Vision, capacity, collaboration: A school's journey towards a personalised 4-19 curriculum continuum

Case study

South Hunsley School and Sixth Form College in Hull used a clarity of vision of the 4–19 continuum and the creation of personalised curriculum inputs to support the secondary curriculum changes. They found success through building capacity through distributed leadership, role re-profiling and a systems-led approach to developing teams, a relentless focus on personalisation to meet the needs of all within a framework of collaboration, and recognition of the importance of communication and consultation in developing and implementing a shared sense of purpose among staff.

School context

South Hunsley School is an 11–19 mixed, community school of approximately 1,800 students, situated in the North Ferriby area of Hull. It is an engineering specialism school, and a training and leadership partner school. Designated a high-performing specialist school by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT), it is also a recipient of the Rolls-Royce Award from SSAT for outstanding achievement in sustainable engineering and manufacturing. The school has strong partnerships with industry and business, such as BAE Systems, and it has recently established a partnership curriculum at post-16 with a neighbouring college.

Nature of the reforms

A curriculum continuum 4–19

The staff asked themselves ‘what do we want a South Hunsley student to look like?’. This perspective encouraged them to begin thinking in terms of the vision of a 4–19 curriculum continuum rather than simply 11–19, and to really grasp the opportunity to build partnerships with the school’s primary feeder schools through the creation of a collective Key Stage 2 curriculum with in-built Key Stage 3 progression and centred around Personalised Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS). Cross-phase partnership staff meet half-termly and vision days are used to maintain clarity of collective purpose.

A re-modelled Key Stage 3 curriculum

New schemes of learning have been introduced, changing both the ‘how’ and ‘what’ of the curriculum, and are supported by an induction week to introduce the PLTS lexicon, the introduction of new subjects such as Drama, Dance and Enterprise, and the possibility of fast tracking in Year 9. Timetable blocking of certain subjects has freed up departments’ creativity and innovation by allowing them to collaborate on joint projects with the PLTS philosophy underpinning it all.

Curriculum collaboration at Key Stage 4

At Key Stage 4 the school has done significant work in the area of cross-departmental collaboration within the framework of four pathways, allowing greater choice and flexibility.

Leadership of the reforms

The headteacher is the key driver of the changes, applying a philosophy of embracing change within a culture of disciplined creative innovation. Central to the change in culture has been the way in which the headteacher has been determined to change and re-profile teaching and associate staff roles in order to meet changing needs. Although the senior leadership team (SLT) drove the change agenda, it was delivered through distributed leadership to the school’s area leaders’ group. With a common clarity of purpose and focus, SLT members work closely with their respective area leaders in this group.

The importance of continuing professional development (CPD) in building a momentum for change within the staff is seen through investment in leadership coaching and a shift in focus and terminology from management to leadership. Engagement with student voice is enabled both through the school council forum and particularly through the virtual learning environment.

Transition

Transition between Key Stages 2 and 3 is facilitated by the collective agreement of a common Key Stage 2 curriculum across the partnership of feeder primary schools and the appointment of a head of transition to lead and manage progression. Transition between Key Stages 4 to 5 is further enhanced by new collaborative partnerships and the extension of the range of the curriculum offer and its outcomes.

Evaluation

The school has used a raft of embedded evaluation tools, from the hard data of examination results and transition rates, to softer indicators such as staff self-evaluation, student informal feedback and capturing of parents’ views.

Challenges

• Selling the vision to staff: the key lever was showing middle leaders their essential role in the change process and their accountability for it.
• Receiving the reforms by parents: honesty and preparation in communication regarding the benefits of the reforms.
• Re-profiling roles: barriers to change were overcome by recognising people’s innate strengths, moving or elevating them to a position where they could be beneficial, and then giving them some autonomy to act.

Key learning

• Seeing the curriculum as a journey from age 4–19, with a commitment to partnership work especially at transition points
• Having a clarity of vision that is supported by systemic, distributed leadership
• Holding middle leaders accountable, with explicit reference to professional standards
• Being genuinely committed to professional development, including that of associate staff
• Embracing change, seeing change as something to be planned for and engaged with, not reacted to

Research Associate: Steve Shaw, Brighouse High School