David Sheppard Community Academy: new model for leadership

Case study

Summary

This academy developed structures from scratch allowing for radical thinking on timing, delivery and organisation of the education service. A successful new model for leadership and management has emerged.

Key learning/outcomes

Structural separation in leadership of curriculum and teaching from management of resources works well in this academy, ensuring sustainability and allowing people to do what they are good at.
Since opening fifteen months ago performance has improved in exam results, student participation, behaviour, post-16 retention and even student nutrition through the high take-up of breakfast and lunch services.
Students, staff and the community show pride in the academy and the innovative curriculum practice is attracting interest from other schools.
The strong, effective governing body, as guardians of the academy mission and ethos, conducted a rigorous, successful recruitment process.
The leading practitioner model is encouraging whole-school focused rather than subject-dominated thinking by middle leaders.
The academy operates a fair banding admission policy to ensure that the school remains viable in this deprived area.

Background

David Sheppard Community Academy is a large mixed secondary school serving an area of extreme disadvantage in a northern metropolitan borough. It replaces two predecessor schools. The boys’ school, the smaller of the two, had begun to improve in performance terms. At the time of its closure, the second, a mixed school, had come out of a long period in “special measures”.

The principal was appointed with 20 months’ pre-opening preparation time. She was attracted to the post by the opportunity to do things differently within the independent academy setting.

Key challenges and issues

Excellent or very good teaching performance was a necessary criterion of appointment to all teaching positions. Only half of the teachers from the predecessor schools were retained.
Student support is the only area where the separation of management from leadership does not work so well. Currently, the support for the learning manager and his team fit into the management structure, yet their task is to support students, the leadership of whose learning belongs to the other part of the structure.
With their focus on social justice it was difficult to convince the governors to adopt the fair banding policy, which was seen as essential for the long-term health and development of the academy by the principal; three previous attempts to launch new schools had failed.

Solution or approach

The tough recruitment process prepared the new principal for external questions about the new structures at the academy.
To improve transition and participation, student councils were involved in academy design and recruitment. Year 10 students from both schools were brought together in mixed teaching groups and staff were able to bond through residential time too.
The “academy year” is made up of seven six week blocks, which start in early June. The “academy day” consists of two sessions on two days per week and three sessions, including extra-curricular and enrichment activities, on three days.
The academy has strategies to achieve “deep learning”. The structure of the day helps, and frequent connections are made across the teaching of a curriculum organised in five broad areas. The academy is also developing personalised provision. It is committed to grouping by ability rather than age and is now in transition towards two-year delivery of Key Stage 3.
The academy’s structures separate educational leadership from management with the senior leadership team (SLT) working in parallel with the senior management team (SMT).
- The SLT comprises the principal, vice principal and five assistant vice principals. Subject heads are replaced by a system of lead practitioners; central to their role is improving teaching and learning.
- The SMT is led by the finance director and includes the administration manager, facilities manager, ICT manager and the support for learning team manager. The role of this group is “to manage all the resources to meet the strategic vision” of the academy.

Next steps

There is a consensus that the academy must now engage more with its community. Now established with a clear mission, and as a functioning learning community, the academy must reach out and become a community venue.

The curriculum will develop too. Specialising in design and the built environment, the academy is working with the local college of building on specialist diplomas. Personalisation in key stage 4 will be provided by menus of three-year programmes which mix GCSEs and BTEC accreditations, moving away from the traditional academic and vocational routes.