Mercy College, Belfast & St Patrick's College, Signature Project Mercy College, Belfast & St Patrick's College, Bearnageeha Enya McCafferty

Outline of the session Mercy College, Belfast and St Patrick's College, Bearnageeha context Quality indicators-how both schools made it work What I learned about interventions Resource ideas

Mercy College, Belfast context 11-19 all ability, all girls secondary school Situated in Ballysillan, North Belfast 77.8% of FSM students in 2014/15 % of students who passed GCSE Mathematics in August 2013: 22.4% % of students who passed GCSE Mathematics in August 2014: 25% % of students who passed GCSE Mathematics in August 2015: 33.3%

St Patrick's College, Bearnageeha context 11-19 all ability, all boys secondary school Situated on the Antrim road, Belfast 55% of FSM students in 2014/15 % of students who passed GCSE Mathematics in August 2013: 35% % of students who passed GCSE Mathematics in August 2014: 46% % of students who passed GCSE Mathematics in August 2015: 51%

7 Quality Indicators

Pupils All pupils were identified using a range of data including Yellis/in class assessments/GCSE predicted grade and entitlement to FSM. Underachievers – Extremely important to choose the correct children (pupils who were C/D boundary). Meetings were held with head of Maths and all members of Maths department who taught GCSE Maths, SENCo and VP to discuss target pupils. All identified pupils were given 1 hour extra per week of Maths contact time in small groups (withdrawn from non exam subjects). Extended schools 1 afternoon per week and Saturday school. Lessons were pupil directed and pupil focused as they set their own targets.

Mercy College pupil predictions 2013/14

Teachers Recruited centrally. Plan appropriately. Use a variety of strategies (ICT, practical and written) to promote high quality learning. Lessons always suits the needs of the pupils and used their interest to explore related topics Tracked pupil progress.

Leadership Extremely supportive of the aims of Signature. Set a clear direction. Included in meetings and plans for signature with VP and head of Maths department. Extremely supportive as mentors.

Planning Mercy College, Belfast Thursday-Friday Year 1: St Patrick's College, Bearnageeha (lead school)Monday – Wednesday Mercy College, Belfast Thursday-Friday Year 2: Mercy College,Belfast (lead school) Monday-Wednesday St Patrick's College, Belfast Thursday-Friday Planned alongside teachers’ planning (weekly plans). Timetable was suitable most of the time-withdrawal from non exam subjects (minimum of 1 hour per week Maths contact time in small groups). Monitored through weekly evaluations. Ongoing assessment throughout.

Monitoring and Evaluation Weekly evaluations by Signature teacher, Head of Maths department, pupil and parent/guardian through 'Aim High' programme. Teacher/pupil discussion throughout lesson Discussions at Maths departmental meetings Pupils setting targets and evaluating whether they have reached them. Pupils completed exam style questions on the topic they have covered during the lesson for homework.

Collaboration and Communication Excellent communication between teachers within the Maths department, VP, principal and myself. Communicated each week with parents through Aim High booklet (St Patrick's). Other Signature teachers and BT/EPD teachers (training days)

Parents/Guardians Parents invited along to an information afternoon to understand the aim of the Signature project. Parents kept up-to-date with their child's progress through weekly evaluations. Teacher filled in a comment, student filled in a comment and then brought booklet home to parents to sign and comment.

Results in St Patrick’s College The percentage of students achieving A*-C in June 2014 GCSE Mathematics examinations was 46.5% which represents an increase of 11.1% from June 2013. The percentage of students achieving A*-C in June 2015 GCSE Mathematics examinations was 51.0% which represents an increase of 4.5% from June 2014.

Lessons from Signature Classroom Practice: Effective planning: breadth, progression & pace •Differentiation •Varying Strategies & Practical Resources •Value of Diagnostic analysis to inform teaching/ learning •Tracking and monitoring progress Understanding Low Attainment and Underachievement Knowing your pupils Knowing what can be achieved The value of effectively confronting the obstacles to learning Reflective Practitioners: Self-evaluation culture •Collaborative opportunities to share best practice •Strategic interventions from leadership can work

What I learned about interventions Crucial to choose the correct children – Underachievers To be accountable Make it enjoyable for the children Work closely with other staff within the school Don’t stress! Student

Useful Ideas Use of ICT Practical Maths/ Environmental Maths/ Functional Maths and Using and Applying Maths High quality worksheets Mental maths.

Resources https://www.tes.com http://mrbartonmaths.com/ http://corbettmaths.com/ http://www.resourceaholic.com/ http://donsteward.blogspot.co.uk/ http://mathshell.org.uk/ http://nrich.maths.org/frontpage Nisplan website

Thank you Any questions?