Overview of the Strategic Plan for
the Halifax Excellence Cluster
The Halifax Excellence Cluster Partnership comprises the headteachers of all 27 Cluster schools, the principal of Calderdale College and the Head of Education Effectiveness.
The Partnership has worked within the principles governing both Excellence in Cities and Excellence Clusters in the UK. The Partnership is committed to the core beliefs and to the whole Cluster programme. The mission statement is “Achievement for Everyone” and the cluster aims to inspire pupils’ educational achievements by::
- increasing self-esteem and confidence
- increasing motivation
- raising expectations
- working in partnership
- improving progression
- leading to higher attainment
The principles that underpin the work of the Halifax Excellence Cluster:
- each child in an Excellence Cluster school should be able to benefit
- more support to be allocated proportionally to schools where the needs are greater
- additional support is targeted to address underachievement
The strands in the Halifax Excellence Cluster
The Partnership, through its working groups, has undertaken an audit of identified need relating to the main areas to be covered in the plan and focuses on four areas:
The Halifax Excellence Cluster action plan links with a number of other locally based plans including:
- Calderdale Council’s Education Development Plan
- Calderdale Council’s Behaviour Support Plan
- Calderdale Learning Partnership
- Local Public Service Agreement
- North Halifax Federation of Schools
- Children’s Fund (national)
- Sure Start (national)
- Connexions (national)
- Aim Higher (national)
a) Gifted and Talented
The strand has four major purposes:
- to improve the attainment and motivation of the cohort of pupils in the Excellence Cluster identified as gifted and talented. Planned outcomes include specific targets such as raising the percentage of pupils attaining the higher levels at Key Stages 2 and 3, as well as improving the percentage of pupils attaining GCSE grades A*-C in the secondary schools.
- to deliver a programme that provides a blend of opportunity, challenge and support for gifted and talented pupils in Years 3 – 11 (Years 1, 2 in the infant school). The implementation of an appropriate programme of work for these pupils will have a positive impact on the curriculum delivery for all pupils in the identified schools.
- to improve the capability of schools in the Cluster to make effective provision for gifted and talented pupils, within and beyond the traditional school day.
- to ensure that the transition of gifted and talented pupils from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3 is appropriately managed.
b) Learning mentors:
The objectives of learning mentors are to:
- provide additional support for those pupils needing it most and, more specifically, provide support both inside and outside the school to pupils with identified barriers to learning
- raise standards and reduce truancy and exclusion
- provide an additional support for existing school staff
An audit of barriers to learning has identified a number of areas for learning mentors in the Cluster to address. The issues raised are all closely inter-related, and those given highest priority by the schools in the Cluster are as follows:
- attendance/punctuality/disaffection/behaviour/attitudes to learning
- parenting skills/parental involvement
- socio-economic environment
- pupil mobility
- physical and mental health
c) Learning support units:
The three secondary schools facing challenging circumstances will have an individual Learning Support Unit and the primary schools in North Halifax will have access to a Learning Support Unit. The Units will be outside the classroom, where children who need particularly intensive support can spend some of their time. Learning Support Units will:
- enable schools to provide separate short-term teaching and support programmes tailored to the needs of difficult pupils
- keep disaffected pupils in school and working while addressing their behaviour problems and helping to re-integrate them into mainstream classes as quickly as possible
- minimise the disruption caused by the most difficult pupils without excluding them
- provide a short term ‘re-entry’ point for pupils starting at schools who may have previously been excluded on disciplinary grounds
d) Tailored strand
The vision of the Excellence Cluster is the same as that of the Halifax Learning Zone, namely ‘to inspire and lift pupils’ educational achievements, aspirations and self esteem’. In order to realise this vision, the Partnership is pleased that the Tailored Strand takes up 35% of the funding in order to continue, develop and enhance the current Zone programmes which appear to be making a significant contribution to raising self-esteem, confidence, motivation and achievement.
As stated in the Transformation Outline Plan, the Partnership wanted to continue to fund a range of the previous Halifax Learning Zone programmes – the ones which have had most impact on raising standards of attainment, reducing behavioural incidents and exclusions, improving attendance and increasing the staying-in-learning rates. Prominent among these are:
- Support to primary schools facing challenging circumstances
- Support to secondary schools facing challenging circumstances
- School-designed innovations
- ICT developments
Other sections of our School Improvement Series ...
- The index for the school improvement series
- An exclusive interview with a School Improvement Partner
- School improvement at Newhall Park Primary
- School improvement at Salt Grammar School
- School improvement in the Halifax Excellence Cluster
Russell Educational Consultancy and Productions