
THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
24 | SCALBY SCHOOL
as everyone else and it certainly did
make me think more carefully about
how I planned for and worked with the
disadvantaged students in my classes.
The SLT then monitored lessons
regularly to ensure that this approach
was being consistently applied.
At wave one, we purchased all the
materials for practical lessons for
disadvantaged students, such as food
for those studying catering, using the
pupil premium fund to do so. The
fund was also used to buy revision
materials for final-year students. Wave
two provision involved additional
offerings to groups of students, such
as revision classes after school. Wave
three involved personalised individual
support for students, such as a reading
improvement programme or a personal
mentor, either from a local employer
or senior member of staff who would
also contact parents as required to
establish a constructive relationship
with the family.
The leadership team created a
spreadsheet with data relating to
every disadvantaged student, to assess
their individual needs. It was decided
whether they required just wave one
provision or needed to access provision
at waves two and three, and, if so,
what. In short, there was a provision
plan for every disadvantaged child in
the school. This was also reviewed every
half-term when the performance data
for each student was produced and
their provision amended accordingly.
Other key action areas
The other key actions were to increase
the staffing of the attendance team,
which led to improved numbers in
school and the introduction of a new
literacy development programme to
address issues such as low reading
ages, enabling students to better
access examination courses. The
leadership team also made explicit
to both year 11 students and their
parents, through an information
evening, the importance of home
study prior to examinations coupled
with information on revision
techniques. Following these actions,
the summer of 2016 saw a significant
improvement in results both overall
and for disadvantaged students,
which were improved upon again in
2017 as we refined our three-wave
plan; we developed our after-school
classes for underperforming students
and directed them to these with
parentalsupport.
The school is rightfully proud of the
improvements it has made in raising
the educational outcomes for our
disadvantaged youngsters. It shows
how a school can improve significantly
with skilled, committed individuals
such as Chris Robertson and a detailed
evidence-based strategy. This can
only work, however, if the plan is
applied consistently by everyone and
the leadership team are relentless
in ensuring that it is. This makes
for continual hard work and an
unremitting focus, but when staff see
the students’ faces on results day, all
the effort is worth it.
Behaviour and
safety are
good. Students
have positive
attitudes to
learning
Ofsted
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»BEING THE BEST WE CAN BE
At Scalby School, we pride ourselves on being a learning community
where students make progress across all of their subjects every day
and where teachers participate in weekly professional development
activities to improve their practice.
We practise our leadership skills at all levels of our school life; our
students have responsibilities to lead improvements for our school
community and our staff have opportunities to demonstrate their
leadership skills, ready for the next step in their careers.
We are relentless in our ambition to ensure that all of our students
and all of our staff are challenged and supported so that they can
maximise their potential.
Above all, our curriculum ensures that we develop the culture and
character of our students. We believe these social attributes are just as
important as academic qualifications in preparing our young people to
be responsible citizens, who contribute positively to our community.
This is what “being the best we can be” means at Scalby School.
Scalby School: a
learning community