Education Bradford
Curricular Targets
Georgina Graham and Jonathan Nixon
ISP Consultants, Education Bradford
April 13, 2015
National guidelines
 Curricular targets are targets which have been chosen after careful use of
assessment information and focus on a key piece of learning which has
become or may become a barrier to progression. Meeting these targets should
impact on children’s overall performance in a subject and contribute to raising
attainment.
 Targets are based on key strands of the Primary Framework. These are then
layered into year group targets using age-related objectives from within the
strand and are used to strengthen quality first teaching in the classroom.
 Whole-school curricular targets enable schools to bring teaching and learning
in specific areas of English and mathematics into sharp focus. The targets are
a means to raise attainment and accelerate pupil progress in key areas of
learning and teaching in English and mathematics that have been identified as
whole-school priorities.
 These areas are identified as priorities for improvement across the school
following an audit of attainment and progress based on evidence from the
school’s self evaluation. The use of whole-school curricular target setting is
therefore linked to the school’s cycle of improvement.
Then…
 Steps to success
 EB Curricular targets and I can statements
Now…
 Targets linked to class, group or individual assessments
 Use of APP
 Linked to engagement of learners and independence
Activity One:
What do you want targets to help with?
 To give children some responsibility for their own learning
 To help children discuss their learning
 To involve parents in key learning
 To focus teaching on key learning
 To accelerate progress and raise attainment
Literacy Targets
Writing…..
What are you currently basing your decisions about
targets on?
What are your targets for? Class? Groups?
Individuals? Are they the same?
Making curricular targets more useful?
• Whole-school curricular targets – the curricular focuses identified through
the analysis of attainment data, identified patterns and trends in
underperformance that need to be addressed if improvements are to be
made.
• Year group or class curricular targets – the whole-school focus is set in
the context of end-of-year, age-related expectations, using the PFW to
identify the landmarks. If the pupils are to make the expected two levels
of progress over the key stage, the targets also need to reflect this.
• Group or individual targets – targets are personalised to address the
specific learning areas those groups or individual pupils need to secure
or to catch up
What next?
 How will you share your targets?
 How will a child know that they have achieved a target?
 Do you need to differentiate your targets?
 How does all this fit into your marking and feedback policy?
 Are you going to make use of Education Bradford Literacy curricular
targets?
 Stickers/stamps
Language
Consistency is important
 Next Steps
 Target
 Next time
 Next steps
 Remember to
 Wish
 Stars
 Pink
 Green
What will all this look like in your school?
Activity
 How will you develop it in your school?
 What will it look like?
 Staff meeting?
 Quick start guides?
 Resources to help?
 Targets in children’s books?
 Showing that a children has achieved a target?
 Remember children need to understand what to do and how to do it!
Maths targets
Different approaches
 Whole school curricular targets – used termly or half termly
 Whole school two / three week focus per term + learn by heart
facts targets
 Key Stage / Year Group curricular targets used termly or half termly
 Whole school targets + year group focus every half term
 Key Stage strand targets + group targets based on APP
Are these teaching or learning targets?
Reasons for the change:

Allows teachers to focus on one thing rather than having to try and fit it in when not
appropriate over a whole term.

Repetition aids memory and children are more likely to retain the information.

It is a genuine whole school focus so children can learn from each other.

Final assemblies are at a distance from learning to allow class teachers to gain evidence
for APP.

Children are more involved in the process, choosing their own strategies and presenting
what they have done.

More fun!

Easier to plan for a week or two weeks than for targets over a whole term.

Slippage time used for quick games.

Class teachers receive CPD to allow them to teach the focus well.

Good practice is shared.
Example of school target setting for ‘learn by heart’ and
teaching a focus once per term
 Whole school target – Show your ideas and methods and explain them
 FS - Represent their work in objects or pictures and discuss what they
have done
 KS1 - Discuss their work using mathematical language and begin to
represent their work using symbols and simple diagrams
 LKS2 - Make their own suggestions of ways to tackle problems and
discuss their mathematical work and begin to explain their thinking
 UKS2 - Decide how best to represent conclusions, using appropriate
recording and explain and justify their methods and solutions
Introduction - how can you get your class to talk
 in which lessons we could work on the target and how
 if we could work on them in pairs, groups, as a class etc
 what we could make to help each other or display in class
 what we will present to whole school in the final assembly
Activity
 What are the issues in maths in your school? How do you know or
how can you find out? (SATs analysis, APP, AfL, book scrutiny, pupil
interviews)
 Is there a whole school issue, other than ‘learn by heart’ facts?
 Do you have a whole school reward system for ‘learn by heart’ facts
and are parents involved in this?
 What other strands are children finding difficult?
 Where do you get the target statements from? Can class teachers
make child friendly statements from APP/other assessment materials?
 What reason do class teacher have to focus on them and children
to learn them?
Activity - Quick Start
 How would you like targets to be used for maths?
 Do they need displaying? Where and for whom?
 How do children know how they are doing?
 How often are they changed?
 How are they differentiated?
 How is success celebrated?
Balance clarity for children and staff with
personalisation to engage learners
Monitoring:
 should not be additional to anything
else being done
 should use triangulation of data (e.g.
pupil interviews, lesson observations
and book scrutiny)
 should be realistic (even if the
majority of children reach the target
will this change their levels in the
short term?)
Evaluation:
 should include qualitative evidence
as well as quantitative
 should consider all the reasons for
targets, not just accelerating
progress
 should be shared and discussed with
all teaching staff
Monitoring use of curricular targets?
 Evidence of differences in APP
 Books/planning scrutiny
 Learning walks
 School council
 Pupil voice
Pupil voice
 Discuss targets with the pupils
 Great when the teacher hears what the children say
(record/film/participate)
 Outcomes from the pupil voice can be developed by the schools
council.
 Gives you what you have to do next.
Foundation Stage
 These should not be seen as ‘targets’ for children to achieve.
 Photographs and examples may help and encourage other children.
 A semi-permanent display will help with teaching and can be used by
other adults.