Marginal Gains

Marginal Gains

By mattwo8 Comments
Back in 2012, at the heart of London Olympics, Sir Dave Brailsford repeatedly told people of his belief in the marginal gains principle. Speaking to the BBC, he said “The whole principle came from the idea that if you broke down everything you could think of, that goes into riding a bike, and then improved it by 1%, you will get a significant increase when you put them all together.  There’s fitness and conditioning, of course, but there are other things that might seem on the periphery, like sleeping in the right position, having the same pillow when you are away and training in different places. They’re tiny things but if you clump them together it makes a big difference.” Brailsford believed that if it were possible to make a 1% improvement in a whole host of areas, the cumulative gains would end up being hugely significant. This principle has guided and driven the cycling team to great heights and Brailsford’s...
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A Position of Knowledge

A Position of Knowledge

By mattwo8 Comments
When working within cycling both at the 2012 Olympics and onwards with the SKY or INEOS racing team, Sir Dave Brailsford employs a significant principal in all he does. The 1% principal is based on the small changes that TOGETHER make a big change. As Brailsford said, Speaking to the BBC… “The whole principle came from the idea that if you broke down everything you could think of, that goes into riding a bike, and then improved it by 1%, you will get a significant increase when you put them all together. There’s fitness and conditioning, of course, but there are other things that might seem on the periphery, like sleeping in the right position, having the same pillow when you are away and training in different places. They’re tiny things but if you clump them together it makes a big difference.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34247629 He believed that if it were possible to make a 1% improvement in a whole host of areas, the cumulative gains would end...
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Every child deserves a Champion

Every child deserves a Champion

By mattwo8 Comments
When you visit a supermarket, you will often find a seconds aisle or money-off promotion. Buy-one- get-one-free or “money-saving” offers will entice you in and always make you buy that extra chocolate bar or that second beer you don’t need. You don’t look at the individual price anymore, just what you think you can gain. You usually end up spending more but feeling weirdly better off. The individual price has been removed, the label takes over. The power of a label is immense. We look at people differently because we label them as something else. Rumours, gossip.. “I didn’t know that!!” dominate social media and public culture. A politician or public figure’s career can be brought down to a shuddering halt by a label being attached. The individual has been removed, the label takes over. Are we in danger of doing the same thing within education regarding our reaction to COVID-19? Lockdown Lockdown has brought many difficulties and challenges. Pupils will have spend many months away...
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Put the Personal back

Put the Personal back

By mattwo12 Comments
Lockdown has brought many difficulties and challenges in education. Huge strides in online education have been made in months that perhaps previously would have taken years. Teachers have created learning packs, online lessons and updated communication systems - rising to the challenge of how to educate their pupils without the the essential face-to-face contact and personal interaction. Children have spent weeks and months away from the support bubble of a school, from their friends, from their safe place. Some will have thrived in a new family bubble – building new self-esteem and confidence. Others will have found it a challenge. Learning will have been lost but more importantly, their circumstances could have changed. They may have learned a deeper understanding of what it means to live in poverty, or encountered this for the first time. They may have learned to hide, to become invisible, to protect themselves from adults who are not safe, without the respite that school can provide. Many...
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Learning Loss – A Discussion

By mattwo4 Comments
In these new and uncertain times, pupils will have spent many months away from school due to the closures put in place as a result of Covid-19. Learning has been disrupted and will have been lost. In this video, presented by our Senior Principal Analyst - Phillip Burton, we look at the context of school closures, some of the studies regarding learning loss and how it can be measured, and offer a resource to enable you to measure what has taken place. https://youtu.be/-zOum1ew_GU Read our Blog exploring Learning Loss here.. https://daisi.education/learning-loss/ DAISI Education is committed to supporting schools and pupils and we are working hard to find ways of handling learning loss through our Question Level Analysis both for Primary and Secondary Schools. Having an early analysis can put your teachers in control and able to help your pupils realise their potential over time. Click here for more information.. https://youtu.be/IckMyRvpMZw DAISI Education Question Level Analysis Thank you for reading this blog and watching the...
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Learning Loss

By mattwo13 Comments
In these new and uncertain times, pupils will have spent many months away from school due to the closures put in place as a result of Covid-19. Schools in England were closed to all pupils except those of key-workers and vulnerable children on the 20th March 2019 and have only reopened to certain pupils in the last few weeks. Learning has been disrupted and will have been lost. As this is an unprecedented situation in the UK, there is no previous research that can show us what the educational impact of COVID-19 school closures might be. Never in our lifetimes have so many schools been closed for so many children. We prize attendance in our schools and often use posters like this to make children and parents aware of why time at school is so important. But what happens if the whole school is closed and everyone stops attending? Has this happened before..? Closed Schools Studies of previous school closures abroad show a...
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Home Learning

By mattwo63 Comments
Home Learning from DAISI Education “Such an Inspiring collection of Links & Resources” We present a wide range of fun, educational and engaging resources schools can share with pupils and families. This long list of links and resources was put together over the summer of 2020 and has continued to grow ever since. Many thanks to those from around the world who have suggested ideas and links. We hope you continue to find them useful! Learning Resources Check out these links for Primary and Secondary age. Early Years Activities for 2-5 year olds - stories, craft and more Tour the World and Beyond See the world from space and live elephants in Africa... Craft Activities 100s of ideas from a variety of sources.. Free Colouring Sheets Here are over 100 patterns and pictures to choose from.. Museums and Galleries Visit the Louvre, British Museum and more... Fun Activities at home.. 100s of Ideas and Links "What a huge help for families!" Science Experiments Create giant bubbles, a rocket that blasts off and more.. Baking Activities Loads of...
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Ofsted Inspection Judgements and IDACI

By mattwo7 Comments
On 14 January 2020 Ofsted released data regarding its latest judgements as of 31 December 2019. Now that 4 months have passed since the introduction of the new Ofsted Inspection Framework, there are sufficient schools to do a meaningful analysis of trends under this new framework. There is a correlation between deprivation and attainment but is there one between deprivation and Ofsted's judgements, and has it changed from previous years? This article will use the IDACI measure as a measurement of deprivation and consider Ofsted's Full Inspections only. We have considered those inspections which resulted in an Overall Effectiveness judgement of Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement or Inadequate, for Primary and Secondary schools. More details are at the bottom of this article. Overall Effectiveness Firstly, for these 619 schools, what is Ofsted's Overall Effectiveness judgement? The full details are in the table below: In headline terms, for primary schools, the chances of getting an Outstanding/Good judgement is 60%, whereas for secondary schools it is 45%. There is...
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Has Ofsted really gone off School Data?

Has Ofsted really gone off School Data?

By mattwo3 Comments
The new Ofsted framework states that inspections will not examine any internal school data. But, in practice, what does this mean for schools? What have staff said? Feedback from Staff who have gone through the new framework stated that conversations were not data-centred but did assume you had a good working knowledge of the external data for your school. Data was discussed as an informer to the team’s approach, not as the sword of Damocles it has been. Context was investigated in thorough detail, giving us a chance to tell our story. DAN MORROW - CEO, Woodland Academies Trust However, when you read on, you see that the external data does inform what the deep dives look to see... Instead, the deep dives commenced with immediate observations of staff through learning walks (all accompanied by phase/subject leads) and through hearing children read: the year one children who had not reached GLD, the year twos who had not secured the phonics-screening check, and the...
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Year 7 Catch-up Premium

By mattwo2 Comments
How well is your school using the additional funding for pupil premium and Year 7 Catch up? Ofsted will be looking for how you are supporting your new Year 7. The 2019 Ofsted Inspection Handbook says: In evaluating progress in literacy and mathematics, inspectors will take into account the progress of those for whom the Year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up premium provides support. [In Outstanding schools,] Governors systematically challenge senior leaders so that the effective deployment of … Year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up premium … secures excellent outcomes for pupils. In Outstanding Schools.. The following quotes are taken from Ofsted Inspection Reports of Outstanding secondary and all-through schools in 2018/19: Leaders use additional funding very effectively for disadvantaged pupils and those in Year 7 who need extra help to catch up with others. … Year 7 pupils who join the school with low starting points are provided with targeted support to improve their reading. Pupils benefit from work that closely matches their abilities and...
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