Bessemer Collegiate Academy: an urban federation

Case study

How federating has improved outcomes for the partner schools in a disadvantaged multicultural area.

Summary

This successful federation has already improved school performance but work continues to refine the organisational structure, build capacity and address expectations of the new academy status within the school community.

Key learning/outcomes

Collaboration and learning between the schools is effective. Initially a one-way process with the failing Wetherholme School learning from Sallowby School, it soon became reciprocal, leading to improvement in both schools and a turnaround which saw Wetherholme outperforming Sallowby.
The goal of greater independence from the local authority is being achieved and the academy status is allowing the schools to plan more effectively for the future, with the aim of creating capacity to work with other schools.
The collegiate structure has benefited professional development, and in particular leadership development through internal secondments.
The schools have developed a central administrative facility serving both schools in areas such as finance and health and safety.
The new organisational structure allows the executive principal to focus on external relations, while the two heads run the internal school business.
There is effective use of ICT in management, teaching and collaboration between schools.

Background

Sallowby and Wetherholme secondary schools followed an accelerated procedure to attain academy status last year and formed one of the first ‘collegiate academies’. The move followed the success of the federated schools initiative which saw a rapid improvement in the performance of both schools through partnership working and new leadership structures.

Sallowby is situated in a highly disadvantaged urban multicultural area, and has an ethnically diverse intake. Steered by the headteacher, the school became one of the highest performing schools in England in Value Added terms. The head was asked by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to federate with Wetherholme, a failing school in the same borough. The head of Sallowby became executive head of both schools; a consultant was brought in as temporary head of Wetherholme and was later appointed permanent head of the school.

Key challenges and issues

The collaboration began as a very unequal relationship that could have been equated to a takeover.
The executive principal was a very ‘hands-on’ head so the transition to an executive role has been challenging for the staff of Sallowby School.
In spite of the new governance and management arrangements the leadership tends to follow a traditional ‘strong head’ pattern and the schools do not appear to have strongly distributed leadership.
Physical differences in the school buildings have made it difficult to transplant the successful ‘zoned’ middle management structure from Wetherholme School into Sallowby School.
The local authority has been supportive of the academy bid but does not have a full understanding of the new governance structures, leading to some tensions.
With over 70% of Sallowby students being bilingual the performance figures have recently dropped following the mandatory inclusion of English and Mathematics in government performance tables. Although previously the performance was considered excellent in relation to the intake, the pressure is on to improve again.

Solution or approach

As well as leadership teams for each school, there is an executive leadership team to focus on the strategic direction of the academy.
The leadership structure allows the executive principle to spend time outside school, keeping up with national developments and opportunities without compromising the internal workings of the school.
Staff at all levels from both schools meet regularly to share success and develop joint strategies.
The collegiate structure is allowing students to spend time in the other school, which gives them valuable experiences and enhances community cohesion. The success of this is demonstrated by the fact that some pupils have set up a social networking website. A new and well-received uniform has strengthened links between the students too.
The understanding between the local authority and the academy is likely to improve as more schools within the authority become academies.

Next steps

Work continues to consolidate the new collegiate academy structure, building capacity and developing the middle management at Sallowby. In the past, the federation has helped a primary school out of Special Measures and there is a possibility that other schools will join the Collegiate Academy, either as full members or as attached trust schools.

The central administrative ‘core’ is growing too, with plans to incorporate a school improvement service and appoint a central data director and executive vice-principle. However, there is a need to ensure that the core remains fit for purpose and serves the schools rather than becoming a ‘mini local authority’.