Achieve July 2021 1

Achieve July 2021 1 in this issue Exams at 16? More common than thought Page 3 Achieve July 2021 Education’s new normal Building back, post-pandemic Page 5 Top teacher Dedicated Teacher Award winner announced Page 7 The latest news from Cambridge Assessment, the University’s international exams group. cambridgeassessment.org.uk The path to a Natural Getty Images History GCSE Four out of five children in the UK are unable to identify a bumblebee, while one in two cannot identify a nettle[1]. The lack of connection to nature which this shows has driven a proposal by naturalist Mary Colwell to create a new qualification in natural history, an event has heard. Mary told a Cambridge Assessment Network seminar that, in contrast to previous generations, 40% of children now spent barely any time playing outdoors. This was leading to a deficit of knowledge and understanding of our neighbours in the natural world, she said. Not knowing names is indicative of a deeper gulf between Mary’s proposal for a GCSE in Natural History is was garnered with a 10 000-strong petition but then us and nature: “If we don’t know the name of something, currently with England’s Department for Education Mary said the project lacked traction until Green Party it’s very difficult to have a meaningful relationship with (DfE) for approval. MP Caroline Lucas got involved. Mary described Ms it,” she said, noting how the Oxford Junior Dictionary Lucas’ role as “like [Peter Pan character] Tinker Bell had removed a number of nature words such as ‘conker’, During the seminar Mary charted her 11-year journey with a magic wand”, with the MP securing a meeting ‘magpie’ and ‘otter’ because they “are now not considered to develop the proposal. She had the idea after with then Environment Secretary Michael Gove. That useful to children in early secondary or late junior school”. working at the BBC Natural History Unit. Support in turn led to a meeting with Cambridge Assessment’s Continued on page 3 2 Achieve July 2021 News in Brief Right prescription Pharmacists who are interested in working in Britain can now benefit from a decision from the General Pharmaceutical Council about how they can prove their English language ability. Sujata Stead To work in Britain, Pharmacists Getty Images and Pharmacist Technicians must prove they have the English language skills needed to carry out their jobs as part of the registration process with the regulator. Professionals choosing this route can now prove their English language proficiency with Joint commitment to the OET, an English language test specifically developed for the healthcare sector. environment Sujata Stead, CEO of OET, said: “It’s essential that healthcare professionals coming to work in an English-speaking environment have the English language skills they need to Cambridge Assessment and Cambridge Vicky Evans, Head of communicate clearly and deliver safe and quality Sustainability at Cambridge care. We’ve designed OET so it reflects the real-life University Press have introduced a joint Assessment and Cambridge communication scenarios that pharmacists are likely target to reduce their energy-related University Press, said: “At to face, so it’s a really fit for purpose test.” emissions to carbon zero by 2048. Cambridge, we recognise there is a climate emergency The organisations have set science-based targets and are and we have a responsibility Badge of success measuring themselves against the three scopes of the to our customers, teachers, Greenhouse Gas Protocol. They have pledged to: learners and communities to drive sustainable change. Most Learners who successfully • work sustainably and ethically importantly, we know we need Vicky Evans complete one of several to go on the journey together.” popular online professional • reduce their environmental impact development courses can • seek assurances from their suppliers that forestry Both organisations are participants in the United Nations now access digital badges to products are legally sourced Global Compact – the world’s largest corporate sustainability display their achievements. • promote their environmental ambitions to their people, initiative – and support the compact’s 10 principles of human Cambridge Assessment suppliers, customers and partners around the world. rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Network is offering digital badges for successful completion of their A10 series of online courses, including A101: Introducing the Principles of Assessment and A103: Introducing Data Literacy. Sally Brown, Assistant Director of Cambridge Former Microsoft executive takes Assessment Network, said: “This is another exciting development for the Assessment Network and follows on from our charge in South Asia awarding of accreditation from CPD standards last year. The digital badges show our commitment to professional development and will allow learners to share their achievement to the assessment Cambridge Assessment and Cambridge “I am so pleased to be joining an organisation with such a community via social media.” rich heritage,” he said. “It’s an exciting time to be involved University Press have announced the in education in India as our education ecosystem is rapidly appointment of Arun Rajamani as the transforming. My aim is to build on the strong foundations new Managing Director for Cambridge to make Cambridge the most preferred and trusted brand Mastering the language South Asia. He will lead all teams in the in the region.” A new Master’s degree in English Language region across both organisations as they Saul Nassé, Chief Executive of Cambridge Assessment, Assessment has been launched. prepare to unify. said: “Cambridge already makes a big impact across South The part time Master of Studies (MSt) course Asia, but there’s even more we can do across the worlds of will give participants a deep understanding of the Mr Rajamani has worked in the learning and assessment. Arun has a proven commitment ways in which English is assessed and the expertise education sector for several to supercharging education for students and teachers, and to develop new assessment tools and strategies. It years, first with Microsoft and I’m delighted to welcome him to the team.” is aimed at English language teachers, educational then with Pluralsight, with practitioners and other assessment professionals a focus on improving digital Peter Phillips, Chief Executive of Cambridge University seeking to enhance and consolidate their knowledge literacy for teachers and Press, said: “Arun brings huge experience which will be of in English language assessment. students. He has also advised enormous help as we continue to respond to the evolving The course will be delivered by Cambridge several education technology needs of teachers and learners. I am delighted that Arun has Assessment English, the Cambridge Language Sciences start-ups to transform the way joined us at such an exciting time as we prepare to unify our Interdisciplinary Research Centre and the University people learn through self-based two organisations and I look forward to working together as of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education. Arun Rajamani education and mentoring. the South Asia team develop their plans for the future.” Achieve July 2021 3 Continued from page 1 A view from… Tim Oates CBE, who Mary described as “the second society these days in the face of the Barnaby Lenon Tinker Bell” in the project. extraordinary challenges facing our natural world, such as climate change”. “Not only was Tim interested, but he really took it seriously,” she said. “He provided the introduction into this Mary echoed Tim’s comments, summing The future of exams? extraordinarily complex world of education that I had no up by saying: “A GCSE in Natural History Mary Colwell concept of at all. He was the guru that led us through.” would reconnect our young people Here’s what we could do with the natural world around them. Not just because it’s The draft syllabus includes highly active engagement with fascinating, not just because it’s got benefits for mental There are currently four groups nature through observation and fieldwork; suitable for health, but because we’ll need these young people to create thinking about the future of exams in young people in both urban and in rural settings. If approved a world we can all live in, a vibrant and healthy planet.” England. In some ways this is not a by the DfE and then the England exams regulator Ofqual, good time – the government has just the new qualification could be taught from as soon as You can watch the full video of Mary’s talk at reformed every part of the exam September 2023. www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/news/the-path-to-a- system. On the other hand, it takes natural-history-gcse. Barnaby Lenon several years for reforms to be put in Tim, who chaired the review of the National Curriculum place. So what might be done? in England, said that if approved, the qualification would [1] According to a survey for family activity app Hoop in I would avoid replacing written exams with too “provide an antidote to fatalism which can so easily beset 2019, www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/49331144 much teacher assessed coursework. In England we cut back on this after 2012 and there were good reasons for that: the system was unfair; coursework was stressful and burdensome and sometimes formulaic Exams at 16 are and dull. There are however things we could do. Independent schools are free to choose and some, more common such as Bedales, Sevenoaks and St. Edward’s Oxford, have already moved away from GCSEs. The than thought important thing is to persuade universities – will you accept our alternative qualification? – and parents. However, many schools which have embarked on the International Baccalaureate have found it hard to External assessment at the end build demand. Irenka Suto Tim Oates Nevertheless, we could well move to a less rigid of basic secondary education is system than ‘GCSEs or nothing’, starting with those more common than is often claimed, where a student might choose to specialise in the arts at A subjects that find the GCSE particularly limiting.

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