Primary to Secondary School T ranser Learning today, Learning tomorrow The Learning today, Learning tomorrow campaign aims to establish interest in the RSA Opening Minds programme to support children in their Primary to Secondary school transer . In providing inormation to schools and parents on the benets o RSA Opening Minds competence learning, the campaign supports improvement o education or all children. The campaign urther assist schools in creating the ramework to be able to implement the RSA Opening Minds programme by looking at how to meet the criteria or accredit ation. The Development o Learning The stages o learning between c hildhood and adulthood are o signicant importance. During Upper Key stage 2 (years 5 and 6/ ages 10-11) and key stage 3 (years 7 +/ ages 12+), the level and variety o competencies that are being developed will provide the skills that equip children with the mental tools or successul academic perormance, general attitude towards education and capabilities in lie (Goddard & Gellard, 2004). During years 5 and 6, a child will be characterising their mental representations and abilities towards what the meaning o learning is, developing their ability to adapt; organise, assimilate, and accommodate their competencies to ourish (Doherty and Hughes, 2011). What children know, how they know it and most importantly how they develop strategies or nding out what they don’t know, orm is called meta-cognition. This Meta-cognitive state is when children create their individual sense o sel- regulated learning (Zimmerment, 2000). Are children being empowered to attain the skills, knowledge, qualication and capacity to meet the challenges they will ace in the immediate and long term uture? The immediate challenges or children will be aced by those who are moving rom Key Stage 2; as they learn to stand alone as an adoles- cent in Key Stage 3. This transition can aect a child’s educational perormance as a student, due to radically dierent learning envi- ronments. At this stage old attachments are being broken and new attachments are being ormed. I they are not supported sufciently in developing skills or autonomous learning and interacting, it may eect their chances o being succesul in later lie (Maybe & Sorenson, 1995). Adolescence Challenges =Biological changes =Cognitivedevelopment =Psychological development =Social restructuring =Moral and Spiritual growth These changes make it even more it is important that children are being educated, not only with the subject knowledge, but with the skills that will prepare them or their uture. This includes all the mental tools that they will use to manage situations, relate to peo- ple, manage inormation, how to learn and how to lead (Flavell et al., 2002; Kuhn & Franklin, 2006; Moshman, 2005). “Head teachers know that the success o t heir pupils and their schools depends on the variety o the curriculum o the school itsel, the creative energy o the teachers and the engagement o the pupils. You can’t depersonalise education and have it work” (Sir Ken Robinson, 2011) What is RSA Opening Minds? “RSA Projects such as Opening Minds is a result o enlightened thinking o practical ways o working. It aims to discover and release untapped human potential or the common good. As a result o researching, designing and testing new social models, Opening Minds encourages a more inventive, resourceul and ulflled educational experience or children” (RSA, 2011). Opening Minds releases untapped human potential Opening Minds was introduced in 2006 as an innovativ e and revolutionary pedagogical pilot and since then has grown into a moveme nt that provides primary and secondary schools with a dierent way o delivering the national curriculum (Matthew Ta ylor, chieexecutive othe RSA). Opening Minds provides a dierent way othinking about education; it is a commitmen t to a dierent set oeducational aspirations. At the heart oOpening Minds there are ve sets o individual competenci es. These can be developed in classrooms through a mixture o instruction and practical experience support the development oa child’s capability . Children plan their work, organise their own time and explore their own ways o learning. The competencies involved in Open- ing Minds empower children to develop themselv es as they learn to think or themselve s in a more child centred approach o learning. The ramework oOpening Minds provides children with a more holistic educational experienc e, meanwhile enabling teachers to bring out the best in children by releasing untapped human potential as a means o delivering the national curriculum (RSA, 2011). RSA Competencies Why was Opening minds developed? In light otechnological and social changes and challenges othe 21st century, the RSA has set out to explore how young people could be prepared to meet these challenges. It equips them with competencies that can best enable them to become responsible adults, active citizens, inquisitivelielonglearnersandcompetentskilledemployees.(RSA,2011). Pedagogical reasons o development? The RSA Opening Minds pedagogical areas or development is aimed at improving both academic subject knowledge and practical skills development . =According to Educationalist Mick Brookes the transer arrangements between primary and secondary school should be seamless , however “this is not the case within the present education system within the UK”(Brookes, 2011). =Osted have made the ollowing comments about Opening Minds: “Opening Minds makes children more competent and produce a positive attitude or learning as an innovativ e ‘competency curriculum’in year 7 that aids transition rom primary to secondary school, using a thematic approach to support the development olearning skills. Interesting links are made across subjects to encourage the development opupils’personal and social skills and to make learning more relevant or them”. (OstedcitedRSA Website). =Students have described Opening Minds as “an integrated curriculum which works well because you have a chance to learn how to learn, which seems to make everything cleare r, beore doing a lot oteam building work that will help you later in lie”(St Phillip Howard School, 2011). Preparing or lie in the 21st century Industry trends have been considered and ormed a part o the core design within RSA competencies as skills that are endorsed within the Opening Minds approach. Educating children or the uture involving skills such as: sel management, team working, problem solving,communicatio n– applicationoliteracy,businessawareness,customercare, application onumeracy and the application oICT. Opening Minds has been designed to develop and build on these areas and more (RSA, 2011). What does this mean? Most strikingly almost 3/4 ochildren elt that academic ability was the most important quality needed to succeed. Parents’main concerns are the child’s condence during the transition, closely ollowed by academic subjects and skills. Children put little or no emphasis on support during the transition and ability to adapt showing that their primary teachers and parents may not be preparing them or anything other than academic challenges. Interesetingly ,secondaryteacherson theotherhand, rarely identied children’ s individual academic abilities as making a dierence to the transition process; ocusing instead on their: = social skills, = condence = their ability to adapt. This shows that teachers eel that there is more to learning success in schools than pure academic achievement, and suggests that academic achievement can be improved by looking at the wider picture. Focussing more on the child’s natural ability learn seems key to getting the most out o their education and by bridging the gap in the transition between primary and secondary education. Secondary school teachers seem to understand the importance oreducing the gap between primary school learning and secondary school learning, however, children need to start preparing beore they get to secondary school in order to minimize the changes. This shows that primary sta and parents should be emphasising use o transition tools such as those in the RSA Opening Minds program. Perceptions o qualities needed or success in Secondary school Children’s perceptions Parents’perceptions Teachers’ perceptions Campaign progress Background In September 2010 Richmond Park Academy, previously Sheen Secondary school, gained the Academy status ater a committed group oparents rom local Primary schools, the Parents Promoted Foundation (PPF), worked with the school to nd ways to improve standards.EducationalproviderAcademiesEnterpriseTrust(AET) was brought in to support the change and government responded by unding building improvements worth almost £10 million. However, Richmond Park Academy have many challenges to over- come to win the avour o the local community. No local primary schools are currently eeding into the Academy and when selecting secondary schools, parents choose schools urther aeld within the Borough oRichmond, or even outside oborough. As an underperorming school scoring bottom othe borough league table and with a reputation or poor student behaviour , the intake has been below capacity. Zac Goldsmith, MP or Richmond Park wants this to change. He ocially opened the school on 18th February 2011 stating his delight. “There have already been signs oprogress, and judging by the public meetings I have held, the reaction rom the community has been positive. But as ever, there is a lot more to do.” Paul Hodgins, Richmond’s cabinet member or schools is also onboard in improving the school and hoping to establish a Sixth Form at the Academy which currently only extends to Year 11. An innovative Communi ty Board, made up oparents rom local schools and other interested community members has been created with the aim to keep the direction o the new Academy in line with what the local community wants. Representati ves rom all the local primary schools have been established as part othe Community Board and they are drawing up a reciprocal list owhat is required between the Academy and theprimaries. The Academy is looking to create a succesul primary to secondary transer programme and as such, RSA Opening Minds ts well with the school aims to inspire in their learners: =Aspirationandambition =Pride =Citizenshipwithintheir communitie s =Work-related skills As part othe building project or the new Academy, a dedicated space or Year 7 children, entering the school in September 2011 is being erected to support the transer between the primary and secondary environme nts. TheLearning today, Learning Tomorrow campaignis establishing interest in the RSA Opening Minds programme amongst parents o local primary schools, within the Community Board and with children rom both local primary and the Academy. =There is an ongoing conversation with Mr. Steven Winters, deputy head oRichmond Park Academy responsible or creating links with local primary schools, about the RSA Opening Minds programme. =A meeting has been set up with the Head Teacher o Barnes Primary School who have shown interest in such a transer programme. Meeting with East Sheen Primary to be arranged. =Relationshi ps have also been made with trustees othe Academy, who have shown interest in RSA Opening Minds. =Contact has been established with St Johns Marlborough who successully run RSA Opening Minds as a transer programme or their cluster primaries. A talk at Richmond Park Academy on the benets is being arranged. =Contact has been established with executive director o RSA Opening Minds, Sara Candy, to gain support on how to establish interest and assuring the accuracy okey inormation. Communication and inormation It will be essential to gain the commitment oboth senior managing members o the Academies team, as well as the support o the local parents who stand to see their children benet rom RSA Opening Minds. The Community Board is in the position to apply pressure on AET and Richmond Park Academy in terms ohow they would like to see the Academy run. A concerted inormation campai gn is underway to support the dissemina tion oinormation about how RSA Opening Minds can benet the unique circumstances oRichmond Park Academy and itslocalprimaries. =Posters with inormation on the benets o RSA Opening Minds, to address common ears oparents, children, teachers and headteachers. =A website with inormation on the unique relationship between Richmond Park Academy and the local primaries and how RSA Opening Minds can support the transer. =Contributing to the Community Board Blog page to keep interested parties up to date with new developments. Website o interest www.rsaopeningminds.org.uk/ www.richmondparkacademy.org/ www.academiesenterprisetrust.org/ http://communityboard4rpa.blogspot.com/ Data rom: Zeedyk, M.S. Gallacher, J. Henderson, M. Hope, G. Husband, B. &Lindsay, K. (2003). Negotiating the T ransitionromPrimaryto Secondary School. School oPsychologyInternational. 24, 67-79. Key Competencies Individual Competencies Competencies or citizenship Competencies or Learning Competencies or Managing Inormation Competencies or Relating to people Competencies or Managing Situations =Morals and ethics =Making a dierence =Diversity =Technologic al impact Learning styles Reasoning Creativity Positivemotivation Key Skills ICT Skills =Research =Refection Leadership Teamwork Coaching Communication EmotionalIntelligence Stress Management =Time Management =Coping with change =Feelings and reactions =Creative thinking =Risk taking AcademicSubjects GeneralAcademicskills Social skills Time management Focusingontask Behaviour Condence Ability toadapt Transitio nsupport activities Homework skills Study andresearchskills Communi cationskills Organisatio nal skills Independence DiscussingProblems