Honywood school sef nov 2017

Honywood Community Science School Self-Evaluation Summary - November 2017 Context Our aim at Honywood is to ensure that every youngster attending our school is happy and successful both during their time at school and on for the lives they will lead on leaving us.

In September 2002, following a change of Headteacher, we began to change the ethos of our school.

In the summer of 2002, 57% of the youngsters attending our school gained 5A*-C grades including English and Maths at grade C or better – at that time the highest pass rate in the school’s 38 year history. Youngsters were passive learners, increasingly frustrated by the lack of independence offered to them and increasingly expressing their unhappiness through confrontational behaviour. To address these concerns we developed an academically demanding curriculum with, for example, more than 80% of our youngsters studying a Modern Foreign Language to GCSE, whilst ensuring that the designs for learning created by our teachers became more learner-centred.

In the years that followed, we moved to a position where in the summer of 2016 70% of our youngsters reached this success benchmark; this converted to an Attainment 8 Score of 44.4 (using 2017 points conversion), the best achieved by learners at the school. That score was matched in the summer of 2017 when the Attainment 8 Score was 44.3. Ofsted judged our school to be outstanding in 2006 and in 2009; in the summer of 2013 their judgement was that we were a good school and in March 2017 they regarded us as a good school where outcomes for learners required improvement.

We thus have seen improvements in GCSE results over time and a decline in the judgements made by Ofsted about the school since our best judgements in 2006 and 2009.

In 2009, we looked at our progress to that point and realised that although we had created a learnercentred experience for our youngsters, we had not created a learning-centred experience because we had not adequately described the attributes needed to succeed as an independent learner and had not designed the acquisition of these skills sufficiently into the learning experience we were creating for our youngsters. As a result, we felt that progress toward our goal of ensuring all our youngsters were happy and successful had been too slow. We therefore chose to design a whole new curriculum experience for our youngsters and we implemented this for youngsters in Year 7 in September 2011.

Our new curriculum continues to be based on high academic challenge, for example every youngster now studies a GCSE in a Foreign Language and every youngster has the opportunity to study triple science GCSE. However, this new curriculum has a dual focus and re-defines the role of the teacher requiring teachers to build in choices for learners during learning sessions, which have been lengthened to 100 minutes to allow for deeper learning. As well as a focus on subject learning, teachers must now also focus on developing eight key learning attributes which, through mastery, will ensure learners are able to take ownership and responsibility for their learning, developing the character required to be successful in the 21st century alongside the examination passes that will open the doors to future success.

Teaching in our new curriculum is defined as three key activities. Firstly, teachers must design the most challenging learning activities for individual learners, following the dual focus mentioned above. The second activity teachers must master is the analysis of learning. They must be acutely aware, for each individual learner, what they have learned, how they are learning and where their misconceptions are taking them. Finally, teachers at Honywood must offer individual guidance, arising from their analysis, which ensures every learner makes positive progress.

The school took on enhanced provision for fifteen children with Autism from September 2017 and will welcome a new Headteacher in April 2018 following my retirement at the end of the spring term.

Outcomes Outcomes, when looked at using Progress 8, appear to show that learners make much less progress than those in other schools. A summary of the attainment of our learners at the end of their courses over the last two years is as follows: 2017 2016 Number of learners 206 200 4+ in English and Maths 60.2% 74.5% 5+ in English and Maths 41.3% 22.5% 5 A* - C 67.5% 78.5% 5 A*-C (inc Eng and Maths) 58.7% 72.0% Entered EBacc 64.8% 69.5% Achieved EBacc (4/C+) 23.8% 21.0% Achieved EBacc (5/C+) 20.4% 13.0% Attainment 8* 44.3 44.4 Progress 8 -0.64 -0.16 *Using 2017 points conversion Clearly there is an issue in comparing outcomes between schools where curricula are different and where schools have allowed learners to enter exams early and then re-sit exams to achieve improved outcomes (as we did extensively in 2016 and less so in 2017). As mentioned above, the curriculum for our school only provides GCSE courses; none of our learners took the European Computer Driving Licence or other such courses. Given the national pass rate of 100% in this particular qualification, it is not difficult to model the impact on a school’s progress 8 score. The table below shows our school’s outcomes assuming all learners had sat (and passed) the ECDL. Number of learners 4+ in English and Maths 5+ in English and Maths 5 A* - C 5 A*-C (inc Eng and Maths) Entered EBacc Achieved EBacc (4/C+) Achieved EBacc (5/C+) Attainment 8* Progress 8

2017

2016

206 60.2% 41.3% 71.8% 58.7% 64.8% 23.8% 20.4% 48.3

200 74.5% 22.5% 83.0% 73.5% 69.5% 21.0% 13.0% 48.4

-0.23

0.17

*Using 2017 points conversion Our analysis of our data shows that we need to focus on the following areas: The gap in performance between boys and girls achieving a grade 5+ in English and Maths was significant in the 2017 results. The table below shows a 13% difference.

5+ in English and Maths

All 41.3%

Boys 35.2%

Girls 48.0%

Difference 12.8%

A contributing factor to the above is the disparity between boys and girls in English Language. Girls perform far better than boys across grade 4 and grade 5. Against starting points, on average boys achieved more than half a grade below expectations. On average, girls’ achievement against starting points was above expectations.

4+ 5+

All 71.9% 55.7%

Boys 63.3% 45.9%

Girls 84.0% 67.0%

Difference 20.7% 21.1%

Across the range of starting points at which learners join our school, those who entered the school with a key stage two fine score of 5.0 or above made less progress than other learners. This was most significant with those learners entering the school with a key stage 2 fine score of 5.8 or above.

As part of their academically challenging curriculum, every learner is expected to study a modern foreign language (either French, German or Spanish). This high proportion of entries is significantly higher than the national average and puts the learners at a disadvantage when comparative outcomes are used to determine GCSE grades. Despite this fact, we recognise that performance of learners in languages needs to improve.

Subject

French German *2016 entries

Subject APS (Average Point Score)

Percentage of learners entered (Honywood)

Percentage of learners entered (National)*

3.2 3.2

46.1% 38.8%

31.2% 23.6%

Adjusted Subject APS based on national entry proportions 4.0 4.0

The table below shows the performance of learners within each individual Science course.

Biology Chemistry Physics Core Science Additional Science

Average attainment 5.0 5.1 5.2 2.8 3.0

Average national estimated attainment 5.9 5.9 5.9 4.4 4.4

Difference -0.9 -0.8 -0.7 -1.6 -1.4

Some of the difference can be explained by the high proportion of learners we enter for individual sciences, however, we need to consider how learners arrive at different pathways in science to be certain that every learner takes the most appropriate course in their final year and are in groups that best deliver expected outcomes.

Subject

Biology Chemistry Physics *2016 entries

Subject APS (Average Point Score)

Percentage of learners entered (Honywood)

5.0 5.1 5.1

49.1% 49.1% 48.1%

Percentage of learners entered (National)* 23.1% 23.8% 19.1%

Adjusted Subject APS based on national entry proportions 6.2 6.3 6.6

The table below shows the progress we have made in closing the Pupil Premium Gap. This has been enabled through the development of a more personalised curriculum model which ensures learning design is tailored to the need of the individual. This is supported through the use of ‘My Learning Choices’ support sessions, where learners may book into a 1:1 or small group session with a teacher to support their learning.

Year 2015 2016 2017

PPG 26.2 38.0 39.5

Non-PPG 44.9 45.0 45.2

Gap 18.7 7.0 5.7

Learners with SEND make better progress than other learners as a direct consequence of the personalised learning model we have implemented at the school. SEND learners showed a difference of 0.35 in the progress 8 measure over non-SEND learners.

We are clear that in developing our new learning model we have had more success with girls than boys and have been relatively less successful with those learners who arrived at the school with higher prior attainment. Changes that we have already made to the delivery of the curriculum are addressing the issues that lie behind these statistics and we remain confident that, in the same way that we planned to secure better outcomes for PPG learners and those with SEND we will deliver better outcomes in the future for all other learners.

Teaching, Learning and Assessment Ove the last seven years we have had an unrelenting focus on designing a more personalised learning model and this is now in place for all learners. Our current focus is on coaching every teacher to ensure that the model is delivered to the highest standard to all learners in every subject.

Personal Development Behaviour and Welfare Our staff learning model has stressed the importance of reflection in learning and has helped teachers to be more thoughtful as to how they intervene in learner behaviour so that authentic reflection can occur prior to staff offering the most appropriate guidance at the most opportune time. We are working hard to offer choice and develop independence in our youngsters so that they learn to regulate their own behaviour rather than operating in an environment of low responsibility where regulation is imposed by external pressure, but continue to operate a respect code, with which every youngster is familiar. Inside that code, of respecting yourself, other people and the world around you, is the central theme of making effective decisions that lead to a happy and successful life.

As you observe learning at our school you will see a high level of independence being adopted. You will see learning spilling out into corridors and outside spaces as learners make choices about how best to learn. You will see learners collaborating successfully and you’ll see high levels of oracy, low levels of unkindness and very little disrespect. Learning will not stop when you enter classrooms.

Attendance has improved over the last eight years averaging 95% over the last four years, improving from an average of 94.7% over the previous four years. A drive to take this figure past the previous high of 95.3% is a current priority.

2107 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010

% Present 94.7 95.3 95.3 94.6 95.1 94.9 94.4 94.4

We have a small cohort of youngsters who experience fixed term exclusion and an even smaller number of repeat offenders. The hard line we have taken with the small number of youngsters not following our respect code has led to us not having to make any permanent exclusions since February 2011 and has seen a consistent reduction in days lost to exclusion.

2016/17 2015/16 2014/15 2013/14

Days Lost to Exclusion 104.5 126 140 180

% of Total Learner Days 0.055 0.065 0.072 0.093

Leadership and Management Since 2006 we have developed an unusual leadership model at Honywood organising all our Subject Teams to be led by teams of leaders who focus on the maintenance of existing success and on developing future success as well as liaising with the broader education community to ensure we learn from them and they can learn from us. This model has produced exceptional energy in all our teams and has greatly supported the introduction of our new model for learning.

As well as Subject Teams each teacher is also in a Cohort Team who are led by a Cohort Leader supported by a member of the School Leadership Team. The role of Learning Group Leader is as important to our teachers as is their subject teaching.

The impact of leadership at our school has ensured that we have been able to transform pedagogy, whilst achieving five of the six best years’ outcomes in the school’s history and are rapidly closing the gap between disadvantaged and all learners as a result of implementing this change. We have the capacity to coach our staff to ensure that the issues we must address to ensure learners make more progress will be successfully addressed.

As well as making an impact at our school, we actively support staff learning in a number of other local schools through our contribution to North West Essex Headteacher Association and through our involvement with the Professional Learning Network and the Colchester Teacher Training Consortium.

We currently have four colleagues seconded to make an impact elsewhere, one as director of the Professional Learning Network and others making an impact in Maths, Modern Languages and Science in other local schools.

Summary If you judge our school by a glance at one piece of data (Progress 8) you can only conclude that we are a school that faces significant challenge. However, as the Ofsted team found when they visited us in March 2017 there is a lot more to our school than is captured in that one progress score.

We remain utterly focused on ensuring that all learners make better progress. We will not secure this goal through manipulating the curriculum to make gaining a good progress score easier, but through more effectively guiding the choices learners make to ensure that no learner settles for an adequate outcome when they are capable of exceptional ones.

Simon Mason, November 2017