PULSE


The link between activity and academic proficiency is undeniable


I first became aware of the direct link between activity and academic achievement during my secondary experience. It is often the case that the sport and provision provided during the secondary phase is of higher quality and the emphasis placed upon competitive team and individual sport is given higher status than it is within the primary sector.


I noticed that not only myself but other students, often disengaged with traditional, academic subjects did better at school if they were actively involved in high quality, regular physical exercise and especially so if they participated in competitive, team sport.


I took over my last school in September 2013. The school has over 400 primary pupils and serves one of the most socially and economically deprived areas in Kent. Many pupils were disengaged through a relentless focus on English and maths, a narrowed curriculum that had historically responded to the pressures and requirements of floor targets. Children spent most of their time in class studying English and maths with an intense programme of intervention at the cost of non-measured subjects including PE.


Over 60 percent of the pupils were entitled to Pupil Premium and the demographic affected the most through non-engagement were young white boys from low income households who were entitled to the additional funding. Having spoken to most learners it became clear that these children felt they didn’t belong. School wasn’t for them as the things that were culturally important to the school were things they performed badly in. Scores of 1 out of 10 for spelling, never receiving a certificate in celebration assembly or spending most of their day out of class, with other disengaged boys led to this feeling becoming belief. There was no surprise that these children couldn’t give their best in all subjects.


The first step was to redress the culture of the school by introducing a character curriculum. We introduced a set of core values into the school and started to communicate to all learners that self-belief, respect, empathy, honesty and teamwork were the most important things in school and these qualities would be at the heart of recognition and reward no matter where they occurred. We then used our PE and sports premium to launch a new PE & Sport curriculum, dramatically increase the quality of active lessons and significantly raise the daily and weekly opportunities for all children. With the commitment of all stakeholders we were able to communicate a new vision that ‘all children will be personally and academically ready for secondary school’


Where can core and soft skills such as self-belief, teamwork, respect and empathy be better expressed than through sport? I knew that Lerner had concluded that a 5C model was at the heart of positive youth development. He describes Confidence, Competence, Connection, Character and Compassion as being the skills that young children need to develop in a positive way. The more opportunities we gave young children to develop and feel these emotions the more engaged they became. By increasing opportunity and creating a culture of recognition our most disengaged pupils started to believe and more importantly belong. These children became the recipients at celebration assembly for awards dedicated to a set of core values instead of numerical outcomes in tests. What happened next was remarkable.


Our most disengaged pupils grew in persistence, hopefulness, educational aspirations, sense of purpose, success


Mr. James Kendall James has been the Head Teacher of Northdown Primary School in Margate for the past three years. Previously, James practised as a lawyer and entered education in 2005. In the last three years the school has moved from Requiring Improvement to Good having placed the school in the 10% of all primary schools, nationally for progress. In 2015 the school was recognised at a national level by being awarded the Youth Sports Trust award for the promotion of health and well-being in the primary phase. The school has since gone on to become a DfE case study school for the effective use of the PE and Sports Premium Funding.


orientation and a belief in the future. These children had gained some sort of resource or capital that they could then spend in other more traditional subjects. Children started to apply self- belief and teamwork in the classroom, this was after all something that they were best at. We introduced a prefect system into school and children were chosen on their ability to demonstrate the core values. Over 40 of these positions went to the same boys who were entitled to the pupil premium. This demographic had now become one of the most important groups in school. The children who had always performed well in English and maths continued to do so but as the school’s focus shifted they also started to develop these soft skills.


Our whole school attendance rose to 95.9 percent and in 2014 over 80 percent of our pupils achieved the


required combined standard in reading, writing and maths. In fact for the first time all outcomes were equal or above the national average and the school had placed itself in the top four percent of all primaries for pupil progress. More notably our disadvantaged pupils outperformed their counterparts in all three subjects. Ofsted judged the school as Good, for the first time, in all areas that year and the success continued into 2015 with the school winning the national award from the Youth Sports Trust for the promotion of health and well-being in the primary phase.


It would be wrong to say that shifting the focus was the only contributing factor in the school’s success. It is my professional opinion however that it had the single biggest impact on ALL children being given the best possible chance of realising their full potential.


The Kent & Medway School Sports Magazine 3


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