DSC SIGNATURE PROJECT: TACKLING

UNDERACHIEVEMENT

Holy Cross Boys’ Primary School

Holy Cross Boys’ Primary School

Ardoyne Ward: among most socio-economically deprived in NI (top 3%)

Conflict legacy enduring 37% SEN 78% Free School Meals 11th/840+ highest

primary school FSM 80% Level 4+ in KS2 in

Maths & Literacy 45% Grammar (A /B1

grades) Inspection Report Nov

2013- Outstanding in every area.

School Vision

Holy Cross Boys’ strives to promote high self esteem, a

love of life-long learning and responsible

citizenship within our school community where everyone is

valued.

What Signature Meant in HCB

Level 4+ End of KS2 (Numeracy/Literacy)

2012/13: 68%2013/14: 74%2014/15: 80%2015/16: 80% (Target)

Highly motivated & talented Sig. Teacher working daily with P6/P7 pupils (Lit & Num Groups)

VP/Sig. Teacher agreed direction, regular liaison with P6/P7 class teachers

Small group tuition Termly & Weekly Planning Level 4 Indicators Diagnostic Assessments to

inform P/T/L Cycle Parent Mtgs School Improvement

Initiatives- target pupil involvement

What prevents children realising their full potential?

Inhibiting Factors

Social/ emotional Problems

(SEN)

Attendance/

Punctuality

School Culture, Ethos &

Quality of T/L

Indiv Efforts &

ExpectationsPupil’s DOB

Parental Expectation

s

Community Factors (Peer Influences)

Relative Poverty stands apart as the single

greatest determining factor for educational

attainment

M Gladwell: Concerted Cultivation

Composition of Grammar Schools & GCSE

Attainment by months of birth

ETI Grades, Pressures & impact upon

aspiration

5 GCSEs (A*-C inc Maths/English)

o FSM Boys: 33.7%o Non-FSM Boys:

66.7%

o Non-Grammar FSM Boys: 23.7%o Grammar FSM Boys: 82.9%

Why Signature was different

Distinguished between

Underachievers & Low Attainers

Schools directed to target pupil cohort

most capable of improvement

Small Group tuition led by professional teachers, directed by school leaders

Encouraged accountability, aspiration and opportunity for

professional reflection &

strategic leadership interventions

Classroom Practice

• Effective planning: breadth, progression & pace

• Differentiation• Varying Strategies

& Practical Resources

• Value of Diagnostic analysis to inform teaching/ learning

• Tracking and monitoring progress

Understanding Low Attainment

and Underachieveme

nt• Knowing your

pupils• Knowing what can

be achieved• The value of

effectively confronting the obstacles to learning

Reflective Practitioners

• Self-evaluation culture

• Collaborative opportunities to share best practice

• Strategic interventions from leadership can work

Lessons from Signature

What prevents children realising their full potential?

Inhibiting Factors

Social/ emotional Problems

(SEN)

Attendance/

Punctuality

School Culture, Ethos &

Quality of T/L

Indiv Efforts &

ExpectationsPupil’s DOB

Parental Expectation

s

Community Factors (Peer Influences)

Relative Poverty stands apart as the single

greatest determining factor for educational

attainment

Effective SENCOPro-active Pastoral

CareCounsellingSensory Rm/

Nurturance Rm/ Groups Robust Att.

StrategyMonthly Pastoral

MtgsEWO LinkThe Pad

VisionProf

Dev/TrainingMonitoring & Assessment

Remedial Support

Underachievers

Programme

GRACE/ HCB Parent coursesSchool Culture

10-4 L.A.D.

NCLB initiative

YC MentorsJohn Paul YC

Careers Week

Group Mobility monitor

R’table mtg focus

Staff INSET

NCLB: No Child Left Behind

Many facets of this programme:

FOR PUPILS: Timetabled tuition using

iPads (Young For Year, Soc-Emot. & Under Achievers)

iPad weekends Youth Club Mentors Creative iPad classes Literacy & Numeracy support

for KS2 pupils

FOR PARENTS: iPad courses for parents &

mentors (day & night) iPad support Group (GRACE) Child minding facilities Therapies Life Training

Targeting Underachieveme

nt.

Using technology creativelyTeaching children

how to discuss ideas

and think.

Removing barriersto learning.

Innovative Reading/ Literacy Initiatives

Simple objective: cultivate a love

for reading, for language and provide the opportunity to think

critically & articulate thoughts.

10-4-LAD Reading Initiative: Promoting boys’ reading with male role models

C’ville FC Buy-in: promotion, active support, incentives

Recitation Week Accelerated Reader Buddy Readers (peers) Reading Rooms Latin/ Greek derivatives

programme and classes Dickens/ Shakespeare & Non-

Fiction text investment Classical Art/Music Scheme De Bono Thinking Hats Philosophy

Our Calling- Randall Butisingh (1962)

Teaching is more than a noble profession. It is a vocation, a calling. The teacher is the most important person in any civilization, as on him/her depends the moulding of the nation. There are not many born teachers, but there are those who love teaching, and there are those who enter it as an occupation. The chief qualification for a teacher is his or her love for children; from there can follow the training by good teachers and professors of techniques and principles. Good teacher-pupil relationship is very important.

A teacher must know that he or she is teaching, not only a subject, but a child. A teacher must know each child in his or her charge – especially in his early years – his temperament, his academic capability, his health, his bent, his home background and anything that may be hindering him from doing his best. This will equip teachers and help them to educate. Each child must taste success at the beginning by beginning with the simple to the complex, the concrete to the abstract, the known to the unknown and to develop at its own rate. This will give him confidence. A good teacher, by his/her methods will be able to motivate the pupil, awaken his interest, and arouse his curiosity. Teachers can make learning pleasant. They must exhibit energy, enthusiasm and cheerfulness, and never cease to learn themselves. A teacher who ceases to learn becomes irrelevant.

If an individual is well educated; if he is given the right information; if he is trained according to his bent; if he has a right sense of values, if he has learnt to think positively, to make good judgments, and if he is able to realize his uniqueness in the mosaic which is indivisible humanity – he will be well on his way to make this world a better place for himself and others.