Insitution: Yewlands School Technology
College
'Our children are excited and motivated by this style of learning
and are therefore achieving highly. It is proving
motivational for children of all abilities allowing them to be
creative, independent learners' Headteacher
Context
Yewlands School Technology College is part of a ‘Family of Schools
0-19 years’ seeking to promote the very best inspirational learning
opportunities for learners of the 21st Century. The school has
gained recognition for its 'Family of Schools' work by the Local
Authority, the Department for Education Innovation unit, the
Specialist Schools and Academies Trust and the National College for
School Leadership. Yewlands serves a diverse community in the north
east of Sheffield and is currently developing a skills based
curriculum across the 'Family of Schools'. The school is also being
rebuilt under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme
and the new school will be completed by September 2009. The
school’s vision is to develop personalised learning pathways within
a flexible and adaptable ‘state of the art’ environment that will
be accessed by the whole community.
Key objectives
Two Year 9 average ability groups were chosen to study for the NVQ
in Business German. The pupils had previously done two years
of German but the experience of being taught by a number of supply
teachers meant that many had completely switched off from learning
the language. Some of the students also had behavioural and
attendance issues. The pupils needed a fresh focus for their
language lessons and the NVQ pathway provided the ideal solution to
re-engage and motivate them.
How the programme is organised
- Teaching NVQ languages is very different to the GCSE. It
offers more flexibility and is more accessible to a wider range of
learners. It is also designed to promote success
- Students do not sit an exam after two years of study but
undertake a series of assessments which they build into a portfolio
throughout the course. Pupils find this route more manageable
because the learning is very focused and broken down into smaller
chunks. The teacher decides when to run the assessments and is also
responsible for marking them and giving feedback to the pupils. If
a pupil does not achieve an assessment first time round they are
allowed to revisit it. Feedback is therefore a key feature of the
NVQ process as it helps to focus the pupil on what they need to
know and do to pass
- A key feature of the NVQ is that pupils are allowed to refer to
their books and other resources during assessments. The NVQ aims to
simulate the workplace where people have access to support
materials and so the course enables pupils to develop the skill of
referencing and learn about the importance of keeping their
coursework neat, up-to-date and organised
- Teachers who are experienced in delivering NVQ may wish to
write their own assessments. Once the assessments are
achieved they are signed off by both the teacher and pupil, added
to the portfolio and stored in a secure place. The portfolios then
need to be checked by an Internal Verifier. A VIPS
e-portfolio/assessment system is being developed which will reduce
the need to physically store portfolios and will make the logistics
of internal verification far easier.
Results/effect
One third of the current Year 10 at Yewlands now hold a language
qualification, and uptake at Key Stage 4 has doubled with the
pupils opting to do Level 2 and the NVQ will help to improve the
overall results in Year 11.
The NVQ has also provided the school with a reason to cement
relationships with local businesses and also the potential for Year
10 work experience placements with a language focus.
An NVQ business language course tends to have far more meaning
and purpose to a wider number of pupils than a straight language
course. It even attracts pupils who do not feel particularly able
or confident in language learning.
The pupils gained a real sense of achievement from early on in
their NVQ study due to the assessments. They also learnt how to be
better organised, how to conduct themselves in a business
environment and gained insight into different industries and career
paths. The pupils’ understanding of the use of languages in the
workplace was further enhanced by spending a half-day in one of
several companies trading internationally in Sheffield and meeting
people who use languages regularly in their jobs.
Gaining a ‘grown-up’ qualification in Year 9 also made the
pupils feel more confident about going into Year 10 and some will
go on to do NVQs in other subjects so they will already have an
understanding of how a portfolio-based course
works.
It is also interesting to note that after options, the Year 9
pupils still continued to make an effort in class, even those who
had not chosen to progress to level 2 in Year 10. In other subjects
the pupils started to coast whereas in the NVQ class, the pupils
knew they had to keep working in order to complete the remaining
assessments.
Furthermore, in a recent survey of current Year 9 pupils, NVQ
German came out as one of the five most preferred subjects. It has
also proved to be popular with parents with many positive comments
at parents evenings and Year 6 open evenings.
Many teachers across Sheffield who have been delivering the NVQ
for a few years now report that they find the course more
refreshing and interesting to teach and notice a marked improvement
in motivation and behaviour from their pupils, particularly with
boys.
The course also enables teachers to build up a rapport with
pupils because of the feedback and one to one sessions and so an
element of partnership and trust is created.
'I am enjoying teaching this course, it is
such a change to be teaching something which appeals to all pupils
in the class. The pupils are very motivated, they are looking
forward to going out to the businesses and I think many will opt to
do level 2 next year.' NVQ Language teacher
Ofsted report, 2008 – illustrating
effectiveness of introduction of vocational courses
A wide range of vocational courses has been
introduced which is meeting the range of students' needs more fully
in Key Stage 4.
Recent changes to the satisfactory curriculum
are helping it meet the needs, interests and abilities of all
students more fully. In Key Stage 4 there is an increasing
vocational dimension and effective links with the workplace. These
developments are already increasing students' motivation and
demonstrating capacity to improve achievement at GCSE and
equivalent levels. The school's action to ensure that all groups
perform equally well, with a particular focus on improving the
attainment of boys is beginning to show improvements in standards
and achievement.
Future developments
This year, the school has two more Year 9 groups studying for a
Level one in NVQ German. An after-school NVQ Level 2 ab initio
Spanish course for Year 10s is also being run and next year this
will be offered as part of the curriculum. In conjunction with the
Business department, is is also planned to offer a short course in
Business studies with a Level 2 NVQ in either German or
Spanish.
The current Year 10 Level 2 German students are also going to be
taking part in a very exciting work
experience project funded by the British Council. The students
will be spending two weeks in Germany, part of which will be
company based and will involve specifically designed NVQ tasks and
assessments. If this proves to be a success, we will set up
business links with Spanish companies for our cohort of level 2 NVQ
Spanish students. We are also looking at how the NVQ will tie into
the forthcoming Diplomas such as Leisure and Tourism.
Author: Juliet Park, Director of Languages and Language
Consultant, Yewlands School Technology College