Richard Davies

Lots is being said about the KS3 curriculum atm. Its point & purpose are key. Ensuring pupils have the foundational knowledge necessary to succeed at KS4 is crucial, as is a love of learning, lots of experiences & enjoying school. Endless assessments mean little in KS3.

@adamboxer1 Similarly by subject in secondary, science gcse and A levels always nearly last in the exam window so lessons and revision sessions continue to then. Although as a parent of a y11 and y13 this year who are on study leave trying to remote monitor them is a challenge!

Is study leave fair? When I worked in middle class schools, Year 11 and 13 were gone from more or less the first week after Easter. By this point in the year, I probably would have had over 20 hours of "gain time" already. I could have spent that time developing our curriculum, observing others, reading, arriving a bit later, leaving a bit earlier. Having a more relaxed time in lunch and break. Now, I work in a school where we don't do that. Year 11 are in till the last exam. Year 13 are in till the last exam. The pace doesn't change, in fact it accelerates in this critical pre-exam period. And then, when they're gone, it'll be end of years for everyone else, and I won't have that nice relaxing time to catch up on all the jobs I never had time to do. This, surely, is a systemic inequality. Schools with "study leave" already have a lot of perks, and get to offer their staff something that schools serving a poorer demographic don't. That doesn't seem fair to me.

@adamboxer1 First problem we highlight with this is they just click on first video that comes up when they search "Biology paper 1 revision" which is often the wrong board or specification so time spent on wrong content.

"Watching YouTube videos" is the new "highlighting a revision guide" Better update your assembly slides on effective revision...

@DeputyGrocott If you can wait until they have an ebay one, usually about 8%, then buy off the currys clearance shop on there.

Anyone ever used Blue light to buy kitchen products? Dishwashers, fridges etc. Best discounts??

@DeputyGrocott If you are with the children do the Slip and Slide at Bude and North Devon Wake Park has great package deals. Northcott Beach better and quieter than main Bude ones for bodyboarding (also has the great Sip and Sea cafe), eat at Life's a Beach in Bude.

Does anyone know this part of the world? Any hidden gem ‘must see’ places in the summer?

New post: Are book looks a waste of time? For some, they are a meaningless scourge. For others, they are a vital accountability lever that provides insight into the lived curriculum. Read on for more, and please share if you can! Link in reply

@DeputyGrocott @bilff 🍗

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Are predicted grades accurate? This wonderful blog from @FFTEduDatalab explores the question, and my takehome is that *on average* they might be, but for an individual student it's pretty much guesswork. Link in reply, well worth a read.

We have vacancies for a Teacher of Science and a Teacher of Maths. If either position interests you please download a Recruitment Pack from: thefuturestrust.org.uk/work-with-us/c…

Compulsory triple science is folly. Not every teenager has the skills or interest to study three at once. Do one properly, giving them a choice, and more than one only if the person has an aptitude or interest in it. 3 low grade passes are much less use than one good one.

A couple of people have asked me for my thoughts on the curriculum review leak about separate science, so in case anyone else cares: - There are a lot of schools that could offer separate science, and choose not to (like Michaela Community School). These schools should offer it. - There are a lot of schools that don't offer it, and maybe can't. You'd have to recruit at least one extra science teacher, and potentially run a loss if fewer than 20 students choose to take it. These schools will probably lose out from the leaked proposals. - There are a lot of schools that offer it, but in lunch time, after school, or not as an additional optional block. I think this is inequitable, and they should not do this. It's one entire GCSE extra, and time should be allocated to it. It doesn't *look* from the proposals that this will be addressed. - The separate science course as it currently stands is not a good course. There is stuff in it that could easily be removed, and with the exception of Space in physics there are no memorable units in the separate science course (in my opinion). One of the chemistry units is so bad that a number of my separate scientists told me that because of it they were no longer considering A Level chemistry. - In terms of the science curriculum, there is a long list of things I think we should change. This is pretty low down the list. And in this submission to the review, co-signed by 560 science teachers and heads of science, it didn't even feature achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk/2024/09/30/cal… - In terms of science education in general, there is an even longer list of things I think we should change. Until we have high quality explicit instruction in every science classroom in the country, we will have a system that does not allow all students a true opportunity to pursue further studies in science. My strong opinion is that the best way to increase the number of students taking science at KS5 and beyond is to teach them better in KS3 and KS4. This is a big and difficult problem, but we shouldn't lose sight of it whilst other changes are taking place. - Of course, this is just a snippet from the review. I think it's something that is broadly reasonable, and will have some impact. I definitely hope that there are other more substantial changes to come, like a reduction in content and a radical reassessment of the way exam boards interpret the national curriculum.

Team11 - Let’s Go!!! 1 week until our mocks begin!! ✅ Week 1: ⏱️ English Lit📚 Paper 2 & History 🔔next Monday! ⏱️ Maths 🧮 Tue ⏱️ Science 🧬 & PE 🏀 Wed ⏱️ Geography 🗺️ Fri ✅ What will your story be? ✅ Legacy of Team11 All info⬇️ coundoncourt.org/parents/year-g…

@SusanSEnglish @AQAEnglish There's also no warning this has happened in any subjects unless you check through the whole paper before use.

The absolute absurdity of Q5 being withheld on a past paper due to copywrite @AQAEnglish Could we perhaps use images that are not under copywrite to make the life of English teachers everywhere, just a little easier!

The best teachers I've seen don't use a wide range of activities. They do a few things, and they do them well. They hone them, practise them, and know exactly when each one should be used and why. The students become habituated to them, and learning goes through the roof.

@MrsHTeach1 @ScienceOliver @STEMyBanda Similar plan with Jan Year 2 exams and 1 resit. They have since we planned this said if a student wants to leave course after a year with some sort of qualification it's the exams they must have done so will have to deal with that situation if it arises.

@CC_RHD @ScienceOliver @STEMyBanda We are going to do the exams in Jan of year 2, so one opportunity for retake. Unit 4 is being done interwoven into the content teaching, with unit 5 done from about November in year 2. I think. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I'm looking to connect with anybody teaching Pearson BTEC Applied Science AAQ (2025). Does anybody else run this course? qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualificati…

@ScienceOliver @STEMyBanda @MrsHTeach1 We are not doing all the taught content in year 1, spreading it over both years and doing some of the coursework in year 1 rather leaving it all to year 2

@STEMyBanda @CC_RHD @MrsHTeach1 How is everyone fitting this all in? We have 119 hours of lessons to fit in 180 hours of guided learning hours. We've worked out 45 lessons for Bio, 54 lessons for Chem, 45 lessons for Bio. That's not going to fit before the exams starting in May.

My dad used to say: "You should never be outworked or out-prepared." There will always be people smarter than you and more talented than you. But you control the effort and the prep.