The School Curriculum Ten Years Hence - UCET: Universities ...

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teachers especially stay in the teaching profession instead of deciding that the career is not for them. Dealing with the education of those who are disengaged is a great opportunity. It gives us the chance to think afresh about the purposes of education. If education is to be a route out of poverty and oppression, a way of opening doors, providing choices, raising self-esteem, creating enjoyment and discovery, and a liberation of the mind and spirit, then judged on any of these, it has not succeeded for many of those I am talking about today. But, and here is the big responsibility, … Schools and teachers have a pivotal role to play in ensuring that we break the cycle of disadvantage. When vulnerable children do make the effort to come to school, what they experience must be so good that they want to maintain this effort. They must be enabled to gain the skills to help them to function successfully both whilst they are at school and in later life. They must not miss out on gaining the knowledge that will develop their cultural understanding of the world in which they live. They must feel the warmth of success that makes you want to go on learning throughout your life and results in you making a positive contribution to society. If we do this we will break the cycle of disadvantage and avoid creating a social underclass that then costs us dearly in all sorts of ways. The National Assembly for Wales circular that I mentioned earlier, (3/99, Pupil Support and Social Inclusion), makes a definite connection between disaffection in school and social exclusion as an adult. It also offers helpful guidance to schools and outlines the responsibility for identifying and supporting those most at risk. So what positive moves have policy makers and schools made in Wales to increase social inclusion? Developing an education system that will combat disaffection and speed up economic regeneration by equipping the people of Wales with the skills needed to meet the demands of local industry and commerce. Wales’ recently published paving document, The Learning Country, emphasises the importance of developing an education system that will combat disaffection and speed up economic regeneration by equipping the people of Wales with the skills needed to meet the demands of local industry and commerce. The Learning Country
arose in part from work already started through the Assembly’s programme ‘Learning Is For Everyone’. A number of initiatives have been developed in support of this policy direction. They are designed to address the problem facing many of our young people who are excluded and miss out all round. There are the short-term measures and the longer-term issues to be tackled. It is now widely recognised that intervention must take place as early as possible, if we are to prevent disaffection where it begins. The Sure Start programme has been designed to tackle such issues from birth. Many primary schools are introducing ‘positive discipline’. Secondary schools are looking at what has come to be known as ‘the alterative curriculum’. A whole raft of initiatives has been introduced, including the Basic Skills Strategy for Wales. A new Youth Policy Division has been set up in the Assembly to implement the agenda emerging from ‘Extending Entitlement’. The work of the Youth Access Initiative and the Youth Work and Schools Partnership programme has given schools the opportunity to work in partnership with colleges, other agencies and their local community. Over the next few minutes I’ll talk about some of these initiatives and the impact they have had. These programmes have helped young people to: • regain their self esteem • believe that learning is useful and relevant • reintegrate into mainstream education • progress to other effective forms of education and training • secure jobs I would like to share with you some examples of how these have worked in practice. My first example is from one comprehensive school based in the Welsh Valleys which has set up an effective attendance project targeting Y11 pupils. Based in the Learning Support Unit of the local Further Education College (Ebbw Vale), the project caters for young people whose school attendance is below 50%. Young people are referred to the unit by schools and the Educational Welfare Service. They are offered a range of activities leading to accredited qualifications not generally available in school. These include NVQ Word and Number Power, CLAIT, and ASDAN Youth Awards.
Page 1 and 2: OCCASIONAL PAPER No. 14 December 20
Page 3 and 4: from 19th-century attitudes, values
Page 5 and 6: to make the task of the supervisors
Page 7 and 8: provide the young with a wider visi
Page 9 and 10: the teacher, always bearing in mind
Page 11 and 12: School Improvement’ in School Eff
Page 13 and 14: consequent crisis of values within
Page 15 and 16: different social and economic conte
Page 17 and 18: social sciences, of linguistics and
Page 19 and 20: The curriculum of the future, there
Page 21 and 22: essentially a meeting of minds - th
Page 23 and 24: curriculum, not as an escape from t
Page 25 and 26: • supporting and tracking learner
Page 27 and 28: and ‘work related learning’ - n
Page 29 and 30: 16 age group is the provision of wo
Page 31 and 32: in schools 1997-1999. (HMI 219). Lo
Page 33: The National Assembly for Wales Cir
Page 37 and 38: continued professional development
Page 39 and 40: This is an effective vehicle for de
Page 41 and 42: • They use a range of strategies
Page 43 and 44: The Revision to the DfEE Circular 4
Page 45 and 46: would tie in better with the planni
Page 47 and 48: social inclusion in terms of the ra
Page 49 and 50: ensure that such an approach is not
Page 51 and 52: producing excellent results as they
Page 53 and 54: II. Professor Ian Menter 1. Democra
Page 55 and 56: phases of schooling, the processes
Page 57 and 58: central. These aspects could includ
Page 59 and 60: The session opened with a recap of
Page 61 and 62: workers, career teachers and others
Page 63: these islands. The main benefit der

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