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Schools
Waterman Primary
Waterman Primary
Waterman Primary School,
The Boulevard, Rochford,
SS4 1QF
Head: Mrs.Welch
01702 546237
www.watermanprimaryschool.ik.org
admin@waterman.essex.sch.uk
admin@waterman.essex.sch.uk
To return to Waterman’s front page, please
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CLICK HERE
“It’s a New Day!”
Talking with Rachel Welch, Head of Waterman School about changes on the way.
PART TWO OF ARTICLE
(4th July 2013)
Talking with Rachel Welch, Head of Waterman School about changes on the way.
PART TWO OF ARTICLE
(4th July 2013)
Thoughts about Ofsted (Continued)
RL: From what you have been saying, do you think it is realistic to expect a school to remain ‘excellent’ all of the time?
Rachel: I don’t think you can be outstanding all of the time. Different aspects can be outstanding and I always say that about teachers; you cannot be an outstanding teacher the whole time because you cannot maintain that level all of the time in every subject. In know when I did my AST (Advanced Skills Teachers) and I did my assessment and had people in to judge whether I could be an AST, you obviously had to be outstanding but I could choose what areas they came and watched me teach. One was Literacy and one was Art and they were my strongest subjects, so I would probably say I was outstanding in them but in a subject I didn’t like teaching I wouldn’t be outstanding in that all of the time. It’s unrealistic, but you can walk into a school and see that the displays look really nice, and the children are very courteous, and they are all engaged in their learning, and you get a feel that this school is either outstanding or has elements of outstanding. I think a lot of schools that have been rated outstanding previously, have been left alone by Ofsted and maybe they can get a bit complacent and they are not outstanding anymore.
RL: Does size of school affect it?
Rachel: I don’t know about a bigger school but for us, being a small school, when we have a great teacher who has had outstanding lessons when Ofsted came, and is then on maternity leave for a year, if you haven’t anybody as good to fill that place, that is a third of our staff, and so in a small school where you have staff changes, it can have a massive impact, which may or may not be for the better.
RL: The reputation of a school can be very fragile can’t it, with ill-informed gossip or partisan gossip around the area.
Rachel: Yes, and these days, unfortunately, it tends to be on Facebook and if it involves children (or even teachers) being named, and certainly the school being named, all these things can be very detrimental and may even have legal consequences. In a day when standards in society are often very lax, if you try to maintain them in school, it can cause misunderstanding or resentment and if that finds its ways into something like Facebook it shows up the parents in a poor light as well as the school. In that way Facebook can be harmful to individuals, families and even to the school.
International Links
RL: I notice on the wall outside you have an ‘Intermediate’ certificate, your International School Award. How is that developing?
Rachel: Well, of course we’ve recently had our Kenya trip again when Kelly and I went, and it was good. It was a bit different from my previous trip because the way things worked out at our particular school. Last year on the Sunday I went to our school church out there, but that wasn’t organised this year so a lot of us just went to the local church near to where we were staying. It’s the only time to get to see the families out there because a lot of children live a long way away and walk in on their own, so we missed that contact. Obviously we have to plan the next part of the project and evaluate how this year has gone and plan the next year, so you have to set time aside for that, but when we got there the head teacher was carrying out interviews for new staff and we had to sit and watch that first. Then we went round and saw all the classes and they remembered me from last year, which was really nice. On the second day we started looking at the project with the deputy head and curriculum co-ordinator out there, when all of a sudden the equivalent to our Ofsted inspectors turned up at our partner school, so they had an inspection while we were there which was interesting to see but again meant that we weren’t in the class rooms with the children, which is one of the main purposes of going.
RL: But you did manage the project planning in the end?
Rachel: Oh yes, on the Wednesday we finished off the project for next year which is more about moving into ‘food’ across the two schools. Then Kelly got an opportunity to teach some maths while I went off to take another group. One of the things Agnes (who came over here recently) liked was the parachute that you play games with, so Kelly and I decided to take one and leave it out there. We printed lots of games off for them and put them in a little book. So there I was in the midday sun out on the red dusty field. I was hoping to work with the younger children because it really is the children’s thing but I found I had Standard 8 which was 12 and 13 year olds, and a couple of 18 year old boys in there as well, because they hadn’t passed their exams and they just stay on until they are 21 if need be. So I had these big men almost, with a class of thirty, and I had to split them in to two groups to get round the parachute. We practised what to do and there we were baking hot and dusty. They absolutely loved it! That was my teaching!
RL: Did you get out and about at all?
Rachel: Yes, they took us out on an adventure one afternoon to visit a waterfall quite close to the school. Unlike here they don’t do risk assessments but just quickly count how many were going and that was it. We were up in the mountains and at one point the deputy head just called ‘Run!’ and there was this massive bee swarm and we ran away from that – a bit different from school trips here! But they are used to that for they walk through those fields every day to get to school. We were also able to go to the game park and we saw lions and cheetahs this time.
RL: So this is your International School experience!
Rachel: Yes, but we’ve also got Becky with her Spanish school links that we’ve set up. She’s got a couple of schools in Spain. Some of them just write letters but in one particular school Becky has got quite friendly with the teacher out there, Celia, and they’ve sent lots of work over. They joined in with our water project and linked in with Kenya so we had three lots of data to compare, so that’s going really well. At the beginning of the year, to get the Full International Award, you have to send in seven activities that you are going to do across international schools and they assess your action plan and ours was agreed. I’ve just written the evaluation for that and depending on the outcome, if we achieve the full status, it means we will be an International School for three years, and then you do a reaccreditation on it. We are the only local school that has done it, so we’re hoping we’ll get the full status.
Other Changes
RL: So lots of new things have been happening!
Rachel: Oh yes, and we’re also now providing meals for Canewdon as well. We’ve had a slight local reorganisation. Rochford who are bigger have been moved to the next group up because of their numbers and so when we recently had a District Sports Day, because we are all relatively small schools we decided this year to call it the Small Schools Sports Event – which was us and Stambridge, Barling, Canewdon and St. Nicholas in Rayleigh. We hosted it and they all came over here and it was really good. We mixed the schools up and had four different colour teams, each team with children from each school. The feedback we’ve had seems to indicate the children and parents really enjoyed it. Because we are a small school, in the past we were always losing and that is really down heartening, because you just haven’t got the numbers, but this approach completely changed how it felt.
RL: Any more changes?
Rachel: Well, I’m not going to be here all the time next term. I’m having a trial run doing some work back with the Local Authority. Kelly is going to step up; it’s too good an offer to pass up financially for us as a school. They asked me if I’d like to do it and financially we just need some more income to do what we want to do. So I’ll be out for two days a week, just taking it a term at a time. Quadrant Commissioner is the official title of the work. It’s more about brokering the consultants really, what the schools need to make them good, and supporting the heads.
RL: And this is a busy time of the year for you, nearing the end of the summer term?
Rachel: Oh yes! Everybody wants everything at this time of the year, the data has got to be done, SATs have been and gone, reports and things like that International School information have to be in, and my ‘Inspection’ dissertation has to be in. Every weekend there is a big thing. For instance last weekend I had to write the Head Teacher’s Report as well for the Governors, so I am looking forward to the holidays and taking a break.
RL: Is it going to be worse next term with you being away?
Rachel: Well no, hopefully it will be a learning and development opportunity for everyone, so people will learn to step up and deal with things in a new way on the two days a week when I’m out but, as I’ve said, we’ll take it a term at a time to ensure things don’t go downhill here. I hope each person here will get something out of it, and I should get something out of the experience, and the school will get some much needed extra funding from me doing it, which is needed in a day when budgets are so tight. Knowing the Ofsted have been and gone, this is a good time to do it. When I’ve done my sign-off inspection then I’ll be doing inspections as well and so then it will be a case of seeing which brings in most money to the school.
RL: Well Rachel, you’ve given me a lot of your time and at the end of a day when you’ve been in London as well, I really appreciate both the time you’ve given and even more the wisdom and insights you’ve shared about this day of change in school in which we are living, so thank you very much indeed. I suspect many people reading this will find a very different school experience from the one they had when they were young!
To return to Part 1 of this article, please CLICK HERE
Top of Page
RL: From what you have been saying, do you think it is realistic to expect a school to remain ‘excellent’ all of the time?
Rachel: I don’t think you can be outstanding all of the time. Different aspects can be outstanding and I always say that about teachers; you cannot be an outstanding teacher the whole time because you cannot maintain that level all of the time in every subject. In know when I did my AST (Advanced Skills Teachers) and I did my assessment and had people in to judge whether I could be an AST, you obviously had to be outstanding but I could choose what areas they came and watched me teach. One was Literacy and one was Art and they were my strongest subjects, so I would probably say I was outstanding in them but in a subject I didn’t like teaching I wouldn’t be outstanding in that all of the time. It’s unrealistic, but you can walk into a school and see that the displays look really nice, and the children are very courteous, and they are all engaged in their learning, and you get a feel that this school is either outstanding or has elements of outstanding. I think a lot of schools that have been rated outstanding previously, have been left alone by Ofsted and maybe they can get a bit complacent and they are not outstanding anymore.
RL: Does size of school affect it?
Rachel: I don’t know about a bigger school but for us, being a small school, when we have a great teacher who has had outstanding lessons when Ofsted came, and is then on maternity leave for a year, if you haven’t anybody as good to fill that place, that is a third of our staff, and so in a small school where you have staff changes, it can have a massive impact, which may or may not be for the better.
RL: The reputation of a school can be very fragile can’t it, with ill-
International Links
RL: I notice on the wall outside you have an ‘Intermediate’ certificate, your International School Award. How is that developing?
Rachel: Well, of course we’ve recently had our Kenya trip again when Kelly and I went, and it was good. It was a bit different from my previous trip because the way things worked out at our particular school. Last year on the Sunday I went to our school church out there, but that wasn’t organised this year so a lot of us just went to the local church near to where we were staying. It’s the only time to get to see the families out there because a lot of children live a long way away and walk in on their own, so we missed that contact. Obviously we have to plan the next part of the project and evaluate how this year has gone and plan the next year, so you have to set time aside for that, but when we got there the head teacher was carrying out interviews for new staff and we had to sit and watch that first. Then we went round and saw all the classes and they remembered me from last year, which was really nice. On the second day we started looking at the project with the deputy head and curriculum co-
RL: But you did manage the project planning in the end?
Rachel: Oh yes, on the Wednesday we finished off the project for next year which is more about moving into ‘food’ across the two schools. Then Kelly got an opportunity to teach some maths while I went off to take another group. One of the things Agnes (who came over here recently) liked was the parachute that you play games with, so Kelly and I decided to take one and leave it out there. We printed lots of games off for them and put them in a little book. So there I was in the midday sun out on the red dusty field. I was hoping to work with the younger children because it really is the children’s thing but I found I had Standard 8 which was 12 and 13 year olds, and a couple of 18 year old boys in there as well, because they hadn’t passed their exams and they just stay on until they are 21 if need be. So I had these big men almost, with a class of thirty, and I had to split them in to two groups to get round the parachute. We practised what to do and there we were baking hot and dusty. They absolutely loved it! That was my teaching!
RL: Did you get out and about at all?
Rachel: Yes, they took us out on an adventure one afternoon to visit a waterfall quite close to the school. Unlike here they don’t do risk assessments but just quickly count how many were going and that was it. We were up in the mountains and at one point the deputy head just called ‘Run!’ and there was this massive bee swarm and we ran away from that – a bit different from school trips here! But they are used to that for they walk through those fields every day to get to school. We were also able to go to the game park and we saw lions and cheetahs this time.
RL: So this is your International School experience!
Rachel: Yes, but we’ve also got Becky with her Spanish school links that we’ve set up. She’s got a couple of schools in Spain. Some of them just write letters but in one particular school Becky has got quite friendly with the teacher out there, Celia, and they’ve sent lots of work over. They joined in with our water project and linked in with Kenya so we had three lots of data to compare, so that’s going really well. At the beginning of the year, to get the Full International Award, you have to send in seven activities that you are going to do across international schools and they assess your action plan and ours was agreed. I’ve just written the evaluation for that and depending on the outcome, if we achieve the full status, it means we will be an International School for three years, and then you do a reaccreditation on it. We are the only local school that has done it, so we’re hoping we’ll get the full status.
Other Changes
RL: So lots of new things have been happening!
Rachel: Oh yes, and we’re also now providing meals for Canewdon as well. We’ve had a slight local reorganisation. Rochford who are bigger have been moved to the next group up because of their numbers and so when we recently had a District Sports Day, because we are all relatively small schools we decided this year to call it the Small Schools Sports Event – which was us and Stambridge, Barling, Canewdon and St. Nicholas in Rayleigh. We hosted it and they all came over here and it was really good. We mixed the schools up and had four different colour teams, each team with children from each school. The feedback we’ve had seems to indicate the children and parents really enjoyed it. Because we are a small school, in the past we were always losing and that is really down heartening, because you just haven’t got the numbers, but this approach completely changed how it felt.
RL: Any more changes?
Rachel: Well, I’m not going to be here all the time next term. I’m having a trial run doing some work back with the Local Authority. Kelly is going to step up; it’s too good an offer to pass up financially for us as a school. They asked me if I’d like to do it and financially we just need some more income to do what we want to do. So I’ll be out for two days a week, just taking it a term at a time. Quadrant Commissioner is the official title of the work. It’s more about brokering the consultants really, what the schools need to make them good, and supporting the heads.
RL: And this is a busy time of the year for you, nearing the end of the summer term?
Rachel: Oh yes! Everybody wants everything at this time of the year, the data has got to be done, SATs have been and gone, reports and things like that International School information have to be in, and my ‘Inspection’ dissertation has to be in. Every weekend there is a big thing. For instance last weekend I had to write the Head Teacher’s Report as well for the Governors, so I am looking forward to the holidays and taking a break.
RL: Is it going to be worse next term with you being away?
Rachel: Well no, hopefully it will be a learning and development opportunity for everyone, so people will learn to step up and deal with things in a new way on the two days a week when I’m out but, as I’ve said, we’ll take it a term at a time to ensure things don’t go downhill here. I hope each person here will get something out of it, and I should get something out of the experience, and the school will get some much needed extra funding from me doing it, which is needed in a day when budgets are so tight. Knowing the Ofsted have been and gone, this is a good time to do it. When I’ve done my sign-
RL: Well Rachel, you’ve given me a lot of your time and at the end of a day when you’ve been in London as well, I really appreciate both the time you’ve given and even more the wisdom and insights you’ve shared about this day of change in school in which we are living, so thank you very much indeed. I suspect many people reading this will find a very different school experience from the one they had when they were young!
To return to Part 1 of this article, please CLICK HERE
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