talk2learn highlights: issues 14a and 14b

In case you missed it… recent highlights from NCSL in Dialogue, talk2learn’s online community for national education debate:

Issue 14a: Time to talk

What more can we do to inspire unmotivated and disaffected children to learn? How can we persuade parents to play a larger part in instilling social responsibility in the citizens of the future? And is it too late to turn back the tide of celebrity culture?

Read the highlights

View the full discussion

Issue 14b: Successful practice in the primary framework

Putting fun into problem solving in order to make maths more relevant to children was top of the agenda in a recent talk2learn hotseat discussion on literacy and numeracy teaching.

Read the highlights

View the full discussion

Issue 14a: Time to talk

What more can we do to inspire unmotivated and disaffected children to learn? How can we persuade parents to play a larger part in instilling social responsibility in the citizens of the future? And is it too late to turn back the tide of celebrity culture?

These were some of the big issues at the heart of talk2learn’s contribution to the government’s ‘Our Children, Time to Talk’ debate on improving the lives of children and their families.

Personalised learning was the way forward to meet the needs of all children, said Jan Elliott, Deputy Headteacher at a junior and infant school near Bradford, but it was constrained by the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach demanded by the government’s literacy and numeracy guidelines. "I work in a very good primary school where our results are good," she said. "Ofsted are due to come to us soon but what are they really wanting to see – innovation or ‘straight jacketing’ to conform to national initiatives?"

Deborah Coad, Curriculum Area Leader for English at a secondary school in Surrey, felt some children from well-off families were not motivated to learn because they were used to "being handed everything on a plate". She added: "While we consider the important step of narrowing the social division, we also need to consider the very different needs of those who may be victims of the cash-rich, time-poor society many of them live in."

Jacqueline Mickiewicz, Head of Business Studies at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School in Buckinghamshire, suggested disaffected children should be able to learn in the workplace. "We have children who do not like the whole school ethos and I worry that we do them no good by insisting that they sit GCSEs rather than allowing them to do something more vocational."

Karen Deakin, Assistant Principal at a special school in the West Midlands, described how her ‘below average’ 11-18-year-olds had individualised timetables, a named co-educator and a learning for life officer with just four attending school full time. "The community aspect is such a learning opportunity for these young people. To be spoken to pleasantly is often a new experience. We know every family individually; we get involved in all aspects of their children’s lives and to support the families we also do respite at weekends and in the holidays."

One school leader said that schools found it hard to combat today’s celebrity-obsessed culture. "We are afraid to tell parents that they have a duty to raise the citizens of the future. I often feel that the die is cast before they arrive in school and I do not believe in institutionalising the under 5s with dawn to dusk childcare."

Another school leader said the best way to help youngsters was to improve their social and communication skills. "The emphasis in the early years of primary school should be firmly on these ‘softer’ skills, though they are much harder to measure."

But one contributor felt the real skill children needed to learn was how to think: "I highly recommend Philosophy for Children. Teach them how to think and learn and then the desire to improve will follow."

Issue 14b: Successful practice in the primary framework

Putting fun into problem solving in order to make maths more relevant to children was top of the agenda in a recent talk2learn hotseat discussion on literacy and numeracy teaching.

Key maths issues that were flagged up included progression, accountability, using and applying mathematics and consolidation of learning. Concerns about the lack of grounding for very young children in fundamental skills and concepts were also voiced by contributors to the debate hosted by Sally Rundell, Senior Director for the Primary National Strategy and Nigel Bufton, Primary Programme Director, Mathematics.

They welcomed comments and feedback as they continued to develop the resources and guidance on the Framework. Steph Harvey, Primary Strategy Consultant (Numeracy) for Devon Education Services, said that problem solving continued to be an issue because it was seen as an ‘add-on’ and not at the heart of mathematics teaching. "One of the elements we recommend is to develop the use of probing questions as a start to a lesson, opening up the enquiry rather than closing it down into right or wrong answers," she said.

Dave Woodcock, an Advanced Skills Teacher in a primary school in Blackpool, described his school’s ‘Fun Friday’, a weekly problem-solving activity that produced positive results. "It takes many forms – huge board games where children are counters, shape hunts, measuring. The co-operation and teamwork are remarkable and children not only remember more and use higher level thinking, but love it too."

Several contributors were concerned that very young children were not being given a good grounding in maths which held them back later on. Louisa Kenzie, a Year 6 primary teacher in south Cambridgeshire, felt key concepts were not getting enough attention early on, which could hamper their progress through Key Stage 2. "It worries me that when we rush children through objectives they can end up at Year 6 with a very sketchy understanding of the key ideas of the relationship between addition and subtraction, for example. I find as a Year 6 teacher I have to spend time plugging the gaps. The longer units in the Primary Framework with their emphasis on making connections across areas of maths should help with this."

One contributor said he found the best way to improve standards was to raise the children’s own expectations of themselves. "So many of them don’t seem to care whether they can add up, spell or read. Lots of work on careers and futures, as well as constant reminders about how we would use the things taught in real life, seems to help."

On the literacy front, Helen Pearson, a Literacy Co-ordinator in Halifax, found the primary framework was encouraging children to improve their word skills, especially when ICT was the medium. "The working wall and the whole new style of planning is working for my children and has improved the writing. The use of ICT in units such as the piano really makes the boys and other reluctant writers want to work, though one problem is ensuring that the ICT skills of staff are adequate."

Another school leader, said she and her colleagues had made writing a focus after disappointing SATs results. "After finding that we had not produced enough level 5s, we have decided to monitor writing much more closely. We have also included all the faculty headteachers in monitoring writing and numeracy across the school. Let’s hope this works!"