BULFORD C.E. PRIMARY SCHOOL
AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT TO IDENTIFY
SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES OF
ASSESSMENT FOR CHILDREN WITH TURBULENT
SCHOOLING
1999-2000
Marilyn Brindley
With additional research by
Pamela Smith
CONTENTS
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Areas of study
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Appendices
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This action research project is undertaken in partnership with two local
primary schools, Kiwi and Larkhill, who share the problem of meeting the
needs of children from army families. It also links to the School Development
Plan and helps to inform the Self-Evaluation model evolving as part of
that plan. All three schools belong to the NASSSC (The National Association
of State Schools for Service Children), which is working towards developing
a higher profile for the problems of "turbulence" encountered by schools
such as ours. In 1998-9 the areas of Bulford and Tidworth were part of
an unsuccessful Education Action Zone bid which focused on turbulence
issues and the effects, not just on service personnel and their families,
but on others who shared their daily lives. As part of that bid, a Context
Report was produced which outlined the effects on the pupils and staff
of Bulford C.E. Primary School. (Appendix A)
The subject of the action research project is the effect of turbulence
on standards of achievement. The research objective is: to identify successful
strategies of assessment to improve standards for children with turbulent
schooling. This prompts the following questions should such children
be assessed differently from those who have a more settled pattern of
schooling? Is it possible to find successful assessment strategies that
meet the needs of both sets of pupils? The aim of the following
paper is to report on progress to date in identifying such strategies.
AREAS OF STUDY
THE ROLE OF ASSESSMENT IN
IMPROVING LEARNING Top of page
In the Review of Secondary Education in England, 1993 7, OFSTED cites
research carried out by Paul Black and Dylan William (1998) in Assessment
and Classroom Learning (Assessment in Education 5(1), 7-74), which indicated
that there were five simple key factors to improving pupils" learning
through assessment:
The study also highlighted the problem created in the current educational
climate, with its emphasis on results and league tables (which encourages
teachers to practise test-taking), rather than on using assessment to
support learning. The effects on pupils are to create anxiety and to demoralise
low achievers.
The National Foundation For Educational Research (NFER) sounds a similar
note of caution in its 'Administration Manual for Cognitive Abilities
Test'. Whilst emphasising the usefulness of test scores in helping to
make educational decisions it urges the reader to remember:
'that tests do not make decisions. People make decisions; tests simply
give information that may help in making those decisions.'
'Teacher Assessment in Core Subjects at Key Stage Two' (OFSTED
1998) states that assessment can be used effectively to raise standards
when teachers:
The report includes a list of ways in which information is gained and
matches closely the methods we use at Bulford, clearly outlined in our
Assessment Policy:
'One of the tasks of the school is to take individuals as they are, then
devise for them the types of learning experiences that will help them
improve their present level of performance. The more relevant information
available about the present status of a pupil, the better able the teacher
should be to provide an effective learning environment for that pupil.'
National Foundation for Educational Research "Cognitive Abilities Test
Administrative Manual" NFER Nelson 1996
Current thinking about learning acknowledges that pupils must be involved
in their own learning, and that assessment should be used to provide them
with information about how well they are doing and guide their subsequent
efforts. Feedback from the teacher will have its part to play, but some
will come from direct involvement in assessing their own work.
'It is important that test results be used constructively. They should
be used to enhance pupils' chances of success in learning and help them
to achieve their own objectives as well as those the school has set for
them.' NFER (ibid)
Work carried out by Ruth Dann at Keele University draws on three interrelated
dimensions in education which contribute to pupil assessment. Writing
in the Primary Education Journal in June 1996, she promoted pupil self-assessment
as an essential component of formative assessment, along with thinking
skills and personal and social development. She points out the difficulty,
currently faced by teachers, of carrying out formative assessment of the
National Curriculum which indicates pupils" needs in relation to fairly
large learning steps (progress through the levels envisaged to be at
the rate of one every two years), but does not inform teachers about pupil
progress at a more specific level.
Self-assessment allows the teacher to gain a greater understanding of
children"s own thinking about their learning. Pupil self-assessment requires
pupils to think critically about their work and relate it to stated criteria.
Dann emphasises that this process demands the complex skills of comparing,
examining evidence, interpreting, reasoning and decision-making. In the
context of this action research project these skills can be developed
throughout a child"s education and is therefore a means of aiding their
learning as well as judging it (see later notes on teaching Thinking Skills).
In this way pupil self-assessment may be said to be helping to raise standards.
THE ROLE OF SELF- ESTEEM
Top of page
In addition to informing teachers about the small steps made in individual
progress, the use of self-assessment gives the message that teachers value
pupils" opinions about their learning. Pupils learn most effectively when
they, their teachers and parents, hold high but realistic expectations
of them. At Bulford we recognise that our pupils come from a wide variety
of backgrounds. Some children come to this school with both low self-esteem
and low expectations, trapped in a vicious circle of failure to learn,
whilst others may have high self-esteem but low expectations and will
not see the need to learn. For this reason we endeavour to find ways of
making the self-esteem of all pupils match their abilities and of conveying
to them the highest expectations.
Assessment can have a part to play in helping those pupils gain confidence
as learners by celebrating what they can do, what they understand and
what they know. This is achieved through such methods as displays around
the school, informative and effective marking (both verbal and written),
"Gold Book" Assemblies and peer support and encouragement.
Ruth Dann cites her own research (1991) which examined the role of criteria
in pupil self-assessment. This study concluded that pupils considered
their work in relation to what they had previously achieved, how much
effort they had put in and how much enjoyment they had gained from it.
Any attempt to develop pupil self-assessment must therefore recognise
the important role which pupils give to the social context of their learning,
and their personal priorities and expectations. Identifying future learning
targets may include attitude and effort and not be confined solely to
curriculum criteria. Solution Focused Thinking is based on the above principles.
SOLUTION FOCUSED
THINKING Top of page
Solution Focused thinking developed from Solution Focused Brief Therapy
(de Shazer,1985) and originated in family therapy practice. From there
it evolved into an approach that can be used with individuals as well
as families and groups. In the book "Solution Focused Thinking in Schools"
John Rhodes and Yasmin Ajmal concentrate on using the approach with behaviour,
reading and organisation.
In their research the following areas were highlighted:
What methods of learning and teaching actually work and how do
you know?
This links to the comments above about the role of self-esteem. Pupils
who experience difficulties with reading and writing often think of themselves
as unsuccessful learners. The Solution Focused approach builds on the
positive belief that they have in fact been active learners since birth
and have acquired some level of literacy. Looking at exceptions i.e. what
has worked in the past or what is working a little in the present can
shift the balance of thinking and provide evidence of competence that
can be built on. Examples of questions used are:
When did you make progress in learning to read?
What were you doing at these times which was helpful to you?
How did you know you were making progress?
The focus on successful learning can lead to questions on other areas
of a pupil's life such as hobbies or interests. A pupil interested in
football for instance may be asked;
How did you learn this skill?
What told you were getting better at this?
What does this learning tell you about yourself?
Thus questions begin to centre on knowing how something is achieved;
in cognitive psychology the ability for people to think about their own
learning, memory, and so on, is termed meta-cognition. It may be assumed
from this that, if pupils are more aware of their own thinking processes,
then their ability to learn and remember will be improved.
What are the student's goals and motivation to learn? What are the teacher's
goals and motivation?
The Solution Focused framework, with its emphasis on personal goals,
beliefs and attitudes addresses the problem of motivation in pupils who
are not making progress in literacy. Questions such as:
Do you want to learn to read?
Are you sure?
Why is that?
How much work are you willing to do?
What will be the first sign that you are making progress?
are not in themselves going to create motivation, yet they may have positive
effects.
Rhodes and Ajmal quote the work of Deci and Ryan (1985) who argued that
people have far more motivation for those activities they have freely
chosen and less for those into which they were co-erced. Questions which
focus on the pupil's own motivation for instance:
Tell me what book or magazine you could soon read which would tell you
that you are making progress. After that, which book?
can produce 'milestones' which are useful markers of progress for the
pupil. In addition specific targets, such as a list of spellings the pupil
would like to learn each week, can be agreed.
What is the interaction pattern of the student, teacher and wider
systems?
In the ideal situation pupil and teacher goals, methods of learning/teaching
and mutual respect will fit together comfortably. It is important, say
Rhodes and Ajmal, to ask questions such as:
What methods of teaching have you found successful with this pupil? What
has tended to work in the past? What were you doing differently at that
time?
What would be a sign for you that the pupil is making progress? What
would you see them doing?
What activities/books has the pupil most enjoyed? What was it about those
activities which interested the pupil?
Are there any ideas you have thought of but not tried?
The role of other family members may make a difference between success
and failure. The work of Rhodes and Ajmal has mainly been with older students
and issues of family interaction emerged indirectly. With pupils of below
eleven years of age, they believe more direct work with family members
might be crucial, and raise this as a possible future development. At
Bulford we have already begun to involve parents through our Target Setting
Parent Evenings. The Literacy focused Target Setting evening in 1999 had
a positive effect generally on motivation, and family involvement meant
parents were more supportive in helping pupils attain their targets. This
will be monitored in 2000 with an evening focusing on Numeracy. However,
as yet there has been no conclusion over the effects this may have on
individual pupils.
The National Foundation For Educational Research also warns teachers,
when setting targets, that the wider system should be considered:
'....although the pupil's general level of cognitive reasoning is an
important determinant of achievement, it is not the sole determinant.
The individual"s previous experience, present level of achievement, home
background, physical and mental health, and motivation are among other
factors that should be considered in arriving at a judgement about expected
level of achievement in a given area of study.' NFER (ibid)
Assessment of Skills and Ability
As the focus of the action research is methods of assessment, it is impossible
to ignore its place in the use of Solution Focused Thinking. Rhodes and
Ajmal state that it is not necessary to use tests which look at specific
areas of intelligence, reading and spelling (sometimes called 'psychometrics').
In fact no direct assessment of reading or spelling needs to be carried
out at all. If a skills assessment is used it does not appear to be detrimental
to the solution focused approach, except of course where it may be that
yet another test will demotivate the pupil, as we discussed in the introduction.
A more general sense of "assessment" may be used in terms of finding
something out. In this sense assessment is interwoven with other activities
in the solution focused approach. Further, it may be difficult to differentiate
between "assessment" and "intervention", the latter being defined as activities
which bring about change. It is acknowledged that the teacher or school
may be carrying out various assessments in the process of planning the
curriculum.
We decided to use the Solution Focused approach with children who had
been deemed to be under-achieving by their class teachers, using the scores
of their NFER Non-verbal reasoning and Maths and English papers.
An outline of the approach used with those pupils is at Appendix B and
the individual pupil interviews and responses at Appendix C. The pupils
were selected from the upper junior end of the school as it was thought
that these would respond best to the interview technique. Encouraged
by the responses of the pupils we decided to also use a broad version
of the Solution Focused Approach with children in Year 2. In preparation
for the SATs their class teacher used the technique to aid her own teacher
assessment and target-setting. Examples of those responses can be found
at Appendix D.
PUPILS' AWARENESS OF THEIR
OWN LEARNING STYLES Top of page
'Style awareness gives a greater sense of long-term purpose in learning,
by being made aware of the existence of one's learning personality and
witnessing it at work in one's own learning, a student and teacher are
offered a vital tool for managing the process of lifelong learning. The
negative effect of frustration and failure can be replaced with a positive
sense of self which builds upon individual success.' Banner and
Rayner "Teaching in Style: Are you making a difference in the classroom?'
In our research we identified a child, James, aged eight years, who appeared
to be a poor learner, was not highly motivated and demonstrated poor behaviour.
He was screened at the beginning of the academic year, along with his
peers, using the NFER Non-Verbal Reasoning test and the Progress in Maths
and English tests. His results gave cause for some consternation as he
had scored 97 on his maths and 79 on his English, both of which
were in accordance with his class teacher"s expectations. However, his
non-verbal reasoning test scored 134. In order to eliminate any other
factors, such as copying, we took the unusual step of retesting him some
weeks later. The child completed the paper in a relaxed and confident
manner and appeared to be enjoying it. The paper contained no mistakes
and gave him a standardised score of 137.
This particular child seemed to respond best to visual-perceptual problems.
However, our education system is not geared to pupils like James.
Lake and Needham (Top Ten Thinking Tactics), assert that education
as we know it is predominantly about words,
'..and this is especially so in the early years of schooling, when attitudes
and self-expectations are laid down.'
People like James could be at a distinct disadvantage in our education
system. Through our Solution-focused approach we aimed to help James become
more aware of his own particular learning style and thus raise his self-esteem.
His teacher, also having been enlightened, has different expectations
of James than she had previously. Where possible she may differentiate
her planning accordingly, and give James whatever opportunity she can
to build on his particular learning style.
In the initial solution focused interview, James said that he wanted
to be better at science, but not the practical application of the subject,
rather the acquisition of knowledge. We arranged to give James some time
each week when he would have the opportunity to share books about science
with an interested adult, who would act as mediator. In this way James
was given the message that we valued his opinions about his own learning,
thus helping to raise his self-esteem.
Early on in this report we emphasised the importance of self-esteem to
a pupil"s progress. Genuine success will raise self-esteem and one of
the ways we attempted to achieve this was to begin a programme of teaching
"Thinking Skills", to groups of pupils in years 5 and 6. We used a programme
called "Top Ten Thinking Tactics" by Mike Lake and Marjorie Needham. The
advantage of this programme was its simplicity and ease of use. The authors
recognise that the tactics will only acquire their true value when they
have transferred from the programme sessions into the classroom and beyond,
and for this to happen they must, through regular practice, become automatic.
The first five tactics are basic to all successful problem-solving in
the classroom and are simple to learn and apply. The next three tactics
involve higher order thinking and are important as learning becomes more
autonomous. However, it is the last two tactics, which concern a personal
awareness of where a child is as a learner, which relate best to the focus
of our research.
Self-awareness
Becoming aware of your own particular set of learning styles, your strengths
and weaknesses and preferences. Also, being aware of changes in your learning
styles and the possibility of further change. Awareness of the need to
regulate your approach according to your current style and current state
of knowledge.
Setting your own targets
Understanding what your purpose is not only accepting the goals planned
for you by others, but having your own ideas and wishes about what you
want to achieve.
The latter skill is particularly important at Bulford when we set targets
with our pupils for Numeracy, Literacy and Behaviour.
The Thinking Tactics programme refers to the work of Reuven Feuerstein,
one of the. founding fathers of the Thinking Skills movement. Feuerstein
used the term 'mediation' to describe the process whereby caregivers interpose
themselves between children and external stimuli, with the intention of
helping the child to make sense of those stimuli. The central feature
of the Thinking Tactics programme is the ability of the teacher to "mediate"
what children learn. Equally, although we have stated the importance of
praise and encouragement to self-esteem, in themselves they are not effective.
The mediator (teacher) makes sure that the child knows why he or
she is successful.
Lake and Needham refer to the work of Howard Gardener and his theory
of multiple intelligence. Gardener claims that there are at least eight,
and possibly nine, major intelligences. Accelerated Learning programmes
are based on this theory, but at their heart, once again, lies positive
self-esteem and self-belief.
'The learner must believe that there is value in the learning and that
he or she is capable of learning and applying it in some meaningful way'.
Alistair Smith 'Accelerated Learning in the Classroom' .
Gardener deplores the fact that schools tend to concentrate on linguistic
and mathematical/logical intelligences at the expense of all the rest.
Lake and Needham believe, however, that visual-spatial intelligence does
have a part to play in Science, Technology, Art, Geography and more advanced
mathematics at secondary level. But for many children, for example the
child James, in our own study, it may come too late, when they have already
developed images of themselves as school failures. Gardener would like
to see developed the notion of:
"An individual-centred school, one geared to optimum understanding
and development of each student's cognitive profile, their mix of different
forms of intelligence."
The design of the ideal school is based upon two assumptions.
First, that not all people have the same interests and abilities; not
all of us learn in the same way. Second, that nowadays no one person can
learn everything.' Guardian Education, Oct 12 1993 quoted by Lake and
Needham.
Lake and Needham acknowledge that Gardner"s vision of an ideal school
is one for the future. However, they put in a plea for those children
who continually struggle for little result and therefore find it hard
to develop a positive image of themselves as successful learners.
'It is easy to neglect the real talents of a significant proportion of
schoolchildren and, at the same time, to deny them suitable opportunities
for developing the self-esteem needed for satisfactory progress in those
areas which we deem important in school (words and numbers).' Lake
and Needham
Using programmes such as "Top Ten Thinking Tactics" and Solution Focused
interviews allows the teacher to observe children learning in new ways
and gives insights which help to build self-esteem by praising success
and helping to remedy defects not previously apparent.
Michael Barber writing in The T.E.S. (May 7 1999) 'Time Now to Think
About Thinking' ,
believes that:
'it is clear beyond dispute that much of what we might call applied
intelligence can be learnt from experience and explicitly through being
taught. Moreover, actually teaching thinking skills not only makes pupils
more intelligent, it raises standards of achievement.'
Currently, Thinking Skills are enjoying a high profile and we are beginning
to see encouraging reports on research into the subject. Carol McGuinness
of the School of Psychology, Queen"s University, Belfast was commissioned
by the DfEE to review and evaluate such research. Her report: 'From Thinking
Skills to Thinking Classrooms" draws interesting conclusions, but notes
that there is a need for the careful monitoring and support of the effects
in ordinary classrooms.
COGNITIVE EDUCATION
Cognitive Education is the generic term used by Professor Carl Haywood,
who prefers it to such terms as "thinking skills", "learning to think"
and "critical thinking", because it can subsume a wide variety of educational
programmes under one philosophical system. The primary goal of learning,
he says, is more learning and there is relatively greater emphasis on
process than content. As in the Solution Focused approach, one often hears
such questions as: ์How did you do that?' and ์What did you have
to think about in order to solve that?' He believes that the most successful
programmes of cognitive education are those in which academic content
is a vehicle for the teaching of thinking tools
' Cognitive education may be defined as an educational approach in which
the primary goal is the teaching and learning of formal processes of logical
thinking, with the objective of helping all students become independent
life-long learners who can generate and apply their own cognitive strategies
to a wide variety of content.' Keynote speech to the 1997 North of
England Education Conference reported in "Special Children" magazine
March 1997.
In his speech Professor Haywood referred to the research carried out
on the "Bright Start" programme for children of three to six years of
age. Early studies showed that children who received the programme in
pre-school showed greater gains over six to eight months than did
comparable children in I.Q, reasoning ability, language development and
in motor control (as an aspect of self-regulation), had a significantly
greater probability of being placed in regular education classes, as opposed
to special education classes in the primary grades, and to continue to
avoid special class placement.
Although the lessons themselves are important he emphasises, once again,
that it is a mediational style of teaching which is moreso. More than
do other teachers, mediational teachers:
o Ask questions
o Ask process-oriented questions
o Challenge responses, whether correct or incorrect
o Require justification of answers
o Emphasise order, structure and predictability
o Model the joy of learning for its own sake and for its own reward.
In his book, 'Accelerated Learning in the Classroom', Alistair Smith
describes how the Accelerated Learning is an umbrella term for a series
of practical approaches to learning which benefit from new knowledge about
how the brain functions; motivation and self-belief; accessing different
sorts of intelligence and retaining and recalling information. At
Bulford we have yet to adopt the broad principle of Accelerated Learning.
However, for the past year we have employed the technique of Precision
Teaching with pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6. This has been found to
be highly motivating and very effective in raising pupil self-esteem.
We have used it to support the learning of key words, spellings, multiplication
tables and number bonds. Children seeing the visual record of their progress
are encouraged in their further efforts and enjoy the pace of learning.
We have also adopted a whole school approach to teaching phonics, called
THRASS (Teaching Handwriting Reading And Spelling
Skills), by Alan Davies and Denise Ritchie. This scheme employs
accelerated learning techniques and the entire staff; teachers and Learning
Support Assistants alike, attended a training day led by Alan Davies himself
at our school. Davies believes that the scheme is well suited to our peculiar
problem of turbulence as new arrivals learn quickly from their peers,
who are confidently following a secure and structured system. A fuller
description of THRASS can be found in a recently published book, "The
ALPS Approach: Accelerated Learning in Primary Schools', by Alistair Smith
and Nicola Call.
In addition, insofar as we are using the Solution Focused approach and
beginning to teach Thinking Skills, we believe that we are already embracing
some of the beliefs on which it is based. Smith describes successful methods,
already being used in schools, to help learners practise self-assessment,
learn more about their own learning styles and apply that knowledge in
a meaningful way. The next stage of our action plan will be to learn more
about these and other methods: questionnaires, word-association games,
mind-mapping and so on, in order to incorporate them into our best practice
and further improve our pupils' learning. Mind mapping has been developed,
over many years, by Tony Buzan and his brother Barry. We have recently
begun to show some of our older pupils how it can help them with their
own thinking. Buzan believes that:
'It is essential that all teachers understand that the first lesson that
must be taught to students is Mental Literacy, Learning How to Learn
even as they are taught the three Rs.' (The Mind Map Book Radiant
Thinking, The Major Evolutionin Human Thought. 1999)
We share Smith's ideals in one particular section of his book, where
he places emphasis on the learning environment. He described a classroom
he had recently visited where it was evident on walking through the door
that the teacher took a pride in her subject, her relationship with the
learners and the appearance of the class. Bright visual displays of work,
posters, photographs and other objects were strategically placed to add
to a sense of calm. As a learning environment it gave out positive messages
Children come to Bulford from varying backgrounds, their families often
having been posted to the area at short notice and the experience can
be unsettling and daunting. By paying attention to our learning environment
we aim to make a welcoming atmosphere where, even to the casual observer,
it is obvious that we take a pride in our learning and we value each other.
In this way we are laying the foundation for the other bricks of improved
learning to build upon. If a child who has experienced a turbulent education
comes to the school and immediately feels welcome and valued, he or she
will be more likely to learn from such methods outlined in our research.
From that point they can begin to discover more about their own learning
styles, benefit from peer support and encouragement, build their self-esteem
and share in the setting of goals and targets to improve their learning.
At the beginning of the report we asked the question about assessing
children from turbulent backgrounds differently to those who had a more
settled life. All the strategies discussed in this report, some of which
we have already begun to use and others which we hope to develop in the
future, can in fact be successfully applied to both sets of pupils. Our
village children appreciate the settled atmosphere of their classrooms,
where they are valued as individuals, as much as the newly arrived pupil.
Perhaps the question is not one of methodology but rather one of how schools
with a large proportion of children from turbulent backgrounds are judged.
There continues to be a disproportionate emphasis on league tables, where
there is little or no differentiation between the schools and their catchments,
and until such time as this becomes a consideration we will continue to
take the best elements of good practice, our own and our colleagues in
other schools, and build upon them by keeping an open mind to new research
on methods of learning, and to always strive for improvement in our pupils"
achievements.
The research carried out at the school so far has helped us to understand
different approaches to supporting children, both from turbulent backgrounds,
and their more settled peers. From an initial focus on assessment methods
we moved on to the wider issues of learning styles, thinking skills and
independent learning. Throughout the course of this study we became convinced,
by the responses given by the children, that a more positive commitment,
by the whole school, to these methods, would benefit our pupils.
Perhaps most pointed of all was the phrase from Alistair Smith's book,
'Accelerated Learning in the classroom', which underpinned our philosophy.
We began to have a vision of this as our goal for all our pupils.
'The learner must believe that there is value in the learning and that
he or she is capable of learning and applying it in some meaningful way'.
(p.25)
All the other methods we have begun to use could be said to be based
on the same positive aim. We looked again our own whole school aims, as
stated in our school brochures and other literature shared with parents.
We believe that they are sincere educational statements, but now we saw
them as targets towards the above stated goal.
Some of the methods outlined in our study are already in place, either
being used by the whole school (THRASS), or by individual mediators (Precision
Teaching). However, we now hope, through a series of INSET sessions, to
introduce colleagues to the principles and methods of Accelerated Learning
and Solution Focused Thinking, and most importantly the philosophy behind
those methods. Working together as a staff we hope to encourage a belief
in the value of learning and promote in our pupils the confidence in their
own ability to apply it "in some meaningful way". The Elton report (1989)
pointed out the need for schools to make academic work more "winnable"
for those whose low self-esteem was threatened by failure. We are currently
reviewing our PSHE Policy and introducing more ways to enhance our pupils"
self-esteem. By also giving them the tools to make academic work "winnable"
we hope to help them avoid falling into the vicious circle of failure
to learn which we pinpointed at the beginning of the study as a potential
problem for our pupils.
A CONTEXT REPORT FOR BULFORD C.E. PRIMARY SCHOOL
This report was originally produced as part of an Education Action Zone
bid for the Bulford and Tidworth Areas in 1999
Bulford Church of England Primary School, the old village school, moved
to its present site in 1972 and has shared its catchment area with Bulford
Kiwi since 1997 when Haig Primary, on Bulford Camp, was closed.
It admits an increasing number of pupils from army families posted to
Bulford Garrison, and approximately 60% of our pupils now come from service
backgrounds. The school serves three communities: the army, the church
and the village, all of whom contribute to the unique character of the
school, whilst making their own demands.
In January 1998, the 52-place Nursery Unit was opened in response to
the high profile of Early Years education, particularly the needs of 3
and 4 year olds. It was built primarily to serve the needs of the
army population but with the perception that those village children
and those in surrounding areas could also benefit. Since it is a
well-equipped, purpose-built unit, manned by three highly qualified staff,
its under-use adversely affects staff morale.
The school's OFSTED inspection in November 1997 was successful. However,
staff and governors felt that the inspecting team was not au fait with
the problems caused by the turbulence of a school serving army families.
The team failed to understand why the acknowledged expertise within the
school and the amount of spending on resources, did not produce better
end of Key Stage SATs results. In general children come to this school
with very poor communication skills, and priority is given to encouraging
them to become active listeners and to fostering a love and understanding
of the written word. However, the team remained unconvinced so we decided
to run NFER 'Foundations in Learning' assessments alongside 'Signposts'
baseline assessment.
The PANDA Report for the school uses data prior to 1998, so it is already
well out of date and the information largely irrelevant. In 1997
(according to the PANDA) the NOR was 177: on the 1999 Form 7 return the
NOR was 267, including the Nursery pupils. 21% of pupils have SEN (15.3%
in 1997). The 1991 census highlights Bulford's disadvantage in comparison
with neighbouring wards. 5.9% of adults in Bulford had higher education
compared with 12.1 in Amesbury, 8.4 in Durrington and 10.1 in Netheravon.
4.8% of children in Bulford are from high social class households, 29.9%
in Amesbury, 18.9% in Durrington and 40% in Netheravon.
The school works extremely hard to achieve high attendance levels and
has a very good system in place to ensure parents are made aware of the
value we place on attendance. In 1997 the attendance rate was above
the national average and unauthorised absence below. However, as the percentage
of army families increases so too do the absences, both authorised and
unauthorised as families take their leave when the army decides - not
the education authority.
In addition to the turbulence, and accompanying problems brought by
the army, the school suffers from a serving a poor socio-economic area.
Many of our children come from single parent families, some of them ex-army
wives who have returned to their native village. The, rather crude, free
school meal indicator has little relevance as army families usually fail
to qualify owing to the level of army pay.
THE IMPACT ON PUPILS
Teacher time given to new arrivals detracts from time for others.
Regrouping: - e.g. new child added to the group - effect on established
relationships.
Child leaving affects friendship groups, including village children.
The new arrival: the teacher needs time to get to get to know
them so those children need to adjust to new rules/demands/situations
- it can take some time for a child to feel secure and confident.
The leaving child: can be unsettled for days/weeks before a move,
leading to disruption, poor concentration/work.
Absentee parent (usually father): whilst on exercise, can lead
to poor behaviour and family problems that spill over into school.
Curriculum: children who move frequently can miss parts of the
curriculum e.g. cases of children in Year 6, who are about to take SATs,
never having been taught Magnetism - this has an effect on the teaching
focus for that year group.
Medical: Children with specific recurring medical problems -
diagnosis/treatment is frequently delayed due to moves as appointments
become due. This is particularly noticeable with hearing and speech problems.
Absenteeism: Children miss school due to having to take holidays
when the parent's leave is due. There are also frequent absences when
dad has R & R before an overseas posting and on his return.
Behaviour: Play is often of an aggressive nature. Higher incidence
of 'war games".
Children are often unsettled on arrival - for some of the very young
children this is already their third or fourth school. Whilst father is
away some children react badly and mother finds it difficult to cope leading
to anxiety, depression, troubled behaviour.
THE CHALLENGES FOR THE SCHOOL
Target-Setting/Raising Standards: Setting targets for aggregate
pupil achievement two or three years hence is a different exercise in
a school where all the likely candidates are known, compared to one where
the population is always changing.
-
e.g.: Of the Autumn '97 intake for Yr R, when we carried out the
pilot for NFER baseline assessment, Signposts, just over one year
later at beginning of Spring Term 1999, one third of the cohort had
left and the number had gone from 27 to 31. In that time nine children
had left and eleven children arrived. By September "99, when they
had reached Year 2, only 13 of those children remained.
o e.g.: In the current Year 6, for whom we have set targets in
October 1998 for May 1999, seven children have already left and three
new ones arrived in the three months.
-
e.g.: In the current Year 5, for whom we set targets for 2000 on
20.10.98. with the LEA, three have already left and five new ones
arrived. With one regiment about to depart and a new one arriving
over the next two months those figures could alter dramatically.
Target-setting at Individual Pupil Level: Large turnover means
a great deal ofteacher time taken on entry profile and assessing levels
so that targets for improvement can be set.
Benchmarking: is difficult - Family Grouping Project - information
does not really match as these schools may share one or two similar criteria
but not such a wide range of factors. Also the crude free-school meal
criteria do not work as army pay means families who, under other circumstances,
would fit the same socio-economic band are lifted above that level.
Outputs which we consider valuable, for instance creative thinking,
spiritual understanding, self-reliance and independence cannot be measured.
Schools are compared on measurable factors alone.
Proving 'Value Added': i.e. that we do make a difference to those
children.
Teacher time: this is eroded by large amounts of extra paperwork
created by pupil turnover:
-
transfer reports for each child who leaves
-
studying reports (where available), records etc. for new arrivals
so that they may be appropriately placed within groups.
-
planning is affected by having to 'fill the gaps' for groups and
individuals who have missed large sections of the curriculum - teacher
is constantly having to rethink and restructure medium and long term
plans and fine tune short term plan
-
time spent on dealing emotional and behaviour problems caused by
unsettled children.
-
time spent on 'counselling' for families who suffer the consequences
of turbulence - Headteacher/SENco also spends large amounts of time
dealing with family crises.
-
time spent by teachers and admin staff chasing up missing records,
both school and medical.
Curriculum: Planning is often driven by the need to fill gaps
where pupils have missed part of the curriculum.
Devising a Literacy Strategy is quite different in school where children
move steadily from Yr 1 to Yr 6 compared to one where children, many with
low achievements levels, are joining the school at different times.
Budget: This school has a newly established Nursery Unit, built
specifically to serve the army population in the first instance - high
level of movement means it is difficult to fill to capacity of 52 part-time
places.
Parents: There is often difficulty getting parent support
for extra-curricular activities, PTA and other fundraising.
Parents expect the same support over emotional issues as the army gives.
Agreeing home-school contracts with every parent makes different demands
on a school with a mobile population.
Special Educational Needs:
High level of SEN which is underfunded. New system of funding does not
allow for new children coming in with Statements, as well as other SEN
needs, which have to be funded from the school's own budget (set at the
time of Form 7).
Catchment:
This particular school serves three communities village, church, army
which all make their own demands. The school is perceived as a pleasant
Church of England Primary School in a village setting and there is little
allowance, even by the LEA, for the high number of army families served
by the school.
WHAT WE ARE ALREADY DOING
Children included in friendship groups, buddy system.
Circle Time/ Golden Rules/ Positive ethos/ Being new - being a good
friend etc.
Good Behaviour Policy, understood and implemented by whole school.
NFER assessments on entry, baseline assessment - information used to
place pupils in appropriate groups, set targets to achieve and monitor
progress.
Transfer records, reports etc forwarded, lines of communication opened
to receiving school.
New admission forms give contextual information - to be used to build
data bank for future reference. e.g. number of schools attended.
OUTLINE OF THE SOLUTION FOCUSED APPROACH
The Solution Focused Interview
The three areas outlined in the report: methods of learning and teaching;
goals and motivation and social context and interactions, are explored
by the use of questions, similar to those given as examples. No particular
order will be used but a flexible and general pattern is:
a discussion of pupil's strengths via talk of hobbies and interests
focus on general goals (interests, work and possibly reading)
specific focus on methods of learning, past success
interactive issues, e.g. who will notice any improvements
return to goals and specific targets
During the planning and feedback stages it is recommended that metaphors
are used in discussion with the pupil. This is not always appropriate
due to the youth of some of our pupils, but the method is employed where
appropriate. Examples of successful use of metaphor given by Rhodes and
Ajmal are:
o A pupil, asked how he learned the skill of repairing cars, talked
of "taking apart and putting back together", this was applied to his skill
of learning new words.
o Another pupil, a karate enthusiast, spoke of "karate-chopping"
the problem, which also injected a level of humour.
Pupil autonomy is perceived as crucial to the Solution Focused approach.
The pupil must first agree to take part, then, throughout the process,
should be asked if it is okay to ask certain questions.
Interviews with the teacher may also help to discover: successful methods
already tried; ideas the teacher has thought of but not yet tried, and
knowledge the teacher may have about the pupil"s learning style.
The Planning Meeting
This could take place on the same day or a few days later. The pattern
may be:
If pupil and teacher have thought of some methods of learning and teaching
these are perhaps best to use. However, it may be useful to add one new
element. Several ideas can be discussed and the participants left to choose.
The Review Meeting
Based on the work of de Shazer (1988) there are two general directions
in a review meeting:
If there are improvements these can be explored and built upon How
did you achieve this? Who else has noticed? What is the next step?
If specific targets have been reached then new ones can be discussed.
Initial Interview with James (age 8)
14th February 2000
Discussion of pupil's strengths via talk of hobbies and interests
At home James likes to play on his playstation and computer. When he
plays out he likes climbing on the garage roof.
Focus on general goals (interests, work and possibly reading)
During this section a pupil may be asked to place themselves on a scale
of 1-10 where 1 is poor and 10 is excellent. Or in terms of "not very
good, good, really good" etc in keeping with the vocabulary of primary
aged children.
English - 7
Maths - 10
Painting - 4
Drawing - 2
Making - 9
History - 0
Geography - 0
Science - 0
Specific focus on methods of learning, past success
When asked what he would like to improve James said "Science".
์I would like to be really good at it better than Davey. Davey is the
best in the class. Nearly every time he gets a three-star in Science for
answering questions.'
When asked how he thought he could improve in Science, James answered:
-
Use an information book to find out things
-
Get a three-star
-
Know things
Interactive issues, e.g. who will notice any improvements
When asked where he would like to be on a scale of 1-10, James said,
์Not the best, but about 6.' And asked how he would know when he had reached
that point, James said, ์I will know the answers, like Davey, just like
that, and put my hand up quicker than him.' And who else will notice?
- 'My teacher, my friends and me.'
Return to goals and specific targets
Inform the pupil that you will now talk to their teacher and we'll meet
again in a few days to plan the next stage.
Asked how he thought he could help himself improve, James said:
'Ask some people to ask me questions, write it down when I've learned
it. Read books.'
Second Interview with James
29th February 2000
James and I discussed the initial interview and he remembered the focus.
I asked whether he still wanted to improve his Science, and he said he
did. Did he want to change the level on the scale? James said he would
like it to be 8.
When asked if he had tried any of the things he had suggested, to help
himself, James said: 'I'm going to try the first one.' I asked how he
thought books about Science might help him, James replied, 'They might
have the words of what it means.' I then asked James if he would like
to tell a story using a sequence of cartoon pictures, and asked whether
he read stories in cartoon form. He said he was familiar with cartoons
and liked Dennis the Menace.
James was able to sequence the pictures according to the sequence sheet
and he laid them out and studied them carefully, whilst relating the story.
I read this back to him to see if he was happy with what he had said.
We then discussed what was important when retelling a story and what was
helpful/unhelpful in the sequence of pictures.
James felt that details about the baby were not important as the baby
was only in some of the pictures. He felt that the girl was important
to the story as she had learned to ride her bike and could now go out
with her friends.
Appendix C
Initial Interview with Katie (age 11)17th January 2000
Discussion of pup'l's strengths via talk of hobbies and interests
When asked to tell me something of herself Katie immediately volunteered
the fact that although she was 'OK with English' her spelling needed a
lot of practise. She likes reading, especially Harry Potter. After tea
she watches TV and plays with her younger brother and sister, especially
Worst Witch and Microscope. She also likes going shopping either her family.
Her favourite thing is drawing, but she doesn't think she's very good
at it. She reads magazines and became more enthusiastic when she talked
about the fact that she has all 52 copies of 'Art Magic'. Katie said it
gave her ideas for art things to do and she had done all sorts of things,
like candle-making and sticking things.
Focus on general goals (interests, work and possibly reading)
We returned to Katie's original exclamation about her poor spelling and
when asked to place herself on a scale of 1-10 she thought she was somewhere
in the middle, but more towards 6 than 5. We referred back to Katie's
interest in art and creative pastimes and a discussion followed about
what her strengths might be in relation to her interests and how she learns.
We agreed that she was a 'visual' person, interested in pattern
and shapes.
Specific focus on methods of learning, past success
Katie was very quick to tell me that she had made most progress when
she began to learn to spell using L.S.C.W.C (Look, Say, Cover, Write,
Check)as this helped her to visualise the word. She was very definite
that she was aware that she was making progress because 'One day I learned
one word and the next two words' and she was able to keep them in her
head. Also when writing a story she didn't make so many mistake
She also referred to mnemonics and other methods, which had helped her
recall of difficult spellings.
Interactive issues, e.g. who will notice any improvements
Katie told me that her teacher would notice an improvement in her spelling
when she marked her work. Her friends would also notice when they swapped
books to mark each other's work. Her mum would notice that she didn't
have to give Katie so much help with her homework.
Return to goals and specific targets
We talked again about Katie's desire to improve her spelling and discussed
ways that we could harness her undoubted preference for art and creative
activities. Katie herself came up with an idea she had used in Year 5
which she had found helpful. We also looked at the idea of utilising the
shape of words to help Katie learn difficult spellings. We looked at a
word she had been given to learn that morning. The word was "especially".
I drew round the word and Katie said, 'It looks like a key!' We
thought we had the germ of an idea to begin a new approach for Katie.
I told her I would look into it and meet her again in a few days for the
planning meeting
Second Interview with Katie
24th January 2000
Since the first interview Katie had been given a Schonell spelling test
and I asked her how she thought she had done. She thought she had not
done very well. However, we were able to find some good strategies that
Katie was using. We reminded ourselves that we were looking for
ways, which would depend on Katie"s visual strengths.
The SENco"s LSA would give Katie a dictation using "Spelling in Context"
which would help us to form a better picture of Katie as a speller. Katie
would also be given a THRASS chart for support and introduced to the idea
of "phoneme boxes". Katie would design some games to play with her friends,
using "Masterpieces", which would help her to overlearn the spelling patterns.
These could be matching the words (as in the game of "snap" or,
ideally, matching the word to its shape. Katie would also be given Bulford
"Learn a New Word" sheets to use at home when learning her spellings.
She could also take a "Style" box home to help her practise.
Third Interview with Katie
29th February 2000
When asked what she was working to improve Katie said, her writing and
spelling score and her SATs level. She said she had found some words she
would like to be able to spell. Also, through her work she knew of others
that she needed to be able to spell.
When asked how she was helping herself, Katie said she was using Look,
Say, Cover, Write, Check, and practising throughout the week and at home
and at school. Asked what she thought had helped, Katie said, using the
THRASS chart (see P.11 Accelerated Learning). 'Instead of having to guess
how to spell the 'e' in words I can look at the phoneme box and choose
one of those from the box.' Also, the shape of the words helped her to
remember her spelling.
I asked if she felt she had made any improvements, and if so, how did
she know? Katie replied that she used to ask her mum but now she could
remember to look in a dictionary. Also, she did not get so many mistakes
in her writing at school.
When asked where she would like to be on the scale, Katie said 8-9. I
asked her when she felt she would achieve that and she thought in a few
more months. And how would she know? 'I won't have any mistakes
in my English work and my homework.' I asked her how she would then feel
about herself and Katie said, 'I will feel great about myself for getting
the target I want to get.' Asked how this has helped her as a person Katie
replied, ์It has helped me. I feel that I am getting better, and it doesn't
take me as long to think about how to spell words.'
More discussion followed and Katie came to the conclusion that, 'This
will help all areas of my work because you need spellings to do loads
of things.'
I asked Katie what she would do in the future and she replied, 'I think
I'll carry on because I will improve.'
Katie was tested using the Schonell Spelling Test on 19.01.00; she rated
a spelling age of 9:3. When retested on 20.03.00 her spelling age had
gone up to 9:7.
RESPONSES OF YEAR 2 CHILDREN in GROUP AND INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS
These interviews followed the Solution Focused Thinking approach. The
pupils were not perceived as underachieving. However, the interview technique
was seen as a useful way of encouraging an open and collaborative discussion,
to aid target setting in English and Maths.
In the group interviews children were able to hear each other"s responses.
GROUP INTERVIEW (5 CHILDREN)
8th February 2000
Hobbies and Interests
Daniel
Playing on my playstation, Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive. Watching my television.
Writing stories, playing on my computer.
Reuben
Playing on my computer. Building with Lego, drawing, playing outside
with John, who lives three doors down, and Daniel.
Rachel
Reading books and writing.
Hollie
Doing SATs practice with my mum and going on the computer.
Matthew
Going on the computer, making things with Meccano and playing out on
my bike.
Areas identified as good
Daniel - Maths 10
Reuben - Maths 10
Rachel - English 09
Hollie English 10
Matthew - English 10
Areas identified as not good
Daniel Writing 1
Reuben Handwriting 8
Rachel Answering Questions in Maths 3
Hollie Answering Questions in Maths 9
Matthew Telling the time 1
What would you like to improve?
Daniel: I would like to be able to write chapters in my story
writing.
Reuben: To do more joined handwriting and make it neater.
Rachel: Answering questions correctly in Maths.
Hollie: Answering Maths questions in the SATs tests
Matthew: Learning to tell the time in Maths and to know all the
times.
Have you been able to do this before or have you made any progress
so far?
Daniel: Yes, when I write stories I can write one page,
or a page and a bit.
Reuben: Yes, I'm good at handwriting
Rachel: I'm not very good, and I've never been very good, but
you say they are right.
Hollie: Yes, at home, when I do some SATs papers with my mum and
I know some of the answers.
Matthew:I think so, yes. I know the o'clocks because I"ve learnt
them.
What does that tell you about yourself?
Daniel: That I'm good at writing stories.
Reuben: That I'm a good writer.
Rachel: That I can answer some questions correctly.
Hollie: Sometimes I can answer questions and sometimes I
can't.
Matthew: That I'm good at some (clock) times and not others.
How could you help yourself?
Daniel: Try to think of some longer stories.
Other suggestions from the group:
Hollie: Think of a longer story.
Rachel: Start writing longer stories.
Reuben: Write five pages.
Reuben: Leave spaces and remember to do joined up writing.
Other suggestions from the group:
Matthew: Tell yourself where to put punctuation and capital letters.
Hollie: Remember what you have already done.
Rachel: Miss S could remind you.
Daniel: Work hard to do your handwriting sheets.
Rachel: To remember what I know.
Other suggestions from the group:
Matthew: Count on, if it's an adding question.
Daniel: Give advice
Hollie: Remember her Maths target in her head.
Reuben: To count on your fingers.
Hollie: Think of my Maths target.
Other suggestions from the group:
Daniel : Use your brain.
Reuben: Think in your head.
Rachel: Think before you answer.
Matthew: Try concentrating.
Matthew: Use my 'Tell the Time' book at home.
Other suggestions from the group:
Hollie: Use the clock you made at school.
Rachel: Look at clocks.
Daniel: Remember what we have learned.
INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS
DAVID, (Age 6)
Areas identified as good
Listening 10
Answering questions 10
Counting 10
Painting 10
Handwriting 10
Areas identified as not good
Writing 1
Spelling 1
What would you like to improve?
I would like to get more words right and be able to write more words.
I don"t want to waste my time thinking about spelling.
Where would you like to be, on a scale of 1-10, in writing and spelling?
Writing 10
Spelling 10
Have you made any progress so far in writing and spelling?
Yes, lots.
When was that?
When I wrote my magic story.
How did you know that you had made progress?
I was just writing and I stopped to think about what goes next.
Had you ever done that before?
No, I have never kept on writing.
Who told you that you had made that progress?
You said I did very well. There was only a little bit of paper left.
You said nearly all of my spellings were right.
What does that tell you about yourself?
I can do a lot of writing and I can find out the letters I need, and
I know the letters that go after others to spell words.
How can you help yourself?
Do my homework (like I do).
Listen to the THRASS tape and the words and write the THRASS words.
Who will notice?
Miss S (teacher), Mrs M (LSA), My mum says it when she sees my writing,
Me.
RESPONSES OF TEACHERS AND MEDIATORS
The following interview was held with the teacher of Katie (11), whose
own responses are
recorded at Appendix C.
What methods of teaching have you found successful with this pupil?
The introduction of THRASS (see P.11 'Accelerated Learning') has
had a great impact.
Now there is evidence of Katie using this in her work. She is able to
refer to the "phoneme
boxes" to aid her spelling. She doesn"t always use the correct grapheme
choice but I
expect this to come in the future. Other methods include the use of Look,
Say, Cover,
Write, Check, which involves using the framework of THRASS with this
strategy. Dictation
exercises, which aim to apply the child"s spelling knowledge, have also
been used.
What has tended to work in the past?
Katie's previous learning had not helped her to learn to spell. Katie
is a good reader, but not a natural speller. The emphasis on phonemes
has helped Katie. No previous strategies did what THRASS does, because
they didn"t address the whole problem. The focus of the National Literacy
Strategy often resulted in an over-emphasis of the incorrect application
of spelling rules.
What would be a sign for you that the pupil is making progress?
Katie will achieve a higher score in spelling tests (SATs). I would also
expect to see progress in comprehension and dictation exercises, and there
would be fewer spelling mistakes in her general work.
What would you see the pupil doing?
I would see Katie applying the knowledge, she has learned from THRASS,
to the work she was undertaking. I would also see her become confident
enough to write in front of other people, i.e. making written contributions
to class work on the blackboard.
What activities has the pupil enjoyed most?
Katie has enjoyed taking part in spelling games using THRASS. This has
involved spelling words using letter strings and other word games.
What was it about those activities which interested the pupil?
Katie particularly enjoyed the fun situation which was used to enhance
learning. The games came across as non-threatening. She was particularly
interested in the way in which letter strings are formed in different
words. For example at the beginning, the middle and the end.
Are there any ideas you have thought of but not tried?
No, I have tried out most of the things I thought of.
Appendix E
RESPONSES OF TEACHERS AND MEDIATORS
The following description came from an interview held with a Learning
Support Assistant who uses Precision Teaching with children in Years 5
and 6, and also with a child in Year 2 who has a Statement of Special
Educational Needs.
Precision Teaching is a strategy which enables children to learn through
focusing on achievable targets. The learning takes place in small steps
in an intensive daily practice. The LSA"s role as mediator enables the
learning to take place. In a one-to-one situation, she works hard to build
a close relationship with the learner. The learning is always perceived
as positive and the learner is not made to feel inadequate. The benefits
of Precision Teaching are seen in the form of a progress chart, where
the learner is also able to see the mapping of rapid progress in a pictorial
form. In this way the learner develops confidence in their own ability,
which in turn builds self-esteem. The learner is then keen to attempt
a new target and so the process is self-fulfilling.
A CASE STUDY USING PRECISION TEACHING
Donna is a very nervous Year 6 pupil. Before taking part in the Precision
Teaching she had very low self-esteem and very little confidence in her
own work. When Mrs S first starting using Precision Teaching with Donna,
Donna was afraid of her own failure. She was uncomfortable with the one-to-one
situation and the use of the minute timer. Mrs S therefore discarded the
timer and used the Precision Teaching as a fun, game-style of learning.
The task was to learn number bonds to one hundred. After one month, of
four sessions weekly, Donna had started to make progress and the chart
showed a rise in the number of correct answers. Mrs S then introduced
the timer and Donna continued to make good progress, coping well with
added pressure of timed answers. At the same time there was a marked increase
in Donna"s confidence.
Donna reached her next target in three weeks, which is the expected rate
of progress in Precision Teaching. By the end of the first term Donna
was working to her potential in Precision Teaching and had achieved five
targets in learning multiplication tables. In the second term, from January
to February Half Term, Donna was working on her third target of mixed
multiplication tables.
In Precision Teaching the pupil has to help herself: Donna's new-found
confidence in her learning ability has encouraged her to achieve more.
She now works at home to learn her multiplication tables. When Donna has
achieved a target the next one is discussed. At times she still lacks
confidence in her own ability, but she is excited about tackling new work
because she now knows she can achieve.
Mrs S confessed that she too is spurred on by a pupil"s success and feels
this motivates her to encourage the pupil to achieve the next target.
Because she can see that the system works she has confidence in its use
and is able to convey this to the pupil.
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