Guest Lecture - Ken Jones - PISA

Ken Jones’s lecture was a discussion about what is PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) and about education in Wales.

Jones (2012) explained that PISA is an international study which begin in 2000. The aim of the study is to discover and asses education systems worldwide, they find out this information by testing 15 year old students on their skills and their know knowledge. Since PISA was introduced 70 countries have participated in the PISA test. After the tests have been carried out the different countries which have participated in the tests are ranked.  The OCED website says (July 2010) ‘PISA focus 6 examines the impact of grade repetition on education systems throughout the world.’

Jones (2012) then went on to discuss how what score the UK countries had in their PISA results. I was quite surprised when Jones (2012) told us that Wales were ranked very low because they hadn’t scored very well in their PISA results, the reason why I was surprised was because there’s a lot of funding . After we were told this Jones (2012) then described the improvements which will be needed to be done all over the UK to increase their ranking. These improvements could be such things as more LSA’s in the classroom to help the pupils who struggle or maybe just more funding in school. He also stated that it will be Leighton Andrews (Minister of Education and Skills) job to improve Wales’s PISA ranking.

This again was an interesting lecture because I didn’t know Wales were performing that bad compared to other countries and I belief that there has to be something done about it to make a massive improvement on our ranking so we can be just as good as the top PISA countries.

Guest Lecture - Steve Gullick - Governing Body

Steve Gullick’s (2012) lecture explained what the governing body is within a school. Gullick discussed the numerous different roles that the body do and also how an individual becomes a member of the body.

Mr Gullick (2012) gave a list of roles which the governing body do which included such roles as conducting the school with a view to promoting high standards of educational achievement, setting appropriate school targets for pupil achievement at Key Stage 2,3 and 4 and also deciding on the appointment of the head teacher and deputy head and other staff and also regulating staff conduct and discipline. These roles are very important in a day to day running of a school, the appointment of a head teacher in my opinion is crucial to how well a school achieves. I have experienced the change of a head teacher in the primary school I have been a volunteer in and it was interesting to see what changed were made in the school.  If the governing body make the wrong decision and the head teacher fails to exceed the targets that have been set then the body may face heavy criticism for appointing that head teacher. 

One other key role that the governing body decide is to draw a plan of action after they’ve had a inspection. This plan may involve improvements which are needed to be made to reach the standards that the inspectors have set, so yet again its crucial that the body decide on the right decisions to make sure that the school makes the improvements which are needed.

Gullick (2012) then went on to explain that to become a member on the governing body they need to be trained first. This training gets supplied by the council which the school’s in which is a useful thing because it gives the members the opportunity to improve their knowledge of how to run a school. Also Gullick (2012) explained that any person that has a stake in the school could become a member of the body, such as a parent, LEA or a teacher. But every member has to be elected to go on the body and after 4 years of being elected they to be elected again to continue their role on the body. Also on some governing bodies bank managers are elected because they’re experts in finances which gives great help to the body in how to budget for the school’s academic year.

I found the lectures and seminar sessions interesting about the governing body because before attending these sessions I wasn’t too sure what the governing body did and what their roles were. I had a slight idea and knew that they were the part of the employing staff process but didn’t know their other roles.

Guest Lecture - Dr Russell Grigg - Estyn

Dr Grigg’s lecture told us about an overview of Estyn, Estyn inspects the quality and standards in education and training providers in Wales. These settings could be in such places such as nursery, primary, secondary, independent and special school. Estyn also inspects further education facilities, teacher education and training and mainly any work based learning places. I found the information that Dr Grigg provided us about Estyn interesting because it showed how Estyn go about inspecting educational facilities. He said that the school’s are given a warning beforehand about when the inspecting is going to take place which is something I didn’t know.

Grigg (2012) then described what other services Estyn provide, these services were Estyn provides advice t

o the Welsh Assembly Government on quality and standards in education and training in Wales. This is vital information for Government because it may show them where there’s the need in extra funding to improve the less quality school and also if there’s need be to close a school which standards are below what is needed and expected. So this may imply that the school gets closed or temporary closed until they make the improvements are made to the facility good enough. This is a crucial factor because without these standards being met the Government can decide if the facility in question deserves the funding that it has been getting anymore, and this funding could go towards a facility which needs it more.

One other service that Estyn provides is promoting the spread of good practice in education and training. In other words it shows the general public its reports about the facilities that Estyn has inspected. This is very important for the general public because it provides them with the information of which facilities have high standards and which have low standards. This may effect a parents crucial decision of where they would send their child, clearly the higher standard facility would get the bigger number of students which would benefit the facility because it would gain more funding because the higher numbers. These reports state to the parents where their child will gain the best education which would enhance their chances of a better career opportunity. That point proves why what Estyn does is so important and that its vital they provide the information that they give.

Grigg (2012) also told us that Estyn’s key policy is that they listen to the learners. This indicates that Estyn inspectors ask the students of the education facility what their opinion is on the place that they are learning in. Again this is very important because it provides the service of if the students feel they’re benefiting from the education they’re getting and if they’re improving their own general knowledge and skills from being in this place.

You can find more information on Estyn on their website http://www.estyn.gov.uk/. This website gives you information about what Estyn does and you can also look at annual reports on inspections which estyn have done in different establishments.

In conclusion the information that Dr Russell Grigg had given us had proven that the work that Estyn does is crucial in very different ways and that its impeccable that they carry on the work that they are doing.

Overall - ICT Project

  Overall I’ve enjoyed the Visual Communication module, its taught me how to be more creative and also improved my personal ICT skills. I know now how to use photo shop correctly and also how to upload my own personal youtube clips on to my blogger. I thought Suzie’s sessions were good because it allowed each member of the class to express how they feel about their sense of places and why that place means so much to them. The one thing I struggled to do during the project of the module was my final piece, I wasn’t sure what to do at first and it was struggle to decide on something to express my final piece. I decided on the video because it shows something what I’ve done throughout my life by just having a kick about with a group of friends. I decided on doing the montage because it showed the success I have achieved so far in football and also it bring back a lot of good memories. I’m quite happy with my work but a bit disappointed that my creative side has let me down and maybe I should improve on this in the near future, and I should of done blogs about different steps in the project. 

Final Piece - Part two

I also decided to do a montage of my photo's too show what teams that I've played for and some of the success that I've had.

It shows pictures of the ground that I play at which is an important place for me because its somewhere where I get to express myself and it holds so many memories. The badge in the middle is the team's badge that I play for and that also means a lot to me because I don't think I'd even consider playing for anyone else because the club has helped me greatly in many different situations, and have given me the opportunity to play football. There's also two of the pictures with two of the teams I won cups with, which always bring back the memory of playing them games and the feeling of winning the cups. 

Final Piece - First Part

This is the video I made during some time off in campus so we had a kick about!!!

The video shows the enjoyment that football can bring just by having a little kick about and it doesn't have to be all serious and be all about winning. This video reminds me of my childhood, of just going out with a football a few of my mates and having a kick about and this why I choose football to be my sense of place because it means a lot to me and has played a massive part of my life.

Ict Project - Essay

This project statement states why I choose to do the chosen topic for the topic, what I did to complete the project for visual communication and also what I created for my final piece for the assignment.

I had numerous choices of what I could of done as my sense of place such family, friends or being on Holiday, but eventually I came to the conclusion that football was the preferred option been as though as its played a huge part in my life. 

The main reason being why I choose football as my subject was that its played a massive part in my life because I started playing at the young age of 6 and I’ve been playing it ever since. Its given me so many things such as success and teaching me loyalty, and for two years I was lucky enough to gain the skill of leadership by captaining my youth side. These things not only have helped me on the football field but also helped me improve in my self confidence. The football pitch is somewhere where the world around you stops and you get to express yourself. This is why football means a lot to me it allows me to express myself where nowhere else lets me, so this gives me the feeling of belonging.

So to complete the scrapbook I needed to find images of me playing football, so I went onto my club website got a few pictures off there and also gathered a few off facebook. I tried to find team pictures of the teams that I’ve played for and also pictures of when we won cups to show what I’ve achieved so far. I did find it quite challenging to find a big number of photo’s but over Easter I went to take pictures of the home ground of my local team to increase the number of picture to make the scrapbook.

My inspiration behind playing football was Ryan Giggs, he played for my favourite team Manchester United and he’s Welsh which is the main thing. The way he played football and his altitude towards the game was par none one of the greatest., and he’s possibly the best player to ever grace the Premier League. This is why I’ve put him in my scrapbook he’s an icon worldwide and an inspiration to millions. For him to continue to play at the same level for 22 years its a incredible achievement and something that the younger generation can look up to and can hope to achieve one day. Even though he’s a Manchester United player, a lot of rival teams would do anything to have him part of their team mainly England. 

One of my final piece for the assignment was a montage of my football photo’s. I  used the system photo shop to create the montage because it was much easier to organise the photo’s into one piece and make the lay out. I choose to do a montage of photos because it shows some of the things I’ve achieved in football and also shows all the teams that I’ve played for. This is my final piece because it shows my sense of place and when I look at it, it brings back all the memories of what I’ve achieved so far and it makes me want to carry on playing so I could add more photo’s to it showing more achievements.

My second final piece is a video of me and some of the lads from halls of residence having a kick about in the University car park. The reason why I choose to do this video was because the video shows how football can bring laughter and make people socialise and have some enjoyment from just playing in a non game manner. I made the video by using windows movie maker and then put the song over the video.