Three Cheers for English Education

This is a very personal rant about our primary education system based on my own thoughts, feelings and opinions.

No, not a negative diatribe but my belief that we, in England, have the best primary teachers, primary children and provide the best inclusive education experiences for our young people. No, it's not perfect. Yes, it is dependent on the leadership of the school. Yes, it is dependent on collective visions. Yes, we do have the worry of the big O. But I am again sickened at the negativity out in media land - Twitter, Press, TV etc.

We put up with constant criticism about our long holidays, easy job and failing children because we don't reach government targets. Yes, I could go on about the 70+ hour week I put in, the hours spent through the holidays working but my simple (slightly sarcastic) answer is 'choices and consequences'. But seeing, yet again, another press release, that is supposedly research based, slating our children, our teachers, our curriculum. I want to (in a small way) redress the balance with a very loud

THREE CHEERS FOR ALL EDUCATORS.

Recently, my blood boiled to read that our children in English schools are the unhappiest in the world
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/aug/19/english-children-among-unhappiest-world-widespread-bullying
Apparently 50,000 children took part in the research - do you know anyone who took part?? No, neither do I. And no, I am not so blinkered that I don't know that some children are unhappy but in my experience this is primarily to do with influences outside of the daily school environment. Who are these people who (in my opinion) waste money on negative, pointless, finger pointing 'research'? Spend the money on finding out why children can't read (Hint - look at Parenting). Find out the real reason why good teachers are leaving the profession. Find out why educators have such negative press. I could go on...

Come and visit our school where we have 400 happy children who love coming to school and are immersed in their irresistible curriculum. No, we're not leafy green but in the middle of a housing estate with above average Pupil Premium children, above national SEN and are in a designated deprived area and Outstanding (DEC 2014)

More recently we have, yet again, woken up to the media slating GCSE and A level results, the 'easiness' of the exams and the reduction in University entrants.
Does anyone think of the impact for the children? And what about the hard working teachers?

Yes, we must all strive for high standards. Yes, we must all provide a broad and balance curriculum. Yes, we are educators, that is what we trained for, what we spend hours working for. I have yet to meet a teacher who doesn't want the very best for all the children in their class.

But come on, someone give us a break. Even the government seems to be against us. Think of all the new initiatives that have thrown at us recently. I don't disagree with many of them, just the way we are dictated too and 'patted on the head' and told to get on with it as if we don't have any understanding of what is best for our children and how they learn.

I was lucky enough to spend two weeks in America at the start of the summer holidays. I was based in Pennsylvania, New York and 'nipped' up to Niagara Falls (Wow, now that was an amazing experience). For most of the time we stayed with my partner's cousin and her husband who is a secondary school teacher in New Jersey. Phil is English, trained and taught as a teacher in England but for the past 15 years has taught science in American schools. We had some very in depth conversations about educational and cultural differences which left me knowing that without a doubt (in my humble opinion) that England provides the best, most rounded and inclusive educational experience for all.

Children in America (sweeping statement at all states and counties seem to do something slightly different, have different laws and different expectations - Why is it the UNITED States of America??) start formal school at 6. They may not have had any pre school experience due to the very high costs. So, from the moment they step across the schools threshold they appear to be 'hot housed' towards academia.

In huge (2500+) secondary schools they are taught from 8 till 4 with no outside breaks (kept inside just in case they get into trouble!). Homework is set for at least 3 hours every night and the expectation is that all children will be sporty or musical. It appears that if they are not then they are failures. I asked about special needs pupils. This was met with a shrug and 'I don't know, they're just there'.

Leaving school the expectation is that they go on to college. I spoke with Phil's daughter and her husband who, between them, have debts of over $100,000 which is considered a small debt. They hope to pay it off in 10 years!!

I am passionate about all pupils being include and know that at my current, Outstanding (Dec 2014), school all staff provide a truly inclusive environment supported by our irresistible curriculum which ensures that all children reach their full potential, no matter what their starting point is.

I know this Blog is a very small, probably biased (and definitely without significant research), personal insight but coming back to work on Thursday all I could think of was 'thank goodness I work here in England.

So,PLEASE Social Media give us a break. It's fine to compare with other countries but please look at the bigger picture, develop an understanding of cultural differences and our countries unique and multi cultural society. Government talk to on site school educators not just those who have the academic background and probably have never worked at the chalk face or if they did it was prior to Interactive White Boards, National Curriculum and 70 hour weeks. Let me be the first of many to say

THREE CHEERS FOR ALL EDUCATORS

Spelling Bee - raising the profile of spelling AND having fun!

Are you a good speller? How often do we hear this? Yes, is my reply. But how and why??
I vaguely remember how I learned to read and write, but spelling?? Not a clue.
My peers tell me we were sent home with lists to learn and I do remember having to learn to spell 'Mediterranean' (and yes, I spelt it without the aid of Spell-Checker and until just now, I can probably count on one hand the times I've had to write that word) and the trouble some of my peers got into for 'failing' their weekly spelling test. So, in this day and age of Speller Checker, predictive texting and text speak, why do we make such a big deal out of being a good speller??
The problem with Blogging is that one de-clutters one's mind onto paper. My last question will remain rhetorical (for the moment) as I really want to write about Spelling Bee.

My school, like many, was very concerned about the standard of spelling amongst our children (and some adults). We had embarked on a journey to develop consistent and high quality teaching and learning of phonics throughout the school - in retrospect, this was imperative to have firmly embedded before we could even look at spelling. Three years on we have daily phonics lessons for all children (who require it) following our adapted Letters & Sounds programme (we have Phase + groups to ensure each phase is securely embedded before moving onto the next phase). KS 1 set across four classes (we're two form entry) and are assessed termly. Through termly meetings we ensure the right adult is with the right group to ensure very high quality teaching of all our children. Significant training has been given and is monitored to ensure practice remains outstanding.
The impact of these measures has seen a dramatic fall from 78% of children (2012) in Year 3 & 4 requiring phonics support to 14% (July 2015). We now only have KS2 children requiring daily phonics who are on the SEN register and have significant needs. The impact has also seen a significant rise in our KS1 & 2 SATs results.

Again, I digress - SPELLING BEE.

Back in 2013 I missed the competitive nature of school competitions so I spent some time researching ways to bring a spelling competition to our school. Time and time again I came back to American websites about their Spelling Bee. So, I contacted a wonderful lady in America through http://www.spelling-words-well.com/spelling-bee-words.html and purchased their Spelling Bee resources, for a very small sum of money.

Together with my Literacy Team, we spent a term 'Anglosizing' the words and sentences and developing a word and sentence bank for our Early Years Children. With our resources ready, we then informed the staff of our plans to hold the first set of competitions in March 2014. Initially staff were concerned that our youngest children would not be able to cope with the 'pressure' of the competition. This was definitely not  the case. The 'contestants' displayed a pride in representing their class, they showed a focus and team man-ship beyond their years and their peers provided unwavering support.

A very small proportion of staff voiced their concerns about the inclusive nature of the competition for our less able and, in particular, our dyslexic children. However this was quickly dispelled through the class Spell Down competitions were all children took part, the teacher was able to differentiate spellings, so that all had a sense of achievement, and all children were able to show this achievement through being awarded Spelling Bee stickers. We also discovered, after the competitions, that 30% of finalists were Pupil Premium children.

We had stickers made up

and purchased wonderful trophies for our winners. Altogether, with prizes, the cost came to less then £100 including the original American spelling packs! And they can be re-used! 

We held Spelling Bee class Spell Downs in each class to determine the best spellers who would then compete in finals - four from each class. The big surprise for all staff was the children who were the best spellers rarely got through to the group competition stage. We hadn't taken into consideration the performance element of the competition. In the class Spell Down stage children had to verbally spell out words, they weren't allowed whiteboards to practice and had to follow the rule that the first attempt was the one taken.

We then arranged three competitions between Year 1 & 2, Years 3 & 4 and Years 5 & 6. Early Years took part too but kept their competition in their classrooms. These were to be held on different afternoons, in the hall and with parents and family invited. We made a rule that no under 5's were allowed to attend to prevent disruptive noises of toddlers impacting on the concentration of our young pupils - without exception, our parents adhered to this rule.

I was determined that the competitions would have a professional air to them so I invited our Vice Chair of the Governing Body to adjudicate all three of the competitions, Our Bursar, PA to our Principal and our school secretary took an afternoon each to sit on the panel to score and time keep. Parents were invited and Key Stage classes were the willing audience. We had very clear rules - collaboration before answering, first answer was taken, even if the right spelling had been written on whiteboards and NO Clapping. We quickly realised that if the audience clapped after each correct spelling we would have been there till Christmas!! So, the Warden House Silent Cheer was demonstrated, practised (including parents) and used effectively to ensure the flow and pace of the competition was maintained.

Collaborative working

Our Principal, Graham Chisnell, took centre stage as Word Master. The pace of the competitions was intentionally quick, without too many ad-libs, so that children could maintain their focus, the audience wouldn't get bored and we could have a complete competition in an hour!

The tension in the school hall was, at times, unbearable. With the collective holding their breathes, parents muttering 'that's not fair, they can't spell that word' then being totally amazed when our very young children confidently spelled a word. The pride on adult faces was astonishing as the children worked collaboratively through complex spellings. Time and time again Mr Chisnell had to 'up the ante' by moving through the word sheets to find more complex words. Incredible, amazing, outstanding were frequently heard from the adult audience.

Each team had to spell 10 words - one word, a team at a time. The scores were given. The top 2 (and in some cases 3) teams then went on to 'Sudden Death' until we had a winning team. We then had a short break whilst class teachers spoke to their teams to identify one child who would then compete for the individual accolade of best speller. Prizes were awarded and photos taken (we had tasked a Year 6 boy to take photos in all the competitions so had plenty to choose from for the Press release) and thanks given to all who had attended.

The feedback from children was amazing. Not just those who had taken part in the group competitions but all children. There was a buzz around the school, children proudly displaying their stickers and Spelling Bee badges (awarded to those in the group competitions) and talking about what fun spelling was. Adults asking when the next competition was going to be held and a 'suggestion' from a parent that we should have a parent/child v. teachers competition (will think about that one!!)

So.. what happened next?

I took the idea to our Deal Learning Alliance Literacy team (DLA is our local collaboration of 11 schools) who loved the idea. However when colleagues discussed it with their Headteachers they were less then enthusiastic but we ploughed on and in March 2015 we held our first round of KS2 competitions. To even numbers up, we invited a local Independent school to be our twelfth school and organised 3 schools to hold the semi final competitions in their school halls. To raise the profile even more we held the final (between three schools - one team from each of the semis) at out local Astor Theatre. The children competed on stage, under bright lights and in front of an audience of their peers and family. The local press were called and medals and a finalist shield was awarded to winning Year 3/4 team and winning Year 5/6 team. We, the Literacy team, were determined that this would be an annual event.

The headteachers (all of them) were so enthusiastic that they wanted a KS1 competition. One HT admitted that she had had concerns prior to the semi finals mainly because she hadn't understood the format and was very worried for the emotional well-being of her youngest children. But her fears were allayed when she observed one competition where the youngest child from a visiting school was only 5!  We held the KS1 competitions in Term 6, with the final being held in the Theatre. It was truly amazing to see children as young as 5 sitting on a stage and confidently (and collaboratively) spelling words. But more importantly, having fun.

Following on from the DLA Spelling Bee competitions I attended our County Literacy Leaders meeting and was asked to share the Spelling Bee with colleagues. I am now supporting schools in 3 different Districts in Kent who have held competitions.

The Future
We will be continuing our in-school competitions which have already been timetabled for Term 1 2015.
The DLA Headteachers have determined that 'we will' have Spelling Bee next year. We have already pencilled in dates (KS2 - March 2016, KS1 - July 2016)
I have been asked to present Spelling Bee at this years' KAH Conference

My initial rhetorical question may be discussed in a future Blog!

My first foray into the abyss

Well here goes, my first Blog!! 

Having been humbled into submission by my colleagues, who have eloquently been writing about a number of subjects using humour, diplomacy and amazing pedagogical incite, I have decided to come out from behind the bush and give this 'new fangled' way of communication a try. 

My natural aptitude is for privacy and having a reluctance for 'publishing' my thoughts on line - I don't do Facebook, I am biting the bullet and joining the 21st Century - I hope!! My worry, at the moment, is that I am writing this Blog and when I go to post it (my goodness, all this new jargon I am using, hopefully correctly) it will be uploaded (or whatever the term is). My next worry, that has popped into my head, is - will my writing be grammatically correct, spelling be OK and does it make sense??

The second reason for writing today is down to our Boss. He has made it one of my Appraisal targets to write 3 Blogs this year, as he has done for the whole Senior Team!! This target was set in September so I feel quite proud that I am writing this first one in February. In my head, my first Tweet/Blog (am I Tweeting or Blogging) was entitled 'My B****Y Headteacher made me write this' But as I witter away I find it rather soothing and cathartic but this raises another worry - will I ramble on about everything and anything just to get it out of my head? All these worries?? And I thought I rarely worried about anything but I suppose this is a natural reaction to new things/change. At least this thing has Spell Check though I am writing this with a dictionary beside me!!

Tomorrow is back to work, Term 4. My break in Barcelona is starting to be a distant memory as I plough through marking of CATs, reconstructing a child's file (after writing an EHCP) and researching some ideas around reading and subject leadership plus all the other bits and pieces needed as I wade though the box of paper I dragged home with me at the end of Term 3(note to self - don't leave everything to Sunday night!!)

Before I sign off I will take a leaf out of my colleague's book and bullet point some thoughts for my next venture into this strange land

1. My thoughts of the new Code of Practice especially EHCP and High Needs funding

2.Children's behaviour and the reactions from Professionals and Joe Public

3.Reading

4. Supervision for Educators

5. Spelling Bee (another helpful idea from The Boss)

So dear friends (hopefully someone will read this) I will sign off and keep all fingers and toes crossed that when I press the button these initial musings will wing its way off to cyber space or is it the cloud??