Editorial - Secondary Schools

SCHOOL INSPECTION PERFORMANCE 2010
Wilsthorpe School
Strengthening relationships have paved the way for
record success at Wilsthorpe Community School.
Jonathan Crofts is in his third year as Headteacher of
Wilsthorpe Community School and during that time, has
seen Wilsthorpe transformed beyond recognition: in 2009
Wilsthorpe was named as one of the ‘Top 100 Most
Improved Schools in the Country’. The school achieved
this after record year-on-year rises in attainment saw 77%
of students achieve 5 or more A* - C grades, 13% higher
than in 2008 and 29% higher than in 2007. This trend is
set to continue to new heights in 2010, a claim verified by
Ofsted in February. “This is no fluke”, Jonathan
explains, “Our success is the result of a new studentcentred
approach, hard work and a little courage!”
In 2006 the school was performing in the bottom 5%
nationally. “There was a lack of belief within the school :
staff and students seemed resigned to under-performance.
Attendance was below average, exclusion rates were high
and senior detentions were running at over 200 per week.
Behaviour was a barrier to learning and as a result,
teaching activities were often more focused on control
than engagement. We became a National Challenge
school the term I arrived and we feared an early Ofsted
inspection would be further damaging to our reputation.
We had lost our way; change was essential”.
who are not satisfied with second best and they have
proved this through the journey we are currently taking
together”.
Walking down the corridors of Wilsthorpe today you are
unlikely to hear shouting. Staff enjoy positive
relationships with students and have become proficient in
strategies to ensure a co-operative climate for learning.
Punishments have largely been replaced by corrective
action, meaning senior detentions now average fewer
than 5 per week. Most incidents are resolved through
skilled use of closure and re-build, keeping good
relationships and mutual respect intact. Student response
has been staggering. Attendance has increased to ‘good’
in Ofsted terms and engagement in learning has
flourished as teaching methods expand to embrace
independent learning strategies, without the fear that this
will lead to ill-discipline. Internal coaching through ‘The
Learning Clinic’ is just one example of staff commitment
as teachers look to develop outstanding classroom
practice. The clinic operates via ‘self-referral’ and its
‘patients’ are growing in number!
Today the school is very different. “There was little
resistance to change, just a healthy dose of
apprehension,” Headteacher Jonathan Crofts reflects. “I
am fortunate to have a team of highly committed staff
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SCHOOL INSPECTION PERFORMANCE 2010
home-school relationships. A vibrant weekly newsletter,
‘Home-Link’, strengthens the home-school partnership and
keeps all stakeholders informed of successes and
forthcoming events.
Wilsthorpe celebrates a national reputation for film-making,
with students in all year groups involved in commissioned
projects with professional film-makers. The confidence and
leadership of students evident through these projects is
testimony to the school’s high aspirations for them and
confidence in their ability.
The school’s rewards system now recognises enterprise, in
harmony with their Business and Enterprise specialist status.
Students aspire to achieving credits for attributes like
leadership, creativity, ingenuity and risk-taking. “Our
empathy with students is displayed through rewards”, says
the Headteacher, and he goes on to give examples of
introvert, reluctant students getting enterprise awards for
putting up their hand to answer a question or students being
rewarded for participating in, or leading an extra-curricular
activity.
Involvement with the ‘Change School’ initiative in 2008
was a natural progression for Wilsthorpe. Students are
working closely with outside practitioners to realise the
school’s vision of increasing student participation at every
level. “We are beginning to produce creative, reflective
students, experienced in decision making and responsible
for action and change around the school”, says Jonathan.
Student ownership and pride is evident in every corner of
the school, from the self-help constructional and decorative
developments in the recreational areas to the increasing
participation in extra-curricular programme. Student Voice
in the school is strong, having an influence not just on rules
and uniform but on teaching styles, decisions about
accommodation, finance and opportunities for social
enterprise.
Evidence of the school’s transformation is highlighted in
current planning for summer examinations. Invigilation
details and seating plans are secondary to ensuring free
breakfasts and fresh fruit before exams served by the
students’ teachers. Other initiatives include staff-organised
programmes of master-classes and warm-ups immediately
before examinations, special assemblies to celebrate
students’ time at the school with student bands performing,
shirt-signing days, year books, year T – shirts, summer balls
and awards evenings.
“We are perhaps no different now to a lot of schools,”
Jonathan Crofts accepts, “However, our journey for me
establishes key facts and dispels common myths. Education
is a social action and can only be successful if it is done with
people and not to them. Achievement will be high if those
striving to achieve feel valued and respected as individuals
and not as a ‘cohort’. Facilities and equipment are of
secondary importance to empathy and care. It has become
clear that we must never tokenise student participation; our
success lies in the strength of our partnership with students
and their sense of ownership and pride is clearly following.
When I do the ‘dad test’ on Wilsthorpe Community School,
it passes – I am delighted that Ofsted agreed.”
There is a palpable sense of loyalty to the school from pupils
and staff, and a shared commitment to ‘be the best they can
be’ as the school continues its rapid improvement. [Ofsted
2010 ]
The school is well supported by its parents who provided
February’s Ofsted team with overwhelming messages of
praise for the changing direction of the school. Regular
opportunities have been created to ensure extended parental
involvement through improved channels of communication.
Partnership Evenings run for each year group, engaging
parents in learning activities and empowering them as
facilitators of learning at home. New assessment procedures
have been developed in order to share with parents their
child’s potential and raise aspirations at home. Parents’
Evenings have been reinstated, replacing review days and
increasing face-to-face opportunities to promote positive
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