The Coalition Government took office on 11 May 2010. This publication was published prior to that date and may not reflect current government policy. You may choose to use these materials, however you should also consult the Department for Education website www.education.gov.uk for updated policy and resources. Developing the foundations for curricular target setting The Intensifying Support Programme professional development meetings (PDMs)
Transcript
The Coalition Government took office on 11 May 2010. This publication was published prior to that date and may not reflect current government policy. You may choose to use these materials, however you should also consult the Department for Education website www.education.gov.uk for updated policy and resources.
Developing the foundations for curricular target setting
The Intensifying Support Programme professional development meetings (PDMs)
Developing the foundationsfor curricular target setting
The Intensifying Support Programmeprofessional development meetings (PDMs)
The purpose of the Intensifying Support Programme PDMs
PDMs are whole-school meetings and are one of the core instruments in the ISP, which is a whole-school improvement programmethat draws together the strands of raising standards and improving teaching and learning.
ISP core instruments and termly improvement cycle
Context
These materials have been produced as part of the ISP. This programme aims to work in partnership with schools andLEAs and to coordinate support.
The four key themes running through the ISP and providing the focus for the work are:
• raising standards and accelerating progress;
• improving the quality of teaching and learning;
• improving the conditions for learning;
• developing the school as a professional learning community.
These materials have been produced separately for all schools so that they can be part of their school improvementmaterials. They provide suggestions for a sequence of PDMs.
All the materials included and referred to are available on the ISP section on the Primary National Strategy website,(www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary).
The professional development meetings (PDMs) in schools
Developing the foundationsfor curricular target setting
1. Collecting the evidence andidentifying the priorities
Audit of non-negotiables
2. Termly raising attainment plan (RAP)
Support andchallenge
5. RAP review
Evaluation of impact
3. Professional Development Meetings
Setting whole-school curricular targets
Identifying teaching strategies
4. Carrying out actions
Monitoring and supportLEA and school
The PDMs
The PDMs are timetabled half-termly staff meetings that introduce the focus for the half-term and review previous work. ThePDMs are an effective mechanism for improving teaching and raising standards for the following reasons.
• Their regularity retains the programme’s high profile, and attendance is expected from all staff.
• The priority for each meeting is linked to the half-termly priorities on the Raising Attainment Plan (RAP), which also identifiesthe linked monitoring and support.
• They follow the same agenda each time:– introducing the half-term literacy and mathematics curricular targets;– introducing the teaching and learning focuses for the meeting and linking them to the key themes.
• The emphasis on professional discussion and the use of individual development plans (IDPs) supports staff to reflect onprogress since the last meeting and on current practice, to set individual short-term targets and to extend opportunities forprofessional dialogue among all staff.
The seven original booklets (listed below) cover the key areas of the programme and are designed for use by schools tosupport the school improvement cycle of audit, plan action and review.
• Introducing the Intensifying Support Programme (ISP)
• PDM 1 Introducing the ISP in school and setting curricular targets for the first half-term
• PDM 2 Sharing objectives
• PDM 3 Questioning
• PDM 4 Modelling and demonstrating
• PDM 5 Problem solving and investigating
• PDM 6 Taking stock and evaluating progressIn addition, there are supplementary PDMs, of which this is one. The supplementary PDMs can also be used as part of theprogramme, depending on the needs and priority of the school. They currently include:
• Assessment for learning 1: Day-to-day assessment strategies
• Assessment for learning 2: Feedback on learning
• Speaking, listening and learning
• Parents: Partners in learning
Notes to the presenter• The prompts are intended as possible examples of topics for the PDM. You will want to make decisions about the
focus and content of the session and adapt it according to the development of individual schools.• The PDM is written to be used with a school staff but the sessions should be led by either a consultant or a member of
the senior management team.• As you present the session, keep the key messages in mind so that participants leave the training with a clear
understanding of where they need to focus their development over the coming half-term.• You may want to record relevant contributions on a flipchart as you work through the session, so that participants can
use these prompts when they complete their IDP towards the end of the meeting. You may wish to divide the flipchartinto three sections to cover Teaching strategies, Conditions for learning, and the Professional learning community.
• The PDMs are written so that they include input, activities and discussion. It is worth including practical examples orvideo sequences in the training.
• As you take participants through this session, note those who are confident in this area and could share theirexpertise by, for example, supporting colleagues in school. Also note those who are less confident and who may needmore focused support over the half-term.
• Curricular targets: For each PDM prepare layered target sheets for literacy and for mathematics, with one target foreach year group. Decide if you or the staff will add a ‘child-friendly’ version of the targets to the sheets. See Resourceslist in the booklet for details of the Primary National Strategy literacy and mathematics targets.
• Teaching strategies – you will need to prepare activities and identify video extracts for this section.
1 Review and reflect on current practice concerning the use of curricular targets across the school
Training Notessequence These notes are for guidance only. It is expected that
schools will choose from what is suggested and adapt materials to meet their own needs.
Aims of PDM • To support effective implementation of ISP in the Foundation Stage
• To ensure that a coherent and appropriate approach is adopted to framing curricular targets (‘next steps’) in the Foundation Stage to support the whole-school curricular target focuses
• To promote a process for using the stepping stones and early learning goals to support progressthrough assessment for learning; and the use of observational assessment and other evidence ofchildren’s learning to identify their next steps in learning
Target setting, Hold a brief discussion on children’s progress towards current targets.getting andassessing
Agenda for PDM: Developing the foundations of curricular target setting
This PDM links to the Primary National Strategy publication Developing the foundations ofcurricular target setting in ISP schools: Birth to five (DfES 1806-2005DOC-EN).
Copies of the guidance document are also available on the ISP section of the PrimaryNational Strategy website (www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/primary).
Note: If possible if would be useful to deliver this session within the Foundation Stagesetting.
1 Targets – setting, getting and assessing
• Reviewing and sharing current practice on curricular target setting, getting andassessing
• Exploring existing practice within the Foundation Stage
2 PDM focus
• Exploring the suggested approach to developing the foundations of curriculartarget setting
3 Monitoring and evaluating the impact on pupil progress
• Returning to the use of day-to-day assessment strategies and sharing effectivepractice regarding the use of observation
Is the target group achieving at age-related expectations?
What were the barriers to some children achieving their curricular targets?
What strategies did you use to accelerate progress of the target group (wholeclass/groups/individuals)?
Share examples and best practice from across the school, finishing with feedback from FoundationStage practitioners regarding:
• the framing of curricular targets (what did the current focuses look like for the Foundation Stage?)
• planning, teaching and assessment (how have they planned to teach/promote the curricular targetfocuses and how have they assessed achievement?)
• how have they used the learning environment/conditions for learning to support the curricular targetfocuses (refer to or take learning walk around FS setting)?
2 PDM focus Developing the foundations of curricular target setting
It would be useful to arrange to co-deliver this session with an Early Years or Foundation Stagecolleague from the Local Authority (LA) or school.
Start this section of the PDM by returning to key messages about ISP as a school improvementprogramme and the purpose/role of curricular targets in relation to:
• whole-school improvement, raising standards and accelerating progress through the use of age-related targets to raise expectations and aspirations for children and adults
• development of a whole-school approach to, and accountability for, school improvement
• the identification of whole-school priorities and areas for development.
Resources:
• Handout 1 Principles for early years education
• Handout 2 Areas and aspects of learning in the Foundation Stage
• Use of the Foundation Stage Profile
Introduce the focus on the Foundation Stage with a brief overview of Foundation Stage practice.Handouts 1 and 2 could be used to support this, but you would need to supplement them throughpractical commentary from an Early Years or Foundation Stage practitioner or colleague.
Introduce the publication Developing the foundations of curricular target setting in ISP schools: Birth to5. Emphasise that this is guidance documentation which is currently being piloted in a number of LAs toproduce accompanying case studies to exemplify the approach.
Highlight and explore the following key messages that underpin this guidance.
• Developing curricular target setting in the Foundation Stage is underpinned by an understanding ofhow young children develop and learn.
• Foundation Stage targets are derived from The Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage.
• When planning approaches to curricular target setting, all six areas of learning are equally important,are interdependent and are informed by formative assessment.
• based on the The Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage
• used to support child involvement and adult interactions
• founded on planned provision that supports child-initiated learning
• relate to all areas of learning.
Use figure 1 Identifying learning focuses to support the whole-school curricular target to introduce thesuggested approach. (To explore this further see Section 3 of the guidance document, pages 9 to 12.)
Allow time for additional questions and discussion.
You might also want to focus discussion around some of the following questions:
• How closely does this match the existing practice within the school?
• What are the implications linked to transition between the Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1?
• Are there any aspects that resonate in relation to curricular target setting across the school?
Promoting quality is a key focus in the Foundation Stage.
• The learning environment is a key aspect of good quality Foundation Stage provision.
• A rich learning environment underpins the children’s learning through play, because it provideschallenges and enhances their learning.
• Effective use of areas of provision should support learning across the curriculum.
Possible activity – Exploring the continuous curriculum
Resource: Handout 3 Developing the foundations for curricular target setting in ISP schools – Planningprovision across all six areas of learning
Ask participants to discuss the question: How can areas of provision be used to support learningacross the curriculum in relation to the whole-school curricular target focuses?
3 Monitoring and evaluating the impact in children’s progress
Return to the use of day-to-day assessment strategies and sharing effective practice regarding the use of observation
Using a range of day-to-day assessment strategies is vital if we want to use Assessment for Learning (AfL) effectively in the classroom. These would include:
• questioning
• observing
• discussing
• analysing
• checking children’s understanding
• engaging children in reviewing progess.
(See Excellence and enjoyment: Learning and teaching in the primary years – Assessment for learning,pages 42 to 53.)
This is also the key set of strategies we need to use to evaluate children’s achievement of thecurricular targets.
Focus on observing
Invite a Foundation Stage practitioner to share an example of practice linked to identifying andsupporting ‘next steps’ in a child’s learning. It would be useful if the example could include an outlineof the focused observation (what, why, etc.); what was observed; and how this can be interpretedin relation to the Foundation Stage Profile and the whole-school curricular target for literacyor mathematics.
Possible discussion activity
Invite participants to think about how they have used, or how they could use, observation to supportevaluation of their current curricular target for literacy or mathematics.
Possible areas to explore
These might include their responses to the questions:
• How can we strengthen the foundations of curricular target setting in our school?
• How could the principles of this approach be used more widely across the school?
• How could the Foundation Stage Profile be used more effectively to inform whole-school areas fordevelopment/curricular targets; and planning and provision in Year 1?
Possible discussion
Invite participants to answer the following questions:
• What are your key actions as an individual/year group/school?
• What further resources, support or professional development do you need?
These principles are drawn from, and are evident in, good and effective practice in early years settings.
• Effective education requires both a relevant curriculum and practitioners who understand and are able to implement thecurriculum requirements. Effective education requires practitioners who understand that children develop rapidly during theearly years – physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially. Children are entitled to provision that supports and extendsknowledge, skills, understanding and confidence, and helps them to overcome any disadvantage.
• Practitioners should ensure that all children feel included, secure and valued.
• They must build positive relationships with parents in order to work effectively with them and their children.
• Early years experience should build on what children already know and can do. It should also encourage a positive attitudeand disposition to learn, and aim to prevent early failure.
• No child should be excluded or disadvantaged because of ethnicity, culture or religion, home language, family background,special educational needs, disability, gender or ability.
• Parents and practitioners should work together in an atmosphere of mutual respect within which children can have securityand confidence.
• To be effective, an early years curriculum should be carefully structured. In that structure, there should be three strands:
– provision for the different starting points from which children develop their learning, building on what they can alreadydo;
– relevant and appropriate content that matches the different levels of young children’s needs;
– planned and purposeful activity that provides opportunities for teaching and learning, both indoors and out.
• There should be opportunities for children to engage in activities planned by adults and also those that they plan or initiatethemselves. Children do not make a distinction between ‘play’ and ‘work’ and neither should practitioners. Children needtime to become engrossed, work in depth and complete activities.
• Practitioners must be able to observe and respond appropriately to children, informed by a knowledge of how childrendevelop and learn and a clear understanding of possible next steps in their development and learning.
• Well-planned, purposeful activity and appropriate intervention by practitioners will engage children in the learning processand help them make progress in their learning.
• For children to have rich and stimulating experiences, the learning environment should be well planned and well organised.It provides the structure for teaching within which children explore, experiment, plan and make decisions for themselves,thus enabling them to learn, develop and make good progress.
Above all, effective learning and development for young children requires high-quality care and education bypractitioners.
Handout 2Areas and aspects of learning for the Foundation Stage
There are six areas of learning in the curriculum for the Foundation Stage. Each area includes several aspects of learning.These are listed below and numbered for ease of reference.
Personal, social and emotional development (PSED)
1 Dispositions and attitudes
2 Self-confidence and self-esteem
3 Making relationships
4 Behaviour and self-control
5 Self-care
6 Sense of community
Communication, language and literacy (CLL)
1 Language for communication
2 Language for thinking
3 Linking sounds and letters
4 Reading
5 Writing
6 Handwriting
Mathematical development (MD)
1 Numbers as labels and for counting
2 Calculating
3 Shape, space and measures
Knowledge and understanding of the world (KUW)
1 Exploration and investigation
2 Designing and making skills
3 Information and communication technology
4 A sense of time
5 A sense of place
6 Cultures and beliefs
Physical development (PD)
1 Movement
2 A sense of space
3 Health and bodily awareness
4 Using equipment
5 Using tools and materials
Creative development (CD)
1 Exploring media and materials
2 Music
3 Imagination
4 Responding to experiences and expressing and communicating ideas
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