RugeleyBSFNewsletter - Staffordshire County Council

Transforming Learning in Rugeley
Spring Update 2010
Welcome
I am delighted to welcome you to
‘Transforming Learning in Rugeley’,
the first edition of Rugeley’s Building
Schools for the Future (BSF)
newsletter.
BSF is a once in a lifetime chance to
improve the way we educate our
young people. The programme will
inspire change and regeneration
throughout our schools and into the
wider community. BSF is not just about
school buildings it is about our
learners, their families and the
communities they live in; it is about a
better future for Staffordshire.
Ian Parry, Deputy County
Council Leader and Lead
Cabinet Member for
Children and Young People
Introduction from Mark Sutton,
Executive Headteacher
As you know, in June 2009, Rugeley received the
long-awaited, brilliant news that it had been included in
the County’s BSF wave. There is no doubt that, by
working together, the two schools have had a much louder voice
which has been instrumental in securing the £35 million capital
investment in the new learning campus for the town.
Since the announcement, it has been all go as we have pulled out
all the stops to meet very tight deadlines in terms of providing
data, writing documents, developing plans – and on top of that
consulting all our key stakeholders about forming a hard
Federation. It is great news that outline planning permission has
now been granted and the county council’s Outline Business
Case has been submitted to Partnerships for Schools, the
government body responsible for delivering BSF.
The most important part of the process for us has been the
development of our Schools’ Strategy for Change (SSfC), in
which we set out our vision for the future and how we aim to
transform learning over the next ten years in the context of a
brand new learning campus. Key to that was a very successful
visioning away day for governors and senior members of staff
from both schools.
Because of the imposed pace of getting this done, I recognise
that many more people want and need to get involved than has
so far been possible. Students have been engaged in the process
through working with the Sorrell Foundation – 20 students from
across the three Colleges have surveyed their peers and worked
up a range of ideas to address the concerns of young people.
We now need to involve all the staff, and we took a major step
forward with this through a Transformational Learning Conference
which took place in February.
The next few years will be critical in developing our new learning
campus. Staff, students, parents and our wider community will
continue to be involved in this process as we work towards
fulfilling our vision to provide the best possible education for all
the young people of Rugeley.

Transforming learning
through new technology at Aelfgar
STUDENTS at Rugeley’s shared
sixth form centre are the first in
the County to be offered their own
netbook computer free of charge
for use for the duration of the
time they are students at Aelfgar
Rugeley College.
These state-of-the-art, highly
portable devices with long battery
life enable students to carry out
research throughout the College
utilising the newly installed
wireless network. They can use
the netbooks in all their lessons
to record their notes, complete
tasks and post their work to their
teachers for marking. This means
students are not dependent on
finding a desktop computer or
having to book into a computer
room, freeing up their learning
capacity.
The new netbooks have been
funded thanks to the additional
grant given to the College as a
result of Fair Oak’s re-designation
as a Specialist Business &
Enterprise College and the
generosity of the Rugeley
Endowment Trust. Money from
the Trust has also allowed the
science department to purchase
DNA technology equipment.
DNA technology is at the forefront
of developments in forensic
science and our students are now
able to practise firsthand the
techniques used in criminal
cases, allowing them to access
cutting edge science that
otherwise would only be
experienced at university level.
The equipment allows students to
carry out the polymersase chain
reaction (PCR),
which is
used to
amplify
quantities of
DNA left at crime
scenes, and then
carry out DNA
fingerprinting (using
gel electrophoresis)
to investigate the
DNA and match it to
suspects.
Without this funding
students would only
have knowledge of such
techniques by means of
textbook and video.
Sandra Ray
Director
Aeflgar Rugeley College
Staffordshire’s Transformational Learning Manager, Mike Osborne-Town explains the
change BSF will bring to Rugeley
Time for change
“
YOU WOULD like to know that
your children were being educated
in modern school buildings, with
light, airy classrooms, clean
corridors and toilets and a warm,
welcoming entrance, wouldn’t
you? But what you really want to
know is that they’re being well
educated and enjoying learning.
BSF will bring better buildings,
facilities and equipment, but if it’s
really going to be successful, it’s
got to raise achievement and
make your children into life-long
learners.
“The schools are working hard to
raise achievement and to make
sure that every child is safe,
happy and doing their best – and
they’re succeeding. What we’re
trying to do now is to see what we
could do differently and better. We
don’t want new ‘old’ schools. We
have to build on what we know
works well, try out new strategies,
make better use of ICT and share
the best ideas between teachers
and across departments and
schools to create the sort of
learning that young people find
motivating and enjoyable. What an
opportunity!
”

Learning with the learners
at Fair Oak
TEACHING has to be one of the most demanding yet
rewarding of all the professions: we hold the future in
our hands. Engaging, inspiring and enthusing young
people is what motivates, energises and challenges us
as professionals. And who better to help us meet those
challenges than the young people themselves?
As with most schools, we recognise the importance of
working in partnership with our students through an
active Student Council which voices the ideas, opinion
and concerns of the students and help with proble
solving exercises related to leadership. From canteen
arrangements to uniform design, staff appointments to
transition, they provide honest, first-hand experience
with maturity and insight.
But why stop here? Our Teaching and Learning Group
has a long-established reputation in providing high
quality INSET on a variety of topics and last year we
decided to extend the experience of this group by
inviting students to work alongside staff. In the learning
conversations that followed, we were impressed with
the students’ insights and by how much we, as staff,
learned from them.
Last November, we ran our first INSET with students
taking a leading role. We filmed our own DVD to
showcase a variety of co-operative learning techniques
that staff had been trying out in the classroom and two
students presented the DVD with a learning
commentary they wrote themselves. Following this
stimulus, other students worked with small groups of
staff to design resources. “I never knew there was so
much work in planning lessons!” one student was heard
to say. The dialogue that took place about teaching and
learning between staff and students was enthralling and
beneficial to all participants.
At our most recent INSET, we worked on the theme of
‘creativity’ and again, students took a leading role
working with groups of staff. This was a hugely
successful collaboration with staff enthused about
activities and ready to try out new ideas and resources
in the classroom.
Teaching is about inspiration. Through our experiences
of utilising the skills, talents and expertise of our
students, we know that our young people have the
power to truly inspire. I am absolutely confident that the
future of Fair Oak is in good hands as we are totally
committed and very proud to be learning with the
learners.
Christine Hardman
Headteacher
Fair Oak Business and Enterprise College

Onwards and upwards
at Hagley Park
AT HAGLEY Park Sports College
we put learners at the heart of all
that we do and strive for
excellence across our happy,
positive and successful
community. We believe that every
child really does matter and that
every one of them can achieve
success.
As we move into the next decade
we are tremendously excited
about taking advantage of new
technologies and the
opportunities for different and
more flexible ways of learning
that moving into an outstanding
new building will bring. This
fantastic new learning
environment will give our
wonderful team of staff even
more opportunities to inspire and
motivate our youngsters to
achieve the successes that they
are capable of.
At Hagley Park we continually
work together on developing new
and relevant ways of learning to
support our students and give
them their greatest opportunities
for success. We work hard on
developing our positive ‘can do’
culture to enthuse and stimulate
our students and to develop a
sense of fun and community
around the school.
We use our sporting specialism
to develop qualities like hard
work, teamwork and leadership
to challenge our students to have
high aspirations. We use
competition to enthuse and
motivate our students and have a
healthy house system which
permeates the entire school and
enables our youngsters to
showcase their talents in the
widest variety of
areas.
Students have to
work hard, often in
their own time, to
gain leadership
awards in art,
English, ICT,
maths, music,
science and
technology and a
wide variety of
sporting leadership
awards.
through coaching and organising
activities in local primary and
special schools. By the end of
2009 more than 400 of our
students had achieved leadership
qualifications. This is a
remarkable accomplishment with
almost half the school population
achieving ‘leading learners’
status within the school and the
local community.
At Hagley Park we move into this
next exciting phase of our
development confident that our
students will continue to impress
us with their consistently
improving talents, admirably
supported by a magnificent team
of staff.
Our student
leaders support the
local community
Liz Merryman
Headteacher
Hagley Park Sports College

Rugeley Learning Campus
FAQs
Will our children’s education be disrupted by
the building work?
Because the new campus will be built on a
completely new site, education will be able to
continue in the existing schools right up until the
time we are ready to move into the new
accommodation - in 2013 if everything goes to plan.
How will the individual strengths and
characters of each school be preserved?
There will continue to be differences between how
each school does things to reflect different
circumstances and needs. A key element will be
each school’s specialism which will flavour the
curriculum and there will be distinct physical bases
for each school. But where it makes sense to do
something similar, we will.
How much information do we have for numbers
of students into the future?
We do have projections which show total numbers
between the two schools settling at about 300 per
cohort. New housing is factored in, and as a rough
guide generates three students per 100 houses per
cohort.
What will happen to the school catchment
areas when we move on to a single campus?
There are no plans to change catchment areas.
Who is responsibile for behaviour/lateness/
books of students who are taught optional
subjects by staff from the other school?
There will be protocols in place for these
arrangements. As a rule, students will be subject
to the code of conduct applied at the place where
they are following the course (‘learner provider’).
Low level misbehaviour should be dealt with by the
class teacher. Beyond that referral will be made to
their home school (‘learner base’). Learning
resources should be provided by the learner
provider, but funding will follow the learner, i.e.
money will be transferred from the learner base to
the department that is running the course.
Which school is accountable for students
taught by staff from the other school?
The students’ home school (learner base). The
learning provider is accountable for the quality of
teaching and learning, but the learner base will
ultimately be held accountable for individual
students’ results and get the credit, i.e. league
table points.
Will departments be expected to work together
across the two schools?
We would like to see and facilitate departments
working increasingly together to share best
practice, develop learning programmes together
and we will provide the time for this to happen.
There are examples of this already in English,
maths, music (and others through Aelfgar
meetings) supported by county council officers and
consultants.
Strategy for Change
OUR Schools’ Strategy for Change (SSfC) sets out how
we intend to transform learning through building a brand
new campus and creating an outstanding 21st century
learning environment for Rugeley’s future.
The starting point is our shared vision which governors
adopted over two years ago. We put learners and
learning first so that they can be successful, respectful
and responsible citizens. Both schools are committed to
learning and working together to gain the maximum
benefit for the young people of Rugeley by raising
aspirations, developing first class teaching, sharing
expertise and facilities.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to transform
education in Rugeley and create a flagship learning
campus that will be the envy of many and re-energise our
community We will be able to design and build modern,
inspiring learning spaces and exploit the huge potential
of new technologies. We will look afresh at how we
organise learning and design the curriculum. The world
has changed vastly since our existing schools were built
and today’s learners need different skills and to learn in
different ways so that they can maximise their potential,
enjoy making a positive contribution to a rapidly changing
world.
The SSfC emphasises the benefits of forming a
Federation of the two schools, which will continue to
maintain separate identities and their own specialist
flavours and enable us to provide smaller, more familiar
bases for the children. It states how we intend to raise
standards further and address underachievement and
explains how we will personalise learning and provide
alternative learning pathways.
It is vital that we involve students, staff and other
stakeholders in that process. Our Schools’ Strategy for
Change explains how we have developed the strategy,
what we plan to do and how we will engage our key
stakeholders. SSfC is a living document which will evolve
over time as staff, students, parents and our wider
community contribute to it, shape and refine it further as
we move into the more detailed planning stages for the
new campus and formulate more detailed shorter term
plans.
To find out more you can view the document
‘Transforming Learning through Building Schools for
Rugeley’s Future’ on either of the school’s websites or by
visiting www.staffordshire.gov.uk/bsf

Students celebrate
ideas for new schools
Students from schools across Rugeley and
Tamworth came together at a celebration event in
February to present their creative ideas for new
school buildings. The event, which was held at
Burton Albion Football Club, gave primary and
secondary students the opportunity to present their
ideas to an audience of teachers, parents and
county councillors.
Both primary and secondary school students have
been involved in a series of design workshops over
the past few months as part of the BSF drive to
transform education. Secondary school students
took part in the Sorrell Foundation’s three day
‘joinedupdesign for schools’ programme whilst
separate events were held for Rugeley and
Tamworth feeder primary schools.
The Celebration Day marked the culmination of
these workshops and was attended by over 120
students and 50 guests. The event was opened by
Anne Birch, the county council’s Deputy Corporate
Director of Education and closed by Veronica
Downes, the Cabinet Member for Schools.
Cllr Downes said: “Students are at the heart of our
Building Schools for the Future programme. Their
input is vital in shaping the design of the new
schools as we move closer to improving education
in Rugeley and Tamworth through this once in a
lifetime opportunity.
“The Celebration Day has been a fantastic event.
Everyone has put in so much effort into today
and I will look forward to seeing the students’
ideas put into
action in the
new BSF
schools.”
The pupil
briefs that the
students have
produced will
now become
part of the
design
process as
the BSF
programme
moves forward
in Rugeley
and Tamworth.
Conference to inspire
transformational learning
OVER 700 teachers and learning support staff from
the Rugeley and Tamworth secondary schools
attended a day long Transformational Learning
Conference in February. They were joined by
headteachers from the partner primary schools and
representatives from other Staffordshire secondary
schools.
The conference was organised by the schools to
start on their educational journey towards the day
when they will move into their new or refurbished
facilities as part of the Building Schools for the
Future programme.
“There was a real sense of positivity and excitement
throughout the day,” explained Executive
Headteacher Mark Sutton. “Staff will have been
inspired by what they experienced and the
conference has set the agenda for how we go about
improving learning and developing teaching over
the coming years.”
Deputy County Council Leader Ian Parry said: “This
event is an important part of the process to improve
teaching and learning for young people across
Staffordshire. We have always said that BSF is not
about buildings but about changing the way our
schools provide the right learning environment and
quality teaching, together with allowing students to
have a more active approach to learning that will
prepare them for the future.”
"It was a fantastic day, the most ambitious and the
most successful training day I've ever been involved
in,” commented Mike Osborne-Town, Staffordshire’s
Transformational Learning Manager.
You can see
pictures of the
student
engagement workshops on the BSF website:
www.staffordshire.gov.uk/bsf