ET-JUN22-PG14.qxp_Page 6 27/05/2022 09:31 Page 14
BESA CORNER
This month, in our ongoing feature highlighting the work of members of the UK education suppliers’ trade body BESA, we hear from educational publishers ORIEL SQUARE; and we have a great free offer from speech and language specialists SPEECHLINK.
Amplifying teachers’ voices
in educational publishing Education can transform lives for the better, and teachers are at the heart of that. That’s why Oriel Square is launching a Teacher Research Group – to bring those on the frontline of education closer to the publishers creating classroom content, so that we can all help make a positive impact on learners.
Reflecting teachers’ and learners’ needs As educational content creators, it’s easy to think that we know everything about education. After all, we’ve all been through it and it’s simple to assume that we know the challenges and triumphs that teachers, leaders and learners experience day-to-day. But when education has such a significant impact on the futures of many, it’s important for us to check our assumptions and involve those at the heart of its delivery – teachers themselves. We are building a network of teachers for just that. We hope those
relationships will deepen our knowledge of subject developments and policy updates, and their effects in the classroom, enabling publishers to deliver classroom-informed resources that reflect the needs of teachers and learners.
Insights from expert practitioners Many areas of content development for education involve teacher input, whether that’s taking part in surveys or focus groups, product testing or consulting. The Oriel Square Teacher Research Group aims to bring those voices to the forefront of our research and content development. An important part of that is sharing best practice and celebrating
achievements, so we want to hear from teachers about the challenges they’re facing and the things that might help. In our first conversation, our EdTech Classroom Expert, Greg Hughes, celebrates a decade of one of the UK’s largest digital programmes and shares how he implemented a technical revolution at his school and trust.
Get involved The Teacher Research Group will be an ongoing project, beginning with a small number of Classroom Experts to work with our in-house Subject Champions. We are also recruiting a larger pool of teachers for the full Research Group, from across the UK, to take part in larger scale activities. All of this is intended to be a light-touch input from teachers, and as part of the initiative, we want to give something back to the community too. As well as the typical incentives for taking part in a research project, we will also digest and share public research and best practice, help to navigate through policies and more! Hopefully, we can help make a small but positive impact on our teachers and their students.
• I’m a teacher Register your interest by emailing
research@orielsquare.co.uk with your name, role and school name.
• I know a teacher Send them in our direction by forwarding them a link to this blog. Thank you!
• I want to hear from teachers too! Subscribe to our monthly education newsletter to be the first in the know and for the chance to tell us what you want to hear about
https://mailchi.mp/orielsquare.co.uk/subscribe-to-our-monthly- education-newsletter
• I have a research project in mind Get in touch to find out how we can help by emailing
hannie.kirkham@
orielsquare.co.uk or visiting u
https://www.orielsquare.co.uk/index.html
14
www.education-today.co.uk
Junior Language Link: empowering schools to identify and support pupils with speech, language and
communication difficulties. Comment by CLAIRE CHAMBERS: The Link magazine editor – SL Multimedia Ltd
The government's education white paper Opportunity for All was released on 28th March 2022. It restated the announcement (originally made in February, as part of the 12 missions for Levelling Up) the aim that by 2030, 90% of children would reach expected levels in reading, writing and maths, at the end of primary school (up from 65% in 2019). In addition, the government would like to see the average of all secondary pupils’ national GCSE grade in both English language and in maths moving from 4.5 in 2019 to 5 by 2030. The white paper describes how ‘literacy and numeracy are the bedrock of a
great education, unlocking the whole curriculum and turbocharging social mobility’. The research identifying the direct link between speech, language and communication development and outcomes in literacy and maths as well as across the whole curriculum, is undisputed.
The challenges of the current SEN system The results of 50,000 Language Link assessments carried out by schools in Autumn 2019 showed that significant proportions of pupils continue to struggle with language skills throughout KS2 and beyond and are more likely to display disruptive behaviour. The long-awaited SEND Review: Right Support, Right place, Right time,
green paper, published by the DfE (29th March) acknowledges that settings are frequently ill-equipped to identify and effectively support needs and that speech and language therapy services are in short supply, with long waiting lists.
What is required? The report recognises that a clearer picture of the demand for support for children and young people with SEN is needed. There is also a proposal to complete an ‘analysis to better understand the support needed’.
How can we help? Whilst this is welcome, there is an established evidence base for the type of support that children and young people with SLCN need; pathways using a tiered framework of support, training to increase the knowledge of practitioners and families, high-quality teaching to provide inclusive communication environments, evidence-based targeted intervention as needed, and access to specialist services as required. Speech, language and communication support packages, such as Junior
Language Link, empower school staff to be able to identify and support speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) in their setting. Speech and Language Link’s response is to offer a very special offer for Junior/Primary schools this summer with a Free Summer Subscription to Junior language Link.
What’s in the offer? • Unlimited Language Assessments for Y3-Y6 (P4-P7) using the standardised online assessment
• Classroom Strategies • Listening Group Interventions (includes all session plans and materials needed)
• Progress Measures • Reports • Free Live Training Webinars delivered by our speech and language therapists • Support from the Speech and Language Help Desk
How do I get Junior Language Link for my school? Head to
www.LLfree.co.uk and enter your school details and code 2022LLFRSS No payment details will be asked for and there is no obligation to buy. If you need any more information or need help accessing the Junior Language Link summer subscription, please get in touch at:
office2@speechlink.co.uk uwww.speechandlanguage.info
June 2022
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 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
