When is a a worksheet not a worksheet?

Hi, I now blog so infrequently about my teaching that I feel I need to say “hello” … part of the reason, if I’m being BRUTALLY ( I don’t think I have a “non-brutal” honesty button) is that it feels weird when people I work with acknowledge the fact that I’ve written a blog post. … Read more

From the coalface 5

Occasionally I open up the blog to others to write a post or two … (don’t worry Seager isn’t getting another chance … EVER!). Some of the motives for doing this stem from being able to offer a different view on life at the coalface but also because I find other people’s views fascinating and … Read more

Grading consultation Part 3 – New Maths GCSE 9-1

The week before last, Ofqual published another consultation on grading (I know!! 7 months to go!!) which on the face of it looks like they’re tidying up the “subject level conditions and requirements for mathematics” and in my opinion, in the main, it is just that. To be honest there is one thing in it … Read more

H v F … What if we make the wrong decision?

A couple of weeks ago, whilst wrapped up with my quilt, suffering with a bout of manflu I used the opportunity to have another look at the SAMs, specimens and practice papers alongside marking and collating the results from my year 10 class following their recent assessments. Additionally, I spent this down-time looking at the similar … Read more

Couldn’t let it pass by without …

The above was me last week!! You can’t have failed to notice that last week, in a speech about primary assessment Justine Greening announced that the government “will not introduce statutory mathematics and reading resits on children’s arrival in year 7.” It seems that sense (for once) has been seen and all the kerfuffle that … Read more

All I want is transparency

Is that too much to ask? You may remember that I put a FOI request into Ofqual following their letter to Pearson adjusting grade boundaries upwards ( my blog was here -> ( FOI Request )? Well I’ve had a response … actually scrap that … I’ve had a non-response. To be honest all I … Read more

Well I never!

I have to take my hat off to Ofqual for their recent response to an freedom of information request I made to them .. I’m quite impressed because someone has thought it through and not just sent a standard response. Having seen some payments on their “transparency” data that they have to publish I noted … Read more

More bunting

So today I finally finished my exam marking. I whinge and moan about it but I genuinely think it helps me understand the requirements of GCSE better. In fact, this Summer I also marked KS2 and that was eye-opening but again, it gave me a better understanding of what our year 7’s have just sat when … Read more

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