School of Ambition

1
School of Ambition

• Kirkland High School
• and
• Community College
• Methil, Fife

2
Telling the Story

• Contents
• Transformational Plan
• Enterprise
• Inclusion
• Community Image
• Learning Teaching Curriculum
• Leadership
• Learner Confidence
• Statistics
• Area Committee Report
• Kirkland High Background
• Staff Retention
• Placing Requests
• Compliments, Complaints Concerns
• Headteachers Commentary

3
Background

• Low expectations in some areas of the school
  community
• Some disengaged young people
• Area of regeneration
• Some negative pupil destinations NEET
• Variable reputation in the local community

4
Transformational Plan

• The transformational plan highlighted the vision
  that it wishes to build on recent developments to
  further enhance the schools reputation as an
  inclusive, focused organisation with
  determination to offer greater choice and
  opportunity, to enhance the core skills of
  literacy and numeracy and create more space for
  creative and expressive arts, enterprise, health
  and sport.

5
Transformational and sustainable change
6
Infrastructure Improvements
7
And after.
8
Drama Room in use
9
Music
10
Dance
11
View of Stage
12
View from Stage
13
Light Board
14
Sound Board
15
And on the stage.
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Distributed leadership and empowerment

• School of Ambition Steering Group
• School Improvement Working Group
• Columba 1400
• Donaldsons Leadership Academy
• Brathay Leadership Consultancy
• African Partnership
• Extended Management Team
• Staff Welfare Group
• Extended Committee Structure
• Scottish Learning Festival
• SQH and Chartered Teacher
• Peer Learning
• House/Pupil Council
• Restorative approaches

17
Residential

• The residential experience took place at the
  Columba 1400 Centre in Staffin, Isle of Skye

18
Donaldsons Leadership Academy
Kirkland High School and Community
College Methil, Fife
19
Background

• The leadership opportunity was very generously
  funded by Mr Neil Donaldson to mark the 150th
  anniversary of James Donaldson Sons Ltd in 2010
  and aims to generate opportunities for the young
  people of the Levenmouth area.

20
The aim of the residential was to

• Raise the aspirations of the young people
• Develop participants confidence and self-belief
• Encourage different ways of thinking

• Support the participants, through greater
  self-belief and confidence, make a difference in
  their lives and their local community

21
Distributed leadership and empowerment

• School of Ambition Steering Group
• School Improvement Working Group
• Columba 1400
• Donaldsons Leadership Academy
• Brathay Leadership Consultancy
• African Partnership
• Extended Management Team
• Staff Welfare Group
• Extended Committee Structure
• Scottish Learning Festival
• SQH and Chartered Teacher
• Peer Learning
• House/Pupil Council
• Restorative approaches

22
African Partnership

• Connecting
• Classrooms

23
Background

• Pupils from three Fife secondaries have forged
  links with youngsters in African schools as part
  of a global citizenship scheme.
• Kirkland High School and Community College, Waid
  Academy and Bell Baxter High School were the only
  Scottish schools to join the British Councils
  Connecting Classrooms initiative.

24
The schools are linked with three schools in both
South Africa and Uganda for three years, during
which they will share ideas and knowledge, forge
curricular links and make friends. The aim of
Connecting Classrooms is to break down barriers
between young people across the world and dispel
the many preconceptions young people have of
Africa and also the stereotypes many Africans
have of people in the UK. Two pupils from each of
the Fife schools visited Cape Town in South
Africa. They won their places on the trip by
producing a presentation that showed that
Scotland was not just kilts and shortbread. In
South Africa they visited different kinds of
schools, from academic science and technology
academies to ones with high deprivation in the
townships.
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On the final day the Scottish pupils were asked
to give a presentation about their experiences.
One said she felt she had grown up during the
trip and others said that seeing the hardship
some pupils faced just to get an education had
been eye-opening. A return trip took place with
youngsters from South Africa coming to
Scotland. Connecting Classrooms is as good as
its name and also sees internet links between
lessons in the different countries. In Uganda
for example, there are 100 to 150 pupils in each
class and they have little in the way of science
equipment. Using internet links each of the
schools will show their experiments in video
format to the pupils in Africa.
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Visiting Africa
27
African Visitors
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Distributed leadership and empowerment

• School of Ambition Steering Group
• School Improvement Working Group
• Columba 1400
• Donaldsons Leadership Academy
• Brathay Leadership Consultancy
• African Partnership
• Extended Management Team
• Staff Welfare Group
• Extended Committee Structure
• Scottish Learning Festival
• SQH and Chartered Teacher
• Peer Learning
• House/Pupil Council
• Restorative approaches

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Strands being evaluated

• Leadership capacity pupils
• Leadership capacity staff
• Confidence and self-esteem
• Schools image in the local/wider community

30
Tools/Mechanisms for evaluating

• Questionnaires
• Surveys
• Centre for Confidence and Well Being
• Focus groups

31
Positive outcomes

• Raised expectations
• Improved participation rates
• Improved staff retention in all areas of the
  school
• Improved achievement profile
• Improved value-added
• Reduction in exclusion rates
• Improved attendance
• Improved pupil confidence
• Improved staff confidence
• Introduction of the Kirkland Festival of Arts

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Positive outcomes (continued)

• Improved pupil destination results
• Reduction in the number of complaints
• Increased number of compliments
• Improved reputation in the community
• Reduction in staff absence
• Increased leadership capacity pupils and staff
• Increased number of EEBL placements
• Positive outcomes from Education Service
  Inclusion Review
• Positive outcomes from recent HMIe inspection
• Positive report presented to the Childrens
  Services Committee

33
Some quotes from staff.

• Being a School of Ambition means not only being
  ambitious for the pupils but being ambitious for
  the staff.
• The School of Ambition status has
• helped us all raise our game.
• A real catalyst for change.

34
Some more quotes from staff.

• People believe in us and in what we are trying
  to do.
• It has provided us with the chance to take on
  new responsibilities and to look for new
  opportunities.
• The chance to share experiences with other
  schools makes a real difference.

35
Some quotes from pupils.

• We are a School of Ambition thats good eh!?
• It means that we should be ambitious for
  ourselves and for other pupils.
• Being a School of Ambition means that people
  think we are worth it.

36
Quotes

• Please pass on my congratulations to the pupils
  and staff for last nights
• performance of We Will Rock You. I thoroughly
  enjoyed it.
• I felt that your principals were strong, clear
  and had really developed their
• individual characters which created such a warm
  atmosphere that it invited the
• audience in from the very beginning. There were
  too many strong
• performances that it is unfair to single anyone
  out. They were backed up
• so strongly by an excellent and committed chorus
  of dancers and singers which
• made it an absolute joy to watch. Your director
  definitely used the wealth of
• talent to great effect.
• Such a talented company with strong singing and a
  great band which I see
• included ex-pupils..superb!
• Have a great run for the rest of the week.
• Well done. Everyone involved clearly shows how
  proud they are to be members of the
• Kirkland School community. I look forward to
  seeing your next one.
• Iain Hughes

37
Some more quotes from pupils .

• Having drama in school has meant that we have
  another subject we enjoy and are good at. It has
  helped improve my confidence.
• Its minted!

38
Evaluation and review

• Data relevant to the aims of the
• transformational plan is being identified
• Pupil achievement and attainment
• Attendance records
• Positive referrals and rewards
• Discipline referrals
• Exclusion rates
• Contact with parents
• School leavers destinations
• Placing requests
• Press articles
• Partnerships
• Curricular innovations and opportunities
• Surveys and questionnaires

39
Sustainability and future developments
40
Centre for Confidence and Wellbeing

• A pupil survey undertaken at the beginning of the
  Schools of Ambition Programme demonstrated the
  following

• 2 of pupils were not proud of their school
• 37 of pupils were proud of their school
• 60 of pupils were proud of their school but
  recognised that it could do better
• 96 of pupils indicated that they felt safe at
  school

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Centre for Confidence and Wellbeing (continued)

• 21 of pupils indicated that pupils in their year
  group were very well behaved
• 41 of pupils indicated that pupils in their year
  group were well behaved
• 30 of pupils indicated that pupils in their year
  group behaved reasonably well
• 5 of pupils indicated that pupils in their year
  group behaved badly
• 4 of pupils indicated that pupils in their year
  group behaved very badly

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Centre for Confidence and Wellbeing (continued)

• 58 of pupils believed that they behaved very
  well
• 28 of pupils believed that they were well
  behaved
• 10 of pupils believed that their behaviour was
  okay
• 3 of pupils believed that they were badly
  behaved
• 1 of pupils believed that they were very badly
  behaved

43
Centre for Confidence and Wellbeing (continued)

• 28 of pupils reported that they felt staff-pupil
  relationships were very good
• 52 of pupils reported that they felt staff-pupil
  relationships were good
• 18 of pupils gave a neutral response when asked
  about staff-pupil relationships
• 1 of pupils reported that they felt staff-pupil
  relationships were poor
• 1 of pupils reported that they felt staff-pupil
  relationships were very poor

44
Centre for Confidence and Wellbeing (continued)

• The research undertaken demonstrated that boys
  were more likely than girls to report positive
  relationships.
• 19 of pupils believed that they could make a
  difference and help to make the school a better
  place.
• 84 of the pupils indicated that the pupils are
  involved in some extent in making decisions in
  the school

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Future actions

• We will
• take forward further curricular changes in the
  best interests of the pupils and students in our
  school community
• be able to proudly say that we can deliver an
  education fit for this new century
• continue to build capacity
• help to shape change
• focus on positive outcomes for all the learners

46
Extras

• The following DVDs are also
• available
• Journey to Excellence
• Kirkland High School Primary Schools Handout DVD
  2009
• The Chancellors Award 2009