Reaching for the higher grades in the new English GCSE

This CPD course for teachers and senior leaders will help delegates meet the requirements of the new curriculum to support students to achieve the highest grades in the new GCSE for English.

Delegates will consider:

  • How assessment underlies effective teaching
  • The role of the curriculum in ensuring students’ achieve their full potential
  • How practice supports progress and what this might look like in the classroom.

Session 1 : What do teachers need to know about assessment?

This session will:

  • Unpick the concepts of reliability and validity and explain why standardised testing is fairer than teacher assessment
  • Explore the tensions between formative and summative assessment
  • Demonstrate why Assessment for Learning failed
  • Demonstrate how to create a model of progression focused on what student can actually do, not what we think they can do.

Session 2 : Curriculum aims and teaching methods

This session will:

  • Explore the differences between the ‘generic approach’ to skill acquisition to the ‘deliberate practice’ approach
  • Explain how learning and memory work
  • Consider how to design a curriculum that supports students to achieve higher grades in the new English GCSEs
  • Show how modelling, scaffolding and practice underpin high achievement.

Session 3 : What does practice make?

This session will:

  • Unpick what a deliberate practice classroom looks like
  • Explain the benefits of retrieval practice and demonstrate a range of practical approaches for reaching higher grades
  • Demonstrate how to design effective item banks to support students’ progress
  • Show how comparative judgement can support effective practice.

Presenter Profile

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David Didau has been a teacher for 15 years, and has run two English departments, as well as being an Assistant Head. He is an Associate of Independent Thinking and is renowned for his practical approach and commitment to sound pedagogy. His blog, The Learning Spy, is one of the most influential education blogs in the world. He is the author of ‘The Perfect English (Ofsted) Lesson’ and ‘The Secret of Literacy: making the implicit explicit’ as well as being a regular columnist with Teach Secondary magazine.

Feedback from teachers on David’s course

I want another day! What I need is to use all of this and share with my dept. as it is honest, thoughtful and really focused. Genuinely the best CPD I’ve ever been to – thank you.
Really helpful and interesting with practical ideas. “Gentle delivery”.
Thank you very much. I have many practical/concrete ideas (as well as the rationale behind them) to take away. They will help my students in the ways that matter most! I would highly recommend this course!
A superb course and extremely beneficial. Thank you.
Invigorating! Also useful to transfer to History of Art –very relevant, because of high levels of literacy required. An excellent course that has inspired me to try to make changes in my lessons and in my school!
A super thought-provoking day. David Didau was engaging and knowledgeable and I am leaving with food for thought.
Wonderful day – really informative. Thank you!
David is an engaging presenter and made the day enjoyable and very useful. I gained a lot and will be using ideas and resources in my own department. Thank you!

Cost: £165 per delegate which includes lunch and resources; £199 for 2 teachers from the same school booking on this course

To book your place, please complete the form below:

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