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(Formerly the KS3 strategy)
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Implementation of the strategy
Features on strategy
Evaluation
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First, an elaborate document on how to boost pupils' performance
in end-of-KS3 tests is sent to all schools. Then, after the tests,
the body in charge of assessment complains that 'teaching-to-the-test'
is causing lacklustre performances. Little surprise then that English
teachers are confused and annoyed.
The booster document, which was sent out in spring 2005 by the
KS3 Strategy, gave detailed suggestions on preparing pupils for
the test. It included lesson plans, sample questions and model answers;
and it advised teachers to draw pupils' attention to what was being
looked for in particular questions and to the way questions would
be marked. The document was attacked by the National Association
for the Teaching of English as putting unwarranted pressure on teachers
and likely to deprive pupils of enjoyment in their work.
When the end-of-KS3 tests took place teachers noticed that the
Shakespeare questions in particular were surprisingly similar to
sample questions given in the booster document. This provoked a
further sense that they had been pressured to 'teach to the test'
in a way that has been complained of for some time by teachers preparing
pupils for end-of-KS2 tests.
Given the prescriptive nature of the Strategy's booster materials,
English teachers were surprised when, after the tests had taken
place, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority complained that
answers suggested over-intensive test practice was causing KS3 pupils'
writing to loose its vitality. The Authority said that pupils had
obviously been drilled to demonstrate their command of what they
understood examiners to be looking for - which they had duly done,
but to the detriment of the spontaneity in their writing.
A QCA spokesperson told The TES that the Authority believed tests
were best prepared for by following a rich and varied curriculum.
(Secondary English Magazine, October 2005)
England's key stage 3 curriculum is to be cut back over the next
three years under a review launched by the Qualifications and Curriculum
Authority in April 2005. Ministers are concerned that the 11-14
timetable is overloaded and are sensitive to claims that schools
are being asked to cover too much ground.
They want to scale back KS3 demands, in part by reducing duplication
of material covered in different courses, although they say that
all subjects will remain in the curriculum. Under the review, science,
history, geography and design are to receive extra attention. Ministers
want to enliven science teaching in particular, with real-life issues
given more prominence.
The move follows a detailed critique of KS3 in the 14-19 White
Paper published in February 2005. Despite significant improvements
in early secondary teaching recently, "the design of the curriculum
has some significant problems," the paper said. It added, "Some
programmes of study are less coherent than they could be and some
material is repeated in different subjects. The amount of prescription
leaves schools with little space to timetable catch-up provision
for those who are struggling, and to offer really stretching opportunities
for those who have particular gifts." Ministers want all of
the existing subjects to remain in the curriculum, but more time
spent on catch-up provision and classes for gifted and talented
pupils.
The KS3 strategy is also being renamed the secondary national strategy,
as some of its work is extended to KS4.
(TES, 25 March 2005)
A major government strategy to improve teaching in the early years
of secondary school has been a success, according to teachers and
local education authority advisers. The key stage 3 strategy is
making a 'significant contribution to teaching and learning', providing
better-paced lessons and improved support for teachers, the National
Foundation for Educational Research has found.
However, these changes have yet to lead to improvements in test
results, according to the survey of half of England's local authorities
and interviews with 36 school staff. And there is concern that funding
for the strategy will be lost in the long-term. The strategy, introduced
in 2001, which cost £670 million in 2004, has attempted to
improve the teaching of English, maths, science, information and
communication technology and foundation subjects. Three quarters
of the local authorities taking part believed that it had improved
teaching and learning.
Local authorities and schools felt well-supported and approved
of the quality of teaching resources, said the research, commissioned
by the Local Government Association. But one in four authorities
reported that the strategy had received limited support from school
managers, especially in selective schools, said the researchers.
Copies of Key Stage 3 National Strategy: LEA and School Perceptions
are available from the NFER's publications unit, at £7 including
postage. Phone 01753 637002.
(TES, 09.07.04)
The Key Stage 3 Strategy was piloted
in 2000 and launched in September 2001. The literacy strand
of the strategy initially focused on key principles and practices,
and had an English strand, a literacy across the curriculum strand,
and a catch-up programme for students below the expected level for
11-year-olds. All the strands relied on the teaching objectives
of the English Framework but
the Progress Units also related to the objectives for the final
year of primary school.
In May 2001: all schools with key stage 3 pupils in England received
folders of information on
- English at key stage 3
- Literacy Across the Curriculum
- Progress Units (formerly
Catch-up programme)
School managers were required to look at the materials, complete
an audit, select priorities for the school, negotiate a programme
of work with their LEA consultant and attend training. There were
2.5 days of compulsory training, two of which focused on English.
Schools were required to hold a whole-day training day for all staff
on literacy across the curriculum in the autumn term.
In addition, there was a programme of optional training run by
LEA literacy coordinators who offered half-day model training sessions
for deliverers on each aspect of the English framework, Literacy
Across the Curriculum and the Progress Units. Topics covered
included:
- Whole-school implementation
- Writing non-fiction
- Writing style (this includes grammar]
- Spelling
- Active reading strategies
- Reading for information
- The management of group talk
By September 2001, English departments were expected to begin to
deliver the English framework objectives. Schools were expected
to be working towards the delivery of the NLS literacy cross-curricular
objectives.
Additional funding was given to secondary schools to pay for 15
days of supply for English. Schools identified as in need of intensive
help received more including 10-15 days from a literacy consultant.
All schools were expected to attend network meetings as appropriate.
At the same time, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority developed
exemplar schemes of work for all curriculum
areas.
Year 2 of the strategy
Year 2 focused on developing these approaches in years 7, 8 and
9 and also saw the launch of Teaching and Learning in the Foundation
Subjects, which built on the ground covered by literacy across the
curriulum.
Year 3 of the strategy
In year 3. the English strand of the key state 3 strategy will
focus on progress in writing in years 7, 8 and 9 linked to effective
management and assessment processes. There are additional elements,
for example, the Reading Challenge aimed at pupils who transfer
with literacy levels below those expected at age 11. For more information
see www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/keystage3.
In the school year 2000-2001 the English Framework was piloted
in 200 schools in 17 priority authorities 13 of which were Brighton
and Hove, Cheshire, Gateshead, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Nottinghamshire,
Salford, Solihull, Staffordshire, Wakefield, and the London Boroughs
of Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich and Tower Hamlets. Only schools
participating in the pilot were expected to follow the framework
but it was made available to all schools via the Standards and Effectiveness
Unit's website.
It followed the word, sentence and text level pattern of the primary
framework but emphasised text level. It included revision objectives,
speaking and listening and drama plus thinking skills, as well as
following the English curriculum orders for Year 7.
It was envisaged that the framework would be delivered by English
teachers but that the links throughout the curriculum would be made
explicit to all staff so that all curriculum areas would strengthen
pupils' literacy development. The framework included cross-curricular
objectives relating, for example, to reading for information, since
all English teachers teach skills that others draw on.
The pilot schools received training for the head of English and
the curriculum deputy in the summer term 2000 plus distance learning
packs to help them train all staff in autumn 2000.
The earlier Key Stage 3 projects had individually reported success
since they began in 1998 but covered a wide range of approaches.
There is no overall evaluation of the success of these projects.
The September 2000 pilot was the first centralised scheme aimed
at boosting literacy skills for this age group.
Every secondary school will be expected to introduce the
new literacy and numeracy strategies for 11 to 14-year-olds from
September 2001, although the controversial pilot scheme is only
six weeks old. As with the primary literacy hour, the strategy is
not statutory but all schools will be expected to teach it.
Training for all secondary English and maths teachers starts after
Easter as part of an £82 million scheme to tackle the slump
in pupil literacy and numeracy performance in the early years of
secondary school. The money, announced by Education Secretary David
Blunkett in mid October 2000, will help fund the pilot, the strategies
and more summer schools. The national programme is to be match-funded
by councils.
Anne Barnes, chair of the secondary committee of the
National Association for the Teaching of English said: "The general
feeling is that the training is rushed and dictatorial and that
it will be difficult to introduce nationally. There is a sense of
frustration from English teachers that they have been dragooned
into this."
(TES, 20 October 2000)
Exemplar schemes of work to help schools implement the new subject
orders at key stage 3 and integrate literacy are now available from
the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). These were
sent into secondary schools in England in June 2000.
The English schemes of work were withdrawn because the extension
of the literacy framework to Key Stage 3 postdated the QCA's plans
for schemes of work for English. The maths schemes of work were
also withdrawn for similar reasons relating the the National Numeracy
Strategy. The National Literacy Strategy will, in due course, be
offering exemplar materials for English.
Education ministers have promised a new focus on basic literacy
and maths skills among secondary school students in England. The
promise is an acknowledgment that the last attempt has failed. Youngsters
are already supposed to be tested in "key skills" of communication,
numeracy and IT. Key Skills were introduced in England, Wales and
Northern Ireland only in 2000, with similar Core Skills in Scotland.
The tests were supposed to answer employers' complaints that even
youngsters with A-levels lacked basic workplace skills.
The review of 14 to 19-year-old learning in England by Sir Mike
Tomlinson concluded that new tests of "functional" numeracy
and literacy were needed. Sir Mike said that GCSE English and maths
certainly did not fit the bill. The Government has been suggesting
that it will address this issue in its response to the Tomlinson
report, expected this week. "Wider key skills", such as
working with others, improving one's own learning and performance,
and problem solving, are due to become qualifications from this
September.
Research by London University's Institute of Education suggested
employers regarded these wider skills as the more important. One
of the problems hindering the take-up of Key Skills is that universities
do not rate them. Although in theory they are worth points towards
university entry, the entry requirements for 2004 published by the
admissions service, UCAS, showed that only 49% of institutions ha
at least one course where Key Skills tariff points were counted
towards an offer of a place. The Institute of Education researchers
found there was another fundamental problem with Key Skills: students
loathed them.
(Bbc.co.uk, 22 February 2005)
A "Language for Learning" framework grid is now available from
QCA. It was sent into secondary schools in England in June
2000 and is available on the QCA website. This offers guidance
to schools on how to use the whole curriculum to boost standards.
It includes language and learning objectives for every subject for
11 to 14-year-olds and gives examples of how they might be achieved
in the classroom. This is based on ongoing work in a number of schools
showing, for example, how language for learning is part of science.
These objectives are related to the English framework. Some are
identical but some are expressed in more simple terms so that they
can be clearly understood by non-English specialists.
This material will form the basis for the distance learning packs
to support the cross-curricular training days to be held in the
autumn term in the 150 schools taking part in the pilot of the extension
of the literacy framework to the secondary sector. The NLS hopes
that these materials will be available for all schools who want
them.
See also: Language for Learning in Key Stage 3, QCA,
May 2000, £4
This booklet offers a set of expectations, objectives and practical
examples to help schools develop policies and classroom teaching
that support pupil's use of language for learning. A range of schools
contributed examples of work and the material fits in with the National
Literacy Strategy's framework for teaching.
Contact QCA on 01787 884 444 or visit www.qca.org.uk
The NLS has developed Progress Units (previously called the Catch-up
programme. Progress Units are aimed at bringing children at level
3 up to level 4 by end of year 7. Training will be run by LEAs on
the same cascade model as for the other areas. Schools are to find
time for selected children to have three twenty minute sessions
for seven weeks. (Most schools in the pilot have used registration
time for this.)There are six units on:
1. organising writing
2. spelling
3. phonics - word choices
4. inference and deduction
5. information retrieval
6. improving sentences
Schools in England are unlikely to hit the Government's English
target for 14-year-olds warned the chief inspector in March 2004.
The key stage 3 strategy has improved teaching in all the core subjects
but low-attaining 11 to 14-year-olds should get more help according
to a report by the Office for Standards in Education.
Standards had improved in most schools but more needs to be done
to promote literacy across the curriculum. The KS3 strategy had
also failed to ensure a smooth transition for pupils between primary
and secondary schools - a key aim.
Ofsted's evaluation of the third year of the strategy found that
it is improving the results of high-flyers but less able pupils
are getting left behind. Catch-up classes for those who struggled
in primary school are failing to bring pupils up to the expected
standard.
In English, many low achievers still have significant problems
with their writing. "Weaknesses in reading and writing continue
to be a major handicap for too many pupils in their work across
subjects," the report says.
Pupils of all abilities are being held back because they are being
asked to repeat parts of the curriculum already studied at primary
level. The arrangements for pupils moving from primary to secondary
school are unsatisfactory in one in six schools. In half, the continuity
of the primary and secondary curricula was weak.
Inspectors found that the strategy is adding greater purpose and
challenge to many lessons. It has also had a positive effect on
pupils' attitudes, particularly boys in English lessons.
The report says measures should be taken to improve the quality
of assessment in all subjects and to ensure greater continuity between
primary and secondary schools. Ofsted calls on schools and LEAs
to improve the management of the strategy and make better arrangements
for monitoring and evaluating its impact. Currently, one in six
KS3 managers is judged to be ineffective.
(TES 26 March 2004)
Ministers are supporting a back-to-basics drive to improve literacy
and numeracy in some of England's toughest comprehensives. Schools
with large numbers of low achievers are to test out radical changes
to the curriculum, increasing time spent on English and maths, possibly
at the expense of subjects like history or geography.
The three-year pilot by the Government's key stage 3 strategy will
be introduced in April 2004 amid continuing concerns about underachievement
in secondaries. Sixteen secondaries with more than a quarter of
11 and 12-year-olds at level 3 or below in English and maths will
test out changes in Years 7, 8 and 9. The schools could receive
an estimated £20,000 each in support.
Sue Hackman, director of the KS3 strategy, said the moves would
be extended if successful. Many schools already target support at
those entering Year 7 at level 3 or below in English and maths,
organising catch-up lessons in small groups. But Ms Hackman said
this was difficult in comprehensives with large numbers of underachievers,
meaning big changes to the curriculum had to be considered.
Schools would not be told what to do. But one model could be increasing
the amount of time spent on literacy and numeracy. Ms Hackman acknowledged
that this would be controversial but that radical measures were
needed because youngsters who lack the basics lost motivation across
all subjects.
(TES, 6 February 2004)
- What's your opinion about the impact of the Key Stage 3 National
Strategy in your school?
- Do you have suggestions and feedback you'd be willing to share
with the national team?
- Would you like to help shape future developments within the
Strategy and receive a small cash sum every month for doing so?
The DfES is looking for up to 100 teachers, heads of department,
school strategy managers and headteachers from schools with Key
Stage 3 pupils. Each month from April 2003 it will publish a short
questionnaire on its website, asking for your views on activities
such as Year 9 booster programmes, KS2-3 transition, catch-up in
Year 7 and mentoring. It will also be asking for your reactions
to new ideas about the Strategy. DfES estimates that each questionnaire
should take no more than 15 minutes to complete, and will pay £15
for each.
If you are interested, email keystage3.feedback@dfes.gsi.gov.uk
with the following details:
- Full name
- School
- Role/job title
- Subject
- School years taught
- Telephone number
- E-mail address
Participants will be selected to ensure a good cross-section of
different roles, subjects, school type, size and location.
(DfES, 24 February 2003)
Sue Hackman, the new national director of the Key Stage 3 Strategy,
believes the Government targets for 14-year-olds are reasonable.
But progress towards achieving them is slow. This year 66% reached
level five in maths and English and 67% in science. A similar slow
rate of progress, about 1%, was made in the 205 pilot schools who
have been using the new English and maths frameworks for two years.
By 2004, 75% are expected to get level 5 in English and maths and
70% in science.
Ms Hackman has recognised the wisdom of allowing teachers time
to turn the plans into action : "Rather than carry on pumping out
new ideas, schools need time to embed the strategy.
There will be a greater emphasis on encouraging schools to develop
and a recognition that it is better for them to do a few things
well," she said. There will also be a change of emphasis from individual
subject departments to whole-school involvement. For instance, literacy
will be expected to be taught across the curriculum, not just in
English. Schools will also be encouraged to take what was a top-down,
imposed strategy and tailor it to their own local needs.
Part of this new emphasis is a behaviour drive. Consultants will
be appointed this year to go into schools and help teachers tackle
unruly pupils. "Behaviour is closely tied in with how you run your
classroom. We want to look at which classes encourage best behaviour,"
Ms Hackman says.
(TES, 17 January 2002)
The Key Stage 3 strategy is to develop an 'assessment for learning'
strand. This will follow the approach adopted at Kings College London
which relies on teacher comment about how to make progress rather
than grading. Pupils are also encouraged to judge their own work
as well as that of their classmates. Teachers will receive training
in this in March 2004.
(TES, 10 January 2003)
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has been accused of
"dumbing down" new English tests for 14-year-olds. Critics say the
revamped exam no longer looks for literary appreciation but favours
bite-sized questions that merely test knowledge of grammar.
Wholesale changes have been made to the key stage 3 test for 2003.
According to the QCA, the changes will mean greater consistency
across age groups in how English is assessed.
The 75-minute reading paper will now consist of three text excerpts
and 15 questions. The answers are all short paragraphs worth up
to five marks, used to answer two or three longer questions.
The National Union of Teachers has written to the other teacher
unions to seek support for a possible boycott of the tests.
(TES, 29 November 2002)
Schools that piloted the Government's key stage 3 strategy in England
have done no better than the rest of the country in tests for 14-year-olds.
The 205 schools in 17 pilot local education authorities produced
average results with a 1% rise in the proportion hitting the expected
standard in English - the same as the improvement nationally.
This year two-thirds of 14-year-olds reached level 5 in maths and
English. By 2004, the Government wants to see three-quarters of
14-year-olds achieve this level
(TES, 3 November 2002)
A survey released in May 2001 by the National Association for the
Teachers of English found that more than half of the teachers in
about 60% of the 200 schools trialling the English framework (the
literacy strategy approach to overhauling English teaching) felt
it would not help to improve children's learning. However, nearly
75% believed it could be helpful in developing parts of the curriculum.
The survey revealed "considerable concern" that extended time for
reading and writing might be a casualty once schools take up the
framework. However, it also found that teachers welcomed many elements
of the framework, particularly the focus on the language study.
Guidelines produced by the Standards and Effectiveness Unit recommend
English lessons consist of a 10-minute starter which might concentrate
on spelling or word use, followed by more extended study of an author,
piece of work or topic. A plenary session at the end of the lesson
will draw together what students have learned.
NATE's communications and development director, Trevor Millum,
said there had been a mixed response. "Schools in the pilot have
had different experiences. In schools where teachers have not been
given enough time or where the quality of training was criticised,
they will feel less well disposed towards the strategy.
"We need time for the strategy to settle down - I don't think anyone,
including the Government, would deny that it has been pushed through
very quickly, and that is not necessarily a good way to work."
A Department for Education and Employment spokesperson said: "The
strategy promotes the best use of classroom time to develop both
reading skills and the study of literature.
"We do not accept that the study of literature would diminish under
the strategy - it embraces all the requirements of the national
curriculum for literature."
Education Secretary David Blunkett confirmed that school inspectors
would take a softly-softly approach to inspection, realising that
secondaries would concentrate the strategy on Year 7 pupils initially.
In the primary sector, primary headteachers have given an overwhelming
vote of confidence to the Government's national literacy and numeracy
strategies. The poll of more than 500 primary heads, commissioned
by the Centre for British Teachers, builds on last year's survey
which also showed strong support.
- 95% backed the literacy strategy and more than 75% believe
it has raised standards in reading and writing since it was
introduced in 1998.
- More than 80% of the heads believed teachers'confidence in
maths and English had increased.
- About 90% said pupils and parents were positive about the
initatives.
- 60% thought the literacy strategy had helped raise pupil
achievement in other subjects.
(TES, 11 & 18 May 2001)
Association of Teachers and Lecturers, September 2001
Study conducted by Terry Furlong, Hamsa Venkatakrishnan and Margaret
Brown of Kings College, London ISBN 1 902466 08 X £8.99
This study reports on responses of ATL members teaching in schools
in the pilot authorities for the implementation of the key stage
3 strategy pilot. While most English teachers welcomed the clarity
and focus which the learning objectives have given to help pupils
achieve fluency and confidence with the language, there were concerns
that the sheer number of the teaching objectives reduced opportunities
for writing essays and other extended work. The speed of the implementation
of the strategy caused the greatest problem with teachers spending
huge amounts of time reviewing and rebuilding schemes of work, developing
starter activities and preparing new lesson formats and materials.
Teachers also resented the additional time involved in marking the
end of Year 7 tests which they found of limited value.
The final report is due to be published in September 2002.
Contact ATL on 020 7930 6441 or email info@atl.org.uk.
Catch-up tests for pupils who have fallen behind in literacy are
to be replaced by new exams. The catch-up tests for children who
failed to reach the expected level at primary school (level 4) were
at the heart of the Government's strategy to overhaul secondary
education.
Thousands of 12-year-olds sat the national tests in English and
maths in May 2001 - taking the same paper as 600,000 11-year-olds
in primary school. Most of them still failed to reach level 4. The
Government has now agreed it was a mistake to use the 11-year-olds'
paper and has asked the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
to introduce new tests that reflect what borderline children have
actually been taught in their first year at secondary school.
(TES, 1 February 2002)
The National Association for the Teaching of English has written
to heads of departments advising them to avoid the optional tests
for years 7 and 8 - which teachers must make themselves - despite
ministers' claims that they are a vital measure of progress.
Anne Barnes, a NATE committee chair said: "There is a real danger
that optional tests will dominate and narrow the curriculum. In
their present form they do not seem useful at all."
(TES, 1 February 2002)
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