Sandhill View School

In 2002 Sandhill View School in Sunderland identified that the gap between boys' and girls' attainment at KS3 continued to grow.

In 2003 the Year 9 SATs' results clearly highlighted the extent of the problem. The percentage of boys at level 5 and above in English was 48%, Maths was 42% and Science was 32%. The percentage of girls at level 5 and above in English was 79%, Maths was 62% and Science was 51%.

The GCSE grades for 2003 showed that the gap continued through into KS4.

% boys 5+ A*-C grades 21%
% girls 5+ A*-C grades 37%

In the Spring of 2002 the school's Ofsted report flagged up the problem that an identifiable group of underachieving boys not only hindered their own learning but also held back the learning of others.

In response to this identified problem the Headteacher, Mrs Philomena Marshall, enrolled the School on The National Education Breakthrough Programme for Raising Boys' Achievement in Secondary Schools, managed by the National Primary Care Development Team (NPCDT).

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The Breakthrough experience at Sandhill is supported by Sunderland Education Authority. Ten schools have joined the Sunderland School Improvement Group (SiG). This collaborative had formally been known as IQEA (Improving the Quality of Education for All).

Sandhill View SiG developed 30 individual action researches in their involvement in the Breakthrough programme. These PDSAs (Plan, Do, Research, Action) are based on 5 exchange principles

• use strong leadership and create the environment for change;
• focus on teaching and learning methods;
• use mentoring and targeted intervention;
• create capacity;
• use data to drive improvement.

Sandhill View discovered that improvement was more significant when an action research linked across the exchange principles. A good example of this was the Sandhill View Attendance Conference which was held at the Stadium of Light. The target audience was Year 8. Every pupil was given data on their attendance and punctuality. The pupils then experienced group mentoring by represented businesses, industry and celebrities. Pupils set new targets for attendance and were awarded prizes for attendance. One month on from the Conference attendance in the Y* cohort had risen from 83.8% to 90.4%. Four of the exchange principles played a part in this action research.

Impact this year on raising boys' achievement at Sandhill View School using Action Research, Breakthrough Programme and Sunderland SiG collaborative is as follows:

The percentage of boys at level 5 and above in English was 55%, Maths was 58% and Science was 51%. The percentage of girls at level 5 and above in English was 69%, Maths was 58% and Science was 52%.

GCSE

% boys 5+ A* - C grades 29%
% girls 5+ A* - C grades 60%

Link

Sandhill View School website

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