Transforming Northicote School

Transforming Northicote School The reality of school improvement

Geoff Hampton Jeff Jones

London and New York

First published 2000 by RoutledgeFalmer 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by RoutledgeFalmer 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2001. RoutledgeFalmer is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group © 2000 Geoffrey Hampton and Jeffrey Jones All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Hampton, Geoff, 1952– Transforming Northicote School / Geoff Hampton and Jeff Jones p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. 1. Northicote School (Wolverhampton, England)–Administration 2. School improvement programs–England–Wolverhampton. 3. Education, Secondary– Standards–Great Britain. I. Jones, Jeff, 1950– II. Title LF795.W773 H26 2001 373.12´009424´91—dc21 00–059245 ISBN 0–415–22092–0 (Print Edition) ISBN 0-203-13340-4 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-17985-4 (Glassbook Format)

For the pupils, staff and governors who, together with OFSTED, made it all possible.

Contents

Acknowledgements The authors Introduction 1 Confronting failure

vi vii 1 7

2 Key issues and key initiatives

17

3 Charting the way ahead

26

4 Sanctions and rewards

53

5 The academic curriculum

61

6 Beyond the academic

70

7 Staff structures and staff development

79

8 Environment and ethos

90

9 The role of the governors

100

10 From failure to success

115

11 The role of the head

126

12 Reflections

137

Appendix 1: A diary of The Northicote School Appendix 2: OFSTED criteria for identifying schools requiring special measures References Index

142 144 146 148

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Wolverhampton Express and Star for permission to reproduce extracts from the paper. They would also like to thank the Chair of Governors of The Northicote School for permission to reproduce appropriate school documents.

The authors

Sir Geoffrey Hampton, MEd In May 1999, Sir Geoffrey Hampton became Director of the Midlands Leadership Centre at the University of Wolverhampton. More recently, he has also been appointed as Dean of the School of Education at the University. Previously, Sir Geoff was head teacher of The Northicote School, an 11–18 comprehensive in Wolverhampton. He had the dubious honour of being head teacher of the first secondary school to be declared to be failing by OFSTED inspectors. He had taken up post shortly before this, in September 1993, at a time when the school was said to be in a physical, managerial and pedagogic mess. Within a two-year period, Sir Geoff brought about a major turnaround in the school’s fortunes, transforming it into the successful and over-subscribed school that it is today. In 1998 Sir Geoff was awarded a knighthood in recognition of his services to education. Sir Geoff trained to become a teacher at King Alfred’s College, Winchester, qualifying in 1973. He gained his bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Southampton in 1974 and his master’s degree from Birmingham University in 1986. His publications have ranged from contributions to books to journal articles. He has featured in recent key policy statements issued by central government – From Failure to Success (1986) and Excellence in Schools (1997). He is frequently asked to comment on education matters by the media and has acted as a consultant and adviser to a large number of schools, local education authorities and organizations, including the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE). In July 1999 the Prime Minister hosted a series of six lectures on key topics to mark the new millennium. Sir Geoff was given the honour of delivering the education lecture to the Prime Minister, his wife and their invited guests at 10 Downing Street.

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The authors

Dr Jeffrey Jones, BEd, MEd, MBA Since December 1998 Dr Jeffrey Jones has been Senior Education Adviser to CfBT (the Centre for British Teachers), a not-for-profit organization providing training and consultancy services to the DfEE, OFSTED, local education authorities and to schools, both in the United Kingdom and overseas. He is also Associate Director of the Midlands Leadership Centre, based at the University of Wolverhampton. Previously he had been principal lecturer at the School of Education, University of Wolverhampton, where he was responsible for the coordination of research and for professional development. From 1989 until September 1997 Dr Jones was a member of the Hereford and Worcester inspectorate. At various times during that period he had been responsible for pupil assessment, teacher appraisal, management and professional development, as well as for governor services. Formerly a secondary school science teacher and middle and senior manager, he has also held the posts of director of a teachers’ centre, TVEI-Related In-Service Training (TRIST) advisory teacher, and Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) adviser. He has written extensively in the areas of professional development and school management and governance and was Visiting Professor in education management at the University of Wolverhampton. A trainer and consultant both within the UK and overseas, he is also a governor of two schools.

Introduction

[Inspections are intended] to promote school improvement by identifying priorities for action, and to inform parents and the local community about a school’s strengths and weaknesses. (OFSTED, 1995)

The Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) inspection process is intended to form part of the new pattern of ‘checks and balances’ that have characterized the education service in the United Kingdom in recent years. OFSTED is no ‘toothless tiger’, and its powers of inspection have led it to penetrate some of the hidden areas of the school sector and, more recently, those of local education authorities and higher education establishments. Nowhere is this scrutiny more evident, however, than within the context of the classroom, where the traditional autonomy of the teacher has been challenged by the publicized judgements of OFSTED inspectors. All areas of the teacher’s domain and spheres of responsibility are exposed as the inspection process makes its impact upon the school. As a profession, we have consistently failed to accept that our ultimate autonomy will be threatened if we do not address some of the issues that have so clearly confronted the profession at large. No longer are we able to condone or tolerate the poor performance of colleagues, for their contribution to the overall performance of the institution is now of importance to us all. Even though we may find this new pressure for accountability uncomfortable, it is unacceptable for any of us to be associated with, or to condone, anything that has an adverse impact upon the education received by successive cohorts of children. Thus, however reluctantly the profession acknowledges and accepts

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Transforming Northicote School

the legitimacy of the OFSTED process, some form of scrutiny looks set to remain with us. While there are still mutterings about the volume of paperwork and pressure generated by the inspection process, for most people it is now an accepted part of the education scene. The introduction of parental preference for schools and the linkage of delegated budget share to pupil numbers provide added incentives to strive for a successful inspection outcome. OFSTED reports are also in the public domain and parents will receive a summary of the inspection findings, as a minimum requirement. The media have also taken a close interest in the outcomes of inspections and their interpretation of the findings is an area of concern for many who have undergone the process. The question that remains largely unanswered is whether OFSTED really does make a lasting and positive contribution to school improvement and raised standards. Where better to seek an answer to this question than within the context of the first ‘failing’ secondary school – but also the first one to transform itself? Seven years on from its first inspection, The Northicote School is now heavily oversubscribed, has maintained its improvement in external examination results and can face the future with confidence. Whether this change of fortune is as a result of its experience with the OFSTED process or is part of a natural progression, the readers of this book should be able to decide. We hope, whatever view is reached, that there will be some lessons that can be learned from Transforming Northicote School.

The purpose of the book The writing of this book was prompted by the unique, yet unflattering, experience of one of its authors. In September 1993, Geoff Hampton was appointed to the headship of The Northicote Secondary School in Wolverhampton. He had been in post for only a few weeks when a team of OFSTED inspectors found the school to be failing. The school was placed in ‘special measures’ by the Secretary of State and given two years to recover. The alternative to recovery was closure. To the newly appointed head teacher of a school that was destined to become the first ‘failing’ comprehensive, some of the finer aspects of the rhetoric associated with the management of change were of little use. After the school was declared to be failing and in need of special measures, dealing with the resulting press coverage that characterized staff as incompetent was a task that far exceeded the normal challenges of headship.

Introduction

3

The need to raise standards and to address a range of the characteristics of failure was obvious, but to achieve these within the context of special measures was a daunting prospect. This book, in the main, attempts to chart the perilous journey to recovery travelled by one school, but it also highlights the leadership and management lessons that have emerged from the authors’ work with schools in similar circumstances all over the country and overseas. This book does not attempt to provide over-the-counter remedies for a range of ills. It describes one school’s difficult journey to re-establish itself as a succeeding school. Though the book identifies certain policies, procedures and techniques that may be transferable to other contexts, each school and its circumstances are unique. Also unique are the people within them. Both teaching and headship are ‘people businesses’, which is why both the pains and the gains are so keenly felt. The book is written for a range of colleagues who share responsibility for making a difference to the quality of students’ learning, namely head teachers and fellow senior managers, classroom teachers and a range of staff who have leadership and management responsibilities, at whatever level. It is a book that we hope will also be of interest to local education authority personnel and to members of governing bodies – indeed, to anyone who works in a supporting role with schools. The book attempts to: • •

• •

provide colleagues with a practical resource for progressing improvement strategies; share with colleagues some of the experiences and ideas gained from working with schools, one in particular, in attempting to bring about major improvement; support colleagues in schools, at all levels, in understanding the nature and complexity of change; share with colleagues certain strategies and ways of working that may be of some help.

The structure of the book Chapter 1 of the book describes the context of ‘failure’ and the ways in which the school attempted to deal with the aftermath of an adverse OFSTED inspection report. The chapter emphasizes the already uncertain future of the school and highlights the central considerations for the leadership of the school as they seek to manage the situation with a range of different audiences in mind. The authors contend that the notion of ‘failure’ has to be acknowledged and

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Transforming Northicote School

confronted before any meaningful moves towards recovery can take place. A personal view of how failure had to be dealt with by the newly appointed head teacher is given. The repercussions for his family, as well as for himself, are explored. In Chapter 2 the authors detail the school’s weaknesses and deficiencies, as identified by the inspection team. Faced with such a negative and damaging OFSTED report, the chapter attempts to illustrate the school’s reactions. It does so by focusing on some of the fundamental leadership and management questions posed at the time, such as: how are we to deal with the inspection findings? What are the first steps towards making a successful response to the key issues raised? What are the possible scenarios for Northicote? How are we to respond in the short term? How can we rapidly demonstrate forward momentum? What strategies are available to us? What has worked elsewhere? Chapter 3 illustrates the way in which the school had to demonstrate its commitment to transforming itself into a succeeding school. The chapter offers insights into the process of producing an action plan that is owned by all of the stakeholders and of the almost daily responsibility of keeping the plan ‘alive’ in the minds of all concerned. The difficult, and highly sensitive, areas of staff morale, competence and deployment are also explored. Pupil-related issues are also discussed, and practical examples are offered of the ideas and tactics used for bringing about improvements. The role of other key participants, in facilitating the recovery process, is also highlighted within this chapter. The need to provide incentives for pupils is the initial focus of Chapter 4, which, once again, provides examples of the types of schemes that were found to be helpful. Alongside this need for incentives is a corresponding requirement for appropriate sanctions for dealing with unacceptable pupil conduct. Once again, the role of parents in supporting the school is examined and suggestions are made on ways in which their involvement can be encouraged and strengthened. Chapter 5 illustrates the way in which the curriculum had to be modified and strengthened in order to bring about raised standards. The contributions of lesson planning and effective schemes of work in supporting the delivery of the curriculum are explored. Also considered is the need for effective monitoring to help to ensure appropriate curriculum delivery. How do you change the ethos and culture of a school? Some of the contributory factors in effecting change to this crucial area of school improvement are examined in Chapter 6. Procedures for monitoring attendance are explained and suggestions regarding the appropriateness of these systems are made. The issues surrounding school uniform and homework and the changes made at Northicote are explained in some detail.

Introduction

5

Chapter 7 is devoted to staff structuring, deployment and development. Exemplars of competency-based job descriptions, which underpin the principle of performance monitoring within an overall staffing structure, are given. The tactics used for supporting staff through the encouragement of strengths and the countering of weaknesses are also examined. Finally, issues of recruitment and retention are dealt with, including the vexed question of ‘why come to a failing school?’ The condition of the premises can often have a highly negative impact upon schools, and can reinforce the need for change and progression. An explanation of the part played by these issues in the overall process of recovery is provided in Chapter 8. Also provided are some exemplars of the changes that were initiated and which were found to have made a positive contribution to recovery. These include the crucial role of the school office and the thorny issue of the lunch hour. The focus of Chapter 9 is the role of the governors. The benefits and opportunities provided following the appropriate selection and recruitment of special measures governors is explored. Drawing upon the authors’ experiences, practical examples of the way in which they can be utilized are given. The development of target setting and monitoring procedures in which the governors are closely involved are also explained. Chapter 10 is devoted to the aftermath of special measures, what it means to a school and how this period of transition can be effectively managed. The challenges of setting future goals and targets, and how these can be developed to have the optimum impact upon the future of the school forms an important focus within this chapter. The implications of being the first school to recover from failure are also highlighted, and some of the lessons learned from this experience are shared. Chapter 11 looks specifically at the nature of the school’s leadership. The demands upon the school’s most senior professional are considered, as are the resulting personal obligations brought about by the unique pressures of leading a ‘failing’ school. The need to sustain personal momentum and at the same time to secure a balance between the professional and the personal dimension, is felt to be worthy of consideration. The unique circumstances of being the head teacher of The Northicote School, and all that this has meant, are also considered in this chapter. The final chapter (Chapter 12) offers some reflections on the route taken by The Northicote School on its journey to recovery and improvement. A résumé of some of the generic issues encountered by the authors in their considerable experience concludes the chapter.

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Transforming Northicote School

Within each chapter are brief sections containing key questions – the kind of questions that the authors have used in their work with schools. They are by no means exhaustive, and the reader is invited not only to add to them, but also to improve on them. The questions are provided as a stimulus for discussion and reflection. Above all, they should provide an agenda for colleagues for examining their school’s capacity for improvement.

1

Confronting failure

Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result. (Oscar Wilde, 1883)

The school The Northicote School is an LEA-maintained comprehensive school located in the north-eastern outskirts of Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands. It serves an urban area characterized by high unemployment, large council estates and high levels of socio-economic deprivation. Many of the street names in the locality are suggestive of the manufacturing history and traditions of the area. In common with many other inner city areas, these industries are now in decline and, while initiatives such as ‘City Challenge’ have brought some short-term investment into the area, the overall pattern is one of social decline and high unemployment. In 1993, there were over 600 pupils on the roll between the ages of 11 and 18, and 40 staff. This is in stark contrast to its maximum roll of more than 1300 in the 1970s. This change to a four-form entry school from eight-form entry was due to demographic changes, to the outcome of local re-organization of secondary education and to a decline in the popularity of the school. The school’s ability range was skewed towards the lower end, with few pupils of significantly high ability. Over 30 per cent of pupils were entitled to free school meals and 70 per cent of pupils were on the register of special educational needs. Of pupils in Y7, 66 per cent required additional support for literacy or behavioural difficulties. In 1993, 60 per cent of Year 11 stayed on in school or further education, a figure close to the borough norm but above average for metropolitan authorities. ‘By any measure, the school can be said to serve a

8

Transforming Northicote School

disadvantaged area and the pupils present a considerable challenge to its teaching staff’ (Business Education Today, May/June 1997). Northicote had been under threat of closure for some years prior to its OFSTED inspection in November 1993. Advice to Geoff Hampton from a range of professional colleagues had suggested that this was not the school to consider for his first headship. Some of the candidates called for interview in March 1993 did in fact withdraw when the condition of the school buildings and generally moribund nature of the school became apparent to them. However, Geoff Hampton, who at the time was a deputy head teacher in a neighbouring authority, did not withdraw, and was appointed as the new head teacher. The exacting demands of OFSTED inspection preparation formed part of the induction programme for this new entrant to headship and the school was duly inspected in the second half of the 1993 autumn term. Although it was immediately apparent that Northicote was a school that faced significant challenges, the eventual judgement that the school required ‘special measures’ was a shock to many, and the repercussions of that verdict, once again, cast doubt upon the school’s future. As a new head it was, in one sense, a wonderful bonus to have the audit check of the whole school done for you. It would have taken months to get to grips with such a comprehensive analysis of the school. Their judgements, by and large, I agreed with . . . However, the challenges that were presented were so fundamental that it felt like being the owner of a vehicle that had not only failed its MOT but which was also close to being declared a writeoff. (GH)

The immediate aftermath Managing staff and pupil reactions To be stigmatized as a contributory part of the first ever failing secondary school was a bitter pill to swallow for many staff and students. The staff, both teaching and non-teaching, were now part of an educational establishment that was characterized by the media as having failed both current and past cohorts of its students. On the day that the inspection findings were made public, the local evening paper carried the front-page headline ‘“Mayhem and Beer” Claim over School’.

‘MAYHEM AND BEER’ CLAIM OVER SCHOOL CHILDREN at a Wolverhampton school have been seen drinking beer at lunchtime, parents and pupils claimed today. The children have hurled chairs at teachers and used foul language, the parents alleged. Their claims came after The Northicote School in Bushbury was criticised today in a Government report. The Ofsted report said pupils and staff are being exposed to health and safety risks. But headmaster Mr Geoff Hampton, who joined the school last September, said today he saw the report as “positive” – and he had already started to address many of the problems it highlighted. Mother Mrs Angela Hopkins said her 18-year-old son had left the school with no qualifications and was now unemployed. At her home opposite the Northwood Park Road school, she said: “There is no discipline.” “I often take a short cut through the school and once I saw the pupils throwing all the chairs across the classroom. The language was foul.”

She said that on another occasion pupils aged about 15 were sitting outside the school at lunchtime drinking beer. She added: “It was disgusting. They all threw beer cans at me.” Mrs Hopkins said her son Colin failed his GCSEs, stayed on in the 6th form for retakes and failed them again. She said when he went to Bilston Community College to try again, he passed. Sixth former Joanne Smith, aged 17, of Old Fallings Lane, said on one occasion a male teacher burst into tears after a group of boys threw acorns around the classroom. “A girl brought a bag of acorns in and some of the pupils threw the acorns around. The teacher panicked and burst into tears. He has since left,” she said. Joanne said that the school had improved since Mr Hampton started as headmaster. “We’ve got to go to a meeting this afternoon about improvements he is making.” Mrs Susan Harris, of Cromwell Road, said her children, Mark, aged 15, and 12-year-old Laura were very happy at the school.

Figure 1.1 The Wolverhampton Express and Star, 14 January 1994 – the day the OFSTED report was made public

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Transforming Northicote School

This was accompanied by a range of highly critical quotations from local residents which supported the picture of anarchy and ill-discipline that was being portrayed. In numerous subsequent television interviews, pupils talked of teachers failing to exercise discipline and crying in front of their classes, and described the poor state of the buildings, decor and furniture. Parents and local residents also provided many lurid tales of ill-discipline and poor behaviour, including the suggestion that pupils could be frequently seen in a drunken state – hence the newspaper headline! It seemed, for a while, that the school was condemned to operating in some form of goldfish bowl, open to the gaze of everyone and with the media taking an interest in its every move. Staff were filmed and asked for their comments as they entered and exited the school. Some were even telephoned at home to give their views upon the existing situation. This investigation by the media even extended to some teachers who were no longer at the school and whom the media believed might well have departed in acrimonious circumstances. One member of staff, who could no longer tolerate the pressure brought about by the constant training of camera lenses on his classroom window, symbolically closed his classroom curtains; they remained closed for three months until he was certain that the threat had passed. Underlying this action was an insight into the levels of stress and strain that the teaching staff were experiencing as they struggled to come to terms with the label of ‘failure’. For many, this was taken as a personal criticism rather than as a comment on the overall performance of the school. Unsurprisingly, some of the teachers decided that their futures lay elsewhere and, even before the OFSTED report was made public, two young and very talented teachers had departed from the school. Issues of recruitment and retention were to continue to be problematic and the tactics employed will be explained in more detail in a later chapter (Chapter 7). While the main focus for external audiences was on the teaching staff and the pupils, the highlighting of poor maintenance and cleaning as an issue in the inspection findings also led to some repercussions – this time for caretaking and cleaning staff. Although these matters may at first appear to be peripheral, to the head teacher of the school with a duty of care, they were just as important – and as problematic. First and foremost, the situation within the school had to be stabilized. The immediate aftermath of the inspectors’ findings was that there was a great danger of the school being placed in a ‘free-fall’ condition – a self-perpetuating spiral of decline. This decline had to be arrested and, thankfully, there were still some staff whose response to the criticisms was turning into indignation and a clear feeling that their professionalism had been slighted. This was a key group

Confronting failure

11

who needed to be encouraged if the task of transforming the school was to be achieved. The reaction of the pupils, or students as they came to be known, was also disparate. For some, the report and press coverage merely provided recognition of, and interest in, the unacceptable behavioural traits that they displayed. Other groups remained apathetic, displaying no more interest in the report’s findings than in any other aspect of life at the school. Once again, as with the staff, there emerged a group of pupils who greeted the report with disbelief and who felt that their school was so much better than the one being portrayed by the media. These differing responses have emerged as being fairly characteristic of other schools that have subsequently trodden a similar path. ‘A two-phase reaction is common: initially shock and rejection of the inspector’s findings, later acceptance and (sometimes) a feeling it has been beneficial’ (DfEE/OFSTED, 1995).

The response of parents The response of parents was equally varied. For some, the report’s findings, as luridly portrayed in the media, were a confirmation of their belief that the school had played a part in the social decline that surrounded them and was potentially also a contributory factor in their own lack of success in adult life. For others, the response was far more pragmatic; they simply removed their offspring from the school and sent them elsewhere. This compounded the school’s problems in two ways. First, the haemorrhage of students added to the school’s financial problems, and second, the parents who were exercising their preference to remove their children were chiefly those whose children were some of the ablest students in the school. At a time when the raising of standards was a key issue, the loss of some of the most able students was a particularly unfortunate consequence of failure. Thankfully, there were also groups of parents whose apathy made them accept their lot and for whom Northicote was the closest school to their homes and consequently was the convenient choice for them. As with the staff, there was also a group of parents whose indignation at the comments made about their local school led them to want to do all that they could to prove that things were very different from the way they were being portrayed. A conscious effort was made to engage these parents more fully via the school’s parent teacher association, as will be described later.

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Transforming Northicote School

A personal perspective The immediate aftermath for Geoff Hampton, the newly appointed head teacher, was a mixture of feelings and emotions which needed to be understood and rationalized if the enormous challenge of ‘turning the school around’ was to be achieved. The immediate suspicion was that this could count as one of the shorter periods of tenure in headship, if the expected closure occurred. However, this anxiety was short-lived, if only because of the fact that the demands of stabilizing the daily dynamic within the school were fully occupying most of his available time. To provide the robust leadership clearly needed at all levels within the school quickly became an all-consuming passion which did not permit, certainly in the early stages, any room for self-doubt or critical reflection. Too many people were dependent upon the achievement of success and it would not have been appropriate to allow anything other than positive messages to emanate from the senior figure. The time for personal analysis and the re-examination of personal conviction would come later, during and following the many challenges that lay ahead.

There was a sense of ‘duty’ and of a job that had to be done for the sake of all of the teachers and pupils, who I know were far better than they were being portrayed. They were looking to me to provide the miracle. I was determined to try my best not to let them down. (GH)

Likely scenarios At the time of its inspection, Northicote had permanent accommodation for approximately 1,100 pupils and an actual school roll of about 620. The school was built in the early 1950s and typified the desire of architects at that time to specify flat roofs when designing buildings of this type. The roofs were laid on a deck comprising reinforced slabs of concrete which, as they contract and expand, create great chasms in the felt covering which, in turn, cause severe rainwater leaks. Unable to sustain the necessary frequency of repairs, this construction defect resulted in falling ceiling plaster and considerable damage to internal floor coverings and decor. Electrical wiring was also found to be dangerous and in need of replacement and, throughout the school, there was a widespread air of neglect and decay.

Confronting failure

13

Financially, the school was in no position to expend the large sums of money needed to rectify some of these problems, and the disproportionately high maintenance costs were a major problem. To maintain premises that were almost twice the required size for the number of pupils was clearly problematic at a time when the local management of schools (LMS) provided resources based on the number of pupils actually in the school, rather than on the school’s potential capacity.

The case for school closure The poor state of the school building may well have been a contributory factor to the threat of closure that hung over the school. This had almost become a reality some years previously when the closure of the school had been proposed. This was in response to an increase in the overall number of surplus school places in the town. The threat had been removed following a groundswell of local opinion and the intervention of some of the local ward councillors. The legacy of this situation remained, however, and the spectre of closure returned as possible, if not likely, following the publication of the adverse inspection findings. The Conservative government of the time was also reaffirming its intolerance of school failure. The rhetoric that developed suggested that the newly implemented legislation that accompanied the introduction of the OFSTED process would permit schools a two-year period to improve before further, and potentially even more drastic, action would be taken. ‘My clear target is that failing schools should recover or at least make very substantial progress within two years of being classified as failing’ (Gillian Shephard, November 1995). If, during this period, the school was judged to be making unsatisfactory progress, or if its action plan, produced in response to the inspection, was not accepted, there then existed the potential for removing the school’s delegated budget.

Hit squads Even more radically, the power existed centrally to send in so-called ‘hit squads’, whose task was to decide if the school had a viable future and a realistic chance of recovering from its present ‘failing’ condition. A school that had been placed in special measures shortly after Northicote became the first one to feel the full weight of this legislation. The ‘hit squad’ that was sent into Hackney Downs

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Transforming Northicote School

School in London judged that the school did not have the potential to recover and the school made history when the decision was taken that it should close. Northicote had escaped this fate, but much remained to be achieved if the ‘miracle’ of recovery was to be achieved.

Finding a positive route to improvement To recover from the dubious distinction of being the first secondary school to fail an OFSTED inspection, there was really only one direction in which to go and only one goal that could be set. If the school was to be the first to enter the special measures category then, from Geoff Hampton’s viewpoint, it should strive to become the first to recover from this position. A positive route for improvement had to be planned and, crucially, the various stakeholders and interested parties all needed to subscribe to the stringent targets that would have to be set. The demands that this would make upon all the participants would be considerable, and for the newly appointed head teacher this was clearly the biggest professional challenge that he could possibly face. However difficult it might prove to be, the goal of seeking and then securing improvement was clearly more attractive than other possible options. Part of the trick of achieving this goal was creating the opportunities for improvement to occur; at one level this meant securing classroom practice but, for this to have the necessary impact, there first needed to be a belief that success was possible. The differing responses to the situation created by the inspection have already been described and the changes required had to occur against this backdrop. The management of change is always potentially demanding, but in the context of Northicote it was particularly important that the implications of embarking on a positive route for improvement was understood by all. Communication assumed crucial importance as the initial thoughts concerning potential ways forward were disseminated and the first attempts at action planning were formulated. Perversely, the considerable attention that was focused upon the school helped to secure the need for the creation of effective methods of communication, and certainly helped to foster the ‘wagons in a circle’ mentality. For some of the staff, it certainly felt that it was ‘them against the world’ and this assisted with team building. They were in this situation together – staff, pupils and parents – and there was far more chance of their succeeding collectively than if they faced these challenges alone. Morning briefings for staff were introduced and quickly formed a key part of the daily routine. These briefings enabled progress to be shared and although, initially, they were dealing with

Confronting failure

15

items of immediate importance, they ultimately performed an invaluable function in disseminating short- and medium-term plans.

Pluses and minuses Were there any advantages at all to being in this situation? When faced with the adverse situation that accompanies failure it is difficult to see any potential advantages that this situation brings. For Geoff Hampton the task of presiding over the first failing secondary school was now a reality, and a previously successful career was potentially blighted after half a term in headship. However, after absorbing the initial feedback and sharing the possible outcomes with his family, the task of attempting to rescue the situation began. The first positive crumb of comfort to emerge was that the outcome of the OFSTED inspection would not be made public until January. This gave some crucial planning time in which to commence the task of rebuilding staff morale and to find and consolidate strategies for dealing with the immense challenges that lay ahead. ‘The forty days that we had before the publication of the report were spent in our very own wilderness as we grappled with the enormity of the task that faced us’ (GH). There were many facets of the inspectors’ report that related to issues predating the new head teacher’s arrival. In a way, this was helpful. Clearly, the head teacher must accept and acknowledge the inspection outcomes along with every other member of staff but, being untainted by comments on the past does provide an opportunity to set new targets and challenges. Experience now suggests that it is much more difficult to recover from failure – with its almost inevitable direct or implied criticism of the school’s leadership and management – if there is no alteration to the existing personnel in the wake of the inspection. The advantages of being the ‘new boy’ will, however, quickly disappear if there is an inability to accept, or ‘own’, the problems of the institution. Crucially, the various stakeholders referred to earlier all need to respond to the new senior figure and the future direction that this person is offering. At an individual level, the new or nearly new head teacher has other reasons to be grateful to OFSTED. The comprehensive audit of the school that the inspection process provides is potentially of great assistance in forming opinions or confirming elements of the school’s performance. Usually, it is not the actual contents of the report that present the challenges, but the response the report receives. There is also a potential benefit here, for the head is compelled to invest time in managing the response of a wide variety of people. This ensures that this

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Transforming Northicote School

crucial facet of management, which can often be neglected by the daily demands of headship, is given priority status. The complex and multi-faceted nature of managing a school can make it difficult to plan and prioritize. Managing during, and responding to, an inspection gives a clear sense of purpose and direction. The trick must be not to lose sight of these opportunities when the enormity of the task that lies ahead can appear to be all-consuming. There is also a need to make clear what the response of the leader has been to ensure that there is not a perception that OFSTED is managing the school by proxy. Some head teachers have fallen foul of the fact that they seem merely to be acting out someone else’s script rather than demonstrating the true leadership qualities that the role demands. Similarly, while the initial response to an adverse report is crucial, so is the capacity to sustain momentum and to monitor and track progress. This initial planning and the subsequent monitoring process provide opportunities for others within the school structure to confirm their contribution. Staff development is assured through the process of recovery, and for many it will provide opportunities to confirm or establish their individual positions. For others, the challenge will be to alter perceptions and counter the inspector’s initial findings. Staffing issues will be dealt with in more detail in a later chapter. A further positive outcome of the inspectors’ findings at Northicote was that – as will be seen when these are detailed in the next chapter – some of the inspectors’ findings related to health and safety issues. These were the responsibility of the local education authority (LEA) and were responded to rapidly, in part reflecting the highly hazardous nature of some of the matters raised within this category. For staff and students, the arrival of the workmen to carry out repairs and maintenance was greeted as a positive sign and an act of faith in the school’s future. Staff concluded that the LEA would not be investing if they felt that the school was unlikely to succeed or, indeed, to close. The reality was that these were important health and safety issues requiring a rapid and decisive response, regardless of broader issues. Nevertheless, the positive impact that this work had on attitudes was much welcomed.

2

Key issues and key initiatives

I see the function of inspection as being . . . to present . . . findings in such a way that the school itself will be in no doubt where to concentrate its efforts in order to improve. (Sutherland, 1992)

What were the key issues? The week-long inspection of the school by a team of government inspectors took place in November 1993, barely six weeks after Geoff Hampton had taken up his new post as head of The Northicote Secondary School. The OFSTED report, issued in January 1994, pin-pointed several key areas in which the school was considered to be failing.

Standards of achievement Pupils are not working to their full potential in a number of subjects especially in Key Stage 3. The level of achievement by pupils in a significant number of subjects is below national norms. (Main findings para. 10) The overall levels of success at GCSE and GCE A level are poor and the performance of pupils is uneven across subjects. The school is not taking sufficient coordinated action to improve the situation. (Main findings para. 11)

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Transforming Northicote School

The above comments were made at a time when OFSTED reported that most primary and secondary schools complied with the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum and when the overall standards of achievement in relation to pupils’ capabilities were favourably judged. There were, however, discrepancies at key stages, with a substantial proportion of schools reaching satisfactory standards in some subjects which were offset by poor standards in others, making the overall picture confused.

Teaching and learning The curriculum provided to support pupils’ learning is generally broad and balanced but there are significant shortcomings in its organization and delivery. There is, in particular, inadequate provision for a course in general religious education in the sixth form. (Main findings para. 12) The quality of pupils’ learning especially among lower ability pupils and particularly those with special educational needs is unsatisfactory. Low expectation of pupils is leading to underachievement. (Main findings para. 13) This was reported as being the most striking feature of almost all failing schools. At the time of the school’s OFSTED report, teachers’ growing confidence in teaching the National Curriculum meant that about 40 per cent of lessons nationally had sound teaching, with a further 40 per cent of lessons being good or very good. All in all, the quality of teaching at Key Stage 3 was poorer than at other stages in the secondary sector. Furthermore, in the 30 per cent of secondary schools where teaching was unsatisfactory, the cause was teachers’ inadequate command of the subject and the lack of intellectual challenge presented to pupils.

Health and safety hazards Pupils and staff are exposed to health and safety risks which require a more speedy and efficient response than is currently being made. (Main findings para. 8)

Key issues and key initiatives

19

According to OFSTED, serious health and safety problems are rarely identified, except in those few secondary schools where pupils’ misbehaviour endangered themselves or others.

Pupil behaviour Whilst the behaviour of pupils across the school is generally good, there are at times significant disruptions to pupils’ learning. The arrangements for practice to promote good behaviour lack consistency. (Main findings para. 15) In a significant minority of failing schools, pupils’ behaviour was reported by OFSTED to be a problem, although only in a very few secondary schools was this severe.

Buildings The effects of poor plant, inadequate maintenance and ongoing vandalism are seriously impeding the progress of pupils. (Main findings para. 7) Attendance The attendance of pupils is generally low when compared to national standards. The efforts of individual staff to combat pupil absence are impeded by a lack of overall coordination across the school. (Main findings para. 14) Attendance is reported to be a problem in about a quarter of failing secondary schools nationally and usually goes hand in hand with poor behaviour.

Planning and management The quality of school planning is inadequate. Consequently the resources available to the school cannot be directed to meet key educational priorities. (Main findings para. 9)

20

Transforming Northicote School The current arrangements for managing the school are inadequate. They do not support staff at a number of levels to carry out their responsibilities as they would wish. This in turn does not support teachers in their endeavours to provide an appropriate quality of education for the pupils. (Main findings para. 17)

OFSTED reports, written at that time, made strong links between poor standards of achievement and poor leadership, especially by the governors, head teachers and senior management teams, and poor teaching.

Aims and values The promotion of aims and values by the school does not adequately contribute to the development and achievement of the pupils. (Main findings para. 16) The findings had deep and far-reaching implications for everyone associated with the school. A certain amount of ‘quick fixing’ was inevitable in transforming the fortunes of Northicote. Geoff Hampton would have to demonstrate some signs of improvement from day one: first, for the existing cohort of students, some of whom would be sitting examinations in the following few months, second, for OFSTED, whose monitoring visits would be regular and searching, and third, for future cohorts of students and their families, whose faith in the ability of the school to provide an acceptable quality of education had been severely dented.

Establishing priorities Do we agree? The craft of reading OFSTED reports is much better developed now. As the first secondary school to be placed in special measures there was no previous practice to follow and certainly no guidelines to be adhered to. The large volume of information contained in the report had to be digested both individually and collectively by all concerned, but it was the ‘key issues’ that were to form the major focus for activity. The health and safety issues mentioned previously were listed as the first of the ‘key issues for action’.

Key issues and key initiatives

21

The school should address urgently the quality and use of the buildings and grounds. The reporting and response to health and safety breaches should be urgently reviewed. In particular the following should be noted: • deployment of fire extinguishers • evacuation procedures • lighting, heating and ventilation • floor surfaces in the gymnasia and school corridors • paved areas around the site • isolation of services • general level of cleanliness • collection and disposal of litter and debris from acts of vandalism • maintenance of first aid kits and facilities • broken windows • condition of electrical supply in parts of the school • storage of hazardous chemicals This list of urgent priorities did lead to an immediate response from the LEA which, under the local management of schools arrangements, still retained responsibility for issues such as electrical wiring. The school, for its part, needed to focus on some of the immediate concerns listed; while some were to do with repairs and maintenance, others were a reflection of the need for attitudinal change in order to alleviate some of the abuse of the premises that was occurring. The remaining key issues were as follows: • • •

• •

•

•

Governors should review their planning mechanisms, especially with regard to finance and the monitoring of general policy outcomes. The school should institute consistent and formal monitoring of pupils’ performance. The organization and management of the curriculum should be reviewed with particular consideration of the arrangements for pupils with special educational needs. Arrangements for promoting attendance and good behaviour should be reviewed to achieve consistent whole school responses. The school should re-assess the manner in which it seeks to promote a commonly understood set of aims and values to support pupils’ development. The management and staffing structure in the school should be reviewed to provide an efficient structure with clear lines of responsibility and defined job descriptions. The school should ensure that the requirements of the 1988 Education Reform Act regarding a daily act of collective worship are met and the opportunity is provided for all pupils to study a programme of religious education.

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Transforming Northicote School

These key issues were further reinforced by a number of comments, in the body of the report, which reinforced the problems within the school and supported the decision to place the school in special measures. The response of the LEA to the health and safety issues represented an interesting example of how the newly introduced inspection regime would cause some alterations to occur to traditional working practices. A team of inspectors drawn from within its own local authority carried out Northicote’s inspection. Historically, they had a good working knowledge of the school. This was especially true of one inspector who was also the school’s ‘patch inspector’. Many of the members of the OFSTED inspection team had been involved in a very recent monitoring inspection of the school, when the same emphasis had not been placed upon any of these issues. The enforced expenditure on health and safety matters clearly placed the inspectors in an unusual position, for the deficiencies that were highlighted had not been acknowledged previously. The following extract from the report is potentially as critical of the authority as it is of the school: Taken together, the effects of poor plant, inadequate maintenance and ongoing vandalism are seriously impeding the progress of pupils. Pupils and staff are exposed to health and safety risks which require a more speedy and efficient response than is currently being made. (Main findings paras. 7 and 8) The staff’s knowledge of the inspection team membership caused some anxieties when the outcome of the inspection was known. The view of many of the staff was that the inspectors were considered to be implicitly part of the problems that had been highlighted. These same individuals had provided help and support in the recent past and, in one particular case, had worked closely with a department to design a scheme of work that was now being criticized by what was effectively one of its authors. This situation made it more difficult to get staff to ‘own’ the criticisms that were being made and to begin to respond positively to them.

The need to make things happen Interacting with outside agencies The LEA’s response to the failure of one of its schools by one of its own OFSTED teams was positive. A working group, which included the chief education officer and senior officers, was set up in the wake of the inspection. This group also included staff and governors who, although initially a little

Key issues and key initiatives

23

unsure of the group’s purpose, perceived this as a supportive gesture by the authority. In the immediate aftermath of the original inspection this group played an important role in planning the school’s improvement programme and in providing the necessary support and resources. The head teacher and the chair of governors decided on a methodology for addressing the key issues which was intended to secure the involvement of staff, governors and the LEA. The working group, chaired by the chief education officer, was concerned with an overview of the situation, but it was felt that a clearer focus on each of the key issues should be established. A series of working groups was formed, each of which focused on one of the issues and which included representation from within the governing body, teaching and nonteaching representatives and officers of the LEA. While every attempt was made to utilize the strengths of the existing governing body, there were some significant areas where there was a lack of expertise. In these circumstances the capacity offered by special measures to appoint additional governors was invaluable. Other individuals, who were not governors of the school but who had a particular expertise, were also recruited and served in these working groups. Although it revealed a skill deficiency within the governors, this process also revealed many latent strengths and talents that previously had gone unrecognized. During the half term before the publication of the report, and during the subsequent period when the action plan was being produced, these groups met frequently to consider their initial reactions to the inspectors’ findings. The working groups proved to be a useful forum for discussion and debate on the emerging action plans of the school and the authority. They also provided a valuable coordinating function in bringing together both sets of recovery plans. The school and the LEA decided to collaborate in producing their action plans so that both parties knew precisely what was in each and the timescales and success criteria that had been set.

Key initiatives The initial depression felt by staff was gradually followed by a deep desire by some of them to make a positive response to the school’s problems. Ideas were starting to emerge, some of which appeared at first to be unrelated to the problems that were being faced. However, irrespective of how tenuous some of these suggestions might have appeared, they represented an important next step for the school. These individuals were seeking to make a contribution and in doing so they were also ridding themselves of some of the self-doubt that had accompanied being branded as ‘failures’. It was important that the ideas and

24

Transforming Northicote School

The governing body Finance and general purposes committee Ad hoc personnel committee

}

Committees with delegated powers

Working groups External funding and post-16 Site development Behaviour and discipline Health and safety Curriculum Marketing Staffing Governors’ organization

Figure 2.1 Post-OFSTED working groups

proposals that were being put forward were given proper consideration and that, wherever possible, they were also linked into the overall recovery planning process. The working groups were used as ‘sounding boards’ and, following the first offers of help and initial suggestions, the process of using the groups became quickly established and readily embraced by staff. They offered a logical structure for communicating and for responding to ideas which covered every facet of the original report. The working groups gave much-needed clarity to the task of communicating effectively, both in planning and practical terms. Their composition also reinforced the collaborative approach that was being taken as the school tried to chart its way forward. It seems obvious now that the working groups, focusing as they did upon the key issues, should have been formed. However, at the time there seemed so much to consider that it was difficult to be strategic and the conception of these groups was a result of the fact that it seemed logical and right at the time rather than of any great strategic masterplan. Like so many of the best ideas, it was simple and obvious, but the impact of these groups was fundamental to the process of recovery. (GH) This key initiative provided a clear framework for recovery planning, and the reports produced by the groups were not only disseminated at school governing

Key issues and key initiatives

25

body meetings but also incorporated into LEA committee reports. They were also discussed at staff meetings and formed part of the agenda of meetings of the PTA and the school council. The important thing was that this method of addressing the problems was easily understood and accessible to all. Individuals could see how they could play a part. As Northicote’s journey through special measures progressed, the involvement of this broad cross-section of people within the working groups structure, provided an added spin-off. When delays to implementing any part of the proposals were suggested or indeed took place, several audiences would immediately question why this had occurred. This provided added rigour, helped maintain pace and helped to give reality to the action plan proposals.

Key questions: responding to the OFSTED report • • •

• •

Can success be achieved if there is a reluctance to acknowledge failure? How does the leadership of the school disseminate inspection findings in order to achieve a positive response? In the case of schools whose reports are largely positive, how do you help to ensure that sufficient attention is given to any areas needing development? Success is more easily achieved if you are not operating in isolation. How do you engage your stakeholders and who are they? The first actions are likely to be small steps on which much bigger steps can be built. How do you set these within a context and ensure that they will make a meaningful contribution to the wider goals that are sought?

3

Charting the way ahead

When you are aspiring to the highest place, it is honorable to reach the second or even the third rank. Cicero

Action planning It might serve as a timely reminder that action plans at this point were in their infancy. There was little or no ‘good practice’ to observe – not even any hints of ‘bad practice’ to avoid. In fact, no formal guidance was brought together until OFSTED’s 1995 publication Planning Improvement: Schools’ Post-Inspection Plans (OFSTED, 1995). However, the ingredients of the Northicote plan owed a great deal to common sense, clear direction from the top, immense effort, productive teamwork and not a little luck.

Producing a plan that is owned by stakeholders The school’s action plan, charting its proposed route to recovery, was a substantial document. Each of the key issues identified in the inspection report was analysed into a series of separate tasks. Each task was defined in terms of timescale for completion, resource requirements and personnel responsible, as well as monitoring arrangements. The plan did not confine itself to the key issues but also took account of other judgements made throughout the report. This was deliberately done in the belief that ‘any proposed actions will raise the levels of pupils’ achievements, the quality of education provided and the efficiency and effectiveness of the school’ (OFSTED, 1995).

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There was a worry that the plan could become overly complex and difficult to comprehend and oversee. This could well lead to difficulty of ‘ownership’ by the staff as a whole. Related to this is the central assumption that each key issue should be tackled separately and independently of the others. The notion of spinning plates comes readily to mind at this point; how do you keep them all spinning, all at the same time? The challenge for the management of the school was to consider the key issues in their totality but also to identify possible interrelationships between them. ‘The key issues need to be woven into a comprehensive strategy which embodies a vision capable of capturing the enthusiasm of staff’ (Wilcox and Gray, 1996).

The shape and format of the plan It was quite quickly pointed out by those working on the plan that no amount of planning can guarantee success but that it stood a better chance of being successful if it was written in practical terms. The contributors to the school’s action plan were clear that, if the plan was to serve truly as a working document that would chart recovery, the clarity with which the following information was given was extremely important. • • • • • • • •

the specific nature of the improvement (long-term goal) the person(s) responsible for coordinating the task the timescale targets (short- and medium-term versions) precise tasks to be carried out to achieve the targets resource requirements and implications success criteria ongoing monitoring and evaluation

The action plan that was devised was structured as shown in Figure 3.1.

Keeping the plan alive The school’s plan was to be the touchstone for all who were contributing to its recovery. The following key questions were helpful in monitoring the effectiveness of the plan:

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Transforming Northicote School

Key questions: action plan • • • • • • • • • •

How successfully does the plan clarify objectives and set mileposts? Is it unambiguous in specifying the means of implementation? How successfully does it incorporate ways of monitoring progress? How successfully are the activities linked to the goals and priorities? Are the forms of activity specific rather than general? Are realistic target dates for achievements specified? How well is the plan supported by personnel, training and resources? How will possible slippage and unforeseen changes be accommodated? Is there reasonable investment of time and personnel? Is there a strategy for evaluating the progress of, and benefits resulting from, the plan?

Staffing issues With the increasing demands for improvement in schools’ performance, the challenge facing school leaders is to reconcile concerns for teachers as professionals and teachers as persons. The shift, over time, from a paternalistic to a performance-driven model has meant that staff are faced with the rising expectations of job performance and school leaders with the need to ensure that performance conforms to prescribed standards. For Geoff Hampton, the task was to • • •

motivate performance – through praise and reinforcement of what was successful assess performance – through direct observation of staff in the workplace manage under-performance – through active support mechanisms or dismissal

Praising and reinforcing the good There is in some people a tendency to see the glass as being half empty. Geoff Hampton is not that kind of person, which is just as well, since his most valuable and costly resource – his staff – were still his most effective means of achieving recovery and, therefore, his principal agents of change. He held discussions with all staff and visited them in their classrooms. The discussions were open and the feedback, following classroom visits, frank. Through

Action plan Mission statement Response to key issues Summary of development since inspection Action planning process Governors’ working party groups Staffing list LEA key officers working group Whole-school philosophy and principles School aims

Whole-school supporting papers

Departmental supporting papers

Achievement

Mathematics

Bahaviour and discipline

English

Staffing

Science

External funding and post-16

Art

Curriculum

Business studies

Health and safety

Design and technology

Buildings

Geography

Governing body

History Information technology Learning support Modern foreign languages Music Physical education Religious education Vocational education

Figure 3.1 Action plan

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Transforming Northicote School

them the new head teacher was beginning to form a view of where staff strengths and weaknesses lay. There were several strengths that he could point to, in some cases even within departments about which the inspectors had made adverse comments. Not all of the staff within a specific subject area are always seen by inspectors and, even among those who were observed, their performance can vary. At Northicote, in common with all other schools where significant challenges existed, there were pockets of good practice and individuals capable of being part of the solution, rather than only a part of the current problem. In addition to being able to offer support and encouragement to these colleagues, the head teacher must also ensure that they are operating within a clearly defined structure and with agreed roles and responsibilities. In this way their talents will be properly recognized and utilized and their input maximized. Northicote’s budgetary difficulties meant that external recruitment was only a limited option, and it was apparent that the strengths and talents of existing staff had to be acknowledged and developed. Consequently, the initial audit of strengths and weaknesses was very important. The school embarked upon a critical examination of its teaching processes which included curriculum content, teaching methodology and classroom layout, as well as the structure of the school day. This exercise was intended to reinforce what was good as well as to identify areas for further development and improvement. The crucial factor was that all of the staff were involved in the process and that the ‘secret gardens’ of some classrooms were now open for others to share. The new staffing structure which was to emerge later sought to build on this by giving additional responsibility to those whose everyday practice was being acknowledged by their colleagues. This ‘climate setting’ was undoubtedly of great assistance to Geoff Hampton and helped to ensure that momentum was maintained throughout the implementation of this structure. In many cases, it became a ratification and recognition of the roles that individuals had already started to fulfil.

Identifying the problems It is terribly naive to think of teachers as a homogeneous group. The staff are made up of a series of individuals who will bring to any proposed change different skills, knowledge and attitudes depending on their previous experience, their length of time in the school, their status within the school and their own peculiar concerns and interests, not least in terms of the stage they have reached in their own career as teachers. It remains a fact of life that some teachers are

Charting the way ahead

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more effective in the classroom than others. Some are more effective with younger children, some have a penchant for working with some of our more challenging and/or disadvantaged children, while others revel in the academic rigour associated with sixth form teaching. If we perceive teaching to be made up of a set of interrelated skills, knowledge and understandings then it may be reasonable to assume that where these skills do not exist the teachers concerned may be ineffective in bringing about learning. Clearly, as strengths were identified and good practice acknowledged, there was also an exposure of practice that was less than satisfactory. The problems were varied, but most originated from poor or indifferent practice in the following areas: • • • • • • • •

subject knowledge expectations of pupils classroom organization maintenance of discipline marking effectiveness setting of homework use of time and resources planning

One of the notable success factors at Northicote was its revitalized climate; this had developed very quickly and had encouraged staff to become more selfcritical and more willing to confront and rectify perceived deficiencies. This was a major success for the head teacher and represented a clear and decisive move away from the notion of failure. Colleagues were seeking to improve, were eager to learn from each other and were responding to praise. In many instances, even when individuals’ practice was less than secure, they were keen to improve. Mutual support was being provided quite freely by colleagues – one to another. Staff were invited to examine each others’ planning and documentation and lesson observations were becoming commonplace. The senior management team were also being supported and in some instances, advised by the staff. (GH) Staff were, therefore, supporting each other and as the school moved towards clearer, competence-based job descriptions, these were embraced as part of the overall drive for improvement. Even in the most adverse of circumstances,

32

Transforming Northicote School

where it became apparent that an individual lacked the potential to improve to an appropriate level, there was general acknowledgement that this was a necessary, albeit unpleasant part of the overall objective of improvement.

Supporting staff who need to improve Underperformance of staff presents a challenge to every school leader. As Fullan and Hargreaves (1992) point out: If you open up classrooms to find excellence, you also risk exposing bad practice and incompetence. While the risk is real, the actual scale of the incompetence problem is smaller than the fear to which it gives rise. Among the techniques used by Geoff Hampton to encourage improved job performance were the following: • • • •

precisely defined tasks setting out what was expected adequate resources to perform the tasks a clear statement of required results In-Service Education and Training (INSET) and staff development, where appropriate

Pupil issues If the staff are the principal agents of change, then the students have to be the main focus for change. In The Intelligent School (MacGilchrist, Myers and Reed, 1997) we are reminded that students get just one chance. ‘Time in school . . . is precious and for the pupils it cannot be repeated.’ So, how was Northicote – a failing school – to make a real difference to the life chances of its students? Few, especially the new head, were in any doubt that to transform the fortunes of the school and the students it served would require clear and decisive leadership.

Behaviour and discipline It had been recognized by the inspectors and acknowledged by the school that there existed a small, but significant, nucleus of disaffected students – students

Charting the way ahead

33

for whom school and learning had little or no appeal. There were a few strategies and procedures in place but, where they did exist, they were rarely deployed in any real committed or consistent way. The emphasis had been on containment. Sanctions varied between individual staff and departments and students modified their behaviour according to the expectations of the member of staff. Disengagement with the learning process was rife and characterized the behaviour of many more pupils than those whose behaviour was at the extreme end of the spectrum. Disaffected pupils fell into two groups: •

•

those whose behaviour was so problematic that they were virtually placing themselves outside the education process and for whom only the most radical change of behaviour would lead to any prospect of success; those who were at the same level of disengagement but whose behaviour was characterized by withdrawal rather than active challenge and who consequently were not considered to be as problematic.

Many were affected by an apathy which characterized their response to many lessons. The majority of staff considered behaviour to be problematic within the school, and believed that the responsibility for the rectification of this lay with senior management. Whilst this is undoubtedly valid in terms of the overall policies and procedures that needed to be put in place, the day-to-day reality was that their managers were inundated with a mass of other problems that they were expected to solve. Many of these were relatively trivial, but the culture within the school had been such that staff would accept little responsibility for what occurred within the confines of their classroom. The alternative to direct referral to the senior managers was often for pupils to be put outside the classroom, in the corridors. Although occasionally used as a tactic to permit a ‘cooling off’ period, this sanction had become formalized in some parts of the school to such an extent that chairs and tables were kept in the corridor. Regular offenders were consequently operating outside the classroom environment and being given little opportunity to participate in the lesson. The most worrying aspect of this situation was that it encapsulated the classroom teacher’s abdication of responsibility for these pupils. In an attempt to modify this behaviour and to re-establish the responsibilities of teachers, Geoff Hampton posed the following question to staff: who owns the ones outside the classroom door?

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Transforming Northicote School

Figure 3.2 Who owns the ones outside the door?

Building on the positive – challenging the negative Under new leadership the staff established an important point of principle, that behaviour that disrupts student learning is unacceptable. On this tenet the school would re-launch its policy on behaviour and discipline. Establishing a behaviour policy can be a minefield. What should it reflect: what goes on in the day-to-day management of the school, or an ideal image of what should be happening? According to OFSTED, ‘The school’s policy on discipline and behaviour will outline the school’s strategies for encouraging a positive response from pupils’ (OFSTED, 1995). Earlier, the Elton Report (1989) had pointed to a method for achieving this: The best way to encourage good standards of behaviour in a school is a clear code of conduct backed by a balanced combination of rewards and punishments within a positive community atmosphere. Establishing a whole school behaviour policy is an important step in that direction.

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Northicote’s behaviour policy needed to reflect and shape the general ethos of the school. It was produced by the working party formed post-OFSTED which focused on the key issue of behaviour and discipline. Consistency needed to be established, with a common set of rules and expectations in place throughout the school. It is via this consistent approach, to which everyone must contribute, that overall standards can be raised, with a clear set of expectations being given to the pupils. The classroom code was at the heart of this.

Classroom code Always work as hard as you can. Always be ready to join in the lesson; that way you will enjoy it and get the most out of it. This means that you must: • • • • • •

line up outside the room, in silence and with your coats off take a pen, pencil, ruler and your planner to each lesson have a bag to carry your books arrive promptly at the start of the lesson; we cannot afford to waste any time look after the furniture and books so that they are a pleasure to work with remember – no TIPPEX

Most people want to work hard in lessons. You must not prevent them from doing so by talking, fidgeting or getting up from your seat without permission. Speak politely to everyone and you will find that they will be pleasant to you. Teachers are all here to help you and you must cooperate with them. Failure to do as a teacher asks will always be treated as a very serious matter. Always keep the school rules – they will make the school a happier, more pleasant place to work.

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Transforming Northicote School

This code was discussed at length with the staff to help secure the necessary ‘ownership’ and to stress the need for consistency and rigour in its application and implementation. By means of the code, it was intended to address several basic issues that were having a negative impact on the ethos of the school and, not surprisingly, the learning. Too much lesson time was being wasted by individual pupils who, by their lack of even the most basic equipment, consistently demonstrated their reluctance to learn. Consequently, emphasis was placed on the need for all pupils to carry with them to lessons appropriate writing equipment and the newly introduced planner. Similarly, the corridor areas between lessons had clearly become the pupils’ domain, with too few teachers exercising control beyond the perimeter of their classrooms. The start of lessons was also frequently disrupted by pupils arriving late or entering the room inappropriately. Thus, in accordance with the code, classes were lined up outside the room prior to the start of lessons to help ensure that they were punctual and that order was established before lessons commenced. The simple tactic of asking teachers to greet their classes helped increase their oversight of the corridors. School improvement is not ‘rocket science’, and this relatively simple set of measures had a dramatic impact upon the overall ethos of the school and also improved classroom management. The period of monitoring and support to ensure that this code was implemented and absorbed within the school’s culture was surprisingly brief – the benefits were quickly apparent to all. Regular monitoring and evaluation of policies is essential. Producing the policy is only half the task. Some staff will find it more difficult than others to implement the policy and therefore positive support networks are vital. Anomalies and confusions need to be ironed out quickly. Systematic monitoring and evaluation will help to build on the policy’s strengths and identify weaker areas for modification. An effective, working policy is one with which students can associate directly. Every student should be able to talk through the rewards system from direct experience because it is consistently and fairly applied by the staff.

Monitoring academic progress For two years prior to Geoff Hampton’s arrival at the school, pupil attainment had been very low compared with national norms when judged by the proportion of students gaining five or more A*-C grades. When other indicators were considered (five or more A*-G grades or average points scores), however, school results were more in line with the national average for similar schools. Given the starting point of its students, the school’s GCSE results were

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comparable with those of other schools within the LEA. However, while the school did well with its most and least able students, the middle range did relatively less well across Key Stage 4. Today, attainment continues to rise, although the percentage of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs is still below national norms in the majority of subjects. However, there are other aspects of the school’s performance of which Geoff Hampton is justifiably proud: Whilst I am clearly delighted in the overall increase in the number of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs at grade C and above, I am equally satisfied with the fact that 96 per cent of pupils gained five or more pass grades and that no one left without some form of qualification. We recorded 100 per cent of our pupils with at least one pass grade. (GH) Although it is not directly referred to in the extract above, 100 per cent of pupils gaining a pass grade represented an enormous improvement over the previous four years, when the school had had a major problem with pupil disaffection. In terms of value added to its pupils, Northicote was now able to demonstrate significant improvements and, crucially within the school, the achievements of everyone were now being valued. The preoccupation of the pastoral system with ‘naughty pupils’ would have to be altered very promptly if the school was to achieve its targets. In the search for a ‘quick fix’ solution it was decided to focus maximum attention on Year 11. All Year 11 students underwent periodic work assessments, which involved the subject teachers giving students a clear indication of the GCSE grades they were likely to achieve. This was based on their current performance placed alongside potential grades were they to work to the best of their ability. A twenty-minute confidential interview with their form tutor then followed, during the course of which clear targets were negotiated to be achieved during a period of close monitoring. Advice on revision techniques, time management and prioritizing work was also given. It was envisaged that the procedure for each student would be repeated each term so that the progress of students could be reassessed. Certain students were assigned a personal mentor whom they met regularly. This monitoring process ensured that the students had all the assistance they needed in order to meet targets and that new ones could be set. They were given every encouragement and guidance to achieve their highest potential. Parents were also informed of the targets and the school held evening meetings focused upon how they could support their children at this crucial time. However, it soon became evident that real improvement would only come about when academic monitoring became embedded at a much earlier stage in the students’ time at the school.

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Transforming Northicote School

Crash timetable New procedures for assessment and reporting to parents were implemented to try and give a higher profile to the acknowledgement of achievement. The monitoring system was extended to all year groups and a monitoring sheet was devised which attempted to encapsulate all of the necessary information on a single page (see Table 3.1).

Table 3.1 Completion of the monitoring sheet Completion of monitoring sheet Columns

Recording details

1 2 3 4 5 6

Set Staff Exam results Position in year Merit Excellents

Set number out of number of sets e.g. 3/4 Initials of teaching staff per cent exam result As a fraction e.g. 1/138 Number of merits since last monitoring Number of ‘excellents’ since last monitoring

7

Attendance

8

Behaviour

9

Coursework

10

Homework

11

Numeracy

12

Organization

Please tick if, in your professional judgement the student’s absence results in learning being hindered the student’s behaviour: • prevents others from learning • disrupts their own learning, e.g. lack of preparation,slow work pace, inattentive • there is any infringement of the classroom code coursework is: • of poor quality; or • handed in late; or • not done homework is: • of poor quality; or • handed in late; or • not done the student is unable to use number skills to solve problems the student: • fails to use planner • fails to have correct equipment/kit

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Table 3.1 (Continued) Completion of monitoring sheet Columns

13 Punctuality 14 Reading

15 Spelling

16 Writing

17 Working to potential

Recording details

the student arrives after the majority of students the student is unable to access the curriculum from the reading they have to do in your subject area the student is unable to read at the required speed the student(’s): is unable to copy accurately from a text is unable to use the vocabulary/glossary of the subject area deliberately writes illegibly to cover lack of spelling skills progress will be significantly hindered by poor spelling the student: • is unable to use a cursive script (70 per cent joined) • does not form letters correctly (shape, height, length) • is unable to use lined paper or to space letters/ words correctly • is unable to write at a speed to produce the required amount of work • is unable to keep up with dictation speed The student is not achieving their potential (the best they could possibly ever do)

This needed to be simple to complete, so that the task was not onerous, and to contain all of the necessary information. This included the information required for the annual special educational needs review. The assessment calendar was established, as follows: Autumn term: monitoring sheets followed by crash timetable; parents invited to school. Spring term: reports to parents followed by parents’ evenings. Summer term: examinations for all years; results/information to parents.

Figure 3.3 The monitoring sheet

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Once the monitoring sheets were completed and had been checked by the head of faculty (HoF), the system known as the ‘crash timetable’ was introduced. This provided the form tutor with uninterrupted consultation time with each student within the tutor group. The form tutor made use of the information contained in the monitoring sheets to set agreed targets with each student. Parents were encouraged to attend the discussion with the form tutor and their child. The students entered the agreed targets into their planner, to serve both as a personal reminder and also as a ready reference for subject teachers who were also charged with monitoring progress. Those parents who had not attended, or who were unable to attend, the discussion were asked to sign the planner to acknowledge their awareness of the targets set. To facilitate the release of the form tutors for the ‘crash timetable’ interviews, Geoff Hampton and other members of the senior management team would cover the lessons of the tutors involved. Putting even more senior management time back into classrooms proved helpful in the overall monitoring of aspects such as lesson planning and schemes of work, and was also greeted positively by students. As the system developed, staff were asked to record targets in the students’ exercise books and to make specific comments on individuals’ rate of progress towards their targets following the marking and assessment of their work. Reports written in the spring term also made reference to the progress being made by students in meeting their targets. The reports also contained a space for students to comment upon their progress in meeting targets. Some students were more closely monitored than others by heads of year, the Special Education Needs Coordinator (SENCO), or the senior management team (SMT), to ensure that their targets were being met. These students ranged from those with high ability through to those with special educational needs. Thus the concept of personal improvement targets became embedded in the learning culture of the school, and another major factor in improving standards was established.

School council Over a century ago the American educator Horace Mann asserted that schools must play the key role in training students for life in a modern, democratic society. In order that men may be prepared for self-government, their apprenticeship must commence in childhood. The great moral attribute of self-government cannot be born in a day; and if school children are not trained to it, we only prepare ourselves for disappointment if we expect it from grown men.

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Transforming Northicote School

At Northicote, student participation in school decision-making played a significant part in the way the school was viewed by the student body. The school set up a system of year committees and a school council, with the aim of offering students greater involvement in its running and promoting a positive attitude towards the school. At the beginning of each year each tutor group elects two representatives to attend year committee meetings. The representatives organize tutor group discussions and take their comments and suggestions to the year committee. The year committees meet every three to four weeks under the guidance of a member of the teaching staff – but not necessarily chaired by them. Each year committee sends two representatives to the school council. Form tutors are vital in making the system successful, for example, by creating regular opportunities for representatives to organize the discussions and report back to the tutor group. The school council was given a real say and made an invaluable contribution to the school’s broader thinking on refurbishment of the school, the design of the school playing areas, the nature of food served and on school uniform.

School council We have a system of Year Committees and a School Council, with the aim of giving students greater involvement in the running of the school and promoting a positive attitude towards school. At the beginning of each year the tutor group should elect two representatives to attend Year Committee meetings. These representatives will organize discussion among the tutor groups and take their comments and suggestions to the Year Committee. The Year Committees will meet every 3–4 weeks and will meet under the guidance of a member of staff, but not necessarily chaired by them. Each Year Committee sends two representatives to the School Council. The Council meets at lunchtime and decides on issues to be promoted or discussed by all the students or raised with the head teacher and staff. Form Tutors are vital in making this system successful. Opportunities need to be regularly created for the representatives to organize the discussions and report back to the tutor group. If a representative is not attending meetings or loses interest s/he should be asked if they wish to resign and a replacement elected.

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The group will, from time to time, need guidance on the choice of appropriate topics. Please try to encourage positive suggestions – what can we do to help make Northicote a happier, better place for us all to work in? (extract from Staff Handbook)

Homework In a Times Educational Supplement article entitled ‘Is Homework Necessary?’, one of the conclusions drawn was that homework must be of very high educational value to justify the school extending its control into the home and encroaching upon family life. That view is in itself interesting, but of more interest might be the date of the article – 19 January 1929. Geoff Hampton was certain that another aspect of the existing culture that needed to be challenged was the place of homework. Why have homework? This was a question asked by many – not just by students, but by the staff and by the parents. The answer, as far as Geoff Hampton was concerned, was expressed in the schools’ new homework policy. At Northicote, homework is set in order to • • • • • •

help all students to practise subject skills encourage study skill development develop perseverance and self-discipline consolidate learning promote independent study, including research involve parents and the wider community as an aid to learning

As with so many of the deficiencies of the school, homework suffered from the same lack of consistency of approach. The steps taken to bring about fresh consistency included a requirement for: • • •

all faculties to reflect the policy in their handbooks, schemes of work and classroom practice; the consistent setting of homework by all staff; regular and systematic monitoring of students.

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Transforming Northicote School

At first, the policy did not meet with approval from some of the students or indeed a minority of parents. However, the school consistently promoted the view that homework was one of many strategies that encouraged high personal standards of academic achievement, in accordance with each student’s individual ability and need.

Key questions: homework • • • • • •

What are the main purposes of homework? In what ways does it contribute to students’ learning? How varied are the tasks? How challenging are the tasks set? Is there sufficient support for those experiencing difficulty with homework? Is the amount of homework appropriate for different age groups and abilities?

The Day Book The Day Book was a key document in the drive for improvement. As its name suggests, this document is completed daily and serves to coordinate many of the actions and factors that have an impact upon school improvement. It was once described by a visiting Her Majesty’s Inspectorate (HMI) as being an initiative that he felt had made the greatest contribution to overall school improvement and as being a clear manifestation of the changes to the school’s ethos. In essence, it was about coordinating some of the changes that have already been described. It served as a method of recording sanctions, rewards and incentives, as well as a crucial aid to communication. It also logs the use of tutor time, including the daily act of worship. The Day Book, which is kept in the register, is completed by the form tutor on a daily basis, but is then accessible to all when the registers are returned to the school office. Thus, if there is communication with a parent concerning an absence, say, the office staff will record this in the Day Book. It is also used by anyone seeing a parent to provide background information covering, for example, detentions that have been given, punctuality, standards of uniform and reasons for absence. Information concerning incentive points or ‘STARS’ for good work or conduct can also be gleaned from the Day Book.

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For managers, the test of whether new ideas are working come shortly after they have been put into practice. In the particular case of the Day Book, in no time at all it had become such an integral part of the school’s workings that people questioned how on earth they had coped without it. At a more pragmatic level, the Day Book gave a central focus to the flow of information and gave meaning and credibility to many of the new systems and procedures that had been put in place. They had been drawn together in the context of this single document. Most importantly of all, it quickly gained acceptance by both the form tutors and pupils, who welcomed the transparency and coherence that it gave. The explanatory notes, written for the form tutors, were designed to be clear and straightforward.

Explanatory notes for form tutors 1. Procedures on attendance Action needs to be taken on the second day of a student’s absence if there has been no prior communication from parents. • • •

On the second day, phone. If not on the phone, send a standard letter (available from school office). If it is impossible for you to do this, ask school office to phone via a note in the Day Book.

Record: • •

•

Any action you have taken and the outcomes of any absence enquiry, e.g. rang/asthma. The receipt of any absence notes, telephone messages or information from the Education Welfare Officer (EWO), e.g. note/funeral. Destroy note once reason is recorded, check any suspicious notes against signature on home/school agreement. Any information regarding a student’s truancy, e.g. bullied.

2. Act of worship Keep a daily record of what is covered as an act of worship. You may find the following abbreviations useful in order to save time.

46

Transforming Northicote School R = reading from ‘Moments of Reflection’ D = discussion A = assembly P = prayer 3. Tutor time Record the work you carry out during your weekly tutor period, e.g. update of year file, student (name) interview or contacting parents, etc. 4. Incentive scheme Each day: Each tutor group is given 30 incentive points each week. The weekly minus totals are deducted from this total to show the tutor group’s score, e.g. weekly total weekly point *P A U 3 1 4 30 - 8 = 22 *P – punctuality; A – attendance; U – uniform

total 22

A cup will be awarded each term, in each year group, to the tutor group achieving the highest number of points. Record on the incentive chart a minus 1 for: • •

•

Every student late to registration. Any student returning from absence without a note (this is a minus 1, each day until a note is received. After one week consult the Head of Year. Every item of uniform missing or incorrect (regardless of notes, reasons, etc.)

5. Procedures on detentions Information on detentions should be received in the form of a detention slip via the register. Record the information on the relevant page of the Day Book.

Figure 3.4 The Day Book

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Transforming Northicote School

Clearly, there are occasions when other personnel mark the register, and it was vital that the system could be easily understood by all if high levels of consistency were to be achieved.

Key questions: conduct of pupils • • • •

In general, how well do the pupils behave in school? How successfully have the pupils developed a respect for other people and property? What evidence is there that pupils take responsibility and show initiative? How effectively does the school monitor pupils’ well-being?

Sharing the dream with others A major determinant of a successful school is the quality of its non-teaching or support staff. They are integral to any attempt to bring about improvement, since the weight of the school’s organization and administration falls squarely on their shoulders. In general, these colleagues represent the public face of the school and consequently hold in their hands the potential to affect, for good or ill, the school’s image. Governors, staff, parents, students, as well as a range of visitors to the school, will look to support staff for information and will base their first impressions on their contact with these ‘front-line’ personnel. Consequently, the non-teaching staff are to be valued as important members of the team and should be fully involved in the life of the school. At Northicote, members of the support staff were asked to serve on post-OFSTED working parties. They were able to make an invaluable contribution, largely because of their very clear overview of all the administration systems that were in place. The caretaker was re-titled site manager to reflect the need for his ongoing input regarding premises issues and was provided with an assistant to help deal with the daunting backlog of repairs and maintenance requiring attention. The assistant site manager, a competent tradesman, more than repaid the cost of his salary in a very short space of time. A further appointment, made at the end of Geoff Hampton’s first term as head teacher, was rather more unusual. He appointed a member of the support staff to take responsibility for the generation of external funding. Initially, her task was to generate enough income to recoup her salary, but the role grew into one that then required her to access grant regimes and other funding sources to try to assist with the school’s renaissance. So successful was this member of

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staff that major refurbishment programmes were made possible by the additional income that she was able to secure. Another significant spin-off of this activity was that a number of external agencies took an active interest in what the school was trying to achieve and some of these continue to play a part in the school’s development.

The wider community Schools exist within a context of parents and the wider community. Each has an agenda that has an impact on schools and ultimately on the students. Genuine and productive partnerships are therefore crucial if a school is to achieve its aims for the future. Clearly, the lurid press coverage that had accompanied the school’s failure had affected the wider community. Managing the repercussions of the OFSTED report was critically important, especially when I knew that I stood no chance of turning the school around without the support and involvement of the parents and the community. (GH) A report to parents was issued which was forward-looking and positive, declaring that the school welcomed the inspection because it provided a detailed basis for making positive changes. There were termly ‘good news’ newsletters to parents to keep them informed and to allay understandable concern. Parents reacted well to this approach: We worked hard to get parents on our side and to maintain a positive attitude to the school. When I took over the school, I phoned, or wrote personally to, every one of the 649 pupils’ parents, asking them to come to the first parents’ evening. (GH) To coincide with the press interest, a booklet was produced which fulfilled the statutory requirement of providing a summary of the report for parents and members of the community. The summary report appeared as the final part of the booklet and was preceded by a series of statements from the new head teacher and the chair of governors which detailed their plans for the school. Some artist’s impressions were commissioned, which were interspersed with the text to give an idea of the initial proposals for the buildings. Geoff Hampton was convinced that nothing would be achieved in isolation from the rest of the community. He wanted partnerships that would:

50 • •

Transforming Northicote School encourage a sharing of responsibility for the growth and development of the school and its students; and provide the school with critical friends – individuals and groups who, at appropriate times, listen and help to clarify the school’s thinking and to make sound decisions, who are not afraid to speak up when expectations are not met and when actions do not match intentions.

The parent teacher association Northicote’s recovery initiatives were based on the premise that involved and interested parents contribute significantly to the success of students. The school possessed an active and well-attended PTA at the time of Geoff Hampton’s arrival, although, in truth, many of those attending were no longer parents of students at the school but remained involved because of their enjoyment of the various activities that they had helped to organize. Presentations concerning the future direction of the school were made to the group, who were encouraged to take a more active interest in the academic life of the school. Once the initial shock had receded, this influential group of parents became powerful advocates for Northicote and, although they would often ask demanding and searching questions, they did so within the context of a shared dream of the school’s improvement. Thus, when the school uniform was changed, the views of these parents were sought, as they were when the detention system and other changes were being advocated. This involvement brought rich rewards, and the school became involved in: •

• • • • •

helping each home to create an environment that supported learning by providing advice on supportive learning practices that could be performed at home; developing two-way, jargon-free, meaningful communication about school routines, practices and student progress; recruiting and supporting parental and community help in the school itself; helping parents to support their children’s homework and other curricular and school-related activities; including parents in school decisions; identifying and integrating appropriate resources and services from the community to support the family and the students.

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Timing of the school day The school’s quest for improvement strategies that stood to make a difference, took the staff down a variety of intriguing routes. The school day – its duration, its balance, its distribution – came under scrutiny. Following discussions internally, as well as consideration of the systems found in other schools, the following pattern was adopted:

The school day 0835–0845 0845–0855 0855–0955 0955–1055 1055–1110 1110–1210 1210–1310 1310–1410 1410–1415 1415–1430 1430–1530

Staff briefing Registration Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Break Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Lunch Registration Assembly (2 per week) Lesson 5

School uniform Perhaps surprisingly, the school council pushed strongly for the introduction of a strict school uniform policy and of a different uniform to replace the sweatshirts that had existed previously. ‘I think it said something about them wanting to be proud of their school and via their uniform to make a clear statement that things were different.’ (GH)

Parent consultation evenings Traditionally, parents’ consultation evenings had not been well attended. Parents had complained of long waits, of being told the same things on each occasion and of sensitive conversations about their children being held in public places. Nevertheless, communication with parents had to be made more effective if parents were to become active participants in their children’s learning process.

52

Transforming Northicote School Attendance improved at parental consultations, if only out of curiosity, but the format of the evening was wrong. As a business we were not treating our customers properly. (GH)

The staff posed a fundamental question about consultation evenings: ‘Who are they for?’ Their answer was, unequivocally, ‘the parents’, which prompted a series of trials and explorations in order to discover the most satisfactory format for parents. For example: • •

parents were invited to select which teachers they wanted to see; the timings of consultation sessions were made more sympathetic towards parents who worked in the evening, or who had young children; the location was changed, so that now parents would meet with teachers in smaller rooms in the nicest part of the school; members of the senior management team would circulate and ensure that there were no log-jams and that staff kept to time; in their comments, teachers were asked to focus on achievement, not behaviour.

• • •

A dramatic improvement in attendance occurred almost immediately, and the feedback from parents was far more positive.

Key questions: school and community • • • • •

How effectively does the school communicate with parents and others outside the school? How are parents and members of the community encouraged to get to know the school well? To what extent are parents involved as partners in the education of their children? Does the school have effective links with industry, commerce and others? Is there a definite sense of community and a feeling of belonging?

4

Sanctions and rewards

Good and acceptable behaviour has to be recognized and rewarded in a way that will encourage more of it. (Webster, Came, Webster and Price, 1996)

Self-esteem and self-discipline are essential for success. The aim of the school was to provide the disciplined environment which would enable the students to achieve precisely those things. Geoff Hampton expected good behaviour and in return recognized and rewarded such behaviour.

The achievement scheme The achievement scheme was launched to recognize and promote the achievement of students in all areas of school life, through: effort: total commitment to and involvement in the lesson and work completed outside the lesson; time: regular attendance and a determination to make up work missed through unavoidable absence; attitude: approaching the lesson in a positive manner and being prepared to work and to cooperate (keeping to work deadlines, bringing equipment as required and caring for that equipment). Subject teachers were asked to make two nominations from each teaching group according to each of the above criteria and present these names to the appropriate head of faculty. Certificates are presented at end of term assemblies. In the final assembly of the year, the top two students in each year group are awarded their certificates.

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Presentation Evening Parents are informed of their children’s successes, the culmination of which is the annual Presentation Evening. This was introduced by the school in 1994 as a means of celebrating academic success. Although some doubted that the ‘climate’ was right for such an event, it made an immediate impact, the number of parents wishing to attend outstripping the seating capacity of the venue. High-quality venues were chosen for the event and sponsorship was obtained to meet the costs. Students who had been successful in examinations were awarded subject prizes, and others were awarded prizes for their achievements in music, sport, drama and other areas of school life.

The incentive scheme To be of maximum value, any incentive scheme needs to be applied consistently and continuously. The idea behind Northicote’s scheme is that each tutor group starts each week with 30 points. Tutors keep a daily record within the Day Book and take a point away when a student is guilty of misdemeanours in the key areas of attendance, punctuality and uniform. For example, points are deducted for transgressions such as lateness, failure to submit a note of explanation following a period of absence, the absence of, or inappropriate, school uniform. The final weekly total is displayed by the head of year (HoY) on the notice board. A cup is awarded each term, in each year group, to the tutor group achieving the highest number of points. The STAR scheme was designed to enable subject staff to nominate students for special praise for achievement, exceptional improvement, service to the school, involvement in activities, promoting the school, assisting staff, and so on. Nominations are passed to the appropriate head of year via the form tutor. Five points are added to the tutor group’s incentive points total and a certificate is awarded.

The detention system The school wished to make every effort to recognize student’s achievements through the incentive scheme, the achievement scheme and the reports sent to parents. However, for those students who were unwilling or unable to cooperate and abide by the rules, a detention system was introduced. Drawing the line – establishing what was acceptable – became an important message for the students. The detention system was incremental and, where necessary, escalated.

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Detentions

Duration

Application

Staff responsible

10 minutes

Minor offences at break/after school but not lunchtime Applied when students do not work, do not hand in homework, are regularly late, or in inappropriate uniform Failing to complete detention with no genuine excuse For non-attendance at a 45-minute detention or serious instances of misbehaviour

All

30 minutes

45-minutes 60 minutes

All

HoY, HoF SMT

The merit system Reinforcing the academic ethos As well as the annual Presentation Evening and the termly winners of the incentive scheme, it was felt appropriate to recognize good work and conduct on a daily basis. The achievement scheme, which was introduced by the heads of faculty, was also a cumulative process, with winners for each term and overall prizes for the year. The merit scheme underpins this and recognizes achievement in all aspects of school life on a daily basis. Merits can be given by any member of staff, teaching or non-teaching, to any pupil whose conduct or efforts deem this to be appropriate. Thus, a merit can be awarded by a lunchtime supervisor, site manager, reprographics assistant, or indeed any other member of staff. Merits are intended to encourage good behaviour and promote effort and academic achievement. The involvement of all staff directly involves them in this crucial area of school life and encourages them to give praise and to reward via the merit system, where this is appropriate.

Exclusions A necessary evil or necessary for the evil? The exclusion of students is a problematic area, particularly in a climate where inclusion in the learning process

Late

/

No equip.

No Poor homework behaviour

DETENTION REPORT

/

Figure 4.1 Day Book recording system for detentions

Sub Past

Faculty

Name

Date

Number

Beginning:

Week number

Lack of work

Re-issue

Other

1st

2nd

Date of detention

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57

is being preached as a vital necessity by the head teacher. As the original inspection report confirmed, and in common with many similar schools, Northicote possessed a small cohort of students whose behaviour was extremely problematic. These students were located mainly within Years 10 and 11 of the school and their negative impact was disproportionately higher than their actual numbers would suggest. They represented a clear challenge to school authority and many resisted all attempts to include them in the processes of changing the school. Careful consideration was given to the deployment of the staff responsible for the groups in which these individuals were located, and the head teacher and members of the senior management team took a particular interest in their behaviour in lessons and around the school. The challenge presented by these individuals was an ever-present factor. On occasions their hostility was evident and their potential to destroy much of what was being achieved was apparent. It felt like a direct challenge to me, although I suspect that I was merely the man at the top of the system representing a set of values they didn’t like. (GH) Although some positive behaviour modification did occur, several retained a highly negative view which meant that they would continue to strike back at a system, and at individuals, that they perceived to have failed them at every opportunity. For those in Year 11, containment and damage limitation were the order of the day, although some exclusions did occur for very extreme behaviour. One permanent exclusion made at the time related to an act of extreme violence against a teacher. This was an important message to the staff for, in spite of a stated desire to try to avoid exclusion, they needed to know that the head teacher and governors would support them in these most adverse of circumstances. The established principle was that there would be no knee-jerk reaction to exclusions. Given the volatile nature of the school, there could be instances of behaviour that warranted exclusion. For most pupils, it would be a punishment that would be utilized only after all other strategies had been tried and tested. Clear documentary records were introduced which were kept by the heads of year, and the parameters of a disciplinary framework as described previously were established. The involvement of parents was a key part in seeking behaviour modification with their offspring and although with many families this can be time consuming, the creation of channels of communication with the home can

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Transforming Northicote School

avoid problems if exclusion becomes absolutely necessary. At least in the most adverse circumstances, the parents are unable to feign no knowledge of their child’s behaviour.

The role of parents Eliciting support, encouraging involvement, establishing communication One thing was certain: the school could not afford to be complacent about its relationship with parents. The challenge was to reverse parental apathy. Geoff Hampton went to great lengths to make parents and pupils feel more committed to the school. Parents were sent a brochure explaining the inspectors’ findings and his vision for the school’s future. Regular meetings and informative brochures have since followed, including the one giving the triumphal ‘all clear’ message. Geoff Hampton was convinced that nothing would be achieved in isolation from the rest of the community. You’ve got to shift parents’ perceptions. And where you are bowled a very difficult ball which can only reinforce negative perceptions, you’ve got to take it head on and try and change things. You can shift attitudes in all sorts of ways, by communications, by talking to 550 pupils day by day and by going out and meeting people. You can also challenge it more directly in terms of what you are doing and how you portray the school. (GH) All of the stakeholders had to be aware of the contribution that was required of them within the action plan produced for OFSTED. The parents and the wider community had to be convinced that the new head teacher could deliver a vision of the school that they could be proud of. Hopefully, this helped to contextualize some of the changes that they had to absorb. There were also significant attempts to involve parents in working with children who were experiencing literacy problems, not merely to help children to read and write but also to extend their own education. The parent-student reading project (PSRP) was initiated by the new head of special educational needs, who targeted twelve Year 8 students who were experiencing literacy problems unrelated to behaviour and discipline difficulties. Their parents were

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personally approached and asked if they would come to school to help and, with the exception of those who could not get time off work or who were ill, all turned up. Those who were unable to come into school expressed their gratitude and enthusiasm for the added help their child was getting. The PSRP took place every Wednesday morning. The first half was taken up with activities related to the curriculum subjects that the pupils might otherwise have been taking. This was followed by word games, paired reading and computer-based reading activities. Re-testing at the end of the year showed that all pupils had increased their reading ages – some to the point where the extent of their involvement in the project could be halved. The benefits for the parents were that they were encouraged to try to further their qualifications in word processing and parenting skills; and some even participated in courses that the school provided in conjunction with a local college, from which they gained RSAs or National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). More than fifty parents actively contributed to the teaching and learning within the school. Parents were also asked to support a home/school agreement which has subsequently become more widely adopted.

Home/school agreement The Northicote School will: • • • • •

Strive to maintain the highest standards of academic achievement and pastoral care. Set challenging work, appropriate to the ability of the individual child. Regularly mark books and set homework. Report progress to parents on a regular, pre-determined basis. Involve parents in discussions about a child’s academic or pastoral welfare.

We would like you as parents to: • • •

Support the school by ensuring standards of uniform, behaviour and attendance are maintained. Ensure that there are areas at home where homework can be completed without disturbance. Inform the school of any concerns regarding your child’s progress.

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Transforming Northicote School • •

Work in partnership with Northicote in all matters regarding your child’s welfare. Support the school in maintaining discipline.

Key questions: sanctions and rewards •

•

•

The behaviour of pupils, if inappropriate, can quickly sap staff morale. How do you alter the ‘norm’ without consuming every available moment of time? To change the ethos of the school, a whole series of alterations – albeit quite small taken individually – will have to be made. Where does the stimulus for these come from and how will they be sustained? To what extent should the school assist parents to overcome their deficiencies?

5

The academic curriculum

If pupils don’t learn the way we teach, perhaps we should teach the way they learn. (Geoff Hampton, 1994)

This quotation was used by Geoff Hampton to provoke and challenge staff to examine the practice of their teaching to ensure that it was as effective and relevant as possible. He was aware that the quality of teaching is at the heart of school improvement. In spite of all my attempts to put appropriate systems and structures in place, if these are not accompanied by a fundamental change to what is occurring in the majority of classrooms, then the miracle that we are seeking will not occur . . . Even the best practitioners that the school possesses need to examine their practice and to share what works with others; hopefully, in this way, we will start to impact upon classroom practice that, even at its best, is too safe with the emphasis being upon control via rigidity, rather than the engagement of the students’ interests. (GH) If the school was to succeed in making an impact, Geoff Hampton felt that the staff needed to empathize more closely with the learning needs of those whom they taught. Consequently, to assist with lesson planning and to support the type of renaissance that he was seeking, he offered to his staff a distillation of the learning needs of their pupils: • •

I need to have some short-term achievable targets I need to know what is expected of me

62 • • • • •

Transforming Northicote School I need to be offered strategies to help me learn effectively I need to feel valued and respected I need to know what I can do well and what I need to improve I need to recognize my own achievements and have them recognized by others I need to be able to evaluate my own learning and to develop my own strategies to improve it

While these points initiated and provoked a valuable debate about classroom methodology and lesson content, other areas of the curriculum were also under scrutiny.

Playing to strengths Modifications to help raise standards Given so much negative feeling about the school – what it stood for, how it did things, what it achieved – it was important to establish what was actually successful. Geoff Hampton embarked on a subject area audit in the hope that this would help him identify his most successful curriculum areas. Coupled with this was a skills audit which helped him to identify not only his best teachers but also the skills that others would need to develop to be equally, if not more, effective. Close observation of teachers in the teaching environment revealed a great deal of ‘safe’ teaching, characterized by: • • • • • • •

excessive copying from the board over-reliance on book-based activity emphasis on negative control strategies lack of interaction with students passive learning strategies little challenge inappropriate pacing of lessons

Getting back to basics Curriculum In consultation with his senior team and the governing body, Geoff Hampton drew up five priorities pertaining to the design and delivery of the curriculum:

The academic curriculum 1

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To develop an active governors’ curriculum working group with the following agreed terms of reference: • to ensure that all governing body and other committee decisions are curriculum led; • to monitor the implementation of curriculum policies, including the National Curriculum; • to promote and support curriculum development within the financial limitations set by the finance committee/finance and general purposes committee; • to monitor assessment and testing arrangements.

2 3 4 5

To develop, implement and monitor the whole-school curriculum policy. To maintain the curriculum model as agreed in the action plan in the light of changes to the National Curriculum, staffing and budgetary changes. To reorganize the school day. To use resulting changes in staffing to absorb cuts necessary due to budgetary constraints and to improve the balance of the overall staff.

The curriculum needed breadth and balance. Literacy and numeracy were singled out as key targets and the amount of curriculum time spent on technology and humanities was reduced. This was partly to make a management statement about the importance of literacy and numeracy and partly to counteract a nonacademic ethos that had permeated the school and which had led to an imbalance in time apportioned to literacy, language, maths and, to some extent, science. Additional time was given to the core subjects. The time allocated to subjects where the teaching was poor was cut with the inevitable consequence that, in some curriculum areas, there had to be redundancies. The teaching of music was adversely affected by a protracted staff absence that resulted in the subject being withdrawn from the formal curriculum for two years. Students with an interest were taught by peripatetic teachers in extra-curricular time. Similarly, the reduction in humanities time led to staffing reductions in geography and history. Considerable support was offered to colleagues in those areas where practice still needed to improve.

The school day By changing the timing of the school day it was felt that levels of achievement could be raised through improved quality of teaching and learning. The evidence from the OFSTED inspection had clearly suggested that although the overall

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length of the school day was appropriate, the duration of lessons was too long. In addition, there was a need to formalize the time spent in school in order to maximize the time available. In short, the school was looking for a redistribution of time that: • • • •

allowed for a more coherent structure built in greater flexibility provided for meetings continued to allow blocking

Different models were discussed with the staff and pupils via the school council, some of which were more radical than others. The consensus was to move towards a longer morning with the afternoon consisting of assembly/tutorial time followed by a single lesson. The length of lessons was reduced to one hour which was considered to be the optimum length of time and which would hopefully eliminate some of the ‘tailing off’ that could frequently be observed. This also enabled the incorporation of some of the additional lessons in core subjects, the ten minutes gained from each of five lessons plus a ten-minute lengthening of the day providing an additional lesson. As will be seen later, start and finish times were also altered, following a review of the lunch period.

Policies The time, energy and effort required to compile policies is considerable and, with so many now required by law, daunting. Northicote’s head wanted the school’s policies to be statements of purpose accompanied by broad guidelines on how goals were to be achieved. He believed that good policy documents should: • • • • • • • •

translate broad school aims into precise objectives support the teaching and learning process support all staff in their understanding of agreed and expected actions provide a framework for reviewing and monitoring establish the school’s attitudes towards key issues be clear and unambiguous be disseminated to all relevant parties be backed up in assemblies, form tutor periods, at parents’ evenings or in newsletters

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Table 5.1 Northicote school policies (list from staff folder) Policy

Status

Review date

Contact person

Assessment

Approved by governors (date)

Equal Opportunities

Approved by governors (date)

Health and Safety

Approved by governors (date)

Staff development

Draft agreed

Behaviour and

Approved by governors (date)

e.g. Begin 1999

e.g. ANO

Discipline Collective Worship

Draft agreed

School Journeys

Procedures agreed

Sex Education

Approved by governors (date)

Homework

Approved by governors (date)

IT

Draft agreed

Language

Draft agreed

Numeracy

Under discussion

Curriculum

Approved by governors (date)

Minibus

Approved by governors (date)

Drugs

Approved by governors (date)

Child Protection

• • •

be drafted by the most appropriate people be reviewed, revised and updated according to a published schedule be costed, where appropriate

All staff received copies of every policy. Amendments and additions are circulated at the start of each academic year, together with a full set of copies for new staff. A full reference set of policies was also retained within the school office (see Table 5.1 ) and a list of policies was printed in the staff folder. This document was intended to provide all staff with a check list for all policies. They were able to see at a glance the current status of the policy, when it would be reviewed and who was the contact person for any queries.

Schemes of work Interpretations of what effective schemes of work might be vary enormously. Like the descriptions brought back by sixteenth-century travellers of semimythical beasts from unknown corners of the world, there are a number of

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common features but there is also a great deal of imaginative elaboration as to the number of legs, fins, horns, or tails it has, all of them pretty terrifying. In short, however, a scheme of work is a detailed description of the teaching and learning which will take place. Schemes of work should be instrumental in helping maintain and improve standards, form a consensus between staff, and provide a consistent approach within each curriculum area. Geoff Hampton looked to departmental schemes of work to: • • • • • •

reflect the requirements set out in the programmes of study; reflect the broad principles laid down in the statement of school policy; detail knowledge, skills and processes to be taught; serve as a basic document to which teachers refer when planning lessons; provide clear guidance about the content of work to be covered; offer guidance about the range of teaching styles to be adopted.

In essence, he was concerned more with how (teaching styles and methods) than with what (content). Geoff Hampton was also anxious that his staff should ask themselves why they were teaching something, which he believed would help to stimulate a debate about curriculum content. The consideration of the what and the why should lead to a detailed, easy to use, summary for teachers of how the department intends to deliver its planned curriculum for students. Typically, a scheme of work details: • • • • • • • •

course content; learning objectives – in terms of knowledge, skills and understanding; assessment objectives; classroom management and support techniques; teaching approaches; resources; extension work – which may include homework activities; curricular organization – shown by term, year and key stage.

Example x Topic: Key questions

Stage: Concepts/terminology

Year: Teaching and learning points

Resources Homework

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Table 5.2 A proposed format for a scheme of work TITLE

Just a few words to identify the particular sequence of work. It helps if it’s meaningful to students too.

TIME SPAN

A brief introduction of how many weeks or lessons the sequence usually takes to complete.

AIMS

Or intentions for the sequence – what is expected that students will learn during it.

ACTIVITIES

A brief summary of the main tasks and experiences to be undertaken by students.

STRATEGIES

Some indication of the teaching strategies which might be used for the different parts of the sequence.

DIFFERENTIATION

Suggestions for modifying the materials, activities or strategies to meet the needs of different students or groups; pairings or groupings; use of support staff, etc.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES MATERIALS

Provision for bilingual and SEN students. Or resources. Brief list of things others have used in this sequence, or specific texts around which to build. Usually suggestions rather than prescription e.g. films, visitors or IT.

EVALUATION

Or opportunities which the sequence presents for assessment. Crucially this is about reviewing, and improving the SoW.

Key questions: Schemes of Work In relation to the department’s scheme(s) of work: • • •

Are the requirements of the appropriate National Curriculum programmes of study being met? Are SoW in place for all years/groups? Are there links with other key stages?

68

Transforming Northicote School • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Are resource constraints dealt with satisfactorily? Are time allocations sufficiently clear? Are key learning objectives and methods identified? Are assessment objectives and methods identified? Is there evidence of progression? Are subject-specific skills being developed coherently? Is there sufficient help for staff to match activities to the variety of students’ abilities? Are extension and homework activities identified? Is a suitable range of resources identified for each topic or unit of work? Is there an appropriate range of teaching and learning styles suggested? Are ‘cross-curricular’ elements identified? Are issues of health and safety sufficiently identified e.g. risk assessments? Are opportunities for using ICT identified?

Lesson planning The scheme of work should provide the framework from which teachers can develop individual lesson plans. The planning of lessons, and the activities contained within them, is central to the success of teaching. Planning is an ongoing process of adaptation based on the teacher’s understanding of student needs. Very often, however, ignorance of the way to learn, more than the effort of learning itself, breaks the spirit of men [and women] who are both studious and anxious to do so. Alberti (fifteenth century painter and writer)

Monitoring and mentoring Monitoring the curriculum – an exercise in quality assurance In the school context, quality is about creating and maintaining an environment conducive to effective learning. Having placed so much emphasis upon curriculum content and delivery, the impact of this has to be monitored. Clearly, the quality of lessons is influenced by all of the other factors that the new structures and systems were intended to address. This meant that pupils were

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now arriving in lessons on time, with the proper equipment and in an orderly manner, and all were following a code of conduct intended to support all of the preparatory planning work that the staff had undertaken. The monitoring of this to ensure that both sides were keeping to the bargain – staff and pupils – became a major task for the senior and, ultimately, the middle managers. This quality assurance process is essential if the concepts and ideals are to become rooted in everyday practice. For the head teacher, this initially meant establishing the principle within the senior management team and then, after further discussion, within the middle management group. The ongoing checking of planning and preparation, lesson observation and sampling were all used to assist with quality control procedures. ‘Book See’ was initiated shortly afterwards, which meant that a cross-section of pupils from each year group would hand in all of their books for scrutiny to a senior or middle manager who would examine content, quality of marking and presentation, and the frequency and relevance of homework.

Mentoring, taking an interest, making a difference The school developed procedures for monitoring student achievement. Homework was particularly carefully scrutinized. There was a study support club two nights a week, while a homework diary served as an aide memoire for parents and students. Two members of staff were given responsibility for performance monitoring, in terms of generating and policing the policy. The heads of faculty undertook lesson observations and spot-checks of exercise books and scrutinized the hard data resulting from tests and examinations. ‘We also targeted particular borderline pupils. Members of the senior management team met with them on a weekly basis to check their work and set new targets’ (GH). Targeting in itself, however was not the most important thing. More important was raising the culture of achievement within the school.

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Beyond the academic

Without a value added dimension the obvious basis for judgement is that higher scores represent better practice and lower scores worse. This could lead to unwanted complacency in some schools and unnecessary despair in others. (Sir Ron Dearing, 1994)

Changing the culture Creating an ethos within the school community where ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ are key shared principles is at the heart of an empowered school. (Hargreaves and Hopkins, 1991) One of the most powerful messages to emerge from the literature on school improvement is the importance of a school’s culture in promoting or hindering change. Despite widespread agreement within the research fraternity that school culture is the deciding factor when it comes to a school’s capacity to improve, real understanding of what culture really looks like still seems to elude us. Bush (1998) had already described culture as ‘elusive’ and ‘a shadowy concept’, yet, like others before him, Geoff Hampton was faced with the dilemma of having to audit Northicote’s culture and subsequently manage it. An important preliminary stage in managing culture was to establish its main organizational features. Paradoxically, he came to understand what culture was by witnessing its absence or erosion. ‘The first thing I noticed was the apathy. All these children drifting about, not wanting to be here’ (GH). Looking back, he associates himself strongly with two main definitions of culture. The first, ‘the way we do things around here’ (Deal, 1987), and the

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Table 6.1 Establishing cultural definitions Context

Evidence of absent or eroded culture

Relationships

how the staff related to and worked with one another; their attitudes towards each other, to the support staff and to the students; the tone and quality of leadership provided by senior staff, subject leaders, pastoral heads; sense of purpose. clarity of roles and responsibilities; decision-making procedures; communication systems; student groupings; pastoral care; care of the environment; display. the breadth and balance of the curriculum on offer; attitudes and expectations of staff and students; equal opportunities; special educational needs provision; teacher professional development; staff attitudes towards lifelong learning.

Organization

Learning

second, ‘the ways in which those who belong to the organization feel, think and act’ (MacGilchrist et al., 1995). These definitions enabled the incoming leader to identify elements of the prevailing culture in three contexts (Table 6.1). Knowing what was wrong is one thing, fixing it is another. Leadership is much about generating culture, either to reinforce that which was effective or to change radically that which was not. Geoff Hampton started this process by focusing on the aims of the school. He was searching for a way of expressing his purpose and implementing his values and beliefs. He knew that such a statement would have to: • • • • •

be clear and concise; identify a common vision and set of values; be well-stated; seize everybody’s interest; ultimately, create a strong culture.

The school’s new aim was to ensure ‘Excellence for Everyone’. This was to be achieved by supporting both staff and students in delivering and accessing the curriculum and ensuring that all students:

72 • • •

Transforming Northicote School recognize their personal achievements; have aims that are attainable; are able to take their place in the community as caring and responsible adults.

Celebrating achievement Building a culture of achievement through the use of the merits system, the incentive scheme and the annual Presentation Evening has already been described. These strategies undoubtedly played a part in changing the ethos of the school. Staff were also encouraged to display pupils’ work in classrooms and the use of displays within the corridors was reinstated.

The marketing group Many of the strategies associated with the creation of the ethos of the ‘New Northicote’ quickly became part of the remit of the marketing group. This was a voluntary group comprising teaching and non-teaching staff who met every Friday lunchtime. Initially, the group was established to act to counter some of the extremely adverse and damaging press coverage that the school was attracting. Subsequently, however, this group: • • •

produced a termly newsletter for distribution to parents and the wider community, which was very well received; designed a new prospectus and brochure; assumed responsibility for open evenings for prospective parents. The format of this evening was revised to one where small groups of parents were escorted by a member of staff on tours of the school. Various activities and presentations were given on the carefully selected route, which was designed to concentrate upon the more favourable parts of the school premises.

The local media were also circulated with positive stories about aspects of school life. These were selected and discussed previously by the marketing group. The school had some success in getting the stories published but, for some time, they were prefaced with the school’s most prominent claim to fame – that it had failed! The marketing group was crucial in supporting the head teacher in his attempt to alter the pervading ethos of the school. Although it was never officially constituted as a formal meeting group, the influence of this team of people was incredibly far-reaching.

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Table 6.2 Monitoring attendance

The group decided to elect a chair on an annual basis and, for the first three years, this was a member of the non-teaching staff. She was more than happy to chair the group even though it contained a wide cross-section of staff including the head teacher and members of the senior management team. This was a wonderful example of latent ability being brought to the fore. After a few

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months the value of the group was recognized by the school governors, who apportioned a small budget for the group to use in support of its activities.

Attendance ‘If they aren’t in school, they can’t learn.’ This became the watchword for staff at the school as they attempted to transform a pre-OFSTED overall attendance level of 78 per cent and a 4 per cent level of unauthorized absence to levels that were considerably more respectable. The school had to impress upon students and their parents that high rates of absenteeism would not only adversely affect educational attainment but also that the prospects of getting and holding down a job would also be damaged. Northicote’s approach was to: • • • •

emphasize the importance of early intervention by the use of mentoring programmes for difficult pupils; tackle truancy via close monitoring of attendance; encourage prevention through multi-agency working and partnerships with parents; use the pastoral support system to intervene with students at serious risk of permanent exclusion.

Attendance, then, was closely monitored and the issue given a very high profile with students and staff. Statistical evidence was produced weekly. Improvements in attendance were brought about through consolidated teamwork (Table 6.2). The school made the decision to adopt a traditional registration system, as opposed to a computerized version. This followed a trial of computerized approaches, when the disadvantages became apparent: • • • •

tutors left the computer to do the work achieving an overview was difficult the issue of ‘ownership’ of registers arose the initial success of the Day Book was removed

School uniform The appearance of pupils when in school has a powerful influence on the overall school ethos. A form of school uniform was in existence when Geoff Hampton arrived, but this was not rigorously enforced and was subject to

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Figure 6.2 Monitoring attendance Parents

Tutors

Office support staff

Heads of year Pastoral coordinator/ education social worker

Governors

Sign letter of cooperation Telephoned on first day of their child’s absence Provide letter of explanation on child’s return to school Record absence in Day Book Telephone parents on day 2 Send standard letter to parents Telephone home if tutor is unable to do so Compile weekly attendance figures for tutor groups, year groups and all students Use data in assemblies to reinforce school’s stance Use data for ‘blitzing’ Maintain oversight Hold weekly meetings with office support staff Agree follow-up action Send joint letter Feedback Day Book Pastoral Working Party monitors attendance figures termly Telephone parents Interview those found truanting

considerable freedom of interpretation by the older pupils. As part of the overall strategy for bringing about improvement, a consultation process, involving a group of staff, students and parents, was embarked upon. This helped to inform the deliberations of the members of the marketing group, who were driving this change. The views of the PTA were clearly expressed and the school council echoed these. Both groups felt that the current uniform, which consisted of a sweatshirt top for both boys and girls emblazoned with the letter ‘N’, should be changed. Many of the pupils felt that the uniform was shapeless, while the parents complained of colours fading and poor durability. Beyond these observations, views then became polarized. This was particularly apparent among the staff, who felt that there were sufficient difficulties monitoring the present fairly ‘loose’ code for uniform and that these problems would be exacerbated were a new uniform introduced. Nonetheless, Geoff Hampton felt that, as part of the new school image, a change of uniform was vital. Perceptions of a school held by the wider community are often based upon the behaviour and appearance of the pupils as they travel to and from school. The marketing group became the vehicle for advancing this discussion, and it took some time for the group to finalize their consultation and confirm the style and colour of the new uniform. The original school

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colours of blue and gold were retained, but the eventual decision was to return to a traditional uniform, with blazers for boys and girls, a new school tie, white shirts and black trousers or skirts. The wearing of trainers was also banned. Some staff felt that this would prove to be too expensive for many parents, and steps were taken to try to make the transition to the new code as easy as possible. For example, a uniform shop was established in the school where all items were available at minimum cost. The school purchased blazers in bulk and consequently was able to sell them at a vastly reduced price. To make it as easy as possible for parents, two evenings were held at the start and end of the summer holiday where the PTA sells items of uniform. A deferred payment scheme was also introduced. Thus, with bated breath, the new intake of September 1994 – the first cohort to wear the new uniform – were awaited. Their appearance was spectacular: every single one of them was in the new uniform. Changing the school uniform would be a lengthy process, as it was only to apply to new pupils on intake and, consequently, it would take time for this change to spread throughout the school. However, the impact of this alteration to the ethos of the school was far more dramatic than the head could ever have imagined. Not only were the new intake resplendent in their new dress code but the consultation process, which had involved the existing cohort of pupils, had prompted large numbers of them also to adopt the new uniform for the start of term. Any remaining cynicism was dispelled and pupils were now taking pride in being associated with the ‘New Northicote’. Every once in a while there are moments when all the effort, the stress and the sheer hard work, seem worthwhile. The pride of the parents and the pupils in their new school uniform could not have been greater than mine. (GH) The task of monitoring compliance with the new uniform code was clearly important. After making such huge strides it was inconceivable that the high standards set on the first day should be allowed to slip. The adherence to the wearing of the previous uniform was also reinforced and form tutors were asked to monitor this on a daily basis. The use of incentive points, as part of the Day Book scheme, contributed to this process, as pupils were reluctant to let down their peers by losing points for the form.

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Sporting links Areas such as sport, drama and music make a substantial contribution to the ethos of the school. The problems surrounding music within the school have already been referred to and following its demise, it was to be two years later, following the appointment of a new head of department, the demolition of the music room and the creation of a new facility, before music could assume its rightful place within the school curriculum. Drama provision was also problematic. No obvious location for performing arts existed. The stage lighting had been condemned as being electrically unsafe and no responsibility existed among the staff for the subject. The new head of music was appointed as head of performing arts and, in recent years, music and drama have once again flourished at the school. Sport offered more fertile territory for forward momentum in the weeks that followed the initial adverse inspection. There were some existing links with local clubs and groups, and the use of the school’s sporting facilities beyond school hours was increased. Broader community use of premises was also encouraged, a range of courses being initiated in partnership with a local college of further education. Alterations to the premises meant that a building adjoining the sports hall was surplus to school requirements and, rather than carrying out the proposed demolition of this facility, the local authority was persuaded to convert it into an adult education centre. The message that adults were returning to learn was a powerful one to convey to the pupils, who became used to the presence of adults on the premises either because they were participating in adult education or as part of their role in the family literacy projects. Close ties were also established with the local football club, Wolverhampton Wanderers. The school was short-listed as the location for their training ground but, ultimately, a more affluent part of the town was selected. However, this link undoubtedly assisted in raising the profile of the school and was instrumental in the recruitment of a parent governor who worked at the stadium. It also gave rise to a lottery bid which was ultimately taken forward in conjunction with a local cricket club and led to a valuable contribution to the enhancement of the PE curriculum. The key factor in all of the initiatives mentioned here was the engagement of the staff, pupils and the wider community in issues which could have a positive impact on the ethos of the school. There is no one factor capable of transforming the ethos, climate and culture of an organization such as a school, although it is undoubtedly influenced most of all by the vision and drive of the head teacher. For Northicote, changes had to occur quickly and the participation of

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the wider community in matters that stood to make a positive impact upon the ethos and future direction of the school was crucial if the dream of improvement was to be delivered.

Key questions: beyond the academic • •

•

Is school improvement always about more than what occurs in lessons? How do you encourage parents, whose school careers may have been unsuccessful, to respond positively to the education of their children? Should all schools be media-aware? How might this be achieved?

7

Staff structures and staff development

Educational change depends on what teachers do and think. It’s as simple and as complex as that. (Fullan, 1991)

If we are to believe the outcomes of school improvement research, the biggest hurdle to be overcome is securing the commitment of staff to change. The challenge for the new head teacher of Northicote was no different: to find ways of bringing the staff on board and getting them committed to and prepared to become involved in long-lasting change. He decided to focus his attention on the following elements: • • • • •

high quality professional working relationships teamwork shared leadership shared understandings teachers’ own learning

The attitude of the staff to the judgements made by OFSTED fell into three categories. For some, their inner beliefs about the school were confirmed, for others a state of denial ensued and for still others, the judgements presented a personal and professional challenge to change the school’s fortunes. Individual meetings with staff, though expensive in terms of time, were very worthwhile. The agenda for these meetings (usually lasting one hour) was clearly evident and the ensuing conversations were open and frank.

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The majority of staff were clearly concerned about the future of the school and the impact this might have upon their own future careers. Many also recognized that improvements within the context of the classroom were at the heart of the recovery that the school was attempting. There was, at that time, no real attempt to define the constituent parts of the teachers’ roles and the overall contribution that these might make to the task of school improvement. For those staff whose performance clearly needed to improve, the compilation of a set of generic competencies offered a framework for improvement and the potential to make judgements about their progress and effectiveness.

Teacher competencies The teacher competencies required of all teaching staff at The Northicote School were set out as follows.

1. Subject knowledge 1.1

1.2 1.3 1.4

It is expected that teachers will have an understanding of the knowledge, concepts and skills of their specialist subjects and the place of these subjects in the school curriculum. They should know and understand the National Curriculum attainment targets and the programmes of study in these subjects. Teachers should keep themselves informed of current developments within their specialist subject. Teachers should prepare themselves adequately to teach their nonspecialist subject supported by the head of department/ faculty.

2. Subject application The teacher should: 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5

Follow the department’s scheme of work and keep lesson plans which show continuity and progression. Set appropriately demanding expectations for each pupil. Employ a range of teaching strategies, appropriate to the age, ability and attainment levels of the pupils. Select and use appropriate resources, including ICT. Present lessons using clear language and in a stimulating manner, utilizing a variety of teaching styles where appropriate.

Staff structures and staff development 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9

81

Set and mark homework in line with department and school policy. Contribute to the development of pupils’ language and communication skills. Create an attractive learning environment by displaying pupils’ work and other material in the classroom. Set suitable work in the event of foreseen absence and other instances, if possible.

3. Classroom management The teacher should endeavour to: 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5

Create and maintain a purposeful and orderly environment for the pupils. Use the grouping that is appropriate for particular learning purposes, e.g. whole class, pairs, small groups, individual. Use appropriate sanctions and rewards in line with faculty and wholeschool policy. Maintain pupils’ interest and motivation. Ensure that the classroom environment, including furniture, decor and equipment, is respected by all pupils.

4. Assessment and recording The teacher should endeavour to: 4.1

4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5

Identify the current level of attainment of individual pupils using NC ATs, statements of attainment and end of key stage statements, where applicable. Be able to judge how well a pupil performs against the standard expected for a pupil of that age. Assess and record systematically the progress of individual pupils in line with departmental and whole-school policy. Mark work and give feedback to pupils regularly on their progress. Use assessment as a fundamental part of their teaching.

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5. Tutoring The tutor should endeavour to: 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4

5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 5.12

Keep the register in line with school policies. Record information concerning their tutor group in the Day Book and on record cards. Use designated tutor time to keep records up to date and record the use of that time as directed by the head of year. Ensure that tutorial time is used purposefully, for example: To ensure that pupils understand the aims, objectives and policies of the school and constantly reinforce them. To ensure effective two-way communication. To promote good behaviour, attendance and punctuality. To work with pupils causing concern. To undertake activities to develop group identity. Record the use of time. Ensure that the tutor group takes part in an act of worship. Keep home and/or school informed of any issues affecting the welfare or education of the pupils within their group. Ensure that designated teaching staff are informed about child abuse. Make every reasonable effort to get to know the pupils in their group as individuals. Fulfil the role of the tutor as required by our Recording of Achievement process. Carry out procedures involved in the audit of special educational needs. Ensure that the head of year is kept fully informed of any developments relating to individuals from a tutor group in their year. Actively promote equal opportunities.

Staff who carried additional points for holding positions of responsibility had a supplement to their job description, which detailed the requirements of their particular post and attendant responsibilities. These were grouped under the four areas: • • • •

managing people managing policy managing resources managing learning

The job descriptions of all staff followed the same format (Figure 7.1), including those that were produced for the head and his senior management team. A similar format was also followed for the job descriptions for the non-teaching staff.

Staff structures and staff development The Northicote School Job title: Responsible to: Responsible for: Teacher of: Tutor:

Seniorteacher Deputy head teacher

The main purpose of this role is to oversee the pastoral, learning support and examinations and assessment systems of the school. This will also lead to the development of school policies and the implementation of monitoring and review procedures where necessary, in order to help staff and students to achieve effective learning/or attain excellence. Your responsibilities can be grouped in four areas of management: A Managing policy 1.

2. 3.

To ensure that maths (including music), science (including PE) and support for learning faculties reflect the whole school policies in their faculty handbook. To ensure that other areas of school life that you manage reflect policies and to review their contribution to them. Through your role on the senior management team (SMT), to help to shape the whole school policies.

B Managing learning 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

To demonstrate excellence in classroom practice. To assist in monitoring learning across the school through Book See, feeding back to staff and students. To be a member of the governors’ curriculum working party. To be a member of the curriculum board. As a member of the SMT to be responsible for the shape of the curriculum at Key Stages 3, 4 and 5. To make recommendations to the SMT concerning further curricular developments. To chair the group responsible for the development plan strand of communication and procedures.

C Managing People 1.

2. 3.

To line-manage the heads of maths, science and support for learning and the assessment coordinator, monitoring and reviewing the work of their areas against whole school and faculty development plans, targets and aims (as identified in their handbook). To support the discipline of these faculties/areas and provide an escalation when appropriate. To chair regular meetings of the health and safety working party.

83

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Transforming Northicote School D Managing resources 1. 2.

As a member of the SMT to agree on the deployment of capitation and external funding. To support the heads of maths, science and support for learning and the assessment coordinator in managing their funds appropriately. To manage the health and safety budget.

3.

Signed .............................................. Signed .............................................. Date .................................................. Date .................................................

Figure 7.1 Job description format

Changing the structure Several years of inadequate planning and performance management had led to low morale among the staff. As a matter of considerable urgency Geoff Hampton needed to revitalize the professional body. This meant rewarding those whose performance and commitment to the school was in little doubt and dispensing with the services of those who were unable or unwilling to accept the challenge laid down by the outcomes of the OFSTED inspection. Staff were heavily monitored against the list of competencies high-lighted earlier, and many felt reassured and supported by this process. However, in a two-year period there was a staff turnover of 30 per cent. Of those staff who left, Geoff Hampton regrets losing only two. It is inevitable when faced with such an uncertain future that some of the staff will question whether their future lies within the establishment. In spite of all of my efforts at communicating my ideas and my attempts at shaping the future direction, two exceedingly capable young staff left the school. This was particularly problematic at a time when frankly I could ill afford to lose competent classroom practitioners. It also had the potential for causing unrest among others and part of the trick of restructuring had to be ensuring it would provide incentives for those staff who would help shape our future destiny. (GH) Managerially, the school was in considerable difficulty. The inspection report had pointed to the need to improve the school’s management structure to

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Table 7.1 Senior management responsibilities at Northicote Deputy head

Senior teacher

Senior teacher

Policy group

Assessment and examinations Curriculum

Post-16

Developing and writing Community links policies Overseeing the pastoral Managing some faculties Health and safety system Monitoring site development Managing some faculties

clarify roles and responsibilities. On his arrival Geoff Hampton had found an awfully large number of teachers having additional remuneration for extra responsibility with no commensurate return in management control and action, no accountability of senior staff and no vision or drive in senior or middle management teams. Consequently, the staff were restructured with clearer lines of accountability, but the new structure meant changes of staff and a small number of jobs were lost. A morning staff briefing was introduced, which assisted communication and acted as a vehicle for raising staff morale for the day ahead. The new job descriptions were introduced, based on competence, and helped to reinforce expectations for appropriate staff performance. Historically the school had had a large number of heads of department – well in excess of double figures. To build on the school’s strengths, six new faculties were created from curriculum areas and teachers that did well in inspection. The modern foreign languages (MFL) department was merged with English, for example, to create a languages faculty. This move enabled more emphasis to be placed on language and literacy throughout the school. The MFL department was one area of the school singled out for good teaching, and clearly this merger was intended to assist an English department described as ‘just satisfactory’. Geoff Hampton transformed the nebulous management of the school into a much more focused, controlled operation, with power and direction clearly emanating from the top. A new senior management team was created, made up of the head teacher, the deputy head and two senior teachers; each took on specific roles such as policy development, assessment, curriculum and post-16 education (see Table 7.2). Several new teachers were also recruited. A pastoral coordinator was designated to manage the team of year heads.

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Encouraging strengths and countering weaknesses Inevitably, change of the magnitude envisaged as necessary to transform the fortunes of Northicote would confront the fundamental beliefs and attitudes of staff and could possibly lead to some form of conflict. Whereas the vast majority of teachers are hard-working, hard-pressed professionals, there remain those whose capability is in question. Geoff Hampton’s approach to change was to concentrate it on the classroom in such a way that teachers would experience the benefits of change personally and, hopefully, positively. One of the more difficult things to do was to remove those staff who were unwilling to accept the findings of OFSTED or to act upon them. Several members of staff gained promotion at the school and elsewhere, but, conversely, others were obliged to take part in competency proceedings: You must not be afraid to bite the bullet and take out competence proceedings when necessary . . . It’s not very pleasant but if you have strong sense of direction you know it’s one of the things you have to do. (GH) It was important that the competency process was as transparent as it could be, and the new job descriptions proved to be invaluable, not just because of their value in the monitoring of individuals but also because they were commonly understood and accepted. The new staffing structure also led to some posts being declared redundant and detailed negotiations with the relevant professional associations followed against a backdrop that if the necessary changes were not made then the future of all of their members within the school would be in jeopardy. The knowledge and experience of the chair of governors in these matters proved to be invaluable and the necessary reductions in staffing were achieved. Encouragingly, there was also the potential for several promotions to be made as part of the restructuring process. External appointments were possible for the SENCO, where there was no existing post-holder and for the post of head of the science faculty, where the incumbent took early retirement. The head of science had also served as senior teacher and a new senior teacher was also recruited without the encumbrance of a specific subject requirement. The remainder of the senior and middle managers who appear on the structure diagram were all either already in place in these roles or were promoted to them from within the school. The school’s financial position would not have allowed a different scenario and while the internal promotions sent out very positive

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messages to the staff, in some cases considerable professional development would be required before the individuals could perform effectively in their new roles. The new staffing profile also emphasized the role of pastoral teams in supporting academic achievement. This helped to create a culture in which all forms of student achievement were formally recognized. The heads of year monitor the achievements both of individual and form groups and award incentive points for the completion of coursework and for good behaviour and attitude. Such activities have had the effect of changing the culture of the school towards one of high expectations where different kinds of success are valued and recognized.

Staff development The Improving the Quality of Education for All (IQEA, 1997) project identified ‘commitment to staff development’ as an important condition which underpins improvement efforts. Supporting teachers’ continuing professional development was an essential ingredient of the recovery plan for Northicote. If the ultimate aim is to improve student progress and achievement by means of an improvement in the quality of teaching, then a planned and systematic programme of staff development is vital. The diagnosis of staff development needs and the provision of bespoke INSET was integral to the school’s plans and therefore to raising the quality of teaching and learning. This policy was intended to provide a new focus on professional development and training within the overall restructuring of the management systems. Without a major input of appropriate staff development, none of the cultural changes that the pupils were experiencing would make any initial impact and they certainly would not have been sustainable. The staff development policy was introduced against a backdrop of the school’s declared minimum standard of teacher competence, which was supported by advisory work with teachers seeking to improve their performance.

Recruitment and retention So, why come to teach in a failing school? Well, it’s a fair question. Of the many problems faced by a school in special measures, recruiting and retaining the

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Transforming Northicote School Staff development policy 1

2

The Northicote School aims to improve constantly its own performance and that of all those who work within it so that we may achieve Excellence for Everyone. To enable staff to achieve excellence in the fulfilment of their work as defined in their job descriptions the school will operate an appraisal scheme based on a professional development interview. This interview in no way replaces the informal support of staff by their line managers. The professional development interview aims to: • • • • •

3

improve management and teacher competencies by highlighting strengths and identifying weaknesses build on strengths and address weaknesses provide the opportunity for staff to discuss career development provide opportunity for self-evaluation provide evidence of performance

The membership of the INSET committee should reflect all curriculum areas and levels of responsibility wherever possible. Vacancies will be filled by invitation of the committee keeping to the above criteria and subject to the head teacher’s approval. The responsibilities of the committee are as follows: • • •

To be involved in designing a statement for their institution’s development plan. To make recommendations for the budgeting of the school’s training grant. To be involved in the planning and organization of school-based INSET days in consultation with the head teacher.

Figure 7.2 Staff development policy

best staff has to be one of the most crucial. Where was the injection of new ideas to come from? Where were the pathfinders for success to come from? Implementing a new staffing structure clearly enabled some of the most effective staff to secure or enhance their positions within the school and consequently made a major contribution towards staff retention. Many others felt boosted by the greater clarity concerning the future direction of the school, and, paradoxically, the inspection had removed some of the uncertainty that had surrounded the school for some considerable time. Considerable efforts were made by the head teacher and senior management team to encourage and

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boost the esteem of existing staff. Even addressing some of the long-standing and thorny staffing issues was welcomed, if only tacitly, by many who acknowledged the weakness that existed. It was vital that any member of staff who was involved in issues of competency was perceived as being treated fairly and that the best possible solution for both the individual and the school was sought. In this way, staff morale could be sustained and the task of senior management was made easier. (GH) Some turnover of staff did occur, as has already been mentioned, and recruiting new staff to the first ever failing secondary school, which had attracted so much adverse publicity, was a major issue. Geoff Hampton decided to adopt an upbeat approach and within the advertising process and the job particulars that were provided, he articulated his vision for the future and sought applications only from people who were prepared to accept the challenges that lay ahead. The tactic worked and applications were received as a result of the national advertisements but, even more pleasingly, candidates were presenting themselves locally, including some from within the same authority. The most senior appointments that were made, to the post of senior teacher, head of science faculty and SENCO, were all recruited locally. As the school progressed and ultimately became successful, retention once again surfaced as a major issue. The experiences that staff had been through and the positive profile that their school now enjoyed meant that they were able to present themselves as highly credible candidates at interview. Some colleagues were also actively sought out for posts in other schools. Whilst this can be problematic, particularly if too many are leaving simultaneously, it is also a mark of how far the school had progressed and in some ways a repayment of the faith that the staff had displayed in the future of the school.

Key questions: staff deployment and development • • • • • •

How do the staff know what is expected of them? Do they have the skills to perform their roles and responsibilities? What happens if they cannot acquire the skills? Do the staff receive recognition and praise for good work? Are staff encouraged to take responsibility for their professional development? How are staff encouraged to review their progress?

8

Environment and ethos

The environment . . . is caught in the corridors, in the way people behave one to another, in doors which are held open or closed carelessly in your face, in adults and members of staff who have the time for a snatched smile or chat with passing youngsters or pass unblinking or unrecognizing a fellow member of the community. (Tim Brighouse, 1991)

An attractive and well-cared-for environment is no substitute for effective teaching, but it can provide valuable support for the learning of students. Successful schools are only too aware that the physical, aural and visual environments can play an important part in the overall development of young people and in the effectiveness of their learning.

Premises issues Stopping the rot, creating some respect, making damage unacceptable The appearance and condition of the school when Geoff Hampton took over was highly problematic. The fabric of the school was in a very poor state, in some respects verging on the dangerous. There was explicit criticism of the premises within the OFSTED report that had placed the school in special measures. However, some of the worst parts of the premises had not been subjected to the scrutiny of the inspectors, for parts had deteriorated to such an extent that they had been taken out of commission. The school could afford to ‘mothball’ these areas, since it had a significant amount of surplus

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accommodation. Unfortunately, as is so often the case with unused buildings, these areas became heavily vandalized and featured in some of the television footage that was used to illustrate the plight of the school. Two whole wings of the school which were affected in this way also served to provide a daily reminder to everyone of the problems that the school faced. A planned programme of refurbishment was put in place to bring about a more attractive, welcoming and safe environment, with access to adequate resources, to enable learning to flourish. Resources were committed by the local authority which assisted the development of a strategic plan for the overall re-configuration of the buildings. During the next two years, at a time when it was crucial that academic standards were driven upwards, the staff and the pupils had to cope with all of the disruption that major demolition and rebuilding entails. A new dining hall, staff room, music room, humanities rooms and some science laboratories, together with the main toilets, were created. In addition to this, a rolling programme of refurbishment and redecoration was initiated, affecting every single classroom and corridor throughout the school. The school occupies an island site in the middle of an estate of council owned properties. It shares this central oasis with a large public park, and only the remnants of a boundary existed between the two. Consequently, the school grounds were a public thoroughfare and there were some significant difficulties in ensuring the safety of pupils from some of the individuals who would enter the premises and grounds during the school day. During the hours of darkness, significant incursions would occur and the school was subjected to vandalism on a regular basis. Burglaries were commonplace and added to the air of despondency and neglect. ‘The daily routine began with a report from the caretaker of which rooms were out of use following the damage inflicted the previous night’ (GH). The school’s ultimate goal was to secure the site, but it took nearly two years for the appropriate funding to be made available. During the first twelve months of his headship, Geoff Hampton noticed that there was a significant decrease in the levels of vandalism that occurred outside school hours. There was no obvious reason for this, other than the fact that the pupils were beginning to respond positively to the changes that were taking place, resulting in altered perceptions of their school. Internally, there was little in the way of display. In time, however, the standards of the wall display in the main public areas of the school greatly improved, and students showed an awareness of the general improvement to the environment. All classrooms were carpeted and redecorated, new curtains or blinds were

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fitted and new furniture was ordered as the impact of some of the school’s external fundraising began to be felt. Corridors and circulation areas were redecorated to remove the spray paint and graffiti that had characterized years of neglect. Any marks that reappeared were removed immediately and regular inspections of the premises were initiated. A considerable amount of self-help was required if all the planned changes were to be achieved. The caretaker’s redesignation as site manager and his modified job description were designed to encompass a far more wide-ranging role and to encourage him to make an active contribution to the overall site enhancement programme. Geoff Hampton needed early signs of change and improvement. There was an urgent need to find a way of combating the continual problems caused by the remnants of some wooden lockers that ran the length of the main teaching corridor. These lockers no longer had doors, which meant that they provided an ideal set of climbing frames and a repository for rubbish of all kinds. Equipped with tools from home and a belief that he could achieve the removal of this particular eye-sore, he set about the task. Demolition commenced one lunchtime, but what he did not appreciate was the highly symbolic nature of his actions: Armed with a crowbar, screwdriver and large hammer, I commenced the removal of the lockers one lunchtime. Initially, a small crowd gathered, surprised to see their head teacher engaged in manual activity. Very quickly, they became involved and I soon had an army of helpers made up of staff and pupils, all eager to assist. With hindsight, it was probably fortuitous that this occurred for I had underestimated the size of the task. Work continued every lunchtime, for over a week with my eager helpers, and the removal of the lockers became symbolic of the fact that I was serious about the task of transforming the school. It was talked about long after the lockers had been forgotten, and represented a milestone on the road to recovery. (GH) The site and buildings group were also active and produced a list of key questions which were intended to prompt discussion and raise awareness.

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Key questions: school environment • • • • • • • • •

Who is responsible for display within the school? Have there been opportunities for the whole staff to discuss the visual impact of the school? To what extent are students encouraged to take responsibility for their environment? How effectively are members of the community encouraged to embrace future plans? How are pupils and staff encouraged to take pride in the school? What impression would visitors get of the external environment? Is the school maximizing the impact of the cultivated areas outside the school? In teaching areas, what is the nature and quality of the displays? Do the displays reinforce the subject, themes, topics being taught?

Any school that is able to respond to these questions in a collective manner and can put into practice the responses is likely to be capable of making a fundamental impact upon that most elusive of concepts – school ethos.

Creating a dream Explaining future plans Developing a shared understanding among colleagues of how the school should function and how improvement could be secured, even against the odds, was Geoff Hampton’s chief preoccupation. He believed in the ‘strength and virtue of collective endeavour’ (Rennie, 1990) and therefore knew that he would have to work closely with all the stakeholders to accomplish the all-important clarity of action. Whilst some of the initial strategies in the immediate post-inspection period had proved to be highly successful, it was vitally important that the momentum that had developed was maintained. Communication continued to be crucial but, helpfully – as they now felt part of the process of improvement – staff, students and parents would enquire at their own behest about progress and the targets that lay ahead.

94

Transforming Northicote School There came a time when I sensed that the dream was no longer just mine or even the senior management team’s, for others were clearly signed up to the journey that lay ahead. At that point, we needed to move from sharing a concept to delivering some realities. The termly re-inspection visits helped, as the actions of both the school and the local authority were monitored, and all parties were prompted to ensure that they were on task and meeting their deadlines. (GH)

Making some things happen Display Having invested both time and money in transforming the classroom environment throughout the school, there was a danger that the immediate impact of the freshly painted walls would quickly diminish, with the potential for a return to the lack of respect for the premises that had previously been demonstrated. The pristine, but somewhat sterile, classroom environments now needed to be embellished with displays of pupils’ work and thus used as a means of celebrating their successes and achievement publicly. Considerable emphasis was placed upon this, and the middle managers were actively encouraged to transform their respective areas of the school into colourful learning environments. I can never understand why the colour and vibrancy that characterises the vast majority of primary school classrooms is suddenly abandoned when the children reach secondary school. Classrooms should be stimulating and vibrant, with the capacity to enrich the learning process, to stimulate interest in the subject and, above all, to celebrate the success of pupils. We all like our achievements to be acknowledged, and the placing of pupils’ work on display is, in my opinion, just as powerful a stimulant to the adolescent as it is to the infant. (GH) One of the aims of the rationalization of the school buildings had been to group the subject areas within a faculty in adjoining suites of rooms. This greatly assisted heads of faculty with the task of overseeing the teaching and learning process and also made day-to-day communication much easier. From the point of view of the pupils, it was also far more straightforward to navigate

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their way around the various curriculum areas. A further advantage of the creation of these faculty bases was the fostering of a sense of ownership. They could now identify with a particular area of the school and take responsibility for mounting displays in corridors and teaching rooms. I believe that you should not have to ask, when touring a school, which subject is being taught in the classroom. Even before entering the room your attention and, hopefully, your interest should have been grabbed by the subject’s unique identity. How can it be that when I go round some schools that I still have to ask what lesson it is or pick up one of the bland worksheets that, together with the teacher, are the only stimuli. (GH) Key questions • • • • •

How does the classroom environment support student learning? What account is taken of the students’ experiences and approaches to learning? How does the classroom environment reflect multiple perspectives, cultures and backgrounds? How does the classroom environment reflect and celebrate students’ work and achievements? What evidence of students’ work is available in the classroom?

School bags and homework If improving the premises was one of Geoff Hampton’s highest priorities for changing the school’s ethos, another, quite close to the top, was the issue of bags. The children didn’t use them. It wasn’t done to be seen with one. It might have meant that you were taking school seriously. So they came unprepared – no pencil, no pen, no anything. There was no homework culture. Give them a book to take home and you wouldn’t get it back. (GH)

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Week beginning

Theme

Y7–11

Y12/13

06.09.98 13.09.98 20.09.98 27.09.98 04.10.98 11.10.98 18.10.98

New beginnings Teaching and learning Thanksgiving Spiritual awareness Food/harvest festival Stewardship One world

Head teacher HoY Speaker (CAT) HoY Clergy HoY

HoY CR HoY HoY Clergy HoY HoY

Self-knowledge International cooperation and peace Joy A forgiving spirit Living as a family Intercultural harmony Christmas

Head teacher HoY

HoY Head teacher

Speaker HoY (Mocks) HoY CR

HoY HoY Speaker HoY Clergy

Half-term 01.11.98 08.11.98 15.11.98 22.11.98 29.11.98 06.12.98 13.12.98 Christmas holiday

Figure 8.1 Assembly rota (extract)

And what did he do about this? I went to the local FE college and got them to sponsor bags for every child in Year Seven, the entry year. The bag had the school’s name on it, the FE college’s name, and our motto: ‘Excellence for Everyone’. They were printed in the school colours and looked particularly smart. A lot of very positive comments were received from parents and the local community. (GH) He personally put a pen, a pencil and a rubber in each one. Soon, everyone throughout the school wanted one – including the staff. Now, all students carry bags and homework and homework planner – the reality of school improvement!

Assemblies The OFSTED inspection team had concluded that the school was not complying with the collective act of worship requirement. However, staff were perfectly willing to do all that they could to remedy this situation.

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Assemblies were designed as a specific strategy for promoting positive ethos and for raising the self-esteem of students and staff. All year groups have one assembly each week, some led by local clergy and a variety of other speakers. For the remainder of the week, tutor groups remain with their own tutors and collective worship is provided mainly through a ‘thought for the day’. Form tutors are supplied with a range of materials, but they have a considerable measure of independence over what is arranged. Tutor group assemblies are monitored by the pastoral coordinator and heads of year, tutors record in their Day Book what has been done in tutorial time and heads of year either take part in, or lead, tutor group assemblies. A governor, a member of the behaviour and discipline working party, visits tutor and year group assemblies and his/ her observations are recorded in written reports which are circulated to the appropriate tutor, head of year and member of the senior management team.

School ethos – the key factor Moving from the ‘anti’ to the tolerable School ethos is one of those areas where the measurement of improvement by any objective yardstick is extremely difficult. Yet it is also the area where those who work in an institution are most acutely aware of any change. You can sense the ethos of a school very quickly when you enter the premises. It is about the signals that you pick up from your contact with that environment at a time when your senses are working overtime until that all-important first impression is formed by what your ears, eyes and other faculties have spotted. (GH) The school office – altering initial impressions and dealing with complaints We all know that our first impressions of people, events, places, are often formed within the first minute or so. They are impressions that are capable of remaining with us for some time. The same is true of all those who come into contact with a school. The school office is often the first point of contact for visitors or those communicating with the school. As part of the process of change, it is vital that the non-teaching or support staff are committed to the changes that are taking place and are aware of the role that they are expected to play. At Northicote considerable time was invested in briefing the support team and in ensuring that its members were able to carry out their functions effectively.

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This led to the provision of appropriate INSET, which progressed to the point where several of the office staff – supported by the school in partnership with the further education college – studied for additional qualifications. New equipment was also provided. This group of staff was encouraged to become involved in all aspects of the school. One of them subsequently became secretary to the PTA, another a governor, the third a member of the marketing group and yet another a member of a governors’ working party. In every case, they were active members and made a major contribution. The initial loss of confidence in the school led to a significant increase in the number of complaints that were received. It was vital that these were dealt with speedily and appropriately if confidence was to be restored. Over time, complaints did diminish, due largely to the improving reputation of the school within the community, but it is vital that those who are first to deal with a situation act appropriately, regardless of the frequency of complaints or of the manner in which it is conveyed. Once again the head posed a series of questions to act as a reminder and a prompt.

Key questions: school ethos • • • • • •

Is the school a welcoming place? How well am I greeted? Is the school an attractive place? What can I learn about the school from my contact with it? Are the people I meet courteous and friendly? Is the behaviour of students orderly?

The lunch hour Anyone who has taught in a school knows that the lunch hour – especially of the wet variety – has the capacity to give rise to a range of problems, with consequent negative effects upon learning in the post-lunch session. It also has the potential for creating an adverse impression of the school in the community if large groups of pupils are allowed to leave the premises for their lunch and to misbehave in so doing. At Northicote, the situation was compounded by the absence of a perimeter fence. Anyone could wander in and out of the premises at will and, given the extent of the school’s perimeter, there was very little that could be done to prevent this.

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No matter how smart the uniform was or how well-behaved the students were, the sight of pupils wandering unsupervised and with the obligatory bag of chips and cans of pop does not create the most favourable of impressions. Attempts to shorten the lunch period and modify the timings of the rest of the day had some impact but, undoubtedly, it was the construction of the perimeter fence that did most to contribute to a more settled and manageable lunch period. A registration system for pupils remaining on the premises enabled the parents to check the whereabouts of their offspring during this part of the day. The cooperation of the parents was also sought in an attempt to reduce the numbers of pupils leaving the premises at lunch time.

9

The role of the governors

Governing schools is about addressing the issues on which inspectors make judgements – raising the standards that children achieve, improving the quality of teaching and learning, bringing about the efficiency and effectiveness of the school and communicating the school’s values and ethos. (Gann, 1998)

The Northicote experience was in many ways unique. As the first secondary school to enter special measures the school had to chart its own path to recovery. The involvement of the governing body was important to the success of the school in raising standards. The OFSTED report had been highly critical of the governing body for allowing poor planning and for providing inadequate support to staff. If early warnings of failure are to be heeded, they must first be recognized by governing bodies and appropriate action taken.

Special measures governors Defining the role and recruiting the best people Immediately after the original OFSTED inspection, but before the publication of the report, a new chair of governors was elected. Fred Preston, a former manager at a large manufacturing company and, more recently, a self-employed quality management consultant, had his own view of the role of governors. Governors sit squarely at the interface between the school and the local authority. Much of the responsibility to get things done rests legally with governors. Governors control the way the money is spent, they hire and

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fire and it is governors who should formulate and adopt policies. Governing bodies should not be passive; they should demand the best for their school from their authority, but if they are to succeed in getting the best they need to come to an effective working arrangement with the authority. This requires the governing body to be both competent and independent. Competent in order to understand the problems that the school faces and to evaluate the solutions proposed by the local authority, and independent enough to address those solutions with constructive criticism when they fall short of what is needed. (Fred Preston, chair of governors, 1996) The head teacher and the chair of governors took the opportunity to strengthen the competence of their governing body and to convince it that the time had come to take control before the adverse inspection findings were made public. They scrutinized the OFSTED report and identified not only the areas for improvement but also the skills that would be required to bring about improvements. Changes were made to the governing body. Five ‘special measures’ governors with expertise in management training, finance, site management and marketing, led by the new chair, were introduced. A good working relationship was established between the head teacher and the chair of governors, in particular. To be seen as competent, governing bodies need to use the expertise that they have. Most governing bodies have a number of members who can offer professional experience in relevant fields, such as site development and security, but if they are weak in any areas, people must be recruited. Northicote governors lacked expertise in the areas of people management, marketing and finance. As a failing school, Northicote was able to recruit special measures governors who could fill the gaps. Other schools may need to seek the help of people who, while they are not members of the governing body, are nevertheless willing to provide the expertise that is lacking. A governing body that can display competence and experience across a wide spectrum is able to meet any officer of the LEA in a professional way and to argue from strength when seeking to obtain the best for the school. (Fred Preston, chair of governors, 1996) Specialist committees of the governing body were established, with each one presiding over a key priority area. The health and safety committee was taken over by a governor who had this responsibility at work; a governor from the Chamber of Commerce took charge of the curriculum committee, and a fi-

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nance director became a member of the finance committee. The newly recruited governor with a background in marketing became involved with this sphere of the school’s activity. Four key objectives were identified by the governing body in order to achieve and sustain continuous improvement. They were: 1. 2. 3. 4.

The need to sustain the ethos of continuous improvement within the school. The need to develop a system for target-setting and monitoring, backed by quantifiable performance indicators. The need to train governors to take part in the independent review and audit of performance. The need to develop a link between the allocation of resources and perfor mance.

The governors also identified four main areas of school life where they needed to put target-setting and/or monitoring in place: 1. 2. 3. 4.

finance buildings (including health and safety) pastoral curriculum (including post-16)

Finally, they identified measurable results that would enable them to assess success or failure: •

• • •

oversubscription at Year 7, maintenance of numbers throughout the school and an increase in the size of the sixth form with a growing emphasis on A levels and GNVQs rather than retakes; improving GCSE, A level/GNVQ and SAT results; improving attendance figures; a continued reduction in incidence of poor behaviour, as shown by deten tions, exclusions and vandalism. All of the above must be targeted. They are, of course, the output of what arises from a range of subsidiary targets set by the senior management team and the staff, but they are the raison d’être for all of our work and as such must be identified and presented to governors for approval and agreement. (Fred Preston, chair of governors, 1996)

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There was never any conflict in the perspectives for the school developed by the governing body and the senior management team. Appointing experienced managers as special measures governors could cause problems for the head teacher. All of the people we appointed were decision-makers in their own right and expected to be listened to. Thankfully, at Northicote we had already established a shared vision between governors and senior management and this meant that if there were times when agreement was not immediately unanimous, differences were resolved without any animosity. (Fred Preston, chair of governors, 1996) The key role of the chair The ineffectiveness of some governing bodies can be clearly traced back to the role of the chair. It follows that the role of the chair in creating an effective team is paramount, as is his/her role in working harmoniously with the head. A head, especially when the chips are down, needs a friend and confidant – someone to try out ideas on. On the broader front, Sallis (1994) reminds us that the governing body needs: A keeper of the vision: yes. A loud megaphone for the school: of course. Someone to ensure orderly conduct of business and proper priority for essentials, to discourage irrelevance: not in dispute. But the vision must be shared. The message on the megaphone must be agreed . . . above all a governing body needs a teambuilder. The new chair, a governor at the school for seven years, had played a fundamental role in helping to recruit new governors, which the school was able to do while it was under special measures.

The role of working parties The governing body structure Originally, Northicote developed a set of governors’ working parties to tackle each of the areas of failure that had been identified by OFSTED. This structure, which arose from necessity, is shown in Figure 9.1.

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Transforming Northicote School Governing body

Finance and general purposes committee

External funding and post-16 education

Staffing

Health and safety

Buildings and environment

Behaviour and discipline

Curriculum

Figure 9.1 The governing body structure

Formingtheworkinggroups Initially, to deal with the action planning process, the governing body created a series of six working groups instead of sub-committees, who could make recommendations rather than decisions, formed around the inspection report’s key issues. The working groups, made up of governors, staff and, in some cases, pupils, parents and other cooptees, set out to address the following six key issues. • • •

• •

Governors should review their planning mechanisms, especially with regard to finance and the monitoring of general policy outcomes. The school should institute consistent and formal monitoring of pupils’ performance. The organization and management of the curriculum should be reviewed with particular consideration of the arrangements for pupils with special educational needs. Arrangements for promoting attendance and good behaviour should be reviewed to achieve consistent whole-school responses. The school should re-assess the manner in which it seeks to promote a

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commonly understood set of aims and values to support pupils’ development. The management and staffing structure in the school should be reviewed to provide an efficient structure with clear lines of responsibility and defined job descriptions.

The remit of each working group was to produce an action plan based on the key issue for which it was responsible. The professional staff completed the bulk of the writing and the groups reported back to the full governing body. Northicote has only ever had one permanent committee with delegated powers – the finance and general purposes committee [F and GP]. The reason is that, if our working parties are to be effective, they will want to spend money. The F and GP is there to exercise the judgement of Solomon and ensure that the budget is not destroyed by overspend in a variety of areas. However, each working party has a notional cash budget but a counter-signature is required from F and GP before any purchases can be made. The involvement of so many governors and staff in the various facets of the school means that there is an understanding between both parties which helps overcome the problems that can arise. When the F and GP had to take a decision to use moneys earmarked for curriculum support to replace the wiring in the roof, which had become unsafe, our actions were understood and not regarded as Philistine. This mutual understanding and respect allows us to have open debate about targets and produces a situation where all are prepared to ‘sign up’ to the agreed figures, and I emphasise that all of our targets are expressed in figures. (Fred Preston, chair of governors, 1996) The role of action plans and development plans A spin-off from the OFSTED process was the awakening of the enormous latent talent among the governors around a clear framework or plan of action. This experience had enabled governors to see what contribution they could make and feel more secure and clear about the part they could play. The governors are aware of their responsibilities and they’re not afraid to take them. They’ve never dodged any issues. As a head you have to encourage and engender confidence in them. There is enormous latent potential there but for many it remains latent. The key is to awaken potential. The beauty of the OFSTED process is that if you can awaken it around a clear

Elected by governors from the governing body SMT – Chair 2 × parent Governors – 1 LEA governor 2 × pastoral team 1 × admin support 1 × teacher governor 2 × LEA governor (Chair) 1 × parent governor 2 × SMT Site manager 1 × coopted rep. 2 × SMT 1 × teacher governor 3 × coopted reps 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1

Finance and general purposes

Behaviour and discipline working party

Buildings and environment working party

Curriculum working party

Health and safety committee

External funding

× SMT faculty rep. governor × support staff × external funding coordinator

× SMT rep from each faculty governor × support staff

Membership

Working group

Table 9.1 Working groups

Termly

Termly

Monthly

Monthly

Termly

1 per month

Frequency

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framework or plan of action then you can channel it so people can see what contribution they can make. They can feel more secure as they have some idea how it all fits together and they are clear about the part they can play. (GH)

Developing the role Making the most effective use of governors – playing to strengths Prior to the OFSTED inspection, the governing body at Northicote had been passive. Its members had lacked the confidence to engage with professionals upon discussions about ‘academic’ matters such as the characteristics of effective schools, or effective teaching. Their role had been confined largely to overseeing rather than managing the budget and attending termly governors’ meetings which followed an agenda set by the LEA and mainly dealt with matters bureaucratic. The governing body was aware of the school’s financial difficulties – the subject of much protracted discussion. However, they were far less knowledgeable about what was actually going on in classrooms and therefore their reaction to the inspectors’ findings was initially one of surprise. Their response was honest and positive. They were quick to acknowledge their responsibilities and, under new chairmanship, worked closely with the new head to develop an action plan for recovery. Governors are required . . . to write an action plan to show what the school intends to do in response to the inspection report. The role of governors, head teacher and staff is vital in these processes. In particular, governors play a crucial part. They provide the wider view; they are a source of encouragement, advice and tangible support; and they can give a school direction and share its aspirations. With the head teacher and the staff, they can make things happen. (OFSTED, 1995) Curiously, it was the concept of failure that provided the spur that changed the Northicote governors from being passive to being proactive. Their recognition of the powers in their possession and the responsibilities they had to undertake was a key turning point in discharging their duties.

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Geoff Hampton and his senior colleagues worked hard with the governors to address a major issue – what is a ‘good school’? Gradually, governors came to understand and acknowledge that good schools are a product of: • • • • • • • • • •

strong leadership by the head a good atmosphere arising out of shared values and an attractive environment high expectations of pupils a clear focus on teaching and learning good pupil assessment strategies pupils sharing responsibility for their learning pupils participating in the life of the school incentives to pupils to succeed parental involvement extra-curricular activities which broaden the pupils’ interest and build good relationships in the school

These elements of a ‘good school’ were later published by the National Commission on Education (1995) in response to a survey of schools suffering some of the effects of economic decline. The action plan should outline (OFSTED/Banking Information Service, 1995): • • • • •

what steps will be taken a timetable for action who will be responsible for ensuring the action takes place the resource implications how it will be monitored

The role of other interested parties Positive assistance was given by personnel at the DfEE, particularly in the development of the action plan. The role played by HMI was also recognized by the school to be of considerable help. The quality of the feedback and the advice stemming from their termly visits was of the highest order. Northicote was visited by HMI twice in 1994 and termly in 1995, to assess the progress it had made in addressing the key issues identified by OFSTED. HMI retained a link inspector, thus enabling the school to benefit from a consistent overview. This link was supplemented by different expertise on a variety of occasions.

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Table 9.2 The governing body’s interface with the LEA LEA service

Governor group responsible for monitoring LEA delivery

Staffing (SLA)

Curriculum working group Finance and general purposes committee Personnel committee Finance and general purposes committee Site development group Site development group Site development group

Exclusion (SF) Cleaning (SLA) Catering (SLA) Site services (SLA) and health and safety (SF) Pupil support (SF and SLA) Finance (SF and SLA) Inspection/advice (SF) Training (staff and governors) (SF and SLA) Target setting (SF) Power of intervention (SF) Admissions (SF)

Pastoral working group Finance and general purposes committee Curriculum working group Senior management team and training link governor Full governing body supported by curriculum working group Full governing body Full governing body supported by finance and general purposes committee

SF = statutory function; SLA = service level agreement

Tangible support came from the community. As part of the school was within its designated catchment area, the head teacher was able to develop links with City Challenge, which shared his vision for the school and its community. Similarly, the Training and Enterprise Council was helpful.

Interaction with the LEA The LEA and other bodies also played an important role in securing improvement in the school. In conjunction with the governing body, the authority devised an action plan that specified where officers’ and other support with regard, for example, to staffing and buildings, would be available. A group of LEA officers, school staff and governors met frequently during the term following publication of the report. This proved to be a useful forum where the action plans both of the school and the LEA could be brought together. There was immeasurable strength in this collaboration over the production of plans, so that both knew precisely what was contained in each. The LEA was accountable for its action plan, as was the school. An example of this collaboration follows.

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Governors and the LEA worked closely together to resolve staffing problems. At the time of special measures, the proportion of the budget spent on employment was not sustainable and redundancy was inevitable. The chair of governors and LEA officers shared the negotiations with trade unions, resulting in a rapid and satisfactory resolution to the problems. The governing body’s extensive interface with the LEA is outlined in Table 9.2.

Target setting and monitoring Nature and impact Six years later, Northicote utilizes governors in a wide range of roles which includes target setting and monitoring, even in the classroom. There is a transparent range of performance indicators which allows governors to assess the progress of the school, and staff are aware of the governors’ views of standards and of the help that is available to them from the governing body. Used effectively, target setting is a powerful lever to raise expectations and standards of achievement. It is an approach to raising educational standards that requires the establishment of specific and measurable goals for improved student performance. Whereas schools have often used data to monitor and review past performance, effective target setting goes one step further and uses assessment and other performance data to: • • •

predict potential focus efforts on raising attainment support school improvement initiatives

For Northicote, the target-setting process was most effective when linked to the school’s development plan and to a supportive system of monitoring and evaluation. During the term following the inspection, a group of LEA officers, school staff and governors collaborated to produce detailed plans to improve the school based on clear, measurable, costed targets. The staff began to work through these improvement targets one by one, piloting and reviewing new measures as time went on. Individuals were identified to accept responsibility for ensuring that target-related objectives were met. The SMT and governors busied themselves monitoring work towards these targets by interviewing staff at regular intervals. This collaborative effort involving all the major stakeholders was vital in securing a commitment to improvement.

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One example of the changes made was the length of the school day. The inspectors had identified the need to change the school day; the lessons were too long, and also needed to be made more formal. The challenge for the SMT and the governors was how, by altering the length of lessons and their distribution throughout the day, levels of attainment could be raised and the quality of teaching and learning improved. In-built meeting times were introduced, offering the potential to block lessons. ‘Piloting’ and ‘review’ became watchwords – things were tried and then moved on appropriately – nothing was fixed.

Monitoring For governors to be of greatest assistance to their schools, they must be encouraged and enabled to ask the right questions of the staff. This works best if governors know their school well and share a sense of partnership with staff. This ‘monitoring’ role has become an important one for governors in their accountability to their stakeholders. During the time of the inspection little or no monitoring had taken place; the governors believing that they operated on a ‘need to know basis’. To be effective, the new monitoring strategy, in which the governors were to play a crucial part, relied on: • • • • •

the head teacher and other staff acting as interpreters and mediators a genuine partnership approach successful negotiation of the respective duties within the relationship honesty of response from staff the trust of governors School governors make an invaluable community provision within a service that is critical in both senses – it is fundamental to our private and public wellbeing, and it is permanently in crisis. (Gann, 1998)

The monitoring function of the governing body is implicit in Figure 9.2, which illustrates the progression of the governing body’s role. Its new working structure is aligned with those factors identified as having an effect on standards and on the quality of teaching and learning. The process of encouraging governor involvement within the daily routine of the school needed to occur within appropriate guidelines.

Personnel committee (convened as required from available governors)

Governing body

Senior management team

Finance and general purposes committee

Recruitment Buildings and site development group

Pay review Staff appraisal Management structure

Training link governor

Overall budget and resources Exclusions Endorsement of policy

Health and safety Plant Maintenance Capital Projects site security

Pastoral team

Pastoral group

Discipline (in class and out) Attendance

Curriculum board

Curriculum working group

Support groups (marketing and external funding)

Monitoring National Curriculum, assessment and exam results

External perception Events

Figure 9.2 Structure of governance and its relationships to school management at The Northicote School, 1998

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The following extract from the staff handbook provides details of how this operates at Northicote.

Governors in school To enable governors to discharge effectively their responsibilities they need to understand how the school operates on a day to day basis. To assist them in this, they will, from time to time, undertake student trials or monitor aspects of school life such as tutorials and meetings. To ensure maximum benefit from these activities, clear lines of communication between everyone involved are essential. Both governors and staff will be asked to provide information prior to, and after, the visit on a pro forma. The form will include: • • • • • • •

the purpose of the visit classes to be visited explanation to be shared with students relevant background to the lesson provided by the member of staff (to include request for governor’s conduct during the lesson) governors’ comment staff comment time and place for informal conversation following visit

After completion of the form, sections will be copied to the appropriate member of staff. The whole form will be seen by the pastoral coordinator, the relevant head of year, the head teacher and the deputy head teacher. Monitoring of the act of worship and tutorials will, ideally, last one week and will include feedback by the governor to the students. The most interesting thing about our structure is the way that the governors’ working parties interface with the school’s management. This does not happen by chance. It is only possible when there is a massive degree of trust between governors and staff. That has built up over five years and has been a process of mutual education. The school’s open-door policy to parents has been important in this process; so many parents help with our literacy and numeracy projects that the involvement of lay people in the working of the school is regarded as normal. Northicote does not have turf wars between staff and outsiders or departments. (Fred Preston, Chair of Governors, 1996)

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Key questions: governors • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

How effective is the governing body in ‘making a difference’? How do the governors know what is happening in the school? How well does the governing body work as a team? How well does the governing body work with the head teacher and the senior staff? Does a sense of partnership exist between governors and staff? Does the governing body have an effective system of delegation? Are governors effectively involved in the development of policies? How well does the governing body cater for its training and development needs? How effective is the governing body’s committee structure? How does the governing body identify priority areas for improvement? How effectively are the governors involved in the school’s planning processes? How does the governing body ensure that its targets are SMART? Is effective use being made of available data? How well does the governing body undertake its monitoring responsibilities? Does the governing body have a programme of systematic and regular monitoring?

10 From failure to success

The aftermath of special measures In 1995, The Northicote School was declared by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector no longer to be in need of special measures and became the first secondary school in the country to have the sanctions lifted. At an international conference of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) entitled ‘Combating failure at school’ the then Secretary of State for Education and Employment, Gillian Shephard, told delegates: My clear target is that failing schools should recover or at least make very substantial progress within two years of being classified as failing. I am pleased to announce today that . . . Northicote School in Wolverhampton has been declared no longer failing. It has been restored to health in less than two years, which is our target. Northicote shows that this can be done even at a large secondary school. This two-year deadline has subsequently been embraced as a form of benchmark and represents the period of time that a school is normally allowed to remain in the special measures category before questions are raised about its future direction. There now exists a clear set of criteria that schools must achieve if they aspire to be removed from the failing category. Being the first secondary school to tread this path meant that a definitive list of improvements was not available to Northicote; however, the overall requirement to improve academic standards, behaviour and attendance was very apparent to the school. By the time of its removal from special measures, the school had: • • • •

achieved its best-ever GCSE results a flourishing parent teacher association 53 parents enrolled in exam-related study groups a voluntary homework scheme

116 • • • • • • •

Transforming Northicote School improved standards of behaviour and discipline reduced levels of absenteeism a new dining hall refurbished toilets a new science laboratory a music room an improved technology block

In a DfEE publication entitled The Road to Success (1997), which presents four case studies of schools which have improved beyond all recognition and no longer require special measures, Northicote was highlighted as ‘a thriving, positive environment in which to work and study’. The report applauds the hard work and dedication of the head, the staff and the governors: ‘This reflects the significant improvements that have been made and which are continuing. Northicote is without question a school that is on the up.’ In particular, the report highlighted the following specific points: • • • •

in many key respects the head teacher is highly respected staff and pupil morale is rising the governing body is effective, the buildings and learning environment continue to be improved strong emphasis is placed on all pupils’ achievements, and not just on academic successes

So, what had changed? In the intervening period: • • • • • • •

the future of the school had been secured the school was now financially viable there was a new and clear staffing structure there had been a major investment in premises governors’ working parties had been established with robust monitoring responsibilities external perceptions of the school had changed for the better unauthorized absences had been reduced from 3.38 per cent to 0.7 per cent

SANCTUARY BUILDINGS GREAT SMITH STREET WESTMINSTER LONDON SW1P 3BT TELEPHONE 0171 925 5000 The Rt Hon GILLIAN SHEPHARD MP The Headteacher The Northicote School Bushbury WOLVERHAMPTON WV10 8EP

10 FEB 1997

Your OFSTED inspection report shows yours to be a school that has made significant improvement. Your achievement has rightly been recognised in the Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools. I am writing to congratulate you, your governing body, staff, parents and pupils for this achievement. I know how much hard work has gone into producing this improvement. I very much hope we will be able to draw on your experience to help other schools.

GILLIAN SHEPHARD

Figure 10.1 Letter of congratulations from Gillian Shephard

118 • • •

Transforming Northicote School GCSE results had improved, with 25 per cent of pupils gaining grades A– C 76 students had entered the sixth form main findings of HMI and LEA monitoring were highly favourable

The methods by which many of these improvements had occurred have been explained earlier in this book. In reality, none of these items stands alone; the improvements taking place within the school were the result of a combination of these factors. This complicates the task of school improvement, for it is the need to grasp the totality of the agenda for change that can appear so daunting. There are no easy exit routes from chosen strategies and few short cuts to securing improvement. However, there were certain factors that can be highlighted and which are worth further elaboration.

What made all the difference? – the key factors How did Northicote transform itself from a failing to a succeeding school? The good practices and key factors that enabled Northicote to come off the special measures register can be summarized as follows: Effective leadership. The leadership was optimistic, positive, outward-looking and clear-sighted. The style of management was open and participative. The head teacher knew the capabilities of the staff and was able to optimize abilities and encourage teamwork. He had a clear vision for the school. An emphasis on achievement, target setting and high expectations. This was expressed in a variety of ways, but the monitoring and improvement of pupils’ learning outcomes were important factors. The school culture was achievement driven and there was an expectation that all pupils, as well as members of the wider community, should strive to do their best. A professional and committed workforce. Staff were dedicated, mutually supportive and hardworking. They were united behind a well-respected head teacher and management team and were determined to put matters right. The teachers’ professionalism and sense of worth were revitalized. The school was operating as one, with no divisions or split between the managed and the managers. Everybody was ‘rowing in the same direction’. Effective governance. The governing body was involved in the school and actively supported the head teacher. It was aware of the crucial role it had to play, particularly with regard to school improvement. Involving the community and other bodies. Such rapid progress could not have been made without the support of the wider community. By involving the

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LEA and other agencies, the school achieved more than it would have by ‘going it alone’. Giving stakeholders a voice. Parents and pupils were actively involved in a number of ways in the school. They responded by demonstrating a growing commitment and loyalty to the school and what it stood for. Additional resources. A major refurbishment and building programme resolved health and safety issues and helped to create a learning environment of which staff and pupils could be proud.

The Northicote roll of honour During the period that the school was in special measures, several external awards were achieved. These were as follows: • • • •

the Basic Skills Agency Quality Mark the UK Schools Mathematics Challenge Awards the English Sports Council Challenge Fund Award the Sainsbury’s Award for Art Education

Each of these awards was of some significance to the school because they were all demonstrations of success as perceived by an external body. This gave a much needed fillip to the staff and pupils alike and each award represented a small but significant milestone on the overall journey towards recovery.

Where next? The challenges for management For the transformation in management to take place the need for commitment from the top is an absolute must. Unless head teachers are able to recognize that they must set the example for others and become the leading learners and ‘walk the talk’, the acceptance of the vision and the philosophy of improvement will be rhetoric rather than reality. In many respects, the challenges for management continue to be what they always were: • •

establishing and maintaining a clear vision – know where you want to be sustaining a strategic management approach – don’t be deflected or indulge in the minutiae

120 • • • • •

Transforming Northicote School nurturing collective values – strive for common shared goals and experiences updating and refining written policies – record what you do and what you want to do developing and supporting committed teachers – keep them functioning effectively articulating the purpose of change – analyse initiatives and announce what works combating cynicism – it destroys the will to achieve

This list was a useful reminder and prompt for the head teacher and senior staff at Northicote throughout the time of the transformation. It encapsulated the challenge being faced and served to remind everyone of the framework within which the desired change was taking place. However, following the OECD conference and the Secretary of State’s announcement, a different set of realities began to dawn and a different challenge awaited those who had successfully negotiated the journey through special measures.

From pressure and rigour to what? The two years spent by the school in special measures was a period characterized by intensive development, considerable pressure and tremendous achievements, all of this against a backdrop of clearly defined targets and an overwhelming desire to succeed. The school’s removal from the special measures category represented the culmination of the achievements of a wide spectrum of people. The sense of euphoria was tangible as, once again the school made headlines but, on this occasion, for the right reasons. ‘First in, first out’ – the dream had been achieved and, for a short while, the school could bask in its success. However, for the head teacher and the chair of governors, another set of realities was dawning: I can vividly remember, amidst all the congratulations, being brought back down to earth by Fred [Preston] who commented that we were now ‘normal’ again and had our foot firmly on the bottom rung of the ladder; a ladder that we still had to climb. (GH) This description of the school’s position was absolutely correct, and the weeks and months that followed this initial success were to prove just as challenging.

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How was the head teacher going to motivate staff who had given their all to help the school arrive at the current position? The answer was made simpler because in many ways the momentum for change and improvement that had been created was now difficult to halt. The pupils and the parents certainly expected the same commitment and drive for improvement, and the systems and structures to support this needed to be extended and refined.

Future goals and targets Consequently, in order to consolidate the vision, Geoff Hampton had to articulate the next stage of the school’s journey to improvement. He offered to the staff a distillation of the school’s aims, which were: • • • • •

to encourage the development of morally aware young people to achieve excellent examination results to meet all external audits of the school’s performance to manage within a budget to create effective future employees

Quite simply, to stand still was not an option and to relapse was unthinkable. Although this would have been a common perception among staff, many would not have believed that they could possibly sustain the same level of commitment and sheer hard work that had been so vital in the preceding two years. Once again, just as in those darkest days of the school, a considerable amount of time was spent in dialogue with staff – individually and collectively – in order to sow the seeds for the next stages of growth. SMART targets – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-lined – had served the school well in the past, so more were established in order to continue the drive towards a further raising of standards.

The key role of the development plan There is common agreement that the ultimate purpose of school development plans is to improve the quality of pupil learning. Northicote was used to a regime of working towards action plan targets, and its structures and systems had been modified to accommodate this approach. Consequently, the decision to make the development plan the main vehicle for the next stage of the school’s

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improvement was logical. The method by which the plan was produced was reviewed and revised to include actively all of the stakeholders who had been involved in the realization of the action plan. A minimum number of clearly defined targets was agreed by senior and middle managers; these were then shared and refined by everyone. The development plan was also locked into the structure and working practices of the governing body, as outlined in Chapter 9. The implementation of the plan was carefully monitored, and a conscious effort was made to keep it ‘alive’ and part of the working practice of the school.

Coping with being ‘special’ The school’s achievements became widely known and the interest in what had occurred led to several visits from many other schools and LEA representatives from throughout the United Kingdom. There is now a widespread understanding that few ‘quick-fix’ solutions exist when it comes to improving schools, and consequently those who visited the school were anxious to talk to a wide range of people who had been involved in specific aspects of the recovery process. For Northicote, there was a danger that this interest could trap them in the past, revisiting a period through which the school had progressed. Consequently, while still trying to be of assistance to all who enquired, the school attempted to minimize the impact on staff of this attention. There was a clear need and desire to move on, and, ultimately, there was as much interest in the capacity of the school to maintain the improvement as there had been in the initial recovery.

Managing the media For many schools, dealing with the media will be a relatively new and, sometimes, daunting experience. The local media will be keen to take note of and pass comment on school inspection reports. It is also the case that an unsatisfactory or poor report will be deemed of far more interest than a satisfactory one. It really is a case of ‘bad news is good news’. Northicote’s uniqueness in being the first failing secondary school was newsworthy, both locally and nationally. The head teacher, the staff, the students and even the wider community, acquired a high national profile, almost overnight. However, this was very much in terms of highlighting all that was wrong rather than constructive debate regarding the nature of the problems and their solution. School improvement always has an audience, but this is usually con-

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fined to those within the school and to the parents or guardians of those who attend. The recent increase in the ‘profile’ of education and the desire from almost all quarters for greater accountability and transparency within the education process, has fuelled a demand for the world of the classroom to be exposed to public scrutiny. As part of the multi-faceted role of the head teacher, there is now a need for this wider interest in education to be satisfied, and the role that the media play in this should not be underestimated. The marketing group referred to in Chapter 9, which met on a voluntary basis each week, was of crucial assistance in the case of Northicote. Initially, it was more concerned with damage limitation and was chiefly involved in reacting to the intense media interest. To try to take some control over events and issues that were being reported was quickly seen as an imperative. The group made strenuous efforts to harness the interest that was being shown in the school to generate positive media comment. The tactic of raising awareness of the school’s successes, via the media and internal publications, such as the revamped newsletter, proved successful, and perceptions did begin to alter as people’s interest in the new plans and proposals grew. As they travel to and fro and interact with the local community, the pupils of the school – arguably its most effective marketing tool – are its advocates and ambassadors. The new school uniform and bags sent out powerful messages to the community about new beginnings, about higher standards, about order and about purpose. Symbols, such as these and others, representing as they did ‘The New Northicote’, provided tangible evidence of change. In turn, this was supported by a conscious effort to celebrate success within the school which, on occasions, was also reported externally. As the school became increasingly conscious of its need to develop a new image any instances of poor behaviour in the locality were responded to swiftly and, wherever possible, personally by the head teacher or another senior colleague.

Intake and admissions The clearest evidence of parents’ perceptions of, and confidence in, a school is reflected in their desire to seek admission for their offspring. In common with many other failing schools, Northicote suffered an initial dramatic fall in its pupil numbers. This was undoubtedly fuelled by the media interest and is a clear indication of market forces at work within the context of education. If the product is perceived to be unsatisfactory, public confidence will decline, resulting in a reduction in sales and a subsequent loss of income. In an era where pupil numbers have a direct impact on a school’s income, this situation will,

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Figure 10.2 Student numbers

in turn, lead to reduction in the available resource provision. Put simply, at a time when you need to do so much more, there is so much less cash to do it with! Considerable efforts were made at Northicote to ‘engage’ with parents and to improve liaison with the potential feeder primary schools. Years 5 and 6 in these schools received copies of newsletters, and the marketing group, to supplement the legally required prospectus, produced a new brochure. These brochures were distributed by Geoff Hampton to prospective pupils in feeder schools, who also received personal invitations to the open evening. The format of this event was revamped with a resulting increase in attendance – probably the result of the community’s curiosity to see what had changed. Gradually, perceptions started to alter; four years after the original inspection the school was now oversubscribed at initial intake (Figure 10.2). This healthy state was brought about partly by a demolition programme that removed surplus places and effectively helped to set an intake number of 150 pupils. Admission enquiries for other years in the school also increased – partly because the school was now receiving its share of pupils who had been permanently excluded from their previous schools. The improvement in GCSE results and SAT scores also played a large part in re-establishing the confidence of the community in the school’s ability to deliver on its pledge to raise standards. It was also an enormous boost to staff confidence when all of this was achieved and was a clear signal that issues concerning the future viability of the school had finally been laid to rest.

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Key questions: from failure to success • •

•

•

Sustaining recovery and forward momentum is as hard as retrieving failure. How can schools be helped to cope with this? There is a need to establish a vision and provide a clear sense of purpose. This must embrace the OFSTED procedures but must also transcend them. To what extent can inspectors help with this process? Of the many management skills that a head teacher requires, the capacity to manage people is perhaps the most important. How and in what form can training in this area be designed and delivered? How can the lessons that are being learned about school improvement be effectively disseminated to others?

11 The role of the head

Instead of the rug being pulled from under us, we can learn to dance on a shifting carpet. (Thomas Crum, 1997)

Leadership – the differing demands The link between successful schools and the quality of head teachers’ leadership in articulating clearly defined educational values is well documented. The need to provide clear and effective leadership to create the climate in which school improvement will occur is now undisputed and has been already been alluded to earlier in this book. However, head teachers, while needing to provide the direction for others, have to discover some methodology for sustaining their personal capacity in order to be able to provide the stimulus for others. This is an extremely difficult task, made more so by the dearth of support and training available. It is to be hoped that the creation of the National College for School Leadership and the development of regional leadership centres within many of our universities will address the need for appropriate training and encourage teachers to be mutually supportive. The reality, though, is that there can be no complete preparation for the rigours and demands of headship. The role is so multi-faceted that to give anyone all the skills necessary to embrace all of the differing challenges and expectations that they will confront daily is virtually impossible. The path that individuals choose to tread when they decide to become head teachers is a very lonely one indeed, and it is essential that strategies for retaining the capacity to ‘manage’ are put in place by all incumbents of the role. Too

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many heads become absorbed in the mass of differing and often distracting tasks that confront them on a daily basis and consequently lose their capacity to retain a strategic overview of the direction and progress of their school. It is difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to prescribe to another individual how they should achieve some sense of balance in their lives and not allow their role as a senior manager to dominate their every waking moment. However, if this balance is not achieved the inevitable consequence will be poor performance in the role that so dominates their thinking. This is one instance where total submersion in the tasks of the moment will lead to the loss of the overall strategic direction that the leader must provide. Consequently, there needs to be a balance struck, and it is vital that a life after school does exist to help sustain and ensure appropriate performance as a head teacher. This can be particularly difficult in the context of a school or organization that is confronted by substantial challenges. The totality of what needs to be achieved can seem to be truly all-consuming, and there is always something that has to be done to meet a deadline that is already in danger of passing. In reality, there are few things that can’t wait, and working ‘smarter’ rather than harder and longer will help to ensure that the individual’s performance, when they are on task, will be optimized and effective. The authors have often heard colleagues lecturing pupils about the need to refine their study skills when, in fact, much of what they are saying could equally apply to themselves. Nowhere is the role model of the head teacher, and their particular method of working, more acutely felt than in the senior management team. These are the individuals most likely to bear the brunt of any shortcomings in the functioning of their leader. They can suffer from a surfeit of delegation and are the ones most likely to be influenced by the overall management style of the head. At their best, senior management teams are a harmonious mixture and blend of complementary talents. At their worst, they are a hotbed of discontent as incompatible individuals wrestle with the task of coping with a management style that is alien to them. As well as sustaining their own momentum and developing their own tools for management, head teachers must also ensure that appropriate professional development is available to others. Within the senior management team this development should occur on a daily basis, and heads have a clear role to play in ensuring that they are providing the capacity for offering the appropriate role models and skills in the context of the school. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, but the ‘leading professional’ must ensure that the senior management team possesses the full range of skills required and must crucially

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play a leading role in ensuring that their capacity for personal growth and development is encouraged at all times. As has already been suggested, the role of the head teacher is multi-faceted and is becoming increasingly more complex. It is true to say that every day is likely to bring its share of the unexpected, and managing diary commitments on occasion can be a challenge in its own right, as other items requiring attention emerge on what appears to be a totally unpredictable basis. People management is always the most difficult of the various management functions to compartmentalize into neatly defined periods of time. Some management consultants suggest the apportionment of a set amount of time each day for this task, with allocations to individuals prioritized within this. For school managers this is unrealistic, for the management of people is not confined to professional colleagues but embraces the unpredictable daily dynamic that the pupils bring. No matter how well we may structure and order the day, there will always be those individuals who will demand attention because, at that particular moment, they are not able to fit in with the normal and accepted routines. Head teachers represent the ultimate sanction and are the final decision-makers; all of the people dynamics that occur on a daily basis do so within parameters that they have set. Regrettably, in some instances, it is as if the head is no longer in control of the child it has spawned, and the systems and structures that they have created are compounding some of the problems they were intended to overcome. This is where the capacity for the overview is crucial. Successful headship is not about creating something once and then occupying a position of maintenance. Schools are dynamic, ever-changing establishments and need proactive management skills, not merely an impulsive reaction within a fixed and never-changing context. The pace of change within the world of education compounds the problem for any leaders seeking to rest on their laurels. External changes need to be embraced and incorporated and the process of change and reflection must be ongoing. Furthermore, if this does not happen, then those implementing the inspection process that was created to monitor schools are likely to pass adverse comment. There is, then, no hiding place from change. It is incumbent upon all school managers to retain an overview of their institution and, in spite of all of the differing demands placed upon them, they must learn to balance priorities so that they manage both the school and the individuals who are dependent upon them as effectively as possible.

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Being all things to everyone The demands being placed upon head teachers are considerable and the need for effective professional development and training is crucial. The development of the National Professional Qualification for Headship and the Leadership Programme for Serving Head Teachers recognize this fact and, as these programmes are refined and enhanced, they will continue to play a significant part in supporting the development of both existing and aspiring head teachers. Other training and development opportunities will supplement these programmes, and the heads of the future will be both better prepared for, and more appropriately supported within, their roles. In turn, this enhanced preparation and support should permeate throughout the organizations that they manage and will result in a profession that is far more responsive to the needs of the individuals within them. Although the personal demands upon the head teacher are likely to remain, it is to be hoped that they will be better prepared to embrace the challenges that accompany the role. One of the ways in which this will be demonstrated will be by more effective delegation. This has the potential to strengthen team building and to help reinforce and give meaning to the structures and systems that are in place.

Lessons from Northicote As part of their leadership role, newly appointed head teachers are generally faced with the responsibility for implementing change within their organizations. This need for change can be both internally and externally driven by a range of circumstances. Uniquely, the new head of Northicote School was confronted by simultaneous pressures from both directions. On the one hand, there was a demand for change from those within the school and a compulsion for change resulting from the inspectors’ findings. This situation required Geoff Hampton to implement both minor and major changes to the existing organization and management of the school. As head, his role was to say what he valued (now and in the future), to convey a sense of actively guided and controlled development. To manage this change effectively he had to establish clear procedures and develop a model for change that would both guide the process and provide a clear picture to others about how and where the school was going. Geoff had to

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remind himself that change is a process, not an event, and is most successful when it occurs in a moderate fashion and takes account of the people involved. Introducing new ideas, some of which are radical, and effecting change is difficult to achieve. It requires skill, personal energy and effort, time and, most importantly, the commitment of the people who are being expected to implement the change. Among the skills and abilities required are likely to be: • • • • • • • • •

the ability to provide a clear sense of direction to the school and its staff demonstrating a realistic approach to developing learning and teaching communicating effectively developing relationships at all levels managing human and material resources anticipating and solving problems taking decisions negotiating, delegating and consulting coordinating the efforts of others

Overcoming resistance to change Not everyone will embrace the changes proposed by the leader, although many will be carried along by the momentum or will subsequently adopt the reforms. For leaders, these individuals represent a challenge. They can absorb a great deal of the leader’s time and effort – often a disproportionate amount – sometimes at the expense of those who are showing total commitment. Ultimately, this cohort has to change or be tolerated, but they cannot be allowed to frustrate or impede the strategic direction being provided by the head teacher. In the event of a direct challenge, the leader will need to take swift action to prevent an undermining of his or her authority.

The importance of building and maintaining vision Vision building should be a dynamic, shared and interactive process involving what the school could look like and a vision of how the school might improve itself. A shared vision concerning both content and the process of change is fundamental to school improvement. (Fullan, 1991)

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The most important thing in transforming the fortunes of Northicote was never to lose sight of the central goal – raising standards. The key was to have clarity of vision. That vision was instilled in the pupils through a school motto – ‘Excellence for everyone’. Any motto needs to be succinct yet express the overall approach and attitude of those involved. The phrase is used on all school literature and is emblazoned on the pupils’ uniforms as part of the brave new start for the school.

Changing culture Particular change strategies enjoy different levels of success according to school culture. The culture certainly needed to be changed as a result of the introduction of special measures, but first there needed to be a debate about the notion of school culture and its effects on behaviour and results. This debate began by ‘talking up’ the school, referring to it as the ‘New Northicote’ and by the coining of the new school motto, ‘Excellence for everyone’. However, these changes were more than cosmetic. At their heart were key developments in the learning culture and the teaching regime, as well as the monitoring of classroom practice. Careful monitoring of pupils’ work, including homework, was introduced and a regular study support club and homework diary were launched. The school had begun by targeting borderline children who met regularly with senior staff to check their work and set new targets. All of these activities helped to change the culture of the school towards one of high expectations, where different kinds of success are valued and recognized. While the head’s active role in the community was important, so was his active, visible and available presence in school. Geoff Hampton’s role in remotivating and inspiring pupils and staff was critical to its recovery. I was aware that, like it or not, the future of a lot of people – pupils and staff – depended upon me. I had to be seen to be doing the job and on occasion, even, had to be seen to be doing what other people thought the job was, while all the time trying to make some sense of how the various pieces fitted together. There was a vision there somewhere that had to remain intact, sometimes in spite of what was going on around me. On other occasions it all seemed to make sense, as some tangible contribution

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‘Excellence for everyone’ •

To become the premier community-based education and family establish-

•

ment in Wolverhampton To raise standards for all our students irrespective of ability through a challenging environment and curriculum

•

• •

•

Students over 14 years will be able to aim for university entrance via GCSE and A levels or to pursue vocational training using well-equipped facilities To offer adult training courses to meet the needs of the local community and help people back into employment Sports and leisure facilities to be introduced and maintained at the highest possible standard and made available for use by all sections of the community To continue the review of achievements to ensure excellence for everyone

Figure 11.1 Northicote’s mission statement

to my dream was observed. Those moments were precious and helped me to sustain my energy and drive for what I wanted us to be. (GH) If the concept of continuous improvement was to be sustained, it was also important to ensure that others understood the various component parts that they had to focus upon. A diagrammatic representation (Figure 11.2) of all the contributory factors to raising standards through effective learning was produced to help the staff to ‘keep their eye on the ball’.

Asset or liability? Northicote’s ultimate success led to further exposure, on this occasion, not merely from the general media, but also from those within the profession who wished to draw upon any lessons that could be learned. The school featured in case studies produced by the Department for Education and Employment and, more recently, was high-lighted in a CD-rom on improving schools. The ultimate accolade, that of a knighthood, was awarded to Geoff Hampton in the 1998 New Year Honours List. Northicote’s history of ‘firsts’ was upheld as Sir Geoff Hampton became the first of a very small number of head

The role of the head Staffing issues

Capitation

Quality of teaching

Resourcing the curriculum

Setting/ pupil grouping

Individual lesson plans

LEA

Homework

Schemes of work

Staffing structure

Parents

Job descriptions

Raising standards through effective learning INSET/ training

Governors

Organization structures

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Behaviour and discipline

Quality of the teaching environment

The school day

Length of lessons

The lunch hour

Figure 11.2 Raising standards through effective learning

teachers to be awarded this distinction. In March 1998 the Education and Employment Secretary David Blunkett congratulated Geoff Hampton on becoming the first headmaster of a state school to receive a knighthood:

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Transforming Northicote School We value the work of teachers and it is right that the best should be given special recognition. Sir Geoffrey is one of these unique people who have given thousands of children the flying start in life they deserve. His whole adult life has been dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education. Today, Sir Geoffrey’s knighthood is being enjoyed by the whole community. They are right to be proud of the school and it is fitting that he has been recognized for the essential part he has played in turning around Northicote School, Wolverhampton, and his commitment to education over the past twenty-four years. (Press Release PN111/98 3 March 1998, DfEE)

The newly created knight summed up his feelings as follows: It is difficult to do justice to the depth of pride and humility that I felt when the title was granted. For me, the award was for all of those wonderful people who had played a part in the dream that we had created. I will always remember the touching words of the many people from the school’s locality who wrote or spoke to me personally at the time. It had clearly meant as much to them as it had for the staff and students with whom I was able to share the experience. I was also delighted for my family who had supported me through all of the challenges that Northicote had presented and without whom the success we achieved would not have been possible. (GH) The final confirmation of the school’s success had arrived from an unexpected source and now it was the head teacher as well as the school who stood on the pinnacle of the mountain they had just climbed. This distinction between personal success and the achievements of the institution was a difficult one to draw. There is an undoubted kudos in having a knight as your head teacher but it does also have a tendency to increase the demands and expectations that are placed upon you. For some members of the community, the title was perceived as a solution to their problems, in that it would guarantee that the local authority departments would respond to their complaints about refuse, housing and many other issues so much more swiftly. Once again a new set of circumstances had to be absorbed by the school. The reaction of the pupils to their ‘Sir, Sir’ could not have been more positive or sincere. The pupils produced poems and pictures about the knighthood and wanted to know every detail of the proceedings; their response was magnificent

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and their pride was tangible. I also received messages of congratulations from all over the country and abroad. There was a real sense of people sharing the pride that I felt. (GH) Northicote School is one of a kind All awful memories are left behind Of when the school was failing, All hope of surviving gone. When along came our new Headteacher Who dragged us up to number one. We’re now one of the best in Wolverhampton Thanks to our headmaster, Sir Geoffrey Hampton. Carol Meredith and Rachel Berridge (Y11) Mr Hampton Ruler of Northicote Headmaster of a wonderful school Achieved a Knighthood Much deserved Promoted to the best That’s above all the rest Oh! thanks to Sir Geoff from NORTHICOTE SCHOOL Ben Middleton and Simon Green (Y8) From students and teachers alike, We want you to know how we feel, We think you’re the tops, and you’re real Not just a name at the palace, Or name in The Times or the press, Our very own Knight, who’s really all right Our Bachelor Knight, Sir Geoff. T. Wren (member of staff) Through thick and thin, you didn’t give in We would like to praise you in this special way. For the work you do every day. So from all of us we would like to say, we are proud of you. Claire White and Elizabeth Slater (Y10)

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Northicote was truly special once more but, again, for all the right reasons. However, normality is also important and it was crucial not to lose sight of the central and ongoing task of driving standards ever upwards. The demands upon Geoff Hampton’s time were now considerable and, in recognition of this, his deputy head teacher was promoted to the position of assistant head teacher and given greater responsibility for the day to day running of the school. Geoff Hampton could no longer maintain the same level of hands-on involvement in the management of his school and, at no point wishing to become a liability, after almost six years in post, he decided that the time was right to move on and allow someone else the opportunity to take Northicote on to the next stage of its journey. Discussions with the new vice-chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton led to the formation of the Midlands Leadership Centre, with Sir Geoff Hampton as its first director. The prospect of dedicating more time to school improvement issues – and to leadership and management in particular – now existed for Geoff Hampton, while Northicote was able to appoint a new head teacher. Subsequently the school has received a good re-inspection report, with history repeating itself as OFSTED arrived in the first term of the new head teacher’s reign. Thankfully, the school was in considerably better order than six years previously. For Geoff Hampton further changes lay ahead; he was appointed as Dean of the School of Education alongside his role of directing the Leadership Centre. Less than a term after assuming his responsibility the primary English initial teacher training programme failed its OFSTED inspection. To be the first to transform a failing school of education as well as a secondary school? – now there’s an interesting challenge . . .

Postscript In July 2000, twelve months after his appointment as Dean, the Primary BEd English programme was re-inspected and was found to be no longer unsatisfactory. The inspectors were particularly complementary about the overall strategic management and forward momentum evident in the School of Education.

12 Reflections

There is nothing more difficult to execute nor more dubious of success, nor more dangerous to administer than to introduce a new order of things; for he who introduces it has all those who profit from the old order as his enemies, and he has only lukewarm allies in all those who might profit from the new. (Machiavelli, 1513)

Lessons to be learned When asked ‘what makes a good school?’ or ‘how can we improve schools and raise standards?’ the answer is rarely straightforward. Strategies for achieving success and improvement are multi-faceted, since they usually embrace academic standards, pupil behaviour and, crucially, local perceptions and the school’s existing reputation. Within the teaching profession there has recently come an acceptance that the analysis of school performance will be influenced and guided by the judgements made following an inspection process. This is seldom problematic if the inspectors’ views are simply an affirmation of internal perceptions. However, if the inspection process presents a picture different from the one traditionally painted, or if it presents opportunities for the reinforcement of negative thoughts and adverse comments, it can encourage a reexamination of the central theme – ‘what makes a good school?’ Northicote’s OFSTED inspection and subsequent placement in special measures had an enormous impact on everyone. To be the first secondary school to be placed in this category was clearly a dubious distinction. The impact on teaching staff of the announcement that the school was failing was clearly traumatic – especially on those who were doing a good job. They may have been least to blame for the school’s failure but, as conscientious professionals, they nevertheless took it to heart. Supporting staff in coming to terms with the

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findings, coupled with the scale of the changes needed to correct matters, demands a great deal of the head teacher, the governors and the wider support agencies, such as the LEA. With the school in such a poor state and with so much to do to bring about improvement, it was inevitable that few would avoid the serious psychological jolt that accompanies such public failure. The urgency with which the action plan had to be produced – within forty days of the report’s publication – was significant in helping the school to extricate itself from its stunned state and focus its efforts on recovery. Involving staff in devising the action plan had at least two advantages: first, by helping them to re-group; and, second, by giving them a sense of ownership. The commitment of the staff to change was essential for any systemic improvement to take place. Gaining this commitment is challenging; it becomes even more challenging when some groups of staff refuse to accept that the school is failing or have refused to accept that radical measures are needed. Fortunately, in the case of Northicote, despite the bruising effect of its highly publicized failure, the majority of teachers had resolved to support the school’s transformation. The school’s relegation to special measures had the effect of galvanizing the governing body. The appointment of a new chair and five additional governors strengthened the governing body. The governors, for the first time, had been presented with a comprehensive audit of the school’s activities, highlighting strengths and weaknesses. This served a valuable purpose in helping them to get to grips with their role and to exercise their responsibilities. The governors have continued to perform a leading role in the ongoing renaissance of the school, and their recent involvement in the process of target setting and bench marking is indicative of the crucial role that they play. The school no longer has special measures governors since their term of office has expired, although some still continue in other capacities. What is undoubtedly true is that the experience gained via the process of recovery has enabled them to develop into a highly effective support structure for the school. The legislation surrounding OFSTED inspections also required the LEA to fulfil particular duties. These the LEA took very seriously; they commented on the school’s action plan and submitted their own, detailing how they would support the school’s recovery. The LEA provided considerable support to Northicote, some in monetary terms but also in kind, via the inspection and advisory service. The local authority was also faced with a steep learning curve when it found itself responsible for the first failing secondary school. Northicote was not the last school within Wolverhampton to find itself in this position and the experience that was gained throughout the recovery process has led to the authority’s response to this problem being refined and modified. There is an increasing acknowledgement that the quality of leadership is at the heart of successful

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transformation and various models have been tried within the authority. These include the departure of existing head teachers, the secondment or transfer of successful head teachers into other schools and an extensive programme of leadership and management training. The local authority has also had to cope with the numerous references to the Northicote experience as being the exemplar to be followed. As has been indicated earlier in the book, there is in fact no bespoke solution to school improvement. This fact is sometimes forgotten because of the desire for quick-fix solutions. It has been suggested that the LEA’s capital investment in Northicote should be replicated elsewhere, in times of difficulty, as the solution to the problems that schools face. The realization that throwing money at the problem – in isolation at least – is seldom likely to be successful, has yet to dawn in some quarters. An exceptional load falls on the head teacher in such circumstances; this demands personal resilience as well as highly advanced professional qualities. There is a huge problem in keeping up teachers’ morale while pushing them hard; the skill is knowing when to increase and when to slacken the pressure. This requires a highly developed sense of ‘people management’, which is greatly enriched if there is prior knowledge of the individuals that you are working with. This undoubtedly assists anyone to get the best out of people and helps with the formation of the teams and the teamwork that are so crucial for achievement of forward momentum. Consequently, the ‘parachuting in’ of an individual to work the miracle of improvement is a risky strategy, and will place considerable demands upon the individual quickly to establish the necessary working relationships. Nevertheless, this model has proved successful at times although, undoubtedly in the case of Northicote, it was invaluable that Geoff Hampton had had the benefit of spending half a term at the school during which to commence the task of building the necessary relationships before the huge scale of the task that they were all to face became a reality. Two recent developments give cause for some optimism. First, the powers of intervention recently vested in local authorities are making them increasingly aware of the need to intervene and to be proactive before any problematic inspection findings are declared. This affords an LEA the opportunity to place new head teachers within schools viewed by it to be causing concern. Consequently, even if there has been insufficient time to prevent an adverse OFSTED report, it is to be hoped that the new school leader will have already commenced work on the prerequisites of recovery. However, this is clearly dependent upon the capacity of the LEA to act in an appropriate manner; the OFSTED inspection of LEAs should help to ensure that an appropriate quality threshold is achieved.

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Second, the national programmes of professional development and training for existing and aspiring head teachers should help to improve the capabilities of those who lead our schools. While there is undoubtedly some short-term impact from these programmes, it is in the medium and long term that the greatest potential benefits will be felt, namely, more effective leadership and management of our schools. The next goal must surely be to make available this type of training throughout the profession, while acknowledging that today’s newly qualified teachers are tomorrow’s school leaders. The move away from the provision of professional development by many local authorities, as they focus on the core business identified for them, has given rise to a plethora of ‘private’ training providers who are benefiting from the increased spending power of schools. The monitoring of the quality of this provision is via the market itself and, already, some of these training organizations have suffered from a lack of repeat business. Thankfully, others of these organizations are now earning a reputation for their high quality, and we are beginning to move beyond a position where the quality of their advertising literature was the only means of determining whether participation in training would be beneficial or not. More coordination would be desirable, and the emerging pattern of regional leadership centres taking responsibility for the coordination of INSET and professional development represents a model where local needs can be both articulated and responded to. The majority of these regional centres are linked to a local university; this should help to ensure that appropriate accreditation is linked to the profession in the future. The Northicote experience, as described here, has added to the collective knowledge of school improvement by setting out strategies which, if applied consistently by staff and the school’s wider community in the spirit of partnership, stand to make a difference. The key role that the pupils and the wider community have to play in school improvement should not be underestimated. As well as the drive to improve standards from within, Northicote has taught us that this must also be accompanied by a desire from the other stakeholders to seek improvement. This increases the potential for the school to be a catalyst for community regeneration, the range of the potential remit that confronts a head teacher in these circumstances is staggering. As Geoff Hampton once commented: I was struck by the comments of the local housing department who informed me that the area had become far more desirable for tenants since the school had transformed itself. More people had also purchased their properties, and the housing department felt that there was far more pride being displayed in the area. I looked with fresh eyes at the properties

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surrounding the school and noticed the new porches and carefully tended lawns and flower beds that now characterized many of the houses. It is strange to think that school improvement can be measured by the number of marigolds or the amount of double glazing! (GH) The recent focus on social inclusion and the importance of parenting skills are all linked to the need for schools to play their part in improving the potential for success among the next generation. At the start of a new millennium, education could not enjoy a higher profile. Education now, more than ever, is acknowledged as the major determinant of the quality of ‘life chances’ of the next generation. The consequences of allowing anything to stand in the way of the life chances of thousands of young people are frightening. That is why the need to strive for school improvement has now moved beyond mere rhetoric and is a reality in the minds of the professionals and of all those associated with schools. We hope that this book will have provided some insights into how this elusive goal was achieved. The journey seeking improvement never stops although its context will alter and change, just as the scenery on any journey does. The reality though for those on board for this journey is that it will, at one and the same time, be both the most rewarding and challenging experience imaginable. To find the pathway to school improvement is exhilarating, to create it is unforgettable; that is the joy and the challenge of headship. (GH)

Appendix 1 A diary of The Northicote School

December 1993: Main findings of the school’s OFSTED report School closure? Budgetary crisis? Unclear staffing structure/roles? Major premises issues? Input of governors? External perceptions? Unauthorized absence – 3.38 per cent? Percentage of pupils with 5+ A–C grades – 13 per cent

December 1994: Main findings of HMI and LEA re-inspection School secure Financially viable New staffing structure Major investment in premises Governors’ working parties Changing external perceptions Unauthorized absence – 0.7 per cent Percentage of pupils with 5+ A–C grades – 13 per cent

December 1996: Acknowledgement of HMCI and Secretary of State Oversubscribed in Year 7 Financial growth Staffing structure due for review

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Premises work almost complete Further development of governors’ involvement Positive external perceptions Attendance procedures in place Percentage of Year 11 students with 5+ A–C grades – approximately 10 per cent

December 1999: Recognition of the school’s achievement School full Stable financial situation Staffing structure reflecting school’s growth Superb sports facilities from Lottery bid Enhanced Music and Drama facilities Governors fully involved in an Education Quality Improvement Programme Positive external perceptions Good attendance Projected percentage of Year 11 students with 5+ A–C grades – 30 per cent

Appendix 2 OFSTED criteria for identifying schools requiring special measures (OFSTED, 1993)

Schools requiring special measures 13 Where, after considering all the evidence and after taking account of the factors mentioned below, the Registered Inspector is of the opinion that the school is failing, or likely to fail, to give its pupils an acceptable stan dard of education, he or she is under a statutory duty to inform Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, and therefore to express that opinion in the report and to state whether or not Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector corrobo rates that opinion. The procedures to be followed are set out in the Hand book Part 5, Technical Paper 13: School Requiring Special Measures. 14 In reaching a decision whether a school is failing, or likely to fail, to give an acceptable standard of education, the Registered Inspector should con sider the extent to which some or all of the following characteristics are present in the school. Consideration must be given to the combined weight of such factors in reaching the final judgement that, on balance, the school is failing, or likely to fail, to give an acceptable standard of education to its pupils. Standards: underachievement in the subjects of the National Curriculum, religious education and other curricular provision among the majority of pupils or consistently among particular groups of pupils; poor examina tion results, National Curriculum levels of attainment and other assess ment and accredited results; underachievement in key skills in the curricu lum as a whole.

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Quality of education provided: very limited progress by pupils in acquir ing knowledge, understanding and skills; failure to implement the Na tional Curriculum; a high proportion of unsatisfactory teaching; low ex pectations in many aspects of the work; demoralization and disenchant ment among staff; high levels of staff turnover or absence. Efficiency of the school: inefficient use made of the resources available to the school; failure of budgetary processes to produce efficient spending; poor value for money provided by the school; ineffectiveness of the head teacher, senior management or governors; significant loss of confidence in the head teacher by the staff, parents or governors; poor management of resources and accommodation seriously impeding educational provision and progress. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development: very poor provi sion for these aspects of pupils’ development; poor assemblies; abrasive and confrontational relationships with pupils; regular disruptive behaviour; high levels of truancy; poor attendance by a substantial pro portion of pupils or a particular group of pupils; high levels of exclusions; pupils at physical or emotional risk from other pupils or adults in the school; high levels of racial tension or harassment. 15 The presence of just one of these characteristics would not necessarily justify an overall decision that the school is failing, or likely to fail. Where there are several features which indicate significant underachievement, risk to pupils or the likelihood of a breakdown of control, the action set out in paragraph 13 must be taken. However, where, for example, a high pro portion of pupils is underachieving to a significant degree, or where behaviour has broken down, a school will normally be judged to require special measures. In all such cases the head teacher and the governing body should be informed of the Registered Inspector’s concern.

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References

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OFSTED (1995) Planning Improvement: Schools’ Post-Inspection Action Plans. London: OFSTED. OFSTED/BIS/DfEE (1995) Governing Bodies and Effective Schools. London: DFE. Sallis, J. (1994) Heads and Governors: Building the Partnership. Coventry: Action for Governors’ Information and Training (AGIT). Shephard, G. (1995) ‘The improvement of failing schools: UK policy and practice 1993–1995’. Speech to the OECD UK seminar, November. Crown Copyright. Sutherland, S. (1992) Letter from HMCI designate enclosing a copy of the draft Framework for Inspection. London: DfEE. University of London Institute of Education (1997) The Road to Success. London: University of London Institute of Education. Wilcox, B. and Gray, J. (1996) Inspecting Schools: Holding Schools to Account and Helping Schools to Improve. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Index

academic progress 17–18, 21, 36–41 Alberti 68 assemblies 96–7

70–8, 87, 102 exclusions 55–8, 102, 145 Fullan, M. 32, 79

Basic Skills Agency Quality Mark 119 Berridge, Rachel 135 Blunkett, David 132–4 Brighouse, Tim 90 budgets: link to pupil numbers 2; Northicote 30, 104–5 buildings: see premises City Challenge 109 community: links with 49–50, 52, 77, 98, 109, 119, 141 complaints procedure 98 Crum, Thomas 126 curriculum: modifications to raise standards 4, 61–9; monitoring 68– 9; restructuring of departments 85; review 21; schemes of work 65–8; see also National Curriculum Dearing, Sir Ron 70 detentions 54–6 drama 77 Education Reform Act (1988) 21 Elton Report (1989) 34 English Sports Council Challenge Fund Award 119 ethos and culture of school: environment of school 90–9; ways of effecting change 4–5, 69,

Gann, N. 100, 111 GCSE results 36–7, 102, 116, 118, 124 GNVQs 102 governors: and development plan 122; effective 118; lack of expertise 23; monitoring and visits to school 111–14; recruitment under special measures 5, 100–3; role 5, 21, 100– 14, 138; working groups for action 22–5, 104–7, 116 Gray, J. 27 Green, Simon 135 Hackney Downs School 14 Hampton, Geoff: appointment as head of Northicote 2, 8, 12, 79, 129, 139; changing the culture 70– 1, 97, 130–2; curriculum 62–3, 66; displays of work 94–5; dream for future 93–4; expectations 53; GCSE results 36–7; ‘good school’ basics 108; governors’ working groups 106–7; initial strategy 15– 16; knighthood 132–6; off special measures 120; relations with parents 58; removal of old wooden lockers 92; school bags and homework 95–6; school uniform

Index 75–6; targets 121; task with teaching staff 29–30, 32, 61, 84–7, 89; and wider community 49–50, 52 Hargreaves, D. 32, 70 head teacher: advantages for a ‘new boy’ 15–16; high profile 122–3; manager and motivator 29–32, 78, 118, 119–20, 125; role 126–36, 139; training and professional development 129, 140; unique circumstances of Northicote 5, 8 health and safety issues: LEA responsibility 16, 21, 22; OFSTED findings 18, 20–1 hit squads: to decide if failing schools could be viable 13–14 homework 5, 38, 43–4, 59, 69, 95–6, 116 Hopkins, D. 70 Improving the Quality of Education for All (IQEA) project 87 In-Service Education and Training (INSET) 32, 87–8, 98, 140 incentives to pupils 4, 53–5, 72, 76 inspections (HMI) 108 intake and admissions 123–5 key questions: action plan 27–9; beyond the academic 78; conduct of pupils 48; ethos of school 98; from failure to success 125; governors 114; homework 44; response to OFSTED 25; sanctions and rewards 60; schemes of work 67–8; school and community 52; school environment 93, 95; staff deployment and development 89 Key Stage 3: difficulties 18 Key Stage 4: attainment 37 literacy: key target 63; parent-student reading project (PSRP) 58–9 local education authority (LEA) responsibilities: action plan 109–10; health and safety 16, 21, 22;

149

inspectors 22, 108–9; reaction to OFSTED report 22–3, 138–40; refurbishment of buildings 91–2 MacGilchrist, B. 32, 71 Machiavelli 137 management and planning: OFSTED findings 19–20 Mann, Horace 41 media: managing 122–3; Northicote School 2, 8–10, 49–50, 72–4, 122– 3; and OFSTED reports 2 Meredith, Carol 135 Middleton, Ben 135 Midlands Leadership Centre 136 music: place in curriculum 63, 77 Myers, K. 32 National Commission on Education 108 National Curriculum: standards of achievement 17–18, 80–1, 144 Northicote School: action plan 4, 26– 52; appointment of Geoff Hampton as head 2, 8, 12, 79, 129, 139; awards from outside bodies 119; budget 30, 104–5, 116; community use of facilities 77–8; description of school and its community 7–8; diary of events 142–3; example to others 122; governors and management structure 110, 112– 14; home/school agreement 59–60; marketing group 72–4, 122–3; media and OFSTED report 2, 8–10, 49–50, 72–4, 122–3; mission statement 132; OFSTED ‘failing’ report 2, 3–4, 8, 14, 17–20, 137–8; pupil numbers 12, 123–5; report booklet 49–50; school council 41– 3; school office 97–8; school policies 64–5, 81, 87–8; security issues 91, 98–9; ‘special measures’ 2, 8, 115, 137–8; target setting 110–11, 121–2; withdrawal of pupils 11; working groups set up 23–5

150

Index

numeracy: key target 63 NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) 59, 102 office 97–8 Office for Standards in Education see OFSTED OFSTED: aims and objects 1–2; collective act of worship requirement 96; criteria for special measures 144–5; detailed report useful 16; governing body 100–1, 107; inspectors 22; key issues for Northicote 17–20, 90, 137–9, 142; local authority response 138–40; media interest in 2; Planning Improvement: Schools’ Postnspection Plans 26; premises criticized 90; responses to report 25, 79, 84–6; school day 63–4; school policies 34; University of Wolverhampton School of Education 136 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) conference 115, 120 parent teacher association 50–1, 76, 116 parents: choice of schools 2, 123–5; consultation evenings 51–2; cooperation sought 57–60, 75, 113–14, 119; home/school agreement 59–60; open evenings for prospective 72, 124; parent-student reading project (PSRP) 58–9; presentation evenings 54; reaction to OFSTED report 11– 12; reports to 37–41, 49 policies 64–5, 81, 87–8 premises: caretaker 91–2; community use 77–8; condition of 5, 8, 12–13, 19, 90–3, 116; demolition of surplus space 124; display areas 94–5; security issues 91, 98–9 Preston, Fred (chair of governors) 100–3, 105, 113–14, 120

pupils: academic progress 17–18, 21, 36–41, 102, 116, 118; achievement scheme 53–5, 69, 72, 116, 118; attendance 4–5, 19, 21, 45, 74, 102, 116; classroom code 35; Day Book monitoring system 44–8, 54, 74–5, 76, 81–2, 97; detentions 54– 6; discipline and behaviour 19, 32– 6, 44–8, 99; displays of work 94–5; exclusions 55–8, 102, 145; homework 5, 38, 43–4, 59, 69, 95– 6, 116; image of the school 123; incentives 4, 53–5, 72, 76; inspiration of head 131–6; intake and admissions 123–5; lunch hour 98–9; mentoring 69; pastoral system 37–8; presentation evening 54; reaction to OFSTED report 11; registration 45, 74, 99; reports and monitoring 38–41, 44–8, 54, 81–2, 99, 104; sanctions 4, 33, 54–8; school bags 95–6, 123; school council 41–3; school day (length and structure) 110–11; special needs 41; uniform 5, 50, 51, 59, 74–6, 123 Reed, J. 32 The Road to Success (DfEE) 116 Sainsbury’s Award for Art Education 119 Sallis, J. 103 SAT scores 102, 124 school day 51, 63–4 Shephard, Gillian 13, 115, 117, 120 Slater, Elizabeth 135 special educational needs 41, 58 sponsorship: school bags 96 sporting links 77–8 staff: audit of teachers’ strengths and weaknesses 18, 30–2, 86–7; competency process 80–9; form tutors 42–3, 44–8, 82, 97; fundraising 48; In-Service Education and Training (INSET) 32, 87– 8, 98, 140; job descriptions 5, 80–4;

Index management team 41, 82–5; monitoring by governors 111–14; mutual support 31; non-teaching 48–9; pastoral 41; professionalism 118; reaction to OFSTED failure 8–10, 14–15, 22, 79, 84–6; recruitment and retention 5, 10, 87–9; redundancies 110; responses to disruptive pupil behaviour 33–6; role of head to motivate and manage 29–32; school day 51, 63– 4; school office 97–8; staff development policy 87–9; structuring 5, 79–87, 116; targets and development plan 121–2; teaching quality 61–9, 80–4 Sutherland, S. 17

151

Times Educational Supplement 43 Training and Enterprise Council 109 truancy 74, 145 UK Schools Mathematics Challenge Awards 119 uniform 5, 50, 51, 59, 74–6, 123 University of Wolverhampton 136 vandalism 19, 91, 102 violence: reaction to 57 White, Claire 135 Wilcox, B. 27 Wolverhampton Wanderers 77 working groups established 23–5 worship: assemblies 96–7; monitoring by governors 113; record of 45–6; requirements of 1988 Education Reform Act 21 Wren, T. 135