Melanie Lloyd shares key takeaways from her experience of leading on pupil voice at Bishopston Comprehensive School, a NACE member and Challenge Award-accredited school in Swansea, Wales. 

We are proud of our thriving School Senedd at Bishopston Comprehensive School.  Based on our experience, here are six steps to building an effective pupil voice programme…

1. Have a clear vision 

A well-structured pupil voice programme can transform the vision and direction of a school, making it feel more inclusive and empowering to all. As a first step, ensure there are key members of staff acting as facilitators working for the pupils, providing the necessary resources and support to enable them to enact change. At Bishopston, we have a designated pupil voice section in the whole-school development plan, meaning that students’ perspectives are integral to supporting effective self-evaluation and shaping the school’s future priorities. Shared goals and collaboration between pupils and staff help to foster a positive school culture and this has given school improvement purpose and direction.

2. Empower learners by providing a diverse range of ways to share their voice

There are various ways to effectively gather pupil voice, such as whole-school surveys, pupil forums and questionnaires, but it is also important to meet regularly with your students to maintain engagement. Consider modelling your pupil voice programme on a parliamentary system with sub-committees focused on developing different aspects of school life – for example, Environment or Diversity. Sub-committees can help to expand your council beyond those democratically elected, to allow everyone to be involved, not just a select few. In our School Senedd, sub-committees meet every few weeks to review not only the whole-school priorities, but also each committee’s specific area of development. This approach adds focus and provides a wider scope, while also ensuring inclusivity and representation – for example, including members of the Specialist Teaching Facility.

3. Involve pupils in all stages of curriculum development

Provide pupil voice opportunities to challenge students to become leaders of their own learning. Beyond everyday decision-making, pupils should be given opportunities to actively participate as stakeholders in shaping and co-constructing their own curriculum and learning resources. At Bishopston, we harness pupil voice data to co-design resources, with pupils providing invaluable insight into the language and approach that would be relatable to the target audience. This collaborative approach between staff, pupils and external agencies ensures the curriculum remains engaging and relevant.  Becoming part of the development process, review and adaptation of curriculum resources and policy change also contributes to the metacognitive and critical thinking skills pupils need to become lifelong learners.  

4. Create authentic enrichment opportunities in the community

Creating opportunities with partner agencies to work on community projects helps to create authentic enrichment opportunities for pupils. Our school has forged long-standing links with the local council, the Welsh Youth Parliament and the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, collaborating on a range of projects. We are particularly proud of the Gower Field to Fork project, which brought together several local farms and a local food distributor in a series of activities that saw pupils visiting the farms, learning about food sources and food preparation, the importance of farming, and sustainability before deciding on a new canteen dish made from locally sourced food. Real-world experiences like this can prove impactful for pupils and the wider community.

5. Connect with other student councils to share excellent practice

Create valuable cross-school pupil voice opportunities. As a school, we host Pupil Voice Professional Learning Community events, inviting secondary schools from across the county to our school to work on co-constructing the joint Swansea Schools “What Matters to Us” manifesto. Pupils develop, review and present in council chambers and to their respective schools. Directly influencing council policy, this kind of practical experience fosters pupils’ understanding of different perspectives, challenges and solutions, whilst the sharing of excellent practice has also proved beneficial to both staff and pupils. Consider if there are similar relationships that your school could develop. 

6. Listen, regularly feedback, review and adapt

Listening to and acting on feedback is fundamental to any pupil voice programme as it demonstrates that pupils’ opinions are valued and that their voices have impact. When reviewing our pupil voice programme, we looked to consider whether our students were able to see evidence of tangible change. It was also beneficial to consider how we were communicating feedback on decision-making to the rest of the school. Was this teacher-led, or were the pupils being challenged to communicate the feedback themselves? Providing regular opportunities for pupil-led feedback via assemblies, visual displays or digital platforms, such as social media and podcasts, has helped to develop pupils’ leadership skills, as well as keeping the whole school community informed in real time.  

Ultimately, the success of any pupil voice programme relies on its ability to value pupil voice as an activator of change and improvement. Successful pupil voice is an essential aspect of ongoing self-evaluation and school improvement where we continually adapt based on the views and needs of the pupils. By adopting a reflective approach, educators can successfully create a school culture in which every voice matters.

This month Episkopi Primary School in Cyprus became the second school outside the UK to gain the NACE Challenge Award – following in the footsteps of Malta’s Chiswick House School. Assistant Headteacher Rebecca Ross explains how the school has worked collaboratively within a cluster to develop high-quality provision for more able learners, in the context of challenge for all.

There is a shared partnership agreement across the six UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) schools based in Cyprus. We work in collaboration to achieve joint goals and most recently have been developing provision further for the more able. All the MoD schools on the island have followed the NACE Challenge Framework, which has ensured consistency in approaches, and has had a huge impact on provision for more able learners across the curriculum.

Below are five areas of collaboration we’ve found effective:

1. Whole-cluster meetings for more able leaders

While there is quite a distance between the schools, collaboration is of high importance and regular meetings for more able leaders has been essential for developing consistency. Investing in whole-day meetings allows quality time to focus on moderation, assessment and enrichment opportunities. More able leaders each take turns in hosting the meetings at their school. This has been a great opportunity for leaders to tour each school and share best practice. Subject leaders have also collaborated in this way, using the supporting resources provided alongside the Challenge Framework to audit their subjects. These resources have been particularly useful when identifying the characteristics of more able learners in specific subjects and collaborating on strategies to support them to reach their full potential.

2. Building partnerships beyond the cluster

Being on a small island does not limit the opportunities for our learners. All our schools are outward-facing and proactive in seeking a range of partnerships to create innovative opportunities for learning and progression. Budget cuts could limit opportunities, but as a cluster we overcome this by sharing costs and working collaboratively to build quality and sustainable partnerships. Strong links have been made with universities in the UK. For example, Leicester University’s Archaeological Department has been working with our schools for a number of years, providing digs and workshops on the island. Developing links that benefit both parties has strengthened the opportunities provided.

3. Collaborating on enrichment opportunities

A range of enrichment days are regularly run across the island for learners who have a particular talent in a subject or for those who show a true interest. These allow application of skills in new and challenging ways, as well as learning new techniques and strategies with like-minded individuals. It is also good preparation for secondary school and gives our learners the chance to meet some of their future peers. As a cluster, we draw on staff expertise to run these days and pupils travel to the different schools or visit external sites. By not limiting enrichment to just core subjects, many learners with varied talents have benefited from these opportunities.

4. Sharing expertise to support CPD

We do not have easy access to UK training courses; therefore we seek to maximise opportunities for CPD through the use of shared courses, resources, facilities and existing expertise. This is far more cost-effective and encourages staff to actively keep up to date with current research and best practice in their subject. Challenge for all has been a key focus for the Cyprus Schools Consortium and this shared and focused approach has been central to CPD. Regular cross-island subject leader meetings have included both primary and secondary representatives. This has up-skilled leaders in different phases, while strengthening transition links.

5. Collaborating to provide inspiring role models

The cluster works closely to provide opportunities that inspire learners and allow them to consider their futures. Many of our learners have spent their entire lives in a military setting and are not exposed to the same experiences as others their age might be. As a whole-island team, we know that role models are a powerful way to inspire young people about their future possibilities. It is so important for learners to hear real people from their own community and beyond, sharing personal stories of why they do what they do and how they got there – their aspirations, struggles, challenges, failures and how they overcame them. We know that this type of interaction encourages learners to discover their own aptitudes and passions and follow their dreams.

About the NACE Challenge Development Programme

The NACE Challenge Development Programme offers a complete package for whole-school review and improvement in provision for more able learners, in the context of challenge for all. It supports schools, clusters, alliances and trusts already demonstrating good or outstanding provision in this field, as well as those for whom this is a key area for improvement. Schools working with the programme may choose to apply for formal accreditation through the NACE Challenge Award.

Read more or contact us to find out how the programme could support your school or cluster.

From all the NACE team – a very happy new year!

Whilst you settle back into the term I want to use my first blog of 2018 to share news of NACE developments and details of upcoming member opportunities. Brief updates on DfE, Ofsted and Estyn are also included.

Member-led research

At the end of last year NACE announced a key focus on member-led research and development for 2018, and I am pleased to update you on two aspects of this. First, we have selected three schools to become NACE Research and Development Hubs – Haybridge High School and Sixth Form, Portswood Primary School and Barry Island Primary School. These schools will allow us to test and refine our regional approach to improving outcomes for more able learners in practical ways, including hosting Hub meetings for NACE members, sharing resources and best practice, and undertaking research.

Alongside the Hubs initiative we will be working with the University of Winchester on an action research project. The project, which launches in March, will be open to invited Challenge Award schools, with teachers exploring an aspect of “curriculum, teaching and support" for more able learners that is being delivered or developed in their school under the NACE Challenge Development Programme. Alongside more detailed case study work, we will continue to build our evidence base and formally capture and disseminate some of the best practice in the country.

Free webinars and member meetups

To provide all members with a good start to the year, NACE is continuing its series of free webinars and member meetups. Webinar sessions on SOLO Taxonomy and learning mindset will take place on 30 January and 6 February – log in to the members’ area of our website for full details and registration.

Following the success of our first member meetup in November, the series continues this term with the English-Speaking Union hosting a secondary school event on 6 March. The Globe will host our final meetup of the year on 8 June, for both primary and secondary schools. Full details of these free events will be shared with all members via email and in the members’ area of our website.

Funding and research updates

Members will be aware that governments in England and Wales are placing an increased focus on more able. I spoke about developments in Wales in my last blog.

You may be interested to read Estyn’s latest thematic reports. Good Practice in the Humanities highlights, amongst other things, the importance of transition for learners, whilst Active and experiential learning – Effective foundation phase practice in delivering literacy and numeracy in Year 1 and Year 2 includes an online video to exemplify good practice, and includes specific references of support provided to more able learners.

In December the DfE launched Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential, its plan for improving social mobility through education. Within this it announced the Future Talent Fund, which will seek to test and evaluate approaches to supporting the most academically able disadvantaged students in non-selective state-funded secondary schools. Bidding for this fund is expected to open in the summer term, and NACE will be seeking member schools to work with us on this. Further detail will follow.

We also wait with interest to read the final report of Ofsted’s curriculum thematic review.

2018 promises to be interesting – and I look forward to sharing developments and working with you as we move through the year. In the meantime, please contact me directly if you want to learn more, or feel you can contribute to our developments.