2020 Vision - Naace position paper

Naace Position Paper: 25th January 2007

Context and overview

2020 vision: report of the teaching and learning in 2020 review group: January 2007

In March 2006, Ruth Kelly announced an independent review of teaching and learning. The review was chaired by Christine Gilbert, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools. In the course of its work, the review group analysed information based on a number of sources, including quantitative data, interviews, seminars, surveys, research, a call for evidence, and visits to schools.

The report, 2020 Vision, has now been published and the review group has presented its conclusions and recommendations to the Secretary of State. The report presents a vision for personalising teaching and learning for children and young people aged 5-16 and makes recommendations for the delivery of that vision. The Review has drawn upon a wide range of evidence and practice in reaching its conclusions and is expected to be influential in personalising learning over the coming years.

The report considers:

• Ways to improve and sustain the rate of pupil progress
• Strategies to enhance teachers' skills and share best practice
• How to engage pupils and parents in the learning process
• Ways in which flexibilities in the curriculum might support personalised learning
• How to establish a better system of innovation in teaching and learning in schools

The Naace response

Part 1: Teaching and learning in 2020

Naace agrees with the overall aspirations contained within the report and wishes to stress the value that technology will have in meeting these aspirations.

Along with a recognition of the value of functional skills in English and Maths, Naace would therefore wish to see reference to the value of functional skills in ICT. The application of ICT capability is key to all other agendas and without this, alongside good teaching of ICT capability, systemic change relating to personalisation and ICT within cross curriculum activities will simply not work.

The report suggests that for most schools, personalised learning is likely to involve making distinctive changes to accelerate improvement and progression. ICT has an important role to play in this important task and the part that workforce development will play in maximising the use of technology to engender the systemic change necessary cannot be over emphasised. There are many valuable tools upon which schools can draw to assist them in optimising the use of technology to improve education, the Becta Self Review Framework and ICT Mark being one. Naace believes that it is important to encourage schools to move beyond the ambitions of the Self Review Framework, to move to real transformation and Naace is developing tools and prototypes to enable this leap. This second step - towards transformation - will be more challenging. Schools will need purpose, drive and resources to make systemic changes to the way that learning is organised, with ICT becoming embedded in all activities. This may happen through schools being involved with the Building Schools for the Future programme, or with the design of a new school, or because the school leadership and staff have a strong desire to take a lead with ICT.

The vision for personalisation envisages the realisation of aspirations for every child. Naace firmly believes that the recommendations contained within the Naace position papers on "Every Child Matters" and "Care Matters" will assist in meeting these aspirations. Included within these recommendations is the need for learning to be more prominent within the ECM agenda. Naace is eager to work in partnership with all agencies to enable the outcomes of ECM to be realised.

Part 1 of the 2020 vision report recognises that teachers use their skills and knowledge to engage children as partners in learning, acting quickly to adjust their teaching in response to pupils' learning. Naace agrees strongly with this point and understand that it is good teaching, and not technology that is the route to raising standards, motivation and achievement. The use of technology however, when used as an appropriate tool to assist good teachers in making their teaching even better, is an excellent catalyst in engaging students and providing motivation to get the most out of their education.

The report references the need to engage with parents as co-educators. Equality of access to the use of technology as part of the extended schools agenda will assist greatly with this, although Naace recognises that this aspiration will not be achieved easily, and will need to be part of a much wider policy drive than education alone.

Naace agrees with the value placed on personalisation and recognise the need to raise schools' capacity to enable personalisation to take place. To do this schools require good technical support, CPD, and excellent content. We have the software, we have the hardware, Naace strongly believes that the time is now right for a national CPD programme for our teaching workforce. This should be based on a more practice-based approach and be a first and important step to improve the transfer of knowledge between schools and teachers. Such a programme will also empower teachers to adapt pedagogical practice to accommodate the challenges that arise from informal learning through the use of technology in the home.

The Gilbert Review recognises that in 2020, the teaching profession will on average be younger and less experienced. Naace therefore wishes to stress the importance of ICT as a subject in its own right to develop capability, subject expertise and to protect the knowledge economy. ICT is multi-faceted and is much more than the narrow study of applications. We are already seeing a decline in numbers studying IT at higher levels and urgent action needs to be taken to avoid further decline. It is important that ICT the subject is defended and this defence needs to start with an explanation of what the body of knowledge that constitutes what ICT/IT is. Work in this area will also assist in meeting the aspirations of strategies to close achievement gaps through drawing upon solutions adopted in schools where pupils "buck the trend". There is a large source of hidden knowledge within our schools, and the Naace knowledge framework has been designed not only to draw out this hidden knowledge and deep thinking, but to provide easy access and transferability for all who wish to share this knowledge.

Part 2: Realising the vision - designing a new school experience

Naace believes that workforce development is the key to unlocking the potential of technology within the educational system and strongly agrees with the principles contained within this section of the report that focus on improving the consistency of high quality teaching to meet learner's needs as effectively as possible.

Naace supports the principle of self evaluation as a powerful tool. The association is a partner in the Becta Self Review Framework and manages and administers the ICT Mark as a recognition of success in optimising the use of technology within schools. Recognition of good practice is a central theme within the Naace 3 year strategic plan and Naace is currently developing ICT recognition schemes for both individuals working within schools, and for those who support schools. All schemes have at their heart, impact on the learning process.

The Association fully supports the recommendation contained within this section of 2020 Vision that Government should take further action to ensure that assessment for learning is embedded in all schools so that its benefits are fully realised. The value of assessment as both a formative and summative tool to assist the learning process is powerful. Naace is hopeful therefore that the decision to change the status of the KS3 On-line Assessment for ICT to a formative assessment leads to a balanced and sensible assessment that supports learning objectives and encourages professionalism from teachers. If so, then it will be an excellent opportunity to take forward our aims of on-screen assessment on demand for all subject areas.

Naace supports the views contained within the report that new technologies have an impact on a school in the administration of the school; the creation and delivery of lesson materials; and the use of domestic digital technology as a learning tool. Naace has significant expertise in all three areas and is willing to work with partners to share this expertise, to the benefit of all.

Whilst supporting the recommendation contained within the report that all local authorities should develop plans for engaging all schools in their area on how personalising learning could and should influence, Naace is extremely concerned that current patterns of reduction in the number of Local Authority advisors with expertise in ICT are becoming more widespread with the result that Local Authorities are considering, as local circumstances dictate, whether their consultancy resources should be redirected towards supporting core subjects. It is important that we gain reassurance from DfES and Ministers that we continue to have strong support for ICT teaching and learning and Naace therefore recommends that a strong message is sent to Local authorities to stress that such decisions will mitigate against the realisation of the personalisation agenda.

Part 3: The learning profession leading change

Naace agrees with the principle contained within the report that an understanding of the learning needs of pupils in their wider context is key to the personalisation agenda. The Association feels strongly that a strong model for knowledge capture and for using it in professional development will be key to helping both school leaders and practicing teachers gain the skills necessary to enable this.

Naace particularly welcomes the recommendation that the Secretary of State should commission a group, involving a majority of serving head teachers, to report by September 2007 with advice on what action needs to be taken to establish a better system of innovation in learning and teaching for pupils of school age and would be delighted to be represented within this group, or to feed in our expertise. We have extensive experience and expertise in this area.

Part 4: Closing the gap - a system-wide focus on achievement for all

Naace welcomes a system-wide focus on achievement for all and recognises the value of the Every Child Matters agenda to enable this. There is a strong moral argument for ensuring that all children are able to progress, achieve and participate.

Technology has an important role to play in creating the conditions of choice that this will entail.

However Naace cautions that ICT cannot be successfully embedded in other subjects as a tool to support learning and teaching without the basic understanding, the capability and expertise derived from the study of ICT as a subject in its own right. Naace therefore strongly recommends that the introduction of an entitlement to additional support, over and above what should ordinarily be provided by the school, should be extended from those students who are not progressing in English and Mathematics at Key Stage levels, to include those who are not progressing in ICT.