Since subscribing to now>press>play, Chisenhale Primary hasn’t looked back. now>press>play has become embedded as an integral part of their curriculum delivery across KS2. It has helped teachers to deliver engaging lessons that lead to rich discussions and deepen their pupils’ understanding of their topics. Chisenhale have been using the now>press>play Experiences to deliver subjects such as Maths, English, SATs Revision, History and PSHE. We spoke to staff and pupils about why they liked it and how it worked.
How does it work?
The now>press>play team arrived at the start of term and mapped their experiences to Chisenhale’s KS2 curriculum for the year. Staff were trained in an interactive 1 hour session. For the last 2 years, teachers have been using now>press>play to support curriculum delivery. We asked Helen James, Headteacher, what she thought of the process:
“It was very simple and easy, we emailed our curriculum to now>press>play and they timetabled the Experiences across the year. We now have a now>press>play column in our curriculum so everyone can see where the resource is to be used. Having the subscription means that we can use each Experience as much as we like. It is a really supportive resource that is easy to use (which does matter!). It was brilliant for our ‘Wow Days’ to introduce a new topic and can be used to motivate the children in whatever area you choose to use it with.”
How did now>press>play help accelerate your classes’ learning?
Allen, a year 6 teacher and governor, was focusing on fractions in numeracy and he noticed that his lower ability group were really struggling to get their heads around it. He decided to use the now>press>play Fractions Experience, which is set aboard the Titanic and was very pleased with the impact:
“Halfway through they started to get it — being in the story, aboard the Titanic, really helped them to understand. I was then able to build on this back in the classroom and, what’s more, the entire class were having fun doing fractions.”
Allen then used the positive experience to build their confidence and the children even asked him to do the Fractions experience again, so it was repeated with the children on a higher levelled paper.
The benefits of incorporating now>press>play across the KS2 curriculum
Andrew Daitz, a KS2 Phase Leader, enjoyed using now>press>play as a springboard into report and creative writing:
“The now>press>play session enabled the lower-ability children within my literacy group to focus on describing and retelling the story. They were able to focus on the techniques and strategies they learnt, instead of what to write because they had actually experienced being in Ancient Egypt. They knew the story structure and the outcome of the story. They also knew how it felt to be in the story because of the immersive experience. This enabled them to showcase their writing and not get bogged down in what happened next.
But the biggest benefit has to be that they enjoyed writing and were taken away from the mundane and thrusted into the unreal. Simultaneously, my higher-ability group were empowered by the rich experience and really enjoyed writing about the world in which they had just been immersed.”
Helen James adds:
“All of the teachers are excited when using now>press>play because the children respond to it so well. Using it as part of curriculum delivery is an effective way to engage their classes’ interest either at the start of a topic or halfway through. We are looking forward to seeing more Experiences that now>press>play create. This is a must-have resource for every school.”
Here is what some of the children at Chisenhale Primary had to say:
“It made the maths more memorable and it helped me link it to the real world.”
“It's much better than just being told about something because we carry out actions and experience it, so it helps me to feel and then I understand and can explain.”
“Roman Britain was really boring until we did now>press>play, I wish we’d done it earlier.”
“I would do SATs revision every day if it were as fun as this!”
