Quality Mark Case Study: Shavington Academy

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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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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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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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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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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