1HIGHDOWN SCHOOL AND SIXTH FORM CENTRE |

MAGAZINE EDITION

Highest performing non-selective school

Head teacher, Rachel Cave

Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre, based and established in Emmer Green, North Reading in 1971, is a mixed comprehensive school currently with 1300

students on roll between the ages of 11 and 19, and is currently the highest performing non-selective school in Reading. Fundamentally underpinning the school is the belief that improving the quality of teaching will yield dividends for the children – part and parcel with this is the desire to have teachers enthused by their work. Highdown’s head teacher, Rachel Cave, writes the following.

Learning is exciting

Our belief at Highdown is simple: great learning comes when teachers stay fresh and excited by what they do daily. Learning is exciting; young people deserve their teachers to be genuinely enthused by topics they teach, even if they have taught them many times before. Our leadership of Highdown encourages continuous self-reflection to ensure no opportunity is passed up to improve and develop.

When I took over as head teacher, the students were surprised to see me visit their classes. “What’s she doing in here?” I heard a few times as I got to know my new school. After five years, the open culture of the classroom is now very different. Many colleagues visit our school from near and far to see our five-year learning journey in action. Students never bat an eyelid now, and are prepared to explain to anyone what they are learning, the level of difficulty and how to improve their work.

REPORT CARD HIGHDOWN SCHOOL

AND SIXTH FORM CENTRE

» Head teacher: Rachel Cave

» Year Founded: 1971

» Location:

» Type of School:

» No. of students: 1300

» No. of staff: 100

» Highest performing non-selective school in Reading

» Has an 18th century manor house, alongside its modern buildings

» www.highdown.reading.sch.uk

Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

2 | HIGHDOWN SCHOOL AND SIXTH FORM CENTRE

Highdown has become known for its supportive and creative approach to improvement. We have changed students from passive individuals, merely receiving information, to engaged learners, hungry for more. We encourage teachers to take risks in the classroom and challenge everyone to go beyond their comfort zones; be ready to fail and therefore ready to learn.

Changing culture within an institution requires simple clarity. Students achieve great outcomes when they have great teaching – it’s no more complicated than that. Working toward making teaching great required systemic and procedural change, as well as relentless follow up to ensure these changes were working. When I evaluated classes five years ago, students were surprised at my presence because there was not a clear system for evaluating daily practice. Every school period now has a senior or middle leader doing what we call “learning walking”, that is, visiting classrooms in our school. Colleagues quickly bought into this and requested lesson-by-lesson feedback. Any concerns are quickly relayed privately, so individual action

can be taken; great practice is shared

and celebrated within our community.

Collated feedback is also analysed to

provide insights into departmental

strengths and areas for development.

Coaching for excellence and the rich diet of pedagogy

Teachers who require support are

coached by a trained team to move

forward in their practice. This is so

successful and well-received that

teachers themselves request coaching

to support their development – this

may be in a specific area of practice

such as teaching A level for the first

time or motivating reluctant boys.

Our weekly diet of development

includes a mini ‘teachmeet’ – that is, five

minutes of a quick tip to make lessons

enjoyable from a rota of teachers. We

have learning and teaching communities

which work in groups on action research

projects, with summer feedback

and awards at a highly competitive

‘Highdown’s Got Talent’ or the ‘Great

Highdown Teach Off’. There are weekly

training sessions on a range of topics

aimed at all stages of a professional’s

career, from the beginner teacher to

the aspiring senior leaders.

We believe in Dylan William’s oft-

quoted saying: “If we create a culture

where every teacher believes they need

to improve – not because they are not

good enough but because they can be

even better – there is no limit to what

we can achieve.”

Weekly training sessions are therefore

called ‘Joint Professional Learning’

(JPL). We are all learners. To keep this

fresh, the team gives each annual

programme a new flavour. Last

year the theme was ‘Bicycles and

Butterflies’. Bicycles because of Team

Sky’s relentless drive for improvement

based on marginal gains; butterflies

because of ‘Austin’s Butterfly’ (‘An

Ethic of Excellence’ by Ron Berger).

Students achieve great outcomes

Engaged learners hungry for more

We encourage teachers to take risks in the classroom and challenge everyone to go beyond their comfort zones

““

MAGAZINE EDITION

3HIGHDOWN SCHOOL AND SIXTH FORM CENTRE |

This shows how effective feedback can

bring about significant improvement.

Sessions include:

» Memorisation, study and revision

skills

» Takeaway home learning

» Literacy and numeracy across the

curriculum

» Post-16: Differentiation and

challenge

» Catering for our lower/lowest

attaining learners

This year the title, ‘Lightbulbs and

Lemon Sherbets’ piqued interest. One

type of light bulb (‘Don’t change the

light bulbs‘ created by Rachel Jones)

provides us with brightness and enables

us to explore new places and new ideas.

Another type of light bulb refers to

those moments when you find a little

bit of inspiration. JPL sessions are about

exploring ideas – some old, some new –

and looking for different approaches to

learning and teaching, hopefully in the

process inspiring us to try out at least

one new idea in the classroom after

each JPL session. Lemon Sherbets: hard

on the outside, but worth the effort of

getting to the middle of the sweet for

the kick of sherbet! JPL sessions may

challenge us with new ideas and new

approaches to learning and teaching, or

even challenge thinking about old ideas,

but it also aims to promote collaborative

inspiration for teaching – the ‘fizz’ of the

sherbet lemon (‘Of teaching, learning

and sherbet lemons’ by Nina Jackson).

Learning leadership

Our philosophy of improving learning at

all levels is underpinned by our structure,

whereby teachers at any point in their

careers can undertake developmental

activities to take their career to the next

level. While this can take great teachers

out of the classroom, their impact on

developing teachers of the future and

leading learning across a faculty or range

of subjects will influence the learning of

even more young Highdowners.

JPL sessions are brilliant and have really impacted my practice – over time JPL sessions have hugely improved my teaching and leadership skills

“

“HIGHDOWN SCHOOL AND SIXTH FORM CENTREPROFESSIONAL LEARNING PROVISION: 2017-18

THE LEARNING AND TEACHING DEVELOPMENT TEAM:Learning and teaching team: Matt Grantham [Deputy Head], Andy Love [Professional Tutor], Laura Cripps [Learning and Teaching Lead]Learning Coaches: Laura Cripps, Sarah Flynn, Joe Lester, Mary Grantham, Emma Turner

Matt Grantham [Deputy Head], September 2017Based on an idea by Shaun Allison, Durrington High School

CORE OFFER

Mini Teachmeets

Learning & teaching communities

Professional Learning Days

Sharing good practice in meetings and bulletins

[main and ZfL]

Learning walks and observation feedback

ITT/NQT/RQT programmes

Practice Development

Highdown 10x10 guide

BESPOKE OFFER

CfE 3:2

CfE 2:1

CfE Leadership

CfE Post-16

CfE B4L

CfE Mentor

Work sampling feedback

Lesson observation

Martini coaching

Middle LeadersDevelopment Programme

OPTIONAL AND COLLABORATIVE OFFER

Every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be EVEN BETTER.

[Dylan Wiliam]

Joint Professional Learning [JPL] weekly

twilight sessions

Staff pedagogy and practice library

PiXL collaboration / Huddle

Digital pedagogy, e.g. Highdown ZfL website

/@HighdownZFL

Coaching for Excellence [CfE]

External visits, e.g. INSET, school visits

Aspiring senior leadership programme

Aspiring middle leadership programme

Matt Grantham [deputy head], September 2017Based on an approach by Shaun Allison, Durrington High School