Find out about the small test of change undertaken in P2/1 at Westquarter Primary School.
Building a Reading Culture
Our Reading Culture network met yesterday for the fourth of our professional network events. We took the opportunity to consider the role of storytelling as part of pedagogy, to share progress in our classrooms so far and to consider our next steps.
Psychology and Numeracy Research 2019
The Four Educational Psychology Services of the FVWL Regional Collaborative have combined their research efforts to produce this ground breaking report on the psychological factors of numeracy.
We found a parallel with the national GIRFEC practice model and the Ecological System theory by Bronfenbrenner. The 94 factors were categorised into 20 clusters and then three categories.
Individual factors
Intersubjective Factors
Contextual factors
RECOMMENDATIONS
This meta-study finds that, given the complexity and multitude of factors that influence numeracy development and mathematical attainment, Councils, the Regional Collaborative and Scottish Government need to find ways of:
- promoting long term duration of teacher pupil relationships,
- promoting whole school consistency and beyond in the teaching of mathematics
- consider the impact that relationships and attachment style may have on pupils’ numeracy development
- ensure that teacher led innovations occur in a culture of learning, knowledge and research and with reference to the existing evidence base on effective interventions
- Encouraging parents to become more involved in contributing to the development of concepts skills and knowledge which are fundamental to math but not necessarily math specific such as risk-taking behaviour, metacognition, self-regulation and beliefs about intelligence and mastery.
- Actively encourage collective teacher efficacy in a context that promotes sustainability of improvement in evidence based ways.
This highlights the need for a cultural change with regard to numeracy education to include funding, employment and training arrangements that promote the long term relationship with staff and pupils in schools, effective mathematics teaching, and recognise the impact of relationships and attachment style on pupils’ numeracy development. Implementing improvement needs sustainability and implementation of improvement to be considered as important as the specific mathematic concepts and knowledge in encouraging children to learn maths.
Our final recommendation is that there is a need for debate about practice and improvement at a strategic and practice level within the Regional Collaborative and the four education authorities.
Best Start Grant
The Best Start Grant is a package of three payments. It provides parents or carers who get certain benefits or tax credits with financial support during the key early years of a child’s life.
https://www.gov.scot/policies/social-security/best-start-grant/
link to key information, policy, resources and exemplification relating to ELC
This page provides a summary of key information, policy, resources, and exemplification relating to early learning and childcare (ELC).
https://education.gov.scot/improvement/practice-exemplars/a-summary-of-elc-resources
Children’s rights legislation quick reference guide
This quick summary guide is to:
Set the scene on children’s rights legislation in Scotland, and
Provide useful web links to key measures
childrens-rights-legislation-in-scotland-quick-reference-guide
Conversation event Wednesday 1st May
This aim of this conversation event is to provide an informal opportunity for practitioners from all educational sectors and settings, community learning and development and the third sector to learn about and consider:
Family Learning
Involving parents in improvement planning
Parents and Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM)
See attached flyer for details of how to book.
Save the Date – It’s a good time to collaborate
When: Wednesday 29 May What: It’s a good time to collaborate
Where: Inchyra Grange, Grangemouth
Who: The purpose of the event is to bring together practitioners from every school and educational establishment in Clackmannanshire, Falkirk, Stirling and West Lothian
Funding Follows the Child and the National Standards
Attached is the powerpoint used at the RIC consultation event at the Stirling Highland hotel the end of February. This presentation is for all ELC staff and contains links to key documents.
FFtC and NS – Presentation and Workshop – RIC Events – February 2019
Early Years RIC Sub Group
The Early Years RIC Sub Group met last week to discuss and evaluate the event “It’s a Good Time to be Two” which took place on 12th Feb for staff who work with two year old children across the RIC.
The feedback from attendees has been extremely positive especially in giving people the opportunity to network and share across the four authorities. There was a request for more training on Improvement Methodology. The feedback will be analysed in further detail and a plan for the way forward will be created.
