Out in the cold: the coastal schools neglected by national initiatives

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/oct/15/coastal-schools-neglected-by-national-initiatives

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At Clacton Coastal academy (CCA), the pupils are proud of their town and their school. They are fed up with The Only Way is Essex and upset by some of the sneering coverage the recent byelection attracted to their town.

Lots of them are ambitious; many want to go to university. Yet the challenges facing children here are great, and the barriers to educational achievement are many. More than half of the pupils at CCA attract the pupil premium, which provides additional funding to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

Children are trying to learn amid poverty, deprivation, high unemployment and poor housing, amid a fluid and unstable population. The level of special educational needs and disability are well above the national average; and, geographically, it feels isolated – the railway line ends at Clacton, then it’s the North Sea.

This is a largely white working class population – a demographic that across the country is now among the most educationally disadvantaged. And they live in the areas being targeted by Ukip.

Clacton-on-Sea shares such features with other fading seaside resorts that have lost much of their tourism – and therefore wealth – to foreign travel. But while schools in London and other deprived urban areas have been successfully turned around thanks to big investment, schools on the coast have been overlooked by national initiatives that have raised standards elsewhere.

The Guardian is shown around CCA by a prefect, Ben, discussing the byelection and Ukip; Ben declares himself a communist and says he wants to be a history professor.

Among the young people we meet, two have had parents who have recently died; another has had a difficult time since his parents split up, but is now back on track; another is homeless after a gas explosion.

They may be dealing with challenging circumstances, but they all have aspirations: one wants to be a vet, another a zookeeper.

A 12-year-old girl had her head shaved to raise money for charity and is now planning a school trip to Auschwitz; others have worked on an anti-homophobia project, and two sixth-formers have been developing a sex education programme after, two years ago, nine girls became pregnant in a single year.

The school has a troubled history since its creation in 2009 out of two failing and rivalrous schools. Its academy chain, Academies Enterprise Trust, has had its own share of problems recently, following criticism by Ofsted and a restriction from taking on any new schools.

Tracey Hemming, CCA’s principal, was devastated when the school was judged to be requiring improvement by Ofsted in 2013, but a recent monitoring visit was positive, taking note of the continuing improvement in results. This year, 51% gained at least five GCSEs A*-C, including English and maths. The national average is 60%.

Hemming is heartened by her students’ growing success, but she feels she is battling against the odds. The fluid population means many pupils join the school later, some as late as year 11, which negatively affects results. Those moving into the area are often families facing severe challenges, who have been moved out of London boroughs because of the benefit cap.

She has seen money and effort ploughed into schools elsewhere, as part of the highly successful London Challenge to improve educational attainment in the capital, and in other urban areas. “London’s been sorted out,” she says. “But what happened to the coast?” Clacton has been left behind and is desperate for investment from outside.

“We need more staff; more specialised staff, maths staff. They’re difficult to get anywhere in the country, imagine how difficult they are to get here. We need people who bring in different experiences, different ideas.”

Dr Tanya Ovenden-Hope has been conducting research into coastal academies for Plymouth University, focusing on six schools around the country, and says staff recruitment and retention are a major problem. “These areas have high unemployment and there’s real disadvantage. You are trying to attract high-calibre teachers, but what employment is there for a spouse?”

Another common feature is the lack of parental engagement in the school. Many parents will have had a poor educational experience themselves and will have left with few qualifications. Ovenden-Hope’s research suggests that expectations among the children of those parents are now rising, says Ovenden-Hope, and it’s certainly evident at CCA. “There’s an expectation that they will achieve now, and that’s a real mindset change.”

Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector of schools who has highlighted the plight of isolated seaside schools, was in Norfolk last week where he once again mentioned the problems of coastal deprivation, small schools and teacher recruitment and retention.

If it’s hard for schools to thrive on the coast, what is it like on a small island? Schools on the Isle of Wight – home to Cowes week and holiday destination for the wealthy – have also been struggling. The picture-postcard island may not overtly display high levels of socio-economic deprivation, but wages are low and there are pockets of poverty.

Like Clacton it feels remote, and recruitment of teachers and senior staff is a big problem. Dr Rory Fox, principal at Ryde Academy, travelled to Canada to find some new teachers.

“I left on Friday morning and did 35 interviews over Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday, flying back Sunday night to arrive back in the UK on Monday morning,” said Fox. “We picked up four enthusiastic teachers, including physics and chemistry.”

Similarly, Eric Jackson, principal of Sandown Bay Academy, has recruited in America after he advertised for five or six posts and received just 11 applications in total. Two teachers were appointed following Skype interviews and were due to begin in September. One has already left. “He clearly was not going to make it,” says Jackson.

Fox and Jackson are both superheads, brought in to help turn round the fortunes of the island’s schools after years of failure.

The situation was so grave that last year the government called in Hampshire county council to take over the running of schools on the island after an Ofsted inspection found child protection services inadequate; in addition, four of the six secondary schools were rated inadequate, another was requiring improvement, while the sixth was good. Absence rates were “the worst in the country”.

The partnership seems to be working; attendance rates have been brought up to national standards, results in primary schools have improved and the Hampshire team are confident next year’s GCSE results will show improvement. But the problem of recruitment will remain.

“It’s quite a forgotten island,” says Jackson. “To work here people have to make a conscious decision to come and live on the Isle of Wight. It’s a lovely place to be but it’s not commutable.”