The personal touch is paying dividends

THEN most people think about raising standards in schools they think about teachers.

But support staff at Radclyffe School— from the head teacher’s PA to the school nurse — have been nominated for an educational Oscar for their role in its success.

Reporter Karen Doherty went along to find out more.headline

PICTURE the scene. Two years from now, Radclyffe pupils are eagerly ripping open their GCSE results.

And one person who will be just as excited is science technician Stephen Brook-field.

That’s because like the majority of the 176 staff at the Chadderton secondary — teaching and non-teaching alike — he is a personal learning guide (PLG).

Replacing traditional form classes taken each morning by a teacher, they are responsible for 12 pupils whom they see every morning on a rolling basis for an individual 10- minute session.

The idea is to create small families among the 1,500 pupils headed by a PLG; find out how students are doing in a relaxed atmosphere and give them the opportunity to raise concerns which they might not talk about in front of classmates.

Stephen said of one such pupil: “I sensed something was wrong, but he wasn’t forthcoming. All of a sudden he broke down and he told me his problem was maths.

“I went to the head of maths and he told me the lad was getting good marks. We then found out his sister was doing his maths homework. We put something in place and the lad is improving in maths.

“I think if it wasn’t for that 10 minutes we wouldn’t have done that. Can you imagine how I will feel on the day when that boy opens his GCSE maths results? I will feel I have contributed in a tiny part.”

PLGs are part of Radclyffe’s role as a Pathfinder School, pioneering new ways of working since the introduction of the School Workforce Reform.

The 2003 national agreement aimed to free up teachers from tasks such as administration, invigilating exams, and covering for absent colleagues.

Much of what Radclyffe has done — and the school insists that reform is ongoing — is now commonplace.

It was the first to employ non-teachers as year managers, traditionally a teacher’s head of year job, and led the way with learning managers who cover classes for absent teachers.

However, the introduction of non-teachers covering classes met with anger from the National Union of Teachers.

Indeed, planned industrial action at Radclyffe failed by a single vote.

Head teacher Hardial Hayer refused to rake over old ground and said: “What’s in the past is in the past.

“I have never been into teaching to prove who is right or wrong. All I am interested in is that what’s happening now is right for our children.”

He wants to introduce innovative ways of working, without compromising the main aim of raising standards, and believes that tapping into the talents of the school’s 80 or so support staff is helping to achieve that.

The approach is encapsulated in the school motto “working together for excellence”.

Mr Hayer added: “The proof of the pudding is our results over the past few years.

“You do not need to be a teacher to raise achievement in our school. All these people feel they have a stake in the success of our school, that’s the key.

“If you feel you have a stake in what you are doing, and the achievement of pupils, you want to get up in the morning and be here. If you feel what you are doing isn’t helping change lives, it’s just another job.

“It’s not easy if you come and work here. It’s hard work, but it’s rewarding work in the sense that you feel you are making a difference to children’s lives. If you want just an office job, this isn’t the place for that.”

That work will be honoured in the final of the Times Educational Supplement Schools Awards — TESSAs — in which the school has been shortlisted for the Support Team of the Year Award.

But are support staff seen as second-class members of the team by Radclyffe’s pupils and 91 teachers? “Absolutely not” says learning manager Heather Hunt.

She said: “There’s not one department or area of the school I do not feel confident going to. It’s a really good atmosphere. Everybody feels valued. When the school does well everybody is rewarded and thanked.”

Formerly a teaching assistant at another school, she was inspired by Radclyffe and explained: “I came here as a parent looking at a school for my son and was so impressed by it that I wanted to work here.

“It was the sense of the whole team effort: everybody working together and really valued.”

Stephen, a former engineer, became a science technician after being made redundant. He admitted that the PLG role was tricky at first and added: “It was something new for me, completely different, but I enjoy it actually.

“I am not a teacher, I never will be. But if I can help that tiny bit, I’ll get a personal sense of achievement.”