviewing, evaluating, modifying, establishing and questioning. Now ask yourself if you could do all of that without planning for it.
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2012 Olympics: promoting primary PE

scameron — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:09:16 +0000

September saw the final handover of the Olympic Games to Britain. On 17 September the Paralympics flag was handed to the mayor of London. Overall, the Olympics have been a success story for Britain, with athletes gaining 47 medals (19 of them gold) in the summer games, and even greater success in September’s Paralympics with 102 medals (42 of them gold). With the handover complete, it is already being asked how Britain can consolidate and maintain this standard.
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Curriculum organisation: grouping subjects

scameron — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:25:46 +0000

My starting point for this article is the assumption that the process of involving staff and producing an overall outcomes plan for the Key Stage 3 curriculum has already been completed along the lines suggested in my previous article. Getting this agreed is one thing but putting it into practice is another.
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The future of primary maths

scameron — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:00:08 +0000

Until recently I was a consultant for the National Strategy. I took on the role when it was first introduced nationally to schools in 1999. Since that time I have seen huge changes in the teaching of mathematics. Much of the teaching I have observed has improved over the years, and in many cases the engagement of the children (and their enjoyment of the subject) was evident.
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Sport spotlight: Orienteering

scameron — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:51:12 +0000

What is orienteering?
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A new curriculum for girls' PE

scameron — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:38:59 +0000

In the majority of secondary schools the teaching of PE looks very similar, with something of ‘an implicit agreement as to what should be included in the curriculum and how it should be taught, with the focus being largely on the sporting model’ (Capel, 2007: 493). Such a model appears to focus mainly on skill acquisition within a traditional curriculum, which places an unbalanced emphasis upon team games and is taught using a limited range of largely didactic pedagogic approaches (Green, 1998; Penney and Evans, 1999; Metzler, 2000; Ofsted, 2002; Kirk and Kinchin, 2003).
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Sport spotlight: Mini-basketball

scameron — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:42:14 +0000

The world development is administered by the Federation Internationale de Basketball (International Basketball Federation; FIBA) with headquarters in the city of Geneva, Switzerland. The international objective is to introduce young people to the world of sport in a spirit of friendship and understanding.
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A qualification for life skills development

scameron — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:19:00 +0000

Marius Frank, Headteacher, Bedminster Down School, Bristol

School context

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Using ASDAN to reward PSHE

scameron — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:47:36 +0000

As the new curriculum gives back more control to schools on how to design the teaching and learning they provide their students, a framework that first came into being more than one-quarter of a century ago is back in ascendancy. More and more schools are incorporating ASDAN courses into their curriculum because they offer the chance to validate learning that other qualifications might not reach.
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Curriculum planning: a new start

scameron — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 13:33:59 +0000

It must have been a strange feeling for those who were set free after the fall of the Bastille. They were suddenly liberated, in unexpected circumstances and probably without an idea of what to do next. ‘We are free! What do we do now?’
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Inspiring interest in literature with Manga

scameron — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:46:02 +0000

Since the Second World War, children have become increasingly dependent on visual images as a way of learning. Television, cinema, computers and computer graphics dominate their way of life. This is not surprising, given the fact that many children find it easier to visualise images rather than read words. Looking at picture books is, after all, the first introduction a child has to the world of books and stories. Current trends – particularly the growth of computer graphics and graphic stories – are emphasising this skill.
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Making personalised learning a reality

scameron — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:05:50 +0000

For the past 18 years, I have been attempting to find ways of allowing learners to gain more control over their own progression. In 1993, as head of a science and technology faculty in an average-sized secondary school, I worked out ways to share assessment criteria with students and their parents. This had a dramatic impact on the departmental results, raising them from 35% A*-C up to 67% A*-C.
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Renewed support for headteachers

scameron — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:02:02 +0000

The renewed Secondary Frameworks developed by the National Strategies build on the existing frameworks for teaching English, mathematics, science and ICT but reflect the emphasis in the new programmes of study on key concepts, processes and skills. They are modelled on effective pedagogy and good use of assessment for learning.
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How can schools achieve a creative curriculum?

scameron — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:53:20 +0000

The growth of the Foundation Stage over recent years and the movement of its ideas into KS1, have highlighted the continuous development of creativity within current educational thinking. The constraints of the QCA guidelines have in many cases led to a prescribed manner of long-term planning that in best case scenarios uses the local environment, local history and communities to highlight the learning intentions of the schemes and at worst is teaching by numbers.
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Advancing learning through KTP

scameron — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:06:05 +0000

The knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) at Bedlingtonshire Community High School is a two-year project that runs from January 2008 to December 2009 in collaboration with the Research Centre for Learning and Teaching at Newcastle University. It is one of the first of its kind in the UK and its primary aim is to improve learning for staff, students and the community.
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The importance of subject-based teaching

scameron — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:07:45 +0000

There is plethora of teaching and curriculum experimentation at present. Much gets reported in our pages, under such titles as thinking skills, building learning power, learning to learn. There is much talk of a skills-based curriculum and this is accelerating under the engine of personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS).
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Engineering diploma: a case study

scameron — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:05:11 +0000

School context
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Delivering new diplomas: key curriculum issues

scameron — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 12:02:19 +0000

Under the current qualifications system, learners are offered a set of single options or vocational double options that do not link with the core and do not require the learner to connect and relate their learning. But the arrival of the diplomas from September mark a much-needed change by providing a composite approach that will help schools to engage, re-engage and motivate all learners across a wide range of abilities and using a variety of learning styles.
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Encouraging citizenship values through sport

scameron — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:57:30 +0000

Like any other international sport, cricket is full of the sort of controversies and drama that can bring a subject like citizenship to life.
Whether examining social and moral responsibilities, facilitating community involvement or developing political literacy, cricket can add contemporary relevance and link abstract concepts to high profile events and real life situations.
The following activity ideas will help children access one particular area of the Key Stage 2 citizenship curriculum – rules and fairness.
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Sport spotlight: Cheerleading in schools

scameron — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:49:14 +0000

Cheerleading is a vibrant, high energy, athletic discipline that is exploding in popularity. Probably the fastest growing sport across Britain – and certainly the fastest growing spectator sport – major indoor arenas are frequently sold out. Part of its evident appeal is performing in front of large appreciative audiences and being a competitive sport in its own right that is also exciting to watch.
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Vocational activities for SEN

scameron — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:13:26 +0000

My first contact with the pupils of The Clare School in Norwich was at a Scout camp, when sixth-form pupils were involved in The Duke of Edinburgh Award activities (see Special Children 180). I was impressed by how much the pupils were enjoying themselves, and how enthusiastic parents were about the work that goes on in the school. Headteacher Nigel Smith described the camp as ‘the tip of the iceberg’, and for 45 minutes he outlined some of the school’s many vocational and extra-curricular activities, and why he thinks they are important.
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Education employment law: statutory leave and pay entitlements

scameron — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:02:10 +0000

One of the defining features of the last 11 years of New Labour government has been its apparent commitment to, and promotion of, measures designed to encourage a work-life balance and to facilitate what is termed a family friendly working environment.
‘Good’ employers, therefore, have taken the view that the remuneration and benefits package should in some way exceed the statutory minimum requirements in terms of leave and pay.
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Curriculum Manager

Developing independent learning skills across the curriculum

Ebac humanities: a saviour or a curse?

Advancing teaching and learning: capitalising on professional development

Managing curriculum change: being prepared for the future

Making connections across the curriculum

Making creativity central to all learning

Technological age: using ICT to transform T&L

The role of ICT in the curriculum

Using assessment data to improve your school

Assessing Pupil Progress (APP)

A quick roundup of the main political parties’ school manifesto points

Planning for effective learning

Rarely cover and one-to-one tutoring

Developing a curriculum for Assessment for Learning

Reflecting on PLTS

Developing the role of support staff to boost learning

Changes to GCSE and formal assessment in general

The new Ofsted framework

Facilitating a culture of collaboration and creativity

Teaching primary schools MFL

Linking sport to positive behaviour

Integrating sports psychology into PE

Helping students who want to work in sport

Developing an enquiry-based curriculum

Achieving global dimension: a case study

Making global learning central to your curriculum

How to develop independent student learning

Lesson planning: a case study

The secret to successful lessons: planning

2012 Olympics: promoting primary PE

Curriculum organisation: grouping subjects

The future of primary maths

Sport spotlight: Orienteering

A new curriculum for girls' PE

Sport spotlight: Mini-basketball

A qualification for life skills development

Using ASDAN to reward PSHE

Curriculum planning: a new start

Inspiring interest in literature with Manga

Making personalised learning a reality

Renewed support for headteachers

How can schools achieve a creative curriculum?

Advancing learning through KTP

The importance of subject-based teaching

Engineering diploma: a case study

Delivering new diplomas: key curriculum issues

Encouraging citizenship values through sport

Sport spotlight: Cheerleading in schools

Vocational activities for SEN

Education employment law: statutory leave and pay entitlements