Transition arrangements in all-age schools are robust. Many work very closely with their partner primary schools to ensure cohesion in curriculum delivery and moderation. Joint planning and subject expertise within the school and cluster ensure continuation when pupils transition to Year 7. Since teachers know their pupils from an early age, pupils from within an all-age school settle better in Year 7 than those who transition from separate primary schools. During the coronavirus pandemic, all-age schools ensured suitable transition arrangements through innovative activities such as virtual tours of the school and question and answer sessions with staff. Virtual open days were held for parents. Many all-age schools benefit from continuous transition experiences where pupils regularly attend lessons in the secondary phase of the school.
Most pupils at the end of Year 6 in an all-age school enter Year 7 in that school. A few pupils from partner schools decide not to transfer to the all-age school in Year 7. This is due to a range of reasons including language, perceived better standards and distance to travel.
Cameo – Transition for Welsh medium pupils
Context
Ysgol Caer Elen is a Welsh-medium school for pupils aged 3-16 maintained by Pembrokeshire local authority. The school was opened as Ysgol Caer Elen in September 2018 following the closure of Ysgol Glan Cleddau. There are currently 638 pupils in the school.
Strategy and action
The school has a language centre that offers immersion education for all pupils new to Welsh and those moving from English-medium to Welsh-medium education. This unit offers opportunities for a new cohort of pupils to develop their skills in Welsh and provides a sound linguistic basis for them to participate fully in their bilingual education and take advantage of the experiences offered. They provide valuable opportunities for pupils to hear and practise pronunciation of vocabulary and language patterns and develop confidence in a safe environment. Pupils are constantly encouraged to use the language beyond the classroom. The teachers who deliver the lessons at the language centre are enthusiastic and are keen to present as many varied and enriching experiences as possible to their pupils through the medium of Welsh. The unit is supported by the governing body and very effective use is made of the experience and expertise of members of the governing body to lead and develop this unit in the school.
Outcomes
The school succeeds in building the confidence of these pupils to use the language orally and in writing in lessons and outside. The rich opportunities for pupils to practise and improve their Welsh literacy skills equip them effectively to be able to communicate, work and study successfully through the medium of Welsh.
As with many schools, where specific areas perform poorly, they are given support through the regional consortium or local authority, depending on the context. More general support is provided in line with school support services for schools who may have a history of poor performance. This is especially true where schools are in a follow-up category prior to amalgamation.
An accepted potential benefit of an all-age school is the ability to coordinate and plan provision across all phases. This includes planning common experiences, consistent teaching policies and planning for seamless progression. In many schools, teachers plan experiences across all phases well. Many schools have adopted the principles of the Curriculum for Wales and, as well as implementing the curriculum in early years, have planned for progression with key stage 3 pupils.
Cameo – Planning and evaluating the curriculum cross phase
Context
In September 2012, Ysgol Llanhari was expanded to provide education for pupils from the age of 3 up to the age of 19. It has 701 pupils in total, 514 in the secondary phase, including 63 in the sixth form and 187 pupils in the primary phase.
Strategy and actions
The school uses creative methods to plan the Year 5 to Year 8 curriculum in order to offer valuable learning experiences. The school has the principles of the Curriculum for Wales at the heart of its planning. The secondary department works effectively with the primary department to develop experiences and a continuum of learning through joint lesson planning. Through detailed planning, pupils are provided with broad experiences, and develop their literacy, numeracy, and digital skills effectively through cross-curricular teaching.
The school also places great emphasis on self-evaluation, with ongoing curriculum review and evaluation used to gain a clear picture of strengths and areas for improvement. This helps staff to adapt this provision regularly so that it meets pupils' needs more effectively and develops their knowledge, understanding and skills. There is also a great emphasis on the contributions of pupils and parents to the planning processes. Learning experiences are carefully planned to enable pupils to build systematically on their knowledge and understanding as they progress through school.
The school encourages parents to share their views and makes consistent use of the strategy 'what went well and even better if' to strengthen planning and learning experiences. This ensures that the curriculum develops successfully to match pupils' interests, ambitions, and abilities.
The school consistently develops and supports the professional learning of all staff in a creative way to provide a stimulating and purposeful curriculum.
Outcomes
Pupils enjoy ownership of their curriculum and this approach has had a very positive impact on their learning, wellbeing, and behaviour. There is also a growing confidence among staff to share expertise and embrace their own professional learning.
Most schools have appointed leaders for each area of learning and experience and these roles are embedded in the school’s staffing structure. Planning for the Curriculum for Wales in the foundation phase is more advanced than for other phases while, in many cases, planning for key stage 2 tends to be focused on project-based work. In a few cases, teachers miss opportunities to provide a rich enough curriculum that progresses naturally as pupils move through the school
Although schools have made advances in terms of planning experiences and have taken advantage of being an all-age school, curriculum continuity is not always strong. All-age school leaders do not always take advantage of the expertise of subject leads when planning the curriculum across the school. Even in cases where one person has the responsibility for an aspect across the whole school, they do not always understand the progression steps required by younger pupils to grasp higher levels in a subject. This means that work for pupils does not always take enough account of their prior learning, and leaders’ expectations are not high enough. A few schools have more than one staff member with responsibility for an area and retain a primary and secondary split. In a few cases, schools do not take enough advantage of their facilities to enhance the experiences for younger pupils.
Cameo – Whole school approach to Areas of learning and experience (AOLEs)
Context
Tonyrefail Community School provides education for pupils from 3-19 years old. It is maintained by Rhondda Cynon Taf local authority. It has 1,592 pupils with 357 pupils in the sixth form and 320 of primary school age.
Strategy and actions
A whole school approach to grouping learning into areas of learning experiences (AOLEs) in cross phase faculties develops a broad range of joined up learning experiences and helps support continuity and progression. This is linked to the concept of a ‘home’ teacher in the middle school phase. The home teacher has responsibility for a class and teaches them for most of their timetable across different subjects.
The school provides a broad range of experiences for younger pupils. They benefit from specialised learning resources, for example use of science laboratories, gymnasium and drama facilities. The school has moved away from a hierarchy of subjects. For example, literacy and numeracy do not dominate the foundation phase or middle years programme.
In Year 7, the school has adopted a more integrated approach. For example, three teachers deliver humanities, health and wellbeing, science, technology and mathematics (STEM) between them. This is much reduced from potentially 11 different subject teachers.
Outcomes
Staff have a greater understanding of how learning experiences build through a child’s journey from foundation phase to senior school, although no pupil has made this complete journey at this stage.
The school identifies that the best outcome has been smoother transition for Year 6 pupils into Year 7.
Developing a curriculum for Year 5 through to Year 8 is a priority for most schools. Schools are developing their interpretation of the four purposes of Curriculum for Wales (Welsh Government, 2020) and there is good co-operation between teachers within schools and with other schools. Many schools place strong emphasis on ensuring pupils input into curriculum design and to what and how they learn.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, most all-age schools used the lockdown periods for staff to plan and evaluate provision. This meant that schools continued with their planning for the Curriculum for Wales and tried out new approaches with their pupils. It was also an opportunity for teachers to provide guidance and support to others for delivery of the new curriculum. Many teachers developed programmes of distance and blended learning. They planned carefully and produced dynamic resources to support learning. This continued when pupils returned to school and has given way to teachers using a more blended approach in their teaching, using digital resources and providing work for pupils when they cannot attend school.
Most all-age schools have one teaching policy that outlines expectations in lessons and progress over time. Improving teaching and ascertaining non-negotiables is a main priority for all-age schools and is also seen as a potential strength of an all-age school model. Teachers establish consistency of classroom provision such as routines, high expectations and disciplinary boundaries that pupils understand and accept as they move through the school.
Many schools make good use of specialists to deliver discrete specialist provision in the primary phase, for example in modern foreign languages, music and mathematics. Staff collaborate within the school and with other schools. They have recognised that there are benefits for staff from a secondary background to learn from primary based colleagues and vice versa. This was particularly enhanced during the pandemic where many staff were given time to work together and develop a sense of unity within the school. In a few schools, there is not enough cross-phase working and a misplaced sense of ’secondary knows best’.
Many schools share approaches to assessment so that pupils are clear about what needs to be done to improve their work. In these schools, pupils recognise for themselves how to improve their own work as they move through the school.
Teachers report that their teaching has improved since working in an all-age school, with more careful lesson planning and sharing of ideas. Teachers appear to have a greater respect for their peers working in different age phases.
Cameo – Consistent language around pedagogy
Context
Ysgol Nantgwyn provides English medium education for pupils from 3-16 years old. It is maintained by Rhondda Cynon Taf local authority. It has 1,093 pupils with 461 of primary school age.
Strategy and actions
As a new school in 2018, the school wanted to have consistent approaches and policies from the outset. In order to achieve consistency across all phases of the curriculum and school life, a common language was developed for use across the full continuum to support professional dialogue about the school’s pedagogical approaches. Collaborative work within and across teams took place throughout the school’s first years, ensuring that effective practice was shared to draw out the principles that Ysgol Nantgwyn staff and pupils felt were pivotal in all classrooms in the school. Over time this has evolved into the Ysgol Nantgwyn ‘Ps’ and these continue to support and guide discussions about pedagogical practice. The ‘Ps’ are:
- Planning
- Positive relationships
- Pupil needs
- Pedagogy
- Participation
- Prompts
- Plenaries
- Proof
- Progress
Outcomes
This common language allows all staff to be clearly aware of the expectations around effective teaching, learning and experiences and are all underpinned by research informed practice, including the school’s own. The common language allows for constructive feedback and professional dialogues between colleagues and supports continual in-school transition as pupils move through school. Nantgwyn’s common language is a reflection of all practice across the curriculum. The Ysgol Nantgwyn ‘Ps’ support how the school evaluates its work and how staff and governors hold each other to account on behalf of its pupils