Why a Year 7 Foundation Curriculum at HF school?

1
Why a Year 7 Foundation Curriculum at HF school?
Most pupils experienced difficulties when moving
from KS2 to KS3 Transfer Physical
environment Primary controlled
environment Secondary large environment, moving
from room to room and teacher to teacher
different experiences in teaching styles,
routines and expectations Transition
Curriculum Primary teachers know and understand
the learning needs of the whole pupil or taught
for tests reverted to misconceptions about the
world Secondary subjects compartmentalised and
content led pupils did not transfer learning
skills dip in attainment
2
Vision
We need a curriculum which is best for all
students, irrespective of learning styles,
previous attainment or their social, cultural and
economic background
80 of the jobs that our current Year one pupils
will do, do not exist yet. Alistair Smith (The
future of learning to learn, 2005)
Our current 7 year olds will retire in 2070
Our aim is to educate our pupils in the best way
possible for the world they will inhabit, rather
than the one we have been living in
3
Evidence based research
Professor Guy Claxton Levels of Learning (Where
are we as a school?) Level three - out of school
as well as within Level two - become better
learners (AfL, L2L) Level one - learn better
(homework/intervention) Level zero - learn more
(content led curriculum)
Mastery of basic skills Ability to work with
others Being able to deal with constant
distractions Working at different levels across
different disciplines Using mainly verbal
skills Problem solving and decision
making Innovation and creativity
4
Whilst everyone needs the basic skills, in the
era of lifelong learning, there are a much
broader set of dispositions that we all need to
have. These are the 5Rs Resourcefulness Remembe
ring Resilience Reflectiveness Responsiveness Ja
ckie Beere - Building Learning Power for Life
(KS3 learning kit 2002)
5
Reflective learning (metacognition) Engagement
using learning styles Emotional Intelligence
(persistence, resilience, optimism, mood control,
empathy, self confidence, self awareness,
stress management) Relationships (listening,
communication, mutual respect and
rapport) Positive Learning Environment (water,
air, display, brain gym, music, smiles, layout of
desks)
Process skills Planning Gathering Processing Prese
nting
Core skills Time management Social
skills Reflective skills Self-appraisal
skills The skill of seeking help
6

• Alistair Smith Personalised Learning Skills
• (The future of Learning to Learn, 2005)
• The essential outcome of any personalised
  learning approach is that the learner is given
  the navigational skills to cope with the journey.
  These include
• The capacity to make informed choices and live
  with the consequences of those choices
• The ability to discriminate between relevant and
  irrelevant information in a variety of contexts
• The willingness to operate on a daily basis
  within a moral code
• Everyday problem-solving which is pragmatic and
  appropriate
• Active participation in a number of communities
• And throughout all of the above - the ability
  to feel positive about yourself and those around
  you as you do so.

7
Solution
An integrated, theme based, competency led
curriculum
15 lessons per week with one teacher in one
classroom Art, D T, Drama, Music, PE, Dance, MFL
taught by subject specialist All behaviour for
learning managed in house with consistent
routines and expectations
Four broad themes Me, myself and
I Water Eco-systems Salford through the ages An
enterprise project
Competences based on Opening Minds Model
8
DCSF Pilot
Collaborated with primary EAZ feeder schools on
transfer and transition pilot
Focus on sharing pedagogy and practice with a
particular emphasis on literacy skills All pupil
this year arrived with literacy targets, golden
books and partial completion of transition
projects Featured in DCFS video as an example of
good practice
Foundation lessons were observed by Dave Cutler,
the DCSF consultant leading the Pilot. Dave
remarked I love what Ive seen here today. Every
school should be adopting this approach, its the
way forward.
9
Outcomes
Far less negative incidents related to
behaviour/behaviour for learning far less on
call and removal to the behaviour unit when
compared to data from previous two years
Attendance consistently 2 higher than previous
two years
Progress made in attainment and evident through
Optional and Progress test results for maths and
English. Majority of pupils progressed two
sub-levels in maths and one sub-level in English.
More level 6s in English when compared to
previous two years.
Improved staff morale -passionate, resilient and
altruistic professionals who readily an
enthusiastically put their hearts and souls into
everything they did.
10
Professional dialog between foundation staff and
with primary colleagues centred around pedagogy
and practice
Improved relationships with parents form teacher
first point of contact
Collective responsibly for managing issues if or
when they arose - alleviated SLL from fire
fighting to get on with the business of leading
the school!
Team expanded developed leadership roles
collective vision for the future of foundation
Pupils ready for and looking forward to year 8
QCA currently developing an assessment criteria
for competency led curricula
11
Drawbacks
Lots of resistance from staff not teaching
foundation particularly younger staff
Progress in writing better than reading (which is
in line with trends nationally)
Its hard work!
Staff absence posed problems for continuity in
pupils learning (We had to come up with creative
solutions!)
Delivery of science based learning lab work,
health and safety/training issues
Setting versus mixed ability not sure!
Continuity of curriculum Y8,Y9 etc