Primary Teacher UK

National Curriculum targets to be met - five years too late!

According to research by the Independent this year will be an important one for the SATs - for the first time, 80% will reach Level 4 or above in English and 77% will reach the 'ideal' Level 4 or above in Maths.  This is the target figure set in 1997 for 2002.  The failure to reach that target on time forced the resignation of then Education secretary Estelle Morris.

It does however still leave us short of the one-time target - which then became an "aspiration" - of 85 per cent in both subjects by 2006.

The Independents survey coincides with another by the TES which also predicts that the Government will at last reach its 2002 target. It looked at 82 schools and found that English results were, on average, 1 percentage point up while maths results were likely to increase by 5 percentage points.

Male teachers 'help boys behave'

Male teachers can have a positive impact on the behaviour of primary school boys, a survey suggests.

The Training and Development Agency for Schools wants to encourage more men to apply to become primary teachers.

The YouGov survey of 603 children aged eight to 11 shows 51% of boys believe they are better behaved with a male teacher - and 42% say they work harder.

At present, a large majority of teachers in England's primary schools are women with only 16% being men.

The TDA, which recruits and trains teachers, wants to see a more balanced workforce in primary schools - providing both male and female authority figures.

'Self-confidence'

Currently one in 12 pupils will have gone through primary school without ever having been taught by a man.

The survey suggests male teachers can provide a positive role model for boys at primary school - and that a large majority of boys would like to have both male and female teachers in their schools.

There were indications that having male teachers could help boys' overall experience of school - with 44% agreeing that male teachers "help them to enjoy school more" and 37% of boys saying it made them feel more self-confident.

More than a quarter of boys agreed that male teachers "understand them better" and could be "relied upon for good advice".

Conflicting opinions

There has been a rise in applications from men wanting to enter teacher training for primary school - up to 19% of applications - but the training agency would like to see a further increase.

"The number of men applying for primary school training courses is increasing, but not quickly enough," says chief executive Graham Holley.

There have been conflicting opinions over whether or not pupils gain from having a more balanced number of male and female staff - and whether schools have become "too feminine" for boys.

A substantial long-term study published in the United States last year suggested that being taught by a teacher of the same gender could raise pupils' academic achievement.

However, another study last year, carried out in primary schools in the UK, suggested that it made no difference to pupils whether they were taught by male or female teachers. 

FREE Language Learning CDs

For those that missed it yesterday the Sunday Mail is giving away 6 weeks of free language CDs over the next few weeks. They are produced by Linguaphone, which produces top-notch language courses. The courses will be part of their 'All Talk' series. If you want an introduction to a language, they might be well worth getting.

The first CD was sent out in yesterday's paper, so you might still be able to get  a copy, if you're quick and get to your newsagent before returns get sent back.

Fund to support flooded schools

The government has given details of how it is distributing £10m for schools damaged by the June floods in the north of England and midlands. The scale of damage is still emerging, with 101 schools needing "significant repairs".  This total does not include any damage to schools in the most recent floods.  The government says it is still "far too early" to assess the extent of flood damage to schools in the west and south of England.

WebbliWorld

WebbliWorld (http://www.webbliworld.com) is an exciting, stimulating, virtual world that kids can explore, inhabit, belong to and share that has been designed and developed in association with Aardman animations . The aim of the site is to create on online world that promotes caring, responsible behaviour and gives kids the opportunity to voice their opinions on topics that matter.

WebbliWorld mirrors the real world and guides children through the mind-boggling maze of the internet. The bizarre characters introduce important topics such as the environment, climate change and recycling in an accessible and memorable way.  The authors of the site are also working in partnership with WWF to make sure that all our environmental messages are accurate and educational.

All content that is added to WebbliWorld by users is moderated by an external, specialist moderation company and by the staff of WebbliWorld.  The website is currently running a competition and has fun educational games available where you and the children will have the opportunity to win prizes from Puffin Books and WWF.

Link: www.webbliworld.com

Leavers Assembly

I thought that I would share my very successful leavers assembly with you for next year. 

Setting: 2032 - a class reunion.
Stage: Set up for party, in background a large Class Reunion 2032 poster.
Costumes: All children to dress in the clothing for the career of their choice.

Performance:

• One / Two children come onto stage talking about the party that they have organised and how they are looking forward to meeting everyone.
• A few children at a time appear on stage and meet the hosts.  Each time they have a short chat about what has happened to them since they left school before sitting down.
• When all children are on stage they remember a 'great' song they used to sing at Primary School, in our case it was 'One More Step'
• After song music starts playing and in small groups they dance their way to the front of the stage.  The music then quietens and you hear the children discussing their memories from school. 
• Music then gets louder again and they dance back with another group coming to the front.  Repeat.
• You can now add anything else you want on the pretext that they are remembering it.
• At the end of the reunion they had a surprise guest (Me) who came a shook hands with each children, saying a little comment before giving out prizes etc.

The best thing about this performance was that the children completed improvised the whole thing.  Make sure that you have your two best actors as the hosts as they will then be able to prompt the other children if they get stuck with what to say. We had no lines and no real plan.  Although that could have a bit risky (and some comments where a little close to the bone!) it was very well received by the parents and staff.

If you need any other information about it let me know.

£1 billion extra for entended schools

Every child will be able to access breakfast clubs, out-of-hours tuition and after-school clubs in sport, music and drama as Ed Balls announced a massive investment of more than £1billion in the extended schools programme over the next three years.

Families will also be able to access services such as breakfast clubs, childcare, family learning and parental support, as well as having quick and easy access to specialist services for their child such as speech therapy. The additional investment will mean that every school will be offering access to extended services by 2010. It was confirmed today that the programme remains ahead of trajectory with more than 5,000 - or one in five - schools now offering the core extended services.

Schools can provide extended services themselves, or deliver them in partnership with other schools or voluntary and community organisations, before and after the school day . The £1.1 billion will fund capital projects and running costs to ensure that by 2010, all schools can offer extended services to children such as homework clubs after school; additional sport and music tuition; drama and ICT clubs; or catch up classes in English and maths.

Two weeks ago Ed Balls also announced a £265m extended school subsidy scheme to ensure that children from disadvantaged families can access the full range of extended services, which research shows can gain a greater benefit from extended services, bringing the amount up to £1.3 billion.

Advice on the use of Biometric Data in schools

Guidance on how the Data Protection Act 1998 applies to the use of biometric data in schools was published yesterday by BECTA.

It advises schools to fully involve parents in any decision to introduce biometric or fingerprint technology to run cashless lunch queues, school libraries and attendance systems.  It restates schools' freedom to run their own affairs – including introducing new technology to free up teacher time and making day-to-day administration easier.

Schools choose biometric systems because they can speed up lunch queues; remove the need for children to take money into schools and remove any stigma with peers from pupils claiming free school meals because they are not identified. They also mean schools do not have to pay for the replacement of lost swipe cards and other identification.

Head teachers also choose to introduce biometric attendance systems at the school gate to save teachers time in taking registers and prevent unauthorised access to school premises. Similar systems can be used to record pupils' attendance at each class to identify whether particular pupils are not attending particular classes – and prompting schools to take action.  

The guidance underlines that headteachers and governing bodies should be clear and open with all parents and pupils about this and all aspects of their education. This could involve explaining what biometric technology is; how it will be used; what is involved; what data will be held and stored; why it is required; how it will be secured; and how long it will be retained.

It also advises that schools should recognise some parents' or pupils' concerns over the introduction of biometric technology and offer alternative systems, like smartcards, to access the same services if they want to opt out. 

The guidance also describes how biometric systems are designed simply to validate a pupil's identity – not hold any other data. It is stored as complex algorithms or number streams, from which it is currently technically impossible to recreate an actual fingerprint image.

The guidance, produced in conjunction with the Information Commissioner, sets out how Data Protection Act 1998 applies to the use of biometric data in schools - building on Becta's existing guidance on data security and the data protection law.

The Data Protection Act requires that:

• schools cannot use biometric information other than for the express purpose for which it was collected. This means that data taken for the use on in a library, can only be used for that purpose;
  
• schools process all personal data fairly and lawfully. This means that schools ensure that all pupils, or their parents if schools judge they cannot understand, know what personal information they have on record and how they intend to use it;
  
• schools cannot pass on biometric information to any outside organisation nor can third parties access this information;
  
• schools cannot keep personal data for longer than it is needed for its specified purpose. Pupils' biometric data should therefore be destroyed when they have left the school.
  
• schools put appropriate security in place to safeguard personal data from unauthorised processing and accidental loss, destruction or damage. Becta gives clear guidance to schools on data and ICT security.

Bedtime stories a thing of the past?

Bedtime stories are proving a struggle for many parents who are not confident readers, says a survey from adult learning agency Learndirect.

More than 10% of the 1,000 parents asked had struggled to understand some words in the stories they had read to their five to 10-year-old children.

Parents said that they made up words they could not read or missed out difficult passages, the survey said.

Even more parents - a third - struggled with their children's maths homework.

Learndirect, which aims to improve the skills of adults, is producing a children's book, which it hopes will help both parents and children. Where did the river go? is a limited edition storybook commissioned by Learn Direct for children aged between 5-9. Click here to go to the registration page.

The BBC also have a great range of adult literacy and numeracy support, particularly their Skillswise site. A number of parents have accessed this site and reported that they found the fact that could work at their own pace, in their own homes much less intimidating than going back to the classroom.

Read the rest of the report here. 

White underachievement in schools

Following on from the report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation last month which found that white boys lead school underachievers, Teachers TV is broadcasting ‘White Underachievement: Putting Class into the Classroom’, a documentary investigating why white pupils from working class backgrounds are failing at school. Featuring former teacher of the year, Phil Beadle, the programme profiles Robert Clack School, Dagenham which has seen huge improvements in achievement through implementing a strategy that tackles head on the issue of whiteness in the classrooms.

School Matters – White Underachievement –7.30pm Tuesday 31 July; 9.30pm Saturday 4 August or watch at www.teachers.tv