Research and Development Project – Theme 2
Case Study - Warren Road Teaching Alliance
Context
WTSA encompasses a group of 29 schools, who work collaboratively to ensure the very best outcomes for
the children of Bromley.
Initially the Alliance had been involved in the first phase of research which was linked to writing, a key area
for development for all these schools. The schools had also identified a large number of SA/SA+ children in
Year 4 and aimed to develop a practical project to support these children with their writing.
Our research question was;
SEND – What makes great pedagogy? (In particular when supporting SEND pupils)
Teaching The first part of the project was warmly embraced by seven of the Alliance schools, and its
findings subsequently shared amongst the Alliance. The project’s success was linked to the following key
points; that the project had;
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A ‘special’ purpose – writing a collection of reviews for the library
Given the children time to move step by step through a story
Allowed time for discussion
Scaffolded the learning through story mountains or maps
Had caught the imagination
Used visual clues
Learning The SEND children involved in the project felt that the project had been successful because they
were required to;
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Create a finished product that they are proud of
Work independently but where they have access to support
Adhere to tight success criteria
Use TA support for prompting purposes only
The first phase of the research had therefore been successfully completed by the close of the academic year
12/13.
The research team then began to discuss whether these key findings were unique to Literacy, or could be
extended to other subject areas, and it was agreed that we should trial a project in Numeracy to consolidate
and conclude the research.
It was to prove more complex and difficult than WTSA had envisaged. As Numeracy was not such a key
area for the Alliance, only three of the schools participated in the project and it proved difficult to sustain
everyone’s involvement throughout the 12 months. Changes of personnel further complicated matters with
the most significant change being the retirement of the NLE, HT of the Alliance whose expertise had been
key to the project.
The Alliance employed their Maths SLE, who had recently returned from Singapore and China where she
had been involved with the Government’s Numeracy project. She was asked to devise an enterprise project
linking maths to real life issues. She identified a clear aim for all SEND children working alongside their
classmates;
As an enterprise project linked to maths the children are to produce a board game in which children earn
money by solving decimal word problems in the context of money and measure (Appendix A)
The teaching process was established with reference to the findings of the writing project;
In groups of four children would create a board game in which either Y4 children would practise solving
decimal word problems, the game would be produced over a period of time linked to DT. (Appendix B)
The project was completed by all three schools during June 2014 and many chose to link it to the World
Cup.
The Alliance sought to find that the research results from the writing project would be confirmed by the
second phase and that this would have a significant impact on how teachers organised and prepared their
lessons.
Baseline evidence was drawn from both students and teachers alike and took the form of questionnaires.
Teachers reflected that SA/SA+ children achieved well in numeracy lessons when
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working in mixed ability groups
these groups were supportive
the task was related to real life issues
there was time and opportunity to reflect on their own learning
Three key questions were asked of the children
Strongly agree
Disagree
Agree
How much do you
enjoy maths
3%
3%
34%
33%
Strongly
agree
27%
How confident are
you at using money?
3%
6%
21%
56%
14%
Total 70%
How confident are
you at using
decimals?
45%
13%
34%
3%
5%
Total 8%
As the project reached its conclusion the teacher’s went on to reflect that all children
 worked well in small, mixed ability groups
 listened well to one another
 linked their work to real life situations
 questioned and supported one another through the process
The children were then asked again
Strongly agree
Disagree
How confident
are you at using
money?
3%
5%
Has this game
helped you to
learn more about
decimals?
3%
Agree
12%
42%
Strongly
agree
38%
Total 80%
11%
42%
17%
27%
Total 44%
The results clearly showed that whilst the project clearly supported the understanding of money, it had a
more significant effect on the children’s understanding of decimals.
Whilst the conclusion of the research is far from exhaustive the schools involved were keen to work with
staff and embed that great pedagogy does have key elements. All lessons should;
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Have a ‘special’ purpose. An end product to be proud of.
Allow time for children to discuss and reflect on their work
Scaffold the learning where possible, whether through classroom displays or individual prompts.
Capture the children’s imagination.
The Alliance is due to embark on a major cross-schools writing project with Pie Corbett where these key
elements will be reinforced. The joy of the project is that in completing the research ourselves we have
ownership of the results as we move on in our practice.
For the Alliance there were two significant learning points. The first was sustainability, to ensure success the
project must be led by committed individuals working together as a team to complete the work. The
retirement of the HT and the subsequent promotion of the school’s Deputy to another borough complicated
the completion of the project. The second was that whilst Alliance members were keen to share the workload
on Literacy, they were more confident in their teaching of Numeracy and therefore less enthused when the
project was extended.