High expectations benefit pupils

Jan Drinkall, head teacher of Highlands Primary School, has a saying on her wall: “Nobody ever changed the world by doing a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay.”

Going the extra mile, she elaborates, is what her school is about. It is the reason why Ofsted thinks it is outstanding, despite the challenge of catering to children in the deprived Bransholme area of Hull. 

Many of the children arrive at the school with knowledge and skills far below what is expected at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage. A quarter of pupils in England are regarded as high-attaining at the end of Key Stage 1, but at Highlands the figure is just seven per cent. Forty-seven per cent of pupils at the school are deemed low-attaining compared to the national average of 18 per cent.

Outstanding turnaround
Yet by the time they leave Highlands, the children are performing in line with the national average, a turnaround that Ofsted describes as “outstanding”. While some might lower their expectations when working in such an area, Drinkall believes deprivation is not a get-out clause for schools.

“High levels of deprivation are no excuse,” she says. “You receive funding which reflects the level of deprivation so we can’t sit here complaining about the kinds of challenges we have.

“We do have high expectations of the children but we also have incredibly high expectations of staff. If you come here you have to work the way we work and be in it for the kids because they are number one.”

Consistency among teachers is central to Highlands. “We don’t tolerate people who do their own thing – these children get enough mixed messages already,” says Drinkall. “Ofsted recognised behaviour at the school was outstanding and that’s because of the way we work. When a child goes to a teacher or a member of our support staff they should get the same response – there are no grey areas.”

Alongside its commitment to consistency, Highlands places a strong emphasis on improving children’s wellbeing. The school has “check-in and check-out circles” where children can tell staff how they feel at the beginning and end of each day.

“We base everything we do on securing the children’s social and emotional wellbeing,” says Drinkall. “Many of our children come to school with all sorts of issues that are not conducive to effective learning,” says Drinkall. “We have spent a lot of time embedding the social and emotional aspects of learning alongside restorative practices. If the children aren’t ready to learn then we are wasting our time.”

Despite high praise, Ofsted’s inspection of Highlands said the school could do more to push the most able pupils. Drinkall accepts Ofsted’s recommendation but feels more should be done in the early years to ensure more children enter primary school ready to learn. “The percentage of children who come to us well below national expectations is scary,” she says. “If we could get children leaving our foundation stage closer to age-related expectations then this would boost Key Stage 1 outcomes and that would help our teachers at Key Stage 2 in turn.”


Fact File

Name Highlands Primary School
Location Lothian Way, Bransholme, Hull
Description Highlands Primary School is a mixed gender school catering for pupils aged three to 11. It is located in the Bransholme area of Hull. It is a larger than average primary and most of its pupils are of white British heritage. The school has a much higher than average number of pupils on free school meals and is a partner in the Hull Collaborative Teaching School, which is accredited by the National College of School Leadership.
Number of children 426 on roll
Ofsted inspection unique reference number 117904


Helpful Hints

• Monitor individuals. “We monitor the progress of every child. Not a sample –every single child,” says Drinkall. “It helps us to spot those not making as much progress as they should. We go through every child’s work with every teacher, every term.”
• Use community links to tackle attendance. “When we try to find where children are, people often don’t answer because they know it is the school calling,” explains Drinkall. To counter this, the school teamed up with local community wardens so it could ask them to call into homes in such situations.
• Get a council ally. Drinkall says the support of Ken Sainty, the assistant head of service at Hull’s education department, has been essential to the school’s development. “He is someone we can chew the fat over with when we have ideas and someone who will be open and honest with us,” she says.
• Localise the curriculum. Ofsted called Highlands’ curriculum “exceedingly innovative”. It is tailored to focus on English and maths and, since most pupils are from white British backgrounds, the need to encourage respect for other cultures and people.