publication

Paddington Practice:Ten Case Studies

CONTENTScontentsForeword.....................................................................................................................4Jon ColesContext.........................................................................................................................5UnITED LEARNINGWhat is in our DNA?.................................................................................................6An overview of 10 Case Studies.........................................................................8Professor David Woods1 Subject Leader Accountability..................................................................14Oli Tomlinson2 Building a reflective Middle Leader Community.............................19Kelly Golding3 Transforming Teaching and Learning:The Paddington 10 plus 3..............................................................................26Katie Gillam4 Using data to direct and drive improvement....................................30Peter Jones5 Getting the Basics Right: English and Maths at KS4........................37Clare Darley6 Behaviour: From Practice to Policy........................................................42Laura Wells7 Managed Moves: The grass is greener on the other side.............49Yassamin Sheel8 Choosing Success at Key Stage 4...............................................................54Maria Demetriou9 EAL at Paddington Academy:A School where EAL is a priority..............................................................59Rachel Hingston10 Whole School Voice.........................................................................................64Chris Nash3

CONTENTScontentsForeword.....................................................................................................................4Jon ColesContext.........................................................................................................................5UnITED LEARNINGWhat is in our DNA?.................................................................................................6An overview of 10 Case Studies.........................................................................8Professor David Woods1 Subject Leader Accountability..................................................................14Oli Tomlinson2 Building a reflective Middle Leader Community.............................19Kelly Golding3 Transforming Teaching and Learning:The Paddington 10 plus 3..............................................................................26Katie Gillam4 Using data to direct and drive improvement....................................30Peter Jones5 Getting the Basics Right: English and Maths at KS4........................37Clare Darley6 Behaviour: From Practice to Policy........................................................42Laura Wells7 Managed Moves: The grass is greener on the other side.............49Yassamin Sheel8 Choosing Success at Key Stage 4...............................................................54Maria Demetriou9 EAL at Paddington Academy:A School where EAL is a priority..............................................................59Rachel Hingston10 Whole School Voice.........................................................................................64Chris Nash3

UniTED LEARNINGForewordAn education is life-transforming. Not merely economically:however much education may also lead to change in thematerial circumstances of someone’s life, it is inherently aliberation of heart and mind which cannot be reversed. It is aliberation which is open to all, irrespective of status or startingpoint. Passionate teachers believe that all can learn, achieveand succeed and set out to prove their case.Yet, too often, opportunity is rationed. In late 2002, I came toknow some London schools where success seemed very faraway. In some of those schools, the visitor might find behaviouralarming and feel unsafe in corridors; in many, supply teacherscovered a high proportion of lessons, but there was littlecontinuity of learning; in most, dismal buildings set the tone.Only a handful of deeply determined teachers could inspire anatmosphere of learning within the walls of their classroomseven for the length of their lessons.One such school is the predecessor to Paddington Academy. Itwas a school of choice for few children and fewer teachers. Itsstudents would become Paddington’s students, but its culturewas not one of achievement.What is most remarkable, therefore, about the case studies inthis book is not so much the excellence of practice, but thespirit which runs through them all. It is the spirit which runsthrough Paddington Academy: unshakeable in their beliefin the potential of young people, a group of remarkable andinspiring adults set out every day to improve on their previousbest, to reflect, challenge themselves, learn and extend theirpractice. It is a spirit which has already created unusually greatimprovement and progress and some extraordinary practice.Yet, there is no complacency here, no sense of a destinationreached, but of an on-going, restless search for better. The pointreached may be good, but the determination to do more formore young people means that the focus remains on the future.The deep humility and desire to learn which characterisesPaddington Academy’s leadership and style of workingmeant that the Academy had to be talked into publishing anddisseminating these case studies. I commend them to you allthe more for that: they represent a remarkable body of work.Jon ColesChief ExecutiveUnited Leaning4

ContextcontextUnITED LEARNINGPaddington Academy opened in 2006 as one of two academiesreplacing North Westminster Community School, it has 1170students on roll. It is a non-selective, oversubscribed academywhich admits 180 students each year and has a sixth formprovision for 300. The gender mix is 53% boys and 47% girls.76% of students have English as an additional language, 44%students are on the SEN register and 72% FSM in the forever6 measure. In 2012, in Year 7-11, 20% of students have areading age below 9.6 and 80% have a reading age below theirchronological age. On average only 75% of students completefive years before moving out of the area, thus turbulence is afactor. Results have increased over the 7 years from 18% to75% 5A*-C including Maths and English. Our value added scorefor 2012 was 1059. In addition, 94% of students made theexpected progress in English and 91% in Maths.The profile of our students represents the diverse inner-citypopulation of our area. Our school community reflects anextensive range of ethnic backgrounds, cultural inheritances andlanguage and learning needs. The nature of our diversity variesyear on year reflecting the dynamic nature of the community weserve. In 2012 the single biggest ethnic group was Black Africanwho form 12% of our student population. Bangladeshi (11%)and Kosovan (8%) Iraqi (6%) and Black Caribbean (6%) arethe next largest groups. There are approximately 50 languagesspoken by our students. The most common languages other thanEnglish are Arabic (26%), Albanian (9%) and Bengali (10%).The Academy draws the majority of its students from theQueen’s Park ward which is ranked among the lowest 5%of areas nationally in relation to social deprivation factors.Our students live in homes where family income is relatively low;housing with mortgages is very low with over 70% of the housingin purpose built flats, there are high unemployment levels (over80% in the Queen’s Park Ward) and large numbers of young multiethnicfamilies many of whom are single parent families. We alsohave a significant number of students in each year group who arelooked after outside of their immediate family.The academy sees its core purpose as a relentless focus onhigh standards and every barrier to learning or achievementbeing dismantled and never used as an excuse. The phrase ‘thestreet stops at the gate’ ensures a positive and safe learningenvironment throughout the school where every success iscelebrated and owned by all. Clear values run throughout theacademy and there is a whole community commitment to theaims, vision and culture.Striving for the highest quality in Teaching and Learning isthe bedrock of the academy and there are excellent CPDopportunities and coaching models – outcomes from this haveensured that the academy progressed from 46% inadequatelessons in 2006 to 60% outstanding and 92% good or betterin the most recent review in 2013.Complacency is not a word that is accepted in any form atPaddington as the journey now moves from becoming anoutstanding school to a Teaching School renowned for staffbecoming the best leaders for the future and students going onto the best universities.5

UniTED LEARNINGPaddington Academy: what is in our DNA?Paddington Academywhat is in our DNA?1Outstanding2We3High4AlllearningAt Paddington Academy we are about outstanding learning.Every decision is made with the question in mind ‘will this helpthe students to learn better and achieve more?’ We believe ina relentless focus on high achievement in all areas of the lifeof the Academy.believe that all our students can achieveWe are clear that there are no excuses for underachievement.No matter what the starting point, outstanding progress isachievable by all. We aim to identify barriers that may bestanding in the way of achievement, understand them inrelation to our context and then focus on breaking them down,one by one. There are no excuses. We specialise in knowingour community and how best to support all our learners. Wetake students from very low starting points and enable themto make exceptional progress.standards in all that we doThe culture that has been established is about a relentlessfocus on high standards in all aspects of school life: learning,behaviour, attitude, uniform, attendance and punctuality. Weinsist upon consistency and a commitment to shared values– by individuals, groups and the whole community. We willalways challenge anything that is less than the very best thateach individual can give. We believe that ‘the street stopsat the gate’ and expect that students behave and dress ina formal manner in order that they leave us able to functioneffectively in any area of societyare role modelsWe instil in our students from the start a sense of integrity andconfidence. Every adult in our community is a role model; everystudent is a role model and we all have the opportunity andresponsibility to have a positive impact on the lives of others. Weall ‘walk the talk’ and create a positive learning environment inall that we do. We give trust and respect at all times regardlessof whether it is earned, and ensure that students have fun andare happy in their learning. This ethos has established a successculture that we celebrate at every opportunity.6

Paddington Academy: what is in our DNA?UnITED LEARNING7

UniTED LEARNINGAn Overview of Ten Case StudiesPADDINGTON PRACTICEAn Overview of Ten Case StudiesProfessor David Woods, United Learning AdviserSchools are constantly managing change and seeking todevelop best practice. Such is the pace of school life thatgroups of staff often plan and put into place excellent practiceon a variety of topics but sometimes fail to write up what theyhave done as a reflective review of implementing change. Thestaff at Paddington Academy have addressed this issue byputting together this collection of case studies sharing theirbest practice and action research not only for themselves butother schools. These case studies are written to a particularformat: focus area, aims and rationale, context, the story itselfincluding events, participants, time scales and methods used;outcomes and impact, evaluation and next steps. Collectionsof case studies are good evidence of self-evaluation anddemonstrate the school’s reflective intelligence. This sharedprocess of collective investigation and review builds stimulus‘Perhaps the key task of any institution is to encouragethe adoption of a growth mindset. When that kindof philosophy becomes embedded in its culture theconsequences can be dramatic.’Matthew Syed‘The world is moved along not only by the mighty shoves ofits heroes, but also by the aggregation of the tiny pushes ofeach honest worker.’Helen Keller‘Make sure you catch people doing something good.’Charles Handyand impetus in terms of analysing evidence and planningfuture developments. It also increases the store of intellectualactivity amongst the staff, releasing energy and creating abuzz of excitement around the best practice that makes a realdifference to school improvement. This book contains ten casestudies of practice that have enabled Paddington to becomesuch an outstanding school and to sustain further success in thecontext outlined in the introduction chapter.For the purpose of this overview and commentary thestudies can be grouped together around particular themes– leadership, teaching and learning, using data to driveimprovement, behaviour and various aspects of studentexperience including student voice. There are two specificstudies on leadership referring particularly to middle leadership.The first one concerns ‘Middle Leader Accountability’and focuses on the accountability of middle leaders and thehigh quality training, support and guidance needed to enablethem to develop and succeed. As the study says ‘middleleaders are vital for translating the ethos of a relentless focuson high standards and driving students to fulfil their potentialwhatever the barrier that needs to be overcome’. Very clearexpectations and guidelines have been established related todaily, weekly, monthly and annual aspects of middle leaderposts. Every middle leader is given a Handbook for the yearsuitably personalised. It contains an overview of key datesand times of accountability for the year beginning with a firstmeeting reviewing outcomes and performance, strengths andareas for development together with appropriate targets for thecoming year. Within this framework is the Academy’s own selfevaluationform related to OFSTED criteria leading with a series8

of incisive prompts and questions. The Handbook also containsinformation on the core leadership skills and behavioursexpected of a Paddington Academy leader and a prescriptivelist of expectations for what the job looks like – daily, weekly,half termly, termly and yearly. The framework is very rigorousbut to support middle leaders there is a middle leader coachwho provides optional support workshops for every aspect ofthe cycle described as the ‘soft shoulder’ approach alongsidemeetings with line managers. The final part of the Handbookrelates to frameworks for the core skills and leadership such aspeople management, communication, curriculum review, datamanagement and facilities management.The impact of thisapproach is to be seen in the high quality of self-evaluation,teaching and learning and excellent examination results. TheOFSTED judgement for overall leadership and management isoutstanding and all staff have an embedded understanding ofaccountability to the students, parents and each other. Perhapsthe greatest success of this approach is that so many middleleaders are able to thrive and progress to senior leadership.Complementing this case study is the study on ‘Building aReflective Middle Leadership Community’, particularlythe 360 degree reflection process. This highlights points ofstrength and areas requiring improvement, empowers middleleaders to realise their potential and creates a network of bestpractice. The over-arching aim of the process was to ‘createan environment where middle leaders felt confident steppingout of their comfort zone and embracing new challenges’,but they were provided with appropriate training and supportdesigned to empower them to succeed. It was introduced toaddress significant levels of variation of performance within themiddle leadership team and because middle leaders felt thatexisting meetings and training sessions did not adequatelyinvolve them in the strategic vision of the school. The first steptowards creating the 360 degree questions and support was theidentification of 8 core competences. These formed the basis ofthe 360 degree questions helping to make the middle leaderhandbook more coherent, informing the training programmeand guiding line management meetings. Each competencyformed a section of the 360 degree tool and a questionnairewas designed to obtain qualitative and quantitative data.A pilot phase was successfully completed and after a middleleader meeting each member was asked to select 5 members oftheir team or direct reporters as well as their line manager, torespond to the questionnaire. All the sections of the responseswere analysed on four grades – outstanding to unsatisfactory.As a result of this process ‘experts’ for each core competencewere created to support each other and training sessions weredesigned specifically to address areas of variation. The revisedAn Overview of Ten Case Studiesmiddle leader’s handbook incorporated the core competenciesthus ensuring consistency of approach and these also informedline management meetings. There are now plans to extendthis process to aspiring middle leaders and within the widerschool community. All this will help to ensure a sustainableleadership model and create an environment where staff cansurvive and thrive.In terms of teaching and learning the case study ‘TransformingTeaching and The Paddington 10 + 3’, focuses on aninitiative first introduced in 2007 with the aim of improvingstandards in teaching and learning across the Academy. A listof 10 fundamentals of great teaching, known and publishedas ‘The Paddington 10’, were developed and shared with staffwith the expectation that these should be evident in everylesson, every day. These were both modelled and filmed todemonstrate what they looked like in practice. Feedback fromlesson observations and learning walks helped to embed thePaddington 10 as well as target support and identify bestpractice. Although good progress was evident it was felt that,alongside the ten fundamentals, three further features wereneeded to secure further good and outstanding teaching. So in2009 ‘The Paddington 10 plus 3’ were established with furthertraining on the new 3 initiatives. Strategies such as a peerobservation fortnight with learning walks, and weekly ‘dropins’to learn more were introduced. The Paddington 10 plus 3are displayed in every classroom on an A2 poster in a Perspexframe to ensure that they are highly visible, valued and regularlyused. They can also be found in the staff handbook as well asTeaching and Learning handbook both of which are updated andpublished every year for all staff. They are now well embedded inUnITED LEARNING9

UniTED LEARNINGAn Overview of Ten Case Studiesthe school and are a consistent part of common language andpractice to the extent that they are no longer ‘requirements’but rather what staff ‘do and believe’. Students quickly learnwhat to expect in lessons and see these experiences as bestpractice with a focus on two-way flow reminding teachers ofthe importance of student responsibility during lessons andindependent learning. Systems and practices are reflected uponand reviewed, listening to students and staff in the interest ofcontinued progress to the best possible standards of teachingand learning.There is one study on ‘Using Data to direct and driveImprovement’ and another that looks at the visibility anduse of data as well as other features in driving rapid progressin English and Maths at KS4. In the first study the focus areaconcerns using data ‘to direct improvement by ensuring thatthe actions of the school are aiming in the right directionand changing them if necessary’ but also using data ‘to driveimprovement by helping to motivate, staff and students andsecure accountability’. The case study outlines the critical roleof data in securing outstanding outcomes in the Academybut the point is made that the purpose of a school is not togenerate data but to effect change and that data has to bemeaningful for all staff and students so they can assess whatneeds to change to improve performance. The first stage is tobe very clear what data should be collected and when and howit should be distributed. At Paddington data on attainmentand progress is collected every half-term so that progresscan be monitored frequently with ‘light footed’ intervention.The data is shared with the senior leadership team, parents,students, Subject Leaders, Heads of Year and tutors / mentors.Subject Leaders in particular are then expected to drill downto individual students level to identify the issues and proposethe interventions with appropriate planning. Senior Leaders,ever alert to in-school variation, monitor these actions andplans throughout the year. The effective use of data is linked tohigh accountability but within a climate of trust and support.For the students the regular data sets provide them with a sixweekly report which is discussed with their tutor and mentorand also goes to parents. This information, allied to studentranking in each year group according to their progress, helpsmotivate them to do better and participate in the interventionprogramme provided by the school. Data is most useful whenit translates quickly into actions that impact on outcomes forstudents – what Paddington describes as ‘light footedness’. Themost important thing is to keep the data simple and easy tounderstand so that data is the servant for staff and students notthe master. The outcomes of this process are there for all to seewith students on entry achieving considerably below nationalaverages achieving significantly above five years later.The case study on ‘Getting the Basics Right, English andMaths at KS4’ also examines the visibility and use of dataas well as accountability at all levels and specific interventionprogrammes. In terms of visibility and accountability across theAcademy two examples are given and illustrated – the halftermly success grid which shows the current grade for eachstudent in every subject traffic-lighted appropriately and givento every member of staff and the photo wall in the staffroomwhich is a visual representation of the student ‘bankers’ and‘wobblies‘ in English and Maths and combinations of these.For departments, mock examinations are used for questionlevel analysis that drives the curriculum and interventionprogrammes. The data is shared with students and they aregrouped for intervention activities based on their needs. Thisstudy also stresses the accountability for success at all levelswith every single member of staff being involved. For example,there are 180 members of staff and 180 Year 11 students eachyear so that every member of staff mentors a student takingresponsibility for their results. There are similar responsibilitiesacross the Senior Leadership Team such as mentoring themost critical students at Year 11 with their progress being onthe SLT agenda every week. The subject leaders for English10

and Maths translate their overall department targets intoindividual teaching group targets with monthly ‘bankers andwobblies’ meetings. Of course the accountabilities only workif the students themselves feel accountable for their ownsuccess and are prepared to do something about it. This leadsto the third element of this study – the specific interventionprogrammes that are carefully matched to specific needs. The‘Success Unit’ and its specialist staff is the engine room for allof the interventions and this delivers English and Maths lessonsduring specific sessions as well as an evening homework club.All this is supplemented by the Holiday Academy and Saturdayschool, weekend residentials for Year 11 and tutor time literacyand numeracy groups. The headline results for English andMaths (2012) demonstrate sustained impact with 75% of thestudents achieving 5A-C (EM) grades with outstanding progress(3 levels) of 94% in English and 91% in Maths.There are also two case studies related to behaviour. The firstone, ‘Behaviour: From Practice to Policy’, describes thedevelopment and implementation of whole school behaviourpolicies. Firstly, a behaviour working party identified keyprinciples based around assertive discipline with the studentstaught to control their own behaviour and the Academymanaging it, establishing the positive and negative consequenceof behaviour and a consistent but not necessarily uniformapproach to discipline. Secondly, came the development of ‘ThePaddington 10’ for students describing 10 positive behaviourstogether with conduct and attitudes to learning that all staffshould practise all day, every day. This was designed to mirrorthe Paddington 10 for staff described earlier in the Teachingand Learning study. Thirdly, was the development of a rewardsand consequences chart with adherence to the behaviourpolicy logged on SIMS as C3s or P3s. This was accompaniedby a range of rewards and sanctions which are set out in thestudy. Once this had all been developed it had to be shared withstaff, students and parents along with appropriate training. Thepolicy was further modified in 2011 after feedback from staffand students but these were mainly minor adjustments and thesystem quickly became embedded in Key Stage 3 rolling forwardto Key Stage 4. In the OFSTED inspection of October 2011inspectors highlighted the Academy’s behaviour initiatives asmajor strengths stating that ‘students are proud to be membersof the Academy community, behave well and show high levelsof respect for each other, adults and the community’. A surveyin March, 2012, across 300 students and 80 staff, followedby a sample of interviews, revealed that the behaviour policywas having a very positive effect on behaviour and attitudes tolearning although there was a need for even greater consistencyin the application of the policy. As behaviour has improvedAn Overview of Ten Case Studiesthe focus has shifted to higher-order learning behaviours andattitudes including improving the quality of student languageand communication.Continuing on the behaviour theme there is a case study on’Managed Moves – The grass is greener on the otherside’. This study focuses on how the Academy provides anexcellent education for all students, no matter what thestarting point and the presenting issues. When the Academyhas tried every possible intervention, some 10 of which arelisted, a managed move could be the solution whereby schoolscan work with their local authority to either place students atanother school for a fresh start or receive them from anotherschool, or make a managed move to a pupil referral unit. Thecase study describes the process and agreed protocols tobe followed. Between 2009-2012 seven students have leftPaddington and 12 have been accepted – facilitated by an LAPartnership Co-ordinator jointly funded by the schools. Thereare four excellent student case studies illustrating some of thesevery complex issues along with quotations from the students.In some cases lives have been completely turned around andthe students have gone on to achieve very good examinationresults. This study gets to the heart of the purpose of schoolingwith a compelling and inclusive moral purpose and sense ofsocial justice. It would be easy for the Academy to give up onparticular students and simply exclude them but it choosesto remain true to its vision and values and strives to providesuccess for all. The plan now is to extend provision for managedmoves to all alternative provision services so long as the studentbeing referred is suitable for placement.There are a group of studies relating specifically to theexperience of students at Paddington Academy and the advice,support and challenge given to enable them to succeed. One ofUnITED LEARNING11

UniTED LEARNINGAn Overview of Ten Case Studiesof Year 10, although then they must formally apply to do this.Through this process of increased consultation, flexibility andpersonalisation, students and parents have the best possiblechance of making the right choices. Feedback from Year 10pupils has been very positive and there is much less in-schoolvariation. Most significant of all more students have beensuccessful across the curriculum reflected in high attainmentand progress scores at the end of KS4.these, ‘Choosing Success’, specifically focuses on the processof preparation, advice and guidance given to Year 9 studentsprior to and during their key stage option process. ‘The aimwas to ensure that students of all abilities had the appropriateknowledge and understanding of the courses and pathwaysavailable to them in order to make the right choices to succeedat Key Stage 4 and continue to Key Stage 5 with the appropriatequalifications’. In previous years Key Stage 4 results showedsignificant in-school variation with some students lackingenthusiasm and commitment to the subjects they had chosen.The Academy addressed this issue by focusing on the optionsprocess for Year 9 and developing a curriculum offer thatwould better meet the needs and interests of all the students.A sample of Year 9 students in 3 attainment groups wereinterviewed in the Autumn Term in order to ascertain interests,subjects they enjoyed most and least and why, and learningactivities they enjoyed the most and least and why. AdditionallyActivExpression software was used in Assembly to indicatethe four subjects they would want to pursue in addition to thecore curriculum. All this feedback was used to put together abetter curriculum offer including new subjects and provision.In the Spring an intensive options process is organised usingtutor periods, Assemblies and subject presentations preparingstudents to make their choice. In addition Year 9 students aregiven the opportunity to attend taster sessions in subjects theyhave not previously studied. The Options booklet is distributedto all students and parents so that vital conversations withparents and carers can take place throughout the process. Usingall the data available on the year group particular students areidentified for further individual conversations about the choicesavailable to them whether from the careers and guidance team,tutor or subject staff, culminating in a series of interviews heldbetween the student, their parents and a member of the SeniorLeadership Team. Throughout the Summer term students havethe opportunity to change their choices and at the beginningThe case study on ‘EAL at Paddington Academy’ relates toa considerable number and range of students with 76% havingEnglish as an additional language. The school communityreflects an extensive range of ethnic backgrounds withapproximately 50 languages spoken by the students. There wasoriginally no EAL department at Paddington but it soon becameclear that one was needed and the case study tells the storyof the development of such a department, its approach, ethosand impact. The department is highly flexible and personalisedresponding always to students’ needs. The support provideddepends on a student’s level of English, their educational history,their academic ability and their social needs. The department ishighly empathetic with a completely open door policy and an EALbreak and lunch club open daily to all students. There is specialprovision for vulnerable students but EAL trips altogether fromall years – sixth formers frequently mentoring younger children.There is also considerable pastoral support for parents as wellas students. However, there is an equal stress on academicprogress and attainment – often considerably accelerated –with members of the EAL team working across the school astutors and teachers. Part of the function of the EAL departmentis to give all staff relevant information about students andaccess to training. At Paddington there is a handbook for staffand an EAL resource guide with examples of differentiation.The school community has a high level of transience withbetween 50 and 75 casual or in-year admissions – the vast12

majority EAL students. The process of admissions, assessmentand integration is outlined here together with the monitoring oftheir academic progress, attendance, behaviour and a generalsense that they are happy and settled and ready to achievetheir potential. In terms of impact the department is judgedto be outstanding both by external reviewers and OFSTED andthere are regular visits from other schools both from within theUnited Learning group and outside it. In the RAISE Online report(2012) students continue to out-perform non-EAL students andperform significantly above EAL students nationally.Once againthis study illustrates the core values of the Academy as a wholewith a determination that there are no barriers to achievement.It is not possible for any student to be overlooked and thesestudents all have personalised programmes for as long as theyneed them. As a result EAL students at Paddington make rapidprogress and achieve their full potential.The study on the ‘Whole Student Voice’ brings togetherthe experiences and reflections of Paddington’s entire schoolcommunity of over 1100 students across seven years. TheSenior Leadership team wanted to get beyond the SchoolCouncil and Junior Leadership Team, valuable as they are,so that all views could be analysed on a systematic basisenabling student opinion to influence further programmes andpolicies. The method used was the exploitation of hand heldActivExpression technology which would mean hearing eachand every student’s opinion on an anonymous basis. A set of 25questions was drawn up devised from various sources with 3initial questions to warm up the students and test accuracy, anda following 13 allowing for four part answers – all of the time,most of the time some of the time, never. The next four were‘yes’ and ‘no’ with a final two open to text comments – What isthe best thing about Paddington Academy? And what is the onething we could improve on? With these questions decided upona series of Assemblies were scheduled for each year group.Students collected an ActivExpression handset on their way into Assembly and sat in silence to complete the answers to thequestions apart from in the Sixth Form where they could discusstheir answers. Follow up assemblies were scheduled after thedata was analysed where all key findings were shared back withthe students together with a response to the issues raised. Thiscycle is now repeated twice each year although there are somecaveats expressed around this being a record of perceptionrather than reality and that the data captured records a momentand not a definite start point. The capture of this wealth ofopinion has pushed the Academy ‘towards a rigorous and wideranginganalysis of its performance as a community’, and led tothe implementation of new policies. For example there is a newcorridor behaviour policy and better supervision of key locationsAn Overview of Ten Case Studieswhere younger students felt vulnerable. Other evaluations haveled to an improvement in attendance at after school clubsand societies and better lunchtime procedures. The open testquestions provided a wide response with the affirmation ofwhat students really valued about Paddington generating ahuge amount of good will around the school and between staffand students. A similar process is now being considered forboth parents’ evenings and to survey the whole staff on keyissues and policies.All of these 10 case studies can be read in depth in the followingchapters and although they illustrate various themes the sum isgreater than the parts. They all share particular characteristicsof great schooling such as inspirational leadership at all levelswithin the school and a dynamic capacity for growth and changesustained by excellent professional development. They are alsounderpinned by an inclusive and compelling moral purposebased on equity, social justice and unshakeable principles.Paddington Academy has a shared vision, values, ethos andculture with learning without limits and achievement for allat its heart. It absolutely typifies United Learning’s strapline of‘the best in everyone’. These case studies, written by excellentpractitioners, offer an insight into those special qualities thatmake great schools – anticipation, innovation, creativity,consistency, exceptionality , striking impact and fierce resolve.‘It is only in a shared belief and insistence that thereare practical alternatives that the balance of forcesand chances begins to alter. Once the inevitabilitiesare challenged, we begin gathering our resources for ajourney of hope. If there are no easy answers, there arestill available and discoverable hard answers, and it isthese that we can learn to make and share’Raymond WilliamsUnITED LEARNING13

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 1Subject Leader AccountabilityOli Tomlinson, PrincipalFocus AreaPlanning, implementing and evaluating an AccountabilityCycle for Subject Leaders.Rationale / ContextThe OFSTED report of January 2009 stated that theleadership of the senior team was outstanding butthat the school relied on them too heavily to accelerateimprovements. It was also noted that many of the seniorand middle leaders were new to their positions andneeded training as a result of this. In the OFSTED report ofNovember 2011 leadership and management across theschool was judged to be outstanding. It was also stated thatthe school needed to ensure that the high expectations ofachievement and accountability for teaching and learningwere demonstrated consistently across the school and thatwhole school variation was minimised and whole schoolconsistency maximised. We have a reasonably high staffturnover with at least twelve new staff every year. Theirinduction is crucial for ensuring that they are on messagewith the culture and ethos of the school and trained to anextremely high standard of teaching and learning at pace.We have Subject Leaders who are young and relativelyinexperienced and so high quality training and a clear cycle ofaccountability is vital for success and outstanding leadershipand management at all levels. Historically there was a lack ofclarity within the structure and no clear lines of accountability.A clear structure with lines of accountability at all levels wasestablished three years ago. There was clear accountabilityacross the SLT as well to cover every aspect of the school.Subject leaders are vital for translating the ethos of a relentlessfocus on high standards and driving students to fulfil theirpotential regardless of the barrier that needs to be overcome.To retain this as a priority, training, support and guidance arerequired. Each role had a clear list of expectations for whatthe leadership looks like on a daily, weekly, monthly andannual basis produced training and guidelines established todemonstrate accountability for all these areas. Performancemanagement was crucial for all leadership roles and a lot oftime and effort was invested in ensuring that we have the rightpeople in all the leadership and management positions. Wherethere have been gaps, rather than accepting mediocrity, thestructure was altered so that every area had an outstandingleader, even if they were not a subject expert. The SLT werealso used to line manage areas where necessary and this hascontinued wherever or whenever there is a need.14

Fig.1 Accountability CycleDate in cycleSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember /January(Subject dependent)JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulycase study 1What happens?Post exam results evaluation. Meeting with Line manager and PrincipalReview previous year’s mini SEF with the departmentT and L within the department. Analysis with line manager and VP Teaching and LearningProgress review within department. Analysis with Line Manager and VP Achievement and BehaviourMini SEF and action points planned with line manager and sent to Principal by end of week 2.Written feedback from the Principal within two weeks discussed with line managerT and L review with Line Manager and possibly VP Teaching and LearningAll Year 11 teachers have Progress Towards Target Meeting with Principal and go through child by childPrincipal meets with SLT and Year 11 team to feedback what needs to be provided in terms of support.Progress review within department. Analysis with Line Manager and VP Achievement and BehaviourT and L review with Line Manager and VP Teaching and LearningSEF review point with the departmentModeration focusExam PreparationTimetable requirementsCurriculum checkTraffic lighted action points to Line Manager / PrincipalPlanning / Training for SeptemberUnITED LEARNINGThe storySubject Leaders were given a handbook for the year. It hada personalised letter from the Principal in the front with acomment on their leadership last year and relevant commentsfor the current year. The handbook began with an overview ofkey dates and times of accountability activities for the year.The first meeting of the year was with the Head to discussresults, areas of strength, development, comparisons withnational averages, an evaluation of interventions and targetsfor the following year.Within the framework, the role of the mini SEF is veryimportant. When completed it informs the creation of a seriesof judgements with evidence and key action points. These arethen traffic lighted at three points through the year.Over the year there are key points for progress review ofstudents and Teaching and Learning as well as weekly meetingswith a senior line manager.15

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 1Fig.2 Mini-SEF JudgementsAchievement and Outstanding Good Needs Improvement InadequateAttainmentIs attainment in your subject area in line with expectations/other subjects?Compared to other areas in the school are there individual students or groups of students who are achieving lesswell in your subject?What does the analysis of assessment information tell you about students learning in your subject? Are any strengthsor weaknesses revealed?Do reviews highlight individuals or groups achieving above or below expectations?What actions are taken to support the teaching of SEN and EAL students?What actions are taken to support the more able students?Do you have conversations with individual teachers about student progress and achievement?Behaviour and Outstanding Good Needs Improvement InadequateSafetyCare, guidance,supportHow well do students behave in your department (including corridor behaviour)?How well do students behave in lessons?Do students demonstrate positive attitudes towards others and respect all?What is student punctuality like to lessons?How consistent are rewards and sanctions across the department?Do all teachers follow the behaviour policy?Are there high expectations regarding behaviour and standards across the department? What is being done totackle any variation?Teaching and Outstanding Good Needs Improvement InadequateLearningHow do you judge the quality of teaching and learning in your department?What evidence do you have to help you judge T and L?What activities do you do/strategies do you employ as a subject leader to improve T and L?What impact do these strategies have? What evidence do you have to measure the impact of these strategies?How reliable and consistent is levelling/grading in the department? How do you know (evidence)?What training is being done with individual teachers/whole department? What impact does this training have?How do you know (evidence)?How do you identify underachievement of groups of students? What do you do about it (interventions)?What is the impact of these interventions (evidence)?Leadership and Outstanding Good Needs Improvement InadequatemanagementHow are you driving Teaching and Learning in your department?Are all teachers aware of the priorities?What systems do you have in place to monitor the quality of Teaching and Learning?What targets have been agreed with subject teachers for raising attainment?How often do you identify training needs and what do you put in place to develop staff?What impression do people get when they walk into your department?What is the quality of the learning environment?The handbook also contains information on the core leadership skills and leadership behaviours expected of a PaddingtonAcademy leader and a prescriptive list of expectations for what the job looks like.16

Fig.3 Expectations of Middle LeadersTimelineDailyWeeklyHalf termlyTermlyYearly(and updated asappropriate)What an outstanding Subject Leader will be doingcase study 1Have a chat with all members of the team.Give lots of positive feedback and address any issuesCheck ALL classrooms and the office are tidy, clean and acceptable for good learningCheck all cover set is high levelCheck the behaviour reflects the standards in the departmentDo a learning walk of your departmentSpot check books for marking and contentEnsure all Internal Referral Forms are recordedEnsure that the SL detention takes place as appropriateComplete classroom audits checking displays, damage and tidinessEnsure the display is standardised: PA 10 staff, PA 10 Students, Rewards, Consequences, Key wordsdisplay, green and red face on the board, best work wall, literacy wall.Check that key words are displayed and that they are up to date and relevantChecking student planners to ensure that homework for your subject is being setObserve all members of the department – some joint with Line Manager(big departments share this with ASLs)Book scrutiny to check all books are markedLesson Planning scru tiny to check planning in line with school policyProgress review for most subjectsProgress review for some subjectsCollect and review Student VoiceSOL reviewTraffic Light SEFDepartment Handbook (see handbook guidance for contents)Curriculum ReviewFinal review of the department mini SEFDetails on where to find SEN, EAL dataBudget ReviewTimetableClass listsRoom responsibilitiesHealth and Safety informationUnITED LEARNINGThe Accountability Cycle is rigorous. To support Subject Leadersin all aspects of the framework, a Middle Leader Coach wasappointed. The role was to provide an optional support workshopfor every aspect of the cycle. Leaders could also have meetings togo through their particular mini SEF or exam analysis / progresscheck. Attendance at these meetings was high.The final part of the handbook consisted of frameworks for thecore skills of leadership. The core skills identified and how theyare broken down are listed above.17

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 1People management and communication – guidance on havingdifficult conversations’, student voice; Curriculum review;strategy; data management and facilities management.For each area there were diagnostic questions that prompted areview of the particular leadership skill.In the last year these have been analysed using a 360 reviewprocess. It was optional but in fact everyone took part.Impact and outcomesThe impact of the accountability cycle has increased over theyears. Initially it introduced the idea of accountability andresponsibility for results, teaching and learning outcomes andprogress that the department was making over each year.It divided the role into measurable outcomes where clearimprovements could be made. Initially many judgements were3 or 4. However from 2010 to 2013 there has been a significantincrease in the accuracy of the judgements and the judgementsthemselves. Subject leaders gained a thorough knowledge of allparts of leadership and management and where the strengthsand areas for development were.The biggest impact came from the appointment of the middleleader coach. There were clear lines of accountability for allaspects of the framework from the senior leaders but the middleleader coach provided the ‘soft shoulder’ approach that wenthand in hand with that. Examples were filling information gaps,leading by example, sharing best practice and providing subjectspecific support and individual case support. The following yearthe quality of self-evaluation increased and the following yearthe outcomes within the self-evaluation went up.A significant impact on outcomes were from exam meetingsand progress toward target meetings. During the exam resultsmeeting the subject results are compared to national averagesand other subjects in the same school with the same students.The sense of accountability within the department is raised andhas an impact the following year. More significant on impactare the progress towards target meeting. Every Year 11 teachermeets with the head and goes through their list of Year 11students comparing their current mock grade to the aspirationalgrade. For each child we consider the question ‘could any morebe done for that child?’ We write a list of all the interventionsand opportunities that they could have access to in order toachieve their full potential.Results at GCSE and A Level demonstrate impact of theimprovement in Subject Leadership as do the increase inTeaching and Learning grades. The average judgement forleadership and management has increased from satisfactoryto good and now judged to be outstanding. All staff have anembedded understanding of accountability to the students,parents and each other. We have had numerous staff changesover the last seven years. The best middle leaders have beenand continue to be those that are ‘home grown’ and trained inthe Paddington accountability model.Next stepsThrough our Subject Leadership coach model we have providedhigh quality training for our current Subject Leaders. We arecurrently writing bespoke courses for aspiring middle leadersand aspiring senior leaders. Our current accountability modelshould then include an area of leadership development andtraining for all areas of staff. The training developed after thiswill be for the community and administration teams.18

case study 2UnITED LEARNINGBuilding a Reflective Middle LeadershipCommunity at Paddington AcademyKelly Golding, Assistant Principal Leadership and OperationsFocus AreaMiddle Leaders are key to the realisation of Paddington Academy’sstrategic vision. This case study focuses on empowering MiddleLeaders to realise their potential and to help deliver this strategicvision through a 360° reflection process. The 360° reflectionprocess supports the development of a reflective communityof Middle Leaders by highlighting points of strength and areasrequiring improvement, empowering individuals to realise theirpotential, and creating a network of best practice which plays acrucial role in sustaining ‘outstanding’ leadership within the school.Aims and rationale‘One area where we are convinced the demand exists forimproved support is at the level of middle leadership, specificallyat Department head level.’ (Michael Gove, 2011)In the context of greater levels of national debate, and anew focus driving towards the sustainability of ‘outstanding’leadership, improving training provision for Middle Leadersbecame a priority in the school’s development strategy. Thechallenge begins with finding where potential exists in MiddleLeadership and creating an environment where individualscan succeed and thrive. Ultimately, this means striking theright balance between accountability and support. The overarchingaim of the 360° reflection process was to create anenvironment where Middle Leaders felt confident stepping outof their comfort zone and embracing new challenges, but wereprovided with appropriate training and support designed toempower them to succeed.The 360° Reflection Process and the IndividualIn terms of individual support, the 360° reflection process wasdesigned as a reflective tool which provides Middle Leaderswith diagnostic feedback about areas of strength and areasfor improvement, but also a way of finding out, verbatim insome cases, what both members of their departments, andline managers, really think and feel about their leadership. Thisfeedback is contained in 360° reports which are produced foreach Middle Leader.The data from each Middle Leader’s final 360° report was alsoused to support the accountability cycle which aims to:n Inform department or management targets for the followingacademic year.n Support Middle Leaders in the SEF writing process.n Inform performance management targets.In order to ensure that the final 360° reports were valued byall stakeholders and continued to be ‘working documents’, thereports were used in line management meetings, with areasof strength celebrated and areas for improvement becoming afocus for discussion. In addition, a new tracking and monitoringsystem was created to guide discussion in line managementmeetings and replace the aspects of the accountability cyclewhich were considered to be administratively burdensome.The 360° Reflection Process andthe Academy CommunityIn terms of addressing the aim to build a wider ‘community’of leaders, the 360° reports were used to identify pockets ofexpertise within the Middle Leadership team. This informationwas then used to design a training programme which aimedto address both the greatest areas of need within the Middle19

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 2Leadership community while remaining relevant and valued bythe Middle Leadership team.These training sessions were planned as collaborative sessionswhere best practice was shared within the group, therebyempowering individual experts and helping to create a communityof collaboration in place of more ‘top-down’ training methods. Inaddition, analysis of all of the Middle Leaders’ reports provideda clear picture of where the greatest levels of performancevariations lay and where the training need was greatest.Background and ContextLeadership and management at Paddington Academy weredescribed in OFSTED’s November 2011 inspection report as‘Outstanding’, stating that ‘leaders and managers at all levelshave a shared and explicit vision for sustaining improvement’.Indeed, there were a group of Middle Leaders that demonstratedexcellence in all areas of their practice and contributed greatlyto the overall ‘Outstanding’ judgment.In spite of this, the Academy’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT)recognised that there were significant levels of variation ofperformance within the Middle Leadership Team. AlthoughOfsted noted that ‘targeted support is provided to improveaccountability and raise expectations in the few areas of theacademy where performance could be better’, the SLT felt thatmore needed to be done to address in particular the balancebetween levels of accountability and support provided toindividual Middle Leaders.An accountability cycle and Middle Leadership trainingprogramme were instrumental in supporting the school’stransition to ‘Outstanding’ Leadership. However, afterseveral years of a successful cycle it was felt that the trainingprogramme and some of the monitoring and tracking processesneeded to be streamlined. Middle Leaders began to see some ofthe monitoring activities as administrative burdens rather thanmeaningful documents and processes to improve standards.For example, whilst Middle Leaders would complete markingreviews and analyse progress review data, once completed thedocuments would invariably sit in a drawer rather than be usedto continue to drive progress.Middle Leaders also felt that training sessions and meetingsdelivered by members of SLT to disseminate information aboutnew school initiatives did not adequately involve them in thestrategic vision. The impact of this was seen in Middle Leaders’reluctance to participate in training sessions or voice theiropinions in meetings.While there were pockets of excellence within the MiddleLeadership Team, because of the lack of communicationbetween the Middle Leadership team members and the lackof bespoke support from within the group as a whole, it wasrealised that this excellence was becoming difficult to translateand embed across the school.20

360° Reflection Process: The StoryThe first step towards both creating the 360° reflective tooland streamlining the Middle Leadership training process wasconsidering the skills and attributes that a Middle Leadercase study 2requires to succeed. This led to the identification of eight corecompetencies which were designed to encapsulate these coreskills, ranging from communication skills to strategic thinkingand curriculum management (see Figure 1).UnITED LEARNINGFigure 1Middle Leader Audit Core SkillsPeopleManagementStrategicThinkingFinancial andFacilitiesManagementCurriculumManagementCoreSkillsCommunicationSkillsAnalysis anduse of dataLeadershipSkillsLeader ofTeaching andLearning21

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 2The core competencies formed the basis of the 360° questionsand report, helped make the Middle Leader handbook morecoherent, informed the training programme and guided linemanagement meetings. They also ensured that Middle Leadershad greater levels of cohesion between training, accountability,line management and general support.Once the competencies had been discussed within the SLT andMiddle Leadership Team, and approved, the 360° diagnosticquestions were designed. Each competency area formed asection of the 360° tool and between 3 and 6 questions werecreated within each area to flesh out key information aboutindividuals’ strengths and areas for improvement.It emerged in discussions with Middle Leaders that they wanteda multi-directional picture of their leadership skills so thequestions were shaped differently depending on who they werebeing answered by, to provide Middle Leaders with a detailedperspective of their strengths and weaknesses from departmentmembers, line managers and students. The questionnaire wasdesigned to obtain qualitative and quantitative data with eachquestion scoring between 1 and 4 (following OFSTED criteria),and space provided for additional written feedback. Graphs wereproduced using the quantitative data to provide Middle Leaderswith a visual sense of their strengths and weakness, and a moredetailed and personalised sense of their colleagues’ thoughts andfeelings was provided through unattributed typed quotations.In order to check that the 360° tool generated data which wasuseful and could be used to provide a cohesive picture, a pilotphase of the project was undertaken. Firstly, the project waspiloted in-house with a volunteer from the Middle LeadershipTeam. Initial feedback was provided before a second phasewas established. This helped ensure the transferability andobjectivity of the 360° tool with a consultant and MiddleLeader at another school piloting the reflection tool. Asa result of the feedback from the project pilot and furtherconsultation with members of the Middle Leadership Team,several key changes were made:n It was felt that the scale based on OFSTED numbering 1-4was not appropriate to some of the questions being asked. Inthese cases a scale comprising strongly agree, agree, neutraland disagree was introduced instead.n Confidentiality was a key issue. The use of qualitative datawas to be included and typed as a direct quotation, but wereto remain anonymous.n It was agreed that questionnaires must be received andanalysed in a secure place, and the subsequent report givenback in a private meeting.With the pilot phase successfully completed, a Middle Leadermeeting was held where members of the pilot phase leaddiscussions about the process and any last questions werefielded. Each member of the Middle Leadership Team was thenasked to select 5 members of their team or direct reportees, aswell as their line manager, to respond to the questionnaire. Thedata was confidentially inputted into the analysis tool and thereports were completed.The Final 360° ReportThe first section of the report analysed quantitative data witha core skills average that demonstrated skill areas of strengthand areas for development. The data values were reversed; 4became ‘Outstanding’ and 1 ‘Inadequate’ to ensure a morelogical visual picture of the data. See Figure 2 for an individual’score skills overview.22

Figure 2Graphs within each core skill were then created with eachcontributor to the report being represented. This Graphshowed areas of variation between line management anddepartment members’ perceptions. Differences of opinionwithin departments were also highlighted for example.See Figure 3 for an example of an individual’s feedback.case study 2UnITED LEARNINGCore Skills OverviewCommuncationskills 3.53354FinancialManagement3.53.53CurriculumManagement2.79152.52StrategicThinking31.51LeadershipSkills2.84PeopleManagement2.8Analysis anduse of data2Leadership of Teachingand Learning 2.383523

case study 2UniTED LEARNINGFigure 3Comments from all contributors were thenconsolidated into the final section of the report andgrouped under each key skill.Leadership SkillsDepartment member 1Department member 2Department member 3Department member 4Department member 51) Does your subject leadermotivate you?43.532.521.55) Do you contribute1towards thedepartment’s visionfor the future? 00.52) Are you amember ofa happydepartment?4) Do you feel valued?3) Does your departmentwork as a team?24

Impact and Outcomes‘For me the 360 process was a really useful one. It had a directimpact upon my practice as a Subject Leader; I learnt to listento the views and opinions of people I wouldn’t necessarily havesought out before, especially when it comes to discussing thevision and direction of the department. It also resulted in thetightening of procedures and processes, such as the creationof the handbook. As a community of middle leadership, theMiddle Leaders training has helped to create a more cohesiveunit, whereby subject leaders can talk through challenges andsupport one another in their role.’Paddington Academy Subject LeaderIn 2012 the students at Paddington Academy achieved the bestresults since the academy opened; 75% of students achieved5 A* – C GCSEs including English and Maths, proudly placingthe school in the top 1% for progress nationally. The resultshighlighted a reduction in in-school variation and reflected thegreater levels of consistency in Middle Leadership.In the following academic year, there was a significant increasein the Mini SEF judgments made by the Middle LeadershipTeam with 90% of Middle Leaders rating their Leadershipand Management skills as ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ comparedto 65% the previous year. Improvements in the accuracy ofjudgments were also noted and attributed to Middle Leaders’increased sense of self-awareness as a direct result of the 360°reflection process.As a result of the 360° reflection process, experts for each corecompetency were created from the Middle Leadership Team. Thisnot only empowered Middle Leaders and instilled confidence intheir skills and abilities, but also, meant that training sessionswere delivered by members of the group creating a culture ofmutual support. In response to the 360° reflection processmeeting time was increased with the introduction of optionaltraining sessions. The training sessions were then designedspecifically to address areas of variation and development inthe Middle Leadership Team.A revised Middle Leader Handbook was created to incorporatethe core competencies, this ensured a consistency of approach,reiterated expectations and accountability but also highlightedwhere training was available to support the core skills.To ensure cohesion and further consistency, the core skillsinformed line management meetings and re-shaped monitoringand tracking activities at Middle Leadership level. Markingreview and lesson plan reports were replaced with a unifiedteaching and learning tracker discussed in weekly linecase study 2management meetings. This shift was welcomed by subjectleaders as it reduced the administrative burden of producingthe report but added value to the monitoring process throughdiscussion. The monitoring system ensured that Middle Leaderswere producing working documents, not simply reports whichgathered dust in drawers.Reflections and Next StepsSeveral Assistant Subject Leaders and members of the schoolcommunity have requested their own 360° reflection processsince the initial cycle for Middle Leaders began. In terms of nextsteps, it seems only right to widen the remit of the project andoffer the opportunity to the wider academy community. To makethis possible we will need to design a more sophisticated methodfor collecting the qualitative and quantitative data, creating thefinal report and analysing that data.In terms of fostering a greater sense of community within theMiddle Leadership Team, we plan to organise an outcomefocusedMiddle Leaders’ away day that builds on the 360°reflection process and encourages trusting relationships.We are currently in the process of ensuring that the 360°reflection tool will help identify potential within the widerschool community and support the development of anAspiring Middle Leader programme. This programme aims tocreate more capacity in the leadership team by developing amenu of supportive programmes and a range of developmentopportunities, including:n Shadowing senior colleagues.n Mentoring and coaching programmes.n Opportunities for staff to be co-opted into shared MiddleLeadership roles.n Temporary or supported positions where aspiring leaders canmeaningfully gain the right skills and experiences to developfurther.n Leadership of short-term projects.n Targeted training sessions.n Rotating roles within the school.n Career pathway planning sessions.We believe that all individuals have the capacity to lead insome way, and the 360° reflection process which has beenintroduced at Paddington Academy ensures that we are able totap into the potential which exists within the Middle LeadershipTeam, to create an environment where individuals can succeedand thrive. We remain on the journey to ensure a sustainableleadership model that manages talent effectively and developsthe outstanding Middle and Senior Leaders of the future.UnITED LEARNING25

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 3TransformingTeaching and Learning:The Paddington 10 plus 3Katie Gillam, Vice Principal Teaching and LearningFocus areaThis case study focuses on an initiative introduced in 2007,with the aim of improving standards in teaching and learningacross the Academy. A list of 10 fundamentals of great teachingand learning, known as the Paddington 10, was developed andshared with staff with the expectation that these 10 basics ofgreat learning should be evident in every lesson, every day.Since 2007, the Paddington 10 have evolved and been used asa simple and effective CPD tool to drive teaching and learningto outstanding and create greater consistency in teaching acrossthe Academy.ContextWhen the Academy opened in 2006, replacing a predecessorschool, there was a high level of inconsistency in classroompractice. Although there were pockets of outstanding practice,in 2007 just 12% of lessons were judged to be good or better,with 58% judged to be satisfactory.The Paddington 10 was intended to secure greater consistency,and to ensure that the key features of best teaching and learningpractice were present in every lesson. Lesson observations wereused alongside the Accelerated Learning Cycle (PaddingtonAcademy’s adopted model of teaching and learning), and currenteducational research to create an inventory of these features.The Paddington 10 prompted a dialogue around best practice inteaching and learning for all staff. This focus on learning as ourcore purpose energised and informed better planning for goodand outstanding progress.Figure 1Paddington 10 for Staff1 Learning aims shared with students and referredto regularly throughout the lesson2 Key words shared with students and theirunderstanding checked regularly3 Connect with an inspiring activity4 Give the ‘big picture’ – why is this ‘chunk’ oflearning important?5 Input using a range of purposeful activities withclear timings6 Use group work, paired work and individualreflection and evaluation7 Use a range of AFL activities to regularly assesswhat has been learnt8 Make success criteria clear to assess for learningand celebrate success9 Create a positive environment with high expectationsof behaviour and learning10 Speak to every child by name every lessonOver time the Paddington 10 has become embedded in everyaspect of classroom practice. Currently (January 2013), usingthe school’s tracking and monitoring systems, teaching andlearning is judged to be ‘outstanding’. Great gains that have26

een made in teaching and learning, and the Paddington 10remains a constant feature of our practice.The story below explains how the Paddington 10 has developedover time into providing a structure, a shared philosophy andlanguage that puts teaching and learning at the centre of allthat we do.AimsResearch shows that teachers are the most important factorwithin schools that directly improve student achievement.Having an effective teacher (as opposed to an average teacher)can add an extra year’s worth of learning (Dylan William, 2009).The Paddington 10 is therefore a tool that aims to:n Improve the quality of teaching and learning across theacademy as every teacher has a greater understanding ofwhat underpins great teaching and great learningn Increase the level of consistency across classrooms, leadingto more outstanding learning experiences for studentsn Contribute to a learning community of teachers who arekeen to share best practice around the Paddington 10n Be used to inform and develop CPD across the school (asresearch indicates that appropriately targeted CPD has asignificant effect on teaching and learning quality)The storyLaunching and embedding the Paddington 10The Paddington 10 was launched to staff in 2007 by theVice Principal for Teaching and Learning (Oli Tomlinson, nowPrincipal). Teachers were presented with the purpose andrationale of the 10 fundamentals.case study 3The 10 fundamentals ensure that:n Learning aims are shared with students in every lessonand used with students to measure and signpost progressthroughout the lesson.n There is a focus on and reference to important key wordsso that students use appropriate language in their verbaland written thinking. This has been an important feature ofdeveloping literacy across the Academy.n Starting with an inspiring activity students are ‘hooked’ intotheir learning, leading to high levels of student engagementand ensuring a smooth start to the lesson where students arelearning and thinking as soon as they enter the classroom.n Students know how a particular ‘chunk of learning’ fits intothe ‘big picture’ and why what they are learning is important.n Learning is the focus of every activity. To ensure that alllearning activities are purposeful, learning is chunked aroundour lesson objectives.n Students experience a range of learning activities and learnto work independently, alone and with others, and that theirlearning will be the result of differentiation and planning bya teacher who knows them well.n Learning is checked regularly throughout the lesson andstudents are provided with opportunities to build thesechecks into their own learning. There is the understandingthat assessment for learning is a thread that runs throughthe journey of learning within a lesson.n Teachers describe what success will look like, so that studentscan consider how they are doing, and what they need to doto improve as they progress. This structure ensures that thereare opportunities to acknowledge and celebrate success invarious ways.n Positive relationships are built quickly, and often with praiseand success as the key message. As teachers speak to everystudent by name in every lesson, this is reinforced so that ourstudents see their learning as the most important priority oftheir teacher and their academy.UnITED LEARNINGIt was explained to teachers that these were now our 10 ‘musts’for every lesson as they underpin great teaching and learning.This increased the level of accountability for teachers todemonstrate these features in lessons. During the same sessioneach of the Paddington 10 were modelled to ensure claritywhen transferring training to practice. Lessons had been filmedto demonstrate to teachers what the Paddington 10 looked likein practice. The films also demonstrated very clearly the benefitsof ensuring that these 10 fundamentals were in every lesson.The training provided support for teachers and empoweredthem to go away and ‘have a go’ at incorporating them in theclassroom practice.27

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 3Following the launch of the Paddington 10, Learning Walkswere established. A member of SLT would visit every lesson onLearning Walk every day to support great learning and lookfor the Paddington 10. Learning Walks therefore provideda structure through which monitoring and targeted supportcould be offered. Learning Walks were used to provide teacherswith feedback on their use of the Paddington 10. They werealso used to identify best practice so that teachers couldshare best practice at future whole school INSET. As part ofthe launch teachers received rewards for their consistent useof the Paddington 10 in their practice. The balance betweenhigh expectations, accountability and support, led to high staffbuy-in and by April 2008, 40% of lessons were judged to begood or better and 53% were judged to be satisfactory. Clearlyprogress was being made in improving the quality of teachingand learning across the Academy.Plus 3Although progress was evident, following lesson observations,Learning Walk feedback and feedback from teachers, it was felt thatalongside the 10 fundamentals, three further features were neededto secure further good and outstanding teaching and learning. As aresult three features were launched to teachers and the Paddington10 became known as the Paddington 10 plus 3 in 2009.Figure 2Plus 31 P7 (Progress check every 7 minutes)2 Two way flow (70:30)3 Answer a question with a questionThe three initiatives ensure that:n There is a focus on two way flow which reminds teachers ofthe importance of student responsibility during the lesson.n Although teachers work hard in the planning of outstandingteaching and learning, it is the students who should workhard in their learning in the lesson, playing the greater part(70:30).n The planning of higher order, challenging questions is vital, andstudents now expect to have to solve problems with the teacherguiding their thinking rather than providing an answer. Teachersachieve this by answering a question with a question.Teacher training throughout the year was focused on thesethree initiatives. By this stage, teachers were confident in theiruse of the Paddington 10 and more confident practitioners werewilling to share best practice at INSET. Regular strategies andideas were emailed to staff, featured in weekly email bulletinsand Learning Walk highlights related to the Paddington 10 plus3 were published on a weekly basis.A peer observation fortnight was also introduced. Teachers wereplaced in learning threes and would visit each other’s classroomsto look for the three initiatives. Every teacher received two starsand a wish on the use of the Paddington 10 plus 3. Teachers feltempowered because of the high level of support that was beinggiven to support them in developing strategies to ensure thesethree initiatives were a regular feature.Weekly teaching and learning meetings were introduced,where staff could ‘drop-in’ to pick up some strategies thatsupported the Paddington 10 plus 3 which they could adaptand try out in their classroom. On average, 30 teachers attendthese weekly sessions to discuss teaching and learning andpick up some new strategies. The Monday teaching andlearning drop-ins have helped to create a teaching andlearning community where professionals are supporting oneanother in their development.Visible, valued and re-visitedThe Paddington 10 plus 3 are displayed in every classroom onan A2 poster in a Perspex frame to ensure they are highly visible,valued and regularly used.In April 2011, in order to support great teaching and learningthe school behaviour policy was reviewed, as can be seen inthe behaviour case study. A key aim was to tackle low-leveldisruption. The Paddington 10 for students was launched andis displayed alongside the Paddington 10 plus 3 for staff. Thisreinforces the idea for everyone in the community that these28

are our basic expectations of what great teaching and learningand great learning behaviour looks like. Students are familiarwith features that should be in a lesson such as clear learningaims and success criteria and are using the same language asstaff. Additionally, the system provides a reciprocal agreementbetween staff and students, clearly stating what each partyshould offer the other.The Paddington 10 plus 3 can also be found in the staff handbook which is updated and published every year for all staff,alongside the teaching and learning handbook which has anumber of strategies developed by teachers which supporteach of the Paddington 10 plus 3. Teacher planners have thePaddington 10 plus 3 on the first page and a self-evaluationtool has also been developed for staff to reflect on their useof the Paddington 10 plus 3 at the end of each week. Lessonobservation forms have the Paddington 10 plus 3 checklistalongside the OFSTED criteria and lesson feedback includescomment on their application.By 2010, the Paddington 10 plus 3 was embedded in ourlanguage and practice, leading to greater consistency acrossthe school in terms of teaching and learning. Once these basicswere well established, teachers felt more confident in exploringnew ideas and strategies in teaching and learning. Significantgains were made after this period to take teaching and learningto outstanding.For teaching and learning to be outstanding, it is important forteachers to take charge of their own practice and look for newideas to incorporate. This is encouraged at Paddington but wedo take the time to re-visit and reflect on the Paddington 10plus 3 as it is important not to lose sight of the fundamentals ofeffective teaching and learning, and constantly reflect on howthey can be better in our practice. Keeping the Paddington 10plus 3 visible, giving it value and re-visiting it frequently ensuresthat the Paddington 10 plus 3 are a consistent part of ourcommon language and practice.case study 3Much of the success of the Academy can be attributed to thetireless focus on teaching and learning in a positive, mutuallyrespectful environment where the key aim is to secure thevery best outcomes for our learners. The Paddington 10 plus 3ensures a consistent approach to teaching and learning acrossthe Academy. Students quickly learn what to expect in lessons,and see this as best practice. Students expect to experience arange of learning activities, to work independently, both aloneand with others. They know that their learning will be the resultof differentiated planning by a teacher who knows them well.Students expect their learning to be checked regularly, and somestudents build these checks into their own learning. Assessmentfor learning is a thread that runs through the journey of learningwithin a lesson. Our most recent tracking and monitoring showthat 80% of lessons are consistently judged to be good orbetter, further demonstrating the impact of our approach toteaching and learning.Next stepsWe are committed to improving the independence of ourstudents in their learning. In particular, a focus on two way flowreminds teachers on the importance of student responsibilityduring the lesson. We have seen an improvement in independentlearning following the focus of PA 10+3 and other appropriateactivities. These include whole staff and departmental INSET,the activities of our Advanced Lead Teacher with responsibilityfor independent learning, and an on-going focus via our otherCPD opportunities. We tirelessly reflect, review and update ourpractices and systems, listening to students and staff. We lookforward to the continual development of how the Paddington10 plus 3 adds value to the progress of our students.UnITED LEARNINGImpact/ ReflectionsThe Paddington 10 plus 3 is now embedded so it is no longerseen as a ‘requirement’ but it is ‘what we do and believe’The Paddington 10 plus 3 is both an implicit and explicit partof teaching and learning at the Academy. It is implicit in thatestablished members of staff and the student community see itas part of teaching and learning standard practice. It is explicitin that anyone who is new to the community is quickly inductedinto the use of the system, which can be clearly explained,supported and monitored.29

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 4Using Data to Direct and Drive ImprovementPeter Jones, Vice Principal Achievement and BehaviourFocus AreaIn order to secure improvements in outcomes for students,schools need to be able to measure how well students, groupsof students, subjects and staff are performing. In addition,schools need to have a clear idea of whether their resources areeffectively targeted in areas where they will have the greatestimpact. Data can play a critical role in this exercise by ensuringthat judgements are objective and factually based. Data canhelp to direct improvement by ensuring that the actions of aschool are aiming in the right direction and changing them ifnecessary. It can drive improvement by helping to motivate staffand students and secure accountability. This case study outlinesthe critical role of data in securing outstanding outcomes atPaddington Academy.grades were A* or A. In Science, 97% of students achieve 2GCSEs graded A*-C.The Academy serves a community where students arrive in Year7 with starting points in English and Maths considerably belownational averages (average KS2 score of 26.0). They leave withresults considerably above the national average (75% achieveA*-C in E+M versus 58% nationally). We expect all students tomake outstanding progress, whatever their starting point. 94%of our students make the expected progress (3 levels) in English(70% nationally) and 91% of students make it in Maths (63%nationally).ContextPaddington has made a significant journey from achievementand attainment that were significantly below average tosignificantly above in the space of six years. Our biggestachievement is the huge increase in the percentage of studentsachieving 5 A*-C GCSE grades including English and Maths.Secure qualifications in the core subjects enable our studentsto progress onto further and higher education and to overcomeany disadvantage they may have experienced.When the Academy opened in 2006, only 18% of studentsachieved 5 A*-C GCSE with English and Maths. In 2012, thatfigure was 75%. In addition to this, 27% of all GCSE gradeswere A* or A, and 64% were A*-B. We have extremely strongperformance in the core subjects: 85% of students achieved anA*-C in English and 81% in Maths. In addition, 31% of Maths30

What is Data?Data is boring: it is a set of raw, unorganised facts that can bespewed out by a computer. Seemingly infinite and microscopicvariations in performance in all aspects of school performancecan be identified until all sense of perspective and interestare lost. It is easy to make associations or to assume causalconnections in a darkened corner of the school which can leadto errors of judgement. When this happens, there is a gapbetween the data that a school holds and its impact on theperformance of students and staff. There is often a frustrateddata manager or a senior leader who feels misunderstood orthat he is casting his pearls before swine. It is important that wenever lose sight of the fact that the purpose of a school is notto generate data but to effect change: a chances graph neverimproved a student’s life chances.case study 4UnITED LEARNINGData firstly needs explanation to ensure that staff and studentsunderstand what it means and what it is telling us. It is alsoimportant that we appreciate the limitations of data: sometimesestablishing what the data doesn’t tell us is as important asworking out what it does tell us. The second stage is then theconversation with either staff or students which finds out thefacts behind the data and which drills down to the class level:who are the students behind the data? Where are the issues?Only once these conversations have happened can the data bevalidated and meaningful. Often this important stage can bemissed out before the final stage: interpretation. This involvesassessing what needs to continue and what needs to change toimprove performance.Why is data so important?Schools such as Paddington that have secured rapidimprovement in a relatively short period of time often have aproblem when establishing the reasons for the acceleration oftheir performance. This arises because the drive and urgency tomake a dramatic shift means that every possible interventionis tried in the hope that something will work. This leads to twoproblems in analysing the reasons for improvement. Firstly,schools can suffer from a lack of self-knowledge: the actionsthat schools say led to their improvement may not actually havebeen those that did. Secondly, the problem of survivor bias:asking successful schools what they did may not actually besufficient. It may be the case that schools that have not securedimprovement did some of the same things. Data can helpschools to understand what works, save resources and to builda sustainable model of improvement.BackgroundInitially, data systems at Paddington were patchy, inconsistentand lacked impact. The first stage of the process towards effectiveuse of data was to clarify when data should be collected, whatdata to collect and how it should be distributed. Because of aprevious confusion about what was being reported, we settledon a simple system of reporting a current working grade.We removed any element of prediction of future attainmentas this had been unreliable. We were keen to have a clearunderstanding of exactly where our students were currentlyat. Under previous leadership, there had been a notion thatstudents could never go backwards in their reported grade. Likethe reporting in the Soviet Union of the consistent increasesin tractor production, this served a political purpose but wasnot helpful where students had received grades that were toohigh in the past or where there was a genuine regression intheir attainment. We emphasised accuracy of grades as thefoundation on which better use of data was built.We decided that collecting data each half-term was important ifwe were to monitor progress frequently and to be light-footed inour intervention. By ‘light-footed’ we mean fast-responding anddynamic to the identified areas of improvement. We establishedtight windows of one week for entering grades for every studentsix times a year. In order for staff to ‘buy in’ to the importance ofmeeting these deadlines and accurately assessing students, wehad to demonstrate that we were making good use of the dataand there was a purpose to it, rather than simply the creationof a vast bureaucracy.31

UniTED LEARNINGUniTED LEARNINGcase study 4The diagram below shows the ways in which data is sharedevery six weeks:Senior Leadership TeamReceive data on performance ofclasses, subjects and year groupsActionsLine managers extract informationfrom data, formulate interventions,allocate resources and guidedirection of the AcademyParentsReceive copy of progress reviewand guidanceActionsDiscuss with child, attend parents’evening and morning to discussdirection of the AcademyStudentsGiven copy of report. Able to seewhere they are ranked in year groupin terms of progress and attitudeActionsRecord grades in Learning Guidancefolder and create graphs of progressDissemination ofdata followingProgress ReviewSubject LeadersReceive data on progress of differentclasses/year groups for subjectActionsUsing data pack, identifydifferences between classes/years,suggest reasons and identify andimplement interventions, investigateperformance of micro-populationsHeads of YearReceive data including rankedprogress and attitude of yearActionsUsing data pack, identifyunderachievement, celebrateachievement, investigateperformance of micro-populations,identify and implement interventionsTutorsReceive reports for their groupActionsHave review meetings with tutorgroup to discuss progress, set targetsand monitor32

What do we measure?We considered it important to have a broad range of measuresof student performance. We measure attainment, in particularthe percentage of students reaching particular thresholdmeasures such as A*-C or Level 6+, as these are the passportto the future for our students: they are the pieces of paper thata university or employer will judge a student on. Equally, we feelit is important to measure progress: the journey that a studenthas made from their starting point. This is particularly relevantin our circumstance: there are significant differences betweenthe English scores and literacy levels of our students on entryto the Academy.4321case study 4This can then be further broken down to look at theteaching groups within the subject at each different year:Subject Graph English Year 11UnITED LEARNINGUnITED LEARNINGAfter each progress review and following the summer results,we measure the performance of teaching groups and subjectsin terms of value added. This is calculated by measuring thegrade that a student is at compared to their minimum expectedgrade. Their minimum expected grade is calculated by workingout the expected progress from their KS2 score in the subjector a similar subject, such as English for Humanities subjects orScience for DT. A subject graph may look like this:0-1-2-311X/En111X/En211X/En311X/En411X/En511X/En611X/En711X/En811X/En9BOYSGIRLS8Mean Progress to Target (Subjects) – Year 116420-2-4-6EnglishMathematicsScienceScience BTECArabicArtAstronomyBusinessBusiness BTECCateringDance BTECDramaEconomicsEnglish Lit.Fashion BTECFrenchGeographyHealth & Social CareHealth & Social Care BTECHistoryHospitality BTECICT (D:DA)ICT (GCSE)MediaMedia BTECPerforming Arts BTECPhotography BTECPhotographyProduct DesignProduction BTECRESociologySpanishSport Science GCSE-8-1033

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 4What do we do with the data?The old adage that ‘weighing the pig won’t make it fatter’applies in schools: simply possessing lots of data does notlead to improvement. It is firstly important to make sure thatthere is an investment in training of staff to ensure that theyunderstand what the data means and how to interrogateit further. Following each progress review, Subject Leadersand Heads of Year provide feedback on the data to their linemanager in a written or verbal form. The first step for themis to check the validity of the data: were the grades enteredaccurate? Are there sound reasons for anomalies which arebeing addressed? Sometimes it may be that solid interventionsare already in place but they are taking time to have effect. Itis important that the Subject Leader drills down from subject toindividual student level to identify the issues. Interventions arethen proposed to raise achievement further and are checked atthe next progress review to measure their impact.At the beginning of the year, based on exam performance,subjects are traffic-lighted. This identifies where the needis greatest and which subjects are critical. This is based on acombination of achievement, attainment and residuals:The subjects identified as critical in August have a criticalsubject action plan written by the subject leader which liststhe actions which will be carried out throughout the year toimprove performance. These subjects are discussed everymonth in SLT meetings and are supported in every possibleway to improve. Over the last few years, the number ofcritical subjects has reduced significantly. One danger isthat, over time, lower achievement could appear in an areathat was previously regarded as highly achieving: this hashappened and for this reason all subjects must be carefullymonitored by the Subject Leader and their Line Manager. Theweekly line management agenda for Subject Leaders hasbeen standardised to ensure that discussion of achievementand progress with controlled assessment and coursework isalways discussed.Accountability, trust and supportHigh accountability can sometimes be a euphemism in schools fora culture of blame or a climate of fear. Accountability is not a paperexercise where judgements are made about the performance ofstaff based on a set of figures. So, what happens when a subjectreceives a bad set of results? Accountability means sitting downwith the Subject Leader, looking them in the eye and explainingSubjects highlighted by exam performance 2012Year 11 Year 12 Year 13Art Psychology PhotographyPhotography BTEC Photography EconomicsGraphics Geography Media BTECMedia GCSE Business PsychologyHealth and Social Care Art SociologyTravel + Tourism BTEC Sociology MediaSport BTEC Arabic Applied Science BTECSpanish Biology Business BTECSociology Chemistry SpanishPerf Arts BTEC Dance PhysicsResistant Materials Drama MusicMusic BTEC Economics MathsMedia BTEC English LawICT Film ICTHospitality BTEC Further Maths HistoryHistory History Further MathsFrench Law EnglishFashion BTEC Maths Chemistry34

to them that things need to improve and helping them to achievethis. It involves unpicking the often complex reasons for poorperformance and placing trust in the ability of the Subject Leaderto address this with support. It does not accept excuses for poorperformance or blaming students, but seeks solutions whichachieve the desired outcome. This process is outlined in our casestudy on Subject Leader accountability.We have a whole-school approach to accountability which meansthat everyone, from the Principal to the student, is responsible forensuring success and all require support to achieve this. When datais collected, it is important that there is trust and that staff feelthat they can accurately report the attainment of students withoutfeeling that unless all students are on track then judgementswill be made about the quality of their teaching and learning.An example of this can be seen in the Year 11 English graph infigure 3. It would be easy to make assumptions about the qualityof teaching that the group in the middle were receiving. In fact,this group were taught by one of the most skilled teachers. Wemoved underachieving students into this group to ensure that theyreceived the highest quality provision. This was an example of thelight-footed approach described below. We encourage subjects totake a collective responsibility for adding value to students ratherthan setting teacher against teacher. Encouraging this collegiality,where staff are united for a common purpose, means that we canplay to the strengths of staff and share the burden of activities suchas revision classes.case study 4Driving student improvementData can be useful in helping to motivate students andproviding them with useful information about their progress.Students receive a report six times a year which is discussedwith their tutor and their mentor. To make the report easy toread and interpret for students and parents, we colour codethe subjects. Blue represents a subject where the studentis exceeding their minimum expected grade; green that theyare at this grade; yellow that they are within a grade andred where they are more than a grade below. We make smallcards for Year 11students whichsummarise theirachievement in asmall space. Oneis given to thestudent and oneto their mentor:BashirEnglish B+ Maths A Science A+ Economics B-Astronomy D French C DiDA C5A* – C5A* – C inc Eng & MaMentor: Miss DarleyIn addition to this, students are ranked in each year groupaccording to their progress to target. This involves totalling theirprogress in every subject compared to their minimum expectedgrades. We believe it to be a fair way to judge students as ittakes their prior attainment into account and is not merely ameasure of attainment. Lists of students are then displayed onthe progress board on the ground floor of the school. It meansthat every student in the Academy can point to their progress:UnITED LEARNING35

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 4How has data changed what we do?Initially, data was used to identify where intervention wasneeded most critically within the Academy. There were fairlylarge variations in performance that needed addressing anddata was critical in identifying where these were and allowingus to intervene to avoid disaster. As variation has reduced, datahas been useful in allowing us to measure the effectiveness ofthe interventions that we put in place each year. It has becomeas important to work out what not to do as it has to work outwhat to do. The aim has been to put intervention in as part ofstudent entitlement early in the school so that it is not neededto compensate for failings later. Thus data is aimed at reducingsmaller variations at an earlier stage than large ones later. Thetable below demonstrates the shift that we are in the processof making, and the importance of teaching and learning in theclassroom being at the centre of this shift:Light-footednessAs mentioned previously, data is boring. Data becomes interestingwhen it is transformed into information which is used to engage staffand students in conversations about learning. It becomes usefulwhen it translates into actions that impact on outcomes forstudents. We would judge the most important quality of a school inresponding to data is to be light-footed. Once an informed judgementhas been reached about what data is telling us, it is crucial that werespond quickly with actions that will effect rapid and sustainedchange. The answer may be in a change of teaching or learning style, regroupingof students, a change of curriculum or an increase in the extrasupport offered to students. Proper diagnosis of the problem meansthat the treatment is more likely to be effective. It is then important tocontinue to measure whether the changes have improved outcomes: ifthey haven’t then we have to be prepared to change what we do againand again. It is in this way that data can direct our work and redirect itas frequently as is needed.Intervention based modelFocus on ACTIONSGains made outside the classroomFocus on key marginalsInterventions as a compensationLate interventionDriven by exam techniqueAll interventions tried and offered to allPastoral team at the centreSustainable modelFocus on IMPACTGains made inside the classroomFocus on progress of allIntervention as an entitlement, part of provisionEarly interventionDriven by pedagogyInterventions targeted and limited to what worksbased on the evidenceClass teacher at the centreNext StepsAn important issue for us is to continue to strengthen moderationat KS3. Whilst KS4 and KS5 teachers are often very confident inaccurate assessment and are provided with excellent resourcesand training by exam boards, KS3 can be forgotten. We havebegun to address this through joint KS3 core subject meetingswhere students are individually discussed and interventionagreed, but this is still in its infancy.The most important thing for us to do is to continue to keep datasimple and easy to understand. Data is the servant of the teacherrather than vice-versa. New methods of presenting data shouldalways replace old ones so that no-one becomes swamped bytoo much information which is complicated to interpret. It is alsoimportant to keep doing the things that you know work, thethings that drove improvement, and not to assume that they nolonger need doing.36

case study 5UnITED LEARNINGGetting the Basics Right:English and Maths at KS4Clare Darley, Vice Principal Standards and EthosFocus AreaThis case study examines how Paddington Academy hasdemonstrated rapid and sustained progress in English andMaths at Key Stage 4 over the past five years. The steps tosuccess from the student and staff perspective are analysed,and general areas of good practice are extracted that are nowbeing rolled out to other areas of the Academy. The three broadthemes addressed are accountability, visibility and use of data,and specific intervention programmes.ContextWe believe that success is achievable for all students,irrespective of their starting points and barriers to learning. AtPaddington Academy, our job is to identify barriers to learningfor individual students, and to dismantle them one-by-one. Thiscan only be done with the right people in the right places withinthe Academy, and a shared belief that success is possible foreveryone.there was a disproportionate amount of attention on the D/Cborderline, but as the outcomes improved, there has been ashift to maximising progress at all levels.The StoryWe have identified three key areas that have led to the successesour students have enjoyed over the last few years:1. Accountability at all levels2. Visibility and use of data3. Specific intervention programmesWhen the Academy opened, there was an urgent need to raisestandards in English and Maths in order to raise aspirationand access to opportunities for our students. Too many of ourstudents were leaving without the ‘golden ticket’ of five goodGCSEs with English and Maths that will allow them to makegood choices about their futures. Our over-riding objectives atthe start of the journey (that remain to the present day) were toimprove teaching and learning and to raise standards.AimThe aim was (and is!) to raise achievement in English andMaths results. The focus shifted throughout our journey; initially37

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 51. Accountability at all levelsAccountability at Paddington Academy is defined thus:‘Not a paper exercise, but looking a teacher in the eye andexplaining that things need to improve and helping them toachieve this’.Across the AcademyEvery single member of staff, no matter what their role, isresponsible for their part in the results. This shared responsibilityhas been key to our success: it is too big and important a jobto be undertaken by subject teachers alone. We thereforedeliberately include every single member of the schoolcommunity in feeling accountable for the results (and sharingin the successes). For example, we have 180 members of staffand 180 Year 11 students each year, so every member of staffmentors a student and is responsible for their results. We matchstudents to their mentors dependent on need. We have hadreally successful mentoring relationships from all teams of staffacross the Academy; our IT support team are particularly goodat Maths mentoring!SLTEvery single member of SLT has a role in raising achievement,and therefore every member of SLT must understand and usedata accurately. This process starts in August each year with theresults analysis prepared by the Vice Principal for Achievementand Behaviour and continues through the yearly accountabilitycycle. There is an agreed format for SLT- middle leader weeklyline management meetings that includes focus on Year 11achievement with an expectation of student-by-student analysisof progress. Year 11 progress is on the SLT agenda every week,and critical subjects are discussed in detail after each halftermlyprogress review data capture.DepartmentThe subject leaders for English and Maths translate their overalldepartment targets into individual teaching group targets (e.g. aparticular group may need 19Cs and 6Bs and 4As). This allowsthe subject leaders to have personalised conversations withteachers about the students in their class, and their contributionto the overall department targets, which in turn feed into theAcademy targets. A key driver for these conversations is themonthly ‘bankers-Wobblies’ meeting. This involves the SubjectLeaders for English and Maths, Assistant Principal for KS4, VicePrincipal for English and Maths, KS4 Success Unit manager andthe Principal. During this meeting every single student in Year 11is discussed, and classed as one of the following:Figure 1:BankedWobbly EnglishWobbly MathsWobbly bothC or above in English and MathsC or above in Maths but not EnglishC or above in English but not MathsNot yet at C in English or MathsThis is based on their current state; it is not an estimation orprediction of where they will be at the end of the year. Thismonthly meeting drives all of the key conversations betweenthe subject leader and their teams, as it is their responsibility topresent based on current, accurate evidence. The impact of thesemeetings is to have a far more joined up approach across thetwo key departments. It is often the case that one departmentis spurred on for success with a particular student when theyknow that they have been banked by the other department.Indeed, this competitive element is encouraged and made quitevisible. For example, each department office has the pictures ofthe students who are banked in the other subject, but wobblyin their own!The result of all of these conversations is to sharpen the focus onYear 11s; to ensure that data is extremely current and accurate,and that all actions are based on the live situation. The frequencyof discussion in line management meetings helps to share theaccountability and to ensure that no student ‘slips through the net’.It also allows SLT to have meaningful conversations while on dutyand on learning walk with key students.SLT mentor the critical students in Year 11 and often teach themarginal groups in English and Maths as well. All SLT are involved intutoring either English or Maths. At one point, there was a weekly SLTMaths lesson on key topics to be covered in mentoring! Over time,the team has become experts on the requirements for English andMaths success, irrespective of their own subject.StudentAll of the above measures only work if the students feelaccountable for their own success and feel empowered to dosomething about it. Student progress data is shared regularlywith students in their books, through mock feedback, in tutortime and visibly on displays around the Academy. For example,the ‘Success Wall’ depicts previous students along with thegrades they gained and the universities they went to.Year 11 students have a mock results day in December; thisprompts emotional responses that often spur the students onto work harder in preparation for their exams.38

2. Visibility and use of datacase study 5UnITED LEARNINGAcross the AcademyIn order for the whole staff to be accountable for the results,the data must be accessible to all. Two examples of this arethe half-termly success grid, and the photo walls in the staffroom. The success grid is an attainment grid showing thecurrent grade for each student in every subject. It is trafficlighted:green if they are C or above, yellow if they are on trackto be at C or above by the end of Year 11, and red if theyare not on track. This is given to every single member of staff,and training is provided on the use of it for new staff. It allowsmentors to have meaningful conversations with their mentees,and subject teams to see how well they are performing at aglance compared to other subjects in the school. It gives avery clear, visual representation of how well the year groupis performing.Figure 2: The Success GridReg.GroupEn Spr2MaSpr2Sc Spr2Sc AddSpr2Bi Spr2 Ch Spr2 Ph Spr2 Ab Spr2 Ar Spr2 Ar Spr2 Bs Spr2 Ca Spr2 Dr Spr2 EA Spr2 Ec Spr2 Fr Spr2 Gg Spr2 RHsSpr2Hy Spr211JSL C B B B+ A D C+11JHG A A A B A B+ B– B+11SSA B B C B U C11ROS B A A* A* A* C B+ B+ C+11ASL B A– A A A C C B B11SSA A C+ B B11ROS C C B D11ASL B+ B A B B A* B B11SWI B C– B B+ B D–11ROS C E– E E11ASL B B+ C B+ A B A*11ASL A A* A* A* A* A* A* A11AGA C+ B– B B B C C11SSA A+ C B D C C B B11SWI D D B E B+ B11SSA C– C+ B B+ E E D11ROS C+ B+ A A D A D+11SWI A B+ A* A A* B B+11ASL C B+ A A C–11SWI E– F D39

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 5DepartmentStudents complete mock exams very regularly in Year 11. Thishas taken various different forms in different years, dependingon the specific needs identified from the data. For example,in 2011-12 Year 11s took six Maths mocks in consecutiveweeks leading up to the March sitting. Results were sharedin assemblies each week so that students knew what theoverall achievement of the year group was, as well as who hadmade the biggest gains from the previous week. This collectiveresponsibility for success led to a renewed focus and impetusin Maths that was necessary at the time. It was interesting tosee Year 11 students on results day in August asking about theheadline figures, as well as their own results; this showed realcollective responsibility, and collective success!Each mock is used for question level analysis (QLA) that drivesthe curriculum and intervention programmes. Students aregrouped for intervention based on their needs identified byQLA, and subject leaders use QLA to make choices about keyteaching topics in the lead up to exams. QLA feedback is sharedwith students after each mock, so that they can use time out oflessons to focus on their areas of weakness.An example of the feedback generated by the Maths QLAspreadsheet is shown here.Figure 4: Question Level AnalysisName: NASSER DinaGrade: BStar: Shifts of QuadStar: Plot Quad after expandingWish: Rearrange to Solve Quad for xWish: Rearrange to Solve Quad for xStudent Comment:3. Specific intervention programmesThe majority of ‘intervention’ happens in the classroom, andis driven by the QLA feedback described above. In additionto this, we have interventions beyond the classroom that arematched to specific needs and vary from year to year, group togroup, teacher to teacher and student to student. We constantlymonitor whether what we are doing is having the impact thatwe want from it and, if not, change it quickly. We call thisapproach to intervention ‘light-footedness’, and the key to itssuccess is the accuracy and up-to-date nature of our data (seecase study on using Data).Below are some examples of intervention programmes beyondthe classroom. In all of the sessions described, the content isdriven by QLA from mocks.The Success UnitThe Success Unit is the ‘engine room’ for all of the interventionacross the Academy. It is led by two specialists who areexperts in both the English and Maths curricula (neither arequalified teachers, but both have been trained by supportingin English and Maths lessons for several years, and are expertsin leading small-group interventions). It is complemented bya team of tutors, who are usually ex-PA students currentlyat university.The Success Unit delivers English and Maths sessions duringspecific lessons (e.g. small group withdrawal from PE lessons,tutor time, completed BTEC options), as well as homeworkclub until 6pm every evening which is open to all students,but is compulsory for those at-risk.Holiday Academy and Saturday SchoolTargeted sessions are run throughout the year on Saturdays andin holidays, based on a 5:1 ratio of students to adult.Name: JONES Lilly-Ann1) I will find Julia and Morwa and I will explain Estimate Root 8 Q52) I will find Mustafe who will teach me Solve Neg Quad and Linear Q73) I will find Rurydi who will teach me Solve Neg Quad and Linear Q71) I will do independent workThese types of tools are used to have very effective lessonsfollowing mock exams, in which peer-teaching drivesstudent learning.40

Residential tripsEvery Year 11 is taken on a weekend residential to boosttheir learning in one of the core subjects. Groups at differentgrades (e.g. target B/A group) are identified for three differentweekends throughout the year, leading up to the threeexam seasons. The weekend comprises of revision sessionsand outdoor activities. The students find it to be inspiring,confidence-building and extremely useful in boosting grades.From Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, students completeover 15 hours of targeted tutoring.case study 5UnITED LEARNINGTutor time literacy and numeracy groupsTwo extra tutor groups have been created: one each for Englishand Maths. The tutors are the KS4 leaders for English and Maths,and they are occupied by wobbly English and wobbly Mathsstudents. The students remain in the tutor group for as long as isnecessary to secure improvement. This results in an additional 90minutes of subject tutoring per week.It is worth noting that none of the above strategies works inisolation, more that we believe success comes through theaggregation of marginal gains achieved through a number ofrelevant targeted intervention strategies.Results and ImpactThe headline results demonstrate the rapid and sustainedprogress that we have secured in English and Maths.Figure 5: GCSE headline results from 2006 to 20122006%5 A*-CInc. M&E2007%2008%2009%2010%2011%2012%18 25 38 34 62 69 755 A*-C 27 36 71 87 94 99 99Looking at the department results in more detail shows thatgains have been made across the spectrum.And in particular, the proportion of students achieving expectedrates of progress is well in excess of National figures. Forexample 94% (English) and 91% (Maths) of students madethe expected 3 levels of progress in 2012, 41% made 4 levelsof progress in English, with 51% as the equivalent figure inMaths.Next StepsEvery year group presents a new challenge; we will never feelthat we have mastered English and Maths achievement!We are implementing many of the strategies used in KS4 intoKS3, in particular through core subject meetings (similar tobankers-Wobblies) and the use of a KS3 Success Unit. Overtime, we have found that the reliance on ‘central’ interventionhas decreased as departments have become more skilled andaccountable for the delivery themselves. So our model changesyearly, and will continue to do so.The shifts described above are leading to a more sustainablemodel, which is decreasingly reliant on ‘plugging the gaps’at KS4, and increasingly focused on students making betterthan expected progress at all steps in their journey throughPaddington Academy.Figure 6: GCSE English and Maths results from 2008 to 20122008 % 2009 % 2010 % 2011 % 2012 %English Maths English Maths English Maths English Maths English MathsA*-A 15 12 10 29 19 32 20 31A*-C 42 51 44 50 75 70 81 73 85 81A*-G 100 99 100 100 100 100 100 10041

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 6Behaviour: From Practice to PolicyLaura Wells, Assistant Principal KS4Focus AreaThis case study describes the development and implementationof a whole school behaviour policy at Paddington Academy.In some schools, there is a dichotomy where behaviourmanagement is concerned. There is a theoretical behaviourpolicy in the staff handbook issued to new staff and Ofstedinspectors which sits in contrast to the practical policy that is atthe heart of day to day interactions in the school. It was vital forus that the behaviour policy we developed was one that actuallyworked in practice and for this reason the very last stage in theprocess was actually writing the policy! This case study does notoutline an innovative, ground-breaking idea or pioneering newapproach. It is a story about developing something personalthat matches our values and ethos, ensuring that it works for ourunique school community and having the confidence to adaptover time in response to changing demands and circumstances.AimsThe DfE (2012) report states that schools with a high proportionof students who are eligible for free school meals generallyhave poorer standards of behaviour. Ofsted also state that‘characteristics of pupils showing challenging behaviour includethose with Special Educational Needs (SEN); those joining theschool at times other than the usual admission points; pupilsbeing looked after by a Local Authority, pupils with poorlanguage and social skills.....and those from disadvantagedneighbourhoods’ (Ofsted, 2005).These are all characteristics of students at Paddington Academyand in 2009 the Academy was inspected by Ofsted and both thebehaviour and the school overall were rated as ‘satisfactory’.The inspection team made the following comments regardingstudents’ behaviour and attitudes to learning. ‘Most studentsare very proud of their Academy and the improvements theysee. Almost all say they enjoy learning, find lessons interestingand try hard. Students are generally considerate towardseach other and to those who work in the Academy. While asmall number of parents express concern over the behaviourof students, behaviour seen during lessons was always atleast satisfactory and often good. Students move around thebuilding sensibly and considerately. Where levels of supervisionare lower, a small minority of students are less considerate;this is being addressed by staff. Students and staff report thatbehaviour has improved significantly and is continuing toimprove. They say this is because the Academy is developing anethos which values personal responsibility and because of theeffective system of rewards and sanctions to raise expectations.Inspection findings verify this’.A great deal of work had gone into raising standards ofbehaviour since the Academy opened and the Senior LeadershipTeam (SLT) felt that the next step to improving behaviour wasto introduce a new whole school policy that allowed for greaterclarity and consistency and involved members of staff at alllevels across the school.The StoryIn order to develop an effective policy, a behaviour workingparty was established. This group was made up of ten membersof staff with a range of roles across the school. Together, theyconsidered the schools ethos and values and discussed whatthe key principles of the policy would be, developed a list of42

possible ‘rules’ or ideal behaviours and mapped out suggestionsfor rewards or sanctions in response to possible behaviours.Following a consultation process with the SLT, the followingdocuments were created:case study 6UnITED LEARNINGFirstly, we outlined the key principles of our approach tomanaging behaviour. This was critical to ensure that anypolicy developed was in keeping with the PaddingtonAcademy ethos.n The Academy recognises the importance of teaching thebehaviour that we expect from students. Our behaviourmanagement is based around the idea of assertive discipline.We expect students to behave appropriately and we teachthe behaviour that we expect at all times and recognise andreward students who do the right thing. Students control theirown behaviour; it is the role of the Academy to manage it.n All student behaviour has a consequence: either a positiveone for correct behaviour or a negative one for incorrectbehaviour. We aim to be consistent in our response tostudents and to implement the policy in a fair manner.n Students are dealt with in a consistent but not necessarilyuniform manner. We do not operate a ‘tariff’ approach to theuse of the sanctions. Where a sanction is applied, appropriateconsideration will be made of aggravating and mitigatingfactors in each circumstance. We would aim to use the leastintrusive sanction possible to achieve justice and correctpoor behaviour.n All students are equal in value. However, students do not haveequal starting points and the behaviour policy is designed tobe responsive to the disadvantage or needs that students mayhave and to lead to improvement in behaviour over time.n The behaviour policy at Paddington exists to regulate studentbehaviour and to lead to a consistent improvement in behaviourat the Academy towards the aim of students self-regulating theirbehaviour and becoming self-disciplined young adults.Secondly, we created the ‘Paddington 10’ for students. At itscore, the Paddington 10 is a list describing ten positive studentbehaviours, conduct and attitudes to learning that all studentsand staff use all day, every day. This was devised not onlyto lay out basic rules, but to go beyond that and set higherexpectations of student behaviour and encompass all of thecharacteristics of an excellent Paddington student. The tenstatements are phrased in positive language as the expectationis that students will follow these guidelines and behave well. Itwas also designed to mirror the Paddington 10 for staff, a listof ten crucial components of an excellent lesson, as explored inthe Teaching and Learning case study.Paddington Academy 10 for Students1 I am a resilient learner – I always try my hardest andlearn to the best of my ability2 I do as I am asked, the first time I am asked.3 I am always in the right place at the right time doingthe right thing.4 I am a reflective learner – when someone is speaking,I always listen and give my full attention.5 I always have the right equipment for my lesson (pen,pencil, ruler, rubber, books, PE/dance kit).6 I always look smart and am ready to learn (correctuniform, no chewing, no swinging on chairs, no mobilephones, headphones or iPods).7 I am responsible for my learning and the learning ofothers – this means I work well independently andwith others.8 I respect others.9 I take pride in my work including the presentation ofmy work and exercise book.10 I keep my hands, objects and inappropriate commentsto myself.43

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 6Finally, we established a rewards and consequences chart toshow possible rewards or consequences that students mayreceive for particular behaviours. In lessons, teachers usevisual aids on the board, writing student names beneathhappy and sad faces to explicitly show what level studentshave reached with regards to rewards or consequences wasdeveloped. Adherence to the behaviour policy is logged onSIMS (the Academy’s management information system) asthose who reach a positive ‘P3’ or negative ‘C3’ will receivea corresponding positive or negative SIMS which can be seeneasily by the SLT and Heads of Year and are tracked weekly.This allows pastoral staff to be systematic and proactive intheir approach to intervening with students causing concern.It enables them to warn individual students about negativebehaviours and to change their behaviour before they receive aconsequence. Any student receiving a consequence has to staybehind at the end of the school day, reflect on their behaviourand reconcile their behaviour with the teacher who has loggedit. Other forms of warning and discipline are also containedwithin the policy for more serious incidents ranging from onehour detentions to phone calls or letters home. The Paddington10 is also used to reward good behaviour allowing staff also tofocus on the positive and to reward students who consistentlydo the right thing but which, elsewhere, may go unnoticedor unrewarded. Such behaviours include perfect attendance,positive contributions and consistent work in lessons and wideractivities. Rewards range from positive postcards to merit badges,Learner of the Week, reward trips and acknowledgement at theannual Awards Evening. It has been recognised that studentsrespond best not to material rewards but to positive recognitionand praise. The Academy has therefore developed a positiveculture of success where students are proud to wear badges ontheir blazers and love a phone call home.Once the policy had been developed, the next step was to shareit with staff, students and parents. The charts above were printedin poster form and put up in every classroom, placed in studentplanners and sent to parents. A series of assemblies followed, toPaddington Academy RewardsAt Paddington Academy we believe in encouraging and celebrating good work and behaviour through constant and consistentpositive recognition.Reward Given for When?Positive Sims Positive work, effort/contribution in lessons At any time by class teachersPrizes and certificates for most tutor group andindividual positive SIMSPositive Postcards Consistently positive work, effort/contribution in At any time by class teachers/subject leaderslessonBadges Participation At any time by teachers in recognition ofparticipation in clubs or special eventsLearner of the Week Postitive work, effort/contribution in lessons Weekly nominations. Certificate given in assemblyand published in newsletterLearner of the Term Most frequently nominated student in one term Certificate at end of each term in assembly andpublished in newsletterLearner of the Year Consistent work and effort all year Certificate and gift voucher at end of year assemblyAttendance 100% attendance and punctuality Bronze, silver and gold awards at end of yearassemblyRewards Trips For students with 0 negative SIMS and excellent End of school yearattendance and punctuality throughout yearAwards Evening Effort and achievement in each subject area Annual evening event for winners and families44

outline the new policy and focus on each of the Paddington 10 toclarify expectations and share positive examples of students aroundthe school demonstrating these characteristics. The Paddington10 became part of the home-school agreement with new Year 7students and a critical part of their induction to the Academy.The policy was launched with staff through a whole staff trainingsession which was very practical and focused on discussionabout how the new behaviour policy would be applied invarious scenarios. In order to make the policy as effective aspossible, it needed to be high profile with students and used byall staff to ensure a consistent approach. Staff were asked referto the Paddington 10 in conversations when correcting studentbehaviour, and to use the policy in every lesson, including usinghappy and sad faces on the board in all Key Stage 3 and 4 lessons.Implementation of the policy was then monitored carefully bythe SLT through learning walks, feedback from Heads of Yearand Student Support Mentors and the tracking of SIMS data.Any inconsistencies were addressed through conversations withmembers of staff or tweaks to systems and processes. It wasonly following this implementation that the actual behaviourpolicy was written to ensure that it was a true reflection of whatactually happened in practice and was a useful document forany visitors or new members of staff.In April 2010, we asked staff and students for feedback on thepolicy and a group of interested members of staff met with theVice Principal to make suggestions for improvements. Somecase study 6minor adjustments were made, for example, chewing gum andlateness were deemed to be automatic ‘C3’ behaviours and someconcerns were raised about the behaviour of Year 8 boys. Staffwanted greater follow up with these students for C3 behaviour,such as disruption in lessons. An assembly was held with thesestudents and a system of daily follow up was introduced, whereinitially the Vice Principal and later the Head of Year, spoke toany students who had received a negative SIMS for rudeness,disruption or refusal to follow instructions and ensured that anapology to the teacher and a consequence took place the nextday. This was extremely effective with students and very popularwith staff. Staff begun to ‘buy in’ to the system of recording SIMSbecause they could see the daily follow up, they started using thepolicy more rigorously and recording SIMS more frequently. Thissystem was then rolled this out across all Key Stage 3 studentsand when Year 9 moved into Year 10 we continued to keep upthis practice.More recently, as behaviour has improved, the focus has shiftedto higher-order learning behaviours and attitudes. For example, inSeptember 2012 we turned to focus on improving the quality ofstudent language and communication. One of the core values ofthe Academy is that ‘the street stops at the gate’ and students areexpected to communicate in appropriate and formal languageand to avoid using words that may offend others; this links tothe Academy’s anti-bullying strategy and helps to ensure thatstudents are adequately prepared for the world of work are ableto form effective relationships with others.UnITED LEARNING45

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 6ImpactPaddington Academy was re-inspected and judged ‘Outstanding’by Ofsted in October 2011 and inspectors highlighted theAcademy’s behaviour initiatives as particular strengths. Intheir report, they said that ‘the Academy is extremely effectivein supporting and guiding students in their choices of how tobehave’. From talking to students, inspectors concluded thatstudents ‘are proud to be part of the Academy community,behave well and show high levels of respect for each other,adults and for the Academy community’.A survey was carried out in March 2012 to evaluate theimpact of the policy and provide further recommendations forimprovements. 300 students and 80 staff from across the schoolwere surveyed and follow up interviews took place with smallgroups of students and individual staff members. The results areshown in the tables below.Student QuestionnaireStatement% of respondents selecting each responseStrongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly DisagreeI behave well in lessons 29 62 10 0I have a good attitude to learning and work hard 24 66 8 3I like the school behaviour policy 13 57 18 11The behaviour policy is clear and easy to understand 25 42 24 12When I misbehave, the consequences are usually fair 8 50 25 17Adults have high expectations of my behaviour 35 50 9 6The behaviour policy focuses more on rewards than 1 14 65 19consequencesAll adults use the behaviour policy in the same way 4 31 51 14Since the introduction of the new behaviour policy:My behaviour has improved 19 65 15 1My attitude to learning has improved 17 69 8 3The behaviour of other students has improved 9 49 32 1046

case study 6Staff QuestionnaireHow would you ratethe following?% of responsesOutstanding Good Requires Improvement InadequateStudents’ behaviour generally 5 63 35 0Students’ attitudes towards their learning 42 53 3 4UnITED LEARNINGPlease read the statements below Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree N/Aand select the most suitableresponse for you.PA takes a positive approach to 48 53 0 0 0managing behaviourThe policy sets high expectations of 53 45 3 0 0student behaviourThe school behaviour policy is clear and 42 58 0 0 0easy to applyThere is a greater focus on rewards than 19 24 38 16 3consequencesThe behaviour policy is applied3 32 47 16 2consistently by all members of staffThe behaviour policy is effective in 27 65 8 0 0managing behaviourI have the authority as a member of staff 32 61 5 0 3to challenge and deal with negativebehaviourI feel supported by the leadership team in 29 66 3 2 0dealing with challenging behaviourThese statements are about how behaviour has changed since the introduction of the new behaviour policylast April. If you were not at PA last year, please select ‘N/A’Please read the statements belowand select the most suitableresponse for you.% of responsesStrongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree N/AStudents’ behaviour has improved 33 49 9 0 9Students’ attitudes to learning haveimproved30 49 12 0 9The overwhelming finding from both the surveys and interviewswas that the behaviour policy is having a positive impact onstudent behaviour and attitudes to learning. The students thatwere interviewed commented on the clear, positive wording of thePaddington 10 rules and that they liked seeing the posters up aroundthe building so that teachers could remind them of the rules. Therewere comments made by both students and staff, during interviews,that they liked the clarity of the staged approach to warnings,consequences and rewards using ‘the C1,2,3 system’ as it allowsa sense of certainty and predictability. The students appreciate thesystem of rewards and consequences as one student explains: ‘I likegetting positive SIMS but I also like the fact that teachers give youwarnings if you do the wrong thing so you know you are doing thewrong thing and you can put it right before it gets serious.’ Anothersays: ‘You know that if you do the wrong thing teachers won’t let itgo but also if you do the right thing they recognise it.’There were a few areas, highlighted in questionnaires andinterviews, where improvements could be made to make thepolicy more effective.47

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 6Both students and staff feel that there needs to be a greaterfocus on rewards. This was also the most common area tobe commented on by students in both questionnaires andinterviews. It is therefore necessary to develop a more explicitrewards structure as part of the behaviour policy in consultationwith students and communicate this clearly to both staff andstudents. This process has already begun with members of theJunior Leadership Team (JLT) working with members of SLT todevelop Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond awards that studentscan work towards. The Senior Leadership and pastoral teams cansupport this further by taking greater notice of good behaviouror students who have received positive SIMS. Positive SIMScould also be more widely celebrated, through assemblies andother high profile events such as pizza parties and celebrationevenings.Staff and students spoke about the need for even greaterconsistency in the application of the behaviour policy. Regular,explicit monitoring of the application of the behaviour policy bydifferent members of staff and across student groups needs tocontinue to take place, for example through learning walks andlesson observations. Any specific individual inconsistencies needto be addressed through dialogue with members of staff whereasany widespread inconsistencies may require modifications to thebehaviour policy or whole staff training. Greater training on the useof the behaviour policy, particularly as part of the induction processfor new teachers is also essential.In addition, the Academy is working to develop studentleadership further so students have an input into developingthe policy and working to improve behaviour so that it is asapplicable in the corridor as it is in the classroom. This will includebuilding the ability of students to be more self-regulating intheir behaviour, communicating more effectively and becomingbetter independent learners, whilst still relying on the behaviourpolicy as the framework for this to happen. A move to focus onthese higher order behaviours is the next stage in the ongoingjourney to becoming better!48

case study 7UnITED LEARNINGManaged Moves:The grass IS greener on the other sideYassamin Sheel, Assistant Principal for Inclusion and KS3“Everyone is here because they have a strong senseof social justice: that all children deserve an excellenteducation, that all children can achieve and that there areno barriers that can’t be broken down to achieve success”Oli Tomlinson (INSET January 2013)Principal, Paddington AcademyOli Tomlinson’s opening address to staff at the January INSET2013 encompassed why people come and work in an inner cityschool and in particular this Academy. There is a strong senseof community and inclusion at Paddington Academy which isevident when you walk around the school.Focus AreaThis case study will focus on how we achieve an excellenteducation for all our students, no matter what the presentingissues may be. No matter what the starting point, outstandingprogress is achievable by all. There are no limits, no short-cutsand no excuses.ContextThe profile of our students represents the diverse inner-citypopulation of our area. Our school community reflects anextensive range of ethnic backgrounds, cultural inheritancesand language and learning needs. The nature of our diversityvaries year on year reflecting the dynamic nature of thecommunity we serve. The Academy draws the majority of itsstudents from the Queen’s Park ward. Nationally this areais ranked among the highest 5% in relation to socialdeprivation factors.Background to managed movesWe have all been in this scenario; we really don’tknow what to do with Billy Bloggs. You have triedall the interventions outlined below. However, thepresenting behaviour/s are just that… still PRESENTING!We use the following interventions:n Staged reports – Tutor, HOY and SLTn 16 week Pastoral Support Plann Internal Mentoring – peer mentoring and key work withqualified staffn A minimum of 12 internal counselling sessions deliveredby qualified staff prior to referral to external agencies.n KS3 Learning Support Unit with a re-integrationprogrammen Internal and external exclusionsn Referrals to external agencies such as youth inclusion,community mental health, social services, familyinterventions programmesn External short term respite at the pupil referral unitn Short or longer term external therapeutic intervention– full timeA ‘managed move’ could be a solution; this is a processwhereby schools can work with their local authority toplace students at another school for a fresh start. Theprocess is ‘managed’ because there are detailed protocolsto follow these may be different depending on where youare in the country as each local authority produces theirown guidelines based on good practice outlined by theDFE. In order for managed moves to work successfully youneed to follow these protocols to the letter and be patient.49

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 7The Academy works with other secondary schools on a regularbasis to ensure that managed moves are undertaken in a fairand transparent manner. This is facilitated at a regular SecondaryPrincipals’ meeting where a standing item of discussion ispupils without school places, hard to place students and anystudents deemed to need a fresh start at another secondaryschool through a managed moves process.To manage this process in Westminster each school contributesto the salary of a Partnership Co-ordinator. Positive relationshipsbetween schools are imperative and it helps that this personis trusted by all schools to work for the best interest of thefamily and the receiving schools. This partnership with otherWestminster schools allows students such as Billy to havea fresh start at another school or an alternative provisionprovider. The Partnership Co-ordinator will also chair a pastoral/inclusion meeting for all Assistant Principals and MiddleLeaders in Westminster where these students are discussed andappropriate support identified.Billy is one type of student who has been given everyopportunity but there is another type of student who in allintents and purposes has already been written off as they havebeen permanently excluded. Their misdemeanours are deemedtoo great for them to have a ‘conventional’ managed move.These students such as student B in the case studies will needto be re-integrated back into a mainstream environment via thePupil Referral Unit (PRU).Within Westminster we have also used the managed moveprocess to move students who are unhappy within their homeschool and have with their parents been requesting a managedmove to another school.If however, a school feels that a mainstream environment isnot the right place for then they can apply for a managedmove to a PRU and this must be coordinated by the localauthority once the application is received. You would stillneed to have the express permission of the parent for this moveto happen.What does the process involve?The process can be a lengthy one but you must follow whateverprotocol is set out:n meeting with parent/child to broach the subjectn discuss with your local authority/Partnership Coordinator(depending on your local authority managed moves protocolprocess)n complete necessary managed move paperwork and E-CAFn ensure the parent/carer has signed all paperwork and hasa copyn arrange meeting with the new schooln Making sure that you have briefed the student – it’s just likea job interview. They need to be honest, the new school hastheir file!n ensure the student is educated by you whilst the start dateis agreedn ensure you take the family to the interview at thenew schooln agree a start date and review daten ensure a keyworker visits the student at the new school toensure they are “fitting in”n dual register the student during the trial periodn at the review meeting ensure that all parties agree to afull time placement at the receiving school. You cannot movea student without the express permission of their parent/carer.n in Westminster all managed moves between schools areinitially on a six week trial50

Case studiesIn the last 3 years we have received 12 managed moves andtransferred 7 students to other Westminster Schools.case study 7UnITED LEARNINGFigure 1Managedmoves inManagedmoves out2009 – 2010 2010 – 2011 2011 – 20124 4 42 2 3The numbers above are just that: numbers. Who are thesestudents? Why were they sent to Paddington Academy? Was it asuccessful move? What about the students who left Paddingtonto move to other local schools? Have they had the fresh startthey needed?It works within Westminster because of the relationshipswe have with all the other secondary schools. This has beenlong journey and it has been cultivated by the PartnershipCoordinator. We have a shared vision of what inclusion lookslike and a clear understanding of what type of student shouldhave this opportunity – especially if it is for behaviour reasons.Student AStudent A is an Afro-Caribbean boy living with his Grandmotherwho raised him since he was 5 years old. He was at a localsecondary school and started there in Year 7. He had a prettymediocre beginning to his secondary career and describeshimself as “not being perfect, but not that bad”. He had beenon the usual report and had some interventions put in place.However, his relationship with staff was starting to deterioratetowards the end of his first year and he commented that he feltjudged by staff even when he was not involved in any wrongdoing. A common thread to all the students I have worked withon managed moves is their ‘perception’ of feeling judged andthe importance of trust based relationships.At the start of Year 8 he was involved in a serious fight withanother student to which he was initially excluded and thensent to the local pupil referral unit on a six week trial. Thiswas extended to 12 weeks whilst his home school looked at amanaged move.The home school approached the Partnership Co-ordinatorwho in turn approached the Principal of Paddington Academy.The key to a successful managed move is to treat everyonedifferently and to have a bespoke intervention plan dependingon the needs of each student. In the case of student A when heinitially started as he had transferred from our local authorityKS3 PRU he was placed in our Learning Support Unit (LSU) witha supporting package. This meant he was in some mainstreamlessons, and provided with a key worker who would supporthim through the transition process and in some lessons thatwere taught in the LSU.At the end of Year 9 he participated in the options processand entered Year 10 with reduced support from a key worker.Initially it was a culture shock moving to another school andadapting to their rules, but when asked why it worked for himat the Academy he felt it was down to relationships with staffand the opportunity of a fresh start. He felt that he was notbeing judged.He is now in our sixth form with 11 GCSEs at A* -C.“It’s been hard but worth it because I am a better personfor the opportunities I have been given here. When I wasin Year 8 at my other school everyone kept saying you arenot going to make it to Year 11, if you behave like this”,“I have proved everyone wrong and I am very satisfiedwith that people believed in me and listened to me atPaddington Academy”51

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 7Student BStudent B is a currently in Year 11 and it’s amazing to seewhat a ‘fresh start’ can do for a person. He lives with mum andyounger sister within half a mile of the school and is of African/Afro-Caribbean heritage.When asked how he came to attend Paddington Academythrough a managed move, he said “I was in the wrong placeat the wrong time and it cost me my education… a permanentexclusion to me meant it would damage my education, and Iwas really upset about it. I wanted to study for my GCSEs likeother children and I was worried I had messed this up”.He is now on course to achieve 8 GCSEs at A* – C at theend of this academic year and wants to stay on in the schoolsixth form.His advice to schools interested in accepting a managedmove is:n “Don’t judge a book by its cover, I don’t look like I am happybut I am”n “Everyone can change”n “Sometimes a fresh start is a good thing for everyone”n “Not all schools are the same: maybe a kid is just not suitedto that school”Student B was a Westminster resident in an out-of-boroughschool who had been permanently excluded and sent to theKS3 PRU. Student B attended the PRU for 3 months and for himit was a hard dose of reality. He said when he first attendedthe PRU he realised it was not the same as his mainstreamschool. He quite clearly believed that schools were not justabout education but for those other skills you develop as youwork with large numbers of students and other adults. Hefelt socially excluded by being separated from his friends andother students.Like student A, he was managed via the Learning Support Unit(LSU) on his trial whereby he had some mainstream lessons, akeyworker and LSU intervention groups. By the end of the Year8 summer term he was in normal mainstream lessons.He felt that through his experiences he had learnt some valuablelessons. He would advise others that they should value theireducation. He is a positive role model for others who are goingthrough the same issues.Student CStudent C is of North African heritage and lives with his motherand siblings within half mile of the academy. His was a complexcase as when the Academy was originally approached to admithim via the managed move process he was in a Youth OffendingInstitution (YOI) and awaiting release.All agencies involved with student C held a strategy meeting todiscuss his re-integration back into a mainstream school and fora risk assessment to be completed. He had not been excludedfrom his previous school but the victims of the crimes he hadcommitted were also students there.He was managed closely by his HOY and our KS4 SuccessUnit which provides tailored support delivered by twostudent support mentors who meet the needs of individualstudents and help with homework, coursework and preparationfor exams.Student C found it difficult adapting to life outside of theYOI and was initially returned to prison for breaking hisrelease conditions.When he returned to the Academy mid-way through Year 11 hewas again picked up by the KS4 Success Unit and he workedtowards his GCSEs. He attended all interventions classes thatare provided for students at the Academy and with the excellentsupport of his social worker and the youth offending team heachieved 5 A*-Cs including English and Maths. He is currentlyon an apprenticeship programme and is still being supportedby other agencies.52

Student DStudent D was excluded at the end of Year 8 for an incidentof verbal abuse to a member of staff. She returned to schoolat the start of Year 9 but followed a full time learning supportprogramme with external CAMHS intervention included inher timetable. In Year 7 and the start of Year 8 she was not aconcern in terms of her behaviour or emotional well-being. Bythe end of term 2 of Year 9 she was involved in a fight withanother student in her year group which alienated her fromothers within the school.Student D was not born in the UK travelling here when shewas nine from Eastern Europe. She lives with her mother, stepfatherand younger siblings. Her relationship at home was quitefractious and the school supported her mother by making areferral to Social Services and CAMHS. However, even with thesupport the school provided increasingly through Year 9 shewas unable to maintain relationships with others in the school.After discussions with her family it was decided to go for a‘fresh start’ to another school. It took one month before shefinally started at another school. The managed move processundertaken properly takes time.During her six week trial at the receiving school she was stillpresenting some issues. The school agreed to take her on a fulltime basis. She is currently in Year 10 and both mother anddaughter are happy with the move and the changes it broughtto their relationship.case study 7Managed Move to Alternative ProvisionMoving a child onto an alternative provision such as a PRU will bea harder decision to make for some students. We currently have astudent for whom we do not think a managed move to another schoolwould be in his best interest or the rest of that school community. Asdiscussed before, for managed moves to be successful they need tobe based on good relationships. When you cannot definitively saythat a student will be fine moving for a fresh start to another school,the only option is to negotiate a managed move to the PRU. In thiscase the PRU have requested that the Academy also provides a trialfor one of their students at the same time.Next stepsThe new tri-borough network which now encompassesWestminster, Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulhamallows us to extend our provision for managed moves to allalternative provision services as long as the student being referredis suitable for this placement. This allows parents to have a widerchoice of provision services, whereas historically in Westminsterwe have had limited opportunities for sound referrals to offsitealternative provision providers. We still need to investigate if themanaged moves process can be extended to schools within theseboroughs. A decision is still to be made as to whether managedmoves will be extended to tri-borough schools.We need to work with other local authorities such asBrent and Camden to strengthen our links with their socialinclusion departments.UnITED LEARNING53

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 8Choosing Success at Key Stage 4Maria Demetriou, Assistant Principal CurriculumFocus AreaThe focus of this case study is to reflect on the process ofpreparation, advice, guidance and support given to Year 9students prior to and during their Key Stage 4 Options process.In our experience students fall into three categories- those whoare very clear about the subjects they want to pursue, thosewho have some idea and with the information and guidancegiven are able to make appropriate choices and the smaller,yet significant, group of students who have very little idea ofthe courses they want to pursue and lack the confidence, selfesteemand self-awareness to choose subjects.Aims & RationaleWe wanted to ensure that students of all abilities had theappropriate knowledge and understanding of the courses andpathways available to them in order to make the right choicesto succeed at Key Stage 4, and continue into Key Stage 5 withthe appropriate qualifications. Closely linked to this is ourbelief as an Academy that we support all our students to breakdown any barriers that stop them from having high aspirations,and for all our students to be successful learners who achievehighly. Our success as an outstanding school is underpinned byour ethos that nothing stops learning, there are no barriers tosuccess and that no matter what the starting point outstandingprogress is achievable by all.Three years ago we found that our Key Stage 4 results showedhigh in-school variation with some subjects gaining nationaland above national results whereas others were well below.Some students lacked the enthusiasm and commitment to thesubjects they had chosen and either dropped out of the courseor did not show the same commitment to some of their optionsubjects that they did with others and consequently did notachieve their target grades in these subjects.We wanted our students to be successful and fulfil or exceedtheir potential so we asked the questions:n How could we develop the Options process so that allstudents are successful in all the options subjects they take?n How can we develop a curriculum offer that meets the needsand interests of the students in the intake for any given year?One of the ways we addressed this was to review the processleading up to the time when students made their choices in theSpring Term to ensure that students were making the informedchoices which supported them in being successful at Key Stage4 and beyond.Parental engagement in the process is vital so we had alreadydecided that a ‘one off’ Options evening where subjectspromoted their courses to students and their parents for abrief amount of time had little impact. Many of our parents54

could not attend evening functions, the information gained onthese evenings was minimal and we already have curriculuminformation evenings for each year group, subject afternoonsand mornings and parent forums embedded in our calendar.What we didEach year group is different in their attainment, their levels ofprogress, needs and interests and we feel it is important thatthe curriculum offer is flexible enough to meet student needs.To this end we have undertaken a curriculum audit throughinterviews with Year 9 in the Autumn Term prior to the OptionsProcess beginning. A cross section of students was interviewedin order to gauge:n Their interestsn Understand how best they learnn The subjects they enjoyed most and least and whyn Learning activities they enjoyed the most and least and whyStudents were interviewed in three current attainment groups;those with Level 5 and above, Level 4 and Level 3 and below.The interviews were qualitative 25 minute discussions with theAssistant Principal interviewing and listening to feedback whileanswers were scribed by another adult. This proved beneficialas it is impossible to retain all points made in a 25 minuteinterview with ten students.case study 8Additionally, in order to gain an initial idea of all students’interests we have recently introduced a general introductoryassembly at the beginning of the Autumn Term, and usingActivExpression software all Year 9 students indicated the foursubjects they would want to pursue in Year 10.Once students’ feedback is gained, SLT discuss the findings andits implications for the curriculum offer in line managementmeetings with their subject areas. Using the information theSenior Leadership Team put together a curriculum offer andblocking that supports all students in making the choices bestsuited to them and in which they have shown interest.This is followed up in January when an intensive Optionsprocess begins. Two tutor periods a week are dedicated tocompleting a range of activities preparing students to makingtheir choices. Year 9 Assembly each week focuses on thecourses offered at Key Stage 4. Subject leaders and studentstaking their subjects present to Year 9 on what the courseentails and the kinds of activities they will be involved in. Inaddition to this Year 9 students are given the opportunity toattend taster sessions in subjects they have not previouslystudied such as Astronomy, Business, Media, Sociology andEconomics. Rather than a one off ‘model lesson’ students sitin on a Year 10 class for 20 minutes.An Options booklet with information on all courses is distributedto students and one is sent home so that vital conversationswith parents and carers can take place throughout the process.A series of activities that support students in understandingthe information are also used. Copies of the booklet are heldin the library and with the Careers and Guidance Team, andstudents are encouraged to ask questions and independentlyseek information to benefit their selection. We also decided tointroduce entry requirements for certain subjects such as theHumanities GCSEs and Triple Science GCSEs and made theseentry requirements known to the students and their parentsat the beginning of Year 9. This gives borderline studentssomething to aim for during Year 9.UnITED LEARNINGUsing the data we have on the year group students who maystruggle are identified for individual conversations about thechoices available to them.Small groups of identified students are seen by the Academy’scareers and guidance team allowing them more time to askquestions and gain further clarification in a supportive setting.Additionally, the Assistant Principal Curriculum supports thetutor groups throughout.55

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 8The process culminates in a series of interviews held betweenthe student, their parents and a member of the SeniorLeadership Team. Identified students with specific needs areinterviewed by the Learning Support Team. These interviewstake place over a series of four evenings and all studentsin Year 9 have a ten minute interview that is completelypersonalised to the students’ needs. Throughout the SummerTerm students are given opportunities to change their subjectsthrough an interview with the Assistant Principal who alsoinvolves their parents.Week Beg. ActivityOctober Year 9 AssemblyNovember Curriculum Audit-Interview groups of Year 9November Course information request to SLs (Subject Leaders)-Meetings with SL re curriculumMeet with re alternative provision/update on Options processDecember Meeting with Careers, Head of Year and Inclusion to discuss Year 9 students’ needs and to identify studentsfor a) off site provision, b) EAL Option c) Basic Skills Option – literacy needsInvestigation of courses to meet student needRequests from SL re Assembly slots/taster lessons/lesson shadowingOptions LG (Learning Guidance) booklet updated for use in tutor timeOption Blocking reviewedJanuary Wed. Year 9 Team Meeting to discuss Options process with tutors and Head of YearCourse Booklet 2011-12 put together/checkedJanuary Tuesday 1st ‘options’ lesson tutor time (making choices)Wed. Introductory assemblySubject Assemblies/taster sessions beginYear 9 issued with Course bookletsJanuary Informal interviews/talks with identified off- site students beginWed. AssemblyInformal interviews/talks with identified off- site students continueJanuary Wed. AssemblyLetters home to parents re Options interviewsFebruary Yr 9 Reply Slips returned and interview times setStudents allocated for interviewsFebruary Year 9 student/parent Interviews beginFebruary Year 9 student/parent Interviews continueStudents absent interviewed throughout the weekMarch Year 9 options enteredAll option choices on system, students with clashes re-interviewedMarch Students given confirmed option choicesMarch-July One to one interviews with students wanting to change subjectsSeptember Applications to change subjects (First two weeks)56

Finally at the beginning of Year 10 all students have a two weekwindow to make any final changes to the choices they havemade. If they wish to change they complete an ‘Application toChange Subject’ form which is submitted and discussed withthe Head of Year and parents.The student interviews held in the Autumn Term enabledus to find out their interests, how they learned best as wellas inform us of any adjustments to the curriculum offer thatneeded to be made. Having an excellent curriculum is nothing ifit is not delivered well. Our outstanding teaching and learningprogramme is the key to success and student feedback abouttheir learning experiences has also benefitted our developmentin this area.case study 8ImpactThe greatest impact of our Options courses is evident in ourresults at Key Stage 4. Students have been successful acrossthe curriculum and attained high grades in all their subjects,our exam analysis and RAISE online data shows that we donot have any significant in-school subject variation and that wehave made significant progress in more subjects than in previousyears. In 2010 five option subjects were significantly lower thanothers and in 2012 there were three subjects. The drop-out ratefrom courses in Year 11 has fallen and all students who attendregularly have followed their option courses to completion.As students’ attainment at Key Stage 4 improves the widertheir options are Post-16 and we have a higher proportion ofstudents succeeding at Key Stage 5.UnITED LEARNINGAs a result of our audits we have introduced new subjects suchas Economics, Photography, Hospitality, an alternative provisionNurture Group, and fast track pathways beginning in Year 9. TheKey Stage 4 provision is wide and covers subjects for extendingstudents such as economics and Astronomy and also providesopportunities for alternative provision – hair and beauty andhorticulture. The audit also informed the blocking which allowedthe majority of students to choose the subjects they wanted.We were also able to identify those students who were not sureabout any subjects and set up interviews with our Careers andGuidance team to support them further.The assemblies and taster sessions allowed students to gain a betterunderstanding of the subject and gave them the opportunity totalk to Year 10 students who have chosen the subject.The tutor period sessions have allowed students to askquestions and gain information over a period time. Also as aresult of our interviewing process we have consistently had a100% parental turnout which has proved beneficial in givingstudents and their parents an opportunity to have an informeddiscussion about the courses they will follow in Year 10 and insome cases allowed students to rethink some courses chosen.Students in Year 10 have given us feedback saying that theyhave found the process beneficial in supporting them withtheir choices, that they have felt informed and guided and haveunderstood what has been expected of them. ‘I wouldn’t changeanything I made the right choices and enjoy my subjects.’ ‘Ithink we had a lot of help with the subject we didn’t knowand you answered all our questions.’ ‘It was good that I couldchange my subjects after the interview because I didn’t reallywant to do what I chose.’Our Ofsted report, October, 2011 states that students’ learning‘is supported well by an inclusive curriculum that is tailored tothe needs of individuals’ and is promoted ‘through the excellentcurriculum which uses the knowledge and expertise of staff tobest effect, and is frequently reviewed to match the needs andinterests of students.’57

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 8EvaluationThe curriculum offer at Key Stage 4 cannot be seen in isolationto students’ experiences prior to them making their choices.The better we become at raising standards and providing ourstudents with consistent outstanding teaching and learningexperiences at Key Stage 3 and by making sure studentshave accurate information, guidance and support the moresuccessful we become. We need to remain flexible. Theimplementation of entry requirements for certain subjects,reliant on attainment in the core subjects, has supportedour students’ commitment to having high aspirations across thecurriculum.Undoubtedly listening to and involving the students and theirparents in the process has been beneficial to our success.Alongside this, robust data and knowing our students well isalso key. By giving students in Year 9 opportunities to listen toYear 10 students and having conversations with them aboutmaking their choices has been helpful in giving another voiceto our guidance for students to choose subjects they enjoyand are interested in rather than those that their friends arestudying. As a result increasing our offer of taster classesand implementing these earlier in the year is an areawe addressing.Even though the proportion of students changing their mindsthroughout the summer term and at the beginning of Year 10is reducing, we continue to listen to our students and theirparents to respond to this challenge. However, whereas thismay be time consuming for those involved, we may have toremain flexible enough to make these changes so that studentsfollow courses that are right for them, rather than have a cutoffpoint earlier on.Next StepsWe are currently having a debate about how the government’sconsultation on the curriculum will affect our curriculum offer.We currently have 18% of students opting to follow the EBacccompared to 10% who have achieved the EBacc in 2012. Eventhough we have seen some increase in the numbers of studentsopting to study History this has not been the case in otherEBacc subjects. Do we introduce the EBacc for all even thoughthis is not where our students’ interests lie? Do we removeentry requirements for some subjects so that any student canchoose any subject regardless of their attainment at Key Stage3? Our view is that that students should have the opportunityto study the EBacc subjects if they wish, but should not becoerced.As our Student Voice programme develops we will also be ableto gain feedback earlier and respond as required to implementchanges. It is our responsibility as educators to weigh up whatis best for our students and what suits them, against anychanges or reforms to the curriculum nationally. However, atthe same time we must be careful that any choices made inYear 9 do not restrict students in any way when they move onto post 16 education and beyond.Making choices at 14 is the first step in an on-goingprocess of decisions our students will make that will impacton their future chances and opportunities, and as such it isour duty to ensure that students and their parents have access toall the information and guidance available to them, continuallyraising their aspirations and challenging any barriers to success.58

case study 9UnITED LEARNINGEAL at Paddington Academy:A school where EAL is a priorityRachel Hingston, Head of EAL and SLT Link for Parents and CommunityFocus AreaThis case study will look at the challenges of setting up adepartment, implementing change and examine the growthand development of this department over time. We will look atthe factors that drove the setting up of the department, howand why took the shape that it did and why it is so successful.Background and ContextFor the first year there was no EAL department. EAL wassupported under the umbrella of the SEN department. Thebackground of students at Paddington Academy has alwaysranged from between 75 and 80% EAL and in addition tothis, it is a community that has a high level of transience. Forexample, in the last six years it has admitted between 50 and75 casual or in-year admissions every year.By Year 2 of Paddington Academy it was clear that operatingwithout a defined EAL department was inadequate. Manyschools function without a separate EAL department, but thisis generally because the number of EAL students in a school isrelatively small. This was clearly not our case. The main issuewith having EAL and SEN as one department in a school whichhas both high numbers of EAL and SEN students is that EALis the area where support suffers. This is, in some respects,inevitable as SEN is a statutory area and therefore this needcan take priority. Further, it also can get left behind in terms oftraining, monitoring and as a consequence, staff awareness. Ifyou have on average a cohort that is 80% EAL it is vital thatstaff awareness is high. As a result, I was asked to set up an EALdepartment. The main specification for the job was empathy. Iknew very little about EAL other than from the perspective of ahistory teacher. I was, though, empathetic to the needs of thestudents at our school.Why is empathy important? I think empathy should be writteninto the job specification for every teacher. It is particularly crucialin a school where students have a high level of need, whetherthat is EAL, SEN or their economic or social background. Mypriorities were then to look at what our EAL students need.Many were coping well; they were born in the UK or had beenin the UK for some or all of their primary education and whilstbeing bilingual (or in some cases multi-lingual), English wastheir ‘language of education’. The most support that thesestudents need is monitoring and an awareness and inclusionof their cultural background and that their vocabulary andgrammar may need more development than a student whospeaks English as their first language. The groups that neededimmediate support were students who were new or recentarrivals who were at an early stage of learning English. Equally,these students were making huge adjustments not only tolanguage, but often social, economic circumstances and somehad varying levels of previous education and literacy in theirhome language.Approach and EthosIt is notable that because of my lack of in-depth knowledge ofhow to set up and run an EAL department that we developedone of the approaches in which I think the EAL departmentis outstanding; to work out what each student’s need is andthen respond to it. As a result, the department was initiallyand has remained highly flexible and personalised – what wedo has changed every year around the core of students who59

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 9need our support on the basis that students must feel safe,happy, confident and able to learn and make progress. Whatsupport is provided depends on a student’s level of English,their educational history, their academic ability, their socialneed. For example, we have had students who have arrivedfrom Somalia with no previous education who will need oneto one support, EAL intervention class and in-class support inevery year they are at Paddington Academy and others whohave arrived from Egypt who have studied English as a foreignlanguage who need social support and EAL support for theirfirst year and are then very independent. Similarly, we havehad students who have arrived and who are well supportedin their first one or two years, but who are so motivated andvery able that they have not needed as much support beyondthis. For example, one student who arrived here less thanthree years ago has just been offered a place at Cambridge.And she is not the first. It’s worth mentioning this as it’simportant never to make any assumption or base any supporton a generalised notion of how quickly or well a studentmay progress.There are lots of factors which can impact an EAL student’slevel of progress – students who are from an Iraqi background,but who have been educated in, say Sweden, tend to makequicker progress than a student who has arrived directly fromIraq. This is because the demands of learning a new script placean additional burden on a student who reads and writes inArabic as opposed to Swedish. The differences in educationalexperience can also play a role here too.How well they settle, adjust to living in London and makefriends are often significant factors in the pace of progress. Asa result, the EAL department monitors new students closely,ensures that they have buddies and that staff are well-informedof their arrival and need. We also have an EAL break and lunchclub open daily to all students. We operate a completely opendoor policy so that students never feel that they cannot cometo us for help and support. In addition to this, we also havea class which runs at tutor time once a week with the schoolcounsellor and me for vulnerable students; students who we areconcerned may not settle well or students we know have comefrom a background of crisis. For example, we have had studentswho have been left with relatives, fled to England without theirparents from a war-torn part of the world, have had difficultymaking friends or appear unhappy at having moved to London.This group does not run when we do not have students whoneed it, it is put in place when we have any students who appearto be struggling to cope or look like they might struggle. Thefocus of this group is to allow students a quiet, supported spaceto talk about school, both here and from their home countryand to talk about and express their feelings about moving tothe UK. It has also been very helpful in introducing students toeach other in order to build friendships.Similarly, the EAL break and lunch club is made up of studentsfrom all year groups, as is the EAL Stage One class. We also runEAL trips altogether from all years. It has been lovely to watchstudents support and make strong friendships across all yeargroups. We have also found that when students have movedon to the Sixth Form that they frequently offer to work withyounger students at tutor times and after school as volunteers.There is little that is more rewarding than to see a student whoarrived at our school speaking no English helping a youngerstudent with their homework two years later.The EAL department is a cohesive and supportive team whereeach member brings their own areas of expertise, experienceand personal qualities. EAL staff have their own areas ofresponsibility, for example, three members of the teamadditionally teach Arabic, Bengali and Portuguese, one memberis responsible for the new arrival induction programme and soon. All EAL staff are allocated individual students to monitor;this could involve working with them in homework clubs ormaking time to do some one to one reading with them. We makedecisions together, we discuss students on a daily basis, we areopen to each other’s ideas and we are proud of the fact that weare all doing the best that we can to support the students. Atthe same time, members of the EAL team work diversely acrossthe school as tutors, assistant tutors, in additional duties andclubs (for example, one EAL LTA also helps run the Film Clubwith an English teacher).Casual Admissions – The ProcessHow we know about students and how this is disseminatedis the vital first step in ensuring the success of new arrivals atPaddington Academy. Each new student is interviewed by theHead of Year and then all information is passed to me. I testevery new student, whether they are EAL or not, and this givesme an opportunity to spend time with them and assess theirlevel of need. This also gives me a good chance to reassure allstudents who are about to start here. Once every student hasbeen tested for EAL stage, SEN tested (for reading and spellingages, PATOSS), and CATS, this information, together withinformation about the cultural and background information issent to all staff by me in the same format. I make sure thatthey have buddies and any additional support that they needand then monitor their progress in terms of academic progress,attendance, behaviour and a general sense that they are happy60

case study 9option of taking the EAL iGCSE in Year 12) and in-class support.We have a high retention rate into Year 12 for EAL students.UnITED LEARNINGAwareness and Teacher DevelopmentThere are two factors that are key here: one, teachers musthave relevant information about the students and two, theymust have access to training. From this perspective, not only doI provide all the information about new students, but I also am ateaching and learning coach for teachers. This serves a numberof important functions.an settled in for at least a year. Monitoring by me will extendbeyond a year if they are an EAL student who needs support.I liaise with Heads of Year and Subject Leaders to make surethat they are on the correct timetable and have settled in as wewould hope.In this way, it is not possible for any student to be overlooked andfor all students to have a personalised programme of support inplace for them as long as they need it. Further, this is also affectedby what year they join Paddington Academy – if they arrive in Year8, one programme of support is necessary, if they arrive in Year9 or 10 then an entirely different programme of support will beneeded. This includes the provision of EAL in option blocks, bothfor one to one support to allow more time to complete, say BTECcoursework or additional Maths and a focused EAL option todeliver EAL intervention with the opportunity to sit the EAL iGCSEif appropriate. As a result, EAL students here have made rapidprogress and become happy, settled members of our communityvery quickly. In this sense, the EAL department demonstrates thatit must be both pastoral and curricular – it must look after thesocial and cultural needs of students as well as endeavouring tosupport their academic progress.Equally, I currently teach the EAL and SEN groups for Englishand Humanities in Year 7 so that these students receive ahigh level of differentiation and personalised learning in twosubjects which are more demanding in terms literacy. Further,it has been useful for me to be part of the Year 6 and Year 9transition process so that I can ascertain what the EAL needsare in Year 7 and Year 10. I also provide support into Sixth Formfor students who remain here; an ESOL group (again with theFirstly, I am able to provide training to both experiencedand new staff as part of their induction. Secondly, I am in aposition to offer on-going training in differentiation to staff.Furthermore, I believe that the fact that I am a good teacherand coach for teaching and learning means that the statusof EAL is high. This may seem like a small point, but I wouldargue that student support teams can sometimes be seen asnon-teaching departments. It also means that I am involved indiscussions about teaching and learning and am part of thatarea of the school.Further, I am always available to talk to staff about planningfor EAL students and I frequently make resources forteachers and departments when asked. I have written ahandbook for staff and an EAL resource guide with examples ofdifferentiation. This makes a difference to the support that EALstudents get – EAL is a priority, differentiation is an expectation.This once more raises the importance of the profile of theEAL department. It needs to be high. Its scope must beencompassing. In this way, we are pastoral – we help to makesure that EAL students feel safe and happy. We support theHead of Year teams to ensure this. We support parents andoffer ESOL and mother tongue courses to parents. We act asinterpreters for parents during phone calls, at meetings and atparents’ events. We make sure that our display celebrates andreflects the cultural and linguistic diversity of our community. Weoffer our own curriculum to deliver ESOL so that students learnEnglish as a foreign language and offer a GCSE in this subject.We support the curricular output of the school by supporting inclass and training teachers. I deliver the English and Humanitiescurriculum to Year 7 EAL students. As subject leader for EAL, I aminvolved in Year 6, Year 9 and Year 12 transition – at importantmoments in the lives of students. I look after and monitor allnew students. I help prepare for public exams and do all theaccess arrangements for EAL students. We have regular visitsto our department from other schools to discuss EAL provision,both from within United Learning and outside it. If you have61

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 9a cohort that is 80% EAL this is what it takes to ensure everystudent is supported.Student SupportThe EAL department is separate to the SEN department, butcommunication is also vital. If your EAL students make up 80 %of the school and SEN 60% then it stands to reason that someof those students will be both EAL and SEN.As a result, there has to be much shared discussion of appropriateintervention and support which may include the referral ofEAL students for meeting the Educational Psychologist, homelanguage testing and shared support.From this perspective it has been important to acknowledgethat in-class differentiation that supports EAL students alsosupports SEN students for different reasons. For example –visual cues and resources, writing frames and sentence startersand key word mats. Significantly, where key word resourcesare concerned, they are often helpful to students who have afluent grasp of English – bilingualism can restrict the breadth ofvocabulary or more commonly lead to confusion about how touse the word correctly beyond knowing its definition.In the same way, good communication is also needed with theChild Protection officer, school counsellors, parents and theschool nurse. Effectively, it is necessary to act alongside yearteams, as a curricular department in our own right, providingstudent support across all subjects and delivering staff training.Furthermore, one belief that is embedded in how we operateis that even though the teaching is different in small groupsfor EAL intervention, we should deliver the same quality andfollow the same teaching and learning and behaviour policiesas any other department in the school. This, I think, is significantbecause if we offer guidance to teachers on how to support EALstudents, we must be seen to employ it ourselves and if we areteaching then we must be seen to be subject to the same rigouras every other teacher.Next StepsThis department did not happen overnight. The first year wasfocused on organising support and identifying needs andresponding to them. The second year entailed expansion anddevelopment in response to eighteen students coming in to Year11 with no English. In 2009, the EAL department was judged tobe outstanding by an external reviewer and has gone on to bejudged to be outstanding in subsequent reviews and by Ofsted.We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved because ithas meant that the students are successful as a result. In thisyear’s RAISE Online data EAL students continue to out-performnon-EAL students and perform significantly above EAL studentsnationally.However, it is important to avoid complacency – every year bringsnew students with different needs and the EAL department willhave to retain its flexibility to meet them. We could focus moreon the reading and vocabulary of students who have developedfluency in English. We know that we can support students who arelearning English. What more can we do for those who have madeprogress, but still need support with vocabulary and reading? Whatmore can we do for parents? EAL is a growing area nationwide,so what more can we do to support other schools that are not asfortunate in having the large team and resources that we do? Wecan build and always do better than we are currently doing. We canbuild on the foundations of our success.62

Procedure for Casual Admissions:Figure 1 – Before students start:Admissions Officer invites parents/cares to interview with Head ofYear after discussion with Key StageAssistant Principal.Admissions Officer sends email toHead of Year, SEN admin, AssistantPrincipal, Head of EAL and SENCOre: interview, name and DOB.case study 9Student is interviewed by HOY andapplication form is sent to Head ofEAL. Students are asked to returnon Monday following interview fortesting at 9am.UnITED LEARNINGHead of EAL writes new studentemail to all staff so that everyoneis aware that new students arestarting and has opportunityto make changes if neededand prepare.Head of EAL draws togetherinformation from application form,testing, Cultural and Languagesurvey, discusses suitable tutorgroups and buddies with HOYs,looks at timetable options.Students complete CATS tests,an EAL assessment, Cultural andLanguage Survey, reading, spellingand PATOSS tests on Monday andTuesday following interview. Referralsmade to SEN, Senior LeadershipTeam, subject leaders if needed.Head of EAL passes application formsto MIS to create timetables and putstudent information on SIMS.Students are asked to come in at8.15 on the following Mondayin school uniform and wait atReception for Head of EAL to start.MIS passes folders with informationand application forms back toHOY. Head of EAL applies for examconcessions and organises EALsupport where needed.Figure 2 – When students arrive:New Student arrives at Receptionon Monday following testing at8.15 ready to start school and ispicked up by Head of EAL.Students with an EAL need areallocated intervention and / orinduction groups.Students attend their lesson if theyare settled and ready. (EAL Stage 1students are kept in EAL for longerif needed).Student/s are taken to EAL Roomand they are given student diariesand timetables.Students say hello to their HOY(if possible), Assistant VPrincipaland Principal.Students are invited to spend timein EAL at break and lunch if theyfeel nervous – buddies are directedto bring them up if they ask.Students spend time going throughmain aspects of diaries and havetheir timetables explained. Studentscolour code their timetables with blueand yellow.Students meet their buddies.Head of EAL checks that newstudents are settling and flagsup issues where needed. Head ofEAL calls home with interpreter tomake sure parents are happy. Newstudents are asked to complete anew student survey after 6 weeks.63

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 10Whole School Voice:Making use of ActivExpression software inorder to listen to every student’s point of viewChris Nash, Assistant Principal LearningFocus AreaThis case study describes and explains the new directionPaddington Academy has taken in Student Voice. Whilstmaintaining, and even extending, both our school councilsand Junior Leadership Teams, we have also begun surveyingour entire cohort of students (1,170 students, across sevenyear groups) on key aspects of their school experience, focusinglargely on issues related to students’ personal and socialwelfare.ContextPaddington Academy serves an inner-city area of high socialdeprivation and it may be the case that in some such communities,young people feel marginalised or disenfranchised. Studentvoice is even more important in such a context as it forms apart of a wider social inclusion where students recognise thepower that they have to change their own and other’s lives.In keeping with our ethos of ‘no excuses’, we do not allowPaddington students to be apathetic: we insist that they havea voice and that they both share their opinions and play arole in decision making. This involves seeking out all viewsand engaging with both assenting and dissenting voices Thisproject indicates a step towards enfranchising our students intheir learning and therefore encouraging their steps toward agreater independence. In short, Paddington is an exceptionalschool, made up of exceptional students and, as such, we needan exceptional model of Student Voice. This was an opportunityto guide that Student Voice beyond the traditional models ofSchool Councils and focus groups.RationaleSchools measure their success in many ways: exam results, Ofstedinspections and external plaudits. And while these are clearlysources of great value which can generate improved moraleand may well influence the school’s aims and developmentplan, the SLT at Paddington felt the need to dig deeper into thevalue placed on different areas of school life by the studentsthemselves. Up until this point, whole school surveys had beensporadic and limited to collecting feedback on particular areasand issues, such as the KS3 curriculum or the destination forend of year reward trips.Equally, most Student Voice up until this point had relied ontraditional methods of collecting opinions: the School Councilrepresentatives discussing issues with their tutor groups andfeeding their views back to the SLT or on extrapolating the studentbody’s views from small focus groups. Of course, both of thesesystems are entirely justifiable and should not be seen as tokenisticin any way; indeed, they allow for a real dialogue between staffand students and encourage us to delve more deeply into students’views and opinions. Their limitations though troubled us: neithercould ever be anonymous and so would always be influenced bythe presence and character of an interviewer, and both relied onextrapolating from sample groups, which in the case of the StudentCouncil could never hope to be representative. Since studentcouncils so often are made up of confident speakers and studentswho are elected with the desire to have their opinions heard, wefeared that the more difficult and silent majorities were not beinglistened to.64

To this end, the work being done by Nicola Palmer, AssistantPrincipal at Accrington Academy, allowed us to implementa new model using innovative hand-held ActivExpressiontechnology which would allow us to simply and regularly askthe same questions of all of our students. Firstly, and crucially,this would mean that we would be hearing each and everystudent’s opinion, and sometimes the most critical voices wouldprove to be the most important. Secondly, it would enable us toask the questions regularly and therefore track and measure theimpact of our policies and programmes as well as interrogatedifferences between year groups, gender, and times of year. And,lastly, the system would be anonymous, allowing for far greaterhonesty and integrity of the data which it would generate.It is worth noting at this point that the same data could begenerated through the use of IT suites and an online surveygenerator, but that this setup has the distinct advantage of notrelying on booking out IT rooms, and enables us to survey 200students simultaneously.The StoryAs an SLT, we devised, argued over, agreed upon and finally refineda set of 25 questions which we wanted to ask our students. Thesewere based on a combination of the ‘benchmark’ questionscase study 10already being used at Accrington Academy, the set of questionsand format used by OFSTED on the Parent View website, and ourown questions relating to Teaching and Learning, behaviour, andthe Learner of the Week programme.Three initial questions serve to warm the students up, to act asa test of accuracy and enable us to compare year groups, aswell as across gender and eligibility for Free School Meals:n What year are you in?n What gender are you?n Do you have Free School Meals?The answers are multiple choice and with this sort of holdingdata, we are also far better able to track the results from year toyear but also keep the data confidential and anonymous.The answers to the next thirteen questions are also multiplechoice but are four part:n All of the time, Most of the time, Some of the time, NeverFor the purposes of our first and general analysis, this can bebroken down into All / Most / Some equating to a ‘Yes’ andNever resulting in a ‘No’, whilst allowing for much finer analysiswhere necessary. Questions cover areas such as the following:teaching, behaviour, safety, bullying, pride in school, feelingpart of community:1 Are you happy to come to school?2 Are you proud of your school?3 Do you feel part of the Paddington community?4 Does the school help you to achieve the best thatyou can?5 Do staff explain to you how to improve your work?6 Is teaching at this school good?7 Is behaviour good in classrooms / the corridors /the playground / the sixth form area?8 Do you think that problems are dealt with quickly andfairly?9 Do you feel safe in school?10 Do you feel the school deals well with bullying?11 If you have a problem, do you have an adult in school whoyou could go to for help and advice?12 Do you think teachers are interested in your views?13 Do you think the school offers you a lot of extra activities?UnITED LEARNINGThe next four questions are Yes / No:1 Can you see a photograph of yourself up somewherein school?2 Have you ever received a Learner of the Week certificate?3 Do you regularly attend an after school club or activity?4 Have you been on a school trip or visit this year?65

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 10The questions above are designed to correspond to aspects ofthe school’s ethos and policies: our aim is to celebrate success(and especially good learning) at every opportunity; to offermeaningful enrichment and extension opportunities; to bringout ‘the best in everyone’.The final two questions asked are perhaps the most useful andmost anticipated by students and staff alike. The answers areopen to text comments:1 What is the best thing about Paddington Academy?2 What is the one thing we could improve on?With these questions decided upon, we schedule a series ofassemblies for each year group. Students file into the hall in silenceand collect an ActivExpression handset on their way to their seat.Some initial instructions have proved necessary for new studentsbut most of our students are familiar with the ‘gadgets’ from theirlessons. Students sit in silence in Years 7 to 11 but are permitted todiscuss their answers if they wish in the Sixth Form. The importanceof honest answers and reassurances of anonymity are given at theoutset and the questions are shown in advance before a time limitof fifteen minutes is set. In the lower school, the assemblies areled by the Assistant Principal with responsibility for Student Voicebut, again, in the Sixth Form, the assemblies are led and organisedby students from the Junior Leadership Team. In both cases, someguidance on what constitutes useful, constructive commentsis given. The questions are then launched and are set to be selfpaced,allowing the students to work through in their own time;the wireless software can register up to 200 handsets at any onetime. Once these are registered they can be re-used for each cohort.With the questions asked, the data is compiled, presentedand discussed at a dedicated SLT meeting with action pointsand responsibilities agreed upon. Student focus groups andmembers of the Junior Leadership Team (JLT) and School Councilare shown samples, comments are discussed and suggestionsand decisions made. In particular, the data is shared with HOYswho use it as key way of evaluating their work with their yeargroup.Follow up assemblies are then scheduled within a fortnightwhere all key headlines are shared back with the students andall the issues raised are responded to, sometimes with furtherquestions asked. We are careful to answer each and every issue,but to make it clear that the answer to some requests has tobe ‘no’, and at that point we may need to explain and maketransparent our decision making process.This cycle is repeated twice each year, usually in November andJune.OutcomesThe results of these assemblies make for fascinating andcompelling reading and always provide a very challenging viewof the school, but two important caveats apply to the dataset. Firstly, that this is a record of students’ perception ratherthan reality. For example, it quickly became clear that not allstudents were aware of rewards being given as ‘Positive SIMS’on the school behaviour database when the two data setswere compared; this resulted in displays of the rewards beinggiven to individuals and tutor groups to ensure that studentswere made aware of just how positively behaviour was beingrewarded. Secondly, the data captured records a moment and66

not a definitive standpoint – variations were observed in thenature of comments given on different days and at differenttimes of day.These caveats notwithstanding, the capture of this wealth ofopinion and viewpoint has served to push us further towardsa rigorous and wide-ranging analysis of our performance as acommunity. We have evaluated the impact of existing or newpolicies and have implemented new ideas as a result of thisdata. A few of these are described below.n In our first sets of whole student voice assemblies, in theSpring term of 2012, it quickly became clear that studentsin lower years did not feel as safe around school as wehad previously thought. Across KS3, only 80% of studentssaid they felt safe around school. This obviously requiredimmediate further investigation and when discussed, threekey areas were identified as being locations where youngerstudents felt vulnerable. We promptly moved storage units,added student toilets on to staff duty rotas for break-timeand drew up a monitoring rota for our changing rooms. Bythe next set of assemblies, in June 2012, we had seen a4% increase in students feeling safe which corresponds toaround 40 students feeling safer than they did previously,which obviously cannot be valued highly enough.n In between two sets of assemblies, the school implementeda new corridor behaviour policy to complement our existingclassroom policy; we were then able to use the assembliesas a means of measuring and monitoring its impact. Overall,students were significantly more positive about corridorbehaviour following the new policy, with one year groupmoving from 80% of the year group describing behaviour asgood to a far more impressive 87%.n HOYs at Paddington write annual Self Evaluation Forms (SEFS)and use the data generated by these assemblies to commenton their leadership, enabling them to make statements onhow well students feel problems are dealt with and howhappy students are to come to school. As time goes on, theyare able to comment on progress made in these key areas.n One set of assemblies revealed that attendance at afterschool clubs and activities was considerably lower thanperceived and so, again, further questioning was necessary.We were able to ask the students in their entirety what clubsthey would like and to use this both to aid us to draw up ourPaddington Promise and to re-launch our club timetable.n As a result of the open comments asked for on whatto improve, we have strived to improve our lunchtimeprocedures and the quality of the food on offer. In allof our daily conversations with students about learningand progress, they are quick to remind us about whatcase study 10they truly value!n As mentioned previously, the greatest (and often mostentertaining) data comes from the open text questions atthe end of the question series. The first question generates ahuge amount of goodwill around school and between staffand students. The students’ positivity, gratitude and warmthis surprising, unprompted and can be quite overwhelming.It has been a delight to be able to pass comments andthanks on individually to praise-starved staff and to begintraining meetings with thanks and praise and wonderfuldescriptions of the school from the students themselves. Italso serves to surprise some of our less positive studentswhen they see what the general consensus on the academyis. More pertinently, it also allows us to identify what weare doing right, what is appreciated and what we needto do our utmost to keep doing. We notice a gradual shiftduring KS3 to an appreciation of relationships and learningto appreciation of achievement and success by the end ofYear 9. By the end of KS4, students are able to recogniseand appreciate that staff go the extra mile at weekendsand after school; by KS5 this has become more abstractand they tend to praise concepts such as cohesion, diversityand challenge.UnITED LEARNING67

UniTED LEARNINGcase study 10Next StepsWhen asking this level and quantity of questions it has becomeclear that we need to take great care to respond to issues raised;we need to ensure that students feel listened to and that theirviews are valued. Even if we are saying ‘no’ to a request, it isessential to explain our decision making. Equally, it is clear thatwe will only ever get answers to the questions that we ask, andso we are continually adding to and revising our question setwith these two ideas in mind.As we refine them, we are considering running similar setupsfor parents at parents’ evenings, making use of the languagetranslation options on ActivExpressions and also making use ofthe same software to survey the whole staff on key issues andpolicies. We have begun to make use of the same software inassemblies to inform the Options process at Year 9.The programme offers possibilities to survey Year 7 studentson entry to gather information which may not be evident frominterviews and prior data; for example, we are exploring howwe might use the assemblies to inform how we personalise ourextra-curricular offer for each new cohort and to identify justwhat motivates individual students.In line with our aim to give our students opportunities forleadership and self-regulation, we aim that our Junior LeadershipTeam will begin to run, record and respond to segments of thisstudent voice themselves, something we are already pilotingwith our Sixth Form.68

Paddington Academy50 Marylands RoadLondon W9 2DRt 0207 479 3900e office@paddington-academy.orgwww.paddington-academy.orgJoin Paddington Academy on FacebookFollow us on Twitter @PaddingtonAcadFor further information about this publication please contact Claire Sweeney:e claire.sweeney@paddington-academy.org t 0207 479 3973

“We are what we repeatedly do.Excellence, therefore, is not anact, but a habit.” AristotleUnited LearningFairline HouseNene Valley Business ParkOundlePeterborough PE8 4HNt 01832 864444f 01832 864455e admin@unitedlearning.org.ukwww.unitedlearning.org.ukUnited Learning comprises: UCST (Registered in England No: 2780748. Charity No. 1016538) and ULT (Registered in England No. 4439859. An Exempt Charity). Companies limited by guarantee.