BESA CORNER
This month, in our ongoing feature highlighting the work of members of the UK education suppliers’ trade body BESA, we hear from the INTERNATIONAL CURRICULUM ASSOCIATION and OxEd AND ASSESSMENT.
Mind the gap: bridging the learner journey
Comment by by MATTHEW SILVESTER, Head of IEYC and JACQUELINE HARMER, Head of IPC from the International Curriculum Association
The Early Years to Primary transition is something all young learners experience; it is inevitable and important. It has been the subject of the 2011/12 survey inspection, multiple research studies and much debate. With the increased focus on each school’s curriculum, the disconnect between the Educational
Programmes of the EYFS and the Programmes of Study of the National Curriculum introduces both a challenge and an opportunity for school leaders; how best to construct their own curriculum for their youngest children (EYFS&KS1) from these disparate/disconnected/separate curricula? Establishing curriculum intent and planning for implementation for each specific phase of learning needs to reflect a shared philosophy and be based on agreed definitions of learning and curriculum. This will sustain successful collaboration between and across the phases and through planned transition ensure that learners enjoy and benefit from strong cross-phase collaboration. Leaders and teachers with an understanding of brain development from infancy through to the early primary years can have a significant impact on school effectiveness. Teachers on either side of the transition need to be informed and involved. Consistent language to describe the systems and structures in which learners and their learning are intended to thrive should be established by the school. Shared beliefs around pedagogy specific to young learners that bridge the Reception to Year 1 school experience will promote a healthy, positive transition. Teachers across EYFS and KS1 should relish the opportunity to build connections and continuity through units with common themes.
Broad and flexible themes in the early years can create a context for acquiring specific experiences, knowledge, and vocabulary. This foundational learning, constructed through interactions with adults, peers and their environment, also equips learners with verbal and thinking skills that can be remembered and used in the primary years. The dominant ‘knowledge-rich’ curriculum agenda in England requires a planned approach to promote retention for later retrieval, and application across the school phases. Early years settings can provide holistic opportunities for selected objects, places, words, and phrases to be introduced in deliberate ways which are the basis for primary subject learning.
For example, foundational knowledge and vocabulary on ice and cold can be acquired in the early years by engaging with a frosty supervillain. This can then be reintroduced, reviewed, or recalled by primary learners during a science unit on the theme of water, ice and changing states. Research tells us that episodic memory improves significantly over early childhood with the strength of memory increasing in children between the age of 4-6 years. Teachers can exploit this developmental stage by revisiting learning experiences to trigger episodic and then cognitive memories.
Schools may use common themes to further support learners in making these connections. The IEYC unit ‘This is me’ and the IPC unit ‘Who am I?’ focus on Health and Wellbeing. Both support children in developing an awareness of others with their similarities and differences and establishing their own identity. When talking about themselves and their learning initial vocabulary can be used and expanded upon as thinking and learning experiences become more complex.
In the early years, a playful pedagogy is essential, valuing the child as a creator of their own spontaneous learning experiences alongside planned learning experiences. Within Year 1 and beyond, an experiential and active pedagogy can capitalise on hands-on experiences and playful learning that young children appreciate and benefit from. Other classroom practices should also extend beyond the early years, for example, movement and being social are both essential aspects of children’s everyday school experience. From the learners’ perspective, planned efforts to ease the transition and maintain their lust for learning through familiarity, connection and new challenges will reap countless benefits.
22
www.education-today.co.uk
“NELI has been a wonderful addition to our EYFS provision”
St Thomas More is a two-form entry primary school in Bexleyheath, Southeast London. They initially began using the NELI programme, from OxEd and Assessment, in 2021 as part of a National Foundation for Education Research (NFER) project. Having seen the impact the programme had on their children, they decided to continue with NELI after the project and are now in their second year of delivery. Here, ALEX DAVIES, Assistant Head Teacher and EYFS, English and Behaviour Lead, shares his experience of using the NELI Programme.
We start the year by assessing all our reception children using LanguageScreen to have a complete understanding of their language ability. The app is easy to use and children enjoy it, making it feel less like a test. We also like that the app assessment is consistent and fair so that all children can achieve the best they can. As a two-form entry school it can feel time consuming to assess the whole year group but the comprehensive results we
receive are worth it. We use these reports to identify children who will receive the NELI intervention and those who would benefit from other speech and language activities in the classroom.
We tend to have four or five children in each group receiving the intervention, we have found this size enables us work closely with all the children. One thing we really like about the intervention is that the sessions are adaptable allowing us to meet the needs of individual children. All the children’s vocabulary has significantly improved because of the sessions. When we started the intervention with this year’s cohort, children were simply saying what was in the picture, for example “A chicken”, now they are developing their vocabulary to include more ambitious words, for example, “The chicken is clucking”. The children respond really well to the format of the sessions, and particularly the praise that is inherent in the activities, they also love being awarded the best listener.
Outside of the group and individual sessions we are seeing children growing more confident in taking part in class discussions, contributing more frequently and providing more detailed answers. We are also seeing the children communicating more effectively with adults – in general their social skills are drastically improved. One of the things that surprised us when we first ran the NELI programme was the progress in language made by the children who went through the intervention. When we reassessed the children with LanguageScreen at the end of the year, the children who had been through the intervention made an average of 16.3% progress compared to 3% for the non-NELI children. In summary, NELI has been a wonderful addition to our EYFS provision. The children have absolutely adored working with Ted and developing their vocabulary and understanding. After NELI children are more confident, ambitious in their vocabulary choices and ready to continue great progress in Year 1. Importantly the impact is outstanding, while it is a time-intensive intervention, our results show that it works, the children thoroughly enjoy it, make significant progress, and grow in confidence as they go through the programme.
The NELI Programme is an integrated programme for 4–5-year-olds, that is proven to improve language and behaviour. The programme consists of LanguageScreen, an assessment to identify pupils’ language abilities and select children for intervention, CPD certified training with mentor support and a 20-week intervention delivered by teachers or teaching assistant. More information about the NELI programme can be found at
teachneli.org
July/August 2023
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
