1. Student Organisation To Raise Achievement
Swavesey Village College

2. Why change? Substantial growth 2001-2006: 900→1200 pupils
Loss of identity and sense of community
How many Year Teams were actually a ‘team’?
“We’re a 70% school, popular, ‘high performing’ – it
ain’t broke!”
20% absolutely switched off. Culture of “Well,
what can you do with them?”
‘Us and them’ culture – lack of student engagement

3. Every Child Matters? How do we ensure 100% of children
What about me?
How do we ensure 100% of children
are known and supported?
included and active?
participate?

4. ...it’s about structure and organisation
Getting to your destination isn’t about accessorising...
...it’s about structure and organisation
SVC Road Map

5. Benchmarking – the outward looking school
Benchmarking – the outward looking school. Every member of staff visited another school .. or prison!
Staff and student questionnaire – “Students are our greatest strength”
Broader, personalised curriculum: Science (accelerated, combined, triple, Btec…), Hair & Beauty, Construction, Engineering…
Horizontal to Vertical – Year Groups to Houses
Peer mentoring, student leadership

7. Five Houses Brunel DESIGN & ENTERPRISE ENGLISH & MFL HUMANITIES
PRINCIPAL AP AP AP AP AP
DESIGN & ENTERPRISE
ENGLISH & MFL
HUMANITIES
SCIENCE
MATHS
PE, Arts
Brunel

8. Student Support Assistant Teaching Assistant(s)
Senior Tutor
Curriculum Leader
Student Support Assistant
Teaching Assistant(s)
Classroom Supervisor(s)
11 Tutors
Wilberforce House (Humanities)
Teachers and key student support staff are in one team
Streamlines :
Accountabilities
Meetings PM
Strategic planning
Monitoring
11 Tutor Groups
240 students
48 per year group
20 per form

9. 4 per year in a form 20 students in a form
Year Groups
Houses
30 per year in a form
30 students in a form
4 per year in a form 20 students in a form
The tutor is the heart of the school, the specialist whose specialism is bringing everything together, whose subject is the student him or herself, who enables the student to make best use of the school and develop as a person.
‘Tutoring to improve Learning’, SVC handbook

10. Advantages
Pride and ownership – assemblies - developing the ‘spirit’ of your ‘House’
Raising expectations and standards – no more gum & trainers!
Better behaviour, less bullying
Competition and fun - inter-House and inter-form scottish dancing, dodgeball, ABBA...
Peer mentoring, support and guidance of students by students ; students see what lies ahead – IAG

11. Advantages
Closer support of individuals – academic mentoring by tutors
Record and monitor extra-curricular achievement – the SVC experience
Improved home contact, supporting families
Improving tutor times - PLTS (personalised learning thinking skills)
Student Voice – forums, lesson observations
Student Leadership – within forms, Houses and school
‘It’s good to succeed’ – a changing ethos

12. Concerns and Issues “It won’t make a bad tutor into a good tutor!”
“We won’t be with our friends!”
“It won’t work at our school!”
New roles, new expectations – raising the bar
Year group information
Overviews of behaviour
Consistency – quality assurance

13. Loevely to say that the improvements were all planned and happened along a clear improvement line

14. Student organisation, support & leadership within the House
Simon Russell
Newton House Senior Tutor

15. Monitoring all students within the Vertical Tutor Group System
The Role
Monitoring all students within the Vertical Tutor Group System
A recent major change has been to introduce mixed age tutor groups.
Students have reported very favourably on this and say that it has helped them to build good relationships with students from other years and that the small amount of bullying has reduced further as a result.
One student talked about ‘feeling part of a family’.
The change has also made the role of the tutor more effective in supporting students’ academic achievement.

16. Bulletins Inform the Tutors of the events of the week.
Reinforce standards and expectations.
Highlight meetings for the week.
Maintain communication on pupils that are causing issues inside and outside the classroom.

17. Weekly Review Week by week guide:
A detention list is sent out each week and displayed on the House Notice Board (Principles Detention – Isolation).
Four after-school detention = Red Report.
Pupils with poor Attitude to Learning Grades (ATLs) from their termly report go on an Achievement Report.
Monitoring Hour.
Attendance – EWO.

18. Monitoring Standards: Attendance

19. What do we do to help Year 11?
House Evaluations
Student 1
What do we do to help Year 11?
Monitoring Standards
Passport to Prom
Passes to Leavers Day
Inclusion Centre
Student 2
Student 3
Student 4
Student 5

20. Passport to the Prom
Pupils that are underachieving or behavioural issues (Year 11) go on the Passport to the Prom.
Five whole school/curriculum area detentions also lead to students going on the Passport to the Prom.
Attendance must be greater than 90%
All coursework completed!

21. Detentions

22. Knowing our Students! Curriculum based on the students needs:
Reduced Timetable
1:1 Tuition
Work Experience
Business Mentors/Staff Mentors
Student Support Assistant
Timeout Cards
Inclusion Centre

23. Case Study: Shannon What has Swavesey Village College done for me:
Monday 1:1 Tuition (Maths and Science)
Tuesday Full Day Timetable – Hair 1:1 Afterschool
Wednesday Work Experience (picked up/dropped off)
Thursday Work Experience (picked up/dropped off)
Friday Full Day Timetable – Maths 1:1 Tuition
Taking some exams early, regular meetings and supported by Senior Tutor. Meetings with the Principal. .

24. Case Study: Student

25. Celebration Assembly
Pupils show off their talents during a Celebration Assembly.
It’s important to celebrate success!

26. Year Group Assemblies
Countdown in Year 11 – highlighting previous success and who has already been successful!

27. Chloe Barnard: Newton House Leader Mark Barradell: Orwell House Leader
Student Leadership
How we support students to achieve their best?
Chloe Barnard: Newton House Leader
Mark Barradell: Orwell House Leader
Agnieszka Florek: Newton Activities Manager
Jack Summers and Tom Poole Student Ambassadors

28. Student Leadership at SVC
Based around the five houses:
BRUNEL – Technology and Arts
CAVENDISH – Science
NEWTON – Maths
ORWELL – English and Languages
WILBERFORCE – Humanities
46 leadership positions
Application Process

29. Student Leadership Student Leadership Success: Mentoring
Business Mentoring

30. Our Mistakes!
Leadership Positions changed if required. No longer have Head Boy/Girl.
Monitors Mangers did not work.
Year Book and Prom is being addressed with a new role – recent change to events managers
Staff have become better at handing over responsibility.

31. Being High Profile Black Shirts Assemblies Visiting Forms
Lunch Queues and Bus Monitors
Attend Working Parties and Curriculum Meetings
Present to the Governors on what has been achieved in each house

32. Student Discussion Groups
Student Voice at SVC
School Council
House Councils
One rep per tutor group
Agenda set by students
Purpose: to feed student opinions and ideas to School Council - creates focus groups
Student Focus
Groups
Each group has a particular project or task
Students apply to participate
Led by black shirt + key member of staff
Purpose: to make proposals to MB
Student Feedback
Whole school questionnaire every two years
Shorter, more specific questionnaires
Student panels for new staff
Subject questionnaires and lesson feedback
Purpose: to gather opinions from whole cohort or specific targeted groups
Student Discussion Groups
Groups of students interviewed every week
Chance to discuss and feed back on current school issues
Initially led by LAD/later blackshirts?
Purpose: Opportunity for every student to have a voice

33. Led by the Student Ambassadors
Focus Groups
Current Focus Groups
Uniform Energy New Technologies
Starting this Half Term
Resource Centre Healthy Eating SVC Experience
Coming Soon!
New Cafeteria
Led by the Student Ambassadors

34. House Council
Form Discussions airing views to the Form Representatives
Agendas and Minutes
Assemblies
Information Displayed (House Boards, Visible Digital Screens and leaders trained to upload the website)
Energy Monitors saving money in the school – money is used in house council for a budget

35. House Council

36. School Council House Leaders Senior Management Staff Ambassadors
Link with Governors
Half Term Meetings
Budget

37. How have we changed?
Student Leadership Contract

38. What else do we do?
Shadowing previous leaders
Earlier training day

39. What have we learnt? Personal Attributes Opportunities Experience
Responsibility
Purpose

40. The Role of the Form Tutor…

41. Vertical Tutoring…
Yr 11
Yr 10
NCB
Yr 7
Yr 8
Yr 9

42. The form group
Communication
Group work
Cross-year support and advice

43. A sense of family…

44. What is happening here?

45. What do the students think?

46. Monitoring Tutor interviews Individual Learning Plan
Sample
Tutor interviews
Individual Learning Plan
Feedback and contact with parents

48. Form Boards and mascots
House Activity Day…
Form Boards and mascots