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Planning individualised learning for approx 2000 learners and ensuring that T & L is inspirational and enables excellent achievement and pass rates while maintaining staff morale.
Heather Beckham

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This year we have restructured the classes and moved from 36 x 2 hr sessions to a 2 x 1.25 x 29 weeks. The aim of this was to maximise learner engagement. So far the change seems to be positive. The model is replicated across FS and GCSE and lessons are scheduled running parallel so that on enrolment learners can be recruited to the most appropriate course. English and maths is timetabled first and vocational courses plan lessons round the E & M blocks.

Heather Beckham

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I would like to encourage as many HOW2 colleges to run their own English and maths projects using the HOW2 platform.  The above *successes give me confidence that  a HOW2 work-based research project would help with the maths and English successes.  Next I need to define what this project would look like and get a maths and English project up and running by using the findings from this course.

*88% of the HOW2 organisations have moved up an Ofsted grade since 2011.

Carole Kane, Train Visual Ltd

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I’m supporting, as a Professional Learning Lead, over 70 educational organisations across the UK, NZ and KSA.  I support the person in the role of ‘Head of T&L’ and offer guidance on how to use the HOW2s, which particularly includes using the techniques in English and maths.  Through the HOW2 platform I introduce some of the Heads of English and maths across these organisations to each other and get them sharing best practice – I’m in the background monitoring the forums and adding my comments too.  The evidence of the impact of my introductions and support in English and maths relate to the Ofsted Inspections.  For example, the HOW2 leads are able to easily evidence the communications to externals through the HOW2 platform to Ofsted.  For instance, the latest college to have evidence this is Bilborough Sixth Form College and they moved from a grade 3 to a grade 2 in October 2016.

Carole Kane, Train Visual Ltd

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Really clear team marking policy including marking code and use of (anonymous) learner work scanned and put up on the IWB to show whole classes the work they have achieved - linked to AOs where possible. Good motivator and reinforces key skills for GCSE level explanation and analysis. All exemplars are also uploaded to the VLE to share between classes.

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A really strong VLE social media presence to reteach and re-assess learners w/ key skills for vocabulary, grammar and maths - over 16k unique page hits on the English and maths VLE in 2015-'16. QR codes and giant posters in every classroom to reinforce the message and 'brand'

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Completely remodelled the assessment model for GCSE Maths at both tiers with the aim to better prepare students for the end-of-year exams. This includes exposure to exam questions for all topics throughout the year, mini mock exams and a progress tracker with in-built grade predictor. This is a further refinement of a model that yielded good results last year

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Managing maths provision for a huge cohort (>2000 students) and trying to marry up the conflicting requirements of getting all study programme  students to do maths, even if they don't want to or aren't yet actually ready for GCSE Maths, while also delivering improved success rates. This is compounded by the fact that an element of the delivery team does not actually come under my management, and that the team as a whole has also not expanded as rapidly as has the volume of students studying maths at the college.

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Thanks to those who completed. Great example of what's worked and some common challenges!

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Limited use of and lack of engagement with ICT in  classroom delivery continues to be a challenge.  Teachers are used to very little resource and as such are struggling to maintain awareness of current ICT systems and practices.  There is a large piece of work in terms of raising awareness, skill and confidence.

Forthcoming Ofsted inspection, we have been driving forwards after receiving two grade 3 inspections in as many years.  We are currently overdue another one and working hard to drive up the quality of delivery and to maintain the staff morale to support the  achievement of a grade 2 in this up and coming inspection.

Donna CLS

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We have implemented two successful strategies in 15/16. Firstly we have pre-loaded our functional skills delivery onto the apprenticeships courses. Rather than being supported one to one in the workplace, the learners are now supported as a group in the classroom. This enables the swift achievement of the functional skills quals and the ability to highlight and support any learners who are struggling quickly and at the beginning of their programme. It has helped to support an increase in our success rate from 27% at it's lowest to 71% over an 18 month period. Secondly, in our 19+ classroom delivery we have been using CL funding to support a range of 'Introduction to ...' courses, to enable us to extend the IAG offer and allow learners to access courses without committing to a longer programme. This has seen retention lift to 92% and success rates lift from 66% to 81%  in one year as learners chose to stay on and join an accredited programme.

Donna - CLS

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After 18 months of supporting my teams through a major restructure, we are starting to make progress.  However, this year we are due Ofsted and I do not feel like we are making progress fast enough.  I need to find new ways to inspire and lead all staff to good and outstanding practice with limited resource.

Anna - NCL

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We have had a decline in achievement rates for some qualifications.  Mid-year, work was undertaken to move awarding bodies for Level 2 maths.  This has had a significant impact and the achievement rate is now 30.6 above the national average.

The curriculum offer has also been structured to include a series of additional targeted workshops for both maths and English - initial learner feedback is good.

Anna - NCL

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Getting learners to realise how important English and maths is for employment.

Kim + Katy
Bishop Auckland College.

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We have implemented a 2 x 1.5hr split in the timetable for both English and maths, as attendance after break was a major issue. These 2 sessions are on different days and feedback to date indicates improved attendance and  motivation from the students, the staff have noticed an improvement in productivity - long m,ay it continue, and we hope that this positive move is shown in the achievement data for 16-17.

Kim + Katy
Bishop Auckland College

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Working across functional and GCSE and helping students deal with the low self-esteem that having previous failures creates. Telling them what they are doing well relentlessly and supporting staff who themselves can become demoralized.
Bridget Kelly

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We are part of the national piloting of Effective Practice Guidelines in IA. The imagining is that by giving learners reflect powers on their own development we will enabling them to more openly and happily engage with English and maths.
Innovation: something around a deconstructed syllabus being re-constructed in a way that speaks to individual learners. One sized construct doesn't fit all.
Bridget Kelly

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Linked to the strategy - retention and attendance is a huge problem which then links to pass/achievement rates.
Making sure that the IA informs the correct level of course. Have many learners that enrol with higher quals than the IA suggests
Gail - LCG

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At the start of the new academic year, we tried to split FS sessions into 2 x 1.5 ( 1 x before lunch and 1 x after lunch) to try and improve attendance and have an impact on retention - the jury is out!
Gail - LCG

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Liaising regularly with CMs in vocational areas has allowed a much better integration of maths and English across the college, and using bksb in a variety of areas means that maths and English are being promoted outside the designated sessions.
Joanne Wells WNC

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One of the greatest challenges we are facing is the increase in GCSE uptake.  As a college, we have taken E grade and D grade students into our GCSE programme, meaning that numbers have doubled.  Differentiating accordingly is a knock on effect from this.  In addition, we are implementing interventions to develop learners skills, and trying to keep track of this and students' attendance is proving challenging.
Joanne Wells WNC

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Leading on brand new policies and procedures being put in place to improve learner experience and department achievement.

Kayte Haselgrove

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Creating a cross college differentiated training package for vocational teams which aims to:
- develop staff understanding of the content of FS/GCSE qualifications
- support staff to identify opportunities and implement methods of developing E+M skills in a vocational context, and
- Engage staff in supported experiments to improve an identified area for development in E+M provision cross college.

Kayte Haselgrove

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Encouraging other tutors to embed their English/Maths and ICT skills within their sessions and to carry out mini sessions within their own sessions.  Staff are not using lesson plans to their fullest and to identify possible teaching of functional skills opportunities within their sessions.

Darren Withers

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The use of projects to support Functional Skills delivery in English and ICT which allows the learners to focus on the main skills needed to achieve the qualifications.  Technology such as padlet, mentimeter and meetoo have help to encourage learners to engage more actively with the content.  99% of our learners go on to achieve their set outcomes and move on to the next level.

Darren Withers

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Pass rates for roll on/roll off learners who do not attend a structured course with a pre-determined start/end date. The focus of departments is progression.
Kelly - Training 2000

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We have recently changed the way we deliver to study programme learners.
We deliver the key topics as identified by a diagnostic in tiered classes, then do a block course for Functional Skills, rather than deliver a full course to each learner in mixed classes.
Attendance is much improved with classes 80%+.
Kelly - Training 2000

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To deliver entry level maths and English to learners to up-skill them before enrolling them onto apprenticeships.
To take responsibility for maths and English for entry level learners away from the assessors to give the learners more specialist support.
To introduce SkillsBuilder to support the assessors with relevant tools to direct learners to or use with learners to take the pressure off the assessors and promote a more blended approach to learning.
To identify skills gaps in assessors in order to upskill them in maths and English.
Alison Ford

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The ability of colleagues to deliver maths and English Functional Skills to learners and the upskilling required to get them there.
Alison Ford

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From 1 September 2016 Key Training introduced a new model of Traineeship.  If a potential apprentice does not have A-C Maths and/or English then they will undertake a 13 week traineeship during which time specialist FS Tutors will work with them remotely 1:1 on a weekly basis to complete, or make significant progress towards, a FS qual in Maths or English.  It is anticipated that this personalised support will increase the likelihood of the learner achieving the qualification due to increased motivation and focussed learning.

The anticipated impact is that there will be less apprenticeships that are not completed due to failure to achieve Maths/English as trainees will not progress to apprenticeships unless they either achieve the FS (or show that they are committed to doing so).  If they cannot do this then it may be that the apprenticeship is not the appropriate course/level for them.  This impact will be measured long-term.

Short-term impact/evidence measured will be pass rates for these trainees.

Dawn Green - Key Training

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The biggest challenge I am currently facing is attempting to improve Functional Skills pass rates for learners across all of our regions - I manage a central team of 6 FS Tutors who work remotely with approx 250 of our learners but Training Consultants - specialists in vocational areas but not in FS - work with the remaining learners, with varying degrees of success.
Dawn Green - Key Training.

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The biggest challenge that I am facing at the minute is low Functional skills pass rates across the 8 centres that I work with.  Alex

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A new strategy that I have implemented across the business is to reduce the lesson length from one block of 3 hrs to 2 x 1.5 hrs.  The lessons that our students go to each week will be a taught and an independent lesson.  We are trying to encourage students to become more independent so I expect this to have a positive impact in the long run but  have only implemented it over the past 2 months.

Alex

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jo.byrne@ntlworld.com

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Add (by double clicking anywhere on the padlet and typing) the biggest maths and English leadership challenge you are currently facing.

Annmarie, Joss, Sue, Anne & Claire

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Add (by double clicking anywhere on the padlet and typing) a maths/ English curriculum innovation or strategy you have implemented which has had (or anticipated to) have a positive impact on learner outcomes in maths and English,  and briefly outline the evidence for that impact.

Annmarie Joss, Sue, Anne & Claire