Five of Leicester City schools are participating in the National Challenge Programme. Each school has developed detailed plans to address their key priorities to raise the achievement of pupils, using the strategies and resources of the National Challenge Programme to add extra momentum to their plans.
The overall objective of all five schools is to ensure that at least 30% of their pupils achieve 5 GCSE A* – C including English and Maths.
The local authority, working with local Head Teachers, has identified Riverside, Babington, Fullhurst, New College and Hamilton for inclusion in the programme.
The National Challenge Programme is one of a number of major initiatives which have already had positive impact in raising achievement across the City. As a result of the first phase of the BSF programme a number of new school buildings are being built. Resources have been used to develop good provision for children in their early years at children’s centres, nurseries and playgroups. Support services for children and for young people are being reorganised to ensure they are immediately accessible to schools and families when and where they need them.
Vi Dempster, Lead Member for CYPS said,
“This is a most exciting time for all learners and their families across the whole city. We are confident that standards in our schools will continue to rise and some of the challenges facing communities will be resolved. Leicester schools have produced the best results ever in the secondary sector at KS4 and in primary at KS2. Headteachers and their staff are ready to produce greater improvements in the future. We will give them the utmost support in that task “.
Bob Clark, Executive Director of CYPS, commented on the strength of leadership in the city’s schools and the talented staff who teach and support pupils in their learning.
“We face the major challenge of historic low levels of attainment in our schools. We have the greatest opportunity now to raise standards of achievement and tackle persistent problems in some of our most vulnerable communities. I am very optimistic about our chances of real success”.
Headteachers of schools participating in the National Challenge Programme are also very optimistic. They believe that they, together with their staff and governors, can bring about significant improvement for current and future populations of pupils in their schools.
The Plans
In total £720,830 has been allocated by Department of
Children, Schools and Families to run the NC programme in Leicester.
New College
- Additional national funding : £173,000
- National Challenge Adviser time : 20 days
Key Issues
- Inconsistent quality of teaching and learning in English and
maths.
- Engagement of targeted pupils: further improvement in
attendance, attitudes and behaviour to learning and low levels of literacy on
entry.
Riverside
- Additional National Funding £171,000
- National Challenge Adviser time : 20 days
- Potential future academy
Key Issues
- Improve numbers of students exceeding academic targets
- Improve students’ low levels of literacy on entry
- Improve use of assessment for learning strategies to inform
tracking and target setting - process
- Improve management at all levels to ensure academic targets
are met and exceeded
- Tackle persistent low performance
Babington
- Additional national funding : £147, 000
- National Challenge Adviser time – 20 days
- Potential future academy
Key Issues
- Tackle low levels of student performance
- Tackle variable standards of teaching and learning in core
subjects
- Improve leadership and management at middle leader level
- Improve the engagement of targeted pupils’ attendance,
behaviour and attitudes to learning
Fullhurst
- Additional national funding £258,500
- Additional National Challenge Adviser time : 20 days
- Potential future academy
Key Issues
- Improve and strengthen leadership at all levels
- Tackle low levels of literacy on entry and limited progress
in maths
- Improve the performance management of and by middle leaders
- Strengthen the engagement of targeted pupils’ attendance,
behaviour, and attitudes to learning
Hamilton
- Additional national funding: £94,000
- National Challenge Adviser time : 15 days
Key Issues
- Improve outcomes for vulnerable students at risk of not
achieving 5* A* - C including English and maths
- Improve the leadership and management of intervention
programmes
- Target support at hard to reach students with low
aspirations and poor attendance
