Laura Webb CPD

1. Outward facing collaboration

Firstly, this school is incredibly hospitable, in so many ways. The day was organised including a talk from the senior VP and then the assistant principal sat down with us at the end to answer any questions. There was a real feeling of complete openness – open to any questions, open for us to wander into any classroom, open to discussion. It struck me that outward facing schools like this just want the best education for all; they know their methods work and are supporting their children, and they are happy to share with others in education.

2. Calm but energetic classrooms

I think with skill and expertise you can walk into a classroom and know exactly what is going on. I have been in schools where there is absolute compliance – students doing what they are told, behaving well, teachers teaching. This doesn’t always mean they are learning, or even participating. But Ark Soane didn’t feel exactly like that because their classrooms are full of energy. It’s hard to explain without seeing it but there’s this sense that learning is just this constant, crucial thing, and this builds momentum in every room. It’s a culture within the school of course, but it also comes from skilled teachers who are constantly pushing for – or, expecting – 100% participation and absolute excellence from every child. It was truly incredible.

3. Simple teaching

When I trained I remember having sessions on making things engaging – card sorts, craft activities, colour pencils, cutting and sticking … thankfully the profession has, generally, moved away from this. But I do think we are still a little obsessed, in some places, with phases of lessons, activity-driven teaching, compartmentalising learning into chunks. I think even with the use of visualisers, a lot of teaching is still following these principles. But at Ark Soane it felt like often it was just a text, or a pre-prepared series of notes, and the visualiser, and the teacher. It was actually, on the surface, for the students, extremely simple (although I know that behind all of that there is a lot of subject knowledge, and careful thought and consideration as to the way things will be delivered.)

4. Every student participating

What is shown in the documentary is exactly what’s happening in the building – students everywhere made to think hard, and listen hard, and learn constantly. The level of questioning is off the scale, and the choral response sings from every classroom. We were told repeatedly throughout the day that there were multiple staff new to teaching at the start of term (and it was 4/5 weeks into the year) and yet, the students were getting a very good deal in every classroom – because they were not allowed to sit and be passive. The momentum around learning is truly inspiring, because no child is left behind anywhere.

5. Vocabulary instruction everywhere

At Ark Soane teachers understand the importance of vocabulary in every subject. The explicit instruction of vocabulary, and clear definitions and rehearsal is evident. But what’s more interesting to see, is the power this has had in Year 11. I saw Year 11 English lessons where students were looking at very difficult language paper 2 sources, and reading ‘Checking Out Me History’ and in both cases the level of student vocabulary allowed for absolute precision of understanding. Even in the paired discussions, for first reading responses, you could hear the quality of language allowing students to show real understanding of the texts.

At one point the teacher asked, based on a point students had made, “what’s that word we know, beginning with a, that means you can make decisions and act independently” – I was stood thinking oh dear, this could be autonomy or agency, but they all chant back, with hardly a beat “agency” – why? Because this word is embedded into their curriculum, they know the answer automatically, and they are using this vocabulary in their responses already. It was really wonderful, and inspiring, as an English teacher, to see the long term impact of this kind of instruction.

6. The power of praise

I’ve worked in 3 schools, trained in two, and visited a lot of schools. I have never seen as much praise as I did at Ark Soane, and this creates pure joy in the classrooms. It is threaded into every lesson, precise, purposeful and speedy. Students are constantly being reinforced for their contributions, their ideas, their enthusiasm, their energy, their manners – and it just makes it a really lovely place to be. Students were so keen to come and talk to us at lunch time, and for this there is no praise, but it has just made them students who seek conversations and are curious and inquisitive. It was so lovely to see how well embedded the praise is that even when they’re not getting a reward, they are being excellent young human beings.

7. Family dinner and its pastoral purpose

I’ve heard lots about family dinner from people who have visited Micheala and other schools that use the same system, but seeing it first hand made me see it very differently. I think schools that utilise a lot of direct instruction and ensure students are participating but walking around the school sensibly/in silence are generally criticised for the lack of care they have for their students. And yet to me, in family dinner, I sat with 5 students who I got to know better than some of the students I have taught at GCSE. It is pure maximisation of time to use lunch as an opportunity to talk to students, and I realised that if I had it at my school, I would get to know my students better.

It starts with a quiz which created a real buzz and excitement in the room, then we sat and talked – I barely ate the food given as the Y11 students I sat with wanted to talk to me about the GCSE texts (we had an excellent discussion about what makes Macbeth still relevant today) but then they asked me about why I went into teaching, what I love about my school, what University I went to, about Gloucester, my home town, which they had not heard of, but were keen to learn about. I didn’t want it to end.

8. Humility and honesty

I already mentioned that some of the teaching we saw was of teachers new to the profession. I love that at Ark Soane they visit lessons and offer feedback every week. There was a real feeling of humility around teaching and the school itself “we are not the finished product” and “we still have lots of work to do” – watching Y11 you could be fooled into thinking the school can pretty much have a chill with them as they are very much ready to hit exam season – but this was definitely not the feeling.

Everyone we spoke to just seemed humble, honest and open. You’d be wrong to think that schools like this think they have got it nailed. But I suppose that’s what makes them truly exceptional.

9. Culture is everything

There are so many layers to building culture going on in this school that it’s hard to put into words without witnessing it. Gratitude is a core part of the school’s culture and this is lead by various teachers and modelled through interactions every day. Relentlessly high expectations drive every moment of the school day so that students are just swept up in it all. I’ve used the word momentum a lot in this blog and I just think everything in the school happens with a real sense of momentum and purpose – the learning, the lunch times, the line ups – it just feels very intentional and as a result there isn’t space to get it wrong, to be defiant. If they do they just would very much feel like an outsider because the culture is just in everything. Behind what is seen on the surface is undoubtedly a lot of mechanical stuff that engineers all of this – staff induction was explained to us and is clearly designed to ensure that all teachers build this culture, for example.

10. The students are just wonderful

Kids are kids, right? Absolutely the best part of the job. I loved the kids at my first school and didn’t want to leave them, then I loved them at my second school, and then at my current school – well I’m not sure how I could ever leave them. The kids at Ark Soane, are, for want of a better word, hungry. They are hungry for learning, for knowledge, for conversation. I watched in an almost stupor as the library filled up at lunch time and students sat and studied in silence, or sat to read a book, or walked around quietly looking for a new book.

I walked outside, and a Y11 student came speeding towards me – “Hello Miss, I have heard you are an English examiner, can you tell me more about that?” – I was confused as this was not a student I had seen that morning, but the students I had sat with at lunch time had gone outside to find and tell this student, who wants to be an English teacher, and enjoys marking his own English Language responses (yes, I know – marking English Language responses) and wants to be an English teacher and examiner. What a delightful student he was too, then asking what each of the teachers from our school taught, and just making general conversation about everything.

This is just one example of the level of hunger these students have. They are, without doubt, the school’s greatest asset. But of course they are a product of the wonderful teaching, the incredible leadership, and the best culture I have ever seen in a school.

Now, if only my husband would be willing to move to London…

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