Harlaw Academy: SQIP Session 2015/16

Harlaw Academy

Standards, Quality and Improvement Plan (SQUIP)

Session 2015-16 2

Harlaw Academy: SQIP session 2015/16

- Our school and its context

- Our vision, values and behavior statement

- How good is our leadership and approach to improvement (1.1, 1.2, 1.3)*

- How good is the quality of care and education we offer (2.2, 2.3)*

- How good are we at ensuring the best possible outcomes for all our learners (3.2)*

- Our improvement priorities for next session

* Numbers relate to the National Quality Indicators from How Good is Our School 4th Edition 3

Our school and its context

Harlaw Academy is a secondary comprehensive school located at the west end of Aberdeen city centre. The school has a roll of 940 pupils aged 11-18. It is unique in several ways:  it does not sit within its own catchment area,  around 45% of its roll come from out of zone placing requests,  it draws pupils from every area of Aberdeen both in terms of SIMD and geographically

Harlaw Academy a very inclusive and comprehensive school. In the last two years the school has seen;  a three-fold increase (from 7 to 21) in MICAS (mainstream inclusion for children on the autistic spectrum) provision,  a doubling (from 14 to 28) of youngsters with ASN (Additional Support Needs)  25% of our pupil population are ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) learners  15% of our pupils come to us from attainment challenge areas At present there is no mechanism for resources to follow children and there has been no change in the core funding to the school to help support this changing pupil population.

We have well established links with the 4 primary schools in our associate group (Ferryhill, Broomhill, Hanover Street and Kaimhill) and also plan for the transition of the 40% (approx) of pupils who join us from all over the City and beyond.

At the senior phase the school is linked to a cluster which includes 2 academies on the south side of Aberdeen City (Kincorth and Torry). These schools have a different curriculum structure to our own and as a result we have developed links with other schools which are structurally and geographically closer to Harlaw Academy. We have also developed links with other providers such as NESCol and SHMU. This session, a significant amount of work was devoted to presenting pupils for the new Higher and Advanced Higher qualifications. Another significant area of work was concerned with implementing the review of inclusion in the City

Around a third of staff changed over session 2015/16 and the impact of staff changes and absences needed to be worked around over the session. In addition, there was significant disruption in January as a result of a fire which damaged some of the building. Due to the hard work and resilience of people the school was only closed for two days but there was almost a term of disruption and interim arrangements to work around the affected area. The other significant disruption to learning arose as a result of us being the pilot school for a new ICT system. Although the outcome of this has delivered a more reliable, robust and fit for purpose ICT system it did cause considerable stress and disruption to staff and pupils over a term.

The last school inspection of Harlaw Academy was in 2010 and in February 2015 the school took part in a VSE (validated self-evaluation) with a team of officers from Aberdeen City Council visiting the school to comment on our work. Over session 2015/16 the school continued to progress the recommendations of the VSE. 4

Our vision, values and behaviors statement - session 2015/16

The vision, values and behaviors outlined below were revised during session 2013/14 and came into widespread use in session 2014/15. The intention would be to review these in the latter part of 2016/17 and replace them for the start of session 2017/18.

Our vision: We have heightened expectations that through;

“Learning and Courtesy” we can all be

Happy and Successful learners in an inclusive school

Our values: Fairness Perseverance Honesty Tolerance Trust Resilience Ambition Participation

Our behaviours: Respect for People: we will consider the health, safety and well being of ourselves and others

Respect for Learning: we will be on time, on task, trying our best and achieving success

Respect for Community: we will have a positive impact in school, locally and in the wider world 5

How good is our leadership and approach to improvement?

QI 1.1: Self-evaluation for self-improvement: Collaborative approaches to self-evaluation, analysis and evaluation of intelligence data, impact on learners’ successes and achievements QI 1.2: Leadership of learning: Professional engagement and collegiate working, impact of career long professional learning, children and young people leading learning QI 1.3: Leadership of change: Developing shared vision, values and aims, strategic planning for continuous improvement, implementing improvement and change

Comment: Our approach to self-evaluation is very good, our leadership of learning is good and our leadership of change is good.

Our vision statement was revised in consultation with staff, pupils and parents in 2014, it is very well embedded in all aspects of our work and will be reviewed again during next session. Revised approaches to school improvement planning and quality assurance were developed collaboratively with staff. It has given a focus to our work, grounding it in self-evaluation and the three ‘respect’ statements. There is effective leadership at DHT, Faculty Head and PT level within the school. In session 2015/16 a new post of PT wider achievement was created and this is already providing greater coherence to that area of work. Staff are increasingly familiar with the revised approach to self-evaluation and as a result it is being embedded into their day to day work to provide informed comment on impact for pupils.

Staff have all been involved in a range of self-evaluation activities. At the start of session all staff were asked to use insight data to self-evaluate their attainment and this was then the focus for meetings with senior colleagues. This approach was very effective and led to deeper understanding of attainment data for many staff. A new model of mini ‘VSEs’ was introduced and feedback from the faculties involved was positive. Alongside this a more structured peer support approach was introduced. Further work is planned in both areas but we now have a robust structure to build on. We piloted two RAFA (raising attainment for all) projects and see this approach as offering for more rapid and impactful change to be introduced and ‘measured’. Staff have also been given more leadership opportunities. There is a weekly FHs meeting and several staff have either held ‘acting’ posts or been given the opportunity to shadow/lead activities and work collaboratively. We have also provided increased leadership opportunities for pupils (sports leaders, world of work ambassadors, defenders, LEOs, D of E, house representatives) and this remains an area for further work in the future.

The school has supportive parent groups (Parent council and PTA) and partners (FPs, ASG and learning partnership) who have been involved in self evaluation and school improvement activities. There is also a need to restructure the way in which we involve pupils in our self evaluation and school improvement activities. There is growing evidence of learners discussing their learning although this needs to have a clearer focus on the development of skills for learning, life and work and on higher order skills. Staff share practice through in-house CPD and in-service events and there has been an increase in work with and between our ASG schools – particularly in respect of mental health and transitions. Staff are familiar with the GTCS standards and all staff meetings and in-service days are referenced to specific standards. Almost all staff have committed to professional enquiry/update and career long professional development but more work is required to ensure this learning is shared and leads to improved outcomes for children and young people

Next steps:  Further involve the whole school community in self evaluation and improvement  Use of data (eg insight) and self-evaluation by all staff to identify ‘gaps’ and drive improvement  Focus learning conversations on skills development and actions to raise attainment for all  Continue to build leadership, coaching and improvement across the school community. 6

How good is the quality of care and education we offer? QI 2.2: Curriculum: Rationale/design and development of curriculum, learning pathways, skills for learning, life, work QI 2.3: Learning, teaching and assessment: Learning/engagement, quality of teaching, effective assessment, planning, tracking, monitoring QI 2.4: Personalised care and support: Universal support, targeted support, removal of barriers to learning

Comment: Our curriculum is very good, our learning, teaching and assessment is good and our personal support and care is very good.

The curriculum rationale, reviewed last session, is now embedded. It provides a 3-year broad general education and a 3-year senior phase. In the final year of the BGE there is personalisation into specific pathways. Our senior phase is planned alongside our consortia, other partner organisations and the City campus. Almost all pupils get into the courses they request and almost all our pupils gain formal qualifications and move onto a positive post school destination. We have an increased number of curriculum link days with our P7s and more examples of working with partners to offer alternative pathways to meet particular needs. The curriculum is constantly under review as a result of staff changes and/or changes in the local economy. Further work is required to embed; literacy/numeracy; skills for learning, life, work into all subject areas. IDL is another area requiring further work as are aspects such as digital technology, enterprise/creativity, citizenship/sustainability and outdoor learning. There are some examples of all within the school but these require to be drawn together into a coherent offer for all pupils. We have introduced new courses and qualifications in all subject areas and looked at other ways of accrediting wider achievements. Our recently appointed PT wider achievement is developing new opportunities for pupils to participate and to gain recognition. Over this session we also transformed our ICT infrastructure and although this was very disruptive it should staff to use ICT more effectively as we move forward. We offer an extensive extra curricular programme both from our own capacity and with the support of others eg active schools.

Classroom observations indicate the quality to teaching and learning is good and although there are areas where improvements need to be made there is now a mechanism for supporting this improvement. Our assessment policy has been updated and our tracking and reporting arrangements also have been adapted in consultation with staff, pupils and parents. Learning conversations take place in almost all classes but require clearer focus on skills development, raising attainment and ‘closing the gap’. All pupils receive high quality universal support and around 15% also receive well considered and effective targeted support. An EIT system acts as a gatekeeper to targeted support/staged intervention and this is supported with learning targets and support plans which are carefully monitored. There are very good working relationships between Guidance, SfL and teaching staff and there are clear mechanisms to ensure information is shared and progress monitored. Pupils and parents regularly report that children feel safe and are well supported at school.

Almost all parents and learners report that they are consulted and involved in decisions which affect them. Further work is required in class to support differentiation and our ability to effectively support all pupils is curtailed partly by a lack of resource to meet the many and complex needs we are trying to support.

Next steps:  Undertake further work in respect of numeracy/literacy, IDL and other aspects identified above  Ensure we report progress, targets and support to all pupils and families  Involve children and families in overcoming barriers to learning  Promote rights respecting classrooms and restorative approaches throughout the school. 7

How good are we at ensuring the best possible outcomes for all our learners? QI 3.2: Raising attainment and achievement Attainment in literacy/numeracy, attainment over time, quality of achievement, equity for all pupils

Comment: Our efforts to raise attainment and achievement are good.

Almost all pupils (around 90%) leave school to a positive destination. In recent years with changes to the number of subjects taught different measures are used to measure improvements in attainment. One national benchmarking figure relates to levels of literacy and numeracy. In this measure 84% of our pupils gained level 4 and 53% gained level 5. Whilst these figures are satisfactory and have been improving year on year over the last 3 years there is scope to further improve our performance in relation to this benchmark. The new National Qualifications are now in place in all subject areas and overall our results are good. This session there were 4167 presentations, 86% of these resulted in an award A-C and 92% resulted in an award A-D at National 5. There has been a slight improvement in the numbers gaining 3 or more level 5 awards and an improvement in the numbers gaining 5 or more level 5 awards. The numbers gaining 5 or more level 6 awards dropped slightly whilst the numbers gaining 3 or more level 7 awards has remained steady. Our average tariff score per pupil was in line with National figures. Changes to the pupil cohort led to us predicting a drop in our SQA results this session and to remain level or improve in almost all areas represents a positive set of results for the pupils this session. There are particular subjects and groups where we feel there is still scope for improvement and this will be the focus of our work moving forward. Changes in the NE economy require us to equip pupils with the skills and qualifications needed to succeed in a more competitive employment market.

During 2015/16 Harlaw pupils took part in a range of wider opportunities. All S1/S2 were involved in activities week and S3 had work experience. As well as the annual prize giving event we worked with Winning Scotland to run a ‘champions’ event celebrating the wider achievements of a our pupils. In addition the school was nominated for a number of categories in the Aberdeen Children and Young People Awards and in the Annual Anne Frank Awards. The school remains the lead presenter of Duke of Edinburgh awards in Aberdeen City with large numbers of pupils gaining Gold, Silver and Bronze awards. In addition to this Saltire awards were awarded for youngsters who had volunteered. Our Active Schools co-ordinator trained a group of sports leaders and they ran a range of events for others in secondary and primary schools. All senior pupils gained basic first aid qualifications and a group were were trained in anti-bullying. Skills Development Scotland trained 10 pupils as ‘My World of Work Ambassadors’. 4 pupils studied for and gained Open University Young Applicants awards. Our extra curriculum programme offered a wide range of sport, music and wider activities. We had teams participating in local leagues in basketball, netball and football. Our S1 football team won every local completion they entered and reached the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup. Our S3 team were second in the local league, won the S3 cup and just missed out on a quarter final place in the national cup. Our SfL group also won a schools indoor football event they entered. In other sports such as rowing our pupils took part in national events at the Olympic rowing venue and won a variety of races against private schools of rowing excellence. A number of our rowers are currently Scottish champions and/or record holders. In road racing and athletics we also have a number of team and individual local and national champions. In music our concert bands gained bronze and silver awards and our Jazz groups received considerable accolade locally for example playing at the opening of the Aberdeen Learning Festival. Our Modern Languages students won a prize in a national event and our English pupils had their work published. Large numbers took part in UK Maths challenge and gained outstanding results. We gained awards at local STEM events, were runners up in the Northsound Energy quiz and one pupil was a finalist in a local cookery event.

Next steps:  Develop approaches to literacy/numeracy in all subject areas  Maintain and improve attainment for all and ‘close the gap’ for specific groups/individuals  Improve leaver destination figures and develop employability of all pupils  Further develop our recognition of the personal achievements of all learners 8

What are our priorities for improvement for session 2016-17?

In order to set priorities for continuous improvement we have:  Looked inwards – accumulated a range of data and self evaluation evidence from the school community to identify strengths and areas for improvement  Looked outwards – listened to and learned from others, considered alternatives and asked others to look at our work  Looked forwards – considered what will be required of young people in the future and taken steps to position the school to best meet future needs

The views of pupils, parents, staff and wider community inform both our 3-year transformational plan and the annual school improvement plans (summarised below). Detailed copies of both of these plans are on the school website.

Six monthly updates on the 3-year transformational plan and annual school improvement plan will be provided as part of a new approach to governance and accountability. This approach is part of our efforts to promote greater involvement of pupils, parents, staff and partners.

The improvement plan for session 2016-17 contains the following 3 plans and 9 priority areas

Plan 1: People Plan 2: Learning Plan 2: Community

Relationships: We will Opportunities: We will offer Citizenship: We will promote sustain a safe, purposeful opportunities which meet and develop positive links ethos which promotes needs and develop skills with our local/wider respectful relationships community Learning: We will learn in a Inclusion: We will know, safe, active, purposeful and Achievement: We will include and support all of our co-operative environment increase opportunities for learners participation and wider Attainment: We will achievement Participation: We will involve encourage high levels of children and families in attainment for all pupils Involvement: We will involve learning pupils, parents and other partners in supporting learning