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.
Do academically strong pupils at your school who are on the Pupil Premium register progress as quickly and attain as highly as academically strong pupils who are not?
Do these students sometimes grasp new concepts quickly and securely in the classroom and show flair and promise in lessons, only to perform less well in exams than their more advantaged peers?
If so, what can be done to close the attainment gap?
In this series of three blog posts, Rachel Macfarlane, Lead Adviser for Underserved Learners at HFL Education, explores the reasons for the attainment gap and offers practical strategies to help close it – focusing in Part 1 on diagnosing the challenges and barriers, and in Part 2 on eliminating economic exclusion. This third instalment explores the importance of a sense of belonging and status.
Our yearning to belong is one of the most fundamental feelings we experience as humans. In psychologist Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the need to experience a sense of connection and belonging sits immediately above the need for basic necessities – food, water, warmth and personal safety.
When we experience belonging, we feel calm and safe. We become more empathetic and our mood improves. In short, as Owen Eastwood explains, belonging is “a necessary condition for human performance” (Belonging, 2021:26).
Learners from less economically advantaged backgrounds than their peers often feel that they don’t fit in and have a low sense of self-worth, regardless of their academic strength. Painfully aware of what they lack compared to others, they can disappear into the shadows, consciously or subconsciously making themselves invisible. They may not volunteer to read or answer questions in class. Or audition for a part in the school play or choir. Or sign up for leadership opportunities.
They may lack the respect, rank and position that is afforded by fitting comfortably into the ‘in group’: identifying with and operating within the dominant culture, possessing the latest designer gear, phone and other material goods, being at the centre of social media groups and activity and connecting effortlessly, through lived experiences and lifestyle, with peers who hold social power and are seen as leaders and role models.
Pupils who are academically strong but who lack status are likely to be fragile and nervous learners, finding it harder to work in teams, to trust others and to accept feedback. Their energy and focus can be sapped by the trauma of navigating social situations, they are prone to feel the weight of external scrutiny and judgement, and all of that will detract from their ability to perform at their best.
The good news is that, as educators, we have amazing powers to convey a sense of belonging and status.
Ten top tips to build learners’ sense of belonging and status
The following simple behaviours convey the message that the educator cares about, is invested in, notices and respects the learner; that they have belief in their potential and want to give their discretionary effort to them.
Welcome them to the class, ensuring that you make eye contact, address them by name and give them a smile – establishing your positive relationship and helping them feel noticed, valued and safe in the learning environment.
Go out of your way to find opportunities to give them responsibilities or assign a role to them, making it clear to them the skills and/or knowledge they possess that make(s) them perfect for the job.
Reserve a place for them at clubs and ensure they are well inducted into enrichment opportunities.
Arrange groupings for activities to ensure they have supportive peers to work with.
Invite them to contribute to discussions, to read and to give their opinions. Don’t allow confident learners to dominate the discussion (learners with high status talk more!) and don’t ask for volunteers to read (students with low status are unlikely to volunteer).
Show respect for their opinions and defer to them for advice. e.g. “So, I’m wondering what might be the best way to go about this. Martha, what do you think?” “That’s a good point, Nitin. I hadn’t thought of that. Thank you!”
Make a point of telling them you think they should put themselves forward for opportunities (e.g. to go to a football trial, audition for the show, apply to be a prefect) and provide support (e.g. with writing an application or practising a speech).
Connect them with a champion or mentor (adult or older peer) from a similar background who has achieved success to build their self-belief.
Secure high-status work experience placements or internships for them.
Invite inspiring role models with similar lived experience into school or build the stories of such role models into schemes of learning and assemblies.
Finally, it is worth remembering that classism (judging a person negatively based on factors such as their home, income, occupation, speech, dialect or accent, lifestyle, dress sense, leisure activities or name) is rife in many schools, as it is in society. In schools where economically disadvantaged learners thrive and achieve impressive outcomes, classism is treated as seriously as the ‘official’ protected characteristics. In these schools, the taught curriculum and staff unconscious bias, EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion) and language training address classism directly and leaders take impactful action to eliminate any manifestations of it.
Plus: this year's NACE Conference will draw on the latest research (including our own current research programme) and case studies to explore how schools can remove barriers to learning and create opportunities for all young people to flourish. Read more and book your place.
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).
In the opening weeks of this term, we held two online meetups for NACE members – focused on exploring challenges and opportunities in the current context, sharing ideas and experiences with peers, and identifying priorities and core principles for the coming weeks and months.
While acknowledging the significant differences in the experiences of both students and staff members over the past six months, the two sessions also highlighted some strong common themes and key messages:
1. Humanity first and teaching first
While wellbeing is and should remain a priority, NACE Associate Neil Jones makes the case that for more able learners, study is in fact an intrinsic part of their humanity. The meetups highlighted the need to focus on restoring learners’ confidence and self-belief; reinstating healthy and effective learning routines; showing care, calm and confidence in learners’ abilities and futures; continuing to consider the needs of the more able in planning and practice (and supporting colleagues to do so); maintaining high expectations and ambitions; and being aware of the risk of learning becoming “endless” for the more able (particularly in remote/independent learning).
2. Assess, but don’t add stress
While meetup attendees agreed on the importance of understanding where students are and identifying gaps in learning, they also emphasised the importance of achieving this without creating additional pressure, either for staff or learners. Take time over this, building in low-/no-stakes assessment, regular verbal feedback, and involving students in the process of identifying where they feel more/less confident and what they need to do next.
3. Stay ambitious in teaching and learning
A recurrent message from the meetups was the importance of remaining ambitious in teaching and learning – balancing the need to pare back/streamline without narrowing the curriculum or lowering expectations, and auditing deficits without leaping to remedial/deficit thinking. Key ideas shared included a focus on meaningful tasks; teaching to where learners could be now; choosing language carefully to inspire, excite and set high expectations; finding ways to incorporate hands-on as well as theoretical learning; finding opportunities for collaboration; and prioritising dialogic teaching and learning – recognising the loss of rich language exchange during school closures.
4.Continue to build on “lessons from lockdown”
Both sessions also highlighted the many innovative practices developed during school closures, many of which will be retained and further developed. Examples included the use of technology and/or project-based learning to support learners in working both independently and in collaboration with one another.
Finally, the meetups reinforced the importance of engaging and listening to students – involving them in conversations about their experience, interests and passions, and making them part of the creative, innovative thinking and discussion that will help schools and individuals continue to move forward positively. Or as NACE Associate Dr Keith Watson has written, “Not merely recovering, but rebounding and reigniting with energy, vigour and a celebration of talents.”
For more on these key messages and other ideas explored during the meetups, watch the recordings:
NACE member meetups are free to attend for all NACE members, offering opportunities to connect and share ideas with peers across the UK and beyond, as well as hearing from NACE Associates and leading schools.
Not yet a NACE member? Starting at just £95 +VAT per year, NACE membership is available for schools (covering all staff), SCITT providers, TSAs, trusts and clusters. Members have access to advice, practical resources and CPD to support the review and improvement of provision for more able learners within a context of challenge and high standards for all. Find out more.
This article was originally published in our “beyond recovery” resource pack. View the original version here.
There are many challenges for EYFS settings this September. It has not been possible to make the usual extensive preparation that would have been carried out to support transition for children, parents and carers. Assessment sharing has been reduced, and with limited or non-existent opportunities to meet new children and families, practitioners will have very limited knowledge of each child. Added to this, many children will have higher anxiety levels than usual around change and separation from families this year, while the lengthy period of social distancing has heavily compromised opportunities to develop relationships, especially for the youngest children.
Government guidance for school reopening states:
“For children in nursery settings, teachers should focus on the prime areas of learning, including: communication and language, personal, social and emotional development (PSED) and physical development. For pupils in Reception, teachers should also assess and address gaps in language, early reading and mathematics, particularly ensuring children’s acquisition of phonic knowledge and extending their vocabulary.” – Guidance for full opening: schools (updated 7 August 2020)
Due to pressure to prioritise vulnerable and low-ability pupils, it is likely that many settings will have placed little emphasis on preparing to identify and support the more able. This is not new. At NACE, we regularly hear from school leaders and practitioners who are striving to improve provision for highly able young people but who face barriers to doing so, and this September will be no exception!
It remains important to address the myths and misconceptions surrounding this group, and to continue to ensure that even our youngest more able pupils are not overlooked, as they too are entitled to a high-quality education. Without appropriate challenge (too low, or too high or unsupported), a learner’s motivation levels will drop, frustration is increased, and children become in danger of coasting.
Providing for more able learners is not about labelling, but about creating a curriculum and learning opportunities which allow all children to flourish.
Ability can be revealed across a range of specific domains or more generally, and not only in traditional academic subjects.
An effective EYFS learning environment which carefully plans for and reflects the seven areas of learning is an excellent foundation for providing children with a variety of rich learning opportunities. However, current hygiene guidance will impact on the range and type of resources practitioners can now safely provide.
Could this be viewed as an opportunity to adopt a fresh creative licence to use and develop your practice in planning for a greater repertoire of open-ended activities? Research within EYFS shows that using the same resources in a variety of ways is effective in challenging pupils to develop their metacognition, similar to the principle of the mastery approach of “finding many different ways”.
The following set of questions could be helpful to think through when planning for or setting up a challenging learning activity:
Does it reflect the interests and curiosity expressed by children?
Have you spent time predicting how the children might interact with the resources you provide?
How will you present the resources in an open and accessible way?
How could you re-use familiar resources in different ways?
How many opportunities will this activity give to enable children to make links to other learning or their own ideas?
A strong emphasis is also being placed on opportunities to learn outdoors, supporting requirements to ensure that only small groups of children are present at any one activity at a time. The government guidance reminds practitioners to “Consider how all groups of children can be given equal opportunities for outdoor learning.”
Maximising outdoor learning time presents a perfect opportunity to develop outdoor provision – a brilliant platform for planning in challenge and open-ended activities for more able learners too. Outdoor learning has always been valued and the EYFS curriculum highlights the importance and value of carefully planned, daily outdoor experiences for children’s physical learning and development. Frequent outdoor learning challenges give children the power to change their perspective – a key underpinning that fosters natural curiosity, active learning, playing and exploring, critical thinking, and creative problem solving – all the things children need to learn how to learn, as stated in the EYFS characteristics of effective learning.
In summary, it is right that much effort should continue to be focused on children’s wellbeing, but we must also ensure that all children (including the more able through quick and effective identification) are given the opportunity to meet their full potential on return to school in September.
Although some “normal” practice will need to be reviewed in order to meet COVID-19 guidance, the preparation and delivery of a broad and ambitious curriculum must not be delayed. There could be serious setbacks to children’s progress if too much emphasis is placed on proposed “catch-up curriculums”, particularly within the reception phase as this is the first stage of formal education for these children.
Unlike other year groups, our new school-starters won’t have missed out on any formal teaching prior to September. We know that it is our very youngest children that have the potential to develop at astonishing rates. It is at this stage where neural pathways need to be built which will enable them to make connections in their learning.
Get set to embrace these incredibly thirsty young learners, an opportunity that should not be missed!
Further questions to consider:
How will you provide for the emotional needs and wellbeing of the children whilst ensuring that learning content is not delayed unnecessarily?
How do you plan to identify more able learners starting with you this term?
How will you need to adjust your physical learning environments to ensure compliance to guidance whilst still seeking to maximise learning engagement, including challenge?
What is the vision for your setting? Where do you hope the children will be by the end of the half-term? How do you plan to achieve this? How will you ensure you have a clear direction, with the flexibility to respond to barriers imposed by the pandemic and the individual needs of all learners, including the more able?
Join the conversation: NACE member meetup, 15 September 2020
Join primary and EYFS leaders and practitioners from across the country on 15 September for an online NACE member meetup exploring approaches to the recovery curriculum and beyond. The session will open with a presentation from NACE Associate Dr Keith Watson, followed by a chance to share approaches and ideas with peers, reflecting on some of the challenges and opportunities outlined above. Find and more and book your place.
Not yet a NACE member? Starting at just £95 +VAT and covering all staff in your school, NACE membership offers year-round access to exclusive resources and expert guidance, flexible CPD and networking opportunities. Membership also available for SCITTs, TSAs, trusts and clusters. Learn more and join today.
NACE Education Adviser Hilary Lowe explores the challenges of “lockdown learning”, how schools are responding, and what lessons could be learned to improve provision for all young people both now and in the years to come.
We have been submerged with COVID-19 stories. But very few of those have told the tale of what is happening to thousands of young people whose lives have been disrupted and delayed or of their teachers who have been keeping calm and carrying on, often going to extraordinary lengths to try to ensure continuity and quality in those young people’s education.
NACE too has been trying to run business as usual wherever possible, working with members and colleagues to find creative and innovative ways of serving the school community in immediate practical ways. We have also been planning for possible future scenarios in the way we work with schools and others involved in supporting the education of highly able young people. We know that things may never be quite the same again. We could even go so far as to hazard that many of the changes we are seeing in the way schools and national organisations are supporting young learners in lockdown are heralding a new age in education.
Could this be the watershed in the paradox of a pandemic that has shut down many forms of normal life which will usher in some of the radical changes pundits are predicting might emerge in other areas of social and economic activity? Could this be the time we move from what is still in many ways the Victorian order of schooling to a new order for the 21st century? An order which connects the best of what we know about how we learn and what we need materially to learn – and how we teach, with the benefits of technology and informed by the needs of society and the individual in the uncertain years to come.
Facing up to the cracks and gaps in the current system
It has been both fascinating and humbling to hear how NACE member schools have moved with great alacrity from largely classroom-based learning to providing schooling, including pastoral support, from a distance. This has often been – although not of course exclusively – from a low base of technological skills and hardware and little training in designing distance learning.
We know with even greater certainty than we did before that young people’s home environments are not always conducive to good learning. We also know that millions of young people do not have access to the technology and basic resources which could support their learning and wellbeing at a distance. The deep cracks in social and economic equity are becoming even more obvious to teachers whose profession at its noblest aims to develop young people to aspire to be the best that they can be. Recent reports from the Sutton Trust, amongst others, attest to the ongoing deep social divisions with which we are already familiar and to the emerging impacts of the pandemic learning lockdown on young people, not only on their achievement but also on their aspirations (Sutton Trust, 2020).
Acknowledging the stark picture painted by the Sutton Trust research on pupil engagement and the capacity of schools to deliver distance learning, we know through contact with our member schools and through our two recent online member meetups that there are both state schools and independent schools making things work despite the odds. NACE has been privileged to be able to gather a wealth of knowledge about both what is working well in supporting learning at home and what is proving most challenging.
Challenges and concerns
Lack of engagement from learners and parents
Lack of technologies and resources at home
Marking and feedback
Accelerating and monitoring progress for all learners
Learner choices and future decisions e.g. options, post-16, post-18
Future behaviours and engagement when back in school
Growing ‘disadvantage gaps’ and how to manage/remediate
Supporting learners with additional, particular needs e.g. SEND
More able learners who are socially disadvantaged
More able learners affected by the pressure they put on themselves or excessive pressure from parents
Transitions and transition points e.g. Years 6 and 13
Negative effects on mental health and wellbeing
Realities of what can be achieved at home
Teacher capacity and skills
What’s working?
Clear, consistent cross-school strategy regarding distance learning and learner contact
Systematic approaches with checks and monitoring
Making expectations clear to learners and parents (e.g. parental guidance and communication apps)
Different models according to need, age, experience of online learning, populations, access to technology and resources e.g. some schools delivering a “normal” timetable of lessons virtually; some providing a mix of timetabled lessons, extended projects, suggested downtime activities; some schools delivering individualised learning packs to pupils’ homes
Many schools favour a mix of online and offline learning
Some schools are trying to tailor provision to individual needs e.g. more able learners having access to appropriately challenging resources, guest speakers, debates and projects which involve higher level skills and knowledge
Some schools are prioritising language development and reading as a priority
In the best of cases schools plan home learning according to best practice in effective learning and effective distance learning e.g. retrieval/recall, use/application, new learning etc; judicious use of what can be learned without too much scaffolding; sometimes readjusting planned schemes and schedules of work; allotting “transition time” for catch-up and individual support
Some schools are trying to connect current distance learning to future work to be undertaken when school restarts
Emphasis on motivation and keeping learners engaged e.g. feedback, praise and rewards, competitions
Emphasis on supporting wellbeing and mental health
Regular contact via email/text and phone e.g. once a week and sometimes once a day for more vulnerable groups
Platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google Classroom enable greater participation and interaction, peer-to-peer and peer-to-teacher
For more insights into how schools are responding to current challenges, watch the recordings of our recent virtual member meetups:
Secondary session (28 April 2020)
Primary session (29 April 2020)
What lasting improvements will be made?
In addition to considering how the many and significant challenges will be addressed, it is interesting to speculate on what will be taken forward from all the excellent practice we have seen being developed. Even more interesting might be to speculate on the more radical consequences of the current period on how we teach and learn in future, not only to be ready for further periods of uncertainty but perhaps because we have glimpsed and exercised approaches that might simply allow to do things better for all our young people. Perhaps we have also glimpsed ways in which we as educators would prefer to approach our profession, learning and development.
To conclude then, here are a few future schooling scenarios. Some are more readily doable and could in the short-term help to mitigate the educational damage currently being wrought. Some will require more radical changes in thinking and resourcing at a national level. It is encouraging that we are seeing in this country at least a recognition of and the opening of a debate about how to alleviate some of the collateral damage produced by the present schooling situation and the educational inequalities it is making more visible.
Future scenarios:
Every child in school ensured access to appropriate education technology (basic internet access in every home with school-aged children?)
Schools open longer as “learning hubs”, equipped and resourced to support children’s and parents’ learning and wellbeing
Priority given to developing parental and community engagement
School structures and timetables to allow greater tailoring of learning and greater personalisation e.g. through mixed-mode learning, time for one-to-one, consolidation etc
A major focus in all schools on high-level language development, reading and cultural capital
Emphasis on development of metacognition, independent learning and study skills
Planned opportunities for all learners, including the more able, to learn and be assessed at appropriate levels and points in their learning
School staff trained in designing online learning and assessment in conjunction with evidence-based classroom pedagogies
Greater use of technology for professional dialogue, planning and CPD
As well as responding to the current situation through increased online CPD, resources and guidance, NACE is planning additional ways to support schools and more able learners in the medium- and long-term. As always, this will include listening to what members are telling us about what they need, encouraging more schools to join the NACE community, and making our voice heard at policy levels and with partner organisations to ensure that learners, including the most able, are at the heart of any educational change and improvement.
What would be most useful for you and your school this term? Complete this short survey to help shape our response.
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:
And read on for seven ideas shared by NACE members…
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.”
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.
Posted By Alison Tarrant,
06 December 2018
Updated: 08 April 2019
Is your school library the chosen enclave of a select few, or does it truly cater for, challenge and engage all learners? Ahead of Libraries Week (8-13 October 2018), Alison Tarrant, Chief Executive of the School Library Association, shares six signs your school library is getting it right…
1. There are (almost) as many people as books
This may sound obvious, but if your school library is characterised by absolute tidiness and ghostly silence… that’s not good. Everyone should be welcome in the school library, and everyone should be busy doing something – whether it’s reading, debating, being part of a club, revising or drawing. This makes sure the space doesn’t become exclusive to a single group, preventing labelling of users. Obviously, it’ll always be quieter on a beautiful summer’s day and always busier when it’s pouring with rain, but everyone should feel like the space is their space.
2. Every part of your collection offers challenge
All the sections within your school library collection should offer a range of levels. For example, when buying graphic novels make sure you choose some that are complex and challenging and others that are easier to access – this stops certain parts of the collection being painted as just for “brainy” or “stupid” children. Each collection should have something to suit a range of reading habits. Short stories work for reluctant readers and for more able readers. Classics can do the same, so don’t label the collection to attract a certain group – this can end up limiting their reading journey. Workshops on certain genres, such as graphic novels or illustration, can widen reading choices and enhance engagement.
3. Your librarian is… not in the library
This may be controversial, but the librarian/library manager should not be in the library all the time. They should be having meetings with subject leaders, more able coordinators, SENCos and so on. The school library should cater for all subjects across all year groups and all cohorts – which means the person running it needs the information about who’s teaching what, who’s struggling with what and what’s going on in school generally. Apparently it takes being told something three times to take it in, so make sure the school library is supporting the messages you are teaching or talking about in assembly. Talking about censorship? Ask for a “banned books” display. Discussing mental health? Ask for a visual resources list on this topic.
4. Library clubs are driven by learner demand
Clubs that run in libraries can be brilliant, but they can also be demanding and (as with everything) they take time from something else. Make sure they cater to a variety of students and are based on students’ interests. Following the Carnegie Medal might work well for Years 9-10; so then try the Excelsior Award or follow the Blue Peter Award. An illustration club may attract yet a different range of students. If possible let them select the best time for the club to run – try breakfast meets before school or brief lunchtime clubs as alternatives to after school. If you notice a cohort isn’t using the space, ask them why and talk to the librarian about running a club or event that would appeal to this group.
5. Your resource lists really do have something for everyone
All resource lists should fulfil a range of needs. All resources can be complex or easier in cognitive ability or composition, so you need to know the resources and know the pupils. One learner may be better with a more complicated written piece but a simpler video resource. Another may prefer an audio book as opposed to an e-resource. Resource lists should be about range – the right material for the right child in the right format at the right time.
6. Learners are empowered to be discerning readers
Always try to offer a range of levels when suggesting books. Within all genres there’s a range of reading and cognitive abilities required, and learners will also need different types of book at different times. Consider Year 6 transition – a primary school library may not have the range a secondary school library can offer, so learners need to know there are still new places to go on their reading journey. At other times, a learner might want a “reading rest” – a gentle book that doesn’t strain them but is engaging. A good habit is to recommend three books and ask the learner to read the first chapter of each to get a flavour, then ask them what they thought about each one. This will help you get it right in future, and help them consider their likes and dislikes. Each young person needs to become discerning in their reading, choosing a path and establishing the reasoning, and articulating it for each book selection. The conversations are important, as well as the reading itself.
Alison Tarrant is the Chief Executive of the School Library Association (SLA), and a Bookseller Rising Star 2018. She previously worked as a school librarian, and was on the Honour List for the School Librarian of the Year in 2016, as well as serving as a trustee for the SLA. The SLA is committed to supporting everyone involved with school libraries, offering training and resources to promote high-quality reading and learning opportunities for all. Launched this year, the Great School Libraries campaign is a three-year campaign dedicated to raising the profile of school libraries.
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