Making Good Progress in KS2 English

1
Making Good Progress in KS2 English and
mathematics Level 2 to 4
2
Focusing on progression

• Key questions
• In what ways do we track for progression across
  the school and in each class?
• How is this information used to identify those
  children who are making slow progress?
• Which children and specific groups of children
  are currently identified through our tracking?
• What actions are we taking to support these
  children?

3
National Pupil Progression Chart (Level 4)
4
National Pupil Progression Chart (Level 4)
5
School Pupil Progression Chart

• Paste from RAISEonline English
• Instruction on adding pupil progression charts
  from RAISEonline
• Once you have logged onto RAISEonline and found
  the Pupil Progression chart you want in your
  presentation, you need to
• On the select a format drop down menu, choose
  Acrobat (PDF) file
• Click on Export
• Click on Open
• Once you have the PDF open, click on tools,
  select Select Zoom and click on Snapshot
  tool.
• Using the cursor select the area you want to copy
  to your presentation.
• When you let go of the left click on your mouse
  it should say Selected area has been copied
  Click ok.
• Go to the power point slide, right-click on mouse
  and select paste.
• You can adjust the chart size using the circles
  in each corner of the image

6
School Pupil Progression Chart

• Paste from RAISEonline Mathematics
• Instruction on adding pupil progression charts
  from RAISEonline
• Once you have logged onto RAISEonline and found
  the Pupil Progression chart you want in your
  presentation, you need to
• On the select a format drop down menu, choose
  Acrobat (PDF) file
• Click on Export
• Click on Open
• Once you have the PDF open, click on tools,
  select Select Zoom and click on Snapshot
  tool.
• Using the cursor select the area you want to copy
  to your presentation.
• When you let go of the left click on your mouse
  it should say Selected area has been copied
  Click ok.
• Go to the power point slide, right-click on mouse
  and select paste.
• You can adjust the chart size using the circles
  in each corner of the image

7
Discussion (1)

• Consider the national pupil progression charts
  for Key
• Stage 2 English and mathematics and the schools
• own charts
• How do the schools charts compare to the
  national ones?
• Who are the children in your class who are
  potentially slow moving or falling behind?
• What are some of the reasons for these pupils
  making slow progress in English and/or
  mathematics?

8
Investigating progress in English and mathematics
at Key Stage 2 (1)

• The findings presented on subsequent slides arise
  from investigations focusing on slow movers in
  English and mathematics, identified in terms of
  conversion from Level 2 at KS1 to Level 4 at KS2
• The schools involved in the investigations were
  selected on the basis of their KS1 to KS2
  conversion rates
• A relatively small sample of 39 schools was chosen

9
Investigating progress in English and mathematics
at Key Stage 2 (2)

• The investigations included
• Focused discussions with approximately 240
  children in Year 4 and Year 6
• Discussions with headteachers, subject leaders
  teachers
• The findings have been cross-checked with
  evidence obtained by Ofsted, the National
  Strategies and the Training and Development
  Agency (TDA) and appropriate actions agreed with
  these partners

10
Pen portrait of the slow moving children in
English (1)

• The children
• were often boys
• were generally well behaved
• displayed a positive approach to learning
• usually persevered with the task set, especially
  when the task set was routine or of limited
  challenge
• lacked self-help strategies and relied on friends
  for guidance or left the task incomplete

11
Pen portrait of the slow moving children in
English (2)

• Children struggling to make progress from
• Level 2 to Level 4
• were described by their teachers as invisible
  children, with the girls especially being quiet
  and undemanding
• were often (in the case of boys) bubbly, lively,
  keen to respond to questions but unlikely to
  reflect or think before doing so
• when stuck they put up their hands and waited to
  be noticed

12
Pen portrait of slow movingchildren in
mathematics (1)

• The children
• were often girls
• were generally well behaved and had a positive
  approach to learning
• were often described as invisible children
• didnt like answering questions in front of the
  class
• tended to work on their own
• would sit with their hand up but not always be
  noticed

13
Pen portrait of the slow moving children in
mathematics (2)

• Children struggling to make progress from
• Level 2 to Level 4
• lacked self confidence
• judged how good they were by the number of ticks
  and crosses in their books
• usually persevered with the task set, especially
  when it was routine and of limited challenge
• produced neat work that was set out in the
  required way

14
Discussion (2)

• Do you have pupils in your class that fit these
  profiles?
• Which of the characteristics most closely match
  those of the children in your class who are
  potentially slow moving or falling behind?

15
Slow moving pupils starting at Level 2 in
English (1)

• Do you have pupils who
• demonstrate a limited ability to bring together
  all elements of writing (e.g. ideas, content,
  structure, vocabulary choices, punctuation for
  meaning) simultaneously and are generally
  insecure in the planning of their writing?
• have limited opportunities to engage in oral
  rehearsal prior to writing?
• have targets which are frequently focused on
  simple secretarial skills, such as neat
  handwriting?
• are unaware that speaking and listening is a
  skill that needs to be developed and practised?
• Continued.

16
Slow moving pupils starting at Level 2 in
English (2)

• Do you have pupils who
• demonstrate a lack of self-help strategies to
  support independent learning?
• demonstrate limited evidence of application of
  literacy targets when working in other areas of
  the curriculum?
• do not engage with teacher feedback and are often
  unclear about next steps for improvement when
  moving from one level to the next?

17
Slow moving pupils starting at Level 2 in
mathematics

• Do you have pupils who
• struggle to explain their thinking and methods?
• have difficulty in remembering and using
  mathematical vocabulary?
• lack flexibility with number, for example, they
  struggle to identify related facts from those
  they know?
• tend to rely on one method when calculating and
  solving
• problems?
• struggle with problems, particularly those that
  involve two or more steps?
• lack self help strategies?

18
Obstacles hindering progression from Level 2 to
Level 4 in English

• Typically pupils
• Tended to rely on a limited range of reading
  strategies, for example picture clues and
  sounding out
• Had not developed wider and more advanced reading
  skills, e.g. inference and deduction
• Rarely read for pleasure
• Received less targeted intervention in Years 3
  and 4
• Had developed an over-reliance on the support of
  teaching assistants

19
Obstacles hindering progression from Level 2 to
Level 4 in mathematics (1)

• Typically pupils
• were weak at mental calculation - they had few
  mental calculation skills and were reluctant to
  use them
• had difficulty in keeping intermediate
  information in their heads
• had a preference for using formal written methods
  which they considered better than mental methods,
  but made mistakes

20
Obstacles hindering progression from Level 2 to
Level 4 in mathematics (2)

• Typically pupils
• lacked images and models such as number lines to
  help with visualising mathematics
• experienced a low level of challenge and tended
  to work within their comfort zone
• developed a low appetite for risk taking

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Discussion (3)

• Which of the descriptions and obstacles to
  progress are most pertinent to the pupils you
  teach?

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What all slow moving pupils in Key Stage 2 need
in English (1)

• Direct instruction and modelling of how to plan
  their writing within a range of contexts across
  the curriculum, through focused teaching using
  shared and guided writing approaches
• Planned opportunities to develop oral rehearsal
  throughout the writing process
• High value curricular targets that are
  appropriate to need, for example at Level 4, I
  can organise my writing into clear sections or
  paragraphs considering the purpose and audience
• Planned opportunities to develop the conventions
  of speaking and listening through a range of
  activities that encourage extended talk rather
  than one word answers
• 
  continued.

23
What all slow moving pupils in Key Stage 2 need
in English (2)

• A learning environment which promotes
  independence and supports self help through
  targeted and interactive displays, working walls,
  etc
• Explicit teaching of the range of ways they can
  overcome barriers to progress in lessons, for
  example by using displays, dictionaries, other
  pupils, the internet, etc
• An understanding of how targets relate from one
  curriculum area to another, for example, a
  sentence construction target will apply to
  writing across the curriculum
• Focused marking and oral feedback that clearly
  indicates successes and clear next steps to
  progress

24
What all slow moving pupils in Key Stage 2 need
in mathematics (1)

• Activities and approaches to help engage pupils
  in mathematical thinking
• To use mathematical vocabulary and language to
  express their explanations and thinking with
  other pupils and their teacher in all mathematics
  lessons
• Confidence and greater flexibility with number
  and calculation through shared discussion about
  links and how alternative methods work

25
What all slow moving pupils in Key Stage 2 need
in mathematics (2)

• To explore and focus on how and why different
  methods work rather than just on the answer, e.g.
  devising questions for a fixed answer, exploring
  when statements are true and false, matching
  linked facts
• Time and support in developing independent
  learning and self-help strategies, e.g. comparing
  approaches when stuck, referring to displays,
  etc.

26
What pupils need to support progression in
English from Level 2 to Level 4

• Opportunities to develop a wide range of reading
  strategies, through shared and guided reading, to
  tackle unfamiliar texts successfully
• Opportunities to develop higher order reading
  skills, e.g. inference and deduction, through
  targeted questioning and response in whole class
  and guided group activities
• To see reading as pleasurable and meaningful by
  engaging with texts that provide a high level of
  interest and appropriate challenge
• Targeted and specific intervention at the point
  of learning from both the class teacher and
  teaching assistants
• Opportunities to work independently or in
  pairs/small groups without direct adult
  supervision

27
What pupils need to support progression in
mathematics from Level 2 to Level 4

• A greater focus on the use of mental calculation
  strategies
• To develop a range of mental calculation
  strategies through guided teaching to help them
  choose efficient methods
• Support in deciding when a mental or written
  method is more appropriate and why
• To see, use and evaluate different approaches to
  solving a problem
• To use images and models to help with visualising
  mathematics e.g. using number lines more flexibly
• A greater level of challenge, including
  experience of working in a range of different
  groups
• Support and encouragement to take risks so that
  they are less anxious about always getting the
  right answer

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Discussion (4)

• Next steps
• What do you think are the key issues arising from
  this session for the school?
• How can they be addressed at senior leader,
  subject leader and class teacher levels?