Quality Mark Case Study: All Saints

Gold Award

All Saints Church of England Primary School is situated within the heart of the industrial West Midlands. The ethnic and cultural diversity of the catchment area is rich and varied. The socio-economic background is also wide-ranging though predominantly from socially deprived homes. A small percentage of the school population are transient due to the school attracting children from families who are either studying in the UK or here on short-term seconded professional contracts. The school is expanding from a one form entry to a two form entry.

While the school still has one or two elements of the gold award status to develop more fully, such as its impact beyond the school community, the work undertaken over the past four years to promote history within the school and the part it plays in the life of the school is admirable.

1. Teaching and Learning

The teaching and the learning at All Saints was inspiring. The dedication and collaborative working relationships between the staff was admirable and the impact that all of this had on the children, many of whom are socially deprived, was significant. The opportunities that they provide for them are outstanding. The children really enjoy learning about history and talked competently about how history is linked to other subjects. They understood feedback and how to use this to help achieve their own personal targets.
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2. Leadership

The status of history across the school is high. Members of the school community speak very highly of the Subject Leader and the work she has achieved to raise the profile of history through the school.
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3. Curriculum

The curriculum is detailed and has been planned across the school in collaboration with colleagues.
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4. Achievement

The history displays around the school are attractive, informative and educational. They are 4D including Quick Response bar codes. These demonstrate the children actively learning, which is excellent as it contextualises the learning process. They evidence the children’s conversations and the enjoyment behind the excellent written work and 2D/3D art work on display.
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5. Enrichment

There are links shown through the portfolio to cross-curricular approaches to history, the use of artefacts, speakers and links with the local community and educational visits. Discussions with the Subject Leader and the children would indicate that the examples go beyond those highlighted in the portfolio. The children refer to these enrichment activities in positive ways. The older children clearly understand the value of the activities and articulate very well the positive impact they have on understanding the topics.

A note from Jaye Tonks: History Coordinator

Before we applied for the Quality Mark, as a school we believed that history was already in a good place. As subject leader I was privileged in terms of how enthusiastic the staff and children were about all aspects of history. As a school, our hopes were that the process of the Quality Mark would help us strengthen the service we provided our children and raise the profile of History even more.
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