Sharing our experiences

Recruit, Recover and Raise Standards

With the Welsh Government providing an additional £29 million to schools to boost support for learners at crucial stages in their education from September 2020 a number of interviews have been conducted with school leaders to capture their plans for using this funding. The following resources provide examples of how schools across the sector intend to use this funding to recruit, recover and raise standards. The resources are presented both as individual school playlists and as a Sway organised by theme.

Phased return of secondary school learners from 15 March 2021 – possible models

The Minister for Education recently announced additional flexibility would be offered to secondary schools for onsite provision for learners from 15 March 2021.

A group of headteachers from a range of schools have developed models outlining how they plan to approach this period, reflecting the priorities and circumstances of their school.

Plans for increasing operations in schools and settings

Schools and settings should follow Keep Education Safe: Operational guidance for schools and settings (COVID-19) when planning to increase their operations. Here are some examples of practice to show how other schools and settings are planning their operations. These examples have been provided by members of the Headteachers Stakeholder Group. 

Please note that these documents are likely to be adapted overtime to adjust to changing circumstances.

Preparing for reopening – video case studies

This page contains a series of case studies of how schools are preparing for reopening and the arrangements that were made over the past few months for distance learning, well-being and professional learning.

These resources are in the form of playlists or Sways which capture interviews with senior leaders over video calls.

The below playlists share school’s experiences on the following topics:

• Organising the school for reopening
• Organising the curriculum
• Activities with learners for the remaining weeks of the academic year
• Structure of the school day
• Staff arrangements and their well-being
• Plans for the autumn term
• Consultation and communication with parents/carers and learners
• Ongoing professional learning

Blended Learning – video case studies

The following playlists provide examples of how secondary schools have developed blended learning approaches during lockdown and as schools have reopened. The resources also cover post-16 collaboration and how this has changed via blended learning approach.

Distance learning and professional learning arrangements

Below are the original interviews conducted with schools during the period April - May 2020, with details on the following:

• Distance learning arrangements
• Arrangements for disadvantaged learners
• Learner and staff wellbeing
• Ongoing professional learning
• Potential use of the professional learning journey website and resources
• Further support from the regional consortia and Welsh government
• Collaboration and sharing

Most of the interviews are in the form of playlists (orange banners) but some are in Sway format (blue banners).

Supporting learner progression – case studies

As schools and settings establish and embed new approaches to learning due to learners spending time learning both at school and elsewhere, digitally and through other forms of remote learning, there is opportunity to reframe the way we think about assessment, drawing on the key principles outlined in ‘Supporting learner progression: Assessment guidance’. The guidance makes it clear that the purpose of assessment is to support each individual learner to make progress at an appropriate pace, ensuring they are supported and challenged accordingly. It also covers key processes needed for effective learner progression, including transition, and communicating and engaging with parents/carers.

Assessment contributes to developing a holistic picture of the learner – their strengths, the ways in which they learn, and their areas for development – in order to inform next steps. This approach to assessment is well suited to blended learning, with a focus on supporting well-being and identifying the needs of individual learners to help make them ready to learn as well as taking their learning forward.

In the case studies below, schools and settings share their experiences of how they’ve developed practice in using assessment and other key processes to support learner progression during this time. They look at reporting to parents/carers and supporting learner well-being through transition. It is hoped they will contribute to reflection and discussion as schools and settings develop their practice.

Should you wish to share your experiences and contribute a case study to be uploaded to this page, please contact us at assessment@gov.wales.

Learner well-being and assessment: mutual support systems

This document looks at the relationship between assessment and well-being of a learner. It explores how using assessment on an ongoing, day-to-day basis to identify, capture and reflect on individual learner progress provides opportunities to promote the well-being of learners. It offers prompts for practitioners for reflection and consideration of their school’s current practice and how it could be improved.