PARTNERSHIPS


Two years ago, Parklands High became a National Challenge Trust School with the nearby Blue Coat School the lead partner. Belinda Ludlow explains how the partnership has benefited all those involved


Liverpool City Council. Having been proposed by the local authority and


supported by the blue Coat governing body, this development for parklands had been subject to a wide consultation, including the students and parents of the blue Coat School. the primary objective was for parklands to receive


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support, while endeavouring to raise standards and increase numbers on roll as it moved out of special measures. While the partnership was met with some surprise by the staff of both schools – with inevitable questions such as “what can we do to help?”, “will it mean teachers moving from one school to another?” and “what would this partnership look like?” – the transition ran quite smoothly. A new governing body was needed, with all the


trust members nominating governors. the blue Coat nominees included a former headteacher as well as Debbie Silcock, the current headteacher. In practical terms, the partnership has enabled both


schools to work together, the first project in summer 2009 being a year 10 joint enterprise Day. the pairing of the schools really took off with a


joint initiative that involved year 10 students working together to develop an airline. Groups of students co-operated to plan and cost routes, design uniforms and market the new airline. Andrea rimmer, who organised the event, said:


“Feedback from the students was positive, highlighting the opportunity they had to develop team-skills, creativity and time-management.” Year 7 students from parklands also attended a


Forensics Day at blue Coat School, which involved staff and year 9 students setting up a “crime” to be solved. this proved to be very popular and enjoyable for all the students involved and has been repeated each year. Although work had been done with the maths


and english departments of both schools prior to this academic year, the main emphasis of the partnership with parklands was these two subjects, plus the work that could be done with the feeder primary schools. In maths, revision sessions were set up for students


at parklands who had already achieved grade Cs in their GSCe to direct them towards A grades in the re-sits. Students attended blue Coat for some sessions to work with an existing class, and other sessions were delivered on their home ground. this has proved successful, with one student achieving a grade A in november and the others re-sitting this summer. Coupled with the students’ confidence being given a boost is the fact that some are also applying to study in the blue Coat 6th form. the 6th form curriculum provision atparklands does


not currently include academic AS and A2 subjects. the students’ vision for their future in education has


n September 2009, parklands High School in Speke officially became a national Challenge trust school, with the blue Coat School in Wavertree as the lead education partner within the trust, the three other trustees being royal Liver Assurance, the University of Liverpool, and


In it together A group of year 11s came with a teacher from


parklands to take part in three 6th form lessons. they were delighted with their visit and returned to school wanting to take english in 6th form. team-teaching is planned between staff from the departments of both schools. As link teacher forenglish, I have really appreciated


advice from my counterpart, Clare, on switching to the WJeC exam board, which we are in the painful process of doing at the moment. I attended a conference for schools teaching the syllabus for the first time, and was able to share some materials. When observing a year 11 lesson taught by Clare, it reminded me how difficult it is to teach across a wide range of abilities within one class; most of my GCSe students have a much narrower range of targets. Combined senior management meetings and joint


assistant head senior leadership training have provided management links by sharing skills and ideas. Indeed, the blue Coat leadership team, including governors, took part in the selection process for a new headteacher for parklands –Yvonne Sharples. And it isn’t only the brain that has been fed during


the link. blue Coat needed to create a facility for food technology, in line with government recommendations, and we now have a parklands teacher visiting regularly to take cookery lessons.the students are delighted with this new addition to the curriculum, and their stomachs are quite satisfied too! the key to the partnership link is enabling: just a


United: Partnership work between Parklands and Blue Coat schools has had a big impact


been fuelled by the encouragement they have received from staff at both schools. maths InSet has been shared with the maths department at parklands to assist staff with stretching the more able students; this has proved to be of clear benefit. the maths revision classes have been extended


this year, to cover students on the C/D border, and there have been further developments of links with parklands’ feeder primaries, with maths roadshows. Kirsty Wilson and Gavinmcbride have set these up,


and they have usedblue Coat 6th form mathematicians to train year 10 students at parklands to take over this project next year. these roadshows have taken place in parklands’ City Learning Centre (CLC) and all students have been very enthusiastic. In english, also, we are confident about looking


forward, especially after this year’s success. there was a joint writing day at parklands in the first year and initial contacts were made between staff and students. this year, working with Clare roberts, who is subject manager for english and acting assistant head at parklands, plus members of both departments, we have successfully arranged several events which have been great fun as well as educational. the Windows project provided us with access to the


famous Liverpool rastafarian poet Levi tafari, whose charismatic presence and poetic genius graced the blue Coat hall for students from both high schools, plus over 60 fromparklands feeder primaries. the day took a lot of organisation for Clare and I,


but the fruits of our labours were evident and everyone left smiling. the poetry produced that day in October, on the theme of “home”, was published in an anthology and a celebration event has just taken place at the parklands CLC, with students, parents, Levi tafari, headteachers, teachers and governors present. Some students read their poems, including collaborations between schools, and each student was given a copy of the anthology. After studying A Midsummer Night’s Dream, year


8 students from both schools did a drama workshop at the empire theatre, enabling them to lift the print from the page and co-operate by sharing their acting skills. Subsequently, they attended a musical interpretation of the play that was enjoyed by all. Last month, during an evening of poetry and drama,


students from both schools performed the poems and sketches they have put together as a result of these joint activities.


Organised by


springboard to assist staff at parklands High School with stretching their able students and creating an environment where students’ aspirations can be raised. the assistance, however, has been reciprocated in ways that we had not initially anticipated, and has become more of a mutual dependence as the partnership has blossomed with time and experience. I look forward to further link events, fulfilling our motto of “not for oneself, but for all”.


SecEd


• Belinda Ludlow is an English teacher at The Blue Coat School in Liverpool.


In association with 5to7


five to seven educator www.fivetoseven.co.uk 8th national conference Autism Today Cavendish Conference Centre, London 11th & 12th July 2011 TOPICS WILL INCLUDE:


Assessment of autism: which approach should we use? Dr Helen Pearce


Complex presentations of autism Dr William Mandy


Parent’s experience post-diagnosis Jim Chapman


ASD in genetic syndromes: assessment and implications Dr Jo Moss


Feeding diffi culties in autism Dr Gillian Harris


Living with autism Dean Beadle


Reducing stress and easing transitions at school Mike Stanton


Forensic issues in autism Dr Helen Pearce


Role of speech and language therapy in intervention and management of ASD


Gina Davies


Helping adolescents with relationships and sexuality Angela Ward-Brown


Early behavioural interventions: role of PEACH Kirsty Hayhoe & Suzy Yardley


TEACCH Barbara Blyth


Motor skills in autism: pulling apart different motor processes Dr Emma Gowen


Effectiveness of pharmacotherapies in management of autism Dr Paramala Santosh


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Partnership: Rastafarian poet Levi Tafari engages students from both Blue Coat School and Parklands High, as well as pupils from Parklands’ feeder primaries, during a joint event


SecEd • June 9 2011 40 YEARS OF MEDICAL EDUCATION 13


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