Timetable Changes

The following is the response from the "leaders of learning" on the proposed timetable changes

1. Feedback to staff on proposed timetable/curriculum changes for 2008
   [The initial proposal was followed by individual and department submissions, discussion by SLT, meetings with HODs and timetable personnel and finally, group meetings of the Principal with HODs ]
   
2. Almost universal agreement on the move to 5 one hour periods.
   
3. Similar enthusiasm for the 2-2-1 split.
   
4. Times for interval and lunch still to be decided. Lunch will need to be longer than interval to accommodate House activities. Possibly 25 minutes and 45 minutes?
   
5. Staff PD still first thing in the morning – possibly Wednesday because of the number of sports teams that play on that day and the new timetable would allow for a slightly earlier finish on the PD day.
   
6. Assembly and form time need same amount of time – first thing in the morning provides a buffer against lateness to learning class.
   
7. 25 hour slots in the week, with 24 allocated to student timetables. This allows for 4 hours a week per subject in the senior school. The exception is Yr11 Gym and Financial Literacy/Health which will share a 4 hour slot.
   
8. A fulltime teacher will therefore work 19 periods out of 24 with fewer for those with allowances. This clearly fits with the requirements of the Collective Agreement.
   
9. Junior timetable will reflect the following changes.

• Core subjects will have either 4 or 3 periods in Yrs 9 and 10. Exception is PE/Health which has 3 and 2 periods.


• Arts, Technology and Languages will be compulsory for both years with allocations as per chart overleaf.


• In year 10 the number of options has been reduced.

Some of the reasons for and consequences of this are:

• New curriculum has 8 learning areas which students have the opportunity to study. No time allocations are provided, this is a school specific decision and our model is based on our staffing profile and the availability of specialist rooms.


• Languages is now a separate learning area and its importance needs to be reflected.
  We wish to drastically reduce the number of split classes in the junior school to improve learning opportunities


• We have to staff the changes from our current staffing as no extra staffing is anticipated in 2008.


• Numbers of periods for junior classes have to fit into a 19 period timetable for staff e.g. 4,4,3,3,3,2?/ 4,4,4,4,3?


• As some Yr10 courses have been dropped, content will be incorporated into those core subjects with more time allocation. E.g. History into Yr10 Social Studies, Human Biology into Yr10 Science.

We are is the technology part listed, they have split music and arts for half a year each, but they do not list how the technology will work.

This shows technology at 3 periods a week, but does not break down how they will be used.

We run at year 9, Soft Materials, Hard Materials, Graphics, Food Technology and now ICT will be included in that, how can 5 technology subjects be broken down?

ICT was its own sepearte subject at year 9 until now, with 2 x 50 minute periods a week. With the current changes we get moved into the technology area.

I talked to my HOD and they didn't know how it was going to be broken down, as they hadn't been informed, this was the first thing that they knew about how it was going to work.

Another term in two weeks, holidays at the moment, next term the students choose there subjects and we will see how things are going to be run. A nice comment from one of the Leaders of Learning about the person in charge of curriculum last year was that they did "nothing", and they are having to fix it all up. When the previous person misses a number of subjects off the option choice sheet, most of them were the technology subjects, we have to wonder if we are wanted. Why does the leader of learning still have a job?