Page 28 - SASTA Journal 2017

26 SASTA Journal Number 02 / 2017 Teaching in the U.K.
Belinda Hawker
What a once in lifetime experience. Would not have missed it in the world for all the wonderful experiences it afforded me. In saying that, the teaching was challenging to say the least. I was in a “Good” school by OFSTED standards (the Board that determines and regulates schools and whose imminent arrival petri es the whole school “One must be at all times OFSTED ready with
all data and documents and policies up-to-date). They were to come to see my entire one year and 2 terms I was teaching – I was going to plead snowed under as an Aussie teacher!
My school had 1700 students from Year 6 to 12 (UK Year 7 to 13). 300 Year 6 enrolled for 2017-2018 year with 178 on the waiting list from up to 50 kms away.
I taught 9 classes in 2016 - 2017- 2 Year 6 Science classes, 1 Year 7 Science class, 2 Year 8 Chemistry classes, 2 Year 9 Chemistry classes, and 1 Year 11 and 1 Year 12 Chemistry classes.
My Year 12 A level Chemistry in 2016-2017 had 7 students, 6 passed which was good (the 7th was asleep most lessons and did no work). Year 12 A level results are important but not as important as GCSE (Year 10 exam results) which the whole country does in June.
GCSE results make or break a school. The whole school is really aimed at getting as many students as possible to pass their GCSE. I was in awe of how hard the teachers work to get these students to pass. They would have sat all their exams for them!!!!! Students generally seem to not work as hard as the teachers!
A level Chemistry has a much higher academic level than SA and NSW curricula; it was at rst year university level. I had to do some revision and rst and second year uni came back to me with much better understanding! (Students only do 3 A level subjects). The other Sciences were also of a higher level.
The A level Sciences had three exams - two 13⁄4 hours exams and one 21⁄2 hour exam which was a more practical based one. The school had to pay for these students to sit the exams.
The all-important GCSE Science curriculum is taught from Year 6 through to Year 10. A slightly watered down Introduction in Year 6 then full on in Year 7; full on in both Year 8 and 9 where Science is split into Chemistry, Physics and Biology; and nally Revision in Year 10.
It is a very comprehensive curriculum and very intensive. To complete the required curriculum, planning takes place so that each lesson’s content is planned and mapped out for the year and must be stuck to by all teachers.
The week’s lessons are ordered with any equipment the week before. (Pity help, if you forget the Thursday order! First thing Friday morning you are greeted with a glare and sat at the computer to complete your recies.) Only occasionally, when the same equipment was needed, do
the technicians rearrange the set lesson arrangement.
I found it to be rather boring to deliver, for instance, the same practicals were set for each Year as the topics were the same but under a different name. Most students had forgotten the knowledge delivered the year before as they did not have time to learn and consolidate. So it was more about what they could remember after 4 years to regurgitate for the exam at end of Year 10.
This seemed to work, as my school achieved a 76% and 75% pass with A* to C grades in my two years there. This was an increase on previous years. There was very little room for movement or innovation/deviation (in rst year of teaching the course as a new teacher) as the 100 minute set lesson plans were packed with work to complete with PowerPoints, worksheets and set practicals.
Years were streamed into three Bands then three classes of 28/29 students in each Band. Years 6, 7 and 8 did have an additional achievement and excel class for those students who needed an additional classroom manager and student support of cer(s). These classes were smaller in size.
Assessment was the same set test for every class in the Year at the end of the topic within the nal week. These were marked that night, added to the spreadsheet and then moderated to achieve the appropriate number of 0 to 9 grades across the Year to re ect GCSE grades. These grades were used against students’ entry set grade (in Year 6 and rarely changed) of expected GCSE grade to show improvement which was monitored via a special spreadsheet programme three times a year.
Free school meals, students, and other factors were taken into account in determining whether a teacher had made the appropriate improvement in the performance of the students. The grades for each test were monitored by the Year Leader in Science and comments made
if particular classes were seen to be falling behind expectations.
Marking scrutiny was carried out two to three times a year where all students’ books
(which were not allowed to be
taken home for fear they would
not be brought back – with good reason) were brought to a laboratory and checked by peers for tidiness, underlined lesson titles and date, margin marking (completed EVERY lesson - just a signature!!! I ended up doing this 50% of the time at the end of the day!), stuck in ‘Fact Sheets’ and ‘Get Your Facts Right’ green pen revision of said questions.