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Case Study feature of Ryders Hayes School

Questions for Jo Speller
Interview: 20th January, 2011

  1. What made you decide to find an alternative to the QCA approach to delivery of the National Curriculum?
    Jo Answers: We were at a stage throughout the school where we were following the QCA topics and finding they weren’t relevant, they weren’t engaging, they were taught discretely and so children couldn’t make any links in their learning, they didn’t allow for personalisation and there was no international dimension. We considered trying to construct a curriculum on our own, but very quickly realised the enormity of doing something like this, so started looking at the other options that were available to us.
  2. What made you choose the International Primary Curriculum?
    Jo Answers: My deputy visited a school learning with the IPC and she came back so excited. We did some research and could see that the IPC met all our needs; that it could provide us with a rigorous topic-based approach to learning, that it was very much focused on skills for the 21st century, that it was inspiring for all children, and that it met the needs of my forward-thinking staff who are all very committed to helping children learn how to learn. We liked the IPC’s cross-curricular approach that created links for children’s learning and gave their learning a purpose. We also liked the way the IPC promoted discussion of learning at home and created opportunities for learning to be 24/7 in an interesting, active and personalised way. We are part of a children’s University and are currently hoping to write some modules linked to the IPC so when children carry on their learning and investigation at home they can gain some accreditation from it.
  3. During that decision-making process, what gave you the confidence that the IPC would make a positive difference for you and ensure National Curriculum coverage?
    Jo Answers: We were very impressed with the work that IPC had done for us to cross-reference the IPC with the National Curriculum. This gave us the tools we needed to cross check the coverage and look for any gaps that we would need to respond to. We also had a lot of confidence in the IPC staff. They had taught the IPC themselves so were very good at giving advice and hands-on support from a grass-roots level. That was, and still is incredibly helpful and important to us.
  4. When and how did you introduce the IPC to Ryders Hayes?
    Jo Answers: We introduced the IPC in 2007. All the staff were keen to try something new. We trialled the Holiday unit in Year one with a plan for gradual introduction if all went well. But I couldn’t hold the staff back! This was based on them seeing the learning that was going on with the Holiday unit, talking with Steven (Steven Mark, IPC Director) and several meetings where we talked about the philosophy of the IPC; by then everyone wanted to be learning with the IPC! So we introduced it across the school in September. And then in November we had Ofsted! We were only just up and running with the IPC but we explained what we were doing and how we were evaluating our progress and they graded the curriculum as Outstanding. The Inspector was very impressed with the creativity of the IPC and impressed in the way the school implemented the IPC. He was also impressed with how we quickly evaluated the learning and how we used Assessment for Learning to evaluate what the children were learning and why, and also to look at the development of their skills and their progression. He was also impressed with how we were personalising the children’s learning.
    After a year of embedding IPC, our priority was then to appoint a curriculum leader who supported each subject leader and checked each subject was being covered sufficiently. We did a sort of scrutiny to make sure that the subjects were in place within a thematic approach. That was very reassuring for us and I think it is really important. Schools need to give the IPC time to settle and then go back and re-evaluate to make sure they are achieving good coverage. The IPC is not an off-the-peg solution; I see it as a quality toolkit with great scaffolding and a great system to follow which allows schools to develop the learning to suit the needs of their school and their children; in other words, to make it their own. It is absolutely the school’s responsibility to check and ensure good coverage.
  5. As Headteacher, what challenges did you face introducing the IPC to a) your teachers, b) your children, c) your governors and d) your parents and how did you address these challenges?
    Jo Answers: As I’ve said, the teachers were very positive and very accepting. We gave a presentation to our Governing body who were convinced this would be good for the school and encouraged us to move ahead.
    From the word ‘go’ the children responded exceptionally well to the IPC approach to learning and you could immediately see that they were enjoying their learning much more which, as a result, engaged them more in their learning. After a term, we did an evaluation and asked the children for their feedback on the IPC. It was very difficult to get anything negative about it! The children really felt that it was helping their learning and we got some fabulous comments from them. These included: “I love to know what’s coming up and what I’m working towards.” “I love how everything is related.” “I see my work as a whole.” And there were many comments about the IPC being enjoyable and creative.
    Our parents were also very positive from the start. Our parents love the IPC books the children make. These include all evidence of their learning and photographs of them taking part in learning activities. Many parents like to keep them as they really show their whole child. We send the IPC books home for parents to evaluate. The teacher, the children and the parents give an evaluation of the learning in the IPC books and that works very well.
  6. Throughout the first year of IPC implementation, how difficult/easy was it to introduce the IPC throughout the school? What helped this implementation?
    Jo Answers: I think the challenge with the IPC is for schools to ensure ongoing maintenance of the curriculum. School leaders need to understand that they need to give the staff time and they need to devote leadership time to looking at the IPC topics, to consider what learning already works well in the school and how that can be built in to the IPC learning approach (for example the Egyptians and the Romans were topics that we taught well and we built this learning into the IPC unit: People who make a Difference), and to choose a good breadth and balance of topics to ensure good coverage. It’s the coverage and monitoring that is so important. It’s also really important that teachers have time to plan together. For single form entry schools, they may want to consider a rolling two-year IPC programme to give teachers a chance to work together; it’s really valuable for them to be able to talk, share and work together.
    It’s vital to plan carefully and to create consistency throughout the whole school for how the IPC is taught, recorded and evaluated and that approach has to come from the top. As a leader, you can’t just throw the IPC manuals at teachers and expect them to get on with it.  We regularly have an IPC work scrutiny to monitor the coverage and the learning and to keep our standards high. We plan for IPC within the school development plan and ensure that funding is allocated for resources to support our chosen IPC units. We also look carefully at the structure to ensure enough time is devoted for launching each unit with the Entry Point and the Knowledge Harvest.
    It’s well worth investing time in the planning and development. We found the initial implementation of the IPC was a lot of work but incredibly positive work that has made a huge impact on the whole school.
    So the challenge is to invest in time - inset time in the initial implementation period to review each unit, time to go back and refine plans, time to involve children in the evaluation process.
  7. What support did you obtain, if any, during the first year of implementation and how did that help?
    Jo Answers: A lot of mutual support from colleagues and leaders. Plenty of phone and face-to-face support from the IPC, and website support too. We’ve got a very creative staff which helps and I think when it comes to staff recruitment, looking for staff who are creative really helps to build on the IPC approach to learning.
  8. Would you take the same implementation approach for the IPC again and if not, what would you do differently and why?
    Jo Answers: Yes, we would. I think the key factor to successful implementation is up-front investment in time, and continually reviewing and evaluating the coverage, the learning and the progress.
  9. What impact has the IPC had on the children and the staff at Ryders Hayes?
    Jo Answers: The IPC has definitely re-energised the foundation subjects, it’s added a meaning and purpose for learning, it’s given our children a great thirst for learning and given them a great pride in their learning. Our teachers are not so didactic; they now act much more as facilitators and participate as explorers in the learning with the children which is really good. We continue to develop cross curricular links with literacy and numeracy and that is having a very positive impact. We’ve certainly improved our personalised and global learning; the IPC has given us a chance to explore cultures locally, nationally and globally and that’s been incredibly valuable to us as a whole school.
  10. How does the IPC help you deliver the current National Curriculum?
    Jo Answers: The IPC provides real purpose to learning, it promotes thinking skills and personalisation, it fulfils the National Curriculum requirements in a creative way. The IPC helps children to develop skills that are then built upon in measured progress. The IPC achieves what QCA doesn’t; with QCA our children were bored and couldn’t see the point to their learning, whereas the IPC, through its thematic, rigorous approach gives a rich context for learning.
  11. What has been Ofsted reaction to the IPC at Ryders Hayes?
    Jo Answers: They were very impressed. Ofsted inspected us in the same term that we introduced the IPC. They were pleased that we hadn’t taken it ‘off-the-peg’. We told them how we were introducing the IPC and how we were monitoring and evaluating our progress. We showed them how we were cross-referencing it and how we were addressing gaps and how we were making it relevant for our children and our school. The inspector liked our depth of study, the cross curricular links we were making and the children’s development of personalised learning.
  12. Have your standards improved since using the IPC and if so, in what way?
    Jo Answers: Yes, very much so; the pupil’s own self assessment, their research skills, their presentation skills, their cooperative skills, the overall standards of children’s work is up and it’s due to the whole approach of the IPC to learning. But we’re not complacent; for example, we’ve just held a meeting where we’ve talked about the balance of skills and knowledge, there’s a continuous cycle of monitoring and development.
  13. The new Government White Paper says of a revised curriculum that: “We envisage schools and teachers taking greater control over what is taught in schools, innovating in how they teach and developing new approaches to learning.” Do you agree with what the White Paper is recommending and do you think individual schools have the ability to achieve this themselves?
    Jo Answers: As long as the school leadership is right. In the context of the IPC, it won’t work if leadership just gives the IPC modules to the teachers and says ‘here you go’. The success of the IPC comes from taking a whole school, holistic approach where all the staff are involved from the start. Teachers need to be involved at the inception stage because they’re the ones who have to implement the curriculum and they need leadership support to achieve this successfully. As a leader, get your staff involved and help them to understand the philosophy of the IPC learning approach. Help them to realise how the IPC will make a difference, help them to be committed and to want to take it on. The success of any good curriculum has to start with a whole school team approach.
  14. Are you aware of the White Paper curriculum recommendations and if so, do you think the IPC will remain the tool for delivering the National Curriculum for Ryders Hayes?
    Jo Answers: Yes, the IPC will definitely remain the tool for delivering the National Curriculum here at Ryders Hayes because it clearly ticks the boxes in the White Paper and more.  Very helpfully for us, Steven Mark has sent through key quotes from the White Paper and shown how the IPC responds to these. This was very helpful and very reassuring for us as a school and I agree with all of Steven’s comments totally: The IPC covers the learning of both knowledge and understanding, subject learning is met within a rigorous topic-based approach that helps children to see a purpose in their learning, and the IPC provides children with an extremely well-rounded education, supporting PSHE and providing a rich menu of curriculum experiences including learning from a global dimension. The IPC helps children learn how to learn in a relevant, fun, exciting and creative way and it has clearly raised the standards in our school.
  15. What is your opinion on curriculum freedom?
    Jo Answers: I think it’s important – in the right hands. You need to ensure skills, knowledge, assessment and progression and to maintain a very careful scrutiny of your curriculum. It requires full support of your staff and requires a cycle of checking and monitoring and improving. It also requires flexibility. The IPC is very flexible; it’s designed to make it your own to meet the needs of your children and if there is a gap in the coverage, you can adapt or add or you can bring in another theme to ensure the best coverage; the flexibility is really important.
  16. What, in your opinion, is the best thing about the IPC?
    Jo Answers: Gosh! The best thing about the IPC is its context of learning, its creativity, its relevance to learning today, the fact that it’s fun and exciting and so engages children in their learning, and it helps children learn how to learn.

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