Almost a year in to the new curriculum - could you come and share your opinions?

[justonemorethread]

Hello,
I'm overseas at the moment and would like to keep up with what is happening in UK schools.
Would you like to share how you think the new curriculum has changed, for better or worse?
Is it still all based on levels, sub-levels SATs?

Also I hear there is a move in the UK to go towards enquiry-led learning. Here we have an International school that follows the international curriculum, all enquiry led.

Has that started to trickle down in to classrooms yet?

I'm a bit worried as my dcd will be thrown back in to UK schools in a few years time, and I have no idea whether they will be able to keep up or not, as academically this international school is not pushing the children towards the same goals. So if the curriculum has got even harder they are going to be so behind by the time we get back! (But brilliant enquirers, apparently!!!)

[justonemorethread]

bump?

[partystress]

Generally expectations in primary have been hiked up - think at least Y7 into Y6 in maths, trickling all the way down. Ridiculously technical grammar curriculum (subjunctive mood anyone?). Reading curriculum is emphasising breadth of reading and reading for enjoyment, but no evidence that the test will do other than it does now - test technique and ability to second guess the mark scheme. Enquiry-led learning not particularly advocated or frowned upon - everything is about children demonstrating they have learned/made progress, so it might start as enquiry, but it'll end up as writing in a book... History and geography curricula are more constrained - eg specific periods and regions to be studied now.

Levels are officially gone for all but this year's Y2s and Y6s. However, many schools are operating a shadow levels system because with no central guidance, an election looming and the distinct possibility of back to the drawing board, all is confusion with assessment. Neighbouring schools feeding into same secondary could do wildly different things, so secondaries will pay even less heed to KS2 results/teacher assessments that they do now.

Health warning: jaded Y6 teacher writing with 8 working days to go til SATs, so there may be a touch of cynicism colouring this post!

[justonemorethread]

Thank you! That's about the kind of reply I was expecting! But no levels? That does surprise me!! Are they planning to announce new assessment criteria?

[partystress]

DfE consulted on some massively complicated and confusing attainment descriptors for teacher assessment, but got the feedback they deserved. They have now set up an assessment working party made up of friends of Gove. It is due to report in September. Meanwhile, some schools have 3 point scales along the lines of emerging/expected/exceeding (age related expectations); others have six point ('working towards emerging' at one end and 'mastery' at the other); some are just red/amber/green rating the children. It is a dog's breakfast. At the end of the day until we see what is being tested, we don't really know where the children have to get to and so we don't know how close to getting there they are. Oh, and the test will have a moveable pass mark, so if your child is in an especially brainy year, they could score the same raw score as their sibling a year earlier, but appear to have done worse! Are you sure you want to come back OP?!

[toomuchicecream]

Partystress - as an ex year 6 teacher I have every sympathy for you. However I got out and am now in year 1. Hurrah. You'd kill for my marking load!! If you could read it.... To be honest, I haven't really noticed much difference with the new curriculum in KS1. Yes - some Maths concepts have moved down a year group (but year 1 no longer do any data handling - what's all that about?) and the foundation subjects have been tinkered with. And of course the only possible way to learn to read is phonics and woe betide anyone who suggests that for some children other methods may be effective. Maybe I'm in a happy state of ignorant bliss, but I think KS1 got lucky.

[partystress]

Ooh the marking side sounds tempting toomuch, but all that dressing/wiping/motor skills neediness brings me out in a cold sweat! V glad I don't have to deal with the phonics side of things either. There must be so much backlash from parents?

[daisyeatyourpeas]

Multiplication and division in year 1!!!! Prefixes and suffixes as well!!!!! OK done before in passing etc but please!!!!!!!! Lol. If it ain't broke why try to fix? ????? U mmmmmmmmmmm

[KingscoteStaff]

It looks as though the government are hoping that a group of schools will set to and do all the work to create a new 'non-levels' levelling system. They will then pick the best and roll this out to every one else, cunningly avoiding any development funding!

Also, if a child is 'exceeding expectations' in Year 4 and still 'exceeding expectations' in year 5, surely that is 'expected' progress? How am I meant to show the 50% 'outstanding' progress that I need for my Performance Related Pay target?

[Redlocks28]

The main thing I've found is the levels in my school seen completely made up so there's no continuity between teachers let alone any other school.

Then-the content especially of Maths and English have changed. Writing is crap-it's all about thinking of a sentence, deciding your sentence, telling your friend your sentence, telling your teacher your sentence, finally writing your sentence (if you can bloody remember it by then) and reading it back. No one seems to care what's IN the sentence. Adventurous word choices anyone?!

The maths has got more difficult and some of the y2 stuff has been shifted to y1. So my head teacher is saying our levels aren't high enough (as they wouldn't be, if the children are expected to know stuff that has suddenly got much harder) and that will trigger an Ofsted.

Joy.

[Redlocks28]

This is year one I'm talking about btw.

[partystress]

The only good news Redlocks is they can't clone Ofsted inspectors quickly enough to get into all the schools who are going to be showing negative progress. Unless, heaven forfend, some schools set out to deliberately mislead....

[justonemorethread]

Kings that's what I am finding with the international system.
Each unit they do is assessed as meeting or exceeding expectations. So children are assessed on each cycle, but nobody can tell me how much progress my child has made from the beginning of term until the end.

So as much as I hated children becoming obsessed with levels, at least it was a measure of progress. I just don't think it needed to become such a big deal for children and parents, that's all.

I'm getting quite worried that in two year's time my dd will have to come back to the UK straight in to Yr6. Although it sounds as if they might have scrapped SATs by then?

[partystress]

No SATs not being scrapped unfortunately. There will be new tests on the new curriculum. 3 written maths papers plus grammar/spelling and reading. Grammar is significantly more challenging. Maths has more emphasis on reasoning and there is one paper solely focused on arithmetic.

The papers will be marked and then raw scores will be converted into scaled scores, with 100 being the 'secondary ready' (ie acceptable/ equivalent to 4b) point. There was talk of children being given their ranked position - I am not sure where we are on this: there was quite a lot of hostility to it, but it will probably happen informally if parents are given scores.

[Redlocks28]

Yep-SATs aren't going anywhere and the children will be retaking the y6 sats in y7 if they didn't do well enough the first time round.

What will happen if the Tories don't get back in though....?!

[justonemorethread]

Oh that sounds scary for us!! There is no choice of British Curriculum where we live at the moment and Dd will struggle to make it through SATs if that is the case.
I will have to get some maths resources this summer. I did last summer to but she doesn't understand (rightly so) why she should do extra maths with mum.

I'm assuming next year 6s will be sitting new papers then.

Doesn't sound like anyone here has many positive things to say when comparing this curriculum to the old one?

[Redlocks28]

Doesn't sound like anyone here has many positive things to say when comparing this curriculum to the old one?

Yes, I would say you have summed it up pretty well!

[WineCowboy]

Yep, agree with ^^. English in year 1 is mainly composing sentences in some way or another without any kind of flair at all I keep opening the curriculum on the year 2 page and thinking, ooh a relevant learning objective, and then realising I was on the wrong page.

However, I have loved planning new topics and refreshing the science this year. We have looked at some amazing historical figures, and current artists and been on more exciting trips. Agree the maths is harder though.

Overall, reasonably pleased but will be tweaking further next year!