Case studies

CASE STUDY  No 1.

A large urban comprehensive school in a deprived area, their GCSE results were the lowest in the country.
This was an intensive project involving a team of twenty seven interim teachers and managers to ensure an orderly fresh start in the following term.

The pupils had very publicly gone on strike in protest at the high proportion of supply teachers in the school and their poor quality of teaching.

Most classes contained around half of the expected roll and many pupils roamed the corridors at will, disrupting lessons and swearing at adults and other pupils alike. Others smoked openly and dealt drugs in the playground during class time. Classes were disrupted by unacceptable behaviour, even with the small numbers involved and with the presence of eight Local Authority “bouncers” full time on the site.

Staff would not engage in playground or lunchtime supervision owing to the atmosphere of aggression and misbehaviour. They felt unsupported, and in some cases, were afraid to cross the playground. Litter had been allowed to accumulate to remarkable levels.

Pupils left the site whenever they chose, usually just after being marked present on the register. The site was not clean, well decorated or safe and it was not an appropriate working environment. Obscene graffiti on the school entrance sign was not removed for weeks, even when attention had been drawn to it. Resources were at a very low ebb and no one seemed to have any idea what funds the school had at its disposal.

Under the regime of a cohesive and committed interim team there were changes at every level. The incumbent staff were given support and guidance, the pupils received clear guidelines and expectations of their behaviour and work levels were raised. Two internal referral units were set up to give expert support to the children who needed urgent help to re-engage with their education.

The social and educational atmosphere showed remarkable improvement within the first two weeks. Corridors cleared during lesson time and children began to greet teachers politely. Attendance rose dramatically, at first out of curiosity and then out of a genuine desire to be involved in the changes.

Informal interactions became cordial and positive as pupils found teachers engaging with them at playtimes to discuss topics of mutual interest. These newly-formed relationships quickly began to devolve into the classrooms.

By the end of the project, the need for supply teachers had virtually disappeared. More pupils attended classes than before and they began to take pride in their work and insisted on taking it home to show their parents. The parents quickly became more supportive and established better relationships with staff.

The pupils smiled more and observed courtesies such as opening doors for staff and for each other. Very few pupils roamed the corridors during class time, and swearing was considerably reduced. Badly-behaved pupils began to recover, and classes suffered considerably less disruption than before. They quickly began to show a more caring and respectful approach to other children and adults.

The pupils took more responsibility for their own learning, the substantive staff were able to teach more effectively and litter on the site was dramatically reduced.

The fresh start was achieved successfully and on time.

CASE STUDY  No. 2

A large primary school in London, in an area of high social deprivation and crime.
The school had been in special measures for more than three years with only limited progress and was described by HMI as being ‘unlikely to have the capacity to improve further’.

All the usual problems were in evidence: Children were to be found fighting and running up and down the corridors in lesson time, there were high levels of staff absenteeism, temporary appointments had resulted in an overspend on the supply budget and standards of behaviour and learning in the classrooms were mostly well below an acceptable level. HMI had assessed the teaching quality as less than 50% satisfactory during each of the last three visits. Senior staff were seldom to be seen and the head teacher spent most of her time in her office. The parents were as disenchanted as the pupils.

The Local Authority decided to try an interim head as a last throw of the dice before closure.

It soon became clear to the interim head that the school already had the staff it needed to improve.
The entire team, from premises staff to senior managers, had been badly managed, demoralised, and in some cases, deliberately disenfranchised. No attempt had been made to identify and utilise the strengths of the existing teaching and management team. Cliques and favouritism had undermined relationships and dimmed enthusiasm.

After a brief, intensive period of orientation, responsibilities were reorganised and targets agreed.
The interim head spent all his time on the corridors, in the classrooms, and on the playground during every playtime, ensuring a high level of visibility and presence.

Assemblies were arranged to ensure maximum impact on the whole-school ethos, and were attended by all teaching and support staff in order to emphasise that all adults were worthy of the same respect from the children. In return, adults reciprocated this respect, with praise for good work and behaviour and clear guidance for improvement.

In less than half a term, with a programme of supportive and positive lesson observations in place,
HMI returned to find that 87% of lessons were satisfactory or better and that there had been major improvements in behaviour. The same staff were still in post. For the next term and a half, teaching remained 100% satisfactory on each HMI visit.

The interim head’s objective approach, detached from the social and professional dynamic that was holding back the school, enabled the children and adults to regain control of their academic and behavioural destiny. One welcome side-effect was the reduction in expenditure on supply teachers and restoration of budgetary stability.

Two and a half terms from the adoption of an interim strategy, the school was removed from special measures.