Food for Thought – A Creative Approach
I am the Head Teacher of a large primary school with a history of low attainment in an area of high deprivation. It was evident from the onset that I was part of an extremely hard working and committed team who rose to every challenge with positivity. They had systems in place from previous inspections and LA reviews which were expected to raise attainment; ‘layered targets’, ‘units of work’, ‘fields of white’ etc. All of the focus was on Maths and English. Other subjects were ‘light touch’ and as a consequence there was no real depth of learning across the foundation subjects. Needless to say, the results weren’t improving at a rapid pace and every intervention imaginable was thrown at year six to enable rapid progress in one year!
We needed to change the way we were approaching the curriculum, we wanted to enhance the experiences for our students. Knowledge, language and understanding of the world beyond Wallsend was rather limited for many, which in turn affected the students ability to improve levels of achievement.
We began to deliver a more ‘Creative Curriculum’, linking in as many visits and experiences as were affordable. Our staff are great at haggling a deal: a meal in an Indian Restaurant for a whole class springs to mind (a better alternative than bringing in samosas from Asda). For many students, visiting a restaurant was a new experience, never mind tasting freshly made Indian food. I remember parents expressing their concern that their children wouldn’t like Indian food and it would be a waste of time taking them, so we extended the offer to parents. The students loved the food, it was the parents, some with very fixed mindsets, that were reluctant to try it. This gave us so much food for thought!
As a staff we began to explore a range of opportunities to merge aspects of the curriculum together in a way that enriched the learning and real life experiences for our students. The leadership team began to research similar, tried and tested systems, that showed positive impact in other schools.
It didn’t take long for the staff to embrace the principles of ‘Project Based Learning’. Luckily, it wasn’t a huge shift in thinking. In September 2014 we began our journey into ‘PBL’, embarking on a whole school project together. The buzz around the school during the first project was inspiring, the staff were as excited as the children.
Project Based Learning has gained in momentum since. Teachers have immersed their learning environments to suit their projects, for example; some desks have been replaced with 1940’s dining tables for WW2 projects, a Viking boat appeared in Year five for the Invaders project, a huge ‘Faraway Tree’ and a rowing boat appeared in Year Three for the Enid Blyton project and a stage took over half of the classroom in year four for the Shakespeare project!
I feel our school has come alive and achievement is improving at a rapid rate! HOWEVER… is this what Ofsted want to see?? We are due an inspection. Where does our school fit into the Ofsted Framework? I am struggling to see how our individuality as a school is respected within such rigid parameters. The reason I am kept awake at night is the dreaded fear that our disadvantaged gap isn’t closing rapidly enough! Or that we are not meeting National Expected Levels by the end of Reception! Will Ofsted be able to see the bigger picture, will they understand the implications of 100+ families working within Children’s Services, or will we be forced to focus on the pedantic issues brought about by Raise on Line? Can you imagine what would happen if we applied the same formula to the education of every single student, without considering their context or background?
When I became a Head Teacher, a colleague, who is now HMI, told me it takes seven years to turn a school around to see sustainable improvements. What I say is, it takes seven years (on entry into Reception to the end of year six) to enable every child to reach their full potential. We acknowledge this through a study of our school results; a vast proportion of students go from a significantly low level on entry to above expected level on exit. But most importantly they will be equipped with valuable life skills, a host of memories and experiences to draw upon and a passion to learn, I can’t see that highlighted in the grade descriptors.
One thing for sure is that we will continue to do what we truly believe is right for our students and their families, we will deliver the curriculum in the way that is working for us and deal with Ofsted when they come knocking, let’s hope it is a positive experience.
Emma Overton, Head Teacher at Stephenson Memorial Primary School and Primary Director for North Tyneside Learning Trust