Views & Opinion


A Year into the New National Curriculum Comment by Patrick Mainprize, Education Lead at EducationCity


We are now almost one year on from the


implementation of the new National Curriculum and after a fairly uncertain start it seems to have settled down rather nicely. The many new objectives that the programmes


of study cover caused some concern; Years 3 and 4 being given what were previously Years 5 and 6 objectives, whilst Years 5 and 6 were assigned traditionally secondary school objectives. Meanwhile, completely new subjects were introduced– the much-discussed Computing curriculum, plus a mandatory Foreign Language at Key Stage 2. A lack of teacher expertise and experience was an issue, as well as the lack of extra funding for training or new resources. Yet the many schools I have visited and talked


to seem to have adapted quickly. Schools have, as usual, been creating their own materials, as well as using published materials from subject associations, and there seems to have been an increase in collaboration between schools. The fast response in the creation of digital resources correlated to the new objectives has


certainly helped schools embrace the new curriculum. Resource providers, such as EducationCity, and virtual learning environment providers, such as eSchools, have contributed to providing quality curriculum-mapped resources and platforms needed to make the transition a success. Many teachers have found that the dreaded


‘coding’ does not impact on school life as much as they thought it would. The subject ‘Computing’ is split into three strands and it isn’t a core subject, which means that, in most schools, it is likely this is being covered in one session per week unless it is integrated into other subject areas. Coding might be getting a look in once every three weeks! The main issue seemed to be a lack of


confidence, particularly with the new Computing curriculum. Some teachers were concerned about the language being used, such as ‘algorithm’, but in reality many teachers had been teaching algorithms for years in all but name. Floor robots like Bigtrack and Turtle were programmed to


move around the floor. The children were creating a set of instructions to get the robot from A to B, which is an algorithm in its simplest form! Whilst the content of the new curriculum isn’t


a million miles away from the old one, the expectations have become more rigorous and demanding. The proof, inevitably, will be in the pudding for the new National Curriculum, as the first new SATs won’t take place until May 2016. Yet the way the reforms have been handled so far by schools has been impressive. The wider education community has been


great at providing support, from online resources providers and publishers, to subject-specific associations like Computing at Schools (CAS) which has collated and shared materials. Schools we talk to say that teaching the new subjects is going well. Teachers have, as usual, been getting on with things, making use of all the available resources and working hard to ensure that each pupil leaves school with the skills and knowledge they need.


High quality teaching: What does it mean? Kate Browning, associate consultant for nasen


High quality teaching is a phrase which


gets talked about all the time in education, and in this time of special educational needs (SEN) reform, it’s being used even more so. Yet despite this push towards high quality teaching, teachers who have always strived to excel would be forgiven for thinking they are already doing all they can. So how can teachers ensure they really are providing the best possible support for their students? The world of SEN has seen a tumult of


change over the past year. However now we’re starting to look forward to a new academic year, things should be starting to settle down. The focus can really be on what is best for the children and implementing the best possible teaching practice. The aim is to strive for two key features to


be prevalent in the classroom: high quality teaching, and targeted provision. Developing an approach of differentiated teaching, and not simply treating SEN as something to be dealt with as an ‘add on’ to the classroom, but integrating it in the overall approach. One of the key things to remember when it comes to a school's SEN policy is that it


July 2015


must support teachers to ensure they are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all children in their classroom. Young people with SEN are not the sole


domain of the SENCO; with one in five children identified as having SEN, the reality for many teachers is that around five to seven pupils per class group may have SEN. Making sure that teachers have access to training and support from the school’s senior leadership team (SLT), including the SENCO, is crucial, as research on the Deployment and Impact of Support Staff (DISS) has shown that the more time children spend away from class teachers, the less independent they become and the less progress they make academically. Without a commitment to high quality


teaching, no number of interventions will address the fundamental needs of pupils with SEN. Of course, this isn't to say that teachers cannot use SENCOs to help provide support, however effective support for all pupils in school is about strengthening collaboration but still maintaining


responsibility for the pupils, adapting existing approaches to teaching. This reflective, constantly shifting


approach is integral to good practice. There is no silver bullet here; ask any SENCO and they’ll tell you that there is no way one person could have all the skills necessary to meet x or y need. The one thing that is certain is that no two pupils are the same, even if their needs are identified as belonging to the same area of need. This is where the principle of high quality teaching comes into the fore; taking an adaptive approach to teaching which is inclusive of the different needs of each child. A core part of the graduated approach to


SEN discussed in previous columns is 'assess, plan, do, review'. We need to be continually reassessing a pupil’s needs before planning how best to address those needs and implementing this. It is a continuous process, but such an effective one in ensuring that children are able to achieve through a targeted and personalised approach to learning. One size does not fit all!


www.education-today.co.uk


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