BPAP

I spent the morning at Sale West Development Centre where we were discussing the National Strategies materials for raising the achievement of Black and Caribbean pupils. The session was led by my colleague Annette Nelson from the School Improvement Service and Elizabeth Agbettoh who works for the National Strategies. Also present were Pat Baldwinson, who is Maths Consultant for Trafford, and Liz Stanley who is Director of Learning at one one of our secondary schools.

The strategies have produced some excellent materials for schools and departments to audit their provision for Black children. For any progress to be made, be it with our professional or personal goals, it is vital that we start with an accurate picture of the present situation: if you want to lose weight you have to get out the scales and be straight with yourself about just exactly what you weigh.

So self-assessment is the basis form which we begin. However, audits aren’t enough. Once you have gathered the data and established your position, then the question is: what are you going to do? And, the often harder question: How are you going to do it?

The strategy doesn’t shirk from answering that question and providing resources to help schools and departments begin to narrow the gap between the achievers and the underachievers.

Even more significantly, it opens up four areas that all need to be addressed in order for the success to be embedded into school practice. It is only be embedding it that we can avoid the ‘sticking plaster’ approach whereby a problem is addressed for as long as somebody is interested enough in it and then is left to fester again when/if the member of staff leaves or the next initiative comes along.

Our meeting provided us with a sense that we were looking at strategy and not just a set of fire fighting measures.

The other feeling that came out of the meeting was that so much of what is contained in the resource pack could be easily adapted to suit other groups that may be falling behind. For example, white working class boys. Or it could be used to form a strategy for helping the Gifted and Talented at a school.

Fundamentally, it is personalized learning that is structured around sound principles of teaching and learning.

The final section of the meeting was a chance for us to find out about the excellent work that Liz Stanley has been doing since joining one of Trafford’s schools in January. One of the most interesting aspects of her work has been the positive effects of her decision to ‘walk the talk’ and introduce some student voice to disaffected pupils, listen to what she was being told and acting on it. It was inspiring to hear of one intelligent, but disengaged boy, overcoming some of his difficulties and then raising his aspirations as a result. This was a boy who was seriously in danger of underachieving at school and limiting his life chances.

It felt great to be part of a group of people who were all, in their different ways, working to provide an improved school service in Trafford.