Getting back into teaching

[Fellka]

Hello, I've been "off" for a few years raising family and ready to get back into teaching (I think!)

I'm ks2 based and last time I taught it was the "old curriculum"... app grids in Literacy, levels etc. Does it feel much different to 5-10 years ago? Were the changes easy to adjust to? I've read a few articles about assessment in Literacy and one mentioned success criteria are less in vogue now... is this the case? Don't want to seem hopelessly out of date! TiA

Hi OP,

In short, yes!! Completely different I'm afraid. I started teaching 11 years ago in KS2 and the changes in that time are unbelievable.
The main one is to the curriculum. Many objectives have shifted into the yeargroup below (one of Gove's 'rigorous curriculum' ideas ) so younger children are being asked to do more difficult things.

Assessment is very much ticklists of things and it's not a one size fits all the way APP was. If a child can't do one thing on the ARE (Age Related Expectations), then they are Working Towards the ARE. There is also an emphasis on pushing children who are working at Greater Depth.

If you're Y6, it will look nothing like even 5 years ago. Feel free to PM me if I can help in any other way.

Mind you, at the moment all bets are off and no-one has a clue about anything - we're all lurching from day to day!!!

Sorry, just reread my message and realised it doesn't make sense (rushing after a loooong day of remote teaching!!)

Meant to say that APP was a 'best fit.' Now, you have WT, ARE and GT and children MUST tick off every objective in that band otherwise they can't be graded as such. Terribly unfair to children with dyslexia for example but there we are. Although they are 'allowed' a specific weakness 🙄

Also, WT, ARE and GD are the levels that aren't allowed to be called levels that took the place of levels. And every school has autonomy is how they do this so consistency is an issue across schools.

(Can you tell I don't particularly like it??!)

Hi there, thanks a lot for replying and filling me in a bit. Ugh, just as I thought things were quite harsh 5 years ago, it sounds like it's gone the wrong way. I don't blame you for not liking it - I really feel for the kids with the pressure do so much so early. It seems to squeeze a lot out of the curriculum and leave some children feeling left behind. And it can't be good for teacher morale. Ho hum... we can do our best within the constraints of the system