Quality in Study Support (QiSS), Canterbury Christ Church University College

Swanshurst School, Birmingham

The Spirit of SuperLearning

Number of Pupils on Roll:  1800
Age Range:  11-18
Status:  Girls Secondary School with mixed 6th Form
Location:  Inner City
Free School Meals Entitlement:  36%
Students with English as an additional language:  61%

About the School

Swanshurst School is an oversubscribed secondary girl's school with an intake of 1800 students, 250 of whom are in the mixed 6th form. The school was built in the early 1950s and is situated between central Birmingham and Solihull.  Swanshurst serves a large catchment area made up of both council estate and private housing families and recruits from 60 feeder primary schools. The school takes students from a range of ethnic backgrounds.  Forty eight per cent are from Asian families (Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi), 6 per centre are African-Caribbean, 11 per cent from other minority ethnic backgrounds and the rest are white. A high proportion of students (61 per cent) speak English as an additional language. Thirty six per cent of students are eligible for free school meals.

The school is an Investor in People and is also a DfES training school.

From September 2003 we have been designated as a Specialist Science College. The successful submission incorporated Study Support sessions throughout the development plan, and is a major strand of raising achievement, both internally and with our Primary and Secondary School partners. Family learning, parent learning and community learning project are also high developed within the plan.Study Support was a high priority development in the school improvement plan 1997-2000 and is now embedded in the life of the school community, operating like a department but with a 'whole school' brief.

Study Support at Swanshurst

"I liked playing games and learning without realising it".

Since being awarded QiSS Established Status in 2001 and the Advanced Status in March 2003 Study Support has continued to be refined and developed. Some of the key development are outlined below.

The school has created an Extended Learning Management Team which is chaired by the Study Support Co-ordinator. This team consists of the schools 2 Gifted and Talented Co-ordinators, the Community Librarian, the School Sports Co-ordinator and the Citizenship Co-ordinator, as well as the Head Teacher and the line manager Deputy Head teacher. The team oversees and directs all extension and enrichment activity, including all Study Support, activities days, super learning days and visits. The group has established a 'Swanshurst Entitlement' which outlines the minimum we aim to provide for ALL students. This includes an entitlement to such events as a live sporting event, a theatre visit, participation in a team sport, a residential experience and a SuperLearning Day.

We have also appointed 3 library assistants and 2 part-time assistants to help develop and monitor Study Support activities. With Science College status we have created a community mathematics post, parents and community tutors are regularly involved in programmes with partnerships that are expanding rapidly.

"I will always remember TEAM. Together Everyone Achieves More".

When the New Opportunities Funding came to an end in April 2003, the Senior Management Team of the school was committed to maintain funding for Study Support at the current levels because of the proven success in terms of raising attainment and achievement. Science College funding led to a significant increase in this funding from September 2003. The variety and nature of the Study Support offered at Swanshurst was described by Ofsted in May 2000 as excellent. It has expanded significantly since then.

Pupil participation has increased since 2001. After-school participation has rapidly grown. Activities in the community are now also recognised through the innovation of the Community Study Support Card. Marketing of events has increased, with regular assemblies by pupils, web site promotion, parents evening presentations, all being significant. Attendance data at Study Support is fed to form tutors at report writing time, and this is also leading to greater form tutor support of Study Support attendance. Data is used extensively in school, and pupil targets in each subject allow specific targeting to revision classes at departmental level in a sophisticated way. Parental participation, parental learning and family learning have expanded and are a major focus in the Science College Development Plan.

Our programme is extensive and effective, but even so we are constantly seeking new ways to do things that make provision ever-more effective.  Monitoring is integral and Study Support provision is formally reviewed on a 2-year cycle, with additional Interim evaluation of development targets.

Special Areas of Expertise

• Extended Learning Guarantee;
• An extensive, varied programme of Study Support activities;
• Comprehensive data collection that serves to:
  1. give the overview of students' activities throughout their school career;
  2. enable targeted delivery and intervention to ensure entitlement;
  3. enable celebration and reward.
• Study Support/Community Card Schemes;
• Suspended timetable to allow a SuperLearning Day to enable participation and experience of ALL in Study Support style activities.

SuperLearning Day: What and Why

The purpose of a SuperLearning Day is to teach students how to learn. Throughout the day students have the opportunity to recognise and undertake techniques and strategies that will enable them to improve their achievement levels. The day empowers students to take control of their own individual learning and apply both inside and outside the classroom.  The successful application of these strategies will enable the students to accelerate the learning process. Within the SuperLearning Day students are encouraged to recognise their particular intelligence strengths and to use these more effectively in the learning process. It is important to stress that the concept of intelligence can and should be applied to all students. Each student can learn that they are clever in their own right.

"I met new people in our Year that I hadn't spoken to before".

By the individual being made aware of their personal intelligence and learning strengths they can be shown strategies that will enable them to apply these in their everyday learning. A crucial element of these strategies is to promote the self-esteem of the student which will benefit their ability to learn.

A key element of the SuperLearning Day is that students are learning in a safe environment. They work together in small groups in a flexible and informal way.  This allows both staff and students to take risks with the learning process and think in a more creative and lateral way. The day is a non-uniform day for students and staff.

How it Works

1. Timetable is suspended for 1 day for Years 7 and 8 on SuperLearning Day, while years 9,10 and 11 have individual mentoring appointments.
2. 3 x 1½ hour sessions.  ½ hour final evaluation.
3. Use
   • All Years 7 and 8 form tutors;
   • ITT students
   • Support Staff including
     • science technicians
     • learning mentors
     • teaching assistants
     • office staff
     • ICT staff.
4. Build-up
   • Staff given lesson plans and all necessary resources;
   • Staff training session to explain delivery and ethos of the event;
   • Each team of 2 staff plan their method of delivery;
   • Students divided into 12 random groupings, rather than the usual 10 forms, to break down friendship groups and encourage social development.

"When we did our future aims I'd never thought of it before".

The Year 7 experience

The three sessions are:

• Team building;
• Self esteem;
• Mind mapping.

Team Building

This activity encourages students to work in mixed groups and quickly develop new relationships. The session will make the students feel that they have taken part in several challenges as part of a team focussing on a common goal. They work collaboratively in both small and large groups. They develop an understanding of how it is possible to learn physically and they demonstrate successful achievements in a variety of activities.

Self Esteem

This session teaches students that self-esteem is not inherited but learnt and reinforced through everyday experience. The role of the staff in this session is to build and develop the self-esteem of each individual.  A crucial element of the session is to create a "can do" culture for every student. On an average day young people are bombarded with negative comments.  To overcome this it is essential to provide a superabundance of positive comments to outweigh the negatives. The purpose of the session is for students to feel good about themselves and their potential for positive achievement.

"I have learnt to become more confident".

Mind Mapping

A mind map is a diagram or spidergram used for making notes on a given topic. It is a structured strategy illustrating the relationship of ideas. Mind maps work especially well when created in groups as this assists the production of ideas and makes the task more lively and more enjoyable. Mind maps help organise information that is easily assimilated by the brain and therefore more easily remembered. Mind mapping can be used in all subject areas and is particularly helpful in the revision process.

The Year 8 experience

The three sessions are:

• Murder Mystery;
• Thinking Activities;
• The Real Game.

All three sessions are designed to encourage students to think creatively, solve problems and make decisions based on reason and analysis. The day uses different types of thinking strategies and applies them to everyday activities. The thinking skills are taught separately from any curriculum scheme which creates greater scope for the utilisation of new ideas and the creation of enjoyment in the learning process.

Mind Map of the Year 8 SuperLearning Day

Thinking skills:

• putting thinking skills on the agenda;
• developing a thinking vocabulary;
• reflection, discussion, metacognition, transfer;
• dispositions for thinking, thinking classroom;
• feedback, coaching, scaffolding;
• making thinking skills explicit.

Review and evaluation of the day

An important feature of all SuperLearning Days is the 30 minutes spent at the end of the day to review and evaluate its success. This time is as valuable for the teaching staff as for the students. This is a time for reflecting on what they have done, what has been achieved and what everyone has learnt from it.  The key to success is understanding how the skills and features of the day can be transferred into the school curriculum and into everyday life.

ITT student comment

"Tired", "thirsty", "sore feet", "exhausted", "hot" - these were just some of the adjectives flying around the staffroom once we had been relieved of our SuperLearning group by the 3.30 bell! (After my day with Year 8 I got home and fell asleep for two hours). Fortunately these were not the only words being bandied round the room! Also heard were "fun", "great experience", "teamwork", "sweeties", "great ideas", and "positive response", amongst many more.

Senior Staff comment:

"Although the SuperLearning Day is not a voluntary activity, it ensures that all students receive a positive taste of Study Support and so has encouraged a greater take up of other Study Support Activities."

What we have achieved

Over the last five years the SuperLearning days have evolved to become a fundamental part of our Study Support activity. One of the keys to the success is the considerable planning that has gone into making the day appear a casual and informal fun event. Whilst it is not out of the school hours, the activity enables all students to get a flavour of the different atmosphere of our extensive Study Support programme. This serves two purposes for our students:

• to give them all an excellent Study Support style experience;
• to motivate previous non-participants to take part in Study Support activities.

"Now I will try to smile all day every day".

The same purposes apply to staff, for whom this is an excellent and sustainable CPD experience, and we know it motivates them to offer similar learning experiences as part of the Study Support programme.

Each year half of the staff involved in these days are new to the SuperLearning Day. This ensures sustainability with a cycle of training so that new staff become involved and other staff are able to move forward.

The positive approach from staff, generated by these days, has given students enthusiasm for learning. By including all Year 7 and 8 students in this positive learning experience, it allows improved learning techniques to be carried forward throughout their school careers, and promotes increased attendance at Study Support.

Case Study Reference:  Spring 2005 – 004

For more information on this case study contact:

Rosemarie Grute Study Support Coordinator Swanshurst School Brook Lane Billesley Birmingham B13 0TW Tel: 0121 462 2400 www.swanshurst.org

Quality in Study Support CELSI Salomons Southborough Tunbridge Wells Kent TN3 0TG Tel: 01892 507657 www.qiss.org.uk

QUALITY IN STUDY SUPPORT (QiSS)