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GCSE and A-level exams to accommodate Ramadan

Exam boards have announced that of some exams will be rescheduled to take avoid a clash with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Exam boards have announced that of some exams will be rescheduled to take avoid a clash with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

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      string(340) "... because Ramadanmoves earlier in the calendar by about 11 days every year; this year, the holy festivalruns from June 6 to July 5, overlapping with A-level and GCSE exams quite significantly.Much of the debate, however, has been media spin. Exam dates this summer werepublished only once, have not ..."
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      string(5877) "8Vol 7.3School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comTrendsReligionIt seems that whenever thereisn’t much educational newsto report, the media default tostories on Islamic plots in schoolsor favouritism by authorities toMuslims over other groups. Thestories may well be of publicinterest, but at what point do theycross an uncomfortable line?The only newsis bad newsThere has been much written in the newsabout exam dates changing to accommodateRamadan, and the different positions of the ChiefInspector of Ofsted and the Chief Regulator atOfqual over the matter – with stories often contradictingeach other. But such stories are just a drop in the bucketcompared to coverage of so-called Islamic takeoverplots in schools and the discovery by Ofsted of extremistbehaviour among teachers and pupils. Such provocativecoverage, although perhaps justified, is having aprofound impact on the young Muslims in our care, bothin the way they are treated at school and in their livesbeyond the classroom.So what is the truth behind the Ramadan examssaga? And, more importantly, what can teachers do tohelp combat the current media depiction of Muslims inthe UK?9Vol 7.3School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comTrendsReligionWhat happened?The media coverage began in January, following revelations that this year’s examtimetable would be changed to avoid a clash with Ramadan. This is because Ramadanmoves earlier in the calendar by about 11 days every year; this year, the holy festivalruns from June 6 to July 5, overlapping with A-level and GCSE exams quite significantly.Much of the debate, however, has been media spin. Exam dates this summer werepublished only once, have not changed since then and will not be changing in thefuture. The timetables had already been set to take Ramadan into account. That’s whymore exams are taking place before half-term and more large-entry exams are in themorning. In comparison to the previous year then, some subjects have changed aroundin terms of timing.This wasn’t news-worthy until journalists tweeted a quote by the Children’sCommissioner, Anne Longfield, who told a meeting of the Commons Education SelectCommittee that there had been discussions about delaying the exams because of theclash with Ramadan.At this point, the story blew up, with headlines such as ‘Children’s Commissioner:Exams could be delayed by Ramadan!’ and two national newspapers making the storytheir front page lead. You can no doubt imagine the comments from some onlinereaders.The story then became even more confusing when Ofsted and Ofqual appeared torelease contradictory statements. On the one hand, Ofsted Chief Sir Michael Wilshawargued against changing exam dates, saying this would create a difficult precedent. Ifallowance was granted for Muslims, he said, other religions would ‘pile in’ and ask forsimilar dispensations, causing logistical issues for school. On the other hand, OfqualChief Glenys Stacey insisted there was, in fact, no intention to change exam dates at all.So, amid the flurry of controversy and outrage, what are the facts?■ Newspapers were correct to say exams have been brought forward this year inconsideration of Ramadan – they have.■ Michael Wilshaw was correct that Ramadan has been considered in scheduling theexams – and entitled to disagree.■ Glenys Stacey was correct that exam dates aren’t changing this year. Thetimetable was scheduled in advance to consider Ramadan – as it was in 2012 totake into account the Queen’s Jubilee – and would not bechanging again following the comments by the Children’sCommissioner in January.It seems it is the media’s erroneous interpretation – and onecan’t help but wonder, in some cases, wilful misrepresentation– of the Commissioner’s comments that sparked this outcry.A dangerous patternThe fact of the matter is this: 1) Exam dates are not changingagain this year, and 2) Exam dates had been set to takeRamadan into consideration. Yet, for the media, it’s anotherstory to write about religion – one that, in the current climate,will sell papers and generate clicks – often accompanied bypictures of girls wearing face veils (the niqab).And it’s not the first time.Since Christmas, there have been a number ofeducational stories that have had a religious theme – the twobig ones being a well-publicised government statement ontackling extremism with the phrase ‘twisted ideologies’ usedtime and again, and Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw tellinginspectors in England they can fail schools for allowing faceveils.Yet, for the media, it’sanother story to writeabout religion – onethat, in the currentclimate, will sell papersand generate clicks –often accompanied bypictures of girls wearingface veils.“”10Vol 7.3School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comTrendsReligionThe coverage of these stories may well be justified, but one can’t help but wonderwhether such relentless spotlight in the media is doing more harm than good. Whetherrelated or not, the first two months of the year have seen a chaotic series of hoaxbomb threats to schools across England, resulting in the evacuation and temporaryclosure of many. And who can forget the story of the ten-year-old Muslim boy who wasvisited after by police for mistakenly writing he lived in a ‘terrorist’ house, rather than a‘terraced’ house?Such has been the appetite for inflammatory stories that, to balance the backlashof Islamophobia, new legislation was introduced last year by the government to makeattacks on Muslims a separate category of hate crime, which"
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Leadership

The only news is bad news

29 Mar 2016

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      string(5741) "Leadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.LANGUAGE TRENDS 2015/16: THE STATEOF LANGUAGE LEARNING IN PRIMARY ANDSECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ENGLANDKeywordsLanguagetrends, languagelearning, PrimaryAnd SecondarySchools,England, pupils,Key Stage2, languageteachingSummaryThis report by the Education Development Trust for the British Council charts the health oflanguage learning in English schools.The report looks at how primary schools are responding to the challenges of including languageteaching in the curriculum for all pupils in Key Stage 2 and investigates whether the EnglishBaccalaureate (EBacc), introduced as a performance measure in 2011, is having a lasting impact onthe numbers of pupils taking a language to GCSE and, more particularly, on increasing the numbersof pupils continuing to study a language in Key Stage 5.Key Findings: ■ Almost all primary schools in England now provide at least some teaching of languages to pupilsthroughout Key Stage 2, and just over one third of schools  now have access to specialistexpertise in the teaching of languages within the school. However, there is evidence that someschools are finding it challenging to provide the kind of systematic and consistent languageteaching envisaged in the national curriculum. ■ The principal challenges reported by primary schools are: ■ Finding enough curriculum time to accommodate languages ■ Improving the confidence of classroom teachers who teach languages ■ Accessing professional training on a regular basis ■ Recruiting suitably qualified teaching staff ■ There are indications that more secondary schools are starting to make small modifications totheir practice to accommodate pupils who have learned a  language in primary school. However,it is clear that secondary schools do not  see primary school language teaching as a platformfrom which to significantly improve standards. ■ There is no evidence that schools are gearing up for big increases in the numbers of pupils takinglanguages at GCSE as a result of the proposed compulsory EBacc standards. Pupils’ reluctanceto study a language and the unsuitability of GCSE for all pupils are seen as the most significantbarriers to implementing the EBacc for greater numbers of pupils. The majority of teachers (73per cent in the state sector) plan to rely on improved methods and approaches to prepare pupilsfor the imminent arrival of the new GCSE examinations. More than half of language departmentsin the state sector (57 per cent) plan to introduce more independent learning and homework. ■ The EBacc appears to be having very little impact on the numbers of pupils  taking languagesWeek Commencing 25th April 2016https://www.educationdevelopmenttrust.com/~/media/EDT/Reports/Research/2016/r-language-trends-2016.PDFhttps://www.educationdevelopmenttrust.com/~/media/EDT/Reports/Research/2016/r-language-trends-2016.PDFhttps://www.educationdevelopmenttrust.com/~/media/EDT/Reports/Research/2016/r-language-trends-2016.PDFLeadership BriefingLeadership Briefing – www.teachingtimes.comReports Summaries – a weeklyservice of essential summaries,in-depth reports and criticalanalysis that’s new and relevantto education, linked to originalsource documents.post-16. Many schools cite the current emphasis on maths and science, the widely reportedinconsistency of A level exam marking and the resulting difficulty of getting a top grade in alanguage as the reasons for this. ■ The availability of exams is vital both in terms of maintaining opportunities for  pupils to learnlesser-taught languages such as Japanese and Russian, and as a way in which schools cansupport and recognise the multilingual skills of pupils who have access to another languagein their homes or communities. Withdrawal of accreditation opportunities for lesser-taughtlanguages will almost certainly lead  to these languages no longer being taught in or supportedby schools. ■ The exam system is seen as one of the principal barriers to the successful development oflanguage teaching. The comparative difficulty of exams in  languages in relation to othersubjects, and widely reported harsh and inconsistent marking, are deeply demotivating for bothpupils and teachers. ■ Teachers in both the state and independent sectors have little faith in the new  A levels, andbelieve that they are unlikely to resolve problems of take-up in languages at A level and beyond.Conclusions: ■ There are signs that primary schools are taking steps to improve the quality of language teachingin the strong belief that language learning brings benefits to the Key Stage 2 curriculum. ■ Schools are not gearing up for big increases in numbers taking languages at GCSE as a result ofthe compulsory EBacc proposal. ■ Teachers believe the new A levels are more likely to further reduce the already declining numberof pupils taking languages at Key Stage 5. ■ Teachers believe that the examination system is creating negative attitudes towards languagelearning. ■ There is interest in studying a wide range of lesser-taught languages, but students also place ahigh value on exams in these languages in order to accredit their learning.WEB LINKLanguage Trends 2015/16: The State Of Language Learning In Primary And SecondarySchools In"
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Leadership

The State Of Language Learning In Primary And Secondary Schools In England

22 Apr 2016

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      string(378) "... major GCSE / A level exams. Students arriving wet to the next lesson having had to commute from a different building in the rain always has a negative effect on efficient learning. The final solution, with effective zoning, ventilation and acoustics strategy, combined with a clever use of doors has removed ..."
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      string(5803) "their very initial interview concept design pretty much matched the end result.  There were numerous obstacles as always.  The land sale took time to complete, the ESFA were concerned that our aspirational school building was too big, and had spaces not included on Building Bulletin 103. Whilst DfE officials expressed many positive comments about the design concept, hours were spent in offices in London as they assessed every square metre of space instructing us to reduce the area of this, remove the odd space and so on.  However, eventually the final design was agreed. The result is that Scott Brownrigg have designed a fantastic school building that addresses all the priorities identified by the school. Importantly, design considerations made were based on solid education and operational thinking as opposed to what would look good.  We hope we have achieved both! Equally important, the building contractors, BAM, really wanted to win this project and have successfully delivered a very high quality building that met the design ambition. The building is certainly eye-catching, extremely colourful, innovative and prominent (even to those passing on the train). Those visitors arriving to the school pass through a generous, landscaped and welcoming plaza space before entering the building through the impressive soaring entrance.The only major change was during the build process when the Rydens School was taken over by a Multi-Academy Trust: The Howard Partnership Trust. The school was renamed as Three Rivers Academy. The design was based on a “street” model, featuring all specialist subject spaces on the ground floor, all with “shop front” windows into the learning spaces. Four distinct blocks of learning spaces fly over the street containing multiple learning spaces. Each of these has its own identity indicated by different colours. Originally designed as separate schools, The Howard Partnership Trust replaced the schools-within-a-school approach by making each of the blocks a faculty base, but still differentiated by colour.Each block has its own collection of classrooms, breakout spaces, staff accommodation, cloakrooms and storage facilities. Teaching spaces have large windows to encourage a shop-front approach to displaying and celebrating learning. This also allows passive supervision into teaching spaces, as well as staff being able to monitor those passing. The adjacencies and use of breakout spaces have ensured space for easy cross-curricular and cross-phase learning activities.Way finding is very easy. There are no hidden corners or “hidey holes” where students could possibly misbehave: even the main stairs are located on the street, overlooked from all parts of the school. Staff offices are located at corners of circulation routes and adjacent to breakout working spaces. Each have very generous windows, allowing staff to model good working practices, to easily monitor passing traffic and to be easily accessible to students.Dining is located in the street, providing multiple serve points, a variety of food offerings and several easy-access doors to external spaces. It is a much more adult environment and reduces the need for staff to have to be the “ogre on duty” during lesson changeover. Staff are everywhere, and the clever use of glass walls means that students can be seen from almost everywhere.The Headteacher’s office is central and overlooks the street. A small, shared staff room is also strategically placed (originally there was not going to be a central staff room at all, but staff comments resulted in a very modest staff space alongside a coffee bar arrangement accessed equally by staff and Sixth Form students). All in all, travel times have been significantly reduced. Even the Sports Hall is part of the building, accessed through double doors. There was an interesting conversation during the design process as to whether the Sports Hall should be a separate building in its own right as so often happens. The main concern seemed to be that if it were included as part of the main building, the smell of sweaty students and the noise generated by the activities would disturb the rest of the school. However, as a client team we had never been in favour of students getting wet going to/from the Sports Hall in the rain, or exam students getting wet as they waited to enter the Sports Hall for major GCSE / A level exams. Students arriving wet to the next lesson having had to commute from a different building in the rain always has a negative effect on efficient learning. The final solution, with effective zoning, ventilation and acoustics strategy, combined with a clever use of doors has removed these issues. An added benefit is that the PE staff feel much more connected to the rest of the school and not isolated away in their own building.The community aspect has not been forgotten. Careful secure zoning arrangements ensure that the community can benefit from the generous high -quality internal and external sports facilities, as well as other key spaces as required. What do the students think? One told the Headteacher, “I feel like I’m coming to university each day”. Another student who had experienced the old building said, “I’m now proud to tell people I come to Three Rivers Academy”.One of the key messages from the start of this project was how important the initial Education Design Brief had been. Both the architects and building contractor described the Education Design Brief as “the best that they had ever seen”, which made the whole process so much"
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Learning Spaces

Brief Encounters

13 Mar 2020

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      string(347) "... example, what are the underlying stories behind theassembly about this year being the most important year ofpupils’ lives because they will sit the national SAT/GCSE/Alevel exams. Is it that, in this school, exams and resultsmatter most? Is this story the dominant one or is it balancedby others about ..."
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      string(5744) "69Teaching Thinking&Creativity  Summer 2006www.teachthinking.com   professional developmentProfessional development articlesThis is the second in our new series of professionaldevelopment articles for teachers on thinking skills. Allarticles in the series will have the same format. First,we will provide some background theory, explaininghow the current topic fits into established ideas aboutthinking skills. Then we will introduce the practicalprinciples of the topic and go on to give you ideasabout applying the principles in your lessons. Theseapplications with consist of examples from a range ofkey stages and curriculum areas.Each article could to be read and discussed by youwith colleagues working in professional developmentgroups. You will often come up with better or morepractical ideas for applications than those suggestedin the article. This is natural as you know more aboutthe abilities and interests of your own pupils than anywriter could. Our aim is to give you some ideas to getyou started and enough theoretical knowledge for youto feel confident in designing new applications.Steve Williams continues the new professional developmentseries with advice on how to create a culture of thinking inyour schoolCulturesfor thinkingOne way of seeing culture is as a collection of storiespeople in a society tell themselves. Some storiesare dominant, while others struggle to get ahearing. Stories structure our minds and actions because,through stories, our daily life is placed in a larger frame. Wefind meaning by reference to stories. What we do and don’tdo is determined, and judged, in a framework of stories.Our choices about what we make, what we argue for andwhat we value are influenced by stories. The anthropologistClifford Geertz has argued that: ‘man is suspended in websof significance he himself has spun. I take culture to bethose webs.’ (Geertz, 1973). What, then, are the dominantstories in your school, and how are they revealed in thefollowing features of school life:l Themes of assembliesl Learners opinions about the point of their schoolingl Learners responses to challengesl Teachers’ staffroom conversationsl Displays of pupils’ work and school informationl  Most common reasons for praise70professional development   www.teachthinking.comTeaching Thinking&Creativity  Summer 2006l Kinds of products created by pupils that are mostvaluedl Pupils’ responses to other students who work hardand are enthusiastic about some school subjects oractivitiesl Levels of responsibility given to students and students’reactions to responsibilitiesUnderlying stories can be perceived in all of these contexts.For example, what are the underlying stories behind theassembly about this year being the most important year ofpupils’ lives because they will sit the national SAT/GCSE/Alevel exams. Is it that, in this school, exams and resultsmatter most? Is this story the dominant one or is it balancedby others about the value of learning in its own right orthe virtues of such dispositions are curiosity, persistence,a sense of humour, encouragement of others and so on?If there are other positive stories, do they cross over intolessons and do they echo through things teachers say topupils?Of course, the school is part of a larger cultural networkof significance. Often the stories teachers may wantto promote will be at odds with other powerful ones.For example, some pupils may be committed to storysummaries like: ‘Anyone who shows an interest in learningmust be a geek’ or ‘If education doesn’t help me to get agood job then it’s of little value.’ There are plenty of storiesin the media and in homes and school built around thisskeleton. The impractical intellectual and sexless geek is astock character in popular culture.Then there are the personal stories that learners havedeveloped about themselves. These may be positive,negative and sometimes ambiguous: ‘I’m a competitivesporty person and I want to play for a school team.’ ‘Somepeople are just no good at maths and I’m one of them’ or‘I’m not boastful and I don’t want to stand out from otherpupils.’Teachers’ personal stories are no less important. For somethe dominant narrative may be along the lines of: ‘I pridemyself on getting good exam results. I’m a professional.’ Forothers it might be: ‘I try to do what I am told to the best ofmy ability’ or ‘I’m an intelligent person who can come to myown decisions about what to teach and how’. None of thesethree story summaries are exclusive of the other two but theywill all influence the ways that teachers carry out their workwith pupils and with each other. They can all be expandedinto other stories about people and institutions that teacherscarry around in their heads and act on every day.71Teaching Thinking&Creativity  Summer 2006www.teachthinking.com   professional developmentCultures for thinkingIn order to develop school cultures that encourage thinking,you will have to be aware of the stories that circulate in yourschool about thinking and learning. You will need to assesswhat the dominant stories are in classrooms amongst yourpupils and colleagues. You will need to plan what storiesyou want to promote and consider where these stories willconflict with other personal and group stories. Cultures thatencourage good thinking will depend on stories that valuedialogue, reciprocal support, curiosity and enthusiasmabout learning. Who will tell stories that promote thesevirtues in your school and how will you  invite pupils tobecome active participants or"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Cultures For Thinking

24 Nov 2006