Evaluation of the Key Stage 2 Language Learning Pathfinders

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Sustainability depends very much on staff turnover (or lack of it) and staff expertise.Therefore, a major challenge facing schools is that of retaining key staff, especially thosewho have been ‘trained up’.One headteacher was particularly worried about the possible departure of a key classroomteacher who had been supported over two years with various training. In another school, aYear 6 class teacher, having spent five years building up her French and French teachingskills, was going to move year groups the following year to KS1, where she would notimmediately use her newly acquired skills. The move, prompted by a desire for professionaldevelopment and work with different age groups, would leave a gaping hole in the school’sFrench provision. There was the hope that the next Year 5 teacher would be able to developher skills rapidly, ‘provided the same level of support was maintained’ (headteacher). Butthis was not guaranteed.This kind of scenario was reported as a single incident in the research, but such staffmovements within schools are certainly not unusual and can create major obstacles formaintaining provision, let alone expanding it. There were also schools in which a particularteacher provided language teaching in classes other than her own, either to help boost classteachers’ confidence and skills or simply because there was no other language ‘expertise’available in the school. Sustainability in these circumstances was also threatened by thepossible departure of such persons.Some schools had good links with local higher education institutions and were thus makinggood use of the gradually increasing numbers of trainee teachers on placement. In no way,however, could this be considered a guaranteed form of provision unless those sametrainees took up a permanent post in their practice schools. In one primary school, twoclassroom assistants who were providing some language time in addition to their regularduties had decided to spend a year following the initial primary languages training at thelocal university. The headteacher was disappointed at what was going to be a year ofreduced language experience for her pupils. However, she had high hopes that the twowomen would return to teaching, with better developed linguistic and pedagogical skills, inher school rather than any other.Reforms to the teaching profession, specifically the introduction of Preparation, Planning andAssessment (PPA) was perceived to be both an advantage and a threat to primarylanguages. On the one hand, it will provide an opportunity to schools to use FLAs or otherclassroom assistants with language skills to fill the time vacated by teachers. Oneheadteacher explained:111
‘The reason why I have decided to do that is that we’ve got to supply this PPA time. So theteachers have got to come out of class and I don’t want to just buy in Jo Bloggs supplyteacher to go into the class...because we are supposed to also be raising standards...so if Iam going to put some one else in there, I would rather it was for something specific and itmight as well be for French.’ (headteacher)For another headteacher, however, PPA was likely to cause financial problems.‘The Pathfinder has given a boost but my concern is that if is not carried on there will be realdifficulties. And there are so many other drains on schools’ resources. The arrival of PPA inSeptember will create special problems. MFL has not been funded properly and it doesn’tlook as if it is going to be. MFL could well fall by the wayside because it’s not an immediatepriority.’ (headteacher)It is clear from this overview of staffing issues that sustainability is not yet guaranteed acrossthe local authorities. The different models provide different challenges for maintaining thelevel of teaching and learning that the Pathfinder has helped to generate. Very few schoolshad secure plans to cover the whole of KS2 teaching. Quite a few schools were found to bedeveloping pupils’ language skills in KS1 even though KS2 was not fully ‘covered’. This wassimply because the language teaching was taking place where the teacher’s skills were tobe found and encouraged.It was discovered that in one case study school, children in different years (Reception, Year4 and Year 5) were following an identical syllabus, receiving the same content: basicpersonal information plus colours, numbers, pets etc. But there was no overall strategy forprogression from year to year. Staff expertise was scattered and staff moved aroundbetween different year groups from time to time. Most of the class teachers had limited skillsand were only just about capable of dealing with these basics. This model is almost boundto grind to a halt when pupils realise that they are covering the same work over and overagain.Staffing was perceived to be a real problem. The slogan ‘train and retain’ was used by oneco-ordinator based in a Secondary Language College to stress the need for a coherentprogramme of initial and further CPD. Even the current outreach teachers, he claimed,needed support in their new mentoring role of training and supporting their primarycolleagues.112
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RESEARCHEvaluation of the Key Stage
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Contents1. Executive summary 32. In
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practice and factors that might imp
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of the experience. Individual feedb
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• The analysis revealed the need
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• Are pupils with SEN and gifted
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Both respondent characteristics and
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Interviews were recorded and a 25%
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2.2. Advantages and disadvantages o
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2.2.2. Languages Delivery by the Pr
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2.2.4. Languages Delivery through a
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Analysing these models, conditions
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• Schools should be encouraged to
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however, instances of schools where
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3.1.3.4. Time allocated to language
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‘French would not be taught now a
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• beneficial for the subject’s
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Many teachers remained very depende
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Table 2: Integration and Communicat
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‘We’ve written a letter and dra
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‘it makes you realise that if acc
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Table 5: Languages and Learning - Q
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3.1.5. Pupils - Learning and Attitu
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• useful for travelling abroad -
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• ‘Comments at the end to help
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‘At times they find it difficult
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teacher who knew our level.’ In t
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In most Pathfinders, however, there
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3.2.2. Recommendations• Primary t
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Effective staffing is essential to
Page 61 and 62: Martin and Mitchell 1993). In anoth
Page 63 and 64: Nineteen respondents had specialise
Page 65 and 66: As revealed in questionnaire 1, in
Page 67 and 68: However, some teachers were pleasan
Page 69 and 70: However, there were frequent instan
Page 71 and 72: • team-teaching on the ground•
Page 73 and 74: involved external bodies in the del
Page 75 and 76: Generally, there was a sense that s
Page 77 and 78: • Methods of recording progressio
Page 79 and 80: However, there were challenges in a
Page 81 and 82: In one Pathfinder one school cluste
Page 83 and 84: One example of assessment included
Page 85 and 86: trying to evaluate, prior to each u
Page 87 and 88: Case study: exemplar of a well deve
Page 89 and 90: In some Pathfinder schools effectiv
Page 91 and 92: ‘Only a very small number (6/7) g
Page 93 and 94: • transfer of more sensitive info
Page 95 and 96: ‘…I know the Year 7 teachers we
Page 97 and 98: 3.4.5. Links to KS3 Framework/Natio
Page 99 and 100: situation was especially difficult
Page 101 and 102: 3.5. Sustainability and Replicabili
Page 103 and 104: develop ‘effective and replicable
Page 105 and 106: 3.5.4. Leadership and managementThe
Page 107 and 108: on one aspect of delivery. This was
Page 109 and 110: 3.5.5. Staff and staff expertiseIn
Page 111: ‘Usually it is impromptu: 10 or 1
Page 115 and 116: c) there is obvious progression fro
Page 117 and 118: to be constrained. Methodologies ge
Page 119 and 120: Time spent on the project was gathe
Page 121 and 122: Estimating development costs of res
Page 123 and 124: There were significant differences
Page 125 and 126: on staff costs, with the impact on
Page 127 and 128: 5. CONCLUSIONSOverall, this evaluat
Page 129 and 130: 5.2. Teacher Competence• Primary
Page 131 and 132: o for training secondary teachers i
Page 133 and 134: ReferencesBell, E with Cox, K. (199
Page 135 and 136: Case Study 2Case study 2 is a compa
Page 137 and 138: channelled through this school. At
Page 139 and 140: Case Study 5This LA is a large auth
Page 141 and 142: Case Study 7Case study 7 is a joint
Page 143: Copies of this publication can be o
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Evaluation of the Key Stage 2 Language Learning Pathfinders

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