Self-Evaluation Summary 2015-16

Section 1: School Context

Together We Will:

•Provide opportunity, security and encouragement

•Accept guidance, responsibility and diversity

•Share success, achievement and pride

•Build self-belief, resilience and community

Within a caring environment based on mutual respect and trust.

Our specialist secondary school was established in January 1996 to educate boys with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD); our new designation is as an Academy for students with Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs (SEMH). As a school we strive to improve outcomes academically, but also acknowledge that balanced mental health, social skills and emotional development is also a priority for our students.

Our vision is to prepare students for their life beyond education. We achieve this by recognising that all students are individuals and as such provide them with a personal ‘pathway’ of learning. We believe our students should enjoy ‘the learning journey’which should continue beyond LWS. This is achieved by having high expectations that reflect the challenges our students face as a young adult,post-16.

We have high but realistic expectations for our students. However,almost all students have complex needs; these require significant time, targeted strategies and patience to address them. StudentsEHCP needs can manifest themselves with extreme,yet varying degrees of anti-social behaviour. We empower students to take responsibility for theirbehaviourswhilstequipping them with coping methods and strategies when faced with these challenges. Our unique tiered behaviour policy provides us with the capacity to address behavioural needs, whilst supporting their additional needs. Our ‘home-school’ agreement, service level agreements and variety of communication methods aim to establish a framework of support for a consistent approach to a students’ development, an encompassing multi-agency approach.

Emphasis is placed on the development of the ‘whole child’ and their well-being, our OPEAR approach – establishing positive outcomes. We also strongly encourage creative arts, life skills, as well as learning through sport and physical activity. Our Specialist Support Assistants (SSAs) provide specific interventions for students’, such as English and Maths boosters, attendance strategies, speech and language development, emotional literacy, therapeutic approaches and home-school liaison. We have anattached Educational Psychologist and Psychotherapist.

Student profile

Every student has a ‘live’ digital profile which we regard as an enhanced case study approach. This enables us to analyse and contextualise strategies and expectations against current outcomes. The approach helps us to track and monitor changes in student engagement, learning, behaviour, circumstances and monitor impact of strategies at the click of a button. The use of our ‘digital profile’ approach has enabled us to create a ‘tailored’ curriculum for every student – treating them all as individuals and providing a personalized model. Each group in the school has specific qualities and attributes. A great example of this is our ‘Delta’ group for our more EV high risk students. ‘Delta’ provides a base camp for learning for these students, who are then able to explore the rest of the curriculum from this group and work towards being integrated into the main school groups. A model of our how we group and progress our students is to the right.

Students will achieve GCSE, Entry Level and BTEC qualifications across all subjects and have the opportunity to gain a Level 1 qualification at college in Key Stage 4. The curriculum aims to help re-engage students with learning, through the use of specialist providers and organisations.

Student progress is assessed in real-time, every fifty minutes. We track students’ emotional and social development through the 'Life Events Scale' and 'Boxall Profile'. TheLWS specifically designed ‘whole school self-evaluation database’ provides real-time and historical data on the performance of the school, subjects and students. At LWS we closely monitor this system– measuring impact and refining strategies according to analysis. This system is the tool for school improvement through driving leadership strategies and provides whilst also the analysing a method of tracking student progress after the removal of National Curriculum Levels in September 2014.

Our Judgements

  • Overall effectiveness – Good
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  • Outcomes for children and learners – Good
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  • Good Quality of teaching, learning and assessment – Good

  • Effectiveness of leadership and management – Outstanding
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  • Personal development, behaviour and welfare – Good

Section 2: Outcomes for children and learners

Although attainment levels are not in line with national averages, students do make progress over time given their starting points and prior attainment levels.

In English, a large majority of students (70%), make progress in line with prior learning rates (PLR) with the majority of students (50%) making the expected national measure of three of more levels of progress. In Maths, most students (83%) make progress in line with their PLR, whilst a large majority (70%) are on track to make three levels of progress.

April 2016

Maths Achievement / % Progress against 3 levels of progress / % Progress against Personal Learning Rate / Average Lesson Target % / % of students who joined at Yr 7
Whole School / 48%
Year 7 / 100% / 100% / 45% / 78%
Year 8 / 100% / 100% / 53% / 71%
Year 9 / 63% / 63% / 60% / 22%
Year 10 / 44% / 56% / 48% / 20%
Year 11 / 14% / 29% / 30.2 / 50%
/ English Achievement / % Progress against 3 levels of progress / % Progress against Personal Learning Rate / Average Lesson Target % / % of students who joined at Yr 7
Whole School / 48%
Year 7 / 100% / 100% / 56% / 78%
Year 8 / 100% / 100% / 45% / 71%
Year 9 / 100% / 100% / 59.6 / 22%
Year 10 / 33% / 33% / 60% / 20%
Year 11 / 14% / 43% / 43% / 50%

NEET Data and Destination Analysis2016

Student Number / Destination / NEET data demonstrates that of a cohort of seven Year 11 students, two (33%) were classified being NEET (as of September2016).67% of students have started and maintained a college place, and one student (17%) has moved out of county
Although two students were reported as NEET, both students were referred to appropriate third party organisations who work with the school to enable successful Key Stage 5 transitions.
4 / College
0 / Sixth form school or college
0 / Apprenticeships
0 / Job without training
1 / Moved out of area
2 / NEET

School Based Analysis:

Trends in student achievement are very dependent on cohort specifics, however LWS continues to provide GCSE opportunities in most subjects. In 2015 62% left with GCSE English / 92% in Maths / 90% in Science. 62% left with both English and Maths GCSE. Our 2016 cohort presented significant complex needs and as a result we saw a significant decline in achievement.
Data over the last four academic years indicates that a majority of students achieve GCSE English and Maths as well as achieving five GCSEs grade A*-G (including English and Maths).
Since our last inspection GCSE pass results have increased significantly - 83% average pass rate in English and Maths since 2013. 2016 has marked a decline in this trend. / Student engagement in learning (%) over the academic year 2015-16. Students and staff aim for 70% learning engagement or above;
2014 / 15 / Autumn / Winter / Spring / Summer
High engagement / 37% / 50% / 59%
Working towards / 39% / 23% / 33%
Low Engagement / 24% / 27% / 8%
2015 / 16 / Autumn / Winter / Spring / Summer
High engagement / 43% / 41% / 40%
Working towards / 43% / 42% / 51%
Low Engagement / 14% / 17% / 9%
Cohort of 7 students / Cohort of 11

Pupil Premium Students:

Pupil premium attainment is analysed weekly (through learning engagement in lessons) as well as yearly. Data shows that there are reasonably high learning engagement levels in both English and Maths for all categories of pupil premium with Maths demonstrating higher engagement levels overall. The learning engagement gap is decreasing against the school and non-pupil premium student averages.

Section 2:The quality of teaching, learning and assessment

The quality of teaching in the school is good, due to the very large majority of teachers been rated as ‘good and outstanding’. Teachers plan well across time, embedding literacy and numeracy across the curriculum. The school has a very successful marking policy which is adhered to by all teachers/ support staff. This policy allows students to make, particularly in English and Maths, expected progress in line with national measures. The majority of students also receive targeted interventions that include catch-up literacy, social skills, emotional literacy, therapeutic story writing and 1:1 numeracy support.

The school has worked hard in ensuring that students have access to a variety of learning platforms. This includes our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), as well as specific departmental learning aids. For example; My Maths and Literacy Apps. However, this is something that we are continually targeting based on engagement levels of parents and students. Homework is often set through these mediums.

Progress is reported three times a year; this consists of a full report and two progress records. The school monitors student progress in real-time and can provide student performance data via the student digital profile as a ‘real-time’ document.Progress is tracked through ‘learning engagement’ which is measured every lesson to provide a trajectory of progress on a student’s digital profile.

Students at LWS Academy are immersed in Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural issues. As part of our specialist weekly SMSC sessions, students investigate, discover and explore SMSC issues. Each year the school has a cultural day which culminates in a 6 week in-depth study into a world culture. Students gain experience and enjoyment through our varied curriculum in the form of class work and discussion, visiting speakers, sportspeople and artists, as well as a variety of educational trips within their own community, as well as nationally. The schools database records the Moral and Social aspect of SMSC as part of the SEAL targets.

/ GROW at LWS
Grow was introduced at LWS in March 2015 as a strategy to improve collaborative learning and student participation at the start of lessons. The process was put in place of the traditional lesson objective & teacher instruction at the start of class. Talking through the process allows teachers to fully gauge the ability of the class, the stage they are at from previous learning, allowing them to correctly level the lesson. The student participation during the introduction of the lesson allows all students to know who and where to go for help- improving collaborative skills. Students are more aware of what and how to complete tasks after completing the grow process – improving independence. The process can be used (and is used) not only at the start but as a review throughout and at the end of the lesson to help guide students through their work.
LWS TAXONOMY
Blooms (and Anderson’s) taxonomy link directly to the GROW MODEL (diagram attached). The complex nature of the students at LWS academy, along with the disengagement with learning students present with when arriving at LWS, a pre-Blooms taxonomy has to be introduced. Engagement and experience, which is achieved through the strong focus on transition and a tailored curriculum, allow the students to become immersed in education, the process and protocols of the Academy before an academic education is sought.
Why GROW?
The National Curriculum 2014 states that schools and academies must offer a broad and balanced curriculum which prepares pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life (Department for Education, 2015). The importance of higher order thinking skills is not prescribed within the curriculum, but without them the interwoven transferable nature it is trying to achieve will not succeed. Sir Ken Robinsons key Note TED Talk (TED, 2010) encapsulates this notion. Most teachers, like sportspeople and other professionals who use coaching as a performance management tool, are familiar with the concept and positives it can bring. When GROW is used effectively in lessons it allows students to structure their thinking and problem solve individually or collaboratively.
The Learning Journey has been embedded in the practice of teachers planning since a pilot was completed in 2012. All teachers now use a jointly agreed consistent method of planning which demonstrates the learning journey a student/class has been on or the potential to be on.
There is also a space dedicated to reviewing lessons which ensures specific tracking of any students who may have gaps in their learning. /

An example of ‘Traffic Light’ planning structure:

Traffic Light Planning:
/ Traffic light planning allows students to see their learning journey mapped out in their books. All teachers will communicate through this planning medium to identify gaps in knowledge and inform teachers’ planning over time.
Traffic lights are also linked to the LWS mastery statements for each subject area, which have been designed specifically for SEMH pupil needs. These ‘building blocks’ are designed to demonstrate the sometimes smaller steps of progress that some of our students exhibit. Mastery statements are being developed with other secondary schools in Fareham and Gosport to ensure consistency and standardisation of progress.

Section 3: Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Incidents around the school are tracked using our self-evaluation system, collating the number of Physical, Verbal, Damage and Bullying incidents, we examine patterns and trends to inform strategy –personalised behaviour management strategies, such as IEP targets, de-briefing, meetings, targeted interventions and Whole school initiatives such as point targets, VIVOs and therapeutic approaches are also used.

/ Every student has a journal which is an integral part of our behaviour tracking through our Student Information Database. The adjacent table illustrates the monthly count of ‘incidents’ for the 2015-16 academic year.
We had a rise in incidents towards the end of the academic year due to various reasons, including new students transitioning into the school, exam stress & anxiety, as well as enhanced behaviour strategies and expectations around certain types of behaviour.
Categories are linked to the Hampshire Audit categories for SEN and include;

Social Emotional Aspects Learning (SEAL) are also monitored in real-time and recorded in our self-evaluation system. This is a strong indicator of our successful SMSC approach and a student’s social and emotional development at LWS.

Attendance

Attendance by the whole cohort of students has been identified as an area of development by SLT. The charts below display whole school attendance for 2014/15/16. We divide student attendance between ‘regular attendees’ andstudents who are on ‘bespoke’ packages.These students have highly specialised interventionstrategies which may bedue to the severe manifestationsand/or mental health needspreventing them from attending school full time.

Therapeutic and Specialist Interventions contribute significantly to the ‘Tailored curriculum’ for each student – All our SSAs (Specialist Support Assistants) provide targeted intervention for identified students across a range of approaches and strategies, these include - Therapeutic story writing, social skills, mindfulness, brain training, emotional literacy, speech and language, catch up reading, music, art, college, work experience, fish4life, 1:1 learning, FEIPS Counselling and home tuition packages. Our therapeutic team consists of a Psychotherapist and Educational Psychologist. Both professionals work with students directly and support staff with specific strategies and guidance.

We have clear protocols around students who choose to leave the school site. Students who leave without permission are subject to the ‘Missing Students Policy’. Initially, staff will attempt to follow and risk assess the situation depending on the students’ particular circumstances, however if after 20mins the student is not in sight then the missing persons policy is followed. This involves contacting parents/carers and the police due to the vulnerable nature of our students. This policy is separate from individual support strategies for students who require time off the school site to calm after serious incidents.

An integral process within our behaviour policy is our partnership working with Hampshire Police and the Youth Offending Team. Through this work we are able to work collaboratively between all three agencies with students and their families to appreciate the decision making process and subsequent consequences.
This relationship and partnership working allows a much targeted approach to dealing with criminal matters and focuses education of crime on the victims in a bid for a restorative approach at LWS. /

Internet usage and safety are taken very seriously due to the vulnerable nature of our students, with zero tolerance on cyber-bullying and an internet safety policy. Two members of staff are CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) ambassadors and keep all staff, parents and governors up to date on techniques for protection online. We also have three members of staff who are CPLO trained. All staff and Governors have received ‘Prevent’ training.

Staff prefer to reward rather than sanction, although the latter is required at times. Positive behaviour and achievement is celebrated by positive after-schools, VIVO points, phone calls home, certificates, whole school award ceremonies, end of term trips and activities. Sanctions include break, lunch and after-school detentions, twilight/night school, working in isolation, home tuition packages, meetings with parents and carers at school or home, SLT tracking. The academy has recently introduced its ‘Golden Rules’ to ensure consistency across student groups with regards to the learning expectations, as well as classroom conduct whilst at school.

Exclusion data: behaviours which will result in exclusion are for the high health and safety risks including: Climbing the roof, leaving the school site without permission and use and/or possessing and/or distribution of any banned substances.The month of February (2016) saw a large increase in exclusions due to a managed move away from LWS and time the authority spent looking for an alternative placement.