www.educationscotland.gov.uk
Scottish Association of
Teachers of Physical Education
1st Annual National Conference
Tulliallan Police College
November 2013
Transforming lives through learning
Aims of the workshop
(1) Findings from school inspections
(2) Ongoing challenges
Transforming lives through learning
Inspection Findings
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What determines the outcomes ?
‘The cumulative effect of genetics, prenatal life and post-natal environmental
factors – especially love, skilled parenting,
cognitive stimulation and social role
modelling, in a positive society – most of
which is strongly set in motion before age
5’
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Early years(1)
“Early identification and prompt intervention
are essential. Responding to each young
person as an individual, maintaining high
expectations and providing relevant,
challenging and enjoyable learning
experiences can all contribute to
sustaining early gains”
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Early years (2)
• Activities based on play, fun, exploration,
success, including in the outdoors
• Build on children’s love of activity
• Fine and gross motor skills
• Early screening
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Early intervention
‘High quality pre-school can help to
reduce disadvantage and can raise
early language, pre-reading and
maths skills – with the most deprived
children displaying the greatest
gains’.
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Primary
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2 hours / 2 periods of physical education each
week………..
Session 2011/12
•Primary Schools – 70%
- from 142 inspections.
•Secondary Schools –
90% - from 40
inspections.
•Special Schools – 54%
- from 26 inspections.
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Session 2012/13
•Primary Schools – 80%
- from 100 inspections.
•Secondary Schools –
88% - from 26
inspections.
•Special Schools – 93%
- from 15 inspections.
2 hours / 2 periods 2008/09
• Primary – 42%
• Secondary - 49%
• Special - 14%
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Inspection findings primary(1)
Increasing numbers of schools now meeting the national
recommendations of 2 hours each week.
Physical education continues to be a very popular subject with
almost all children
Non-specialist teachers in primary lack confidence in gymnastics and
dance
Continuing concern over the quality of experience when visiting
specialist is not involved. Often lack of progressive learning
experiences
Often staff, parents, headteachers and children are unclear about the
rationale for learning in physical education
Curricular links with secondary schools require to be
strengthened in almost all schools
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Findings from primary (2)
Too often poor contexts for learning are planned which fail to sufficiently
motivate children
A number of schools encourage involvement of sports coaches, sports
development staff, fitness professionals and active schools workers in
the delivery of physical education but the rationale for the involvement
is often poorly thought out, if addressed at all and the lack of planning
is often a barrier to quality learning.
There is a lack of tracking and monitoring of children progress in physical
education within primary and as a result children are often unclear abut how
well they are doing and what their next steps should be.
Too much of a focus solely on physical activity to the detriment of high
quality learning.
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Findings from primary (3)
In some primary schools the move to two hours each week means, three
periods across the week with two or sometimes three staff involved.
This brings challenges in terms of programme planning, evaluation,
communication and consultation and can result in a fragmented and
disjointed experience for learners.
There is little if any quality assurance of the learner’s physical education
experience in the majority of primary schools.
Too much teaching time is taken up with overly long warm-ups which add
little to the overall learning of young people, particularly in primary
schools and in many cases this is learning time that is not well used.
There is scope for much greater moderation of children’s experience, learning
and progress within primary schools and across the primary-secondary
transition boundary
High quality career long professional learning opportunities in physical
education are in short supply and where they do exist tend to be
activity or sport specific rather than primarily focussed on learning.
Transforming lives through learning
Teacher learner communities
• Contradict teacher isolation
• Re -professionalise teaching by valuing teacher
expertise.
• De-privatise teaching so that teacher's strengths and
struggles become known
• Offer a steady source of support for those who are
struggling
• Grow expertise by providing a regular, space, time and
structure for systematic reflection on practice
• Facilitate sharing of untapped expertise residing in
individual teachers
• Build the collective knowledge and skill base.
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Findings from secondary inspections(1)
Increasing number of schools meeting the national recommendation of
2 periods per week
Increasing number of schools with a continuing element in S5 and
S6 – in support of young people’s HWB – although the picture
is widely variable
More opportunities for personalisation and choice – opportunities to
specialise beyond the 2 periods.
Greater variety of pathways.
Some schools with 3 ppw for all with 1ppw allocated to fitness
Continues to be a gradual move away from a focus solely on the
technical aspects of performance towards a more concepts
based approach
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Findings from secondary inspections (2)
Increasing place of dance within young people's physical education
experience and an increasing number of schools including dance
options in both core and certificated programmes – although again
the picture is widely variable
Some contexts for learning are poorly chosen for example
dodgeball which are not providing a quality experience for all
Sports leadership inputs by pupils to primary programmes needs to be
viewed as an addition and not part of the primary physical education
programme.
A small number of schools still have difficulty in encouraging full
participation
Increasing use of ICT to enrich learning and provide more detailed and
personalised feedback to young people about their performance
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Findings from secondary inspections(3)
• Increasing variety of SQA units and courses
Most offering sports leadership courses
• Increasingly more than one certificated course or
accredited pathway in senior phase.
Concerns about narrowing of options in NQs.
• Concern about learning for NQs dropping into S3 for all.
Need to focus on the around 70% who choose not to
study certificated courses.
• Need to hold to the principles of BGE, S1 to S3 as
sacrosanct.
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Findings from secondary inspections(4)
• Tracking and monitoring progress.
• Planning with breadth, challenge and
application in mind.
• Moderation.
• Assessment.
• Overcoming bureaucracy.
• Curricular links with primary – need
strengthened.
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Strategies - formative assessment
Teacher
Peer
Learner
Where the learner
is going
Where the learner is
Clarify and share
learning intentions
Engineering effective
discussions, tasks and
activities that elicit
evidence of learning
How to get there
Dylan Wiliam
Providing feedback
that moves learners
forward
Understand and
share learning
intentions
Activating students as learning
resources for one another
Understand
learning intentions
Activating students as owners
of their own learning
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Holistic
assessment
judgements
Taking
a close look
at individual
progress…
Assessment
during
learning
Progress
and
achievement
Assessment
of key
milestones in
learning
Holistic assessment judgements
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Special
Programmes vary in line with nature of school
population and young people’s needs.
Tend to be more individualised,
tailored/bespoke curricula, more outdoor
education / learning.
Strong focus on accreditation and achievements
ASDAN, Access 3, Duke of Edinburgh, HWB,
SQA units and awards.
Scottish Disability Sport
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Summary
Physical education continues to be a very popular and positive experience for
young people across Scotland
In almost all cases, relationships between teachers and learners are
universally positive
Most schools are working well with the experiences and outcomes within new
programmes of learning – including aspects which are the responsibility of
all
Need for a greater focus on the POCD
IDL has yet to become a key aspect of young people’s experience in and
through physical education
Continuing issues around consistency, quality, questioning, planning of
tasks.
Still continues to be a very good uptake into certificated courses at all levels
and stages from S4 to S6
NQs – a number of issues beginning to emerge and other trends
continue.
‘
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Better Movers and Thinkers
Ongoing challenges
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Perceptions
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Closing the gap
•Disadvantage starts in
the womb.
•Multiplicity of factors
accelerates lower
performance.
•The link deprivation and
attainment persists over
time - but it is not
inevitable.
•Individual schools and
interventions DO make a
difference.
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Beware the snake oil?
BRAIN GYM – is only one example of an
increasingly common phenomenon that is
affecting schools – the adoption of
‘sciencey’ sounding terms to justify
complicated practices with little or no
evidence to support them.
Transforming lives through learning
Curriculum for Excellence – Physical Education
1. Environment for
learning – experiential and
relevant.
2. Approaches to learning
and teaching – meaningful
and provide for active
engagement.
3. The way learning is
organised – problem
based and involves peers
.
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Higher quality questioning
The telling and asking dance - Is it adult centred ? – (mostly telling) or
young person centred ? (mostly asking) - Our agenda pushing or their
agenda pulling.
To improve performance:
Motivate – ask what motivates, interests and supports their endeavours
Goals / Aims - discussed and agreed
Feedback - draw out young person’s experience – when giving be specific
and descriptive.
Learning – from self-discovery – from self awareness – creative
experimentation.
Listening – attentively and empathetically.
Questions – effective – intended to generate awareness and responsibility
in the hearts and minds of young people.
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Deep learning
• Looking for meaning – focussing on the central
concepts needed to solve the problem – interacting
actively, distinguishing argument and evidence – making
connections between different aspects – relating new
and previous knowledge - linking course content to real
life.
• Making meaning – e.g. I understand the relationships
behind this sequence
• Working with meaning – e.g. I understand and can use
the processes that enabled us to plan well for that task
• All lead to transformative learning
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• Creating pathways of
progress for every child
•Creating pathways of progress for every child
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Evaluating Impact
How will you know if
young people’s
performance, skills,
capacities, attributes
and health and
wellbeing are actually
improving as a result
of your efforts?
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Reflective questions…
• To what extent do you ask young people in your class/
establishment for their views on their learning?
• How involved are young people in planning aspects of
their learning and development?
• How do young people know how well they are doing?
• What opportunities do they have to plan for their own
improvement?
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Points of reflection:
•
•
•
•
What is our intent?
Whose agenda are we on – theirs or ours?
Can we discover their wishes before sharing ours?
How do we find an acceptable way forward for them and
us?
• Are we initiating their greater self-awareness through our
questions?
• Are we promoting the young person’s choice to take
responsibility?
Transforming lives through learning