Key Stage 3 Year 8 Information Evening Nicola Fareham Head of Department Chris Gibson KS4 Coordinator Kate Wayman KS3 Co-ordinator

To keep you informed of the changes nationally to GCSE exams. To keep you informed of the key dates this year: -Parents evenings -Assessments To explain how we set homework and what our expectations are. To show you what you should see in your child’s book. To inform you of what your child can do in order to be ready to learn. Why do we have an information evening?

The New GCSE and how it will affect your child Instead of the traditional A*-G grades, they will be numbered 1-9. Students will be placed in classes following pathways from Year 7 through to Year 11 on these new levels. New Mathematics topics have been introduced into the syllabus to allow students to access better opportunities after school. Students are either working towards the Foundation (1- 5) or Higher (4-9) exam depending on their ability. The tier they sit will not be determined until the end of year 10, but may possibly still change in year 11.

Maths GCSE Changes All students sitting their GCSE Maths exams from 2017 will be following a new curriculum. It will be a linear specification with students having one sitting at the end of year calculator papers and 1 non-calculator. Broader and deeper mathematical content. Designed to be more rigorous to allow stretch and challenge for both Higher and Foundation students

A similar proportion of students will achieve a grade 4 and above as currently achieve a grade C and above. A similar proportion of students will achieve a grade 7 and above as currently achieve an A and above. For each examination, the top 20 per cent of those who get grade 7 or above will get a grade 9 – the very highest performers. The bottom of grade 1 will be aligned with the bottom of grade G. Grading

Grade 5 will be positioned in the top third of the marks for a current Grade C and bottom third of the marks for a current Grade B. This will mean it will be of greater demand than the present grade C, and broadly in line with what the best available evidence tells us is the average performance in countries such as Finland, Canada, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The new maths GCSE will be tiered, with grades 4 and 5 available through both tiers. Grading

Ofqual Chief Regulator Glenys Stacey said “We do need to caution against direct comparisons and overly simplistic descriptions of the approach. For example, it is not right to say simply that a new grade 4 will equal a current grade C.” Grading

Year 8 Setting There are 7 sets in each band in year 8. They will be working towards the new GCSE grading system. This has been decided based upon their attainment levels in year 7 and will be monitored throughout year 8.

Year 8 Scheme of Work To prepare students for the demands of the new GCSE we are beginning to use a Mastery scheme of work. Students will spend a lot longer on each topic than in previous years. Rather than accelerating students on to content from the next key stage, the focus will be on students developing a deeper understanding of each topic and being able to apply their knowledge to solve problems.

Year 8 Scheme of Work Smile and a Kiss Method

Year 8 Scheme of Work

Example

Testing Students will be assessed throughout this year. This will allow both the student and teacher to see where progress has been made and intervention put in place with appropriate students. We will closely monitor students’ progress, and make set changes based on ALL of the results that we have available to us for each student. This is to ensure that every student is in the set that is right for THEM, and that they are working at the most appropriate level for their ability.

Year 8 Test Dates All students in year 8 will be sitting the following assessments this year: Week beginning 4 th January 2016 Week beginning 4 th April 2016 End of year assessment in June 2016 There will be other tests scheduled throughout the year. After each test we will look at the setting and decide if there are any students who need to change sets.

End of KS3 Test – June 2016 This is the most important test in year 8 as it will determine each students’ Key Stage 3 level and will help us decide which set they will be in in year 9. Students who are placed in sets 1-3 in Year 9 will be studying for the Higher Paper, and students in sets 4-7 will be studying for the Foundation Paper. Students have a number of opportunities to progress to a higher ability group. Students with a level 5 at the end of Key Stage 3 are highly likely to leave school with the expected grade or above at GCSE.

Praising Stars We will use previous levels and the assessments throughout the year to make predictions for Praising Stars reports. We will now be predicting grades for the end of year 11, rather than for the end of KS3. Please be aware that these are long term predictions and could change dramatically between now and the end of year 11.

Intervention After school enrichments – all teachers offer at least one hour per week to help catch up on homework, classwork or consolidate classwork with extra practice. One to one intervention – any student who is not showing progress from their most recent assessment is selected for one to one tuition which takes place during the school day.

Intervention Some students are also given extra help with maths in small groups during VMG time. This is once a week and the students are chosen for this based on assessment results. This will be reviewed throughout the year. There will be a peer mentoring scheme running this year where students from year 11, 12 and 13 provide extra help for younger students. There is a meeting about this in U3 straight after this presentation.

Option Maths This is selected firstly on attainment – students who we identify as not being on track to achieve expected grade by the end of year 11 will be chosen for Option Maths. The second factor is progress – students who have not made progress in Maths since joining the Academy will also be selected. We will use the results of the End of KS3 Tests to select students for Option Maths and English in year 9 and 10. Around 25% of the cohort are selected for additional help to achieve the expected grade in both Maths & English by the end of year 11. It cannot be taken as a single option until Year 11. We have found that Option Maths helps students dramatically and has a huge effect on a students’ chances of achieving the expected grade.

Revision Several weeks before the End of Key Stage 3 test students will be given access to online revision materials for them to work through at home via our website. They will also be working through past papers in class to help prepare them for the test.

Homework Homework is set on a weekly basis and students will have one week to complete it. Homework will usually be set using To access mymaths you need to use the login outwood and password congruent. Each student then has their own individual login and password. Every teacher runs at least one enrichment per week where students can seek help if they are struggling with their homework.

Homework Policy Maths homework is set in line with Academy policy. Each piece of homework must be completed by a given deadline. If students do not manage this, they will be given an extension. If they then do not complete the homework by the extended deadline they will be issued with a detention (which will be recorded on a sticker in their planner). Students need to achieve over 70% on their homework. Catch ups are always on to help students achieve this. Students are only allowed one extended deadline in maths per praising stars cycle, and any homework detention for incomplete homework will result in an E3 for that cycle.

Rock Star Times Tables

What can students do? Come prepared to every lesson: Book Scientific calculator Pen Pencil Ruler Planner Be ready to learn Make all appropriate notes Complete all classwork Use correct equipment (e.g. draw diagrams with pencil and ruler) Ensure all homework is completed on time

Parents’ Evenings Tuesday 20 th October Tuesday 15 th December Tuesday 2 nd February Tuesday 15 th March Others to be confirmed.

Thanks for listening Any Questions? Workshop over in U1 and U6