Priorities distorted?

Well hello there, and welcome to update #127!

In the drive to support our pupils and students to get great results in the public tests and exams, there can be a tendency to focus on some things, at the expense of others.

For example, many secondaries took 3 years for Key Stage 4. This is understandable because the exam specifications are both more demanding and have more content.

However, pupils are entitled to a broad and balanced curiculum until the end of Key Stage 3, which is Year 9.

This is important on two counts: first, students need a strong grounding in Key Stage 3 to tackle the demands of the exam specifications. These three years are the time for laying the groundwork of the bg ideas of the subject.

The second reason it’s important not to short circuit provision is for those students who are not planning to take a subject as an option at Key Stage 4. They deserve a decent diet of interesting concepts and ideas which will stand them in good stead throughout their lives.

Meanwhile, in an effort to achieve good results for pupils in their Year 6 SATs, some primary schools have focused on test practice for pretty much the whole of Year 6 and sometimes drifting into Year 5.

Of course pupils need some test practice, but repeated practice doesn’t make a difference to results.

For example, if we look at the reading scores for pupils who don’t do so well on the reading papers, it tends to be a lack of vocabulary.

So how do we develop pupils’ vocabulary?

Through a broad and balanced curriculum!

I’ll be talking about the reading deficit and vocabulary development on this new webinar, live and recorded, Wed 18 March 4-5pm. Access with a group or annual subscription

Until next time

Mary