St Damian’s School Vision

1. The process for developing this vision

Tameside Council commissioned Place Group Ltd to support our school in working to update our vision through a series of facilitated engagements involving many of our school community including our head teacher, students, parents, staff and governors. Focus groups met, comprising stakeholders with a particular interest and expertise in key aspects of school life to help us articulate our vision and in addition, curriculum workshops were held to develop a coherent strategy for change.

2. Vision and strategy

St Damian’s vision is rooted in a determination to deliver the College’s Mission as a Catholic college dedicated to developing each individual to their full potential within a Catholic community dedicated to the highest standards in all its endeavours. St. Damian’s is a school with integrity. As a Roman Catholic mixed comprehensive school, we admit students from Droylsden, Mossley, Ashton and Oldham and have a student population of approximately seven hundred and ninety. We embrace a wider notion of achievement than that indicated by attainment in subjects alone. We strive to nurture students’ academic and personal development hand in hand. The great strides made in recent years have been secured whilst working in a building created in 1963 which is no longer fit for purpose. Therefore, we see Building Schools for the Future (BSF) as an excellent opportunity to realise our vision to be an all-embracing Catholic learning community giving every child and family the chance to lead a fulfilled and successful life.

The key elements of our vision for the 21st century are:

• A focus as a Catholic college on educating the whole child
• Students as architects of their own learning
• A child-centred, broad and enriched project based curriculum
• Bespoke diploma programmes for all 14-19 year olds
• St Damian’s as a hub for lifelong learning
• Anytime, anywhere’ learning and collaborative sharing of best practice
• First rate sports and arts facilities to complement specialist core subject amenities
• Fit for purpose school organisation approaches and learning environments

3. Key Objectives

• To ensure our Catholic ethos permeates all that we do and leads to the development of the whole child as a lifelong learner
• To offer personalised learning through a shared curriculum offer and to seek appropriate facilities to ensure its delivery.
• To place St. Damian’s at the heart of our local community and family of Catholic schools as an inclusive, extended college

4 Specialist status and standards of achievement

Our specialist Science college status has begun to have a positive impact on standards of achievement across the curriculum, as improvements to teaching and learning approaches within each specialist subject are replicated across the school. 59% of our students achieved five or more A*-C passes at GCSE and we are ambitious to improve further on this record.

The College is committed to setting challenging attainment targets for students at each stage of their learning and working with students and parents towards their realisation. Our aim is that each year’s results should represent an improvement in the College’s contextual value added (CVA) scores so that they are consistently above national averages.

Consequently, there is an improving trend in the contextual value added we secure in terms of students’ achievement in the core subjects over time between KS3 and 4, especially for boys. Similarly, at KS3, 2005 saw an upward trend in core subject achievement for all students, including students with additional learning needs.

We expect academic standards to rise markedly as a result of the transformation to our approaches articulated below and the investment BSF will bring. Our targets for improvement include securing CVA scores at both KS3 and KS4 which are significantly higher than average (1020.0) for all students.

However, there will be a shift away from the attainment of five GCSE passes with grades A*-C as the only indicator of student success. Students, parents, staff and governors alike are united in the belief that it is important to recognise and celebrate all the achievements of our young people and to evaluate success in a more rounded way.

Our intention is to seek a second specialism as a way of encouraging our students to realise their personal potential and unlock their creativity. Our second specialism will compliment and enhance our Science specialist status.

5. Teaching and Learning

For St. Damian’s, the intention is to personalise both how young people learn and what they are asked to study. All students will be totally involved in their own learning, at every stage of the process and over time and will become truly independent thinkers and learners. Already, teachers are giving students a sense of the ‘big picture’, how new learning relates to prior learning and where their studies might lead. They are now more involved in setting and reviewing their own learning targets.

However, more can and will be done. Staff and students themselves want to set young people up as architects of their own learning. For the staff, this means ensuring more multi-sensory teaching inputs and for the students, more ‘hands on’ activities and a greater choice of forums in which to assimilate and generate new ideas. This will mean the chance for working in pairs or small groups and attending large group ‘lecture’ style inputs by experts, sometimes through the use of technology such as video conferencing. In the learning environment, we see a large central space with six highly visible areas emanating from this where such activity can occur.

We will facilitate students ‘learning how to learn’ early on, becoming aware of their own preferred learning styles, and conversant with a range of study strategies. Our learners will become skilled in the realms of higher order thinking, communication and productivity (e.g. meeting deadlines) because all courses in the future will promote these explicitly. Opportunities will abound to present and continually review their own work and that of their peers. As learning groups become smaller and learning spaces larger, more ability group rather than age group based teaching will be facilitated.

6. Curriculum

As we transform our teaching and learning methodologies so we will also redesign our curriculum models, modes of delivery and learning environments.

The curriculum for the 21st century at St. Damian’s will continue be totally child centred. It will be broader, richer, aspirational and geared towards helping the school fulfil its Catholic mission and ‘foster the ability of each individual’. We aim to prepare each unique individual for success in later life. The demands of the current National Curriculum structure and assessment processes at KS3 and KS4 restrict curriculum flexibility for sizeable numbers of students.

To rectify this, alongside the introduction of more interactive teaching and learning, we will ensure more streamlined course content, particularly in the core subjects. A given syllabus will be revised so that it is totally inclusive for all students, grounded in real life experiences, concise in length and relevant. At KS3, we will ensure subject courses are amalgamated where appropriate so as to offer faculty level projects, in humanities and the arts for instance. We want to maximise levels of student engagement, particularly from those students who find aspects of academic courses too abstract and inaccessible. The new approach will help students better to see the links in their learning.

These projects will also place centre stage acquisition of the skills for the 21st century described above, such as meta-cognition, thinking, communication and productivity skills, and their application to real life problem solving based challenges. We intend to shorten the KS3 curriculum to a two year model so that students might access options earlier with the potential for students to be formally assessed prior to the end of the key stage. This will personalise their learning further and give them longer to pursue their studies at KS4.

A premium is placed on space by all at St. Damian’s. The new learning environments will offer more space to learn in interactive and collaborative ways.

7. 14-19 Agenda

St. Damian’s is already very conscious of the need to tailor 14-19 curriculum experiences to the individual child, particularly those who are currently under-achieving. We have ensured that individualised programmes are created for students with additional learning needs, including gifted and talented youngsters. Our proposal for the future is that, in addition, we will work collaboratively with our family of Catholic schools and colleges within the Tameside Campus to offer all students a bespoke diploma study programme. Rather than offering a number of pre-packaged routes from an in-house course diet, each student will be able to follow an academic, vocational or blended pathway, with each course offered at the appropriate level.

For instance, a higher achiever might pursue an engineering oriented route by studying related academic subjects, including some studied early at AS level, but also access additional modules suited to the envisaged career path, such as the BTEC First Certificate in Engineering and an optional module in electronics.

Additionally, each student would have the opportunity to follow ongoing internships with relevant local employers for around 20% of their taught time to ensure that course syllabus concepts, skills, knowledge and understanding are truly applied.

St. Damian’s will work with its partners to establish an enhanced vocational course offer, with on-site course options complementing those made available at St Thomas More and All Saints, our partners. We have already developed a partnership too with Loreto College in Manchester and Tameside College (Memorandum of Agreement) have begun to enhance the range of vocational course options we provide on site. New subjects have been introduced to school such as the BTEC First Diploma in sport and GCSE Applied Performing Arts as well as an NVQ level 1 offered for our students in association with Tameside College.

We intend to develop further vocational provision on site in relation to the specialised learning lines. Provision will be made which best reflects our current Science college specialist status and intended additional specialism. Hence, we will actively seek partners through our Catholic school consortium and our extended links within Tameside LEA to help us provide further courses related to the learning lines in health and social care, engineering, creative and media in particular.

Vocational, academic and work related learning will enjoy parity of esteem and be open to all. Vocational options will be made available at all levels of study including level three and beyond. All students will be given closer guidance on their options from a teacher in his/her pastoral role. They will also be able to change pathways at a later stage, although inappropriate choices will be reduced through the new emphasis to be placed on one to one guidance and the involvement of Academic Tutors to support learning. Each young person will have their progression routes mapped out for them. These will be recorded in an Individual Learning Plan, so they can then see how the choices they make will lead to future opportunities for further study, employment and wider life experiences. Parents will be involved at every step of the selection process and at ongoing reviews. The student, parents and tutor will meet regularly to discuss and review options and new ways of informing decision-making will be utilised. These include being able to view software packages showing possible combinations of study, which suit particular post 16 pathways, Open days, will be organised where course tutors will be on hand and students and parents can get a flavour of what is involved on key courses.

8. School Organisation

Fundamental changes to school organisation are anticipated to make this vision a reality. The school week will embrace time on the fifth day for Year 7 and 8 students to focus on ‘Learn to Learn’ studies and for students in Year 9 onwards to pursue work related learning placements. We intend the school day to be reorganised so that an earlier start is achieved. We expect lunchtime to be taken more informally as students engage in longer study sessions as part of a more flexible timetable. An earlier finish to the formal day will enable a daily ‘third session’ curriculum enrichment programme to be accessed by all our students, including those living further away who cannot currently always participate.

Our child centred curriculum must promote the school’s Catholic mission to provide students with opportunities to develop their confidence and self-respect and foster their individual abilities and multiple intelligences while at the same time fostering each individual’s relationship with God and their understanding of the values of the Gospels. Therefore, the planned daily ‘third session’ curriculum enrichment programme will be a central part of every student’s learning experience at St. Damian’s. Through a collaborative offer and the drawing in of considerable external expertise, we will put in place a programme of activities, which builds on our current track record. We already offer an extensive programme of extra curricular sporting, academic and arts based activities comprising over thirteen sports and arts endeavours including a band, a choir, an expressive arts club, dance / aerobics class and regular theatre visits.

BSF funding will help us pursue excellence in these fields by enhancing the sports and arts facilities in particular. A state of the art performance hall and expressive arts faculty, comprising music technology rooms, dance and drama studios are vital. Our collaborative partnership with the diocesan schools will enable us to provide more sustained PE coaching and music tutoring. The provision of fitness suites, an all weather sports pitch, gymnasium and excellent changing facilities are also crucial. These enhancements, coupled with a remodelling of curriculum timetables, will enable us to ensure every young person engages in sports and PE activity for a minimum of two hours per week and is given a heightened awareness of healthy living issues.

Also, BSF will help us put in place enhanced facilities for social, cultural and spiritual interaction, enabling us to stage conferences, festivals, exchange visits, retreats, and the regular celebration of Mass and other appropriate liturgical celebrations.

9. ICT

Technology will be integral to all that we do. It will enable ‘anytime, anywhere’ learning for all. It will support us, in particular to:

• personalise the learning experience and its assessment for students
• promote interactive teaching and learning
• broaden and enrich the curriculum
• support home / school communications and parental involvement
• help improve school self-evaluation and improvement processes
• make school administration procedures more effective and efficient

In terms of teaching and learning, schemes of work, lesson plans and supporting materials will be planned and stored on line. In this way, staff will be able to focus more on differentiating for specific students’ needs than on ‘reinventing the wheel’. Assessments will be stored in this way too. Each student will have a portable device- a ‘digital mentor’ to help them organise, carry out and review their own learning. ICT will be an integral part of the learning environment – interactive whiteboards and specialist software will be common to each learning session and help make all learning multi-sensory and ‘hands on’. Video conferencing facilities will help students to access expertise from staff at other institutions without leaving the school site. A multi-media resource library will promote independent learning. E-confidence and e-learning will be promoted by giving students opportunities to access blended learning experiences incorporating on-line materials, especially where study resources can be enriched and interactive such as for literacy support programmes. We will continue to drive up e-confidence of staff through systematic training and support in the use of ICT software applications and provision of e-learning activities such as on-line discussion groups, self-assessment exercises and simulations.

As each faculty will be rich in both general hardware and software but also subject specific equipment, such as multi-track recording equipment and CAD CAM, it will attract wider usage from community groups and hopefully parents, who may learn alongside the students at times. The whole site will be wireless networked and the school’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) will foster learning beyond the school day by the students and closer parental involvement in the learning process.

The managed ICT service will also enable us to approach a host of leadership and management processes differently. Once e-mail access is available on and off site for staff, the school intranet will be invaluable in aiding close communications, including the transfer of data. Students will be given e-cards, which will enable us to introduce cashless catering and electronic student registration. We will also use digital assessment portfolios and student tracking, which will help us evaluate student progress and the impact of school improvement initiatives more effectively.

All staff will have individual digital devices. These will give access to school information, departmental and whole school reviews, curriculum planning, student assessments and the pastoral records of their small tutor group. Access to relevant data will also be afforded to inter-agency professionals to aid better cross profession communication. Multi media equipment such as plasma screens will project information about events and achievements in shared areas.

Great emphasis will be placed on sharing expertise between departments and with other schools. Similar attention will be paid to developing in each individual the specialist skills with which they can best contribute to a teamwork approach. We have already introduced opportunities for staff to plan, teach and review lessons together across more than one subject and we continue to emphasise leadership at all levels – for instance, middle leaders becoming ‘lead learners’ to show new ideas to colleagues in other departments as part of our overall change management strategy.

We will require a first rate environment in which staff can convene for meetings, relax, plan and to share best practice together. It will be ICT rich and replete with professional standard office facilities for communications, individual work and team working. Suitable accommodation for senior leaders and inter-agency working will be provided. Interview and counselling rooms will be set aside for meetings with families and individual students. Resource storage in both curriculum faculties and general areas must be of sufficient size and away from central activity areas.

10. SEN and inclusion

As a faith school, we believe every child is of equal worth and has a God-given talent whether in the spiritual, academic, sporting, musical, artistic or social dimensions. Our staff is known for creating a warm, welcoming and inclusive environment in which to learn, where students can develop their self-confidence and self-esteem. As a relatively small school, we have established a reputation for being an ‘extended family’, whose member’s value respect for oneself and for others. Students’ learning is closely monitored and targets are regularly set and reviewed with all students. As such, we have been successful in embracing and supporting the increasing number of students who are presenting with complex needs. Our pastoral and learning support structures are equally strong and the student support officer’s role is central to this success.

A key goal for St Damian’s learning community is to eradicate the gender disparity in achievement between boys and girls while ensuring that the CVA for all students maintains an upward trend.

We welcome the extension of our current links with Samuel Laycock Special School. We have been able to draw upon increased specialist advice in drawing up each child’s pastoral support programme. We also welcome much more inter-agency working with St. Damian’s being able to offer para-professionals from the health, social care, careers and learning support services dedicated space and facilities to work alongside us on site to provide integrated services for children. We would lead on multi-agency assessments in support of securing every Child Matters outcomes for our more vulnerable students. These facilities would also provide for enhanced family learning and parent partnership activities designed to raise parents’ own confidence about learning and about how to provide continuity of care and study support for the student at home. Critically, we would work together towards all embracing strategies for ‘early intervention’ involving children at risk, their families and our inclusion team.

Through BSF, we see a future in which all students, including those learners with learning difficulties and disabilities, will be fully integrated into this school.

Physically, we envisage an environment where inclusive provision is placed at the heart of the school, in keeping with its importance to us. The Ambrose Suite and our learning support unit would be centralised so that close communication with each faculty might be more easily accomplished. Our specialist staff could work more effectively alongside subject teams to promote learning support strategies and their consistent use across the school.

11. Behaviour and attendance

As described above, best practice within the Ambrose Suite in terms of creating the right learning ambience and strategies for improving the motivation and concentration of students with behavioural difficulties might be more easily shared. Our strategy for promoting positive behaviour and attendance also involves both changes to the school timetable; making learning ‘fit the learner’ more and to its environment – providing space and facilities for youngsters to engage in active recreation at break times. Furthermore, we would look to extend our peer mentoring scheme to embrace all year groups. Also, we will consider creating a ‘school within a school’ for Year 7 so that all students get a secure transition from KS2 to KS3 and behavioural problems associated with children who find change difficult are alleviated at the outset. All teachers would take on a pastoral role for around six students in each year group in order to personalise our pastoral support still further.

We will continue to expect high standards of behaviour. Our approaches to securing this include working closely with feeder primary schools in securing effective transition for all students and early identification of specific needs. Giving students a voice in school life, promoting closer home/ school dialogue about student progress and changes to the school day and curriculum delivery are all part of our strategy to help students behave well. Our culture of promoting praise and success is crucial.

For all students, the current lack of both internal and external recreational space is to the detriment of our endeavours to promote positive social interaction and offer students quality leisure time opportunities. For instance, we work hard to stagger lunchtimes to make the dining experience acceptable to our young people. However, facilities are very cramped. We welcome, through BSF, the chance to offer a larger, dedicated dining hall, making meal times a relaxed occasion for students to enjoy lunch together. Multi-purpose social areas positioned and designed for both younger and older students will be placed strategically across the site. Externally, we believe a range of meeting areas, including a garden area with benched seating, would help promote a sense of calm and enjoyment and provide the forum for extended subject studies. Access to all facilities must be possible for those with physical disabilities and the wider community of learners.

As social, recreational and learning zones are reconfigured, the environment at St. Damian’s must reflect our sense of community and commitment to collaboration.

Therefore, we see learning areas grouped as multi-subject faculties, e.g. arts or humanities, a centralised inclusion centre and recreational areas, which explicitly cater for a range of students’ social, spiritual and cultural needs and interests.

12. Extended schools/community integration

One prime purpose in seeking to make St. Damian’s the focal point of the learning community, is to secure Every Child Matters outcomes for all our young people. We therefore wish to work more closely with all our families in support of each child’s personal care and learning opportunities.

We draw just 20% of our student intake from the immediate locality and so in forging closer home / school partnerships, we will seek to embrace too the wider Catholic community of families we serve. Longer opening hours and a more flexible timetable will help us schedule ‘shared events’. These will include achievement assemblies, family learning groups and curriculum support seminars, in which staff actively help parents to support their child including through learning alongside the student.

Family facilities provided through the school during the holidays and at weekends will give rise to affordable, fun recreational time. Activities will include creative crafts and design, music festivals, trips, coaching in indoor as well as outdoor sports and computing classes.

We also wish to promote lifelong learning for all and help to raise the quality of life in the area. We intend St. Damian’s to provide superb out of hours learning opportunities and will extend the invitation to use these new facilities to the wider community by extending school opening hours. Already, St. Damian’s hosts successful provision such as mathematics tuition, a five-a-side football and psychology classes for adults. We would seek to formulate our new programme in partnership with Tameside Adult and Community Learning Service. We will open up high quality arts, sports and specialist subject facilities for evening and weekend adult education classes. We will also provide a suite of conferencing rooms for community groups to use and a range of local services, including provision of a dentist, optician, financial and careers adviser on site as well as establishing a child-care centre.

In so doing, we will bring our community together; notably blurring the boundaries between home and school so that parents and staff work more closely together to ensure students’ ongoing needs can be more effectively monitored and met.

13. Summary

The St. Damian’s of the future will foster and evaluate students’ achievements in the round. Ours will be a school placed at the heart of the local community and family of Catholic schools and the Tameside Campus. We will personalise learning and the curriculum offered to each individual and, hand in hand, develop our students’ collegiate sensibilities as members of our close-knit faith community. Our school environment will enable us to pursue excellence through collaboration and innovation. Above all, our journey will be one of partnership, our purpose to promote lifelong learning for all as members of God’s family at St. Damian’s.