Post 16 Network Meeting RM598 / D10

Over the last three years the delivery of the GCSE curriculum has been significantly disrupted. The consequence of this is that young people now entering Year 12 in September 2022 to do A-levels or vocational courses in Science subjects are likely to have a skills and knowledge deficit compared with normal years.

This deficit will be a consequence of both the Covid-caused disruption to course delivery and to the advance notice materials sent by exam boards which may mean some schools did not teach non-assessed parts of the specifications.

For all schools and colleges this is a challenge but in particular it is a challenge for post-16 institutions where a significant proportion or all of the year 12 starters have come from different institutions.

This network session will provide an opportunity to discuss the factors that will have affected the curriculum delivery in schools, the most likely deficits there will be as a consequence, how to diagnose them and how to address them.

Prompt questions

1. In what different ways is the curriculum delivery to last year’s Year 11 students in science likely to have been impacted by the pandemic disruptions over the last three years?
2. If you run GCSE science at your institution, what did you try to do to mitigate this disruption?
3. What are the most likely “non-normal” deficits for the new Year 12s likely to be in terms of: (a) knowledge; (b) application; (c) mathematical skills; (d) practical skills; (e) science capital and enrichment; (f) CEIAG for future study and careers; (g) self-confidence?
4. How do you normally assess incoming knowledge, understanding and skills with Year 12 students?
5. Will this model still be fit for purpose or will it need strengthening?
6. What should be the balance between diagnosis and remedy at the start of the course versus ongoing diagnosis and remedy during the course?
7. What resources (textbooks, workbooks, websites, activities, videos, Oak National Academy) might be useful to support this process?
8. How might you employ independent study and flip learning approaches to diagnose and remedy these learning gaps?

Activity

Look at your scheme of work/teaching schedule for Autumn 1 and Autumn 2 terms and think about how you might wish to adapt it to take account of some of the challenges we have addressed.

Questions to consider:-

1. Are you building in a transition phase at the start to diagnose and strengthen some key post-16 generic skills that will be important for the course?
2. If so, what?
3. If you do, what will be displaced and how will you make up that ground later?
4. For each of the topics you will be teaching, what is the key foundational knowledge and skills that you will need to diagnose and establish?
5. What resources might support this and how will you build these activities in?
6. How will you confidently assess that the requisite prior knowledge and skills are in place for Year 12 students confidently to be able to access and thrive in the substantive part of your post-16 course?