National Numeracy/National Literacy Strategies

The Partnership has expanded the Education Service’s numeracy and literacy strategies, designed to give teachers a structured and coherent planning framework for their lessons. This is all part of the contribution Birmingham schools are making to the Government’s drive for a literate and numerate nation.

Integrated Learning Systems

At least a quarter of all schools now use computer-based systems to boost pupils’ literacy and numeracy levels. Integrated Learning Systems track pupils’ progress as they work their way through packages of learning. The management programme assesses the pupils’ performance and guides them on to further learning or back to consolidate past learning.

Targeting Groups of Underachieving Pupils

Schools are now very skilled at using pupil data to identify groups of pupils who, with focused short-term support, can attain at higher levels. The Education Service has made this Partnership support available to more than 2,700 pupils in more than 90 schools. The benefits, in terms of higher SATs results, are showing through.

Schools are being supported to assess themselves against a number of frameworks. These encourage schools to focus on improving incrementally against past standards, in ways determined by each school. More than a quarter of schools are focusing on planning and implementing changes in basic skills, which can lead to the school being awarded the national Basic Skills Agency Quality Mark.

Demonstration Classes

Another interesting development has attracted interest and is being incorporated into national developments. In 1998 ten schools offered to open their classrooms for staff from other schools to come and sit in on lessons. Whilst the host schools are not claiming to have got everything right in every lesson, they do believe that their literacy and numeracy practice is worth visiting. Over a two month period, the 10 primary schools shared their practice with 239 teachers from 90 other schools in this alternative model of professional development.

Focused and Deliberate Teaching

Following a conference for maths co-ordinators from all secondary schools, the Education Service (with support from the Core Skills Development Partnership) has worked with staff of secondary schools to put in place a more focused set of approaches towards the maths curriculum. Schools are reporting that this has been very valuable and that their pupils are showing changed attitudes towards maths. In 1998 the same focused approach was being introduced in 23 secondary schools, 120 primary schools, 4 nurseries, and 4 special schools.