Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Case studies – different ways in which middle schools are planning to for the Learning Feast
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name:C Kennedy / Title:Leading to Learn
School:St Egwins CE Middle
Phone Number: 01386 446924
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A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
- To improve cohesion
- To improve behaviour
- To improve aspects of school important to pupils
- To give opportunities for pupils to lead, learn leadership skills, groups learning effectively together
Description of activity:
“Leading to learn” – an innovative approach to student voice, begun at BlueSchool, Wells
Pupils identify areas for improvements and activities they want to pursuer.
School is about to be the first “insight” school for middle schools & our pyramid of schools.
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name:Mark Knowles / Title:Cross Curricular Planning
School:EdwinstreeMiddle School
Phone Number 01763 271446
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A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
Art, Music and ICT applying their knowledge in an open, cross curricular, practical, realistic and relevant activity.
Description of activity:
Year 7
Art/ICT/Music planning together for Year 8.
In Year 7 children are introduced to Cindy Sherman and how she uses film to describe an identity.
Year 8
The skills from Year 7 work are used to make accompanying CD cover
ICT is used to produce an animation to promote the music.
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name: Gary Johnson / Title:Developing Learn2Learn skills
School: KirkbutonMiddle School
Phone Number01484 222737
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A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
To encourage and facilitate change through examining pedagogy and practice in then light of ‘Learn2Learn’ principles
Description of activity:
After a number of Inset sessions with staff, a series if weekly lessons were delivered by staff on:
- Recognising how the brain works
- How people have different learning styles
- How these can be facilitated across the curriculum
- How [pupils can utilise their preferred learning style.
We are currently tying these into developing learning through the PLTSs, incorporating the development of the L2L skills.
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name:Paul Chadwick / Title:School:DorchesterMiddle School
Phone Number01305 265651
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A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
To link citizenship/PLTS/PSHCE and SEAL
Description of activity:
An audit followed by coherent planning for combining in a coherent way the skills from the different subjects.
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name:Michael Horner / Title:International Dimensions
School:ValleyGardensMiddle School
Phone Number 0191 2008792
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A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
To develop international dimensions across the curriculum and utilise the outcomes of the Comenius project – leading to the International Schools Award.
Description of activity:
The school is:
- Linked to 5 schools across Europe
- Developing links with schools in South Africa ad Bangladesh
- Timetable suspended for theme days and activity weeks
- All curriculum areas engage and support the initiative
Culminated in an international weekwhich included the school hosting visitors from partner schools and following alternative curriculum and extra curricular activities with parental, local authority and governor involvement.
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name:Lorna Anderson / Title:Africa Week
School: GosforthCentralMiddle School
Phone Number 0191 285 1793
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A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
Description of activity:
Africa Week involved:
Vertical groups across Years 5 to 8 – each became a country
Team planning and teaching
- English – storytelling
- Sport – an international tournament
- ICT – research
- Humanities – Refugees – problem solving
- Maths – Quilting
- Music – Rhythm dace and drums
- Technology – Extracting water, Masks, African food
- Art T-shirts logos
- Acrobats – Tanzanian for G & T gymnasts
- Making huts
- Link with Masaii warrior
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name:John Broad / Title:1. The achievement folder
2. The home study programme
School:MaidenBeechMiddle School
Phone Number 01460 72677
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A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
1) Monitoring pupil commitment to lessons in ‘real time’.
2) Improving teacher-pupil engagement through electronic home-study programmes
Description of activity:
1) Electronic points system, focussed principally on the average child, operating on a lesson-by-lesson basis. Following a formal registration in each lesson, the teacher awards ‘plus’ and ‘minus’ points; totals are immediately available (and celebrated) in school and at home. Awards are linked to the outcomes.
2) Software vehicle enables teachers to set homework (or whole learning modules) on line. Pupils can submit work directly to the ‘pupil portal’ (their own work space) and have it marked on-line by the teacher. Interesting side benefits are opportunity to monitor the traffic to see how much, if any, homework is being set and how and when it is marked.
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name:Dave Baker / Title:Reach for the stars homework.
School:BecclesMiddle School
Phone Number01502 713195
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A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
To develop homework as a more open, family based extended activity.
To reduce the negative impact of homework.
Description of activity:
Open homework activities making explicit links between subjects.
Choice of activities to be completed over a three week period.
At the end of the time – shared lesson – peer assessment
Opportunities for more expansive homework including model making etc.
Impact – have seen an increase in homework completion.
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name:Keith Sutton / Title:Writing for all – ‘Everyone writes’.
School:BovingtonMiddle School
Phone Number01929 462495
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A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
To provide a real opportunity for the whole school to engage in ‘Everyone writes’.
Description of activity:
The Key – NO pupil knew about the day in advance.
The focus was in World War II – as we have a third of pupils from army backgrounds.
On arrival the pupils were confronted by a tank and military hardware around the site; military music blasting out; all the staff were in period costume.
All pupils had ID cards – in order to negotiate the checkpoints set up around the school as well as ration cards which were essential for getting any food.
The previous evening all the staff, teaching and non-teaching had prepared the school for the event. The PTA had funded uniforms etc. key equipment had been borrowed such as the sand pit where there was an unexploded bomb, roped off etc.
Sandbags were around every door and office staff had set up the ministry of information in the library using old style type writers.
The timetable was abandoned and pupils had a series of stimulus inspired writing events.
Great fun!!
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name:Iain Clark / Title:Peer observation Trios
School: WarehamMiddle School
Phone Number 01929 553335
Please circle:
A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
Ofsted (Nov 2008) indicated that there is much good teaching across the school but that it was inconsistent. Some lessons were exciting and engaging, but some were boring.
The inspector identified a need to share good practice amongst staff.
Description of activity:
Three colleagues were grouped together in a trio – no subject, line management or year team connection.
Each member delivers a lesson whilst others observe
The purpose of the exercise is not to judge the quality of teaching and learning, but rather to ‘take ideas’ that will be used to improve their own practice.
Trios are self managed – supply cover is made available (it does cost!)
The groups are changed each term.
Evaluations are shared with trio members and the HT.
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name:Paul Nation / Title:Impact on learning through partnership.
School:St Michaels Middle School
Phone Number01202 883433
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A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
32 schools working together through the East Dorset Education Partnership (Edep)
Description of activity:
Opportunities given for:
- CPD every Tuesday for teachers and TAs
- Gifted and talented workshops
- Learning walks for HTs and staff in a range of schools
- Pupil conferences – termly on a variety of themes
- Curriculum innovation including 2 year KS3 project funded by Edep
- A variety of extended services projects – nurture groups etc.
- SEN training and support
- ICT technical support.
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name:Jacques Dinsley / Title:Year 8 Enterprise Day
School:GosforthCentralMiddle School
Phone Number 0191 2851793
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A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
Year 8 – 4 classes
- Aim to make a bag design for a retail outlet
- To plan costings within materials used
- To work within a time constraint
- To present the product to their class
- Class to decide their winning entry
- To present each winning class entry to three key retailers in Newcastle – Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser and John Lewis.
Description of activity:
- Launch in the hall – a display of bags used in the retail world.
- Pupils were in groups of four.
- Bag templates were made for the pupils – a choice of white or brown paper bag.
- Costings for the different handles on offer
- Design to be undertaken by pupils.
- Pupils produce spreadsheet of costings
- Pupils present their bags to their class
- The class select their representative entry.
- Each Year 8 class then presents their chosen bag to retailers
- Retailers give feedback (Dragon’s Den link)
- Retailers give their decision of the winning design
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name: Anna DuQuesnay / Title:Cross curricular homework projects
School:BirkenshawMiddle School
Phone Number01274 335208
Please circle:
A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
Homework projects – that were cross curricular and brought out of timetabled lessons.
To engage pupils and families in home work.
Promote PLATS at home.
Description of activity:
- Created cross-curricular homework projects – one topic and four tasks
- Pupils complete these over half term, bring in and self/peer assess on a collapsed timetable afternoon.
- Extended so that Year 8 representatives create topic and tasks to ensure they are relevant and engaging for pupils.
- PLATS used as success criteria.
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name:Lynn Evans / Title:DSD – Do Something Different
School: AbbeyParkMiddle School
Phone Number01386 552667
Please circle:
A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
Pupils in the top year group (Year 7) wanted to be engaged in organising their curriculum.
A number of ‘challenging’ boys were causing concern in the community and needed a focus – particularly during the six weeks holiday.
Description of activity:
Pupils asked ‘What would they like to learn about?’
The only criterion was that some form of physical involvement had to be involved.
This resulted in a range of Friday afternoon activities:
Sewing, kick boxing, hill walking, climbing, judo, drama………….sailing
A group of 13 boys were ‘invited’ by targeted Youth Support Team to engage in fun ‘different’ activities with police involvement. This element of the programme continued over the long holiday resulting in NO crime related activities and considerably less disruption.
Everyone was happy
NB The targeted boys have remained Youth Club members and this is now linked into the High School. A multi-agency approach worked very well.
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name:Nick Sharpe / Title:Revising the approach to the L/W system.
School: Ashton Middle
Phone Number 01582 633511
Please circle:
A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
Traditional L/W approach not working
Inconsistently applied
Unsupportive of domestic arrangements
Too many ‘bolt on’ activities
No real benefits.
Description of activity:
Scrap present model
Each child given an ‘enrichment’ task which focuses on one subject-based task, to last the week.
2 to 3 hours at KS2 and 3 to 4 hours at KS3, differentiated extension tasks with clear SC and whole school marking policy.
Benefit – all departments involved, encourages self-discipline and meaningful parental involvement, lots of cross curricular opportunities.
Pitfalls – too much parental involvement, loss of basic skills such as spellings, able, too many research/IT based tasks, marking overload at key times of the year.
NB need to review and amend accordingly,
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name:Geoff Woolston / Title:Exploring new approaches to homework.
School:HughSexeyMiddle School
Phone Number01934 712211
Please circle:
A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
More extended homework tasks
More choice/variety of tasks with a menu of possible opportunities
Opportunity to work individually or in groups
Stronger links to learning in the classroom.
Description of activity:
A menu of homework tasks to be completed over a period of time – models, films, scripts, puzzles, board games, cartoons
Deadlines to show progress and review/reflect
Displays and sharing of outcomes.
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name:Paul Essenhigh / Title:Vertical Tutoring
School:WalkwoodMiddle School
Phone Number 01527 543361
Please circle:
A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
Family building
Peer mentoring
Breaking first school bonds
Description of activity:
Three times a day pupils meet in tutor groups
% or 6 pupils from Year 5,6,7,8,
Registrations x2
Tutor period for:
- Paired reading
- Target setting
- Curricular Brain Gym Activities
- Media studies
Fantastic impact upon calmness in a larger 720 pupils school
More children making more friends
National Middle Schools’ Forum
Curriculum innovation – sharing developing practice
Contact Name:Caroline Thompson / Title:New KS3 Curriculum
School:BirkenshawMiddle School
Phone Number01274 335208
Please circle:
A focus on learning / Applying skills in a real context / Pupil ownership gives engagement / Staff champions who act as drivers / varying pupil groups and structures / Planning with demonstrating impact in mindRationale:
Implementing the new KS3 curriculum
Description of activity:
Each pupil given a “Passport” called “Skills for life”. Each of 6 PLATs has a separate section in this booklet which gives pupil speak descriptions of what constitutes that skill, plus half-termly grids to record when they have shown they can. Staff given a stamp with the subject name to stamp the grids when pupils achieve the skill