Composite Classes, Class Size and Human Capital Accumulation

This research concludes that exposure to older peers is highly beneﬁcial to primary school pupils in terms of attainment.

This research by the University of Strathclyde shows that children who study in composite classes – where pupils in different year groups are taught together – perform better than those in single-year cohorts.

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      string(5618) "assemblyhalls, that combine to provide “familydining” or full school assembly, thelibrary and the specialist classroomare all at ground level, to supportstrong community use as well asproviding direct access to the outsidespaces, alongside the Nursery andReception classes.The brief for over 420 pupilsmeant the external space was at apremium. BAM Design worked with 33 Volume 1:4  Learning SpacesShowcase – Primarywww.teachingtimes.comThe Landscape Partnership to ensure every part of the site was utilised for external playand learning. An area of raised composite timber decking is located at the base of themost prominent tree on the site to allow for a range of outdoor activities, especiallyuseful in spring and autumn when the ground is still damp. A “story lawn” forms theheart of this space.  As the site is relatively small and will be intensively used, naturalturf would quickly be destroyed, therefore this area is surfaced with artificial turf.  Theedges have been enclosed with low timber seat walls and softened by planting aroundthe perimeter.  Located directly adjacent the school hall is an area with round tablesand benches, each  capable  of  seating  a  group  of  children,  for  outdoor dining,organised outdoor curriculum activities, or social interaction.  Within this area, on thesunnier northern boundary, is a series of raised planters for food or herb growing,sunflower competitions and general horticultural activities.The school has been planned around a simple, legible circulation layout which is easyto navigate and supervise.  To the north of the entrance a one and a half  storey  elementcomprises  the  two co‐located “Commons” assembly spaces with frontage on to bothActon Lane and the playground to the rear. To the south of the main entrance, a 3 storeyblock is arranged along a central circulation spine parallel with the road frontage. Thisblock arranges the teaching and learning spaces in age‐ related groups with the youngest 34 Learning Spaces  Volume 1:4Showcase – Primarywww.teachingtimes.comat ground level and oldest children on the 2ndfloor. Dispersed staff accommodation promotespassive supervision in key areas – at staircase arrivalpositions and outside the toilet areas.The eastern 3 storey block facing the rear of thesite has been subtly cranked off the  orthogonalgrid – which increases the circulation width at acritical location in the building on the groundfloor where most pupils will converge.  On theupper floors the crank facilitates a lightwell whichpromotes cross ventilation through the rear ofthe classrooms while introducing natural lightdeep into the centre of the building which wasa key element of the design to provide externalviews from all parts of the building includingcirculation and staircases.On the ground floor the Nursery is co‐locatedwith two Reception classes and a shared GroupRoom to create a Foundation Unit with eachclassroom having direct access to outside openspace.  The Nursery is located on the edge ofthe site to enable children to be dropped offand picked up during the school day withoutcompromising  security of  the  overall schoolsite. Delivering an age-appropriate building wasimportant to the team with canopies to groundfloor nursery and teaching spaces bringing thebuilding down to a comfortable scale.  Cornerwindows allow the youngest children to havea view out while, in contrast, all windows at 35 Volume 1:4  Learning SpacesShowcase – Primarywww.teachingtimes.comground level which face onto the public realm onActon Lane have obscure glazing up to a heightof 1500mm above internal finished floor level toprovide visual privacy.Both the London Plan and the client demandeda building with low energy performance. Theschool achieves BREEAM “Very Good”, delivering anaturally ventilated building, via opening windowsin classrooms and “wind-catchers” in the assemblyspaces. Renewables have been incorporated in theform of PV panels on the roof.BAM incorporated “Lessons learnt” from manyprevious school projects to ensure the building metARK’s requirements for optimum environmentsfor teaching and learning. Opening windowswith cross ventilation will ensure appropriate air 36 Learning Spaces  Volume 1:4Showcase – Primarywww.teachingtimes.comquality is maintained. Exposed concrete soffits provide thermal mass,while tall windows promote good levels of daylight into classrooms.The position of the teaching walls, design of artificial lighting, anddetailing of blinds were considered in parallel to ensure goodvisibility. Light rafts provide both up and down lighting to reduce eyestrain, and incorporate acoustic absorption to ensure reverberationtimes are controlled to aid speech intelligibility. This simple andthoughtful approach has resulted in an uncluttered and flexiblelearning environment, suitable for all ages.The design contributes to the community benefit of the schemeby creating an extended public realm at front of the new school.The removal of an existing wall and railings allowed new hardlandscaping to continue to the kerb edge while a number of retainedmature plane trees together with the  introduction of a new plantingstrip along the edge of the building which provide  a soft buffer tothis new public space.The design makes the most of ARK’s brief on a very challengingsite. We looked very closely at retaining the existing building but inthe end the most sustainable option was to provide an entirely newbuilding which better meets the learning needs of current and futuregenerations of children and families in"
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Learning Spaces

Meeting the school places challenge

30 Oct 2013

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      string(5617) "This month’s ReportsThe two draft codes areadvertised as allowing moreplaces in good schools and asproviding a fairer and simplersystem. The two codes applyto all maintained schools inEngland and will be laid beforeParliament at the beginning ofDecember. They will not applyto the September 2012 intakebut will come into force inSeptember 2013.Opportunity for expansionThe Admissions Code will providemore opportunity for schoolsto expand if  they wish to. Ownadmission authorities (LAs and thegoverning bodies of  Academiesand Foundation schools) will not berequired to consult on a proposedincrease to the PAN (Pupil AdmissionNumber). They will, however, haveto notify the LA (where they are notan LA) and refer to the change on theschool’s website.Making the process simplerOne of  the changes intended to makethe process simpler is that where thereare no planned changes to admissionsthere will only be the need to hold aconsultation once every 7 years.There is no reference toadmission forums in the draftSchool Admissions Code but thereis still the requirement to have aschools Adjudicator and Fair AccessProtocol. 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But reduction in contentdoes not mean reduction in implication. http://www.teachingtimes.comThis month’s Reportsrequirement for local authorities toco-ordinate in-year applications withapplications being made directly tothe school instead. LAs will haveto provide information about howin-year applications can be madein their composite prospectusand will receive information fromschools about applications and theiroutcomes.Changing prioritiesLooked-after children remain apriority for admissions. However,they are now joined by adoptedchildren who have at one timebeen looked-after. This reflects thegovernment’s interest in increasingand encouraging adoptions.Other children have increasedpriority. The codes states thatchildren of  staff  who have beenemployed by the school for two ormore years and where a memberof  staff  has been appointed to fill avacancy in a shortage subject can begiven priority. Twins and multiple-birth children will be admitted to Subscriptions hotline:                 0121 224 7578 Fax orders: 0121 224 7598  Post:Imaginative Minds, 215 The Green House,Gibb Street, Birmingham, B9 4AACTL02/10Incorporating creativ-ity and critical thinkinginto your schoolThe school curriculum ischanging! Learning, Personaland Thinking Skills are akey part of  the secondarycurriculum, and cross-curriculum project based work is nowcentral to teaching in primary schools and KeyStage 3. The government wants the endowmentof  creativity and critical skills in pupils to be acore mission of  schools. Creative Teaching & Learningmagazine under its old name Teaching Thinking &Creativity, has been providing this for schools forthe past 10 years. Recognised as the most cuttingedge curriculum magazine in the country, it haschampioned such approaches as Philosophy forChildren, Building Learning Power, IntelligentLearning and Mantle of  The Expert. The magazineinvestigates how the curriculum can be remodelledand explores how thinking skills approaches can beembedded within subject and project-based teaching.In every issue it has project resource packs whichshow how project work can be given much moremeaning and pedagogic depth.Creative Teaching & Learning magazine isdedicated to promoting critical and creative thinkingat both primary and secondary level. Packed withpractical information, guidance and jargon freeadvice, it makes education more imaginative andeffective and helps to raise the standards of  teachingand learning by developing children’s thinking skills.CreativeTeaching & Learninginfant classes even if  it takes themabove the 30-child limit.Children of  UK service personnelmust be made a priority whenrelocating and places can be kept forthe children even where the familyhasn’t moved yet. Even where aplace is not available, these childrenare considered an exception whenit comes to admitting additionalchildren in-year and above the 30-child infant class limit.Other changesAnyone who considers that anymaintained school or Academy’sarrangements are unlawful ornot compliant with the code canobject to the Schools AdjudicatorA Local Authority will not beable to direct an admissionauthority to admit a child butthey can ask the Secretary ofState to interveneFree Schools and Academies willbe able to prioritise pupils fromlow-income familiesParents will have 20 days to■■■■lodge an appeal against primaryor secondary school decisionsinstead of  the previous limit of10 days with the intention ofreducing the number of  appealsmade in haste"
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Special Needs

Draft Revised Admission Code

23 Dec 2011

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      string(606) "This is Ofsted’s second report evaluating the progress made in implementing 14–19 reforms. It focuses particularly on the introduction of the new 14–19 Diplomas. Overall, 14–19 initiatives have continued to widen opportunities and meet the needs of young people. Progress in introducing the Diplomas was promising across the 23 consortia visited, many of which have been at the forefront of 14–19 developments. While the main subject learning of the Diplomas was generally going well, other elements, and particularly functional skills, needed more attention.
Leadership Briefings Issue 4.04 (40)"
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      string(5288) "ResourceIMPLEMENTATION OF 14–19 REFORMSOriginal DocumentImplementation of 14–19 reforms, including the introduction of Diplomas.  This is Ofsted’s second report evaluating the progress made in implementing 14–19 reforms. It focuses particularly on the introduction of the new 14–19 Diplomas. Overall, 14–19 initiatives have continued to widen opportunities and meet the needs of young people. Progress in introducing the Diplomas was promising across the 23 consortia visited, many of which have been at the forefront of 14–19 developments. While the main subject learning of the Diplomas was generally going well, other elements, and particularly functional skills, needed more attention.Keywords14–19 Diplomas, reforms, young people, progressSummaryThis report presents the findings of the second year of a survey to evaluate the progress being made in implementing 14–19 reforms. While considering the impact of the full range of 14–19 initiatives, inspectors focused particularly on the new 14–19 Diplomas, which were introduced in September 2008, and on the functional skills of English, mathematics and information and communications technology (ICT) which are currently being piloted. Between September 2008 and March 2009, inspectors visited classes, scrutinised students’ work and discussed progress with young people, teachers and managers in 23 of the 14–19 consortium areas involved in the first phase of the introduction of the Diplomas.Key Findings:· Progress in implementing the full range of 14–19 reforms was at least good in the large majority of the partnerships visited. Collaborative provision had continued to widen the range of options available to all 14–19-year-olds and, increasingly, was meeting the needs of young people whose circumstances made them vulnerable, including those with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. · The flexible application of a variety of strategies by 14–19 partnership organisations was successful in reducing the number of young people not in education, employment or training in the large majority of the areas visited. · The overall quality of information, advice and guidance for young people was good in around two thirds of the consortia visited. However, progress in introducing the new National Standards had been relatively slow and, in more than half the areas, the 14–19 web-based prospectuses were not being used effectively as part of a coherent approach to advice and guidance for young people. · Arrangements to assure the quality of collaborative provision were insufficiently comprehensive in about two thirds of the areas visited. · Progress in introducing the principal, subject learning in the Diplomas was good in more than half the consortia visited, and it was satisfactory in all the others. The standard of students’ work in the principal learning within the Diplomas was at least satisfactory, with many examples that were good.  · Students in almost all the consortia visited were well motivated by the applied nature of their learning and the opportunity to work in realistic vocational contexts. However, most of them did not fully appreciate the composite nature of the qualification, or how the other elements linked to their principal learning. · Two thirds of the main subject teaching on the Diploma courses was good; much of it benefited from productive collaboration by staff from partner institutions, who were able to plan together and share good practice.  · Consortia were slow in beginning the formal assessment of students’ work on Diploma courses. · The involvement of employers in the Diplomas was good or better in around two thirds of the consortia visited. They had contributed to the development of courses and were supporting their delivery well through work placements, speakers and visits. · At the time of the survey, almost half the consortia visited had not established an effective, coordinated approach to teaching functional skills and, as a result, the quality of teaching and learning varied considerably.  · The additional and specialised learning element of the Diplomas was underdeveloped in almost all the consortia visited.· Recruitment to many Diploma courses, particularly at foundation and advanced levels, was lower than anticipated. Many young people had chosen Diploma subjects along traditional gender lines.Action14–19 partnerships and Diploma consortia should:· Put in place rigorous procedures to assure the quality of collaborative provision.· Coordinate their approaches to functional skills, and link this work more closely to the principal learning in Diploma courses.· Develop a more coherent range of additional and specialised learning options for Diploma students.· Ensure the timely assessment of students’ work on Diploma courses.· Ensure that students have a clear understanding of how all parts of the Diploma contribute to the full qualification.· Ensure that there is sufficient focus in advice and guidance for students on avoiding unnecessary gender-stereotypical choices of Diploma lines.NotesAuthorRaspal Chima, Imaginative MindsDate CreatedSeptember 2009Enquiries to:raspal.chima@yahoo.co.uk (Authoring Unit)Month / YearPage 1 of 1©Birmingham City Council"
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Leadership

14–19 reforms & Introduction of Diplomas

25 Aug 2009

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The street,and use of natural light and external spaces fororientation, brings clarity to a floor that isnecessarily dense to accommodatethe special needs facilities andFocus on Inclusive Designwww.teachingtimes.co.uk50 21 Century Schools  Volume 3:3Focus on Inclusive Designwww.teachingtimes.co.uknursery spaces on the ground level.  This density alsoallows the upper floors to be considered as pavilionson a raised landscaped playground plane, referencingthe podium of the Barbican, and providing controlledand assorted views over the surroundings.Devices such as a sweeping staircase and balconiesover the ‘street’ serve to further unite the two  centreson the ground floor with the primary school above.The hierarchy of the building means that the childrengraduate from the ground level to primary schoolupstairs when they reach the age of five. 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Learning Spaces

A Challenging Integration Project

6 May 2009

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