Guidance, ideas and examples to support schools in developing their curriculum, pedagogy, enrichment and support for more able learners, within a whole-school context of cognitively challenging learning for all. Includes ideas to support curriculum development, and practical examples, resources and ideas to try in the classroom. Popular topics include: curriculum development, enrichment, independent learning, questioning, oracy, resilience, aspirations, assessment, feedback, metacognition, and critical thinking.
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Posted By Kyriacos Papasavva,
26 August 2021
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Kyriacos Papasavva, Head of Religious Studies at St Mary’s and St John’s (SMSJ) CE School, shares three ways in which the school seeks to nurture a love of learning – for students and staff alike.
Education becomes alive when educators and students love what they do. This is, I think, the whole point of teaching: to inspire a love of learning among those we teach. Love, however, is not something that can be forced. Instead, it is ‘caught’.
For such a desire to develop in our pupils, there must be a real freedom in the learning journey. From the teacher’s perspective, this can be a scary prospect, but we must remember that a teacher is a guide only; you cannot force children to learn, but it is genuinely possible to inspire among pupils a love of learning. To enable this, we should ask ourselves: to what extent do we as teaching practitioners allow the lesson to go beyond the bulwark we impose upon any limited, pre-judged ‘acceptable range’? How do we allow students to explore the syllabus in a way that is free and meaningful to the individual? If we can find a way to do this, then learning really becomes magical.
While there is the usual stretch and challenge, meta-questions, challenge reading, and more, the main thrust of our more able provision in the religious studies (RS) department at SMSJ is one which encourages independent research and exploration. Here are several of the more unique ways that we have encouraged and challenged our more able students in RS and across the school, with the aim of developing transferable skills across the curriculum and inspiring a love of learning amongst both students and staff.
1. Papasavitch (our very own made-up language)
We had used activities based on Jangli and Yelrib, made-up languages used at Eton College, to stretch our pupils and give them exciting and unique learning opportunities. These activities were so well received by our pupils; they wanted more. So we developed ‘Papasavitch’, our very own made-up language.
This is partly what I was referring to earlier: if you find something students enjoy doing, give them a space to explore that love; actively create it. To see if your pupils can crack the language, or have a go yourself, try out this sample Papasavitch activity sheet. 2. The RS SMSJ Essay Writing Competition (open to all schools)
In 2018, SMSJ reached out to a number of academics at various universities to lay the foundations of what has become a national competition. We would like to thank Professor R. Price, Dr E. Burns, Dr G. Simmonds, Dr H. Costigane, Dr S. Ryan and Dr S. Law for their support.
Biannually, we invite students from around the UK (and beyond) to enter the competition, which challenges them to write an essay of up to 1,000 words on any area within RS, to be judged by prestigious academics within the field of philosophy, theology and ethics. While we make this compulsory for our RS A-level pupils, we receive copious entries from students in Years 7-11 at SMSJ, and beyond, owing to the range of possible topics and broad interest from students. Hundreds of students have entered to date, including those from top independent and grammar schools around the UK. (Note: submissions should be in English, and only the top five from each school should be submitted.)
You can learn more about the competition – including past and future judges, essay themes, examples of past entries, and details of how to enter – on the SMSJ website. 3. Collaboration and exploration – across and beyond the school
The role of a Head of Department (HoD), as I see it, is to actively seek opportunities for collaboration and exploration – within the school family and beyond into the wider subject community, as well as among the members of the department. At SMSJ, this ethos is shared by HoDs and other staff alike and expressed in a number of ways.
Regular HoD meetings to discuss and seek opportunities for implementing cross-curricular links are a must, and have proven fruitful in identifying and utilising overlap in the curriculum. Alongside this, we run a Teacher Swaps programme where teachers can study each other’s subjects in a tutorial fashion, naturally creating an awareness and understanding of other subjects.
The Humanities Faculty offers a ‘Read Watch Do’ supplementary learning programme for each year group, which runs alongside regular home learning tasks. The former also supports other departments through improved literacy, building cultural capital and exploration via the independent learning tasks.
Looking beyond the school, our partnerships with the K+ and Oxford Horizons programmes help our sixth-formers prepare for university, while mentoring with Career Ready and the Civil Service supports our students to gain new skills from external providers. Our recent launch of The Spotlight, a newspaper run by students at SMSJ, has heralded a collaboration with a BBC Press Team. Again, this shows other opportunities for cross-curricular overlap, as students are directed to report on different departments’ extracurricular enrichment activities. The possibilities are endless, and limited only by our imagination.
To learn more about any of the initiatives mentioned in this blog post, and/or to share what’s working in your own department/school, please contact communications@nace.co.uk.
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Posted By Gavin Illsley,
30 June 2021
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Gavin Illsley, Head of Programmes, English-Speaking Union
Spelling or poetry, complicated maths, explosive chemistry, or predicting the Bank of England’s interest rates. In so many aspects of school life, competitions can be part of a vibrant culture of learning. The English-Speaking Union (ESU) believes that oracy should be at the heart of every classroom, and oracy competitions can help bring it to the heart of every school. Read on to find out more about the ESU’s approach to competitions, and how to register your school for participation in future contests.
1. Competitions provide focus for year-wide activities
While the end result may be a team of three or five students going to a competition, the process is an opportunity to bring oracy to much larger groups. Many of our participating schools use competition season as a time to get everyone involved in oracy activities – the entire school could enter the first round of our Performing Shakespeare competition, while teachers often use our ESU-Churchill Public Speaking Competition as a chance to get everyone giving speeches in class. You can even run your own internal qualifier events.
The successful teams and individuals can be role models and exemplars – there’s no better assembly highlight than a winning team showing off their newly polished oracy skills!
2. Competitions give different ways of engaging with skills
Oracy activities can be intimidating for some students, but very often taking a slightly different approach can make a student feel more comfortable and confident. Wrapping presentation and speech within part of a dramatic performance is helpful for some, while others find their feet in the controlled role of a public speaking chairperson. Finding the right way for an individual to express themselves can unlock achievement in other areas.
3. Competitions provide challenge
All students deserve access to oracy education but, for those who are particularly keen or engaged, classroom opportunities might not be enough. Public speaking competitions give students a place to stretch themselves and take on bigger challenges. Tackling peers at local, regional and even national levels means there’s always more to reach for.
This can also provide a useful outlet for the students, who may otherwise behave in a disruptive way as they try to maximise speaking time in class at others’ expense.
4. Competition can be a motivator
Some people hate running laps of a track, but give them a ball and an opposition and they’ll run all day. Similarly, with oracy, competition can be a great source of motivation.
All steps – preparations, practice, performance – can be given a boost by the chance to compete, progress and win acclaim. As Simon Porter, headteacher at De Aston School in Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, says: “The students really enjoy the competitions. They get to have their voice heard on important topics and it’s been transformative for their confidence and their self-esteem.”
5. Competitions are social and interactive
Public speaking competitions are all about interacting with other students both within a class or year group and from a broad range of other schools, right across the country. Debaters will go head-to-head with opponents, and public speaking teams will host and welcome speakers from other schools as part of the contest.
This benefits students as learners, as they can observe how others approach similar tasks, share ideas, and use their words and actions to motivate and inspire. It also benefits students from a social and emotional development perspective. Engaging outside of the competition itself is a chance (for teachers too!) to meet others with similar passions, share and chat. This is something that teachers often comment on, pointing out that students typically have very little opportunity to talk to other children their age whom they don’t already know. “It’s nice that they are experiencing, very clearly, schools that are from a very different background, seeing the differences, and also knowing that there isn’t as much of a difference as they previously thought,” says Grace Aldridge, teacher, Kensington Aldridge Academy.
Sign up!
Sign up now for the English-Speaking Union’s national competitions: Performing Shakespeare (Y7-9), the ESU-Churchill Public Speaking Competition (Y9-11) and the Schools’ Mace debating competition (Y7-13). All have trained judges and offer extensive feedback opportunities. More details and the registration form can be found here and supporting resources to help train and develop your students can be accessed here.
About the English-Speaking Union
The English-Speaking Union is an educational charity working to ensure young people have the speaking and listening skills and cultural understanding they need to thrive. Our debate, public speaking and cultural exchange programmes help young people to engage with the world, to speak more confidently and to listen to and understand different points of view. These skills improve young people’s attainment, emotional intelligence and social skills, helping them to live their lives to the fullest. To find out more, visit esu.org
Upcoming opportunities:
Read more about upcoming ESU opportunities here.
More from the English-Speaking Union:
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Posted By NRICH, University of Cambridge,
04 June 2021
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In March this year, NACE members had the opportunity to preview and trial a new maths game being developed by the team at NRICH – a University of Cambridge initiative providing free online maths resources that promote challenging, enriching learning experiences.
The game in question has now been launched, and in this blog post the NRICH team explain how it works, and how you and your learners can get playing.
Question: What happens when you bring together Tiddlywinks and football?
Answer: You get Phiddlywinks!
In this blog we’ll learn more about Phiddlywinks, including the charismatic mathematician who inspired the game and role of NACE members in bringing it to our screens.
What is Phiddlywinks?
Phiddlywinks is a strategy game for two players. The winner is the first player to get the white counter into the coloured region at the opposite end of the board. Player 1 is aiming for the blue region and Player 2 for the red region.
The game begins with the white counter in the centre circle.
Players take it in turns to either:
- Place a black counter on the board or
- Move the white counter.
The white counter moves by jumping in a straight line over one or more black counters. A player may be able to make more than one jump when it is their turn.
To get started, consider this screenshot from a game which is underway. Both players have chosen to use their turns to add black counters to the board (you’ll notice that the white counter remains in its starting position). It is Player 1’s turn. Can you see how Player 1 might move the white counter to win the game?
Here’s one possible winning move:
- Player 1 clicks on 7E (or 8F) and the white counter moves to 9G
- Player 1 clicks on 9F (or 9E) and the white counter moves to 9D
- Player 1 clicks on 9C and the white counter moves to 9B
- Player 1 clicks on 10B and the white counter will move to 11B, winning the game!
Do take some time exploring the interactivity. To help you learn to play the game, we’ve uploaded more mid-game scenarios here. You can also print off black and white or colour versions of the board. Who was the inspiration behind Phiddlywinks?
John Horton Conway was a prize-winning mathematician who loved creating new games for all ages. He is best known to many for creating the Game of Life. He also developed a game called Philosopher's Football (also known as Phutball) which challenged players to manoeuvre a ball across a large grid towards their opponent's goal-line. Not surprisingly, the game soon became popular with his university students.
We have taken Phutball as the inspiration for our Phiddlywinks. We piloted the developmental version of the game with NACE members at a specially organised online event attended by both primary and secondary colleagues. The feedback from teachers attending NACE event, and the follow-up response from the classes of NACE members who kindly trialled Phiddlywinks with their classes, enabled our team to prepare the game for its release.
Phiddlywinks is almost identical to Philosopher's Football except that the white ball has become a white counter and the players have become black counters. The rules are the same but Phiddlywinks is played on a much smaller board. The way the counters move reminded us more of Tiddlywinks than football, hence the alternative name.
The NRICH team would like to acknowledge the support of NACE and its members who kindly trialled our initial version of the game, giving us invaluable feedback which informed the development of Phiddlywinks.
What maths games and activities have you and your learners been enjoying this year? Share your ideas in the comments below or in the NACE community forums.
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Posted By Emma Sanderson,
12 January 2021
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Emma Sanderson, Head of English at NACE member and Challenge Award-accredited Hartland International School (Dubai), shares advice for successful use of “Genius Hour” project-based learning to challenge and motivate learners, inspired by Google’s “20% time”.
As teachers, our awareness of the importance of challenging questions is always at the forefront of our minds, particularly with our more able learners. However, the onus of asking challenging questions shouldn’t always be placed on the teacher. Cue Genius Hour, an idea inspired by Google’s “20% time”, in which employees are encouraged to spend 20% of their time working on any project of their choosing, on the condition that it ultimately benefits the company in some way, and which is famously credited with giving rise to many of Google’s most successful innovations.
Google’s “20% time” is similar to the use of Genius Hour in our school: encouraging students to take ownership of their learning by using a proportion of curriculum time to focus on topics they are passionate about. By coming up with their own driving question to focus their research, students manage their own learning journey and subsequently become even more engaged with the learning process.
Here are three key steps to use Genius Hour project-based learning effectively:
1) Support students to develop their driving question.
The driving question of the project will become the focus of the students’ research. Whilst students may be tempted to simply find out more information about a topic close to their heart, the key is to construct a question that allows for in-depth research and is also broad enough for students to include their personal opinions. Even our most able learners will need support with this task, and for this, question stems can be incredibly useful:
- What does _______ reveal about _________?
- To what extent does…?
- What motivates_________?
- How would you develop…?
- What alternatives are there for…?
- How can technology be used to…?
- What assumptions are there about…?
- What are the [ethical] implications of…?
- How can we challenge…?
- What would happen if…?
- How can we improve…?
- What might happen if…?
Students might be encouraged to come up with solutions to real-life problems or delve into ideas linked to current affairs that they are intrigued by. Either way, these broad question stems allow for thorough exploration of a topic.
2) Help students develop their research skills.
Left to their own devices, students may be tempted to simply Google their question and see what answers come up. Instead, offer guidance on the best and most reliable sources of information for their project.
It may be that students are directed towards relevant reference books in the library. Additionally, online resources can prove invaluable; the Encyclopaedia Britannica offers a wealth of knowledge for students, whilst news websites aimed at teenagers (for example Newsela and The Day) encourage students to form their own opinions on current affairs and offer suggestions for further reading.
Our more able learners may be more adept at focusing their internet searches and filtering through the vast array of results. If this is the case, students would be expected to determine whether a source is reliable or biased and should be confident at citing their sources.
3) Encourage creativity in how students present their findings.
Ideally, students will be excited and motivated to complete their Genius Hour project, and originality in how they present their results should be encouraged. Students may want to create a video, make a presentation, write a passionate and persuasive speech, design an informative leaflet… The more freedom the students have, the more their creativity will flourish.
One of our students gave a rousing speech on the question, “What alternatives are there to living on planet Earth?” (ultimately concluding there were none and that we need to change our lifestyles in order to save the planet). Another offered a passionate presentation on the theme “How can we improve Earth’s biodiversity while allowing people to still eat meat and plants?” And after witnessing the impact of Covid-19 first hand, one student wrote an insightful article to answer the question, “What has Covid-19 revealed about our society in 2020?”
This approach to project-based learning can also be effectively applied during distance learning – students can be given the success criteria for the project and set the challenge of managing their own time. There is ample opportunity to use technology to give presentations remotely, either live through Zoom or Teams, or recorded individually using a platform such as Flipgrid.
In summary…
Overall, Genius Hour is a fantastic tool to promote deeper thinking in the classroom, whilst also having huge benefits across the wider curriculum. We have found this approach has worked particularly well with Key Stage 3 students and is the perfect opportunity to refine the research and presentation skills required at GCSE, whilst also impacting positively across the curriculum in all lessons. Furthermore, it sends the message to students that their passions outside of school are valued, which in itself can prove to be hugely motivational. Presenting their findings at the end of the project instils confidence in our learners, giving them the vital communication, leadership and time management skills necessary for life beyond education.
Further reading: “Cognitive challenge: principles into practice”
NACE’s report “Cognitive challenge: principles into practice” explores approaches to curriculum and pedagogy which optimise the engagement, learning and achievement of very able young people, combining relevant research and theory with examples of current practice in NACE Challenge Award-accredited schools. Preview and order here.
Not yet a NACE member? Find out more, and join our mailing list for free updates and free sample resources.
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Posted By Alison Tarrant,
07 December 2020
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Alison Tarrant, Chief Executive, School Library Association (SLA)
I struggle with addressing the importance of diversity accurately, but fundamentally I think Ruth Bader Ginsberg sums it up best:
“When I'm sometimes asked when will there be enough [women on the Supreme Court] and I say, 'When there are nine,' people are shocked. But there'd been nine men, and nobody's ever raised a question about that.”
Every child should read about how other children live and about alternative experiences, and I don’t think we should limit this to a certain percentage or context. Until children can pick up a book and not be surprised that a character looks like them (or doesn’t look like them), we have work to do. It’s vital that the resources children engage with are noticeably representative (there are many studies which show even animals are more likely to be male in books, so the argument that animals or monsters are equally representative doesn’t work). For more on this, watch the SLA's webinar " Representation for All" – available for NACE members until the end of January 2021.
- 3% growth in the number of authors and illustrators of colour published in the UK in the last two years.
- 7% of the children’s books published in the UK over the last three years feature characters of colour.
This is progress, but the pace of change doesn’t yet seem to match the level of the discussion which has taken place. I’m hopeful that the new initiatives launched in light of the events of this year will lead to a significant increase on these figures next year. In the meantime, how can schools ensure their resources are diverse, representative and inclusive?
Key questions to consider
For many schools, the topic of diversity and inclusion prompted self-evaluation this year. An audit of the curriculum and/or resources may have taken place, though this can be done in many different ways. Here are some core questions to ask when thinking about diversity within your resources:
- How many of your resources are written by ethnic minorities or people seen less in the public eye? This may include consideration for UK-based ethnic minorities, authors with disabilities, authors from working-class backgrounds.
- How many of the resources reflect stories from these groups? When thinking about this, consideration should also be given to how those characters are represented; if every story which includes a black character shows them suffering abuse, it embeds a story overall. Are these stories “issues” stories, or simply great stories with authentic characters? Are they suitable for discovery alone, or do they need a conversation and some scaffolding beforehand? (There was a very interesting and upsetting discussion around the impact of “Of Mice and Men” on pupils and teachers recently – you can read it about it in this Twitter thread.)
- How often do you create displays around these characters, authors, books? Celebrate these authors alongside their mainstream colleagues, rather than as part of Black History Month or awareness days, as consistently “including” them in this way may actually send a message of “othering” as opposed to inclusion.
- Are your resources providing a broad range of experiences and perspectives? Match the resources to the cohort, absolutely, but include resources for wider awareness as well. For example, resources about travellers are important for the travelling community; but they’re also important for representing an alternative narrative to the stereotype which is so easily absorbed, so should also be available in schools without those cohorts.
- Is your school collection keeping pace? Ensuring representation and inclusion doesn’t happen by accident. It requires an in-depth knowledge of the school’s resource collection, it can be supported or hindered by the collection policy, and it does require funding. There are equity issues with schools which are not funding their resources sufficiently; these schools are often pushed to get resources from donations or charity shops, and while there may be an occasional bargain to be found, these should not form the basis of a collection. Publishers have been increasingly proactive in paying attention to these issues, and are constantly scanning and reacting to the world around them. The books produced in the last year or two will take a long time to filter through to donations (most often as children grow up or out of books), so if schools rely on donations/second-hand purchases, this delays the impact of changes and leaves some children missing out.
Note on diversity in resource formats
Diversity should also be reflected in the type of resource encountered. Throughout this blog I’ve used the word resources instead of “book” – this is not just because schools should be considering all their resources, but also because “book” can be taken to have a very narrow meaning. Resources, in this blog, means fiction books, information books, e-books, audio books, graphic novels, poetry books, wordless books, picture books and much more. Teachers are incredibly good at selecting the right resource for the right piece of work, but we also need to be mindful of the overall messaging when all those resources are put together, and those with responsibility for the school library need to make sure that representation, inclusion, and importantly choice, are available to all pupils.
Further reading and resources
- Free webinar: "Representation for All". The SLA has written multiple articles on this topic and provided a free webinar for SLA members. The webinar recording is available for NACE members until the end of January 2021. Watch the webinar here.
- Share your views: UK School Library Survey 2020. The SLA is partnering with Softlink on a survey into key issues for school libraries in 2020; and indeed one of the questions is about how schools and school libraries have responded to the varying key themes of this year. Children are curious and will have had a huge number of questions about different things throughout this year; schools are key allies in supporting their learning journey through these cultural issues, and we’d like to know how these subjects have been tackled. Take part in the survey here.
- Blog post: Librarians under lockdown: rising to the challenge – Bev Humphrey, Literacy and Technology Consultant and Digital Content Manager at the SLA, shares some of the ways in which school librarians have risen to meet the challenges of lockdown life.
- Blog post: 6 signs your school library is meeting the needs of all learners – SLA Chief Executive Alison Tarrant outlines six signs your school library is providing challenge, stimulation and support for all learners.
- New reading list for able readers at KS3. NACE trustee Sue Mordecai has compiled a list of recommended reading for able readers in key stage 3, available in the templates and checklists section of the NACE members' resource library (login required). This is a working list and one we will continue adding to. To share your suggestions for this list, or for other age groups, please contact communications@nace.co.uk.
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Posted By NACE team,
09 April 2020
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Organisations across the world have responded to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic by sharing free resources to help support schools, students and families. We’ve rounded up a selection of free resources available from our partner organisations – focusing on challenge alongside enjoyment, enrichment and wellbeing.
Oxplore – “Home of Big Questions”
A digital outreach portal developed by the University of Oxford, Oxplore aims to raise aspirations and stimulate intellectual curiosity amongst 11- to 18-year olds. The “Home of Big Questions”, it tackles complex ideas across a wide range of subjects, drawing on the latest Oxford research and promoting interdisciplinary enquiry.
Get started:
- Watch this short video for an overview of the platform and how it can be used.
- Download this free activity sheet designed to help students and families get started.
- Read this blog post for more ideas, including additional resources to print and use at home.
- Follow Oxplore on Wordpress and Twitter for new Big Questions, live online events and more.
NRICH – “low threshold, high ceiling” maths activities
Based at the University of Cambridge, NRICH provides free “low threshold, high ceiling” maths resources for learners aged 3-19, designed to enrich mathematics teaching and learning through challenging, engaging and meaningful activities.
Get started:
- Watch this short video for an introduction to NRICH’s “low threshold, high ceiling” approach.
- Visit NRICH’s maths at home webpage for a selection of maths activities to try at home.
- Take a look at this overview, article and video for accompanying tips and guidance on using the activities.
Shakespeare’s Globe – free online screenings and resources
The iconic Shakespeare's Globe theatre offers resources and services to support teaching and learning with Shakespeare for all ages. During the current period, the Globe is opening up access to its catalogue of past production recordings through fortnightly releases on YouTube, including introductory talks from the Globe's Head of Higher Education and Research, Professor Farah Karim-Cooper. This year's 90-minute Playing Shakespeare production of Macbeth will be available from 11 May until schools reopen. Schools can also request free access to all Globe Player films, as well as many other educational videos, by contacting Bloomsbury.
Get started:
The Day – daily articles and activities based on current affairs
The Day turns the daily news into lessons designed to get students thinking for themselves and engaging with the world. In response to current demand, it has launched a free daily newsletter for parents and carers supporting students at home. It is also offering free access to articles relating to different aspects of the pandemic, with links across the curriculum – with an added focus on activities to complete at home, both online and away from the screen.
Get started:
Plus…
Many more organisations are offering free resources to support and engage students across all ages, abilities and areas of interest. For additional ideas and inspiration, take a look at:
Share your own…
What resources, websites or approaches have you found useful in supporting more able learners remotely? Share your recommendations in our online forums.
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Posted By University of Oxford (Oxplore),
06 February 2020
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The University of Oxford’s Oxplore website offers free resources to get students thinking about and debating a diverse range of “Big Questions”. Read on for three ways to get started with the platform, shared by Oxplore’s Sarah Wilkin…
Oxplore is a free, educational website from the University of Oxford. As the “Home of Big Questions”, it aims to engage 11- to 18-year-olds with debates and ideas that go beyond what is covered in the classroom. Big Questions tackle complex ideas across a wide range of subjects and draw on the latest research from Oxford.
Oxplore’s Big Questions reflect the kind of interdisciplinary and critical thinking students undertake at universities like Oxford. Each question is made up of a wide range of resources including: videos, articles, infographics, multiple-choice quizzes, podcasts, glossaries, and suggestions from Oxford faculty members and undergraduates.
Questioning can take many different forms in the classroom and is a skill valued in most subjects. Developing students’ questioning skills can empower them to:
- Critically engage with a topic by breaking it down into its component parts;
- Organise their thinking to achieve certain outcomes;
- Check that they are on track;
- Pursue knowledge that fascinates them.
Here are three ways Oxplore’s materials can be used to foster questioning and related skills…
1. Investigate what makes a question BIG
A useful starting point can be to get students thinking about what makes a question BIG. This can be done by displaying the Oxplore homepage and encouraging students to create their own definitions of a Big Question:
- Ask what unites these questions in the way we might approach them and the kinds of responses they would attract.
- Ask why questions such as “What do you prefer to spread on your toast: jam or marmite?” are not included.
- Share different types of questions like the range shown below and ask students to categorise them in different ways (e.g. calculable, personal opinion, experimental, low importance, etc.). This could be a quick-fire discussion or a more developed card-sort activity depending on what works best with your students.
2. Answer a Big Question
You could then set students the challenge of answering a Big Question in groups, adopting a research-inspired approach (see image below) whereby they consider:
- The different viewpoints people could have;
- How different subjects would offer different ideas;
- The sources and experts they could ask for help;
- The sub-questions that would follow;
- Their group’s opinion.
If you have access to computers, students could use the resources on the Oxplore website to inform their understanding of their assigned Big Question. Alternatively, download and print out a set of our prompt cards, offering facts, statistics, images and definitions taken from the Oxplore site:
Additional resources:
This activity usually encourages a lot of lively debate so you might want to give students the opportunity to report their ideas to the class. One reporter per group, speaking for one minute, can help focus the discussion.
3. Create your own Big Questions
We’ve found that no matter the age group, students love the opportunity to try thinking up their own Big Questions. The chance to be creative and reflect on what truly fascinates them has the appeal factor! Again, you might want to give students the chance to explore the Oxplore site first, to gain some inspiration. Additionally, you could provide word clouds and suggested question formats for those who might need the extra support:
To encourage students to think carefully and evaluate the scope of their Big Question, you could present them with a checklist like the one below:
Extension activities could include:
- Students pitching their Big Question to small groups or the class (Why does it interest them? What subjects could it include? etc);
- This could feed into a class competition for the most thought-provoking Big Question;
- Students could conduct a mini research project into their Big Question, which they then compile as a homework report or present to the class at a later stage.
Take it further: join a Big Question debate
Each term the Oxplore team leads an Oxplore LIVE event. Teachers can tune in with their classes to watch a panel of Oxford academics debating one of the Big Questions. During the event, students have opportunities to send in their own questions for the panel to discuss, plus there are competitions, interactive activities and polls. Engaging with Oxplore LIVE gives students the chance to observe the kinds of thinking, knowledge and questions that academics draw upon when approaching complex topics, and they get to feel part of something beyond the classroom.
The next Oxplore LIVE event is on Thursday 13 February at 2.00-2:45pm and will focus on our latest Big Question: Is knowledge dangerous? If you and your students would like to take part, simply register here. You can also join the Oxplore mailing list to receive updates on new Big Questions and upcoming events.
Any questions? Contact the Oxplore team.
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Posted By NACE team,
08 January 2020
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Our summer term member meetup in Cardiff and autumn term meetup in Oxford both focused on curriculum enrichment for the more able – bringing NACE members together to share their schools’ approaches to extending and enriching provision within the classroom, across school and beyond.
For an overview of key ideas discussed at the events:
1. Maths masterclasses
At Chelmsford County High School, five off-timetable days are spread throughout the year, offering opportunities to participate in excursions and activities such as Model United Nations events, newspaper production and themed days. The programme incorporates subject-specific “masterclasses”, including a GCSE Maths Masterclass comprising a morning of off-site lectures, followed by an afternoon of tailored workshops.
This initiative gives all students the opportunity to extend their learning and experience new styles of teaching, says Jo Cross, Faculty Leader for Mathematics, Computing and Economics. She adds that it has been particularly effective in supporting highly able learners, with the bespoke workshops allowing for extension beyond the curriculum.
Top tips for implementation: “Positivity! Surprisingly, a day of maths is not everybody’s favourite activity… We balance this by segmenting the lectures with (maths-related) video clips and keeping the lectures relevant, to the point and easy to access for all, with differentiated questions in the workbooks.”
2. Peer mentoring
Sticking with maths, at Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy, a successful peer-to-peer maths mentoring programme is now being extended to other subject areas, including science and modern foreign languages. More Able Coordinator Alexia Binard says the scheme has challenged students to take ownership of their learning, stretching mentors to plan and deliver “lessons” to peers. She adds that participants on both sides have made good progress as a result, developing a range of additional skills alongside growing expertise in the area being covered.
Similarly, The Cotswold School’s Abigail Newby has been running a peer coaching scheme for several years, in which more able learners in Years 10 and 12 have the chance to academically coach a peer in Years 8 or 10 respectively. The impact on learners has been very positive, she says: “They report rises in confidence, ability to cope better in lessons, and the high ability pupils say it has deepened their own knowledge through having to explain something to a pupil who finds it difficult.”
Top tips for implementation: “Plan in advance how the scheme will be run. Decide which year groups will mentor others – for example, Year 10s mentoring Year 9s.” – Alexia Binard. “Have a dedicated venue, time and member of staff. Keep it distinct from more pastoral mentoring schemes (which we also have in school) – this is purely academic.” – Abigail Newby.
3. KS2-3 collaboration
Amy Clark, Assistant Headteacher at The Bromfords School and Sixth Form College, highlights collaboration between primary and secondary schools as key to extending learning and maintaining a high level of challenge throughout KS2-3 transition. Members of the school’s English and maths departments worked alongside primary school colleagues to plan and deliver a scheme of work which started in Year 6 and continued into Year 7, maintaining high expectations throughout. The initiative has resulted in higher standards and more effective provision on both sides, Amy says. “We were able to set students more quickly and efficiently, while Year 6 teachers were able to start to deliver skills needed for KS3.”
Top tips for implementation: “Get as many primary feeder schools involved as possible and plan ‘summer holiday’ work for learners at primary schools which don’t engage. Get other secondary schools in the catchment area involved.”
4. The Scholars Programme
Like a number of NACE members, Ysgol Gyfun Garth Olwg participates in The Brilliant Club’s Scholars Programme. Open to students from Years 5 to 12, the programme offers the opportunity to participate in a university-style scheme of learning, including small-group tutorials led by a PhD tutor, support to work on and submit an extended project, and events at partner universities.
“There is no doubt that the programme widens pupils’ horizons,” say the school’s Nia Griffiths and Carys Amos. “They visit two universities and participate in very challenging tutorials. They discuss subjects they wouldn’t have considered, and it promotes their oral skills while enhancing their vocabulary. It also raises aspirations, including for learners from disadvantaged backgrounds or whose parents didn’t go to university.”
Top tips for implementation: “Take care when scheduling. The scheme involves writing an extended assignment, which is quite time-consuming. It’s therefore best to avoid busy revision periods.”
5. Community Skills Week
At Pencoed Primary School, an annual Community Skills Week offers a range of enrichment activities linked to the world of work, delivered by parents, other family members and experts from the community. Deputy Headteacher Adam Raymond says the initiative has led to “improved knowledge and understanding of careers and the world of work, improved engagement and enjoyment of the curriculum as a whole, and the development of an ambitious attitude to lifelong learning.” In particular, he says, the scheme has supported more able learners’ development as “ambitious, capable learners”.
Top tips for implementation: “Align your community skills with your content curriculum offer. Delve into the expertise within your local community to support and extend the curriculum diet and ensure the logistical planning is tight – give as many different pupils as many different opportunities as possible.”
6. External speakers
The Hertfordshire and Essex High School runs a series of talks on areas outside of the curriculum, bringing in external speakers to give students access to a breadth of knowledge and experience. “Students are interested in attending the talks and it is easy for them to do so,” says Challenge Coordinator Peter Clayton. He adds, “Speakers will often come for free, which means it is manageable to run.”
Top tips for implementation: “Allowing students the change to discuss the talks afterwards might be beneficial. Perseverance in getting external speakers is worth it. Local universities will often help.”
7. Big Board Games Day
Last but not least, a special event originally run to raise money for the NSPCC has become an annual occurrence at St Francis RC Primary School. The school’s Big Board Games Day is a school-wide event, with more able learners assigned as board game “gurus” who move around the school teaching and playing games with pupils of all ages. They are also tasked with ensuring everyone has a group to play with.
MAT Coordinator David Boyd says the initiative has resulted in “improved self-esteem; improved organisational skills; developing thinking skills in a new way – to teach the game rather than just play it; developing social skills with peers and younger pupils; and a range of problem-solving skills in the games being played.”
Top tips for implementation: “Train ‘gurus’ beforehand (we do this in our weekly after-school Board Games Club). Set clear rules for all pupils to follow – no sore losers, no gloating, treat games and others with respect, and so on. Contact game publishers and distributors for donations to help start a school games collection.”
How does your school enrich the curriculum? Share your experience in the comments below, or get in touch to request additional information about the initiatives detailed above.
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Posted By Copthorne Primary School,
05 November 2019
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Andrew Johnston, Teacher, Science Coordinator and Head of Research and Development at Copthorne Primary School, shares five approaches to develop resilience for all learners in your school…
The number of children under 11 being referred for specialist mental health treatment has increased by 50% and waiting times for such treatment have trebled (BBC freedom of information requests, July 2019). The Youth Association has recently called for mental health to be taught as part of the national curriculum. Furthermore, the Department of Education has said that early intervention is key to preventing mental health challenges later in life.
Clearly, there is a huge role for schools to play in supporting our young people to have good mental health. Unsurprisingly, there is also evidence that focusing on wellbeing is likely to impact positively on learning outcomes. The EEF has recently published recommendations for improving social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools – reporting that well-implemented SEL teaching has the potential to give learning gains of +4 months over a year.
What does this mean in the context of supporting our more able learners? Those with high achievement and/or potential can often be anxious about their academic performance. Students who are repeatedly told they are very able, and who find failure impossible to consider, often have problems associated with anxiety and self-worth. I would argue that these students need to be taught that failure and struggle are an essential element of learning and a normal part of life. As highlighted in Element 3c of the NACE Challenge Framework, it is important to consider “social and emotional support” as well as academic provision for the more able.
Many schools are already teaching ‘resilience’ and ‘wellbeing’: dogs in school, outdoor learning, mentoring and school-based therapy are some of the provisions being offered. As all schools will know, the new Ofsted framework places significant emphasis on curriculum: “Curriculum matters, as it defines the knowledge and experiences that learners will receive beyond their home environment.” With this in mind, it is important to consider whether we are teaching resilience and SEL as ‘add-ons’, or as integrated aspects of a broad curriculum.
Researcher and lecturer David Glynne-Percy highlights the importance of ensuring all learners have access to opportunities to develop resilience and self-esteem – particularly through extracurricular activities offered as part of the school day, so they are accessible to pupils who rarely stay after school. His research also highlights the benefits of opportunities to compete, develop competence and receive feedback – all helping to develop resilience, confidence, leadership and sustained engagement.
Serving an inner-city community, providing children with fresh experiences is one of the main drivers of our new curriculum. We have focused on enriching our curriculum in the following ways:
1. Working with the Brilliant Club to raise aspirations
We work with the Brilliant Club to raise the aspirations of our most able learners from families who have not yet had a university graduate. Supported by lecturers at Leeds and Manchester Universities, participating pupils can experience university lectures, complete academic assignments and get a taste of what it is like to continue their education at university and the opportunities this can afford them.
2. Wellbeing-focused school clubs
Our children have had the opportunity to develop their wellbeing through cooking, arts and crafts and sports clubs. Last year, as part of a programme focusing on essential life skills, we began a cycling club for pupil premium children and low prior-attainers – providing opportunities to develop fitness and balance, alongside the experience and challenge of mastering a new skill. As part of this, children were recently able to attend a UCI event in Bradford as part of the 2019 Cycling World Championships and represent our school there. We found these children developed an ambassadorial role and now encourage their peers to be involved. Children’s feedback shows that they feel valued members of the school and have further developed a sense of belonging. This year we will assess whether this impact leads to better engagement in other aspects of school life and improved academic outcomes.
3. Developing breaktime and lunchtime provision
As part of our curriculum development, breaktime and lunchtime provision was completely redeveloped last academic year. Staff, including mid-day meal supervisors, were trained to support children to play a range of games and activities during lunchtimes and playtimes. This resulted in a vast improvement in behaviour across the school during these periods, but also allowed children to develop their social and emotional skills as they received feedback and instruction from staff.
4. Incorporating growth mindset
Consider this list summarising the behaviour of individuals with fixed mindsets:
· Overgeneralising from one experience (e.g. a single test)
· Exaggerating failures relative to successes
· Categorising themselves in unflattering ways
· Setting self-worth contingencies e.g. “If I do not get the highest mark in the class in my maths test I am a failure (or will be in trouble with my dad).”
· Losing faith in ability to perform tasks
· Underestimating the efficacy of effort
As a school we saw that these statements described some of our highest-achieving pupils.
Over the last three years, we have introduced growth mindset across the school, aiming to encourage children to enjoy challenges, embrace mistakes and understand that risk-taking is an important part of their learning. After initial training, teaching staff have completed cycles of lesson study to assess the impact of this approach. We have found that all groups of children are more open to trying difficult tasks or new skills and fewer children have a fear of failure or appearing less intelligent if they make mistakes.
Further to this, we asked staff to follow this guidance for supporting learners, including the more able:
1. Tell them ability is not fixed.
2. Encourage risk-taking in lessons.
3. Refuse to help students who have not attempted tasks.
4. Highlight failure as part of learning and praise effort.
5. Down-play success but praise effort.
5. Appointment of a Mindfulness and Wellbeing Champion
The appointment of a Mindfulness and Wellbeing Champion in 2017 has helped raise the profile of mental health and wellbeing across the school and our multi-academy trust for both staff and learners. This staff member has developed a range of strategies to teach resilience and mindfulness – taking risks, celebrating mistakes, open-ended tasks, mastery-style teaching – and has worked with parents to help them to understand the impact of self-esteem on their child’s success at school.
Read next: 4 ways to avoid “But am I right Miss?”
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Posted By Elizabeth Allen CBE,
10 June 2019
Updated: 05 August 2019
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Far from being “soft” or “easy” options, the creative arts, design and physical education have an essential part to play in delivering a broad, challenging and opportunity-rich curriculum. NACE trustee Liz Allen CBE explores the current status of these subjects in UK schools, and shares next steps for school leaders…
“In whatever way you construct your list of 21st century skills, you will always come across creativity – creating new value… bringing together the processes of creating, of making, of bringing into being and formulating and looking for outcomes that are fresh and original… This is all about imagination, inquisitiveness, collaboration, self-discipline.” - Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills and Special Adviser on Education Policy, OECD
Why prioritise creative arts, design and physical education?
If one of the purposes of education is to prepare young people for their working lives, we need to ensure they are equipped with the creative, imaginative, problem-solving skills that will enhance their economic future. The growing opportunities in creative businesses, science, technology and the media offer them a bright future: those who have experienced a rich, creative curriculum will have a head start and their quality of life will be enhanced in many ways.
Social impact
The social value of creative arts and design education is widely evidenced. Schools with a strong academic and enrichment offer in the arts, design technology and physical education create a culture of citizenship, service and tolerance. Young people who engage in creative activities are more likely to feel socially confident, to take on roles of responsibility and to be active members of their community.
Most significantly, there is a growing body of evidence that participation can improve social mobility. The Cultural Learning Alliance (CLA)’s 2018 briefing on arts in schools found that students from low-income backgrounds are three times more likely to get a degree. They benefit most from access to their cultural heritage and the opportunity to develop their creative thinking and the perseverance and self-discipline to succeed.
Cross-curricular benefits
The educational value goes beyond the creative arts, DT and PE curriculum. Studying these subjects improves young people’s cognitive abilities and enhances their performance in English and mathematics, especially for young people from low-income backgrounds. The CLA paper argues that “they are as essential as literacy and numeracy in equipping children with the skills for life and the creativity to contribute to the building of a successful nation.”
Wellbeing and personal development
The personal value of creative arts, design and PE may have been grossly underestimated. It is possible there is a causal link between the decline in the arts, technology and PE curriculum and enrichment provision and the worrying rise in young people’s mental health issues, feelings of low self-esteem and lack of self-regulation.
There is no doubt that participation in the creative arts, design and sport make us happier and healthier. The Time To Listen research articulates the value that both young people and their teachers place on their relationships: “…teachers approached students as ‘artists’… (working) to encourage intellectual and disciplinary skills development… to take risks, to be responsible for deadlines… to engage in critical interpretation of their own and others’ work.”
The high levels of trust and respect between teachers and students allow young people to build both the empathy and resilience to succeed in collaborative and challenging environments. The experience of being part of a team – preparing for a production, performance, competition, exhibition – may not eliminate the pressures young people face but it can give them a strong sense of self-worth and the socio-emotional confidence and skills to overcome them and thrive.
The decline in arts, design and PE provision in our schools
Despite all the well-documented evidence, arts and design provision continues to decline; the CLA paper cites a 2017 ASCL/BBC survey which found 90% of school leaders had reduced arts provision in their schools over the past two years. A number of factors are pushing them further out of reach:
Misguided perceptions
For many years, the prevailing view in the state sector has been that the arts, design and sport are a pleasant diversion from academic rigour for the more able and good choices for students who are less academic and more practically inclined – all far from the truth, as the independent sector has demonstrated.
To excel in music, art, dance, design technology or sport, young people develop high levels of critical analysis and creative thinking, the rigour of listening, sharing expertise and collaborating, the self-discipline to practise and persevere. Far from being “soft” options, they help to build the character and competencies that lead to success in the core and foundation subjects.
School performance measures
Recent national strategies and their accountability systems have had unintended consequences, making it increasingly difficult for subjects to survive if they don’t count in performance measures. I recall the introduction of the EBacc as a concept, even before it became a formal measure: many school leaders rushed to re-configure their GCSE option choices, anxious for students to choose subjects that would count the most.
The introduction of new GCSE specifications prompted a move in many schools to start GCSE courses in Year 9; the opportunity for young people to study creative subjects in depth were drastically reduced and it became increasingly difficult for schools to sustain specialist teaching. Primary schools faced similar challenges from the change in Key Stage 2 performance measures.
Financial pressures
Significant ongoing reductions in school funding make curriculum design and delivery increasingly challenging. The fear is that, once the specialist teaching and resources are lost it will be hard to reinstate them.
Reasons to be optimistic
There are the early signs of positive change that should fuel our optimism.
The Russell Group’s recent decision to remove its list of “facilitating subjects” for A-level choices is a welcome start.
The new Ofsted inspection framework (2019), “will move Ofsted’s focus away from headline data to look at how schools are achieving these results and whether they are offering a curriculum that is broad, rich and deep… Those who are bold and ambitious and run their schools with integrity will be rewarded.” (Amanda Spielman, press release)
And – as we see from our own community of NACE Challenge Award-accredited schools – there are many examples of schools which offer a broad, rich and deep curriculum and which show integrity by putting the life chances of their students first when making curriculum and staffing decisions. As a consequence, their students and staff thrive in a school that is alive with creative energy.
Case study: Greenbank High School
At Greenbank High School, teachers’ deep subject knowledge and expert questioning lead to high levels of discourse: students are articulate, critical, creative thinkers and confident, resilient learners. The broad, rich curriculum runs from Year 7 through to 11, with opportunities for students to specialise (e.g. in languages, the arts) from Year 9.
Strong collaborative working relationships with primary, FE and HE providers and excellent in-house careers advice and guidance create a culture of deep learning and high aspiration. The school buzzes with activity: students enjoy the range of academic, physical and creative challenges and the leadership opportunities they bring; they are socially aware and active in supporting each other, both academically and emotionally and see themselves as global citizens.
Case study: Oaksey C of E Primary School
At Oaksey C of E Primary School pupils experience a rich, deep subject curriculum aimed at developing “lively, enquiring minds with the ability to question and argue rationally. We aim to enable our children to be well motivated both mentally and physically for success in the wider world.” As well as academic rigour, there is a focus on values: “valuing human achievement and aspirations; developing spirituality, creativity and aesthetic awareness; finding pleasure in learning and success.”
IT and computing have a high profile: “to enrich and extend learning; to find, check and share information; to create presentations and analyse data; to use IT in real contexts and appreciate e-safety and global applications.” The school grounds are a rich learning environment, with spaces for performance, meditation and reflection designed and constructed by the pupils, as well as places for horticulture and play. Music provision is strong: a specialist part-time teacher and a richly equipped music room (funded by the children’s fund-raising efforts in the community), give every child the opportunity to learn and perform.
What steps can school leaders take?
Taking courage from the Russell Group’s decision, Ofsted’s messaging and the examples of schools which have succeeded in maintaining a flourishing and broad curriculum, school leaders can consider the following:
- Recognise and celebrate the value of creativity and critical thinking across the curriculum.
- See the creative subjects, PE and design technology as essential to the development of high cognitive performance, self-discipline and collaborative practice, well-deserving of their place in the curriculum.
- Employ specialist teachers and encourage them to engage with professional organisations and the creative industries, so they can continue to see themselves as artists.
- Be adventurous with Pupil Premium funding, to make cultural and creative learning opportunities accessible.
- Manage teachers’ workload so they can focus on rich extracurricular provision. Value and acknowledge the impact enrichment makes on young people’s life chances.
- Engage with national champions in the arts and creative industries. Artsmark, Youth Sports Trust, DATA, the RSC, Get Creative (BBC Arts), the Cultural Learning Alliance and local organisations are among many who can give advice and guidance.
“We owe it to future generations to ensure they experience an education that offers them the whole of life and culture: head, heart and soul.” – Cultural Learning Alliance
Which of the steps above has your school already taken? What would you add to this list? Share your views: communications@nace.co.uk
References:
- Cultural Learning Alliance, Briefing Paper No. 4 2018: “The Arts in Schools”
- Royal Shakespeare Company, Tate, University of Nottingham 2018: “Time to Listen”
- PTI, Children and The Arts 2018: “The Creative, Arts and Design Technology Subjects in Schools”
- Ofsted and HMCI commentary September 2018: “Curriculum and the New Inspection Framework”
- House of Commons, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee 2019: “Changing Lives: The Social Impact of Participation in Culture and Sport”
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