Exams scrapped

Teacher assessment in Wales

STUDENTS in Wales will have GCSE and A-level grades assessed by their teachers, based on the work they have completed on their courses.

Education Minister Kirsty Williams said the proposals “put trust in teachers’ and lecturers’ knowledge of their learners’ work, as well as their commitment to prioritise teaching and learning in the time available to support learners’ progression”.

Her announcement in January was welcomed by NEU Cymru as giving students and staff more certainty.

NEU Wales executive members Mairead Canavan, Hannah O’Neill and Neil Foden said: “The last ten months have been incredibly challenging for everyone in education. This is an opportunity now for the system to put trust in teachers and lecturers. “We are always concerned that exams do not fully reflect the potential of young people in the system, and are especially pleased that there are no plans to use an unfair algorithm this year.”

NEU remote learning resources

THE NEU has launched two online resources to support remote learning. The Remote Education Hub, launched when schools were closed in January, includes a resource-sharing social network, where members can showcase practice, ask questions and share ideas. Information and tips on pedagogical approaches to effective remote learning are also on the hub, as well as guidance on managing workload and safety.

A microsite for parents, created during the first national lockdown, has been relaunched. Learning Under Lockdown is packed with resources and guidance, and sets out expectations around remote learning, advice on school safety and other issues, and fun and educational activities.

The NEU is encouraging members to share the site with parents.

n neu.org.uk/rehubneu n learningunderlockdown.org.uk

Primary tests cancelled

CANCELLING this year’s SATs frees up primary schools to develop a rich and engaging curriculum, general secretary Mary Bousted has said.

Celebrating the announcement that the tests will not go ahead, Mary said: “Pupils are going to need long-term support for their learning. A curriculum driven by tests was never the way to do this. With the pressures of SATs lifted, schools will have some space to address the urgent issues of educational recovery.”

She added that teachers and parents would be relieved that Education Secretary Gavin Williamson had “faced up to reality” by scrapping this year’s tests. The NEU also believes that SATs will not be appropriate in the next academic year because children have faced huge disruption to their education.

Times table testing is optional this year, and phonics testing has also been cancelled in the summer, although last year the test was put back to autumn.

The NEU has been campaigning with More Than A Score (pictured above) against high-stakes testing of children in primaries, which has led to a narrowing of the curriculum.

“Schools will have space to address the urgent issues of educational recovery.”

Mary Bousted

Visit morethanascore.org.uk

No exams, but still no clarity on alternative

AS Educate went to press, England’s Education Secretary Gavin Williamson was expected to confirm how GCSE and A-level students will be assessed and awarded grades this summer, following the decision to cancel exams.

After last summer’s fiasco, the Department for Education and regulator Ofqual launched a joint consultation on alternatives to exams this year. The consultation, which ran from 15-29 January, received more than 100,000 responses.

The NEU warned in its response to the consultation that advice and guidance on issues including unconscious bias was essential. Schools and colleges must be supported to ensure that no student faces discrimination.

The union also expressed concern about the implications of the proposals for workload, which has already soared as a result of the pandemic. n See page 11

Our ten-point plan for PPE Back to school with our heads held high. See page 6. The refuseniks WWI teachers who obeyed their consciences. See page 22. Bob Marley stirs it up When the reggae legend played for Peckham pupils. See page 26.

September/ October 2020

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NUS president Larissa Kennedy protesting outside the DfE following last year’s exams