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Editorial It is all too rare to find professional opinion in agreement with political policies. However a commitment to evidenced based policies is widely shared among schools, universities and government ministers. Recently the Minister for School Standards declared his faith in a “thorough interrogation of the research” as the basis for policy making and this is warmly welcomed. It is when we examine the way in which research findings have been used to buttress political action in recent years that doubts have to be raised. Research may well have been interrogated but it transpires that there has been little impact on policies such as the expansion of grammar schools, synthetic phonics as the first, fast and only way of teaching reading, the phonic screening check and the segregation of children in ability streamed classes. Such measures are rooted more in the opinion of ministers than in the evidence which is disregarded when it doesn’t fit social and economic priorities. Ground rules for the consideration of evidence are very much needed. There should be an acceptance that in education, and in primary education in particular, there are seldom insights gained from research which once applied can be instantly transformational. Research contributes to the building up of related insights which taken together and subject to the moderation provided by the views and experience of practitioners can change practice in an evolutionary way. We must take care to examine the validity of the research and the first essential safeguard is that the work should be peer reviewed. This will help to ensure that there should be no hint of bias either political or commercial. Currently the market place is seen as an appropriate arena for debate and there are too many funders who are interested only in
sponsoring research designed from the outset to produce outcomes which will have a beneficial effect upon sales. Such motivation has had an impact upon research into the teaching of phonics. It is essential to the search for evidence regarding primary education that we think beyond the simplistic “what works”. This instrumental mantra is much used by politicians who are over concerned with the results of examinations. Success in snapshot tests is what works through coaching but is a grossly inadequate measure of primary learning. Such learning is embedded in the whole child and in the early and primary years is as much related to the growth of understanding as to performance. Many of the outcomes of primary teaching can only be weighed as evidence over a number of years as children mature and for this reason the value of longitudinal studies of children’s lives is emphasised. Ultimately the value of evidence can only be assessed in the light of the partnership between those who seek the findings and the practitioners who apply them. It will assist a restoration of the integrity of research if government would stop cherry-picking evidence to support politically favoured policies and instead show support for and confidence in the links between schools and universities. And the latter should show greater caution before accepting sponsorship of enquiries whenever the intended sponsorship is tainted by the possibility of commercial gain.
To play is not just child’s play. Play..... is a way of using mind, or better yet, an attitude towards the use of mind. It is a test frame, a hot house for trying out ways of combining thought and language and fantasy”. Jerome Bruner
About us
Editorial Editorial Board
John Coe Peter Cansell, Malini Mistry, Stuart Swann, Robert Young
Primary First journal is published three times per year by the National Association for Primary Education in association with the Association for the Study of Primary Education. Primary First, 57 Britannia Way, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS14 9UY Tel. 01543 257257, Email. nape@onetel.com ©Primary First 2018 No part of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means without the express written permission of the publisher. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the editorial content the publisher cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher.
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CONTENTS
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03.
Editorial
About Us
05.
From home to school. Jonathan Doherty reports on the transition.
12.
A Restaurant Tale.
14.
The Book Pages.
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Malini Mistry introduces the ASPE articles.
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Leaders supporting leaders.
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Effective P. E. Georgia Richardson compares external sports coaches with classroom teachers.
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A comparison of music education in England and the USA.
24 - 25. Book Reviews. 26.
Margaret Clark considers the latest PIRLS study of reading.
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Young children’s views of the future.
Crossing the bridge: reporting on a research project into school readiness by Jonathan Doherty School readiness is high on political agendas in the UK and internationally. The transition to starting school is one of the milestones in a child’s life. It is also a key event for schools, pre-school settings and families all of whom have an important part to play so that children enjoy the experience and begin school as confident and successful learners. The metaphor of a “bridge” is often used to describe the transition between active, fully sensory early learning and more formal instruction, and prompts a number of questions as to how this process is supported (Huser et al., 2016). This article reports on a recent study into school readiness that investigated the perceptions of teachers and practitioners and the transition practices used to scaffold children’s experiences of starting school across such a bridge. What is school readiness? The learning process begins in utero, before children are born, absorbing new information from their environment and building their brain’s architecture. They come to school with diverse experiences, already with skills and knowledge and brains hard-wired to absorb new and further information and to learn (Whitebread & Bingham, 2011). In that sense they are neither ‘school ready’ or indeed ‘school unready’, but at different stages. Understandably, the lack of agreement on what “school ready” means, has led to confusion on what is expected from a child and what is expected from those involved in that transition, that is to say teachers, parents and childcare professionals (PACEY, 2013). There are additional difficulties in how readiness is measured to meet the expectations of the EYFS and how these align with those of the national curriculum. Narrow
interpretations tend to focus purely on academic skills, whilst wider ones include social and emotional development and self-regulatory skills. Pascal and Bertram (2011) talk about “school ready” as being synonymous with “life ready”. Ofsted emphasise ‘school unreadiness’ and tell us that too many children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, lack grounding in the skills of communication, language, literacy and mathematics prior to beginning school. In predictable fashion, the former Head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw commented that every parent should have a checklist of ten essential skills their child should have mastered before their first day at school. The list includes sitting and listening, being able to go to the toilet, speaking to an adult, talking in sentences and opening and enjoying a book. Other lists include starting to follow rules, cutting with scissors, identifying alphabet letters, sorting objects, bouncing a ball, being able to use buttons and zips to dress and not being upset at separating from parents. Schools may reasonably expect that children entering Nursery or Reception classes are keen to learn and curious about the world around them. They will know certain things about themselves and will want to make friends and share experiences with them. There is consensus based upon much research evidence, that a child’s readiness for school is measured and addressed across five domains all of which are interconnected and overlap. The American Academy of Pediatrics (cited in High, 2008) identified the following five broad dimensions and these were drawn upon to frame this research study. They are: • Physical well-being and motor development 05
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including health status, growth, and disability that support the emergence of motor, perceptual and intellectual capacities, language and social • Social and emotional development including skills (Doherty &Hughes, 2014.) Any definition of turn-taking, cooperation, empathy, and the readiness must therefore be sufficiently broad to ability to express one’s emotions include all areas of learning and development. • Approaches to learning including enthusiasm, It must also allow for variations in individual curiosity, temperament, culture, and values development. Just because a child has advanced • Language development which includes speaking language skills but who has less advanced physical and listening, vocabulary, as well as literacy skills, does not make this child unready for school. skills, print awareness, story sense, writing and The ability to communicate is an essential life drawing skill for children. It is seen in facial expressions, • General knowledge and cognition including body language, eye contact and gestures. It sound-letter association, spatial relationships is the foundation for later spoken words, and and number concepts. how symbols and pictures in writing and drawing are used Achieving school readiness Children develop and understood. It underpins cannot be accomplished by any a child’s social and emotional single agency but is the joint at different rates as well as their educational responsibility of early educators, and in different development. Oral language is a teachers and parents. A useful way crucial building block to develop of understanding school readiness ways and they later literacy and numeracy is UNICEF’s framework (2012) with are born ready skills and improve educational its three categories: outcomes, in particular with to learn. (1) Ready Children- the focus children from disadvantaged here is on children’s learning and backgrounds. Children with social development. and emotional wellbeing display happiness and (2) Ready Schools – a focus on the practices of confidence, they are resilient and they form good schools to support smooth transitions into primary relationships with peers and adults. Nurturing school, recognising and building upon learning and relationships with parents and caregivers before a development that has already taken place. child enters school in Nursery or Reception provide (3) Ready Families- with its focus on parental and children with these vital foundations. carers’ involvement in children’s learning and The Early Years Foundation Stage provides an development. excellent curricular framework for learning and Research by the Professional Association for development. Interpretation of it must begin Childcare and Early Years (PACEY, 2013) advocate with an informed understanding of what children adding a fourth category, Ready Childcare are capable of learning and how they learn Professionals acknowledging the important effectively. In this way it supports self-regulation involvement of these professionals for many (behaviour, emotion and attention), well-being, young children. language and thinking skills, physical skills, as well as core knowledge and concepts in literacy Children develop at different rates and in and numeracy and more formal learning in the different ways and they are born ready to learn. national curriculum. Young children learn best Early development takes place in the context when they can play, explore the world and interact of families and communities and is shaped by with adults and peers and so the curriculum they their day-to-day experiences and environments. experience must allow this fully. The debate Early experiences establish pathways for lifelong patterns of learning and behaviour. The years from around baseline testing continues. Formal baseline two to five see dramatic advances in development tests on entry to the Reception place high burdens
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on our four year olds arriving in school and only serve to present a very biased picture of children’s achievements and readiness. Schools should provide continuity of learning, valuing and building on children’s prior learning and achievements. The curriculum should offer opportunities for active learning, problem-solving and challenge in indoor and outdoor learning environments and childcentred learning that illustrates what they can do, rather than what they cannot do. They should be warm and safe spaces where children can thrive and develop their confidence and dispositions to learn. Care and education between home or pre-school settings and schools is a partnership built upon relationships and communication that continues the learning journey onwards. Project outline Funding was received from the National College in relation to the Research & Development strand of a Teaching School Alliance (TSA). The project had four main aims: 1. To collect the views of pre-school practitioners and teachers on ‘school readiness’ to facilitate transition from pre-school to school 2. Provide a greater understanding of children’s early language skills and the impact of this on readiness for formal learning 3. Promote collaboration between pre-school and school partners 4. Disseminate examples of good practice in settings and schools and identify areas for development in the TSA It took place within a Teaching School Alliance and comprised a Primary school as the lead school, three Private and Voluntary Independent (PVIs) nurseries and two childminders, all of whom were directly involved in the transition to school. The school was rated as Outstanding by Ofsted in their last Inspection. It places importance on individuality and independence, encouraging children to help themselves and become “good learners”, developing their individual talents to the full within a framework of respect and understanding. It caters for children aged 3-11 and has a Nursery attached. Nine children formed the sample and were representative of age, ability,
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gender and ethnicity. The youngest child at the start of the project was 4 years and the eldest 5 years of age. The project itself lasted 1 year and had three phases. Phase 1 was both a pilot for the study and allowed for some preliminary data to be collected. Phases 2 and 3 involved the same settings to enable longer term tracking of children’s readiness skills and for continuity to evidence impact over time. A number of data collection methods were used in the project: • A new tracker tool developed by the researcher for 3-5 year olds that recorded language and associated social and emotional development. This allowed progress to be tracked by the pre-school practitioners for each child in four strands of listening and attending; talking; understanding and interacting with others. Best fit judgements matched against age band descriptors were documented for each phase. An overall summative judgement for each child, either ‘Emerging’ or ‘Secure’ was also made at the end of the project. • On-going EYFS assessments (observations, pen portraits, commentaries, written records, information about language at home) • EYFS Profile tracking data These allowed comparison of baseline and summative data on language capability. Interviews provided data on practitioners’ views on ‘school readiness’ and the importance of early language. The following took place• 2 x interviews with childminders • 3 x interviews with setting leaders/managers in each PVI setting • 1 x interview with Nursery teacher in the feeder Primary school • 1 x interview with Senior Leader in the school also the EYFS Lead Analysis of data Understanding of the term school readiness There was agreement on the top three attributes of readiness as being; 1. Independence- this was reported as children
putting their own coats and shoes on. Being able to change themselves. Using cutlery at mealtimes. 2. Able to communicate with others. The importance of having competence with language was seen as essential to be school ready. 3. Ready to learn. A learning disposition and a positive attitude rather than a skill.
(School) “I see my role as preparing children for learning – in terms of getting excited about the world and exciting interactions; interested, having an enquiring mind and wanting to learn. My role is to provide lots of experiences in different ways. Lots of speaking experiences, listening, tactile experiences so the children can explore and get ready for learning”. Documentation and systems to aid transition School, settings and childminders used a variety of systems. These included, an accompanied visit to school in the term preceding entry. There are invitations to the school to come to the PVI to meet the children. An information book to inform children about what to expect in school is provided. A ‘Transition Passport’ is sent to the teacher with information personal to an individual child. Routines are geared to promoting independence such as handwashing, self-dressing, toileting. Encouragement to access meals and self-registration. Language support includes Circle Time; one to one language support and Phase 1 Phonics. The school invites PVI colleagues to visit the school when children receive a place. There are Transition mornings, joint working on the ‘Transition Passport’; specific feedback on request on comparison with baseline data (Nursery and Reception) and a visit from Senior Leaders in the school. For parents, a ‘Meet the Teacher evening’ is held in the first weeks of term; further Open evenings and Open days throughout the year are held and parents are given an Information Pack before a child starts school. Ready children or ready schools In supporting readiness in the child which refers to the five broad domains mentioned earlier, both
school and pre-school practitioners were agreed that Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED) along with early language were the two top priority areas. (PVI interviewee) “If children are not emotionally ready they are not going to be open to learning and will have too many barriers to be a successful learner”. Promoting school readiness There was absolute professional respect for all partners of each other. Childminders, PVI settings and the school work hard at making transition work effectively and helping children to make transitions. They demonstrate a genuine commitment to this work. PVIs invest time and effort in the transitions from room to room as well as from settings to school. All are proud of the work they do and how they equip children to be ‘school ready’. (School) “At the end of the day we all want the same outcomes, we all want the children to have the best start”. Language supporting children to flourish in school The interviews revealed the importance of language to enable children to thrive in school. All participants believed in this capacity. (PVI) “It gives them the tool to communicate both verbally and written” (Childminder) “It’s a big thing. It helps them learn” (School) “To be able to converse is the key to everything. To use whatever skills you have in terms of language to the best of your ability. Language is key in terms of being able to say what you think and for staff to respond to that so that learning environments can be responsive to children. It helps staff find out about children, what they know and assess where they are at”. The following activities typified how language is developed in the settings and school: ✓ Book of the Month ✓ Rhyming books ✓ Groups of children with Speech and Language delay spending time with a practitioner ✓ Activities that encourage the use of speech ✓ Games ✓ Singing
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✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Library visits Bookstart One-to-one conversations Small group times to tell stories.
EYFS record-keeping and tracking All nine children who formed the sample in the project made progress from the start to the end of the project in Phase 3. Progress was across all language areas and included social development. As expected there was much individual variation in progress because of individual rates of development. No one model of record keeping was used by the pre-school settings. All settings kept regular and detailed records of children’s progress based around Development Matters. Childminders used a variety of written systems to assess children’s language that drew upon regular observations, journal entries and pen-portraits. Information was readily shared with parents and with the school. Key findings Analysis of the project data produced the following findings: ✓ Understandings of school readiness were shared by all stakeholders ✓ PVI staff and childminders believed they prepared children well for transition to school but recognised there was always room for improvement. Relationships were seen as critical for communication and sharing information ✓ All children made progress in all areas of language throughout the project duration, with much individual variation in this progress ✓ No one area of language exceeded or lagged behind another ✓ Social development was strongly associated with speech and language development ✓ Recording systems were varied but all were regular and systematic ✓ All children experienced language-rich environments that promoted progress in oracy in all the settings. ✓ The school builds upon this firm base very well to accelerate progress further.
Conclusion The concept of school readiness includes ready children, ready schools, early educators and families. It is not the responsibility of any one partner but a joint one. Findings from the The project confirmed stakeholders’ understandings of and commitment to ‘school readiness’. It identified existing systems of information and record sharing and made recommendations as how these might be made more consistent. It recognised the excellent practice already existing across the TSA Alliance in developing children’s language skills and the broader concept of school readiness. It crosses the bridge well.
References Doherty, J. & Hughes, M. (2014) Child Development. Theory and Practice 0-11. 2nd edition. Harlow: Pearson High, P.S. (2008) School Readiness. Pediatrics. 121(4), pp. 1008-15. American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Early Childhood, Adoption and Dependent Care and Council on School Health. Huser, C. Dockett, S. & Perry, B. (2016) Transition to school: revisiting the bridge metaphor. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 24(3), pp.439-449 Ofsted (2014) Are you Ready? Good practice in school readiness. Manchester: Ofsted. Bertram, T. & Pascal, C. (2002) Early Years Educations: An International Perspective. Birmingham: Centre for Research in Early Childhood Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (2013) What does “school ready” really mean? Kent: PACEY. Unicef (2012) School Readiness: A conceptual framework . Accessible at http://www.unicef.org/education/files/ Chil2Child_ConceptualFramework_FINAL(1).pdf Whitebread, D. & Bingham, S. (2011). School readiness: a critical review of perspectives and evidence. Occasional Paper No. 2, TACTYC.
Dr Jonathan Doherty is a Senior Lecturer in Primary Education at Leeds Trinity University
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR PRIMARY EDUCATION
Rosemary Evans
Bequest Award
Are you a recently qualified early years/primary teacher (QTS gained since June 2015)? Are you keen to reflect on your professional development as a classroom practitioner? Are you keen to get something published in an educational journal and add it to your CV? If so, we hope you will be interested in the Rosemary Evans Bequest Award to be given on an annual basis to the best article received for publication in Primary First from a recently qualified teacher. The award is for £200 and the theme can be selected from one of the following: • The highlights and challenges of taking on your own class • What do you see as the key principles and/or values which inform your approach to learning and teaching? • How can teacher retention be improved? • The global teacher for the 21st century. The article should be between 1500 - 2000 words and you are welcome to select your own focus and title, but drawing on one of the above themes.
The article should both critically explore aspects of your own experience and identity as a recently qualified teacher and be informed, where appropriate, by relevant literature. The final date for submission for this academic year is 1 May 2018. It is to be submitted electronically in Word or PDF format to Robert Young, NAPE General Secretary at rmyoung1942@yahoo.co.uk. The Primary First Editorial Board will judge the submissions and it is anticipated that more than one submission will be considered for inclusion in the journal, although not in receipt of the Award itself. Further details about the Award can be requested from Robert Young.
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A restaurant tale by Anonymous Any comparison with the £9,250 fee per year charged for a full-time university training course is purely coincidental. The scene: A young man in his early twenties is sitting in a restaurant. He has ordered a three course meal and shortly after starting the second course, the waiter arrives to enquire whether the meal is to the customer’s satisfaction. Waiter Customer Waiter Customer Waiter Customer Waiter Customer Waiter
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Waiter Customer Waiter Customer Waiter Customer Waiter Customer Waiter
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Is the meal to your satisfaction sir? Well, no, I paid £92.50 for it. What is wrong with the food sir? Nothing wrong with the food. It is just that you were not here for much of the time that I was eating it! Well Sir, this is a restaurant we would expect you to dine alone or dine with a guest if you brought one But I paid £92.50 for this meal and I want value for my money. Actually sir, you haven’t paid for it yet, The bill comes at the end when your meal is finished Well that’s not the point – am I getting value for my money? £92.50 is a lot of money Yes Sir I agree. There are other restaurants in town and you chose to dine at ours. You ordered your three course meal and I have brought two of your courses to you. No one forced you to come here sir. But I needed to eat and I chose your restaurant because most of my peers are eating out these days. I need to eat your food to get on! Anyway you get paid to work here and your boss earns a fortune. Yes Sir, we do serve many of your peers and they say similar things. At this restaurant, we source the food, prepare it, and cook it with trained chefs who have spent years honing their professional skills. We serve you, give you advice on the wine list, take away the dirty plates and wash them. There is a lot of things you do not see but that your bill pays for. May I ask why you chose this restaurant sir? Some of my friends back home prefer to eat take-aways, fish and chips or kebabs. I don’t think that will sustain them. I want to eat fine food so I can use the experience to improve my lot in life. I want better than that and this was the only restaurant open near to my house. Maybe sir, but at least takeaways are cheaper or those who eat at home are saving money. But this cost me £92.50 and I want to make suggestions on foodadvisor. You will have to keep me happy. What would you advise Sir? I want more help in eating my food. I want you to show me how to wear my serviette Napkin, Sir I want you to tell me why my food tastes good. I want you to decide my wine for me. I want you to bring my food rather than me deciding what to order But Sir, wouldn’t you want the freedom to choose and experiment with the menu? No not if I’m paying £92.50 for it. I’ll bring your pudding Sir.
RE-HUMANISING PRIMARY EDUCATION Placing trust in teachers, learning from the legacy of Christian Schiller
Dr. Tony Eaude Thursday 19 April 2018 at 5.30pm University of Greenwich, David Fussey Building, Southwood Site, Avery Hill Road, Eltham, SE9 2UG This year’s Annual Schiller Lecture is to be given by Dr. Tony Eaude who taught for thirteen years as a primary class teacher and for nine years was a headteacher of a multicultural first school in Oxford. His recent publications have included Children’s Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development, New Perspectives on Young Children’s Moral Education and Developing the Expertise of Primary and Elementary Classroom Teachers (just published). In addition to writing and research, Dr. Eaude has worked extensively with primary teachers and tutors in HE, earning their respect as a very articulate and cogent figure in the world of primary education. At a time when the school climate has been overshadowed by an over-emphasis on measurable outcomes and data with pressures towards a narrowing of the school curriculum, the time is ripe to re-consider the work of Christian Schiller, an influential HMI in the post-war years through to the 70s, especially in the area of continuing professional development. Citing a range of research, Dr. Eaude will discuss ways of re-humanising education, affirming the importance of relationships, learning environments and the humanities and the arts.
National Association for Primary Education
The ways of working associated with the humanities, involving active experience, observation and interpretation, help to engage young children and to enable them to understand themselves and other people and cultures. The humanities, broadly conceived, are seen as essential to education and to democracy, especially in a diverse society and troubled times.
This event is being organised by the National Association for Primary Education, in collaboration with the University of Greenwich. Entry is FREE and all are welcome: teachers, students, tutors, governors and parents. Refreshments and free parking available from 5.00pm TO BOOK: Email NAPE Office at nationaloffice@nape.org.uk Call: 01604 647646 Book online at: http://bit.ly/2DMUNZ1 or scan the QR code.
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The Book Pages by Carey Fluker Hunt
Rural Lives Reflected – or Ignored? A third of primary-age children think that cheese comes from plants, and a fifth are unaware that bacon comes from pigs – or so recent surveys have shown. Headline-grabbers such as these are great awareness-raisers, and young people do need to be better informed about what they eat. But such widespread ignorance results from something more than a failure to educate children about the provenance of food. Increasing urbanization and a disconnection from the countryside, coupled with anxieties about safety, are preventing them from making independent relationships with the natural world. “Children have less freedom than they ever did,” says Michael Morpurgo, who set up the charity Farms for City Children. “They are losing the capacity to derive pleasure from actively living in and enjoying the world they inhabit.” Michael remembers growing up in the countryside, allowed to roam “up windswept hillsides” and “squelch through muddy gateways,” and it was his wife Claire’s childhood experiences that inspired Where My Wellies Take Me, an anthology of poetry and images telling the story of eight-year-old Pippa as she explores a farm and surrounding fields – alone. And it’s Pippa’s independence that makes us wonder when this is, as much as where. Like the sailing exploits of the Swallows and Amazons, and Milly-Molly-Mandy who ran errands along country lanes devoid of cars, Pippa’s ability to wander where she pleases tell us that this isn’t “now”. But it’s not just children’s right to roam that’s vanishing, along with knowledge of the provenance of food. It’s their sense of connection to the rural landscape – a shift that’s clearly visible in children’s books today.
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The majority of children now live in towns, so it’s not surprising they want books about urban children doing urban things - and fantasy, with its power to open story-doors to somewhere else, is perennially popular, and rightly so. But stepping into another person’s real-life world through story can affect us just as much as make-believe, and it isn’t only urban children who want to see their daily lives reflected in the books they read. There are plenty of farmyard tales out there, of the sort that tell a child that ‘duck says quack.’ But what about something with a little more bite? Rural deprivation can be profound. If you’re a child whose family still lives and works rurally – in agriculture or other businesses, in isolated houses or villages now lacking almost everything, from shops and schools to public transport – what can you read that reflects and shares the world you know? Books set in modern, rural Britain offering realistic insights into that environment are few and far between. Kim Lewis’s picturebooks are set on a Northumbrian hill farm, and Mairi Hedderwick’s Katie Morag stories on a remote Scottish island. There are vet-and-animal-themed series for mid-range readers, and Morpurgo writes realistically about rural matters – although many of his best are set historically. But a book like Malachy Doyle and Angelo Rinaldi’s Cow is so unusual that it’s remarkable - a reminder of just how powerful it can be to capture what is real and there and often sadly overlooked. There are many minorities who don’t recognise themselves in children’s books, which needs to change. But this ignorance of rural Britain, of the reality of life for rural children everywhere, is having a wider impact. Last autumn saw the publication of The Lost Words: an anthology of poetry by Robert Macfarlane and
illustrated by Jackie Morris with paintings of the natural world. Billed as a ‘spellbook for conjuring back… lost words’, this is a glorious addition to any bookshelf – but already we sense that something is wrong and must be healed. What has gone missing, and where, and why? “Once upon a time,” Macfarlane says, “words began to vanish from the language of children”; words those children used to name the natural world around them. “They disappeared so quietly that at first almost no-one noticed…” But then a slew of them were excised from the Oxford Junior Dictionary, all at once, and people began to question what was going on. What did it mean, that children could look up broadband but not bramble? Magpies and conkers were still there, in the wilder places, so why not in the reference book? Nameless things are difficult to
talk about, and things that don’t get talked about can be ignored. As Morris says, “how can we teach children that bluebells are important, that acorns have value, if the words are not important enough to be in the dictionary?” Losing our connection with the land will challenge us. As Katharine Norbury observes, “re-enchantment, re-engagement and conservation of the natural world is only going to be possible if we retain the language with which to make it happen.” And along with that language, we need stories to connect us and inform us; to keep traditions alive and develop our understanding of other ways of life. We may no longer allow our children to roam the fields and lanes at will, but we can ensure that the books we share reflect rural lives as well as urban ones.
Carey Fluker Hunt is Creative Development Manager at Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children’s books based in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Carey writes in a personal capacity. 15
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Supporting professional development by Malini Mistry, University of Bedfordshire Editor of ASPE articles The importance of continuous professional development for all staff in schools is clear in that they are helped to become more critically reflective. Professional development and learning from each other in different ways leads to better quality staff and therefore higher quality approaches (like research informed practice) to help pupils make progress to achieve better outcomes. However, we are in a climate of greater accountability, tight budgets and restrictions with time and resources meaning leaders need to think in creative ways to manage the professional development of their staff beyond specific courses and training. Many primary schools are encouraging greater sharing of practice within and beyond their setting to utilise the experience and expertise of their staff in different ways. In this issue the articles begin with lessons for primary school leaders from an Early Years perspective. Early Years leaders have at times been
overlooked in terms of their leadership skills, and therefore this article offers suggestions for leaders in primary schools from an Early Years perspective. Next a think piece focuses the on a debate over who is best to teach PE, external coaches or the class teacher themselves? Finally, some interesting pedagogical comparisons of music education between England and the United States.
Welcome to the Association of the Study of Primary Education (ASPE) ASPE was founded in the belief that one of the best ways to advance primary education is through professional collaboration and action. ASPE was launched in 1988 to address the demand for establishing a national association to help advance the cause of primary education by promoting its study. ASPE’s objects are to advance the education of young learners by enhancing the development of primary education through:
Promoting Primary Education
Promoting collaboration
Holding Events
MEMBERSHIP OF ASPE INCLUDES: • The only primary education organisation • Subscription to 3-13 • Online journal access • Promote reflective practice • Priority access to ASPE events • Access to research funding
Publishing materials
Reflection on practice
Promoting information
FOR INFORMATION ON JOINING ASPE, PLEASE CONTACT THE MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY AT: ASPEinfo@aol.co.uk or write to: ASPE, PO Box 308, Cheadle, SK8 9ER For further information on ASPE, please visit
www.aspe-uk.eu
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How can the skills of Early Years leaders support other leaders in primary schools? by Malini Mistry, University of Bedfordshire and Krishan Sood, Nottingham Trent University The aim of this study was to investigate the leadership skills Early Years (EY) leaders demonstrated in their everyday lives at their organisation. By analysing the current developments in the field of leadership (Bush, 2015), leadership preparation and development (Brundrett et al., 2006), this study seeks to analyse the role of leadership relevance to the classroom. This is innovative research as it has not been undertaken with EY leaders before. It is novel, as our research focuses more on lived experiences of EY practitioners with leadership roles. Leadership is a complex role with multi-faceted angles of approach focusing on the learning needs of pupils as well as supporting staff in their leadership roles.
The literature drawn upon and critiqued by the authors points in the direction of distributed leadership where every member of the organisational structure plays a part in leadership, that, which, ultimately leads to improving pupil outcomes. The complexity of leading effective teaching and learning is well argued by the authors and they pinpoint a gap in why EY practitioners do not wish to take the mantle of leadership. Reviewing the literature shows that the leadership preparation and development gap exists because many EY practitioners feel daunted and overwhelmed in leading and managing complexity. This is unsurprising given little specific preparation and development available to such staff (Sackney and Walker, 2006;
and be excellent at leading people. This requires they Aubrey, 2011). Another gap in the EY leadership be adequately supported in time, space and resources. preparation and development suggests that these practitioners have a narrow view of leadership and feel This is easier said than done in busy settings and over packed agenda but creative solutions as if being a leader is not for them lead to a creative workforce. This, and they would rather remain as Many such EY on a practical level, means thinking excellent classroom practitioners, practitioners, yet to carefully about where and when not be judged by demonstrating be leaders of people, will active dialogue occur between perceived leadership ideals and lacked confidence in experienced and aspiring leaders; to competencies. The paper suggest that many such EY practitioners, applying themselves create a vision of community learners and community learning and creating yet to be leaders of people, lacked as leaders innovative practice that mirrors confidence in applying themselves excellent leadership in practice with as leaders. other partners. Practitioners need to think carefully This research project was conducted in 20 primary about how methods add or detract to their workload in settings in the Midlands and Bedfordshire area. The terms of complexity and efficiency, minimising stress research was conducted by the two authors who and anxiety. This research can be useful to others in interviewed 20 EY practitioners - half were EY aspiring many ways. For example, by EY leaders’ trialling their leader-practitioners and half EY leaders, from which own approach, collecting and synthesising data, thus 10 case studies were developed. Results indicate that giving them the confidence to have a go at ‘doing’ there was much potential in settings to develop future research. leaders as long as they were adequately mentored, Full article can be found at…. challenged, and supported in their skills’ development Journal. DOI: 10.1177/0892020617711194 as leaders of people. They were already excellent teachers and understood EY practice and philosophy of learning in the EY very well. From these findings, it is clear that EY practitioners’ need to be given opportunities to further lead learning
References Aubrey, C. (2011) Leading and Managing in the Early Years. 2nd edn. London: Sage, pp. 7-38. Brundrett, M., Fitzgerald, T. and Sommerfeldt, D. (2006) The creation of national programmes of school leadership development in England and New Zealand: A comparative study. International Studies in Educational Administration, 34(1), pp. 89-105. Bush, T. (2015) Teacher leadership: Construct and practice. Educational Management and Administration & Leadership, 43(5), pp. 671-672. Sackney, L. and Walker, K. (2006) Canadian perspectives on beginning principals: Their role in building capacity for learning communities. Journal of Educational Administration, 44(4), pp. 341-358. 19
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Think piece: Who is more effective in teaching PE lessons: external sports coaches or classroom teachers? by Georgia Richardson, Wilstead Lower School, Bedfordshire The aims of this research were: 1. To investigate who has better content knowledge of PE: external sports coaches or class teachers? 2. To investigate who has better pedagogical knowledge: external sports coaches or class teachers? 3. Which practitioner is most effective in promoting the progress of all pupils in PE? In recent years, the number of schools in the United Kingdom employing sports coaches for the delivery of Physical Education (PE) has increased significantly (Griggs, 2012) which makes this research innovative. Some research argues that specialist coaches have greater knowledge of each sport, accompanied by an increased confidence in teaching PE, therefore making them more suitable for the delivery of primary PE (Blair and Capel, 2011). However, Talbot (2008) argued that although coaches demonstrate knowledge of the sport, they do not have the pedagogical understanding of how children learn effectively and possess poor knowledge of curriculum requirements, suggesting teachers who have this knowledge are superior in the delivery of PE. McCullouch (2016) reported that teaching is most effective if the practitioner is confident in their own ability, using their knowledge of the subject, pedagogy and the child to influence lesson planning and delivery. In 2013, the English government announced it would provide schools with ring-fenced funding, solely to be used to enhance the provision of PE and sport in primary schools, which had previously been overlooked in terms of expenditure (Griggs, 2016). With this investment and consequent raised status of PE, many primary schools have invested in specialist coaches to deliver the PE curriculum, with the perception that they have received greater training, and possess greater knowledge and consequent greater ability to teach (Smith, 2015). However, this funding has not been guaranteed to continue indefinitely, therefore questioning whether the use of sports coaches is sustainable.
In terms of theory, Shulman (1987) reported that effective teachers require Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) meaning this content knowledge, but also pedagogical awareness. Content knowledge resembles the understanding of the academic subject they teach. In light of this, sports coaches may appear most suitable for the delivery of primary PE due to their greater knowledge and understanding of a range of sports, which in turn influences their planning and lesson delivery. With deeper understanding of the sport, coaches are able to provide higher quality feedback and teaching points (Nash, Sproule and Horton, 2016). However, Shulman also identified that effective teachers require knowledge of the characteristics and culture of the students they are teaching, alongside pedagogical knowledge of how to teach an effective lesson. It was earlier identified that classroom teachers held greater understanding and awareness of this pedagogy, which could support the viewpoint that class teachers are most suitable for PE delivery in the primary school. Shulman believed that the most effective practitioners would be those who display both content and pedagogical knowledge (figure below). The theory of PCK will be used throughout this report in attempt to determine the practitioner most suited for the delivery of primary PE.
Carney and Howells (2008) claim that although coaches hold sport specific knowledge, they often do not have an educational background and therefore are not suitable for the delivery of the primary PE curriculum, which, in light of Shulman’s theory highlights their lack of pedagogical knowledge. However, Sport England (2014) suggested that the use of coaches in primary school is effective if they are used to complement the teaching of the class teacher, through a joint approach to lesson planning and delivery. This would enable a collaboration of content and pedagogical knowledge which together would create the PCK ideal advocated by Shulman, via the teaching of two professionals together. With these controversial viewpoints in mind, this research aims to attempt to identify who is most suitable for the teaching of PE in the primary school, or if a joint approach is most effective.
he had received which therefore enhanced his content knowledge. The coach had personal experience of playing sport, “…on the cusp of professional football”, alongside a Level 4 FA coach qualification and Level 2 cricket coaching qualification, which in light of Shulman’s theory of PCK demonstrates significant content knowledge of these sports. However, although this could suggest competency in the delivery of these particular sports, it does not reflect his ability to deliver the entire PE curriculum. This was acknowledged by the coach personally, who stated “I struggle to teach dance because it’s not my thing…” which could be due to lack of content knowledge, suggesting a specialist dance coach to be more suitable. In light of this, some might argue that the confidence of the teacher is just as important as content knowledge, as it too has an impact on the teaching and learning process. This is supported by Freak and Miller (2017) who reported that teachers with poor training feel a lack of confidence to teach primary PE, which in turn directly impacts the quality of provision they deliver within school PE lessons. Teachers who scored themselves lower on the confidence scale stated that they had received few or no relevant training, whereas the teachers who circled ‘5’ commented that they have “…been teaching for over 30 years” and “…had training from various schools about different sports”.
Some might argue that the confidence of teachers is just as important as content knowledge.
A case study approach was chosen for this report in an attempt to identify and critique the provision in one large urban primary school and identify how this could influence future practice. The case study approach used in this report reflects the particularistic case study approach proposed by Merriam (2009), which is the exploration of an educational setting in an attempt to answer a question or occurrence in everyday practice. A range of data collection methods were chosen due to their suitability in answering the research questions, including semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, lesson observations and lesson plan scrutiny. Cross-method analysis allowed for comparison between the findings of different methods in order to bring together evidence from a range of sources and critically analyse their implications in light of the research questions. Coding was the method used to identify emergent themes in this way, in light of the key research questions, allowing for clear comparison and synthesis across the various methods of data collection, an approach recommended by Burton, Brundrett and Jones (2014). The findings showed that content knowledge significantly influences the practitioners’ perceived confidence and ability to teach PE. Whilst interviewing the specialist external coach who teaches at the research school, it was apparent how much training
Alexander et al (2010) suggested within the final report and recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review, that effective practitioners must have subject knowledge to encourage an enthusiastic approach to teaching and learning, which reflects the content knowledge proposed by Shulman; alongside both knowledge of the individual students and knowledge of the context; which will influence the pedagogical approach if utilised effectively. In terms of Shulman’s theory of PCK, context knowledge of the school and students would therefore be an element within pedagogical knowledge. This is similar to the finding of Ball, Thames and Phelps (2008) who identified knowledge of content and students to be influential and subsequently proposed that this should be an additional element within the theory of PCK. 21
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The impact of this research is to identify who would be the most appropriate to deliver the primary PE curriculum, however, it was apparent that a joint approach could be most beneficial, therefore presenting a different outcome and recommendation to that initially expected. Florian (2014) and Philips (2015) reported that PCK should be communal knowledge shared amongst practitioners as opposed to one practitioner being most knowledgeable and therefore most appropriate to teach. This knowledge could be used to influence future practice in primary education where knowledge is shared with the interest of pupil’s and their learning as a priority. This approach is also particularly sustainable within schools, where sport premium funding will not last indefinitely, meaning the coaches could empower teachers and enhance their confidence and ability to teach PE in the long term. This research promotes the sharing of information and could provide schools with a sustainable approach to delivering high quality PE both now and in the future when sport premium funding ends.
Reference list:
It is recommended that by ensuring teachers are present in the PE lessons delivered by the external coach this provides CPD and ideas for the class teacher to implement within their own practice. If the coaches were used alone to cover teachers’ PPA time which has been the approach observed within other schools, this expenditure of funding could be less sustainable because the teachers and students may not benefit in the long term when funding stops.
Griggs, G. (2016) ‘Spending the primary Physical Education ad sport premium: a West Midlands case study’ Education 3-13, 44(5), pp.547-555 Ebscohost [Online]. Available at: http://0-eds.b.ebscohost.com.brum.beds.ac.uk/eds/ command/detail?sid=b734a96f-f9ee-4979-88fd-95a8de 398cc5%40sessionmgr120&vid=3&hid=121 (Accessed: 15 February 2017).
Blair, R. and Capel, S. (2011) ‘Primary physical education, coaches and continuing professional development’ Sport, Education and Society, 16(4), pp.485-505. Citeseer [Online]. Available at: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/downlo ad?doi=10.1.1.690.4458&rep=rep1&type=pdf (Accessed: 30 December 2016). Burton, N. Brundrett, M. and Jones, M. (2014) Doing your education research project. 2nd edn. London: Sage Publications. Carney and Howells (2008) ‘The Primary Physical Education Specialist’ Primary Physical Education Matters 3(3), pp.3-4. Freak, A. and Miller, J. (2017) ‘Magnifying pre-service generalist teachers’ perceptions of preparedness to teach primary school physical education’ Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 22(1), pp.51-70 Ebscohost [Online]. Available at: http://0-eds.a.ebscohost.com.brum.beds. ac.uk/eds/command/detail?sid=e737af3b-aee5-40a0835c-670196bfba78%40sessionmgr4008&vid=7&hid=4105 (Accessed: 16 March 2017).
Talbot, M. (2008) ‘Ways forward for primary physical education’ Physical Education Matters, 3(1), pp.6-8.
An International Comparison of Music Education in England and the United States by Daniel Johnson Department of Music, University of North Carolina, USA and Martin Fautley Birmingham City University, Birmingham, UK The aim of this research was to: • compare systems of instrumental music education in England and the United States • explore the resulting implications for assessment practices • define the underlying pedagogical assumptions prevalent in both countries This research is innovative because it is the first of its kind in music education. It combines an international comparison of instrumental music education practices with a study of corresponding assessments. In addition, it explores the underlying assumptions of educational priorities and outcomes in terms of the different terminology used. In this study, the authors rely on the English National Curriculum and the American National Core Arts Standards. These two curricula and their underlying teaching and learning assumptions guided the discussion of musical and pedagogical issues. In addition, they used Hall’s Linguistic Theory to explore the different denotations and connations with associated terminology. For this research, the sample group was guiding documents for the English and American national music education curricula. Along with reports from corresponding district and local levels, these were the data sources. The authors used a constant comparative, open-coding content analysis as research tools. Results indicated that the American approach to instrumental music education is more performance and group oriented, while the approach in England focuses on creativity and individualized pedagogies. Implications of this study are to consider ways both the English and American systems could learn from each other. While teachers in the English system could consider ways to focus on performance and wider
societal engagement, their American counterparts could include creativity and interdisciplinary skills as part of their learning outcomes. Pursuing these and other lessons to be learned from the other system, both English and American music educators could clarify their respective goals and recognise the most promising ways to adapt and adopt best practices for the benefit of their students. Results of this study highlight the need to rethink pedagogical aims and objectives. By comparing any approaches to teaching and learning with those of parallel systems, educators can more clearly articulate those features that define their own approaches. After reconsidering what any pedagogical approach espouses and operationalises, teachers and teacher-educators are prepared to develop well-aligned assessments. Next steps could be to conduct more detailed comparisons of the English and American approaches to instrumental music education. Parallel case studies in each country could provide specific examples and scenarios of the corresponding pedagogical approaches. Full article can be found at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2017.1347131
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Review by John Coe
Reading the Evidence: Synthetic Phonics and literacy learning Edited by Margaret Clark Published by Glendale Education Governments of democracies invariably seek short term gains which can be presented as success deserving of re-election. Hence the desirability of a silver bullet which can be the complete answer to problems, real or imagined, in education. This is typified by the commitment of the Minister for School Standards who verges on obsession in his certainty that the teaching of synthetic phonics, first, fast and only, will raise standards of reading. Despite the lack of confirming evidence the Minister persuaded the Australian government to follow his lead and the writing of this book was prompted by the announced intention of Australia to promote such teaching not least by introducing a test of phonic awareness, including pseudo words as in the UK. Margaret Clark, acknowledged over many years as an expert in the field of reading, has brought together six reading specialists who have worked with her to collate and summarize published material so providing us with an authoritative statement of the evidence concerning the place of phonics in learning to read. This rebuttal of political opinion through the publication of peer reviewed research is welcomed most strongly. It is important to stress that the contributors to this book are at one in seeing phonics as an essential element of the teaching of reading particularly in the early stages as beginning readers begin to draw meaning from the printed page. Here is the book’s summary of existing evidence: There is benefit from the inclusion of phonics within the early instruction in learning to read in English, within a broad programme.
There is not evidence to support phonics in isolation as the one best method. There is not evidence for synthetic phonics as the required approach rather than analytic phonics. Reading the Evidence is an important addition to the literature which merits a place on the bookshelves of all who are campaigning for a greater reliance upon evidence as a basis for policy making. The book has already made a decided impact upon professional opinion in Australia. In September 2017, led by Western Australia, it was reported that all states and territories have rejected the introduction of a phonics skills test. This has been an object lesson showing how research evidence can help to correct unwise opinion however strongly held by powerful politicians.
Review by Pip Marples
Teaching Primary Music by Dr. Alison Daubney Published by SAGE
Alison Daubney has written a comprehensive and informative book which covers the entire field of music for primary children and both schools and universities will find this a valuable addition to their professional library. Co-ordinators of music teaching will gain a great deal from the book’s wealth of information and good practice extending from early years to year six. Particular emphasis is placed upon the need to reinforce the first skills with higher levels of sophistication and technique as children grow older. It is noted also that there is a welcome recognition of the value of encouraging children to become composers. Even our youngest children delight in making up and recording their own tunes and composing is an essential part of music education. Among many other issues there are references to transition and community.
This is so important in these days of schools working in isolation. There is just one reservation in that the book may not be of such high value to the primary practitioner who lacks specialist training. However the first two chapters, “Music : its place in our lives and education” and “Exploring musical learning” are essential reading for all primary teachers and students in training. It is to be greatly regretted that in too many schools music has become something of a casualty in the face of an undue focus on core skills. Alison Daubney’s excellent advocacy is a much appreciated support for all who are working to put an end to the political intention to recreate elementary schooling. It is a sign of the times that one chapter is devoted to assessment and an admirable attempt is made to suggest ways forward. This is questioned by the reviewer as not even the most slavish Ofsted inspector would look for recorded evidence of progress in music education. It is entirely sufficient that a school should have a clear plan for musical experience and learning throughout the school and this book is an important, indeed vital, contribution to that end. Alison Daubney has produced a book which reaffirms and supports the essential place of music in the primary curriculum.
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The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study PIRLS 2016: observations and cautions by Margaret M Clark Background The first PIRLS study involving 35 countries took place in 2001. The results generated headlines such as `English primary pupils are among the best readers in the world` (DfES). In 2003 I published an article critiquing the results (see chapter 19 in Clark, 2016, with the subtitle a `cautionary tale`; such cautions are relevant to any international study.
In December 2017, the PIRLS 2016 report was published on standards of reading comprehension of ten-year-olds in 50 countries, one of which was England (Scotland and Wales did not take part in this cycle). By 5 December the Standards Minister for England, Nick Gibb had made a speech at the British Library, the transcript of which is downloadable from DfE (https:// www/gov.uk). In the speech he claimed that this international evidence `confirms that our approach is working` as the international study of 9-year-olds` reading ability showed that `England has risen from joint 10th place in 2011 to joint 8th place in 2016` and that the low performing pupils are gaining most rapidly. The claims made for a link between these findings and
Much of the information for this article is taken from the National Report for England (McGrane, Stiff et al., 2017). However, there is an international report and reports for individual countries, all of which can be downloaded. I consulted these, and the reports for Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland as both are ranked statistically higher than England and both gave the parental questionnaires. As England did According to the Minister: not administer the parent questionnaire this aspect we faced opposition from various lobby groups: those is not discussed in the report on England. However, opposed to testing: those professors of education who comparisons are made with other countries, often with had built a career on teaching teachers to use the `look The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. and say` approach; and the teaching unions. In 2016 England`s sample was around 5000 Year 5 The evidence base for both such claims is examined pupils from 170 primary schools. The average age of by seven literacy researchers in Reading the Evidence: pupils participating in PIRLS Synthetic phonics and literacy learning 2016 was 10.2 (in England (Clark 2017) and by further twelve in An Drawing unqualified 10.3). England`s average Evidence Base for Literacy Policies (Clark score in PIRLS in 2016 is 559, conclusions about in press). significantly higher than in the causal effects of PIRLS 2016 2006 and 2011. However, policy is impossible it is significantly lower than The Progress in International Reading The Republic of Ireland Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an international on the basis of PIRLS (567) and Northern Ireland comparative study to assess and data alone. (565). PIRLS 2016 is the first compare the reading performance of opportunity to assess how pupils in their fourth year of formal performance in the phonics check introduced in 2012 schooling across participating countries. England has and taken at the end of Year 1 relates to performance taken part in all four PIRLS cycles every five years since 2001. A total of 50 countries took part in PIRLS in 2016. in PIRLS; thus, this aspect has prominence in the report Three aspects were assessed 1) reading comprehension for England, though warnings are expressed in the report: 2) a student questionnaire and 3) a questionnaire to Drawing unqualified conclusions about the causal headteachers and teachers. A questionnaire was also effects of policy is impossible on the basis of PIRLS distributed to a parent/guardian who was asked to data alone. ‌Some policies will not have been in place provide information about their child and their home for long enough to have an effect upon Year 5 pupils` environment related to reading activities. England and literacy levels in 2016`‌. the United States were the only two countries that did not administer these questionnaires. I am attempting to the current results should be somewhat cautiously find out who made this decision and why. It means that interpreted given that other countries have also for England we only the views of the headteachers, adopted phonics approaches over varying lengths of teachers and pupils as to the home circumstances, with time and the results have been mixed in terms of no possibility of comparing their views with that of the average PIRLS performance (McGrane, Stiff et al.: 146) parents. and `there is no sustained evidence that countries with phonics programmes have higher average PIRLS Initiated in 2016 was a computer-based reading performance in general` (page 149). assessment of students` ability to acquire and use information when reading online. Fourteen countries The characteristics that are most strongly predictive took part in ePIRLS, including Ireland. From this there of PIRLS performance in England include prior was both interesting information on the pupils` ability achievement on the phonics check, followed by and their attitude towards online reading. I am also number of books at home and socioeconomic status. enquiring why England did not participate in this Girls score significantly higher than boys and younger assessment. children lower than older, but neither ethnic current government policy are tenuous, however. The speech is full of unsubstantiated claims both as to an evidence base for synthetic phonics as the method of teaching reading by the time of the first check in 2012 and about the approach to the teaching of reading in primary schools in England prior to the introduction of the current policy.
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background nor English as an additional language were significant predictors of PIRLS reading performance. It will be no surprise that the pupils who met the standard on the phonics check (a mark of at least 32 out of 40) had an average score much higher than the other pupils. However, it is important to note that the range of individual PIRLS scores at each raw mark on the phonics check is quite wide (McGrane, Stiff et al. 2017 figure 4.6: 65).
Republic 17%). As many had recently trained it is not surprising that in England in the past two years the percentage of pupils in England with teachers that have had dedicated time for reading-related professional development is substantially lower than in the comparator countries. NB These are not the early years teachers, but the current teachers. Career satisfaction in NI (62%) and The Republic (60%) was higher than in England (51%). Career satisfaction in the Republic of Ireland in PIRLS 2011 and 2016 has been higher that in many other countries and associated with high scores. In England teacher recruitment and retention is a growing problem.
Comparisons are made in the National Report for England with Northern Ireland and the Republic, both of which ranked statistically higher than England, and with scores on the Phonics Screening Check It is yet to be seen as these pupils were the whether full first ones to have sat the implementation of check, an important aspect of government policy. this policy does indeed However, it is important to improve the level of note cautions sounded in reading comprehension the report on drawing causal relationships. of pupils in England Further findings
and their confidence in
England had a large proportion of pupils` headteachers who believe that parental expectations for pupil achievement are `low or very low` (14%) much higher than the international median of 3%. However, the pupils` teachers were less likely than headteachers to report that parental expectations or support for pupil achievement are low or very low. As noted above we do not for England have the views of the parents.
As noted by the minister `a reading and desire to read. higher proportion of pupils in England were categorised as In any debate as to a causal relationship between being `very confident` readers (53%)`, but they were reported as being slightly less engaged in their reading the phonics policy in England and attainment it is important to bear in mind the findings of the NFER lessons as compared with pupils internationally and research commissioned by DfE (Walker et al., 2015 the percentage of pupils reporting they like reading is reported in chapter 16 of Clark 2017). At the time lower than the international median. that these pupils who sat PIRLS 2016 were learning Girls in England report higher levels of engagement to read many teachers had not yet accepted the in reading lessons and liking reading and are more governments demand that they adopt synthetic likely to report confidence in reading than boys. Asian phonics as the method of teaching reading. Also raising ethnicity pupils in England report higher levels of liking the percentage pass on the check year on year had reading and reading lessons than other ethnic groups. not yet come to dominate practice in the early years It The number of books that pupils in England is yet to be seen whether the full implementation of reported they have at home is strongly related this policy does indeed improve the level of reading to reading confidence and enjoyment as well as comprehension of pupils in England, their confidence in average performance on PIRLS. However, we have reading and desire to read. For the final two aspects it no confirmation from the parents in England of the was necessary to go beyond what was discussed in the accuracy of these estimates. report on England. Indeed, it may be that in that report as the parents` views were not sought the importance Thirty-five percent of the pupils in England who sat of home background and the parents` contribution will PIRLS in 2016 had teachers with less than 5 years not have been fully acknowledged. teaching experience (Northern Ireland 11% and The
The influence of home background on PIRLS results According to the international report `good readers had an early start in literacy learning`. The information from the parents revealed two ways that pupils get an early start in literacy namely: Having parents who often engage them in early literacy activities and attending pre-primary education. Parents are the students` first teachers and 39 per cent of the students had parents who reported often engaging their children in early literacy activities such as reading, talking or singing to them as well as telling them stories and teaching them to write alphabet letters. These students had higher attainment. This is downloaded from http://timssandpirls.bc.edu/ pirls2016/international-results/pirls/summary Students whose parents reported that their children could perform early literacy tasks when beginning primary school `illustrate that early preparation at home appears to have an effect on attainment in fourth grade` In the report for Northern Ireland, one of the countries that ranked statistically higher than England, it is reported that parents` enjoyment of reading was also associated with higher attainment. In Northern Ireland for example, 49 per cent of the parents who responded to the questionnaire reported that they `Very much like reading`, a percentage greater than in any comparator country and their children had higher average attainment in reading. In England in the absence of such data the influence of the home, even preschool, on literacy achievement may be under estimated and that of school literacy policy over emphasised. We have no way of knowing the extent to which in England the parents contributed both to the pupils` high score on the phonics check and on PIRLS since the parents were not asked to complete the questionnaire. Literacy online We have no information from PIRLS on the ability of pupils in England to read online or of their attitude to such reading. However, in the fourteen countries which participated in ePIRLS it is reported that good readers had little difficulty reading online, that a high degree of achievement was demonstrated, that they were able
to navigate to the appropriate webpages, completing the assessment in the allotted time. Irish pupils performed as well on the digital ePIRLS assessment as they did on the paper-based PIRLS assessment and only pupils in Singapore achieved a significantly higher mean score on ePIRLS than pupils in Ireland. Girls performed significantly better than boys in 11 of the14 participating countries, including in Ireland but the gender gap was slightly smaller than on the paper-andpencil PIRLS assessment. Final Comment and caution All politicians search international studies such as PIRLS in the hope of showing the success of their policies; their opponents search for evidence of failings. There are dangers in claiming a causal effect on attainment from policies. Policy makers should be prepared to consider whether there are lessons to be learnt from countries with very different policies achieve significantly higher ranking. For England, two such countries are Northern Ireland and the Republic (see Clark in press). The absence of home data from parents in England also makes it possible that the contribution of homes to pupils` achievement may be underestimated and the role of the school over stated. References Clark, M.M. (2016) Learning to be Literate: Insights from research for policy and practice. Revised Edition. Abingdon: Routledge. Clark, M.M. (Ed,) (2017) Reading the Evidence: Synthetic phonics and literacy learning. Birmingham: Glendale Education. Clark, M.M. (2018) (Ed.) in press An Evidence Base for Literacy Policies. Birmingham: Glendale Education. Gibb, N. (2017) `Reading is the key to unlocking human potential`. 5 December 2017 Speech delivered at the British Library. Transcript downloadable from https:// www.gov.uk. Mc Grane, J., Stiff, J., Baird, J-A., Lenkeit, J, and Hopfenbeck, T. (2017) Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS): National Report for England. DFE-RR770. Downloadable at www.gov.uk/government/publications
Dr Margaret Clark is Visiting Professor at Newman University. She is a member of the Reading Hall of Fame.
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Children’s Views of their futures and implications for Primary Schools by John Cook and Doug Springate Ellie attends Rose Street Primary School on the Isle of Sheppey. It is part of a speech she has written during Black History Month inspired by the life of Martin Luther King Jnr. It shows not only her empathy and sensitivity but an emerging world view of what she would want to happen in the future. It is often thought that young children are only interested in the here and now and have no concerns for futures they might experience in a future world they cannot conceptualise. This is incorrect as we now better understand what supports the makeup, health and well-being of the modern child. Over twenty years ago Hicks and Holden [1995] argued that not only do children have views of the future but that it is crucial for the healthy development of them as individuals and for their society overall. ‘Children of this age are concerned not only about their personal future but also the future of their local community and the global future. Children are trying to make sense of the world and their role in it and the teacher should be facilitating this” [1995:100] Currently the British Council’s ‘Next Generation’ series of studies of young people in countries facing major change found that young people would welcome more focus on them by local politicians; better politics and citizenship in schools; and the need for schools to build in pupils the resilience they will need to meet the demands of future life and work. [2017] Mentally projecting ourselves forward in time is argued to be uniquely human (Atance 2008) and of vital importance to the evolution of human culture. Much of our behaviour is future orientated. We try to modify actions to bring about positive goals. Our future thinking may be directed to the short term, (where to go for lunch) or over the longer term, (hopes and dreams of success, future careers or conversely worries about failures). It is only recently that developmental
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psychology, neuroscience has begun to study when and how this capacity emerges. Data suggests that an ability to think about the future is in place as young as the age of five. The children were mentally able to time travel to consider what they might do the next day and to anticipate a variety of states that could arise in different situations. In contrast, three-year olds only showed the rudiments of these abilities. [Atance 2008] It is then of no surprise that by the ages of seven and eleven, (Hicks and Holden 1995) and in our original work at the turn of the millennium (Cook 2001) primary aged children provided a rich source of views and commentary regarding their hopes and fears for the future. The point being that this is not a whimsical or eccentric intrusion into the children’s minds. Rather it would appear that it is an important example of developmental and cognitive processes at work which needs recognition and to be taken seriously. In our fast ever changing, technological and interconnected world it is not enough to just recognise children’s mental time travel and imagining of futures. This is happening and is a common experience. The question is how does the adult world respond and hear children’s voices on such matters and provide stimulus, understanding and reassurance. Research Evidence The year 2000 was a great opportunity to both reflect on the previous century and to look ahead to what the 21st Century would bring. As two Primary educationalists at the time we wanted to explore how and what children thought about the world they would grow into. This was the context for a three year Comenius Project, Futures: Future Methods through Teaching Future Studies, which examined Future Studies through a European dimension. It was set up in 1997 by
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I have a dream that one day people are not violent or bring war. I have confidence that our world will be in peace and harmony and we will live in happiness. I believe this dream will come true‌ I believe that all racism will stop and we will guide each other throughout life. (Ellie B, age 10)
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32 three teacher training institutions in Bergen, Norway; Groningen, The Netherlands; and Greenwich, England, and ran for three years. It culminated in a one week in-service course for teachers of primary aged children for delegates from 18 European countries in June 2000 which ran annually for five years with delegates from nearly all EU member and potential member countries. For the first three years it ran in parallel to a second project which linked two primary schools in the neighbourhood of the three universities involved. These six schools had their own activities culminating in a children’s parliament. The children from the schools of the delegates were asked about their hopes and fears for the future and drew pictures of the kind of world they envisaged for themselves and the globe in the year 2010. Each year the views of over 500 children were recorded and the delegates spent time sharing the work of their children with each other. The school backgrounds were very varied as they included inner cities, small islands, rural communities, and suburbs from all parts of Europe including the east. We made some general conclusions:
response to their fears for the future: • Pollution of seas and oceans and no clean drinking water. • Computers will rule the world. • Glaciers will melt and everything will be flooded. There was considerable attention to health issues with attention to drugs and diseases. For pupils from Brittany in France their hopes included: • Stop drug abuse. • No smoking. • Find a way to live for ever. Hungarian ten year olds mentioned the following fears: Wars • Drugs and alcohol. • Accidents and cancer. • Astronomical disasters. • People becoming estranged from each other.
• Children’s artwork was generally optimistic.
London ten year olds mentioned
• The main fear in all countries was about war.
• Racism.
• Hopes for the future in all countries were for peace, less pollution, less poverty and homelessness, and better health care.
• Environmental problems.
• Hopes for the local area were obviously tied to specific local issues.
When hopes and fears for the local area were analysed there was much greater diversity as the school localities were themselves so varied. In NW Spain the children were worried about:
• The main influences on children’s views were television, books, the internet, peers, relatives and family, and minimally, school. Global views of children in the project Eleven year old pupils from a school in Bergen, Norway gave a typical response to their hopes for the future:
Local views of children in the project:
Depopulation; low birth rate and people leaving the village. Friends leaving and the difficulty of making new friends. • Greek children from one of the islands hoped for:
• Food for all.
• Better equipped schools.
• No more war.
• Better health care.
• Friendship between nations.
• Better chances of a job.
• Less pollution.
• Less crime and drugs. They feared:
Ten year old pupils from Lithuania gave a typical
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A war with neighbours.
• An earthquake. • Loss of culture due to tourism. • Children from a primary school in an industrial area of Silesia in Poland had these hopes: • Solar heating, and filters on chimneys. • Clear water, clean city, recycling. • More clubs and sports areas. • No homeless and hungry people. • People will care about customs and traditions. • Our football team will be champions of the world. Their teacher wrote: “They are convinced that they would change the world when they get older… Here there are many coal mines, iron works and other industrial cities. So the children are particularly sensitive to cultivate the flora……they dream about a world without borders” Children in London who had been doing some local environmental work hoped for changes but could also see where the responsibility might lie: “Young people in Catford should start to take respect for their surroundings… clean up graffiti and litter and stop vandalising by giving more ownership and knowledge of the local environment to people” Some recent mini research In 2017 we decided to explore whether children’s responses would be the same and spent a half day in two primary schools asking groups of year six children about the future in 2030. We took some of their thoughts and opened them up for general discussion. They were very interested and some could present well thought out ideas with the ability to see consequences e.g. when considering issue of robots and artificial intelligence. When asked what they thought 2030 would be like they thought that schools would be different with less writing and more use of technology, possibly an indication that in their lives to date they have already seen more changes than children would have twenty years ago. Technological development also means for them a future of less work and better health with
devices worn to indicate health problems and in solving major health issues. It also means more efficient energy production and better transport. In response to being asked what their hopes were, they wanted a world which is less polluted with more care for the environment, with no crime, wars or terrorism. The possibilities of teleportation, driverless cars and space travel and a world without money were interesting observations. The issue of the role of robots was a popular issue with ideas that robots would for example, replace doctors and dentists. Their fears were mainly about terrorism and war, even WW3, with a feeling that a post Trump world will be more conflictual. They fear a world with fewer jobs, more inequality, less hospitals and less affordable housing. They appear aware of current issues facing those currently leaving school. Climate change is a major concern as they felt it would make life more expensive and they worry about increasing migration and racism as well as the possible population decline from disease. For their local area the emphasis was on a cleaner and safer one with mention of more affordable housing, not mentioned in our previous work. Inner London children specifically mentioning the dangers of knife crime which was not a specific issue twenty years ago. Better amenities and fewer cars would be welcomed. The sample we recognise is small and the methodology simplistic but the issues raised are very similar to the children of the millennium. Perhaps as the pace of change increases as it has then the future is even more challenging and unpredictable. Like the children in 2000 the sources for their knowledge are similar (digital world, parents, school, newspapers), though one presumes the increasing use of the internet has substantially increased their knowledge, understandings or misunderstandings. It tells us again that children have just concerns from what they see happening around them and that they do have views about what can be done. It asks the adult world to take these seriously. It reinforces the argument that says such thought processes are not unusual but a lived reality for primary aged children. The next stage, logically, is for the children to gain greater knowledge, seek empowerment so that their
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ideas might lead to purposeful action. Schools do make a difference through their curriculum choices and willingness to promote children’s voice. Aspects such as global warming, the uses for artificial intelligence, coding and algorithms and the widely perceived technological developments should be clearly part of an issues based curriculum which can help children come to terms with their hopes and fears for their futures. It has always been the fact that education systems need to be preparing children not simply for the world as it is but the world of tomorrow. For this children need more than transmitted knowledge and skills but also a range of basic values and attitudes which will give them a way of dealing with rapid change locally and globally. On the courses we ran from 2000 we tried to give the delegates a new teaching didactic, one which starts more from the questions of the children and less from the answers of the teachers. John Mahaffie, a leading American futurist [2014] claims that there are nine skills that children need to make them future ready. • Love of learning.
a voice and enacting change in their local environments and beyond through the direct encouragement and facilitation by local councils and authorities. Here are two examples. • Art Inspiring Change was an eighteen-month Turner Contemporary Gallery project in Margate empowering seventy primary aged children to install artworks at four sites across the town. The children had met with artists, teachers, a philosopher, the team at the Turner Contemporary and had spoken in the chambers of Thanet District Council. “As well as making the artworks, the young people led the way in imagining and bringing to life the change they wanted to see in Margate.” (Turner Contemporary Brochure) “I’m standing in my dream.” (Chloe, Palm Bay School) “Just goes to show what children can achieve when given the chance to take the lead. They have a lot to teach us.” (Palm Bay School) See www.turnercontemporary.org
• Skill at learning. Knowing how I best learn. • Self- knowledge and confidence. • People sense and awareness that others think differently. • Communication skills. • Worldliness, knowing that worlds are different. • Comfort with complexity. The world is complicated. • Goal setting in work and play. • Open minds. Much of this is done in primary schools today through both the formal curriculum and through the general sense of listening to pupils and giving them some control over their learning. The role of the new technologies plays a crucial part in this as it not only allows the children to research their own questions but also enables them to communicate more easily with each other. School linking is the best possible way to achieve this, enabling schools to be in immediate real time contact and allow learning across frontiers with children learning from contact with other children There are also many examples of young children having
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• Work in India by the, Concerned for Working Children, Charity [CWC], where for many years children have been trained in basic research techniques to enable them to suggest changes in their local area based on hard data rather than wishful thinking. Issues have included alcohol abuse, children’s work and local communication routes which are not always safe for children expected to use them. Such has been the impact that children have been able to form their own local elected council groups running parallel to and interacting with the adult ones and sending representatives to regional authorities. This work gained them a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize. See www.concernedforworkingchildren.org In both these examples children have been full participants in local issues which have resulted in real improvements. The Children’s European Parliament we experienced in 2000 convinced us that children can deal with issues and inspired us to develop a second project to take this work further, this time focussing on Democracy in Primary Schools in Europe with teachers committed to exploring the future with their children so
that the world can be fashioned in a better way. The Children Act 1989 Section 22 [4] recognises Article 12 of the UN Charter on Children’s Rights, stating that children have the right to participate in all decisions made about them. If one adopts a continuum of involvement as being from: having no voice ~ consultation ~ participation ~ selfadvocacy then children and young people are mainly stuck at the first two levels, having no voice, or at the second, where they are consulted by those who make decisions about them be it in school, home or community, but do not necessarily get involved in any action that follows. Children and young people need to feel that they are not only listened to but that action will follow and that they are involved in the process of change in their schools and communities. They also need to be able to self-advocate, where they can decide what the agenda should be and are inside the decision making process.
are limited in schools. Similarly the same situation was found at home and in local community decision making bodies. Some local authorities e.g. Portsmouth have dome some eye- opening work in engaging children in their local community but this is piecemeal. There are also schools with strong pupil voice but too few. The situation varies in the other parts of the UK, e.g. Scotland seems to be progressing further and faster than in England. In conclusion if we accept that children have real concerns about their futures and the world that they live in then it is imperative to give them a voice. The challenge is for schools and other agencies who work with children or who make decisions which affect children to give children a real voice. What does your school do? References
Nationally much could improve if the voting age was lowered and children were therefore more politically engaged before they leave school. They are not merely citizens of tomorrow but of today and it is never enough to simply teach them about citizenship but to treat them as citizens. In schools the establishment of pupil councils and class councils has given children more of a voice but in the primary school too much can be role play and those elected often speak more for themselves than for their constituents, their class. In any case their decisions need to be represented at the bodies that control school life, senior managers and Governing Bodies or Academy Boards who rarely have pupil representatives, and if they do, exclude them from voting on decisions to be made. There are though good examples of pupils being involved in teacher interviews, teacher assessment and especially in their own learning. Yet too often the remit of pupil discussion is the distinctly informal aspects of school life e.g. playground rules, school dinners and uniforms rather than the formal aspects, the curriculum, teaching and assessment. All professionals working with children could improve their service if they listened to their clients, the children.
Hicks D, and Holden C, [1995] Visions for the future: Why we need to teach for tomorrow. Trentham Books.
In 2009 an examination of children’s participation by the National Children’s Bureau and the Children’s Rights Alliance found exactly that, i.e. children feel their voices
John Cook is a former Lewisham Primary Teacher. Doug Springate was formerly a Senior Lecturer at the University of Greenwich.
Atance C (2008) Future Thinking in Young Children. Current Directions in Psychological Science. Cook J [2001] Children’s Hopes and Fears for the Future- a European Perspective Primary Practice No 27 Jan 2001 British Council, Next Generation Research Series 2009-2017 Mahaffie Nine Skills That Will Help Make Our Children Future Ready www.wise-qatar.org National Children’s Bureau and Children’s Rights Alliance for England. [2009] An Examination of Children’s Participation.
Thanks to the children at Old Bexley Primary School, Bexley; Holbeach Primary School, Lewisham; and Rose Street Primary School, Sheppey.
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