Teach Secondary Issue 13.4

DO SAY “It sounds better on vinyl” NEWTRO Tech companies would have you believe that consumer electronics only ever evolve in one direction – towards beingmore powerful,more sophisticated,more versatile andmore expensi... sorry,more convenient . Enter the ‘newtro’ trend.Where ‘retro’ can be taken tomean reference to, or use of vintage items and aesthetics, newtro refers to the manufacture of new cultural artefacts and goods – particularlymedia consumption devices –modelled as closely as possible on designs originating decades ago, complete with all their functional limitations. You can see it in those turntables on proud display at your local HMV, the healthy sales of replica video game arcademachines and the attempts by somemanufacturers tomake non-smart, stripped-down mobilesmust-own items again. It’s oddly endearing to see teenagers ordering cassettes fresh out of themastering studio fromtheir favourite artists’ Bandcamp pages, only to swiftly discover how lousy-sounding and temperamental old-school Walkmans are. Couldwe be witnessing a youthful disruptive response to an increasingly safe and stifling culture industry? I wouldn’t get your hopes up – chances are we’re simply observing a short-lived nostalgia craze that’ll probably fizzle out faster than a pair ofAAbatteries in a SonyWM-B603... “This tune is on Spotify though, yeah?” DON’T SAY Thinkofanumber... ONE FOR THE WALL “Youmay not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them” MayaAngelou Teach Secondary ’s digest of the latest goings-on in the profession... The newsletter What arewe talking about? Anew curriculumtoolkit from the Religious Education Council of England andWales BEAT THE BUDGET The UNINFORMED teacher’s guide to… WHAT THEY SAID “You are trapped by an inhumane, unaccountable inspection system – but you don’t have to put up with it any more. If you feel despair, you need help and hope – not to think that suicide is a way out.” ProfessorJuliaWaters, sister of headteacher Ruth Perry, addressing the NEU’s 2024Annual Conference 90% of children excluded at primary school don’t attain grade 4s or above in GCSE English andmaths Source: FFT Education Datalab research commissioned by Chance UK 60% of school leaders and teachers agree that parents are supportive of their school’s behaviour rules Source: National Behaviour Survey produced by the DfE 3,039 The number of permanent exclusions carried out at schools in England during the 2022/23 spring term– a rise of 2,179 compared to the previous year Source: DfE Who is it for? KS3/KS4 RE teachers What’s on offer? Ahandbook for curriculum developers, three curriculum frameworks and the National Content Standard for RE in England Howmight teachers use the resources? Produced in response to the RE subject report Ofsted published in April this year, the toolkit aims to provide teachers and curriculum designers with a set of principles for selecting RE content and tools to help deliver RE using a ‘more scholarly approach’. Where is it available? religiouseducationcouncil.org.uk 06 teachwire.net/secondary