A contact sent this through to me to share with fellow teachers. In the body of the email forwarded to me it mentions that the aim is to “elicit teacher preparedness for the upcoming and recently implemented GCSEs and A levels.” It goes on to say; “At Ofqual we hear a lot of anecdotal feedback and these seminars aim to formalise the thoughts of all teachers.  The information will be passed on to DfE, awarding bodies and other stakeholders.”

So this is me sharing and shouting at you : GET INVOLVED & HAVE YOUR SAY!

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Do you teach GCSE or A level? Tell us about it…

We are living in a time of rapid and extensive reform in education in England, and teachers are facing many challenges. The first of the reformed qualifications are now being taught in schools and colleges, and we are currently completing the accreditation of subjects that will be taught from 2016. We want to find out how well prepared teachers feel for teaching the new qualifications. (MEL- ummm the vast majority don’t feel prepared at all)

To do this we are holding a series of teacher seminars. We would like the insight of a representative group of teachers from all types of schools. You can teach any subject and must have at least one years’ teaching experience at GCSE or A level. This includes subjects that were reformed for first teaching in September 2015, and subjects that are now or are due to be accredited for first teaching in September 2016 and 2017.

The seminars will be held as twilight sessions as follows:

•  North West: 15th March 2016; Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College, Altrincham.
•  North East: 17th March 2016: University of Newcastle, Newcastle
• London: 22nd March 2016: Central London venue TBC
•  Cambridge: 17th March 2016: Venue TBC
•  Additional events to follow in the Midlands, Bristol and Kent.

All events will take the form of a facilitated discussion around how you prepare for teaching new GCSEs and A levels, including; how you choose specifications and resources; how important the timing of accreditation is; how far you understand the changes that have been made and how you access support and training. You will have the opportunity to share your opinion on anything that influences how ready you are/were for the new qualifications. You will be needed for no more than two hours and you will be reimbursed for your time and travel with a payment of £80. We will share this information with the Department for Education and Exam boards.

Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis. We are looking for the insights of as broad a range of teachers as possible. Teachers from state comprehensive schools are historically under-represented so please consider coming along if you teach at such a school. Please email lucy.rimmington@ofqual.gov.uk before 10th March 2016 for further details.

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MEL: It is interesting that state schools are under-represented yet they make up the vast majority of the schools affected. People either (1) don’t know about these kind of things to get involved (2) don’t feel that their involvement will make a jot of difference or (3) don’t have the time to get involved.