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Why was study support undertaken?

In 1999 Woodlands Secondary School in Basildon, Essex received £50,150 from the DfES to run a two-week summer school.   The project was overseen by Jayne Dear (Deputy Head Teacher) and Dave Fogarty (a senior teacher) at Woodlands. 

What was planned?

The aims of the summer school were to:

• raise attainment
• increase self-esteem
• give children/young people something meaningful to do during the summer holiday

Specific aims for Year 6 children were to:

• support the transition phase
• Create a sense of inclusion

This case study focuses on the provision made for Year 6 children in Basildon.  The project was divided into three groups: literacy, numeracy and a general mixed-ability group.  The literacy and numeracy group targeted Year 6 children who had been identified as being weak in these areas via Key Stage 2 tests results.  These groups were taught separately from the other groups and followed a more rigid programme, which included five hours of focused literacy or numeracy training.

However, for Year 6 children in the mixed-ability course, the day was broken down into five hours of learning containing:

• a literacy hour
• a numeracy hour
• a cross-curricular topic
• creative arts
• a PE hour

What was done and when?

Each group had 20 to 30 Year 6 children, with a main teacher responsible for delivering the lessons.  Teachers were usually supported by two teaching assistants and a pupil mentor.  The pupil mentors were either Year 11 pupils or pupils recruited from local colleges. 

An example of a typical literacy hour lesson for the mixed-ability group involved the teacher asking the children to place their heads on the tables and listen to a poem read several times in different styles.  The children were then asked questions based on the poem, and were expected to raise their hands to give their answers.  Later in the session they were asked to work in pairs or small groups to look up alternative words to describe the main characters in the poem. 

Throughout the session a teaching assistant sat with a pair of Year 6 boys who had behavioural problems, to assist them with answers to the questions, and the other teaching assistant moved around the classroom approaching children who were experiencing difficulties or had queries.

A number of the summer school lessons followed a similar structure as the normal school day but with a more relaxed atmosphere for staff and children.  There were also more opportunities to go on educational and social trips.

What has been the impact and how is it verified?

The 1999 summer school was the third summer school run by Woodlands and the success of their project is shown in the attendance figures for each year.  160 children attended the first year, 180 children the following year and 224 attended in 1999. 

What has been learnt?

For children who attended the summer school project the general teething problems that are apparent in September would be less:

There would be fewer children saying, they have no friends or can't find particular rooms, because they would have met teachers and made friends during the summer school project.

Moving from an environment where they spent most of their day in one class room to the element of moving around to attend lessons would be more familiar to them come September.

Going from a school where they had one teacher all day, to having different teachers during the course of the day would not faze them.

What next?

The evaluation method used by the summer school was questionnaires for staff, participants and parents.  The results and responses from these questionnaires will have been taken into account in planning future summer schools.

The teachers who led the literacy and numeracy groups also tracked the progress of the 1999 summer school participants, to provide further information by which future summer school sessions were planned.

In 2000 Over 300 school children in Basildon attended Woodlands summer school.  As well as literacy and numeracy, the following activities were included:

• A Breakfast club for reading, and using the computer that also provided a free snack
• A Music club
• A Journalism club
• An Art club
• A PE club
• Fantasy football league
• Numerous visits including swimming trips, visits to Thorpe Park, and Reculver Castle
  Cookery classes
• Making papier mache air balloons

Woodlands school continue to run summer schools every year.  

NB: For a more detailed version of the 1999 case study please see the DfES Research Report "Study Support Summer School Pilots 1999: An Evaluation of 25 Schemes".