Adapting to the Current

Environment

George Faux - March 2014

Shireland Context• Inner city academy in West Midlands.• 1,100 students; 11-18. • Built over 100 years ago and serves an area of substantial

deprivation. • 38.2% of students have eligibility for free school meals (63%

Pupil Premium).• 22% have Special Educational Needs.• 15% live safeguarding issues.• 64.7% have English as a second language. • Judged as Outstanding in 2006 / 2010 / 2013.

Change• The change in curriculum

has substantially affected our offer to the students and is forcing us to move outside our current teaching pathways.

• We know if we teach our lower ability students by placing them into standard GCSE sets the most likely result is failure.

• Therefore more radical approaches are being considered.

Out BTEC PE

Public Services

L1 Motor Vehicle

Construction

Health and Social Care

Child Care

Hair and Beauty

Workskills

Science

Prince’s Trust

Modelling• Models indicating that

students can make progress with only 5 qualifications rely on massive English and Maths progress and are unrealistic for our students.

• New BTEC examinations are in most cases harder than GCSEs for the lower ability.

• English Literature seems a must as it can count x 3.

6 levels of progress!

Shaping a Balanced Curriculum

ExpectationsSubverting

certain subjects

Using time differently

Longer term support at

KS3

Targeting Using Progress

• For the last two years all targets have been four levels of progress for students.

• FFT was being used as an excuse by a lot of departments.

• Not every student makes it but a lot more do than if this was not the challenge.

• The methodology has already given us 40% more than expected progress and we expect 50% next year.

EFG Programme• Acceptance that an F is an amazing result for

students at four levels of progress, for staff and institutionally.

• Putting the EFG programme on the same status as Gifted and Talented.

• Making departments set specific policies for this, including study support.

• Culture change for staff, students and parents.

• But in Progress 8 these students have the most value, and little to lose by being radical.

A Model for ‘Subverting’

• Last year every student who took BTEC Construction made four or five levels of progress in Mathematics.

• These students had very low levels of English but their practical experience meant that they scored E and D grades on the paper.

• We are now looking to reverse the process.

• We want experiences which cover a range of learning styles, assessments which cope with low literacy levels or EAL and experiences which students will enjoy.

Example 1• Motor Vehicle through Art.

• Accreditation through GCSE.

• Taught by an Art/MVH team.

• Through spray painting, decal work and sculpture it is our intention to try to accredit through Art GCSE.

Example 2• Outdoor Pursuits through GCSE PE.

• Climbing – leader/coach• Canoeing – player/performer• Mountain biking – player/performer• Orienteering – player/performer

• Students could get 50% marks from practical assessment and score 0% on the written assessment and still achieve a G grade at GCSE.

• Incorporating Prince’s Trust elements.

Other AreasDrama

Music Technology

Business Administration

CACHE Child Care

Resistant Materials

Home Languages

All have less emphasis on, or no written examination.

What are your ideas?

Using Time Differently• Focus Days and Achievement weeks.

• Allow ‘chunking’ parts of the curriculum with a specific outcome around assessments.

• Cross curricular opportunities.

• Experience and audience driven learning.

• Also allow preparation of students in the short term, outside speakers and trips.

Tutor Time Packages• Encouraging students who have taken complimentary

subjects staffed by a teacher in that field.

• Encouraging staff to strike partnerships and market to the students this way.

• Using this time to pursue ‘lost areas’.

Thematic GCSE

• History is going to be our chosen subject.

• Delivered in a different way, thematically as opposed to a traditional GCSE.

• A week or more taken on a project leading to a controlled assessment outcome.

Adapting KS3

• Refocus on output based curriculum, with a one shot effort at creation at the end of a module.

• New modules incorporating English Literature, Computer Science and adaptable modules to cope with the constant change.

• Continued focus on learners’ wellbeing and personal learning skills.

Thank You