Back To Basics

One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world - Malala Yousafzai

This Easter Sunday, we sat down to watch He Named Me Malala - the BAFTA-nominated film about a schoolgirl who was shot by the Taliban for speaking out for her right to an education.  To say it was inspiring would be an understatement.  It was a raw and thought-provoking journey through the life of Malala and her family.  The documentary had beautiful, unique animations to illustrate parts of their history as they narrated and it showed her to be as strong and courageous as her media persona suggests.  

Although the film contained audio and video clips of the Taliban's fight against girls' education as well as some graphic images of the resulting violence, it was the focus on education weaved throughout which struck a chord with me.   Especially now.  At a time when there is so much unnecessary change in UK education - so much discontent, discord and negativity,  it is helpful to go back to basics.  

Malala's father, Ziauddin, set up his own school in a rented building with $150.  His aim was for the pupils to learn what they would need for a successful and happy future.  After all, that's the aim of all education systems.  Over the years, the bare bones of education in the UK have been getting lost amid layers and layers of accountability, politics and power.  The government, OfSTED, curricula, examinations, league tables, data etc have been lumped on top with the promise of 'raising standards' and adding 'rigour'.  We're in an obesity crisis and we need to shed some weight.  We need to go back to basics.  Plan, teach + assess, repeat. 

I have often heard learning categorised as being 'just-in-case' or 'just-in-time'.  When children are learning 'just-in-case', they are storing that information or skill on the off chance that they might need it one day - for example in a test or a pub quiz!  When learning is prompted 'just-in-time', pupils are discovering new knowledge or skills because they need to.  After I read about the two different categories of learning, I set about aiming for that 'just-in-time' learning in my classroom everyday.  It wasn't easy fitting the curriculum in but we had some fantastic real-life projects which children loved and learned a lot from.  However, over the last few years I have found it increasingly difficult to avoid 'just-in-case' learning.  With the less-than-basic elements of the new English curriculum and some random additions to the mathematics curriculum, sometimes it feels like children are merely learning things 'just-in-case' they are asked about it in a test. 

Alternatively, Ziauddin's lessons in Pakistan would have been full of 'just-in-time' learning.  Children were learning things because they needed to - they had to.  This is how the UK education system  started as well, I'm sure.  Teachers on street corners helping kids learn what they needed - just in time for the next part of their life journey.  Undoubtedly, it was the hope of making such an important difference in the life of another which inspired me, and many others, to become a teacher.  We're in the job for the basics.  

Children, teachers, books and pens - imagine if you could forget the rest.  

Book Bingo

The inspiration for this post is threefold.  I've been meaning to create a resource like this since this photo on Pinterest reminded me of a list I was given when I was in Year 6.  The list simply had some brilliant classic novels which I would never have picked up if left to my own devices.  From reading some of the texts on the list,  I discovered and fell in love with stories by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  Some in-school reading moderation this week prompted me to take action and people's reactions to my original Book Bingo tweet reminded me to share the resources so here goes! 

These cards are designed to encourage children in KS2 to read for a range of purposes, to enjoy reading and have some fun as well as suggesting a range of authors and books for them to discover.  I envisage each box being stamped or given a sticker once it is completed and then children getting some form of award for completing four in a row or a full house.  On each card there is a WILDCARD box for children to get creative with the card's theme.  Teachers could give these to pupils in their class and parents could use them as a basis to help their child choose a new text.  

All ideas on the cards have come almost entirely from my own experience (with a bit of help from Twitter) so you are likely to disagree with some of my choices of authors or classics.  Therefore, I have included a link to download these and editable versions of them at the bottom of this post so that you can create your own.  If you do edit them and you are willing to share your Book Bingo cards, please do email them to me so they can be featured on here. 

You can download high quality versions of these Book Bingo cards as well as download an editable version of each one in the Reading Resources Folder. 

4 Growth Mindset Myths

1) Hard work, alone, produces talent. If you've got a Growth Mindset, you can become smarter/faster/better than the best.

In reality, sometimes nature trumps nurture when it comes to ability.  I demonstrated this to my class the day after I went to watch England play Australia in the netball.  They know I play netball some weekday evenings and often ask me what the score was.  After I watched the international series match, we discussed as a class how I could get better at netball.  The pupils said how I could practise, work hard and put in 100% effort.  We then talked about the England squad and how, no matter how hard I work and how much better I get at netball, I will never make the squad due to my height.  At 5 foot 2My growth mindset in netball can make me a better netballer but it won't make me an England netballer.  

2) Growth Mindset in primary schools is about putting up displays.

I hear of (and see on Twitter & Pinterest) many schools and teachers claiming they are "doing" growth mindset in their school by putting up lovely displays.  I have avoided having any displays to promote mindsets and attitudes; partly because I don't have enough display space for it and partly because I don't want that to be the only strategy which I implement.   Nurturing and encouraging positive mindsets is about the language we use, the attitudes we demonstrate and streamlining our praise.  

3) Growth Mindset means only giving constructive comments, not praising.

When I was first introduced to the idea of mindsets, this was my understanding.  It didn't take long for me to realise how wrong I was.  Instead, growth mindset comments are those which praise effort and attitude as well as providing constructive comments.  I try to use the following words in my feedback, written and verbal, as much as possible: effort, attitude, progress, hard work, focus.  Mostly, these words are used to praise children and their mindsets.  

4) You either have a Growth Mindset or a Fixed Mindset and a short questionnaire will tell you which one you have.

Some schools, when introducing the idea of a having a growth mindset, start with a quiz for children to take to determine whether they have a Growth Mindset or a Fixed Mindset.  This can become like a label for that child. “Charlie won’t get it...he’s fixed mindset”.  There are two reasons why this is wrong - firstly, the labelling of children via a quiz takes me back to the learning styles era! Secondly, you can have a growth mindset about one subject, skill or activity and a fixed mindset about another. For example, as a kid I always used to love a challenge in maths.  It wasn’t about getting it right for me, it was about the process to get there. I loved writing pages and pages of algebra as I went through secondary school but I professed deeply that I hated art and couldn’t draw.  I would have a go...ONE go and that would be it.  Same with P.E. and running. I would choose to walk a race because I knew I wasn’t going to do well and would rather be seen to be an "opter-outer" than a "have-a-goer"!  I’ve recently taken up netball, stoolball and running and have really had to utilise all this growth mindset stuff but, once I did, I found I enjoyed it.  Art is how I really demonstrate Growth Mindset to my class. I talk through my thoughts and feelings.  You will recognise this in children in your class.  The children with a fixed mindset in a lesson will be quite obvious - the ones who copy or cheat, give up and those smart children who get upset when they get one answer/activity wrong.  Be careful not to label them as “fixed mindset” but keep in mind that, for that subject, some failure and guidance around it, is going to help transform their mindset.

I feel this short clip from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix really demonstrates Growth Mindset and it's power as well as dispelling (excuse the pun!) some of the myths mentioned above. As you watch it, focus in particular on Harry's comments and Neville's mindset.

Organising TeachMeet Sussex

Since moving from a Hampshire school to a Sussex school in 2013, I have been organising TeachMeet Sussex with Ben.  We had been going to TeachMeet Hants at various schools around Hampshire but it was a long way to go.  There was nothing similar in Sussex - there were odd TeachMeets organised by certain schools or teachers occasionally but no events which moved around the county termly.  We decided that TeachMeets were such useful events which left us fired up for teaching and inspired to try new ideas; we wanted to set something up closer to home.  

TeachMeets are quite simply events organised for and by teachers in which ideas are shared and discussed.  Some TeachMeets involve a few people chatting over a pub meal while others put on elaborate food and drink, 'celebrity' teacher keynote speakers and thousands of pounds worth of prizes to attract large crowds to attend.  We decided we wanted something in the middle; an organised event at different schools with presentations from teachers and, sometimes, a free prize draw for attendees.  This is absolutely not the only or "right" way to run a TeachMeet; it is simply what works for us and how we want the event to run.  Many people have asked how we set up and organise the TeachMeet Sussex events so hopefully this blog post will give an idea as to what we do.

Traditionally, TeachMeet Sussex events are held on Thursday nights.  They last from 5pm-7pm to allow people time to get to the venue and to get home to put their children to bed.  Generally, they take place in a school hall but can be in a large classroom or a smaller meeting area.  After the event, some attendees gather in a local pub for a reasonably-priced meal and further chat about the ideas shared.  We aim to have one event each term and we try to hold them in a variety of schools across Sussex.

We have had 30 - 80 people attend TeachMeet Sussex events and we keep it very informal; any teachers can present an idea and we don’t have keynote speakers.  The events with the highest attendees had prizes from sponsorship companies, were advertised with flyers beforehand and had the headteacher of the school as our main contact. We try to have no more than two presentations from organisations (i.e. not teachers) at each event and we ensure that they are sharing only free ideas.

Before the event we:

• spread the news via Twitter,
• list the event on the UK TeachMeet Wiki
• fill in the form to get the event advertised on FaceBook,
• create a sign-up Google Form so we know who will be coming,
• run the website,
• line up people to share ideas, 
• design, create and print the flyer using Vistaprint,
• line up sponsorship and prizes,
• book a local pub for a meal afterwards,
• send emails to previous attendees about the event,
• tell as many people as possible about the event,
• send flyers to local schools via free internal mail.  

On the day we provide: 

• any prizes from sponsors, 
• raffle tickets, 
• directions to the local pub if it's far away,
• cupcakes! 

Before the day, we ask the school to: 

• line up a few teachers from their school to share ideas,
• pay for Vistaprint flyers invoice (around £20 - £40 depending on the size)
• prepare for someone to be around to lock up,
• arrange for TeachMeet to be their staff meeting for the week,
• ensure the computer has minimal internet blocks (Prezi, Pinterest, YouTube, Google Drive and Twitter and popular site which people use to present.  Adobe Flash is essential as well). 

On the day we ask to the school to provide: 

• a room with chairs, a computer and a screen,
• tea, coffee and any other refreshments,
• a wi-fi code for attendees to use on their phones and tablets to tweet and follow the event. 

Generally, the event runs as follows:

4:00	We aim at the school to help set up.  This is traffic permitting.
4:30	Attendees start to arrive for refreshments and cupcakes.  In this time we check the technology works for people who wish to use it.
5:00	First half of presentations.  We welcome attendees to the event and presentations start.  Sometimes presenter order is chosen by a random generator, other times we specify the order if there are people who need to arrive or leave at different times.  There are 5-7 presentations in the first half.
5:50	10 minute break to chat and refresh.  We hand out raffle tickets or prepare the random name/number selector.
6:00	Raffle.  We encourage attendees to pick a raffle ticket out the hat or we use the random name/number selector. Winners choose their prizes in order of selection.
6:10	Second half of presentations; about 5 to finish off.
7:00	We close the event by thanking attendees, sponsors, presenters and host school.  We encourage all attendees to help with the clear up and then give directions to the local pub.

Each TeachMeet Sussex event is slightly different but we try to keep similarities so that it's easier to organise and our regular attendees know what to expect.  Recently, we have started sending host schools a letter which contains information similar to that in this blog post so they know what to expect and provide.  We have found this has made the events run smoother because schools have been more prepared.  

You can find out more about TeachMeet Sussex here and can view upcoming TeachMeets around the UK here.  

Primary Assessment: How Has It Come To This?

Today, in between writing reports I discovered a couple of polls going around Twitter. Both were about what to do about the current assessment arrangements for KS1 and KS2.  One asked whether we should strike or not. The other asked whether it would be more effective to strike or to boycott the assessments.  My question is: how has it come to this?

After a widespread questionnaire last year, a seemingly-serious announcement about tackling teacher workload and the promise of having a year to implement new changes, teachers are now left with mere months to start collecting mountains of evidence and ticking off assessment criteria.  It will take many, many hours and will have close-to-zero positive impact on children's learning.  Talk about hypocrisy.  I recently heard the fact that Jeremy Hunt is investigating the low morale among junior doctors being compared to "Harold Shipman launching an enquiry into patient mortality rates" (Adam Hills on The Last Leg). Would it be criminal to suggest the same comparison with Nicky Morgan investigating teachers' workloads? 

As I see it, there are a few options for assessment arrangements this year.  None of which I wholly agree with but all of which are possible:

1) Teachers go on strike.

Potentially, the government listen and change things, perhaps abolishing national tests or teacher assessments this year.  This is hugely unlikely.

2) School leaders, supported by their governors, decide to boycott the assessments.  

They submit no data or put all children as working below expected standard.  If a record number of schools don't reach the floor standard then the government must stop lying about the fact that education has improved under the Tories.  It would leave OfSTED in a complete mess because there would be too many schools to inspect and many would become RI or below. The problem with this option is that it takes a great deal of confidence for a Headteacher to support a boycott. Also, it would only work if it were widespread enough, covering all authorities.  I'm not sure how parents would react if their children have been working towards the new SATs all year.  

3) School leaders put pressure on Year 6 and Year 2 teachers to reach or exceed the floor standards.  

This is the most dangerous but, sadly, the most likely.  If we all bow down to the expectations required of Year 6 now it means one thing: lots of cheating.  Teachers will be sat by children telling them what to write to ensure they have the evidence for working at the expected standard.  High expectations are important but Year 6 teachers have exclaimed online that this is what they are going to have to do to meet the floor standards.  This then leaves secondary teachers with no idea of children's true ability and means the government can bleat on and on about how they've raised standards with no mention of the broken teachers, anxious children and foul play which has been created in the process.  And, worse still, this relentless rate of change and ridiculousness imposed on us from the government continues. 

I am not a parent but I have a huge amount of sympathy for those parents of primary-aged children.  There is no certainty about their school future except that it will be tough.  Tougher than before in terms of content but even more so because of the unknowns. Their headteachers, teachers and parents have no clue how things will look for them in the next couple of years and I can't imagine that's been the situation for many years in primary schools. 

I always like this blog to be about solutions and ideas for primary classrooms.  Recently, it has had to take a much more negative tone because the government has completely lost sight of the children at the heart of why we do our job.  Their best interests have taken a backseat to political agenda and media image.  I have no solution for this except that teachers have got to have a voice.  This is mine. What is yours going to be?  Get on Twitter, write a blog, write a letter, sign a petition, join a union, email your headteacher, follow the NAHT, speak to parents, talk to friends; just do something.  It's time for teachers to take back the classroom. That is the only solution I can see making any positive difference. 

Teachers quitting, cheating or boycotting: how has it come to this?

The Power Of Choice in Learning

"You choose"

The phrase has so much more power than is first anticipated by the two short words.  By default, there is nothing prescribed for you but you take things into your own hands.  You have the power.  And that, alone, is powerful. 

I hadn't considered how important 'choice' is in learning until I started at my current school.  We have a 'Core Offer' which consists of things that we consider to be important elements and strategies to use in each lesson.  It is featured in our Teacher Handbook and is something which is referred to in planning and observing lessons.  I remember first reading through the Core Offer and recognising many of the elements as things I plan into lessons anyway: learning objectives matching activities, personalised learning and questioning, among others.  Every part of the Core Offer was something I did everyday, except for one. 

"Pupils will have an element of choice within their learning."

This really stuck with me and made me rethink a lot of what I do.  I have previously mentioned how early in my teaching career I was obsessed with grouping children by ability.  Thus I was prescribing what they did and how they did it.  Without meaning to, I was putting a glass ceiling on their learning; clearly this was before I'd heard of the idea of a Growth Mindset.

I started by including quite trivial choices for children to make so they felt they had some control over their learning: different colours of paper, a variety of context options or different writing implements.  Ultimately, these didn't have a great impact in their learning but I saw very quickly an increase in engagement.  They were buying into the lesson through a simple decision-making process.  This, along with reading about Growth Mindset, led to me completely changing how I managed differentiation, personalisation and challenge in lessons.

Rather than providing certain groups with prescribed activities at their level, I started explaining some different options of support to my class for the one activity they were completing and letting them choose if they needed support and how much.  Quickly, I realised this worked better if they sat in mixed-ability groups.  That way, they could learn from each other, keep their confidence as there's no "top" or "bottom" table and there was an enhanced team-spirit feel in the classroom.  With some guidance and conversations, children were choosing appropriate activities and challenging themselves.  I had never experienced a class so focused on their learning before and, without any evidence to back this up, I credited the element of choice for their enhanced positive attitudes.

It wasn't until the following year that I started to realise the difference choice can make for some children who struggle to behave in school.  I was teaching a child who had a tendency to cause problems during lessons.  Many teachers use "the choice" when managing behaviour in and out of the classroom.  For this child, the choice had always been whether to do the work in the lesson or not.  Teachers had previously said, "You can choose to do this work now or choose to do this work during your breaktime with *SLT member*".  Early on, I had taken a similar tactic but once the child was settled in my class, I started saying, "You can choose whether you do X, Y or Z" and the expectation was that the work was done in the lesson; the choice was about how the work was completed rather than whether it was completed.  This made a real difference and meant that they completed more work in the classroom and there wasn't the need for break time intervention.

Since then, I've been experimenting with different ways that children can have an element of choice in their learning.  Sometimes, the choice is about presentation format or use of practical resources; other times it is about the subject of a piece of writing or question to research, answer or investigate.  Each time, it amazes me how the children engage in their choice and produce some brilliant work, and reminds me how different the lesson would be if I had prescribed these elements.  

Related Links

Alison has used a writing project called You Choose which you can read about here.
You can read more about challenge is organised in my classroom here. 

How to Plan for a Supply Teacher

After such a successful first post about his experiences supply teaching, my husband has written another post to give some ideas about how best to leave plans for a cover teacher to follow.  

It is a huge misconception that class teachers need to leave thorough and detailed plans for supply teachers. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t provide plans at all, but what it does mean is that class teachers shouldn’t waste their time writing out, printing and generally fretting too much over what their supply teacher is going to do with their class. The reason I write this is because class teachers already have a busy schedule without needing to worry too much about days when they have got supply. They’ve got other things to get on with! 

When cover teachers arrive at a school in the morning, they don’t want to have to look through pages and pages of planning. This is not because we are lazy - we are against a time limit. We need to be able to read through up to five different lesson plans before the children arrive for the day. The plans need to be short, simple and understandable. I tend to arrive at a school before 8am meaning I have approximately 40 minutes to get my head around what is going on. It makes us supply teachers panic if we are not really sure about what to do in each lesson. It is best not to leave hand-written plans as, sometimes, that can be even harder to read and understand. Typed notes, if possible, are much clearer. 

If you know your school’s lesson plans are difficult to comprehend because the format is full of boxes, jargon and anything else that is simply included to impress Ofsted, don’t leave that for supply teachers to read through. Plans for supply teachers need to be brief notes with the important bits only. Either that or simply highlight the important parts of the plan that you want the cover teacher to read so they don’t have to go through it all. It is not ideal to write all over plans as, again, this can make the plans difficult to understand. 

I have often turned up at schools and the plans have been left with a teaching assistant.  This is less than ideal because they tend to come in later than me and could be absent on the day.  Instead, ensure any plans and resources are left out somewhere obvious so that, if the supply teacher comes in earlier than the teacher welcoming them, they can read through everything and get their heads around it straight away rather than having to wait. If the class teacher is in school on the day that they have got cover, it is helpful to visit the supply teacher to check if everything makes sense or to discuss the plans.  It is useful for teaching assistants to know what the class is doing so that, if there are any problems, they can help.  If there are any IT resources to be set-up for the day, it is a good idea to check that they work first and ensure that someone in school is arranged to load them. 

The most thorough supply teachers mark books from all lessons at the end of the day. However, it is really important for teachers to not leave too much marking for their supply. I have been in the position where, come 3:15pm, I’m faced with the prospect of marking 4 sets of books. If I am to mark well, there’s no way I can mark that many books before 6:00pm. If you want work to be marked well by the supply teacher, remember to include it in your notes. Furthermore, try to leave a reasonable volume of marking otherwise the supply will probably only tick and stamp them. If it is possible, try to think of some practical lessons, for example whiteboard or online work, to plan into a supply day to help reduce the marking. Alternatively, plan time for the children to mark their own work. 

Planning aside, the most important thing I need to know is how to keep your class safe.  Are there any allergies, serious family circumstances or other well-being issues?  Which children require extra support and are there any adults who are not DBS checked that cannot be left alone with children? These notes need to be very clear and near the top of any documents.  It is also useful to have timetable information for the school and some idea of how children are grouped in lessons.  

Finally, please make sure you point cover teachers in the direction of the toilet, staff room and coffee machine. After all, we're only human!