Listening to pupils, parents and local businesses

Case study

Seven Mills Primary School, located in an area of high deprivation, focuses on the needs of pupils, parents and the community. This school listens to children and parents. It offered extended services long before the Every Child Matters (ECM) agenda was created. It also has strong links with local business.

Background

Statistically, Seven Mills Primary School falls in the highest quintile for Ofsted’s ‘school deprivation factor’, with over 60 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals. Some 19 per cent of pupils have special educational needs. Around 65 per cent of pupils speak English as an additional language (EAL). There is a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, with approximately 60 per cent Bangladeshi, and 23 per cent white.

This inner-city primary school has some 300 pupils on roll between the ages of three and eleven. The school has achieved a Sportsmark Gold award and the Silver Artsmark standard. It has belonged to the WISP (Wapping, Isles of Dogs, Stepney and Poplar) schools’ cluster group since the 1980s. In recent years it has been an active member of its local Education Action Zone, forming links with other schools.

Key learning/outcomes

Attainment on entry to the nursery was very poor in 2004, according to Ofsted. At the end of Key Stage 1 many pupils fall below the national average for reading, writing and maths. However, they nonetheless consistently outperform contemporaries with similar backgrounds.
Recently, Key Stage 2 pupils have achieved more highly than predicted, typically attaining the national average.
There is little evidence of a ‘tail’ of poorly achieving pupils. For example, all Key Stage 2 pupils achieved level 3+ and above in English in 2006.
The 2006 profile of pupils’ average point scores peaked more tightly around ‘27–32’ than national scores.
The school’s contextual value added (CVA) in 2006 was 101.2.
Ofsted reports show continuing improvement.

Key challenges and issues

Despite initiatives from the school, the response from many parents has been low.
There is a language barrier and the school has made efforts to ensure that there are translators to read materials that are written in English. However, there are difficulties in finding translators for languages such as Sylheti.
The school is concerned that its extended services may cultivate a ‘hand-out’ culture among those parents who are inactive in the life of the school.

Approach

Shared vision, particularly among managers and governors, is central to the success of the school.

The school’s approach to children’s learning predates the Every Child Matters (ECM) agenda and extended schools initiative. These are seen as legitimising what was already valued within the school. The approach includes:

study support activities aimed at achievement in reading, writing and mathematics as well as activities that broaden the curriculum
parenting support activities such as a ‘Passport to Learning’ scheme for staff and parents, and a family learning project. The school has also appointed a Bangladeshi home-school worker to encourage participation in school events.
childcare that also reinforces other aims, such as healthy eating
fostering links with other schools and the community, reinforcing mutual responsibility
links with business and other institutions as part of broadening pupils’ perspectives
an active student council and peer-mentoring activities.
An audit has led to the development of parental and student support activities. Subsequent improvement is based on feedback from children and parents, plus input from other interested parties such as the local secondary school.
The school maintains strong links with the local business community.

For further information see:

School leadership, Every Child Matters and school standards: case studies