If things seem to be under control, you’re not moving fast enough.

1. If things seem to be under control, you’re not moving fast enough. Mario Andretti

2. Bang! and the underachievement is gone! 1001 Achievement Strategies Tuesday 14th October 2008 Sai Patel New and Improved! Raising Achievement, Transforming Learning

3. Structure • Pupils • Parents • Staff • Data and Value added

4. Warning Some of the achievement strategies mentioned in this presentation are contentious and, although are proved to raise achievement, they may be against the moral and ethical principles of some teachers

5. Pupils: Culture • Talk to students all day, everyday. Ask: • Which 5 Cs are you going to get? • What is your predicted value added score? • What are your priority areas? • What’s stopping you from getting the next grade? • What does work at that level look like? • Remove them if they prevent learning • ‘Can do’ approach

6. Pupils: Progress • Attitude to Learning Score • Reporting cycle: Race Prep in Autumn • Role of the tutor

7. Pupils: Celebration • What incentives and rewards do you use? • Do they work? • What do the students want? • School Celebration Policy • What is it? • Is it as robust as the Behaviour Policy?

8. Passport to the Prom Pages can include: • Signed off coursework • Stamps for attending key revision sessions • Website challenges • e-Mentoring log • Post 16/careers sign off • SAM Learning time

9. Coursework • Remove ‘vulnerable’ students out of some subjects • Work with best staff to improve coursework • Pay staff/students to mentor students through coursework • No ‘U’ grades • Do not allow coursework grade to be lower than the Target Grade • Make it a school policy and track it

10. Coursework • What is the difference between coursework and exam grade in your school? (Especially boys) • Use writing frames to help some students • Do not trust them to do it as homework • Make sure there is lesson/supervised time for it • Make sure all coursework is completed in Year 10 – effect on results? • February 14th

11. Reflect Discuss Action

12. Revision • Get revision posters up around the school • What? - 10 things I need to know to … • Where? – Toilet doors, anywhere they queue • Produce digital resources in the best formats • iPods/MP3, mobile phone, DVD • Use scrolling PowerPoint presentations of key ideas and exam hints • Play them as students are entering classrooms

13. Revision • Systems like SAM Learning work • Motivate students to use them • Use rewards for time online • Use BBC Bitesize • Materials in mobile phone format • Core subjects conference • Environment • Self-esteem • Team building

14. Revision: Module Mats

15. Don’t forget about technique! • Do not only focus on covering the syllabus • Use peer marking of past questions – it helps everyone • Focus on exam techniques • Use exemplar material at different levels • Make sure the students understand the levels • Make sure they know what to do on each paper!

16. E-mentoring • Students want to work at 9pm at night • What support is there at that time? • Can you pay older students to lead chat room sessions or discussion forums? • About 15% of students prefer to learn in this way

17. On the big day… • Breakfast club – minibus collects ‘risky’ students • Pep talk by a member of staff – cover key points and topics • Walk to exams – make it an experience • Provide water/sweets/fruit on exam desk • SLT to start all exams with a positive message • Invigilators to fetch SLT if someone stops working

18. In the exam hall…. • Celebrate Paper 1 finishing • Issue reminders of Paper 2 contents • Run an immediate revision session

19. Reflect Discuss Action

20. Parents • Ask them to bring their diaries • List all key dates in a variety of formats • Give them a wallet sized card with them on • Give them a calendar with them on • Run through support available

21. Parent as mentors? • Produce a Parents Support Booklet for each subject • What do the students need to know? • How can the parents help in that subject? • Coursework requirements and dates • Include a booklet of support work for when there is ‘no homework’

22. Communication • Traditional newsletter? • Text message • Web based portal to MIS system • Parents Alert on desktop

23. Partnership • Interviews with all Year 11 parents and children individually • Go through each subject to find out… • How things are going? • Will target be met? • Are they taught well? • How can they be supported at home?

24. Staff • Head of Years must ‘own’ each child academically – do they do this? • Can all staff level work correctly? • Visit other schools, pay people from other schools to mentor your staff, get experts in • Go for ‘Learning Walks’ with HODs • Observe staff every day – 10 lessons per year is 1% of teaching • Everyone can turn it on for an observation

25. Staff • Ban phrases and activities like study leave, winding down, poster, word searches etc. • If it is not working – change it! • Change staffing and grouping at Xmas? • Handle issues about underperformance of staff early • No favours to anyone by leaving it – move people on if necessary

26. Staff • Must have an aspirational but realistic target for all students • They must understand where the grade came from • The expectation is that the target grade is achieved • Accountability is everything

27. Staff: Reduce Stress • Provide services to reduce staff stress • dry cleaning, fruit and water, a masseur, reduced membership to local health facilities, get support staff to fetch prescriptions and get tax discs • Reward the staff regularly and often • free cakes, meals, a party – thank them every week for making such a difference • Take stress off staff – quality lessons No. 1 priority • Get rid of minutes, agendas, memos, unnecessary paperwork • If it doesn’t improve the quality of lessons don’t do it!

28. Time • Timetable so your best teachers teach the crucial groups • Change blocking if necessary • Registration can be 100 hrs per year • How can it be used as a learning experience? • Hold separate assemblies for key groups • Underachievers, disaffected, A*/A, C/D, G/U, all achievers? • Use external motivators

29. Spaces • Large sessions led by your most motivating staff • Session supported by other staff back in class • Small group areas for small group focus

30. Reflect Discuss Action

31. Data • Who owns the data? • Can they communicate effectively? • Don’t focus on C/D at expense of others • A ‘U’ instead of a ‘G’ is 2½ times worse than a ‘D’ instead of a ‘C’

32. Data: Staff • Make sure SLT and governors understand Value Added • If one person doesn’t it will appear not important • Make sure staff understand Value Added • Produce a data users guide for staff

33. Value Added • Where are you losing Value Added? • Work it out – for every subject, class, teacher, student… • Publish to all staff? • Produce a hit list of negative Value Added students • Mention it constantly • Attach SLT to the students

34. Tracking • Which students will get Maths but not English? • Which students will get English but not Maths? • What are you doing about it? • Which 8 subjects will count? • Which students are ‘matched’?

35. Tracking • Are you using the full functionality of you MIS system? • Simple Excel traffic lights work fine

36. High Visibility – The Data ‘War Room’ Y11 need project management You need the systems in place to track everything Your Y11 Learning Manager needs a ‘war room’ with traffic light regular monitoring systems

37. Play the game… • Get the extras in! • Make sure all EAL students do GCSE in their main language • Look at ASDAN, ALAN • Look at Section 96 • Music exams • Sports Leaders etc. • They all count points towards value added

38. Above all… • You can do anything, but you can’t do everything! • What’s important? • Keep it simple • Ensure excellent implementation

39. Thank you