How literacy plan boosts attainment levels

Setting
St Alban's Academy

Purpose
To boost pupils' literacy and all-round
attainment

Funding
The school has an annual budget of about £3.75m and has invested pupil premium cash in extra English teachers, a lead literacy teacher and support staff, and breakfast and homework clubs

Background
St Alban's C of E secondary school was founded in 1871 to educate young people living in the centre of Birmingham. It continues to do that today in challenging circumstances. The school operates in one of the top 10 most deprived areas in the country with an intake that has the lowest prior attainment at Key Stage 2 of all schools in Birmingham. Eighty-two per cent of pupils are classed as disadvantaged and eligible for the pupil premium while 78 per cent do not have English as a first language. In 2009, the school became an academy as part of the Ark group of schools.

Principal David Gould says this presented a chance to "totally reinvent ourselves" to boost exam results and help all pupils achieve their potential.

Action
The school retained its senior management team including Gould, who was previously head teacher. They implemented a new strategy with a focus on the fundamentals of learning including literacy. "We had young people starting at the school with a reading age of six to nine," he explains. "If you can't read and write then there is almost no point in worrying about all the other subjects. Part of our review involved thinking we don't need to do the national curriculum the same as other schools."

The school has invested pupil premium cash in extra staff including a "lead literacy teacher" and two extra English teachers so all pupils now do a minimum of an hour of English every day. Meanwhile, all year 7 and 8 pupils get half an hour of literacy tuition at the start of every day in small groups based on ability. Lower-achieving groups in years 7 and 8 also get extra literacy lessons. Two out of four classes in year 7 (about 40 per cent of the year group) get five extra hours of literacy intervention a week under the Fresh Start programme, which has seen pupils with lower than expected reading age progress greatly, says Gould. One class continues the extra classes into year 8.

Teachers reinforce literacy in other lessons, with pupils encouraged to answer questions in full sentences. Teachers get extra training on supporting literacy as part of the school's 10 annual training days, also attended by non-teaching staff.

Pupils can get help with reading at breakfast club and homework clubs. The school has longer hours than a typical secondary school - 30.5 hours of formal classes a week compared with 25 - which allows for extra focus on English and maths. The school also works closely with feeder primaries, with regular meetings with head teachers. There is an emphasis on ensuring pupils are taught at the same level and that momentum can be maintained when they make the transition to secondary school.

Outcome
Results show disadvantaged pupils make outstanding progress - often as good or better than other pupils (see table). In 2012, 51 per cent of disadvantaged pupils gained five GCSE grades A* to C including English and maths compared with 47 per cent of other pupils. Sixty-six per cent of disadvantaged pupils made expected progress in English (69 per cent for others) while 90 per cent of disadvantaged pupils made expected progress in maths (87 per cent for others). The school had the highest value-added score for disadvantaged pupils in Birmingham at 1,097.4, 116 points ahead of the national average for disadvantaged pupils. All pupils continued to college or sixth form for A-levels or vocational courses.

The school has also seen a year-on-year improvement in attendance. This was 91.11 per cent in 2008/09, 92.21 per cent in 2009/10, 92.77 per cent in 2010/11 and 94.22 per cent in 2011/12. Fixed-term exclusions have fallen. In 2006/07, 39 pupils had fixed-term exclusions totalling 112 days. By 2011/12, that was down to 25 pupils and a total of 57 days.

Ofsted rated the school "outstanding" in its latest inspection in October 2011.