Evelyn Community Primary School: making learning more creative in an existing build

Case study

Evelyn Community Primary School changed the traditional classroom layout within their existing buildings to accommodate a new innovative curriculum, embracing a more child-centred approach.

Key facts

Type of school: primary
Number on roll: 265 plus 26 full-time equivalents (FTEs) in nursery
Age range: 3-11
Cost of development: £250,000
Date completed: Summer 2008

Background

Evelyn Community Primary School is a one-form entry, oversubscribed primary school in Knowsley. There is a very stable staff, and the headteacher has been in post for 10 years. The present buildings were completed in 1973, and with little prospect of capital investment, the school saved devolved formula funding to make changes to the learning spaces. The school has twice been judged ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.

Vision

The whole-school vision is modelled on three key areas – respect, achievement and partnership. Each child is expected to reach his or her full potential and a strong relationship between the home and the school supports this vision. The school seeks to equip children to be global citizens in an ever-changing society.

Stakeholders

Stakeholders are predominantly staff, governors and children, with children having a school council. The whole community is also seen to be key partners as well as the local authority, which is considered to be particularly influential. Six local businesses take an active part in the life of the school and provide the stimulation for children to think about their role in a future workforce.

Consultation

Staff, business partners and parents were closely involved in discussions about the curriculum changes. Children’s opinions are heard through the active school council, and children who leave the school at Year 6 have an exit interview as well as further discussion when they are in Year 7 to gather their thoughts on their experience of primary school life.

Transformational change

The school began by completely rewriting the Key Stage 2 curriculum to put greater emphasis on creativity and self-directed research. The curriculum is known as ARCS – a real-life, creative, skills-based curriculum – and it encourages children to explore, invent, problem-solve and express themselves. They are taught to use resilience techniques and not to give up too soon, thus improving attitudes to learning. Much use is made of Guy Claxton’s work on building learning power. The children are also supported to plan how they are to achieve their goals, and there is a lot of encouragement to widen horizons. All this required a change to the traditional classroom-based design of the school, and the video shows how the school has modified and extended its buildings to allow for this flexible and child-centred approach to learning.

Lessons learned

The new curriculum and the layout of the school has enabled pupils to become independent learners. As part of this, it is important to identify the skills and attitudes required to make the curriculum work, and to teach these as discrete areas of knowledge. A programme of continuing professional development (CPD) is essential as teacher training courses may not have included project planning. The increase in workload while the structural elements of curriculum change are completed and careful monitoring of potential overload should be taken seriously.

Impact

It can be quite difficult to measure what has been achieved because it is about attitude and self-esteem. However, the exit interview process is beginning to identify the advantages of this curriculum. There is also quantitative data that demonstrates impact, and the school’s achievement and attainment rates have increased as a result of ARCS. Opening up the learning areas has resulted in teachers feeling less isolated. The school’s heavy investment in teaching assistants has also provided good support for the teachers.

Next steps

Complete the research and feed back findings to all stakeholders.
Transform Key Stage 1 areas in line with those in Key Stage 2.
Develop the school’s outdoor learning spaces.
Begin succession planning to develop the next generation of leaders.