Monkwearmouth School Which Resulted in a Vote of No Confidence in an Unexpected Journey Another
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School Inspection Performance Monkwearmouth School which resulted in a vote of no confidence in An Unexpected Journey another. Temporary solutions were tried, includ- ing a headteacher ‘flown in’ by the Local Author- ity to trouble shoot and turn the school around. This resulted in a satisfactory Ofsted inspection in 2006 when in reality it should have placed the school in a category. Mass migration of many of the good teachers and middle leaders who were able to leave during this time of turbulence left behind staff who were consistently told they were all Good for fear of demoralising them. Overall staff attendance was 82% which ironi- cally put them firmly in the persistent absentee Steve Wilkinson, Headteacher category by student measures. In 2007 I was appointed as Headteacher of The situation was further compounded by a Monkwearmouth School; a nice school; a predicted demographic downturn in roll of ap- comfortable school; a Satisfactory school! proximately 33% over six years, This, coupled Students were pleasant, able, passively with high staff costs, meant the school was head- compliant and the vast majority: well behaved. ing for a deficit budget with staffing set to spiral Staff tended to remain at the school for a beyond 90% of the total budget. Despite a top long time, sometimes for their entire time in heavy staffing structure, including four deputy education, including their own school days. headteachers and an abundance of highly paid Situated on the northern edge of Sunderland, TLR post holders and UPS 3 teachers, there was a mile from the sea, this above average sized, a distinct lack of embedded systems, quality as- mixed, 11-16 comprehensive comprised of surance processes and accountability. 1430 students, whose prior attainment was in line with national to use Ofsted parlance. The issue was not what needed doing, but where to start and judging accurately the schools’ ca- The journey of the school over previous years pacity to embed sustainable change. Which 20% had been an interesting one. I was the fifth of actions would lead to 80% impact? The previ- headteacher in six years. My predecessors ous head had attempted to introduce systems ranged from the archetypal hero head who, it and procedures, but there still remained a highly appeared, did almost everything himself, to an polarised ‘us’ and ‘them’ syndrome manifesting unfortunate episode in the schools’ history itself in an overall mistrust of leadership. Government Initiatives IQ School Inspection Performance Initially, there was a real focus on rigorous, honest self-evaluation and accountability at all levels. Bi-annual Challenge Meetings were introduced; incidentally, the term ‘challenge’, when introduced, was an affront to some middle leaders, however, through accurate judgements made on each curriculum area and quality improvement planning, results started to show incremental improvement in key areas of the school. A key turning point was agreeing our core values, which would support our students to enjoy and achieve during their time at the school, ensuring they would fulfill their potential. Those simple values are based on inclusion in its widest sense, coupled with mutual respect and trust between all members of our learning community irrespective of our role or status. The journey of school improvement involved reconstructing the foundations on which these values could prosper and in developing the capacity of middle leaders across the school to affect this change. With the mistrust of leadership, hearts and minds had to be won over before any systems had a chance of being adopted, Engaging in many of the National College let alone embedded. The key to this Leadership Programmes for selected was widely distributing the concept of aspiring leaders across the organisation Leadership through developing quality provided a pool of eager, keen and home-grown middle leaders. ambitious teaching and associate staff. Timely opportunities for senior colleagues to take early retirement alleviated the need for compulsory redundancies and allowed us to effectively manage a decreasing annual budget. Secondments onto an extended leadership team allowed development opportunities for those staff to develop wider leadership behaviours and competencies. Some of these staff have used the experience to become Assistant Headteachers either in Monkwearmouth or other schools elsewhere. Government Initiatives IQ School Inspection Performance Alongside this middle leadership first year, in a headteacher’s feedback development, whole school CPD focused questionnaire by staff, several teaching entirely on increasing competencies colleagues including some middle leaders and skills within the classroom was assessed as Inadequate almost every area implemented. This included the Teacher of my leadership. Learning is hard! Enhancement Effectiveness Programme (TEEP) at Level 1 for all classroom based Fundamental to this was achieving a staff with 30% achieving TEEP Level fit for purpose, effective and inclusive 2 and three teachers becoming Level 3 care guidance and support structure Trainers. Other opportunities involved a which would not only remove barriers pilot group developing Oracy techniques to learning for students but would allow within the school with dissemination to teaching staff to focus on learning and the whole school on a recent Training progess. A triage-style Student Services Day. Introduction of the IRIS system team was introduced and located centrally has allowed colleagues to self-reflect and within the school. Associate staff utilize this resource to enhance coaching delivered both front line services as well and mentoring. The introduction of as assuming the role of middle leaders. interim performance management reviews, with a focus on Levels of The new Intervention Centre provided Progress and targeted intervention for all support for those students who struggled classroom practitioners has embedded with our high expectations for behavior rigorous self-evaluation at all levels and mutual respect in the classroom and across the school. around school. The Inclusion Centre opened for our most vulnerable students, those who struggled with aspects of school life, emotional and social issue and those returning from or coping with serious injury or illness. A dedicated Learning Support team provided direct support for students in the classroom, based solely around identified educational need rather than to assist with classroom management. Learning is hard and there are no short term fixes. Successful learning within our community required a shift in fundamental beliefs and behaviours. Achieving sustainable success required clarity in our vision and a consistency in our approach, challenging all the learners within our community and often moving staff well out of their comfort zones. It was interesting that at the end of the Government Initiatives IQ School Inspection Performance with targeted intervention programmes, enabling our students to achieve the fantastic results they deserved. 73% 5+ A*-C grades at GCSE or equivalent including English and mathematics, an increase of 14% on the previous year. Students significantly exceeded national averages for three levels of progress in both mathematics (77%) and English (82%), with 74% of our students achieving four levels of progress in English Care, guidance and support is now outstripped the national average for three judged to be Outstanding by a range of levels – a phenomenal achievement. key performance indicators. Attendance has improved to well above the national We are celebrating our 50th anniversary average, with a corresponding dramatic year with our best ever results by far, decrease in persistent absenteeism and despite being in a building that is not the number and length of fixed term fit for purpose to deliver the modern exclusions. When Ofsted visited last educational agenda. However, we look December, for a while they questioned the to the future with renewed optimism validity of our data, the improvement was and pride, learning, although still so impressive, with only one minor fixed hard, is becoming a pleasure here at term exclusion for two days the previous Monkwearmouth. We now work together term. Readiness for Learning Indicators with staff, students, parents and carers , are now well above national average governors and the community to continue and our work with external agencies has the school’s journey to Outstanding and been judged by external inspection as beyond. Outstanding. NEET figures are at an all-time low with 99% of our students For more information on the engaged in education, employment or Monkwearmouth School please visit: training. www.monkwearmouth.sunderland.sch.uk Or contact: Torver Crescent Seaburn Dene, Sunderland Tyne and Wear, SR6 8LG If I were asked to identify the key element to our success this year, it would be the delegation of the accountability and responsibility to key members of the newly formed extended leadership team to ensure that quality first teaching is aligned Government Initiatives IQ.