Institution: Redruth School

'There is less pressure because we have lots of mini assessments rather than exams at the end of two years.' – Key Stage 5 NVQ student at Redruth

Context
Redruth School, in the heart of the mining heritage area of Cornwall, is a mixed 11 to 18+ school on a single campus. It is genuinely a comprehensive school, drawing learners from both the town and the surrounding countryside.

Key objectives

• To offer an appropriate language course in KS4 for learners who find final examinations more difficult
• To offer a Level 3 course to Sixth Form students who have completed a Level 2 course in KS4.
  

How the programme is organised
NVQ French and Spanish are studied as an option in KS4. The learners are those who enjoy languages, but are more suited to following a programme of continuous assessment rather than one that focuses on final examinations. There is also a group of Spanish students following a two year Level 3 NVQ course in the Sixth Form.

The project that introduced NVQ language units into schools in Cornwall involved five schools and the local further education college. This has strengthened ties between the different institutions and they now support each other with internal verification. Teachers from these schools were also initially involved in a training programme with local businesses.

The NVQ language course at Redruth is taught in small groups of no more than 12 learners. The NVQ course emphasizes the use of language in vocational situations. Each learner builds up a portfolio of evidence in all four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). They can see how they are making progress and understand what they need to do to fulfil the assessment criteria. 

When Redruth first became involved in the programme, teachers found it very challenging as there are few existing resources for these course. The course at each level can however be designed to suit the needs and interests of the learners. 

Rather than producing a scheme of work, the school has produced topic sheets with associated assessment outcomes. Here is a sample Level 1 sheet (doc, 35KB)

Evidence of success
The majority of NVQ learners at KS4 have achieved accreditation at Level 2. Most of them were predicted C/D or below at GCSE, so they have been delighted with the outcome. They can also see direct applications for the language they have learned.

Initially, teachers found the whole process very challenging. However, now that there are defined topics and a bank of assessments that can be used, and teachers are familiar with all the paperwork, they are delighted that accredited language learning can be offered to learners who, for whatever reason, found the option of doing a GCSE intimidating.

'Language NVQs provided appropriate training to use in particular vocational areas whilst learning the skills which will transfer to many careers.' A member of Redruth School’s senior leadership team.

Future developments
It was very encouraging that a group of four students have opted to carry on with Spanish to Level 3 and it is hoped Redruth School will continue to offer this progression opportunity in the future.

Further resources
An example of a Level 3 speaking task (doc, 32KB)

Author: Lizzie Hoskins