Foxdale School: cross-phase improvement practice

Case study

Summary

Foxdale is an amalgamation of two schools facing challenging circumstances. Leadership and governance structures were created for the all-through school in haste and need to be reviewed to sustain success.

Key learning/outcomes

In the five years since the all-through school was created the primary phase has benefited from the transfer of expertise. Standards are rising and there is capacity for more improvement.
The priority of primary improvement and the pragmatic nature of the amalgamation meant that structures of leadership and governance had to be adapted rather than created. Five years on the structure needs to be reviewed to sustain improvement.
In complex structures like this the role of the head becomes more complex, with an emphasis on vision and strategy; looking beyond the school gates to deal with other agencies, wrap-around care and the community.
Cross-phase leadership and pair working enable the transfer of improvement practice in learning and behaviour from the secondary to the primary phase. Pair working also gave reassurance and support in the crucial first weeks at the new primary.
The role of business manager is key at Foxdale and is genuinely whole-school and cross-phase. Significant expertise was required to devise the single school budget and spending plans as well as overseeing the building work and contracts.

Background

Foxdale is a mixed community 3-16 through school situated in an economically and socially disadvantaged suburb. A quarter of the Year 7 intake transfer from the primary phase; three quarters come from other nearby schools. Average attainment of pupils entering the primary phase is low and to the secondary phase, well below average.

The school became a through school in 2002 and a new headteacher took over in 2007. The previous head led Foxdale secondary out of special measures before it amalgamated with the nearby primary – a move proposed by the local education authority (LEA) so that the failing primary could benefit from effective systems in the well-led improving secondary. The move would be twinned with ‘fresh start’, a successful initiative whereby the LEA gave support, advice and sustained input to hasten improvement. In this instance they also created a new leadership team for what became the primary phase of Foxdale.

Key challenges and issues

The decision and process of amalgamation was rapid and plans, buildings and budgets had to be prepared over the summer break.
This was the first 3-16 school on the British mainland and there were difficulties in the way some budgets and programmes were split across phases, for example Building Schools for the Future.
Only one quarter of the secondary intake benefits from the all-through approach, so the current strategies have limited impact.
In their challenging context, day-to-day operational demands and recruiting and retaining key leaders has reduced leadership capacity, so there’s a focus on achievable “basics”, such as prompt movement between lessons, uniform and fast incident response.

Solution or approach

A ‘broader executive’ leads the school, comprising the head, the secondary-phase deputies, the primary phase leaders and the business manager, with a remit to take key decisions. Below the executive are the recently added leadership executive teams and senior leadership teams (SLT) for each phase.
The governing body, strengthened by the LEA in the time of special measures, is highly regarded. Four committee chairs from the inclusion, teaching, personnel and business committees form the strategic committee.
To transfer improvements, cross-phase leadership was implemented, with secondary phase deputies working with the assistant primary phase leaders in two pairs. One pair focuses on behaviour and the second, improving learning.
Cross-phase teaching and ‘meaningful overlap’ means teachers know what has been covered in each subject area and what needs revisiting. The system also allows teachers to spot potential behaviour issues early on and address them before they become long-term problems.

Next steps

The school is at a pivotal point. Next stage priorities include sustaining improvement in the secondary phase, creating additional leadership capacity, identifying and sharing best practice across phases in both directions and Year 6-7 transition.

It is hoped that extending the all-through status to more feeder schools will raise secondary standards and the idea of a federation is being considered. There is an opportunity to extend the vision to a 0-19 school too by building a relationship with the local sixth form and opening a children’s centre nearby.