Redcar school makes giant leaps forward thanks to Investors in People
A Teesside school is
celebrating becoming one of the best in the country after its
unique approach to staff relations led to soaring exam results and
a strong report from Ofsted.
Redcar Community College was considered an underachieving school
in 2004 with only 34% of students receiving five GCSEs graded A*-C
and just 14% meeting that standard once English and Maths were
included. A major transformation, including five years working with
Investors in People North East, has seen the latest figures jump to
74% overall and 50% including English and Maths.
The school is now in the top 6% nationally on the Contextual
Value Added index - a score that takes into account the background
of students and compares it to the national average. Recently
inspected by Ofsted, the school was rated as good, with outstanding
scores in eight key areas.
"Investors in People has contributed a huge amount to the
development of the school and is as important to us as Ofsted"
explained Deputy Headteacher Christine Husband. "The results speak
for themselves."
Investors in People assessor Sheila Warren has worked with
Redcar Community College for seven years, including two formal
assessments where a range of staff from the Headteacher to the
cleaners were interviewed.
"This is a school very committed to developing the skills of its
staff, finding time for them to do so and making use of the
Investors in People framework," Sheila explained. "We've made some
changes to our approach recently to ensure we work with schools in
the best possible way and talk their language. It's great to see
schools like Redcar Community College making the most of it."
Karen Hill applied to join the school as a receptionist in 2006
despite training to be a Learning Support Assistant.
"I couldn't get a job because I didn't have any experience. I
couldn't even get an interview in a lot of cases," Karen explained.
"But when I applied to Redcar Community College they recognised my
ambition straightaway. I got the receptionist job but they also
allowed me to spend one morning a week working as a Learning
Support Assistant.
"That gave me the background to make new applications and in
2007 I became a full time Learning Support Assistant at the school,
specialising in students with Special Educational Needs," she
added.
The school's recent Ofsted report identified eight areas where
the school was outstanding, including safeguarding staff and
students, encouraging healthy lifestyles, contributing to the wider
community and engaging with parents.
"These are all areas that require staff to go the extra mile and
I believe Investors in People has developed this," Christine
Husband said. "By supporting staff like Karen Hill and allowing
them to achieve their potential we get more from them in
return."
The school completely reorganised its approach to staff training
and timetabling, introducing well-being weeks, staff development
afternoons and flexible working.
"Ofsted drive us to improve our exam results and standards, and
that is quite right," Christine Husband said. "Investors in People
helps us to do that by improving staff wellbeing which has a direct
impact on results. We never have to insist that staff do anything
extra in our school - they always volunteer!" she added.