A Study of Specialist School

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A Study of the Specialist Schools Programme

Institute of Education

The University of Warwick

Research Report RR587

RESEARCH


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Research ReportNo 587

A Study of the Specialist Schools Programme

Institute of Education

The University of Warwick

The views expressed in this report are the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department forEducation and Skills.

University of Warwick 2004ISBN 1 84478 330 8


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ASTUDY OF THE SPECIALIST SCHOOLS PROGRAMME CONTENTS

CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents ..........................................................................................................21. Summary of Main Findings ...................................................................................2

1.1 Positive Ethos.....................................................................................................................21.2 Specialisation and Expertise.............................................................................................21.3 Centres of Excellence........................................................................................................31.4 Community Links ..............................................................................................................31.5 Preparation for Application..............................................................................................4

2. Introduction and Background ...............................................................................53. Study Methodology ................................................................................................6

1. Collection of Documentary Evidence........................................................................................62. Interviews ...............................................................................................................................73. Ethos Conditions Scale...........................................................................................................7

4. Main Findings........................................................................................................94.1 Positive Ethos.....................................................................................................................94.2 Specialisation and Expertise...........................................................................................134.3 Centres of Excellence......................................................................................................164.4 Community Links ............................................................................................................214.5 Preparation for Application............................................................................................24

5. Conclusions..........................................................................................................265.1 Conclusions and Summary .............................................................................................265.2 Acknowledgements..........................................................................................................27

Appendix 1 Summary of Methodology .....................................................................28

Appendix 2 Case Study Schools................................................................................29Appendix 3 Telephone Interviews............................................................................30Appendix 4 - Conditions Survey Findings...................................................................32

A4.1 Copy of Conditions Survey ............................................................................................32


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ASTUDY OF THE SPECIALIST SCHOOLS PROGRAMME PAGE 2 SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS

SECTION ONESUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS

1. SUMMARY OF MAIN FINDINGS

During the Spring and Summer terms of 2004, the Institute of Education at the Universityof Warwick, on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills, carried out a study ofselected Specialist Schools in order to identify examples of best practice and the keycomponents which make a Specialist School successful. This short study investigated thequalitative effects of specialism with the aim of informing national policy developmentconcerning the future of Specialist Schools in this country and to encourage the transfer ofsuccessful practice within existing and aspiring Specialist Schools to maximise the benefits ofthe system.

This summary presents the main findings from the report:

1.1 POSITIVE ETHOS

Specialist School status has a strong reinforcing and positive effect upon schoolethos.

Specialist School status significantly enhances the schools kudos and appeal withinthe local community.

The quality of leadership is an important factor in ensuring Specialist School statushas a positive effect on school development and change.

Schools that have benefited most from Specialist School status have ensured that thechange process has been well managed (all staff involved, good communicationsthroughout, clear vision, time dedicated to the process, etc.).

Specialist School status is an important lever for school development and change.This is most effective when there is adequate internal and external support forinnovation and change.

Governors can play an important role in securing Specialist School status andsupporting the changes that occur as a result of gaining Specialist School status.

However, more work needs to be undertaken to ensure that governors at all schoolsare fully informed, supportive and involved in this process.

The Specialist Schools Trust and Youth Sport Trust are both fundamental supportmechanisms for schools and are recognised as being an important factor in securingpositive change as a result of Specialist School status.

1.2 SPECIALISATION AND EXPERTISE

Specialist School status is a powerful lever for school improvement and there isevidence to suggest that it is associated with raising academic performance.


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Specialist School status is a particularly effective form of school improvementbecause of its focus on enhancing the quality of teaching and learning both withinand across subject areas.

Specialist School status is considered by Specialist Schools to be an important meansof raising attainment and improving performance.

Certain specialist subjects would appear to be more able to permeate the curriculumquickly and visibly because of their particular nature (e.g. ICT in technology colleges)but all subjects have made progress in linking with and contributing to other subjectareas.

1.3 CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE

As Centres of Excellence, Specialist Schools are providing high quality professionaldevelopment that is improving the quality of teaching and learning within the subjectarea in partner schools.

Specialist School status raises expectations of school performance both within theschool and the wider community.

Achieving Specialist School status has a positive impact on teaching and learning inthe target subject area but also enhances the transfer of good practice to other

subject areas both within the school and with partner schools.

The transfer of good practice from one specialist area to other subject areas withinthe school is most likely to occur with Senior Management Team support, adequateco-ordination and careful resource allocation.

Transfer of good pedagogical practice can be achieved within and between schoolsbut only if certain barriers are overcome through strategic timetabling, resourcingand prioritising.

1.4 COMMUNITYLINKS

Specialist School status has a positive effect upon partner secondary and primaryschools. Relationships, communications, collaboration and sharing of good practiceare enhanced between schools as a result of Specialist School status.

Specialist School status is a powerful vehicle of school improvement and cancontribute to raising attainment in specialist and partner schools.

Specialist School status can have an impact beyond the school and its partner schoolsinto the wider community. Certain subjects (i.e. sports, languages, arts) have a more


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immediate community appeal and have been found to transfer more readily intocommunity projects and initiatives.

Schools that successfully forge community links tend to have partners who arereceptive and enthusiastic about working together.

While the majority of schools forge firm links with business at the application stage,these links are not always developed or extended further. More work is needed toensure the active and ongoing support of business once a school has receivedSpecialist School status.

Specialist School status is considered by partner schools (primary and secondary) tobe a positive influence upon their performance and attainment through partnership

and collaborative arrangements.

1.5 PREPARATION FORAPPLICATION

The current application process for Specialist School status is generally considered byschools to be rigorous and fair.

Securing external funding has proven a barrier for some schools when applying forSpecialist School status. The introduction of the Partnership Fund in 2003, forschools struggling to raise sponsorship despite reasonable efforts over time, shouldhelp to address these issues.

The Specialist Schools Trust and Youth Sport Trust are appreciated by schoolsparticularly for their assistance, guidance and advice in the application process.Schools greatly value the assistance and support given to them by members of bothorganisations.


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ASTUDY OF THE SPECIALIST SCHOOLS PROGRAMME PAGE 5 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

SECTIONTWOINTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

2. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

In February 2003, the document A New Specialist System: Transforming SecondaryEducation was launched, outlining the next steps and future strategy in secondary education.The document states We aim to transform educational achievement in this country, with year-on-yearincreases in overall attainment and above average improvement for under-achieving groups. To achieve this,we aim to create a coherent secondary education system marked by high aspirations and diverse centres ofexcellence in every school.

The document sets out the Governments agenda for transforming secondary education and,in particular, the need for a dynamic and diverse education system. The evidence suggeststhat schools with a distinctive or specialist ethos and mission are more likely to succeed.

Promoting diversity leads to greater flexibility, more opportunities for schools to learn fromeach other and, above all , a wider range of opportunities and choices for pupils and parents.The term school diversity is used to describe the way in which the education system isstructured to enable schools to differentiate themselves according to their individual ethos,special character and areas of specialist expertise.

The two key principles that underpin the Government's agenda for supporting schooldiversity are specialisationand collaboration. Specialist Schools, Academies and many faithschools are at the centre of the drive to engender greater diversity in the provision ofschooling and to promote collaboration. It is clear that the Specialist Policy is an importantstrand of the Governments Transformation Agenda and, consequently, imperative that

evaluation evidence is collected to gauge its impact and success.

The aims of this evaluative study of Specialist Schools Policy were to identify the keycomponents of success within Specialist Schools and to explore the extent to whichSpecialist Schools Policy is making a positive impact upon schools and the widercommunity.

The specific objectives of the study were to explore:

the components and contributors towards achieving a positive ethos in schools andthe optimum ways schools manage this,

the difference that specialisation in one area makes to the pedagogy and organisationin other areas, the development of Specialist Schools into centres of excellence, community plan elements, preparation and the process of applying to become a Specialist School.


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ASTUDY OF THE SPECIALIST SCHOOLS PROGRAMME PAGE 6 STUDYMETHODOLOGY

SECTIONTHREESTUDYMETHODOLOGY

3. STUDYMETHODOLOGY

The study methodology (Appendix 1) predominantly adopted an in-depth qualitativeapproach with some quantitative interrogation through the conditions survey component.A wide range of school-level data was collected via a series of semi-structured interviews at18 case study schools (Appendix 2), telephone interviews at 30 feeder and partner schools(Appendix 3) and Conditions Survey data (Appendix 4).

The study aimed to identify best practice and to determine the direct and indirect benefits ofspecialist status. In addition, it focused specifically on the following key areas:

Ethos the study aimed to identify the components of positive ethos and the bestways for schools to manage this. In particular it investigated which components of aschools ethos are affected from achieving Specialist School status,

Specialisation and Expertise the study explored the impact of Specialist Schoolstatus, particularly the impact on whole-school improvement through the transfer ofgood practice,

Development of Specialist Schools into Centres of Excellence - the studyexplored the extent to which Specialist Schools are leading pedagogic developmentsthrough collaborating with networks of other schools as well as with subjectassociations,

Community Plan Elements- the study explored community links in two categories schools working with other schools to share facilities, succesful practice andactivities; and working with local businesses and with community groups. The studyaimed to identify more and less effective ways of doing this and the added value ofsuch community work,

Preparation for Application to become a Specialist School- the study examinedseveral facets of the application process.

The study data collected included:

1. Collection of Documentary Evidence

A range of documentary evidence was collected from case study schools, includingOfsted reports, school development plans, specialist status bids, minutes from keymeetings and statistics on take-up of subjects within the school. This documentaryevidence provided useful triangulation data on extent and quality of links with otherschools, community engagement and collaboration with other schools.


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2. Interviews

In all 18 case study schools, interviews were conducted with a cross-section ofschool staff:

- a parent governor,- the headteacher,- a member of the SMT,- a middle manager,- a classroom teacher, and- a classroom support assistant.

The interviews focused upon the impact of Specialist School status on:

teaching and learning quality, innovation in teaching and learning, not just within the specialism but in

other subjects across the school, school ethos with a particular focus upon identifiable, positive changes in

ethos and the main contributory factors to achieving this end, extent and quality of engagement with partner schools, extent and quality of links with other schools.

Interviews allowed us to triangulate information collected primarily throughdocumentary evidence. All interviews were digitally recorded and 25% were fully

transcribed. Analysis of the interview data was undertaken using the Nvivo softwareprogramme. This software provided patterns across the data, allowing cross-caseanalysis and thematic interrogation.

3. Ethos Conditions Scale

At each of the schools, a short survey was administered to a cross-sample of staff togauge how far the ethos of the school had altered as a result of the specialist status.This survey was based upon the successful School Conditions Scale (Hopkins et al,1994) that has been shown to produce reliable and valid data about changes ininternal school conditions in key areas. This scale provided an additional indicator of

the factors that contribute to a change in ethos and provided quantitative data tocomplement the qualitative data at each case study site.

The weight of study evidence that this report draws upon is primarily from the 18 case studyschools. These schools represent a mix of specialisms and geographical/sociological spread.They were also selected because they were all rated above average on value-added criteria.This meant that they were all adding significant value to student learning, attainment andprogress but that varied considerably in terms of external examination performance. Inshort, they were not all high attaining schools in crude exam performance measures.


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Schools were excluded from selection in the study if they had had a recent Ofsted or Section10 inspection, had been involved in Redesignation Panels within the last year or were inSerious Weaknesses or Special Measures.

It is recognised that this study draws upon a limited number of schools and a modest dataset and consequently does not constitute a comprehensive evaluation. However, bytriangulating different types of data from different types of respondents in different types ofschools, the emerging evidence provides some interesting insights into the impact of theSpecialist Schools Policy.

All the respondents in the study were given assurances of anonymity and confidentiality.Consequently, every school is referred to by number. While the case study schools andtelephone interview schools are listed inAppendices 2 and 3, to protect their identity their

corresponding identifying numbers are not provided. Each case study school is identifiedwith an S and number (e.g. S1) and each respondent a role identifier i.e. headteacher (HT),senior teacher (ST), subject leader (SL), teacher (T), newly qualified teacher (NQT),Governor (G) or Parent Governor (PG). Partner schools are identified with a PS and anumber.


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ASTUDY OF THE SPECIALIST SCHOOLS PROGRAMME PAGE 9 MAIN FINDINGS

SECTION FOURMAIN FINDINGS

4. MAIN FINDINGS

4.1 POSITIVE ETHOS

The study explored the extent to which Specialist School status had made a positive impacton school ethos and how this was viewed both within and outside the school. The datashowed a consistently positive relationship between Specialist School status and schoolethos. This positive school ethos was generally characterised by high academic standards,good staff and student relationships, high expectations, broad staff engagement andsupportive community involvement. In the cases of schools where a positive ethos alreadyexisted, there was evidence that Specialist School status had further enhanced both the imageand the ethos within the school.

The ethos is very much a kind of everyone is in the same boat; we all start off at the same place and we tryand get as good at what we do as we can. Specialist Status has reinforced this ethos. (S6 NQT)

I think we already had a good solid ethos. I think it can only get stronger because of Specialist SchoolStatus. I dont think it will sort of change tack or direction it will build on the coming of spirit that isalready here. (S2 HT).

It was clear from the data that receiving Specialist School status had meaning and kudos forthe school and its wider community. The awarding of Specialist School status was viewed asfurther recognition and endorsement of the schools standing within the community and

acknowledgement of its academic reputation for high standards.

Being awarded Specialist School status further confirms that we are a high performing school with a positiveethos. (S17 Senior T).

It made us realise that we were as good as we thought and that our school deserved its reputation. It wasntjust smoke and mirrors. (S13 NQT)

For schools where the ethos was less positively or strongly developed, Specialist Schoolstatus proved to be both an important symbolic and a real lever for change. The datashowed that achieving Specialist School status prompted staff, pupils and parents to altertheir view of the school. The norms and practices previously adopted were supplanted bynew ways of working that resulted from a radically changed image of the school. Forexample, teachers in a specialist subject area were more willing to share ideas and to offerstaff development sessions, new and improved links were established with the communityand schools felt generally more confident to innovate and experiment with new approaches,ideas and developments. The overriding view was that Specialist School status raised theprofile of the school and gave it more kudos. As one headteacher summarised:

Kudos was certainly in it; we didnt want to be left behind; we wanted to be able to demonstrate were asgood as anybody else. (S4 HT)


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The views from partner and feeder primary schools similarly reinforced the SpecialistSchool status effect on the ethos of the school.

As a result of Specialist School status, the ethos has gone up and is more positive. (PS27 T)

The secondary school is now oversubscribed. The percentage of children from our school who go to theSpecialist School is increasing each year. (5 secondary schools in town). (PS25 HT)

The main reason for applying for Specialist Status I think was the money but now its more about how wework together more positively. (PS26 T)

There was a general recognition among partner and feeder primary schools that SpecialistSchool status had either enhanced an already positive ethos or substantially improved the

school ethos of the Specialist School. The data revealed that there were a number of ways inwhich specialist status directly impacted upon, and positively affected, the ethos of theschool.

Firstly, Specialist School status fostered a common identity and vision within the school thatconverged around key values and priorities. Secondly, Specialist School status raisedexpectations of performance and set new challenges for all staff, not just those in thespecialist subject area. Thirdly, Specialist School status had raised the profile of the school inthe community by presenting a coherent and consistent set ofcore aims and values.Fourthly, the kudos surrounding Specialist School status redefined norms and behavioursfor staff, pupils, parents and governors in a positive way. Within schools, these norms and

behaviours were associated with high levels of self esteem, mutual respect, willingness towork hard, pride in the school and a fundamental belief in the schools ability to succeed.

The research literature shows that schools that are improving and continue to improve overtime tend to converge around core values and beliefs that positively affect school ethos andculture (Hopkins, 2002; Fullan, 2003; Harris, 2003). It would appear from the study datathat achieving Specialist School status is an external impetus that reinforces positive corevalues and is a potent catalyst for creating and cementing new practices and ways of workingwithin schools. In this respect, Specialist School status is a powerful mode of schoolimprovement because it generates the internal conditions within the school that result in apositive school ethos.

It is questionable whether without Specialist Status we would be where we are in terms of performance,attitude and ethos. It is a very positive force for school improvement. (S6 HT)

It has galvanised us into action and made us all much more aware of what we can achieve. (S3 G)

The data revealed that schools felt that not being awarded Specialist School status wouldhave had a negative effect on school ethos. In this respect, applying for Specialist Schoolstatus was perceived by some schools as high risk but clearly, for most schools, it was a riskworth taking.


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I think it would have impacted on the school if we had failed to get it. You know it just would not havelooked very good and you know the more information that has come through about it the more enthusiastic Ihave got. (S2 HT)

If we had failed to get Specialist School status then morale and standing in the community would haveundoubtedly dipped. (S9 G)

Several of the schools in the study had applied more than once for Specialist School status.As one senior teacher commented:

We tried once and failed but we didnt even consider not applying again, it never crossed our minds that wewouldnt be successful eventually. The rewards were too great to opt out. (S1 ST)

The evidence points strongly and unequivocally to the positive impact on the ethos andculture of the school from securing Specialist School status. The data also revealed thatthere were additional and related benefits of achieving Specialist School status. For example,gaining Specialist School status was viewed as a way of increasing pupil numbers because ofchanged parental perceptions of the school.

I think it will probably have an ongoing impact in terms of continued admissions at the lower end of theschool. I should think it hasnt affected the parents of older pupils that much except that they would havenoticed the jazzed up newsletters and things. But I imagine parents of children who are gifted in art will bevery much more interested. (S2 SL)

It was also felt that the image of the school was enhanced for parents if the school hadSpecialist School status.

We are a different school, parents are interested in us, we are interested in meeting their needs. This is aremarkable sea-change. (S9 T)

The evidence from the Conditions Survey also highlighted the positive ethos in evidence ateach of the 18 case study schools. While individual school profiles vary overall, the schoolspresent an above average rating on all items. By comparison with other data sets fromschools that are non-specialist (Beresford 2002), there is a significant trend towards theoften and nearly always categories and a more consistent pattern of positive responsesfrom staff about levels of involvement, planning, teamwork, staff development and attentionto teaching and learning.

The Conditions Survey data indicates the schools ethos or culture at one moment in timeand does not provide evidence of any shifts due to Specialist School status. Consequently,this data can only provide a snapshot of evidence and cannot be used in any comparativeway. However, the overall pattern, plus the evidence from the interview data, would seem tosuggest a Specialist School effect where school ethos is enhanced through the kudos,expectations and internal change resulting from Specialist School status. In short, in allSpecialist Schools in the study there exist positive learning cultures that are contributing toschool improvement, particularly through enhanced teaching and learning. While these


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schools may not be completely representative of the wider population of Specialist Schools,and although the sample is relatively small, the strength of the evidence suggests that thebenefits to school ethos and culture from achieving Specialist School status are likely to begeneralisable beyond this sample.

There are a number of features within the aggregated schools conditions data which areworth highlighting. Firstly, there is strong indication across all schools of theprimacy ofteaching and learning in their planning and developmental work. The evidence shows thatthese schools placed a priority on improving and reviewing classroom practice. Secondly,the data showed the emphasis placed onprofessional development and the centrality ofprofessional learning in their development work. Thirdly, it is clear that staff in the casestudy schools were used to working in teams and that distributed leadership was anaccepted way of ensuring tasks are completed and that everyone feels involved. Fourthly,

the data suggests that the involvement of students, parents and governors indevelopmental work is not generally high although there is evidence of some involvement.Finally, that staff shared a clear vision of where the school was going and supported itsmain developmental priorities.

In summary, the case study and conditions survey data suggests that as a group, the casestudy schools demonstrated above average levels of staff and student engagement,involvement and co-operation. In addition, the quality of leadership, staff development,enquiry and co-ordination is significantly higher than that found in a broader population ofschools, particularly those without Specialist School status. This would suggest thatSpecialist School status has had a positive influence on the school ethos and culture of the

case study schools.


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4.2 SPECIALISATION AND EXPERTISE

The study considered the impact of specialism on other subject areas and on teaching andlearning generally, both within the school and in partner schools. The evidence suggests thatthe initial choice of specialism for some schools proved to be a particularly difficult decision.In certain cases, where there was a range of excellence across a number of specialist areas,choosing one proved to be quite difficult.

Some people said why dont we go with science than art? I said we can't because X school are a technologycollege. It wouldnt be in our best interest. (S2 HT)

Deciding on the subject that is to be the specialist subject is tricky and potentially divisive but ultimately

there can only be one. (S6 T) 1

Inevitably, in some cases, this selection process caused initial resentment among teacherswho felt that certain subjects were being favoured and others were being demoted. Therewas a general acknowledgement that agreeing the specialism proved to be difficult and hadto be carefully managed by the head and leadership team.

It was clear that some staff were less than happy with the choice of specialism. I spent some time smoothingruffled feathers.. but ultimately they were happy. (S16 HT)

I was very unhappy that we were to become a technology college, it just didnt fit with my view of the school.

In hindsight there are benefits but I just couldnt see it then. (S11 T)

Choosing the specialism was difficult and it took lots of time and energy. (S17 G)

While it was difficult at the outset and we experienced some hostility towards us, and the subject, things didsettle down as people saw the resources roll in. (S8 T)

The data revealed that any initial resentment or dissent was quickly overcome where thebenefits of specialism were clearly and immediately made apparent. The arrival of additionalresources and materials that were shared across the school soon dispelled feelings ofresentment. The data showed, however, that there were certain subject areas which madethe sharing process easier and where it was possible to permeate other subjects and to makeimmediate and visible cross-curricular linkages. For example, in the case of Technologythere were immediate and obvious ways in which this specialist subject was able tocomplement and serve other subject areas. In contrast, Modern Foreign Languages andSports specialisms were considered to have less obvious points of transferability but in mostcases successful curriculum links had been made between the specialist subject and othercurriculum areas.

1 It is important to note that some schools in the study took the earliest opportunity to apply for SpecialistStatus and consequently the data doesnt adequately reflect the fact that it is now possible to combine twospecialisms. (See footnote on page 25).


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The transfer of good practice from the specialist subject area seemed to be dependent on anumber of things. Firstly, where Specialist School status was part of a wider schooldevelopment plan to improve teaching and learning, then the specialist subject acted as acatalyst for staff development, networking and sharing that focused on pedagogy and notsubject knowledge.

We see specialist status as a way of improving teaching per se not just science teaching. (S11 HT)

This is about improving teaching and learning in all subjects not just improving maths teaching. (S15 T)

Secondly, the transfer of good practice and sharing of teaching approaches was dependenton appropriate mechanisms for transferbeing in place. For example, some schools hadrestructured their staff development programme to support cross-subject transfer and had

set up cross-subject working groups to facilitate communication between different subjectareas. In addition, other schools had put in place coaching arrangements and peerobservation programmes aimed at making links between and across subjects.

Weve had more time on timetable to observe each other and thats really an initiative of the Heads I think,with peer observations, that sort of thing; thats had a knock-on effect on the way in which we teach and theresults of the students. I keep coming back to ICT, but thats a very concrete thing that I see as being abenefit. (S16 T)

Weve done things like looking at marking, assessment, built up common practice, revised policies togetherbased on that, these peer observations where you can actually just observe one another and share good practice

that wayhelps with consistency as well its teaching styles and learning styles rather than your subject area.And were encouraged to do that outside of the department were allocated a certain number of observationswithin the department, some outside and then you get a free choice with the others we certainly are sharingideas more now. And again not just with teaching staff but with our teaching assistants and our learningsupport workers. (S7 T)

It was evident that many schools had used observation firstly, as a deliberate means ofexploring and sharinggood practice and secondly for systematicallygathering evidenceabout, and reflecting upon, different teaching approaches and classroom practices.

Lesson observation is something which is supported in the school and encouraged and our whole professionaldevelopment and performance management is centred around it anyway. (S4 T)

In addition, there was evidence to suggest that transfer of good practice was not limited tothe secondary school with Specialist School status but that good practice in the subject areawas shared with primary schools and, in certain cases, other secondary schools in the area.Once again, this transfer of practice was achieved by programmes of mutual staffdevelopment and networking across school and subject boundaries.

Coaching trios are the first attempt to broaden work across the curriculum and to link with primary schools;I think the subject primary liaison and associated work in primaries has opened some doors for othertransitional work which is very important to us, which is allied to improving teaching and learning.(S11 T)


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Our links with the X school are improving because of Specialist School status there is greater sharing

between staff and a closer focus on teaching and learning. (PS21 T)

The majority of schools in the study had sought Specialist School status because they wantedto engage in innovation or experimentation in teaching. There was a general view thatachieving Specialist School status had enabled them to be more innovative and creative.

Yes. I make no bones about it, that although there were a range of reasons why we went for SpecialistStatus one of them was sufficient to allow us to do things that we wanted to do that we were finding difficultto do. (S4 HT)

It is clear that securing Specialist Status allows you to take risks and to try new things with the buffer of

extra resources. (S15 T)

The data suggests that where barriers to sharing or transferring good practice exist they tendto be structural and temporal. The practicalities of networking, sharing professionaldevelopment and cross-subject and cross-sector working groups can only be achieved withthe support of the SMT and the willingness to release key staff to work with other teachersin different subject areas or in different schools.

In summary, achieving Specialist School status can have a positive impact on teaching andlearning in the target subject area but also can enhance the transfer of good practice to othersubject areas both within the school and within partner schools.


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4.3 CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE

The study explored the extent to which Specialist Schools are leading pedagogicdevelopments through collaborating with networks of other schools. There was strongevidence to suggest that all of the case study schools had successfully established pedagogicpartnerships with both feeder primary and other secondary schools. In the case of SportsColleges and Language Colleges there was evidence that they were playing a very importantrole as a hub-site not just with their immediate partner schools but with up to 30 schools inseveral cases. The data suggested that both Language Colleges and Sports Colleges wereactively engaged in mapping provision and deciding how best to link with schools in theirown region.

We link with our immediate schools, of course, but we go beyond that to many more schools in the LEAbecause we have this networking role to fulfil. (S4 HT)

As a Sports College our links are wide and varied, into the community, other schools and to some extentnationally. We see ourselves at the core of lots of activities and the Sports Co-ordinators have a major role toplay beyond this school. (S9 T)

The language work we do here is shared with other schools, of course, thats part of the remit to act as aconduit for good practice and sharing with other schools. (S6 T)

In order to support the National Languages Strategy there are things we have to achieve. In particular we

have to link with other schools and ensure there are opportunities for learning different languages acrossdifferent schools. (S8 HT)

From the perspective of partner schools, the Specialist Schools were seen as having animpact beyond the immediate locality of the school. Partner schools saw the role of theSpecialist School, particularly Sports Colleges and Language Colleges, as being much broaderthan simply linking with local schools.

As a Sports College, they are linked with schools up and down the country not just us. But we benefitenormously. (PS19 HT)

Of course they work closely with us and our languages day was a great success but they also work with otherschools, thats part of their role isnt it to help other schools. (PS28 T)

It is possible that the particular infrastructure supporting Sports Colleges and LanguagesColleges assists them in securing such positive and extensive links with other schools. It isevident that Specialist Sports Colleges play an active role in PE, School Sport and Club links(PESSCL) Delivery Plan. Sports Colleges can be funded to be the preferred hub sites forthe proposed 400 School Sport Co-ordinator (SSCO) partnerships and part of theGovernments wider Specialist Schools Programme. Similarly, all Language Colleges arerequired to show in their developmental plans how they will support the National LanguagesStrategy. While there is no central funding available for this work, Language Colleges


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support the strategy through providing adult learning opportunities, enhancement activitiesfor pupils in other schools and opportunities for pupils to learn their own heritage language.

The evidence from this study suggests that the expectation that Language Colleges andSports Colleges should play an active role in disseminating good practice by linking withother schools and providing rich and varied learning opportunities, is reflected in practice.In both cases, there is evidence to suggest that they are committed to working with otherschools and see their role as being centrally one of disseminating and generating goodpractice.

We see our role as promoting languages both within the school and the wider community. Our links withother schools are therefore really important to us. (S12 Lang T)

Specialist Status has allowed us to work more broadly with other schools, this has been a bonus.(S4 PE T)

While the data suggested that Language and Sports Colleges tend to be particularly good atdisseminating and sharing good practice, it also showed that other Specialist Schools werealso effective as centres of excellence in their specialist subject area. In some cases,Specialist School status had facilitated a new relationship between the specialist school andits local schools based upon sharing good practice in teaching.

Relationships are blossoming. Staff links are beginning to form. Staff previously felt that secondary schoolslooked down on primary schools not anymore. (PS 20 HT)

We did not have a great relationship with the school 5 years ago. There is a difference in how teachers inhumanities and those in science view the Specialist School. The science dept have a more positive attitude.(PS24 Science Co-ordinator)

We had very little relationship prior to Specialist School status as it had deteriorated when it became aGrant Maintained school. We have a more effective relationship since Specialist School status was granted.(PS39 HT)

The means of sharing good practice included: peer observation, teaching in other schools,shared staff development events, providing specialist or technical support in other schools.The data suggested that Specialist Schools are pedagogic resources for other schools offeringthem access to high quality resources and subject expertise.

Through peer observation more ideas are being shared. Having subject specialists come in to the Primaryschool helps subject teaching. (PS24 HT)

The level of collaboration is tremendous. We have access to additional support such as in-service trainingand hosting the AST programme. (PS 38 HT)

Main benefit is the technician who comes for one day each fortnight to the school (this service extends to fourother feeder primary schools). For the first three years this was free. The primary school now pays a


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minimal contribution which is seen as being extremely good value. School also has access to IT phonesupport when the technician is not in school. Have access to lap tops one a year for half a term. (PS 21HT)

We have had workshops for our staff on watercolour and sketchbooks all staff involved. This has givenus more confidence when working with the children and personally. KS2 have been involved in a mod rockproject (plaster of Paris wrapped round wire) and made tree sculptures. An art teacher did this. Y5 wereinvolved in some Batik work. Y3 and 4 in tie-dying. KS2 were involved in making a banner/wall hangingto celebrate our schools anniversary of 150 years. KS1 benefited from clay work with an artist paid for byWatford. They also paid for an artist to work with Y2 on a 3D collage where the children made differenthouses in history. Reception children made a collage of roman houses and castles. On average we havesomeone from their school here one half day per week always a teacher. (P37 (HT)

As centres of excellence, the Specialist Schools have introduced other schools to alternativeapproaches to teaching the specialist subjects. This has been achieved through acombination of observation, demonstration and coaching other teachers. In essence, theteachers in the Specialist Schools model teaching excellence and in so doing have raisedexpectations about what constitutes good science or arts teaching. In all the schools in thesample there was evidence that they were working more closely with their primary feederschools and assisting secondary schools, some of whom, were in challenging circumstances.

We are a school in challenging circumstances and the LEA has been working with us to set uppartnerships. The X school has been working with us since last year putting together a programme of work(general school improvement) in Maths and ICT. We have had very focused support and our relationship is

very close. We had contact prior to Specialist School status but as part of their bid received extra supportwhich has been excellent. (PS 37 HT)

The benefits of involvement with a Specialist School were quite clearly outlined in the data.For some schools it was the benefits associated with new materials, equipment andresources.

The impact on us has been significant material benefits such as resources especially in post 16 teaching (IT)and staff training. Work with our feeder primary schools has now overflowed into working with Xs feederschools through the School Sports Co-ordinator scheme. (PS23 HT)

For other schools, it was the provision of expert guidance, modelling and tuition fromteacher to teacher, whilst for others it was a combination of both plus the additional supportand pressure to perform by being associated with the Specialist School.

I have seen our own academic attainment go up and have taken advantage of the wider trainingopportunities. Staff at both schools have benefited for example teaching more able children. (PS40 HT)

As centres of excellence, the Specialist Schools are considered to be playing a powerful rolein staff development and school improvement or regeneration. Through networking andcollaboration the transfer of good practice was viewed as more possible with its net effect


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upon motivation and achievement. It was clear that links had successfully being formed withprimary schools and other secondary schools in the area.

Working with the Specialist School has increased motivation amongst staff which has improved pupilmotivation. Children more open to opportunities available e.g. Year 6 boys performed a dance in assemblythat they had choreographed themselves. This would not have happened before. (PS20 HT)

We work very closely with the schools to the north of us and we do a lot of partnership and support workwith them; we hold various sports tournaments which are moved to our partner schools and the work of ourpartnership development manager has meant that we have much stronger relationships with our schools.Certainly with our pyramid schools as well, we have a very strong pyramid here actually, and we meet everyhalf term. (S14 T)

Links are starting and thats through the federations really that the languages MFL networks are startingto be established, our federation of 6 secondary schools, so I think theres been some teacher exchange andobservation and whatever thats very early days. (S6 HT)

What happened with the technology college is weve been able to impact and give resources, staffing andphysical resources into 5 other schools. (S16 T)

The evidence also showed that improved relationships and communication between the secondaryschool and its feeder primaries has assisted and improved the process of transition between KS2 andKS3.

Certainly all the primary schools are benefiting from our sports college status because they get teachers going

in all the time and doing things there and other secondary schools as well get involved with some of the schemeswe run, as like the centre of the partnership. (S14 T)

A lot of the kids especially the year 7 that come knowing its a language college, already have that respect forthe languages. Im seeing already in year 7 the kids are much more willing to start a language that they dontthink theyre going to use again, whereas before in year 7 they were saying well why cant I do Urdu? I dontunderstand why Ive got to do French but now theyre coming and realising that we are a language college; weare here to teach lots of different languages, then theyve a lot more respect for it, yes thats true. (S6 NQT)

X has got a reputation for sport most definitely. In all of the primary schools the children are very keen tocome here because of the sports college, you know, sort of thing. Ive been working with some of the kids

recently in junior schools and theyre all very proud of the fact that theyve been invited to come to X to dosomething that were running at the moment because were a sports college, and the parents are like smiling my son or daughters been to X, so yes I think its definitely benefited us. ( S14 T)

The support of the Youth Sport Trust was highlighted by the Sports Colleges in the study asbeing instrumental in the application process and intrinsically supportive of their subsequentnetworking and dissemination activities.

The Youth Sport Trust has been very supportive and has guided our work with other schools, locally andnationally. (S9 T)


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Similarly, the work of the Specialist Schools Trust was consistently highlighted by schools assupporting their various activities through conferences and workshops that have directlyassisted them in improving teaching and learning.

The Trust has provided cutting edge training and support throughout. (S 2 HT)

It is unlikely we would have made as much progress without help from the Trust. (S 17 HT)

In summary (with the assistance of the YST and SST), Specialist Schools as centres ofexcellence are providing high quality professional development for other schools and sharinggood practice both locally and, particularly in the case of Sports Colleges and LanguageColleges, nationally. In the majority of cases, Specialist Schools are modelling effectivepedagogical practice within their subject areas and are encouraging the transfer of practice to

other subject domains.


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4.4 COMMUNITYLINKS

The study explored community links in two categories schools working with other schoolsto share facilities, good practice and activities, and working with local businesses and withcommunity groups. The study aimed to identify more and less effective ways of doing thisand the added value of such community work. The data showed quite clearly that all schoolsin the study had forged new links or enhanced existing community links through achievingSpecialist School status. The degree of community involvement varied from school toschool and subject to subject but in all cases there was evidence of community links andinvolvement prompted by Specialist School status.

To a certain extent, the type of community link was heavily dependent on the existing links

with the community and the nature of the subject specialism. In the case of Arts Colleges,Sports Colleges and Language Colleges for example, evidence of community involvementwas easily found and it was acknowledged that achieving Specialist School status had simplystrengthened the links that were in place.

Certainly our primary schools and the partner schools know about our visual arts because the kids arecoming in to the workshops here and you have probably again seen it in the foyer, the pictures of the localprimary schools and the work that they have been doing. So those parents know already. The community perse because we have got such a good reputation. Anyway, I could not say hand on heart that it willsignificantly alter their impression of the school. (S2 HT)

It was widely accepted that Specialist School status had generated positive benefits for theschool and, in many cases, for the wider community.

... school receiving Specialist School status has been a catalyst for change in the area (problems withdrugs/prostitution etc are now changing for the better). There are now much higher communityexpectations for children and parents because the school has raised aspirations. (PS 25 HT)

So definitely there is additional kudos and the ability to be able to drip feed even more into the press and thecommunity that this is us and this is what we stand for and hopefully we will become a centre of excellencewhich you are supposed to do if you are a specialist school. (S2 HT)

Its certainly having an impact in the way of primary teaching as we said before; I get mums coming up to me

while Im stood waiting for my lift outside school and theyre very positive; they love the fact that the kids arelearning French and theyre only 6, 7 years old, to the extent that they even took it home and the mums wantto try and learn French so that they can understand what their kids are learning which is really nice. Wehave lots of extra groups as well, for example I think theres we have a French GCSE lesson for adultsafter school so people can come in from the outside community if they want to learn French; thats been reallygood its improved the name of the school I think. (S6 NQT)

We are working hard to bring technology into the community. We have a number of projects just starting.(S5 HT)


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While benefits to the community varied from school to school, the data showed it was feltthat the status changed the community view of the school for the better.

The spin off has been beneficial to the community as well as internally. (PS34 HT)

The community view has changed and has gone up. It is now oversubscribed. Relationships have improved.(PS37 HT)

I think the community has benefited hugely in the sense that we were able to immediately employ 2 peoplewho were doing the community side of it 2 new people and they have changed the aspect of the communitycompletely. I think sometimes in a community you can get a lot of people who are anti everythingwhy isthe school giving that?.its actually brought quite a lot of people together and made them realise thatactually were a community. (S14 G)

The school has broadened its horizons and has encompassed other schools in the area. We now have amutual relationship. There was a healthy ethos prior to the school getting Specialist School status but it hasnow a greater community presence. (PS41 HT)

The practical benefits to the community included the provision of specialist sports clubs,exhibitions, evening classes and the provision of language laboratories.

On Saturday mornings children from all the local primary schools are able to attend language classes languages include French, Spanish, German and Japanese. A few children from this school attend these.(PS28 HT)

There has been a significant impact on the community because of the School Sports Co-ordinator scheme.More community opportunities such as sports coaching after school hours that did not exists before SpecialistSchool status. (PS23 Principal)

The adult community also get use of all our new facilities and things like that; were going to have a newhealth and fitness suite and I supposeI dont know how much the school was open for use in communitytimes at other times, but it seems to be busy 24 hours a day now almost so yes, it seems like they do benefitfrom the school, definitely. (S14 T)

The data suggests, however, that while there is evidence of positive benefits to thecommunity from Specialist School status, there is less evidence that these activities aredirectly related to specific learner outcomes for pupils and teachers in partner schools or forschools and wider community groups. However, the data revealed that over half the schoolsin the sample were in the process of strengthening and developing community links. Wherethere was evidence of strong links in place, it was usually the case that the school had suchlinks before achieving Specialist School status.

There seemed to be a number of hurdles to forging positive community links that someschools had overcome but others found difficult. These hurdles included: the nature of thesubject as some subjects (e.g. sports, arts) were viewed as more accessible to thecommunity and easily converted into community activities; the nature of the community


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for some schools the low levels of parental involvement in the school meant thatestablishing links and securing involvement was a challenge; priorities and time-scale - forsome schools the community was not the chief priority in the short term. Schools in thestudy with well-developed community links tended to be in their second or third year ofSpecialist School status reinforcing the fact that community links take time to forge anddevelop. Finally, engaging with business and industry proved difficult for some schools andit is clear that extra support is needed to assist schools in securing these links. While schoolsare able to secure business support at the application stage, it appears that extending anddeepening the involvement of business has proved difficult. In the case of a businessspecialism, ongoing links seemed to be forged as part of applying for Specialist Status butthese links tended to be with one or two major partners and not more widely spread withinthe community. It is suggested that more work is needed to encourage businesses to provideongoing support for, and greater involvement with, Specialist Schools.

In summary, Specialist Schools were actively seeking community involvement with varyingdegrees of success. In all cases, schools in the study had some community involvement andlinkages but the quality and nature of these varied considerably. The most successful formsof community partnership tended to be programmes of activity that were well establishedand mutually beneficial.


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4.5 PREPARATION FORAPPLICATION

The study explored the process and practice of applying for specialist school status. Withinthe sample were schools who had applied for specialist school status in the late 1990s and itis acknowledged that significant and positive changes have been made to the applicationprocess in recent years.

The data revealed that schools generally felt that the process of applying for SpecialistSchool status was time consuming and hard work. It was evident that mainly headteachersand members of their leadership teams take the lead in preparing the initial application but inmost schools there was a team approach to completing the final application. The applicationprocess was considered by schools in the study to be robust and rigorous but very

demanding of time and energy.

It was hard work doing the bid. It was incredibly time consuming. It was hard work raising the money, thesponsorship money. That was a nightmare, wasnt it? Its so time consuming and you know weve got 1000plus children plus teaching all the time and this bid was the most important bid that weve written but we arewriting 25 maybe 30 bids a year just to get extra resource this is what schools are in to. And that has tobe taken into account however it was well worth it. (S1 HT)

It was clear that for some schools, securing the initial funding to apply for Specialist Schoolstatus had proved to be quite difficult. Conversely, some schools, by virtue of their linkswith the wider community, found the prospect of raising the resource less difficult than for

other schools. Although having no effect on the schools in this study, the Partnership Fund1

was introduced in 2003 to help schools struggling to raise sponsorship despite reasonableefforts over time this extra source of funding should help to alleviate some of the issuesidentified in this study. For the schools in this study, however, raising the initial funding wasnot without its problems.

I came back from maternity leave in the February and started writing it almost when I got back, I did noteaching for a year. Because I knew I had to raise the money we just sat down and we flogged ourselves forabout six months raising the money.(S2 HT)

However, despite the time-consuming nature of the application process, most schools felt itwas rigorous and fair. They generally felt it was worth it to receive the status. The data alsoshowed that some Specialist Schools were supporting other schools in applying for SpecialistSchool status.

1 The Partnership Fund provides about 3 million per annum in support to schools that can demonstrate thattheir efforts over time to find sponsorship have been unsuccessful. The fund is administered by the SpecialistSchools Trust in accordance with DfES criteria and is provided from both public and private sector finance.Over 130 schools were helped by the Partnership Fund to gain Specialist School status in the October 2003and March 2004 application rounds.


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It was felt that it would be unfortunate if the future application process was made too easyasall the schools in the study had worked particularly hard to achieve specialist status early onand would feel that this would be unfair to them.

We worked very hard on our application; it would be unfair if schools coming in later had an easier time ofit. (S6 SL)

It was also the case that the impression of the amount of work involved if successful was notborne out in practice. Several schools were initially very worried about the volume of workinvolved.

I suppose if they were worried about it to say that its not as traumatic as you might have heard. It can bedone without huge amounts of work. But then I suppose it would depend on what department they were in

and what specialist status they were going for. (S2 SL)

There were some reservations about applying for a second specialism in the future becauseof the perceived extra effort involved in writing the bid and securing the funding1. However,at the time of the interviews in this study, information on gaining second specialisms wasvery limited.

The roles of the Specialist Schools Trust and Youth Sport Trust were also acknowledged andpraised by schools for their assistance, guidance and advice in the application process.

The Youth Sport Trust Network and the Specialist Schools network have been invaluable; I think that has

really kind of opened our eyes a little bit, so from being a nice rural, parochial, insular country school, Ithink we now very much feel were part of an international movement and thats been wonderful. So I thinkit has had the affect of raising everybodys sights actually. (S14 HT).

The Youth Sport Trust and the specialist school movement is very good I have to say; it does make youthink about practice and so that has kind of drip feed back into our system. (S14 T)

The Specialist Schools Trust is an excellent source of advice and guidance, I cant thank them enough forhelping me transform my school. (S6 PG)

In summary, the data reinforced the need for a robust application process but acknowledgedthat this would inevitably be time consuming. Schools generally felt that the rigour and

effort of the application process would ensure that it was carefully thought through and thatthe implications for development were clearly outlined.

1 In July 2004, the opportunity to take up a second specialism (with extra funding) was offered to some of theleading Specialist Schools who were applying for redesignation. The DfES Five Year Strategy sets out a visionwhere leading Specialist Schools have extra opportunities, at redesignation, to drive improvements and deliverpersonalised learning for all - one of these opportunities is the introduction of a second specialism.


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ASTUDY OF THE SPECIALIST SCHOOLS PROGRAMME PAGE 26 SUMMARY

SECTION FIVE -SUMMARY

5. CONCLUSIONS

5.1 CONCLUSIONS AND SUMMARY

The findings from this study suggest that Specialist School status is both a powerful vehicleof school improvement and means of raising attainment in specialist and partner schools.The evidence consistently shows that Specialist School status is felt to increase expectationsof performance among students and teachers and to generate high levels of motivationamong teachers in the specialist area and beyond. Specialist School status is considered byschools in the study to be a powerful catalyst for change and a useful mechanism forengaging community and school partners in the collective task of improvement. The degreeof engagement, involvement and motivation among teachers in the schools with specialist

subject is very high. For example,

We eat and drink art now dont we! We eat, sleep and drink it but its not only fine art, its all the arts;its textiles, itsfrom fine arts, textiles to ceramics, photography to music; its moving right down there now.Every department gets some money from it. We have visual arts teaching across the curriculum; weve gotdrawing across the curriculum, weve got art displays in 2 exhibition centres. (S1 DHT)

It is clear from the data that the additional levels of resource were a major contributingfactor to the schools ability to improve its teaching within the subject area and across othersubject areas. The specialist status offered teachers new opportunities and experiences thatenhanced their teaching and led to improvements in classroom practice.

Weve been able to increase the staffing so that we can give a more varied offering to the girls in terms ofcourses so we happen to do ceramics, photography and many other activities because of the extra resources.(S1 HT)

We recognised that if we got Specialist School status it would provide us with new opportunities to improvefurther and to sustain that. The thrust of it is to do with the new opportunities it provides and the challengethat it provides for staff. It encourages them to think we are different and therefore we havent got to do thingsin the way weve always done them, were looking for new opportunities; were looking to experiment and inexperimenting recognising on occasions like any other experiment, it will fail; you dont make progress if youdont try and you dont make progress if you dont make mistakes. (S4 HT)

There are also strong indications in the data that Specialist School status has a positive effecton attainment.

Last year we had our best GCSE results ever and our value added is amazing and I think that they arethe result of sports college; the fact that the children are confident and healthy means that they learn better; thePE department are wonderful because they are very social. Most of them also teach in other departments.(S14 HT)

In summary, this study found that Specialist School status is a major impetus for change anddevelopment within schools. It affords opportunities for collaboration and a pedagogicalbasis for networking between schools.


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ASTUDY OF THE SPECIALIST SCHOOLS PROGRAMME PAGE 27 SUMMARY

SECTION FIVESUMMARY

The components of success identified by this study are as follows:

firstly, additional, targeted resources focused on improving teaching and learning; secondly, a commitment to community involvement and networking with other

schools;

thirdly, attention to self-evaluation and review; fourthly, investment in high quality staff development between schools; and finally, a commitment to raising attainment and teaching excellence.

To conclude, the Specialist Policy is making a positive impact upon raising attainment inthose schools designated as specialist and more broadly with their feeder primary andpartner schools.

5.2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank other members of the study team, particularly Sarah Dahl, Lucy Clarkeand Sam Gorse who collected the data from the participating schools. Im grateful toProfessor Daniel Muijs and Dr Christopher Chapman who assisted in the data analysis phaseand to Rod Arthur for ensuring the project was managed effectively.

The study team would like to acknowledge the schools who participated in this study and tothank staff for giving up their time to contribute to this project.


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ASTUDY OF THE SPECIALIST SCHOOLS PROGRAMME PAGE 28 APPENDIX1-SUMMARY OF METHODOLOGY

APPENDIX 1SUMMARY OF METHODOLOGY

APPENDIX 1SUMMARY OF METHODOLOGY

The study methodology consisted of case studies designed to interrogate the impact ofSpecialist School status on the following aspects:

IMPACT OF SPECIALIST SCHOOL STATUS ON: CASE STUDYELEMENTRange of qualifications. Documentary evidence, Interviews.Take up of specialist subjects. Documentary evidence, Interviews.Number and type of extra curricular activities. Documentary evidence, Interviews.Teaching and learning quality. Interviews, Observation.Innovation in teaching and learning. Interviews, Observation.Staff issues. Conditions Survey, InterviewsSchool ethos. Conditions Survey, Interviews, Observation.Extent and quality of engagement. Interviews.Extent and quality of links with other schools. Interviews, Documentary Evidence.Community engagement. Interviews, Community Member Interviews.Collaboration with other schools. Interviews, Documentary Evidence.


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ASTUDY OF THE SPECIALIST SCHOOLS PROGRAMME PAGE 29

APPENDIX 2CASE STUDYSCHOOLS

APPENDIX 2CASE STUDYSCHOOLS

The following table shows the 18 case study Specialist Schools involved in this study in the date order in

TYPE SCHOOL NAME ADDRESS

YEAR OF SPECI

STA

Engineering Kirkham Carr Hill 11-18 High SchoolRoyal Avenue, Kirkham, Preston, Lancashire,PR4 2ST 20

Engineering Eckington School Dronfield Road, Eckington, Sheffield, S21 4GN 20

Science Preston Manor High Carlton Avenue East, Wembley, HA9 8NA 20

Sports Perins Community School Pound Hill, Alresford, Hampshire, SO24 9BS 20

Technology Grange Community College (The)Haycliffe Lane, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD59ET 20

Languages Belle Vue Girls' School Thirn Lane, Bingley Road, Bradford, BD9 6NA 20

Arts Watford Grammar School for Girls Lady's Close, Watford, Herts, WD18 0AE 20

Languages Hockerill Anglo European School

Dunmow Road, Bishop's Stortford, Herts.,

CM23 5HX 19Sports King's School (the) Ottery St Mary, Devon, EX11 1RA 20

Technology Dene Magna School Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire, GL17 0DU 19

Technology St Angela's Ursuline Convent SchoolSt George's Road, Forest Gate, London, E78HU 19

Languages Didcot Girls' High SchoolSherwood Road, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX110DA 19

Technology St Bonaventure's School Boleyn Road, Forest Gate, London, E7 9QD 19

Science Kingswinford School (The)Water Street, Kingswinford, West Midlands,DY6 7AD 20

Mathematics Gilberd School (The) Brinkley Lane, Colchester, Essex, CO4 9PU 20

LanguagesSt Aidan's Roman Catholic ComprehensiveSchool

Willow Bank Road, Ashbrooke, Sunderland,Tyne and Wear, SR2 7HJ 20

Arts Kesteven and Sleaford High SchoolJermyn Street, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG347RS 20

Business Walton High Fyfield Barrow, Milton Keynes, MK7 7WH 20


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APPENDIX 3TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS


The following table shows the partner schools involved in telephone interviews. 30 schools participated

INTERVIEW DATE INTERVIEWER SCHOOL PAR

20-Apr-04 Sam Gorse Cheriton Primary Perins Com

20-Apr-04 Sam Gorse Four Marks Primary School Perins Com

23-Apr-04 Lucy Clarke Westbury-on-Severn Primary School Dene Magn

23-Apr-04 Sam Gorse The JFS School Preston Ma

23-Apr-04 Lucy Clarke Sidmouth College The Kings

29-Apr-04 Sarah Dahl Preston Park primary School Preston Ma

29-Apr-04 Sarah Dahl Green Lane Primary School Belle Vue G

29-Apr-04 Lucy Clarke St Birinius School Didcot Gir

30-Apr-04 Lucy Clarke Manor County Primary School Didcot Gir

11-May-04 Lucy Clarke All Saints Primary School Hockerill A14-Jun-04 Lucy Clarke Kirkham and Wesham Primary School Kirkham C

14-Jun-04 Lucy Clarke Wavendon Gate Combined School Walton Hig

15-Jun-04 Lucy Clarke Marsh Lane Primary School Eckington

15-Jun-04 Lucy Clarke Brinkley Grove Primary School Gilberd Hig

17-Jun-04 Lucy Clarke Herts and Essex High School Hockerill A

18-Jun-04 Lucy Clarke Medlar with Wesham Church of England Primary School Kirkham C

21-Jun-04 Lucy Clarke Rauceby Church of England Primary School Kesteven a

06-Jul-04 Lucy Clarke The Lafford High School Kesteven a

06-Jul-04 Lucy Clarke Colbayns High School The Gilber

06-Jul-04 Lucy Clarke The Venerable Bede C of E Aided Secondary School St Aidan's R

06-Jul-04 Lucy Clarke St Mary's C of E Primary School Kingswinsf

07-Jul-04 Lucy Clarke St Helen's RC Primary School St Angela's

07-Jul-04 Lucy Clarke Christchurch School Watford G

12-Jul-04 Lucy Clarke Kirkham St Michaels's C of E Primary Kirkham C

12-Jul-04 Lucy Clarke Queensbury School The Grang


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CONTENTS



INTERVIEW DATE INTERVIEWER SCHOOL PAR

12-Jul-04 Lucy Clarke Brackenhill Primary The Grang

12-Jul-04 Lucy Clarke Westhill Primary School The King's

13-Jul-04 Lucy Clarke Blandford mere primary School Kingswinsf

13-Jul-04 Lucy Clarke St Leonard's Primary School St Aidan's R

13-Jul-04 Lucy Clarke St Michael's C Of E High School Kingswinfo


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ASTUDY OF THE SPECIALIST SCHOOLS PROGRAMME PAGE 32 APPENDIX4-CONDITIONS SURVEYFINDINGS

APPENDIX 4CONDITIONS SURVEYFINDINGS

APPENDIX 4-CONDITIONS SURVEYFINDINGS

A4.1 COPY OF CONDITIONS SURVEY

A copy of the Conditions Survey (Mapping Change in Schools - The Cambridge Manual of ResearchTechniques) used with all the case study schools is shown over the next 3 pages.

Due to the volume of data, the outcomes of the survey are shown in a separate attachment(A Study of the Specialist Schools Programme Conditions Survey Outcomes).


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CONTENTS

ASTUDY OF THE SPECIALIST SCHOOLS PROGRAMME PAGE 33 APPENDIX4CONDITIONS SURVEYFINDINGS


THE MANAGEMENT CONDITIONS OF SCHOOL

RATING SCALE

Attached is a series of 24 statements about your school.We would like to know how far these statements matchyour own perception of the school, in other words, yourpersonal view of it. There are no 'right' answers, we areseeking your opinion.

Please indicate in the boxes provided which statementsreflect your personal view.

School

Please indicate your present post:

Support Staff

Teacher

Management Team


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CONTENTS



ENQUIRY/REFLECTION

1.1 In this school we talk about the quality of our teaching.

RARELY SOMETIMES OFTEN NEARLY ALWAYS

1.2 As a school we review the progress of changes we introduce.


1.3 Teachers make time to review their classroom practice.


1.4 The school takes care over issues of confidentiality.


PLANNING

2.1 Our long-term aims are reflected in the school's plans.


2.2 In our school the process of planning is regarded as being more important than the writtenplan.


2.3 Everyone is fully aware of the school's development priorities.


2.4 In the school we review and modify our plans.


INVOLVEMENT

3.1 In this school we ask students for their views before we make major changes.


3.2 This school takes parents' views into consideration when changes are made to thecurriculum.


3.3 Governors and staff work together to decide future directions for the school.


3.4 We make effective use of outside support agencies (e.g. advisers and lecturers) in ourdevelopment work.



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CONTENTS



STAFF DEVELOPMENT

4.1 Professional learning is valued in this school.


4.2 In devising school policies emphasis is placed on professional development.


4.3 In this school the focus of staff development is on the classroom.


4.4 The school's organisation provides time for staff development.


CO-ORDINATION

5.1 Staff taking on co-ordinating roles are skilful in working with colleagues.


5.2 We get tasks done by working in teams.


5.3 Staff are kept informed about key decisions.

RARELY SOMETIMES OFTEN NEARLY ALWAYS5.4 We share experiences about the improvement of classroom practice.


LEADERSHIP

6.1 Staff in the school have a clear vision of where we are going.


6.2 Senior staff delegate difficult and challenging tasks.


6.3 Senior management take a lead over development priorities.


6.4 Staff are given opportunities to take on leadership roles.



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Copies of this publication can be obtained from:

DfES PublicationsP.O. Box 5050Sherwood Park

AnnesleyNottingham

NG15 0DJ

Tel: 0845 60 222 60Fax: 0845 60 333 60Minicom: 0845 60 555 60Oneline: www.dfespublications.gov.uk

University of Warwick 2004

Produced by the Department for Education and Skills

ISBN 1 84478 330 8Ref No: RR587

df k h

A Study of Specialist School

Documents

Transcript of A Study of Specialist School