A P5/6 teacher describes her tracking system
Category Archives: CfE
New ByC resources!
New resources to support schools with their curriculum planning have recently been published on the LTS website:
1. A workshop which can be used with staff when creating or revisiting a curriculum plan. It brings together ideas from different schools (with room to add your own) and asks staff to consider how they might work in their own content.
http://bit.ly/gssGmd
2. This case study describes the journey Law Primary School took as they developed their curriculum plan. It is hyperlinked to all the resources and workshops they used too.
http://bit.ly/hBN88T
3. Two new versions of the strategic curriculum planner are available. One shows how you could link the strategic plan to HGIOS and the school improvement plan. The other shows how this tool could be used to focus on a particular aspect of CfE (in this case the three responsibility of all areas).
http://bit.ly/g00ynN
Using Glow as a portfolio
BtC5 explains the different sources of evidence that should be gathered and assessed relating to learners experiences and achievements. It is essential that this evidence is stored efficiently for all learners and that their progress and achievements are regularly updated.
Using Glow blogs as an e-portfolio provides an accessible, electronic, manageable and cost efficient method of storing different types of evidence such as audio, visual and written in one central place that can be accessed by both the learner and teacher. Learners can independently access and update their portfolio and their peers and teachers can comment on their work.
Have a look at the National e-portfolio Glow Group to see how others are taking this forward.
Other links that may be of interest:
Be inspired about what others are doing
National Assessment Glow Group
Some questions about NAR
What could we learn from NAR? What aspects of NAR development could help me with assessment? How is NAR being used? Norman Emerson, LTS Acting Programme Director, Assessment, addresses some of the questions that have been asked about National Assessment Resource (NAR).
Assessment in the Early Years: “Curriculum for Excellence Supporting the Early Level DVD”
This multimedia resource is designed to support practitioners as they implement Curriculum for Excellence at the early level. It shares practical ideas from a variety of pre-school and primary settings.
These materials are for all practitioners working with children in pre-school settings and Primary 1 or beyond. In this video, Avril Robertson from the Early Years team highlights the Assessment section of the resource which contains the following key messages:
- Assessment is an integral part of learning and teaching, and planning high quality learning activities for all children.
- Assessment provides an emerging picture of the child and their achievements, and can be a motivation for the child to do better and progress further in their learning.
- Assessment relates to the engagement of staff, children and parents, carers and the wider community in sharing and using a range of information to improve learning and development.To access the assessment section of the DVD on the early years website you can click on the link below:
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/earlyyears/curriculum/supportingearlylevel/implementation/assessment.asp
In the following informative video clip, Claire McGeachy from Kelly Street Children’s Centre, Inverclyde Council details the assessment approaches they use in their nursery :
The following video focusing on Building the Curriculum 5, from the staff of Glencairn Primary School in North Lanarkshire Council, highlights a recent in-service event that worked towards developing a shared understanding of moderation with their cluster schools and nurseries.
Promoting children’s involvement in planning their learning
Claire Lavelle, HT at St Martin’s PS East Lothian, talks about how children have become more involved in planning and assessing their learning. Personalisation and choice is promoted and children engage more actively in class. Children keep track of their learning progress and success using Learning Journals. Planning in this way has given teachers confidence in working with the Es and Os.
Pupil self assessment
Pupil self assessment from P3 upwards in St.Cuthbert’s PS, Glasgow.The P5/6 teacher explains a short end of week pupil self- assessment exercise using a traffic lights approach.
Pre-Birth to Three National Guidance and Multimedia Resource
Pre-Birth to Three: Positive Outcomes for Scotland’s Children and Families, has been designed to support all adults who work with and on behalf of Scotland’s youngest children.
This exciting new resource, which includes the national guidance document, DVD, accompanying CD and poster has been created by the Early Years team at Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS) in collaboration with Scottish Government, colleagues from early years practice, local authorities, regulatory bodies, colleges, universities and NHS Health Scotland.
The new Pre-Birth to Three national guidance makes reference to current research to support improved evidence-based practice and is brought to life by the accompanying DVD resource, which uses film clips from settings across Scotland to highlight good practice in providing best starts and positive outcomes for our youngest children.
Informed by the latest developments in neuroscience, this new national guidance explains the importance of pregnancy and the first years of life in influencing children’s future development and outcomes. Recognising the importance of brain development pre-birth, when supporting early years staff in their work with babies and young children is a unique approach for Scotland, the UK and beyond.
Supporting the Scottish Government’s 10-year commitment and vision to improve the lives of children and families, this new resource supports the principles and values of key Scottish Government policy, such as the Early Years Framework, Equally Well, Achieving our Potential, Getting it right for every child and Curriculum for Excellence.
Although Curriculum for Excellence is designed for children aged 3-18, the pre-birth to three guidance supports transition through services. It emphasises that critical learning has already taken place before a child reaches the age of three and that experiences from pre-birth to three can influence the rest of their lives.
You can access the interactive version of the new National Pre-Birth to Three Guidance and multimedia resource on the Early Years Website:
http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/earlyyears/prebirthtothree/index.asp
This is a short video of Lisa Barnes, Principal Teacher Early Years Midlothian Council and Diane Janczyk, Family Playworker, Hand-in-Hand, Midlothian Sure Start discussing the New Pre-Birth to Three National Guidance and multi media resource and how useful this will be for reflecting on their practice and ensuring a high quality service.
Building Confidence in Assessment and Moderation
In this video clip a former Education Authority Development Officer for Curriculum for Excellence talks about what staff in her school, Pencaitland PS, feel are the most immediate challenges – assessment and moderation. She describes the importance of providing dedicated time for professional dialogue, of sharing the leadership amongst the staff and of working within guidelines developed by the Authority to support practitioners
Transitions 1
Secondary staff from Kirkintilloch High School outline their approach to transition with feeder primaries through developing enquiry skills through a local area project.They identified shared local resources and agreed on a common approach in both P7 and S1.
