Achieving excellence - Bankier Primary School, Bonnybridge, Falkirk
We were pleased to accept an invitation from Jim Dunbar to present on A Curriculum for Excellence at the February IDES conference.
We have been working on our 'Futures Thinking' since 2002. It fits ACfE with amazing correspondence.
We started with a critique of 5-14 - partly successful but failed to achieve appropriate balance or coherence. The impact on teachers included rise in stress, low morale, reduction in professionalism and de-skilling. There was no time to follow pupils’ interest because of the pressure to keep to the schedule and the curriculum. We were losing out on freedom depth and satisfaction– key aspects of motivation. However, we needed to ensure we took forward successful aspects in responding to ACfE. It has taken schools 20 years to implement 5-14. We need to respond much quicker in a world where the pace of change is exponential.
We conducted wide ranging research:
- Leading authors and researchers
- Conferences
- Training courses
- Internet
- SEED / HMIE / LTS / OECD
- CBI / Leading business / Careers Scotland
- The media
- My Future’s in Falkirk
- It is an act of intelligence to trust in staff qualifications, knowledge, skills and experience.
We consulted all our stakeholders.
There was a remarkable similarity in what people wanted: wide curriculum and priority areas.
We considered:
- Prioritisation within the curriculum
- Innovation
- Personal success, happiness and fulfilment in the world of work and in life
- Society’s needs
- Career choices
- Transferable, core life skills
- ICT & digital technology
- Environment
- Motivation
- Values and vision
We developed a Hybrid curriculum:
Priority subjects taught prescriptively with change in weighting allowing some flexibility. However, too much deviation from the prescribed guidelines would destroy continuity and progression so this has been done with care. The teacher has discretion over which subjects to combine and when. Teachers use principles for curriculum design to prioritise and to achieve a relevant balance but also have to give account.
We provide a world of work week.
Our attainment has risen steadily and our pupils have wide ranging achievements across the curriculum.
Where next?
We need to develop more permeation models and integrated delivery in infants with more discrete delivery in the upper stages.
To achieve excellence it’s important to get all of this right:
- strong, courageous leadership - with clear vision
- driven by values
- meeting needs of stakeholders
- behaviour management
- curriculum content and structure
- working together
- culture of learning and ethos of achievement
- teaching learning and teaching thinking
- planning
- staff training and development
- reflection and robust self evaluation procedures for all
- most efficient use of time
- best practice - traditional / innovative, adaptable, flexible practices with well researched proven benefits for pupils
- best choice of materials to support learning and teaching
- engagement and motivation of teachers and pupils
- quality of relationships and interaction between pupils and teachers / providers
- balance of freedom and accountability.
Our policies and guidelines can be accessed on the website: bankierprimaryschool@falkirk.gov.uk.
Further information on this project at Bankier Primary School is available from Susan Dyer and Ella Toon.
Email – susan.dyer@falkirk.gov.uk
Telephone – 01324 840206