Raising Achievement Partnership Programme

LITTLE HEATH SCHOOL An HPSS RAPP school HPSS Schools Welcome Meeting RAPP – a first year perspective London 1 May 2009 RaisingAchievementPartnershipProgramme

LITTLE HEATH SCHOOL Mixed Comprehensive school (1 707 students)on the outskirts of Reading Over 400 students in the Sixth Form (doubled in size since 2002) Little Heath SchoolOFSTED November 2005 Grade: 1 (Outstanding) February 2009 Grade: 1 (Outstanding) Gained HPSS status in 2007, choosing RaisingAchievementTransformingLearning (now HPSS RAPP)as our second specialism. Began work in April 2008 (and seriously from September!) Gained Consultant School status (Established) in October 2008

HPSS RAPP What has it involved for Little Heath School? • Partnerships with other schools • Helping other schools / organisations with ‘one-off’ support / intervention • Contributing to the local and national agenda through presentations at events and Conferences

Partnerships with other schools • Little Heath School formed raising Achievement Partnerships with 3 National Challenge Schools in July 2008: • X School West Berkshire LA • Y School Reading LA • Z School Bracknell Forest LA • From December 2008 we have also been working in partnership with a school that has been placed in Special Measures by OFSTED: • W School West Berkshire LA Raising achievement with dignity

Support for partner schools • Strategies have been intensive and varied, but as a priority have focused on raising standards of achievement, including achieving (as a minimum) higher than 30% A*-C including English and Mathematics by 2009 • Teacher training by Little Heath staff during INSET days and after school • Supporting effective teaching and learning, including ‘buddying up’ departments, hosting visits to Little Heath School and twilight teaching in partner schools • Data analysis, for example drilling down in order to identify pupils in need of support or intervention.

The National Challenge • As part of their DATA ENABLER package the SSAT have developed a simple resource that enables you to show either GCSE results or mock results or predicted grades or FFT estimated grades in a VENN diagram. • Using this you can visualise the National Challenge • We use this at Little Heath and I also use this with our National Challenge partners • It enables swift identification of those students who will not gain 5+A*-C including English & Maths (and why) • It’s free at http://www.visualisingthenationalchallenge.co.uk

Small school – each student = c.1%

RAPP Host Days / Events • We planned several of these into the 2009/09 school calendar; the Host Days were themed around the 3 main strategies highlighted in our ‘RATL Offer’: • Tracking and Monitoring Students • Student voice and empowering students • Post 16 strategies to raise achievement

Bespoke Support • Both as an HPSS RAPP school and as a Consultant School we get regular requests, sometimes from the SSAT but often direct from schools, for specific support: • A school wanting to visit to consider RAPP as a specialism • A school wanting more information related to a Conference presentation • A school wanting help with a specific issue • The SSAT wanting a showcase or rondeval on a specific issue

The National Agenda • I decided that the only way to make RATL / RAPP work was to enhance the reputation of Little Heath School • The surest way of accomplishing this appeared to be to actively seek opportunities to contribute to the SSAT’s programme of events

Events and Conferences RATL Cohort D Conferences – Rondevals Strategies for maximising achievement at 5+A*-C GCSE including English and Mathematics • York, 23rd September 2008 ; London, 30th September 2008 • Birmingham, 17th October 2008 SSAP Wave 2 Conference - Rondeval Strategies for maximising achievement at 5+A*-C GCSE including English and Mathematics • London, 13th October 2008 RATL Spectrum Conference • Building Success in the Sixth Form • Identifying needs and working as a team in implementing intervention strategies • Newbury, 5th January 2009 SSAT Maximising Achievement at KS4 Conference – Showcase Strategies for maximising achievement at 5+A*-C GCSE including English and Mathematics • London, 21st January 2009 HPSS RAPP Graduating Conference and HPSS RAPP Welcome Meeting • London, 26th February 2009; London, 1st May 2009;

The Moral PurposeWe strive to contribute in as many ways as we are able

Outcomes for our students Involvement in HPSS RAPP (RATL) is having a positive impact on the students at Little Heath School for the following reasons: • Spending from the RAPP budget on school improvement; • Our staff looking at the issues and problems facing other schools have discovered new ideas and strategies that have also improved performance at Little Heath; • Materials prepared for use in partner schools have improved practice at Little Heath; for example, revision materials produced for Mathematics GCSE; • The school has benefited from the spark provided by our presenter at SSAT Conferences also hearing other excellent ideas from other schools; • A growing number of students are gaining confidence from being involved in presentations and hosting visits from partner schools.

Contact details Phone: 01189 427337 07827871706 Email: jphilip@westberks.org

Raising Achievement Partnership Programme