What Makes a Good School

What makes a good school?

The school I have attended for the second placement, is a improving school, it has been put in the list of the top 100 most improved schools of the country. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6250633.stm

I believe when looking at national averages, it is important to remember that there are a lot of factors that can influence results for pupils. That is why I have decided to look more closely into comparison to schools in the local area. Royston is among the top three schools of the local LEA with 39% attaining 5 GCSE's A* - C (including English and Math).

One thing I have found about league tables, is that there is a lot of pressure to hit targets, although this has obvious advantages, keeping teachers motivated, making sure the school keeps up high standards, a target for each new year to achieve etc.. It also has its downfalls I have found that in school X the teachers are far more committed to making sure the pupils that can achieve 5 A-C grades get them than helping pupils that try just as hard achieve their grades below A*-C. This leaves a large number of pupils not getting the support or care from a teacher as the other pupils, for example there are 5 year eleven girls that have been evicted from their maths class to work on their own as they are not going to get a good grade, OK the pupils aren't exactly putting their all into each lesson but I think that could be a knock on effect from the way they have been treated in the past.

This is why I personally pay more attention to the Valued Added Tables, if the school was doing reasonable for the local area then I would much rather send my child to a school that I know is going to put their all into each and every pupil no matter what standard they are at.

The advantage school X has is that it is achieving well in both tables, so I may be over exaggerating but it is a point in which I feel strongly about.

The whole point about education is about making sure you get the best out of life. So a good school has to make sure that happens no matter what the choices a pupil decides for the future. For a lot of people even if they have the ability to, higher education is not going to be the best route to take. So I feel that it is important to look at the percentage of pupils going on to employment straight from school, again I think that it gives a more accurate perspective to look at the averages compared to Barnsley than a national average. The percentage going on to further education from Royston High School is 64.1% compared to 63.3% from Barnsley, the percentage going on to Employment (Including Apprenticeships) is 21.4%, compared to Barnsley's 17.2%. (Figures accurate at November 2005 as published by Nord Anglia Lifetime Development). While the percentages are not to far apart they are both above average. So it does show that the school is helping pupils achieve what they want to do, and it does also mean that the amount of pupils that are unemployed is less than average which obviously is a very good thing.

Comparing to the two placements I have been to, this school is far better in nearly all aspects. The school is higher in both tables, the pupils are far better behaved, the staff seem more committed. There shouldn't be this gap as the areas they are in are very similar, both ex-mining villages, both poor areas and both quite small schools. So what is it that makes all the difference? I believe it's the fact that the staff at the current school expect more from their pupils. I believe that pupils will normally live up to your expectations whether its good or bad.

School X is a small school with only about 600 pupils attending. I think this is a major factor in what makes the school so successful. I think in order to achieve respect from pupils as a teacher is to have some sort of relationship with them. With the school being so small this it is an easy task. Within the short time I have been here, most the pupils already know who I am, and a lot I have already taught. Once a teacher has established a relationship, behavioral management becomes less of an issue, therefore I can concentrate more on my teaching techniques, and resultantly pupils benefit from better teaching, and will hopefully understand more and attain better grades.

Another benefit from the school being small is the connection between all the teachers. It is easy to keep track on pupil's progress in other lessons, or to express the concerns you might being having with a certain pupil. With there being so little staff it means that there is a tight bond amongst the staff. Each teacher is willing to help in any way possible, and most teachers know most pupils anyway, so normally they are in the same boat and therefore each staff are supportive and helpful, which can only benefit the school.

One major factor in what makes a good school is something that can not be measured in league tables, how happy are the pupils that attend. I think due to the size of the school the teachers and pupils have a better relationship. I believe that I have got to know a lot of the pupils quite well, and they all seem as happy as you could expect from them being at school. I have noticed that little bullying goes on, evidently there is some, but I don't think there is a school with out it.

Another idea is how committed the staff are.

What procedures are in place for difficult students?

Staff moral?

Extra curricular?

Resources?

Staff observations regular feedback

Good program of staff development - teaching and learning group.

Varied teaching techniques.

http://www.natsoc.org.uk/teachers/goodchurchschool.html

By contrast with ten years ago, there is now a strong sense of what makes a good school: it is one that achieves its targets in public tests and exams and does well in the league tables. This clarity of expectation has brought the new hard language to schools. The targets themselves are ambitious, so that a good school cannot now be 'coasting', and schools 'in challenging (or extremely challenging) circumstances' get targeted support. There's a mighty cascade of targets. David Blunkett set targets for the Department for Education (and Employment, in those days) when he was Secretary