Using stimulating learning activities

Information about the school

Ysgol Pen Barras is situated in Ruthin, Denbighshire.  It serves the town of Ruthin and the surrounding area.  The current building opened on the new site in April 2018.  Welsh is the main medium of the school’s life and work, and English is introduced in key stage 2.  There are 273 pupils between 3 and 11 years old on roll, including 35 part-time nursery age pupils.  They are divided into 11 classes.

Over the last three years, the average proportion of pupils who are eligible for free school meals has been around 3%.  This is significantly lower than the national percentage (19%).  Around 76% of pupils come from Welsh-speaking homes.  The school has identified around 15% of its pupils as having additional learning needs, which is slightly lower than the national percentage.

Context and background to the effective or innovative practice

With the arrival of the new curriculum and recent developments in education, it was seen that teachers and staff needed to begin to think in different ways when planning stimulating learning activities and challenges for pupils.  Moving to a new building in April 2018 was an opportunity to think about providing valuable, fresh experiences for pupils.  This prompted staff to become more enterprising and to experiment when planning for interesting themes and activities.  Pupils were given responsibility for choosing the term’s theme, and they had to think about a big question every week about what they would like to learn.  By operating in this way, staff soon realised that they needed to work together more closely within the units when planning, and the staff’s mindset changed to thinking about planning experiences rather than planning lessons.  Less importance was placed on what was recorded in teachers’ planning files, in order to spend more time planning jointly with staff and pupils to organise creative, exciting and interesting activities and experiences.  This means that lessons are free to follow different routes, in line with pupils’ curiosity.  Staff had to take a step back and have an open mind, be creative and try to take advantage of the expertise of members of the local community in order to facilitate learning and introduce a range of valuable experiences for pupils.  This methodology of planning in advance was found to go hand in hand with the school’s priorities, namely: develop the pupil’s voice, the principles of the foundation phase, work independently and digital competence.

Description of the nature of the strategy or activity

For around two years, the school has been experimenting with teachers’ planning and selecting different themes.  There is now a feeling in the school that the new system works, and staff are confident when being guided by pupils’ interests.  As a result, staff and pupils are more enthusiastic about class activities.

The first step on the journey was to change the way that themes are chosen.  Teachers were challenged not to teach a theme that they had studied previously.  This meant that they could not re‑use detailed schemes of work, tasks and ready-made worksheets, which caused concern to some at the beginning.  It was also noted that a theme should only last one half term, in order to ensure a lively pace and hold pupils’ interest.  Teachers have some flexibility to choose the theme for the last half term in the summer, in order to ensure that the range of curricular skills and areas have been given sufficient attention.

During the last week of every term, ‘class discussions’ are held to discuss which theme pupils would like to study the following term.  A long list of options is recorded and discussed, before a vote is held and the most popular theme is chosen.  Over the holidays, pupils are given homework to think about big questions and areas to study within the theme.  Parents are encouraged to help pupils, particularly the youngest pupils, to search for information and think about research areas.  Once they have returned from their holidays, everyone is ready for the new theme, has some knowledge about the area, is full of enthusiasm and has a desire to learn more.

At the beginning of the new study, pupils and staff discuss what pupils already know about the theme and what they would like to learn.  These areas, or big questions, form the basis for teachers, within their units, to discuss and plan engaging experiences and activities.  These meetings are held at the end of every week in order to think about activities and prepare resources.  Assistants are also a key part of the process, and are given specific responsibilities and organise activities.  There is a great emphasis on inviting members of the community to give presentations or going on visits in order to stimulate work further.  A number of visitors have discussed their experiences; for example, when studying the theme ‘Films’, the actor Rhys Ifans was invited to the school, in addition to a cameraman, a sound technician, a script writer, a dancer and actors to discuss their work.  Experiences such as these have been very valuable, and staff and pupils have benefitted from these experiences.

Less importance is placed on what is recorded in teachers’ planning files, in order to spend more time planning jointly.  This means that lessons are free to follow different routes, in line with pupils’ curiosity.  What is expected in teachers’ planning files is far less in terms of bulk and formality, and includes the following:  

• a list of themes chosen by pupils;
• the theme that was chosen, and the big questions;
• a challenge timetable and staff responsibilities;
• a brief description of activities and sheets to highlight the skills that have been introduced, in terms of literacy, numeracy and ICT;
• examples of pupils’ work are also submitted – because seeing a pupil’s work says more than a teacher’s description of the task in question.

Tasks are planned for areas across the curriculum that relate to the theme.  Every week, the aim is to produce at least one piece of extended written work, one numeracy task and ICT tasks across the curriculum.

The school has adapted its learning methods by promoting activities that nurture independent learning.  As a result, less information and fewer facts are presented to pupils, and more of an emphasis is placed on developing pupils to be willing to make mistakes and then find the answers or solve problems themselves.  Sharing and celebrating pupils’ work is also at the forefront, and pupils are encouraged to be able to identify good work and areas for development, be that in their own work or the work of others.  More attention is also given to improving their own work, and teachers spend more time with pupils to find the answer to the question, ‘How can I improve my work?’.  The school is also experimenting with its marking systems, and is trying to mark on the spot or ensure that work is discussed with pupils and improvements are suggested in a timely manner.

What impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?

All teachers have observed that pupils have much more enthusiasm towards their work and, as a result, standards have increased.  With pupils playing such a prominent part in their own learning, the enjoyment and determination to do their best is evident.  

The school recognises the challenge of changing staff’s mindset towards this method of learning, and there is still a great deal of work to be done.  They are convinced that by working together to plan in this way and connecting with the local community, they are able to provide a wide range of experiences for pupils in order to develop their skills to a high standard, and that they will grow to become well-rounded individuals who contribute greatly to the local community and Wales.

How have you shared your good practice?

The school works closely with local schools to share good practice and ideas.  Nearby schools have visited the school and the north Wales consortium, GwE, has invited foundation phase staff to share their experiences with teachers across the region.