43SWAKELEYS SCHOOL FOR GIRLS |
BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2018
“Enjoy, achieve, aspire, succeed”: to
some, this ethos may not seem to
contain much in the way of substance,
but the power of this ethos lies in
its simplicity. It is something that
everyone can understand and buy
into. It is at the heart of everything we
do at Swakeleys – an approach that
seems to be paying dividends given
our Progress 8 performance. Right
now, for instance, we are in the top
10 per cent of schools nationwide
for progress achieved at GCSE in
2016, and have a Progress 8 score
of +0.6 for 2017. Alongside this, the
progress of disadvantaged students
is also outstanding. The ALPS (A-level
performance system) places academic
sixth form results of 2017 in the top 10
per cent of all sixth forms. These are all
facts of which we are proud.
It’s one thing to have these values;
it’s another to actually have them
implemented. We continued with our
approach of keeping things as simple
as possible and introduced three
golden rules to support exemplary
behaviour. These are: “do as you are
told, when you are told, at the first
time of asking”, “listen in silence
while others speak” and “keep hands,
hurtful thoughts and comments to
yourself”. We have trained our staff
on how to deliver outstanding lessons,
with minimal resources, to meet the
needs of pupils of all abilities. A key
ingredient of this strategy was the
use of AfL (assessment for learning) in
every lesson. All of our classrooms are
equipped with 30 small whiteboards
which pupils use throughout their
lessons to show their thinking, what
they are learning and what they need
to do next. Such a simple and relatively
inexpensive initiative has been one
of the most powerful in promoting
progress for all. We also made sure
that our curriculum had a focus on
stretch and challenge, such that all
learners – including our most able –
would make outstanding progress.
Seeing this, the chief executive of
the Schools Network in 2016, Sue
Williamson, remarked: “Skilled
teachers have high expectations and
ambition for every young person”.
Values taking us forward
Another unique feature of our school
is our focus on oracy. We believe
developing speaking skills is key to
raising aspiration and building self-
confidence. Oracy work within and
beyond the classroom is a high priority.
We have a large and active school
council which facilitates a whole school
debate each half term. Pupils of all
abilities and backgrounds will take
part in the floor debate to make their
voice heard. We are also equally proud
of our work leading the interfaith
network in Hillingdon. Through this,
pupils from both secondary and
primary schools are able to understand
and discuss issues relating to religion
and tolerance.
In the light of all of this, Ofsted
in 2013/14 judged us to be
“outstanding” in all areas. Something
that helped us to prepare effectively
for inspection was my own training
as an Ofsted inspector. This gave me
much knowledge about what makes
schools good and allowed me to
Year 11 girls show their
creativity in a STEM
workshop
Skilled
teachers have
high
expectations
and ambition
for every
young person
“
“
Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett
Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles
