Madeley High School, Staffordshire

Presented by Michael Surtees, former Deputy Head, Madeley High School, Staffs

Introduction & History

Madeley High School is a co-educational 11-16 comprehensive school in Staffordshire which has a catchment area lying to the west of Newcastle under Lyme. However, we also take pupils from outside our normal catchment area, including a number from Cheshire, Shropshire and Stoke. Originally opened in 1957 the school has grown in recent years, and presently has 654 pupils with an admission limit for 2010-2011 of 135.

We became a specialist Technology College in July 2002, working jointly with Blackfriars Special School in Newcastle Under Lyme. However, as a result of our examination success we were designated a high performing school in 2005 and awarded joint second specialism’s of Arts and Cognition and Learning.

Our last OFSTED inspection in December, 2007 described us as “a good school with several outstanding features”. However, as always, there were areas of improvement to be made so we could achieve our aim of moving from a “good” to an “outstanding” school overall. These included ensuring that all middle leaders played a greater role in the monitoring and evaluation of their departments and the raising of our already high standards by the more effective use of assessment data.

Much of this we started to achieve by better use of the SIMS Assessment Manager module, producing Interim Reports for staff and parents and more effective tracking of individual pupil progress. However, staff found Assessment Manager difficult to use and, in addition, were not able to access it at home. A further drawback was the speed at which any analysis, particularly of examination results, became available. This was particularly so at Key Stage 4 where, although FFT and RAISE Online provided high quality analyses, these were not available for several months after results were published.

Our Requirements Going Forward

What we wanted, therefore, was something that would provide us with rapid analysis of examination results at Key Stage 4, both internal and external, and allow us to compare these with targets at both an individual and a whole school level. We also wanted a system that was accessible to all staff, easy to use and produced high quality, easy to understand analyses. Oh, and it had to be compatible with SIMS as well! Overall a bit of a tall order and one which not surprisingly we initially failed to meet.

Using SISRA for Data Analysis

Luckily, in May 2008 we received a flyer advertising a service now branded as SISRA Online and were impressed by what it promised to do. We arranged an online demonstration and were very taken with the product, immediately signing up for a three year agreement. Within a few days we had loaded up our 2006-2007 GCSE results and 2007-2008 target grades and were ready to use the package and we were not disappointed! Loading the pupil data and examination results was very straight forward and the whole package was very easy to use and provided us with exactly what we were looking for. A group of staff, including members of the SLT and a number of middle managers, trialled it and it was very quickly agreed to open up access to all members of staff. As a result of this, by results day in August, many of our staff were familiar with the service and looking forward to using it. One of the highlights of the service was that when staff came in on GCSE results day all the data was already available online for them to start their analysis. Not only was it available it was available in much greater detail than had previously been possible. Staff could immediately look at results by gender, gifted and talented, ethnicity, special needs etc and at either a subject, class or pupil level. One particular bonus was that, because the package handles examinations other than GCSE, we were able to easily include our OCR National results, an examination which we had used for the very first time. In addition, the use of the residuals section allowed a much more accurate review of results to be carried out.

Instant Benefit Realisation

The first proof that this was the case came in the form of the examination reports produced by middle managers. These were not only produced faster, with every one being completed before the deadline date, but in much more detail than had previously been the case. This meant that any problems or issues identified could be dealt with at the start of term, leading to immediate benefits for both staff and pupils. Staff liked the fact that they could carry out their analysis from any computer with internet access, that the analyses produced were clear and easily understood and that the graphs produced could be easily cut and pasted into word processing documents.

Another bonus, once our 2008-2009 target grades had been loaded, again with the minimum of fuss and effort, was that borderline pupils, or groups with particular needs and requirements, could be easily identified and given the support they needed to reach their full potential. The Head of Year 11 could produce, at the touch of a button, lists of pupils who were targeted a particular number of passes, including or excluding English, Maths and Science, and monitor their progress more effectively. In addition, once Year 11 Mock results are known early in the Spring Term these too can be loaded up and the progress of either subjects, classes or individuals checked very quickly and soon enough to actually make a difference.

Since 2008-2009 the use of SISRA Online within the school has grown and developed and it is now firmly established as an integral part of life at Madeley. All teaching and non-teaching staff are set up as users, together with Associate Teachers, Chair of Governors, School Improvement Partner and Connexions Advisers. The latter have found this particularly useful as it means they can access assessment data and exam results for pupils either in school or in their office in Newcastle, allowing them to provide the best possible advice at all times. In addition, the ability to add focus groups and Key Stage 3 data has proven very popular and added an extra dimension to an already very useful package.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we are absolutely delighted that we purchased a subscription to SISRA Online. The package is easy to use and actually does what it promises to do, a rare thing these days! The support we have received has been second to none and we would recommend the package unreservedly. We are convinced it offers real benefits for both staff and pupils and will help us achieve our aim of making that difficult step from a good school to an outstanding one, a fact confirmed by the fact that in 2008-2009, after using SISRA for under two years, we had our best ever examination results of 72% 5+ A* - C grades including English and Maths.