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Guide to help schools stop extremism


by Daniel White


Literacy exposé sparks debate among experts


An exposé on literacy standards in London has sparked debate among English experts this week. A series of reports in the


London Evening Standard, draw- ing on a range of research, has revealed that one in four 11-year- olds in London start secondary school “unable to read or write properly”, while more than 7,800 only obtained Level 3 or below in key stage 2 reading exams. SecEd this week asked mem-


bers of its editorial advisory board for their reaction to the story and Ian McNeilly, director of the National Association for the Teaching of English, warned against using arbitrary bench- marks. He told us: “Often with sur-


veys, judgements are made on being at a certain level and if a student hasn’t reached a certain level they are said to be illiterate which is not true, they just haven’t met an arbitrary level.” Fellow board member Hilary


Moriarty, a former English teach- er, said there were other factors to consider as well. Speaking in a personal capac-


ity, she said: “(The survey) did not focus, for instance, on chil- dren who were born to English parents. It is quite possible that in London such children would also have low literacy levels and if so, that is a much worse, and repre- hensible, problem. It could be the real problem, which is masked by the number of children who are here, and may well be citizens, but are not native speakers to begin with. “It seems – perhaps for reasons of political correctness and not to


The National Literacy Trust


Among the research used by the London Evening Standard was the annual survey from the National Literacy Trust, which showed that nationally seven in 10 young people have books of their own. However, the survey found that more than 70 per cent of the


children who do not own books said they prefer watching television to reading and 43.8 per cent only read when they have to. In terms of attainment, the survey found that only 7.6 per cent


children who owned books read below their expected level, while this figure for children who do not have books of their own was 19 per cent. The survey involved 18,141 young people aged eight to 17,


the majority of whom (60 per cent) are aged between 11 and 13. For more information, visit www.literacytrust.org.uk


discriminate in any way against anyone – that no-one has paid heed to the difficulty of teaching literacy to a child who barely understands what you say at the same time as teaching everyone else what is not particularly easy. “There really seems to be


no official acknowledgement of the difficulty of treating children of many languages in one class as if they were all English and then expecting them to reach the same standards. An English child learning French would not take exam papers of the same diffi- culty as a French child in France. It would be interesting to see a SAT paper in English as a Foreign Language – if it existed, it would surely present a more attainable target for children for whom, quite legitimately, English is a foreign language.” Mr McNeilly said that schools


and teachers also needed more time to promote reading. He con- tinued: “What we need is more time and resources to promote reading for pleasure and more time in the curriculum to do that but everything is driven by data and school tables. Teachers should have the chance to allow children to read for pleasure and not worry about school tables.” He also warned that the cutting


of library services would not help the situation: “How do the gov- ernment expect to raise standards by the shameful cutting of library services? How can schools be expected to promote reading for pleasure or raising literacy levels when public libraries are being closed down and cuts to services are being made in schools?”


Skills in independent and critical thinking are the key to helping students resist the pull of violent extremism. The findings come from a


report, Teaching approaches that help to build resilience to extrem- ism among young people, which highlights the factors that can either push or pull young people towards extremism, such as a sense of injus- tice or feelings of exclusion. The report by the National


Foundation for Educational Research and the Office for Public Management (OPM) identifies case studies of good practice, including effective teaching approaches. Among the findings is the need


for young people to be able to discuss issues with their teachers in a safe environment and the impor- tance of giving young people the skills to think independently and critically. The report states: “The avail-


able research on preventing violent extremism … suggests this is most successful when it is non-prescrip- tive and allows individuals to devel- op independent thinking, research and leadership skills in order to inter- rogate the knowledge derived from the internet and radical groups.” On creating safe environments,


the report adds: “One study sug- gested this was to include no put- downs but the right to challenge opinions and the importance of con- fidentiality once the sessions were over. Other studies found that that failing to respect young people’s pre-conceptions can lead to dis- engagement and alienation from resilience-building education.” Another key finding was


that supporting young people to “explore, understand and celebrate” their personal identity was key to building resilience.


The report states: “Particularly


effective seems to be enabling young people to reflect on the mul- tiple facets of their identity, discuss the possible tensions and celebrate multiplicity as something which creates balance and ‘uniqueness’.” The report said that the most


popular approach to building resil- ience was working together with a number of institutions and focusing on cognitive behavioural methods. Examples in the report included sessions on responsibility and set- ting life-goals. Broader school-wide fac-


tors considered to be important included working well with exter- nal agencies, support from school leaders, and good integration with the wider curriculum.


Phil Copestake, head of research


at the OPM, added: “(The report) shows that excellent teaching deliv- ered by sensitively attuned and well prepared teaching practitioners has the potential to help young people resist the pull of violent extrem- ism. The findings pinpoint some of the specific practices and approach- es that really make a difference. Building resilience to extremism is first and foremost about great teaching. But building resilience to violent extremism over the longer term means building the capacity, confidence and life-skills of young people too.” Read the full report at www.


education.gov.uk/publications/ standard/publicationDetail/Page1/ DFE-RR119


Teachers need more help with dyscalculic pupils


Teachers need more support and expertise in helping sufferers of dyscalculia in the classroom, researchers claimed this week. Dyscalculia is often labelled as


the mathematical equivalent of dys- lexia and it affects seven per cent of the UK population. However, sufferers are often told they have a cognitive development disorder and miss out on vital support. Common indicators of dyscal-


culia are people using fingers well beyond the normal age, finding estimation tasks difficult, and strug- gling to count upwards in 10s. The research, Dyscalculia:


From Brain to Education, pub- lished in the journal Science, has shown that dyscalculic learners have abnormalities in the brain where arithmetic is supported. However, the research found


SecEd • June 9 2011


that sufferers can benefit through specially designed programs which use game-like software to make numbers more meaningful. Professor Brian Butterworth, co-


author of the research and a mem- ber of the Centre for Educational Neuroscience at University College London’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, said: “Dyscalculia is at least as much of a handicap for individuals as dyslexia and a very heavy burden on the state, with the estimated cost to the UK of low numeracy standing at £2.4 billion. “Nevertheless, there are only


cursory references to the disorder on the Department for Education website – no indications are offered to help either learners, teachers or parents. It’s as if the government does not want to acknowledge its existence.”


Professor Diana Laurillard,


co-author of the research and a member of the CEN from the Institute of Education, added: “As with dyslexia, specialised teach- ing can help. At the IOE we have developed software resources spe- cifically to help children with dys- calculia, based on brain research showing exactly what problems the brain is having. “Results from neuroscience and


developmental psychology tell us that dyscalculic learners need to practice far more number manipula- tion tasks than mainstream learners. Adaptive, game-like programs that focus on making numbers mean- ingful, emulating what skilled SEN teachers do, can help learners prac- tice beyond the classroom and build the basic understanding they need to tackle arithmetic.”


Spelling Bee


The final of The Times Spelling Bee is taking place this month at the O2 Arena in London. Eleven finalists will compete for the title on June 23. The competition is open to students who turned 12-years-old between September 1, 2010, and August 31, 2011. Visit: www. timesspellingbee.co.uk


Got a story?


Contact SecEd’s news team at


daniel.white@markallengroup.com or call 020 7501 7650


NEWS In brief Service children


Calls from Ofsted for better co-ordination of support for the children of service families have been welcomed. Service children often move schools frequently and can suffer additional stress because they have family members serving in dangerous areas abroad. Ofsted last month called for local authorities to work with schools on establishing a database of information on the educational progress and needs of service children. The National Association of Head Teachers has backed the call. General secretary Russell Hobby said: “The efficient transfer of information on an individual’s educational progress has got to make settling in to a new school much easier for them.”


First blood


The first ever Bloodhound Education Centre, based on the on-going attempts to break the 1,000mph land speed record, has opened. Based at the Manchester Communication Academy, the cutting-edge STEM facility will benefit academy students and will also aim to reach out to the next generation of engineers across the North West of England. Visit: www.bloodhoundssc. com/education.cfm


Education awards


Voting is underway in the semi-finals of the National Lottery Awards 2011, with 10 education groups in with a chance of winning. The 10 semi-finalists have been shortlisted by an expert panel for the big difference they have made with Lottery money. The public can now vote to get their favourite project through to the final and a chance to win £2,000. Voting ends at midday on June 20. Visit: www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/ awards


Speech support


With figures showing that 70 per cent of young offenders have speech, language and communication needs, a free resource has been launched to help teachers spot the warning signs. The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists say that working with young people with these needs can reduce anti-social behaviour and help improve life chances. The Box – What’s it like to be Inside? brings together the expertise of speech and language therapists working across the country in the justice sector. Visit: www.rcslt.org/ thebox/open


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