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Invicta Grammar School


		11-16 schools

		6th form schools

		Colleges

About the case study

This case study shows how a school is building on its current strengths to create a framework of activities, experiences and opportunities that meet statutory requirements for work-related learning. Changes are being introduced at a pace that does not overwhelm staff and pupils, but does ensure that the change is permanent.

The school

Invicta Grammar School is an 11-18 selective grammar school in Maidstone, Kent. It has 1,270 students, with girls only up to age 16 and a mixed sixth form. Examination results at both GCSE and A level are outstanding and a high percentage of students go to university.

The school is popular and over-subscribed, and over the last six years the number of students has grown by a third. The socio-economic context is relatively favoured, though students come from a wide range of backgrounds. Most students are white British. 22 students have special educational needs.

The school became a specialist business and enterprise college in September 2003. It received the DfES Schools Achievement Award in 2000, 2001 and 2002 and has the Artsmark Gold and Sportsmark Awards. Other awards include Investors in People, Excellence in Careers, the International School Award and Enterprise Pathfinder Status. It has extensive external links and partnerships with local schools, businesses, the Education Business Partnership and the local community. The school has a strong tradition of innovation in teaching and learning.

In the past, the school has hosted major industrial conferences in the summer term and over 180 students annually undertake work-related placements. While most students find placements in the local economy, an increasing number are choosing to experience work in France, Belgium, Germany and even the USA.

Developments to support work-related learning at key stage 4

Strong leadership

The school has a strong commitment to work-related learning through the governing body and notably the headteacher, who gained significant experience of the world of work before embarking on her teaching career. The school recognises the need to develop its students as lifelong learners, able to make their way in the world of work with the expectation that they will be the policy makers and trend setters of the future.

The school recognises that work-related learning is important for students of all abilities. It therefore acknowledges that it is crucial for higher-achieving students to value these skills and experiences and build on them for their future lives.

Appointment of a work-related coordinator

The school appointed a full-time careers adviser with a job description that incorporated the role of work-related learning coordinator. The coordinator has no direct teaching commitments and one of her responsibilities is managing and coordinating the work-related learning programme in key stage 4. She also organises students’ work placements. In addition, she has been appointed as head of year 11 and has joined the senior leadership team.

Audit of current work-related provision

In response to the publication of the QCA guidance on work-related learning, the work-related learning coordinator circulated a work-related audit document to each of the heads of subject areas early in the autumn term of 2003. The completed responses were collected and analysed to see how the school’s provision compared against the nine elements identified in the QCA work-related learning framework.

Subject heads at the school now have guidance on identifying where work-related learning can be incorporated not only into the Focus Days (see below) but also within their own schemes of work.

The school wants to maximise awareness and understanding of work-related learning among students and the Focus Days have contributed to this. An Ofsted visit in November 2003 and small-group interviews with students by a QCA consultant in December 2003, have confirmed the growing sense of importance attached to these aspects of the curriculum.

Broadening the key stage 4 curriculum

The school regularly reviews its curriculum provision and one of the changes to the key stage 4 curriculum has been the introduction of GCSEs in vocational subjects. It is now running a course in applied business, which has attracted a large number of students in years 10 and 11.

Focus Days and changes to the school timetable

The school has moved this year to a new fortnightly timetable, where the fifth day in each ten-day cycle is designated a Focus Day. A detailed schedule of activities for each year group has been agreed by staff, with individual days allocated to specific subject areas. Off-site visits and fieldwork activities are booked for Focus Days.

Focus Days include elements of citizenship, business and enterprise, study skills and personal and social education. Opportunities for work-related learning are a major part of the Focus Days, and schemes of work – particularly in key stage 4 – have been revised to include work-related learning. Students can develop practical and analytical skills, which they can apply both in adult life and the workplace. They also have opportunities to apply their learning in a work-related context.

While Focus Days are in their first year of implementation, a sense of progression and continuity has been built into the programme. For example, in science, with significant help from City University:
- year 8 students spend the day with a focus on engineering and investigating alternative sources of energy
- year 9 students participate in a carousel of activities throughout the day, which include:
· building a Formula One racing car
· customising model cars for aerodynamics
· designing an engine management system
· fuels and cars of the future
· Formula One photography
· the car and the environment
· year 10 students are involved in a project linked to the school’s Pathfinder Enterprise status. They investigate a real-life, local engineering problem and then come up with a range of possible solutions.

The year 10 science Focus Day will be cross-curricular and incorporate work-related learning opportunities that involve business, mathematics and design technology as well as science. All year 10 pupils will be taken to the Isle of Sheppey, which is joined to the mainland by a single bridge. With the help of the port authorities, the bridge will be raised during the visit and students set the task of investigating possible solutions to the resulting traffic problems. The task intentionally challenges some of the gender stereotyping associated with engineering.

Staff professional development placements

Two years ago, the staff agreed to allocate one INSET day to a whole programme of individual staff professional development placements. With help from the local Education Business Partnership, every single member of staff was allocated a placement, which gave them valuable opportunities to get up-to-date experience of the world of work.

This was generally seen as a very useful exercise, although it does require careful planning and organisation. The school hopes to repeat the programme in future.

Coordination of external links

The school recognised that to introduce a work-related learning programme that meets the statutory requirement, and has breadth, balance and relevance, it would need to develop more links with businesses and other external agencies. With the help of its local Education Business Partnership the school is taking on the challenge of ensuring that employers are effectively engaged with the programme.

In close cooperation with the work-related learning coordinator an assistant head has overall responsibility for coordinating the ever-increasing number of links with external partners. Individual members of staff are each responsible for informing the assistant head of any external contacts they have made, so that a contact database can be kept.

Future developments

The current academic year has seen a large increase in activity and innovation in work-related learning at the school. To manage the programme more easily, the school has decided to focus on the important tasks that need action. These are:
· evaluating the introduction of the Focus Days, identifying successes and areas for future improvement
· monitoring the results of the GCSE in Applied Business and evaluating the demands of delivering a double award course in one option block of contact time
· considering a further whole staff day for professional development placements
· broadening and extending the school’s links with business organisations and the wider community.