What can help pupils make a successful Transition to Secondary School?
We surveyed secondary schools up and down the country asking about Transition.
Every school and area has a different way of working. Most focus first on getting to know their pupils with activity days in school or a mock timetable. This is really important.
But what about academic transition?
Stalled Progress at Key Stage 3
A recent Ofsted report stated..
"the transition to secondary is too often poorly managed and teaching fails to build on the gains pupils have made in primary school. Inspectors have found that pupils often leave primary school with good literacy and numeracy skills, confident and eager to learn, but their progress then stalls when they start secondary school."
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/too-many-students-let-down-in-early-stages-of-secondary-school
The fact is that the importance of a good start to secondary school education cannot be overstated. Pupils need to enjoy school and get involved with the many subjects to choose them at Key Stage 4.
The report continues..
"School leaders need...
One of the most popular sports across the world at the moment is Formula One.
Here a matter of millimetres or milliseconds can make the difference between finishing first or last. Aerodynamics are checked constantly for any extra speed, the cars are fine-tuned with the latest data to make them go faster and faster. All parts will be updated at a cost of millions of pounds if it means the car will go a simple second quicker.
“Data is becoming increasingly important – not just in the world of Formula One, but the world in general. In F1, we use our data on our relentless search for performance, across all functions of the team – both at the track and at the factory,”
Toto Wolff - Head of Mercedes F1
Even the driving styles of each driver is manipulated with guidance from the computers for every corner - what line to take, when to brake, how much to brake. Every lap is...
What can you find in a DAISI QLA?
Detailed Analysis by Topic | Question | Pupil | Cohort
DAISI Education have been making Question Level Analysis since 2014, helping many schools find the marginal gains they needed to improve their results.
But what do they contain? Let us break it down..
Summary
Whatever assessment you use, you have to start with taking an overall view (for example, how many pupils passed or nearly passed), but also at the important topic strands, seeing how the school is doing, and “producing clear next steps for pupils”.
This analysis gives you a clear starting point - focussing in on the headlines and points for you to focus on as the deeper analysis continues.
“Thank you ever so much for the QLA reports & the subsequent updates. The service we have received from yourselves & the attention to detail have been fantastic. We have found the reports to be incredibly useful & they are helping us to shape...
The whole of education is underpinned by the relationship between the teacher and pupil.
As the quote above from Sidney Hook states, you don't remember how you were taught but you do remember who taught you and what an inspiration they were. You remember the relationship that you formed with your teacher - the personal connection between you that remains with you to this day.
Every pupil has their own personal learning journey.
Teachers have the power to inspire and encourage. Every step of the way, the pupil learns something new - guided and instructed by their teacher and so learn what motivates them, what inspires them and what they want to become as they become older. Over time, they will grow in knowledge, confidence and learn so much about themselves and the world around them.
Remember these wonderful and true words from Ross Crockett..
“If there’s anyone who is in a position to bring positive change into the world...
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.
Last year, schools in England were closed to all pupils except those of key-workers and vulnerable children on the 20th March.
For the majority of the summer, most learning took part remotely. Huge strides in online education were made in months that perhaps previously would have taken years. Teachers 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.
Then September arrived and the clamour for the reopening of schools returned. Pressure was on for schools to serve their communities once more. Parents were expecting pupils to return to "normal" schooling despite the Covid-19 procedures that needed to be followed...
Now, in 2021, we sit once again in a lockdown with remote learning and home...
Question Level Analysis is a really useful tool.
It breaks the results of an assessment down into simpler parts - focusing in on successes and highlighting areas to focus on.
It helps teachers to focus their teaching on the needs of their individual pupils - refining the curriculum to secure those marginal gains and enable better results.
It can really help prepare for exams - looking at mocks to find learning gaps...
BUT... There is so much more to Question Level Analysis than exam prep!
What makes a Good QLA? | What is in a DAISI QLA? | QLA Home
Learning Decay
This year, above all others, there is a greater need to look at where our pupils are and build a learning journey around them.
A recent writing study found that Year 7s were 22 months behind where we’d expect them to be at this time in the year. This was as a comparison between written work created Year...
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...
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...
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...
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...
