An Imaginary Educational Enquiry of a
Master Educator into A Journey through Special Measures, from failure and
despair, to a new start and a new curriculum
Drawing on A Journey through Special
Measures, from failure and despair, to a new start and a new curriculum
by Vicky Tucker, October 2005
Background to the
approach to the enquiry and the concern that motives it.
In submitting this
educational enquiry for masters accredition of the University of Bath I need to
fulfil the following criteria:
Made
critical use of literature, professional experience and, where appropriate,
knowledge from other sources, to inform the focus and methodology of the study
or enquiry.
Make
appropriate critical use of the literature and, where appropriate, knowledge
from other sources, in the development of the study or enquiry and its
conclusions.
Demonstrated an
ability to identify and categorise issues, and to undertake an educational
study or enquiry in an appropriately critical, original, and balanced fashion.
Demonstrated an
ability to analyse, interpret and critique findings and arguments and, where
appropriate, to apply these in a reflective manner to the improvement of
educational practices.
My educational
enquiry is grounded in my own practice as I seek to contribute to improvements
in the learning of the pupils I teach and to my other areas of
responsibility in the leadership
team to devise a new curriculum to meet the needs of each pupil. Hence my enquiry
is an exploration of the question, Ôhow do I improve what I am doing?Õ The nature of the question
influences the way I explore its implications. Questions of this kind, where a teacher-researcher is engaged
in a self-study of their own practice with an intention to improve it, are in the
realm of action research. In relation to the methodology I am using in my
enquiry I will use forms of action reflection cycles in which I express a
concern because my values are not being lived as fully I believe they could be,
I Imagine a way forward with ideas an action plan, act and gather data,
evaluate my actions in relation to my values, understandings and pupilsÕ
learning and modify my concerns, ideas and actions in the light of my
evaluations (McNiff & Whitehead, 2005).
I will also rely
on my methodological inventiveness being expressed in the course of my enquiry
as explained by Dadds and Hart (2000). Methodological inventiveness involves
the creation of enquiry approaches that enable new, valid understandings to
develop; understandings that empower practitioners to improve their work for
the beneficiaries in their care.
The professional
concern underpinning this enquiry is that when staff and students returned to
the EBD school in September 2005 it was at the start of a long haul to pull out
of Special Measures.
OFSTED had pronounced
that we had failed our students on four different fronts
á
We could not
ensure the health and safety of our students and staff because we were not
controlling and modifying the behaviour of our most volatile and violent
students
á
The
leadership team was not considered to be sufficiently robust in challenging the
behaviour of the students and was not
therefore ensuring the health and safety of students and staff
á
The governors
were not considered to have adequately supported, challenged and monitored the Leadership
Team
á
The
curriculum was not considered to be suitable for the majority of our students
who were therefore not attending school and/or lessons (OFSTED 2005)
The Educational
Enquiry
The above four
criticisms all have to be rectified and we have to show real improvement if we
are to get out of Special Measures. The brief, I shared with a colleague, as
newly promoted members to the Leadership Team was to devise a new curriculum
which met the needs of all of our students. We decided to investigate schools
similar to ours which had come through Special Measures and were now succeeding
and considered to be centres of excellence.
We logged onto the
QCA Web site and discovered that there was a school in Tower Hamlets, East
London which was similar in a variety of ways to Wansdyke School. They had a population of 54 tough
and/or vulnerable boys who had serious behaviour, emotional and social problems
and had come out of Special Measures in just 18 months! (OFSTED 2004) The new Headmistress and staff had
introduced a radical, innovative curriculum and approach to behaviour
management which seemed to have produced the results we were seeking. The school, The Ian Mikardo EBD School
was not perfect and never would be because of the nature of the students, but,
they had improved attendance, reduced the incidences of violence, adopted a
zero tolerance attitude to weapons, created a manageable working environment in
the school, produced some excellent results in public examinations and managed
to run a week long school trip to France!
On our return we
studied their curriculum and decided to use their general component headings to
construct our new child centred curriculum (QCA 2004) which would be skills
based, stimulating, relevant and experiential. We had three major concerns
about this new curriculum which would not necessarily follow the prescribed
National Curriculum. The first was
that the LEA would insist that we continued meeting all of the targets set down
in the National Curriculum and that this would not allow us to be as radical as
we wished. Our concern was
alleviated at the first of many meetings with members of the LEA who agreed
with us that our immediate brief was to get the students back into school and
into a Òlearning situationÓ, for this to happen we had to disapply , in many
cases, from the National
Curriculum.
The second concern
was that there had to be educational opportunity; our students had to learn the
basic skills, both social and academic at the very least. The new curriculum
had to have basic literacy, numeracy and IT skills running through every aspect
of every subject area. There was no way our students could access other areas
of the curriculum or be prepared for the outside world of work if we did not
address this situation.
Our third concern
was that there had to be equality of opportunity, our students had a right to
the same opportunities as mainstream students and their exclusion from other
establishments should not prevent this from happening, our new curriculum should
provide them with all of the challenges and opportunities they could experience
in mainstream schools. Our students deserved the opportunity to sit external
examinations if they so wished.
To provide our
students with this entitlement, bearing in mind how most, if not all previous
approaches had failed them, we devised a new curriculum which was centred
purely on their needs, not the needs of teachers or educationalists, but the
needs of the students.
My colleagues and
I think rightly or wrongly, that we know our students better than anyone and
that we know how best to help them reach their potential. All of our students
had failed in mainstream schools.
To transfer them to an BESD school and then present them with a watered
down mainstream timetable the only other difference being that they were in
smaller classes was not the answer.
Most of our students have missed up to 4 years of schooling and are
having real problems with reading, writing and numeracy. Their only experience of school is one
of abject failure; they do not trust teachers in general and us in particular!
We have to gain their trust by always Ó being there for themÓ, not putting them
in a situation where they are destined to fail for a variety of reasons, being
consistent and building up the kind of relationships involving trust they have never experienced before.
We also have to present them with a new
kind of curriculum which would work for them. We are seeking to stimulate their
interest in it and see that it has relevance and the potential to be useful for
them. It contains performance
indicators so that they may see that they are progressing, practical subjects
which should be of use to them,
vocational subjects which should give them some kind of hope about the
future and initially be about the things they have experienced and are able to
understand . We intend to give them experiences out of school, in colleges or
on work placements so that they are adequately prepared for the future and
understand the appropriate way to behave in the outside world. The details of
the New Curriculum we have co-created as a staff are presented in the Appendix.
The timetable has been jointly negotiated with colleagues.
This curriculum
will be introduced in November 2005; it will be monitored closely by the
curriculum managers, the LEA, and eventually HMIs. We expect to make changes before the second phase gets under
way in Term 3 January 2006 but we are confident that the five components within
ÒMy LifeÓ will present the
students of Wansdyke School with the best possible chance of having healthy,
responsible, fulfilling, caring, safe, productive, worthwhile and fun lives!
In the course of
implementing the new curriculum I intend to evaluate my educational influence
in terms of the above values. I am
aware of the difference between the given curriculum (ie – the curriculum
in the Appendix) and the living curriculum (NAB 2005) created by the pupils in
their learning as they engage with the given curriculum. In evaluating my own
educational influence in the learning of my pupils I intend to focus on my
responses to pupil voice (The standards site 2005) and the evidence they
provide of their educational influences in their own learning.
In the development
of the living curriculum I will encourage my pupils to work on their own
concerns and issues in relation to the given curriculum and I will seek to
support them in moving through their own action reflection cycles in relation
to their educational influences in their own learning. Evidence from the work
on action research, creativity and validation by the Croatian educator, Branko
Bognar (Bognar, 2005), shows 10 year old pupils engaged in an action research
approach to their own learning. Video evidence from a colleague with pupils
engaged in the construction of a hot air balloon shows that my own pupils are
capable of engaging in such enquiries into their own learning. Evidence from
another local school (Laidlaw 2000) shows Year 8 pupils engaged in action
reflection cycles into their own learning and providing evidence for the
teacher, of the teacherÕs educational influence in the pupilsÕ learning.
I am seeking to
provide opportunities for my pupils to develop healthy, responsible,
fulfilling, caring, safe, productive, worthwhile and fun lives. I will be
evaluating my own educational influence in these terms as I elicit my pupilsÕ
accounts of their educational influences in their own learning.
Bibliography and
Notes
Dadds, M. &
Hart, S. (2001) Doing Practitioner Research Differently, p. 166. London;
RoutledgeFalmer.
Dadds and Hart
explain methodological inventiveness as follows:
" The
importance of methodological inventiveness
Perhaps the most
important new insight for both of us has been awareness that, for some
practitioner researchers, creating their own unique way through their research
may be as important as their self-chosen research focus. We had understood for
many years that substantive choice was fundamental to the motivation and
effectiveness of practitioner research (Dadds 1995); that what practitioners
chose to research was important to their sense of engagement and purpose. But
we had understood far less well that how practitioners chose to research, and
their sense of control over this, could be equally important to their motivation,
their sense of identity within the research and their research outcomes."
(Dadds & Hart, p. 166, 2001)
If our aim is to
create conditions that facilitate methodological inventiveness, we need to
ensure as far as possible that our pedagogical approaches match the message
that we seek to communicate. More important than adhering to any specific
methodological approach, be it that of traditional social science or
traditional action research. may be the willingness and courage or
practitioners – and those who support them – to create enquiry
approaches that enable new, valid understandings to develop; understandings
that empower practitioners to improve their work for the beneficiaries in their
care. Practitioner research methodologies are with us to serve professional
practices. So what genuinely matters are the purposes of practice which the
research seeks to serve, and the integrity with which the practitioner
researcher makes methodological choices about ways of achieving those purposes.
No methodology is, or should, cast in stone, if we accept that professional
intention should be informing research processes, not pre-set ideas about
methods of techniques.. (Dadds & Hart, p. 169, 2001)
Bognar, B. (2005) An Enquiry
into how students in one Croatian school are using action research to improve
their own and others' learning Retrieved 19 October 2005 from http://www.teacherresearch.net/tr_brankostudentar.htm
Laidlaw, M. (2001)
'In
the last months of my employment at Oldfield School, how can I help 8X to
enhance their sense of community, as I assist them in improving the quality of
their learning about English?Õ Retrieved 19 October from http://www.bath.ac.uk/~edsajw/values.shtml
McNiff, J. &
Whitehead, J. (2005) Action Research for Teachers. London; David Fulton
Publishers.
NAB (2005) Living
Curriculum. Retrieved 19 October 2005 from http://www.public.iastate.edu/~design/ART/NAB/livcurr2.html
OFSTED (2005)
Ofsted Report on the Inspection of Wansdyke School, May, 2005. Retrieved 19
October 2005 from http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/index.cfm?fuseaction=summary&id=109397
OFSTED
(2004) Ofsted Report on the
Inspection of Ian Mikardo High School, March, 2004. Retrieved 19 October 2005
from http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/reports/131/131598.htm
Qualifications
and Curriculum Authority (2004)
Designing a personalised curriculum for alternative provision at key stage 4.
Retrieved 19 October 2005 from
Standards
Site (2005) Pupil Voice. Retrieved 19 October 2005 from http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/research/themes/pupil_voice/
Appendix
The New Curriculum
The new curriculum
which we intend to start running at Wansdyke School in Term 2 2005 is entitled ÒMy LifeÓ and divides into five
components each one of which deals with a different area of our studentsÕ
lives. We decided to divide the
curriculum so that we dealt with a different component each day of the week; we
were in fact, about to deliver a thematic, foundation curriculum to our
students.
The week would be
divided into:
á
Monday
– My Passport
á
Tuesday
– My Body
á
Wednesday
– My World
á
Thursday
– My Future
á
Friday
– My Self
ÒMy PassportÓ
which accounts for all of the work covered on a Monday, delivers what we need
to know and what we need to be able to do to travel successfully through life
and the world of work. This area
of the curriculum includes:
This is a day when
students following the same theme throughout the day will learn the basic
skills they need as a ÒpassportÓ for life. We will concentrate on basic literacy and numeracy but be
aware that our students have been excluded from every school they have ever
attended because they cannot/will not cope with traditional classroom
lessons. Our lessons therefore
have to be different; they have to be new, exciting, stimulating, practical and
relevant.
The research
carried out at The Ian Mikardo BESD School suggested that a thematic curriculum was the best way to engage
students of this kind for a period of time. By moving from lesson to lesson throughout the day whilst
still studying the same issues and ideas, which are being dealt with by
different subject areas in a variety of different ways, academically, socially,
practically emotionally and vocationally students were able to grasp the
relevance more easily and employ a transference of learning and understanding
which totally enhanced the overall learning experience
Although as
educators we have to ensure that the basic skills run through the curriculum
like Òthe writing through a stick of rockÓ we have to show the students the
relevance of what we are teaching and some sort of cohesion between the
differing subject areas offered during the day. We have to allow our students to build on their successes
and their learning, there seems to be a greater chance of this being achieved
if the initial information and material is presented through a variety of
subject areas and is delivered by different staff. Our students may not be
interested in meteorology, maths, science, geography, history, music, food
technology, geology, PE, IT, Design Technology, media studies, art and English
but a scheme of work entitled ÒThe WeatherÓ that includes:
á
Recording a
ship to shore distress call
á
Writing and
editing a weather report
á
Producing a
multi-media news presentation
á
Using a ship
to shore radio
á
Creative
writing ÓRescue at SeaÓ
á
Using and
understanding a nautical chart
á
Learning how
to tie knots
á
A trip to the
RNLI
á
A trip to
Chew Valley Lakes
á
A study of
boats through the ages
á
A review of
ÒA Perfect StormÓ
á
Reading
ÒSwiss Family RobinsonÓ
á
Understanding
barometric pressure
á
Using a tide
timetable
á
Writing a
poster for safety on the beach
á
What I s a
Tsunami?
á
Research the
best destination for a beach holiday in August
á
Basic skill
work on key words, numeracy and IT
á
Learning how
to swim/lifesaving/personal survival
á
What are the
effects of Hurricane Rita in the US?
á
Art work on
the sea and/or storms
á
Global
warming
á
Songs for the
summer
á
Summer
recipes
á
Creative
writing ÒA Walk through the SeasonsÓ
á
Poetry on
rain/snow/wind/frost/sun and fog
á
Building a
model boat
á
Water
displacement
á
The Spanish
Armada in 1588
should interest
and enthuse most of our students and present them with a series of lessons
which are exciting, stimulating, challenging, practical, energetic, relevant,
experiential and skills based.
This scheme of work also allows room for assessment and accreditation
such as AQA GCSE. English Language and Literature, WJEC Entry Level, AQA
Mathematics, AQA Art, AQA Unit Awards and numerous Open College Units.
ÒMy BodyÓ which
accounts for all of the work covered on a Tuesday, deals with how the body and
mind function and how to take care of yourself in any situation and through
this to understand other people and
be able to develop healthy relationships.
Students cover
topics such as :
á
Staying
healthy
á
Getting fit
for life
á
Working
together
á
Sex and
Relationship Education
á
Inside my
head
á
Anger
Management
á
Positive
thinking
á
Drug
education
á
Alcohol
education
á
Solvent
education
á
HIV and AIDS
Ed
Many of our
students have experimented with illegal substances and continue to do so. The Drug Education Consultant from the
LEA along with the Police Education Officer will visit the school as often as
possible on this day to provide our students with all the up to date
information they may need on the subject of illegal substances and how to stay
safe in what for many of them is an extremely dangerous world.
Again we have to
be realistic if we are hoping to influence these students in a positive
way. We can not say not to take
these substances and hope that our students will listen; we have to accept that
the most we can sometimes hope for is to make the students think very carefully
about what they or their friends are doing and give them information on how to
stay as safe as possible and where to go if they decide they need help. W e have to present the lessons
in such a way that we establish ground rules which mean that neither staff,
visitors nor students are compromised by what the students are telling us and names they may mention. We do not want to hear personal
accounts at this stage as this may force us morally into some form of action
which could be counter productive if we are to support and help the student.
Some of our
students bring these substances into school, our curriculum delivery and
behaviour management policies have to take this into account. We may have to suspend the timetable
for a particular student who for these reasons is unable to access what we are
offering or who is so disruptive to other students that we have to remove him
for his own safety or the safety
of the rest of the class. We must ensure that this is not seen as a failing of
the curriculum, but rather as a problem that some students bring with them when
they first arrive at Wansdyke which has to be dealt with quietly and on an
individual basis as the need arises.
Similarly we have
to pay particular attention to the Sex and Relationship delivery in our
curriculum. At present all of our
students are boys and their attitude towards sexual topics reflects this
predominantly male society. They have little experience of the female
perspective and do not always approach these matters with the sensitivity
necessary for a responsible outcome.
Our curriculum needs to include sessions which attempt to show our
students that is just as masculine to show a degree of sensitivity in certain
situations as it is to become violent or aggressive and confront every
difficult issue Òhead onÓ.
Although it is extremely useful to engage the services of the school
nurse for some of these sessions most of the really useful work takes place
when a member of staff who is trusted by the student can talk on a one to one
basis about highly sensitive issues.
Built into the
provision for ÒMy BodyÓ are timetabled slots for outside agencies to come and
speak to our students about issues and support which could interest them and
more importantly are local, user friendly
and highly accessible. Off
the Record, Mentoring Plus, Julian House, The Ramp Project, Alcoholics
Anonymous, Quit Smoking, Avon and Somerset Police Force, The Fire Service, The
Ambulance Service, St JohnÕs Ambulance and The Drugs Action Team [DAT] are
included in the first wave of our new curriculum
Anger Management
is a subject which we intend to timetable for the first time. Most of our students have serous
problems controlling their anger with any number of issues; they feel that life
has not been particularly kind to them and that it therefore owes them nothing
and they need put nothing back.
Consequently the slightest thing [or nothing at all] can act as a
trigger and push them over the edge.
We have a duty to help these students come to terms with this
uncontrollable rage as it will have a massive impact on their future life in
both relationships and the workplace.
Positive thinking
is a natural follow up to this kind of work. Our students have huge problems with tolerance and patience,
they give up very easily if they feel that they are not succeeding or getting
anywhere. Positive thinking is a
way of addressing and dealing with this situation which should be invaluable to
them in later life as well as at school.
PE is always
difficult at Wansdyke, because the classes are small [7 is the maximum number
in any one class] it is very difficult to organise any team games and vary the
provision available. Many of our
students are not part of a
lifestyle which involves going to bed at a reasonable time and eating nutritious and regular meals
consequently they often do not want to take part and are lethargic to the point
of none compliance. Helping them
to become and stay fit is a real problem but hopefully the activities on offer
in the new curriculum will encourage some of them Òto have a goÓ.
We intend to offer
mountain biking, swimming, rock climbing, orienteering canoeing, table tennis,
break dancing and quad biking as alternatives to the more traditional subjects.
Food Technology is
another area which we have considered in our new curriculum. Most of our students really enjoy these
lessons as we try to produce good value, nutritious, colourful food which they
like to eat! The new timetable
includes a dedicated timetabled session called Independent Living. This addresses certain aspects of the
key skills framework by providing planned group activities aimed at cohorts of
students in particular age groups.
We intend to teach daily living skills so that as students grow older
they are prepared for adult life.
These skills may include domestic skills such as:
Food Technology
also forms part of our mini enterprise initiative as we hope to cost and sell
some of the goods produced and work out a profit margin and future planning in
other lessons throughout the day.
The aim again is to keep the work stimulating, skills based, relevant,
practical and experiential.
ÒMy WorldÓ
accounts for all of the subjects which take place on a Wednesday. We hope to develop an understanding of
their immediate surroundings and through this the world in general. We aim to allow the students to
understand how world events impact on them as individuals whether it is:
We intend to study
and investigate the major themes of:
and through these
discover why England is the way it is today and what have been our main
achievements and failures throughout the centuries. We will look at the
geography of this nation and determine how our towns and cities came about, we
will consider the importance of our own city and predict future changes in
population and town and country planning.
We will study the many religious faiths that exist in our country and
attempt to gauge the implications of living in a multi-ethnic society.
Students will
spend time considering the many different cultures which exist around the world
including India, Europe, America, Australia and Asia. All of the subjects taught on that day will deal with the
same theme so that the path of the student throughout the day is not disjointed
and one of contrasts but a cohesive and comprehendible journey which is
enriched by the variety and scope of subjects. India for example will include:
á
Colonisation
á
Geography of
cities, rivers, mountains, railways and seas
á
Indian art
á
Indian music
á
Indian
cookery
á
Indian sports
and games
á
CDT Making a
dam
á
Poems and
stories about India
á
Literature
from India
á
Population
and birth control
á
Ghandi and
Independence
á
The Indian
Mutiny
á
Indian
Scientists and discoveries
á
Indian dance
á
Bollywood and
Indian culture today
It is hoped that
this approach will encourage a more rounded and sympathetic/empathetic response
to a region which does not mean much to most of our students at present.
Energy is the
third of our themes which will be studied and investigated throughout the year
and this will include subjects such as:
á
The
environment
á
Alternative
forms of energy
á
The Nuclear
Debate
á
Practical
Physics
á
Energy and
Politics
We are aware that
the world of the students begins at home in this city and outskirts and we need
to present everything in a context which is relevant and experiential for our
students to fully engage with the most complicated of ideas. WE have already taken some of our
student on a camping trip to the Black Mountains in Wales for the weekend and
it is hoped that topics covered by ÒMy WorldÓ will generate more interest in
our immediate surroundings and those further afield.
ÒMy FutureÓ
accounts for all of the topics dealt with on a Thursday. This is a vocational day when we aim to
cover all aspects of planning and training for life in the context of vocation,
this also includes work experience and training on how to set up businesses
with mini-enterprises, hopefully running through all years. The key themes are:
á
Vocational
learning
á
Careers
preparation
á
Work
experience
This is the Day
when students consider their skills and preferences in the context of future
work, health and safety issues and pressures which they may expect to
experience.
We also aim to
address certain aspects of the key skills framework, community skills such as:
And leisure and
recreational skills such as:
We hope to find
work experience placements for most of Years 10 and 11 on this day and visit
them on a regular basis so that we can support and encourage their future
employment opportunities. We will
also be inviting outside agencies such as Connexions South West and Trident to
visit Wansdyke and advise students about career paths and options. There will be the opportunity for
students to visit the Connexions office in Bath and also visit The Job Centre
and learn how to use The Job Seekers Computers. This is also the day when students who want to follow a
career in manufacturing can practice their practical skills in CDT and produce
a quality object as they would be expected to do in the work place
The Ian Mikardo
School reported this section of the curriculum as the one identified by the
students as the part they considered most relevant and useful to themselves as
individuals. It is our duty to
ensure that we support our students through their planning and preparation for
future employment opportunities.
ÒMy SelfÓ accounts
for all of the topics offered on a Friday. This day is about the things we do which satisfy that inner
part of us, the part we find hard to describe, the creative side of our
characters, the sporting side of
our nature or the part of us that has discovered an interesting and enjoyable
hobby which we would like to pursue.
It includes art, music, drama, sport and communication. These activities offered encourage team
building, thinking skills, personal challenges, problem solving, co-operation,
collaboration, negotiation and allow the opportunity to put into action the
lessons learned in others days of the curriculum These are the activities which we hope students will enjoy
and which may enhance the rest of their lives.
This day is also
part of the behaviour management policy, the activities offered form part of
the rewards and sanctions policy.
Good points gained throughout the week in lessons for attitude and work
produced ensure that the student has a very good chance of going on the
activity of his first choice.
The activities
include:
á
Fishing
á
Bowling
á
Climbing
á
Camping
á
Snooker
á
Art
á
Music
á
DJing
á
Computers
á
Swimming
á
Biking
á
Rambling
á
Community
help-making a rope swing for the park!
á
Decorating
á
Practical CDT
á
Cookery
á
Grounds
Maintenance
ÒMy LifeÓ our new
curriculum takes place over a period of five days. Extensive research of further successful BESD schools
including Ian Mikardo in Tower Hamlets, Milestone School in Gloucester
Brookfield EBD in Herefordshire and St Lukes in Swindon suggested that the
timing of the school day was extremely important as the length of lessons had a
profound impact on the students.
It seems that 35 minute lessons produce the best from our students and
we therefore proposed new timings for the school day which included 7 X 35
minute lessons.
WE cut down the
length of lunch to 35 minutes as this was a time when we had many of our
problems involving bullying and other forms of poor behaviour. Break was in the morning and lasted for
20 minutes to allow the students to buy and eat tuck.
The most radical
change was first thing in the morning immediately after the students arrived. We introduced a period of 45 minutes
when nothing was timetabled but plenty of options were offered, there was a
breakfast club where students could sit quietly, listen to the radio and have
something to eat and drink, there are sports in the hall and outside or if they
wish they can just go to a classroom and talk to a teacher or a friend. We called this time ÒRemoving Obstacles
to LearningÓ and saw it as a time when students who arrived from particularly
difficult home backgrounds could Òchill outÓ, Òdump their baggageÓ and
generally get themselves into the right frame of mind to face the day, the
teachers, their friends, their enemies and work! Managed properly, creatively and professionally we saw this
as one of our most powerful tools in creating the right atmosphere in which
learning has the best possible chance to take place.
We, as Curriculum
Managers are aware that many members of staff are nervous and apprehensive
about some of these changes, especially the radical changes to subject
delivery. We have talked about
teaching and learning styles and how we need to adapt to meet the needs of the
students and the curriculum. We
have discussed team teaching, the use and deployment of TAs, outside speakers
and alternative assessment and accreditation. There are as many changes for the staff as there are for the
students and we need to monitor and evaluate in much greater detail initially
to ensure that our child based curriculum is hitting our pre set targets and
that staff can maintain the momentum for the following term.