Academy Partnerships - enriching for all

I was delighted to see Canford included in the latest partnerships booklet from the Independent Schools Council celebrating the work of independent schools with those in the maintained sector http://bit.ly/2oO9WAd.  It is perhaps not as well known as it should be that Canford is one of only a handful of independents who have successfully fully sponsored an Academy – The Bourne Academy in East Howe, Bournemouth.  

Staff at both schools are proud of what has been achieved since the Academy opened its doors to pupils aged 11-16 back in 2010, with a Sixth Form opening 3 years later.   GCSE results in 2016 saw the A*-C rate first equal among non-selective Bournemouth schools and the 100% A*-E rate at A level ensured that all UCAS applicants were accepted by their first-choice universities.  Attendance figures continue to be well above the national average.   Outside the classroom the Academy continues to attract an outstanding list of visiting speakers, and events such as the Digital Horizons launch aimed at 15-18 years olds strengthened links between education and industry.

Former or present staff, parents and governors still form the majority of governors at the Academy and the relationship between our two schools continues to grow, with each gaining excellence from the other.   Teach First teachers continue to spend a week at Canford, and a Canford teacher taking her PGCE was able to do her second school experience at the Academy.   The first joint INSET last year saw Canford and Academy staff discussing ‘Improving Outcomes’ with sessions led by staff from both schools on their areas of expertise.

Our pupils continue to spend time at each other’s schools as well, enjoying learning together on projects such as F24.   We have welcomed seven Academy pupils so far into our Sixth Form.  It is very important to me that Canfordians leave with a sense of responsibility, of empathy towards others and with a real desire to make a difference to their own lives and to the lives of others.  Through our sponsorship of The Bourne Academy, the lives of pupils and staff at both schools have been enriched.  

www.canford.com/The-Bourne-Academy

Stepping up to the exam challenge with confidence

“I’ve always taken an approach to just get on with the job.”

So says Theresa May and her words strike a chord with me, even if I don’t agree with all of her policies.  With the exam ‘season’ now upon us, I think it is important to reflect on just how hard we are working in independent schools across the country within an ever shifting educational landscape.

Schools are currently tackling significant operational changes such as a major reform of examination systems and more strategic matters such as what is the right ‘type of school’ to best educate our young people – grammar school, free school, academy and so on.  In the independent sector we are working hard to protect the freedom of decision making and action that we currently enjoy and use so effectively “to get on with the job”.  

Alongside the academic and intellectual there is a heightened importance on developing soft skills, building mental toughness, and supporting the well-being of both pupils and staff in an age where the pressures of social media and an ever increasing demand for instant communication and transmission of information has significantly increased the impact of workload expectations, stress and accompanying mental health issues.

We could not “get on with the job” effectively for our pupils without the dedication and commitment of our staff.  Teaching staff shortages have been well documented in the press and statistics show shortfalls across a wide range of subject areas, such as STEM, Humanities, MFL and the Creative Arts.  We are fortunate to attract high quality staff and it is fundamentally important to us that we support their professional development.  A recent joiners’ ‘post induction’ feedback process at Canford revealed that this commitment is highly recognized and much valued.

For pupils sitting external examinations this summer, I hope that that sense of purpose, intellectual curiosity and the blend of those soft skills of self-discipline, resilience, leadership and teamwork, which we work so hard as educators to instil will combine to ensure that those facing the public exam challenge step up as individuals and support and spur each other on collectively to achieve their very best.

Effective communications

I believe this issue is of such importance that we decided to survey the entire school community to find out what they currently felt about communications with Canford, the research findings from which formed the basis of a new communications strategy.

We are living in a fast paced age where technology is developing frighteningly quickly alongside increasingly hectic family lifestyles.  In the past, parents generally expected to hand over responsibility of their child’s education to the chosen school, with little involvement aside from attendance at the occasional sports match and the annual Speech Day and receipt of a school report each term.   Darkening the door of the Headmaster’s study was generally only as the result of their child having committed a misdemeanour!

These days parents want to be much more engaged in their child’s school life, whether they are boarding or day pupils.  I believe this is a real positive, and at Canford we very much promote the triangle of home, school and pupil as a connected effort.  However, as a result of this change parents inevitably want access to a lot more information more frequently from the school, and the advent of smartphones and tablets has enabled direct communication with staff and children on almost a 24/7 basis.   What we found from our research was that, unsurprisingly, many parents have increasingly hectic lifestyles, and therefore want to harness the power of online communications channels as far as possible to access general information, leaving the more traditional face to face and telephone communications for very urgent matters.    Finding out what parents require in terms of information, and tailoring communication methods accordingly, should be a fundamental part of any school’s communications effort.    Indeed one example which emerged is the view that the lengthy ‘old style’ end of term academic report appears to have less relevance and bite than the more up to date, pithy and frequent academic assessment. 

Schools have also moved on in terms of the breadth of the education they offer, and with that have come new challenges for staff who often, particularly in a boarding school, now wear numerous hats such as pupil tutor/ sports coach/ head of department/ weekend trips co-ordinator and much more.   With the extended range of options inside and outside the classroom, communication internally with pupils and staff as well as externally with parents needs to be quick, effective and efficient.  A challenge for schools in light of these changes is the issue of communication overload.  What are ‘reasonable expectations’ in terms of what parents receive from a school and what can reasonably be expected of staff who are under much pressure to deliver quality teaching, learning and pastoral care?   These are key questions which each school must answer when planning its communications.

In such a busy environment, it is indeed easy to be under the illusion that one has communicated effectively when in fact the message is not clear at all to everyone who needs to know it.  As George Bernard Shaw famously quoted:  “The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”  Shaw may not be living in our frenzied 21^st century age, but his words are as relevant to school communications today as they ever were to the wider world.

Equipping pupils for a hectic world

What kind of a world are we sending our pupils out into?  As educators, are we equipping them with the right skills to meet the demands of a rapidly changing work place?   Could we do more to prepare them?

Within the idyllic surroundings of Canford, it is all too easy to feel immune to the turbulence beyond. Our pupils are able to make the transition to adulthood through sometimes tricky teenage years in a safe environment where they are encouraged and supported.  We hope each Canfordian will leave us having achieved their very best, both in academic terms and also in the development of their characters and in their spirit, able to step out into the wider world with confidence.

One of our Festivals of Ideas was appropriately titled ‘Order and Chaos’.  The organiser, Head of Enrichment John James, struck a very relevant chord when he opened the festival with these words: “Every morning I drive to work down the Kingston Lacy beech avenue. The enfolding beauty and symmetry of the tree tunnel, with the rising sun rays fingering through the branches, seem in such contrast to the news of Syria and Ukraine, uprooted people, the chaos on the political scene, the levels of mental illness amongst young people and so on. It seems that we are all fighting to create a sense of order in this chaotic world.”

At this festival, Anthony Seldon placed importance on taking time to explore one’s inner self, in order to face a chaotic external life.  Without this inner confidence, he argued, we will never be able to bring order and fulfilment to our own lives, and this is an important prerequisite for making a positive difference to the lives of others, whatever paths we choose to follow.  In order to achieve this inner peace we need to make time and space for thought and reflection.

According to one educational commentator, it is the so-called 'soft' skills and character traits of creativity, teamwork, leadership, empathy, grit, and resilience that give independent school pupils a truly rounded, meaningful and enduring educational experience that impacts well beyond their classroom years. Sentiments echoed by many others in and beyond the sector.  I am proud that our pupils regularly demonstrate these attributes in so many areas of life across the school community, through both their ongoing personal interactions and on a more public stage. Whether it be our sportsmen and women winning through to County, Regional and National honours, our NCOs leading the CCF through a successful annual inspection, our musicians performing complex works as part of their Diplomas or Houses testing their creative skills in the annual House Art competition, our pupils are given the opportunity to develop their confidence and their spirit far beyond their comfort zones.

What myself and my colleagues see emerging and developing in the young Canfordians we work with each day are qualities which we believe will help to address and re-order at least some of the chaos which surrounds us.

Why Independent Education matters

The ongoing tirade against independent schools in much of the national press has gathered pace in recent times and seems to be actively nudged and encouraged by politicians and journalists across the spectrum.  Even poor performances by the national football team have been attributed to the ‘over dependence on the 7% of pupils who attend private schools’ in the press. Such criticism is both unreasonable and unfounded.

Exam results open doors for the future for young people and therefore remain a key feature for future selection to higher education and the world of work.  At GCSE/IGCSE the number of A*/A grades awarded to independent school pupils in 2016 was 60%, three times the national average, while at A Level the number of entries awarded A*-A grades was over 50%, twice the national average.

This is not just a focus on the academic high flyers. Extensive and ground breaking research by Durham University published in 2016, which analysed over one million independent and maintained sector pupils’ test scores to GCSE gathered across two decades, found that ‘When student differences such as prior ability, socio economic status and average performance of a pupil’s school are taken into account, attending an independent school adds the equivalent of two additional years of schooling by the age of 16’.  In international terms that would mean that if all UK pupils performed to the level of those in the independent sector then the UK’s educational profile would rise above the highest European performers (such as Finland and the Netherlands) and would be on a par with the highest rated school systems globally.  

The enhanced academic performance extends to the Sixth Form too where DFE figures show that 37% of maintained schools add value compared to 94% of independent schools in Independent School Council (ISC) associations.

The offer rate for university applicants from HMC and GSA schools has increased steadily since 2011 and outpaced the equivalent figures for state schools. For example, Russell Group offers in response to applications from independent school pupils rose from 75% in 2013 to 80% in 2016 and Oxbridge offer rates have remained stable.

And what of the world of work?  According to recent research, 82% of independent school pupils gain a First or 2:1 degree compared to 73% of state school students, and many of the latter are from very selective maintained schools. Research by a number of institutions, including The Sutton Trust, highlights that independently educated young people move on to earn significantly more and secure high level jobs far out of proportion to their numbers.

You may have read also about the Government’s Green Paper entitled ‘Schools that work for everyone’. The ISC has just submitted a powerful and factual response which clearly demonstrates not just the positive economic and financial impact made by independent schools, but also the comprehensive and imaginative engagement of the independent sector with meaningful partnerships between independent and maintained schools. These partnerships make a real and lasting difference to young people across the board. We are very proud of Canford’s community partnership programme which was cited specifically on several occasions within the ISC report.

I am constantly astounded by the depth of talent and creativity our pupils possess, their sensitivity and humility, their confidence and purposefulness.  They say people make places, and this is certainly true at Canford.  The passion and commitment of Canford’s staff, and the strength of the working relationships they have with the pupils, combines powerfully with the spectacular range of high quality opportunities we offer, whether these be academic and intellectual, physical or creative. In turn, this ethos and vibrant learning environment ensures Canfordians develop the aspiration, ambition, curiosity and confidence which, together with crucial ‘soft skills’, constitute the raw ingredients for a fulfilling and successful life.

The Importance of Good Tutoring

Energetic and effective tutoring can change a pupil’s educational experience and life as much as high quality classroom teaching or co-curricular coaching. The needs of each individual pupil will be different, as will the needs of pupils at varying stages during their school career.  The tutor is a critical figure in helping your child to reflect on their educational journey and their learning in a frequent and focused way.  The tutoring system is also fundamental in improving communications in the parent/child/school pastoral triangle.

While it is impossible to be too prescriptive about the role, good tutoring is characterised by excellent individual knowledge of each tutee and a genuine concern for his or her wellbeing and success. Tutors need to get to know their tutees well and be fully aware of what they are doing, how and why, and also what they are not doing and why. Such awareness is essential to facilitate effective tutoring.

In part, the tutor's role is to acknowledge, praise and positively reinforce when pupils achieve both personally and, as so many do at Canford, at a school-wide, regional or national level.  But it is also crucial that pupils are encouraged to seek guidance and support when things seem to have gone off track – as will almost certainly happen on occasion throughout their school careers.  Through building a relationship based on productive and measured communication tutor and pupil can work together to identify the real extent of an issue – whether that be in terms of swiftly resolving a passing anxiety or perhaps identifying something deeper.

Time is pressured in our schools and teachers very often have many different hats to wear.  However I believe the role of the tutor should be a major priority in order to offer pupils that individual support within a broader educational context.  At Canford, it is the glue that binds together all of those key elements that constitute the education we offer.

Why A Levels? Dr Stephen Wilkinson - Director of Studies

A programme of reforms to A level curricula initiated by Michael Gove in November 2010 with a White Paper entitled ‘The Importance of Teaching’ resulted in new, linear A level syllabuses phased in over three years. In September 2015, new syllabuses started in English, History, Economics, Business Studies, Computing and the Sciences.

Canford’s approach, given that these subjects account for fewer than a half of our A level entries, was to maintain the AS/A2 approach across all subjects, even where (as is the case for the reformed subjects) the grades that pupils gain in the AS exams taken at the end of the L6 year do not contribute to the final A level grade. By taking this approach, we believe that we are providing the best opportunity for pupils to maximise their grades across all subjects, regardless of whether they are reformed or not. In the second phase of the reforms, beginning in September 2016, the scales have tipped in favour of the reformed subjects, and with all but Maths, Classical Civilisation, Politics and Design Technology now operating as linear syllabuses (that is, with exams only at the end of the course) we have spent much time deliberating and consulting about the best way to incorporate these changes in the way we teach our Sixth Form subjects.

In common with the majority of schools, we have decided that from September 2016 we will continue to expect pupils to choose four subjects from the start of the Lower Sixth, and that we will not be offering AS exams in any of the reformed subjects, including the subject they drop going into the Upper Sixth. While we are conscious of the fact that pupils will therefore not have AS marks available for their University applications in the Upper Sixth, we feel that the overall benefit gained from pupils being able to spend the Summer term of the Lower Sixth being taught, rather than preparing for and taking exams that will ultimately not count towards their A levels, makes course of the action the most appropriate for our pupils as they prepare for ambitious University places.

Needless to add, perhaps, but the benefit and reward of taking a fourth subject, regardless of whether an external exam is taken, will be in the opportunity to study further in another discipline, and add to the educational value that pupils take from their Sixth Form study.