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.
Zoe Enser, author of the new book Bringing Forth the Bard, shares eight key steps to help your students get to grips with (and enjoy!) the symbolic, allusive, musical, motif-packed language of Shakespeare.
The language of Shakespeare is perhaps one of the greatest barriers to most readers unfamiliar with its style, allusions and patterns. Shakespeare’s language can be something of a leveller as it doesn’t necessarily matter how proficient you are at reading generally; all students (and indeed many adults) will stumble across his words and need to deploy a different approach to reading than they are used to.
With so many finding the language problematic, there is a temptation to strip some of the complexity away; to focus instead on summaries or modern adaptations. There is, though, much to be gained by examining his words as they appear, much as you would when exploring a poem with your class.
Getting it can be really satisfying, and a key light-bulb moment for me at school was seeing how unpicking meaning could be looked at like a problem to be solved, much like solving equations in maths or finding the intricate pieces of a jigsaw. Most importantly perhaps is that his use of poetry, imagery and musicality frequently stays with us, and lines from Shakespeare that linger in our mind and our everyday language remain due to their crafting. We want to allow students to have that opportunity too.
Here are eight steps to bring Shakespeare’s language to life in your own classroom:
1. Begin by giving students an overview of the plot, characters and themes. Good quality performance, coupled with summary and questioning, will mean students arrive at language analysis ready to see how it relates to these bigger ideas. Audio readings of the plays can also be useful here to allow them to hear the language spoken and to model fluency.
2. Reassure students they won’t get it all immediately. Explain that the joy in studying Shakespeare’s language comes from the gradual understanding we gain and how it enriches our understanding, which is a process: one which even those familiar with his work will continue to go through. It is a process where we layer understanding, deepening each time we revisit it. If students have been used to exploring simpler texts this might be a challenge at first to consider this different approach, but model this for them, demonstrating how you can return to the same quote or extract again and again to delve deeper each time.
3. Look at short extracts and quotes from across a play or a range of texts to examine patterns and connections. Linger on individual words and then trace them as they are used elsewhere so students can notice where these links are and hypothesise as to why.
4. Use freely available searches to explore the frequency and location of key words and phrases. For example, a search on Open-Source Shakespeare reveals there are 41 direct references to ‘blood’ or ‘bloody’ in the play Macbeth, some of which are clustered within a few lines. This provides an opportunity to explore why this is the case and what Shakespeare was doing with these language choices. Equally, looking for references to the sun in Romeo and Juliet reveals 17 instances, and if then cross-referenced with light it brings forth a further 34 references, suggesting that there is a motif running through the text which demands further attention. Allowing students to explore this trail in their discussions and consider the prevalence of some words over others can reveal much about the themes Shakespeare was trying to convey too. For example, simply looking at the light and dark references in Romeo and Juliet enables students to see the binaries he has woven into the play to mirror the idea of conflict.
5. Discuss the imagery Shakespeare is trying to create with his language via pictures, selecting those which are most appropriate to convey his choices at different points. Thinking about how different audiences may respond to these is also a useful way to examine alternative interpretations of a single word, line or idea. This can also support learners with different needs as they have visual images to link to ideas, especially abstract ones, repeated throughout the text. This will provide them with something more concrete to link to the text and, as images are repeated throughout the narrative, can act as support for the working memory and enhance fluency of retrieval as they recognise the recurring images visually. This can be particularly useful for EAL students, supporting them to follow the plot and explore the patterns that emerge.
6. Teach aspects of metre (such as iambic and trochaic pentameter), ensuring students have lots of opportunities to hear the language spoken aloud so they can appreciate the musicality of the language and choice of form. Using methods such as walking the text, whereby students physically walk around the room whilst reading the text and responding to the punctuation, can be a powerful way to convey how a character feels at any given point. Lots of phrases, short clauses, or single syllable words can change the pace of the reading and we should model this and give students the opportunity to examine how this may then impact on performance. Long, languid sentences can create a different performance, and where the punctuation has finally landed in his work can reveal a lot about how a character or scene has been read. Try different ways of reading a single line to illustrate why we place emphasis on certain words and pauses at different points.
7. Read the text aloud together. As well as modelling reading for students, employing practices such as choral reading (where the class all read the text aloud together with you) or echo reading (where they repeat lines back) can be another way in which we remove the barriers the language can create. Students build confidence over time as the language becomes more familiar but also they do not feel so exposed as they are reading with the group, and not alone.
8. Let students play with and manipulate the language so they are familiar with it, and it doesn’t become a block to their interaction with the plays. Pre-teach the vocabulary, letting students consider words in isolation and explore quotes so that they don’t become overwhelmed at trying to interpret them. Even translating short phrases and passages can provide a useful coding activity which can support later analysis.
Zoe Enser was a classroom teacher for 20 years, during which time she was also a head of English and a senior leader with a responsibility for staff development and school improvement. This blog post is an excerpt from her latest book, Bringing Forth the Bard (Crown House Publishing). NACE members can benefit from a 20% discount on this and all purchases from the Crown House Publishing website; for details log in to our member offers page.
This term’s NACE member meetup brought together colleagues from across our network to explore the theme “developing oracy for high achievement”. Following a morning of CPD presentations, the afternoon session was dedicated to sharing examples of effective approaches to developing oracy skills, to support cognitively challenging learning and high achievement.
Here are some of the approaches shared:
1. Get all staff members on board
One common theme from the event was the importance of getting all staff members on board, through a shared vision and whole-school approach. Salusbury Primary School has approached this using the Voice 21 oracy benchmarks, and developed specific inset sessions based on priorities identified through a staff and student survey.
A similar approach – again starting with staff and student surveys – was adopted at Maiden Erlegh School, and you can read more about this here.
Alongside a shared vision and framework, members highlighted the importance of opportunities for flexibility, innovation, collaboration, feedback, and sharing what’s working across the school.
2. Set and model high expectations for spoken responses
Another recurrent theme was the setting and modelling of high expectations for spoken responses. This could include insisting on the use of full sentences, accurate grammar, and appropriate tier 2 and 3 vocabulary.
To support students with this, approaches include sharing sentence starters with learners, using a “bounce it on” model to collaboratively build discussions, and the use of ethics debates to help learners develop confidence in expressing opinions.
There was consensus that such techniques have led to students becoming more confident and accurate in both spoken and written communication.
3. Word(s) of the day
At Haybridge High School, a dedicated section of the board is used to share key terms relevant to the lesson – including challenging vocabulary and discourse markers to structure talk. The meaning of the words is taught explicitly, with call-and-response vocalisation to aid pronunciation. Learners are then challenged to use these words during discussions within the lesson.
Similarly, Harris Academy Beckenham uses a “word of the day”. Students start by vocalising the word together, then using it in a sentence. The word is then revisited throughout the lesson, so all students use the word multiple times in different contexts.
Again, members reported increased retention, confidence and accuracy. In addition, the additional vocabulary can open doors for learners to think abstractly or conceptually about a topic.
4. Vocabulary bullseye
Another approach to developing vocabulary was shared by Brook Field Primary School, where learners play “vocabulary bullseye”. In this game, key words are shown within a bullseye diagram. Children are challenged to use the words to explain a concept – gaining one point for words in the outer ring, two for the middle, and three for the inner circle. Points can be deducted for “umms” and other filler words.
This game can be played either with the bullseye diagram visible or hidden, depending on the stage in the teaching sequence. It has led to learners using higher-tier vocabulary more confidently and effectively, in both spoken and written communication.
5. Public speaking clubs and competitions
Several schools shared the use of public speaking clubs and competitions, providing further opportunities for learners to develop oracy skills. At Pangbourne College, this has been approached in several ways, including public speaking workshops as part of leadership training for sixth-form students, as well as integration within the Year 9 English curriculum.
As part of the latter initiative, learners are taught rhetorical devices, and have the opportunity to plan and delivery speeches, culminating in “The Declamations Cup” competition – complete with prizes and a trophy for the winner.
6. Be consistent (but not “perfect”)
Finally, members agreed on the importance of consistency across the school, and ensuring oracy is embedded into everyday routines so that staff and students alike have ample opportunities for practice.
Alongside this, several emphasised the importance of ensuring students know they don’t need to be “perfect” when speaking – and that in fact, the more opportunities they have to practice, the more comfortable they become with taking risks and making mistakes. Practice doesn’t make perfect!
Chloe Bateman is a Teacher of History at Maiden Erlegh School, a NACE Challenge Award-accredited school. Chloe has recently led the development of a whole-school oracy strategy. In this blog post, she shares some of the ways in which Maiden Erlegh has established and embedded a culture of oracy across the school to benefit all students, including the more able.
Oracy is ‘both everywhere and nowhere in a school’. At Maiden Erlegh, we realised that although plenty of classroom talk was taking place, opportunities for this could be ad hoc and students did not always recognise these as opportunities to develop oracy skills. At the same time, a significant number of students lacked the confidence to speak in front of larger groups and in more formal contexts, hindering their ability to engage with oracy-related elements of the taught curriculum and extracurricular activities. The national picture indicates that many schools experience similar challenges to developing student oracy and an oracy culture within the school.
Drawing on our experience, here are seven steps to establish a whole-school oracy culture:
1. Investigate your context to determine your priorities
Every school is different. Whilst the national trend shows a decline in oracy as a result of the Covid-19 lockdowns, every school will have different areas of strength and development in terms of the current oracy level of their students and their staff confidence in teaching to enhance oracy. Oracy too is itself a complex skill, made up not just of the verbal ability, but multiple components such as the physical and cognitive elements. To design a strategy which really works for your context, it is beneficial to gather student and staff voice to inform the precise nature of this. At Maiden Erlegh, we conducted quantitative and qualitative staff and student surveys, asking students to rate their level of confidence when communicating and why they may feel less confident in some areas than others. Staff were asked to share feedback on levels of student oracy and what support they would need to feel confident in developing an oracy culture in their own classrooms. From this data, we could easily identify clear priorities to be addressed through our strategy.
2. Secure buy-in from staff to secure buy-in from students
A strategy is only as effective as those who make it a reality on a day-to-day basis: the teaching staff. Our oracy work was launched via a training session to staff which centred on communicating the rationale for our new oracy focus. Here the student and staff voice surveys came into their own, enabling us to explain why we needed to develop oracy using the words of students and staff themselves and showing the overwhelming statistics. We also took time to share the wide-ranging holistic benefits of enhanced oracy for students, including for mental health, academic progress, and career opportunities. For maximum exposure, include students in the launch too and keep them as informed as you would do staff. We delivered assembles to all students sharing very similar messages to those shared during the staff launch, ensuring students were aware and engaged with our upcoming work.
3. Get staff and students on board with ‘quick wins’
It can be tempting to try to launch all strands of a strategy at once. However, this is unlikely to succeed in the long run as it risks overwhelming the very people you are attempting to get on board. Instead, generate enthusiasm and interest in oracy by sharing ‘quick wins’: low-preparation, high-impact activities to integrate more oracy opportunities into lessons. Staff and students loved our ‘no filler’ game in which students were challenged to answer questions or speak about a relevant topic without using filler words such as ‘erm’, ‘like’, and ‘basically’. As staff become more confident in creating their own oracy-based activities, encourage colleagues to share their own ‘quick wins’ via staff briefings and bulletins to build a culture of enthusiasm.
4. Give oracy an identity
Too often strategies and initiatives can be become lost in the organisational noise of a school and the day-to-day challenges and immediate priorities. Borrow from the world of marketing and promotions to create a clear identity for oracy by designing a logo and branding for your strategy using a simple graphic design website such as Canva. A catchy slogan can also help to build a ‘brand’ around the strategy and increase staff and student familiarity with the overall vision. At Maiden Erlegh School (MES), we use the slogan ‘MES Speaks Up!’ – a motto that has become synonymous with our vision for a culture of oracy across the school.
5. Establish and reinforce consistent high expectations for oracy
Most schools have shared and consistent high expectations for students’ literacy and numeracy, but how many have the same for oracy? Whilst many teachers will have high standards for communication in their classrooms, these will not have the same impact on students as if they are school-wide. At Maiden Erlegh, we established a set of ‘Guidelines for Great Oracy’, a clear list of five expectations including the use of formal vocabulary and projecting loudly and clearly. These expectations were launched to both staff and students and all classrooms now display a poster to promote them. The key to their success has been clearly communicating how easily these can be embedded into lessons, for example as success criteria for self- and peer-assessment during oracy-based activities such as paired or group discussions.
6. Create a shared understanding that oracy will enhance the existing curriculum
With so many competing demands on a classroom teacher’s time, it is easy to see why strategies and initiatives which feel like ‘add-ons’ can miss the mark and fail to become embedded in a school’s culture. Central to the success of our oracy strategy has been raising staff, student, and parent awareness that a focus on oracy will enhance our existing curriculum, rather than distract from it. From the very beginning, staff have been encouraged to return to existing lesson activities which cover existing content and adapt these with oracy in mind. In History, for example, an essay was preceded by a parliamentary debate to help students to construct convincing arguments, whilst in Maths students developed complex verbal explanations for the processes they were performing rather than simply completing calculations. Not only do such activities support oracy skills, but they demonstrate the inherent importance of oracy across the curriculum and allow departments to better meet their own curricular aims.
7. Keep the momentum going with high-profile events
As with any new strategy or initiative, we realised that after the initial enthusiasm there was a potential for staff and students to lose interest as the year wore on. To combat this, we developed high-profile events to return oracy to centre stage and engage students and staff alike. In May, we held MES Speaks Up! Oracy Month – a month of activities focused on celebrating oracy and its importance across all aspects of school life. In form time, students were challenged to discuss a topical ‘Question of the Day’ from our ‘Discussion Calendar’ to get them communicating from the moment they arrived in school. Every subject dedicated at least one lesson during the month to an activity designed to develop and celebrate oracy skills, including public speaking, debating, and presenting. Outside of lessons, students from each year group participated in a range of extracurricular parliamentary debates on issues relevant to their age group. All of these activities were widely promoted via our school social media to generate a buzz around oracy with our parents and guardians.
Interested in developing oracy within your own school?
•Join our free member meetup on this theme (18 October 2022)
•Join this year’s NACE R&D Hub with a focus on oracy for high achievement (first meeting 20 October 2022)
•Explore more content about oracy
Naomi Parkhill is Deputy Headteacher for Pastoral Care at The Mulberry House School, which recently attained the NACE Challenge Award for the third time. In this blog post, she shares some of the ways in which the school ensures challenge is embedded throughout all aspects of the school’s provision, for all learners.
At The Mulberry House School we are firm believers that challenge is not something that should be saved solely for the most able pupils, but should be readily available for all. With our school ethos being “We reach high to be the people we want to be, respect ourselves and others and enjoy each new challenge”, it is of utmost importance to us that challenge permeates the very centre of who we are as a school. We have a broad curriculum and value each subject equally. All of our children are encouraged to find their own strength and adopt a growth mindset across both curricular and extracurricular activities.
Here are our top five tips for putting challenge at the heart of your school.
1. Know what excellence looks like
To challenge pupils to produce the very best work they are capable of, the teacher needs to ensure that they have got a firm understanding of what this looks like, both for the subject/area they are delivering and for the age of the children. This needs to incorporate both knowledge and skills. We have spent a lot of time as a school collaboratively deciding on the standards that we are aiming for; it is important that all staff agree on this in order to provide consistent challenge for all pupils.
2. Share this vision explicitly with learners
Once a decision has been made about what excellence looks like, it is important that we share this with our pupils. It is important to note that this is not limited to sharing examples of excellent work; the children need to know what it is that makes that piece of work excellent. This can be achieved through effective modelling, in which the teacher explains the thought process of an ‘expert’ in the subject as they work, helping to raise the standards of work for all. Another way to empower the children to strive for excellence is through carefully constructed success criteria, which act as a set of instructions to achieve the learning objective, again supporting challenge for all.
3. Empower learners to embrace new challenges
As a growth mindset school we wholeheartedly believe that anyone can improve if they try. A central part of our Mulberry House Way is “Try your best to be your best”. Through instilling this learning attitude in our children from a young age, they are prepared to accept challenges and give everything their maximum effort. Scaffolding plays a key role in supporting our children to achieve excellence. This allows us to provide each child or class with what they need to ensure that they produce the highest quality of work that they can. Allow the children to practise getting things right, then over time remove this support; this will lead to them creating a high standard of work independently.
4. Provide challenging extension and enrichment opportunities
Our recent case study exploring “Enrichment vs Extension” as a means of providing challenge for all – submitted as part of our recent NACE Challenge Award reaccreditation – has been successful in supporting the “challenge for all” aims of the NACE Challenge Development Programme. The outcomes of this case study have enriched the quality-first teaching that we endeavour to deliver. This has, in turn, impacted favourably on our children’s outcomes. We have spent time researching the difference between extension and enrichment opportunities and gaining an understanding of the value of each. We plan and deliver lessons that are centred on enrichment opportunities, with extension activities supporting individual learners to either close gaps or take the next step in their learning.
5. Encourage children to share their opinions
Central to the development of each child across the curriculum is their confidence to share their opinions and thought processes. From an early age we believe it is important to enable our children to explain how they have reached an answer and so the focus is on this rather than simply just providing the “correct” answer. In essence, we have started to embed metacognition, thinking about one’s thinking, in our Key Stage 1 learning. The impact that this has had on both children’s attitudes towards learning and academic outcomes has been significant. We look forward to rolling this out through our EYFS classes and seeing the impact this has.
How does your school provide challenge for all? Contact us to share your experience.
New research from ImpactEd has found that pupils who have high confidence in and enjoyment of reading have higher wellbeing and lower anxiety than their peers. In this blog post, the ImpactEd team share insights from the research, and suggestions as to how schools and families can support children’s reading and mental health.
At ImpactEd we recently released a piece of research (in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust, TutorMate and Place2Be), which looked at the relationship between reading and wellbeing for young people across England.
In an educational landscape recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, with ongoing concerns about unequal loss of learning due to school closures and concerns for children’s post-pandemic mental health, we believe this research, which explores the relationships between pupils’ reading experiences, attitudes and behaviours and their mental wellbeing, is hugely timely and important.
We surveyed almost 30,000 pupils and findings show that pupils who scored a five (the highest score) in confidence in reading had wellbeing levels that were over 30% higher, and anxiety levels that were over 20% lower than pupils who scored a one (the lowest score). Similarly, pupils who enjoyed reading very much had wellbeing levels that were over 6% higher than those who didn’t enjoy reading at all.
We spoke to partners who contributed to this research to get their perspectives on the implications for children, schools and families, and they shared some valuable suggestions on what educators, parents and carers can do to support children’s reading and mental health.
1. Read little and often
To support children to develop their reading, and thus support their emotional wellbeing, Emma Bell, Executive Director at Innovations for Learning UK, suggests a focus on reading “little and often”, rather than making reading a chore. In the video below she shares that reading can often be integrated into things families are already doing, such as reading recipes, road signs or subtitles on the telly. She notes that these small activities can have a big impact, and create a positive reading culture.
2. Talk to older children about their reading
Our research also revealed that pupils frequently want support with their reading, regardless of their age. While many pupils mentioned reading directly with family members (“I would like my family to read with me, especially my little sister”) older pupils’ suggestions for support included parents and carers asking them questions about what they are reading, and giving or suggesting books that they might enjoy (“Ask me questions about what I’m reading so I can answer and express my feelings on the book”).
Jonathan Douglas, CEO of the National Literacy Trust, references these comments when he shares in the video below that “no child is too old to be engaged” in reading. He refers to suggestions mentioned in the research, noting that a great way to support children’s education and wellbeing is by initiating conversations with them about their reading.
3. Use stories and characters to open up discussions about mental health
Some more suggestions for supporting children’s reading and mental wellbeing are given by Dr Julia Clements, Principal Educational Psychologist at Place2Be in the video below. She suggests that when reading with children, adults could discuss any challenges that characters in the book are going through and open up a conversation about what they can do when faced with difficult situations in life. This could support children with their understanding of and resilience towards challenging situations.
Read more...
For more findings from our research into reading and wellbeing, and more suggestions on how to support children’s reading at school and at home, the full report is available here.
Sue Jenkins, Head of Years 10 and 11, and Hannah Wilcox, Deputy Head of Years 10 and 11, share five reasons they’ve found The Day an invaluable resource for tutor time activities.
Howell’s School, Llandaff, is an independent school in Cardiff which educates girls aged 3-18 and boys aged 16-18. It is part of the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST).
The Day publishes daily news articles and resources with the aim of help teachers inspire students to become critical thinkers and better citizens by engaging their natural curiosity in real-world problems. We first came across it as a library resource and recognised its potential for pastoral activities when the length of our tutor time sessions was extended to allow more discussion time and flexibility in their use.
Post-Covid, it has never been more important to promote peer collaboration, discussion and debate in schools. There is an ever-increasing need for students to select, question and apply their knowledge when researching; it has never been more important for students to have well-developed thinking and analytical skills. We find The Day invaluable in helping us to prompt students to discuss and understand current affairs, and to enable those who are already aware to extend and debate their understanding.
Here are five key pastoral reasons why we would recommend subscribing to The Day:
1. Timely, relevant topics throughout the year
You will always find a timely discussion topic on The Day website. The most recent topics feature prominently on the homepage, and a Weekly Features section allows you to narrow down the most relevant discussion topic for the session you are planning. Assembly themes, such as Ocean Day in June, are mapped across the academic year for ease of forward planning. We particularly enjoyed discussing the breakaway success of Emma Raducanu in the context of risk-taking, and have researched new developments in science, such as NASA’s James Webb telescope, in the week they have been launched.
2. Supporting resources to engage and challenge students
The need to involve and interest students, make sessions straightforward for busy form tutors, and cover tricky topics, combine to make it daunting to plan tutor time sessions – but resources linked to The Day’s articles make it manageable. Regular features such as The Daily Poster allow teachers to appeal to all abilities and learning styles with accessible and interesting infographics. These can also be printed and downloaded for displays, making life much easier for academic departments too. One of the best features we’ve found for languages is the ability to read and translate articles in target languages such as French and Spanish. Reading levels can be set on the website for literacy differentiation, and key words are defined for students to aid their understanding of each article.
3. Quick PSHE links for busy teachers
Asked to cover a class at the last minute? We’ve all been there! With The Day, you are sure to find a relevant subject story to discuss within seconds, and, best of all, be certain that the resources are appropriate for your students. With our Year 10 and 11 students, we have covered topics such as body image with the help of The Day by prompting discussion of Kate Winslet’s rejection of screen airbrushing. Using articles is particularly useful with potentially difficult or emotive issues where students may be more able to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of certain attitudes by looking at news events, detaching themselves from but also gaining insight about the personal situations they may be experiencing. The PSHE programme is vast; it is great to use The Day to plan tutor time sessions and gives us the opportunity to touch on a wide range of issues relatively easily.
4. Motivational themes brought to life through real stories
We have also found The Day’s articles useful for providing examples of motivational themes for our year groups. The Themes Calendar is particularly useful here; for example, tutor groups discussed the themes of resilience and diversity using the article on Preet Chandi’s trek to the South Pole. If you’re looking for assembly inspiration, The Day is a great starting point.
5. Develop oracy, thinking and research skills through meaningful debate
Each article has suggested tasks and discussion questions which we have found very useful for planning tutor time activities which develop students’ oracy, thinking and research skills. The Day promotes high-level debates about environmental, societal and political issues which students are keen to explore. One recent example is the discussion of privacy laws and press freedom prompted by the article about Rebel Wilson’s forced outing by an Australian newspaper. Activities can be easily adapted or combined to promote effective discussion. ‘Connections’ articles contain links to similar areas of study, helping teachers to plan and students to see the relevance of current affairs.
Find out more…
NACE is partnering with The Day on a free live webinar on Thursday 30 June, providing an opportunity to explore this resource, and its role within cognitively challenging learning, in more detail. You can sign up here, or catch up with the recording afterwards in our webinars library (member login required).
Plus: NACE members can benefit from a 20% discount on annual subscriptions to The Day. For details of this and all current member offers, take a look at our member offers page (login required).
Kate Hosey, Assistant Headteacher at Ferndown Upper School, shares lessons learned from an intervention to develop students’ metacognitive skills in the classroom – emphasising the importance of focusing on process, not task, when modelling.
Metacognition is not new; many of us use it without realising in our classrooms every day. Those questions we ask students about what they understand about a topic, or why they have come to the conclusion they have, as well as the use of retrieval practice, interleaving and knowledge organisers, are all based on a metacognitive understanding of the process of learning. The EEF’s Teaching and Learning Toolkit suggests that metacognition can raise the attainment of pupils by seven months, which is justification in itself for focusing on it in school.
For a while now I have been conscious that the students at my school are generally well-behaved and want to do well, but that a number of them find it hard to motivate themselves to be more active in their learning. This has come out in areas like homework and attitudes to learning, where often the same students are receiving sanctions regularly for not doing homework.
We developed an intervention based around teaching metacognition skills with the aim of empowering the students to take control of their learning. Teaching students to be more aware of how they learn will enable them to find links and develop strategies to become more independent and more in control.
Research suggests that most classrooms are set up to promote metacognition in teachers rather than students; a bit like having a personal trainer who says “I’m going to help you meet all your fitness goals – now sit back while I lift all the weights”. We need to shift responsibility; for years our students have internalised the idea that students are supposed to get answers from teachers, and so stop trying to find out for themselves – they assume the person in charge of their learning is someone other than them. A great teacher teaches as little as possible, while modelling behaviours of how to figure something out.
We decided to focus on three key areas:
Promote purposeful dialogue about thinking in the classroom;
Provide challenge;
Model metacognitive skills – talk about thinking and how as a teacher we think things through.
The first two areas were fairly straightforward to implement. Teachers needed to be more aware of their own language and questioning in their classrooms and could use the strategies suggested by websites such as metacognition.org.uk to support them if they wished.
Number 3, however, was a bit trickier. We were good at breaking down a task into manageable stages for students and scaffolding their writing, but found that next time we asked them complete a similar activity, they had forgotten how to do it. Looking at an exam-style question for the fifth time and saying to the class “so what do we do first?” we were met with blank faces and puzzled silence. In verbalising our own thought processes we allow the students to see how to work out what to do, which eventually will enable them to use the strategy for any assessment they are asked to complete.
Here is a modelling example from history (although other subjects would be similar!). It is important to focus on the modelling of process – not modelling the task:
What to do: modelling process
What to avoid: modelling task
“The first thing I think about when I’m about to start writing is ‘how can I make sure I directly answer this question?’ One simple way I know I can do that is to pick out words from the question to include in my first sentence, because I know if I get the first sentence right then my paragraph will be well focused.”
The teacher writes the first sentence.
“The first sentence of our answer always needs to include words from the question so that we focus our answer in the right area.”
The teacher writes the first sentence.
“Next I’m thinking ‘what do I know about this topic that is relevant to the point I’ve just made?’ Here I tend to pause for a bit to run through the knowledge I’ve got and make some choices about which pieces of evidence will best support my point. Once I’ve made a decision I start writing again.”
Teacher writes second sentence, describing key historical facts connected to the point.
“Next I need to include key pieces of precise evidence that will support my point.”
Teacher writes second sentence, describing key historical facts connected to the point.
In verbalising their thought processes in this way, teachers are showing students how to think about their learning. They are giving students knowledge of the process so that they can also use it when approaching assessments, which of course they will have to do on their own eventually.
Having worked on this for two terms, we discussed how well we thought the students had taken on board the skills we were teaching them and how it had impacted on their progress and homework sanctions. The data showed they had an improvement in P8 score, on average of +0.40 (over half a grade) and 40% students had received fewer sanctions for no homework.
Of course, it is difficult to measure whether or not the strategies we employed directly impacted on students’ progress – it could also have been down to other influencing factors both in and out of school. However, the soft data gathered from staff and student surveys showed an improvement in students’ own understanding of metacognition as well as staff willingness and ability to use metacognitive approaches in their own teaching. Anecdotally there was a sense that lessons were more focused and students more engaged as a result of the attention being paid to metacognition in the classroom.
Bob Cox, author of the Opening Doors books, reflects on the importance of high-quality, challenging texts for all pupils, and key factors for the successful implementation of a challenging English curriculum.
As the author of the Opening Doors series of books for English at KS1, 2 and 3, I’ve had the pleasure of developing a UK-wide network of schools and organisations committed to providing an enriched diet of English where every pupil has the opportunity to relish new challenges. This is particularly pertinent for those advanced pupils whose whole morale can be threatened by revisiting concepts they have already mastered; but it is just as vital for pupils whose reading scores may be low.
We are seeing the high-pitch approaches, encouraged by so many educationists, being turned into reality in the day-to-day classroom by teachers using top-quality texts, poetry, quirky short extracts and contemporary children’s literature with a ‘meaty’ depth. The sheer scope of the language and style is a springboard to genuine comprehension journeys with the teacher’s questioning, knowledge transmission and fascinating oracy being delivered through an inspiring range of methodology. Such is the scope for learning in challenging texts, that the knowledge acquired in the reading can then be applied to the writing.
For example, just read a few lines of Dionne Brand’s Wind:
I pulled a hummingbird out of the sky one day
but let it go
I heard a song and carried it with me
On my cotton streamers
I dropped it on an ocean and lifted up a wave
With my bare hands…
Now see what Faith Gorman, a pupil at Red Barn Primary, has written:
I came in the night,
Luminous black,
Dashing, darting,
I made the street lamps flicker and jerk as I swept by,
I saw the foxes and owls capture their prey…
You can well imagine the range of teaching methodology, word power building and drafting that will have gone on in the process, but without Dionne Brand’s image-making and without overtly exploring the language and techniques, the crafting of the writing would have been less imaginative. There would also have been less knowledge about language acquired: personification, rhythm and meaning; specific vocabulary choices.
Using complex texts and developing the teaching strategies to go with them is key: “start kids out with complex texts that they cannot read successfully; then teach them to read those texts well.” – Timothy Shanahan, February 2017
In my work many years ago as an LA consultant and a freelance deliverer of provision for able pupils – then called ‘gifted and talented’ – there was huge interest from schools in the potential behind the devising of a top-class curriculum; but there were huge concerns about pupils with low reading scores being left behind. That made a lot of sense. In addition, there were concerns that pupils with high learning potential actually disliked risk-taking so much that moving them on to high-level texts and questions was not easy. Schools still report that pupils with very high potential can get upset about an incorrect answer, whereas other pupils can be so used to difficulties that they find it normal to ask their way out of them. [For more on this, take a look at NACE’s work on perfectionism in partnership with York St John University.]
Clearly, challenge for every pupil must become a habit, a norm, an expectation – and then the pupils demand it themselves instead of being wary! I’ve seen this happen in many schools. Resilience grows and healthy ambition prospers. Getting unstuck becomes fascinating, not threatening.
So, when I came to write books for English, pitched high, often asking more of pupils in terms of depth of thinking and breadth of quality reading, I was determined to ensure inclusive routes to excellence which would support equality of opportunity and social justice, and recognising the entitlement to high-class literature – from past to present and across the globe – for all learners, but pitched beyond where the most advanced pupil might be.
These are some key ways in which we have supported schools which are following the Opening Doors approach, and schools have fed back to us as a community growing in knowledge together.
So, what allows those doors to open?
A whole-school action plan is needed to design an English curriculum which progresses from challenge to challenge, concept to concept, and through transition into KS3.
Access strategies should flow through the curriculum: scaffolding, responding to need, clarifying, exemplifying and adapting. Pitch high but offer support when needed.
See the sample units under free resources on my website for examples of our radial questioning layouts, which end the notion of very able pupils treading water on easy questions. We move them straight to high-level challenges if they are ready.
Opening Doors schools build in whole-text reading in rich and immersive ways, with plenty of choice. Alongside this, extracts provide a focus for language study, depth and comprehension explorations; link reading provides range and diversity in an ethos of skilled facilitation and expectation.
Teachers develop their own reading and expertise, offering that to pupils as the most wonderful opening of doors to general knowledge, increased confidence and articulation of ideas that there can be.
So, the quality of the text explored deepens learning immeasurably, and that new learning is applied in ambitious writing – but it’s the teacher who makes the difference! Without you, it’s much harder for this to happen.
Reference
Brand, Dionne (2006; originally published 1979), Earth Magic. Toronto: Kids Can Press Ltd.
Full unit features in: Cox, Bob (2019), Opening Doors to a Richer English Curriculum, ages 6-9. Carmarthenshire: Crown House.
Find out more…
To learn more about the Opening Doors approach, explore Bob Cox’s website. Plus: Bob online on 13 October 2022 for an exclusive live webinar for NACE members – register here.
If you would like to buy the Opening Doors books for your school, remember that NACE members can currently benefit from a 20% discount on all purchases from the Crown House Publishing website. For details of this and all current member discounts, visit our member offers page (login required).
Covid-19 has presented schools with unprecedented challenges. Pupils, parents and teachers have all been affected, and the wider implications in schools are far from over. From May 2020, over 1.2 billion learners worldwide have experienced school closures due to Covid-19, which corresponds to 73.8% of enrolled learners (Muller & Goldenberg, 2021). The pandemic continues to have a significant effect in all phases of our education system. This blog post captures some key messages from research into the effects of Covid-19 over the past two years and highlights the effects it has had on young people – particularly on the development of language and communication skills.
1. The pandemic negatively affected achievement. Vulnerable pupils and those from economically deprived backgrounds were most affected.
When pupils do not attend school (whilst acknowledging that much great work is done at home), the disruption has a negative impact on their academic achievement (Sims, 2020).
The disrupted periods of partial school closures in England took a toll academically. DfE research (Pupils' progress in the 2020 to 2022 academic years) showed that in summer 2021, pupils were still behind in their learning compared to where they would otherwise have been in a typical year. Primary school pupils were one month behind in reading and around three months behind in maths. Data for secondary pupils suggest they were behind in their reading by around two months.
Primary pupils eligible for free school meals were on average an additional half month further behind in reading and maths compared to their more advantaged peers. Research has highlighted that the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and others is now 18 months by the end of Key Stage 4. Vulnerable pupils with education, health and care (EHC) plans scored 3.62 grades below their peers in 2020 and late-arriving pupils with English as an additional language (EAL) were 1.64 grades behind those with English as a first language (Hunt et al., 2022).
2. Remote teaching during Covid changed the nature of learning – including reduced learning time and interactions – further widening existing gaps.
‘Learning time’ is the amount of time during which pupils are actively working or engaged in learning, which in turn is connected to academic achievement. Pre-pandemic (remember those days?!), the average mainstream school day in England for primary and secondary settings was around six hours 30 minutes a day. The difference between primary and secondary is minimal and averages out at 9 minutes a day.
During the period up to April 2021, mainstream pupils in England lost around one third of learning time (Elliot Major et al., 2021). We know that disadvantaged pupils continue to be disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Levels of lost learning remain higher for pupils in more deprived areas.
School provision for online learning changed radically since the beginning of the first lockdown. Almost all pupils received some remote learning tasks from their teachers. Just over half of all pupils taught remotely did not usually have any online lessons, defined as live or real-time lessons. Offline provision, such as worksheets or recorded video, was much more common than live online lessons, but inevitably reduced the opportunities for pupil-pupil interactions.
Parents reported that for most pupils, time spent on schoolwork fell short of the expected school day (Eivers et al., 2020). Pupil participation was, on average, poorer amongst those from lower income families and those whose parents had lower levels of education (Eivers et al., 2020). Families from higher socio-economic backgrounds spend more financially to support their children’s online remote learning. At times, technological barriers, as well as significant differences in the amount of support pupils received for learning at home, resulted in a highly unequal experience of learning during this time.
3. There has been a negative impact on pupils’ wellbeing, socio-emotional development and ability to learn.
A YoungMinds report in 2020 reinforced the effect of the pandemic on pupils’ mental health. In a UK survey of participants aged up to 25 years with a history of mental illness, 83% of respondents felt that school closures had made their mental illness worse. 26% said they were unable to access necessary support.
Schools play a key role in supporting children who have experienced bereavement or trauma, and socio-emotional interventions delivered by school staff can be very effective. Children with emotional and behavioural disorders also have significant difficulties with speaking and understanding, which often goes unidentified (Hollo et.al., 2014).
The experience of lockdown and being at home is a stressful situation for some children, as is returning to school for some children. While some studies found that children are not affected two to four years later, other studies suggest that there are lasting effects on socio-emotional development (Muller & Goldenberg, 2021).
Stress also challenges cognitive skills, in turn affecting the ability to learn. Trauma, emotional and social isolation, all well-known during the lockdown, are still too frequent. The prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain which is responsible for higher-order thinking and decision-making, is the brain region most affected by stress. Stress-related impairments to the prefrontal cortex display impaired memory retrieval (Vogel & Schwabe, 2016) and difficulties with executive skills such as planning, problem solving and monitoring errors (Gibbs et al., 2019).
4. National restrictions have curtailed the pandemic but had an adverse effect on communication and language.
Covid-19 and the associated lockdowns have had a huge impact on children’s speaking and listening skills. We are only beginning to understand the scale of this. Preventative measures such as the wearing of face masks in school, social distancing and virtual lessons, all designed to address contagion concerns, have negatively impacted on communication in all the school phases.
Face masks cover the lower part of the face, impacting on communication by changing sound transmission. They remove visible cues from the mouth and lips used for speech-reading and limit visibility of facial expressions (Saunders, 2020). Speech perception involves audio-visual integration of information, which is diminished by wearing masks because articulatory gestures are obscured. Children with hearing loss are more dependent on lip-reading; loss of this visual cue exacerbates the distortion and attenuation effects of masks.
Social interaction is also essential for language development. Social distancing restrictions on large group gatherings in school have affected children’s deeper interactions with peers. “Peer talk” is an essential component of pragmatic language development and includes conversational skills such as turn taking and understanding the implied meaning behind a speaker’s words, and these have also been reduced (Charney, 2021).
How bad is the issue? A report from the children’s communication charity I CAN estimates that more than 1.5 million UK children and young people risk being left behind in their language development as a direct result of lost learning in the Covid-19 period. Speaking Up for the Covid Generation (I CAN, 2021) reported that the majority of teachers are worried about young people being able to catch up with their speaking and understanding. Amongst its findings were that:
62% of primary teachers surveyed were worried that pupils will not meet age-related expectations
60% of secondary teachers surveyed were worried that pupils will not meet age-related expectations
63% of primary and secondary teachers surveyed believe that children who are moving to secondary school will struggle more with their speaking and understanding, in comparison to those who started secondary school before the Coronavirus pandemic.
Measures taken to combat the pandemic have deprived children of vital social contact and experiences essential for developing language. Reduced contact with grandparents, social distancing and limited play opportunities mean children have been less exposed to conversations and everyday experiences. Oracy skills have been impacted by the wearing of face coverings, fewer conversations with peers and adults, hearing fewer words and remote learning where verbal interactions are significantly reduced.
Teachers are now seeing the impact of this in their classrooms. The I CAN report findings show that the majority of teachers are worried about the effect that the pandemic has had on young people’s speech and language. As schools across the UK start on their roads to recovery and building their curricula anew, this evidence reveals the major impact the pandemic has had on children’s speaking and understanding ability. The final Covid-19-related restrictions in England have now been removed, but for many young people and families, this turning point does not mark a return to life as it was before the pandemic. There is much to do now to prioritise communication.
Join the conversation…
As schools move on from the pandemic and seek to address current challenges, close gaps, and take oracy education to the next level, NACE is focusing on research into the role of oracy within cognitively challenging learning. This term’s free member meetup will bring together NACE members from all phases and diverse contexts to explore what it means to put oracy at the heart of a cognitively challenging curriculum – read more here.
Charney, S.A., Camarata, S.M. & Chern, A. (2021). Potential Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Communication and Language Skills in Children. Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery 2, Vol. 165(1) pp. 1-2.
Elliot Major, L., Eyles, A. & Machin, S. (2021). Learning Loss Since Lockdown: Variation Across the Home Nations [online]. Available at: https://cep.lse.ac.uk/pubs/download/cepcovid-19-023.pdf
Eivers, E., Worth, J. & Ghosh, A. (2020). Home learning during Covid-19: findings from the Understanding Society longitudinal study. Slough: NFER.
Gibbs L., Nursey, J., Cook J. et al. (2019). Delayed disaster impacts on academic performance of primary school children. Child Development 90(4): pp. 1402-1412.
Hollo, A., Wehby, J. H., & Oliver, R. M. (2014). Unidentified language deficits in children with emotional and behavioural disorders: a meta-analysis. Exceptional Children 80 (2), pp.169-186.
Hunt, E. et al. (2022) COVID-19 and Disadvantage. Gaps in England 2020. London: Education Policy Institute. Nuffield Foundation.
I CAN (2021) Speaking Up for the Covid Generation. London: I CAN.
Muller, L-M. & Goldenberg, G. (2021) Education in times of crisis: The potential implications of school closures for teachers and students. A review of research evidence on school closures and international approaches to education during the COVID-19 pandemic. London: Chartered College of Teaching.
Saunders, G.H., Jackson, I.R. & Visram, A.S. (2020): Impacts of face coverings on communication: an indirect impact of COVID-19. International Journal of Audiology, DOI: 10.1080/14992027.2020.1851401
Sims, S. (2020) Briefing Note: School Absences and Pupil Achievement. UCL. Available at: https://repec-cepeo.ucl.ac.uk/cepeob/cepeobn1.pdf
Vogel, S. & Schwabe, L. (2016) Learning and memory under stress: implications for the classroom. Science of Learning 1(1): pp.1-10.
YoungMinds (2020) Coronavirus: Impact on young people with mental health needs. Available at: https://youngminds.org.uk/media/3708/coronavirus-report_march2020.pdf
Posted By Ann McCarthy,
25 April 2022
Updated: 21 April 2022
Dr Ann McCarthy, NACE Research & Development Director, shares examples from our recent member meetup on the theme “rethinking assessment”.
As part of NACE’s current research into effective assessment strategies, we recently brought our member schools together for a meetup at New College Oxford, to share thoughts and examples of successful practice. We examined assessment as a systematic procedure drawing from a range of activities and evidence. We saw how this contrasted with the necessary but limiting practice of testing, which is a product not open to interpretation.
Practitioners attending the meetup generously shared established and emerging approaches to assessment and were able to discuss the related strengths and challenges. They had time to examine the ways in which new practices had been introduced and strategies used to overcome any barriers or difficulties. Most importantly, they articulated the positive impact that these practices were having on the learning and development of pupils in their care.
When schools develop successful assessment strategies, they consider the following questions:
How does it link to whole school vision?
Where does it sit inside the model for curriculum, teaching and learning?
Who is the assessment for?
What is the plan for assessment?
What types of assessment can be used?
What is going to be assessed?
What evidence will result from the assessment?
How will the evidence be used or interpreted?
How can assessment information be used by teacher and pupil?
What impact does assessment information have on teaching and learning?
How does assessment impact on cognition, cognitive strategies, metacognition and personal development?
Example 1: “purple pen” at Toot Hill School
Toot Hill School shared how the use of the “purple pen” strategy can be effective in developing the learning and metacognition of secondary-age pupils.
Pupils most commonly receive feedback at three stages in the learning process:
Immediate feedback (live) – at the point of teaching
Summary feedback – at the end of a phase of knowledge application/topic/assessment
Review feedback – away from the point of teaching (including personalised written comments)
A purple pen can be used to:
Annotate purposeful learning steps;
Make notes when listening to key learning points;
Respond to whole-class feedback;
Facilitate peer assessment;
Respond to teacher marking;
Question and develop themes to achieve learning objectives;
Recognise key vocabulary;
Explain learning processes.
Much of the success of this strategy at Toot Hill School can be attributed to the clear teaching and learning strategy which is in place and the consistency of practice across the school. Some schools have used this practice in the past and abandoned it due to inconsistency, lack of evidence of impact or increased workload. At Toot Hill this is not the case as its introduction included a consideration of overall practice and workload. Pupils are fully conversant with the aims and expectations. Subject leaders are well-informed and work together to ensure that pupils moving between subjects have the same expectation. Here we find assessment planned carefully within ambitious teaching and learning routines.
This example of effective assessment demonstrates the importance of feedback within the assessment process. In this example pupils are being assessed but also assessing their own learning. They have greater control of their learning. This practice is particularly effective for more able learners, who will make their own notes on actions needed to improve. They are also influential in promoting good learning behaviours within their classrooms as they model actions needed for improved learning. This practice keeps the focus of assessment on the needs of the learner and the information needed by the learner to become more independent and self-regulating.
Successful assessment practice places the pupil at the heart of the process. Assessment enables pupils to:
Example 2: “closing the loop” at Eggar’s School
Eggar’s School shared details of an initiative which is being piloted, aiming to improve outcomes in formal assessments. A template for whole-class “feed-forward” sheets has been introduced. This shared template enables teachers to keep a track record of assessments. It also tracks their intentions to adapt their teaching as a result of evaluating student assessments. They are focusing on “closing the loop” in feedback and learning.
The rationale behind the strategy is that it is easier for teachers to:
Reflect on attainment over the course of the year, comparing pieces of work by the same student over time;
Compare attainment between year groups and ask: Has teaching improved? Are there different needs / interventions required in the current cohort compared with those of previous years?
Get a snapshot of a student’s work.
The approach also allows the Lead Teacher and Curriculum Leader to spot-check progress and discuss successes or concerns with the class teacher.
As this is an emerging practice, the teachers are learning and adapting their practice to make it increasingly useful. The school’s findings include:
The uniformity of the layout of the feed-forward sheets is helping students to understand the feed-forward process.
Completion of the feed-forward sheets was originally time-consuming, but is now taking less time.
In feed-forward lessons live modelling is being used rather than pre-prepared models.
More prepared models are created in advance of assessment points as guidelines/reference tools for students.
Prepared models are used after formal assessment as a comparison for students to use when self- or peer-assessing their performance.
The specific focus in the feed-forward sheets on SPaG has been a helpful reminder to utilise micro-moments in lessons to consolidate technical skills.
The teacher uses a ‘Students of Concern’ section (not visible to students) to provide additional support and interventions and to reflect on the success of any previous intervention.
‘Closing the Loop’ books have been introduced and have become a powerful tool in improving the value of assessment as a teaching and learning experience. These use a template for whole-class feedback and enable teachers to keep a track record of assessments and a track of their intentions in terms of adaptations to teaching as a result of assessment information about students’ knowledge, understanding and progress.
This is an example of assessment which is increasing the teacher’s criticality of the teaching and learning process and their expertise within this. The pupils benefit from the focused response to their work and the modelled practice. This exemplifies aspects of assessment used to achieve high-quality teaching:
“Rethinking assessment” across the NACE community
Other NACE member schools shared their experiences, including:
A focus on understanding personal development – considering ways in which pupils’ overall experience and development can be better understood and supported, as part of assessment.
Retrieval introduced as a core and explicit part of lesson sequences and schemes of work.
The use of science practical activities linked to examination questions, to expose pupils to desirable difficulties. These reveal pupils’ knowledge and skills; support development and progress; and provide information needed to scaffold support at an individual level.
Changes to reporting introduced to empower pupils, as well as informing leaders, teachers and parents.
Developing the use of Rosenshine’s principles with a focus on higher-order questioning; this challenges more able pupils to think more deeply, extends their thinking, and has demonstrable benefits for other pupils in a mixed ability classroom.
Models of excellence shared with pupils.
Use of film resources and extended book study to encourage critical thinking and application of skills.
These varied approaches to assessment reflect the different contexts in which teachers work. They include assessment being used in three distinct ways:
Each of these has a place within teaching and learning. It is important that each type of assessment has a clear purpose and will impact effectively on the quality of teaching and the depth of learning. Pupils need to develop both within and beyond the content constraints of a curriculum. They need to learn about concepts as well as content. They need to understand what they are learning and how it links to other areas of learning. They need to develop cognition and cognitive strategies so that their learning is more useful to them both within school and in life.
The greatest gains can be achieved when the assessment itself is a part of learning and pupils have greater ownership of the process. As assessment practices develop within schools, the aim should be to upskill pupils so that they have the information they need to become self-regulating and to develop metacognitively.
Key factors for successful implementation
During the meetup, we observed that the schools with well-established assessment practice have introduced this within a whole-school ethos and strategy. Staff and pupils have a shared understanding of the use, purpose and benefits of the practice. Middle leaders are influential in the development of strategy, its consistency and the successful use within a subject specific context. Pupils are at the heart of the model and interact with assessment and feedback to improve their own learning. They develop cognitively and understand their own thinking and learning.
Share your experience
We are seeking NACE member schools to share their experiences of effective assessment practices – including new initiatives, and well-established practices.
You may feel that some of the examples cited above are similar to practices in your own school, or you may have well-developed assessment models that would be of interest to others. To share your experience, simply contact us, considering the following questions:
Which area of assessment is used most effectively?
What assessment practices are having the greatest impact on learning?
How do teachers and pupils use the assessment information?
How do you develop an understanding of pupils’ overall development?
How do you use assessment information to provide wider experience and developmental opportunities?
Is assessment developing metacognition and self-regulation?
Plus: NACE is partnering with The Brilliant Club on a webinar exploring the links between metacognition and assessment, featuring practical examples from NACE member schools. Details coming soon – check our webinars page.
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