The New GCSE – Online CPD Series

From September 2024, MFL teachers in England will be teaching yet another new GCSE specification! Are you struggling to get your head round all the changes and figure out how you’re going to adapt your schemes of work and teaching to fit the new requirements? Then this is the CPD series for you!

Over the course of the academic year 2023-24, I am running 3 separate workshops on the new GCSE and how to design your curriculum to fit in with the prescribed vocabulary lists and new types of questions that will feature in the exams.

Saturday 23rd September 2023 – 9:30am-11:30am – Getting Started

In the first workshop, I will cover the main changes and how to easily adapt current schemes of work to fit in with the requirements of the new GCSE. In my opinion, there is no need to completely reinvent the wheel, but you will need to implement some changes immediately to ensure your students aren’t disadvantaged or unprepared for the exams. I will also compare and contrast the different exam boards to help make it easier for you to make the right choice for your students. I am not affiliated to any exam board, so the information will be completely unbiased and neutral – I truly believe that different exam boards suit different schools and students, and it’s vital to find the one that is the best fit for your unique setting. This session will last for 2 hours and will be an interactive workshop, so bring your ideas and questions and don’t be shy about joining in!

Saturday 20th January 2024 – 9:30am-10:30am – How are we getting on?

In the second session, which will last for 60 minutes, we will have a mid-year check in to find out how everyone is getting on. What challenges are we facing as we start to adapt our curriculums ready for September 2024? What are we finding easier than anticipated? Have we chosen an exam board yet? By this point, we would hope that there are some textbooks available, so we can have a look at these and discuss whether we think they are the right fit or whether we will adapt old textbooks/resources, and how we can go about this. Again, this will be an interactive workshop, so bring some questions and don’t be shy about sharing any problems/successes with the group!

Saturday 22nd June 2024 – 9:30am-10:30am – Ready to go?!

In the third and final session, which will be in the summer term of 2024, you will be answering the question “are you ready to go?!” In this workshop, you will have the chance to discuss any last-minute issues that have arisen and support each other to find solutions. You can also share how you have been adapting existing schemes of work, or even creating brand new ones ready for September. You can also share how you’re getting on with choosing a textbook, or whether you have decided to use old textbooks or other resources.