How precision planning accelerates learning

Project
Saltdean Primary School

Funding
The school’s budget for 2012/13 is £1.4m for around 420 pupils

Purpose
To improve Key Stage 2 results

Background
Saltdean Primary School in Brighton and Hove had disappointing Key Stage 2 results last year. When head teacher Suzanne Morgan joined the school in January she knew she had to act swiftly to turn things around. “When I first got here there was a lack of drive and a lack of looking at the children and thinking we can get more out of them,” says Morgan.

Action
The solution was to implement a regime of “precision planning and teaching” which involved consistent and ongoing analysis of the needs of every child, says Morgan. She worked closely with two year 6 teachers and two part-time teaching assistants to devise a clear plan for boosting standards. An analysis of all pupils was completed in January. Following this, Morgan employed an extra teacher for four mornings a week to work on reading, writing and maths with children who were grouped according to ability.

“Although we grouped the children for these sessions the groupings were always flexible,” says teacher Simon Clarke. “We were constantly evaluating how every child was doing, looking at their progress across all aspects and considering what would work best for them.” Children might join a group for just one day if they needed help with one thing and the pupils were also given an insight into how their tests were marked.

Staff also made a major effort to build stronger relationships with pupils. “Teachers ensured they took the time to get to know them as young people and learners and understand what made them tick, what motivated them and what would ensure they felt confident in their own abilities,” says Morgan. Another important factor has been working with parents. “There was a complete lack of engagement with parents before,” Morgan says. “We’ve worked really hard to get them on board with things like coffee mornings and after-school meetings as we see them as key partners.”

Outcome
The school has seen a dramatic improvement in Key Stage 2 results over the past year. In 2011 the percentage of pupils who gained Level 4 and above in reading was 76.9 per cent; this rose to 98.4 per cent in 2012. Those gaining Level 4 or above in writing went from 73.8 per cent to 88.9 per cent; for English it went from 76.9 to 92.1 per cent and for maths from 73.8 to 95.2 per cent.

The government has said all primaries must ensure at least 60 per cent of pupils achieve Level 4 in both English and maths. Saltdean was dangerously close to the threshold in 2011 with just 63.1 per cent gaining at least Level 4 in both subjects, but in 2012 the figure rose to 90.5 per cent.

Many pupils also gained Level 5 or higher, with 63.5 per cent reaching Level 5 in reading, 25.4 per cent in writing, 52.4 per cent in English and 58.7 per cent in maths.

Progress made by pupils from the end of Key Stage 1 to the end of Key Stage 2 also showed a marked improvement. In maths, 9.5 per cent made satisfactory progress, 17.5 per cent made good progress, 54 per cent made outstanding progress and 19 per cent made more than outstanding progress.

In reading, six per cent made satisfactory progress, 14 per cent made good progress, 56 per cent made outstanding progress and 24 per cent made more than outstanding progress. In writing, 13 per cent progressed less than two levels, 28.5 per cent made satisfactory progress, 24 per cent made good progress, 33 per cent made outstanding progress and 1.5 per cent exceeded outstanding progress.

“At the leavers’ assembly I knew that every single child had achieved what we targeted for them and many had achieved a lot more. We had done the best for every one of those children and knowing that was phenomenal,” concludes Morgan.