April 19, 2023

Education Bradford

Curricular Targets

Georgina Graham and Jonathan Nixon

ISP Consultants, Education Bradford

National guidelines

Curricular targets are targets which have been chosen after careful use of assessment information and focus on a key piece of learning which has become or may become a barrier to progression. Meeting these targets should impact on children’s overall performance in a subject and contribute to raising attainment.

Targets are based on key strands of the Primary Framework. These are then layered into year group targets using age-related objectives from within the strand and are used to strengthen quality first teaching in the classroom.

Whole-school curricular targets enable schools to bring teaching and learning in specific areas of English and mathematics into sharp focus. The targets are a means to raise attainment and accelerate pupil progress in key areas of learning and teaching in English and mathematics that have been identified as whole-school priorities.

These areas are identified as priorities for improvement across the school following an audit of attainment and progress based on evidence from the school’s self evaluation. The use of whole-school curricular target setting is therefore linked to the school’s cycle of improvement.

Then…

Steps to success

EB Curricular targets and I can statements

Now…

Targets linked to class, group or individual assessments

Use of APP

Linked to engagement of learners and independence

Activity One:

What do you want targets to help with?

To give children some responsibility for their own learning

To help children discuss their learning

To involve parents in key learning

To focus teaching on key learning

To accelerate progress and raise attainment

Literacy Targets

Writing…..

What are you currently basing your decisions about targets on?

What are your targets for? Class? Groups? Individuals? Are they the same?

Making curricular targets more useful?

• Whole-school curricular targets – the curricular focuses identified through the analysis of attainment data, identified patterns and trends in underperformance that need to be addressed if improvements are to be made.

• Year group or class curricular targets – the whole-school focus is set in the context of end-of-year, age-related expectations, using the PFW to identify the landmarks. If the pupils are to make the expected two levels of progress over the key stage, the targets also need to reflect this.

• Group or individual targets – targets are personalised to address the specific learning areas those groups or individual pupils need to secure or to catch up

What next?

How will you share your targets?

How will a child know that they have achieved a target?

Do you need to differentiate your targets?

How does all this fit into your marking and feedback policy?

Are you going to make use of Education Bradford Literacy curricular targets?

Stickers/stamps

Language

Consistency is important

Next Steps

Target

Next time

Next steps

Remember to

Wish

Stars

Pink

Green

What will all this look like in your school?

Activity

How will you develop it in your school?

What will it look like?

Staff meeting?

Quick start guides?

Resources to help?

Targets in children’s books?

Showing that a children has achieved a target?

Remember children need to understand what to do and how to do it!

Maths targets

Different approaches

Whole school curricular targets – used termly or half termly

Whole school two / three week focus per term + learn by heart facts targets

Key Stage / Year Group curricular targets used termly or half termly

Whole school targets + year group focus every half term

Key Stage strand targets + group targets based on APP

Are these teaching or learning targets?

Reasons for the change:

Allows teachers to focus on one thing rather than having to try and fit it in when not appropriate over a whole term.

Repetition aids memory and children are more likely to retain the information.

It is a genuine whole school focus so children can learn from each other.

Final assemblies are at a distance from learning to allow class teachers to gain evidence for APP.

Children are more involved in the process, choosing their own strategies and presenting what they have done.

More fun!

Easier to plan for a week or two weeks than for targets over a whole term.

Slippage time used for quick games.

Class teachers receive CPD to allow them to teach the focus well.

Good practice is shared.

Whole school target – Show your ideas and methods and explain them

FS - Represent their work in objects or pictures and discuss what they have done

KS1 - Discuss their work using mathematical language and begin to represent their work using symbols and simple diagrams

LKS2 - Make their own suggestions of ways to tackle problems and discuss their mathematical work and begin to explain their thinking

UKS2 - Decide how best to represent conclusions, using appropriate recording and explain and justify their methods and solutions

Example of school target setting for ‘learn by heart’ and teaching a focus once per term

Introduction - how can you get your class to talk about:

in which lessons we could work on the target and how

if we could work on them in pairs, groups, as a class etc

what we could make to help each other or display in class

what we will present to whole school in the final assembly

Activity

What are the issues in maths in your school? How do you know or how can you find out? (SATs analysis, APP, AfL, book scrutiny, pupil interviews)

Is there a whole school issue, other than ‘learn by heart’ facts?

Do you have a whole school reward system for ‘learn by heart’ facts and are parents involved in this?

What other strands are children finding difficult?

Where do you get the target statements from? Can class teachers make child friendly statements from APP/other assessment materials?

What reason do class teacher have to focus on them and children to learn them?

Activity - Quick Start

How would you like targets to be used for maths?

Do they need displaying? Where and for whom?

How do children know how they are doing?

How often are they changed?

How are they differentiated?

How is success celebrated?

Balance clarity for children and staff with personalisation to engage learners

Monitoring: Evaluation:

should not be additional to anything else being done

should use triangulation of data (e.g. pupil interviews, lesson observations and book scrutiny)

should be realistic (even if the majority of children reach the target will this change their levels in the short term?)

should include qualitative evidence as well as quantitative

should consider all the reasons for targets, not just accelerating progress

should be shared and discussed with all teaching staff

Monitoring use of curricular targets?

Evidence of differences in APP

Books/planning scrutiny

Learning walks

School council

Pupil voice

Pupil voice

Discuss targets with the pupils

Great when the teacher hears what the children say (record/film/participate)

Outcomes from the pupil voice can be developed by the schools council.

Gives you what you have to do next.

Foundation Stage

These should not be seen as ‘targets’ for children to achieve.

Photographs and examples may help and encourage other children.

A semi-permanent display will help with teaching and can be used by other adults.