How Llanishen High School works to ensure equitable access to learning experiences for all pupils
Information about the school
Llanishen High School is a diverse and multicultural community comprehensive school that serves the north of Cardiff. The growing school roll is currently 1,738 in Years 7 to 13 (increasing from 1,560 at the time of the previous inspection). Around 31% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
The school has two Special Resource Bases for pupils with a statement for Autism or hearing impairment, with further growing provision for ALN (8.4% of the pupil population, including 105 statements of educational need). The number of pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL) has risen sharply and currently stands at 302. There are 53 different ethnicities represented in the school community and 63 different home languages spoken.
The school vision and mission is ‘to create a supportive, inclusive environment that nurtures individual growth and personal success.’ Leaders aim to keep the welfare and progress of all disadvantaged children at the heart of all decision making.
Context and background to the effective or innovative practice
Following a significant change to the catchment area because of the closure of another secondary school in the east of Cardiff, Llanishen High School serves pupils from some of the most deprived areas of the city and there has been a notable increase in the number of pupils who are eligible for free school meals. Alongside this, the cost-of-living crisis has had a substantial impact on families in the community and has left them struggling to meet the costs associated with access to school, including the cost of uniform, resources and transport. The cost of transport is challenging for families. At the time of writing, the cost of the school bus is £3.60 per day, per child for those who live within three miles. This includes pupils who are eligible for free school meals.
As a result of these challenges, the school prioritised work to reduce the impact of poverty on pupil attainment. This included working to improve attendance and positive attitudes to learning. The school also tackled the increase in safeguarding and well-being concerns, access to appropriate support services, access to appropriate provision, and access to an appropriate and engaging curriculum. The school receives around £450k of Pupil Development Grant (PDG) funding each year. Leaders strive to allocate the PDG as well as other grant funding in a precise and targeted way.
As part of the post pandemic recovery plan, the school also prioritised the mental and physical health and well-being of pupils. Pupils had been away from the healthy structures and routines of the school calendar and staff wanted to re-establish relationships between peer groups and between staff and pupils. The school aimed to re-establish a sense of identity and belonging in the school community and to develop effective social skills. Leaders’ ambition was to level the playing field and ensure equity of access to extra-curricular and enrichment opportunities for all. The extra-curricular offer has evolved to provide a varied diet that meets the diverse interests and abilities of pupils. The wider additional learning needs in the school community are also considered to ensure that the provision is inclusive in nature.
Description of nature of strategy or activity
Some of the ways that the school works to alleviate the impact of poverty and ensure equity include:
Extra-curricular provision
Staff at Llanishen High School believe strongly in the positive impact that extra-curricular activities can have on pupil attendance, well-being and academic performance. The school offers a very broad range of extra-curricular activities with the aim of enriching pupils’ experiences and raising their aspirations. Staff believe that these activities also allow pupils to 'find their place' in school. The extra-curricular programme provides enrichment activities before school, at lunchtime, and after school, providing opportunities at different times of the day for pupils who have other responsibilities outside of school. In order to ensure that all pupils can access the after-school programmes, the school funds an additional bus at 4pm for the large number of pupils who live further away from school.
A sample from the extra-curricular programme includes:
- Early morning (7:30am) strength and conditioning training
- Lunchtime clubs that include Garage Band and Philosophy Debating Club
- A wide variety of after school sports including Running Club, boys and girls football and rugby, netball, hockey, and athletics
- A wide variety of after school activities that include Shakespeare Performers, Inclusive Badminton, Junior and Senior Choirs, Art Club, Creative Writing Club, Orchestra, Eco-council, Drama Club, Dungeons and Dragons Club, Hearing Impaired Signing Choir, Key Stage 4 catch up, and revision classes
- The Senior Choir having the opportunity to sing on primetime Television at the Wales Millennium Centre and to then sing in front of the Royal Family as part of the Queen's Jubilee
Student leadership opportunities for enrichment
The school ensures that pupils from all groups, including vulnerable pupils, take on responsibilities within the school. Younger pupils volunteer as librarians, or act as buddies to support transition. A range of student leadership groups also gives pupils the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and enrich the life of the school. Examples of these include the LHS Pride, Sustainability and Environment, Community, Charity, and Student Comms groups.
All Sixth Form pupils participate in the Leadership Development Programme where they engage in activities that are of service to the school and enrich the school community. Examples of their work include reading with younger pupils who are new to the English language or acting as subject specialist ambassadors to support younger pupils in lessons.
Investment in culture
The positive culture in the school is further supported by the ‘character curriculum’ that is delivered through registration sessions with the explicit aim of developing the five school values of responsibility, honesty, respect, resilience and ambition.
Well-being support
The ‘LHS Well-being Centre’ provides a safe and nurturing environment for pupils, including Young Carers, throughout the school day. The safeguarding team are centralised here and trained staff deliver intervention programmes to support pupils with emotional and social barriers to learning. The school also employs five Pupil Achievement Leaders who are attached to each year group and work closely with vulnerable pupils and their families.
To support vulnerable learners at the point of transition into Year 7, the school has a nurture base. A specialist teacher and teaching assistants support pupils who have been identified as likely to struggle with full-time mainstream education at the start of Year 7. Pupils receive a blended provision which incorporates a proportion of mainstream lessons and equips them to engage with full-time mainstream education at the earliest point.
The school website has been developed to signpost stakeholders to support services where they will find information about free school meals, EMA, and other financial support. This is regularly communicated to parents via other school communication platforms.
School transport
As well as regularly scheduled school transfers, the school funds an additional 4 pm bus to ensure that all pupils can access after-school revision and extracurricular clubs. Staff appreciate that many pupils live in areas further away from school, and the standard bus fare is £3.60 per day, which, for many, is becoming unaffordable.
Food, healthy eating, and lunch arrangements
The ‘LHS Well-being Centre’ provides a free breakfast provision as well as break and lunch care. Any unsold items from the canteen at lunchtime are passed to the well-being team to distribute to pupils, who can discreetly take food packages home with them at the end of the day.
As part of the Food Technology subject offering, the school also provides food produce, which has been planted and grown in the school’s polytunnel, meaning the resources are available for pupils to use in lessons.
The school regularly reminds parents that should the circumstances change, they can apply for school meals at any point during the academic year. The school is completely cashless and uses thumbprint technology, meaning that other pupils will not be able to see who is eligible for free school meals.
Health products
Pupils have unlimited access to free period products through the Welsh Government’s Period Products Scheme. The school also provides other products such as shower gel.
Uniform
A well-established uniform store operates daily. While this eliminates any excuses for some pupils who may be challenging uniform rules, it also helps to remove any embarrassment for others who are financially unable to purchase the correct uniform. This also allows staff to monitor any pupils who may be struggling, so that they can provide additional support where they can, such as offering uniforms free of charge to these families.
The school provides pop-up shops for the sale of good quality secondhand uniforms. Also, the blazer exchange scheme is greatly supported by Year 11 pupils who donate their blazers at the start of the summer term for pupils in the lower year groups.
Sustainable Prom
The school’s sustainable prom store enables pupils to borrow any item free of charge. This has been a tremendous success in allowing pupils who would have been otherwise unable to afford to attend prom to do so.
Technology is provided
The school banned mobile phone use over five years ago and leaders feel it has been transformational in reducing bullying behaviour and increasing healthy relationships and better student well-being at break and lunchtimes. Where required, the school provides devices for teaching and learning, so any issues regarding not having the latest device, or any device at all, is removed. A device is allocated to every sixth former to ensure that they can work independently outside of school.
Study support
The school provides comprehensive revision packs for all pupils in Years 10 and 11. This includes A4 pads, coloured pencils, highlighters, post-it packs, pens, pencils, rulers, revision cards and more. The school also provides all revision materials free of charge charge. These are provided electronically but paper packs are also available.
The school covers the cost of a range of items for disadvantaged students to ensure they can access the curriculum fully. This includes music tuition and geography fieldwork. The school also works with a local charity to provide academic tutoring to students who are eligible for free school meals.
What impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?
Pupils show high levels of care and respect for others. They also articulate a strong sense of identity and belonging and report that they feel valued by the staff in school. There are high levels of regular participation in the after-school clubs, which has a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of pupils and helps build their confidence. Past pupils had such positive experiences in their extra-curricular groups that they choose to return to help out and support as alumni. Staff value the relationships that they develop with pupils during extra-curricular activities and express a strong sense of satisfaction in seeing them achieve. Uptake and engagement in lessons is also supported by the extra-curricular offer.
There has been a reduction in fixed term exclusions and improved attendance and engagement for pupils eligible for free school meals. Attendance rates were strong and improving in the three years prior to the pandemic and are recovering well since the full time return to school.
Outcomes for pupils eligible for free school meals continue to improve. There is also an upward trend in the number of pupils eligible for free school meals remaining for sixth form at the school, demonstrating raised aspiration. The school continues to support sixth form students with the costs associated with education.
How have you shared your good practice?
The school has shared its systems and processes with a range of professional networks both within and outside of the local authority. The school makes use of social media and national press to promote and share its core values of diversity, equity and inclusion and the extra-curricular provision on offer. The culture of keeping the welfare and progress of all disadvantaged children at the heart of all decision making is reiterated through the mission statement, school literature, and through every meeting with every stakeholder including students, staff, parents and governors.
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Good practice in mathematics at key stage 4 - October 2013
pdf, 692.42 KB Added 01/10/2013