Develop a culture of support and staff development
Case study
School details
School name: Kensington Primary School
Location: Newham, East London
Phase: Primary
Number of pupils: 700
Contact details: Email the school office at info@kensington.ttlt.academy
Impact and outcomes
Investing time and support to help everyone develop pays off. This policy resulted in paperwork reducing greatly and a positive culture developing.
A year 5 teacher who had been teaching for six years stated:
“When I first arrived at the school the paperwork was intense. We had regular lesson observations, we were required to annotate daily planning, update assessment scoring systems, conduct book scrutinies, complete evidence trails and do lots of marking in books. Over the years the school has slowly moved away from, what at times seemed a box-ticking culture, to remove the burden of paperwork away from the teachers so they can focus on what makes a difference - working with the children. Now our approach to assessment and monitoring is much more informal and involves daily assessment in class and informal chats with our SLT and wider team. As a team we communicate daily and make changes based on what we see each day. This approach is having a real impact in class.”
Background from Ben Levinson, Headteacher
We believe that if we concentrate on supporting each other in a professional positive environment that we will achieve the best outcomes for children. Our results show this to be true, together with the fact that we have not had one exclusion in the school in the past seven years.
The focus is on support and development in a positive atmosphere, working together and taking care of each other.
Our underlying ethos guides everything we do. We strive to have an open and reflective approach that means everyone feels confident to give and receive feedback.
We offer all staff the opportunity to feed into the direction of the school, to have autonomy and not be ‘done to’. We have worked hard to embed this ethos as we know that feeling as if we are being constantly scrutinised; that we are ‘fighting’ against each other or that we are being ‘told off’, are not productive or effective ways to help us give of our best. We have developed different ways of giving feedback which are positive and explores ways in which we can further improve.
Start by understanding where we need to improve
Our approach is based on our ethos of trust and respect and maintaining a very open supportive culture. That must be in place first.
Communicating with staff
Make sure leaders are visible
They are out and about every day – in class, walking the school, getting involved in lessons, team teaching, modelling teaching, supporting planning, and getting a sense of the daily experience of children.
Encourage discussion
We have several systems that help stimulate discussion. We aim to do this as close to the time as possible. As leaders are in classes every day, there are regular opportunities to discuss the learning. This might be following a daily visit by an assistant headteacher or a longer, more focused visit looking at a specific area. Feedback points are fed-back immediately through modelling or with a quick mention, or later that day or week as appropriate.
Involve staff
We provide the opportunity for all staff to be involved in the direction of the school, through developing the school plan and through an annual survey. Everyone gets an opportunity to feedback on key areas of the school, including their workload and wellbeing.
We hold regular ‘Kensington Matters’ meetings. This is an opportunity for a cross-section of staff to feedback on where they see the school currently; what is going well and areas for further development, as well as discussing the potential impact of any current and future initiatives.
Support curriculum planning and assessment
Minimise reviews of the curriculum
Area Leads review their area twice per year. This is staggered and timetabled to ensure feedback remains manageable and focused. They will then discuss their findings with their line manager and provide feedback to SLT including proposed next steps.
Use assessment information
Assessment information is used as intelligently as possible to identify any potential gaps and provide an opportunity for reflection. Assessment for learning sheets are used in lessons instead of marking books as we believe this has a greater impact on teaching and learning over time.
Teachers will make a formal judgement on where their pupils are at the end of each term. This process is quick and simple, providing more time for staff to discuss the data and agree on next steps. This can include using standardised tests where we think we can benefit from this type of input.
Hold step back and reflect meetings
Step back and reflect (SBAR) meetings take place half-termly. This is a space and time away from the classroom for teachers to reflect on their children’s progress and the curriculum to date. We take a coaching approach to support teachers in identifying children and areas that need further focus in the coming half-term. This then helps support planning.
Use tools to measure impact
Alongside assessment data, we measure our impact against our stated aims in a variety of other ways including surveys and measurable targets. These are recorded and analysed in our Impact Tracker.
Celebrate achievements
Share best practice and awards
We have a variety of awards and accreditations, all of which provide opportunities for reflection and analysis. We’ve also been helped by schools who visit us to find out how we do things, providing us with feedback to reflect and move forward.
Provide coaching for all staff
Our coaching approach provides opportunities for us to be reflective and identify our own areas for improvement. This is done through peer groups and networks. All senior leaders meet regularly with the headteacher to be coached and support their further development. The headteacher meets regularly with the academy trust and an external coach to support their further development.
Develop ourselves and support each other
Once we understand where to improve, we need to work together. We use a range of methods to achieve this:
Provide formal and informal feedback
Feedback will always be positive and supportive. It will provide high challenge to encourage and inspire people to be their best, alongside high levels of support.
Individualised continuing professional development (CPD) for all staff
Individualised CPD will be linked to the areas identified in Performance Development. This is personalised by individuals to develop the areas they want to develop in.
Provide whole school CPD
Whole school CPD is delivered through INSETs and staff training on Mondays after school. INSETs are used as opportunities for team building and to deliver information on new initiatives along with statutory updates. Staff training is carefully planned to allow sufficient time and space for reflection and implementation. Everyone is welcome to attend this.
Encourage collaborative working
Everyone at Kensington works in teams. Being part of a team supports the development of ideas, the sharing of workload, the wellbeing of us all, and the overall improvement of the school.
Utilise coaching from within the school and from across our Trust
Utilising and contributing to expertise and knowledge across the school is essential to support one another. This, coupled with more formal support and challenge sessions for the headteacher from the Trust CEO, aids the ongoing development of the school.
Carry out whole school peer reviews
We carry out a whole school peer review every 2 years. This review draws extensively on the expertise from across the Trust and external partners, to challenge the school as part of the ongoing development process.
Give access to a library
Everyone has access to a range of books from the Kensington Library. These cover a variety of topics to help support people’s individual development.
Provide in-house training programmes
This training is designed for staff at all levels, including support staff or those wishing to move from a support role into teaching. There is bespoke leadership training for all teaching staff and current leaders. We also offer leadership shadowing, available for anyone who would like this.
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