"Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future" (J F Kennedy)
There has been constant change in education throughout my career. That change seems to be accelerating and I suppose that is only to be expected to reflect life elsewhere.
Students beginning school in September 2008 (our present Year 7) will be the first cohort required to stay in education or training until the age of 18. We do not know exactly what this entails but first indications are that it is not a compulsory raising of the school leaving age. It is more likely to be that students cannot start proper employment until the age of 18, ensuring all young people have appropriate education and training. Currently 90% of Rodborough pupils go on to Further Education courses at Godalming or Guildford. No doubt making suitable provision for the final 10% will be the most challenging.
New GCSE courses are about to be implemented in September 2009 in all but Maths, Science and English and so staff are planning their time in the coming months to prepare for these changes. Coursework is likely to change to timed in-school tasks and many subjects are being offered modular testing throughout the course. There are many advantages to this for students but we are concerned about the exam culture it will bring if students sit modules in all subjects on a termly basis. Oh, and then there is the matter of resits!
September 2008 saw the roll out of the new Diploma qualification. Offered at three levels up to and including 'A' level, the first 5 of 17 Diploma subjects have started: Construction and the Built Environment, Creative and Media, Engineering, Information Technology, and Society, Health and Development. Rodborough and the other Waverley schools have decide not to rush into these as there is so much uncertainty about their status, the programmes of study and the qualification structure.
The Diplomas are made up of various components:
- Principal learning, the knowledge and skills of the Diploma subject applied through situations and problems related to work;
- Generic learning, which is common to all Diplomas, based on functional skills in Maths, English and ICT;
- Additional learning which may be other GCSE courses and the Project.
The Diplomas also include 10 days (minimum) work experience.
For schools like Rodborough, giving students access to 17 Diploma subjects whilst maintaining a full programme of GCSEs is challenging, to say the least. Uptake for any of the Diploma lines of learning is likely to be small and so Waverley schools are working together to ensure we can deliver in this area. The Waverley Federation has just applied to offer Diplomas in Environmental and Land Based Studies, Hair and Beauty, and Sport and Active Leisure. If we are successful in our bid, we hope these may be on offer for a September 201o start.
September 2008 saw the introduction of new programmes of study at Key Stage 3. Generally they are less prescriptive and give greater flexibility to teachers. This feels quite strange to teachers after so many years of being told exactly what to teach, with programmes of study so crammed with content that it was almost impossible to complete it all. Of course, this year there have also been changes to assessment at Key Stage 3 with the Government withdrawing Key Stage 3 tests in English, Maths and Science. I saw a newspaper article recently complaining that many schools were going to continue to implement tests for 14 year olds this summer (the tests are already written and available to schools). It is hardly surprising that these changes, brought in at zero notice, without consultation, a few months before the end of a three year cycle, when schools have built their systems around them, find schools without a ready made alternative to put in place. We broadly welcome the changes but just need more time to plan and develop alternative systems. It looks as if the Government may well be doing that for us with their plans for Assessing Pupil Progress.
Education needs to keep moving to be relevant for a new generation and the challenges they face. As with all change it has to be managed well in order to create the best experience for all involved. As teachers we are always keenly aware that students only have one chance and therefore all change must include sensible precautions to protect those experiencing it.
