Overview of APP 10 th February 2009 Subject Leader Development Meeting

Outline Leading a department National Challenge and you Updates & opportunities APP overview

Leading a department Consider the role of the Head of Department in leading change

What’s your footprint? Are you a leader or a manager? Or a bit of both? In pairs, place the cards on the paper. Which do you spend most of your time doing ? Which have the most impact on raising standards?

Making best use of your time Tensions Time constraints Staffing issues Paperwork Phone calls from parents Behavioural issues Marking Lesson planning Priorities Collaborative planning, sharing ideas Rich tasks Best practice workshops Tracking and monitoring progress – ongoing intervention

Balancing act Tensions and priorities! Getting the balance right: time vs impact, lead vs manage Where is your department now? Where would you like it to be? What changes need to happen? What are the implications for you as a leader and as a manager?

Action points: Where do I want to be?What actions do I need to take? Short term? Medium term?

The SATs have gone!!! What excites you? What challenges does it raise? What are the implications for you as a leader and a manager?

National Challenge What can it do for you?

Background to National Challenge The National Challenge will support schools with the lowest GCSE results, so that by 2011 in every secondary school at least 30% of students will achieve five GCSEs at A*-C including English and mathematics The National Challenge will focus greater attention, help and resources on schools that are currently below this benchmark.

Background to National Challenge Every child deserves a school where there is effective leadership, with a strong focus on the basics: excellent teaching and learning with good discipline. Schools should have a strong ethos which promotes high aspiration and a love of learning. They must develop the talents of all their pupils and be resolute in raising standards…. (National Challenge, DCSF 2008)

Why should you be interested? Core Plus: specialised materials to support leaders of core subjects Consists of 6 elements: Leading improvements and raising standards Planning for progression Improving mathematics subject pedagogy and the climate for learning Tracking pupils’ progress using APP and AfL Intervention and personalisation Securing consistent pupil performance across core subjects

Links to support material, including Core Plus

Updates, etc

Worcestershire KS3 results L L L L L L L L Eng (66) (28) Ma (77) (58) Sci (67) (39) Not 100% coverage of any subject – provisional result in brackets.

Worcestershire KS4 results A*-C A*-C inc Eng &Ma (47.4) A*-C Maths KS3-4 2 levels progress Maths

Targets 07 result 09 LA target 2011 national target KS3 L5+ E&M677674% KS3 Maths 2 levels progress % 5 A*-C inc E&M465553% KS3-4 Maths 2 levels progress %

Progress in Maths KS2-4 25% achieved 4+ levels of progress (up from 24%) 56% achieved 3 levels of progress (up from 54%) KS3-4 23% achieved 2 levels of progress (from 28%) 45% achieved 1 levels of progress (from 46%) 31% made no progress (from 27%) Girls make more progress on average than boys

Progress KS3-4 3 to E+4 to D+5 to C+6 to B+7 to A+8 to A*

TIMSS Latest report now available areas/timss/timss_home.cfm At year 5 62% of pupils had highly positive attitudes to maths At year 9… 40%

TIMSS American version:

QCA Likely dates for twinned GCSEs: Roll out 2015, first award 2017 (current Y3) Pilots – contact your board for information Engaging Mathematics for all learners: Case studies coming soon More Maths Graduates: pack of resources in a box coming soon

Dates for your diary Next SLDM Thurs 2 nd JulyFinstall APP moderation May dates to be amended STEM event Thurs 18 th JuneKeele Uni

Assessing Pupil’s Progress: an overview for subject leaders

Aims for the session What is APP? Why has it been introduced? How does it work? What does it impact on? How do I support the lead APP teacher in my department?

Assessment fit for purpose Once you have had time to consider the passages, on you tables take time to discuss which elements of the criteria and aims listed can be assessed using traditional timed,written tests.

Why has APP been introduced? Formal recognition of achievement Reported to parents or carers and next teacher or school May use tests or tasks from national sources Transitional (public view) Broader view of progress for teacher and learner Use of national standards in the classroom Improvements to curriculum planning Periodic (standing back) Learning objectives made explicit and shared with pupils Assessment for learning Peer- and self-assessment Child engagement and immediate feedback Day-to-day (close-up view)

APP and AfL Every child knows how they are doing, and understands what they need to do to improve and how to get there. Every teacher is equipped to make well-founded judgements about pupils’ attainment, understands the concept and principles of progression, and knows how to use their assessment judgements to forward plan. Every school has in place structured and systematic assessment systems for making regular, useful, manageable and accurate assessments of pupils, and for tracking their progress. APP supports AfL

What is APP? The process Over time, generate evidence for a sample of students from day to day teaching and learning Review an appropriate range of evidence Decide on a level borderline and select appropriate Assessment Guidelines sheet Highlight assessment criteria for which there is evidence When appropriate, use the profile of learning to decide upon a sub-level Moderate assessments Make any necessary adjustments to planning teaching and intervention

Assessment criteria & guidelines

An ‘intelligent’ version of a sub-level

Standardising mathematics For ‘Pupil J’:  Select the appropriate Assessment Guidelines for the level borderline at which you think the pupil is working  Begin by looking at Number, Algebra and Using and Applying.  Consider the evidence for each assessment focus in relation to the criteria and highlight those which have been met

Standardising mathematics  Look at the criteria highlighted within each assessment focus  Decide which level describes the pupil best  Record the level for each AF in the appropriate box  Repeat this process for shape, space and measure, and handling data if time allows.

Making an overall decision  Use your judgements give an impression of the best-fit level for the areas you’ve considered;  Decide whether the level is Low, Secure or High. Do this by thinking about what the pupil demonstrates: - how much of the level? - how consistently? - how independently? - in what range of contexts?

Evidence Gathered only on sample students. Needs to demonstrate independent work. Will in most cases have direct links to U&A/process skills. Does not always have to be exemplar work. Does not have to be collected every lesson. Needs to cover a cross section of AT’s, and may cover more than one at the same time. Provides opportunities to talk about teaching and learning with your department.

The wider impact Planned teaching & learning with AfL Periodic assessment using APP Identify areas where there is insufficient evidence Identify areas where pupils have under-performed Modify planning & teaching to secure a fuller evidence base Set targets, provide intervention and/or modify planning to focus on areas of under-performance

An exemplar model Choose 1 year group, (suggestion Year 9) Look at the profile of that class Select sample of between 4 and 6 students to fit the profile of that class Staff collect evidence for the sample students over a term Teachers have first attempts at making judgments against the assessment guidelines Internal moderation of the evidence Teachers refine their judgments External moderation: 1 teacher/school to attend with a sample of the school sample

Implications for you – short term If not done so already, select a member of your department to lead APP if not yourself. Make your expectations of the lead member of department clear and talk through time frames and your vision for APP with them. In liaison with SLT, allocate times/dates for whole department introduction, standardisation moderation and evaluation.

Implications for you – long term Build APP slots into your calendar on an annual basis. Provide clear signposts for your team about evidence opportunities. TA levels vs. test based levels. How do you want this to work, and will that fit into the whole school ethos? Are there any CPD needs that have been highlighted as a result of the process? Consider the quality of the evidence that is being collected. What does it tell you?