Dene Community School of Technology Building Schools for the

Dene Community School of Technology Building Schools for the Future Vision Statement Background 1. 1.1 The context of the school Geography Dene is a successful and improving school. It was described in May 2004 by Ofsted as being “well poised for improvement” giving satisfactory value for money and providing a satisfactory quality of education. It praised the “very good and clear vision of the head teacher” and the focus on self evaluation and self review. In summer 2004 the school achieved its highest ever GCSE results at 5A*-C (32%) and followed this in 2005 with an improvement to 35% and in 2006 with 37%. The school does not teach any GNVQ courses at Key Stage 4, preferring instead to focus on the development of Vocational GCSE courses. In 2006 the school’s Key Stage 3 results in English dipped, resulting in an overall reduction in the KS2 to KS3 value added score from 99.4 (in 2005) to 98.2. The school has enjoyed the benefits of being a Specialist Technology College since 2000, and was the first in the area to successfully apply for redesignation in Easter 2005. The school has improved its standing in the local community over the past five years and for three years 2001-04 it was oversubscribed. Two of the five years in school, are currently full and applications to join must go through the Appeals Procedures applied by the LEA. Dene is therefore perceived by both the LEA and the community an improving school with high standards of teaching and learning. In 2005 the NOF funded School and Community Sports Centre was opened. A major boost to the community the school has successfully drawn additional funding to support the staffing and resorting needs of the new Centre. Our recent intake figures from the Primary Cluster show an increased percentage of students available choosing to attend Dene. Dene is an active partner in the Federation of East Durham Schools which comprises six secondary schools in the East Durham area. The school is also a member of the Peterlee Excellence Cluster and receives funding for Learning Mentors, Gifted and Talented Programmes, Learning Support Unit and Behaviour Improvement Programmes (BIP) The school operates a 20 place Unit for students in the area with Moderate Learning Difficulties. Many students travel from outlying areas to access this provision. The unit is located in the Inclusion Suite. An extensive ITT programme operates in conjunction with Sunderland, Durham and Newcastle Universities. In 2004 the school became a member of the East Durham Designated Recommending Body and commenced their Graduate Teacher Programme with two graduates. In 2005 this was extended to four graduates after a successful first year. Dene operates a successful and effective strategy to generate additional funding streams into the school. This includes £1.6m NOF funding in 2003, £130,000 ESF funding in 2004 and £67,000 from Coca Cola for the Personal Best Challenge Park in 2005. The school also has successful links and well developed links with the Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder in Horden and Easington Colliery. Many departments in the school have received funding from the NMP to support curriculum extension projects. The Head teacher is a member of the Board and acts as their “Education Champion”” The school has a strong pastoral care and family support structure. The Families First Programme was launched in September 2005 after remodelling and refurbishment work was completed to construct a Family / Community Room. The school also employs a full-time family engagement worker who works with all of the Primary Partner Schools . The Family Officer also runs a number of practical support groups for the parents of the students in the school. The school is a partner in the Peterlee School Sports Coordination Programme and hosts regular sports and fitness sessions for Primary children in their facilities. 1.2 Provision There are currently 747 students on roll aged between 11 and 16. Of these the girl / boy ratio is 48% and 52% respectively 1.3 Socio - Economic context Dene Community School of Technology serves an area with high levels of social deprivation. There are high levels of crime, youth disorder and teenage pregnancy in the locality. Easington District has the worst health profile in England and Wales. There are low numbers of parents who hold a further education qualification. The proportion of students known to be eligible for Free School Meals is above the national average (27%) although the school feels the recent FSM figures do not accurately reflect the schools context. Changes in the benefits and taxation systems have resulted in a drop in the FSM figures over the past three years (from 39% in 2002) The school is located in the Dene House Ward which was measured by the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) as having the fourth worst profile in England and Wales. In addition 167 students in 2004 were living in the Eden Hill Ward which is the most deprived ward nationally of all wards outside London. In 2004, 98% of all students in Dene were living in the top 10% most deprived wards in the country; this is set against the national average of 34% of students in other schools. (LEA Performance Review Team data). Using the same data 100% of students in Dene in 2004 were living in the top 20% most deprived wards in the country. 99.4% of students are classed as White / British. Of the very low numbers from an ethnic minority background (0.6%) there is an even smaller number whose first language is not believed to be English (0.4%). The percentage of students identified as having special educational needs, including statements (23.1%) is above the national and local average. Students on School Action and School Action Plus amount to 18.5% and 4.7% have full statements of special educational need. There has been an improvement in student inward mobility in recent years, helped by LEA policy changes to school transfers. The most significant changes occur at Key Stage 4 showing Y11 in 2004 comprising only 90.4% of students who started in Year 7. Year 10 in 2004 showed only 85% students who had joined the school in Year 7. Students entering school show significant lower levels of Literacy than the local national averages (LEA Performance Review data). 1.4 Ethnicity 98.9% of students in school are classified as “White / British; 0.1 % of students are classified as “Any other white background” 0.1% of students are classified as “White and Black Caribbean” 0.1 % of students are classed as “White and Asian” 0.7 % are classed as Pakistani 1.5 Current Performance Key Stage 3 At Key Stage 3 attainment and achievement in English is satisfactory. In 2004 the CVA results placed English results at Key Stage 3 in the top 5% of all schools nationally. More recently the standards in English have dropped and at present the Key Stage 3 results give cause for concern. A significant change in levels of accountability will impact these results in the summer of 2007. Since 1998 boys have regularly outperformed girls at Level 5+ in Science and Maths but persistently underperformed in English. In 2006Key Stage 3 results were as follows:English % Level Level 5+ 6+ 53 19 Maths % Level Level 5+ 6+ 61 42 Science % Level Level 5+ 6+ 61 32 Dene Current progress FFT predictions for 2006 reveal that English missed their prediction at L5+ by 6%. FFT predictions for 2006 show that Maths exceeded their prediction at L5+ by 1%. FFT predictions in 2006 show that Science exceeded their prediction at L5+ by 4%. All the above predictions are when compared with similar schools. (Source FFT 2006, LEA data). Literacy intervention has been identified as a key factor in continuing to raise achievement and as such a Literacy Team was formed in 2005 with a newly appointed Literacy Coordinator in post to lead this discrete team. All departments have a keen and sharp focus on literacy development and there are plans in place to further address the poor literacy levels in the school. Key Stage 4 In 2006 the school achieved the highest ever pass rate at 5+= A* - C of 37%. Improving Key Stage 4 attainment remains one of the school’s top priorities. The impact of measures taken so far to secure this improvement is good in terms of 5A*-C with a 14% rise between 2003 and 2005. This achievement all the more remarkable given the Key Stage 4 curriculum contains no GNVQ courses with their 4 GCSE pass rate equivalents. Girls have caught up and overtaken their male peers when compared with results at KS4. In KS3 boys regularly outperform girls but by the end of KS4 this trend has been reversed. The challenge school faces is to engage and secure a far greater percentage of boys who can succeed at the end of Key Stage 4 Through an extended subject leader programme and improved monitoring and intervention in 2004-06 it is anticipated that the performance of students at Key Stage 4 will continue to rise in 2007. The recently appointed Head Teacher has attainment, standards and school improvement at the heart of the school agenda and all work in school is focussed on raising standards through increased resourcing , targeted monitoring and focused discussion about standards. All teachers have a greater understanding of the individual contribution to the school's CVA and to this end improvement has been noted. Good progress is being made with Y10 and FFT predict 48% A*-C and staff in school are realistic about this being attainable rather than merely aspirational. In addition many of the staffing issues that have hindered progress have now been resolved with improvements in Mathematics as a clear example of this policy being successfully implemented. The new Head Teacher has mad a number of temporary appointments to enable the achievement agenda to be further exploited and analysed. 2. 2.1 Corporate Policies School Strategic Vision Dene Community School is fully supportive are engaged in delivering the County Durham Strategic Vision. The following areas are already being addressed by the school and form a major part of the vision for the school:We are a truly inclusive school in which all students have access to the full range of curriculum opportunities. Our focus is firmly on improving ICT skills in our community through access to the schools` resources. A major element of this focus is improving distance learning through the “learning gateway” section in the school web site. Our recent addition of the NOF Sports Centre has dramatically improved the range of leisure and recreational opportunities for our students In 2006 our school achieved the highest ever results at GCSE for our students and in 2007 we predict that they will increase again. We intend to continue to deliver the full range of curriculum pathways at Key Stage 4 and are involved with the Area Advisory Group for East Durham in mapping out the new model for Key Stage 4 provision across the area. Curriculum planning has already taken place and the model adopted by our AAG is seen as a model of best practice for the LA and has been commended by a number of advisory teachers and inspectors. Our biggest challenge is to radically reshape the role our school will occupy in the community. To achieve this we will require creative, practical and sound advice with regard to the nature style and type of building needed for this to happen. We have already been in discussion with local businesses about the possible use of the site as a Train to Gain establishment. Curricular developments at KS 4 mean that the school restaurant will be open to members of the local community at lunch time for the service of hot meals. 2.2 School vision and aims Our school is committed to raising aspirations and standards especially at KS4. In the past three years the school has made significant progress in raising standards of attendance, behaviour, and exam results. In 2007 we predict that the school will for the first time ever, break the 40% A* - C barrier. Our school aims to stay at the heart of regeneration within the east Peterlee community. The school offers the local community a long-term solution to the long-term issues in the area. Too many initiatives in the area are short-term funded. We must work in partnership to secure a long-term view to the issue of under-achievement and low aspiration. Our programme of curriculum reform based on partnership with other schools and FE providers means that students at KS4 are increasingly accessing a wide range of rich experiences that will enable them to move into appropriate and relevant training after they leave school. The newly appointed 14-19 coordinator has put many new qualification routes in place and our school has been commended for its work in the Wider Key Skills programme. The DfES is due to visit the school to view our work in this area. We are a Specialist School of Technology and have been since 2000. With the additional funding the school has completely refurbished the Science and Technology suites. Monies are also used to support our Primary Partners. We are a true community school located in the heart of our community and serving a discrete area from which most students can safely walk to the school site. Our school day is flexible and now extends to different finishing times for different year groups. We operate an extended day on four days each week allowing for the community to gain full access to the new School and Community Sports Centre. This new facility is also available on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Dene is currently forming hard partnerships with three major businesses in the local area (Walkers Snack Foods, Orange, and SSL) with a view to enrich the KS4 curriculum and to extend vocational opportunities for all students in years 10 and 11. Our recently built training kitchen will further enhance the work of the school and we have the capacity to offer training and validation to local companies in the Hospitality and Catering Suite of qualifications. We are committed to the development of 14 -19 in the east Durham area through our collaborative work with other secondary schools in the Federation of East Durham Schools. Planning for 2007 and beyond is now complete and all schools will be offering a full vocational pathway to all students in KS 4. The school is poised and ready with a curriculum model for the introduction of the new specialist diplomas in 2008. We intend to maintain a broad and balanced curriculum which will form the basis for future progression after 16 for all students. Within this broad aim we will plan and extend the personalised learning element to enable students to pursue their own individual pathway whenever possible. The school is also preparing a submission as a centre for delivery of the Apprenticeships scheme. Our school is engaged actively with the School Sports Coordinators Programme and our new Sports Centre is used by the Peterlee Team for events involving primary schools and other secondary schools. As you can see Dene CST is at the heart of the local community and BSF will give us the opportunity to consolidate our position as a vital hub for families, and to establish a culture based on lifelong learning, sport and cultural activities which will help to raise the aspirations of those involved. Through BSF/ICT we can tackle the climate of under-expectation. The school and the community and committed to the A B C of Dene - Achieve , Believe , Challenge. Every one in the community has the right to a quality experience and through the BSF programme we know that we can secure the foundations for the future in the community. There is a belief locally that the school is poised and ready for future development and we will rightly challenge everyone who is in our care to enable them to raise their game. Achieving starts with believing and if education is expensive , try ignorance. All young people will have access to a curriculum which meets their needs and raises aspirations. Not least empowering them with skills deemed essential in the 21st century. Our work in Wider Key Skills will ensure that our young people are flexible , adaptable , literate , numerate team players with a highly developed level of ICT skills. 2.3 Every Child Matters Dene is committed to the principle of ECM and has created a curriculum and learning experience in the school to achieve this aim. Our school has been built on the basis of treating everyone with respect, courtesy and dignity. This principle underpins all the work of the school. Our extensive network links with the local community groups such as the Neighbourhood Pathfinder and partnerships with local businesses will also help articulate this aim. Our school has five Student Year Councils and one full School Council which all give opportunity for students` views to be heard and discussed. Our parents enjoy a monthly newsletter which goes home with students and there is an email facility on the school web site for comments and questions to be sent into school. The web site is managed each day by the ICT Development Team. We aim to extend our services in pursuit of this principle and develop further the community services available on the school site throughout the day. This includes child care, community access to provision during the day and full community access after school closes in the afternoon. We plan to offer access to our training kitchen and to offer a variety of quaifications to the Hospitality and Catering industry. ICT will play a fundamental role in the access of e-learning services on the school site. The school has recently established a new Creative Arts Cluster to extend our model of community links with Dance and Drama classes organised for after school in the new Sports Centre Dance Studio. Our extensive Inclusion Service and Gifted and Talented Programme are examples of our school providing a full range of opportunities in practice. 2.4 Regeneration As a school in a former coalfield area Dene is positioned to play a key role in the regeneration of the local community. With partnerships with PCT, local businesses, FE Colleges and other schools, as well as with the Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder (Head teacher is a member of the Board) the school is already a key player in the network that will address the issues of raising self aspirations in the community. The issues of a lack of self-belief and low self-esteem are paramount in the community , however the school has many initiatives in place to begin to address these and we will produce the future work force of the area who will ensure regeneration of the local community. We are data rich school and in partnership with the Peterlee Excellence Cluster have used baseline data for making comparisons and measuring progress. Numbers of students entering further education in east Durham have increased in recent years as a result of the policy and programmes adopted in partnership with FE Colleges. 3. 3.1 The Local Authority School and LA Vision Our school is committed to the principle of equality of opportunity and student entitlement underpins all our curriculum design and modelling. For example all students at Dene are entitled to a vocational course as a minimum in Key Stage 4. All students have access to off site learning through our links with two local FE Colleges. As an inclusive school we do not withdraw large numbers of SEN students, but instead integrate them into the school’s mainstream teaching and learning. We support those students who have barriers to learning and success through a wide range of additional resources such as the Learning Resource Base, Reach Out, Behaviour Support Unit and the Seclusion Unit. In addition our Inclusion Team supports the learning of twenty students with Moderate Learning Difficulties. Our school improvement strategy is based on the core belief that our students can succeed with high quality teaching and well resourced lessons in a well maintained learning environment. We are intent on creating within the school site an environment that is unique to their learning needs and that every aspect of their experience here in the school is focussed entirely on raising their aspiration and confirming their success at Key Stage 3 and 4. 3.2 Current Position Key Stage 3 Results 2006 English Maths Science Average overall points score % of students achieving L5+ % of students achieving L6+ Average points score 53 19 32 61 42 33 61 32 32 32 Key stage 4 Results 2006 2005 35 72 82 2006 37 84 98 % Achieving 5+ A*- C % Achieving 5+ A*- G % Achieving 1+ A* - G 3.3 Priorities Our School Improvement Plan shows the following six priorities:To raise achievement in the Core subjects : English , Maths , Science To raise achievement in the Foundation Subjects To raise achievement through Improved Teaching and Learning To address the ECM Agenda in all that we do To raise achievement through Effective Use and Extension of the Specialism To improve and extend the Learning Environment 4. Building Schools for the Future Our school is firmly committed to continuing to raise levels of achievement for all students. This is reflected in the single focus contained within the School Improvement Plan. Our children live in the most deprived community in County Durham (IMD data from Performance Review Team Durham County Council 2005) Given that fact we are succeeding as a school in our overall aim of raising achievement, especially at Key Stage 3. Our vision is to see the school transform into a Community Learning centre providing a full range of extended services needed by a community with is profile. Our role within the Federation of east Durham Schools is a key indicator to our commitment to work inn partnership for the benefit of the wider community in east Durham Our school works in close and active partnership with the following stakeholders: • • Parents through surveys, web site and newsletters Students through the Student Councils • • • • • • • • • • • Primary Partner Schools through the East Peterlee Cluster Local businesses such as Walkers, Orange and SSL Peterlee excellence Cluster Peterlee Excellence Cluster Behaviour Improvement Programme Easington Colliery and Horden Pathfinder Project Easington Local Strategic Partnership East Durham Area Advisory Group Durham LSC Durham County Council Easington PCT Secondary Schools in east Durham through the FEDS 5. Vision for Secondary Education Our school will continue to provide the highest possible quality of education and learning for alls students in our community. In addition we wish to extend and enhance the role of the school, as provider of community services not least health and recreational through he new faculties such as the Sports Centre. We will actively pursue the development of further partnership working arrangements with other service providers to enhance and enable the enrichment of our existing curriculum exper4ience for the benefit of alls students and parents. Our extended role as a centre for services and learning within the community will further develop and thus act as major element in the regeneration of this former coalfield community. Our school values are underpinned by the belief that everyone deserves the very best possible experience at school and should be guided, supported and allowed to flourish and succeed. They should feel safe and cared for, and understand and respect the needs of others. 6 6.1.1 Learning Teaching and the Curriculum Curriculum and Personalised Learning We will enhance and improve our current personalised learning programmes through the extension of non teaching and student support staff such as Learning Mentors and further additions to the Inclusion Team such as Student Services Officers. These staff will offer a much greater range of personalised learning opportunities through their individualised programmes of support and challenge. Students will negotiate with these staff and agree the direction of their future work. The ICT will support this, providing on-line help and guidance (both automated and real time access to tutors). This support will be formative; helping students to understand what they need to do to improve. Work is already underway for the school to adapt the DfES Progression Maps for Key Stage 3 and our new Strategy manager is working with ICT team in school to develop hyper links to allow students to follow a supportive path of curriculum enrichment and support. The ICT team are also making of extensive use of various software packages to develop pod-cast revision packages to address the needs of auditory learners at KS4. All students will have access to their E portfolios which will be part of a carefully managed learning programme created for use within the new curriculum model. This E portfolio will be available at any time, anywhere, through provision of an ICT device for each student and a comprehensive wireless broadband coverage. This coverage will extend out into the community, allowing students who have to work at home or other sites access to their learning resources. These resources will also be available to parents, both to raise awareness of curriculum content and provide information that will allow them to support their child’s learning and to provide learning resources that parents can use to advance their own learning. We are committed to the aim of encouraging life-long learning and we will work with our Primary partners to develop and extend E-links to aid transition. These innovations will allow a step change in the provision of truly personalised learning. The ICT, and E portfolio in particular, will allow us to record and monitor achievement in a broad range of areas, not exclusively academic. Our curriculum model will be further enhanced with additional vocational programmes available on site for students to add to the range already offered through partnership with other service providers. This additionally will enhance the “pathways model” employed by the school and which offers each student the chance to create their own personalised Key Stage 4 Learning Programme. ICT links will enable students to enjoy virtual training in the Catering Suite and assessment packages will enable students to progress at their own rate. The building of a new school gives the opportunity to create new and different learning areas around the site. We believe that the school of the future should contain a mix of learning spaces to reflect the diverse needs of the students and these should contain large learning areas, rooms for groups and classes up to 30 and smaller spaces for small groups of around five. This is in recognition of the variety of ways in which students will learn. The traditional classroom will be only one of a range of learning areas that will support the learning and teaching. These learning areas will be accessed by students and staff alike, ensuring passive supervision of the areas and promoting a work ethos. We will wish to see the establishment of large multi media learning areas which would enable learning to take place for groups of up to 80. Areas such as this will see large presentations possible and these can then be followed by using smaller “break out” spaces for extended learning in normal classes or groups. The new school design will also allow for the personalised learning and ECM agendas to be driven further into the life of the school with the creation of smaller working spaces. These larger areas will benefit from the inclusion of sound-proofed partitioning to enable the areas to be divided. The recent conversion of the school gym into three classrooms has shown what can be done with large areas in the school. ICT will play a key role in the new school, with access at all times anywhere for students and staff to enable them to operate within their own E portfolios. This will mean that connectivity and VLE`s are standard in the school. All staff will carry their own ICT device, every learning space will have ICT presentation facilities, and all students will carry their own ICT devices with them. Students will be information aware, in our knowledge rich society. Finding things out, retrieving and managing web based information in an organised and honest way. We are establishing a “BSF Change Team” which will be led by an Assistant Head teacher. The brief of this team will be to plan and implement all staff training and development through our change management programme. We recognise that as well as training staff how to use the equipment the most important aspect of the change management programme will be the possibilities for learning and teaching opened up by the new and redesigned buildings and new ICT infrastructure. The team will also work closely with planners and architects in the design phases of the new school. This team will pass information and updates to the Leadership Team and to Governors as well to stakeholder groups such as parents and students and the wider community. We appreciate that there will be a need for these stakeholders to engage in the change management programme too. Students will need to be helped to play a more active role in their own education and will need to be helped to utilise the new technology to its full potential. Students will also have a central role to play in the change team. We are committed to providing the most effective services to all sections of our community and this team will advise and lead on the range and type of provision that we wish to see extended in the new school. We aim to build on the community links already established since the new sports hall was opened. By encouraging use of these school facilities, and others, and developing as an extended school we believe we will have a positive impact on the students’ achievement. We want the school to be central to the life of the community for both academic and leisure activities. We will encourage and promote adult learning opportunities as a means to raise awareness about the importance of lifelong learning in the community, and to encourage a positive attitude towards education generally. We still wish to retain the “heart” of our current school, building on the many strengths and quality of service that we have sought to establish over the years. We see the change team as being the vehicle to ensure this happens. The school can and does offer real long-term solutions and sustainability to the region. We believe that the link between planning and progression at 16 is one of the key elements that drive and motivate students to understand their Key Stage 4 results are an essential base from which to plan and secure their long term future. Our KS4 curriculum consists of four curriculum pathways which students can access according to their predictions and performance during KS3. These four pathways offer a level of personalised learning that reflects the school commitment to this concept. BSF will allow us to continue to work with the local community and other schools and colleges to develop pathways that provide alternative accreditation. The opportunities under BSF will allow us even greater opportunities to continue to provide a relevant and exciting curriculum, personalised to the needs of each student. In particular to develop strategies for students who struggle to achieve in more traditional academic subjects. We need to plan effectively with BSF and the Change team to ensure succession planning for the introduction of the specialist diplomas in 2008. Our school web site contains a "learning gateway" which allows students to access learning materials from home and which has been extensively used since its launch in 2005. All students in Years10 and11 benefit from objective advice regarding post 16 progression through the discrete careers lessons which take place every week. In addition our school employs an extensive range of support services for students ranging from full time Learning Mentors to Learning Support staff and Connexions Personal Assistants. The Personal Development Curriculum will be fully implemented at the school in 2007 - 2008 and this will ensure that every student has an ILP to enable him/her to make informed choices about life-long learning. Our personalised learning and achievement programme is underpinned by the Assessment Manager 6 data collection programme which holds all the up to date progress and predictive data on every child. From summer 2005 we are recruiting five new Learning Managers whose focus will be on the monitoring and tracking of student’s progress in their year group. BSF provides us with the opportunity to have a centralised information management system that is common across the schools and other services that deal with children and education at all ages. This system will monitor progress and achievement, attainment, attendance, behaviour, special needs, etc. Having a common platform means that this information can be shared across all schools, allowing students to access resources when working at other sites. It also means that all professionals working with students will be able to access relevant information centrally. Multi-agency meetings will be more effective if all have equal access to the most up to date information. This system and better ICT connectivity will also allow parents easy access to the most up to date information on their children. We deliver Gifted and Talented Programmes in line with Excellence Cluster planning as well as play an active role in the Peterlee School Sports Coordination Programme. We are committed to the Key Stage 4 Partnership Programme introduced by the school in 2003. This involves school working in close collaboration with three major businesses in the local area, four Primary Schools, five secondary schools and two Further Education Colleges. In addition the school has undertaken a range of continuing collaborations with other schools with the LIG initiative from 2003-06 and currently are part of a network of schools in County Durham which are used as a centre of "good practice" by the LEA. In this school year we have hosted visits from other school staff looking at MFL, Maths, Inclusion, Behaviour and Science. The improvements to the ICT infrastructure will allow us to share resources, ideas and information much more easily with all the organisations we collaborate with in one way or another. As part of the ICT, video conferencing will allow students to access courses at other establishments without leaving their own school. It will also be a powerful tool for staff training, as part of the change management programme: “experts” can be seen teaching/training others. These resources would be recorded and made available online, building into a valuable bank of resource for CPD as part of the change management programme. Dene School has vigorously pursued a policy of improving the school environment, through refurbishment and renovation programmes utilising the capital Grant made available from DfES. 6.1.2 Tackling Underperformance Our school has been highly effective in raising levels of achievement in both Key Stages. Our performance at Key Stage 3 in the last two years has exceeded targets, and our Key Stage 4 results are, for the past two years, the best the school has ever achieved. We are predicting further improvements at Key Stage 4 in 2007. Ofsted (2004) praised the school for its effective use of LA support through specialist training and development of staff and subjects. We have engaged fully with all LA teams such a BET and made extensive use of the Level 3 support programme in 2003-05 and again in 2006 - 2007. Currently our school has over 300 networked PC's in seven suites, 90 laptops for staff and students and 46 interactive whiteboards which cover all teaching spaces. We have established a new ICT suite in the School and Community Sports Centre which will be used for community ICT classes during the school day. In September 2005 we introduced the Family First Programme which aims to engage parents and carers in the learning programme offered. This programme is coordinated through support from the Excellence Cluster. 6.1.3 14 -19 Provision Our school is committed to the principles set out in the LEA Vision and Strategy Policy; in particular we are closely involved in the Federation of East Durham Schools. Our intention is to extend vocational provision at 14-16 and involve the local FE providers such as Byron College, Hartlepool College and East Durham and Houghall College. FEDS are currently working on the area wide model for 14-19 provision in east Durham, and the first stage of this programme will be rolled out in September 2006 with further extensive development in 2007. Our school will introduce a new vocational Catering course in September 2006, along with an ICT and Communications course set up in partnership with Orange who are based in Peterlee. The school will also offer a range of Hospitality qualifications for students in KS 4. School continues to work closely with Durham LSC in the planning and delivery of new courses within the 14-19 scheme. The new training kitchen will be used extensively by the local community and other schools. As stated earlier, all students in Key Stage 4 take one lesson each week of Careers and Educational Guidance which guarantees their focus on planning for life after school. This is further supplemented by the mentoring that takes place with the Connexions Advisers and through Learning Mentors. Students will also have access to COPE and Career Planning. Our school contributes to the Communities of Learning programme and hosts area wide group meetings in our newly refurbished Conference Room. 6.2 6.2.1 Inclusion Inclusion and Special Education Needs Dene School is situated in the centre of its student's community. Most children can walk to the school and there are no school buses needed to bring students to the school. Our intention is to continue to improve transition links at ages 11 and 16 through the partnership working with primary schools and Byron and East Durham College. Our Inclusion Team delivers a high quality range of services to meet the diverse needs of students here at school; which includes a 20-place Resource Base for students with Moderate Learning Difficulties as well as the Reach Out Unit for students who are need of social, personal and emotional support. Our provision at key Stage 4 for those students in danger of exclusion has ranged from wide use of the LEA Impact Programme with groups of students being accommodated on this programme; to students being placed on the Youth Programme run at EDHCC. We also make full use of training programmes in the Peterlee area such "ADAPT" which cater for the needs of the most disaffected youngsters. . In September 2005 with funding support from the BIP through the Excellence Cluster, our school opened the Behaviour Support Unit, and in January 2006 we established the first ever "Seclusion Unit" in school for those students excluded and as dedicated resource to offer discrete programmes of proactive developmental work for the most disaffected students in Key Stage 3. Our school has a full Disability Access Plan in place and each year as resources allow to extend the provision for disabled students and their parents. We are currently replacing all car park kerbs with drop down edges to allow for ease of access to the school and to the sports centre for people in wheel chairs. 6.2.2 Behaviour, Attendance and Health and Safety Our school hosts regular multi agency meetings which take place every term and to which a large number of children's agencies send representatives. Our school operates a one-day per week leisure and recreation session after school. Our new School and Community Sports centre is a clear indication of the school's ability to attract additional major funding to improve provision in this area. Five Year Councils and one full School Council have timetabled meetings every term which appear on the school calendar every year. Our school has been particularly effective in improving attendance rates in recent year, and this year we are on track to meet the national average of 92%. We remain fully committed to the further development and improvement of the school meals service to ensure that all students are given a balanced and nutritious meal at lunch time. All school vending machines contain healthy ranges of food and drink. For instance all soft drinks in cans are diet ranges. The school has successfully implemented the Healthy Eating Initiative and members of the school community featured in 'Jamie's School Dinners'. The school has recently bid for funding to refurbish this restaurant and to increase the uptake of school meals. Our new Behaviour for Learning Programme which underpins all the teaching and learning improvements we have secured in recent years has been running for two years and the statistical evidence indicates that this is working. 6.2.3 Children's Services, Extended schools, and Community Provision Our school is committed to the principle of community services provided within the school site. We currently run ICT, Family First and an extensive Out of Hours Programme during the school term and over school holiday sessions. We have been highly successful in attracting additional funding to run a range of curriculum based classes for students at Key Stage 3 and 4 at critical points in the school year. For example we have booster classes for Science students in January which place at weekends to help prepare students for the Modular Examinations as well as a wealth of lessons organised by staff in the half-term and at Easter. The new School and Community Sports centre is a multi use space dedicated to the community who have full access four days every week and over each weekend. We have been successful in attracting extended funding for the provision of additional classes through the Easington and Harden Pathfinder programme. Our school works closely with the School Sports Coordinator Project in Peterlee. 6.3 6.3.1 School Organization and Diversity Student Planning and Diversity of provision The school intake at Year 7 has reduced slightly over the last three years from a position of being over subscribed at 156 to the current position in which there are approximately 135 students entering the school in September 2006. Our percentage of the available year 6 students in all our partner Primary Schools has increased over the last three years to over 60%. 6.3.2 Planning and Consultation Our planning and consultation protocols will be exactly the same as the ones operated successfully when the school secured a £1.6m NOF bid to build the new Sports centre. All stakeholder groups will continue to be fully consulted and their views sought in a number of ways: • • • • • • • Open public meetings held at the school Open public consultations with all community groups held at the school Governor's meetings for consultation and information sharing Staff meetings and briefings on progress and proposals throughout the process Students Council meetings will be updated regularly as the process develops Web site presence and information gathering on views of proposals BSF Partnership group containing Governors, parents, staff LEA staff, and other service providers such as the PCT will be formed to describe and discuss proposals and to liaise with all stakeholder groups Specialist Schools Dene is a specialist college of technology. As such we must and do, excel in Science, Maths ICT and Design Technology teaching and learning. Our Maths department is a good example of the excellent standard set by these subjects. We are also the nominated partner secondary school for Easington Community School (bidding for Sports College status) and St Bedes (bidding for Humanities status) we are proud to be asked to work in partnership and have extended our collaborative links to include advice and support for staff from both schools. Our school successfully achieved the redesignation of our status as a Technology College in 2005 which secured another four years of funding from DfES. The work of the Specialist School team has been commended by the SSAT and we have also obtained funding from their prestigious Raising Achievement through teaching and learning networks. Our partnership links with other groups has been fully detailed in other sections of this vision document. 6.3.3 6.4 6.4.1 Supporting Policies ICT Our school is committed to further developing the personalised learning pathways established at Key Stage 4, as outlined previously. These pathways and programmes of study are now being introduced ' into Key Stage 3 where the Gifted and Talented Programme is impacting upon the range of courses available to students in Year 9. This good practice is providing a catalyst for change. Our school web site already has a learning gateway to allow access from home for students and adults and we would seek to develop this further. Our specialist school status allows additional funding for the widest possible range of up to date ICT equipment and resources to be introduced that form a key element of the work of the school on a day by day basis. This is an excellent starting point for staff development that will better allow us to exploit the state of the art ICT resources Our School Improvement Group is planning and preparing the next stage of their improvement strategy which will introduce the new Rewards and Praise Model for the whole school. This model is underpinned by a networked piece of software that is available to all staff and which has been developed in partnership with a school in Sunderland. The package is fully integrated with MIS. Our school has a broadband connectivity which supports the hard wire network across the whole school and also services three wireless laptop systems. Our CC3 network was established in 2004 and combines curriculum and administration systems. A state of the art ICT community training centre has been established within the new School and Community Sports Centre. This was opened in late November 2005. Students in Key Stage 4 vocational courses are engaged in video conferencing links with local businesses as part of their programme of learning. All teaching spaces in the school have interactive whiteboards with tablet or laptop support. We are committed to extending the use of ICT within the Inclusion Service here at Dene. Students in the Resources Base have access to laptops, and there are ten networked linked computers for learning purposes All staff in the school carry their own dedicated laptop. A number of support staff also carry their own laptops. Staff undergo regular up dates and training in the use of new software, and hardware. Middle managers are currently undertaking specialist training in data analysis. 6.4.2 Workforce Remodelling Dene is fully engaged in implementing the Workforce Remodelling agenda. We have created teams of specialist support staff in areas such as literacy (Literacy for Learning Team) as well as in behaviour support (Reach Out, BSU and Seclusion Unit). We will capitalise on this expertise by using these teams to work with ICT specialists and technicians to further develop the ICT to support the educational initiatives. With the help of additional funding from the EAZ and Excellence Cluster our school has recruited Numeracy and Literacy classroom assistants Our LSA team are dedicated staff who have specialist areas of expertise and are attached to departments to support programmes of study at both Key Stages. We have appointed a range of key middle managers such as School Administration Manager, Community and Attendance Officers, Student Services Officers and Family First Coordinator. We currently have 53 non teaching staff and 48 teachers in the school. All non teaching staff participate in the school wide performance management scheme which entails annual reviews of performance and target setting for improvement. Following this target setting all staff have their training and CPO needs identified and coordinated through the school CPO Coordinator for planning and implementation purposes. Our school houses a multi purpose learning space with interactive screen, high quality Conference Room containing video conferencing equipment and the new Sports Centre has a space for ICT and Community Learners. Our school is an active member of the East Durham ORB which trains graduates under the GTP programme. Our school currently has five GTP students undergoing a one year training scheme. 6.4.3 Outdoor Learning Environment We believe that outdoor learning enhances the development of young people in our schools. Outdoor learning includes all those activities where the environment outside the classroom is not merely the place or the backdrop for experiential learning; it is central and integral to the learning process. [DCC Draft Outdoor Learning Policy 2005] Outdoor learning opportunities in a school grounds: • • • • Provide access to resources not available in the classroom. Create opportunities to use different teaching and learning styles which enhance student’s achievement, self-esteem and self-confidence. Engenders responsibility with students which increases trust, their sense of ownership and can strengthen relationships between students and staff’. Enable students to understand and develop their connection with the natural environment. • • • The calming effect that the outdoors can have upon the brain is well documented. Biophilia is useful in calming students, especially those with autistic spectrum disorder. Provides opportunities for the delivery of the Every Child Matters outcomes and Extended Services agenda. Should be accessible to all young people including those with special educational needs Outdoor Learning in the school grounds compliments outdoor learning opportunities away from the school site including e.g.: fieldwork/environmental activities, outdoor and adventurous activities, cultural and arts experiences and residential opportunities. The BSF programme provides a rare opportunity for the school to significantly develop the school grounds to maximise the opportunities for outdoor learning. School Specialism – Technology Outdoor learning can greatly enhance the delivery of Science, Maths, ICT and Design Technology, through e.g.: investigating the effect of air pollution on local lichen growth; sampling and analysis of animal and plant populations; testing of materials and their properties; maths trail development; testing of robotic equipment; opportunities for the design and creation of large scale constructs (e.g. Millbrook Community School worked with a local playground design company to design their adventurous play equipment).