Last month a devastating report referred to Somerset as “one of the weakest areas nationally” based on its educational results and described a “very poor” performance from the early years to the GCSEs. While experts say it’s linked to “chronic underfunding,” it made difficult reading for the county’s teachers. I’ve heard about the work they’re already doing to reverse that.
Preliminary data for the 2022 GCSE results showed that Somerset’s students performed around 4% below the national average for students passing math and English, which the council report described as ‘very poor’.
Opened in 1641, the Blue School in Wells is Somerset’s largest state school with 1,450 pupils aged 11 to 18 and achieves some of the best GCSE results in the county.
It is Somerset’s only regional research school, meaning it receives government funding to provide best practice teaching methods to its staff and other schools in the South West.
Mark Woodlock is Head of the Blue School and also Chair of the Somerset Association of Secondary Heads.
He believes that the quality of teaching is the main driver of change in schools.
“If we improve the quality of teaching, we can improve student outcomes, and improving student outcomes improves their life chances,” he said.
“If you showed a teacher something that would really make a difference in their classroom, they would bite your hand off.
“It was great to see how the staff took it because every teacher loves ‘the next best idea’.”
The model the Blue School uses is to match teachers with mentor teachers who can model and advise on teaching techniques.
Deputy Principal Tom Colquhoun said: “Teachers and principals have never been so tense – it makes an even stronger case for being evidence-based in your practice.
“We have to ask ourselves this question: what is most effective and efficient [method] with the time and energy and resources that we have?”
Somerset is now in the top 10 local authorities in the country for the number of schools underrated by Ofsted.
Priorswood Primary School, in a disadvantaged part of Taunton, was rated as inadequate by Ofsted in 2017.
It then joined the Redstart Learning Partnership and the school says it has made great improvements.
They were awaiting the result of a recent Ofsted inspection when I visited, but their faces indicated it would be a positive report.
Carly Ellis, Priorswood’s principal since 2019, said the school now has a waiting list of children wanting to join their reception class.
“We’ve come on quite a journey with our behavior – and it’s no coincidence,” Ms Ellis said.
“The behavior didn’t want to be talked about when I arrived here, but it’s very calm and purposeful now and the staff work very collaboratively with the children.
“Children are expected to say ‘good morning’ and speak correctly,” she added.
Ms Ellis has also worked to stabilize previously high staff turnover by “creating a comfortable and supportive work environment”.
“It’s not easy teaching in a school like this, it’s hard work. You really have to want to do what’s best for the kids, to be here – and to stay here.”
Being part of a group of schools known as the Multi-Academy Trust is seen as a way for schools to become stronger.
Suzanne Flack is Chief Executive of Redstart Learning Partnership, a trust of 10 primary schools in Somerset, including Priorswood.
She said schools across the country have found that young children’s language development is weaker than before the Covid pandemic because they had limited social opportunities as babies.
“One of the things we’ve been able to do as an organization is look at how we teach reading and how we teach the kids different vocabulary and really educate them and try to get them to catch up… and it’s had such a positive impact ‘ said Mrs Flack.
“Everything we do at the Trust revolves around the children – and everything we do must create value for the children.
“All schools face challenges in recruitment, in finance, in energy costs – this is no different in education than anywhere else.
“We’ve built a central team so our schools can focus on teaching and learning, and we have people to take care of heating, roofing and things like that that a school probably couldn’t do on its own.”
You are also able to exchange specialists for the entire trust, e.g. B. in behavioral or language development.
A more modest project was at West Pennard Primary School, where they installed a vending machine full of books. Students receive a token that they can redeem for a book when they reach their semester reading goal.
“Some were disappointed that they didn’t find that many candy bars there! But they find the reward of a book to keep and cherish at home as a real way to read, so it’s working for us,” Principal Tony Wheat said.
An Education Department spokesman said: “We understand the challenges faced by schools, which are being driven by high inflation.
“That is why we are investing an extra £2 billion in our schools next year and the year after.
“This will be the highest real-world spending on schools in history, which will total £57.3 billion by 2024/25.”
Of this, almost £5 billion will go to tutoring, teacher and educator training and extra funding for schools.
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