Welcome Victoria Wells, Vice Principal I'm very proud to welcome you to Cowes Enterprise College’s second CPD journal. We began the academic year developing our pedagogy with a sharp focus upon literacy and oracy. We worked with Voice21 and benefited from their Oracy Leaders Programme who gave us the insight into where the academy is on the journey to excellent oracy and we studied ways we can put oracy at the heart of the curriculum. Staff selected to pursue one of three strands after a carousel of workshops on all - embedding tier 3 vocabulary direct instruction into their teaching, developing strategies to improve student oracy or supporting reading and writing more effectively thus developing academic literacy. These projects relied upon selecting effective, research-informed strategies and using them in lessons with students to gauge the positive impact. On March 23rd 2020 this approach became impossible. We swiftly reviewed our CPD provision and moved all resources online to the CPD library. We invested in collating the best of educational research and evidence for staff to access remotely with the assistance of wealth of online articles and research reviews from the Chartered College of Teaching. We set up online collaborative spaces where staff can discuss their findings and reflect upon their practice. Staff were given a wider choice of reading broadly categorised into seven distinct areas; tackling disadvantage, high challenge and expectations, SEND, student wellbeing, cognitive science, developing literacy and oracy. Staff were encouraged, in addition to their online discussion, to complete a literature review summarising their findings on their topic. It is this work along with CPD undertaken in the first half of the academic year, you can find contained within this journal. Some staff were able to carry on with their original work and so you will find a literacy and oracy bias. It is a great pleasure to introduce this year's journal which, in March, looked unlikely to come to fruition due to school closure but with the tenacity and flexibility of all staff we were able to produce the journal you see here. I have been inspired by the deep reflection that all staff have engaged in and proud to present this journal as just the tip of the iceberg of the professional development that has taken place.
I completed a search of the journal and these are our most mentioned people and organisations, so if you want a start for your own reading these are our recommendations. Education Endowment Foundation
Robert J Marzano @robertjmarzano
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/ Alex Quigley @HuntingEnglish
Chartered College of Teaching https://chartered.college/
Jo Huchinson @JoJoHutchinson Andy Tharby @atharby
Doug Lemov @Doug_Lemov David Didau @DavidDidau
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Contents Tackling disadvantage .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Catherine Eriksson - What actions can teachers take to tackle disadvantage and the attainment gap? Focus on Isle of Wight ................................................................................................................................. 5 Michelle Vidovic - How can we tackle disadvantage in PE, Health and Social Care and Children’s Play Learning and Development? ........................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Lisa Pitman - How can we harness of feedback to tackle disadvantage in the classroom? Disadvantaged pupils and the attainment gap..................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Hannah Wisniowski - A comparison of the impact of disadvantage on Canadian and British students and what this suggests for tackling the attainment gap .................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Alexandra Duffin - Is education in the UK truly inclusive and successful? Is the gap being closed for disadvantaged students in secondary PE? .................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Adam Brown - How can parental support and cultural change close the gap?Error! Bookmark not defined. Tom Harding - How can we tackle disadvantage through a knowledge –led curriculum?Error! Bookmark not defined. Jess Lewis - Tackling disadvantage – literature review ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Jemma Harding - Tackling disadvantage ‘The magic key to unlocking the secret behind the gap’ .. Error! Bookmark not defined. Chris Rice - How should we best support disadvantaged students? .......... Error! Bookmark not defined. Antonio Gianotta - What is the most efficient way for us, as educators, to actively tackle the disadvantage gap? ............................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. High challenge and expectations ....................................................................................................................... 12 Laura Augustus - How can I get the balance of challenge? ...................................................................... 13 Justine Doughty - Let’s Hear it for the Boys: what is the best way to engage and challenge boys to excel in English? ...................................................................................................................................................... 16 Kristian Parker-Meadows - How can we set high expectations of behaviour?Error! Bookmark not defined. Oscar Artacho Esplugues - The importance of building relationships with students to promote good progress in Music.......................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Fiona Ryan – How can I remove the stigma of algebra? ............................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Donna Brihmani - How can I set and maintain high expectations in Music lessons? Error! Bookmark not defined. Helen Davis - How do I set high expectations by managing behaviour in Physical Education during first few years of teaching? ................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. Claire Brooks - Ask yourself: “Will all children be challenged by this…?” ............................................... 22 David Sanchez-Brown - How do we nurture a resilient, hardworking attitude to sixth form study?..... 25 Aaron Hartup - Managing behaviour and the strategies to ensure a productive learning environment28 Vanessa Wester - How does a mastery approach to fractions impact low ability learners? .................. 31 Cecelia Bloom - How does the change of instructions of a topic help lower ability students access the topic? ......................................................................................................................................................... 35 Eniko Rus - The importance of generalisation in developing Algebraic thinking .................................... 37 Hazel Walker - How can we overcome the Grade 6 Barrier in Maths?.................................................... 40 2
SEND ................................................................................................................................................................... 44 Tineke Rock – Understanding autism, Asperger’s and ADHD, University of Derby ................................ 44 Niall Hall - The SEND Code of Practice ...................................................................................................... 45 Danielle Homes - Education for all- Disability, diversity and inclusion.................................................... 50 Jackie Cooper - SLCN Reflective review .................................................................................................... 50 Lewis Pavey - Literature review on Dyslexia ............................................................................................. 52 Carrie-Anne Cooke - GriffinOT Sensory Processing training..................................................................... 53 Sarah Wyeth - What strategies can we use to support students with dyslexia? .................................... 55 Student wellbeing (including impact of the Covid 19 school closure) ............................................................... 62 Stella Ramsey - What impact has Coronavirus had on student well-being? ........................................... 62 Jane Bennett - What is the effect of social media/ screen use and sleep on young people’s mental health and wellbeing? .......................................................................................................................................... 62 Fiona Sheppard – How can we prepare SEND students to return to school after Covid?....................... 63 Julie Crane – What is the impact of high expectations and challenge for all on student mental health?65 James Goode - How is the coronavirus lockdown affecting the mental health of children with SEND?68 Charlene Davis - A review of children’s and young people’s mental health & support .......................... 70 Jo Rudd - Literature review: studies into the impact of sleep and screen/social media use on young people’s mental health and wellbeing. .................................................................................................... 73 Cognitive science................................................................................................................................................ 75 Charlie Day - Literature Review of Three Cognitive Science Approaches to Teaching and Learning ..... 75 Victoria Leonard - How can we developing metacognitive strategies to help students progress in MFL?79 Kelly Wiltshire - How can we help students to make meaning in geography? Using dual coding and graphic schemas ..................................................................................................................................................... 82 Nila Pretty - How can we use metacognition to encourage students? .................................................... 97 Gemma Calloway - Pursuing Knowledge Mastery .................................................................................. 103 Julia Doughan – How can we developing writing skills among underachieving pupil premium students in year 10? ................................................................................................................................................... 107 Karen Beck - Cognitive load awareness in relation to Powerpoints in English lessons......................... 111 Louis Mircescu - Use of concrete versus abstract learning materials .................................................... 115 Kelly Daniel - Cognitive Load Theory: A robust and retentive long term memory................................ 119 Developing literacy .......................................................................................................................................... 121 Sarah Rouse - How can we face the challenge of mathematical homonyms? ...................................... 121 Catherine Coull – How can we support students in completing extended writing? ............................. 125 Jo Gibson - How can we support students to apply the information read and used in teaching to their assessed work? ........................................................................................................................................ 128 Natalie Lawrence - How can we using the Frayer Model to improve substantive vocabulary in History?130 Simon Hughes - How can I ensure that Year 9 BTEC Sport students use the tier 3 vocabulary to reach the highest level of attainment? ................................................................................................................... 134 Peter Johnson - Supporting the literacy requirements in A Level Further Mathematics...................... 136 3
Tamsin Jackson - How can the use of authentic target language (TL) encourage engagement in reading at GCSE MfL? ................................................................................................................................................ 139 Craig Mussell - How can we improve extended written responses in GCSE Science? .......................... 142 Alex Kingswell-Cleaves – How can we assist students in accessing subject specific academic texts? .. 146 David Foster - How valuable is key vocabulary in increasing the ability of students solve mathematical problems? ................................................................................................................................................ 149 Lorna Churms - How can we help improve students’ writing? .............................................................. 151 Nick Wiltshire - Literature review: Developing vocabulary teaching in an educational setting ........... 154 Jay-Anne Tisdale - How can we support students with tier three vocabulary in Science? ................... 160 Bethaney Padden - How can we help students to decode and apply tier three vocabulary? .............. 164 Lynsey Greenfield – How can we help students learn and retain tier three vocabulary? .................... 170 Rebecca Price - Expanding Literacy and Vocabulary .............................................................................. 175 Rachel Kitley – How can we develop the modelling and scaffolding of complex writing expectations using FEAST?...................................................................................................................................................... 176 Becs White – How can we tackle the limited vocabulary, phraseology and sentence structures used in Academic Writing? .................................................................................................................................. 179 Victoria Wells - How can I be strict with everyone, including myself, in consistently using the tier 3 vocabulary that I’ve taught? ................................................................................................................... 183 Oracy ................................................................................................................................................................ 185 Sarah Welton – How can we promote high quality Oracy? ................................................................... 185 Laura Burnett – How can we help students access Shakespeare by harnessing Oracy? ...................... 189 Helen Cater - How can I use oracy to improve student participation and quality of responses? ........ 193 Ann Wright – Looking at Oracy in the Art room ..................................................................................... 195 Emilie Rajasingam - How can we develop listening skills in the MFL classroom? ................................. 199 Andy Green - Talking together – ‘Talk the Talk’ ..................................................................................... 202
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Tackling disadvantage Catherine Eriksson - What actions can teachers take to tackle disadvantage and the attainment gap? Focus on Isle of Wight The focus of my research and reading was on the identification and possible actions of tackling disadvantage within the classroom. From my point of view, the amount of reading I have done around this subject previously is minimal. I am aware, through media reports and school results, that the Isle of Wight is drastically behind academically compared to other areas of the country and that there are large discrepancies between those who are and are not disadvantaged. Therefore, I wanted to investigate the part I can play at addressing this attainment gap and ultimately, the role I have in helping students move towards a positive future. I set out to explore a range of areas, including trying to find out how the Isle of Wight compares statistically to other areas in the country, what factors cause students to be classed as disadvantaged, and whether it is possible for groups or areas to slip through the gap and not be reported upon. Ultimately, I aimed to uncover strategies that I can implement to reduce disadvantage within my classes. To enable me to do this, I set out to research the strategies used by schools with the aim of applying to my own practise. I question whether there are opportunities to share ideas between different schools and to effectively work together to reduce disadvantage across the island, not just on an individual school level. Closing the Gap? Trends in Educational Attainment and Disadvantage; Jon Andrews, David Robinson and Jo Hutchinson, August 2017, Education Policy Institute Closing the gap between students is essential and I wanted to explore how significant the issue is. By reading Closing the Gap? Trends in Educational Attainment and Disadvantage; Jon Andrews, David Robinson and Jo Hutchinson, August 2017, Education Policy Institute, it was emphasised immediately that their ‘first important finding is that the gap is closing, but at a very slow rate.’ However, despite significant investment and targeted intervention programmes, the gap between disadvantaged 16 year old pupils and their peers has only narrowed by three months of learning between 2007 and 2016. In 2016, the gap nationally, at the end of secondary school, was still 19.3 months. In fact, disadvantaged pupils fall behind their more affluent peers by around 2 months each year over the course of secondary school. It is of course encouraging that the gap is closing but the rate at which this is occurring is worrying. Why is this the case? There must be clear strategies available to enable schools to effectively work with the students to improve attainment to those who are classed as being from a disadvantaged background. At the current rate of progress, ‘it is estimated currently that the gap could take 50 years to close.’ This estimation does not of course take into account the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the scale of impacts of which are unknown. With it being reported that only a third of students have engaged with work set online, the repercussions are bound to be highly significant and long lasting. A BBC report released on June 16th 2020, reported on the findings from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). The findings highlighted that the vast majority of teachers (90%) say their 5
pupils are doing less or much less work than they would normally at this time of the year. The report says head teachers believe around a third of pupils are not engaging with set work. Limited or no access to technology was a problem for around a quarter (23%) of pupils, school leaders told the NFER. Is this going to widen the disadvantage gap even further? Government must play a major role in supporting those as disadvantage when resources to enable learning are part of the issue. ‘The government says it has committed over £100m to help home learning.’ The report raises particular concern about the impact of school closures, due to Covid 19, on the learning of pupils from the most disadvantaged areas, saying pupil engagement is lower in schools with the highest levels of deprivation. Returning to the utilisation of further reading; Closing the Gap? Trends in Educational Attainment and Disadvantage reported on the ‘large regional variation in closing the gap.’ Evidence shows that it is possible but the rate of change is much too slow. They continued to report that ‘in order to prevent the gap from growing throughout primary and secondary schools, we need to tackle the differential rates of progress that disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils make.’ These findings triggered me to read further to find out where the Isle of Wight is positioned in terms of the gap between those who are classed as disadvantaged and those who are not. The report revealed that the Isle of Wight falls into the following categories: •
Local authority attainment, by phase, in 2016:
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Early Years: top 25%
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Primary schools: bottom 25%
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Secondary schools: bottom 25%
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Progress in primary and secondary: bottom 25%
The Isle of Wight has the largest gap in the country at secondary school level of 29 months whereas the smallest gaps were in: ‘Newham for early years children (no gap), Poole for primary school pupils (5 months), Kensington & Chelsea for secondary school pupils (just 1 month). The data shows that on the Isle of Wight, there has been a reduction in the gap at primary school level but early years and secondary, the gap continues to widen; by 3.3 months at secondary level.’ I believe that there is a risk of the Isle of Wight being hidden within the south eastern region given that there is a lot of narrower gaps in surrounding counties. It is important for us to understand where the issues lie and this can therefore move on to what strategies can be implemented to narrow this gap. The report found that ‘overall, EAL pupils have lower attainment than their non-EAL peers during primary school but, by the end of secondary school, this gap has disappeared altogether. ‘In fact, by this point EAL pupils are marginally ahead of their nonEAL peers. However, there are still many EAL students who are falling behind and the statement above does not apply to all.’ It is arguable as to whether this is applicable to the Isle of Wight, with 3.2% of students being classed as EAL compared to 16.9% nationally (LA Interactive tool, 2019). Equally, even though a percentage is low, it does not take away the importance and contribution that this group of students can make. The report highlights that SEND groups area of course a wide group encompassing many different subgroups. Much more analysis is needed to fully understand the many layers with regard to SEND and 6
further analysis is needed to gain a fuller understanding with individual strategies required to focus upon reducing disadvantage. ‘There has been some progress in closing the gap for disadvantaged pupils in England over the last decade. It has not, however, been either fast, or consistent.’ Without strong, long term interventions, the disadvantage gap will continue to exist for many generations to come and it is arguable as to whether it can ever be eradicated. While large disadvantage exists within society, disadvantage in schools will also continue. Although opportunity areas have been identified by the government, this still leaves many areas and groups with a widening gap without the necessary funding to address the issue. Equally, it could be argued that even within those areas receiving funding, progress is still too slow. It is clear that the gap in attainment has existed over a long period of time and it seems that to date, there has either not been the emphasis or resources to tackle the problem. Yet some areas have been able to improve the situation so the question is, why are some areas able to do this and others not? Is it due to economic wealth, engagement with government policy or other factors? Perhaps a combination which explains why it is difficult to find a one size fits all solution. Regardless, progress is too slow and change is needed. But will it get priority and focus? Especially in the current climate of lockdown 2020. The current situation will only exacerbate the problem but is it deemed important enough of the government’s agenda to address? There are a range of factors causing the disadvantage gap and schools and local authorities must continue to research and address these range of factors. The Isle of Wight is clearly an area whereby significant gaps exist in attainment levels at both primary and secondary. Although primary schools are making slow progress, it does not appear to be happening in secondary schools. Why is there such a gap between the island and the mainland and what can be done about it? It also seems to be a potential issue that the Isle of Wight may not get the resources and attention it needs due to its geographical location in the south east of England where it is next to or close to other lesson problematic regions. Impact Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching, Chartered College of Teacher, Designing a Curriculum to Nurture Compassionate Citizens, September 2018. My reading progressed to exploring strategies designed to reduce the disadvantage gap. ‘Designing a Curriculum to Nurture Compassionate Citizens’ Emphasised the importance that curriculums should be designed to consider their local setting with an importance of an ‘ethic of trust and listening.’ The article focussed upon three strands: ‘Habits of mind, dialogue and oracy and playful enquiry. These ‘golden threads’ then influenced the values-led, text-rich and domain-specific structuring of curriculum knowledge and skills.’ It is clear that research, models and curriculum design across the fields of education place individuality and mental well-being at the core of their focus. I sincerely agree with this holistic approach and believe an individual’s mental health is paramount in allowing them to open up to be able to set themselves targets and aspire to reach them. The intention of the curriculum design was to ‘develop a research-informed curriculum and a reactive professional community that takes nothing for granted.’ Linked from this I located further options to read, including Why should ‘powerful knowledge’ be a curriculum principle for schools in disadvantaged contexts? Robbie Burns, 2018. (https://impact.chartered.college/article/applying-powerful-knowledgeprinciple-curriculum-development-disadvantaged-contexts/). ‘Powerful knowledge can enable 7
students to acquire knowledge that takes them beyond their own experiences’ (Young et al., 2014, p. 7). This is particularly important in disadvantaged contexts in relation to the promotion of social justice. In Young et al.’s (2014) view, it is the educational right of the child to receive a comprehensive education committed to academic excellence – regardless of background or social standing. Knowledge-led curricula attempt to provide young people with a school experience that enables them to be socially mobile, for this is at the core of what social justice is: enabling all people, regardless of socio-economic background, to be provided with the opportunities to succeed in life.’ This text really brings home the importance of providing experiences within education, giving students power to gain strength and confidence socially. I firmly agree with this and believe that we should look for opportunities for students to gain experiences and further their knowledge of the world that surrounds them. This of particular importance when students do now have opportunities for these experiences outside of the school environment. My reading led me further to consider the key components and support networks in place for those who are considered disadvantaged. Education Endowment Foundation (https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/ highlighted the critical role that teaching assistants (TA’s) have to play in education in all settings. Essentially, ‘TA’s are absolutely vital for tackling disadvantage.’ TA’s should be used to develop independent learning skills and communication with TA’s should form part of all elements of curriculum planning and lesson delivery; a point I wholeheartedly agree with. I believe that too often TA’s consider themselves to be in the way or not influential but if utilised, respected and integrated within the class, they are absolutely invaluable. TA’s of course should be used to deliver tasks to small groups. ‘The key is to ensure that learning in interventions is consistent with, and extends work inside the classroom and that pupils understand the links between them.’ Support is needed to help the students make links. Staff at all levels in school are important to ensure TA’s are effectively utilised. A Scaffolding Framework can be used to support a student’s learning within a lesson with the TA being able to confidently guide and support a student through the lesson requirements. . Ideally, pupils should ‘self-scaffold’ which is the most independent option. ‘Self-scaffolding involves students planning their approach to work, problem solving as they go and reviewing their approach.’ If whole school, consistent approaches are used to integrate TA’s successfully into lesson time, their impact can increase and their value be tangible. Lemov Setting High Expectations – Teach like a Champion (Doug Lemov (2010) ‘Teach Like a Champion’) ‘One consistent finding of academic research is that high expectations are the most reliable driver of high student achievement.’ I agree and believe that this should be the case across all student profiles. If students have the belief that they can achieve, their chances to do so will ultimately increase. Lemov provided 5 key principles outlined below. 1. No opt out: ‘Its not ok not to try.’ Sequence learning – give a student trying to opt out, the absolute chance to succeed. Sequence begins with a student unable to answer a question, should end with the student answering the question as often as possible. Note: I do think that teachers should be careful not to make students feel either picked on or self-conscious. 2. Right is right: Set and defend a high standard of correctness in your classroom. Insist on a high standard of accuracy. Don’t ‘round up’ for the student but encourage them to do it themselves.
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3. Stretch it: Reward right answers and then extend with further questions. How? Why? Go beyond the original answer. 4. Format matters: ‘The complete sentences is the battering ram that knocks down the door to college.’ - Slang - Full sentences - Good listening ‘It’s not just what students say that matters but how they communicate it. To succeed,’ students must take their knowledge and express it in the language of opportunity.’ 5. -
Without apology: don’t apologise for teaching worthy content. Don’t assume and communicate that something is boring Don’t blame the syllabus/curriculum Accessible is acceptable Don’t apologise for something being too hard for students
Closing the Gap? Trends in Educational Attainment and Disadvantage; Jon Andrews, David Robinson and Jo Hutchinson, August 2017, Education Policy Institute. I read about the significance of the regional gaps between students classed as being at a disadvantage and although there are efforts being made to close this gap, progress is too slow when there is potential to do so much more. The Isle of Wight stood out as being highlighted as an area where disadvantage is significant compared to other regions. I wanted to move on to finding strategies I could practically use to support students in my lessons. There were some useful resources with regard to this. One I found particularly useful was Lemov Setting High Expectations - Teach like a Champion. The strategies referred to were useful and summarised as: No opt out, right is right, stretch it, format matters, without apology. There are a wide range of factors, of course, leading to disadvantage within schools and it is paramount that the right strategies are applied to overcome the issues, and to reduce the varying differences between regions across the UK. I would like my further reading to address strategies. My main goal is to be able to apply my findings and adapt them to my own classroom practise to enable no child to be at a disadvantage, irrelevant of their back ground and social position. Tackling Educational Disadvantage: A Toolkit for North Yorkshire Schools, (Marc Rowland March 2017), provided me with the hope that this would be a useful resource for me to incorporate into my own practise; the project summarised in the report was deemed to have ‘provided (us) with a sharp focus to ask questions about our practice, trial new ways of working and has opened up lots of professional discussions about what we want for our disadvantaged pupils. We all feel reinvigorated by it and it has been the driving force behind both tangible and intangible shifts in culture and expectations across school.’ (North Yorkshire Senior Leader). ‘We have challenged ourselves to create opportunities for all, regardless of background or barrier to learning.’ (Secondary AHT). ‘Key vulnerable areas were identified and strategies recorded to address disadvantage within school. This included ensuring that disadvantaged pupils were targeted to highly skilled, experienced teachers with lows rates of absence.’ It was highlighted that teacher stress and absence has an impact upon the outcome of disadvantaged pupils. I would however like to acknowledge that although this may be the case, surely just a big an issue to address is staff well-being 9
and workload to ensure that staff are happy and attending their workplace. This is specifically noted in the document ‘staff wellbeing is prioritised. Disadvantaged pupils are disproportionately impacted by high staff absence/turnover.’ I hope that these strategies are permanent and consistent. Again, similarly to the previous reading I have undertaken, the importance of the whole school team is essential; ‘senior leaders (including governors) are aware of appropriate funding sources to support need. Pupil Premium should not be seen as the answer to every barrier to learning.’ With a whole school understanding and the collaboration of all resources, disadvantaged can be tackled and outcomes can be fair for all. ‘Having high expectations is critically important. It is an entitlement for all.’ This is reflected also in the previous reading I have undertaking, exemplified by the strategies identified in Lemov Setting High Expectations – Teach like a Champion. ‘Children are expected to make the necessary progress they need to attain well. ‘Expected progress’ (or even better than ‘expected progress’) can still lead to underachievement if starting points are low or if progress has been disrupted. Open, whole school data matters. Terms such as ‘bottom set, low attainers and low ability’ are removed from school vocabulary. All school staff adopt a shared language around high expectations. I would question whether adjusting school language in this way is as valuable as suggested. Teachers must be able to identify those students who are underachieving and as long their language to the students themselves is appropriate and sets high expectations, I think it is ok for teachers to be open in their discussions. However, equally, I would welcome alternative language as long as it was positive, pro-active and effective. A teacher at St John Fisher Catholic High School summarised the use of identifying and targeting students really well: “A key message has been not to look at the label of a child or even necessarily raw data but to consider where need is. For example, for intervention to consider where there is a skills gap or a knowledge gap rather than simply going of the results of one off tests. We also realise that we have been too hasty in attempting to ensure all disadvantaged students have a mentor when again we should look at need and ensure the skill set of the mentors is matched to the need of the student.” I believe as teachers, we get to know our students quickly and without data, we could discuss the student’s needs and match strategies effectively. The importance of seeing a student as a rounded individual is essential. Disadvantage occurs for a wide range of factors. ‘Barriers can lie within schools, with learners and their families. An understanding of barriers should inform your school level, phase/subject level, class level and personalised strategies.’ This highlights the importance again of an integrated and holistic approach to tackling disadvantage with the role of all stakeholders of great importance, working together as a team for a focussed outcome. Effective practice in tackling poverty and disadvantage in schools, (November 2012, Ann Keane Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales) proved to be an interesting source and provided an insight from a different geographical area, yet with strong points to evidence the key thinking mentioned in much of the reading within this literature review. This source (from a group called Estyn) had the purpose of inspecting quality and standards in education and training in Wales. Regardless of the location, the content is still of upmost relevance. ‘The link between disadvantage and educational underachievement is still strong. In general, learners from poorer families do not achieve as well as their peers. Schools have a key role to play and serving all learners equally is not enough – there needs to be a specific focus on those children and young people who are growing up in poverty.’ A target was set to eradicate child poverty in Wales by 2018. I would argue that this has not been achieved. According to the BBC, Wales was the only nation of the UK to see an increase in child poverty according to research by charities 10
(https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-48259327). It suggested 29.3% of children were in poverty in 2017-18, a rise of 1%. The report identified that some of the schools they inspected had effective strategies at tackling disadvantage and these strategies can be summarised in the following 10 points. 1 take a whole-school, strategic approach to tackling disadvantage – they have a structured, coherent and focused approach to raising the achievement of disadvantaged learners; 2 use data to track the progress of disadvantaged learners – they gather information from a range of sources and use it to analyse the progress of groups of learners; 3 focus on the development of disadvantaged learners’ literacy and learning skills; 4 develop the social and emotional skills of disadvantaged learners – they understand the relationship between wellbeing and standards and often restructure their pastoral care system to deal more directly with the specific needs of disadvantaged learners; 5 improve the attendance, punctuality and behaviour of disadvantaged learners – they have suitable sanctions, but find that reward systems work particularly well; 6 tailor the curriculum to the needs of disadvantaged learners – they have mentoring systems that guide learners through their programmes of study and help them to plan their own learning pathways; 7 make great efforts to provide enriching experiences that more advantaged learners take for granted – they offer a varied menu of clubs, activities and cultural and educational trips; 8 listen to disadvantaged learners and provide opportunities for them to play a full part in the school’s life – they gather learners’ views about teaching and learning, give learners a key role in school development, and involve learners directly to improve standards; 9 engage parents and carers of disadvantaged learners – they communicate and work face-to-face to help them and their children to overcome barriers to learning; and 10 develop the expertise of staff to meet the needs of disadvantaged learners – they have a culture of sharing best practice, provide opportunities for teachers to observe each other, and have performance management targets that are related to raising the achievement of disadvantaged learners.’ These strategies again highlight the important role that all school employees play and again emphasise the importance of knowing the individual social and academic needs of the students. I would identify the importance of ensuring there is time within the working week to be able to go through these steps and effectively communicate findings to members of staff who can then ensure their teaching practise adjusts to the individual needs of each individual. The reading and research I’ve undertaking has allowed me to gain a wide insight into the current state of disadvantage across school in the UK, understanding the vast regional differences and unfortunately confirming that the Isle of Wight overall currently sits in a low position, struggling with a high proportion of students being classed as disadvantaged. Encouragingly, work is being done to address this issue but ultimately, the gap is not closing quick enough. The Isle of Wight has not currently been identified as an ‘Opportunity Area’ and I believe that potentially one of the reasons for this, is because 11
the Isle of Wight sits in a region of the country whereby geographically, it is surrounded by counties in a much stronger position. Does this mean that the Isle of Wight is excluded at this current time from receiving the necessary funding and resources to enable the advantage/disadvantage gap to be closed? For strategies to be successful and effective, school leaders and teachers must have an intricate understanding of the students’ needs, vulnerabilities and specific requirements. As ‘Tackling Educational Disadvantage: A Toolkit for North Yorkshire Schools, (Marc Rowland March 2017),’ demonstrate in their well-presented toolkit, data is valuable in informing starting points, progress and weaknesses but equally, the strength of the relationship between students and teachers is extremely important. For me personally, I wanted to be able to access a range of practical and relevant strategies to enable me to take forward strategies to apply to my own teaching practise. I explored a range of larger scale reports which highlighted the importance of a whole school approach and the importance of all members of the school and local community. With collaboration between a range of stakeholders, appropriate strategies can be adopted over the long time to improve attainment. Strategies whereby there is efficient, consistent and proactive utilisation of LSA’s was discussed in depth in Education Endowment Foundation (https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/) and specific classroom strategies were suggested in Lemov Setting High Expectations – Teach like a Champion (Doug Lemov (2010) ‘Teach Like a Champion’). Although some of these strategies were reminders and confirmation of strategies I already use, I was provided with several fresh approaches and lines to use. I think that sometimes it is easy to ignore behaviour that reflects disengagement in students but being reminded that ‘it’s not ok not to try’ (Lemov Setting High Expectations – Teach like a Champion (Doug Lemov (2010) ‘Teach Like a Champion’) and students should always feel that they have the support and reassurance around them to always give everything a go. This opens the dialogue for further stretch and challenge. To finish, what specifically will I be taking forward?
Continued use of LSA’s by meeting, staying in email contact and sending resources through to LSA staff prior to the lesson. Reaffirming my strategy to stretch every individual and set high expectations, even when target grades are low. Liaise with colleagues across the school (subject and pastoral) to collaborate and plan for individua High challenge and expectations
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Laura Augustus - How can I get the balance of challenge? Am I challenging my students or do I let them coast?
How do I prove I have set the right level of challenge for my students?
High Expectations and Challenge
Even if I have high expectations, what do I do if my students don't have high expectations of themselves?
Do I encourage independent thought or am I encouraging them to be reliant on me?
Do I use enough data effectievly to ensure the right level of challenge?
I picked this topic as I like to think I do have high expectations for all my students in terms of exam results and expected work ethic (and performance management reviews have always commented favourably on this) but I still have students who under-perform and I wanted to do some research on how I could improve my teaching to target them in every day scenarios and not just long term goals. The reading, especially Lemov’s paper on “Setting High Academic Expectations”, has given me some ideas and things to reflect on. One idea that I have been using this academic year is ensuring that no students opts out in my lessons and as Lemov implies, the more you make students try, the more they realise “it is not okay not to try.” When I was with year 11 on a High Fives conference, that was aimed at students under achieving, one of the tutors responded to a student in a way that inspired me. When she asked a student a question he said that he didn’t know that answer. Instead of accepting that as an okay response she replied with, “If you thought you knew the answer, what do you think you would say?” The student then gave a relatively strong answer and one that was definitely more detailed than the “I don’t know” that they had initially offered. Having seen how simple it was to illicit a response from a reluctant student I decided to use that response with both my Key Stage 4 classes who, I have been guilty of accepting the, “ I don’t 13
know,” answer. Initially with the yr 11 class of under achieving boys the response brought about nervous giggles from both the student I was questioning, and other members of the class who realised I was not about to move on. However, they all soon accepted that I wasn’t going to let them get away with a vague response and that I wanted some sort of response that resembled an answer or at least had key words as part of their utterances. I also tried another of Lemov’s suggestions where one student provided an answer and then I asked another student to repeat and develop what had initially been said. This allowed me to target specific students and use my knowledge of their ability to extend their thinking whilst not accepting a response that allowed them to opt out. I also used humour in my approach as if a student was very reluctant to give an answer, when going over the work I would always ask our “resident expert” for the answer. That resident expert was that reluctant student but it allowed them to develop their response every time I asked the question. Succeeding in English Literature relies on students having a large amount of subject knowledge and I found that by sticking with this approach, say for key quotes, the student who was not able to give me an initial answer, was able to give me a precise quote as well as an analysis as to why it was classed as a key quote. Students were able to reach this level by me adopting an approach recognised by Debbie Light in “Stretch and Challenge in your classroom” where students have to be exposed to something three times and by me constantly returning to the same student, they were able to refine their response by using ideas that they had heard from others in class discussions and felt proud of their achievements in being the font of all knowledge on a particular topic. This also links to Mary Myatt’s thoughts in “High Challenge, Low Threat” where she says that the “more safer people feel, the more likely it is that they will take reasonable risk.” I always find that when year 10 start their GCSE course it takes a while for students to find their place in a new class with a new teacher. I have found that by setting my expectations high from day one but in a subtle way, it allows me to build relationships with students but also sets the tone for the rest of the year where they will have to opt in to the lesson. I have been guilty of accepting half answers, but Lemov suggests that it is important to tell the students if they have even have a half right answer as that builds confidence. However, it is important to not just stop there and give the correct answers ourselves, as experts in our subject knowledge. This is something I have consciously worked on with my current year 10 class as I often feel that I am doing more work than them but for what benefit? To help students with their answers I have spent a lot of time developing displays that have key words that are very visible and will often direct students to them if they are struggling so that they can supplement their answer with something concrete and that they are familiar with. It also allows other students, who are not part of the dialogue, to realise that I will not accept a sub-standard answer, but that I will provide help for them if I can see they need it which builds trust and improves relationships. It also, and probably most importantly, promotes a level of independency where they can use the displays to formulate answers themselves by using the key words available to them and can check their response against the one being offered by the student. It also allows them an opportunity to provide more information on the initial response and use more subject specific vocabulary if needed. One area that I can improve on is that Lemov says we should “never be apologetic for our high expectations or blame an outside entity” such as an exam board for having them. I often find myself saying that, “this is what the exam board want” when really I should have my high expectations because it is allowing the students to show off what they know and what I have taught them, regardless of who 14
will read the final answer. Research from the Education Endowment Foundation also shows that homework can have a significant impact on development. This is an area that I always strive to have high expectations with, but again have been guilty of letting it slip when in the middle of mock marking and planning for new term teaching. I have found that by having quizzes it allows students to have instant access to a result which they like, and it enables me to have a very clear overview of the learning that has taken place or what needs to be revisited. Just because the quiz is multi-choice, high expectations can be held, but the threat of doing a homework at home with a result that is only shared with me enables students to feel empowered to do well and proud of their achievements. It also allows me to provide feedback to acknowledge their achievements or request a resubmission if I do not feel their score is a reflection of their ability. This allows me to have high expectations for all whilst being adaptable to each student’s individual needs and therefore a low threat which encourages engagement. Peer feedback is also important and can be championed to show high expectations without causing embarrassment. I often ask a number of students to stand and swap seats with others who are still sat down. This allows me to target high achieving students to give feedback to lower attaining ones and it also allows lower attaining students to read a decent piece of work that they may be inspired from. Light suggests that 80% of peer feedback is wrong and misinformed so it has to be managed effectively. To make peer feedback meaningful and not just a time filling exercise, I use criteria from mark schemes to make a list of WWW and EBIs so that students always have something meaningful to say to each other even if they are struggling to come up with it themselves. This also allows the peer who is receiving the feedback to have something purposeful that they can take away, rather than a comment about their hand writing or spelling which does not really add much to improving their mark.
Moving in to the next academic year, I can feel comfort in the fact I do a lot of the recommendations by the published authors so I will continue to do that. One area I will focus on improving is not to accept the half answers that low ability students may offer and strive to find different strategies to stretch the answers that they give me without making it feel like a threatening environment.
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Justine Doughty - Let’s Hear it for the Boys: what is the best way to engage and challenge boys to excel in English? Every year, the perennial question arises: what will we do about the boys? At Cowes Enterprise College, English results mirror national trends where boys’ achievement lags behind that of girls; in 2019, boys’ progress was -1.19, and shockingly, only 30% achieved a grade 5 and above. Sadly, boys on the Isle of Wight who are classed as eligible for free school meals and of white British ethnicity make the third worst progress in GCSE in the country, beating only Blackpool and Knowsley (citation note 1). Naturally, as a team, we find this very worrying and are constantly asking what we can do to ensure that our boys are given the best life chances by enabling them to achieve their true potential. Why does this matter? The statistics for young men who do not achieve well in school are grim. According to Pinkett and Roberts, boys are more likely to be excluded from school and less likely to go to university; boys are less likely to become apprentices; boys are less likely to find paid work between the ages of 22 and 29. They also belong to the gender that makes up 96% of the UK prison population. Children who are excluded from school at the age of 12 are four times more likely to be jailed as adults. 75% of suicides are male – it is the single biggest killer of men under the age of 40. Of these, the most deprived 10% of society are twice as likely to die from suicide as those boys born amongst the richest 10%. What can we do? As a team, we searched and searched for strategies that could help boys and reflected critically on our practice to find the ‘magic bullet’ that would solve the problem. As you can imagine, we came up short. Different books made different suggestions. Much of the research was outdated and heavily biased in favour of constructivist approaches that reinforced gendered assumptions and fostered ‘toxic masculinity’ such as: boys like competition, boys don’t like reading, boys are kinaesthetic learners that need to expend their natural energy (all that testosterone, you know!), boys learn better when a girl sits next to them as girls are inherently ‘civilized’ and boys are ‘savages’. Of course, some boys don’t like reading and some boys do like competition, but to say that they all do, is more of a woefully inadequate critique of culturally constructed masculinity, rather than honest academic assessment of boys’ potential. For many years, we worked with stereotypical strategies such as picking ‘boy friendly books,’ wasting time on trying to cater to VAK learning styles and devising all sorts of gimmicks to try to ‘hook’ the boys etc… Time for something more controversial; we took a risk and created two boys’ sets. We chose boys who were two grades or more below their target grade and who had shown potential. The classes were mixed prior attainment, with students who showed potential to achieve grade 6s and students for whom literacy was a significant issue. Laura Augustus and I took on the groups and worked through what strategies we thought would work best with them. For the purpose of this write up, I am only focussing on one, universally agreed upon truth about boys’ achievement – and any students’ achievement: high expectations. High Expectations All research agrees that high expectations equal high outcomes. However, it is important to note that what we don’t often talk about is how our perceptions and biases unconsciously ‘shape’ our
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relationships with students. No one would like to think of himself or herself as having gender biases that result in treating one gender differently to another, but it is very common. One useful model for exploring this are the Pygmalion and Gollum effects. Pygmalion Effect The idea that high expectations have a highly beneficial influence on outcomes is known as the Pygmalion Effect
Gollum Effect A type of self-fulfilling prophecy whereby negative attitudes about a pupil’s academic ability or potential leads to inevitably poor outcomes.
Susan Jones and Debra Myhill conducted a study in 2004 at Exeter University that investigated whether teachers’ perceptions of gender influenced their expectations of a pupil’s likelihood of being successful in education. Their findings were that:
Girls who excelled academically were seen as typical girls, while under achieving boys were viewed as typical of their gender. Boys who were academic high-fliers were seen as anolmolous, a challenge to gender norms Underachieving girls are ignored A tendency to associate boys with underachievement and girls with high achievement
Girls are celebrated for their apparent obedience and passive natures; however, Myhill and Jones note that ‘seeing girls as successful but delicate, driven but risk averse contributes to unequal treatment of females at later stages of their education and careers, when masculine qualities appear to result in greater societal and financial recognition (Pinkett and Roberts 85). It doesn’t take long to see and hear the above in practice: how many times have we all thought, heard or said ‘oh, they’re a group of boys, and you know what they’re like… boys will be boys… etc. Do we challenge the girls as readily as the boys to present a proper uniform as we meet, greet and correct? Do we just expect that ‘laddish’ boys will not succeed in English as it is a ‘feminine’ subject? Do we believe that appreciation of literature is the reserve of the ‘upper classes’ and that students who plan to have solid trade careers have nothing to gain from exceling in literature? I still do not think there are black and white answers to these questions, as that would ignore too many factors; I suppose the point was, could we bring a group of boys together in English and convince them that a) they CAN do it b) they might even enjoy it? Early in September, it was apparent that, in general, the boys had low expectations and were automatically worried as the sets were ‘X4’ and ‘Y3’ and they perceived that they’d been placed in 17
‘bottom set’. Early work showed that they could not write for a sustained length of time, often running out of ideas for independent tasks quite quickly and were uninterested in independent study. They were sparky and willing to take part in analysing literature through discussion. In fact, class discussion revealed strong aptitude for literary analysis and abstract thinking but their writing lacked depth and detail: raw talent, yet unshaped by practise.
Student B Sept ‘19
Student A Sept ‘19
The above two examples show work typical of the X Band class at the beginning of the academic year in 2019. After some input, discussion and modelling, the students were likely to write only 1 analytical paragraph in 40 minutes. They lacked confidence above all, but also tended to be satisfied with the first ideas that came into their mind, neglecting to expand in the detail needed for sustained, assured writing. The work below is from the same students, 6 months later, under the same timed restrictions:
Student March ‘20 boys’ books. By Studentresponses A March ‘20 Both of these extended continue in the same detail onto the next Bpage of the March, most of the students were able to write independent, sustained, detailed critical analysis, with only short bursts of instruction and a model to use.
What method of instruction was the most useful? Christina Hoff Sommers maintains that the shift away from ‘structured classrooms, competition, strict discipline and skill-and-fact, based learning has been harmful to all children – but especially to boys’ 18
(Sommers, 701). A 1988 study titled ‘Can Boys Do Better,’ written by Headteacher Robert Bray after a ten year period of improving boys’ results at Mousham High School in Chelmsford and Thirsk School in North Yorkshire. The main tenants of their methods of instruction go against the major progressive teaching methods that have been pushed since (for a detailed study of this see Daisy Christodoulou’s 7 Myths of Education). These strategies included:
More teacher led work A high structured environment Strict homework checks Consistently applied sanctions if work not done Greater emphasis on silent work Frequent testing One sex classes (The Jossey Bass Reading on Gender in Education, p 703)
Another Headteacher, Ray Bradbury, in 1996 was alarmed at the high rate of boys not progressing as they should and employed a ‘NOT child centred class’; rather, the ‘pedagogy was strict and old fashioned. The class was didactic and teacher fronted. It involved sharp questions and answers, and constantly checking understanding’ (ibid 703). Although these studies may be seen as antiquated, Pinkett and Roberts also cite similar strategies that they argue are successful (2019):
Beginning the lesson with a brief review of previous learning Providing models and examples with scaffolds Including opportunities for guided student practice Checking for understanding, using lots of questions Ensuring that students obtain a high success rate Although published more than 30 years after Bray’s initial study, the main ideas remain the same. These are not unlike Rosenshines’ principles of instruction: In short: consistent high expectations and structured learning, we found, works for boys as it does for all students. What makes the difference is to what extent our own biases influence our daily interactions with boys – what we allow them to get away with, because as we say, they’re ‘boys’. And, after all, boys will be boys.
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Side Note: Yes, but is the material relevant? Pinkett and Roberts start their study by dispelling a few myths that have seeped into dominant discussions regarding boys’ education, one being that boys will only respond to their own interests or what they feel is relevant to their lives as they already know them. The main reasons why believe this to be a myth are: -
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Boys get bored eventually, even of things that normally interest them Boys are not a homogeneous group that all like the same things. Assuming boys all like the same things reinforces stereotypes It prevents some boys from building cultural capital It encourages low expectations of boys It promotes the dominant anti – school masculinity. Boys will remember the ‘relevant bit’ but not the actual learning
We had to find the right balance between teacher – led and student independent work. We had an external consultant come to offer support to our department and his observations noted the following: Inconsistent modelling (not all tasks were modelled) Too much teacher talk/working too hard – not enough extended, quiet writing time Not enough use of timers to encourage independently working
within a time- frame. Consequently, on top of the teaching strategies mentioned earlier, we added daily use of timers, even more modelling and use of a 10/40/10 or 15/30/15 lesson formatting where instruction gradually started to take less and less time, with the middle 30 or 40 minutes almost every day given over to silent, independent working. Over time, the majority of the students’ writing began to grow in detail and confidence and in lesson, consistently show grade 5 potential.
‘by appealing to pupils’ interests and making the curriculum relevant only to their lives, we are limiting their exposure to new ideas, as well as making assumptions about what they will enjoy or what they will be able to handle academically’ Pinkett and Roberts.
Conclusion Data did not reflect progress until late in the year, which was hard to deal with – we had to be confident, trust our plans and ‘steady’ the course. I did not include it in the write up since the students did not actually sit the exams. However, the atmosphere in the classroom was palpably academic and the students really wanted to achieve, and even better, believed that they could. All but one target boy agreed to come to English revision after school four days a week (21 students), which create a buzzing atmosphere where the boys encouraged each other’s progress. Unfortunately, the pandemic put a bit a very fast stop to our endeavours, but hopefully we can try again next year and apply the lessons learnt. It is important to note also, that we do not necessarily support same sex classes in all circumstances or for all boys/girls. At the time, in the context of this year with these students, it seemed a plausible strategy we had not tried and, we are confident it was the right decision for these students. Different years/ different cohorts would need to be assessed and decisions made based on their particular qualities and needs.
1. https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/education-skills-and-training/11-to-16years-old/gcse-results-attainment-8-for-children-aged-14-to-16-key-stage-4/latest#byethnicity-gender-and-area 2. Boys don’t try? Rethinking masculinity in schools By Matt Pinkett and Mark Roberts, Routledge Press, 2019 20
3. https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2013/exclusionprison-280213 4. Identity, Neoliberalism and Aspiration: Educating white working class boys By Garth Stahl, Routledge Press, 2015 5. The Jossey- Bass Reader on Gender in Education ‘ Why Johnny can’t Read and Write,’ Christina Hoff Sommers, pp 700 – 719, 2002 ‘ Hattie, J. “Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement.” Routledge. 2009. P. 122. Hattie, J. “Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning.” Routledge, 2012. P. 47. McCormack, A. (1997) ‘Classroom Management Problems, Strategies and Influences in Physical Education’ European Physical Education Review. 3(2), pp. 102-115. Rogers, S. (2019) 'Behaviour Management in Physical Education', Physical Education Matters, Spring (2019), pp. 31-33. Sanford, J., Emmer, T. and Clements, B. 1983. Improving classroom management. Educational Leadership, 40: 56–60. [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]
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Claire Brooks - Ask yourself: “Will all children be challenged by this…?” (Chris Parsons)
All teachers like to say they have high expectations of their students, but what does this really mean? There is a plethora of blogs, tweets, videos and educational research aiming to summarise and evaluate various theories about why high expectations are so crucial and how we might, in practice, ‘raise’ these ‘expectations’ and provide challenging work for students. Although most teachers (and those inspecting them) agree with this concept, there have always been debates as to what ‘high expectations’ look like in practice and what effect they have on students. These range from conflicting ideas about Rosenthal and Jacobson’s 1968 ‘Pygmalion in the Classroom’ study to the accepted thought now that all students should have the same learning objective with appropriate scaffolding to achieve it. There are many published ideas about how this scaffolding should look and what it should be called, but in effect, it provides “steps to succeed mapped out… with guided practice leading to independent practice and students reaching ambitious goals over time.( Sherrington 2019 Rescuing Differentiation from the Checklist of Bad Practice.)
Then there is the question of ‘challenge’. A child learns best when challenged just outside his comfort zone” (Tharby 2017 Making every English lesson count) but there’s a fine line between challenging children in this way, so they are willing to try to achieve a difficult learning objective, and presenting them with a learning experience that causes either anxiety or demotivation because they just don’t ‘get it’. Finally, there is that seemingly insignificant word at the end of my title: ‘all’. How do you challenge every child when there are a variety of needs, backgrounds and abilities? Sherrington, in his article: Rescuing Differentiation from the Checklist of Bad Practice (2019), states “previous attainment, experience, competence, knowledge, skills and confidence” all affect a child’s ability to learn. The aim of this literature review is to evaluate methods of challenging all students to enhance the learning experience of students in my classes. High Expectations Expectations are subjective, but at the very least we should expect students to bring equipment, engage in the lesson and try to meet the learning objective. Equally, students should have high expectations of teachers, to plan, teach challenging texts and concepts, give feedback, act professionally and show that we care. But what do researchers say about the impact of teachers’ expectations? In 1968, Rosenthal and Jacobson’s Pygmalion in the Classroom study found that randomly selected students were “more likely to make larger gains in their academic performance over the course of the year” when teachers had high expectations of them. (Guardian Education : what research tells us Nov 2017 by Bradley Busch.
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