Leadership Focus

Issue 48 March/April 2011

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THE BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR ALL SCHOOL LEADERS INSIDE: VOCATIONAL EDUCATION SUPPORTING YOUNG CARERS SCHOOL ILLNESS POLICIES

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ROBERT SANDERS EDITORIAL

Who cares about children?

They say “life is what happens to you while you’re making other plans” and I think this message is a very important one for the education world. In our feature Handle with care on page 34 we give young carers a little of the attention they deserve. It is a subject close to my heart since I know a person who has experienced the burden and the honour of being a carer through her secondary school life and continues to do so into her mid-20s. My heart goes out to the young people in this situation. Some of them achieve great things in spite of their circumstances; some flounder and remain hidden in the background, overwhelmed by the responsibility of the day-to-day care of an adult with mental or physical disabilities.

Often, schools seem to be the only organisations that recognise this role, while outside services seem to ignore, or even perhaps take advantage of, the fact that a child loves their parent too much to neglect or desert them.

Children’s own health too is an issue that can remind us that ‘tick-box tokenism’ and real life sometimes just don’t mix. In Conditioned response (page 38) we look at how school leaders manage the care of children with health problems such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy and severe allergic reactions.

So while Michael Gove and his colleagues make policy around what subjects might be included in a baccalaureate (page 10), or make sweeping and uninformed judgments on school building programmes (page 12), children are out there, living challenging lives and running the gauntlet of a system that is meant to make their lives easier and release their potential. This mismatch of political focus hardly gives us

confidence that the Government is working with us to improve life for our pupils and the society in which we live.

Fortunately, what we do continue to see is education leaders working together in partnership and in teams, sometimes across whole Local Authorities (page 42), to make a big-picture difference at the personal level. We also see schools using innovative and creative ways to enrich and inspire those in the hardest and most limiting circumstances (Susan Young, page 50).

There are opportunities, however, for us to contribute to the debate and to personalise the policy. There are several consultations in which you as members can take part. The Bew Review on assessment (page 6) has closed, but the NAHT website points to several key areas where you can make your opinions known and make sure the real-world view is made clear – as Sure Start centres are threatened with closure there is the coming Early Years review (page 8), the Special Needs Green Paper is due shortly and there are a host of issues and concerns in the Education White Paper itself (page 6).You can also contribute letters to LF (page 49) so send your comments on all education policy issues to us (naht@redactive.co.uk).

‘The mismatch of political focus hardly gives us confidence that the Government is working with us to improve life for our pupils’

redactive publishing limited EDITORIAL & ASSOCIATION ENQUIRIES NAHT, 1 Heath Square, Boltro Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 1BL www.naht.org.uk Tel: 01444 472 472 Editor: Robert Sanders Editorial board: Russell Hobby, Chris Howard, Mike Welsh, Chris Harrison and Robert Sanders Leadership Focus is published by Redactive Publishing Limited on behalf of the NAHT

17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP www.redactive.co.uk Tel: 020 7880 6200 Email: naht@redactive.co.uk

EDITORIAL TEAM Managing editor: Steve Smethurst Assistant editors: Rebecca Grant and Sarah Campbell News and features reporter: Hollie Ewers Designer: Adrian Taylor Senior picture editor: Claire Echavarry Deputy production manager: Kieran Tobin Cover illustration: Phil Hackett Printed by: Wyndeham Heron

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Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation: 27,577 (July 2009-June 2010)

ISSN: 1472–6181 © Copyright 2011 NAHT All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be copied or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publishers. While every care has been taken in the compilation of this publication, neither the publisher nor the NAHT can accept responsibility for any inaccuracies or changes since compilation, or for consequential loss arising from such changes or inaccuracies, or for any other loss, direct or consequential, arising in connection with information in this publication. Acceptance of advertisements does not imply recommendation by the publishers.

The views herein are not necessarily those of the publisher, the editor or the NAHT.

MARCH/APRIL 2011 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

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CONTENTS

COVER STORY PAGE

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OFSTED: FEAR FACTOR

Ofsted has a fearsome reputation, but can its inspectors be tamed and treated as equals?

We search for the secret to approaching an inspection calmly and confidently.

BY SARAH CAMPBELL

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6 NEWS FOCUS 6 EDUCATION BILL AND BEW REVIEW The White Paper has begun its slow journey to becoming legislation. It’s a step in the right direction, but assessment must be at the heart of the debate, says the NAHT.

6 MORALE PLUMMETS IN WALES NAHT Cymru reports that school leaders are being used as a political pawn in the run-up to the elections on 5 May.

8 TICKELL REVIEW EAGERLY AWAITED Funding and assessment are the focal points for the Association as views on Early Years provision start to crystallise ahead of the publication of Dame Clare Tickell’s report.

9 CURRICULUM REVIEW TIMING WORRIES Analysis of the National Curriculum ‘isn’t being linked thoroughly enough to Bew, Wolf and E-bacc reviews’.

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9 BEST OF THE BLOGS Can politicians avoid a Punch and Judy-style fight between ‘traditionalists’ and ‘trendies’ and approach the curriculum review in a sensible, adult fashion, asks Warwick Mansell.

10 E-BACC IS ‘YET ANOTHER TARGET’ The English baccalaureate is an accountability measure in all but name because the tendency in the media to talk about ‘pass’ and ‘fail’ rates means parents see them as such.

10 NEWS IN BRIEF A one-stop shop for people interested in becoming governors; the rise of the co-operative school; and the National College is calling for applicants to become the new generation of National Leaders of Education.

12 BSF CUTS RUBBISHED IN COURT The Education Secretary is compelled to reconsider funding decisions but is not forced to reinstate any projects as a High Court judgment points to lack of consultation.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● MARCH/APRIL 2011

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FEATURES 28 NEW YEAR HONOURS

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Sarah Campbell talks to the recipients of this year’s awards about the leadership skills that got them national recognition.

34 HANDLE WITH CARE How can school leaders support pupils who care for relatives? Rebecca Grant talks to schools and young carers about balancing their responsibilities.

38 CONDITIONED RESPONSE Illnesses such as asthma and epilepsy needn’t prevent a child from having a normal education, but schools must have policies to make sure those children are safe, says Hollie Ewers.

REGULARS

42 LOVE THY NEIGHBOURS School leaders in Bradford have formed clusters to share their knowledge and experience in a bid to raise achievement. Mark Vaughan of Serco, which manages the initiative, reports on its progress.

15 RUSSELL HOBBY’S COLUMN The Association needs to campaign to ensure that schools are judged on the quality of education and outcomes for children, not the delivery of the curriculum.

17 STEVE MUNBY’S COLUMN

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We’ve seen the future, and it looks like schools working in partnership, says the head of the National College.

18 TEN THINGS WE’VE LEARNED Girls should play video games with their parents and singing really is something to shout about.

20 HEADS UP Three school leaders take the magazine’s big question challenge by telling us about their favourite biscuits, guilty secrets and the biggest challenge of all... their best joke.

22 BEHIND THE HEADLINES: VOCATIONAL EDUCATION Could a new kind of technical school be the key to putting vocational education and the traditional academic route on an equal footing, asks Hashi Syedain.

46 WHAT’S NEW? All the latest books and educational resources.

49 LETTERS Last issue’s cover feature, ‘What’s stopping you?’, provoked quite a response from members.

50 AND FINALLY: SUSAN YOUNG

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Have you heard the one about the head teacher, the sheep and the staff meeting held in a giant nest?

MARCH/APRIL 2011 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

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NEWS FOCUS

Hopes rest on White Paper and Bew Review The White Paper has begun its slow journey to becoming legislation, and assessment must be at the heart of the debate, says the NAHT The Education Bill currently making its way through Parliament is a step in the right direction in giving school leaders the freedom to run their schools as they see fit, according to the NAHT. Kathy James, Director of Policy and Campaigns, said: “There are aspects that we really applaud, such as the notion of autonomy present in the Bill.”

She was also encouraged by the improvement in protection for teachers from false

allegations by pupils. The Bill proposes to place restrictions on the public reporting of allegations made against teachers, granting a muchneeded degree of anonymity.

But Kathy warned: “It’s very much tied to pupils who are registered at the school at the time of the allegation.

It doesn’t take into account excluded pupils and the protection doesn’t extend to support staff.”

The Bill also removes the duty on Local Authorities to appoint school improvement partners. It abolishes five quangos including the General Teaching Council for England (see LF, Nov/Dec 2010) and the Qualifications and Curriculum Development

‘There are some aspects of the Bill that we really applaud, such as the notion of autonomy present in it’

Lord Bew: his review is eagerly anticipated by the NAHT.

Agency, and focuses Ofsted inspection on four areas: achievement, teaching, leadership and management, and behaviour and safety (see feature, page 30).

Russell Hobby, NAHT General Secretary, said: “For most heads, the biggest distraction from leading learning is our punitive system

MORALE PLUMMETS IN WALES AS MINISTER PUSHES FOR ‘LEAGUE-TABLE’ SYSTEM Education is the hot political topic in Wales in the run-up to the National Assembly elections on 5 May. The poor performance of pupils in the Programme for International Student Assessment tables for 2009, published at the end of last year, has thrown education into sharp relief. In addition, NAHT Cymru reports that the teaching profession

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is being bombarded with illthought-out initiatives and a lack of support from Education Minister Leighton Andrews.

The minister did little to calm teachers’ nerves with a speech in Cardiff this February, in which he outlined 20 action points, including a national system for the grading of schools.

Iwan Guy, acting director of NAHT Cymru, said: “The minister

denied it was league tables by another name and said the Welsh Assembly Government would not publish the data, but, because it is in the public domain, other agencies might.”

He added that underlying all this was a funding gap of £607 per pupil between Wales and England. Iwan said: “Teacher morale is low, as we have been blamed for everything.”

of scrutiny and league tables which hammers schools in challenging circumstances, while misleading parents about performance.

“We therefore await the findings of the Bew Review into assessment and accountability in primary schools with eager anticipation.”

The NAHT’s special educational needs and disability committee gave evidence at the Bew review in February and the assessment reform campaign gave further evidence at the beginning of March, presenting an alternative model of assessment.

• The NAHT is running a series of roadshows on the Education Bill throughout March. Events will take place in London (16 March), Taunton (23 March) and Manchester (31 March).

To book a place visit tinyurl. com/naht-edbill-roadshows

LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● MARCH/APRIL 2011

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NEWS FOCUS

Tickell review eagerly awaited Assessment requirements and funding in Early Years settings are main points for improvement

Dame Clare Tickell is due to publish her report into the Early Years Foundation Stage this spring.

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Views on Early Years provision are starting to crystallise in the run-up to the publication of Dame Clare Tickell’s report into the Early Years Foundation Stage.

Jeanne Adkins, Policy Adviser – Primary and Early Years at the NAHT, has made her submission to the review but will hold more meetings with the Association’s Early Years forum to gather opinion.

“We support the present Early Years framework, but there is some tweaking that we would welcome,” she said. These include greater clarity in the requirements and descriptions used in assessments and a suggestion that external moderation be put in place when pupils progress to school.

Ofsted produced a report to inform Dame Clare’s review in February. It found that 68 per cent of Early Years providers were judged to be good or outstanding last year, compared with 56 per cent of maintained schools. The proportion of childminders judged good or outstanding was lower than non-domestic settings such as nurseries, thought to be because

childminders tended to focus more on care than learning.

At the beginning of the year Graham Allen, MP for Nottingham North, produced a report which found that early intervention programmes were highly effective in giving children a good start in life but they were not consistently available across the country. He recommended the introduction of a national ‘foundation years plan’ so everyone has the same access to

‘We support the present early years framework, but there is some tweaking that we would welcome’

provision. NAHT General Secretary Russell Hobby was pleased at this report’s findings.

He said: “Schools make a difference to children’s lives but they cannot succeed in isolation or shoulder the burden alone.

Families and communities matter too.”

Concerns remain, however, over the financing of Early Years settings. Cuts to the Sure Start scheme seem likely and Jeanne reports members telling her that some Local Authorities are pushing nursery provision into the private sector to avoid having the burden of funding.

Graham Allen’s report: tinyurl.com/allen-early-intervention Ofsted report: tinyurl.com/ofsted-early-years

Say ‘hello’ to a year of clear communication School leaders are encouraged to make speech, language and communication skills a priority in the classroom as the national year of communication continues.

The year-long ‘Hello’ campaign, run by a consortium of 40 third-sector organisations called the Communication Trust, aims to equip school leaders and teachers with fun activities and tools to identify children with speech and language difficulties.

The NAHT is supporting the campaign and Jan Myles,

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Assistant Secretary at the NAHT, is on the advisory group for the ‘Hello’ campaign.

Jean Gross, the Government’s Communication Champion (pictured, right), said: “The goal is that every child gets the support they need as they learn to communicate.”

The campaign provides information and activities for parents of young children, for teenagers preparing for the move into employment, and for schools trying to make

classrooms conducive to clear communication.

Jean said: “I hope teachers will become familiar with the milestones in children’s language development. Schools do a lot of good work, but what’s missing is identifying progression systematically.”

Jean will be speaking at the Education Conferences in Reading (4 March) and Leeds (25 March). www.hello.org.uk www.naht.org.uk/educationconference2011

LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● MARCH/APRIL 2011

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THE BEST OF THE BLOGS

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A BUSY START For NAHT President Mike Welsh, January was spent travelling the country and meeting new faces. In his latest blog entry, he writes about speaking at various events, attending the National Executive and meeting with groups of heads in a bid to firm up NAHT policy. He also paid a visit to the Cabinet War Rooms for the Association’s annual press dinner, which although hailed a success, did result in him having to sit on a freezing bus station bench to take part in a live radio interview by telephone.

Michael Gove’s curriculum review could conflict with other initiatives.

www.naht.org.uk/welcome/resources/blogs/ a-headteachers-life

Timing concern on curriculum review The Education Secretary, Michael Gove, has promised to replace the current ‘substandard’ National Curriculum with something ‘worldclass’ following a review.

According to the Department for Education, the National Curriculum Review has five objectives: to give teachers greater freedom over how they teach; to embrace the needs of all abilities of pupils; to make the curriculum comparable with those of other countries that do well academically; to set rigorous attainment goals; and to inform parents of what their children should be learning when.

Russell Hobby, the General Secretary of the NAHT, was broadly supportive of the review. He said: “School leaders want a significant reduction in the depth and breadth of prescription: a curriculum that covers the basics while leaving room for creativity, culture and excitement, enabling each school to design an offer that suits their children.”

Siôn Humphreys, NAHT policy adviser and secondary schools lead, expressed concern, however, that the curriculum review wasn’t being linked thoroughly enough

with other ongoing studies, such as the Wolf Review into vocational education (see page 22), the Bew Review into KS2 testing (see page 6) and the review of the English baccalaureate (see page 10). He said: “The pieces of the jigsaw are being put in the wrong places. There seems to be incoherence in the timing.”

He also said there was still a lot of work to do to map out the implementation of the new curriculum. For example, will all year groups start the new curriculum at the same time or will it be rolled through schools with each new Year One,Year Three and Year Seven?

He added that the NAHT is putting its views across by giving evidence to the various reviews.

It is expected that English, maths, science and physical education will remain core subjects in the new curriculum. The remaining subjects that are currently compulsory (art and design, citizenship, design and technology, geography, history, ICT, modern foreign languages and music) will be up for consideration. The teaching of the new curriculum will start in schools in September 2014.

BLOGGING OFF In his final NAHT blog post, Arthur De Caux signs off by taking a look back over the 29 years since he joined the Association, during which time he’s witnessed the world of education – overseen by a total of 13 different secretaries of state – undergo countless overhauls and policy reforms. These changes have meant that he’s never been short of material to comment on. “I have striven – not a word I have used in print before – to find the amusing, the bizarre and the frankly silly in the antics of governments and secretaries of state in particular,” he writes. www.naht.org.uk/welcome/resources/blogs/arthur-de-caux

CURRICULUM CONFLICTS As the Government announces another review into the National Curriculum, Warwick Mansell wonders whether it’s possible to avoid the inevitable Punch and Judy-style fight between ‘traditionalists’ and ‘trendies’, and instead see politicians “rise above this fray: to pronounce on sensible areas of, if not common ground over, what should be taught”.

That way, they’ll be able to have a deeply argued and fair-minded debate, which is sure to highlight what the important issues are, he says. www.naht.org.uk/welcome/resources/blogs/ warwick-mansells-blog

GOVE v THE WORLD Judging by the reactions of opposition MPs during the first debate into the new Education Bill on 8 February, Michael Gove certainly won’t have an easy job getting it through Parliament. Susan Young, who was at the debate, recounts the insults that were traded. A particular highlight, she writes, was Labour minister Kevin Brennan likening Mr Gove to a cartoon mouse hell-bent on world domination. www.naht.org.uk/welcome/resources/blogs/susan-young

tinyurl.com/nationalcurriculumreview

MARCH/APRIL 2011 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

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NEWS FOCUS

E-bacc gives schools ‘yet another target’ Media coverage turns E-bacc into another league table The English baccalaureate (E-bacc) is an accountability measure in all but name, the NAHT’s lead on secondary schools has said.

Siôn Humphreys said that, although the Government had assured schools in England that E-bacc achievement statistics would not count in floor targets, the tendency in the media to talk about ‘pass’ and ‘fail’ rates meant parents were bound to see them as a measure of success.

“We have members reporting that when it comes to Year 9s choosing their options for next year, they have parents saying they want them to do the E-bacc,” he said. “This is before we get into the debate about whether it represents a broad and balanced curriculum.”

The E-bacc is the achievement of A*-C in GCSE English, maths, two sciences, ancient or modern history or geography, and a modern or ancient language. Just 16 per cent of those

taking GCSEs at the end of the last academic year got the E-bacc and in more than half of state secondaries this figure was 10 per cent.

The White Paper has stated that “every pupil should have a broad education and a firm grip of the basics”.

However, Siôn said: “There are no creative subjects there. It’s not reflecting the ethos of the international baccalaureate, for example, which encompasses more areas of experience.”

Siôn also said that the introduction of the E-bacc before the National Curriculum review didn’t make sense.

“Say history doesn’t make it into the curriculum after the review, for example. Schools would still be compelled to offer it because it’s there in the E-bacc. It’s a manifestation of ‘nudge’ theory on the part of the Government – or rather, the ‘significant shove in the back’ theory.”

The Education Select Committee is carrying out a short inquiry into the E-bacc. The deadline for written submissions was 8 March.

A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE A pioneer of the school trip industry is asking for people to share their travel memories with it as it celebrates its centenary this year. The School Journey Association (SJA), founded in 1911, is appealing to anyone who remembers going on one of their trips as a teacher or as a pupil to get in touch. It will collate the memories into a ‘record of achievement’.

Terry Lee, chairman of the SJA, said: “We want anyone with memories to contact us: write, send pictures, films, or come and talk to us.” And if people have trouble remembering whether a trip was arranged by the SJA, he joked: “If it was to the Isle of Man, chances are they went with us.” Memories might also be jogged by the charity’s bluebird logo. The SJA is run mainly by volunteers, who co-ordinate about 70 trips a year in the UK and continental Europe. It offers to pay half the cost of trips for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

• To share your memories, call the SJA on 020 8675 6636 or visit tinyurl.com/sja100

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NEWS IN BRIEF OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHY WINNER Due to a production error last issue, the image below didn’t appear among the photo winners. It was a runner-up photo by Alexander Clarke, aged 11, from Kells and Connor Primary School.

A BOOST TO GOVERNING BODIES The NAHT is working with the The School Governors’ One-Stop Shop (SGOSS) in a bid to fill some of the reported 40,000 vacant governor places across England. The NAHT’s Head of Campaigns, Lesley Gannon, said: “Governance is a challenge and some schools find it hard to recruit people who aren’t parent governors.”

For more information, see www.sgoss.org.uk

CO-OP SCHOOLS ON THE RISE The co-operative school movement is gathering pace, with 117 schools already part of co-operative trusts and a further 80 in consultation this term. The Cooperative College, a charity that promotes the movement, says that it is also working on a co-operative model for the new wave of academies. Pupils, parents and staff are encouraged to be members of the co-operative trust that runs the school, meaning everyone has a say in decisions. www.co-op.ac.uk

CALL FOR NLE APPLICATIONS The National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services is planning to appoint a new wave of National Leaders of Education (see LF Jan/Feb 2011, page 32). Successful candidates will support schools and academies in challenging circumstances. For more information visit www.nationalcollege.org.uk/nle

TELL US YOUR NEWS! Got a story about great practice or something new happening in your school or Local Authority?

Email naht@redactive.co.uk or call 020 7880 6249.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● MARCH/APRIL 2011

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NEWS FOCUS

BSF cuts are rubbished by court The High Court has criticised the Government’s scrapping of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) project.

Six councils – Luton, Nottingham, Waltham Forest, Newham, Kent and Sandwell – claimed that Education Secretary Michael Gove’s handling of the issue was unlawful.

Mr Justice Holman said in his judgment: “The way in which the Secretary of State abruptly stopped the projects… must be characterised as being so unfair as to amount to an abuse of power.”

The judge said that the Education Secretary’s consultation of schools affected by the BSF cuts had not been adequate and ordered him to reconsider each of the claimants’ projects. The judge did not, however, order that any projects be reinstated or compensation be paid.

He added:“However pressing the economic problems, there was no overriding public

GETTY

Education Secretary is compelled to reconsider funding decisions – but not forced to reinstate any projects – as judgment points to lack of consultation

interest which precluded consultation or justified the lack of any consultation.”

Russell Hobby, NAHT General Secretary, agreed, saying that the judgment was a lesson to the Government in making decisions in haste. He said: “A sense of urgency is all very well, but there is no virtue in doing the wrong things quickly.

‘The way in which the Secretary of State abruptly stopped the projects… must be characterised as being so unfair as to amount to an abuse of power’

This is a timely reminder that power must be exercised with respect and fairness.

People are affected deeply by these decisions and they must be involved. With their knowledge and passion they might even be able to help make better policy.”

The General Secretary added that the Association had always had concerns over the inefficiencies of BSF and had always accepted that it needed to be reviewed.

“However, it’s always a question of ensuring that when old measures are dismantled, a well thought-out

replacement is already available.”

Celebrate school leadership at conference School leaders will have the chance to share their experiences of ‘the best job in the world’ at the NAHT’s Annual Conference in Brighton in April.

Chris Harrison (right), who will replace Mike Welsh as President in a ceremony on Saturday 30 April, the first full day of the conference, said in a message to members: “We need to celebrate headship and promulgate the worth of the job. Despite what others may

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say, I know that our members believe that theirs is the best job in the world. It is all about pride, passion and performance.

It is about believing in what you are doing, communicating the vision and taking others with you.”

He added that he has invited high-profile public figures to speak at the conference, in the hope that these will inspire and encourage members ‘at a time when the Government’s cuts will be biting’.

The panel of speakers had not yet been finalised by the time LF went to press, but it was expected that Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, would make a speech on the second day of the conference.

Russell Hobby, NAHT General Secretary, will also be leading a session on the Sunday.

For more information, visit www.naht.org.uk/welcome/ naht-events/conferences/ or call the events department on 01444 472 405.

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MEMBER BENEFITS FROM OUR SELECTED PARTNERS MESSAGE FROM A SCHOOL PARTNER

Partner contacts Self-evaluation made stress-free

SERVICES FOR SCHOOLS ETEACH Online staff recruitment 0845 226 1906 www.eteach.com Email: support@eteach.com H TEMPEST School photography 01736 752 411, ext 421 (quote ‘NAHT’) www.htempest.co.uk KIRKLAND ROWELL Self-evaluation surveys 0191 270 8270 www.kirkland-rowell.com SCHOOLS ADVISORY SERVICE Staff-absence insurance 01623 643 555 www.schooladvice.co.uk

SERVICES FOR MEMBERS ROCK Travel insurance 0844 482 3390 www.nahttravelinsurance.co.uk AVIVA Home, contents and motor insurance 0800 046 6389 www.fromyourassociation.co.uk/NAHT

Used by more than 2,500 schools across the UK, our parental, pupil and staff surveys generate management data on all of your school’s activities.

The key benefits Recommended by the NAHT, Kirkland Rowell Surveys, part of GL Performance, help school leaders get the most from their self-evaluation process. Our surveys: • are the ONLY surveys to weight your results against what stakeholders usually say in ‘similar schools’, giving your findings true meaning and relevance; • establish a baseline of what stakeholders think of your school, enabling you to monitor progress year on year – particularly valuable for new academies and newly formed school leadership teams; • use unique additional analysis that allows you to monitor the satisfaction of pupils’ parents from specific groups; • provide data which enables you to see where changes are most needed; • deliver independent management

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information that identifies problem areas and pre-empts the findings of inspections; • create a channel for true parental involvement, enabling you to monitor and respond to the changing wants and needs of pupils’ parents.

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MESSAGE FROM A MEMBER PARTNER

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AKIN FALOPE

The NAHT is committed to negotiating a wide range of high-quality, value-added benefits and services for its members.

If you have any comments on the services provided by our affinity partners, please email John Randall, the NAHT’s Head of Marketing and Communications, at johnr@naht.org.uk

We all know how precious our holiday time is. So Rock Insurance is offering NAHT members a 5 per cent discount on travel insurance.

With the Easter holidays just around the corner, if you’re planning a getaway overseas, then take a look at what Rock Insurance has to offer. On top of single-trip and annual multi-trip (AMT) policies, there are also options for winter sports, backpacking, golf and business cover.

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To obtain your 5 per cent discount, visit www.nahttravelinsurance.co.uk, enter NAHT in the promo code box and your discounted price will show. Alternatively, call 0844 482 3390, quoting NAHT. 5 per cent discount offer is valid from 1 March to 21 April 2011. Offer is open to members, friends and family of NAHT. AMT price based on European and worldwide individual travel insurance aged 18-64. Rock Insurance Services is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority under FSA number 300317. Terms and conditions apply and are correct as at 11 February 2011.

MARCH/APRIL 2011 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

13 Partners.indd 13

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22/2/11 11:06:14

Conference outline

www.jubileebooks.co.uk PRESENTS

Pie Corbett will explore with delegates developing Literacy through Maritime themes e.g Pirates, Ocean habitat, Titanic invaders and explorers, 10.00 am Registration & refreshments

Pie Corbett Aiming for Excellence in Literacy across the curriculum

Pie Corbett Inservice conference at the National Maritime Museum The inspirational, charismatic and creative Literacy educator Pie Corbett will explore with delegates developing Literacy through a theme...

Registration and refreshments

10.30 am Welcome

By Eddie Burnett Director Jubileebooks.co.uk Ltd

10.45 am Session 1: Reading The using literature based on common themes e.g pirate stories, explorers logs and newspaper articles.

The use of first hand sources to deepen children’s understanding e.g museum artefacts.

11.40am -11.55 am Break 12.00 -13.00am Session 2: Writing Writing in response to artefacts and literature, exploring these through poetry, fiction and a range of information writing.

13.00 – 13.15pm Session 3: Talk

Date Wednesday 6th April 2011 Venue National Maritime Museum Cost £175 + vat including lunch & refreshments OR without lunch £160 + vat including refreshments

By Head of Education @ NMM about the collections and it’s work and engagement with schools.

Group bookings over 5 delegates: 10% discount

14.40 -15.30 pm Session 4: Talk & Drama

13.15 – 14.40pm Lunch Opportunity to look at the National Maritime Collection and artefacts

This exciting inservice conference aims to consider how schools can move forward to excellence through developing teaching practice in literacy with the view to raise standards and attainment in literacy across the curriculum.

By inspiring good teachers By developing reading for understanding By creating effective and versatile writers By extending vocabulary and comprehension Supporting the improvement of classroom teaching and out of school learning

Helping children to develop imaginative and articulate ‘talk’ to tell stories, develop role play, discuss, inform and persuade.

15.30 – 15.45 pm Performance The day will end with a special performance Close and thanks

For more information contact the project director: Eddie Burnett Children’s Book Consultant & Literacy Events Coordinator

T: (020) 8293 6060 F: (020) 8465 5111 E: eddie.burnett@jubileebooks.co.uk E: enquiries@jubileebooks.co.uk

BOOKING FORM

eturn ReR yoftuourrnfoyromur rm b2y3 6MaArpbryil ch

Aiming for Excellence in Literacy across the curriculum ‘A day at the National Maritime Museum’ - Wednesday 6th April 2011 All day inset training event £175.00 plus vat inclusive of lunch and refreshments Without lunch £160 plus vat inclusive of refreshments Group booking over 5 delegates 10% Delegate details

(Ms/Mrs/Miss/Mr)

Forename ________________________ Surname ____________________________

Position _____________________________________ School /Organzation ____________________________________________________ Address _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Tel _____________________ Fax _____________________ Email ____________________________________________________________ Dietary requirements: Vegetarian yes / no / other (please detail) __________________________________________________________ Signed: Any further delegates please list details on a separate sheet and enclose with this form.

Please note: a confirmation invoice will be sent to your email address. The fee can only be waived if we receive a written or emailed cancellation notice at least four weeks before the date of conference. The last date to receive bookings for the 6th of April 2011 event is the 23rd March 2011 MARCH/APRIL 2011 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS 11 Please return to: Eddie BurnettChildren’s book consultant and Literacy events coordinator, Jubileebooks.co.uk Ltd, 31a Vanbrugh park, Blackheath, London SE3 7AE. Or fax form to 020 8465 5111 or email to eddie.burnett@jubileebooks.co.uk.

LFO.03.11.014.indd 11 Jubilee.indd 1

22/2/11 22/2/11 10:10:36 10:07:56

VIEWPOINT

RUSSELL HOBBY R Columnist C

Good, bad or just plain ugly?

As free schools get their fistful of dollars, Russell looks at education policy

I

don’t think the curriculum review will be as bad as we fear. The trick will be distinguishing between what teachers can do, and what a curriculum can specify.

Not everything a school does should be defined in the curriculum. As long as the prescribed area of the curriculum is sufficiently small (and a few facts and figures are surely not a bad thing?), then there will be room for schools to do all the other things that matter outside this core: fun, excitement, enrichment, social skills, and so on, in a way that suits their children.

We need to move away from the belief that unless something is specified and regulated, it doesn’t matter.

Some things are too important to be left to the Government. We will need to be convinced, however, that all the other things a school does will be valued and recognised and that this is not lip service. We also need confidence that the Government will confine itself to specifying outcomes, not teaching methods, and that the assessment system will not undermine the curriculum.

Our job as an Association will be to argue to constrain the breadth of the National Curriculum, the depth of prescription and the distorting impact of assessment; to ensure that the success of a school is judged on the quality of education, not the delivery of the curriculum. This is all possible.

PA

Education at risk in England However, if the definition of insanity is repeatedly trying the same thing and expecting different results, then the education scene in England is at risk.

A decade of ever more frantic attempts to measure, test, assess and compare results has led to a distorted curriculum, unhappy children, and an alienated workforce, with no gains in standards. Yet some suggest applying even more targets and tests, as if only a little bit more will somehow turn the corner. However, the lesson from ‘high performing education systems’ is that it is precisely our peculiar accountability system that stands in the way of the next stage of progress. It is the medicine that is killing us: sapping the energy and creativity that drives great teaching and crowding out the truly valuable activities that cannot be measured. Worst of all, it treats childhood as a commodity that can be weighed and measured, prompting simplistic, one-size-fits-all strategies like the phonics screen.

To misquote: we know the attainment of everything

15 Viewpoint.2.indd 15

and the value of nothing. Other countries understand that learning rests on optimism, confidence, selfcontrol and cooperation. While we swamp early learning with tests and assessments that contribute nothing to growth, they focus on the activity, play and socialisation that creates readiness to learn. The result of this ‘unbusinesslike’ and relaxed attitude? Their children storm ahead.

The funding formula

The debate on the national funding formula takes us right into the heart of the conflict between autonomy and co-operation

How much do you believe in the family of schools? In the responsibility of school leaders to all children in the school system?

There is a debate coming that will test this concept to the limit - the national funding formula - as it will be impossible in the current financial climate to improve one school’s funding without taking from another.

A weak leader takes from other schools to improve their results; a good leader improves their school without doing harm to others; a great leader helps others while improving their school. The debate on the national funding formula takes us right into the heart of the conflict between autonomy and cooperation.

It could get ugly. It could also demonstrate conclusively that the profession is committed to a collaborative, just and unified system of state education, and cannot be turned from that course – and that, given freedom, it will use it wisely.

This is one of the topics that I hope we will be able to debate in depth at our annual conference.

Russell Hobby is NAHT General Secretary

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LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● MARCH/APRIL 2011

LFO.03.11.016.indd 16

22/2/11 10:13:58

STEVE MUNBY ST Columnist Co

VIEWPOINT

The wheels are turning Schools working together in partnership is the present and the future

T

he science fiction writer William Gibson once said: “The future is already here – it is just not evenly distributed yet.”

I think that describes school leadership today. The future is schools working together to support each other to improve.

School-to-school support was once an isolated phenomenon, but it is much more prevalent now.

On my visits to primary schools across the country I see the evidence of this.

The number of executive heads is on the rise, as is the prevalence of trusts and primary National Leaders of Education and their National Support Schools working alongside nearby schools. We also know that two in every five schools are delivering their own leadership and professional development – often in collaboration with other schools.These developments ensure that the influence of great leadership, teaching and learning is filtering further and faster across schools.

DREAMSTIME

Teaching schools This is why we are delighted that the Government’s White Paper seeks to take school-led improvement further, most significantly through ‘teaching schools’.

Teaching schools will co-ordinate initial teacher training, continuing professional development and leadership development across a network of schools and will be designated, quality-assured and supported by the National College.

We need the best schools to become teaching schools – not to act as beacons, but as strategic partners, working with other schools to identify their needs and to share skills and expertise.

The first criteria that schools will need to meet to become a teaching school will be evidence of partnership and collaboration. I believe they should also have outstanding teaching and learning going on so that they are exemplars of excellent practice.

However, I do understand that there are concerns over whether an Ofsted definition of ‘outstanding’ should, in all cases, be the objective measure. This will depend to some extent on the new Ofsted framework and on whether we will need separate reviews to look at teaching and learning if successful schools are no longer inspected regularly.

For teaching schools to succeed, the concept will need to be flexible so that schools can tailor their partnerships to suit their context. This approach will be particularly important for small primary schools in rural areas. If smaller schools want to work together as

‘clusters’ to ensure that they have the capacity needed for the teaching school role, then we expect that these groups will be able to apply for teaching-school designation together, as long as the lead school meets the criteria.

Teaching schools are about building a partnership with the potential for all schools in the group to share the best teaching and leadership – in whichever school they reside. The new designation of Specialist Leaders of Education – also announced in the White Paper – will be key to this vision.

These will be senior or middle leaders who are outstanding in a particular area, such as subject specialism, performance management, behaviour or school business management. They can come from any school in a partnership.

Teaching schools have already been piloted and they give a tantalising glimpse of the difference this initiative could make across the country. Primaries in the pilot improved by two and a half times the national average.

Secondaries improved by one and a half times.

Just as teaching hospitals have nurtured generations of doctors, so teaching schools will help to ensure that the standard of training and development in schools is consistently high.

It is an evolving picture and the development of the detail will be down to school leaders.

As we work with schools to develop the approach over the next year, it is critical that the National College hears the views of NAHT members on what will make this successful. Many of you will be attending one of our regional consultation events, but if not, please give us your views on the proposals via our website. As Mr Gibson said, the future is already here. Now we need to make sure that all schools benefit from it.

Primaries in the pilot improved by two and a half times the national average, and secondaries by one and a half

Steve is chief executive of the National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services. www.nationalcollege.org.uk/teachingschools MARCH/APRIL 2011 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

17 SM column.2.indd 17

17

22/2/11 11:08:25

STRANGE BUT TRUE

THINGS WE’VE LEARNED We now know that Devon schoolchildren are the bees’ knees, that girls should play video games with their parents and singing really is something to shout about…

There’s a ski school in Canada where the teaching is indoors Children from Sun Peaks resort village in British Columbia, Canada, have been travelling to their new school via ski-lift since September. Following the closure of their previous school, a new independent school, ‘The Discovery Centre’, was created on the top of a mountain by parents. Locals raised enough money to build the one-room schoolhouse, which has 19 students aged from five to 10.

An off-site teacher gives lessons via Skype, while an on-site teacher supervises them. The children then ski home at the end of the day.

Facebook ‘fuels eating disorders’, say Israelis A study by Israeli scientists claims that girls between 12 and 18 are at a heightened risk of developing anorexia or bulimia every hour they spend on social networking site Facebook. The study also found that Facebook, more than any other website, forced users to examine their looks, habits and behaviour. A Facebook spokesperson said the sample size of the study was too small to get a true representative figure.

Junk food will damage a child’s IQ, say Bristolians A serene, tree-planting rap artist is preaching evolution Canadian rapper Baba Brinkman has turned his rap album The Rap Guide to Evolution into an educational DVD about Darwin’s theory, with the aim of helping students achieve a clearer understanding.

The rapper is the eldest child of a Canadian tree-planting pioneer and reportedly entered the world with a ‘contemplative, Buddha-like’ expression. He claims to have planted more than a million trees.

18

Findings by scientists at Bristol University suggest that a diet of junk food lowers a child’s IQ, while a more health-conscious diet boosts it. The study of 14,000 children born in 1991-92 questioned the parents about their child’s diet at various points from ages three to eight, when IQ was measured. Foods high in fats, sugars and processed items appeared to lower IQ in the first three years of life. It then stayed low regardless of whether diet was improved later.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● MARCH/APRIL 2011

18-19 Ten Things Learned.indd 18

22/2/11 11:10:04

Children’s wellbeing is boosted by singing A study of nearly 10,000 primary school children from across England has found that singing in school can make them feel more positive about themselves and can also build a sense of community. A three-year research study of the national singing scheme ‘Sing Up’ was carried out by the Institute of Education, which found a clear link between singing and wellbeing.The project, which supports schools to increase singing in choirs, lessons and individually and provides a range of resources, also found that children on the programme were more advanced in their singing development.

Teen girls are better behaved when they play video games with a parent Researchers at Brigham Young University in the US have found that girls aged 11-16 who played video games with a parent reported better behaviour, more feelings of familial closeness and less aggression than girls who played alone or with friends. According to the researchers, it is not the games being played but the interaction with parents that has the positive effects on their daughters. The study found that boys didn’t reap the same behavioural or mental benefits and preferred aggressive or competitive games.

Posh children aged 5-9 need to avoid peanuts Allergies to peanuts are more common among well-off children compared with those from poorer backgrounds, according to a Department of Health study.The research also found the condition was a third more prevalent in boys than in girls but that the trend is reversed in adulthood. Published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the study looked at records from 400 GP practices in England from 2001 to 2005.The highest levels of the allergy were found in children aged between five and nine.

Devon children have created a buzz in the science world A science investigation by a group of children from Blackawton Primary School in Devon has been accepted for publication in an international biology journal, Biology Letters. With the help of neuroscientist Dr Beau Lotto, the children and their head teacher Dave Strudwick were able to create an experiment, which proved that bees use colour to determine where and how they get food. The research found that bees are able to learn and remember cues based on colours and patterns. Dr Lotto said: “This work is an important step in showing what we can achieve if we’re prepared to approach science in a way that’s creative, daring and, above all, fun.”

ISTOCK; EYEVINE; REX FEATURES; GETTY IMAGES

Muggles can play Quidditch too Harry Potter fans across the world are taking to their broomsticks and playing Quidditch, with some slight differences involving gravity, a human snitch and hula-hoops on sticks as goals. Created in 2005

by Xander Manshel of Middlebury College in Vermont, US, ‘Muggle Quidditch’ or ‘Ground Quidditch’ is overseen by the International Quidditch Association (IQA), which has published a rulebook for schools and colleges. IQA president Alex Benepe says Quidditch requires a lot of strategy and is a cross between rugby, dodgeball, tag and basketball – but with brooms.

A college boldly goes where no college has gone before Using outer space to inspire pupils, a classroom resembling the deck of the Starship Enterprise, a mission control room, a 360-degree planetarium cinema, an ‘astrobotics’ room and a mock-Mars landscape have been unveiled at the Keighley campus at Leeds City College. It is hoped that the Star Centre, with its mission control room’s live feed to the International Space Station, will not only provide an inspirational setting to educate pupils but also attract tourists at weekends and during holidays. The centre will invite school groups to take part in programmes it will run for KS1 to KS4.

MARCH/APRIL 2011 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

18-19 Ten Things Learned.indd 19

19

22/2/11 11:10:58

QUESTION CORNER

PANA MCGEE P H Head teacher, A Ashmount Primary School, London

WHAT TYPE OF PERSON ARE YOU? In five words? Passionate, impatient, direct, intuitive, determined.

Most prized possession? Family photographs.

Favourite biscuit? McVitie’s Rich Tea. Unmissable TV? The West Wing.

Top film? Far from Heaven, directed by Todd Haynes.

Favourite song? Love and Affection, by Joan Armatrading.

Best book? Fugitive Pieces, by Anne Michaels.

Who would play you in the film of your life?

Penelope Cruz.

Guilty secret? I was once the singer in a rock band when I worked at an international school in Athens.

HEADS

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES

UP If you would like to take the LF questionnaire, email us at naht@redactive.co.uk

20

GETTY; DREAMSTIME; ISTOCK

Three school leaders take up the Leadership Focus challenge to describe their leadership style and then tell us a joke

I went into teaching because my father wouldn’t allow me to go to university. After much persuasion, I went to a teacher training college and lived at home.

It wasn’t until I had my first class – a reception class in a tough inner-London borough – that I knew I was in the right place and in the right profession.

My own schooling was life-changing. I loved my school days.

I loved learning new things. I read books all the time to catch up on what I thought everyone else knew. I remember bumping into lamp-posts because I read walking along the street, although it was only really embarrassing when I instinctively apologised.

My most embarrassing moment in a classroom was when I was a supply teacher and an inspector walked in to find a rather troubled child in a cardboard box under my desk.

Apparently the inspector was impressed and recommended that I was given a permanent job.

My leadership style is based on trust and relationships.

I believe strongly in collective responsibility and I always try to lead by example.

If I’ve learned one thing, it’s that teaching is a privilege. It can be life-changing and that’s a powerful responsibility.

If I were the PM, I’d do everything in my power to strengthen and reinforce fair access to state education.

I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I often find myself thinking life is really quite simple, just not very easy.

Tell us your best joke Here’s one my daughter told me… There are three friends stranded on a desert island, and one day they find a magic lantern containing a genie, who grants them each one wish. The first guy wishes he was off the island and back home.

There’s a whoosh and he’s gone. Then the second guy wishes the same thing. There’s another whoosh and he’s back home too.

The third guy says: “I’m lonely. I wish my friends were back here.”

LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● MARCH/APRIL 2011

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22/2/11 11:11:59

BRETT DYE BR

KATE FULLER

He teacher, Head Par Parc Eglos School, Helston

Head teacher, Guillemont Junior School, Farnborough

WHAT TYPE OF PERSON ARE YOU? In five words? Cheerful, friendly, enthusiastic, committed, sporty.

Most prized possession? My tennis racquet.

Favourite biscuit? McVitie’s chocolate digestive.

Unmissable TV? Garrow’s Law. Top film? Papillon, starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.

Favourite song? Nights in White Satin, the Moody Blues version.

Best book? The Godfather, by Mario Puzo.

Who would play you in the film of your life? I’m a big fan of David Jason, he’d be good.

Guilty secret? I secretly like Take That, but don’t shout about it.

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES I went into teaching because I have never really grown up and I wanted to give the children the opposite kind of education to the one I endured.

My own schooling was boring, frightening and taught from text books. “Read The Groundwork of British History three times and you will pass your O-level history,” I was told. I failed on both counts.

My most embarrassing moment in a classroom… I am forever embarrassed in the classroom because children always catch you out, but I like to have a culture of learning together and it has helped me to survive many awkward moments.

My leadership style is all about empowering people. I’m very much a people person. It’s probably summed up as ‘ever the diplomat, never the autocrat’. That, and aiming for excellence, of course.

If I’ve learned one thing, it’s what to ignore and what to embrace.

If I were the PM, I’d instruct the DfE that all schools should be funded for one-to-one teaching and I would reintroduce the new primary curriculum.

I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I really love bodyboarding.

However, I suspect me in my wetsuit is not my best look.

Tell us your best joke I don’t need to have one as this school survives on natural everyday humour – although some people might have thought I was having a laugh when I bought an old double-decker bus to use as a classroom and persuaded someone to drive it 400 miles to the school in one day, at 30 miles per hour.

I secretly like Take That but don’t shout about it

WHAT TYPE OF PERSON ARE YOU? In five words? Exuberant, loyal, optimistic, passionate, enthusiastic.

Most prized possession?

My wedding ring.

Favourite biscuit? Macaroons.

Unmissable TV? Grey’s Anatomy.

Top film? Sliding Doors.

Favourite song? Time After Time, by Cyndi Lauper.

Best book? The Stand,

by Stephen King.

Who would play you in the film of your life? Either Reese Witherspoon or Kate Winslet.

Guilty secret? I love pizza even though I am wheat and dairy intolerant.

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES I went into teaching because I wanted to make a difference.

Having worked in the City as a headhunter for two years, I had lost my way and felt I needed a career that allowed me to help and support people rather than one focused purely on money. I chose to retrain as a teacher after a week volunteering in a special school with my father-in-law. I’ve never looked back.

My own schooling was fantastic and varied. I attended a state infant and junior school before winning a scholarship to a private secondary school. I had fabulous teachers in all of my schools and have very fond memories of each school and the individuals who inspired me along the way.

My most embarrassing moment in a classroom was splitting my skirt while demonstrating the difference between millimetres, centimetres and metres by taking steps of each length. The children never forgot which was shortest and which was longest, though.

My leadership style is participative/delegative. I was given many opportunities to learn, lead and manage in my early teaching career and I strive to do the same for others.

If I’ve learned one thing, it’s expect the unexpected. It doesn’t matter how prepared you are when working with children and speaking to parents, you will always need to think on your feet.

If I were the PM, I’d invest consistently in professional development for teachers, perhaps initially by increasing the number of Inset days to at least one every half term so that whole-school teacher development could be planned and delivered over the whole school year.

I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I really, genuinely love my job and would never consider returning to a career focused purely on financial gain.

Tell us your best joke What did the frog say when he was asked to read yet more Oxford Reading Tree books? “Read it!”

MARCH/APRIL 2011 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS 21

20-21 Questionnaire.indd 21

22/2/11 11:12:13

BEHIND THE HEADLINES TECHNICAL SCHOOLS

Finding a vocation Job-related education has long been the weaker sibling to the academic route. Could a new kind of technical school put them on an equal footing, asks Hashi Syedain

P

rofessor Alison Wolf has her work cut out.

In autumn last year, she was commissioned by the Government to conduct a review of vocational education for 14- to 19-year-olds. The need for improvement is urgent. Complaints about the current set-up include patchiness of provision, programmes of study that are insufficiently practical or rigorous and a range of fragmented qualifications that employers don’t understand.

Surveys show that employers are unhappy with the skill levels of young people entering the workforce. Skilled technicians are in short supply across a whole host of sectors.

Professor Wolf, who reports this spring, is looking at four areas: how vocational education is organised; who the target audience should be and what age; what principles should underpin content; and how progression into work, further education or training can be improved.

Among the biggest challenges is the creation of a system that has ‘parity of esteem’ with a traditional academic education, rather than being a repository for weaker students.

Vocational education institutions also

22

need high-quality facilities and teachers to deliver something useful.

But providing this is expensive, points out Professor Ian McCulloch, an expert in the history of vocational provision at the Institute of Education.

From the founding of technical schools in the post-war period, job-related education has been characterised by a succession of initiatives that, while successful in part, have never taken hold, he says. Technical schools, set up in the 1940s and 1950s, were swept away by comprehensives in the 1970s.

The Technical and Vocational Education Initiative in the early 1980s was overtaken by the National Curriculum.

In the late 1980s, the Education Secretary at the time, Kenneth Baker, put his weight behind separate schools called City Technology Colleges – but these proved hard to get off the ground and were largely forgotten in the 1990s.

Now the Government has put its weight behind two new types of technical school.The first, University Technical Colleges (UTCs), focus on a particular sector and are supported by local employers and a university.They are being promoted by a charity co-founded by the same Kenneth, now Lord, Baker.

The second type, Studio Schools, aim to give children general employability skills

by delivering the curriculum through practical, work-like projects.

Each model has opened its first schools and both have plans for expansion. Taken for themselves, the schools sound attractive, says Siôn Humphreys, secondary education lead at the NAHT, but the danger is that school provision becomes fragmented.

“What’s emerging is a lack of an overall strategy. You could have selection at 14 in some areas and not others,” he says.

Professor McCulloch also urges caution. “Earlier schools tended to get associated with particular political agendas and then disappeared when the policy fell from favour.”

He would like to see vocational education considered as part of the National Curriculum review that is currently gathering evidence, so that all children can have vocational options.

But that is not on the cards. For now, specialist schools are back in vogue.

Here is a selection of viewpoints from across the education sector.

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EDUCATION PHOTOS

The campaigner PETER MITCHELL Former head teacher and now chief executive of the Baker Dearing Trust, which promotes UTCs. He is also interim chief executive of Edge, an education foundation that supports practical and vocational education HIS VIEWS

There are three aspects to good vocational education, says Peter. Firstly, academic and vocational learning need to be integrated, so that maths, English, languages, history and other subjects are related to the vocation. Secondly, the teaching needs to be done by people with credible experience. And

In mainstream schools it’s hard to get the numbers of pupils together to justify specialised teaching and equipment

thirdly, you need professional facilities.

The problem with vocational education in mainstream schools is that it’s hard to get the numbers of pupils together to justify specialised teaching and equipment. Sending them to a further education college for one day a week, meanwhile, makes it harder to achieve integration.

“You don’t get a programme of study, but a fragmented curriculum instead,” says Peter.

There are issues of quality too. “If technical subjects are submerged into general schools, it’s easy to offer a second-rate provision,” he says. And there’s usually too little focus on the needs of employers. “What schools generally do – and I’m not blaming anyone, because I was a head teacher for many years and did it like this – is first they set up a curriculum, then get teaching and learning going and then they get employers involved.”

The net result of all this has been too much poor provision.

Peter believes that the fundamental test of any vocational qualification is that a youngster who has it should be better placed than one who doesn’t in getting a job in the field. “It sounds obvious, but with a lot of vocational qualifications youngsters are not gaining any advantage.”

With UTCs, employers are involved from the start in setting the curriculum. Time is split 60/40 between a general education and the technical specialism.

The first UTC is the JCB Academy, a business and engineering school that opened in Staffordshire in September last year. Others are planned in construction, manufacturing, medical technology and food technology. One of the challenges is choosing a range of specialisms that will be as appealing to girls as to boys.

Peter stresses that 14-year-olds won’t be choosing a job, but a direction.

“We think that at 14 many are ready to choose a sector.” Furthermore, he points out, the overall curriculum will be sufficiently broad to allow students to move between UTCs and general schools at 16.

His top hope from the Wolf Review is that a technical baccalaureate is established alongside the English baccalaureate (E-bacc), and that it would have equal professional standing and be valued by employers.

“The E-bacc has merit for many, but others need a qualification that is also rigorous, without any silly notion of equivalence that four of these equals one of those.”

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EDUCATION PHOTOS

BEHIND THE HEADLINES TECHNICAL SCHOOLS

The policy analyst ANASTASIA DE WAAL Deputy director of think-tank Civitas and specialist in family and education.

Anastasia is due to publish a paper on vocational training in the early summer

When I speak to teachers about the idea of a high performer doing a BTech, they find it laughable.

That’s worrying

HER VIEWS

On the whole, the UK’s provision of vocational education for under-16s is terrible, says Anastasia. “The more I looked at school-level courses, the more issues I found.” Common pitfalls are that courses are either insufficiently practical or simply weak. Construction and engineering courses, for example, are often taught by academic teachers who don’t have the right experience and lack adequate facilities.

Courses in travel and tourism, or hospitality, on the other hand, are just

not appropriate in a study environment, says Anastasia. What is needed, she believes, is a more ambitious approach to vocational education that makes it a viable choice for all students, regardless of ability.

“I don’t buy the idea that kids need a particular type of learning – we should be able to deliver a similar curriculum for all,” she says. “I visited an academy where the high-performing children do geography and the low performers do travel and tourism. When I speak

to teachers about the idea of a high performer doing a BTech, they find it laughable. That’s worrying. Why do we assume that vocational education is only for poor performers?”

Anastasia’s fear about vocational schools such as UTCs is that they force a choice too soon. “Do we want to encourage children as young as 13 to say they want to be a flight attendant or a builder?” she asks. “Higher performing kids are not expected to know what they want to do at that age. Why should lower performers need to know?”

Anastasia says our approach to vocational education has been confused and too steeped in the notion that an academic education is what’s really best. “Policy makers don’t realise what makes good vocational education.”

The Wolf Review itself is indicative of this attitude, notwithstanding Alison Wolf ’s talent, she says. “It’s problematic having an academic doing the review. If we are trying to get practical learning right, why can’t we find someone who’s an expert at practical learning to do the review?”

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BEHIND THE HEADLINES TECHNICAL SCHOOLS

The academic

The vocational school head

ANNE HODGSON Professor of education at the Institute of Education and director of the Centre for Post-14 Research and Innovation

JOAN YOUNG Head teacher of Netherhall Learning Campus in Huddersfield, which includes one of the first Studio Schools

HER VIEWS

Netherhall Studio School opened in September 2010 with 20 children, following a successful two-year pilot during which 16 out of 17 participants gained a Level 2 diploma and four GCSEs. It is currently housed in a separate wing on the Netherhall campus, which includes nursery, infants, junior and high schools. But the Studio School has been awarded £4.5 million for new buildings that will enable it to take more children, offer more space on site to employers and operate more flexible hours and holidays.

A key part of the bid was to house the Studio School alongside a mainstream school, to make it more financially viable.

Local employers from creative and media industries have been involved from the start and two have offices on site.

“There’s a real excitement about it,” says head teacher Joan. “I always thought business and education could work together well, but it’s not an easy marriage. I’m not sure we as teachers really knew before what employers wanted.”

Children in the Studio School receive most of their education through project work.The current 10-week project is a fashion show. That will be followed next term by setting up a charity. In each case the projects are real – the youngsters will actually stage a show and form a charity. Local employers help with expertise and can get real benefits back – for example, a research company involved with the school has a project looking into how 14- to 16-yearolds might buy a particular type of boot.

“They are working with their target audience here,” says Joan.

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EDUCATION PHOTOS

HER VIEWS

Business and education can work well together, but it’s not an easy marriage

BTech teachers and subject heads in maths, English and science have been involved in designing the projects so that as much of the curriculum as possible is delivered through them. “There are times it doesn’t fit,” she says. “And then we have standalone lessons – like algebra.”

Joan says that there is still scepticism from local schools, which she hopes to overcome through better information.

The Studio School is for those children who are bright enough to get a Level 2 qualification, but either might not achieve it in a regular classroom setting – or might be fine in mainstream school, but will blossom in the Studio environment. “It’s very demanding.

Although vocational work is at the heart, the National Curriculum is there.

Local employers have given a very clear message that these children work hard.”

We need better vocational education in this country but, historically, there have been a number of obstacles, says Anne.

One is ‘academic drift’ – the fact that many qualifications become increasingly examined and classroombased, because that is culturally what is valued in our education system. In the process, they end up being neither usefully vocational, nor academically rigorous. A second issue is the constant change and fragmentation in qualifications – including BTech, NVQ, GNVQ and diplomas.

In parallel, there has been constant change in the school system and initiatives to promote technical education. A final challenge is the lack of social partnership between trade unions, employers and education, which could underpin a national vocational system.

“There is a strong argument for having separate institutions like UTCs, with specific links with employers to try to raise the esteem of the route and improve the partnership with higher education. The problem is that 14 is very young to go into a specific vocational area like engineering,” she says. It’s very important, therefore, that such schools offer pathways back into general education, says Anne.

There’s also an issue of cost. “In a time of financial stringency is it right to put huge resources into new institutions when FE colleges have been doing this type of thing for a long time?” she says.

“I’d argue quite strongly that we need better vocational education and we also need some general education with it. UTCs could make a contribution to the system, if they are not taking money away and are prepared to collaborate so that learners can move in and out.”

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LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● MARCH/APRIL 2011

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NEW YEAR HONOURS

A winning formula Education had a good haul in the 2011 New Year honours list.

Sarah Campbell finds out what leadership skills got them national recognition

N

o fewer than 30 school leaders and education professionals were recognised for their services to education in this year’s New Year honours. Further education (FE) was well represented, with seven principals, serving and retired, nominated across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

One of these, Patricia Bacon (soon to be Dame Patricia), principal of St Helens College in Merseyside, sums up what the achievement means to her in the following way: “It’s a great recognition for me personally and it’s great recognition

PATRICIA BACON Principal, St Helens College, Merseyside When Patricia saw the envelope from the Cabinet Office lying on her doormat one Saturday last year, she assumed it was an invitation to an event. She says she was stunned by the db h nomination, but assumes it was her work as former President of the Association of Colleges that prompted it.

Patricia joined St Helens College 20 years ago as deputy principal, and has had the top job for nine years. Before that she taught for 10 years at an FE college in Stoke, although her first two graduate jobs were in retail. “Some people plan out their careers. I’m not one of them,” she says. “I took opportunities when they came along. I was driven by a belief that ‘I could do that’ – and in some cases ‘I could do that better’.”

She says that one of the keys to her success as a leader has been emotional resilience. “The more senior the leadership role, the more of a rollercoaster it becomes.

No sooner have you got one achievement, then something else seems not to be going quite as you’d hoped. But you have to have that emotional resilience so that people have confidence in you.”

Confidence in yourself is another must-have. “And I don’t mean arrogance,” she says. “You’ve got to work with your own skills and abilities, not unlike teaching. If you try to be something you are not, people see through that very quickly.

People know me here, they stop me in the corridor. I don’t think the remote figurehead approach works in our environment.”

I don’t think the remote figurehead approach works in our environment

28

for the FE sector. But it won’t make any difference to the way I work.

My job is principal of St Helens College and I will continue doing that to the best of my ability.”

Nominations for the New Year honours are anonymous (although most will no doubt hazard a guess as to who put them forward). But these education professionals must have made quite an impression on their colleagues and other people around them to receive the honour, so what is the secret to their success, and what leadership qualities should other school leaders seek to emulate? LF spoke to four proud recipients in order to find out more.

PATRICIA HENCHIE Former head teacher, Lowther Primary School, Richmond-upon-Thames (currently interim head teacher at The Queen’s CE Primary School, also in Richmond) ond) Patricia is so passionate about her work that she just couldn’t give it up, even when she retired from Lowther Primary last summer.

When her own children learned that their old school, The Queen’s Primary, was at risk of being without a head for a year, they press-ganged their mother into taking the helm. Not that she needed much persuasion. “In five minutes my family changed my retirement plans,” she says. “The interim job at The Queen’s was just such a pull. I’m really passionate about getting it right for children and parents.”

Patricia’s leadership approach is all about community. “I try to make sure the school isn’t seen as an isolated place where children go, but is part of their life journey.

You have to go out and talk to people, to open the school and welcome them in. It can be as simple as having some of our Syrian parents come in to cook and share food with parents and children.

“OBE actually stands for Obviously Belongs to Everyone. It wouldn’t have happened if the community hadn’t signed up for the vision,” she says. But for all Patricia’s ebullience, she has a hard centre. “You’ve got to be hard-headed, particularly about staffing, when it comes to a non-negotiable, high-quality environment for children. You can’t be woolly and fluffy bunnies and say everything’s wonderful when it isn’t, because you’ve got to give children the key to life, which is learning.”

You’ve got to be hard-headed when it comes to a highquality environment for children

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HELEN SEXTON

KEITH PANES

Former principal and chief executive, National Star College, Cheltenham Leadership takes energy, says Helen. She should know. She was principal at National Star, tar, a residential FE college for young people aged 16 to 25 with physical disabilities and associated learning difficulties, for 10 years, during which time her staff swelled from 250 to about 600.

The needs of her students became more complex over that time as mainstream provision for disabled children improved – “as it rightly should”, Helen says – and her college took on young people with more severe disabilities. And so one of her most demanding tasks was enabling staff to cope with the change.

Doing this required a single-minded focus on the college’s reason for existence: “a relentless determination that young people, no matter how complex their disability, should achieve a really good future.”

It also meant enthusing all the staff. “To start with my leadership was quite personal, imparting passion, commitment and motivation, which is fine when you can get all 250 staff into one room. But when the place grew, I had to build the right team to impart that.” She says her vision has now filtered right through to the students and the president of the student union recently made a presentation to potential supporters of the college.

Helen says: “That’s probably called something like distributed leadership. I don’t have an MBA, I’ve never been a technical manager; I’m just intuitive, I suppose.”

I don’t have an MBA, I’ve never been a technical manager; I’m just intuitive, I suppose

Former Academy Project Lead, Schools Directorate, Department for Education Keith was a head teacher for 11 years in Buckinghamshire before joining the Academies Team i T at the DfE in the mid-1990s. When he made the move, the number of academy projects under way had risen to 27 and the Academies Team to more than 20 people. Keith was ideally placed to support his civil servant colleagues in understanding what was involved in running and managing change in schools.

Keith says that he didn’t struggle with the transition from school to DfE because the skills he gained as a head were so transferrable.

“As a school leader you develop so many skills you don’t even realise you’ve got. The DfE job was a role where you have no real authority. Everything you needed to achieve you had to do so through persuasion, reason and argument. Interpersonal and communication skills, and being able to put forward logical argument, are very strong features of people who work in schools, and particularly school leaders.”

He did miss the energy of the school environment and the daily contact with staff and pupils. However, the role at the DfE was so different and challenging that he quickly became completely engaged with it. He says being a school leader is one of the most challenging and rewarding roles because good schools can make such a difference to the life chances of young people. “But then to be able to do something in the academies programme, which helps even greater numbers of young people to succeed – that’s even more rewarding.”

As a school leader you develop so many skills you don’t even realise you’ve got

2011 New Year honours for services to education Dames

OBEs

Patricia Anne Bacon, principal, St Helens College.

Susan John, head teacher, Lampton School, London Borough of Hounslow.

Keith Duggan, lately head teacher, Gateway Primary School, Westminster, London.

Patricia Stacey Henchie, lately head teacher, Lowther Primary School, Richmondupon-Thames.

Elizabeth Ivil, lately head teacher, Oakley Cross Primary School and Nursery, County Durham.

Maureen Laycock, lately head teacher, Firth Park Community Arts College, Sheffield.

Sheila Meadows. For services to education in Wales.

Keith Bruce Panes, lately Academy Project Lead, Schools Directorate, Department for Education.

Pauline Marion Pendlebury, consultant head teacher, Bradford, West Yorkshire.

CBEs Sheila Audsley, lately head teacher, Clifton Green Primary School, York.

Allison Crompton, head teacher, Middleton Technology School, Rochdale.

Dr Richard Newton Parker, lately principal, Chichester College.

Diane Mary Roberts, principal, Brockenhurst College, Hampshire.

Dr Ambrose Joseph Smith, principal, Aquinas Sixth Form College, Stockport.

Dr Paul Lasseter Phillips, principal and chief executive, Weston College, Westonsuper-Mare.

Margaret Ryall, head teacher, Our Lady of Victories Primary School, London Borough of Wandsworth.

Theonitsa Sergides, head teacher, Grafton Primary School, London Borough of Islington.

Helen Sexton, lately principal and chief executive, National Star College, Cheltenham.

David Waddington, lately principal, Hartlepool College of Further Education.

Jean Susan Wilson, principal and chief executive, South Thames College.

Pamela Wright, executive head teacher, Wade Deacon High School, Halton, Cheshire.

MBEs Stella Canwell, lately chief examiner for A-level English literature, Assessment and Qualifications Alliance Examination Board.

(Peter) Nicolas Chisholm, lately head teacher, Yehudi Menuhin School, Cobham, Surrey.

Christopher Michael Green, n, founder, Active Training and Education Trust.

Dr Brian William Hill, head, School Engineering and Science, Northern Regional College.

Paul Murray, head of community cohesion, Isle of Sheppey Academy, Kent.

Ruby Yun-Yuet MurrayJones, head, Hounslow Chinese School.

Robert Stanley Poots, principal, Dromara Primary School, Dromore.

Derek Harry Rosenberg, lately head of physical education, London Academy, Edgware.

Julie Stamper, founder, Schoolgirl Mums’ Unit, Hull.

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22/2/11 14:05:28

OFSTED INSPECTIONS

Why do school leaders find inspections so traumatic? Sarah Campbell learns the secret to approaching them calmly

Face your O

fsted. The word is enough to bring school leaders across England out in a cold sweat. In many cases rightly so: inspections cause a huge amount of stress for all staff, require mountains of paperwork, and a bad inspection can cost jobs. Stephen Watkins, head teacher of Mill Field Primary School in Leeds, sums up the biggest fears. “The prospect of having your name plastered across the papers as the worst school in the authority is not pleasant. And if you lose your job in that way you’re unlikely to pick up another one,” he says.

Stephen’s school has had ‘good’ judgments in the past two inspections but he doesn’t think the process is fair. “I can’t think of any other walk of life where you are appraised in that way.” He would much prefer a system of inspection that monitored progress at frequent intervals, rather than relied on snapshots that give you little leeway if you are having a bad week.

But, given that there’s no getting away from the current regime (unless the Education Bill throws up something quite extraordinary), is there a way of making the best of it?

Overcoming fear of inspection is one of the objectives of one of the NAHT’s one-day courses, ‘Surviving Ofsted’, run

by Claire Thompson, former head teacher and now a consultant, Gloucestershire SIP and occasional additional inspector for Ofsted. Claire has a combative approach to inspections. “There are hundreds of myths going round about them,” she says. “But

30

90 per cent of what heads are pushing around about inspections is out of date.”

This bold statement won’t sit well with school leaders whose heads are still spinning from a recent inspection, but her point isn’t to antagonise the NAHT’s membership, rather she wants to make them start approaching inspection confidently and calmly, as equals with inspectors.

Certainly, there is little excuse for not knowing what to expect of an inspection. The evaluation schedule and grade descriptors that inspectors follow are available on Ofsted’s website.

At 87 pages, it’s not a light read, but it boils down to 27 judgments about your school in three areas: how well pupils are doing; the effectiveness of provision; and the effectiveness of the leadership and management.

What is supposed to be different about the current method of inspection compared with previous, perhaps more inflexible, frameworks is that you are the judge of your own school – and Ofsted’s job is to come in and validate that.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 ➧

ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRETIVE SERVICE Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) There are 400 HMI covering all inspection types (including schools, Early Years, learning and skills and social care). There are currently nine seconded head teachers/senior school managers working as additional inspectors for Ofsted. These secondments are for one year and are the result of a national campaign.

Additional Inspectors There are 2,726 additional inspectors working for the inspection service providers (ISPs) – CfBT Education Trust, Serco Education and Children’s Services, Tribal Group and Prospects Services – in maintained schools, independent schools, initial teacher education and learning and skills inspections.

Additional inspectors are employed either on a permanent basis, on a part-time contract basis usually involving at least 30 days of inspection work every year, or on a freelance basis. Most additional inspectors who are head teachers or other senior staff work on a freelance basis and undertake a few inspections a year.

Find out more about working for Ofsted at www.careers.ofsted.gov.uk

LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● MARCH/APRIL 2011

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fears ILLUSTRATION: PHIL HACKETT

The prospect of having your name plastered across the papers as the worst school in the authority is not pleasant

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OFSTED INSPECTIONS

Scare stories So where does Ofsted’s terrifying image come from? The 1990s, suggests Claire. “In those early days of Ofsted, inspectors were in for four days. We used to go through schools’ cupboards and count how many multicultural books and musical instruments they had. And the outcome of it was that we told them how well they were doing,” she says. “Now schools are telling us how they are doing and we are validating that.”

Pure nerves have a lot to do with it.

As with exams, knowing your subject thoroughly won’t necessarily make you any less nervous. That is why Jackie Beere wrote her book The Perfect Ofsted Lesson (reviewed on page 46). “It’s like going for an interview,” she says. “You want to be performing at your best in a tense situation where you’ve got someone sitting in at the back of your lesson. Therefore, having a plan for when an inspector comes into your room to demonstrate the progress the students are making is common sense to me.”

Perhaps Ofsted could do more to put paid to misconceptions. Claire says: “A classic myth is how schools get picked for inspection. A head goes to a head

32

teachers’ meeting, or meets someone in a pub, and somebody tells them about being inspected because their RAISEOnline had a ‘blue’ on it for the first time. Then that becomes a fact in that head’s mind – whereas actually they’re putting two and two together and getting 10. No one can securely say what you get picked for.”

Frank’s response on this topic isn’t the most enlightening. He says: “We have to be mindful that the annual sample of selected schools needs to ensure that the annual report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector reflects evidence from a crosssection of schools of all types, phases and effectiveness.”

Heads and tales What is the secret to surviving Ofsted and getting a good result? LF spoke to the head teachers of schools judged outstanding for their past four inspections and confidence

seemed to be one of several common factors. (see table below for others).

At the top end of the confidence scale is Kay Bedford, the head teacher of Swiss Cottage School, a special school in Camden, North London. She says: “The lead inspector told me he was an expert in autism, leadership and management and pupil progress. I thought to myself: ‘You might think you’re good but I know more than you about this.’” She says that, after his visit, he told her he’d never seen anything like this school and that it was an exemplar to the nation. “That’s why we like Ofsted – it’s nice to hear that.”

For Angela Whelan, head teacher of St Paul’s School for Girls in Birmingham, preparation was the key. “We’d spent the two years before the last inspection making sure we were prepared with sufficient data on teaching and learning and inspirational practice, rather than worry too much about the paperwork. Mind you, when the new SEF came in it took quite a bit of preparation.”

Karen Howell, head teacher of Whitnash Nursery School in Leamington Spa, found the SEF the most onerous part of the preparation. “The SEF was the biggest thing I had to do, but it allowed me to attach evidence to the categories that Ofsted talk about. Other than that, we have good systems in place so it wasn’t a mad scramble when Ofsted came.”

All these heads were naturally concerned to show their schools at their best and

ASTUTE FINANCES JUST ONE MEASURE OF SUCCESS Heads of schools that have been judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted have attributed their success to the following features: The confidence NOT to take on initiatives if they aren’t right for the children Guidelines about how staff should relate to each other A supportive governing body Strong parental engagement Astute financial management A clear, shared vision Stable staff Mentoring and coaching High aspirations Great teaching assistants Breadth of curriculum Excellent pastoral care Processes that everyone understands and follows

DREAMSTIME

“You can believe that if you want,” a sceptical Stephen says. “But at the end of it you still get a report. It doesn’t move your school forward at all.”

This, perhaps predictably, is where Ofsted begs to differ. Frank Norris, Ofsted’s principal officer in Inspection Delivery Directorate Support, says the information gained from an inspection feeds into schools’ improvement plans. “Inspectors bring an external eye to a school and add that perspective to the school’s own evaluation of their work. It’s up to the school to use the knowledge, expertise and experience that inspectors bring to make their own improvement.”

Frank, a former head teacher and inspector, agrees with Claire’s view on fear. He says: “I don’t see the fear factor in the evidence we have. Our postinspection questionnaires, which are filled in by other members of staff, not just heads, indicate in excess of 90 per cent satisfaction.

We want them to be even better than that, but in terms of the stories you hear about living in fear, that doesn’t sit neatly with those returns.”

It’s up to schools to use the knowledge and expertise that inspectors bring to make their own improvement

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struggled with the paperwork. But they also managed to have a healthy respect for the inspection process without being overwhelmed by it or, in Claire Thompson’s words, ‘being done to’.

She says that head teachers are now considered part of the inspection team so have the opportunity to take control.

This doesn’t mean telling fibs – your data will speak for itself – it means joining the inspectors for two days as an equal in your professional arena.

And the more information you have to hand, the more authoritatively you can present the good aspects of your school and the aspects that you are working to improve. “Actually, what inspectors are looking at is whether these head teachers as leaders make value for the children at this school,” says Claire.

Language lessons Part of doing this is using the right language in your self-evaluation. “I saw in a SEF recently an opening sentence that went: ‘Despite the number of level 2Cs that we are unable to get to level 4…’ What were they hoping an inspector would say about that?” says Claire.

“Whereas if you write: ‘We do well in these areas (and give examples). We recognise that our next improvement objective is to work on the level 2Cs to get a higher percentage to level 4’, it sounds very different to the first sentence but is saying the same thing. But it is also telling the inspectors what you are doing about areas for improvement.”

Stephen Watkins isn’t so keen on that idea. “In my experience if you put a positive SEF forward you end up with an

inspection team who come to shoot you down in flames,” he says.

He isn’t alone in this view. LF attended Claire’s ‘Surviving Ofsted’ course and some heads there expressed discomfort with the idea of ‘bigging up’ their schools, but Claire insists that as long as the SEF exists, head teachers should learn to speak its language. She does concede, though, that the rate of change of frameworks and evaluation tools adds to confusion among head teachers. Karen Howell agrees: “I’ve had four inspections and it’s been a totally different evaluation form each time.”

Angela Whelan, when asked if there’s anything about the current inspection regime she would like to see changed, says, “perhaps the paperwork”. Stephen would welcome a more collaborative approach from Ofsted, where they work with you on a development plan and judge your school against that. Kay Bedford’s ‘bring it on’ attitude is that she doesn’t really mind what the inspection criteria are, as long as she knows in advance. Even so, “it wouldn’t matter to us if Ofsted just walked in off the street,” she says. “They wouldn’t see it perfect but we’re doing everything we need to do.”

With the new Government, yet another new, ‘smarter’, Ofsted framework is in the offing, focusing on four areas: pupil achievement; teaching; leadership and management; and behaviour and safety. The SEF in its current form is disappearing from September and as LF went to press it was unclear what will replace it, if anything.

Whatever the future holds for inspections, Frank Norris does want to reassure the teaching profession that it will be consulted before any changes are made. “I want to dispel any suggestion that we, here in some office in London, construct a framework in isolation. There’s extensive consultation with people who are going to be inspected.

It’s absolutely vital we maintain the credibility of the inspection process.”

How does this compare with your experience of recent Ofsted inspections? Let us know.

Email naht@redactive.co.uk

DOS AND DON’TS DO: • Make the inspectors sign in and go through your procedures like any other visitor.

• Treat inspectors as equals. They are ordinary people, they have children, they go down the pub, they go to the theatre. The majority will have been teachers, leaders and head teachers.

• Remember that your duty is to your children, not to Ofsted. Inspectors are looking to see whether you are achieving the goals you set for your children – in the context that those children live in.

• Establish a relationship of professional respect. Try to view the inspection as something that will help you to improve; likewise encourage the inspectors to respect the fact that this is your school and you are proud of it.

• Stay relevant. It’s no good saying ‘we do a lot of good things here’ then describing features of knitting club, Claire says. Make sure your good points align with the focus of the inspection, so prepare evidence.

• Rehearse. You know your school, so ask yourself, ‘What are they going to ask me about my maths?’ for example. If they’re going to ask why you haven’t got the number of level 4s, how are you going to answer?

DON’T: • Alienate the inspectors. If the only room you’ve got spare for them to use is a cupboard, at least tidy it beforehand.

• Starve them. If you don’t feed and water them, and make them feel welcome, that’s how they will feel about your school: that it’s not very welcoming.

• Don’t ever say: ‘We didn’t know we needed it’ if you don’t have a document ready. This is no defence because all the requirements for an inspection are in the public domain.

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YOUNG CARERS

School leaders have a duty to look after the carers in their midst, otherwise they may drop out of the system, says Rebecca Grant

Handle with

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KAREN ROBINSON

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ack in 2005, staff at a Stevenage secondary school began to notice a worrying trend among a number of pupils.

“We had some youngsters at the school – not necessarily the highest performers but those who usually get on and do what they were supposed to do – who seemed to be struggling,” says Patrick Marshall (pictured), the head teacher of Marriotts School.

“We began to see a pattern in their behaviour when we kept having to ask: ‘Why haven’t you done this?’ or ‘Why is there a problem here?’ It became clear that these youngsters were doing other things on top of their school commitments – they were caring for people at home.

That raised a red flag, and we decided we needed to work towards supporting young carers.”

This issue was addressed by introducing a young carers policy, which promised to ‘value diversity and pay full attention to the needs of young carers’. Patrick assigned two members of staff to become ‘designated links’ – people the carers could approach to discuss any problems that they were having in school. Lunchtime clubs were also set up for those who were unable to stay for after-school activities.

For the policy to succeed, it needed to be flexible, personalised and appropriate to their needs, Patrick says.

“Often young carers don’t want people to go on about their situation that much – they want people to understand that they’re a carer but want to be treated as an ordinary child going about their school life.

“We acknowledge that and support them when they need it. That can be as simple as having a member of staff act as an advocate with their maths teacher if their homework’s not been done very well, or being there to listen when they are having a bad day.”

However, before the policy could be determined, staff at Marriotts had to decide on a definition of a young carer – a task that produced some surprising results.

“The big shock for us was when we realised there’s not a fixed point when it comes to caring responsibilities,” says Patrick.

“We define caring as a substantial and regular responsibility for another.

So it could be the 12-year-old who has to pick up her younger brother from nursery school every day, or it could be that a child’s mother has a major condition and the child has to get them out of bed and wash them.”

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YOUNG CARERS

When the definition was used in practice among an incoming cohortt of Year 7s, Patrick was surprised to learn that about 20 per cent of the pupils could be classed as young carers. However, research published by the BBC last November suggestss that this figure is not so unusual.

The research puts the number of British young carers at 700,000, which equates to almost 30 at every UK school.

The number is four times higher than figures found in previous research carried out by the Princess Royal Trust for Carers (PRTC) in 2001. To many, this significant jump appears to indicate that the need forr young people to act as carers has increased over the past decade, but PRTC’s young carers lead Danni Manzi disagrees.

“The main concern about those figures from 2001 was that parents had n been asked to complete a census on behalf of their children, so some heir parents may not have realised that their children are caring for them, and some parents didn’t want to disclose that sort of information,” she says.

“Additionally, the questions only mentioned physical disability. They didn’t make any reference to mental ill health, substance misuse or stigmatised conditions such as HIV or Aids. So it missed out a significant proportion of our population.

“This time around we advised the BBC on how they could go about collating more realistic sets of statistics, so it came as no surprise when we heard the results of their research.”

Although it is estimated that 80 per cent of young carers are responsible for the care of a parent, many care for other relatives, such as grandparents or younger siblings. In addition to the care they will give to that individual – such as administering medication and helping them wash and dress – many young carers will need to perform household tasks including cooking and cleaning, shopping, and managing a household budget.

One of Danni’s key responsibilities at PRTC is to raise awareness of the role young carers play in UK society. She says that although progress has been made – thanks in part to increased media interest in young carers and the previous government’s introduction of the National Strategy for Carers in 2008 – there’s still a lot of work to do.

She says: “There’s still a huge lack of understanding about a what a carer is.

Sometimes people think that it means paid

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‘designated link’ Carers at Marriotts with one of their

care, so people can’t get their heads around how children can provide care for family members.”

Awareness of young carers in schools tends to be quite good, Danni says, but many schools are still unable to successfully

advisers.

identify and offer support to individuals.

Young people don’t want to announce in front of their class, or in an assembly, that they are a carer. They’re only going to come forward if they think the situation is going to improve with

HOW TO IDENTIFY A CARER: A CHECKLIST Is the pupil…

• often late or missing days or weeks of school for no reason?

• often tired, anxious or withdrawn?

• having problems socially or with making friends? Conversely, do they get on well with adults and present themselves as mature for their age?

• a victim of bullying? This is sometimes explicitly linked to a family member’s disability, health or substance misuse problem.

• depressed?

• finding it difficult to concentrate on their work?

• having difficulty in joining in extracurricular activities or is unable to attend school trips?

• isolated because of their family situation or because they lack social skills with their peers (and yet they are confident with adults)?

• not handing in homework/coursework on time, or completing it late and to a low standard?

• anxious or concerned about an ill or disabled relative?

• displaying behavioural problems?

• having physical problems such as back pain (perhaps from heavy lifting)?

• secretive about home life?

• showing signs of neglect or poor diet?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, it’s worth asking whether the pupil is a young carer. This checklist is one of the resources that can be found in the Schools Pack produced by the Princess Royal Trust for Carers and the Children’s Society. tinyurl.com/YoungCarers-SchoolsPack

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re regards to their education, so there ne needs to be a support network in place th that offers a discreet way for them to id identify themselves.”

To help overcome this, the PRTC, in ppartnership with the Children’s Society, pproduced a schools pack for educational pprofessionals. The pack, which is available tto download in PDF format, includes a vvariety of resources such as a checklist to h help staff identify young carers (see box), aand a guide to implementing a young ccarers policy, such as the one that has bbeen introduced at Marriotts.

The pack also includes a section o on raising awareness among all pupils in the school. Often, one of the biggest challenges that young carers face in school – and what deters them from identifying themselves – is fear of bullying.

PRTC research found that around 68 per cent of young carers in secondary schools have been bullied.

“I think the problem is that they are often perceived to be different to others in ttheir age group. They’re slightly more mature, and they have situations at home that other young people don’t have to even consider,” Danni says.

“Another of the reasons why young carers are bullied is because other young people find out about the condition of

Sometimes people can’t get their heads around how children can provide care for a family member

the person that they’re caring for and that can be the cause of ridicule.”

One way to combat the bullying, she says, is to offer more teaching around disability and long-term illnesses, and how they affect people, and the schools pack advises schools to hold assemblies to discuss these sorts of topics.

At Marriotts, each Year 7 cohort attends a special ‘young carers’ assembly during their first term. These assemblies have helped to stamp out any prejudices that pupils may have had about young carers, and also give carers the confidence to identify themselves.

Young carers have become such an integrated part of school life that many choose to wear a special badge – similar to a house badge – so that others know that they are a carer.

“Other youngsters see them wearing the badges and will go up to them and say ‘are you a carer?’ It’s not a negative thing, it is very positive, because they will tend to have a conversation, peer to peer, about what it’s like to be a young carer,” says Patrick.

However, many of these youngsters find it difficult to talk to their peers about the pressures of their role, and often prefer confiding in other young carers.

Alison Cross works as schools and support co-ordinator for the group Winchester Young Carers, and runs selfexploration groups for young carers at the town’s five secondary schools. The sessions have been effective in giving young people who would normally be reluctant to talk about their caring responsibilities the chance to open up.

“We see a change in the young people very quickly once they start going to the group sessions,” says Alison. “It’s good for them to know that they’re not the only one in the school who has a caring role.”

The exploration groups have also helped Winchester Young Carers provide better support for the young people in its charge.

“The groups give us a chance to assess each carer’s situation a bit more fully, and we can gain their trust when it comes to sharing information with the school, so we can ensure they will have that support available as and when they need it.”

Building up trust with carers’ families is also important. “Quite often the family isn’t confident enough to share that information, for fear of outside interference.

Schools need to work on building up trust so that the family is willing to share information, and then the young people gain a level of individual support that they need in school.”

At Marriotts, Patrick and his staff have discovered that the best way to win over young carers and their families is with complete sensitivity, as forcing them to accept help will not be effective.

“The key is to ask and listen,” he says.

“Most carers are highly competent people, and if they need something, they’ll tell you.

“For many of them, being a carer is just one of many aspects of their lives.

They just get on with it and they deal with it, and what we must do is acknowledge that and try to give support when it’s needed.”

LIFE AS A YOUNG CARER: DANIELLE’S STORY It’s amazing that 13-year-old Danielle has the time to fit in homework around her daily routine. As both of her parents have long-term illnesses – her dad is epileptic and her mum suffers from fibromyalgia, ME and depression – she’s been caring for them almost as long as she’s been in education. And in addition to looking after their needs, she has to make sure her younger sister gets to bed on time, and that household tasks such as laundry are taken care of.

However, Danielle says that she’s able to hand in most of her assignments on time. “I do try to find the time to do homework,” she says. “Because I’ve been a carer quite a long time, I’m used to it now, and I’ve gradually been able to concentrate more.”

She’s also in the top set for maths, which, along with history and drama, is one of her favourite subjects.

One of the reasons Danielle has been able to keep on track with her studies is that school staff were looking out for her needs. As well as giving her delayed deadlines for the few bits of homework she struggled to complete on time, they were on hand to offer emotional support.

Danielle, who moved to a new secondary school in Brighton last autumn, says that she doesn’t tell many people that she’s a carer, but it helps to have a close network of people within school who she can rely on for emotional support.

“Some teachers at my old school were really understanding,” she says.

“If I was ever upset my form tutor would let me go to see her. She’d talk to me, and ask how I was getting on with everything.

“Not a lot of people at school know I’m a carer,” she adds. “I find it difficult to tell people about it. But the teachers who know are really supportive and tell me that it’s a good thing to be a carer, and that it’s good to help someone else.”

For more information, see tinyurl.com/CarersStrategy2008

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PUPIL WELFARE

Hollie Ewers investigates the most common medical conditions among children and finds out how school leaders can safeguard the health of their pupils

E SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

very few months, the press picks up on a story like this one from January: newspapers reported that a sevenyear-old boy with a severe nut allergy had suffered two heart attacks after a supply teacher handed him a sweet containing a nut.

The school, in West Yorkshire, had known about his condition for three years but the supply teacher was not made aware. The pupil survived, but it was a close call, and mistakes like these can sometimes prove fatal.

The most common medical conditions among children are asthma, anaphylaxis, epilepsy and diabetes, according to the Medical Conditions at School Partnership (see page 41).

Its advice is that every school should have policies on managing pupils’ medicines and on supporting pupils with medical conditions.

“It is up to us to make provisions for the child as far as is humanly possible,” says Shirley Warbrick, head teacher at Birchanger CE Primary School in Essex.

“My job as a head is to establish the ethos that it is about ‘how’ we manage it and not ‘if ’ we do. When a new child starts at our school with a medical condition my attitude is ‘what do we know about this?’ and ‘what provisions are we going to make for this child?’”

One of the pupils at Birchanger has diabetes and uses an insulin pump.

He is supported in school by two members of staff, and does his bloodglucose testing in the classroom.

“The boy is very open about it and he eats his snacks and does his testing in the classroom,” says Shirley. “Although I have heard of some pupils who get sent out to the toilet to do this.”

Shirley says she is always thinking about how to include him in school activities.

Working very closely with the boy’s mother, she is already giving thought to how to manage a residential overnight trip that is two years away.

Shirley believes it is just as vital to involve all the other children in the school.

“It’s important to be very open with the other children. In a previous school, I had a child with cancer and I did an assembly about it to give the children the information.You have to accept that children will ask questions.”

Shirley’s advice is to involve medical professionals when writing up individual care plans for each child and to also seek guidance from the parents and child.

Teaching staff may have concerns about being responsible for a child with a medical condition too. At Birchanger, all staff have training in diabetes and asthma, and in how to use an EpiPen. But with certain conditions – especially those that have intimate and private care involved – then training two or three dedicated staff is usually sufficient.

“You have to be administering the help every day to remember what to do,” says Shirley. “If you aren’t, then you quickly forget it, so it would be a waste of training.You also have to appreciate it won’t always go right so you have to have contingency plans if carers are absent.”

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PUPIL WELFARE

Training all staff in medical conditions will give them confidence to deal with the children affected.

Shirley says that the key is to be highly organised. “We have plastic boxes containing each child’s medication labelled and stacked up in the office with all the information we need. We have a learning support assistant in charge of medication and she checks the boxes to make sure they’re all in date. All staff know when they go out on trips that they need to carry the medical bag with all the bits in.”

In addition, on the staff notice board, the school has pictures of the various children with contact details and what condition they have and what to watch out for. The school cook also has pictures of the children who have allergies to foods and will actively seek out the head and ask for a picture if a new child comes in with an allergy so that she can recognise them. “It’s really all about communication – being willing and communicating,” Shirley says.

Another head teacher hot on communication is Pat Stewart. She is the head at The Lyndale School, a community special school in the Wirral, where more than half of the school’s 32 pupils have epilepsy and most are wheelchair users. The age

they start at Lyndale. Pupils unable to communicate also have a ‘communication passport’, which is developed to give information about that pupil’s condition.

Even their significant facial gestures and behaviours are noted to explain when and what they are trying to communicate.

“Because very few of our pupils can communicate in a conventional way, I have to make sure that we know the child inside

‘We have plastic boxes containing each child’s medication labelled and stacked up in the office with all the information we need’ range is from two to 11 years. All of her staff, around 30 members, are trained in dealing with epilepsy. The school received an award from the charity Epilepsy Action’s scheme for recognising schools going the extra mile in supporting pupils with epilepsy.

“I’m very blessed with all the staff I have,” says Pat. “I’ve got education staff, teaching assistants in every class and I also have nurses, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists.

“When a youngster comes into school for the first time I encourage the parents to come with them for a week and sit in the classroom, because many of the children can’t talk and we need to know when they’re happy, when they’re sad and we need to know what they mean when they do something.”

Each pupil has an individual healthcare plan written by the school nurse, parents and epilepsy specialist nurse when

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out. We write down everything we know about what the child is trying to tell us.

So, it could say ‘when he moves his right ear, it means he’s happy’, because every child is so different.”

Passports are commonplace in special schools and contain information about that child’s medication and drug and feeding regimes. Pat recalls that when one of the children was admitted to hospital recently as an emergency, nurses said how useful it was.

“It’s updated regularly and always on the back of their wheelchair, so the nurses were able to refer to it. Later they said they felt as if they knew him, which is really important when you have a child who can’t talk to you,” she says.

Pat and her staff work very closely with a specialist epilepsy nurse, Jenny Stewart, who trains every member of staff in epilepsy every year. Pat says: “We have all sorts of updates and we

also know the textbook definitions of fits and what to expect. In addition to that, the other nurses and the parents will tell us how that particular child manifests their fits.”

She stresses that it’s all about having in-depth knowledge of every child so they know very clearly what to do when a child fits. The school’s drivers and escorts also receive training on managing seizures while travelling.

At Lyndale, Pat also uses a consultant paediatric neurologist who holds clinics for pupils and their parents. “Having consultants and clinics in the school is important because it stops the parents taking the children out of school. It also gives parents the opportunity, if they so wish, to go into the clinics as well and they can also feed into our observations.”

The final words go to Russell Carpenter, project manager for respiratory conditions at NHS Ealing primary care trust. He works with a specialist asthma nurse to champion best practice in schools in the borough when dealing with asthma, but his advice holds for other conditions too.

He says all schools should have a policy, which clearly sets out what their response is to managing common medical conditions. This will not only protect pupils but also themselves, as well as emphasising how they deal with it and also what they expect of parents in return.

Russell says: “Ultimately, school leaders need to make sure they have a definite policy and to ensure that their staff are trained in the latest bestpractice guidance, tools and techniques.

By doing that, it acts as a failsafe system for schools and their pupils.”

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YOUR GUIDE TO THE COMMON CONDITIONS and evaluated regularly and supports all children with a medical condition.

Information on asthma, anaphylaxis, diabetes and epilepsy is included along with further advice and resources, emergency procedure posters and useful forms.

A school healthcare-professional resource is also available from the website

Asthma When people experience an asthma attack, the muscles around the walls of their airways tighten and become narrower. The lining of the airway becomes more swollen and produces sticky mucus or phlegm, making it difficult for the air to move in and out.

Typical symptoms Coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath; a tight feeling in the chest; difficulty speaking in full sentences; being unusually quiet.

Common triggers Viral infections (colds and flu); chalk dust; house-dust mites; pollen, grass cuttings; animal fur, feathers; latex gloves; mould and damp; stress or emotion; scented deodorants, perfumes and chemicals; cold weather; exercise (although children with asthma are advised to exercise carefully, rather than avoid it).

Epilepsy This manifests itself as a tendency to have seizures or ‘fits’. Seizures come from a temporary disruption of the electrical activity in the brain. There are about 40 different types of seizure and what happens during one will depend on where in the brain the epileptic activity begins, and how widely and rapidly it spreads.

Types of seizures Partial seizures affect part of the brain, while generalised seizures affect all or most of the brain. The effects can range from twitching or jerking movements while the pupil is conscious, to collapsing, unconsciousness and rigid limbs. Breathing can stop briefly. Injuries can also occur from seizures if the pupil falls.

and produced in collaboration with the same organisations. The resource is for f professionals f l such h as school h l nurses and includes PowerPoint slides and notes for giving medical conditions awareness sessions to all school staff. www.medicalconditionsatschool.org.uk

properly (known as insulin resistance). In most cases this is linked with being overweight and usually appears in people over the age of 40.

However, more youngsters are being diagnosed with the condition.

Related condition: hypoglycaemia This happens when the levels of glucose in the blood fall too low.

Hypos are usually unexpected, rapid and unpredictable. Symptoms differ from person to person and there may be signs of hunger, trembling, sweating, anxiety or irritability, rapid heartbeat, tingling of the lips, blurred vision, paleness, mood change, difficulty concentrating, vagueness and drowsiness. Causes of hypoglycaemia can be too much insulin, a missed or delayed meal or snack, not eating enough carbohydrate or taking part in strenuous or unplanned exercise.

Related condition: hyperglycaemia This occurs when the level of glucose in the blood rises and stays high. Thirst, frequent urination, tiredness, nausea, vomiting, dry skin and blurred vision are symptoms of hyperglycaemia, which can be caused by too little or no insulin, stress, less exercise than normal, and infection or fever.

Anaphylaxis Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction. The whole body is affected usually within minutes of exposure to an allergen, although sometimes it can take hours. Airways become swollen, and blood circulation can also be affected. It is life-threatening if not treated quickly with adrenaline and can be accompanied by shock (anaphylactic shock), which is the most extreme form of an allergic reaction.

Diabetes

Typical symptoms Flushing of the skin; nettle rash (hives); sense of impending doom; swelling of the mouth or throat; difficulty in swallowing or speaking; alterations in heart rate; difficulty breathing to severe asthma; abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting; sudden feeling of weakness (drop in blood pressure); collapse and unconsciousness. Often the first symptoms are swelling around the mouth and tongue. Not all symptoms need to be present before giving treatment.

A long-term medical condition where the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood is too high because the body cannot use it properly.

There are two main types of diabetes.. Type 1 develop develops ps if tthe he body is unable to produce any insulin. Children n with this form need to replace their missing insulin so will need to take it, usually by injection or through a pump, for the rest of their lives.

Type 2 develops when the body can still make some insulin but not enough, or when the insulin that is produced does not work

Common triggers Peanuts and tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews, brazils, hazel including dairy products, egg, fish, shellfish, soya nuts); other foods inc fruit; insect stings; latex (natural rubber); some aand an d kiwi fruit medication (penicillin, aspirin); exercise. m Allergens can turn up in unexpected ways – ffrom nuts in cakes to peanuts in birdfeeders.

A pupil may even be affected by sitting beside someone who is eating the food they are allergic som kissing someone who has eaten that food. to, or by kiss

Common triggers Photosensitivity (flickering/flashing lights); stress; lack of sleep; diet (for example, skipping meals); illness or hormonal changes; problems with medication.

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SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY; GETTY

The Medical Conditions at School website provides a policy resource pack, which has been produced by the Anaphylaxis Campaign, Asthma UK, Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Diabetes UK, Epilepsy Action and the Long-Term Conditions Alliance.

The resource is relevant to all schools in England and aims to help schools implement a tailored policy that is updated

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CLUSTERING

For the past two years, school leaders in Bradford have been meeting up to share their knowledge in a bid to raise achievement. Mark Vaughan of Serco, which manages the initiative, reports on the difference it makes to children

ROBERT HARDING

A

Love thy

s I watch my son’s football practice play out each Saturday morning, I can’t help noticing the natural clusters of young players that form. It’s particularly evident in the ‘picking teams’ stage, which sees two captains choose players to join their respective teams.

The redeeming factor of this elitist routine is that through our coach’s shepherding, no player can be left behind.

Not quite as strong a guarantee can be offered to schools, it seems. While increasing numbers of schools have the choice of working in clusters, many currently do not.

So how do we ensure that everyone benefits from the richness that sharing experiences, ideas and resources between schools, and with other agencies, can bring?

One part of the country that has established a framework for such collaboration is Bradford in West Yorkshire.

Here, under the steer of Serco (through its Education Bradford service, see panel on page 44) the city’s 233 secondary, primary and special schools, and children’s centres, have been divided into 14 groups of between 10 and 25 schools, and each group’s principal objective is to raise achievement.

The groups, which have been running for two years, are referred to as Locality Achievement Partnerships (LAPs). Each brings together leaders from member schools to agree common priorities and share time, ideas, experiences and resources to tackle these. Shared initiatives include out-of-class literacy activities, a specialist sports college providing sports training to primary school leaders, mentoring strategies

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for looked-after children and improving writing training programmes for staff.

The practice of schools collaborating is nothing new, of course. What is different in Bradford is that all its schools are involved.

They have recognised that strength comes in numbers and there is a consensus to work together.

The LAPs are at different stages of development. Some are fully performing teams that are looking outside of the school gates to make their impact, while others are at the early stages of planning their priorities, having just established a committed membership with an appropriate structure.

All are now beginning to deliver rewards in terms of improved skills and techniques for leadership teams, new and better ways of learning for children and young people and, in some cases, more stable communities for children and their families.

Schools were originally grouped into LAPs by geographic area. In many cases, this meant formalising links already made between schools through previous initiatives.

In others, it meant bringing together schools that may not have considered the benefits of working in partnership. The primary focus of the LAPs is to utilise shared expertise in order to raise achievement for all, narrow the gap for underachieving and vulnerable children and young people, and ensure learning and provision is good in all schools.

Serco provided the framework and structure that enabled all LAPs to kick off concurrently, albeit at different speeds and from different starting points. With each LAP led by a chairperson, one of the most useful CONTINUED ON PAGE 44 ➧

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neighbours

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CLUSTERING

layers of this structure has been the LAP Forum, which brings together representatives from all 14 LAPs, and enables them to share experiences and challenges.

The challenges in assembling and steering a group of up to 25 school leaders are not insignificant – gaining interest, securing attendance, allocating responsibilities, or even deciding on where to meet are some of the issues that have been faced. Setting up an organisational structure has been a vital step for the larger LAPs in particular.

Several now have a chairperson, a steering board of seven or eight members, overseeing a wider LAP group.

Zoe Mawson, chairperson of Bradford West 2 describes her LAP’s journey. “Being a part of one of the largest clusters has had its advantages and disadvantages,” she says.

“Getting agreement on the priorities was the first challenge and creating a steering group has been critical in providing a simpler decision-making mechanism. The steering group has strategic responsibility for areas of finance, planning and reporting, representing the needs of our wider members.”

Even with a structure, getting agreement among a group of strong-willed, but not necessarily aligned, head teachers takes time and patience. Serco, through its experienced network of consultants, provided a source from which LAP chairpersons can adapt different facilitation techniques to their own situations. This has included a programme of leadership learning and support for LAP leaders and bespoke consultancy for each one.

“Simple though it may sound, strategies such as the ‘gallery technique’ allow us to have 25 people in a room identifying with themes put upon the walls, enabling participation and ownership from all members, maintaining order and preventing

Michael Latham meets community leaders.

a vocal few dominating proceedings,” says Zoe. In the LAP known as Bingley and Bingley Rural, the location and positioning of its members has led to a history of successful collaborations. One of the key learning points for chairperson Brenda Thomas has been to stop focusing too much on ringfenced funding, which she describes as a ‘millstone around our necks’. In the past, a ‘reporting culture’, which involved submitting bids, requesting approval and dealing with points of rejection would lead to excessively lengthy decision-making.

“We realised if we put ‘raising achievement’ goals at the heart of what we did, everything else would be okay,” she says.

As we wait to assess the impact of policy, fiscal and organisational changes that take place over the next few years, the LAPs

SERCO AND EDUCATION BRADFORD Serco is an international services company that provides operational, management and consulting expertise in the aerospace, defence, education, health, home affairs, local government, science, technology, transport and the commercial sectors. Through Education Bradford, it manages all aspects of local authority education services on behalf of Bradford Metropolitan District Council. This involves providing support and challenge to more than 200 schools in the district, including support services such as school improvement, SEN support, finance, HR, IT and health and safety.

Other Serco projects in education include working with the DfE in leading the successful Together for Children consortium, enabling the rollout of more than 3,500 children’s centres nationally, and the Together for Disabled Children consortium, which has embedded services for disabled children across all 152 local authorities. It also works with the National College and Training and Development Agency for Schools – delivering leadership and training to more than 10,000 school leaders.

To find out more, contact Mark Vaughan, Serco’s marketing manager, at mark.vaughan@serco.com

44

have set in place the foundations for several groups to identify how they will explore other areas of working and collaboration.

Michael Latham (pictured above), chairperson of the My BD5 LAP, which is named after the postcode the LAP covers, is passionate about the power of collaboration.

With 33 per cent of the schools in BD5 rated outstanding overall by Ofsted, and all demonstrating good or better practice in areas of expertise, the focus for the LAP has been on maintaining the upward trend and working with the local community to remove barriers to further improvement.

The LAP sees its role as much broader than raising school standards and has set up a multi-agency community group.

Membership includes local churches and mosques, community groups, police, councillors and council agencies.

An example of how the community group works has been the purchase of a minibus.

The bus is used to enhance the educational opportunities for targeted pupils as well as taking local senior citizens on days out.

Michael puts success down to what he refers to as the collaborative advantage. “We couldn’t have achieved this separately,” he states, referring to the strong network of schools and local agencies that are coming together. Such is the commitment in BD5 that plans are afoot to pool budgets in the next year. Member schools have agreed to contribute up to 2 per cent of their budgets, with a 0 per cent contribution reflecting investment in time and expertise only, and 2 per cent a fund to underpin a range of developments. My BD5’s future planning includes a wider remit for the LAP, including a potential business model including income generation.

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AT A GLANCE: THREE KEY BRADFORD LAPs My BD5

Bingley and Bingley Rural

Bradford West 2

Schools in LAP: Nine primary; one secondary; three children’s centres.

Chairperson: Michael Latham.

Key initiatives: Community cohesion; improving maths times-tables.

Key learning points: Recognising the importance of local key stakeholders and including them in plans; tackling a local drugs issue; including mosque leaders enabled them to communicate directly with 1,500 local residents praying in mosques at one time.

Schools in LAP: 14 primary; three secondary; one special.

Chairperson: Brenda Thomas, assistant head, Beckfoot School.

Key initiatives: Work is centred around four priorities: positive activities for students; narrowing the gap for vulnerable children; finance/data/attendance; community cohesion.

Key learning points: Establishing that it is okay for members not to opt into everything; ensuring that funding enables rather than constricts.

Schools in LAP: 13 primary; two nursery; four secondary; four children’s centres; one special.

Chairperson: Zoe Mawson, lead director, Heaton Children’s Services.

Key initiatives: Cross-school teams have been set up, comprising 54 members of staff split into groups, looking at best practice in ‘transition’, ‘attendance’ and ‘parental involvement’. Using techniques such as observation, sharing best practice, research (including libraries), visiting outof-area schools, the teams are identifying different and improved ways of doing things. The findings are being shared with all schools to raise overall achievement.

Key learning points: LAP members have all bought into the concept of taking responsibility for all children in the LAP, and not just for their particular school.

MY BD5: BUILDING ON CULTURAL HERITAGE

Bradford’s raising-achievement strategy identifies goals for the district in terms of language development, improving leadership, increasing the enjoyment of learning, improving partnership working and ensuring that there is a strong vehicle for pupil and parent voice.

Each LAP is at a different stage, so successes are relative to their position. For example, some are performing well so they have turned their collaborative attention to social issues. In others, success is measured by the extent to which member schools devote time and effort to building a combined approach and collective responsibility.

Denise Faulconbridge, the managing director of Education Bradford, recognises the challenges but also the rich rewards that sharing time and resources between schools can bring: “With the remit of school leadership expanding at such an alarming rate, looking outside the individual school’s boundaries understandably takes second place.

“However, the determination and group buy-in that we have seen among the head teachers in our LAPs has been staggering and we will no doubt be seeing the knockon effects of this collaboration for many years to come.”

“We want all of the 3,700 primary school children in our area to achieve their potential, but also grow strong in their cultural heritage and their faith,” says Michael Latham, head teacher of Newby Primary School in Bradford (pictured on page 44).

This is the shared vision of Michael and his colleagues in the Locality Achievement Partnership (LAP) he chairs, which is known as My BD5. The community that it covers is largely Muslim, of Pakistani heritage, with some families from Eastern Europe.

Michael says 12 languages are spoken in his school.

The LAP – which started out as an informal group 15 years ago – received funding in 2002 from Trident, a regeneration company, to improve community cohesion. Now the group is supported by Serco in the continuation of this work.

A key part of My BD5’s success has come from getting mosques and schools to collaborate. Most of the Muslim children in the area attend madrassas (religious classes) for two hours after school, where they learn about Islamic culture. “It seems incredible now, but for 40 years the schools and the madrassas were running parallel lives and never talked to each other,” Michael says.

But eight years ago, local schools approached the mosques and now hold regular meetings with imams, clerics and teachers. “Now we modify what we’re doing at school during Ramadan. At the same time, the madrassas don’t expect Year Six children to attend after school prior to Sats. And madrassa teachers will help the children with their English and maths revision,” says Michael.

Now that the LAP is backed by Serco, the collaborative focus has shifted towards pupil achievement. One fun initiative was a times-table pillowcase project. The schools were all aware that children’s test results would be boosted if they knew their times-tables better, and so within the partnership they worked out a way of capitalising on the pupils’ skills in learning things by rote.

“Before they didn’t know what seven nines were, but at the same time they could recite 100 pages from the Koran,” says Michael.

The partnership had 600 pillowcases manufactured: times tables on one side, blank on the back. “When the children got home from their madrassa they could curl up in bed, and someone – in any language – could go over the times tables on their pillows with them. Then when they went to sleep they could flip the pillows over and not have nightmares.”

One third of the schools in BD5 are now outstanding, according to Ofsted.

The vision shared between schools, mosques, madrassas and parents appears to be pointing children in the right direction.

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ROUND-UP

WHAT’S NEW?

The latest products, books and teaching resources Boys, Girls & Learning Ian Smith Teachers’ Pocketbooks £7.99 G Gender is as iimportant a cconsideration aas age when iit comes to eeducating young people, says Ian Smith, the author of this practical guide to motivating boys and girls to learn.

His book aims to help the reader go beyond gender stereotypes and to gain a deeper knowledge of how gender issues affect a teacher’s job. Inside, you’ll find sections on how to give effective feedback to boys and girls, how to involve them in their learning, being in control and connecting with the different sexes.

At the end, the author presents arguments for and against co-education, backed up with research.

The Perfect Ofsted Lesson n Jackie Beere Edited by Ian Gilbert Crown House Publishing £8.99 Whether you’re being observed or not, you can still aspire to deliver the perfect lesson every time. And The Perfect Ofsted Lesson leads teachers through the process of searching for the ‘magic ingredient’ that will make their lessons outstanding.

The heart of the book comes from the assumption ‘that an outstanding lesson isn’t marked by what the teacher teaches but what the learner learns’.

Seven simple steps to create the ‘perfect lesson’ are offered at the start of this guide and are elaborated on in the following chapters. Diagrams, quotes and top tips are featured throughout and make it a useful little book to keep referring back to.

46

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It analyses an nalyyses th thee lot llottery ttterry o off pu public ub blic ed education duccatio t on aand nd d the he ffailure failures off u underperforming ndeerpeerfo orming sch schools. hoolls. Itt iis aan n inte interesting teresttingg loo look ok aat the h wayy tth the he eeducation duccatio t on ssystem ysttem wo works orks k on the he other sid side i off thee Atlantic, t n , and d it tries e to o show h w that a there h e are re some o e reformers, refo eformers, m r pas p passionate ssio ionate a te teachers each acheerss aand ‘courageous cour urage geous us vvis visionaries’ sion onarie r es’ on n tthe he cus h cusp usp o off so some om mee n ne new ew aapproaches p pprroac o ch hes tth that hatt ccould ould o d re really eaallyy shake h e things i s up. p Directed i t by Davis v Guggenheim, G g n i it w won thee audience u e e award w d forr best e d documentary c e ta at tthe 2010 0 Sundance u d ce c Film Fi Festival Festival. st a It is av available la e on n Blu-ray u a an and D DVD. D www.waitingforsuperman.com

National N atiionall vveggie eggggiee w week eek d dangles anglees a carrot carrro car ott to o meat m meat-eating eat--eat eat ating ngg pup p pupils upilss Do you y u ha have ave studen students nts aatt yo your our sch school hool wh who ho aare re kee keen en to o tryy ve vegetarianism? eggettariaanissm? Ma Make ake ssure ure they’ve the ey’vee ggo got ot all th the he in information nforrmaation n th they heyy nee need ed to om make akee an inf informed form med dec decision. cisio on. Run Running nnin 23-29 May, Mayy, National Natio onal Vegeta Vegetarian arian W Week eek ((N (NVW) NVW W) ra raises aises aw awareness wareenesss aabout bou ut vege vegetarianism getariianissm and d the bene benefits efitss of a m meat-free eatt-freee d diet. iet. Th The he V Vegetarian ege getariian Soc Society cietyy ha has as ce celebrated eleb bratted tthe he eve event ent since sinc ce 19922 and d Cauld Cauldron dron n Fo Foods oods is thiss yye year’s ear’s spo sponsor. ponso or. T The he NV NVW VW web website bsite ha has as lo lots ots of information info orm matio on aand nd link links ks to o th the he Y Young oun ng V Veggie egggie w website, eb bsitee, w which hich provi provides idess ch children hildrren o off aallll ages age es with with activities acttivities and and d guidance guidan nce about abo out becoming beccom mingg vegetarian. veggetaarian. This This sitee also alsso offers offers recipes, recipes s, po posters, osteers, worksh worksheets heetts aand nd suggest suggestions tion ns fo for or le lessons esso ons and d assem assemblies mbliees tto om mark arkk thee event eve ent in sc schools. cho ools.. Tw Two wo ccompetitions om mpettitio ons aare re runningg th this his yyear, earr, on one ne fo for or u under-12s ndeer-122s tto o desig design gn a veggie veeggie school scho ool meal meaal an and nd o one ne forr over-12s tto o ccreate reatte a veg vegetarian getaarian ai airline irline meal. meal Prizes Priz zes and d en entry ntry con conditions ndittions ar are re on th the he N NVW VW Ww website. ebssite. ww ww.youngveggie.org ww ww.nationalvegetarianweek.org

Research Re R esearcch ttome ome ffights igh ghts homophobic ho h omophobicc b behaviour ehavio our Human-development Human H n-de devellopm men nt eexpert xpeert Ian R Rivers iveers h has as pro produced oducced a ccomprehensive omprehen nsive i e re resource esou urce on h homopho homophobic hob bicc b bullyin bullying ng in schools. sch hoo ols. T This h hiss is llikely ikel k ly to o be be a u useful sefful ttool oo ol ffo for or sc school choo ol le leaders eade ders who wh ho w will iill need neeed to to document docu umeentt what wh haat they th hey aree doing d do oing to tackle tta ackle k e tth the he p problem rob oblem em iin line ne w with hn new eew wO Of Ofsted fsted t gu guidelines. uide deline i ess.

Developed eve velop oped d ass a rres result su ult o of nea nearly early ly 20 0 yyears eearss o off re research, esea earch, c tth the book, o H Homophobic m p o c Bullying: ul n Research R e c and a d Theoretical e re c Perspectives Pe p t e ,o offers r practical p t a advice d e and n gguidance d c to o help e sschools ho ls and n teachers te c rs improve m o their e p practice t e when h dealing a g wi with b bullies, l , and d offers f r a review i of keyy studies st d that at have a shaped a d the h w way h homophobia m p b iis viewed i we iin eeducational c o a contexts. o e .

The h w workk includes c d eexclusive c v ffindings i s from o tthe largest g t study u o of h homophobic m h b b bullying y g in n the h U UK. T There r ar are aalso case se studies t e ffrom m parents a n aand tteachers, c er ssuggested g te llesson so p plans, n aaction o cchecklists c s aand lessons s s to be learned r d from o schools h ls facing ac g legal g aaction o o overr their he failure fa fail lure re to reac react, e ct, t w which h hicch sshould hou ould d aalllll h help elp l to erad eradicate r dica catee h homophobic o om mo op phob obicc b behaviour e v ou ehavio ur in n sc schools. cho hools. l www.oup.com

LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● MARCH/APRIL 2011

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Partnership p Working to Support pp Special p Educational Needs & Disabilities

One O ne ffor o orr th the he Ro Roa Roald oald o on n Little Li ittlle C Chef hef kkids’ id ds’ m menus enuss The National The N Naatio onal Li Lite Literacy eraccy T Trust’s rustt’s socia social al m marketing arkketin ng ccampaign ampaiggn ‘Reading ‘Readin R d ng ffor or LLife’ ife’ f ’ and ro roadside oadsside de res restaurant stau uran nt ch chain hain n LLit Little ttle l Chef Che C ef have havee teamed tteaameed up up to to launch laauncch a Roald R Ro oald l D Dahll R Reading ead dingg Adventure, Adv A venturee, to o iim improve mpro ove literacy t y llev levels velss in chil children h ldreen ac across cros the h U UK. T Thee children’s h re s menus e s att all 157 Little t C Chefs e in n the h U UK w will feature at e characters h ac r from r m The h BF BFG, James m and d the h G Giant n PPeach c aand Thee Twits w ass p pa part artt of of thee scheme, sccheem mee, in conjunction o u t n with i the t publisher b h Puffin ff Books. o ‘Roald o games’ m s and n tthe opportunity p t i to t win w ‘Roald oa prizes’ z willl bee included c d with thee aim w m of promoting r m n the t benefits b n t of o reading e n and, a , also, s the h eenjoyment o m t that a reading e i ccan n bring i b beyond y d being e g purely u y educational. d c o l Visit i the t Reading a n for o Life L website b te for o reading e i tips, i aadvice v and d competitions. o p t n www.readingforlife.org.uk

Rona Tutt Sage £19.99 This insightful book looks at how working with students, parents, professionals and the wider community can enrich the lives of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). It considers the changing structures of schools and how children’s needs are evolving too, and it explains how schools are finding new ways of providing more effectively for children with SEND. The book is full of case studies of effective practice from real schools, and there are highlighted key points and questions for reflection along with summaries of chapters, further reading suggestions and photocopiable material.

The author, a Past President of the NAHT, is a consultant, writer and researcher on all matters relating to education in general, and SEND in particular.

What W haat m makes akees yyou ou h happy? appy?

Art A rt co competition ompettittion nw will illl find f d out out

Sailing SSai illiing b bursary urssaryy iiss u up p ffor or ggrabs raabs The JJubile The Jubilee i ee Sailing Saailin l ng Trust Trust u t has h haas bursaries bursa r aries i s available aavvaila i able l o on its t Yo You Youth uth Lea Leadership eader ership h p @ SSeaa ssc scheme. chem emee.

The ssailing Th i ccourse u offers fe students d n aaged d between e w n 16 and d 255 thee opportunity p o n y to o build i self-confidence e c f e e through h u leading d g a tteam mm madee up p off people eo le off different f re t ages e aand physical ph i abilities. i e A An eexample m e off one n o of the h u upcoming o i schemes s e e iss on n a tall t sship, p the h Lord o d Nelson e n, n sailing a n from r m Southampton o h p o to o Poole o e over v EEaster t ((22-25 -22 A April). ri B Bursary s y funding u i of u up tto ££300 0 is aavailable. i b IInterested e t students u n aare aasked e tto w writee a statement t m t of between e we n 200 00 and n 4400 0 words o s explaining p n g why h ttheyy would o d benefit e f ffrom mab bursary rs y and n w what a they h would o bring n ffrom m it to ttheir e community, o m n yy, school h o orr college. o g FFor m more r information, info n orm rmatio t on n, ccall aall Josephine Joseph o phine ne Hall H Haall o on 0233 8044 0 9138 38 or o eemail m maaill voya voyages@jst.org.uk oyages ges@ @jsst.o t.org.u g uk www.jst.org.uk

Games, Ideas and Activities forr Primary Literacy

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Laapto Laptop p op sstorage toraagge com company mpaany Lap LapSafe pSaffe h has as llaunched aun ncheed aan n aart rt competition com mpettitio on for fo or UK UK primary primary school sch hool and special sp pecial eeducational ducatiionaal ne needs eeds st students. tudeentss Itt is aasking skin ng ffor or tthem hem m to draw w ‘so ‘something ometthin ng that ma makes akes the them em hap happy’. ppy’.

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A runn runner-up ner-up w will ill win n £100 £10 00 in in bookk vouchers vo ouch herss forr their classroom clas ssro oom m and £3 £30 30 in vo vouchers ouchers fo for or th themselves. hem mselvves.. The competition com mpeetition runs un until ntil 31 M March arcch aand nd thee winne winner er w will ill be ann announced noun nced on 8 April. For For more mo ore information informaation seee thee La LapSafe apSaaffe website, web bsitte, where wh here teachers, teaccherrs, students studen nts and and parents parrentts can caan download dow wnlo oad d an entry ent try fform. orm m. www.lapsafe.com/competition

Hazel Glynne and Amanda Snowden Pearson £14.99 Part of the ‘Classroom Gems’ series, this book does exactly what it says on the cover. It provides tried and tested practical games, activities and ideas for teaching literacy to all learners. Aimed at both new and experienced teachers, the book is about developing skills in literacy and is structured through three key areas of speaking and listening, reading, and writing. The practical activities are for primary children of all ages and abilities and each activity states who it is best suited to, its aim and the resources needed.

MARCH/APRIL 2011 ● LEADERSHIP FOCUS

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The Looking for Learning Toolkit

The Looking for Learning Toolkit can transform your school and make it more learning-focused. It can help you to make the shift from looking at the teaching to looking at the learning, to rehaul the way you structure your meetings, your evaluation and planning formats and to change the way your whole school – teachers, children, parents – thinks and talks about learning.

We have much more to tell you about the Looking for Learning Toolkit. Without any obligation, we look forward to talking with you.

The Looking for Learning Toolkit is telling us everything we need to know about learning; how kids learn, what learning in action looks like, how to improve it. It’s all right there for us in the Toolkit. The thinking behind the Looking for Learning Toolkit is phenomenal and as we pick away at it we’re going deeper and deeper in understanding learning and how we can improve it.

Peter Pretlove, Headteacher, Bransgore C.E. Primary School, Bransgore, Christchurch, Dorset, UK

To get more information or to talk to a school working with the Looking for Learning Toolkit visit us online at www.lookingforlearning.co.uk, call +44 (0)20 7531 9696 or email info@lookingforlearning.co.uk Please mention LFMAR11 to get your FREE sample materials.

From Fieldwork Education, a division of the World Class Learning Group

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HAVE YOUR SAY

LETTERS Last issue’s cover feature, What’s stopping you?, provoked a large response. Here is a selection of your views…

WHAT ABOUT SATS? Dear editor Let’s just ask ourselves why we took action to boycott Sats. Was it to do with the intolerable pressure put on head teachers by the publication of KS2 Sats and league tables? I think it was. The reputations of head teachers and their schools are made or broken by these league tables, regardless of the number of underlying factors that influence results year on year. So why did the article ‘What’s stopping you?’ fail to mention that?

Helen Browett, deputy head, Foulds School, Barnet The editor replies: The idea behind the article was to focus on future leaders and how school leaders can make themselves more employable. With hindsight, the headline should have reflected this more. However, you’re absolutely right to highlight Sats, and we have devoted many pages in many issues to the damage they do – and we will continue to do so. We should have acknowledged their damaging effect in this article too.

I’M NO BED BLOCKER Dear editor This is a letter to express my anger about being referred to as the equivalent of an NHS ‘bed blocker’ in the last issue’s cover feature. I enjoy my job, have a great relationship with my head teacher and our supportive governing body. At the age of 38, I feel I fall into generation of ‘older deputies’ cited in the article, which didn’t appear to accept that being a deputy could be an acceptable

career. No one ever told us when we signed up to be teachers that we should all aim to be head teachers.

I am passionate about the children, staff and local community. I have no plans for headship, yet contribute with the support that I offer our staff in their career development (including our head who delegates many traditional headship roles). So why should I be criticised?

Joanne Meekings, deputy head, Irthlingborough Junior School, Northamptonshire

I am rarely moved to respond to articles, but on this occasion I nearly choked on my cheese roll

MASTER’S IS INVALUABLE Dear editor I am rarely moved to respond to articles, but on this occasion I nearly choked on my cheese roll. I found the assertion: ‘Don’t waste time on a Master’s degree’ in ‘What’s stopping you?’ astonishing. I am in my 21st year as a primary head. I have just completed my Master’s in ‘school effectiveness/improvement’. Despite my years of headship experience, having trained as both an Ofsted inspector and a primary strategy

consultant leader, in addition to completing the leadership programme for serving head teachers, I found my MA enlightening. This was in terms of the breadth and depth of reading, study and critical thinking that challenged some of my long-held views, many of which were shaped by the narrow focus of the training provided for the aforementioned positions. I would therefore strongly recommend it. It is not a question of what governors are, ‘looking for’, but the knowledge and skills such a qualification brings.

James Johnson, head teacher, SS Peter & Paul’s Catholic Primary School, Ilford

POLITICS IN WALES Dear editor In Wales, the ‘prime candidates’ the article ‘What’s stopping you?’ talks of aren’t just being put off headship - they are in danger of being driven out of the profession altogether.

This academic year, there has been no new intake for the NPQH as the course is under review, but the statutory nature of the qualification remains. I am convinced that the Welsh Assembly Government is manufacturing a shortage of heads to justify school closures.

Tristan Roberts, head teacher, Ysgol Kingsland, Anglesey

GET IN TOUCH WITH LF We love to hear from NAHT members.

Tell us what’s on your mind. Get in touch by email at naht@redactive.co.uk or write to LF, Redactive Publishing, 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP.

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AND FINALLY SUSAN YOUNG

Fighting for creative freedom Spending cuts shouldn’t stop schools thinking outside the box

Room to nest Diane Pilgrim chuckles as she tells the story of her first headship. When she arrived at Briscoe Primary and Nursery School, it was a lopsided new merger, coping with free school meals rates of around 50 per cent and higher-thanaverage levels of special needs, pupil transience and behavioural problems. Not surprisingly, a Notice to Improve arrived not long after she did.

Not everyone would have agreed to incorporate a group of government-funded artists into this rather volatile mix. “I was two days into my first

50

headship when I was asked to apply for a Creative Partnerships project. I was firefighting, the kids were kicking off left, right and centre and it was obviously going to be very challenging,” Diane recalls.

“When I first went to Briscoe it wasn’t a safe place to be, not safe for staff, pupils or parents. It felt like we needed a nest.”

And that was what they got.

“One of the artists built a huge nest in one of our halls. It had such an impact on us. We had parents in there and we even had a staff meeting in the nest with people reacting completely differently. One teacher, who never really relaxes and found meetings stressful, was actually laid back in there, but I think our school development adviser thought I’d finally cracked.”

One parent went home and built a nest under the kitchen table for her daughter ‘because she needed one’. Parents got fully involved in the project, which culminated in a book and a promenade day – that was when the sheep arrived in Diane’s office and she found her deputy head hanging upside down outside, like a bat.

The following summer, Ofsted inspectors, deeming Briscoe satisfactory overall, but with generous pepperings of goods, remarked: “The school’s work with Creative Partnerships has had a particularly beneficial impact and, without doubt, has added to pupils’ enthusiasm for school life and interest in the wider environment.”

Three years on, Briscoe is still improving, but knows it must do better as Ofsted’s satisfactory is no longer good enough. Raising literacy and numeracy

standards are the focus of the local authority and the school… and yet, Diane is wondering whether another bout of creative risk-taking might help meet those targets.

The power of storytelling A confident leader – coupled with creative risk-taking and artists and school staff egging each other on – seems to be the recipe for the most successful projects, such as the one in a South Coast primary where many pupils had never left their own estate, never mind travelled the few miles to the sea.

Unsurprisingly, they found creative writing hard. So their school imported a storyteller and a drama specialist to work with teachers and the curriculum to fuel the pupils’ imagination and improve literacy levels.

“The storyteller is a magnetic performer,” explains Peter Thompson of Creative Partnerships in Surrey and Sussex. “He’s acting, making a really suspenseful atmosphere in the room. The kids are providing most of the characters and are totally involved, but don’t realise how much of the work they are doing.”

The artists are now so firmly embedded that they are on the budget: the head reckons his school wouldn’t have got its outstanding rating without them.

And then there is the annual carnival in Rye, which didn’t exist before Rye College became a ‘carnival school’ but is now a joint and much-loved venture of pupils, parents and the town. When pupils chose a Fairtrade theme, the whole town went Fairtrade.

No one wants to stop the carnival.

Peter, pointing out that children learn through play, is determined to help keep Creative Partnerships alive in some form.

“It’s manna from heaven for teachers: when we go into schools, they say they’ve been waiting all their teaching lives for someone to talk about how the children think.”

Would you like to invite me to a school event, or share a story of education with a difference? Contact me at educationhack@googlemail.com

NICK LOWNDES

Continuing my campaign to share the joys of real schools, it seems a good moment to tell you the one about the head teacher, the sheep and the staff meeting held in a giant nest.

Before launching into the full tale, it probably helps if I set the scene by explaining that this bizarre scenario was the result of one of those governmentfunded Creative Partnerships projects that sent artists into schools.

I say sent, as the funding is ending very soon, and while individual regions are aiming to make enough money to continue in some form, the days of the big projects are probably over in an age of financial austerity and back-to-basics education. A good time then, to celebrate some of the things that have been achieved in schools allowed to think outside the (tick) box.

LEADERSHIP FOCUS ● MARCH/APRIL 2011

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