Doctor of Education

Faculty of Education Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Education More than the sum of its parts: practitioner perspectives on the characteristics, affordances and challenges of all-through schools in the English state system. April 2020 Words: 79,985 Helen Elizabeth Price Fitzwilliam College Supervisor: Dr Sue Swaffield Copyright © 2020 Helen Price 2 Preface This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted, or is being concurrently submitted, for a degree or diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It does not exceed the prescribed word limit for the relevant Degree Committee. 3 4 Abstract Helen Price More than the sum of its parts: practitioner perspectives on the characteristics, affordances and challenges of all-through schools This research focuses on the small but growing number of English all-through state schools. In the wider school system hundreds of thousands of children transfer schools for their secondary education each year. The social challenges faced at transfer and the curricular and pedagogical disconnects between primary and secondary education are well documented in the literature. This thesis explores the opportunities provided by the all-through configuration to ease these difficulties and create a cohesive approach across all educational phases. This is a sequential mixed methods study. At stage one a research questionnaire was sent to school leaders in all-through schools. Stage two consisted of field work in three case study schools, where data were gathered through interviews, focus groups and observations. Stage one uses quantitative data to create a contextual narrative about all-through schools. The larger qualitative dataset explores emergent themes in depth. The overall research philosophy is phenomenological, meaning that an emphasis is placed upon narrating research participants’ lived experiences. The study considered the blend of specialist and generalist teaching at all-through schools and found that all schools surveyed deployed some specialist teaching at KS2 and that half adopted some generalist practices at lower KS3, showing a blurring of the boundaries between primary and secondary practice. Drawing on the work of Etienne Wenger, primary and secondary practitioners are conceptualised in the thesis as separate communities of practice. The research found that all-through schools can counter the separatist mindsets of primary and secondary practitioners and that there was evidence of emergent boundary practice in curriculum development and pedagogy. 5 All-through pupils reported that their social transition to secondary education is more comfortable than that experienced by their non all-through peers. Practitioners valued the ability to build strong relationships with families over the years of a child’s all-through schooling. However, all-through schools also face significant challenges: leaders perceived the pressures of performativity and accountability and the particular financial disadvantages faced by all-through schools as threats to establishing effective cross-phase working. 6 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr Sue Swaffield, for her tremendous support during this doctoral research project. We have worked together for nearly a decade on my journey from M.Ed to EdD completion. Without her guidance, I could never have reached this point. I would also like to thank all at the Faculty of Education and particularly Dr Tatjana Dragovic, Dr Elaine Wilson and Professor Pamela Burnard for their unstinting support, creativity and enthusiasm. My fellow part-time doctoral students have been an inspiration and their critical friendship throughout this process has been appreciated. I am also extremely grateful to the leaders and trustees within my multi-academy trust. Without their support, I would not have been able to complete this research alongside my professional duties. Thank you to my amazing friends and family, especially Mum, Dad, Linda, Chris, Matthew and Barney. You believed I could do this and your support and encouragement have been invaluable. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the extraordinary times in which this thesis is being submitted. I dedicate this work to the school leaders and staff, who are keeping open our schools at a time of global crisis. Your service to your communities is truly inspiring. 7 8 Table of Contents Preface 3 Abstract 5 Acknowledgements 7 List of tables and figures 14 List of abbreviations 17 List of appendices 19 Chapter One - Introduction 21 1.1 All-through schools in the English state system 21 1.2 My professional context and how it relates to the research focus 21 1.3 The need for research focusing on all-through schools 22 1.4 The research journey and formulation of the research questions 23 Chapter Two - How did we get here? 25 2.1 Post-war educational evolution: a drama in two Acts, a Circular and a 25 White Paper 2.2 The beginnings of state secondary education: the 1944 Education Act 26 2.3. Comprehensive reorganisation 28 2.4 A glance down the road not taken: Nordic schooling models 30 2.5 The 1988 Education Reform Act: the age of the ‘Key Stage’ 32 9 2.6 The Schools White Paper (2010): the rise of the new all-through school 34 2.7 Where are we now? 36 2.8 Why how we got here is important 37 Chapter Three - Transitions and transfers, borders and boundaries. 39 3.1 The current status quo: school transfer to a separate secondary school 39 3.2. School transfer considered through the lens of the bridge model 39 3.3 The impact of performative pressures upon cross-phase liaison 52 3.4 Modern Foreign Languages (MFL): cross-phase provision and the 54 specialist/generalist debate 3.5 Conceptualising the primary/secondary divide: all-through working as 57 ‘boundary practice’ 3.6 Cross-boundary working: practices from healthcare 63 3.7 Why question the status quo of the primary/secondary binary system? 65 Chapter Four - Research design and methodology 67 4.1 Research questions and overall research design 67 4.2 World view and epistemological positioning 69 4.3 The choice of a multi-strategy, mixed methods study 72 4.4 Ethical considerations 76 4.5 Stage One: The Questionnaire 81 4.6 Stage Two: Case Research 88 4.7 Sampling Strategy 99 4.8 Case Study analysis plan and rationale 102 10 4.9 Researching in the field 113 Chapter Five - A view across the landscape: stage one research 115 findings 5.1 Data sources and points of comparison 115 5.2 Demographic profile of the respondent group 116 5.3 The characteristics of all-through schools 118 5.4 All-through schools and OFSTED judgements in 2017 124 5.5 All-through schools’ performance at KS2 and KS4 in 2017 125 5.6 Findings relating to school leadership 127 5.7 Findings relating to staff deployment and generalist and specialist 130 teacher deployment 5.8 Findings relating to learner grouping 133 5.9 Findings relating to all-through vision, values and ethos 134 5.10 The challenges faced by all-through schools 137 5.11 The opportunities and affordances of all-through schools and 139 examples of all-through practice 5.12 Key findings from stage one and areas of focus for stage two 144 Chapter Six - Real-world dissemination in real-time 147 6.1 EdD studies as a ‘ripple in the pond’ 147 6.2 Formative sharing within the faculty, university and beyond 147 6.3 The research questionnaire as a catalyst for participant contact and 149 dialogue 6.4 Creating a feedback loop: a research newsletter 150 11 6.5 All-through schools conference January 2018 151 6.6 A second all-through conference in September 2018 153 6.7 Future events and aspirations for a research legacy 154 Chapter Seven - All-through Schools: Case studies 157 7.1 School A: case study report 157 7.2 School B: case study report 174 7.3 School C: Case study report 189 Chapter Eight - A cross-case and cross-stage view of key findings 207 8.1 Cross-case findings in overview 207 8.2 Summary of the key findings for each research question across 209 research stages and cases 8.3 All-through schools: updated information 214 Chapter Nine - Discussion: the potentials and constraints of all- 217 through schools and their place in an evolving landscape 9.1 Discussion introduction 217 9.2 The primary to secondary transition: a clear all-through advantage? 217 9.3 The conundrum of how to support the non all-through cohort 220 9.4 Blurring the curricular and pedagogical boundaries between KS2 and 221 KS3 9.5 Déjà vu: an underestimation of the abilities and prior learning of year 224 seven students 9.6 The possibilities and limitations of all-through MFL provision 225 12 9.7 Is there evidence that all-through schools are developing boundary 227 practice? 9.8 All-through schools: no fixed blue-print 230 9.9 System-wide challenges compounded in all-through schools 232 9.10 Can new school groupings achieve the same advantages as a single 236 institution all-through school? Chapter Ten - Conclusion 239 10.1 Intent and scope of this study. 239 10.2 Limitations of this study. 239 10.3 Why this study is an important step in the examination of all-through 240 schools 10.4 How significant are the learnings from all-through schools for the wider 241 education system? 10.5 Recommendations based upon research findings 242 10.6

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