The Provider:

Albert Pritchard Infant School, Sandwell

Albert Pritchard Infant School is a two form entry school which caters for children from reception to year two with an additional 90 part time places Nursery. 

Summary:

In order to improve standards in writing the school investigated the specific skills children need to become effective writers.  It identified that physical manipulation, language for thinking, vocabulary, and independent thinking were all crucial to this.  In response it has implemented The WriteDance scheme to develop gross and fine motor skills, The Ros Wilson Teaching approach for the development of vocabulary and language for thinking and the "Big Writing" session which encourages independent thinking and writing.  This has become the school's writing toolkit and it has seen an impact on the standard of children's writing in a very short time.

The Aim:

Introducing the writing toolkit has helped the school achieve its school targets for writing in both Early Years and as the children move through into key stage 1.  This structured teaching approach develops children as a whole, not just "practising" their writing skills.  It is wholly inclusive and has attracted the boys especially in the WriteDance element.  It has increased children's ability to think before speaking or writing and become more independent thinkers. 

What do you see in the school?

• Agreed procedures for teaching approaches including timetabling.
• All staff committed to intervention to secure future progress
• Boys more engaged and keener to write.
• Commitment from the Head teacher.
• Newly constucted leadership team commited to leading and sustaining impact of toolkit
• Attendance at LA and National training
• Support from parents of school's determination to improve standards
• Quantity and Quality of work improved, with reference to criterion marking scale (BigWrite)
• Discussions with Leader for Learning provided effective tracking of individual children's achievements, illustrating significant progress in the case of a large percentage of children.
• English policy in place and updated regularly reflects commitment to WriteDance Big writing and PePals across the school.
• English policy in place and updated regularly reflects commitment to WriteDance Big writing and penpals across the school.
• Foundation stage policy in place and updated regularly, reflects commitment to Writing toolkit.
• Focus on toolkit embedded in all policies
• Cross-curricular opportunities for learning arising from implementation of toolkit
• Governors kept well informed
• Head teacher  / Leadership team commitment - planned into SIP and time and funds allocated.
• Healthy school status - promoting structured physical activity (Write Dance)
• Improved standards in writing in Early Years (Criterion scale)
• Improved standards in physical and creative development.
• Leader with responsibility for WriteDance throughout the school. (training, monitoring / evaluation)
• Leader for Learning responsible for implementation in the Foundation stage.
• Leader for learning monitors progress in the foundation stage half termly (in all areas of learning)
• Leader involved in establishing new 'WriteDance' publication for nursery to be disseminated across Sandwell schools
• Leaders attend LA / National training.
• Leaders run INSET in and out of school including links with Warwick University
• Local schools supported by Inset provided by leadership team
• Members of school leadership team responsible for Big Writing and WriteDance throughout the school.
• Monitoring and tracking of pupil progress within Foundation Stage (Foundation Stage Tracker)
• Practice shared and disseminated to other schools

What difference does it make?

• More confident / independent writers.
• Parents effectively supporting learning as partners
• Planning is monitored by two leaders weekly.
• Primary strategy leader monitors standards in writing half termly and conducts lesson observations to ensure consistency of approach.
• Quantity and quality of work improved, with reference to criterion marking scale (BigWrite)
• Rising trends of achievement within ELG's (Foundation Stage Tracker)
• Impact of toolkit on other areas of learning with ELG's eg Physical development, creative development
• Smoother transition into key stage one.
• Whole school policies reflect the commitment to the toolkit
• WriteDance Leader consultant for LA
• WriteDance leader monitors WriteDance throughout the school.

From where is evidence collected to prove the Leading Aspect?

• Assessed  individual children's work utilising criterion scale
• BigWrite evidence files
• Discussion with Yr 1 teacher
• Discussions with parents regarding evidence of writing activity beyond school (2 parents of boys in Nursery and Reception)
• Discussions with pupils
• Displays in classrooms
• Feedback from LA on inset
• Foundation Stage policy
• Headteachers report to governors
• Healthy Schools file
• Individual children's and specific groups e.g boys' data as evidenced from Foundation Stage Tracker
• Inset records
• Interviews with Leaders
• Leadership team minutes
• Monitoring files
• Monitoring of 'toolkit' proformas
• Notes from INSET
• Ofsted Inspection Report
• Planning Files
• Portfolio of children's work from Nursery and Reception
• Pupil tracking information
• Record of lesson observations
• School policies, e.g Foundation Stage, English, Inclusion
• School tracking procedures
• SEF
• SIP
• Verifier visit to observe Writedance and Big Writing lesson in Nursery and Reception
• WriteDance portfolio

The Verifiers Comment

The strong leadership, commitment and passion of pupils, staff and parents to the school's toolkit results in a 'can do' culture which permeates the whole life of the school, contributing to a shared aspiration for the achievement of every child's personalised learning potential in their Early Years.