Pupil Premium Review Form 3
School Visit Template
Ivanhoe College visit 4th July 2016Headteacher: / Anne-Marie Blewitt
PPR: / David Deacon and Peter Connor
Summary of school’s
existing areas of focus
and strategies: / Area One:
Focus: To ensure that PP progress is in line or above with other pupils Nationally with similar starting points by using effective feedback (+8 on EEF toolkit)
Strategies:
To use Equity not Equality focus for PP students – fairness not sameness.
To use Mintclass to ensure seating for learning and aid feedback
To set aspirational targets on Pathways system and provide clear improvement feedback
Success criteria:
Progress 8 Data showing reduced internal gaps and favourable comparisons with National
Mintclass shown to be effective across all classrooms in school and used consistently
Book looks evidences the progress of PP students and improvements following feedback.
Data analysis supports early intervention for underperforming PP students.
Area Two:
Focus: To continue push on PP engagement and improvements in attendance (+3 on EEF toolkit)
Strategies:
To make contact with PP parents for each parents’ evening opportunity
To send all PP communication in more ways: post, email and text
Success criteria:
Progress 8 Data showing reduced internal gaps and favourable comparisons with National
Uptake at Parents’ Evenings by PP cohort has been maintained.
Summary of how
effectively school uses
evidence to identify
effective strategies: / Area One:
Evidence from the EEF toolkit shows that both these strategies are effective relative to their costs. Teachers feedback and knowledge of PP students needs is reflective in +8 months gain from EEF toolkit.
Area Two Parental engagement is evidenced as effective in closing gaps at +3 months gain in EEF toolkit.
Names of key people to
speak to and outline
itinerary (to be provided by headteacher using detail on Form 2):
Discussion points to be noted. / Alison Allford (Assistant Principal for Achievement)
Paul Sidwells, Elizabeth Hart and Emma Boussida (Heads of Department for English, Maths and Science)
Karen Westwood (Pupil Premium Governor)
Vicky Johnsn (SENDCO)
G Bellmore (Vice Principal)
Area (including sources
of evidence) / Suggested questions and areas to explore Strengths Areas for
development / Strengths / Areas to develop
Pupil characteristics
v Interview with pupil premium co-ordinator (PPCo)
v Published data / What is the overall number and proportion of pupil premium eligible pupils within the whole school
population?
What is the two/three year pattern in eligibility for pupil premium?
How well does the school know the eligibility data and patterns? / There are 47 eligible students leaving school this year and 70 joining year 7 in 2016-17.
There is an increase in eligible students and increased numbers expected in coming years as the school accepts more students on roll.
The school knows the eligibility data and patterns for pupil premium students and the trend is that girls are doing better than boys generally.
Achievement1
v Interview with PPCo
v Published data
v Current progress data
v Lesson observation and work scrutiny / How well does the school make use of evidence including the EEF toolkit?
Do evidence-based systems for evaluation of impact exist?
What is the progress of disadvantaged pupils relative to their starting points?
How quickly are attainment gaps for disadvantaged pupils closing compared to the national average?
What story does the current data tell? / The school makes excellent use of the Education Endowment Foundation toolkit, selecting strategies based on the cohort and individual students.
Senior Leaders liaise with colleagues from feeder primary schools to find out what has worked for pupils. There is strong communication with Ashby School and the Pupil Premium co-ordinator in-post, where the majority of students go from Ivanhoe.
Attainment and progress are monitored through the same system across the Ashby Coalville Education (ACE) partnership and monitored internally through SIMS. MintClass is used to aid teaching and learning, helping staff to identify different groups of students more easily and share information more readily with the staff.
It is understood and accepted that subject teachers take responsibility for any gaps within their classes and use the ‘gingerbread man’ system to identify achievement and attainment gaps at least half-termly during the academic year. This increased scrutiny of what is happening in individual classrooms is supported by the Senior Leaders’ investment in training with the staff, with a particular focus on ‘equity not equality’ in supporting pupil premium eligible students. / The move from National Curriculum levels to ‘pathways’ is in its infancy and requires fine-tuning to ensure all data collected and analysed is valid and reliable across all subjects.
A comparison of the current year 9’s end of key stage assessments with the previous year 9’s results could be undertaken to equate old National Curriculum levels to the new ‘pathways’ system used at the school.
Leadership &
Management
v Interview with Headteacher (HT) and Chair of Governors (CoG)
v Interview with PPCo
v Scrutiny of pupil premium policy documents
v Scrutiny of SEF / development plan
v Most recent OFSTED report Published and current data / How well does the school make use of evidence including the EEF toolkit?
Do evidence-based systems for evaluation of impact exist?
How effectively does the school identify priorities for pupil premium funding?
How well matched are the school’s strategies with the perceived barriers to learning for disadvantaged pupils?
How ambitious are the targets for disadvantaged pupils?
How does the school divide its use of funding between activities which have a clear and direct impact on pupil progress and those which focused on providing wider opportunities or meeting social/emotional needs?
How effective are the strategies used and how does the school evaluate them? / Senior Leaders observe lessons and interventions to ensure that pupils are receiving the same quality of teaching they would expect within whole class sessions.
Senior Leaders and other nominated staff conduct learning walks and book scrutiny for focused groups of pupils.
Target tracking sheets are used to ensure that pupils are appropriately challenged. All targets are kept on MintClass. The Steps to Success mentoring programme has focused on pupils with challenging behaviour.
Targets for pupil premium students are aspirational and challenging in an attempt to raise attainment and the goal of 12 points of progress for all pupils and 14 points of progress for pupil premium students across the cohort has been set to challenge all.
The school identifies priorities for pupil premium spending based on whole school priorities and individuals. Examples of good practice include English, where group tuition, Reading for Meaning (reading buddy system), spelling interventions take place and reading ages are tracked termly. In music pupils are identified as having potential and provided with peripatetic lessons in different instruments.
The school’s strategies for spending specifically match the perceived barriers for learning for its disadvantaged pupils.
All staff ‘buy into’ the reason behind pupil premium funding and any misconception or stigma attached to the funding has been addressed through whole staff training in November. The tagline ‘equity not equality’ is clearly evident from the teachers and other staff during the visit.
The school provides its pupil premium students with wider opportunities, including music lessons, a homework club, through inter-house sports competitions on Fridays and through paying for educational trips and visits.
The school audits participation through registers and is aware of which pupils attend.
Reading buddies and mentoring are provided as a service for its pupils and consistent under-performers will be targeted for mentoring next year. Students are provided with emotional and social support by the Student Support centre, ensuring that they feel safe, happy and ready to learn.
Pupils have good access to appropriate resources to support their learning. Laptops, tablets and educational apps are used by pupils in whole class settings through a booking system used by class teachers.
Subject leaders and senior leaders frequently monitor pupil progress data, 8 times a year. Where this is more difficult to monitor, case studies are used to highlight improvements in students’ outcomes. This was particularly evident in music, where individualised music lessons are used as a vehicle for improving confidence, raising attendance and giving pupils opportunities that they would not ordinarily have had.
Governors report that they fully understand pupil premium funding and spending information is shared electronically with all governors so that its impact can be discussed. The named governor, Karen Westwood, completes shared visits to monitor teaching and learning and overall provision for pupil premium spending. As the Assistant Business Manager, Karen is also aware of the number of Free School Meals students are on roll and the school has investigated eating patterns for eligible students. Pupils are now able to buy a range of healthy food at break time as well as lunch time, making sure they have enough energy for learning. / There was an awareness that some pupils might work well in class when completing tasks and assessments but that this level of performance might not always be replicated in formal examination conditions. Supporting students in their preparation for examinations and teaching and refining techniques for managing stress could be used for all students.
The school is considering offering pupils a quiet working space to use to complete homework and/or revise.
An audit of uptake for pupil premium students attending all interventions, clubs, sports practices and fixtures would provide evidence for participation and allow the school to focus encouragement for pupils who do not take advantage of the opportunities on offer.
Giving all departments the opportunity to bid for funding to support disadvantaged pupils in a similar way to the excellent work showcased by the music department could help students to maximise their potential in all subject areas and extra-curricular pursuits.
An itemised audit of provision, spending, proposed outcomes and measured impact (through data and/or case studies) kept in a central and accessible place will ensure it is available to all stakeholders with responsibility for pupil premium provision and spending.
Excellent practice that is identified by Senior Leaders should be replicated in all curriculum areas to have a similar impact on pupil premium students.
Teaching, Learning and Assessment
v Lesson observation/learning walks, to include work scrutiny and discussion with teachers
v Observation of out of class interventions and tracking of intervention
v Current progress data
v Work scrutiny and lesson observation records
v Moderation of assessment
v Assessment and homework policies
v CPD records/programme / How well do class teachers plan for disadvantaged pupils within lessons and for targeted interventions?
How effective are teaching assistants in implementing strategies and raising attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils?
Are parents/carers and multi professionals involved in these discussions?
How well does the school plan for and achieve quality first teaching for disadvantaged pupils?
Where out of lesson interventions take place, how does the school evaluate impact?
How effective is assessment?
How effective are wave 1, 2 and 3 interventions? / Class teachers identify, mark and question students effectively within the classroom to ensure quality first teaching is available to all pupils, including those eligible for pupil premium funding.
All staff, including teachers and teaching assistants, know which pupils are eligible for pupil premium funding and the Learning Mentor in English is proactive in learning students’ needs and deploying herself around the classroom to support the different groups of pupils and the teacher during the lesson.
Information on pupils is shared across SIMS, MintClass and, in English, discrete stickers for pupil premium students. In a departmental bid to encourage reading, all stickers are given different stickers on their exercise books and pupil premium books all share the same sticker. Pupils are unaware of this and it helps to quickly identify students on learning walks and in book scrutiny. Marking is done in a different coloured pens to give pupils quality written feedback.
Teaching assistants, LSAs, Learning Mentors, SEND specialists and Cover Supervisors lead interventions and these take place outside of English and Maths lessons, which are protected. They liaise with class teachers to ensure skills are consolidated.
The school engages parents through a digital booking system for parents’ evenings and phone calls for every pupil premium pupils’ parents or carers to make sure they are informed and able to attend.
There has been a significant increase in the attendance at parents’ evenings, from 45% to 67% in the last few years. The pupil premium co-ordinator was responsible for leading sessions to raise awareness for parents and carers, which was received well by around twenty-five parents.
Behaviour & safety
v Learning walk and discussion with PPCo
v Scrutiny of behaviour records
v Scrutiny of attendance data / What does attendance and exclusion data show and what strategies are in place?
How well is the school using Pupil Premium funding to support pupils to develop positive attitudes to learning and a thirst for knowledge across all learning contexts?
Where support is focused on wider issues in pupils’ and their families’ lives and / or to widen opportunity, is there evidence that this support is improving engagement and contributing to closing performance gaps? / There are clear rewards and sanctions systems in place and students reported that there was generally consistency across departments and teaching staff. The house points that students can earn can be traded in for hot chocolate, non-uniform on Friday, priority queuing, footballs, prom tickets, hoodies and trips. This encourages positive behaviour and the 3-stepped system of consequences discourages poor behaviour. This has been evidenced in the increased accumulation of HPs for PP students and in the drop in the higher end (B4L 2 – 4) for PP students.
The school subsidises Design Technology equipment, trips and educational visits, either in part or in full depending on the individual child and pays for uniform and equipment. This was particularly important in recent years as the school has revised its uniform policy.
The house competitions are well-supported and students spoke highly about the opportunities they have to participate.
Evaluation of impact,
drafting action plan and
next steps
v Discussion with HT/ CoG/ PPCo / How well is pupil premium funding used to:
§ Ensure quality first teaching and above expected progress?
§ Support effective interventions?
§ Widen opportunity?
§ What support can the reviewer offer for action planning and ongoing monitoring of the plan? / All pupil premium pupils are supported to do even better. There is a focus on the more able pupils next year.
Funding used to train staff in Pp strategies, in purchase of Mintclass monitoring system, in the cost of Attendance officer and Students Support works to support in the learning of the disadvantaged students.
Funding used to support the enhanced parents’ evening and home/school contact provision.
Impact of funding seen
The school’s Life Skills programme encourages pupils to think aspirationally about their future and careers advice, guidance and involvement in Science Technology Engineering and Maths opportunities are offered to students.
NEC Skills show offered to PP students first.
Musical instrument tuition is a particular strength of the school and the case studies presented demonstrated a positive impact on the confidence, attendance and achievement of the pupils involved in the project. Performing at school concerts was the pinnacle for some pupils who had not had the opportunity to learn instruments before.
1 When reviewing special schools reviews may also wish to consider the area of ‘enrichment’, and the following question: How will pupil premium eligible pupils