Fulwood St Peters CE Primary School

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Fulwood St Peters 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 Peters 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 SPONSOR 2020

Exploring the local environment

is important

The outdoor learning

environment

Unlocking potential” has been the mission statement at

StPeter’s School for over a decade. Having received four

congratulation letters from the education secretary for

standards in mathematics and phonics over the last two years,

they have been focusing on developing ways in which children

learn across the whole curriculum, providing them with learning

that is tailored to their needs. Headteacher David Merritt tells

The Parliamentary Review

more.

Building on a platform of solid achievement in English and maths, we have already

worked on complementary success areas, including the School Games Gold Mark

and Eco-Schools Green Flag awards. With a diverse and multicultural setting made

up of 17 different ethnic groups, serving a community of learners from nursery

upwards with a broad range of abilities, we wanted to look at how what we taught

matched our specific children.

Setting goals

The first stage of development was the statement of intent – a definition

setting out the aims of our educational philosophy, including the knowledge

and understanding children need to acquire at each stage of their learning

journey. Alongside significant child, teacher, governor and parental feedback,

other sources of information were looked at to determine the types of learning

needs that our children had and how this reflected the school’s context within

thecommunity.

“

REPORT CARD

FULWOOD ST PETERS CE

PRIMARY SCHOOL

»Headteacher: David Merritt

»Founded in 1976

»Type of school: Church of

England Voluntary Aided

Primary single form with

nursery

»Based in Preston, Lancashire

»www.fulwoodstpeters.co.uk

Fulwood St Peters CE

Primary School

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

2| FULWOOD ST PETERS CE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Office for National Statistics data

and the children’s completion of

their own “Drawing the Future”

programme – an education and

employer international research

project backed by the NAHT and

OECD – provided the starting point

for discussion with the governor’s

standards committee. Some

children lacked aspiration and were

disconnected from the purpose and

real-life value of learning. Others

had limited opportunity and life

experience to develop general

knowledge and independence. We

were then in a position to start

identifying key drivers that would be

central to our curriculumprovision.

Having staff who attended training

on use of evidence-based methods

to inform practice, we wanted

to see what impact our choices

would have on the children’s

development. The Education

Endowment Foundation (EEF) has

completed numerous studies that

linked to our drivers and showed

positive impact on learning. Each

driver was then matched to relevant

research. The drivers were then set

and ready to be rolled out to all

staff. They included real-life learning

experiences, leadership teams,

independence skills and time to

follow subjects in depth.

Acting on our research

We are fortunate to have an over

three acres of grounds. A key area

for improvement was to improve

staff confidence in teaching

outdoors. We started to develop

teachers’ understanding of the value

of this by using EEF resources such

as educating outdoors, forest school

adventure and outdoor adventure

learning. The acquisition of an

additional plot of land from the

local council then provided us with

a designated area for forest school

activities. To trial its use we created

forest school extracurricular sessions.

These were quickly oversubscribed

and are now being implemented into

thecurriculum.

Many of these drivers are typically

seen in good early years teaching, so

much of the development in teaching

methods and attitudes to learning

was for later year groups. Having

successfully introduced coaching

methods through introducing the

children to collaborative learning

Learning in teams is a

key driver

A key area for

improvement

was to

improve staff

confidence in

teaching

outdoors

“

»CURRICULUM DRIVERS

Real-life, practical and outdoor learning: Seeing how subject matter

fits into the real world and getting children active with kinaesthetic

learning.

Leading teams: Communication and organisation skills to learn

collaboratively.

Choice: Active rather than passive learning which reflects personal

interests.

Independence: Developing skills to learn and research more

autonomously.

Depth: Where there is scope in the curriculum to pursue subject

matter in more detail, following children’s interests.

3FULWOOD ST PETERS CE PRIMARY SCHOOL |

BEST PRACTICE SPONSOR 2020

and peer tutoring, we were able

to focus on other areas for staff

growth. Training on meta-cognition

and self-regulation highlighted the

importance of independent learning,

choices and children’s confidence.

One of the balances to strike was

how much choice children could have

within the confines of the national

curriculum. Some subjects have been

easier than others. For example, in

history the time periods that need to

be studied are stipulated, whereas in

art we had a free rein to link artists

to the topic work.

A direct way to address the

children’s understanding of the use

of learning was to invite parents

to explain their own occupations.

Being near a hospital, several

doctors and nurses were able to

talk to the children. A range of

other occupations such as running

businesses, aircraft engineering,

farming and even beekeeping spiked

children’s interest and understanding

of how their learning fitted into real-

life contexts.

It was important for subject leaders

to apply these drivers to their own

subjects. The staff at St Peter’s

have a range of experiences and

strengths. Subject leaders were

paired depending upon their

experience so that skills could be

shared as they worked together to

put the drivers into each subject.

In geography we have been able

to incorporate all of the drivers

in each year group while utilising

the outdoor space that we have in

school. Each class teacher was then

given the freedom to plan for their

year group and create themes for

learning where multiple subjects

were based around a central topic.

The study of the Second World

War in one year incorporated

history, geography, French, music

andcomputing.

The acquisition

of an additional

plot of land from

the local council

then provided us

with a

designated area

for forest school

activities

“

Keeping active!

Moving forward

As we move forward we believe we are

well positioned to balance achievement

in the subjects that are conspicuously

measured with skill, attitudes and

ingredients to learning that our

particular children need. Challenge lies

in balancing subject coverage with the

need to adapt it, and how to do all this

within time constraints. Being clear as

to what kind of learners we wish to

create – what the characteristics of the

end point are with children in year six

– will help measure and evaluate how

successful we have been.

www.fulwoodstpeters.co.uk

This article was sponsored by Fulwood St Peters CE Primary School. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it.

Rt Hon Michael Gove's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By Rt Hon Michael Gove

This year's Parliamentary Review comes at a momentous time for parliament, as we collectively determine the destiny of the United Kingdom.

On October 31, the UK will leave the European Union. The successful implementation of this process is this government's number-one priority.

Three years after a historic referendum vote, we will deliver on the decisive mandate from the British people. Trust in our democracy depends on it. Until that final hour, we will work determinedly and diligently to negotiate a deal, one that abolishes the backstop and upholds the warm and close relationship we share with our friends, allies and neighbours in the EU. But in the event that the EU refuses to meet us at the table, we must be prepared to leave without a deal.

As the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, it is my job to lead on this government's approach, should that scenario happen. Preparing for Brexit is my department's driving mission. But while I am leading this turbocharged effort, the whole of government is committed to this endeavour.

Ministers across Whitehall are working together to ensure that every possibility is considered, every plan is scrutinised and every provision is made. A daily drumbeat of meetings means that we are holding departments accountable, so that preparations are completed on time.

The chancellor has confirmed that all necessary funding will be made available. And we have mobilised thecivil service, assigning 15,000 of our most talented civil servants to manage our exit from the EU.

We will make sure that on November 1, there is as little disruption to national life as possible. Our trade relationships will continue to thrive, thanks to agreements with countries around the world worth £70 billion. Our country will remain secure, thanks to nearly 1,000 new officers posted at our borders. And the 3.2 million EU nationals now living and working among us can remain confident, with absolute certainty, of their right to remain in the UK.

Above all, our goal is to be transparent. Soon, we will launch a public information campaign so that citizens, communities and businesses are ready and reassured about what will happen in the event of “no deal”.

In my first few weeks in this role, I have travelled to ports and tarmacs, borders and bridges, all across the UK –from the seaside of Dover to the rolling green hills of County Armagh. I have heard from business owners and border officials, farmers and hauliers. They are ready to put an end to uncertainty. And they are ready to embrace the opportunities ahead.

Our departure from the EU will be a once in a lifetime chance to chart a new course for the United Kingdom. Preparing for that new course will be a herculean effort. But this country has made astounding efforts before. We can do it again.

Rt Hon Michael Gove
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster