5 Questions

More than ever before, we will need to ensure that from September, you make good progress through the blended learning approach that we are currently developing.

We will base this on five questions in each subject. I am sharing these with you now as well as the reasoning why your answers will be important and how we will be planning the next steps in order to ensure you succeed.

Questions for you	Why your answers are important
What will you learn? Why	This is a better question than “What are you doing” as it focuses on the learning and not on any particular task. The question (and your answer) will show your understanding ofthe learning intentions. The teachers will share with you the learning intentions at the beginning of a unit of work or a series of lessons, and this forms an important part of the New Curriculum.
How are you doing?	Your answer will show your awareness of the success criteria. Again, these could relate to a unit of work or a series of lessons. Ideally thesuccess criteria will be set with you e.g. by evaluating a piece of work.
How do you know?	Your answer will show / reflect the effect of verbal or written feedback that you will receive from the teacher.
How can you improve?	This will show your ability to self assess or peer assess effectively. You should refer to the success criteria when doing this. You will be able to use feedback and other examples or models of continuously improving your work.
Where will you go for help or advice if you need it?	This will show where you are currently in your journey to be an independent learner. Your answers may include: thinking, discussing with peers or a discussion partner, asking a teacher, using the work on display, using websites or particular apps, or naturally Google Classroom.

Not only will the findings help our assessment and reporting arrangements for the next year, but they will also provide teachers with the ability to adapt their teaching techniques or recognise the need to provide you with early support.

The information or ‘data’ that forms part of the answers to these questions will often be a core part of the school’s new vision and I will simplify these below in bullet points:

Every pupil will be able to achieve high standards from receiving the appropriate time and support.
Every teacher will teach to the highest standards from receiving appropriate time and support.
Expectations are high, and integral to this is early and continuous intervention.
Every leader, teacher and pupil should be able to clearly explain on a daily basis, what, why and how they lead, teach, and learn.

Another way of sharing your progress with you and your parents is through parent evenings. In order for you and your parents to better measure your progress I would suggest that the discussion with your teachers focuses on 5 similar questions.

What is my child learning?
How does he/she learn?
How do you know? ( how are they doing or how well are they doing?)
How can he/she improve?
What support can you and me give if my child is experiencing difficulty? When can we check this and meet again to discuss?

The last three months have been challenging for us all, but I believe we have also emphasised how important the relationship is between home and school. I am well aware that we still have much work to do, and also to better develop the provision on Google Classroom and live learning. We are also trying to improve our communication strategy through the use of vlogs and videos. From September, we will also be launching our new website, and this will form the focus of our communication with you. All our social media platforms will be staged here.

In some of the best teaching systems in the world such as Finland, there is a culture of trust where together, leaders, teachers, parents and the community are aware of how to provide the best education for the children. This is the ethos and culture I wish to nurture at Bro Alaw.