This half term has been another step change at
@AAWoodfields
. This video describes how we became a safe, calm and dignified school. This thread describes how we have revised our curriculum so that it matches the strength of our culture.
A 🧵
👇🏾👇🏿👇🏻
1/12
Please watch this
@BBCLookNorth
clip of our wonderful school, and our scholars and
@MrDavidScales
discuss our improvements in all areas in a short space of time. We are mindful that there is much to be done, however this shows how far we’ve come.
Introducing our new teacher standing desks! Helps staff support scholars in lesson and rapidly check for understanding. Fully adjustable too! Visualisers for modelling and booklets to teach from.
Introducing pink spots and pink lines. Pink spots - a duty point that staff must occupy if empty
Pink lines - one foot either side and queue if at a T, otherwise a corridor divider, walk on left
All staff (support and teaching) will now promote university and real alternatives outside their classrooms in these new clip frames. Small thing, but it also means we can change displays and promotions each half term. Hoping it will prompt conversations that build aspiration.
Is your school in the 2006 time warp?
- group work
- style over substance
- data drops every half term
- “Buzz”
- Behaviour your fault
- discovery learning
- comic sans
- marking not feedback
- PowerPoints
- blame not support
Join us instead - message me, look at TES
Also great to see that the site continues to develop. These posters were designed by our excellent librarian, Mr Harris, and are in every classroom - and now on the corridors to reinforce our message and ethos.
New Half Term, new ways of working. Our running the day meeting is now a lot more about reflecting on the day before and, in specific terms, how will the day run today. This is to allow us to run the day, rather than the day run us. I’ve added the first version we used in March!
We don’t add to workload, costs or parental stress by dressing up. We find a book, write a personalised message and gift it to a scholar. Tomorrow they’ll open it and have the gift of reading. Happy world book day in advance.
It’s lovely when scholars ask you about
@Cambridge_Uni
and their
#careers
. I had a good conversation a Y11 who wants to study
#law
. A way of encouraging
#reading
and raising
#aspirations
is to gift books and make that persona touch. Really wish her the best of luck.
Introducing Running the Week. Mr Hartley (“God of Duties”) has developed this sheet which feeds into running the day. On a Monday we declare our diaries and update the events. We can then run each day knowing our capacity and events that might get in our way.
All those teachers with degrees who were being snobbish about how we promote those same degrees to the most disadvantaged children in the country would do well to read this.
Higher education is a key driver of social mobility in this country 📈
Our landmark piece of research showed that low-income students are 4x more likely to become socially mobile if they attend university.
We must continue efforts to widen access 👇
We use
#TLAC
to help scholars succeed at school. We summarise TLAC into credit card sized prompts that go on lanyards. We role olay these twice a week. Staff give no-stakes feedback using power automate. The result is a rapidly improving school!
Someone on here posted about corridors the other week, and I know how they feel. Two consecutive days of this.
@AAWoodfields
is changing for the better. Calm corridors, disruption free learning. Our incredible staff and students are defying gravity.
#teamwoodfields
14 years ago I promised to address educational disadvantage by working in challenging schools. Tomorrow I lead the most exciting school improvement project in the country as Principal. Come on
@AAWoodfields
!!!
#teamwoodfields
#teachfirst
This year big changes have happened
@AAWoodfields
. From humble beginnings, we now have a courteous and scholarly culture.
Where did we come from and how did this happen?
🧵 1/22
Toilets are a very difficult area to manage in schools, and too many parents have unrealistic expectations about how they can be. This isn’t your own house, this is a complex workplace with 1000 people. Teenagers have been known to misbehave in these private spaces…
Please listen to
@MrDavidScales
explain our rules regarding toilet use. Scholars should use these facilities before school, breaktime, lunchtime or after school and not interrupt lessons. At break and lunch they should go at the very start.
Thanks 🙏🏻
Yesterday, people on here wanted to know about the process with these cards:
1) TLAC
2) Clear training and rationale
3) What to do guides with philosophy behind them
4) Weekly deliberate practice
5) No stakes observations and feedback
6) Instructional coaching
We had corridors where scholars could get to lessons how they liked. Many were 15mins+ late or never made it to lessons; there was pushing, shoving and bullying. We have single file lines in quiet corridors. Now we have successful and happy children who feel safe. Works for them.
I am so proud of the scholars who represented the school so well here. Articulate and true ambassadors. We’ve come an awful long way, but there is so much further to go. We’re working tirelessly to improve this school.
Please watch this
@BBCLookNorth
clip of our wonderful school, and our scholars and
@MrDavidScales
discuss our improvements in all areas in a short space of time. We are mindful that there is much to be done, however this shows how far we’ve come.
There is a
#recruitment
and
#retention
#crisis
in
#education
. We’ve managed to buck the trend. I think that’s because there’s:
☑️ No Marking
☑️ Disruption Free Learning
☑️ SLT and Pastoral sort behaviour
☑️ Teachers Teach
☑️ Booklets
☑️ Visualisers
☑️ Team Spirit
#teamwoodfields
Preparing for the
#runningtheday
meeting with the senior team. Changed since last time because what we need to focus on has changed.
#edutwitter
will be relieved that the cells are aligned.
#teamwoodfields
Attendance is a national crisis - this week we’ve found parents saying their child is ill… but they’re on holiday, impersonating a doctor to get their child out of school and going to the pharmacy in school time rather than waiting until 3:10. This disadvantages children.
Attendance is vital to help you learn and earn, we have had record attendance this week.
@MrDavidScales
describes some of the things we’ve noticed this week and asks us to work together to further improve attendance.
This is the top of the table for disadvantaged students - the most disadvantaged students seem to benefit from a similar formula; didactic teaching, high expectations, great relationships.
We know that the
#costofliving
is biting. That’s why we will provide a full school uniform, for free, for new Y7s next year. It’s also why we will buy a pair of trousers or skirt for every scholar in Y7-10. Pleasure to welcome in the team today to measure up and get this going.
Teachers have degrees from universities. Our teachers are proud of that, want to talk about university, and teach all scholars rigorously so that they can get there. We lower the drawbridge, others raise it.
Didn’t like the last few posts? Ignore this:
@norchcity
The boundaries you’re drawing are essential to keep everyone safe. Sounds like you’re doing the right things. And thanks for speaking up and being honest about what you’re facing. We have been where you are now and rapid improvement is possible!
Day 1 - our priorities are A-B-C. Attendance, Behaviour and the Curriculum. In that order. Two new mobile attendance officers are going to help our students attend school.
@AAWoodfields
will shortly be providing free equipment for every scholar, and we will be issuing a detention if scholars do not have a complete set of equipment each lesson. Here’s how we will do it while being fair and supportive 🧵
1/7
When I started, I asked parents if they wanted to stop in for a coffee and a tour of the school. It’s taken a while, but I’m starting to get parents taking up this offer. I want to show people what’s working and what we’re doing to improve. ☕️
@Mousehole1
I don’t subscribe to gender normative reductions like that - however we find it’s a great scaffold for good old fashioned queuing - you’ll see this type of thing everywhere, primary schools, sport, airports etc.
Teach Like a Champion has helped twice as many scholars gain strong passes in English and Maths so that they can start Level 3 courses here. It has helped make our school safe, calm and dignified. It has made me a much better teacher. It is common sense.
Teach Like A Champion.
Not a fad.
Not oppresive. Quite the opposite.
Helps create warm, welcoming, safe schools where all feel like they belong.
Based on deep studies of what outlier teachers have done in the most disadvantaged, challenging contexts.
Tranfroms children's lives.
We looked at hundreds of CVs and completed 57 recruitment processes over a 12 week period to be able to welcome these wonderful people here today. I’m very excited about the year ahead. We’re going to smash it.
This is a fascinating analysis showing the correlation between attendance and progress between KS2 and KS4. The post pandemic issues with attendance warrant serious additional intervention.
The impact of absence on Progress 8 - FFT Education Datalab
C is for Curriculum (
#ABC
):
☑️ Booklets
☑️ Visualisers
☑️ Centralised Homework
☑️ Knowledge Organisers
☑️ No stakes feedback
☑️ TLAC
☑️ Deliberate practice role play CPD
☑️ No marking… feedback
☑️ Booklets an artifact of learning, not a sacrificial altar of workload
Really pleased that
@astreaacademies
pay 1% above the national pay scales, is increasing pay for support staff and has rapidly reduced workload. We don’t mark books, put up displays or make staff do their own detentions - switched on and sensible Trust!
Love that our new clipboards for
@Doug_Lemov
’s
#TLAC
#Activeobs
have arrived. Much easier now for teachers to check for understanding and reduce their cognitive load in the classroom.
In the next two weeks, staff from our school will visit
@q3langley
,
@ArkSoaneAcademy
and
@mcsbrent
. We have already worked with
@MerciaSchool
. Part of improving our school means understanding what field leaders do to achieve that having developed our mental models in readiness.
These four asked me at break time if they could discuss how they could go to
@Cambridge_Uni
. Couldn’t resist spending half an hour with them! They want to do medicine, veterinary science and natural sciences! Set them homework so we can mail a-level choices early. 🥰
Thanks to Mr Hartley (the “God of Duties” - according to Edutwitter) for putting together these knowledge organisers for Co26 (Y11) with Curriculum Leaders. Co26 will gain the equipment pack, this and a session on how to use it. No “memory magic” - hard work and effort!
We are moving to quiet/inclusive corridors, but have done so through transition states:
1) Entrance/exit routine
2) Transition point duty spots
3) All staff on changeover, including admin staff
4) Morning Line Up
5) Moving Lines
6) Moving Lines to gate at end of day
1/2
We are the most improved school in Doncaster! Exceptionally proud of the staff and scholars who have worked so hard to get us here. Please come and visit and see the most exciting school improvement project in the country.
🙌We’re the most improved school in Doncaster and the 155th most improved school in the country. Come and visit us and see the rapid school improvement journey for yourself. 🙌
Delighted to visit
@MerciaSchool
with
@AAWoodfields
teachers today. We want to learn from the best schools in the country. This one is a stunner.
We focussed on ABC - Attendance, Behaviour and Curriculum. Attendance is 1.5% behind pre-pandemic levels, and 2% higher than the same point last year. Behaviour and culture is strengthening. We began intensive work with our central curriculum team under
@carnaby_mr
2/12
A is for Attendance (ABC): pulling out all the stops to get students in on time:
👏2 mobile attendance officers
👏New minibus
👏Breakfast club
👏Increased support
👏Senior team in community
👏Rewards
👏Attendance league cup
👏And… everything else
#teamwoodfields
#attendance
We’ve prepared for weeks to make sure that the most disadvantaged students can start the term smartly dressed. Stickers in planners, phone calls home, spare uniform purchased and hardship offers where needed. 100% of students will be smartly dressed tomorrow!
#teamwoodfields
A reminder of our school uniform policy. Every student has been reminded to wear grey tailored trousers, grey (knee length) skirt or new tartan skirt. Looking forward to seeing the best dressed students in Doncaster at 8:15am tomorrow.
We love:
☑️ Energetic TLAC teaching in rows
☑️ Visualisers and booklets
☑️ Routines
☑️ Courtesy and manners
☑️ High expectations for all
☑️ Rosenshines
☑️ Feedback not marking
☑️ High impact low workload
☑️ Working with young people
☑️
#ploughmans
Join us!
Thanks for all your well wishes for my first week in post. I’m surrounded by a great team! Including “god of duties”, VP AHA 😂 😂 😂 - booklet requests - lots of staff names etc, but can share once some redaction is done. Have a great weekend!
Jessica came to me one day and told me that she wanted to be a vet. We’ve had conversations every week about how to get there, books to read, A-level choices, 6th form and university. Today I put her in touch with a real life Vet and they had nice chat.
#university
#careers
We’ve made this into a postcard and will hand deliver to all the local shops and houses. The senior team and I will have lots of conversations and build strong relationships. We want those around us to be confident about the journey we’re on and help us along the way.
We will support our local residents and community by:
☑️ Bring visible
☑️ Listening
☑️ Working with you
☑️ Getting back to you
Together we can make
@aawoodfields
the best in Doncaster and the most improved school in the country.
Delighted that every new
@AAWoodfields
scholar from September will have a classical musical instrument and lessons. There are opportunities to perform in world class venues and take part in residentials through
@misst_music
. This is the only opportunity for this in Doncaster!
GCSE and A-level music entries are on the decline, but with mounting evidence that music lessons improve core literacy, numeracy and executive function skills, it's worth trying to boost uptake, says
@HKorbey
| Archive
Schools don’t stand still over a holiday as Edutwitter knows. We’re going to come back to a school that is familiar but different. New paint job, maglocks, new standing teacher desks. New strategies, new common language in line with values.
#teamwoodfields
B is for behaviour (
#ABC
), this week we have:
☑️ Appointed a SENDCO and Assistant SENDCO to identify and address need
☑️ Doubled the pastoral capacity
☑️ improved our recording and monitoring systems
☑️ Meaningful reintegrations
☑️ Culture of openness
☑️ Shape/Steps/Slant
Talked to our students today about working hard and being kind.
@AAWoodfields
will be the most improved school in the country because of:
☑️ TLAC
☑️ Rosenshine
☑️ Shape/Steps/Slant
☑️ Booklets
☑️ Visualisers
☑️ Sweating the small stuff
And… we’re hiring! DM me.
#teamwoodfields
Co2030 (Y7) starting with Oliver Twist by
#Dickens
using an abridged and simplified text using the excellent
#ClassicStarts
series. This exposes children to Dickens before studying A Christmas Carol in Y10 and increases cultural capital. Wonderful booklet learning too.
The culture of the school has transformed from a year ago. It is now safe, calm and dignified. Our curriculum has been revised and supports scholarship. What is missing? A beating heart. From next year every Y7 gets an instrument and lessons, free!
🎺 🎻 🪈 ANNOUNCEMENT 🪈 🎻 🎺
@misst_music
have kindly accepted
@AAWoodfields
to become a partner school! Every scholar in the Class of 2031 will learn a classical musical instrument!
🎵 🎶 🎵
Excellent point from
@BBCRosAtkins
about explanations needing to ditch irrelevant and interesting information, and to have distilled essential information to be effective. Really important message for teachers and shot across the bows to ‘Hinterland” enthusiasts.
#rED23
I’m exceptional proud of our scholars today! We have doubled the proportion scholars gaining strong passes in English and Maths and have seen rapid improvements across the board. It’s not the destination, but what a milestone. Here’s why: 👇🏻👇🏾👇🏻
This year big changes have happened
@AAWoodfields
. From humble beginnings, we now have a courteous and scholarly culture.
Where did we come from and how did this happen?
🧵 1/22
Switchboard: we are putting all our information and forms in one place so it’s easy for everyone to get information and get things done. My favourite link is for “appreciation”. A simple and anonymous thank you that you can pay forward. I got one and was well chuffed!
Nice to catch up with
@mrjonnymitchell
and look around
@netherwood_acad
- huge improvements under his leadership since I left in 2017. Taken lots of ideas that we’ll bring back to
@aawoodfields
. Thanks a million.
As an asthmatic who had to stay in class while having an asthma attack with no medication, it is wonderful to be the first school in South Yorkshire to be an asthma friendly school. We have salbutamol available in PE and at Scholar Services and all staff have been trained.
As the new school year begins, NHS South Yorkshire’s Children and Young People’s Alliance are calling upon schools across the region to join a new initiative named ‘Asthma Friendly Schools’ as part of the Excellent Asthma Care Programme. Read more here:
Great opportunity to join the most exciting school improvement project in the country. We don’t like the educational fluff, we love the substance. Real opportunity to effect generational change! Vice Principal - behaviour and culture. Come for a coffee!
Want to be an Assistant Principal and join the most exciting school improvement project in the country. Join a school that is on the up because of:
☑️TLAC
☑️Knowledge
☑️Centralised systems
☑️Disruption free learning
☑️Leaders leading
Absolutely! Please apply - and if you want to learn more, come and visit.
Also, if you like to post online about my school with an obvious and embarrassing ignorance - you should probably come and visit too.
Looking forward to welcoming half of Twitter next week.
This is
@AAWoodfields
at 8:20am this morning! Parents were so respectful. Scholars were telling me that they felt so much safer now that cars aren’t mounting the curb and having near misses. I’d like to thank everyone for this and hope we can all support the children tomorrow.
Can’t believe it, it’s here!!! It’ll make a huge difference to our community. I’ll have a drive around later too. Onto names… what are we thinking? “Brian”, “Artemis”, “Mercury”, “Attendance McBusface”?
Did I mention that we’re recruiting?
We’re unapologetic about promoting university, classical music, the arts, booklets, TLAC, no excuses, workload efficiency, helping children gain opportunity and choice.
Join the ultimate educational underdog story!
Some great jobs here at
@AAWoodfields
. None of the fluff all of the right stuff. Join the ultimate educational underdog story!
Vice Principal
Lead Practitioner Science
Teacher of Science
The week that was…
☑️ 9 recruitment processes
☑️ Community meeting
☑️ 5 morning addresses
☑️ Student Voice
☑️ Budget meetings
☑️ Minibus on the way
☑️ 5xScholarship Vouchers
☑️ Jamming with Y10 in music
☑️ ♟️ Chess with Charlie
Have a great weekend everyone!
#teamwoodfields
Love being able to recognise the contributions that staff make. It’s only a small thing, but it is one of my favourite things to do each week.
#wellbeing
#recognition
#teamwoodfields
We’re working hard to break down the barriers to poor attendance and punctuality. Turns out that only 10 children had free busses when 380 might be eligible. We’re now working with families to get this going. Thanks to
@MyDoncaster
for support.
If you have already registered your child for Free School Meals, please click this link and follow the instructions to get them free bus travel. We know there is an issue coming from Hexthorpe. We will be giving help in school.
It is such a special moment when scholars graduate Fresh Start reading. Really wanted to celebrate this with them over pizza. I might even get a slice this time! Thanks to Ms Skill for organising and Mr and Mrs Harris for their hard work.
We have an INSET tomorrow and I’m really excited about the reset it will provide to our school. All teaching staff will visit
@DixonsAcademies
schools (THANKS) and see great practice and scholarly culture. Our inclusion team will learn new ways of support scholars.
Had an absolutely fantastic day at
@ArkSoaneAcademy
. Special thanks to
@MJBurnage
and
@robertaorme
for their support and guidance throughout the day. The students talked to me with genuine interest and made me feel welcome. This is a school that is genuinely improving lives.
This is a way to connect with students and hear from their Head of Year informally. Invaluable student voice, great to create a sense of openness… and I’ve learnt so much. I got one slice FYI.
Y9 having a good laugh with the Principal over a pizza. So good to be able to talk to students about their views and how to make this the best school in Doncaster and the most improved school in the country.
#studentvoice
#engagement
#teamwoodfields