The results are in and it didn’t quite happen as expected. For some, this will mean a resit in October where they hope to better their grade - or in fact, cross a boundary to give them a pass to get them the grade they need to progress to where they want to go.
This won’t just be in maths and English where it is compulsory; some students will want to resit other subjects for a variety of reasons.
The responsibility for supporting them in this will sit with whichever educational institution they are off to for post-16. And the task will be significant.
Firstly, the window for teaching and learning to help with that resit is relatively narrow. Delivering content will be a challenge for teachers and learning the volume required in time will be a feat for students.
It will be particularly tough as the new teachers will be unlikely to have detailed knowledge of what each student has covered and where the gaps in knowledge are due to the disruption of the Coronavirus lockdown.
How to guide students who miss out on their GCSE grades
So how can we shape teaching to best support students in aiming for a higher mark?
1. Robust planning
With such a small window, planning needs to be really tight. Depending on how much content was covered pre-lockdown, the focus of your lessons may differ: it may be revision or it may be new learning. But regardless, both face-to-face time and out of class activities need to be effectively interleaved and interweaved.
It might be that you have to sacrifice some content or skills. In this situation, so be it. Look what the students need to be able to do, what they can do and what’s realistically possible in the timeframe. You don’t want to overload them but you also do want them missing vital content.
2. Break it into small chunks
Having information broken down makes it much easier to cognitively process. Not only is this helpful in the short term, but when it comes to revisiting, topics are more accessible when taught in well-signposted chunks.
With time being tight, it is likely that the delivery will need to be face-to-face but the recapping will be completed at home. Having manageable resources means engagement outside of the classroom is likely to be higher.
3. Embed opportunities to check for understanding
It’s natural to try to cram in as much teaching and delivery as possible, but in this tiny window, you need to make sure you know what the students know. Not only will this help them understand their strengths and weaknesses and allow you to help them improve, but it’ll also be important for your planning and preparation. It’s vital that time isn’t spent on already mastered skills and topics.
Modelling, scaffolding and well-pitched difficulty are all of paramount importance with regard to how you overcome misconceptions. Checking for understanding is one thing, but you must act upon it, and in this case, fast!
4. What to expect
Getting caught out by the exam format is something you need to make sure the students don’t do. Coming all this way and answering the wrong question or missing out vital points when responding to questions will be the worst way to lose marks. Remember: this is their first go at it - usually resit students have some idea of the exam process already.
It might be worth teaching how to structure longer responses in a rudimentary way. Often we avoid adding too much constraint, but in this case, it might be prudent to add that helping hand, especially due to the potential gap created by home learning...or lack thereof.
5. Work with what you have got
Finally, and maybe most importantly, remember that students did have a year and a half of teaching. They do know a lot about what they will need to answer and how to answer it. How much they remember and what they missed content-wise at the end is the challenge.
Don’t think you need to teach a whole GCSE in a matter of weeks - have faith in their prior teaching and have faith in the students wanting to better their grade.
With some careful consideration, a bit of graft on both sides and plenty of support, it’s possible to give these students that one extra shot at getting the grade they want or need.
Adam Riches is an assistant principal and senior leader for teaching and learning, specialist leader in education and head of English. He tweets @TeachMrRiches
Want to keep reading for free?
Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.
