“The world changes. Children don’t”.

New Thinkuknow parents and carers campaign launches!

CEOP have launched a brand new public awareness campaign. Through social media, articles, blogs, films and more, they want to get parents and carers thinking and talking about the importance of discussing sex, relationships and the internet with their children.
 
The first part of this campaign is a new resource entitled “The world changes. Children don’t”. This short film  tells the age-old story of Romeo and Juliet… with a modern twist. It shows how the lives of these young lovers might play out online today, including the Lark ‘tweeting’ and Romeo ‘friending’ Juliet.

Follow this link!

Behind this contemporary remake is the message that, although technology and social media can seem overwhelming and forever evolving, children and young people don’t change. They try to remind parents that (just as when they were young), their children are still exploring and creating their identities, keeping up with their friends and dealing with adolescent pressures. Although much of this now happens online, they remind them that the kind of parental support and advice which keeps their children safe 'in real life' will keep them safer online too. The Thinkuknow resources can be a useful place to start in thinking about how you might frame these discussions.

'Interim' Assessment Frameworks for 2017 Available!

A recent DFE email has confirmed that the Interim Teacher Assessment Frameworks for 'end-of-key-stage 1 and 2', were released on Thursday 14th July, and appear to be very similar to the current 'Interim' frameworks. While the early notification is much appreciated after the previous year's delays - we remain a little bemused about the definition of the term 'interim'! We have linked to these documents and will be taking a closer look shortly...

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Key stage 2 Interim Teacher Assessment Framework 2017:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2017-interim-frameworks-for-teacher-assessment-at-the-end-of-key-stage-2

Key stage 1 Interim Teacher Assessment Framework 2017:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2017-interim-frameworks-for-teacher-assessment-at-the-end-of-key-stage-1

Pre-Key stage 2 Interim Teacher Assessment Framework 2017:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2017-pre-key-stage-2-pupils-working-below-the-test-standard

Pre-Key stage 1 Interim Teacher Assessment Framework 2017:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2017-pre-key-stage-1-pupils-working-below-the-test-standard

Further clarity and wording may yet emerge...

Science: Pupil Interview Feedback

Some feedback from our pupils about how they feel about Science in school:

What do you enjoy about science?

• I love the experiments – when we made an invisible potion

• I like to learn about astronomy and electricity

• I like to learn all about chemicals

• I like learning about animals like watching videos and looking at pictures

What different ways do you learn in science?

• We do experiments

• We research on a computer or tablet

• We go outside

• We write about wat we have done

• We design circuits and switches

When do you learn best?

• When we do experiments

• By “doing”

• When it is interesting

• When we do fact files

• When I listen to the teacher

Is there a particular topic you have enjoyed? Why?

• Funny bones – we learn about the human body

• Stormbreaker – we made our own switches

• Light and Dark – because we learn about what is around us every day

• Living things 

How does your teacher help to make the lesson successful?

• She explains it clearly so we know what to do

• FUN!

• She helps me when I’m stuck

• By writing and drafting work

• Using a Powerpoint to explain

How does marking help you to make progress in your learning?

• “Can you check” comment

• Ticks and smiley face

• Tells you when facts are missed out

• Use next steps symbol

• Notices where you have gone wrong

What would you like to learn in science?

• Astronomy

• Chemicals

• Sun. moon and earth

• Natural disasters

2016 End of Key Stage Two Outcomes

Last week, we provided Year 6 parents with details of their child's teacher assessment and test results. Since then, further data has been officially shared by the DfE, and we now feel able to provide further details of our school's performance in this context. It is worth a reminder that the over-emphasis on test results without considering the progress our children make, alongside their many other talents, can be misleading. We also believe our teacher assessments provide a more accurate picture of a child’s overall attainment. However, the above table reveals how our school compares to this emerging national picture. 

Overall this is a very positive picture for our school and we have achieved above the national picture in all published areas so far at Key Stage 2. This is a massive well done for all of our pupils and our school! Their effort and positive attitude to learning during their time at Bitterne Manor is exemplary and sets them up for the next phase of their education. We are both pleased and proud that our results continue to reflect our expectation that we are all learning to be the best we can!

Parents may be interested in the following link that provides further details about the changes to assessment in KS2 this year:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/534658/Information_for_parents_-_2016_NCT_results_at_the_end_of_key_stage_2.pdf

1 or 2 Dimensional Progress...?

It's that time of year when we review our teacher assessed judgements about the progress our pupils are making - a thorough combination of work scrutiny, testing, moderation against national standards leads our teacher assessment. Current thinking has us moving away from a 1 dimensional approach to the way children progress through our school to looking more at the quality and depth of that learning. A more 2 dimensional approach that ensures our pupils can demonstrate the depth of their understanding by their application of it in different contexts across the curriculum.

Writing Right Across the Curriculum...

Our INSET day, this July, was formed around the expectations for getting our writing right across the curriculum. We have long established expectations both before and since the advent of the new curriculum but had some big questions to pose ourselves. We are also aiming to build our own bank of exemplifications to sit alongside those published nationally.

KS2 SATs National Picture Emerging...!

For the original TES Article: Follow link here.

More pupils reach expected standard in writing than in reading

The first results for this year’s controversial Sats tests show that 53 per cent children reached the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

The DfE results reveal how much tougher the tests are this year. Last year 80 per cent of pupils achieved what was then the expected level 4 in all of reading, writing and mathematics.The government has decided to release national level figures earlier than usual, to help headteachers compare their school’s performance with others. 

The statistics out today show that:

66 per cent of pupils achieved the expected standard in reading.

74 per cent of pupils achieved the expected standard in writing - which is teacher assessed.

70 per cent of pupils achieved the expected standard in mathematics.

72 per cent of pupils achieved the expected standard in spelling, grammar and punctuation (Spag).

The number of schools below the floor standards – which can trigger academisation – will not be known until the progress measures are published later this year. But education secretary Nicky Morgan has said that any rise in the number of schools below the floor standards will be limited to one percentage point, meaning a maximum of six per cent of schools will be affected.

More than 550,000 ten and 11-year-olds took the tests in May and in previous years, headteachers have been able to benchmark their results with previous years, but this is the first year of the new tests and so it is not possible to compare results.

The government said when it introduced the new tests that the new expected standard would be similar to a level 4b under the previous system of levels. But there has been concern from teachers who said that the new tests were much tougher than that – with a standard more similar to the previous level 5.

In 2015, there were 80 per cent of pupils at level 4b or above in reading and 49 per cent at level 5.  In mathematics, there were 77 per cent at level 4b or above and 42 per cent at level 5. Seventy-three per cent reached level 4b in Spag and 56 per cent were at level 5.

In writing, 87 per cent of pupils achieved the level 4 and 36 per cent achieved the higher level 5. Writing results are assessed by teachers and there was no information for numbers attaining level 4b.

This year, pupils have had their raw marks converted to a scaled score, where a scaled score of 100 means they have met the expected level.

The statistics also show that the average scaled score in reading and mathematics was 103. In spelling, grammar and punctuation it was 104.

Inspiring Leadership Conference

The not so sunny banks of central Birmingham's canals saw us attend this year's Inspiring Leadership conference at the ICC. We were inspired by several speakers, not all of whom were from the world of education, and they provided us with much to think about! Some of the best quotes from the conference are below. A favourite is in the picture above - '100 things 1% better' from Humphrey Waters who supported the England Rugby team to World Cup success!

1. Look for the gap in the wave

2. Grown up restless leadership is not a matter of age but of attitude

3. The mountain isn't ready

4. Bureaucracy is terrified of leaving free time in your schedule

5. This conference is all about nourishing the spirit

6. People who have...an unerring ability to go straight to the periphery of a problem

7. Sometimes you need to solve 50 little problems to solve one big problem

8. The higher the stakes, the bigger the instinct to blame

9. In business we touch people's wallets, as teachers you touch their soul

10. Children should go to school with open minds and return home with shiny eyes

Getting Better Never Stops!

There is something hugely satisfying as a school when we hear of the achievements of our ex-pupils. While we don't wish to take any of the credit or claim any responsibility, there is a sense of pride amongst us that one of our own has gone forward and done so well. Recently, we were extremely pleased to hear that Callum has gone on to do so impressively well in Athletics and that another of our ex-pupils, Macy, has just been made Head Girl at Bitterne Park. We're proud of the achievements of all of our pupils and it's really nice to hear about what they're doing now.