Pierre

I am interested in learning from a secondary school that currently embeds an "oracy" programme which is the type we are supposed to emulate. What exactly do they do? How do they assess it? What are their general outcomes as a school? Which demographic do they serve? I think this will be the last post I do on oracy for the minute. It's important that if, as a profession, we are going to implement something we know exactly what it looks like and where it works. Please share widely 🙏🙏

This is actually a classic example of where "research" meets the reality of a classroom and falls apart. The worksheet is a case of "interleaving", where you mix topics together. Instead of 6 words just on "s", you add one word that has an "m" There's loads of research (based on Doug Rohrer) that says this is good for long term learning. About 8 years ago, when I became aware of the research, I started building worksheets that shuffled in older topics. Genius. Research -> practice, much applause on Twitter and in blogs. Unfortunately, it didn't work. The students were confused. They put their hands up. Said "sir I think there's a mistake here." Couldn't task shift, and really struggled. Part of the goal of interleaving was to get them to struggle, but to a "desirable" level, and unfortunately, this kind of "hard" interleaving didn't work. It made them confused and stressed. Later iterations were much better. I designed tasks to gently introduce interleaving by gradually shifting topics across an exercise. I also forewarned the students, and gave them supports if they got stuck. That helped, and made a big difference to their learning. So yes, this phonics worksheet does seem on the face of it like a funny case, but the parent's confusion here is entirely predictable and understandable, and it could have been avoided. There is a micro lesson here about learning from people who have been through the ringer. A lot of teachers in England went through this stuff, but the train of educational ideology is full steam ahead on theory, and nobody is asking "oh, well there's a bunch of people that have tried this stuff, let's talk to them first." There's also a macro lesson about theory and practice. I love educational research, but it's worthless if it can't be implemented, and the people that can figure that out aren't academics, armchair enthusiasts, school senior leaders or teacher trainers who haven't taught for decades.

These are some of the things that I think mainstream secondary schools should be able to expect of the overwhelming majority of its students: Turn up to lessons on time Start work without talking to anyone Bring your books and equipment to school Don't call out questions, answers or comments Don't get out your chair and wander round the classroom Raise your hand if you want to say something Talk politely to everyone (especially teachers) Don't roll your eyes or kiss your teeth if challenged on behaviour Pay attention to what the teacher is saying Don't turn around to try and get your friend's attention Complete your homework Don't chew gum Don't break the law (e.g. vaping on premises) Don't use your phone If a teacher asks you your name, say it Walk calmly (if not quietly) in the corridors Complete your homework If someone says good morning to you, say good morning back Hold the doors open for people if you can Don't fight Don't playfight Don't swear Comply with reasonable instructions (e.g. "please get your planner out" or "please follow along with class reading" or "please come over here.") For many of the things on the list, students should expect a consequence (like a detention) for not following them. I suspect most of the above sounds entirely reasonable to the public, and schools should not be pilloried for attempting to cultivate these behaviours. This is not an exhaustive list. But these are the ways that students in the best-performing schools I have visited behave. Are there a tiny minority of students who couldn't comply with this list? Absolutely. Sometimes, those students need a different type of school environment, and we should (and often do) have high quality provision for them. Sometimes, those students would comply if they were in a mainstream school where these behaviours were normal and enforced. High performing schools have the same number of -"difficult" students -students on free school meals -students with EHCPs than low performing ones (they often have more). Whatever demographic you pick, there will be a high performing school where those same students are behaving beautifully. Of course, teachers and leaders also have their part to play in this but that, dear reader, would require a different post.