Meeting the Standards in Primary English

A Guide to ITT NC

Eve English, John Williamson

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2004
• ISBN:
  9781134580330
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Didattica
• Subtopic: Didattica generale

This straightforward guide to the professional standards and requirements for primary teachers illustrates the best ways of developing knowledge and how to acquire the skills needed to achieve QTS.
Meeting the Standards in Primary English will:

• explain the Standards relating to English teaching
• link the theory associated with the teaching of English to the practical application
• look in detail at the teaching of reading, fiction, writing, speaking and listening, ICT in literacy and drama
• assist the understanding of grammar and language study
• consider the issues of continuing professional development

This practical guide to meeting the standards will be invaluable for students on primary training courses, lecturers and mentors supporting trainees in English education programmes and newly qualified teachers (NQTs).

1 Introduction: Welcome to Your Teaching Career

JOHN WILLIAMSON

Teaching is without doubt the most important profession; without teaching there would be no other professions. It is also the most rewarding. What role in society can be more crucial than that which shapes children’s lives and prepares them for adulthood?

(TTA, 1998, p. 1)

So, you have decided to become a teacher in the Primary phase. As the TTA say in the quotation above, there is no more important profession than teaching; within teaching, we would argue, there is no more important role than that of teaching English. This is true partly because a good command of English is necessary for learning in all other aspects of the curriculum; even in subjects which are not heavily reliant on language there is a need to read for information, to put ideas down in writing with clarity and accuracy and to explore ideas through talking and listening. But even more important than this, language is at the very heart of what it means to be human; we use our language skills to interact with others, to explore and share our own feelings and to develop our understanding of the world in which we live. Your work in English teaching will be varied and challenging but it will never be dull because the demands of the curriculum and the needs of your pupils allow you to create a rich, diverse programme of activities to promote the development of some of the key skills for living.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ENGLISH TEACHING

As with most things, the teaching profession is constantly buffeted by the winds of change. In particular, the last decade or so has been a time of great change for all involved in secondary education. At the heart of this change has been the Education Reform Act (ERA) of 1988. The Act brought about a number of far-reaching developments, the most significant of which was the creation of a National Curriculum and its related requirements for monitoring and assessment.

Although there have always been guidelines from professional bodies (such as teachers’ unions), local authorities and even official government publications, until 1988 teachers generally had freedom to decide for themselves what to teach and how to teach. Different approaches to curriculum planning and delivery have proved influential at different times. There has been a series of reports over the last quarter of a century which have impacted on the teaching of English in our schools, which largely arose from ongoing concerns in government and other influential circles with the quality of provision in a teaching subject which is seen as being of the highest importance. The Bullock Report (DES, 1975) went into great detail about all aspects of English teaching at both primary and secondary level but, in spite of saying a great deal which is still of value today, its recommendations went largely unheeded because, unlike National Curriculum documents, it did not have statutory force. Concerns about English teaching persisted and HMI produced a booklet English from 5 to 16 (DES, 1984), which was the first of a series of important publications produced during the 1980s. Although this booklet was not universally welcomed by English teachers, it can be seen as the precursor of the first version of the National Curriculum. Another influence on the National Curriculum was the Kingman Report (DES, 1988) whose focus was ‘explicit knowledge of the structure of the language’ (p. iii). This has been a persisting theme running through the various forms of the National Curriculum for English. However, the most important work of this period was the Cox Report (DES, 1989) which laid out the framework for the first English in the National Curriculum (DES, 1990). This was generally, if cautiously, welcomed by English teachers but did not meet the demands of their political masters who set up a review chaired by Lord Dearing which led to the second English in the National Curriculum (DFE, 1995). In 1995, English teachers were assured that there would be no further curriculum changes for five years, an assurance which was adhered to quite punctiliously since 1999 saw the publication of the third version of National Curriculum English, which is the one which you will be implementing in (at least) the early years of your career. This brief narrative has been intended simply to help you place the National Curriculum in something of a historical context; the details will be explored in the following chapters of this book.

The other major initiative in terms of English teaching in recent years has been the National Literacy Strategy; this is seen as a central plank in the government’s drive to improve standards and is a policy which the Standards for Qualified Teacher Status require you to become familiar with.

THE STANDARDS DEBATE

Parallel to the changing perspectives on curriculum has been an increasing emphasis on standards. There has, in essence, been a shift in perspective from equality in education (as reflected in the post-war legislation of the late 1940s through to the 1970s) to the quality of education, the bandwagon of the 1980s and 1990s.

The term ‘standard’ is emotive and value-laden. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, among other descriptors of a standard, it is (i) a weight or measure to which others conform or by which the accuracy of others is judged, and (ii) a degree of excellence required for a particular purpose. Both of these definitions sit well with the educational use of the term, where it translates as acceptable levels of performance by schools and teachers in the eyes of the public and the politicians.

Over the last decade, the media have reported numerous incidents of falling standards and the failure of the educational system to live up to the degree of excellence required for the purpose of educating our young in preparation for future citizenship. We teachers have, purportedly, been measured and found lacking. It was this, in part, which was a major force behind the introduction of the National Curriculum and the National Literacy Strategy.

In 1989, when the National Curriculum was introduced, the Department for Education and Science claimed:

There is every reason for optimism that in providing a sound, sufficiently detailed framework over the next decade, the National Curriculum will give children and teachers much needed help in achieving higher standards.

(DES, 1989, p. 2)

One of the major thrusts underpinning changes over the last decade or so has been the question of how we measure and judge the outcomes of the teaching and learning enterprise. To achieve the appropriately educated citizens of the future, schools of the present must not only achieve universal literacy and numeracy but must be measurably and accountably seen to be doing so, hence the introduction of league tables as performance indicators.

Gillian Shephard, the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, said in 1997:

Poor standards of literacy and numeracy are unacceptable. If our growing economic success is to be maintained we must get the basics right for everyone. Countries will only keep investing here at record levels if they see that the workforce is up to the job.

(DfEE, 1997a, p. 2)

While the economic arguments are strong, we need to balance the needs of the economy with the needs of the child. Few teachers are likely to disagree with the need to get the ‘basics’ right. After all, literacy and numeracy skills underpin much that we do with children in all areas of the curriculum. However, the increased focus on the ‘basics’ should not be at the expense of these other areas of experience. Children should have access to a broad and balanced curriculum if they are to develop as broad, balanced individuals.

All schools are now ranked each year on the basis of their pupils’ performances in standardised tests and external examinations (GCSE and A level). The performances of individual children are conveyed only to parents, although the school’s collective results are discussed with school governors and also given to the local education authority (LEA). The latter then informs the DfES (Department for Education and Skills), who publish the national figures on a school/LEA basis. This gives parents the opportunity to compare, judge and choose schools within the LEA in which they live. The figures indicate, for each school within the LEA, the percentage above and below the expected level, that is, the schools which are or are not meeting the standard. This results in inevitable conclusions as to whether standards are rising or falling. Such crude measures as Standardised Assessment Tasks for comparing attainment have been widely criticised, notably by education researchers like Fitz-Gibbon (1996) who criticise the fact that such measures ignore the ‘value added elements’ – in other words, the factors which influence teaching and learning such as the catchment area of the school, the proportion of pupils for whom English is an additional language, and the quality and quantity of educational enrichment a child receives in the home. Davies (1996) suggests that

Dissatisfaction [with standards] is expressed spasmodically throughout the year but reaches fever pitch when the annual national test results are published. Whatever the results they are rarely deemed satisfactory and targets are set which expect future cohorts of children to achieve even higher standards than their predecessors.

(Davies, 1996, p. 162)

There are also targets for initial teacher training, to redress the perceived inadequacies in existing course provision. These centre on a set of Standards which all trainees must attain before they can be awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). It follows, therefore, that as a trainee for the teaching profession you must be equipped to deal with these contradictory and sometimes conflicting situations as well as meeting all the required standards. So how will you be prepared for this?

ROUTES INTO A CAREER IN TEACHING

To begin, let us first consider the routes into teaching open to anyone wanting to pursue teaching as a career. Teaching is now an all-graduate profession, although this has not always been the case. Prior to the 1970s it was possible to become a teacher by gaining a teaching certificate from a college of higher education. However, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, following a sequence of government reports, the routes were narrowed to ensure graduate status for all newly qualified teachers.

For many teachers in the United Kingdom this has been via an undergraduate pathway, reading for a degree at a university (or a college associated to a university) which resulted in the award of Bachelor of Education (BEd) with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Such a route has usually taken at least three and sometimes four years. More recently, such degrees have become more linked to subject specialisms and some universities offer Bachelor of Arts in Education (BA(Ed) ) with QTS and Bachelor of Science in Education (BSc (Ed) ) with QTS.

Many other teachers choose to gain their degrees from a university first, and then train to teach through the postgraduate route. This usually takes one year, at the end of which the trainee is awarded a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) with QTS. In all cases, the degree or postgraduate certificate is awarded by the training institution but the QTS is awarded by the Department for Education and Employment as a consequence of successful completion of the course and on the recommendation of the training institution.

There are also now a range of training routes which do not involve conventional attendance at a university or college. The Graduate Teacher Programme places trainees (who must be graduates over 24 years of age) directly in a school which employs them and is responsible for helping them meet the Standards. The Overseas Teacher Programme offers an employment-based route into teaching for teachers who trained in other countries.

Whichever route is followed, there are rigorous government requirements which must be met by both the institutions providing the training and the trainees following the training programme, before QTS can be awarded. In the 1970s and early 1980s, teacher training institutions had guidelines produced by a group called the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (CATE). The guidelines identified key requirements which all Initial Teacher Training (ITT) providers should meet to be judged effective in training teachers. Alongside the CATE criteria were systems of monitoring the quality of programmes.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, there were a number of government documents which moved initial teacher training in the direction of partnership with schools. This has involved school staff taking greater responsibility for the support and assessment of students on placements and a transfer of funds (either as money or as in-service provision) to the schools in payment for this increased responsibility. Along with this responsibility in schools, staff have increasingly become involved in the selection and interviewing of prospective students, the planning and delivery of the courses and the overall quality assurance process.

More recent legislation has culminated in the establishment of the Teacher Training Agency (TTA), a government body which, as its name suggests, now has control over the nature and funding of initial teacher training courses. This legislation is crucially important to you as a trainee teacher, since the associated documentation defines the framework for your preparation for and induction into the teaching profession. So how will the legislation affect you?

REQUIREMENTS ON COURSES OF INITIAL TEACHER TRAINING

In 1997, a government Circular number 10/97 introduced the idea of a national curriculum for initial teacher training (ITT), to parallel that already being used in schools. This was to be a major development in the training of teachers. In the circular there was an emphasis on the development of your professionalism as a teacher. This implies

. . . more than meeting a series of discrete standards. It is necessary to consider the standards as a whole to appreciate the creativity, commitment, energy and enthusiasm which teaching demands, and the intellectual and managerial skills required of the effective professional.

(DfEE, 1997b, p. 2)

In May 1998, the DfEE issued Circular number 4/98, Teaching: High Status, High Standards, in which the Secretary of State’s criteria were revised and extended. As well as generic standards for the award of QTS, the new document specified separate national curricula for initial teacher training in English, mathematics and science at both primary and secondary levels, and a national curriculum for the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in subject teaching to be taught to all trainees, regardless of phase focus.

Since then, the format for the Standards set out in the late 1990s has come to be seen as overly prescriptive and we are now working to a set of Standards for Qualified Teacher Status set out in the document Qualifying To Teach: Professional Standards for Qualified Teacher Status and Requirements for Initial Teacher Training (TTA 2002).

In Qualifying to Teach, the Standards are brought together under three main headings: the first focuses on Professional Values and Practice, these Standards setting out key elements of the teacher’s relationship with pupils and with other adults; the second group of Standards is concerned with Knowledge and Understanding and sets out what teachers of children at different age ranges need to know in order to function effectively. The final set of Standards involves teaching and includes issues relating to Planning, expectations and targets (section 3.1), Monitoring and assessment (3.2) and Teaching and class management (3.3).

So how does this affect you as a student teacher? In essence, you must ‘meet the Standards’ before you can be awarded QTS. As a trainee, you must show that you have done so by the end of your training programme so as to be eligible for the award of QTS. Courses in universities and other higher education institutions are designed to help you to do so, both in schools and in the institution, but the onus is likely to be on you to provide the evidence to show how you have met the requirements. This series of books, is designed to help you with this task. This particular book focuses on those skills and competences you will need to acquire to show that you have met the requirements for primary English.

There is more to teaching English than simply hav...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Illustrations
• Contributors
• Series Editor’s Preface
• 1 Introduction: Welcome to Your Teaching Career
• 2 What Do We Mean by Primary English?
• 3 Reading
• 4 Fiction
• 5 Writing
• 6 Speaking and Listening
• 7 Grammar
• 8 Standard English and Language Study
• 9 What Do We Mean by Teaching Drama?
• 10 ICT for Literacy
• 11 Whole-class and Group-based Teaching and Learning in the National Literacy Strategy
• 12 Planning and Assessment
• 13 The Implications of Transition and Transfer between the Key Stages for Teachers of Primary English
• 14 Into Your Future
• 15 Conclusion