hard and are fulfilling their own potential we celebrate and respect that.” Headteacher Life Experiences Ysgol Y Dderi operates the Cornerstones Experiential Creative Learning Curriculum that offers pupils opportunities to: ENGAGE - DEVELOP - INNOVATE - EXPRESS The headteacher wants all pupils to have valuable learning and believes that rich experiences have helped to raise standards. Estyn concurs: There are outstanding features in the learning experiences provided for pupils. The school provides a broad and rich curriculum that includes all the statutory requirements. Pupils' learning is effectively enriched by a wide variety of educational visits and extra-curricular activities, and the outstanding use of partnerships. All these features improve pupils' learning experiences and contribute substantially towards raising standards. Estyn School Inspection Report (2008) Staff are aware that some children do not get purposeful enrichment activities at home and therefore does not rely on children having had life experiences with their family; instead the school provides that for all its pupils. “We don’t take children on trips as treats; they are part of our curriculum.” SENCO Some recent themes and visits include: The 7 Wonders of the World - following research pupils presented their findings to the Wales Tourist Board. Skin Deep - pupils made a television advert for the NHS advertising the prevention of spreading germs. Electric Rainbow - pupils held a light procession for the king in the dark. Art Gallery - pupils visited Tate Modern, London and set up and ran their own art exhibition for visitors. As a rural school travel is expensive and the PTA support off site experiential visits by match funding travelling costs every time, thus helping parents with financial commitments. If pupil consent forms do not get returned to the school the
Mathematics Standardized NFER scores of 84> Sensory Circuit (Release energies or settle children into the school day) Participation in a short sensory motor circuit prepares children to engage effectively with the day ahead. Behavioral clues such as fidgeting, poor concentration, excessive physical contact or overall lethargy can indicate that a child is finding it difficult to connect with the learning process. SULP (Social Group) When children have low self-awareness and and social interaction problems. Structured scheme written by Alex Kelly. ELCLAN (Improving Listening Group) Reception children who find listening difficult. Short sessions once a week that develop their early listening. As a Welsh medium school staff are aware that if their data was compared with an English medium school their scores would be lower as at Ysgol Y Dderi they do not start formal English lessons until Year 3. There is a steep learning curve in Year 3, however pupils are not disadvantaged, staff can see that pupil’s minds are more open to understanding language and soon catch up. The school draws on its bilingual strengths and delivers half termly blocks of either Welsh or English interventions; they never overload the children by delivering both together. Staff work closely with parents and the Local Authority who deliver training and support to run the intervention programmes. Every Teaching Assistant has been trained in their own intervention specialism and children consistently know who is supporting them by having a designated ‘intervention key worker’. Ysgol Y Dderi delivers their interventions in short sharp bursts for 10 to 20 minutes at the same time every day, 5 days a week, in small working groups to raise confidence. Detailed ‘Individual Education Plans’ (IEP) are drawn up and every member of staff has a copy which forms a working document for review and reflection. Children also draw up their own IEP to have ownership of their learning which they then take home to show parents and discuss their learning and progress. “As a parent I value the open door policy, if you have concerns you can come in and talk to someone and know that you will be taken seriously. We are kept informed at every stage; I know exactly what is going on.” Parent “He [my son] can see his progress, he has his child friendly IEP so he can see how far he has come.” Parent At the start of each intervention children are encouraged to self-assess themselves by looking at each of the topics, then using a range of facial expressions rate how confident they are.
Summary The key message from this case study is the importance of leaders using data effectively to identify those pupils who are falling behind and to provide and evaluate appropriate early interventions. Theme Particular factor YYD Leadership Designated senior leader ✔✔ Rigorous use of data and self-evaluation ✔✔ Training and effective deployment of staff including teaching assistants and specialists ✔✔ Strong link with governors Teaching and Learning Catch-up programmes ✔✔ Tailored curriculum Wellbeing programme focusing on self-esteem ✔✔ Engagement with parents and wider community Strong dialogue with parents Establishing and sustaining strategic partnerships Key Contact Heini Thomas Headteacher Ysgol Y Dderi Llangybi Lampeter Ceredigion SA48 8LY 01570 493424 REDUCING THE IMPACT OF POVERTY ON EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT POLICY OBSERVATORY CASE STUDY 3 Name of School/Setting: Pencoed Comprehensive School Local Authority: Bridgend Type of School/Setting: Secondary
The school has frequently targeted support for various categories of pupils, for example, boys, in addition to GCSE C/D borderline and pupils who risk leaving school without entering education, employment or training (NEETs). The school believes its small size has a positive impact. This can best be summarised by the following quotes: “We are a small school and we know all the pupils and families so well.” “Most teachers in non-core subjects will teach all the pupils in years 7-to-9.” Head of Key Stage 4 “We work as a team with the teachers.” “We feel valued by most teachers.” “The teaching staff work well with support.” LSA Voices “I know the pupils very well; I teach them all.” “Things can’t work in isolation in a school this size. There’s no hiding place.” Head of Science “I know everyone in the school. I teach them all. Everybody knows everybody.” Head of Art The Use of Data and Related Interventions The school has a very effective data-capture system, developed over the last few years. This enables it to effectively map pupil achievement and attainment. It uses colour-coding which allows staff a very quick and straightforward overview of pupils’ progress and achievement. This includes grouping pupils under a range of categories, one of which is FSM. Furthermore, with such small numbers, teachers and support staff say it is very manageable for them to get an overview and be aware of every pupil’s progress and current attainment on a continuous basis. The systematic analysis of progress, achievement and attainment data by the headteacher forms the basis of departmental reviews. Each department is required to define what support it will provide to enable pupils to meet specified aspirational targets. They are also asked to provide an evaluation of how effective and successful the actions were. Half-termly whole-school reviews of pupil progress, achievement and attainment include a section on FSM pupils. The Senior Management Team (SMT) monitors a
gives staff the confidence to realise that what they are doing in a consistent way is working, and they want to carry on and develop their practice further. Staff have also noticed that pupils want to be in the majority and have become more academically driven. “It’s now fashionable to be an achiever, to be well behaved; all children regardless of their background want to be part of that, children are striving to move forward, they want to be part of that challenging ethos.” Teacher There is a common shared assumption that pupils clearly know that they are coming to school to work and focus on their attainment. Oakdale also has a reward system for GCSE exam results. Conversations about worth and value start at Year 10, and Year 11 leavers can potentially earn the following: Paper Grade Conditional Result Reward Higher tier English A* English Pass Maths £50.00 Higher tier Maths A* Maths Pass English £50.00 Higher tier English A - £20.00 Higher tier Maths A - £20.00 Foundation English C - £50.00 Foundation Maths C - £50.00 Any other level - 2 grades above FFT predictor £20.00 Rewards are paid as cash on collection of results. The highest pass score in English will win that pupil an ipad mini and the highest pass score Maths will win that pupil an ipad mini. “We know this is common practice and contracts are made at home up and down the country. We make our own deal with pupils as an additional incentive which eases the pressure at home for some of our parents.” Deputy Head Teaching and Learning According to staff at Oakdale the systems used for monitoring progress are rigorous and robust, and have been improved through the use of high quality data. The headteacher provides high quality data training for key staff and data is presented so that vulnerable groups, including Free School Meal (FSM) pupils in every subject can readily be tracked. “We identify our free school meal pupils early on, we know the background of the children; we know what is going on
Introduce peer teaching observations of giving high quality feedback to pupils Develop and implement a programme of health, fitness, and wellbeing enrichment targeted for FSM pupils and families Nurture groups for Foundation Phase FSM pupils Summary The key message from this case study is that a combination of factors contributes to reducing the impact of poverty on pupils’ achievement. While parents may value their children’s education, they do not necessarily have the confidence and skills to support them. These can be developed in partnership with the school, as a means of improving their children’s skills. Theme Particular factor MS Leadership Training and effective deployment of staff including teaching assistants and specialists ✔✔ Teaching and Learning Multisensory teaching ✔✔ Catch-up programmes ✔✔ Tailored curriculum Engagement with parents and wider community Strong dialogue with parents Adult learning ✔✔ Establishing and sustaining strategic partnerships ✔✔ Key Contact Lynne Berriman Acting Headteacher Mount Stuart Primary School Adelaide Street Butetown Cardiff CF10 5BS 029 2048 1188 REDUCING THE IMPACT OF POVERTY ON EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT