Tackling one of the most worrying new threats to children’s safety

In my blog today I’d like to raise the profile of a project that Deputy Headteacher Claire Gregory has been working on with the Police and Youth Offending Service (YOS). As you will be all too aware, there has been a growth of knife related crime across the country – particularly involving teenage boys and young men. The statistics are quite alarming, for example the number of knife related incidents nationally has risen by 68% in just a year. Stockport is not immune to this. The most frightening thing about this for our young people is the fact that one of the biggest factors in making someone a victim of knife crime is to carry a knife. People who ‘carry’ are much more likely to become victims than those who don’t, but tragically young people carry knives in the mistaken belief that this will make then safer. It does not.

So where do we come in? Obviously we want to do all we can to keep our MHS students safe. We cannot afford to be complacent and think that this is a problem that won’t reach us – the tragic events in Hale and elsewhere in Manchester recently should tell us that this issue can affect anywhere.

Therefore Miss Gregory has put together a proposal, alongside the police and YOS, for us to be one of the first schools in Stockport to take concerted action to keep our kids safe. The police tell us that across the region some schools are reluctant to engage with this kind of project, presumably as they don’t want anyone to think they have a ‘problem’. We don’t think we have a problem at MHS, but we understand that in many ways we are not in control of what can happen when it comes to knife crime. Our plan was therefore whole-heartedly supported by the Governors, something that didn’t surprise me at all.

Over the first two weeks back after half term there will be a number of events aimed at protecting our students. Year 9 will be the focus, with an assembly involving the demonstration of a police ‘knife-arch’ metal detector and follow up one hour sessions to educate students on how to stay safe. Every other year group will then also see the assembly, and a select group of students will take part in a full day workshop on 5^th June. We intend to shout about this project. We want people to know that we are taking this problem seriously, that we care about our students and that we are not embarrassed to raise the issue. It’s morally the right thing to do and I’m proud that we can put our students’ safety above everything else.

Guest blogger: Deputy Head Rhian Davies

I  was chatting to a Year 11 student about his exams yesterday and he asked me if I was following any GCSE Memes accounts. I informed him that I’m not, but that I do try to keep up with what’s trending after every exam ever since the infamous “Hannah’s sweets” GCSE maths question made the national news. He then proceeded to give me numerous examples of funny comments he’s seen online regarding this week’s Biology and English Literature papers. I dread to think how much time he’s wasted looking at it all!

After every exam, there always tends to be a particular question that a lot of students struggle with. Quite often, that question goes on to generate a disproportionate amount of attention on social media afterwards. For decades, an immediate behaviour upon exiting an exam is to become immersed into the buzz of discussion, usually starting with “what did you put for question X?” conversation. More recently, a new tradition has begun to emerge as the next step now for many people after they take a national exam is to go straight online and see what everyone across the country is saying. Some people may take comfort if the general consensus is that it was a difficult paper, some may take comfort in checking their answers with the entire student cohort and some may find the light-hearted comments a welcome relief from exam stress. I think these behaviours are not limited to the young people who actually take the exam, but extend to parents, carers and teachers too.

But I do worry about those teenagers who look online and realise that things haven’t gone well for them and instead of looking ahead to the next exam, they spend time dwelling on things they may now regret, punishing themselves on repeat for their perceived failings. I suppose it’s the online equivalent of having a look at the people on the desks next to you and seeing them scribbling down and you can’t think of anything to write.  We’ve all been in that scenario and, of course our students still get that, but then they’ve got even more of it once the session has finished.

It’s important to look after our students and show them that we care and that they’re part of a wider ‘family’.  It can be really hard because it’s such a contradiction for us to always build up how important exams are and then, as soon as something goes wrong, start telling them it’s not the most important thing in the world. The knock-on effect that that one paper can have on their response to future papers is huge so it’s important to keep them positive, determined and focused. We all know that social media has a huge impact (both positive and negative) on the lives of young people so perhaps protecting them from it during exam season is something we should consider.

Rhian Davies

GCSE reforms have been working their way through the system and we’ve reached the point where pretty much all exams are now of the ‘new style’, with this being the second year round for some and the third for English and Maths.

The new regime is designed to be harder than before, or more ‘rigorous’ I think was the word used at one point. I’m not sure if they are or not. Speaking as a history teacher I don’t know if the new GCSE is conceptually harder than the old one. I’d say in some ways yes and in some ways not. What I do know, and what is common across the curriculum, is that the GCSE history curriculum is ‘more’. There’s more of it. More topics, more question types, more stuff…and of course that means more exams. History and Geography have gone from two exams to three. Maths the same. There are now four English exams and countless science ones. PE up from one exam to two. All across the curriculum there are more papers to sit (all of which are funded from the school’s budget, but that’s for a different blog!)

What this means overall is that the exam season itself is much busier than before. Exams always start a fortnight before the Whit half term, and the standard pattern was a fairly busy 1^st week, a packed second week and then a more relaxed and spaced out few weeks after half term. Not any more: the exam season now is pretty much back to back, two exams a day, every day for over a month. It’s a massive deal for students and for parents as well as being an enormous logistical challenge for school exam teams. The pressure on exam officers and exam teams at this time of year is immense. As you can imagine the security around exam papers both before, during and after the event is incredible, and it takes a staggering amount of organisation to handle the 5,500 plus individual papers that are sat over the course of five weeks.

One thing that I do know for sure though is that our students will rise to the challenge. For them, the exam window is not any longer or more densely packed than before, it just is what it is. I’m writing this on Thursday afternoon and we’re already 7 exams into the season having started on Monday. Some students have sat all seven, others have sat just a few. All of them are into their stride, finding their rhythm and getting on with it – the resilience of young people is quite remarkable. However, we mustn’t forget that even the best prepared individual will be feeling the pressure. If you are the parent, carer, relative or friend of a Year 11 student at the moment then you may want to read my own advice on how to best support people who are very much in the thick of exams.

1. Encourage them to avoid discussing ‘what might come up’ with peers immediately before an exam – I have lost count of the times I’ve seen students talk themselves out of doing well in the 5 minutes before entering an exam hall.
2. Even more importantly, encourage them to avoid all discussions AFTER the exam. No good at all comes from going over what they got wrong. None at all. Forget about it and move on.
3. If they live near enough and it’s a nice day, encourage candidates to walk to school. The fresh air can work wonders in kick starting the brain, especially for teenagers heading to an 8.50am exam when their usual sleep pattern would see them snoozing until mid-morning.
4. Make sure they take water with them into the exam (in unmarked bottles) – and if its really really hot before an afternoon exam, suggest they avoid sitting out for too long. I will always remember a student I taught in 2006 who sunbathe-revised for 4 hours before GCSE history paper 2, on one of the hottest days of the summer, only to literally wilt in the exam and fail to complete the paper.
5. Suggest they take a break each evening, even if it’s only for half an hour or an hour. Switch off, do something normal and regain that perspective that can be lost from day after day of preparation followed by exams followed by more preparation.
6. If they have a bad exam…or if there is a particular paper that ‘everyone found hard’, then remind them that it may well work out in their favour. Often the hardest exams yield the best grades…and there’s really no point in worrying about it anyway (see point 2 above!)

These are my tips for getting through the exam season itself. They are not researched, tested or verified…they are just my observations having seen upwards of perhaps 6,000 young people taking exams over the past 20 years. I hope they help!

Best wishes,

Joe Barker

By guest blogger: Deputy Head Colin Sharp

I read recently in the excellent book ‘Boys Don’t Try’ by Matt Pinkett and Mark Roberts, that, 96% of the UK prison population was male. The figure in the US is broadly the same. At our school, the majority of sanctions – approximately 70% – are given to boys. I wasn’t surprised by the fact that boys accounted for the majority in these cases but I was taken aback by the massive gaps. More worryingly, the gaps are widening.

To me, it’s a fascinating subject area. I’ve said before that, as a father of two boys and a girl, I can’t help but fall into the trap of lazy stereotyping. Yet, there are things that feel true to me. If I need to ensure that my wife gets an important message, who am I going to ask? Which of the three is least likely to forget Father’s Day? Who is least reliant on my wife and me? (In case you hadn’t worked it out, the answer is my daughter.) I’m not happy about this though. I’m not happy about my potentially different expectations.

I think that we need to ask ourselves some tough questions, chiefly: are we biased against boys? There is no way that girls are inherently that much better than boys, despite the overwhelming data pointing to the contrary. Second question: is there anything that we’re doing to attempt to engage boys that is actually counterproductive and detrimental? I’ll get the ball rolling with a bit of self-reflection.

In an attempt to forge positive relationships with boys, particularly at KS4, I am happy to chat with them about low-level conversation topics like clothes and football. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with this, but do I do it too much? Do I do enough to balance this attempt at demonstrating to them that, yes, I am human with the more important role-modelling stuff, the stuff where I passionately convince them that learning and being well educated is an important thing? Having worked with many Year 11 boys this year, both inside the classroom and out, I am increasingly concerned that, on some level, many of them think that being studious is effeminate.

I fear that the dearth of positive male role models coupled with the distorted view that many boys have of their own masculinity is a toxic combination. As parents, teachers and role models, we are the only people who can do something about it.

How to inspire women to take the lead

Gender equality in school leadership | Marple Hall School

Recently I have been working closely with our Senior Assistant Headteacher Lyn Lawton on a number of school priorities; the development of homework, ongoing training for colleagues and getting the most from boys to name just three. During our conversations Lyn introduced me to an excellent book about women in school leadership entitled ‘10% braver – inspiring women to lead education’. It’s an excellent book that questions why women are so under-represented in school leadership roles. For example, whilst 74% of the school workforce are women only 65% of headteachers are female. In our sector the gap is even bigger; 62% of secondary school teachers are female but they make up only 36% of headteachers. The book discusses the possible reasons for this imbalance and what can be done to encourage and support more women to take on leadership roles. The gap is made even more stark when I consider that as a school leader one of our annual priorities is to boost the performance of boys, who on average at GCSE level at least lag behind girls across the country. There is a deep and rich talent pool when it comes to the female workforce in education and the #womenEd is leading the way in ensuring that talent finds it’s way to the top.

As a male Headteacher, reading the book, it has given me a lot of food for thought. It has made me question whether I have been ‘complacently arrogant’ (a new term I have just invented) ie whether I have convinced myself that I support people equally no matter their gender, and therefore I haven’t given this issue enough time or attention. On a superficial level we have a senior team that is roughly 50-50 in terms of male/female balance, and 70% of our senior ‘middle leaders’ are women. However, are there barriers in our school that are holding female colleagues back? Does the school do enough to encourage and help people who may just need the smallest level of support before they can fly in their careers? I’ll confess that I don’t know the answers yet, but it’s something that I am keen to work on in school.

Having read the book referenced above I was guided to watch Emma Watson’s 2014 speech at the UN. I’m slightly ashamed that I haven’t watched it before. In it Emma outlines the ‘HeforShe’ movement, a drive to encourage men to join the gender equality movement for the benefit of everyone. I found it an inspirational speech and so I thought I’d include a link to it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkjW9PZBRfk

If you spend any time reading the news about education then the headlines are predominantly focussed on two issues; funding comes first, closely followed by the teacher recruitment crisis. In a rare break from habit I’m going to avoid blogging about the funding issue, and will instead focus on the recruitment issue and what schools like MHS are doing to help fix it.

Teacher recruitment has been a problem for a number of years and the issue is getting worse. Despite attempts by the Government to incentivise certain teaching courses and promote teaching as a career in the media, figures show that the national targets for recruitment have been missed year on year. Clearly attracting new people to the profession is a challenge.

However, perhaps even more worrying is that fact that so many new teachers leave within the first 5 years of their careers. Figures vary, but I have seen claims that as many as 44% of new starters are not still teaching five years on. Now that’s a very scary thought! At MHS I am very pleased to say that our figures don’t come anywhere near to this, but we have had cases of newer staff deciding that teaching isn’t for them, and therefore I think it is the duty of all schools to do whatever they can to support new teachers and ensure that they are happy and fulfilled in their roles.

That’s why I was really pleased when I heard that our most recent ‘Teachmeet’ event was to focus on new staff – ITT (Trainees teachers), NQTs (Newly qualified teachers in their first year) and RQTs (recently qualified teachers). A teachmeet is an event where teachers from different schools come together to share their practice, learn from others and talk about the job. We’ve held a number of them through the years, the driving force behind them being our Head of Spanish and lead teacher Mrs Castillo. We’ve had teachmeets aimed at language teachers, teachmeets aimed at leadership roles in school…and yesterday evening a great teachmeet designed for those new to the profession. It was a brilliant event which was well attended by colleagues from across Stockport and beyond – full marks going to the Kingsway contingent who came en masse!

At the event we had 17 presentations, almost all from colleagues in their first three years of teaching. Six MHS colleagues led from the front and shared their ideas, with the ‘not so new’ Mr Purdie setting the scene and going first. Sitting in the hall I felt very proud of our school – of Mrs Castillo and Mrs Higgins for their organisation of the event, of Mr Purdie and his student leaders for providing the food, and of course of the MHS presenters Bella Gowrie, Mel Clifton, Ruth Swift, Aneesah Usmani and Sophie Neil. Most importantly though the presentations were really, really good. I sat there making notes like everyone else, taking some lovely ideas away with me that I’ll be trying with my year 10 class as soon as I can.

If a big part of the answer to preventing newer staff from leaving the profession is to support them with excellent training opportunities, and I think that it is, then MHS is well ahead of the game.

Education is far more than just exam results. I’ve made that point many times before in this blog and it’s something that as the head of a comprehensive school I am passionate about. Our role is to create happy, confident and successful individuals who are ready to go out and make a positive contribution to society. For some that might mean academic excellence, and we owe it to all our students to help them achieve as well as they can, but the non-academic development of the person is just as important. We want all our young people to strive to be determined, honest, respectful and creative. To care about other people, to be positive and to be proud of their surroundings and those within it. In short we want them to be a force for good in whatever they go on to do – a big goal but a worthy one!

As a school we therefore believe that our interest in students and what they do extends well beyond the school gate. Officially, schools have a responsibility for their students when they are on the way to and from school, especially when they are in uniform. Should schools therefore concern themselves with what students do later at night, on the weekend or over school holidays? I know some school leaders who say no, they should not. The arguments goes that what students do at the weekend or the Easter holidays is a matter for them and their parents, and if they act poorly then that is a matter for others in society or for the police to deal with.

I disagree. Perhaps it’s the growth of social media that has blurred the lines between ‘in school’ and ‘out of school’ life. I don’t know of any school anywhere that hasn’t had to deal with issues that started on facebook/twitter/Instagram over a weekend, and then spilled into school on a Monday morning. Similarly, when students let themselves down in the community three hours after school has finished, or at the skatepark mid-way through a holiday, we will always work with the police, other external agencies and parents to support in whatever action is necessary to rectify that behaviour and ensure it doesn’t happen again. That’s why recently we’ve been in contact with all our neighbours to encourage them to call into school if they see anything that concerns them. After all, if we were successful in our overall goal of creating the citizens of the future then these incidents wouldn’t happen.

However, whilst I feel that our school has a role here and we are happy to fulfil it, I also know from experience this will only be successful with the support of adults at home. Parents of course have a responsibility to know what their children are doing when they are out at the evening, weekend and school holidays. We’re blessed with a large proportion of very supportive parents who instil at home the same messages that we try to do in school, and only by working together can we hope to create the kind of young adults that our community can be proud of.

Best wishes,

Joe Barker

‘Rule number 1 of the state-school headteachers’ handbook: steer clear of politics’. Ok, maybe not rule number one exactly, but it’s up there as one of the 50 or so bits of advice I’d give to anyone thinking about being a Headteacher. We’re not here to advocate any particular political opinion and I am very careful to make sure I never favour one party over another. I’m happy to shine a light on the fact that collectively MPs have failed to tackle the chronic funding crisis in Stockport, but I am mindful to make sure I don’t spare any particular group from my frustrated rants.

Party politics therefore deserves a wide berth, but it’s nothing compared to the even more emotive subject of Brexit. There’s no way I’d be drawn into a discussion of that particular chestnut in my capacity as Headteacher – not a chance. Who knows whether it really does spell the end of democracy, but it’s certainly not going to be something that I share my opinions on.

However, one thing I do know is that democracy is alive and kicking at MHS. As regular readers will know we have a variety of student leadership opportunities in school, the pinnacle of which are MHSL (Marple Hall Student Leaders) and the Head Girl and Head Boy positions. Both MHSL and the Head Boy/Head Girl lead the way in terms of student action in school, helping to build a better school for current and future students. Most recently MHSL planned and delivered on the ‘zero-litter plan’, a very successful initiative in school to tackle the most ‘rubbish’ problem we have.

Each year we have a recruitment drive for new members of MHSL and the next Head Boy/Head Girl. As usual we had some very strong applications this time around, until a small group of candidates was selected to go forwards for election. The candidates created an election video and this year also had to speak in assemblies to all of years 7-10. The quality of their public speaking was outstanding; I was amazed at their confidence, eloquence and passion when faced with audiences of 300+

Election day was yesterday and we now have our brand new Student Leadership team. I look forward to seeing the issues they decide to tackle over the next twelve months.

Amanda Spielman, the boss of Ofsted, sparked a debate on school curriculums when she announced that too many schools were spending too much time and energy focusing on exams at the expense of ‘rich and full knowledge’.

As you will probably know the national testing regime at KS2 (end of year 6), GCSE and A Level has been reformed and is now much tougher than before. Students at every level are expected to be able to do more at their given age point than at any time in the last 30 years. Reading, writing and maths at primary school are under a greater spotlight, and at GCSE level the exams have been ‘strengthened’. Most schools (MHS included) have responded by dedicating more time and effort to ensuring students are ready for the challenge of these harder exams. Surely not to do so would be wrong? GCSE and A level results in particular have a direct impact on a young person’s life chances and so it’s only natural that schools will try to help their students succeed.

Furthermore, schools are held to account partly by an Ofsted inspection process that very much looks at how students perform in the tests, whether at KS2, GCSE or A Level. I have been through enough inspections here and elsewhere to know that ‘results’ are usually the biggest factor in how the school is judged. In a high stakes world where a bad inspection can mean a poor reputation, falling numbers of students, less money, difficulties recruiting staff and a change of leadership…can schools be blamed for focusing a little more on the tests than they might otherwise do?

Of course there are some schools that go too far. I’m proud of the fact that at MHS we have not abandoned the arts, the technologies and PE in a pursuit of better outcomes in the E-Bacc subjects of English, maths, science, languages, history and geography. Our students in years 7-9 get a very broad and balanced curriculum before making option choices across a very wide range of subjects. We could probably ‘up the pass rate’ if we cut options and spent 12+ hours a fortnight on the core subjects, but that’s not what we are about.

So, what do I think of Ms Spielman’s views? I am heartened to read that someone in such a position of influence is speaking out against a narrow, test obsessed culture. It’s exciting and a glimpse of a potentially brighter future. All she needs to do now is make sure the Government stop being so obsessed with exam results – easy!

When I first decided to become a teacher I, like all trainee teachers, had a choice to make. Did I want a career in the state school sector or the independent sector? You might think that surely teachers can move from one to the other but in reality very few people do; it’s like they make a choice for that very first job and then the path is set for life. I have a lot of respect for the quality of education delivered in the private sector but for me, I chose to spend my career in state schools and I love it.

Marple Hall School is a comprehensive school; an old fashioned title dating back to when there were Grammar schools and ‘Comps’, but it’s a word that I still like to think about as it reminds me that we are here to cater for as wide a range of students as we possibly can. From the academically gifted to the less able, the confident to the shy, the hard worker to the shirker – we try to get the best from them all and that’s why we’re here.

Of course one area where ‘comprehensive’ really should mean everyone is when it comes to giving everyone the right to go to school and feel respected, safe and able to learn. No-one should feel persecuted because of their gender, age, ethnicity, size, religion, nationality, sexuality or any other characteristic feature. In a society that is so full of people, usually adults, who are happy to spread hate online it is incumbent on schools to try and fight this by being as inclusive as possible. Our young people are exposed to so much bigotry on social media, in society and now even in the news and world-wide politics it is clear that we face an uphill battle.

But, if there is one thing that working with young people gives you (aside headaches), it is hope. Hope for the future and hope that the young can teach the old when it comes to inclusion and tolerance. That is why I am so happy that our school has embraced our LGBT+ week in the way that it has this week. From the rainbow laces and lanyards to the assemblies and the PSHE lessons, students have been learning about diversity and tolerance in a mature and uplifting way. Young people are curious and our team leading this work have created a space where it is ok to ask questions and find out more, as well as educating us all about the struggles facing young people who are or who may identify as being LGBT+. As one of the resources put it, ‘no one chooses to be part of a persecuted minority, but people do chose to persecute’.

When asked last week how I would feel about us flying two rainbow flags outside school. My answer; ‘I’d feel even prouder of our school than I do now’.