Achieving through Innovation at Newham Improving ... - RM.com

R
Achieving
through
Innovation
at Newham
Improving primary
pupils’ attainment and
attitude to learning
“We have a true partnership with RM, where we have
come together to create a workable solution in
Newham, for the benefit of the children.”
Graham Pragnell, Head of Education ICT,
London Borough of Newham

What is Achieving through Innovation?
‘Achieving through Innovation’, a £20-million PFI project, is an eight-year project
involving around 4,200 pupils in thirty primary schools across the London
Borough of Newham. It aims to use information and communications
technology (ICT) to support learning and teaching, both in school and at
home, with the ambition of raising pupils’ attainment.
The project, which started in September 2004, is underpinned by two key
themes:
1. Teachers and teaching assistants (TAs) confidently using ICT would save time
on lesson-planning and preparation and produce more engaging lessons,
differentiated for the specific needs of their pupils.
2. Giving portable computers to each pupil, for use both in school and at
home, would enhance their ICT skills, enrich and personalise their learning
experience and more fully engage both pupils and parents in learning.
Stakeholder engagement with the project
To ensure that schools were both prepared and capable of taking on
such a comprehensive change to their teaching and learning, all
schools interested in the project were invited to bid for a place on
the project.
Schools were provided with an overview of what might be
provided: a comprehensive package including software, technical
back-up and teacher training. They were advised that they would
need to contribute financially and were asked to include a
‘provisional approval’ from their chair of governors, to demonstrate
that they were committed for the full eight years of the project, if their
bid was successful.
“We were at the point in
our strategic plan where our
pupils and teachers were highly
skilled in ICT – it was the next
step. The project offered us an
enhanced tool for learning. ”
Shirlyann Jones, Assistant Head
Teacher, Portway Primary
School
In the ‘invitation to bid’ letter, schools were advised that, to be successful,
they would have to demonstrate why and how they were well placed to
make the project a success in their school. In this way, equal chance was
given to all schools.
The evaluation panel included a head teacher from a school
uninvolved in the project, Paul Stratton, ICT PFI Project Director,
Graham Pragnell, Head of Education ICT and Dave Lee, member of the
School Development Unit.
Targets for the project
“I would do it the same way
again [school selection] because it
was fair, transparent and robust. It also
provided early sign-up from the school –
including the governors – and has given
the authority information from each school
about why it wanted to be involved – nobody
was forced into joining against better
judgement and, therefore, was less likely
to want to back out at a later date.”
Paul Stratton, ICT PFI Project Director,
London Borough of Newham
Newham wanted to build on its existing success with ICT and set ambitious
targets for all of those schools involved with the implementation of the project.
Targets are around:
• raising pupils’ attainment.
• developing individual and independent learning.
• encouraging and developing new teaching and learning models.
• improving school attendance, through exciting and interactive lessons.
• recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers.
Key to the success of the project was a significant investment in:
• technology and support for teachers and TAs.
• technology for every child in key stage 2.
Plus involvement of parents in pupils’ home use of the technology.

The benefits
“When pupils go to
secondary school, it would be
a real shame if they don’t have
the opportunities, which they have
had in our primary school, to apply
their advanced ICT skills. ”
Shirlyann Jones,
Assistant Head Teacher,
Portway Primary School
Although it is too early to measure progress statistically, anecdotal evidence has
shown a marked improvement in many areas across the schools, including:
• outstanding levels of attainment in ICT.
• higher levels of attainment in literacy.
• raised aspirations among pupils.
• personalised and independent learning.
• improved behaviour among pupils.
• reduced teacher time in planning and preparation.
• easier classroom management.
Improved pupil competence in ICT
There has been significant improvement in the level of competence in ICT. Pupils are
now taking on schemes of work well beyond expectations. Several children in year 5
are undertaking units of work which, traditionally, have been delivered in year 7.
Raised attainment among pupils
The project has started to make a noticeable improvement to the level of attainment
among pupils. This has been demonstrated in the pupils’ ability to learn
independently, with a real excitement and passion for their work.
Since the start of the project, teachers have found that they can assess a pupil’s
ability level much more accurately and set specific work
which will address those areas with which that pupil
needs help most.
Several schools have remarked on the fact
that the project has assisted in the
identification of groups which are not
reaching their potential, boys in particular.
As a result, one school is now teaching
literacy in single-sex classes. Teachers at this
school have found, when boys use the
notebooks, that they are able to concentrate on
the key areas of their work, rather than being
hindered by their lack of confidence in their own
handwriting and spelling. This has resulted in a real
improvement in their attainment in literacy.
Pupils’ attitude towards their work and
learning has been improved – as has their
attitude towards school in general. The
notebooks have had a positive effect on
pupils’ enthusiasm, motivation, behaviour
and self-esteem.
“The beauty of using
the notebooks in literacy is
that the focus isn’t on spelling
and handwriting, but on their
imagination and ideas. This has
helped with pupils’ confidence.”
Carl Iszatt, Year 5 Teacher,
Rosetta Primary School
“In literacy, we have found
that boys are very engaged with
their work, when using their
notebooks – their level of attainment
in literacy has definitely improved.”
Lisle Von Buchenroder,
Deputy Head Teacher,
Star Primary School

Increased parental involvement and homeworking
A key benefit of the project has been the increased parental involvement in their children’s
education and the pupils’ use of notebooks at home, to complete their work.
Parents have recognised the significant investment which the authority has made in their
child’s education. For pupils to take maximum advantage of this by taking their notebooks
home, parents or guardians must collect their children from school. This has ensured that
pupils remain safe and has significantly increased the level of parental involvement and
interest in their children’s education.
“Kaleidos VTLE has
reduced the amount of time
which teachers need to prepare
and allows them, at the click of a
button, to set work at various levels
for individual pupils.”
Graham Pragnell, Head of
Education ICT, London
Borough of Newham
Many parents have also remarked on their child’s renewed enthusiasm to work at home,
often showing a level of competence way beyond parents’ expectations.
More effective use of teachers’ time
Kaleidos ® , RM’s virtual teaching and learning environment, has proven to be an
invaluable teachers’ resource for:
• planning lessons. Kaleidos has allowed teachers to work
independently or as a group, to plan, prepare and share lessons,
with their personal notebook. They can do this when and where
they want, saving hours of preparation time.
• enabling the personalisation of pupils’ work, to suit their own
specific level of ability. Teachers now set personalised work which
pupils complete at home on their notebooks.
This has helped teachers to produce more engaging lessons, capturing the
imagination and interest of their pupils.
Improved classroom management
With the help of specific products, in particular Tutor ® , teachers have found that they are
spending less time on classroom management and more time teaching. Tutor allows
teachers to intervene during lessons, for example, to expand a discussion to the whole
class or for pupils to report back their findings in specific areas.
This, along with the improvement in pupils’ attitude and motivation to learning, has made
significant positive changes to classroom behaviour and management.
Measuring educational improvement
The project, and therefore RM, is measured on key performance indicators (KPIs) which
reflect a focus on the child and demonstrating educational improvement. The KPIs which
have been signed up to include the following:
KPI
Improved key stage 2 SATS in maths, English
and science
Measure
Versus an appropriate control group of
schools which are not included in the
project
Improved key stage 3 SATS in maths, English,
science and ICT
Improved pupil attendance at key stage 2
Improved standards of teaching using ICT
across the whole curriculum at key stage 2
Independent audit to verify

Partnering with RM
When the project began, it was imperative to the project team that it found an ICT
company which believed in working in partnership with the authority. There needed to
be a common goal – to work towards bringing about a whole-scale change in the
teaching and learning in primary schools across the borough.
Newham was looking for a flexible partner, which understood its unique challenges
within the authority and which could work and respond in innovative ways.
The Newham project team felt that RM best demonstrated the ability to work in this
way, and there the partnership began. As the procurement process evolved, RM was
able to prove the strength of this partnership, in the way in which it approached not just
the delivery of an outstanding technical solution, but also its ability to draw in the right
blend of expertise and experience into its team.
The project team comprises personnel from the authority, head teachers from schools within the project and RM
staff. All decision-making which occurs in the project team is based on choosing the best solution for the children
within the project, with each member of the project team having an equal voice.
Support delivered locally by RM
Support is delivered to the project locally by RM. The support team comprises two learning outcome co-ordinators
(LOCs) and two on-site technicians, working seamlessly to ensure that schools are supported as and when required.
Teachers have remarked on the technicians’ ability to act quickly and effectively, to resolve any technical issues, as
and when they arise. This is always carried out with the professionalism and sensitivity which is required when
entering a school during the normal working day, often while the teacher continues with the lesson.
The LOCs have been so successful supporting teachers that an additional LOC has just been recruited to
the project.
Training to meet individuals’ needs
Teachers have benefited from a range of training and support provided throughout the
project. All schools have planned, with the project team, the training and support which
best suited their needs. This was then delivered from a range of training options.
Typically, the training options selected were as follows:
1. Two half-day in-school teacher-training sessions. These sessions focused on project
hardware and software and considered what impact this might have on their
specific teaching.
2. Access to regular planning support sessions, where the focus was on teaching and
the ways in which ICT could support and enhance this.
3. In-class support sessions, which involved either team-teaching or supported teaching
sessions – ideal when teachers wanted to try out something new, but were a little uncertain.
4. A sharing-good-practice training programme for teachers and TAs, run at the Newham
central training centre.
5. A LOC designated to each school, to conduct additional training sessions to support teachers.
“We have a true partnership
with RM, where we have come
together to create a workable solution in
Newham, for the benefit of the children. I
always envisaged that the only way the project
would work would be through appointing the
right company, the right personnel and through
partnership working. We are extremely
fortunate to have all three!”
Graham Pragnell,
Head of Education ICT,
London Borough of
Newham
Most teachers have received at least three training sessions a year and many have received up to five sessions per year,
with 94% of training sessions evaluated as good or very good.
Next steps for the project
The project team recognises, at this early stage, that the critical next step is to consolidate the good progress which
has already been made by:
• continuing to embed ICT into teaching.
• starting to share the good practice in individual schools more widely across the borough.
The team is also looking at how research projects could be used to identify particular areas of strength which could
then be shared across the authority.
An equipment refresh is also planned for 2008, half way through the life of the project.

Solution at a glance
Classroom hardware
Equipment
• Teacher tablet PC with docking station,
USB keyboard and mouse
• Notebook PC
• Notebook PC
• Notebus Trolley
• Black & white laser printer
• Colour printer
• Interactive whiteboard
• Projector
Allocation
1 per teacher
1 per TA (in most schools)
1 per pupil
2 per class
1 per class
1 per school
1 per class
1 per class
Network
• 1 server
• RM Community Connect 3
• Support services
Software and content
Services
Consultancy & Training
Communication and collaboration
Virtual Teaching & Learning Environments
Primary software from a range of providers, including:
• Clicker4, HyperStudio, Kidspiration, Learn Premium, RM, Spark Island, Stagecast and Textease
• Installation and commissioning
• Performance-reporting
• Project management
• Satisfaction surveys
• Stakeholder engagement
• Technical support
• Curriculum-support consultants (LOCs)
• Educational training
• Technical training
• Microsoft ® share point portal
• Kaleidos
Hardware provided by RM as part of the Achieving through Innovation
project uses Intel ® processors.
Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or
its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
Further information
For further information about Achieving through Innovation:
020 8430 5012 www.itass.newham.gov.uk www.newham.gov.uk
ITASS, Ravenhill, Credon Centre, Kirton Road, Plaistow, London E13 9DR
The RM Support Partnership for Education aims to work with Partners to support schools in making
the most effective use of ICT to contribute towards raised standards and whole-school improvement.
For more information on the RM Support Partnership for Education,
contact us on 08709 200 200 or email partnerships@rm.com
For further details of RM’s products and services: www.rm.com
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RM, New Mill House, 183 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4SE
© RM 2006. All trademarks and copyrights of third-party products herein are acknowledged.
PN 4202 09/06