TS-9.3

07 teachwire.net/secondary Thisyear’sGCSEs Following the cancellation of this year’s GCSEs as part of efforts to halt the spread of coronavirus, the DfE has announced further details of what the arrangements for the 2019/20 cohort will be. It confirmed that GCSE students will be awarded a grade that ‘Fairly reflects the work that they have put in,’ though students will also have the option to sit an exam early in the next academic year if they wish. Ofqual will oversee a process whereby each student will receive a calculated grade that reflects their performance as fairly as possible, working with exam boards to ensure that this is consistently applied. Exam boards will in turn be consulting with teachers and asking them to submit their judgements regarding the grades they believe students would have received, had the exams been able to go ahead. The DfE is advising teachers to consider various forms of evidence and data, including mock exam performance and non-exam assessment, and has confirmed that ‘Clear guidance on how to do this fairly and robustly’ will be issued to schools and colleges in due course. The final step will see exam boards combine the information they receive with other relevant data, including prior attainment, with the aim of producing a calculated grade for every student by the end of July. The government has asserted that the grades awarded will be indistinguishable from those provided in other years, but also confirmed that it will not be publishing any educational performance data for schools or colleges based on tests, assessments or exams taken in 2020. KEY NOTES I would like to make a statement regarding changes to the operations of educational settings as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. I know that the situation has become increasingly challenging. I said before that if the science and the advice changed, such that keeping schools open would no longer be in the best interests of children and teachers, we would act. We are now at that stage. After schools shut their gates on Friday afternoon, they will remain closed until further notice. That will be for all children except those of key workers and the children who are most vulnerable. The scientific advice shows that these settings are safe for this small number of children to continue attending, but asking others to stay away will help us to slow the spread of this virus. In order to allow schools and other settings to focus on this new operational model and the support they can give to ​these young people, we are removing various duties. Ofsted has ceased all routine inspection of early years, schools, colleges and children’s social care services. I can confirm that we will not go ahead with assessments or exams, and that we will not be publishing performance tables for this academic year. This is a testing time for the whole nation, but by asking schools and other settings to look after the children of key workers and the most vulnerable, we will be directly saving people’s lives. I am deeply grateful for the civic spirit and selfless dedication that has been, and continues to be, shown by teachers and other school workers every single day. I am committed to giving my full support throughout every stage of this crisis to those who are doing so much for all of us. Forget the media-friendly soundbites – what else was in those speeches you missed? THE HEADLINE: Teacher Toolkit webinars / FutureLearn online teaching course / Studio III consultations and training STUDIO III Training,consultations andwebinars studio3.org The consultancy service Studio III is currently offering a series of free and low cost training,consultations and webinars,which will run throughout the COVID-19 lockdown period.Details of the upcoming schedule forApril were yet to be announced at press time – those interested in finding out more should email admin@ studio3.org ,whereupon theywill a reply with further details and links to participate in future events. FUTURELEARN How toTeach Online: Providing Continuity for Students futurelearn.com This free three-week course aims to show practitioners how to adapt their practices to an online context,and develop approaches and techniques for engaging students online.Those taking part will get to benefit frompractical and community-driven support,and be encouraged to share their own practice.Areas coveredwill include tools for creation and sharing,the process of creating a learning designs library and how to navigate the personal impact of teaching and learning online. TEACHER TOOLKIT Webinar sessions bit.ly/ttlk-covid19 Ross Morrison McGill, AKA @TeacherToolkit, is making over 20 webinar sessions available for teachers and schools to access over the coming weeks. Upcoming topics are set to include ‘Reducing Observational Bias’, ‘Verbal Feedback Research’ and ‘Working Memory in the Classroom’. Also worth checking out is his list post, ‘46 Ideas: How To Teach Online’, via bit.ly/tt-46-distance Education Secretary announces closure of schools until further notice WHO? Gavin Williamson CBE, Secretary of State for Education WHERE? House of Common WHEN? 18th March 2020 ONL INE CPD N E WS | A P R / M AY The Education Secretary is taking forward our plans to increase per pupil funding next year by an average of over 4%. Today, I’m providing every region in the country with funding for specialist 16-19 maths schools. £25,000 per year, on average, for each secondary school to invest in arts activities and £30m a year to improve PE teaching THE HEADLINE: Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivers his 2020 Budget Speech WHO? Chancellor Rishi Sunak WHERE? House of Commons WHEN? 11th March 2020