1. Life after levels within a MAT (A secondary perspective)
Miss P Helliwell – Director of English, Trust in Learning Academies
@flipscokid

2. Timeline
January 2015 – the seeds are sown – subject leaders introduced to the idea of life after levels.
Spring 2015 – AREx development in teams.
Summer 2015 – moderation between depts.
Autumn 2016 – AREx implemented for the first time.
Spring 2015
- Mention you were HoD within the secondary at this time
- Meeting of middle leaders to wean them off levels / ownership
Summer 2015
- Cross TiLA inset to begin discussions around AREx looking at what we wanted from early years to yr11
Staff planning of AREx
Already knew primary writing standards would form the core of our new life after levels
Began with meeting / exceeding / approaching / below.
Now changed to Meeting / Working at Greater Depth / Working Towards and Emerging
Shook hands with primary and ensured GSCE skills were there but not a limiting factor
data collection systems or showing progress via mng systems was mentioned – it was all about a challenging/interesting curriculum in Yr 7 which put literacy standards from primary at its heart
Autumn 2015 – AREx rolled out for Year 7. Year 8 old levels masked by AREx
Throughout 2015 staff developed Year 8 AREx ensuring they built on yr7 and were more challenging so to remain meeting for 2 years still represented progress
Making the most of KS3 – every child had meeting target – opportunity to close gaps. Really focus on those informative years in 7,8&9.

3. Timeline
January 2015 – the seeds are sown – subject leaders introduced to the idea of life after levels.
Spring 2015 – AREx development in teams.
Summer 2015 – moderation between depts.
Autumn 2016 – AREx implemented for the first time.

4. Timeline
January 2015 – the seeds are sown – subject leaders introduced to the idea of life after levels.
Spring 2015 – AREx development in teams.
Summer 2015 – moderation between depts.
Autumn 2016 – AREx implemented for the first time.

6. Timeline
January 2015 – the seeds are sown – subject leaders introduced to the idea of life after levels.
Spring 2015 – AREx development in teams.
Summer 2015 – moderation between depts.
Autumn 2016 – AREx implemented for the first time.

7. The key factor
Primary writing standards

8. Timeline
January 2015 – the seeds are sown – subject leaders introduced to the idea of life after levels.
Spring 2015 – AREx development in teams.
Summer 2015 – moderation between depts.
Autumn 2016 – AREx implemented for the first time.

9. Timeline
January 2015 – the seeds are sown – subject leaders introduced to the idea of life after levels.
Spring 2015 – AREx development in teams.
Summer 2015 – moderation between depts.
Autumn 2016 – AREx implemented for the first time.

10. Assessment
Emerging
Approaching
Meeting – based on criteria
Exceeding

11. Target setting – what changed?
Old category
New category
3c or below
emerging
3b-4c
approaching
4b-5c
meeting
5b or above
exceeding

12. Target setting

13. The journey
January 2015 – the seeds are sown – subject leaders introduced to the idea of life after levels.
Spring 2015 – AREx development in teams.
Summer 2015 – moderation between depts.
Autumn 2016 – AREx implemented for the first time.

14. Working at greater depth
Category changes
Old category
New category
emerging
approaching
working towards
meeting
exceeding
Working at greater depth

15. Positives Subject curriculum is owned by the subject itself
Challenging curriculum and expectations for all students (no all/most/some!)
Builds on primary
Focus on the basics all the time
No hiding of underachievement within a number and a letter

16. Challenges How to report progress and forecast (esp in a 9-1 world)
How to ensure consistency across departments and then across the trust
How to support teachers with:
Their own literacy
Understanding how to move Emerging/Working Towards to Meeting
Having a nuanced understanding of where a child is at within a certain category whilst resisting the desire to recreate levels!

17. Life after levels within a MAT (A secondary perspective)
Miss P Helliwell – Director of English, Trust in Learning Academies
@flipscokid