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BESA CORNER
This month, in our ongoing feature highlighting the work of members of the UK education suppliers’ trade body BESA, we hear from PSHE consultancy CHAMELEON PDE LTD ; and we learn more about SMARTcurriculum’s work at a Norfolk school.
Raising pupil aspirations after Covid #bewhatyousee
The impact of Covid-19 on young people is undeniable. Disrupted learning and interrupted social and emotional development has left many young people feeling less confident about their future. Some students are reporting issues with self-identity and the skills and competences needed for work or further education. As a response to this, Chameleon PDE Ltd, a PSHE resource, training and consultancy group, are working in collaboration with Swindon Borough Council to deliver the ‘Raising Aspirations’ project across the local authority. The key aims of the project are to provide high quality PSHE as part of the students’ catch-up programme, specific work around promoting self-confidence, as well as increasing awareness of local and national education and employment opportunities. Unfortunately, the catch-up programme in many schools has
focused on academic learning, however, Chameleon PDE’s research of over 5000 students has indicated pupils feel under more pressure than ever to succeed, but have the additional worry of their lost learning to manage. They do not feel adequately prepared for exams or life beyond school. Analysis from the Centre for Mental Health report that: “…1-5million young people will need mental health support over the next 3 to 5 years”. It is understandable why PSHE has taken a back seat over the
past 2 years in some schools, however, now is the time to consider how this subject can support young peoples’ mental wellbeing and help prevent many requiring specialist interventions. Swindon Borough Council has recognised this need, hence the ‘Raising Aspirations’ project. All Swindon secondary schools are being supported by
Chameleon PDE Ltd to evaluate and improve their PSHE provision to meet the current needs of their students. Transition from Year 6 to Year 7 has also been highlighted by Swindon’s young people as an area that causes much anxiety. Swindon’s primary schools are being provided with a library of resources and staff CPD focusing on the emotional and social skills that will help their Year 6 pupils move on to secondary school. Prior to this project, Swindon Borough Council commissioned
Chameleon PDE Ltd to conduct a survey to measure the impact of Covid on the emotional wellbeing of school staff across the borough. Unsurprisingly, the key finding was that staff wellbeing hinged on work-life balance. As part of the ‘Raising Aspirations’ project and the increased focus on PSHE, Chameleon PDE are providing all the teaching resources required, and access to training, saving hours of planning and preparation time. The project’s long term success rests on school staff having the resilience, resources, and skills to sustain high quality PSHE without an additional burden on their wellbeing. The project will culminate with two high profile events
introducing secondary students to various industry sectors, potential routes to employment and further education, and a range of workshops to help them identify and develop their skills and attributes needed to raise aspiration. Swindon secondary school students will be involved in the organisation and running of an event for Year 6 students. The project’s social media hashtag is #bewhatyousee and this encapsulates the vision for Swindon’s young people as they move forward in the next stages of their lives. Chameleon PDE Ltd hope the proactive and innovative approach
taken by Swindon Borough Council, will be adopted by other local authorities who have identified the emotional and social support required to empower their young citizens to emerge strongly from what has been a turbulent, and disruptive time in education. To find out more about the project, please contact
hello@chameleonpde.com. Information on Chameleon PDE’s resources and support can be found at
www.chameleonpde.com
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www.education-today.co.uk
We needed a timetable; but achieved transformation, curriculum cohesion and saved £100k.
Headteacher Andrew Fell explains the impact SMARTcurriculuminitiated at Old Buckenham High School, Norfolk (Sapientia Education Trust)
Wanting to outsource timetabling, we contracted Chris Jones, but working with SMARTcurriculum led to so much more. We now have a completely new approach to curriculum planning; a far more coherent learner experience; better middle leader decision making; a cost-effective curriculum, and we love the timetable!
Curriculum intent Questions Chris asked emphasised a significant opportunity to improve our core business, building on our already excellent teaching and learning. SMARTcurriculum encouraged us to look carefully at the efficiency of the curriculum model and its ability to deliver our vision and values. Our curriculum needed to: • be engaging so that young people enjoy their learning • be inclusive so that all learners can follow courses appropriate to their needs and abilities • be enriched by a diverse extra-curricular programme in which all participate • be flexible enough to incorporate the growing range of academic and vocational opportunities • prepare young people for further learning and the world of work and for active participation within the various communities in which they choose to live This common framework shaped all of our curriculum and leadership conversations. It was a truly effective way of getting everyone onboard, from middle leaders to governors.
Curriculum efficiency and equity of provision Our school was already grounded in evidence-based research and action. SMARTcurriculum was pivotal in sharpening our focus and helping us evaluate our curriculum decisions. The dashboard displays three key metrics, which are critical factors in efficiency: • the size of the planned curriculum compared to the DfE basic (Curriculum Enhancement) • the staffing capacity compared to the teaching requirement (Staffing Enhancement) • the per unit cost of teacher and support hours
Understanding the concepts of curriculum enhancement and staffing enhancement gave us the ability to be far more intentional about our placement of resources. Drilling down with SMARTcurriculum gave us far better understanding of the consequences of curriculum decisions. Knowing exactly where these enhancements lay was invaluable. In particular SMARTcurriculum revealed that some of our more costly enhancements were directed towards the most advantaged students. In one example, the Key Stage four options resulted in a significant share of resources being directed to non- PPG students. This was not the intention. SMARTcurriculum allows us to model different curriculum scenarios and test the enhancement implications. We were able to alter our options diet with pinpoint accuracy to allow a fairer distribution of resources. As a result, we now target and accurately account for our PPG funding, our SEND resource and our HPA provision. The impact for our pupils, even in the first year, was a cost-effective curriculum and better KS4 options. We have released over £100,000 to fund enhancements more in keeping with our vision.
Better leadership The process of using SMARTcurriculum has made for much more meaningful dialogue with middle leaders and governors. I am particularly pleased with the enhanced use of evidence-based pedagogical development across the school. Leadership conversations have a far better focus on student outcomes and our curriculum design is evidence based. Curriculum design is all about the young people we serve. We owe it to them to ensure we have a clear understanding of the implications associated with our decisions. An essential element of great leadership is being well informed. We have embarked on a process that has enabled all our staff, and governors, to grow. SMARTcurriculum has set us on a path of continual improvement by removing guesswork and providing solid evidence for our decisions.
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