The role of on-line competitions in raising attainment. Jane Fisher. Hovingham Primary. Leeds.

Hovingham’s Journey Hovingham Primary is an inner city school, in Harehills, Leeds. Over 95% of the children speak English as a second language, and currently the pupils have 35 different mother tongues. Hovingham is classed a challenging school, and those challenges come in many forms for all stakeholders – staff, families and governors. Historically the children have never reached government targets for SATs, YET!

Hovingham’s Journey In 2009 we scored 42% at L4 in KS2 SATs – In 2012 we are on target for 76+% at L4, & 20+% at L5. Pupil interviews showed children didn’t enjoy Maths and their confidence in the subject was very low. Pupil interviews showed that pupils, especially the boys enjoyed gaming gadgets at home – few saw reading as an enjoyable pastime. ALL OUR PUPILS OUR PART OF A FAST CHANGING WORLD - TO INSPIRE THEIR LEARNING WE MUST TAP INTO WHAT ENGAGES THEM.

Hovingham & Mathletics. Online programs, like Mathletics, mimic the features which children enjoy about the computer games which they choose to play at home. They can design avatars & backgrounds to reflect their own personalities. They play at their own level – while being able to share the experience with their peers, who may be at different levels. There is no ceiling – they drive their own progress on, at their own speed. They are rewarded with a range of incentives.

The future role of online gaming/ learning tools. While the pupils enjoy the experience because it mimics gaming – as educators we appreciate they are learning. While Mathletics has turned are Maths around – we are now exploring other online resources to drive our Literacy up. (Reading Eggs, Reading Express, Spellodrome, Bug Club and Purple Mash) Blogging is providing pupils with the opportunity to write for a real audience. Our current issue is providing enough access for all pupils – Many families can not afford computers or Internet access, or often families are large and use has to be prioritised for older siblings.