Test children every 8 weeks!
The Social Market Foundation think-tank have released a report called Fade or Flourish: How primary schools can build on children’s early
progress, that says that year groups should be changed to ability groups. It continues by saying that children should be then tested every 8 weeks to make sure that they do not fall behind.
The main recommendations, taken from the SMF website, are:
- A central focus on literacy – recommendations include the provision of short, intensive bursts of one-to-one tutoring from Year one, testing every eight weeks and ability based grouping in literacy classes.
- Ensuring good behaviour and attendance – the report advocates the use of nurture groups and learning mentors in schools.
- Creating a co-educator role for parents – recommendations include recruiting a dedicated member of staff in target primaries charged with improving parental involvement in school activities.
- Using innovative class structures – the report calls for greater grouping by ability within classes and a more flexible approach to class sizes.
- A variety of additional support – the report points to the importance of booster and curriculum extension classes.
- A more flexible curriculum – suggestions include the use of more cross-subject, thematic and skills-based work and the inclusion of secondary curricular elements into Year 6.
- A coordinated transition strategy – recommendations include the use of induction courses for Year 6 students and buddy schemes
I think that a lot of schools are already on the way to achieving these goals. Innovative class structures and the more flexible curriculum are the big ones for most schools. Parents are often against ability grouping, especially if their child was going to be below the norm. The flexible curriculum is already starting to happen - take Bexley's Creative Curriculum for an example.
For those that are interested a full copy of the report is available on request by contacting Jo Saunders via the link on the SMF website.
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