1. Key Stage 4: Curriculum Updates Information Presentation to Year 9 Parents
Tuesday 7th October 2017

2. Aims
To give a brief outline of current secondary school curriculum change.
Identify and explain the curriculum changes affecting students who are in Year 9.
Share with you how the school has and is responding to these changes to support your child throughout KS4.

3. The changes
New National curriculum introduced in September 2014 at Key Stage 3
‘Life after levels agenda’. School no longer required to use levels to monitor and record progress
New GCSEs, all graded 1-9 (9 being the highest)
Phase 1 - English literature, English Language and maths from Sept 2015.
Phase 2 - Sciences, Language, History, Geography, French, German, Art and Design, Computing, Drama, Music, Physical education, RE from Sept 2016
New headline figures have been introduced, Progress/Attainment 8. Reported from Summer 2016
Strong emphasis on English Baccalaureate shaping KS4 curriculum
New AS/A2 specifications for all subjects.

4. Key changes for KS4 Change 1: New GCSEs in all subjects.
Change 2: New grading structure for these subjects
Change 3: Progress 8/Attainment 8 measures

5. Change 1: New GCSEs
New GCSEs in English Literature, English Language and Mathematics
- First teaching was from September 2015
- First assessment was in Summer 2017 (Current Year 9 will be the fourth cohort through)

6. English Language OLD GCSE NEW GCSE
Three units: non-fiction texts (60%), speaking and listening, controlled assessment (40%)
Speaking and listening Endorsement – not official part of the GCSE
Two units: Explorations in creative reading and writing (50%) and writers’ viewpoints and perspectives (50%)
Speaking and listening Endorsement – students will prepare and deliver one formal presentation which is internally assessed and subject to external moderations
Unit three is examined through controlled assessment
There is no controlled assessment, both units are assessed through an exam taken at the end of year 11
Exam Lengths: Unit 1 is 2 hours and 15 minutes
Exam Lengths: Unit 1 and 2 both 1 hour and 45 minutes
There are two tiers, foundation and higher
There are no tiered papers

7. English Literature OLD GCSE NEW GCSE
Three units: Exploring modern texts (40%), poetry across time (35%) and Shakespeare and the English literary heritage (25%)
Two units: Shakespeare and the 19th Century novel (40%), Modern texts and poetry (60%)
Exams are open book
Exams are closed book (strongly advise to buy books so students can write notes within them)
Exam lengths: Unit 1 is 1 hr 30 mins and Unit 2 is 1 hr 15 mins
Exam lengths: Unit 1 is 1 hr 45 mins and Unit 2 is 2 hrs 15 mins
Unit 3 is assessed through controlled assessment worth 25%
There is no controlled assessment
There are two tiers, foundation and higher
There are no tiered papers

8. Mathematics OLD GCSE NEW GCSE
1 non calculator and 1 calculator paper (in that order)
NEW GCSE will have 3 papers – a calculator, then non calculator, then calculator
They have a * beside the questions where they need to be particularly careful with how they set out and explain their work
The NEW GCSE will not have * questions – ALL answers will be expected to be set out and explained correctly
Have a page of formulae at the beginning of the exam paper – but need to learn area of rectangle, triangle and circle…
NEW GCSE will not have a formula page so you need to learn the rules as you go along
Students achieve a grade from A* to G
In the NEW GCSE Foundation Paper graded 1-5 and Higher Paper graded 4-9
Higher papers are 1 Hr and 45mins and Foundation papers are 1Hr 30mins
In the NEW GCSE all papers will be 1 Hr 30 minutes

9. Change 1: New GCSEs
New GCSEs Sciences, Language, History, Geography, French, German, Art and Design, Computing, Drama, Music, Physical education, RE
First teaching was from September 2016
- First assessment is from Summer 2018 (Current Year 9 will be the third cohort through)

10. Change 1: New GCSEs More content Harder exam questions
Linear examination
Controlled assessment reduced including practical based subjects

12. Change 2: New GCSE Grading
They will be graded from 9 to 1, instead of A* to G.

13. New GCSE Grading Structure
the same proportion of students will achieve a grade 4 and above as currently achieve a grade C and above;
the same proportion of students will achieve a grade 7 and above as currently achieve a grade A and above;
the bottom of grade 1 will be aligned with the bottom of grade G;
a grade 5 will be awarded to the top third of students gaining the equivalent of a grade C or bottom third of a grade B. The Department for Education has decided that grade 4 will be a ‘good pass’ and a grade 5 is a ‘strong pass’.
In addition, the top 20 per cent of those who get a grade 7 or above in each exam will be awarded a grade 9

14. Change 3: Progress and Attainment 8
New headline figure for all schools
The aim is that students receive a broad curriculum and stronger focus on Ebac subjects
Calculated by using the attainment/progress made across a range of 8 subjects that fit the relevant requirements of the measure
Set our curriculum up so that we are in line with this however we will and do run courses that do not fit in with this measure but are right for the individual

15. The Progress 8

16. How has the school prepared for this change?
Increased lesson allocation in English and Maths at Key Stage 4 (English – 4 lessons a week in Year 9 and 11 and 5 lessons in Year 10; Maths – 4 lessons in Year 9, 10 and 11.
Timetabled so all KS4 Maths and English lessons in a year group are on at the same time – enabled setting across the year group.
Three Year KS4
Changed the option structure – Quality rather than quantity.
Leaders of Learning have attended conferences for their subjects and are part of local curriculum networks
INSET time devoted to preparing resources/schemes of work
Keeping up with the release of information on curriculum changes and ensuring we respond in a way that is appropriate for our school
Curriculum review to ensure what we offer will enable students to be successful within all of this change
Prepared what the new grading will look like on the progress data that is sent home

17. How has the school prepared for this change?
Developing assessment
3 year KS4 – Follow the 1-9 in tracking progress
Year 9 exam week (25th June- 29th June) – providing them with a replica experience.
Making learning visible – Learner descriptors/learner checks (knowledge organisers).
Key pieces of work – Marked, with specific feedback, response from student.

19. What are Learner Checks?
Below is a list of characteristics of a Learner Check:
Independent activity that assesses a student’s progress towards meeting the set Learner Descriptors.
Can be a variety of activities/tasks – test (open or closed book), piece of extended writing, problem solving activity, experiment write up, monologue, etc.
Assesses some or all of the intended Learner Descriptors.
Set across the subject.
Conducted at appropriate regular times (within units of work).
Vary in length e.g. Maybe a 30 minute activity or a whole hour.
Does not have to be linked to a grade/level, but formative feedback from the teacher must be provided along with response time for the student to address any gaps in learning. These will act as key pieces of work that will be marked in depth by the teacher (see Section 6 on marking and feedback).
They must be visible to the student by being retained in their exercise books/files so it is part of their learning journey.

20. Key dates – Year 9 Report 1 home – 1st December 2017
Report 2 home – 23rd March 2018
Year 9 Parents Evening – 18th April 2018
Year 9 exams – 25th June-29th June
Report 3 Home 20th July 2018