curriculum – DAISI EDUCATION

QLA – So much more than Exam Prep

1st April 202310th May 2023 By mattwo20 Comments

Question Level Analysis is a really useful tool. It can really help prepare for exams - guiding intervention and giving an overall summary to find learning gaps - but... There is so much more to QLA than exam prep! Let me explain what I mean... Examinations | Dive Deeper | Personal Learning Journey | Implement Change | Pass it Forward What does Question Level Analysis do? Described by some as the magic bullet, Question Level Analysis is now becoming more popular in schools across the country but what does it do.. QLA breaks assessment data down into meaningful insight that teachers, pupils and parents can all use to make a real difference. It takes the raw materials across an assessment (for example the KS2 SATs) and dives deeper looking for the insight that can make a difference. At a basic level, this is really useful in the preparation for examinations as it gives clear insight into......

How can you sustain progress in Year 7?

24th March 20235th April 2023 By mattwo16 Comments

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...

What makes a Good Question Level Analysis?

23rd March 20235th April 2023 By mattwo16 Comments

What makes a Good Question Level Analysis? Answer: Detailed Analysis Described by some as the magic bullet, Question Level Analysis is now becoming more popular in schools across the country. Many free grids are available over the internet designed to help break assessments down as a guide for teachers but they do not give you the forensic or time saving analysis you need. In fact - some of them don't even do analysis at "question level". DAISI Education has been making QLA for schools all over the country for nearly 10 years. Our Question Level Analysis has been proven to help schools improve* their results over time. Therefore, as a team of education analysts, we know what makes a good one and how it can save time and raise attainment. The answer is the level of ANALYSIS. *80% of schools who used DAISI Question Level Analysis over three years have seen an increase in their attainment. So what makes a Good QLA? Ten Question to ask... 1....

Release the potential of Analysis

15th June 202229th August 2023 By mattwo17 Comments

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...

Question Level Analysis

15th September 20215th June 2023 By mattwo10 Comments

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...

Marginal Gains

14th October 20205th April 2023 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...

A Position of Knowledge

27th August 20205th April 2023 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...

Ofsted Inspection Judgements and IDACI

15th January 20205th November 2021 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...

Has Ofsted really gone off School Data?

8th November 20195th April 2023 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...

Ofsted Curriculum: Intent and Implementation

17th July 20195th April 2023 By mattwoNo Comments

The new Ofsted Inspection Framework speaks a lot about Curriculum. Whilst the new directed focus has been welcomed, there is a lot of misunderstanding about what this means in practice. Schools are buying in help from outside sources against Ofsted Advice and Ofsted are constantly claiming there is no "Ofsted curriculum". So what will inspectors be looking for in your school curriculum from September 2019 onwards? What do they mean by a good or outstanding "quality of education"? In this article, we hope to help answer these questions by looking at Amanda Spielman's recent speech, the results of the Ofsted research project and the Ofsted School inspection Handbook. Amanda Spielman In a speech in 2019 at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Amanda Spielman was discussing the Ofsted research into Curriculum and what this means moving forward. The quality of education judgement does consider how well pupils are doing in national assessments and qualifications. But this should be the reflection of what children have...