Fulwood St Peter's CE Primary School

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Fulwood St Peter's CE Primary School's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Fulwood St Peter's CE Primary School is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles

www.fulwoodstpeters.co.uk

1FULWOOD ST PETERS CE PRIMARY SCHOOL |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE

Headteacher David Merritt

and Deputy Gareth Allen with

Teaching Assistants

Children generate their

own questions and

criteria for answers

Since they achieved an “outstanding” rating in their Ofsted

inspection in 2012, Preston-based Fulwood St Peter’s CE

Primary School’s quest has been to continue to adapt

and improve. For the last two years, more than 90 per cent of

their pupils have reached the expected standard in reading,

writing and maths. Last year, 100 per cent of children reached

nationally expected standards in maths, and the proportion of

children reaching a high level in maths has not been lower than

48 per cent in the last three years. Headteacher David Merritt

expands upon their story.

Doing things a bit differently for us has sometimes been driven by having a long,

hard look at why a specific area isn’t improving. One area of development we have

struggled to improve has been the achievement of higher-ability readers.

The first idea was to put children in maths ability groups. We knew of no other single-

form entry school where this had been done. Having already achieved very positive

outcomes for our pupils, we were concerned that this could go wrong and that

parents would question the usefulness of children being placed in different classes

for maths. The method didn’t involve any children dropping down below their own

year group; children could only go up. At times, children in year 4 working alongside

year 6 was an unusual sight, but, ultimately, their abilities matched. We compensated

for the additional children in year 6 by having a parallel group led by a very capable

teaching assistant. The method worked well and has since become the norm.

A key focus has been to enable staff and children to be more independent and

responsible for their own learning. There aren’t many adults in a school building

REPORT CARD

FULWOOD ST PETERS CE

PRIMARY SCHOOL

»Headteacher: David Merritt

»Founded in 1976

»Located in Preston, Lancashire

»Type of school: Voluntary-

aided Church of England

primary school

»No. of pupils: 238

»No. of staff: 23

»“Outstanding” rating from

Ofsted

»www.fulwoodstpeters.co.uk

Fulwood St Peters CE

Primary School

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

2| FULWOOD ST PETERS CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

if you think about it, and the more

decisions and learning that are

exclusively dependent upon them, the

less that will be accomplished.

We have also targeted specific awards

to enhance the core curriculum,

such as the Eco-Schools Green Flag

award, the Flagship National Health

Schools award and the School Games

GoldMark.

A specialised role for teaching

assistants

Having attended training on coaching

and having also read about the

subject, we started to further develop

teaching assistant skills by using this

method. Teaching assistants usually

have a specific role that builds upon

their strengths. We wanted to ensure

they developed a wide range of skills

which supported learning effectively.

Initially, writing became a focus for

development using the coaching

method. A key area for improvement,

we found, was to develop children’s

appropriate use of the various

features of writing when working

independently. Once our teaching

assistants were upskilled, they were

given a key role in developing this

withchildren.

Following a skills audit, we found

many of our teaching assistants had

experience or qualifications prior to

working in school that would prove

invaluable in developing their role.

The more they gained experience

in an area of prior knowledge, with

teacher input, such as phonics, maths,

comprehension and behaviour, and

the more autonomy they had in

working out how to work in this area,

the better they became. Teaching

assistants carrying out this enhanced

role felt trusted and valued and had

strong feelings of responsibility for the

children’s achievement.

Coaching methods for

children

This initiative involved training some

higher-ability children in coaching

methods. They went on to work

in pairs carrying out activities such

as reading together, explaining

vocabulary, summarising, asking

questions and then discussing answers.

It has been fascinating to watch

how the coaches develop their own

autonomous style and method as

they are given responsibility for the

other child’s learning, substantially

developing their self-esteem. The

children being coached reported that

they found another child easier to

understand than an adult, and that

their thinking and ways of explaining

were the same – expressed in a way

Outdoor learning is also

important

A key focus

has been to

enable staff

and children

to be more

independent

and

responsible for

their own

learning

“

Sharing ways they have

learnt themselves

3FULWOOD ST PETERS CE PRIMARY SCHOOL |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE

they could “better understand”. Some

children developed IT programmes to

help their learning partner practice and

were as excited about the other child’s

progress as they were about their own.

As the year progresses, the coaches

use their own “question stems” (the

basic format of the questions that

they need to be able to answer), select

texts, and make and apply marking

criteria. They share the ways they have

learnt themselves. One of the proudest

achievements has been observing 10

or 12 children locked into a learning

discussion together for almost an hour

without anyone having to directly tell

them what to do.

We are fortunate that the teaching

assistant involved in this area holds

coaching qualifications from a previous

occupation. However, the same

model is used with others if they

grasp the concept. Crucial to success

is the teacher and teaching assistant

selecting the right children, monitoring

closely what is happening and making

due adjustments. Their role, however,

is very different as they change from

instructor to trainer. For all the children

involved, there is huge impact in the

learning going on. Children who have

less developed English language have

more opportunity to expand their

vocabulary and understanding of the

subtleties of meaning.

We had some initial concerns that

the coaches might not be learning

themselves, as it would seem that

they are not being taught. Soon we

realised, though, that they are, just in

a different way. As they have to learn

what needs to be learnt, they learn it

themselves. All the children involved

have gained just as much, or more, as

previously in their own achievement

levels, with several reaching near

maximum scaled scores in their

readingSAT.

Child-led learning

We are now moving this child-centred

approach further across the curriculum.

Having identified on an inset day the

different roles that teachers can have,

we are now focused on teaching

methods that give children as much

choice in their own learning as

possible, where these flexibilities are to

be found in the national curriculum.

A key area for

improvement,

we found, was

to develop

children’s

appropriate use

of the various

features of

writing when

working

independently

“

Flying high!

www.fulwoodstpeters.co.uk

This article was sponsored by Fulwood St Peter's CE Primary School. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from The Rt Hon Professor The Lord Blunkett.

The Rt Hon Professor The Lord Blunkett's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By The Rt Hon Professor The Lord Blunkett

A new Prime Minister, a new Education Secretary and, as we're all painfully aware, a deeply uncertain future. It is in this context that the education service continues to deliver for individuals, communities and of course for our nation.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the education service as a whole, schools, post 16/Further Education, and yes, lifelong learning, needs the most enormous injection of cash. Independent analysis shows that there has been at least an 8% average reduction in the amount of spend per pupil in our schools. Those damaged most by this have been pupils with special educational needs, whose voices are sadly rarely heard. The necessity of urgent action was underlined in July by the report of the all-party House of Commons Select Committee on Education. They could not have been clearer about the need for substantial funding and a long-term 10-year commitment.

At the same time, there are a number of reviews taking place. One of them, in relation to post-16 qualifications, is in danger of a classic mistake by politicians and officials who have little or no understanding of the complex territory they're dealing with. Namely, the ridiculous proposition that BTEC National Diplomas might be set aside because 'T Levels are the gold standard'!

I'm in favour of T Levels, but in the right context and for the right outcome. They are intended to be extremely focused specialist qualifications in defined areas of employment. When and if they eventually take off – there is predicted to be just a thousand students in 2021-22 taking up the qualification – they will not replace the BTEC, which has been the workhorse providing a general and high-quality education for decades. The BTEC has equipped young people for a variety of opportunities in a very changing employment market where the development of artificial intelligence, robotics, and changed working practices makes confining the choice of vocational pathways to one narrow focus, frankly ridiculous.

Meanwhile, her Majesty's Opposition continue to throw out titbits which do not give, as yet, a very clear idea of what, if elected, Labour would do in office. What is needed is positive proposals. Abolishing this, that or the other – assessments/tests for those leaving primary school, for instance – is not the same thing as a very forward-looking agenda for radical improvement in standards and equity between those who can and cannot afford additional help for their children.

There are a handful of Labour Party members, supported by some people who ought to know better, who have decided that a full-frontal assault on private education would be a good idea. For those worried about this, stop worrying. A party that put this in its manifesto wouldn't get elected, and if by some fluke it did, it would be challenged in the courts to the point where all the contradictions would be exposed for everyone to see.

Just contemplate one simple fact. 20% of secondary schoolchildren in the borough of Hackney attend private schools! Yes, Hackney. This is because a large number of parents, some of whom scrape the money together, are sending their children to private education in London which happens to be the area of England with the best academic outcomes from state education. What's more, very large numbers (again, particularly in London) pay for private tutors. At the last estimate 40% of parents in London had at some point over the last year paid for a tutor for their child!

Perhaps therefore an opposition party, hoping to provide unity rather than division, opportunity for all rather than a futile class battle against educational privilege, would seek ways of ensuring that those who can't afford tutors have the kind of support outside school that would put them on equal terms.

One thing is very certain, no government would be able to stop parents buying additional tutoring for their children.

So, a practical agenda for equalising opportunity, for investing where it's needed most, for transforming the pipeline from school through college, apprenticeships, or university, is a goal worth fighting for. A positive way of linking business and education through political decision-making, with the delivery by excellent professionals in the education service, to the children of today and the economy of tomorrow. Surely that is a much more progressive and less negative way forward for both government and opposition.

The Rt Hon Professor The Lord Blunkett
Co-Chairman