WELCOME TO ASHBY SCHOOL YEAR 10 INFORMATION EVENING. SEPTEMBER 14, 2010 ASHBY SCHOOL LECTURE THEATRE P.M.O’Brien I.Gibson.

AIMS OF THIS EVENING To explain our aims for your children To introduce our tracking and monitoring systems including My Child at School To introduce the Parental Consultation System To show the relevance of good attendance to high achievement To explain the changes to GCSE coursework and introduce our coursework and examination calendar. To show you where school information can be found on our school website and MCAS web browser.

Our Aims for you and your child The highest possible achievement for every individual by fostering a sense of individual responsibility in students To be at a school with a good reputation both locally and nationally To develop academically, socially and personally To enjoy learning experiences at Ashby becoming a successful learner To offer parents high quality information about the progress of their child at all times

The science behind increasing your chances in life

Look into my eyes, the eyes, the eyes, look into my eyes not around the eyes, the eyes... the eyes... the eyes... into the eyes, you're under

Think of a number between 2 and 9 Take that number and multiply it by 9 You should now have a 2 digit number Take the two digits and add them together Take that number and subtract 5 from it Take that number and correspond it to a letter in the alphabet (eg. A=1) Take that letter and think of a country that begins with it Take the second letter in the country and think of an animal that begins with it Hold the country and animal in your head....

How is it done? 1.It’s a maths trick... Everyone gets an answer of four after the first bit. 2.Then that always equals a D! How many countries begin with a D? Can you think of any? 3.Denmark is the most probable. The second letter is then E. How many animals can you think of? 4.Elephant is the most probable! We think the same! 5.This is how most mind tricks work. 6.It’s all about increasing my chances...

Gambling is for mugs.... (famous saying by me!) The probability (chance) of winning the Lotto draw is 1 in 13,983,816 (14 million). Which of these sets of numbers is likely to come up in the Lotto?

For all sets there is a 1 in 14 million chance that you will pick the six numbers! That’s why it’s called a Lottery

Here is a chance graph for ‘winning’ a grade at GCSE (or equivalent) in English:

These people came in with average SATs and got an F, G or U! Some people came in with average SATs and got an A*, A or B!

What did the winners do that the losers did not? How did the winners increase their chances of gaining a good GCSE? Be in the classroom when lessons are being taught Do all coursework and hand it in Be responsible for your own behaviour Not blame other people for failure Use learning as much as you can in the real world GCSE Turn up for Exams!

Most people are happy with 80% or above. 90% sounds even better… How often do we get 90% in a test or exam? Percentages lie to us!

90% attendance is half a day off every week In a year that is 20 days off (nearly 4 weeks) In secondary school (Yr 7-11) that is half a year off! 38 school weeks

% 60% 46% 35% 27% 20% GCSE/GNVQ achievements for year by total absence 5+ A*-C grades (including English and Maths) Total absence % who achieved >15 days days days days days 35+ days The minimum qualification for a service industry job will soon be this… Taking time off and its impact on your future! 90% 80%

Qualifications Potential Earnings average per hour no qualifications £8.14 per hour. GCSE’s/Equivalent £9.85 per hour. A levels/Equivalent £11.16 per hour Graduate degree £17.44 per hour Didn’t get 5 A*-C grades or equivalent including maths Did get 5 A*-C including maths GCSE at grade C or above

Gets 5 A*-C and goes onto college/university/FE/work Leaves school with 2 GCSE grades/equivalent Earns on average = £17.44hrEarns on average = £8.14hr Wayne earns £9.30 an hour more than Shanika In his lifetime (8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 46 weeks a year for 40 years), he would earn £684,480 more than Shanika in a lifetime! That’s two thirds of a million pounds! WayneShanika A hypothetical situation using raw data Each day he takes off costs him: £17,000

How will we monitor your child’s progress in Year 10? Individual subject tutors monitor through assessment of classwork, coursework and homework Faculty Heads monitor by reviewing these assessments Personal Tutors and myself monitor progress by using our student progress data base called ‘TRACKER’ which is informed by the grades you see on the MCAS system

What information will you receive from the school? Each term we take a set of progress grades for each student from all full GCSE subjects Each student has two grades from each subject The ‘Target’ grade represents the teacher’s assessment of the highest possible grade the student could achieve based upon available evidence of prior achievement at KeyStage 2 and 3 matched against FFT data. We try to make these grades as positive as possible to motivate our students The ‘Current’ grade is the level the student is working at when the grades are collected. At the start of Year 10, in November, this will inevitably be lower than the Target in most cases but we would expect it to improve during Years 10 and 11

From SAT KS2 and KS3 Teacher assessment grades to GCSE grades The FFT indicator is based on the performance of students across the country who achieved a similar average points score at the end of Key Stage 3 (the average points score is the average, decimalised, of the English Science and Mathematics SAT scores) We aim to improve on this indicator wherever possible by at least 2 grades. at least That means we aim to convert a level 5 in English at KS3 to at least a ‘C’ at GCSE

How do we use this data We report it to you termly on MCAS. The report will contain not just data about grades but also attendance, behaviour and effort We analyse the data and use it to identify potential underachievement and high achievement We may interview students who appear to be underachieving and offer them a range of support We monitor coursework and offer support to those who are not completing pieces successfully But at any time if you are worried please contact us.

Part of this support may include the provision of catch-up sessions after school with late buses provided on Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays We offer advice regarding study-skills and effective techniques for revision. ( We keep you informed of any concerns regarding your child’s progress in order that we can work in partnership to help them to achieve positively

School communication. The school website: We use /text messaging as much as possible to all communications to parents. Our reasons are immediacy, cost and ease of contact Please ensure at all times that we have up to date addresses/mobile phone numbers for you and that the addresses are appropriate for confidential information

Controlled Conditions Coursework. What is Controlled Assessment? It is a form of internal assessment where the control levels for each assessment stage (task setting, task taking and task marking) have been defined by the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency(QCDA) for all awarding bodies. What is the Controlled Assessment process? There are three stages to Controlled Assessment: task setting task taking task marking. Each stage has a level of control (high, medium or low) to ensure reliability and authenticity and to make assessments more manageable for teachers and students.

What this means for our students. Task taking Task taking outlines how students go about taking the task and can be split into stages eg Research, Analysis and Writeup. Each stage can have different controls eg: Research Low Control – students can work unsupervised outside the classroom Analysis Medium Control – students do their analysis and selection under informal supervision Write-up High Control – students write up their task in a supervised, classroom environment.

What if a task is missed through absence or not done well Can a student who feels that s/he has underperformed in their initial attempt make another attempt at the same task (ie before submission to the awarding body)? willing A student is not allowed to make another attempt at the same task, although the student may attempt a different task if the centre is willing to supervise it. Means the same time for research analysis and writing up. Meanwhile the course goes on?! BUT cannot guarantee the same teaching experience. In the case of absence the key issue is the research, analysis and teaching of the unit. As ever for absent students we will do our utmost to help BUT cannot guarantee the same teaching experience.

Academic Calendar. 2010/2011 We are teaching new syllabuses in a variety of subjects They are, therefore, ‘a work in progress’ What appears on the calendar is as accurate as it can be but dates may have to be modified as the course progresses It is on the school website and, although I have some paper copies here would only like you to take one if you don’t have internet access as it will be updated whenever necessary

MY Child At School.

Home Page

Settings To Change Contact Details

Contact School

Detailed Attendance

School Reports

Detailed Behaviour and Rewards

Detailed Homework or Coursework

Student Timetable

Fundraising

The School website The website is updated daily Curricular information School Shop – Parent pay (soon to become Wise Pay from 1 st November) Upcoming events School news School policies

PARENTAL CONSULTATION There will be a Form Tutor based Parent’s Evening on November the 29 th in the evening starting at 5.30 p.m. In November all subject tutors will negotiate Targets for improvement with Year 10 and 11 students Parents will have these grades and targets before the day in order to discuss them with their child Year 10 students with their parents will have a 15 minute appointment with their Personal Tutor to discuss progress in all subject areas and to raise any issues The major aim of the evening is to ensure that students are responsible for their own progress and understand this

This offers parents an overview of their child’s progress across the curriculum It is early to allow time for significant improvement Personal tutors and subject tutors will monitor and review these targets throughout the year and negotiate new ones when appropriate In Y11 parental consultation is by individual appointments with subject staff during the evening.

In Conclusion If we act in partnership our students / your children will benefit If we trust each other to have the best interests of the child at heart then progress, both academic and personal will be made Ashe, Erdington – Mr Willoughby Bullen, Crewe. Mrs Lane Gylby, Loudoun – Mrs Womersley. Hastings, Ferrers – Mr Demetriou. But you can also contact your child’s Form Tutor and myself at any time if you have academic concerns.

Thank – you for attending the Year 10 Information Evening.