Are we lighting the fires or still filling the pails? Lancashire A G&T Conference Friday 16 May 2008 Sue Mordecai President of NACE sue.mordecai@bromley.gov.uk

School Improvement Agenda Unrelenting focus on poorly performing and failing schools – schools causing concern Increased focus on: - coasting schools - improvement of all schools - outstanding schools as leaders

Statutory School Targets 2009 KS2 % of 11 yr olds achieving L4+ in both Eng and maths % making 2 NC levels progress in Eng from the level attained at the end of KS1 (taking the average of reading and writing at the end of KS1) % making 2 NC level progress in maths KS3 % of 14 yr olds achieving L5+ in both Eng and maths % of 14 yr olds achieving L5 in science % making 2 NC levels progress in Eng from the level attained at KS2 % making 2 NC level progress in maths from the level attained at KS2 KS4 % achieving 5 A*-C grades inc Eng and maths % making the equivalent of 2 NC levels progress in English from the level attained at KS3 % making the equivalent of 2 NC levels progress in maths from the level attained at KS3

Gifted and Talented – National Strategies Annual Plan 2008-09 LAs should take a lead role in ensuring all schools have access to a trained and appropriately supported LT for G&T Self-evaluation and improvement for G&T is integral to whole school evaluation leading to an action plan for G&T improvement Effective analysis and use of data to identify underachievement and tailor teaching to ensure at least two levels of progress for G&T pupils

Gifted and Talented – National Strategies Annual Plan 2008-09 Mainstreaming G&T education through quality first teaching that challenges all pupils on a day to day basis All schools have G&T pupils and should identify these for the National Register Capture WhatWorksWell and ensure others can learn from it

To support schools: Number of publications E-modules National Quality Standards - Whole school - Classroom / Subject specific Accreditation

Narrowing the Gap in the Performance of Schools Able pupils moving slowly through KS2 Narrowing the Gap in the Performance of Schools In general… Comfortable in small groups but quiet in whole class Eager to please, keen to learn, quick to pick ideas up Show perseverance But… Risk-averse Reluctant to seek help, turn first to friends Easy to miss Often expected to support the less able in mixed groups

Narrowing the Gap in the Performance of Schools Able pupils who struggle to move from KS2 L3-L5 Narrowing the Gap in the Performance of Schools They are easily distracted in class, engage in low-level disruption (slow to settle, walking about, chatting, etc) They tend to be disorganised (books, sheets, pens, etc) They have low concentration spans, quickly losing the thread of what they are doing, poor recall of previous work They have few strategies for independent work so often give up on a task They often do not ask questions in class They thrive on activities such as games, quizzes, so called ‘fun’ activities, etc

What Y8 want from education… To be confident To be able to hold intelligent conversations with people To be able to walk into a room full of strangers and feel capable of informed discussion Ability to discuss and be heard To have the skills of negotiation and know how to influence others – good communication skills Having as many different experiences and opportunities opened up to me as possible To be able to do things that other people cannot do To have skills that will last into later life To be well rounded

Teaching and learning experiences Open ended and varied Differing lengths Challenging (something we can’t do) Related to real life Stretch the imagination Offer leadership opportunities More discussion and debate More research opportunities Greater freedom of choice

Teachers highlighted Discussion of the ‘bigger picture’ with students Thinking time Support to enable students to take responsibility for their own learning Alternative not extra activities Resources which go beyond the national curriculum ‘Challenging students to go the extra mile’

Students considered the following inhibited learning: Disruptive behaviour Peer pressure Too much teacher talk Concentration on exams Intense academic time-table Success pressure (students acknowledged that teachers had to ‘conform to a system’)

Teachers emphasised: Current exam system Parental expectations Lack of time for enrichment University curriculum

Bring back knowledge… ‘I have come to realise a really important distinction between knowledge and experience. It’s happening a lot in the curriculum now, educationalists say you must make the curriculum more relevant, more in touch with the student’s experience. Whereas I would argue that the reason we have schools is to give an opportunity for people who have a rather narrow experience within their families and homes to go beyond their experience so they can actually see there are other ways of thinking about things. And that is a social justice issue’ Michael Young ‘Bringing Knowledge Back In’ 2008

The Five Minds for the Future Disciplined Synthesizing Creating Respectful Ethical The first three are cognitive, the last two relate to the world of other individuals and are thus more social and affective

2008 National Year of Reading – ‘Read Up, Fed Up’ A national survey 11 – 14 year olds Focus groups Plus 1,340 surveyed online.

2008 National Year of Reading – ‘Read Up, Fed Up’ – main findings There has been an ‘explosion of digital reading’ – 4 out of 10 top reads were online Teenagers love reading film scripts and song lyrics Traditional literature ‘is by no means lost’ 80% of teenagers have actually written their own story, film, play or song 45% of teenagers have been told off by parents for reading something deemed improper Nearly a third of boys said they loved reading because it helped them get better at hobbies 39% of girls said they loved reading because it provided an escape or quiet time to enjoy on their own.

What constitutes challenge? higher order thinking skills questions, questions, questions no artificial ceilings / open ended tasks to self assess to take risks and go further demanding vocabulary demanding resources very little instruction increasing the pace changing the rules ‘the unexpected’

Developing thinking: Bloom’s taxonomy de Bono’s ‘Six Thinking Hats’ TASC David Leat ‘Thinking through….. Robert Fisher P4C

Cambridge entry 2008 What is the purpose of comedy? (MML) Where does honesty fit into law? (Law) ‘Make Poverty History’ is a commendable thought – is it a practical one? (Land Economy) Was Romeo impulsive? (English) How would you describe a human to a person from Mars? (Medicine) Do you think Feminism is dead? (Classics) Why does the word ‘God’ and ‘I’ have a capital letter? (Oriental Studies)

Oxford entry 2008 How high can I go up a mountain having only eaten a Mars bar? (Physics) Who is your favourite metaphysical poet? (Maths) What problems do fish face underwater? (Bio Sciences) Is there a difference between innocence and naivety? (English) What makes a strong woman? (Theology) Is nature natural? (Geography) Was Shakespeare a rebel? (English)

What do gifted children need? Acknowledgement and understanding High challenge – low stress Learning environment that invites enquiry (mistakes are OK!) Flexibility Ground rules The ‘unexpected’ To be valued for who they are – not what they can do

Research by Dweck Studies show that children who are praised for their intelligence learn to value performance, while children praised for their effort and hard work value opportunities to learn Carol S. Dweck Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Her most recent book is Mindset published by Random House 2006

Research by Dweck Studies show that teaching children to have a ‘growth mind-set’ which encourages a focus on effort rather than on intelligence or talent, helps make them into high achievers in school and in life Such children think that intelligence is malleable and can be developed through education and hard work. They want to learn. Those children with a ‘fixed mind-set’ were concerned about looking smart and had negative views of effort, believing that having to work hard at something was a sign of low ability. They thought that a person with high ability did not need to work hard to do well