How to achieve more in your EYFS or primary classroom…
What if there was a way to make the EYFS and primary school observations and assessment process simpler? What if there was a way reduce the manual burden on teachers, but at the same time, allow them to achieve more? These were just a couple of the questions that the software gurus at edtech software development company, NetSupport, were asking as they considered creating a new education app that would save time for teachers – as well as provide them with simple ways to gain more insights into the attainment and progress of their class. After close consultation with teachers and school leaders throughout the whole development process (plus extensive classroom trials), the end result is ReallySchool: an convenient app for primary school teachers that streamlines the observations and assessment process that needs to be completed for every pupil each day – with a comprehensive bundle of bonus tools that maximise the learning evidence that they are required to collect. And it’s already making quite an impact! Let’s explain… A new way to capture learning The ReallySchool app has been designed to be intuitive and easy for teachers and teaching assistants to use, without any formal training required. Teachers can begin using it in their classrooms straight away: photographing children’s skills acquisition on a tablet or smartphone and assessing it in a couple of clicks by applying statements from the in-built frameworks, spotting any learning gaps from timelines and class overviews and being able to share pupils’ achievements with parents and guardians via student journals or messages. The feedback we’ve had from the teachers already using ReallySchool in their classrooms is outstanding, with many saying that it saves them approximately two hours per day; cumulatively, over a week, that’s a significant amount of time that can be reinvested into teaching and learning to benefit pupils. As the app has been designed in the style of many common social media apps, it’s intuitive and easy to learn as you go. Some schools have told us that even their most technophobic members of staff who wanted to continue using paper journals for pupils’ observations started to use ReallySchool when they saw how quickly their colleagues were completing theirs – which is great news! What’s more, it’s extremely accessible to schools and early learning institutions due to its budget-friendly cost. A treasure trove of tools Sometimes, classroom learning can take an unexpected twist and teachers need to go with the flow. So to ensure that ReallySchool is as responsive teachers need it to be, we designed its tools to be as flexible as possible. So what if, instead of photographing evidence of learning, a child wants to tell you about it or show it to you instead? Simple – just click the audio or video icon, then ‘Record’, and it’s captured. What if you need to quickly add a student to a group observation? Just click and add them in, without having to re-create groups from scratch. Assessments in ReallySchool are extremely flexible and convenient, with teachers being able to include multiple frameworks, age bands and learning areas all in a single observation. To give teachers the extra insights and overviews of whole class attainment that they need (or, alternatively, whole-school views for senior leaders), ReallySchool’s complementary desktop portal has a dedicated Reports Dashboard. This can provide class attainment, class progress, baseline reports showing EYFS pupils’ skills on entry and more – as well being the area where teachers can create student journals; an individual in-depth achievement report for each pupil that can be shared with parents at parents’ evenings. Class overviews showing which pupils are emerging, developing, expected and exceeding in their skills acquisition are also a great way for teachers to spot where any learning gaps are – allowing them to plan their instruction accordingly and ensure that all pupils are on track. For convenience, teachers can also access these reports and overviews on the app, enabling them to easily spot and address learning gaps during the lesson. To reward pupils for good progress, behaviour choices and more teachers can give badges for achievement which are appended to their students’ observation records. These cover a multitude of topics and act as a great motivator for the pupils – and teachers can share news of any award directly with parents and guardians (to their own version of the ReallySchool app), so they can celebrate and share in their child’s success. And to encourage parental engagement, ReallySchool allows teachers to send messages and/or audio clips to parents, which can sometimes be helpful for those whose first language is not English and who may understand the spoken word better than the written one. Both parents and teachers can comment on observations and have a dialogue about learning, progress and how best to support young learners. ReallySchool: now UK-wide NetSupport focuses on continuous development and innovation to ensure all its solutions deliver exactly what schools and teachers need, so regular updates are the order of the day. ReallySchool’s latest tools include Leadership Reports for school leaders – including SOAP, whole school attainment and more. We’ve also added new assessment frameworks to the in-built list: the National Curriculum for Wales, The Digital Competence Framework, the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence and the Northern Ireland Curriculum for Primary – to make it even easier for teachers across the whole of the UK to apply the appropriate assessments to their pupils’ observations. And to help them make their judgements at the end of each key stage, we’ve incorporated the National Curriculum End of Key Stage 1 and End of Key Stage 2 assessment criteria too. There are already many ways that ReallySchool helps senior leaders, teachers and teaching assistants by maximising the data that schools are required to collect as evidence of learning – and more functionality is being developed and added all the time. To discover more about ReallySchool’s features and to sign up for a free trial for your school, click here. See us at Bett 2020 Even better,
UNCOVERED: Maths mastery for four-year-olds
Katie Hiatt is a Publisher at Pearson and has led the development of Power Maths Reception. Here, she explains the CPA method and how it’s suited to children in early years. With a mastery approach becoming increasingly popular in primary schools, many school leaders are starting to consider how to embed mastery in their reception classrooms, without compromising on giving children a rounded experience of early years. Here are some ways you can align a mastery approach with early years best practice: Focus on foundations Don’t worry about teaching reception children to count to higher numbers or the names of every 3D shape you can find – these things can come later. What’s really important is that children begin to develop a sense of the underlying concepts and structures of maths. Some children may come to school already fluently counting to ten and beyond – but do they really, deeply understand what these numbers mean? Can they recognise and represent five in a variety of ways? Can they pick five pencils from a pot of ten? Do they know what pairs of numbers make up five, and when they’ve found all the pairs? Children need to master these foundation skills in order to succeed in KS1 and beyond. CPA the early years way CPA stands for concrete, pictorial, abstract – an approach that is being championed by the NCETM and Maths Hubs. Many teachers find that using concrete resources in maths comes naturally in EYFS – and that’s great! Being able to touch, feel and manipulate the maths is an ideal way to help children develop an understanding of the underlying concepts. But some teachers find it more difficult to move children from that great starting point to a pictorial and then abstract approach. Teaching children how to represent objects is a good starting point – it’s not practical to get three elephants and two camels into the room to sort them, so what could we use instead? Moving from a representation with a clear link (such as toy elephants and camels) to representation with something less obviously linked (such as counters and a part-whole model) ensures children understand the concept of representation as well as the underlying structure of this particular problem, building a firm foundation for later success in maths. Abstract maths doesn’t have to mean formal written maths. Try using sound and movement – how many claps can you hear? Can you hop five times? Can you line up in threes? Activities like these ensure children are not relying solely on visual cues. Develop a growth mindset in maths A key way to help children become ready for KS1 is to embed a growth mindset right from the start. Made a mistake? No worries! Learn from it, and have another go. Something you tried hasn’t worked? What could you try instead? Growth mindset attitudes to learning will help children become confident, curious and resilient learners, not just in maths but across the whole curriculum. Power Maths Reception combines a mastery teaching approach with Early Years best practice to help children be ready for maths in KS1 and beyond. It also includes built-in professional development for teachers. Find out more at: pearsonprimary.co.uk
Grant of £30k to encourage more men into Early Years roles
The government has announced a £300,000 grant to encourage more men to take up careers in Early Years setting. The news was announced this week by Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi, who highlighted the fact that only 3% of EYFS staff in England are men. Mr Zahawi added: “Every child needs a role-model to guide them – whether that’s a parent, a close family member or friend, or someone at nursery or preschool that makes a difference in their life. The early years staff who support children in the first few years of their education equip them with important skills before they reach the classroom, getting them on track to succeed as they get older. “Just as parenting is a shared responsibility, so is kickstarting a child’s love of learning. I want more men to play a positive role in educating and caring for our next generation. That’s why we’re supporting the Fatherhood Institute to encourage men from all walks of life into early years careers, to give children the best start in life and be a part of this important and rewarding sector.” June O’Sullivan MBE, CEO of London Early Years Foundation, welcomed the news and the opportunity to address the stereotyping of teaching roles, saying: “Studies show that children see little difference between the care provided by male teachers and that provided by their female counterparts and therefore it’s critical that we widen the talent pool if we are to staff the Early Years sector with high-quality male nursery teachers and assistants. “Whilst the nature of modern work is changing, the perception that nursery teaching is not for men persists and the experiences of men in Early Years demonstrate how pervasive negative stereotypes remain. It’s imperative that we create a culture change and shift attitudes for the better and for the sake of our children.”