This website is changing

Moving beyond the floor target – Oak Green Primary School, Buckinghamshire

Date of issue:	Jan. 2008
Theme:	Schools Causing Concern (SCC)

School context and profile

Number on roll: 341. Age range three to 11 years.

The headteacher joined the school seven years ago at a point of much turbulence when four schools were amalgamated and moved onto the current site. A children's centre has recently been established at the school.

• Almost half the pupils are from minority ethnic groups and speak English as an Additional Language (EAL). The largest ethnic groups are white British and Pakistani
• There is a high level of social deprivation and pupil mobility
• Prior attainment is low
• Around a third of pupils have Special Educational Needs (SEN).

The school was inspected in July 2007 and received an overall grade for effectiveness of 2 along with leadership and management and capacity to improve.

Key Stage 2 L4+ results 2005 English 54%; mathematics 44%
Key Stage 2 L4+ results 2006 English 55%; mathematics 63%
Key Stage 2 L4+ results 2007 English 62%; mathematics 68%

Barriers to improvement

• The learning and teaching environment
• Punctuality, attendance and behaviour
• The involvement of parents, and their expectations about learning.

Go to top

The school-based issues – what needed to change?

• A learning and teaching environment lacking in stimulation and low expectations
• Poor attendance and punctuality
• Poor behaviour and oppressive behaviour management
• Lack of parental involvement, low expectations of learning, poor adult basic skills particularly among white British families
• Some personnel issues.

What was done?

• Introducing systems for monitoring the quality of teaching, such as lesson observations and improving subject knowledge
• Moderation of planning and marking, so that this reflects the curricular layered targets
• Key senior leadership appointments and development of middle managers
• Pupil tracking and accountability, including expectations about age-related levels (this was introduced before the Intensifying Support Programme (ISP)). A traffic light system was used to focus attention on progress and pupil progress meetings to ensure that everyone is accountable and responsible for attainment
• There are termly assessment weeks. QCA tests are used to support inexperienced teachers. Staff meetings moderate assessments
• ISP was introduced two years ago and this consolidated progress made, increasing numbers of pupils in the 'could' and 'should' categories
• Timetabling three lessons into the morning session. One each of literacy, numeracy and science
• Afternoon lessons involve skills-based project work ensuring that basic skills are taught across the curriculum
• Introducing care guidance and support systems – the Every Child Matters (ECM) agenda
• Modelling respect was also critical to building relationships between all of the school community.

Monitoring and evaluation

• Increased attendance and improved punctuality
• Percentage of lessons good or better
• Behaviour management improved – no children referred for pupil referral unit support
• Raised levels of attainment
• Improved levels of parental involvement.

What has been the overall impact?

'Years ago we used to have some bullies, but now we have people who care for each other.' (Year 6 pupil.)

The environment of the school – 'We have a nice garden with flowers.'  'There are things to play with outside.' (Year 5 pupils.)

'It is much calmer around the school and there is purposeful learning, children are more respectful to adults and adults towards children, there is a more cheerful and well resourced learning environment.'

'There are good systems in place to ensure standards continue to rise. Staff are now more skilled and that enables them to lead and manage.'

Go to top

Local authority support and challenge

• Improving the quality of teaching and standards
• Improving behaviour and attendance
• Developing inexperienced leadership team members including subject leaders.

What was done?

• Supporting the amalgamation and building works
• Human Resources support for personnel issues
• Providing good quality data, standard attainment, contextual value added, average point score, Fischer Family Trust
• Consultancy support including lesson observations, modelling planning, and providing training on assessment and subject knowledge
• The ISP consultant introduced a Raising Attainment Plan, modelling the drafting of it and initially introducing layered curriculum targets
• Supporting leadership development (Local Public Service Agreement 2).

Monitoring and evaluation

• Raised levels of attainment – above floor targets
• Lesson observations, work scrutiny, and pupil tracking systems
• School improvement monitoring systems (now involving the School Improvement Partner), a local authority (LA) group looks at all the data and other intelligence about schools and brokers appropriate support and challenge where needed
• Promoting the ECM agenda, holistic approaches, raising attainment for all groups, inclusive education fulfilling each child’s potential.

What has been the overall impact?

• 'You can have all the systems in place but unless you have effective leadership with the confidence to take calculated risks and with clarity of vision there will be no sustainable improvement.'
• 'The Ofsted report is external validation of the success. It is a school confident to tailor the curriculum and the toolkits provided to meet the needs of this community. The school has engaged with the process.'

Sustainability – what next?

• Continue with the principles of ISP – this is embedded
• Support from the LA has helped build capacity and capability among subject leaders and other teachers.

What will the school do?

'Valuing everybody in the school community and their unique contribution.'

Continue to focus on professional development for all staff, teaching and non teaching, offering internal promotion where possible to capitalise on expertise and investment. Promoting learning in the community.

What will the LA do?

• Provide top-up courses for sustainability on subjects such as writing and reviewing RAPs, layered curricular targets and pupil tracking and interpretation of data
• Develop a continuum of skills development, coaching, co-coaching, linking leadership and management skills into classroom practice
• Develop capacity and capability of the community such as governors, parents, other agencies - all of whom need to contribute to ensuring the five ECM outcomes.

Go to top