School Improvement
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Changes and cancellations hit exams in Scotland
Exams in Scotland are to be adjusted or cancelled in 2021, the Education Secretary has announced.
The biggest announcement has seen National 5 exams cancelled and replaced with teacher assessments and coursework.
John Swinney said it was likely students would face disruption and that the Covid-19 pandemic was “too big a risk“.
Here is what you need to know.
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Catch-up sessions for holiday
Parents can be fined for taking children on holiday during term time without the school’s permission because children miss valuable learning. For students who are absent, catch-up lessons for holiday learning time are vital to get them back on track.
The UK Government states:
You have to get permission from the headteacher if you want to take your child out of school during term time. And you can only do this if:
- You make an application to the headteacher in advance (as a parent the child normally lives with)
- There are exceptional circumstances
Being prepared for exams
School exams are to return in 2021 – the Education Secretary in Scotland, John Swinney, has said.
There was significant changes to original grading in the results of 2020 GCSEs and A-Levels, after exams this summer had been cancelled.
Mr Swinney was speaking at the National Parent Forum of Scotland. This blog post is about being prepared for exams.
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Moving around the building safely
The latest coronavirus guidelines provides tips for moving around the building safely.
Though mask wearing is only mandatory in local lockdown areas, a number of guidelines were implemented for keeping staff and students safe.
This blog post is all you need to know about bubble groups and moving around the building safely.
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Assessing and tracking students accurately and continuously
Tracking students is essential, especially in modern times where students are behind and the race to catch up is on.
By tracking students accurately and monitor your school can:
- Find precisely where individual students are in their learning against a set of learning intentions and success criteria
- Help students know what their next steps in learning are, which facilitates significant increases in their students’ achievements
Parental and pupil engagement are boosted by confidently and accurately reporting performance feedback to them. But why is it critical at the present moment in time to track and assess students accurately and continuously? This blog post explains.
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Williamson determined 2021 exams will go ahead
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has said he is “deeply sorry” to school pupils who had grades downgraded as a result of this summer’s exam algorithm and has said he is “determined” exams will go ahead in 2021.
The Education Secretary was speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday – his first appearance in Parliament since the decision was made to award pupils with their predicted grades for this summer’s exams.
Find out what he had to say by reading the blog post below.
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How to plan a creative curriculum for your pupils
By installing a creative curriculum in your school you can get the most out of the imaginative minds of your pupils.
It may be defined by topics or themes, or greater involvement of pupils in deciding what they are going to learn.
These are the benefits of a creative curriculum and the steps you can take to build one.
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Inclusive education: what can be done to make the system more inclusive
Should GCSEs be changed to create a more inclusive education?
The flawed exam algorithm may have established a flaw in the goal of an inclusive education.
With pupils automatically disadvantaged based on where they are from, the system could be the strongest indicator yet that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds have to work harder to achieve in the education system.
Experts have wade in on the debate about whether there need to be a revamp, including of the GCSE system, in order to make learning more inclusive.
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What is the school improvement cycle?
The school improvement cycle is a 5 step process identify, maximise and evaluate school improvement.
By following the steps below you can successfully identify gaps in improvement in your school, assess your options, maximise the impact and evaluate your improvements.
Here is how it works.
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