After Covid-19 We Need A New Paradigm For Education

When I started writing my new book ‘The Complete Learner’s Toolkit’ I had no idea the world would shift on its axis and there would be a paradigm shift in the way we see education.

Who has thrived and who has suffered during the lockdown – did it just depend on circumstances or did some adults and children adapt more easily? The World Economic Forum skills that I based the lessons for KS2 and 3 on have never seemed more appropriate if we want our children to thrive in a more uncertain world with a whole new set of values and priorities. The skills below are from a range of skills identified as vital for the next decade in the working world but they are also essential for growing up in a changing world where the adults range from reckless to hyperalert.

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      string(5788) "What do Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Gen Z all have in common? They have all experienced a broadly similar education system, even though the youngest among those groups are facing a drastically different job market to their predecessors. In fact, the economy has morphed beyond all recognition since the mid-20th century.For the majority the idea of a ‘job for life’ is a distant memory. Even the traditional nine-to-five is fading away. Globalisation, digital transformation and, more recently, a worldwide pandemic and the prospect of the worst recession in 300 years have completely transformed every aspect of our lives and the very nature of work.The future of workWe cannot consider the progression of the education system without first contemplating the evolution of work. The truth is that some of the jobs we are preparing students for today could be non-existent by the time some of them graduate, which is why we need to challenge outdated views on the curriculum.Over the next 10 years, with the rise of artificial intelligence, automated technology, and augmented reality, traditional, manual and customer service based roles will diminish and there will be less need for a large workforce when computers and machines can do the role equally well. This gap in the job market will only add to the effects of the recession and unemployment as countries struggle to create a stable infrastructure in the aftermath of the pandemic.Since the UK’s last recession in 2008, self-employment numbers and the gig economy trend have been steadily rising. A 2019 study by the TUC and academics at the University of Hertfordshire found that one in 10 working age adults in the UK work on a gig economy app-based platform, up from one in 20 in 2016. The impact of COVID-19 is only set to increase the trend for gig work as well as the sharing economy thanks to increasing numbers working from home and elevated redundancy figures.The global pandemic also had the knock-on effect of kick starting a boom in the education technology (EdTech) industry. And this is just the beginning of a huge paradigm shift in how we view education and work.A proactive approachWe need to see the current crisis as a wake-up call to prepare children and young people for a radically different future. It’s time we had a 21st century curriculum that teaches how to create a job, instead of focusing on getting a job.The national curriculum needs to prepare students for a gig economy that requires entrepreneurial know-how, excellent collaboration and networking skills and the ability to pivot and adapt in a global market.The curriculum that most western education institutions follow centres around subject study and age-related targets, gradually honing down interests and passions to follow a direct career path. But what if this process is wrong, what if it isn’t equipping our future generations with the skills they will need and ultimately, students are ill-prepared to offer any meaningful value to the working world?Catching up with technologyWe are now moving even beyond the information society age into the impact or imagination society where there is a digital layer across almost every aspect of our lives. Big data collected by the internet of things (IoT) will be converted into a new type of intelligence by artificial intelligence (AI) and this will reach every corner of society. We cannot ignore this technological shift, and the curriculum must recognise and reflect these changes in society’s structure.The global pandemic has put digital learning in the spotlight. EdTech can provide the tools to equip students with the entrepreneurial skills necessary for creating their own opportunities, exchanging knowledge and collaborating in a digital economy. It has been pointed out to all of us that the future of learning must have a strong digital focus – interestingly, this is not the norm yet.Teaching entrepreneurial skills to studentsThe current education system is outdated and long before the pandemic it was not serving large numbers of our young people. It is fostering a lack of belief in ability and a lack of confidence to cope with the barrage of pressure youngsters are seeing in their daily life through social media.Looking to the future, we should also be putting more effort into equipping students with the knowledge to help manage the changing stresses and demands of social media and virtual communication in order to protect mental wellbeing.Our entire education system globally is now being challenged and it will be compelled to go through an inevitable and necessary transformation. We need an education system that will serve a rapidly evolving generation, and it will not suffice to teach them lessons from the past.To be successful in school, work and life, people need to effectively articulate their thoughts and manage conflict effectively – we need to be teaching these vital interpersonal qualities as part of the curriculum. Public speaking and leadership qualities should also be nurtured.There are also the personal qualities associated with entrepreneurism – like self-motivation, self-discipline, ambition, resilience, confidence and interpersonal skills – that have a tendency to be overlooked and undervalued in the education system today.Another key area we need to refocus our attention on in the curriculum is languages – particularly in the UK. Language and cultural studies should also be given a higher priority in order to enable young people to thrive in today’s increasingly globalised business environment. As"
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Leadership

The Rise Of Robotics And The Gig Economy Means Entrepreneurship Must Be On the Curriculum

9 Oct 2020

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      string(5110) "taketime to developtrusting relationships. All felt it was vital to develop a relationship with the parents, before broaching any concerns regarding their child’s development. In early years staff oftenraised concerns relatedto speech and language and/or social communication,with one SENCO noting that it was more challenging for parents to hear thattheir child is experiencingdifficulties in theseareas, as opposedto cognition and learning which may be raisedin a primary setting. Uniqueness of early yearsEarly years SENCOs could be working with three and four yearolds, or from birth to five years.  Thereare many different attendance patterns so a child may be at nursery part time orattend multiple settings. SENCOs pointed out that this could create a delay inidentifying SEN within the setting and/ or a delay in accessing support from multi-agencies:‘But you’ve only had them for a year and by the time you [ have] waited to let themsettle in… then you have your concerns, then you need a couple of reviews to say,actually what we’re putting in place isn’t working, time has gone and they are movingon [to school].’ On the other hand, they felt that early years settings wereflexible and met children’s needs without further interventions.  Some felt that some children’s needs becamemore apparent in a more formal school setting, where there were differentexpectations, different staffing levels and potentially less flexibility with provision.Some SENCOs experienced ‘professional frustration’ where theyfelt their in-depth knowledge of the child and family, and evidenced views werenot often given sufficient ‘weight’ in comparison to the view of a multi-agencyprofessionalWorking with multi-agency professionalsThis varied and finance was a constraint. ‘We also have reallygood links with [the] speech and language therapist. They are great. They come andsee the children in the setting and then work with practitioners supporting themon strategies and things,’ said one but another cited ‘long waiting lists and accessto support ‘did not appear joined up’, with another SENCO remarking that due tothe waiting times a child could be ‘well on their way to school’ before an assessmentis made and before they get any additional support.’Some had regular visits and were supported through assessmentsand observations; others took part in multi-agency meetings where decisions weretaken for immediate implementation. Some SENCOs cited a tension between themoral obligation to provide the correct support for a child whilst settingswere under financial pressure.RecommendationsThere should be more  targeted guidance relevant to the different early years’ settingsThere should be fair  representation of all early years’ settings in local and national policy      reviews to ensure that issues, and good practice, can be identified and      taken into account for all future policy making decisionsThere should be guidance on    the time allocated to the early years SENCO role in different settingsThere should be a job  description, specific for the early years SENCO roleThere should be more work   undertaken to develop understanding of the early years SENCO role across   the education, health and care sectorsThe sector needs to share good practice developed by early years SENCOs, particularly in relation to   developing family relationshipsThe sector needs to share  good practice demonstrated by early years SENCOs, in relation to  developing inclusive environments Agencies should share information  from the progress check at aged two between the child’s providers as    standard practiceThe report has come at a time when many nurseries are struggling. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies,  a quarter of the nation’s nurseries were running at a deficit during lockdown: ‘The pandemic has hit demand for childcare hard: during the lockdown, when only vulnerable children and those with key worker parents were able to access childcare, fewer than 250,000 children 0 to 4 were attending childcare on a given day, compared to around 1.4 million before the pandemic. Since June, the sector has been allowed to serve all children in England, but even before the summer holidays, take-up peaked at 420,000 children.’A Nursery Workforce Survey and Report | 2019 (ndna.org.uk) showed that even then private and voluntary nursery employers are struggling to recruit Level 3 staff nurseries were struggling to recruit Level 3 staff, the backbone of the serviceThose that survive will need to provide an even more inclusive service than before and there is evidence aplenty in this useful report to set them on the right track. Identifying Special Educational Needs In The Early Years, nasen, 2020Challenges for the childcare market: the implications of COVID-19 for childcare providers in England -Jo   Blanden, Claire Crawford, Elaine Drayton, Christine Farquharson, Megan Jarvie and Gillian Paull NDNA Workforce Survey for England 2019 results"
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Child Assessment

Identifying Special Educational Needs In The Early Years

30 Nov 2020

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      string(5760) "This final report by the Commission on the College of the Future sets out key areas for college reform calls for every adult to have the right to lifetime education and training, with colleges better supported to deliver this in every community across the UK.Colleges transform lives and are at the heart of communities across the UK’s four nations. They are a fundamental piece of the education and skills system as centres of lifelong learning and as anchor institutions within their communities. Despite all of this, all too often, college resources and expertise can be poorly understood, under-utilised and insufficiently funded in relation to other parts of the education and skills system.The Commission has set out how colleges can be supported across the four nations of the UK to deliver the lifelong learning and business support needed for people, employers and communities to survive and thrive in the future. 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Backing business, driving innovation and addressing skills gaps by establishing a unique service for employers at their local colleges for training and upskilling future and current employees and innovation support. The development of new ways for employers to make the education and skills system work for their needs should include sector specialist “employer hubs”. Creating an impactful post-16 education and skills system that addresses unproductive competition between institutions so that everyone can access high-quality education and learning that works for them. Each nation must affirm a 10-year strategy that will deliver on national priorities for the economy and society and clearly sets out the transformational role that colleges play for people, businesses, and communities.All Recommendations:National strategies for education and skills to support economic growth, industrial change and lifelong learning. Governments need to articulate a ten-year vision for education and training, from schools through to adult skills. College network strategies to meet local priorities across the tertiary education system. Governments must introduce a duty on colleges to develop strategies across appropriate economic geographies that identify local and regional needs and priorities in line with the national strategy.  Colleges as anchor institutions within the wider local and regional ecosystem. Colleges must have a recognised role as key anchor institutions in the local community, supporting wider community action and services as well as providing education and learning.  A statutory right to lifelong learning. For people to fulfil their potential, there should be a statutory right for people to be able to upskill and retrain throughout their lives through access to affordable and relevant lifelong learning opportunities. Skills guarantee for a post-COVID economy and future labour market changes. COVID-19 has had a major impact on a range of sectors, causing largescale dislocation, accelerating radical wider long-term changes taking place in the labour market.  A new strategic partnership with employers. Colleges need close strategic partnerships with employers, nationally and locally/regionally to ensure that the new national and network strategies (recommendations 1, 2 and 3) meet the needs of employers as well as people and their communities. A new support service to employers. Colleges have an expanded role to play in providing a business support and brokerage service to employers.  Stable funding and accountability frameworks for colleges. Ensuring that colleges can take a longterm strategic focus and reinforcing strategic investment in colleges, the sector must be funded on the basis of three-year, block grant funding settlements, reflecting a trust-based strategic partnership between colleges and governments.  A strategic relationship with governments and simplified processes. Oversight systems across the four nations must be simplified, driving efficiency, engendering greater trust and enabling better strategic coordination to deliver for systems outcomes across people, productivity and place.  An ambitious future college workforce strategy. Colleges need the best people who are fully empowered to deliver on this vision. Ensuring this must see colleges working with governments across the four nations to develop ambitious college workforce strategies, based on a comprehensive review within each of the four nations.  Diverse and representative systems leaders. Colleges must be led by systems’ leaders who reflect the communities within which they are based and the students they serve.Link: College of the Future"
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Leadership

College of the Future

2 Nov 2020

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      string(5588) "Improvement Plan.External judgements a poor proxyImproved grades are anoutput over which a school has some control. As such they are important tomonitor. But they are not your strategy! Ofsted inspection outcomesrepresent an external judgement about thequality of education within a school – this is not an output as such. Whilst alsoimportant to monitor, Ofsted judgements and criteria are a poor proxy forimprovement targets or to build an improvement strategy around.  Strategy is a set ofactions to overcome the constraints and leverage your strengths to achieve yourpurpose. Through this clarity of direction, staff can focus on the inputs theirexpertise and knowledge tells them will move the needle, like ensuring thatteaching includes opportunities to improve english speaking and reading skills.Again, these inputs willbe measurable. If your strategy is solid then, by focusing on the right inputs,staff can be confident that they are doing what they can to be successful–  improved results are plausible second order effects, the outputs, oftheir actions. For those responsible for ensuring that a school is successful it can be hard to countenance this complexity. . However, doing so is crucial for avoiding boiler-plate strategy and target-setting. ‘Being outstanding, gaining a particular percentage of A*-C’  – these are not strategies. Goals are not strategieseither – indeed conflating the two can be counterproductive. Once a teacher orschool leader knows that ‘all pupils must (be seen to) make progress’ or ‘allmust have the same access to  learning’ then they will work hard (and/orworry about) demonstrating rather than doing the impossible. This shouldn’t be newinformation to Governing Bodies. The primary core function of Governance is in“Ensuring clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction”. Otherwise known aspurpose. “Educational standards and financial health” are the second feature ofthe board’s role. They are second to purpose for a clear reason. They shouldform the frame for every decision from the governing body down to the pupils inthe classroom.Template strategy fluffYet too many governingbodies are only doing half of their job. Instead of a clear purpose andstrategy they focus on results and Ofsted scores. They may have what RichardRumelt called “template strategy” of Vision, Mission and Values. Loftystatements which are fluff, nothing more than “restatement of the obvious,combined with a generous sprinkling of buzzwords that masquerade as expertise”.Goals can become acopy-and-paste exercise often drawing directly from Ofsted criteria andlanguage  with no connection to how the school will achieve its vision.They pass all the criteria of Rumelt’s characteristics of bad strategy “the failure to face the challenge, mistakinggoals for strategy” i.e. results “bad strategic objectives” i.e. Ofstedcriteria, “and fluff.”. The result is that these visions and values have notframed a single decision, whether strategic or tactical.This is an easy trap tofall into and not one unique to the public sector. Recently published analysisby Sull, Turconi and Sull (2020) found that. “there is nocorrelation between the cultural values a company emphasizes in its publishedstatements and how well the company lives up to those values in the eyes ofemployees.”They go on toargue. ‘Official corporatevalues only matter to the extent they shape employees’ activities and decisionson a day-to-day basis. This raises a fundamental question: How well doesbehavior inside a company align with cultural aspirations? In other words, whenit comes to their core values, do companies walk the talk?’We would concur. Thepurpose of the school and its strategic goals should not have changed duringCOVID. In our example, “Every child, regardless of language, has the sameaccess to learning” is still true. The situation would have changed, whichmeant a new diagnosis and understanding of the challenges of meeting thispurpose for pupils. Whilst the method probably needed to change in response,the Purpose and the Measures should have stayed the same. Little is certain in the year aheadThere are plenty of articles appearing declaring, often in absolute terms, what Covid-19 means for schools, what lessons we can learn and how we can practice remote schooling properly should we experience closures in the future. In reality little is certain – about the course which the year ahead will take, what best practice looks like in remote learning, or how schools can successfully apply useful lessons from elsewhere. The ethos of anorganisation is probably shaped by two dynamics. Strategic decisions andmessages play a key role. However, staff and students’ lived daily experiencesalso serve to shape their understanding of what the school is about and theirbehaviours within it. The level of disruption and the challenge which schools –  and school leaders in particular – experienced in recent months should not be underestimated. Changes of tack, frequent updates and changes to the official guidance, and the challenges of managing and communicating  with staff, pupils and parents remotely, were considerable. Perhaps the disruption which we have experienced offers an opportunity to reflect on ‘the way we do things around here.’ What were the guiding principles and values which informed the decisions made in our school? To what extent did they"
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Governance

Governors Need To Ask Whether Their School's Strategy During Covid Was Up To Scratch

12 Aug 2020