Post by Liz Stevenson @lstevenson2410
A version of this was presented at New Voices 2019
I was so excited to be offered a chance to talk at
this year’s New Voices conference! Then the reality of trying to squeeze in
everything that we have developed, over the last 4 years in our borough, into
20 mins struck me and I slowly started to drown in information overload! How
was I going to turn all this into one quality PowerPoint presentation? It turns
out, I needn’t have worried. Thanks to some technical issues, my presentation
didn’t work! Cue – back up plan of just doing what I do best and talking about
and showing off what we do.
So, what have Sandwell Council done to revolutionise
Transition? Well they started by employing me – the first Transition Manager in
the borough. What an honour. I very quickly began to utilise a system that was
already in use but not widespread. Who wants to re-invent the wheel if you
don’t have to? The Transition Plus Pathways (TPP) is a ‘one size fits all’
spreadsheet which all schools should now be using as the only means of data
transfer from KS2 to KS3. We are still working to have this 100% across the
board but we are getting there. The data sheet holds a fantastic amount of information
and the joy of having one format means, in all sorts of ways, that workload at
year 6 is massively reduced. With many of our secondary schools asking for
information from forty plus primaries, the ease of the system means response
time is much faster and so the secondary schools can be much more strategic
with the response to the information provided.
The TPP one of the borough wide pastoral developments.
We also support the curriculum by having a very short project which is started
in year 6 and completed in year 7. The pupils have a one hour task in English,
Maths and Science in year 6 which is then followed up by a linked one hour
lesson in English, Maths, Science, Geography, D&T and History. This year we
are hoping to extend this to all curriculum areas. This has proved invaluable
to both staff and pupils. Staff can now see exactly what a child is capable of,
rather than just being a test score but it also helps the pupil remember what
they are able to do and it helps refocus them when they get overwhelmed. I know
this as I have the privilege of visiting pupils in year 7 across most of our
schools to get their views on the project. The only negative reaction I have
ever had is from pupils who did not complete the work in year 6, or have not
yet had the chance to use it in year 7. More than one child telling me how
having the work boosted their confidence and 1 described it as their academic
comfort blanket! Yes, those were year 7’s words!
Now the big issue was how to pass all this information
from phase to phase. We set up a Transition Fayre at the end of the school
year. All 19 mainstream and several special secondary schools are all available,
all day in one space. Primary schools book a time to attend and have the
opportunity to pass on any relevant files, the pupils work and chance for a
final conversation after the ‘Induction days’ have taken place and so the staff
have all now met the pupils. This year’s event was the best yet, with 78/88
primary schools booking slots, with apologies form the remaining schools. This
is one of my favourite days of the year, it’s just such a buzz from start to
finish.
What else have we done? In no particular order, we
also have 30 plus cross phase network groups, we work with organisations
supporting disadvantaged youngers (RADY – from Challenging Education and Poverty
Proofing from Children North East), KS2/3 development through a successful SSIF
bid, and sharing of an Old Habits Die Hard document. Outlining, in very simple
terms, what changes are coming for the pupils and their families. Think - You
are at Big School now! But what on earth should that look like? I also visit
year 6 pupils to share this information with them if the primary school would
like me to.
Just a snapshot of the recent developments! Phew, all
this information shared without the use of technology! It’s a good job I like
to talk!
No comments:
Post a Comment