Mixed-Age Teaching at Long Sutton Primary Parent Information Evening Wednesday 8th November 6.30pm

Why Mixed-Age? Funding Small Schools: Cohort sizes (PAN 20): organisation may vary year on year Ensures even class sizes across the school

Organisation Mixed-Age / Split Year Groups Allocating children to classes (split year groups): Individual needs of each unique child Developmental / chronological age Siblings Personal, Social & Emotional Development Confidence & Maturity Ability and Aptitude Gender balance Relationships within the class Overall Aim: To balance the needs of all the children in the school in the best possible way. Each child’s development and progress is of paramount importance and we aim to do what is best for every child within our care, within the context of our school.

Side-Effects Positive Negative Forced Flexibility Children seen as unique individuals Teacher knowledge of children Relationships across the school Social Skills Role Models Opportunity to consolidate or extend Increased independence and responsibility Perceptions: children and parents Language: ‘kept back’ Challenge for teachers: organisation & flexibility Managing the challenge of split year groups: ensuring parity

Mrs. Newcombe Split Year Groups: working towards consistent experiences

Research and Best Practice “Simply no worse and simply no better” than single-age classes. Ofsted ‘Made to Measure’ (May 2012): “No marked difference in learning and progress was noted between mixed age and single age classes.” National Association for Small Schools: “Smaller schools offer ideal conditions for young children’s learning. Personal attention leads to a sense of identity and a belief that effort is worthwhile. Loyal, committed teachers work as a team, with the children staying well on task. Small schools are caring places, close to home, family and local community.” “Although humans are not usually born in litters, we seem to insist that they are educated in them.” (Katz 1995: The Benefits of Mixed Age Grouping) All classrooms, whether single or combined grade, include students at varying developmental stages, with a wide range of skills and abilities (Pardini, 2005). Goodlad & Anderson (1987) remind us that children learn continually and found that on average, a single grade class is comprised of students whose development spans five years. They emphasize that the developmental range in a combined class is not significantly different.

Research and Best Practice “The research supporting mixed-age classrooms indicates that academic achievement is the same as, or better than, the academic achievement of children in same-age classrooms. Mixed-age classrooms do not negatively affect student achievement, and students in these classrooms have significantly more positive attitudes toward school, themselves, and others.” (Stone, 1998; Veenman 1996) “Successful learning is less dependent on organisational strategies than on the quality of instructional practices” (Veenman 1995) “Mixed age grouping has great potential, but only if its implementation is carefully and knowledgeably planned.” (Gaustad, 1995) Sutton Trust Teaching & Learning Toolkit (2012) Top 3 approaches to closing attainment gaps: high quality teacher feedback; meta cognition & self-regulation; peer tutoring (including cross-age peer to peer opportunities).

Myth-Busting Katz (1995) presents a rationale for a multiage configuration: Single-age groups seem to create enormous normative pressures on the children and the teacher to expect all the children to be at the same place on knowledge and skills. There is a tendency in a homogeneous age group to penalise the children who fail to meet normative expectations. Similarly, there is also a temptation in a group of same-age children to overuse whole class instruction. There is no evidence to show that a group of children who are all within a 12-month age range can be expected to learn the same things, the same way, the same day, at the same time

Learning is a Journey: working towards AREs A wall, not a line: What is secure? Where are the gaps? What progress has been made?

Progression, not Coverage

Core Principles Good Teaching is a craft not a formula; it is complex, not simple Flexible Lesson Structures: whole class / split inputs / age-specific input / prior knowledge input Flexible Grouping: year group regrouping across classes / within class regrouping / cut and peel Task Design is crucial Skilled Questioning to target year group expectations Progression not Coverage Long Term View: AREs are the destination; the journey will look different for each child High quality feedback is crucial for good progress Parity of learning opportunities Assessment for Learning: children’s current strengths & gaps as starting points and rapid support in response to identified gaps Challenge and scaffolds for all ability levels Children learn at their own rate Split Year Group Provision: Context for learning will vary; skill progression will be consistent Focus on depth of conceptual understanding rather than acceleration through content Opportunities for working independently, collaboratively with other children (peer to peer) and with adult guidance / scaffolding Meta Cognition is an essential ingredient of good learning

English & Mathematics Mrs. Cameron & Mrs. Maidment

Next Steps Becoming experts: we have an obligation to the children to be experts in the craft of mixed age teaching Policy Best Practice approaches Parent Information Booklet Keeping parents informed (e.g. plans for next September) Gaining the confidence of parents and children through an increasingly expert and consistent approach