Pupils at Brocket PRU in Maidenhead can now experience truly personalised learning with GOAL » Education » 24dash.com

Pupils at Brocket Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) in Maidenhead can now experience truly personalised learning and instant feedback on their progress thanks to the integration of new online assessments from GOAL. The unit, recently rated ‘Good with Outstanding’ by Ofsted, provides support for children aged 5-16 deemed too vulnerable to attend mainstream school, students aged 5-11 who have been permanently excluded and also those aged 14-16 with emotional and behavioral difficulties. The students take part in an alternative curriculum programme run in parallel with their mainstream school. Using GOAL online assessments, developed by leading awarding body and assessment specialist EDI, www.ediplc.com, enables Brocket PRU to cater more effectively for the needs of its pupils as it provides a medium that they are also comfortable with.

The unit caters for approximately 20 students at any one time, most on part-time timetables. The pupils on the alternative curriculum programme experience a mix of work experience, time in mainstream school or college and up two days per week at Brocket PRU. The timetable provides the students with a variety of challenges as well as a supportive and suitable environment that nurtures and supports the academic talents of the pupils. It also teaches them the important social practices that will help them integrate back into full-time education or employment.

In its 2006 Ofsted inspection, the PRU was rated as ‘Satisfactory’, outlining a need to improve the assessment of pupil progress. The unit has now integrated GOAL online assessments, using the tool to assess pupils on entry, at various stages throughout their time at Brocket PRU and then again on completion at the end of their time at Brocket PRU. The assessments are ideal for benchmarking the students’ knowledge and ability, allowing the teachers to plan activity and targets effectively. Available to a whole class or individual students, The reports allow students to experience personalized learning experiences using any PC with internet access. This has benefits too for staff who can access these from home.

Victoria Balls, Coordinator at Brocket PRU commented: “The pupils in our ‘Behaviour Support Outreach Plus’ lessons are currently using GOAL and we have just started using this with our ‘Alternative Curriculum Education’ pupils to huge reward. Being such a small unit we do not have subject-specific specialist teachers so using the GOAL assessments has ensured that our teaching is targeted and appropriate to the ability of our students. We can now provide the students with regular feedback on their development which is vital for keeping up morale and rewarding achievement.

“We aim for our vulnerable pupils to return to mainstream education after six to ten weeks so having the GOAL assessments available is invaluable for the teachers as it allows them to assess pupil progress and target their teaching to the needs of the individual pupils.”

Jason Davis, EDI’s Business Development Manager, commented: “GOAL assessments are popular with teachers in both Primary and Secondary schools as the interactive format helps them to assess their pupils and monitor progress. Similarly over 160 Pupil Referral Units currently subscribe to the system which enables teachers to give personalised feedback to each student and encourage them to re-engage with their learning.”

For more information about Goal and EDI, please contact us on tel: 024 7651 6560, email: schools@ediplc.com, website: www.goalonline.co.uk

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