Introduction
Shavington Academy is a mixed 11-16 comprehensive school on the outskirts of Crewe. It is a standalone academy with 865 pupils on roll who are 92% white British while 13 other ethnic groups are represented. 13.8% of pupils are PP with only 3% EAL. The school was awarded ‘good’ in a 2023 inspection and the headteacher offered the history faculty for a deep dive which also resulted in the award of ‘good’. The faculty teaches GCSE History, Ancient History, and Citizenship. In a recent expansion of staffing, it has five specialists, some of whom also teach other subjects. History is taught for two hours a week at KS3 and for three hours at GCSE. The assessor was able to observe portions of three lessons, scrutinise sample pupil books, and speak to a class teacher, teaching assistant and the headteacher.
You can read Curriculum Leader of History Tom Leather's experiences of the school's Quality Mark journey via the PDF link at the bottom of the page.
Section 1: Teaching, Learning and Achievement
This quality is concerned with ensuring effective learning through appropriate and motivating teaching that engages all pupils consistently throughout the school and enables them to achieve.
The assessor observed a portion of a Year 10 lesson where all pupils were on task correcting deliberate mistakes in an introductory paragraph about the Cuban revolution. The teacher briskly took answers from volunteers and posed questions directly to other pupils, making annotations on a displayed copy of the text. He offered rich vocabulary for rephrasing some of the passage and in a warm exchange with a less able pupil corrected a misconception he had offered in answer to a question.
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The assessor observed a Year 8 lesson based around pairs inferring from a range of original sources about the cause of death of a local cholera victim. While the lesson was carefully sequenced and most pupils were on task, a few were consistently unfocused. The assessor observed a Year 10 Ancient History class adding visual representations to a completed storyboard about the Ionian revolt. The lesson was very well paced, and pupils volunteered recalled details enthusiastically through skilful questioning. They were well supported through short video clips, high-quality teacher produced flow diagrams, and the teacher began reading out from an account of events by Herodotus as the assessor left the room. Two out of three lessons observed corroborated notes from a recent learning walk from SLT where it was noted that lessons contained ‘no dead time’.
The assessor was able to interview small mixed groups of pupils from different year groups. Various pupils answered confidently, for example Year 7 pupils enthusiastically suggested a range of types of sources of evidence while Year 11 pupils showed a good understanding of source analysis. These answers corroborated a statement included on a pupil voice survey where nearly 4 out of every 5 respondents agreed that ‘I am made to think, not just copy work’. However, the range of pupil responses to the assessor’s questions were uneven and did not always reflect a wide enough awareness of the nature and purpose of history or of disciplinary thinking. This is despite the precise task specific feedback given by teachers which demonstrates a good understanding of how answers involving causation, for example might become more sophisticated as pupils progress through the curriculum. The head of department put down the reticence of some pupils to the lack of confidence which he identifies as part of the culture of the catchment area.
The department has devoted much time to developing its own high-quality resources and all planning and material is freely available to staff and support staff with schemes of work regularly reviewed as they are completed. A particular strength are the diagrams, summarising content using carefully chosen symbols and images, and at times, pupils are asked to express their understanding through cartoons or sketches. A survey of SEND pupils resulted in the adoption of a common lesson structure which feedback from pupils reported improved accessibility and resulted in higher levels of engagement. One outcome of the survey was the enhancement of supported displays in history classrooms which include key vocabulary and definitions that pupils sometimes refer to. A series of model essays have been developed for major outcomes which pupils do not see but which are effectively used by staff for live modelling. At KS3, there are five major assessments a year, three of which are completed under test conditions and include retrieval, extended answers and synoptic elements. Guidance for feedback to pupils is task specific. No subject specific marks or grades are given in KS3 until a predicted GCSE grade in Year 9. Parents receive reports in Year 8 which indicate how pupils are performing in different subjects to commonly agreed school wide criteria defined as self-regulation, ambition, pride and resilience. Pupil books showed a high level of challenge with the inclusion of tables and mind maps to structure knowledge acquisition. Pupils find the consistent use of acronyms such as EXPEDS (example, people, events, dates, statistics) supportive in their written responses. The assessor saw examples of written answers that had been extended in response to teacher feedback. Pupils are able to reach their own substantiated conclusions, for example in Year 9, they are asked to select a contemporary Second World War source and annotate how it is evidence of the concept of ‘total war’. Home learning projects which may include creative outcomes such as modelmaking are set for each year group and the TA interviewed spoke warmly about how much one of these particular tasks had engaged a pupil she supported in Year 8. She also described history teachers as brilliant and inspirational. She said (in effect) that their adaptive teaching was so good that assistants had less work to do in class than other subjects which left them more time to ‘float’ as needed. The TA praised the updated displays, the use of visuals and the impact on SEND pupils that the initial sharing of enquiry questions and ‘do now’ tasks had had at the start of lessons. The full range of disciplinary concepts are the subject of assessments, but the excellent enquiry on Cyrus the Great at the start of Year 9 is the first time that pupils encounter the concept of historical interpretations in any depth.
The assessor concluded that the school met the criteria for gold in this category with elements of silver.
Areas for development
- Give more consistent feedback to pupils on disciplinary concepts and monitor its impact through pupil voice.
Evidence
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Section 2: Leadership
This quality is concerned with ensuring that systems and structures are in place and used effectively to ensure that history enjoys a high status, reputation and profile in the school and beyond.
The head of the history faculty is an outstanding curriculum leader. His headteacher paid tribute to him as ‘one of my strongest middle leaders’ with a passion for quality, always thinking about the impact of decisions upon pupils. He will always give his honest opinion and the head said that some of the school’s best experiences for pupils come from the history faculty.
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The head of department is supporting the professional development of other curriculum leaders. Confidence in his leadership is shown by the recent creation of the faculty which was also given responsibility for delivering Citizenship (which it does very well). A recent specialist appointed to the department described it as ‘brilliant and supportive’. He and other staff value the half termly faculty meetings where planning is reviewed and pupil work sometimes moderated. The teacher described how members of the department were sometimes given Teaching History articles to read before a meeting which would then be discussed, for example, selected articles on significance recently informed reviews of planning. The teacher particularly valued recent developments in assessment practice and model essays which shape forms of live modelling. The head of faculty feeds back on any HA or other CPD he attends, and two members of the department were able to join this year’s HA conference online. The head of faculty attends and contributes to a local history network covering East Cheshire. A member of the department is also an examiner which helps to inform GCSE planning. The faculty has a strong relationship with local ITT providers. Two trainees wrote ‘I’m so glad that I was able to start my teaching at Shavington’ and ‘They have challenged me to think really hard about pedagogy and about my subject – it’s been an absolute pleasure to develop my practice in the setting’.
The assessor found that the school meets the criteria for gold in this category.
Areas for development
- Apply to submit an article for Teaching History on adaptive teaching at Shavington which could incorporate detail of the enquiry on Cyrus the Great.
Evidence
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Section 3: Curriculum
This quality is concerned with the coherence, logic and appropriateness of the curriculum in the context of the school.
KS3 curriculum at Shavington is carefully and coherently structured. Activities are organised around answering rigorous enquiry questions with a series of these in each medium-term plan, leading to an overarching question. For example, in Year 7, the focus is on Britain; Power, Control and Empires as a general theme.
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As part of the unit ‘What was significant about the Norman Conquest?’ pupils study feudalism and contrast this soon afterwards by looking at how power and authority were exercised in mediaeval Benin and China. Study units at the end of Year 7 deliberately contrast the Roman and British Empires, partly comparing how a metropole relates to its dependencies. Local history is carefully woven into the KS3 curriculum, for example a local battle features in the study of the Civil War while in Year 8 pupils answer the question ‘How do we know that the Industrial Revolution changed lives in Cheshire?’ Dual coding techniques and Frayer models are used to build pupil understanding of substantive and disciplinary concepts and vocabulary. For example, the assessor saw an explanation of enslavement in Year 8 books with examples referring to societies where it pre-dated the Transatlantic Slave Trade. A particular strength of the curriculum is a newly written unit in Year 9, focusing on interpretations of Cyrus the Great and showing how US Christian fundamentalists equate him with Donald Trump. References to different interpretations over time in this unit incorporate details from periods already studied and include reference to periods covered later in Yr 9. One Year 8 enquiry ‘Is terrorism a modern phenomenon?’ also refers back to events such as the Gunpowder Plot drawn from earlier periods and includes events such as 9/11 from periods that pupils cover in Year 9. The work of historians such as David Olosuga, Miranda Kaufman, and Gary Sheffield feature regularly in schemes of work. In places, such as in coverage of the Norman Conquest in Year 7, or the Reformation in Year 8 events in England could be given a wider British Isles, European or international context. The KS3 curriculum provides a strong foundation for GCSE courses at KS4 and coherent links are made across the key stages.
The assessor found that the school meets the criteria for gold in this category.
Areas for development
- Review KS3 study units focused on English history to ensure they are sufficiently set in a British Isles, European and international context.
- Introduce at least one major focus on historical interpretations in Year 7 or 8 for consistency of coverage of disciplinary concepts.
- Consider introducing symbols representing disciplinary concepts as these are covered in teaching.
Evidence
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Section 4: Achievement
The history faculty succeeds in systematically building pupil‘s historical knowledge as they progress through the school, giving them awareness of a wider world beyond the largely white, British culture of this part of Cheshire. The department consistently recruits over 50% of pupils for GCSE History and Ancient History courses (the figure is 60% for the current Year 11).
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GCSE history results show a pattern of consistent performance over national figures. For example, in 2018, 36.7% of GCSE candidates attained grades 9 to 7 compared to a national figure of 24.7%. In 2022 42.6% of Shavington GCSE candidates scored 9 to 7 grades compared to the national pattern of 29.5%. Progress 8 outcomes for 2022 show a +0.21 figure while GCSE history scored 0.42 grades higher than other subjects. Residuals between 2018 and 2023 are all positive for both genders apart from a slight negative residual for girls this year. Attainment is also good in Ancient History, but the number of candidates is relatively small. Attainment for PP and SEND pupils is comparable with general trends for all GCSE History candidates. The performance of different examination classes is carefully analysed noting, for example where some pupils might be struggling with the pace of teaching or where ongoing revision is not being completed. Targeted interventions appear to be successful in improving the performance of selected individuals and teachers carefully monitor the impact on components of examinations. PP pupils may be chosen for extra one-to-one tuition. Pupils have access to knowledge organisers which they review and ‘Golden ticket’ handouts identify key content for a GCSE unit. These can make links to key concepts covered in KS3 such as evidence of change and continuity in the Year 8 enquiry ‘How far did abolition change the lives of African- Americans?’ The portfolio contained examples of History Star of the Week awards and emails are sent home to parents, praising effort and attainment. Some pupils opt to study A-level history after leaving the school but unfortunately the department has not been able to obtain the numbers from its main feeder college. In a recent survey, one parent commented that ‘Lucy has enjoyed Ancient History so much that she will be studying it at A-level standard at South Cheshire College’.
The assessor found that the school met the criteria for gold in this category.
Evidence
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Section 5: Enrichment
This quality is concerned with ensuring pupils have access to history beyond the taught curriculum and that the history that is taught in the curriculum is supported, enriched and deepened by involvement in projects, visits and gaining from the expertise of others.
Shavington has hosted local heats of the HA‘s Great Debate competition twice, and pupils benefit from the debating culture fostered by staff across the faculty, particularly in relationship to Citizenship teaching. The department contributes to whole school and cross curricular foci, such as the commemoration of the Holocaust.
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A trip is organised per year group, so that Year 7 pupils visit Roman Chester while Year 8 visit the National Memorial Arboretum. A popular Year 9 battlefields trip is run as a joint residential with Languages. Pupils and parents are particularly appreciative of the GCSE trip to Berlin. Over 9 out of 10 pupils would recommend it to a friend, while one commented ‘we couldn’t have asked for a better teacher team to go with us’. There are helpful history displays in classrooms which pupils sometimes refer to as they complete their work. History displays are also visible in corridors and include one with material generated on Second World War planes by enthusiasts in the KS3 History Club although the number of pupils who attend the club at present is small. Part of the school website is set aside for curriculum overviews and revision guides and the portfolio contained examples of the dissemination of trip photographs on social media. The department is seeking a collaboration with a local museum. One local head of department visited the school to look at good practice that the subject leader from Shavington disseminated as a local network for history teachers. The faculty surveys parental opinion which is mostly very appreciative of what it does. One parent wrote ‘Very happy with my son’s experience. Relationships that experienced staff build together with interesting lessons are key to getting the best from the children’.
The assessor determined that the school met the criteria for gold in this category with elements of silver.
Evidence
Areas for development
- Develop a community project through collaboration with Nantwich Museum
- Expand the KS3 history club, preparing its members to contribute to assemblies and primary liaison.
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