Teachers love an abbreviation. If it can be abbreviated, it will be abbreviated. You may already have heard of some if you’ve completed work experience for example. From EAL, to SEND, to BFL, all the way through to EHCP. There are lots. So here’s your quick guide to school abbreviation jargon.
(a quick side note. I won’t get into the debate over labels etc. This is just purely for awareness purposes for trainees).
AFL: Assessment for Learning
This could be a long one. But I’ll condense it to as simple as possible. AFL tasks are designed to provide the teacher and pupil with instant feedback on current progression, enabling both to modify the learning, in order to promote progression. The easiest way to think about it? You are trying to close the gap between where students knowledge currently is, and where it needs to be by a set time. Need an example? Your students complete a task on the formation of a waterfall. The AFL comes from a whiteboard task where students have 30 seconds to sketch a diagram and label the most important processes. You quickly gain via feedback where students attainment currently is, and can adapt future tasks/lessons to fill these gaps in knowledge. Skilled teachers will do this regularly and autonomously.
EAL: English as an additional language
An easier one to understand. If a student does not speak english as their first language, or is not fluent in the English language, they will be identified as EAL. You will be expected to put provision in place to support these children.
SEND: Special Educational Needs and Disability
These students require additional provision to meet their learning needs. Can be provided in mainstream schools, or in more specialised education dependent on needs.
EHCP: Educational Health Care Plan:
Students that receive an EHCP will present serious educational needs, that will need specific assistance and guidance on, to enable them to access the learning. Plans will outline what strategies will need to be put in place. The school SENCo will deal with this. Which leads me on to…
SENCo: Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator
It says it in the title. This person will play a vital role in the running of the school, and will be in charge of ensuring all students that require additional intervention, receive the support they require to ensure they can access the learning to the best of their ability.
FSM: Free School Meals
Students that are entitled to free school meals as a result of their parents combined income being below a predefined value, and therefore being seen as disadvantaged. These students will also be labelled as PP (pupil premium), and the school will receive additional funding to help support these students.
HOD: Head of Department
The member of staff in charge of running the subject department.
HOY: Head of Year
The member of staff in charge of running a year group.
LAC: Looked after children
These are children who are looked after, either in care of by foster parents. These children receive the highest priority when applying for schools.
MLD: Moderate Learning Difficulties
These students will receive extra assistance under the SEND provision, as they will present attainment that is significantly below the expected levels, and will not be able to be supported by commonly found differentiation strategies..
PPA: Planning, Preparation and Assessment Time.
Essentially your free periods. Every teacher is entitled to 10% per week, and as an NQT you are entitled to more. As a trainee, this will be school dependent.
NQT: Newly Qualified Teacher
A teacher that is in their first year of teaching, following their training year.
RQT: Recently Qualified Teacher
A teacher that is in their second year onwards of teaching. Often referred to with the number of years they’ve been teaching (RQT+1 etc.)
PGCE: Post Graduate Certificate in Education (course dependent, also known as PGDipEd etc)
Yep, most likely you as a trainee. This is the course you’re currently undertaking, and so are given the title PGCE Student.
ITT (ITE): Initial Teacher Training (Initial Teacher Education)
Very simple. Again its most likely you reading this. The year you’re currently undertaking will be referred to as this.
QTS: Qualified Teacher Status
All goes well this year, you’ll receive this on completion of your initial teacher training.
I’ll leave the list there for now. There are more. Many more. And plenty that I am yet to come across too. But this list should suffice for your training year!
Reblogged this on Teaching with meraki.
LikeLike