x2 = 10 hours. groupa group b gcse french ... in your child’s homework diary there are ... •...

Core Qualifications – All PupilsSubject Qualifications

English GCSE English Language and GCSE English Literature

Maths GCSE Mathematics

RE GCSE Religious Studies

Science GCSE Combined Science

Computing GCSE Computer Science or CIDA Level 2 Certificate

PE No qualification

25 hours of lessons per week

Number of Lessons Subjects Total

4 hoursEnglishMaths

Science 3 x 4 = 12 hours

3 hours Computing 1 x 3 = 3 hours

2 hoursRE

Three OptionsCore PE

5 x 2 = 10 hours

Group A Group B

GCSE French GCSE Spanish GCSE Geography GCSE History GCSE Biology, Chemistry and Physics

GCSE Art & DesignGCSE Business Studies GCSE Food & NutritionGCSE Music GCSE Design Technology GCSE Physical Education Level 2 Certificate in iCreative Media

All pupils must select one subject from Group A but can chose three.

Launch with Parents, Carers & Pupils

Presentations in Lessons from Heads of Department

School Report – Current Attainment

Options Booklet - Electronic

Options Evening Thursday 8th February 2018

Deadline Monday, 19th February 2018

Launch with Parents, Carers & Pupils

Presentations in Lessons from Heads of Department

School Report – Current Attainment

Options Booklet - Electronic

Options Evening Thursday 8th February 2018

Deadline Monday, 19th February 2018

EBACC

English Maths 2 Sciences• Modern Foreign

Language• Humanity

(Geography/History)

Latin

• Option to choose an extra qualification.

• Lessons take place 3-4pm two nights a week in years 9 and 10.

• Exam summer of 2020

Literacy and Numeracy (LITNUM)

• Some pupils may onlystudy 2 Options and usetheir 2 hours per week tohelp boost Literacy &Numeracy.

• This will maximise theirachievement in otherqualifications.

• Pupils will be advised ifthey are in this group.

Grade structure

Sixth Form

• Subject requirement is a grade 7.

• Study three subjects for 6 hours a week.

• Important to look at sixth form prospectus and course descriptions.

Breakout sessions

• Literacy/Numeracy

• Careers

• The Edge

What a great deal!

79p x 2 = £1.58Over charge by £1.42 

65p x 3 = £1.95Over charge by £1.05 

87p x 2 = £1.74Over charge by £1.26 

50p x 5 = £2.50Over charge by 50p

How can you support your child’s numeracy at home?

Be positive about maths

Praise your child for  effort rather than 

talent  www.nnchallenge.org.uk

Point out maths in everyday life

Around the 

house

Maths and 

Money

Games

Out and about

Bo Books and TV

Maths2017

LastnameInitial@BTHCC i.e. BloggsJ@BTHCC

Literacy Support 

Why is literacy important?• Statistics from 2014 show that one in five children in England cannot read well by the age of 11.1

• Research conducted in 2012 found that 17% of 15 year‐olds in England do not have a minimum level of proficiency in literacy.

• England is the only country where 16‐24 year olds have lower literacy and numeracy skills than 55‐65 year‐olds, out of 24 OECD countries.

• 16% of adults (around 5.8 million people) in England and Northern Ireland score at the lowest level of proficiency in literacy (at or below Level 1)

Literacy and GCSEs 

• The average reading age of GCSE exam papers is 15 years and 7 months. 

• The average reading age of pupils sitting their GCSEs is 10 years. 

If pupils become frequent readers, their achievement and attainment in all subject areas will improve.

How we promote and support literacy at BTHCCAt BTHCC, all staff value the importance of literacy and promote it within their teaching. In our teaching we…• Have frequent spelling tests in all subject areas.• Mark work with a focus on literacy• Encourage reading

The impact of reading…

All Year 7 pupils take part in the Ready to Read programme.The purpose of the programme is to improve their reading ages and to encourage a love of reading 

September 2016 January 2017 July 2017

Pupil A 13 years 9 months 15 years 9 months 16 years 3 months

Pupil B 11 years 7 months 12 years 3 months 14 years 6 months

Pupil C 8 years 10 months 12 years 9 months 14 years

Pupil D 7 years 10 months 8 years 10 months 12 years 9 months

How Ready to Read improves pupils reading ages

Why reading is so important

How to promote Literacy in the home

• Ask your child about the book they are currently reading• Have ‘screen free’ time each evening• Encourage them to read their book at home• Have a selection of books they can read 

BTHCC School Library 

In September 2017, we opened the doors to our new School Library.

The library has been incredibly popular with pupils and all pupils are encouraged to borrow from the school library. 

Talk to your child about the book they are currently reading

Questions to engage with your child’s current reading book• Who is the author? Have you read any other stories by this author?• What is it about?• Why did you choose this novel?• What happened in the last chapter you read?• What do you think is going to happen next?• Who is your favourite character?• How could the story be improved?• Would you recommend it to anyone? Why? who?

100Children who have 100 pieces of printedmaterial in their homes have higher reading scores

than those with less

Reading aloud builds, and creates,

a child’s desire to read

Where your child spends the most time annually:

7800 hours 900 hours

Read aloud with your childInterest in reading a book outside of school:

Reception

Year 4

Year 8

Year 12

100%

54%

30%

19%

Too much time spent with screen media is associated with:

Childhood obesity Sleep disturbances Attention span issues

THE THREE B’s:The three best places to keep a box of books for your children to read: Bed Bathroom Breakfast table

Helping your child improve their reading

1. Ask them to read aloud to you

You can take it in turns with reading by trying ‘popcorn’ reading if your child is not a confident reader.

The rules:They read a passage, you then discuss the content of this passage and any words they struggled with, then you read a passage and do the same. As your child becomes a more confident reader you can decrease the amount you read. 

2. Sound out difficult words…

Lots of children struggle with unfamiliar words and multi‐syllabic words.

Help them sound out the words by:1. Both clapping for each different syllable2. Placing your hand just beneath your chins and counting how many 

times your chin hits your hand

Once you have sounded out the word and repeated it, look up its meaning in the dictionary to ensure they understand it

Top 10 Tips for Literacy in the Home:1. Read yourself. Your actions really do speak louder than your words. When your children see you reading the newspaper or curling up with a book, they will want to follow your example.2. Encourage your children to read every day. Reading is a skill. Like other skills, it gets better with practice. Researchers have found that children who spend at least 20 minutes a day reading for fun - whether they read books, newspapers, or magazines - develop the skills to be better readers at school.3. Get the library habit. Make sure everyone in your family has a library card. Schedule regular trips to the library. While you are there, check out a book yourself! 4. Read aloud to your children. Set aside some time each day for reading aloud. Even 10 minutes a day can have a big impact. Bedtime is a natural reading aloud time. Other busy families read aloud at breakfast or just after dinner. Read books you enjoy. Your children will know if you are faking it!5. Pick up the ‘paper. Encourage them to read your free local newspaper, or to bring a copy of the Metro newspaper home. Ask them to pick a story and read it to you.

6. Give books as gifts. Then find a special place for your children to keep their own library.7. Make reading a privilege. Say, "You can stay up 15 minutes later tonight if you read in bed." 8. Build your confidence together. If you are not a good reader, you can still encourage your children. As your children learn to read, ask them to read to you. Talk about the books your children have read. Ask a friend or relative to read aloud to your children.9. Embrace technology. If possible, buy an e-reader. Studies show that children, particularly boys, are more likely to read for longer on an electronic device, such as an e-reader or a tablet.10. Praise them for reading! Positive praise and encouragement goes a long way!

Accuracy of writing 

As well as encouraging children to read, it is important that the accuracy of their writing. 

There are numerous ways you can do this…

Check their CHAPS 

When your child has completed their homework, read through their written work and encourage them to correct any errors they may have made

In your child’s homework diary there are pages with common errors Guide your child to use these when they are completing a piece of written work and always encourage them to check their written work. 

Page 34

Apps to support Literacy…

Finally…

The biggest impact that you can have on your child’s literacy skills is to encourage them to read. 

Reading helps them to:• Understand punctuation and know how to use it• Widen their vocabulary• Improve their reading ages• Improves the accuracy of their writing

Recommended authors in Year 7• Jacqueline WIlson

• William Golding

• George Orwell

• David Walliams

• Rick Riordian

• Liz Pichon

• Jeff Kinney

• Louis Sachar

• Holly Smale

• Anthony Horrowitz

• Katherine Rundell

• Derek Landy

• JRR Tolkien

• Morris Gleitzman

• Rick Yancey

• Carina Axelsson

• Pseudonymous Bosch

• Beverley Naidoo

• Cathryn Constable

• Cathy Cassidy

• Roald Dahl

• Lara Williamson

• Diana Wynne Jones 

• JK Rowling• John Boyne• Markus Zusak• David Almond• Malorie Blackman• RJ Palacio• Terry Pratchett• Benjamin Zephaniah• Robert Louis Stephenson• Louise Rennison• Michael Morpurgo• Jacqueline WIlson

• Diana Wynne Jones • Anne Holm• Rosemary Sutcliff• Eoin Colfer• C.S. Lewis• Garth Nix• Ian Serraillier• Jack London• Robert Muchamore• Robert Swindells• Phillip Pullman• Laura Wood• Neil Gaman• Simon Mayo

Welcome…Mrs O’Rourke

Head of the Edge

We have a plan to help you…

• When you leave school and apply for college or employment what will give you the Edge?

• What marks the difference between students with similar exam results?

• What could make you stand out?

The PixL EDGE

Who are PixL?• PixL (Partners In Excellence) are a group of teachers

who came together and decided schools could help eachother by sharing ideas and resources

• We are proud to be part of PixL and our pupils will allbenefit from this across every lesson

• PixL introduced ‘The Edge’ to give pupils across thecountry the opportunity to be able to stand out from oneanother.

Employers and Universities have said they see 5 core attributes in stand out students  Leadership, Organisation, Resilience, Initiative and CommunicationThey want to see these five key attributes in young people applying for employment or further education.

There will be accreditation at three stages

Apprentice years 7,8 and 9

Graduate years 10 and 11

Masters years 12 and 13

You will then be able to use your Edge qualification when you apply for employment or further education. This will prove you have the five key attributes they are looking for.

The Edge is a way of logging achievements in and out of school under each of the five headings above…pupils need to get into a routine of updating their log REGUARLY

LeadershipOrganisationResilienceInitiativeCommunication

What kinds of things can I log?• Leadership; captain of the school football team, Form Captain,

lead a 5 minute coaching session in PE/starter activity in any lesson

• Organisation; fundraising for a charity, fundraising for the future, a competition in school

• Resilience; achieving a karate belt, complete a dance award

• Initiative; find a solution to the problem of litter in school, launch a recycling campaign in school

• Communication; deliver a talk on Remembrance Day to your Form/History class, take part by reading in your Form Assembly/mass

• Organise a small scale fundraising activity• Undertakes an organising role  i.e. coach or 

referee for PE lessons• Organises the Rota for form group register 

monitors

Activity Examples

Activity Examples• Participate in peer to peer 

coaching in sport• Captain a team in an inter‐form 

competition• Take responsibility for teaching 

elements of work to others in the class

• Hold a position of responsibility as a tutor representative

• Hold a position of responsibility as a section leader in the orchestra

• Participate in a Youth Speaks school competition

• Volunteer and lead a tutor activity

• Assist in a community litter‐picking event

• Run a stall at the school Summer Fayre

• Volunteer to support a one‐off community service

Activity Examples

What does the Edge involve in our school?• The 5 Life Attributes (the LORIC family!)

• Choosing which of these you are going to develop first and how; update your log in your own time…before/after school and at home!

• A personalised programme to make this happen for everyone; house merits and reward postcards home along the way

• Getting an award at the end of the programme for each level…Apprentice…Graduate…Masters – all recongnised by Colleges, Universities and employers

What do I do now?• Log on using your own Username and

Password (keep this safe)• Choose your first activity and get writing!• When you complete it – submit it and wait

for your Form Tutor to respond• Start thinking about your second activity!

For Apprentice Level

• Search in the database of activities to find something which is suitable for you

• You will need to choose two activities for each key attribute … so 10 activities in total

• This could take up to 3 years to complete –so no need to rush!

The Edge is important to everyone...• Not a choice…it is an opportunity that you

cannot afford to miss! This program will give you the Edge!

• Parents will all be receiving a letter too; there is also a link on our school website

• Any questions see Mrs O’Rourke Room 22