Opinion: Curriculum

Joy belongs in our secondary schools too

Secondary schools can replicate the joy and sense of belonging primaries foster without sacrificing standards

Secondary schools can replicate the joy and sense of belonging primaries foster without sacrificing standards

15 Nov 2024, 5:00

I am honoured to have been invited to take part in a new ImpactED commission that will examine student engagement’s potential as a lead indicator of key educational outcomes and a driver school improvement. This is crucial to ensuring our children love coming to school, attend well and ultimately receive the education they deserve.

My experience has taught me that exceptional outcomes and a joyous culture are not mutually exclusive. In fact, joy is essential for genuine success. 

In our primary schools, we are doing exceptionally well at creating a strong sense of belonging and joy. In our most recent student survey, 93 per cent of our students said they were happy studying at school. The national primary average is a strong 79 per cent.

However, as a nation we seem to have accepted that our children are not as happy studying at secondary school. I don’t think that’s okay.

Fostering belonging

Our secondary schools are working hard to replicate the sense of belonging and joy you can achieve at primary.

In one, the reward system involves golden tickets being handed out to deserving students. At lunchtime once a week, a staff member cycles into the playground with a top hat on, a large box of goodies strapped to the front of their bike. Students flock to them to swap their tickets for treats; the buzz it creates brings about a real sense of community and fun.

Another has recently launched a “Make Their Day” initiative. The school asked parents to send in suggestions on how school can make their child’s day. Feedback from students and parents has been overwhelmingly positive.

Such thoughtful activities focused on fostering a sense of belonging are having an impact. The school finished the first half term with attendance 5 per cent above where it was this time last year.  

A joyful curriculum

Events, activities, rewards and trips are all vital parts of making sure our children are happy at school, but sometimes we seem to forget the classroom. Joy can and should be experienced through learning.  

Through our fortnightly instructional coaching, we ensure we are empowering our teachers to inspire our children. What correlates most with happy children and parents is where the teaching is inclusive and of the highest quality. 

Here too, we have already seen the positive correlation between engagement and success for our students, especially for those who need us the most.  

Reframing our aims

This year, we are also transforming our Key Performance Indicators (KPI). Our top three measures will align with results from our three engagement surveys with students, staff and parents. 

Our director of performance and I had a long debate about attendance as a KPI. Ultimately, we decided that attendance is a symptom of a lack of engagement, and that attendance alone – without engagement – is not enough to truly transform children’s lives.  

By focusing instead on our children’s love of school and their ability to achieve well, we are reframing our leaders’ entire approach to school improvement, including attendance. 

A community asset

Focusing on engagement has also meant spending time really thinking about how our schools feel for our parents and carers.  

Last year, we invested heavily in our strengthening communities strategy. We appointed someone to lead it, developed our community hub models, trained and supported staff to improve family relationships, established our own charitable foundation (South West Opportunities Fund) and focused on improving communication with our families.

The investment has paid off with improved outcomes for our most vulnerable, improvements in all areas of our parent survey and reduced complaints. 

It may sound simplistic or emotional to talk about wanting our parents to love our schools and children to love coming to them, but I believe the establishment of the engagement commission is part of a new movement in education.  

We don’t have to pit consistency against fun, or rigour against engagement, or high standards against creativity and community. 

I am proud that one of our secondary schools has made love one of their core values. I hope more of them do, because that’s how we’ll create the conditions to rebuild a love of education.

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