Professional Learning Log
Trainee name: Andrew Adamski
School name: Cedar Mount Academy
Please give brief overview of school context here
Cedar Mount Academy is part of a larger group of academies lead by Bright
Futures Education Trust. It joined Bright Futures early on in its inception and has
taken on outstanding teachers, including a few from Altrincham School for Girls,
the trust’s lead school. It has a rich and culturally diverse student body of over
600 students, many of whom speak English as a second language. There are 26
other languages spoken by 42% of the students at the school, including
Romanian, Polish, Urdu, Czech, Somali, and Arabic, to name a few. Of the student
body, 71% of the population are entitled to a pupil premium, compared to the
national average of just under 27%. The school offers Spanish as a Modern
Foreign Language.
Date
Key Activities
Year
Data
Reading
6.1.14
Lesson
Observations:
MFL and ESOL
Years 7
and 8
Lesson
observation
notes
Chambers, G. (2012).
Transition in modern
languages from
primary to secondary
school: The challenge
of change, The
Language Learning
Journal
7.1.14
Lesson
Observations:
MFL and ESOL
Mixed
years;
Year 7
and 9
Lesson
observation
notes
Hunt, M. et al. (2007).
Moving on: The
challenges for foreign
language learning
on transition from
primary to secondary
Comments/Key
Reflections and
Observations
Today’s observations
have given me a more
general idea of the makeup of the school and how
MFLs and ESOL are
taught. I have observed 3
MFL lessons and have
gained a better picture of
what is accomplished at
this level and therefore,
what is needed in
preparing students for
their move from primary
to secondary school.
Lesson observations in
my MFL journal give an
indication of this. Also
see lesson observation
and reflection attached.
Today I continued with my
observations of MFLs and
ESOL. I was able to gain
an even deeper insight
into strategies used and
followed this up with
school
8.1.14
9.1.14
Lesson
observations:
English and
Maths
Year 11
and 7
Lesson
observation
notes
Topping, K. (2011).
Primary-secondary
transition: Differences
between teachers’ and
children’s perceptions,
Improving schools
Lesson
observations:
MFL and
Science
Years 7,
8, and 9
Lesson
observation
notes
Languages PoS for
key stages 1 and 2.
Lesson
plan and
materials
for Group
Lesson
taught
Pupil and
teacher
interview
questions
EAL
research relating to
transition between the
levels. Evidence of this is
attached in “What
Practitioners Need to
Know about Transition.”
Today I moved beyond
observing languages to
observing Maths and
English. I notice the
pedagogy when teaching
Maths was different from
what I observed at the
primary level; there was
more autonomy given to
the pupil and less
teacher-lead questioning
and answering. It was
very much: here is the
method, now use it to do
exercises in the book
while I come around and
help. The teaching of
English for year 7 did
seem similar to what I
observed in year 6, other
than the obvious
timetabling differences.
Lesson observations in
my MFL journal give an
indication of this. Also
see lesson observation
and reflection attached.
Research done regarding
transition of core subjects
can be seen in the
attached, “What
Practitioners Need to
Know about Transition.”
Today I again observed
MFLs and had the
opportunity to team teach
part of the lesson with two
of my classmates. The
interactive nature of our
portion of the lesson was
well received and that
pupils where able to show
progress. We also had
the opportunity to
interview the pupils to find
out how they felt about
the transition of language
learning between year 6
and 7. The pupils I
interviewed remained
coordinator
interview
questions
positive about their
primary school
experience and said it
help them in secondary.
We managed to interview
the class teacher as well
and gained valuable
information about
transition.
After MFL, we had the
opportunity to observe
year 8 Science. I was
surprised at first to find
out that they were
covering what consisted
of part of the primary
curriculum. It soon
became clear, however,
that due to the high level
of recent immigrants who
speak English as a
second language, the
students often struggle
with the academic
language needed to
discuss science. We had
a conversation with the
class teacher who
informed us that pupils
needed to be well
supported with vocabulary
and the ESOL classes
provided to be able to
show what they know and
show signs of
improvement.
Following Science, we
had a conversation with
the Head of EAL, Andrea
Jackson, who gave us
valuable insight about
various measures the
school has put into place
to ensure that EAL pupils
get acclimated and get
further support in and
outside of the classroom.
Evidence of observations,
lesson taught, questions
asked to the pupils and
class teacher of MFL, and
conversation with EAL
coordinator can be found
in my MFL journal.
Evidence of questions
with pupils and teacher
are also attached.
Further reflections on
programmes of study are
also attached.
Your final log is likely to be longer than a single sheet of A4. Please submit it electronically in
WORD, not pdf or other format to angela.mclachlan@manchester.ac.uk by Monday 20
January. Please only send the log, not this entire document. This log replaces Reflection
Point 6 ie you do not complete Reflection Point 6 via Turnitin. You may prefer to note your
KEY REFLECTIONS AND OBSERVATIONS in your Exploring Real World Primary Languages
journal – please note the relevant page numbers in the column
Now turn to Page 2 for some general information and a learning activity
outline; related materials are available on BB in the KS3 Enrichment folder
Observing Experienced Practitioners & Observation foci
Observation 1 – Spanish Year 8
Attendence/Review/Starter:
Powerpoint up on IWB including:
Title: Mi Pasta/my money
Key Words: Cognate, el dinero, and recibir (English translations used)
Review Questions:
1. What currency do they use in Spain?
2. What does the work ‘plata’ mean?
3. Do you think you people in Spain receive pocket money?



When taking the register, teacher get pupils to say a word a word of their
choice in Spanish as a response.
Teacher reviews what was covered in a previous lesson by asking questions
related to PP.
Teacher introduces objective for today:
1. Know numbers 1-100
2. Information about pocket money
1st task: Put the numbers in the correct order, starting with the smallest: Noventa,
Viente, Cuarenta, CIncuenta, Diez, Setenta….etc. to Cien. 3 minutes put on the clock.
The teacher sets the task and the timer and they continue on their own to complete the
activity in their notebook. The teacher then checks their work by asking for feedback as
a class.
2nd Task: Bingo: Pick 3 numbers and write them out in Spanish on mini-whiteboards.
The students now have to recall the spelling of the words and write them out. The
teacher calls them out in Spanish and the pupils cross out the numbers if they have
them. If a pupil has all three, they say them out loud and the class checks. This activity
gives them practice with writing, listening and speaking.
3rd Task: Find the translations for these questions around the room.
Recibes dinero de tus padres?
Con que frecuencia recibes dinero?
Cuanto dinero recibes?
Trabajas para ganar dinero?
Piensas que en importantes tener tu propio dinero?
The pupils write the questions in Spanish in their notebooks and look for the English
translations around the room. They use commonalities between the languages such as
cognates to help them with the matching, which they find challenging.. Once completd,
the teacher asks for repetition of the answers.
4th Task: Throw and catch the object. As you throw it, ask a question in Spanish, when
you catch it, say the translation in English and then answer in Spanish. Repeat!
The students do this activity as a class, which allows them to take what they have read
and written in the previous activity and begin to listen to it and speak it.
While the students are involved in the activity, the teacher encourages them to look at a
PowerPoint slide that asks them to self-assess their ability. They must ask themselves in
Spanish: Si, yo puedo, Puedo con ayudar, or No puedo
5th task: Unjumble the boxes of sentences written in English and find the correct
Spanish translation.
e.g.
Recibo mi dinero de mis padres cuando lo necesito. Tambien gano dinero porque
reparto los periodicos.
my pocket money I receive from when my parents I need it. Deliver papers money I also
earn because I
This activity introduces more vocabulary for them to learn, such as gano. This activity
introduces more challenging sentences and takes reading and writing about money to a
higher level.
The teacher check the answers and the lesson time has run out.
Other aspects of the lesson to note:
Behaviour Management System:
C system (consequences): first warning, final warning, detention
Rewards: name gets put on board and gets ticks. R1-credits, stamps, verbal praise R2Credits, recommended to form tutor, teacher postcard home R3-House Form star,
subject star, R4-acadamy star, 100 attendance award.
Feedback from teacher:
Teacher checks the work in their books and uses it to inform the next lesson.
PROFORMA PS2 ANALYSIS OF LESSON
OBSERVATIONS
FOCUS
Reflect upon the extent of
the subject knowledge
required to teach the
lesson. You may need to
refer to the National
Curriculum requirements.
ANALYSIS of LESSON OBSERVATIONS
Reflect upon the
children’s learning and
acquisition of new skills–
was there evidence of
prior knowledge drawn
upon and links to other
curriculum areas and the
wider learning
environment
It is clear from this lesson that the pupils covered money in the previous
lesson. However, the pupils were asked to take this a step further by
learning some questions related to money and asking and answering
these questions. By doing this, the pupils were now working on not only
improving their receptive skills, but also their productive skills. The
pupils were also introduced to new vocabulary brought up in the context
of the activities.
To teach this lesson, it is important to understand a lower-intermediate
level of Spanish related to the topic of money and to know numbers 10
to 100 in 10s. Most of the activities involved reading and writing, which
require the teacher to know spelling and grammar related to the topic.
Some of the lesson included speaking and listening, so an acceptable
pronunciation of the vocabulary words used, including to spend, to earn,
is also needed.
Reflect upon the extent to As the work was not differentiated, this lesson seemed to be easy for
which all children were
some, a challenge for others, and too difficult for a few, though it should
included and the scope
be noted that it is hard to tell whether the few that found it too difficult
for the ECM outcomes to
really tried. There was some differentiation by outcome, when pupils
be addressed
who responded to questions were able to give either one word
responses or full sentence answers.
Identify a development
I like the way the teacher introduced questions to ask before having the
point based on what you
pupils use them in a speaking activity. By going around the room and
have seen that you could
finding the translations, and then writing them down, the students had to
use to improve your own
dissect the Spanish language and find the commonalities between it and
teaching.
English. This made them more aware of questions and how they are
constructed in Spanish before going on to actually ask them. This was
also a very kinesthetic way learning.
There is one thing I would consider changing about the activity. I
wonder if it would be better to get the students to write a question on
their own as a next stage of the lesson. It is one thing to say something
you memorized, but another to come up with an original question in a
foreign language. I think that this is an essential step to building fluency
in a language; it is important to move from a controlled activity to
something freer in order to give pupils the chance to create a
conversation instead of just reproducing one.
Observation 8: English Year 7
Class started with a starter before finishing the end of yesterday’s lesson.
New lesson:
Learning Objective: To be able to complete spy profiles using creative
vocabulary and language features.
Yesterday’s Starter: Adjective challenge! Think of as many adjectives
as you can to describe secret agents and spies?
Today’s Starter: Sentence challenge! Using your adjectives from the
last lesson, can you create an interesting sentence? Think about how
you could start the sentence and what punctuation you could use.
Starter: Teacher asks for examples of introductions to stories they wrote
during the last lesson. She then gets the pupil to write a new sentence
using the instructions from the starter.
e.g. “Quickly and quietly, the sneaky spy walked down the corridor….”
Final Stage: Teacher provides model on IWB of her personal profile and
reminds them to finish theirs. Included on the IWB are success criteria they
need to include: Facts, Opinions, Alliteration, List of Three (3 different
words to describe a noun), Adjectives, Good punctuation.
Teacher tells pupils that they have 10 mins to finish.
Are pupils engaged? Pupils seem to be keen on what is covered in the
lesson. When asked about success criteria, they give a clear description
and are more then happy to share their answers. One pupils was
struggling to come up with ideas but with support, got on with her work.
Teacher gets students to share some details of their stories with the class
.
My thoughts on differentiation: Teacher gives extra work for pupils who
have finished first. Is this differentiation? Pupils may have finished first but
may not have tried as hard or produced good work. How do you
differentiate in creative writing? Is it by outcome? Surely each pupil will
produce work specific to them and it’s up to the teacher to check their
work and see if they have progressed from prior learning. Perhaps the
pupil who was struggling could have been given some words to get them
started. But would this help of inhibit creativity?
When I asked the teacher about differentiations, this is what she said:
They pupils are placed in 3 different groups according to ability. The work
is differentiated by outcome. For example, during this lesson, the pupils in
the lower ability group are expected to produce 2 adjectives per noun while
students in the higher ability group are expected to produce 3.
PROFORMA PS2 ANALYSIS OF LESSON
OBSERVATIONS
FOCUS
Reflect upon
the extent of
the subject
knowledge
required to
teach the
lesson. You
may need to
refer to the
National
ANALYSIS of LESSON OBSERVATIONS
Firstly, it is necessary for teachers to have a firm grasp of the English language,
including a range of descriptive vocabulary to help provide pupils with good
examples. It is also necessary to understand English grammar. Next, teachers
must be able to understand other elements that make writing better, such as the
rule of threes and alliteration. Finally, teachers must have an understanding of how
to structure writing, such as profiles, in a constructive way. Teachers must be able
to get this information across to students clearly and diligently.
Curriculum
requirements.
Reflect upon
the children’s
learning and
acquisition of
new skills–
was there
evidence of
prior
knowledge
drawn upon
and links to
other
curriculum
areas and the
wider learning
environment
The children had started this task during the previous lesson. Though they are
aware of all that is expected of them, and “know” all the information presented to
them, the real challenge for them is to extend their creativity. Some students were
doing so quickly and coming up with good work while other students struggled.
However, with assistance, and support through questions and effective elicitation,
struggling students were able to come up with original ideas which meant they were
meeting the objective.
The prior knowledge they were drawing was what was discussed last lesson,
including elements that make good creative writing including writing adjectives in
threes, alliteration and a mixture of both fact and opinion.
Reflect upon
the extent to
which all
children were
included and
the scope for
the ECM
outcomes to
be addressed
All children were included as all children were able to accomplish this task through
differentiated outcomes. Their teacher knew what each student was capable of so
knew what they should be producing to take their learning further. For example,
during this lesson, the pupils in the lower ability group were expected to produce 2
adjectives per noun while students in the higher ability group were expected to
produce 3.
Identify a
development
point based on
what you have
seen that you
could use to
improve your
own teaching.
This and the previous lesson were well structured and scaffolded. When teaching a
lesson on writing profiles, or any creative writing, I could use the same steps to get
strong outcomes. For example, for a lesson on personal profile, I could do the
following. I could start by having students predict the personal profile of a famous
spy, like James Bond, to get them to come up with what a personal profile might
look like. I could then get them to brainstorm some creative adjectives that could
be used to write about a spy. Next, I could get them to imagine that they were spies
and have them think about things they might do. Then I could give them an
example of my own spy profile. Finally, I could take this profile away so that they
don’t copy my model and get them to write their own profiles about spies.
Mapping progression in learning: reflecting on
Programmes of Study KS2-3
Languages PoS
Key progression points
While the purpose of study and that aims of language learning are identical across KS2
and KS3 in the languages programmes of study, the subject content shows two distinct
levels of progression. In KS2, students are expected to express ideas, facts, and feelings
related to ‘familiar and routine matters’ in order to lay the foundation for KS3. In KS3
students are expected to take what they have learned from KS2 and begin to build on
core skills to express personal and factual information that is ‘beyond their immediate
needs and interests.’ This takes pupils beyond the everyday uses of the language, like
shopping, or saying daily routines, to having to converse on subjects that are not
discussed on a regular basis for the average person.
While students are expected to learn basic reading, writing, speaking and listening skills
in both key stages, the vocabulary and grammar used should show an obvious
progression. In KS2, though pupils are expected to express both facts and opinions, they
are only expected to use familiar vocabulary and basic language structures to do so. In
KS3, however, pupils are expected to speak in a more spontaneous and fluent way,
through the use of present, past and future tenses and other tenses needed to express
voices and moods. The linguistic competence expectations of KS3 move pupils further
beyond the familiar, raising expectations that pupils should be able to cope ‘with
unfamiliar languages and unexpected responses’.
What children need to know and be confident with in Year 7
To be confident in year 7, pupils should know the basics of any language. That is, how
the basic grammar works for any target language and how important it is to constantly
build up vocabulary. They should get to the point where they are able to put these
elements of language together to express basic ideas that are routinely used. Even if
the pupils are starting a new language in Year 7, they should have this knowledge of
what is needed to speak a language and have developed skills of acquiring what is
needed through group and independent study.
How to bring Year 7 learning into the Year 6 classroom including pplying what they
know in a variety of contexts.
For pupils to be prepared for Year 7 learning, they need to be exposed to the pedagogy
common in secondary school. This means that pupils need to learn greater independent
study skills through using dictionaries and the internet for support. They should become
independent in their learning of vocabulary they feel they might need to express more
complex ideas.
The pupils also need to be given more opportunity to express themself in a freer
context. This means moving beyond just memorizing phrases that they then repeat to
having activities where a variety responses may be required. The pupils must learn to
become spontaneous with their use of the language and increase their recall speed.
What do practitioners need to know about transition?
Transition from primary to secondary school can be a challenge for students for a whole
host of reasons. The social climate of the school, the change into subject specific
classrooms, the increase in autonomy, and the change in the way each subject is taught
all have an effect. This essay will look specifically at how this transition is handled in
Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) and core subjects in both Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3
by teachers and schools.
Transition of MFLs
When it comes to MFLs, there is strong evidence that transition problems have existed
for some time, not only in Britain, but all across Europe and the United States. One of
the chief reasons for this is that pupils do not have adequate exposure to languages at
primary; pupils are not prepared for secondary because they have not learned much.
This can be attributed to not having appropriate staffing, priority given to core subjects
over languages and a lack of policy in schools.
Problems with staffing vary depending on who is chosen by a school to teach MFLs in
primary. According to Gary Chambers (2012), one of these problems is “often
associated with a specialist MFL teacher, often from a local secondary school but lacking
expertise in teaching of primary-school-age-children.” Other schools hire on native
speakers who, despite the obvious benefits, lack the teaching skills need for effective
learning. Still, many schools face the opposite problem: class teachers who lack the
competence and confidence to speak a foreign language in the classroom.
Even if a school has competent MFL teachers, languages in primary schools are often
put well below other subjects in importance, especially Maths and English. It is hard for
effective language learning to occur with so little time dedicated to it. It is even harder
when this limited time can be pushed aside for other priorities. When there is a lack of
policy to encourage the teaching of the language, it is often one of the first to be
rejected.
This is not to say that there are no schools where languages are effectively taught in
primary schools. However, even with the school’s support of languages and effective
teachers, a lack of communication between primary and secondary schools can lead
ineffective transition. This is not something that is exclusive to languages. Pupils’
attainment in all subjects can often level off or worse in the process; this problem is
largely due to curriculum continuity (Maurice Galton et al. 1999).
It is understandable that, due to staffing availability, the language learned in primary
could be different from what is learned in secondary. It is often hard to get around that
fact, and some would argue the greatest benefit of learning a language is developing
language-learning skills, with the actually attaining of a language being secondary.
However, even when the same language is taught in both schools, with a lack of
communication between schools, there can be a negative impact on students.
According to Allison Bolster (2009), when the language scheme of work from primary
informs the scheme of work in secondary, students are motivated by progression in
their abilities. However, when a secondary school decides its own starting point for a
scheme of work, it is often below the students’ ability. The result is they are not
sufficiently challenged and motivation is lost.
A lack of communication between primary and secondary schools is often the result of a
lack of planning in place for managing the transition and a lack of time to prepare for
the transition. Where there is no clear government guidance in place, schools may
make varying efforts, and apply their own strategies, but without cooperation and
agreed strategies of all schools involved, efforts often fall flat. There are groups of
schools that are successful with transition and it is up to us as teachers and MFL
specialists to encourage this in our schools.
Transitions in Core Subjects
Despite there being greater communication between primary and secondary schools
about pupils’ attainment in core subjects, they too often suffer during this transition.
Research indicates a variety of reasons for this. One major reason is the timetabling
difference between the levels. Students were shown to have a positive response to the
flexibility of the primary school day. They subsequently found it difficult to adjust to the
secondary timetable, both due to shorter lesson times and the order of subjects
throughout the day (Jane Tobbell, 2003). Another reason is the difference in pedagogy
experienced in the transition. Students found it hard to adjust from a more open,
student-centred approach found in primary schools, to a more authoritarian, teachercentred approach. (Carol Midgley et al., 1989).
No matter what the subject, it is absolutely essential that there is effective
communication between primary and secondary schools. As can be noted from looking
at the transition of all subjects, this communication needs to go beyond just sharing
pupils’ attainment; there needs to be communication between schools about the
pedagogy used at both levels, with the sharing of approaches to teaching various
subjects. This can help ensure that pupils experience a smoother transition of their
school experience as a whole.
Bolster, A. (2009). Continuity or a fresh start? A case study of motivation in MFL at transition,
KS2–3. The Language Learning Journal 37, no. 2: 233–54.
Chambers, G. (2012). Transition in modern languages from primary to secondary school: The
challenge of change, The Language Learning Journal, available at
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2012.708052, accessed January 2014.
Galton, M., L. Hargreaves, C. Comber, T. Pell and D. Wall (1999). Inside the Primary
Classroom: 20 years on. London: Routledge.
Midgley C, Feldlaufer H and Eccles JS (1989). Student/teacher relations and attitudes toward
mathematics before and after the transition to junior high school. Child Development 60: 981–
992.
Tobbell J (2003). Students’ experiences of the transition from primary to secondary
school. Educational and Child Psychology 20(4): 4–14.
Key Questions for Students
Rachel
 Do you enjoy learning languages?
All of the children said yes and were keen to talk about them.
 What do you enjoy the most?
The children agreed that the fun activities and games that they get to do were the best
part.
 Least?
They didn’t like the tests they have to do because they are not fun and can be hard.
Nahuel
 Would you like to have Spanish more often? Why?
Mixed responses: Most would prefer more engaging approaches i.e. games, word
searches and puzzles particularly for lesson starters.
 Why do you think you learn Spanish at school?
If you go to Spain I will be able to talk to the people there in their own language rather
than expected them to speak to me in English. How can you go to a country and not
know much about their language?
 What jobs do you think you could get where Spanish would be helpful?
Spanish teacher, doctor. (I think there was a lack of awareness at the opportunities
languages can bring).
Andrew
 Did you learn any languages in Primary? If so did that help you learn Spanish?
2 students learned French, 2 Spanish. All said they just learned a bit of vocabulary in
primary and that they were excited now that they were learning how to speak in complete
sentences. Even the French students said that learning French in primary helped them
with their pronunciation and learning of words in Spanish in secondary.

Do you think that it would be useful to use you Spanish in other lessons or do you think
that it would make those lessons more difficult?
No—It wouldn’t be relevant to the subject.
Maybe—You could understand some of the ideas in that subject, and then you can
practice your Spanish also…but then some things would be hard to understand, and you
couldn’t learn that subject well.
Key Questions for teacher
Develop 3 key questions for your school mentor and a small number of Year 7 pupils
exploring what you consider to be important aspects of practice in the context of transition from
KS2 to KS3. You may note these questions and responses either in your learning log or in your
Exploring Real World Primary Languages journal. At least one of these questions should focus
on Languages. For example, you might like to explore the following questions with both teachers
and pupils:
Teacher:
Are Year 7 pupils streamed or set for Languages in Year 7,
and on what basis?
The Year 7 children are not banded according to their
language. Instead, they are banded according to their
English and Mathematics results. They keep this band
for the rest of the year. Even if the child is excelling
they will not be moved up due to timetabling issues
with English and Mathematics.
Teacher:
In what ways do practitioners differentiate teaching and
learning in Languages?
The level of vocabulary that they are expected to learn.
Questioning
Outcomes - results
Success criteria - differentiated steps to success.
- good children are not capped on their learning.
HAs often become the mentors of the other children.
Often strong speakers, who might benefit from a similar
first language, will focus on developing other skills, like
writing.
Teacher:
How do EAL pupils approach the learning of a subsequent
language in a classroom environment?
EAL pupils are keen learn. Those who speak a
European language find Spanish more accessible.
Those who speak Urdu struggle as they find fewer links
with their language and Spanish. In lessons, they will
be trying to learn English and Spanish at the same time
and this can be challenging for them.
Visuals are used. Repeating the writing they have
done.
Teacher:
What is the purpose of learning at home, and to what extent to
It’s difficult we want to focus on that. Keen students will
willingly do extra homework. Diff to monitor.
pupils engage with this?
How popular do Languages appear to be at the beginning of
Year 7, and does this change during KS3? What might the
possible reasons for this be?
Does popularity change throughout KS3. GCSE uptake
is high this year - they value the language. If you can
make it accessible.
What can the primary school do to ensure that learning is
meaningful, and also effective preparation for future learning
beyond KS2?
There should be more communication. In primary we
are going to teach them to level three. What each one
is doing. If you did know what works for them. Lots
have never done a language.
In the past we had a language expert to differentiate
the children. Child will help others once they had
finished in class. Peer support. Doing questions that
are useful in English and aim to translate.
What can the secondary school do to ensure that prior
learning is celebrated and built upon?
Encourage them if they have the languages - applying
what you know. I like, well how can you say I don’t like.
Language expert helped.
How might primary and secondary colleagues work together
to ensure progression and continuity in learning?
How do you assess? Homework - listening, reading
and writing test. It’s not easy to do speaking - last year
we had the British Council assist but this year there is a
lack of funding for this.. Effectively using others
members of staff.
How well prepared are children to learn at KS3? Refer also to
learning patterns and models, whole-school and classroom
environments, location and travel, general guidance and
‘looking after’, the
differences in life at primary school and
at secondary school, and the responsibilities Year 7 children
may have that they did not have only a few weeks earlier in
Year 6.
Independence is a key skill.
How best can we prepare our Year 6 children for these
changes?
Accuracy versus fluency - They try to focus more on
fluency in class and attempt to fix errors later on. They
don’t want to shake a students confidence by
correcting their mistakes all the time.