Hillpark Secondary School
Hillpark Secondary School
1/ About our school/nursery
1. About our school / centre / OUR SCHOOL
Hillpark Secondary is a non-denominational school and is part of the Hillpark Learning Community. The current roll is 938. The school enjoys close working links with its 6 associated primaries: Ashpark Primary School, Cleeves Primary School, Darnley Primary School, Gowanbank Primary School, Merrylee Primary School, and Tinto Primary School.
The Learning Community maintains strong links with our Pre-5 partners: Burnbrae Children’s Centre, Eastwood Nursery, Jimmy Dunnachie Learning Centre and Shaw Mohr Nursery.
The school itself is an attractive, well equipped building which boasts excellent facilities including its own swimming pool, fitness suite, games hall, eight fully equipped ICT labs, a well resourced library, playing fields, drama studio and assembly hall with state of the art ICT equipment.
A significant feature of the school is the Language and Communication Unit. The unit has 20 pupils within the Autistic Spectrum. These pupils are integrated either partially or fully into mainstream classes.
OUR PARENT COUNCIL
The school has an active Parent Council which represents the views of parents to the Head Teacher and the Authority. The Parent Council meets once per month and is comprised of parent and staff members.
The Parent Council gives excellent support to the school and offers its views on a wide variety of issues such as homework, quality assurance and consultation with parents.
OUR PUPIL COUNCIL
The Pupil Council is elected on an annual basis by the pupils and meets monthly with the staff representatives. Pupils are encouraged to raise issues with class and year group representatives in order to promote full participation in the life of the school.
The Pupil Council is led by Ms Crawford PT Pastoral Care and meets monthly with the Head Teacher. The Pupil Council has recently worked on issues such as school uniform and our outdoor areas. This session we hope to continue our work on ‘Pupil Voice’ and more active pupil participation in developing our values.
OUR STAFF
The Senior Management Team consists of the Head Teacher, Formal Depute and three Depute Head Teachers. Curricular areas are managed by four Faculty Heads and eight Principal Teachers (Curriculum). There are five Principal Teachers of Pastoral Care, one Principal Teacher Support for Learning and one Principal Teacher Language and Communication Unit.
The total staff of the school consists of 65.4 FTE teaching staff, four clerical, seven Pupil Support Assistants, three technicians, three janitorial staff and an AFA.
1. Our vision, values and aims / Vision
In Hillpark Secondary our vision is to ensure that every child realises their full potential and does so within an environment which encourages them to grow into respectful and responsible young citizens.
Values
We encourage our pupils to take responsibility for their learning, behaviour and achievement and to contribute to our learning community in which ever way they can. We promote an ethos of high expectations and seek to celebrate the achievements of our pupils.
We promote an ethos of inclusion and equality and work hard to achieve the very best for all of our pupils. We celebrate the diversity which exists within the school and recognise and celebrate the cultures and religions of all pupils and staff. We recognise the rights and responsibilities of pupils and value the views which they express.
We are committed to working closely with parents/carers and welcome their support.
Aims
We seek to provide a learning and teaching environment of the highest quality in every classroom and encourage our pupils to do the very best that they can. We are committed to maintaining a caring ethos where pupils feel safe, healthy and supported.
In session 2015/16 we will consult fully with pupils, parents/carers and staff on our values and will develop our work in incorporating our values into our daily practice.
2
/ Our achievements this year.
Attendance
Our attendance dipped slightly to 91.2% last session. This was mainly due to changes in our Study Leave. We will endeavour to improve our attendance this session by more rigorus tracking, particularly during exam leave.
All staff are committed to providing a learning experience which engages our pupils. Pastoral Care staff continue to be proactive in monitoring attendance on a daily basis.
Exclusions
There is a positive pattern of exclusion over the last 3 years. The number of exclusion incidents has decreased from 80.9 to 56.6 per 1000 pupils.
The number of openings lost has decreased from 221 to 163 per 1000 pupils. An opening represents a half day.
We continue to meet the needs of our pupils more effectively by providing enhanced behaviour management, counselling and conflict resolution. We also provide support via our Pupil Support Centre where counselling work is done on a 1-1 basis with specialist staff. Most staff are trained in Assertive Discipline and employ these strategies in classrooms. Staff have been very proactive in developing strategies within their classrooms to manage pupil behaviour appropriately and in classrooms there is a purposeful and engaging learning environment. We will continue to develop our understanding this session of the 6 nurturing principles and will implement these within all classrooms. We will also develop our Nurture Base and continue to provide CPD to all staff to develop further their knowledge.
We will also utilize more fully the skills and knowledge of our LCR staff to develop further the skills of staff in meeting the needs of our ASN pupils in mainstream.
Wider Achievement
The school has worked hard to develop the range of Wider Achievement Awards and experiences within the school.
· In S1 almost all pupils achieved a John Muir Award through our Outdoor Learning Interdisciplinary Week. All depts worked in close collaboration to ensure the successful completion of this award.
· In S2 almost all pupils achieved a Saltire Award through the Citizenship programme. This programme is delivered through our Social Subjects faculty. Each pupil completes 10 hours of community service. Pupils engaged well with our local community through their litter picking activities and received much positive feedback.
· In S1, 60 pupils received a Crest Award and 24 in S2 for activities which were undertaken in Science.
· In S3 Modern Languages, 18 pupils achieved a “Skills for Life and Work Award”. Pupils found this course to be an enriching learning experience and this will be offered to all pupils in S3 in session 2015/16
· In S5/6, 17 pupils achieved the prestigious ‘Diana Award’ for their work in our Language and Communication Unit. S5/6 pupils worked with our LCR pupils on a wide range of issues.
· A significant number of pupils in S6 achieved a Saltire Award for a range of leadership activities which they had undertaken. Many worked as buddies and some offered in class support to our younger pupils.
· A group of pupils in S6 worked with Strathclyde University on the Prof. Smith Telecommunications award. One pupil was in the winning group which designed a phone app.
· A group of S2 pupils achieved a Silver Crest Award for their achievement in the Go4Set
Awards.
· Two senior pupils earned a place at Strathclyde University Space School. One of the pupils was selected to be part of a group of 10 pupils from across Scotland to go to Houston and visit NASA.
· Our Challenge Groups in S1-3 had a very successful year. Our S3 group undertook the following:
Intergenerational ICT awards
Burnfield Care Home Project
Anti Sectatrian Peer Mentoring
· Our S2 Group undertook a range of enterprise activities which developed their leadership and interpersonal skills.
· Our S1 Challenge Group undertook a healthy eating project and undertook a sponsored walk in addition to their Crest award work.
· In PE there were a wide range of Wider Achievement Awards. In session 2014, 396 pupils gained Wider Achievement or internal award in PE in the following areas.
15 Track Cycling Champions.
28 S3 pupils achieved the Heartstart Award.
8 pupils have become Sports Ambassadors.
119 pupils gained levels 1 or 2 in Sports/Dance leadership.
All Sports/Dance Leaders/Ambassadors took part in the Positive Coaching
Scotland Award.
95% of S6 pupils undertook the Emergency First Aid at Work Award.
· In addition to these awards, many pupils took part in our charity fund raising events and donated significantly to a range of charities.
· The school maintained our Fair Trade status and our Young Co-op members were extremely proactive throughout the year.
· Our Craft Club raised a substantial amount of money for our partner school in Malawi. We support the school in a variety of ways through our Craft Club and Fairtrade group to provide meals for pupils.
· We committed time and effort to supporting our local food bank who were delighted with the substantial contribution which our school made to our local community.
3 / How well do children learn and achieve? (1.1, 2.1)
Improvements in Attainment
1.
S6
In S6, the Advanced Higher results were the strongest ever. The school has invested heavily
in providing a wide range of Advanced Higher subjects across several curricular areas.
2013 2014 2015
6.6% 8.3% 8.9%
3+ level 6 (Higher)
The pattern has remained consistent over a 3 year period.
2013 2014 2015
23.6% 23.3% 23.5%
5+ level 6 (Higher)
There has been a 3 year positive pattern of attainment
2013 2014 2015
12.7% 15% 16.2%
2.
S5
5+ level 5 (National 5)
The attainment in this area had dipped slightly and will be a focus of our improvement
plan this session.
2013 2014 2015
41.5% 41.9% 38.8%
5+ level 6 (Higher)
There has been a 3 year positive pattern of attainment.
2013 2014 2015
6.2% 3.4% 8.2%
3+ level 6 (Higher)
There has been a three year positive pattern of attainment.
2013 2014 2015
15.5% 12.8% 22.4%
1+ level 6 (Higher)
There has been a 3 year positive pattern of attainment.
2013 2014 2015
36.8% 37.4% 44.3%
3. S4
Pupils in S4 sat 7 National exams. This was a reduction from 8 Standard Grades in previous years. We were delighted at the increase in our S4 results, particularly as pupils are sitting one SQA exam fewer than in previous years.
Level 5 (National 5)
There has been a 3 year positive pattern of attainment
2013 2014 2015
19% 22.4% 27.4%
Level 4 (National 4)
There has been a 3 year positive pattern of attainment
2013 2014 2015
71.5% 72.1% 75%
Level 3 (National 3)
There has been an increase over 2 years
2013 2014 2015
98.2% 90.2% 93%
Literacy and Numeracy
The attainment by the end of S6 in Literacy and Numeracy has improved considerably and is now above the Virtual Comparator, GCC and National figures for level 5. There has been a very positive 3 year trend at level 5.
Level 5
2013 2014 2015
47% 46.26% 66.45%
We are delighted at the 3 year positive trend in almost all aspects of our attainment. The school has worked hard to provide a curriculum which meets the needs of pupils effectively and offers opportunity to pupils to develop their leadership skills.
The school has continued to focus on the quality of learning and teaching to ensure that pupils’ experiences are of the highest order. Pupils have been well supported by Pastoral Care and SFL in SQA exams.
Staff enhanced the learning experience by providing opportunities for mentoring, motivational workshops and master classes.
Pupils also benefitted from an extensive programme of Supported Study and Easter Revision. Staff also provided support to parents through the ‘Parents’ Raising Attainment Evening’ in October.
This continued focus on raising attainment has had a very positive impact on almost all areas.
· Attainment in almost all measures has improved over a 3 year period
· Pupils felt well supported by teaching and support staff
· Pupils developed appropriate study habits
· Pupils had access to a wide range of supported study and master classes
· Communication and revision materials were enhanced by the use of ICT
· Parents felt more able to support pupils in preparation for SQA exams.
· The focus on our work in session 2015/16 will be to improve the Nat 5 attainment in S5.
Leaver Destinations
The school experienced a slight dip in our leaver destinations last session.
87.6% of leavers moved into positive destinations which was a slight decrease of 1% from the previous year.
24% of leavers moved into Higher Education and 34.4% into further education.
There has been a five year positive trend in our Leaver Destinations. Almost all of our leavers move into a positive destination and the percentage who move into Higher and Further education continues to improve. Our pupils are very well supported by our Skills Development Advisor whose work has had a positive impact on the outcomes for our pupils.
A significant number of pupils in S5/6 benefit from the Top-Up Programme. This has had a positive impact on pupils as it supports them in the transition phase to University and enhances their chances of being accepted into their chosen course. It has also impacted positively on raising pupil expectation by widening access to Higher and Further Education. The school will continue to engage positively with the Top-Up Programme in future years.
4 / How well do we support children in their learning and development? (5.1, 5.3)
Our curriculum continues to develop in line with national and local thinking. Our BGE offers pupils a curriculum which is based on the clear design principles of challenge and enjoyment, breadth, depth, progression, relevance, coherence and personalisation and choice for all learners.
Our focus has been to meet the needs of all learners and to raise standards of attainment and achievement. Our focus of work this year in the BGE will be to develop further our tracking across all curricular areas and to build into our curriculum more depth and challenge.
Last session a range of whole school and dept/faculty IDL projects were undertaken including the John Muir Award and Health and Wellbeing activities. Staff will undertake more extensive IDL work during this session.
SFL staff have supported pupils well in paired reading and we have tracked the coverage of the literacy and numeracy through our use of the CfE machine. We have clear evidence of the impact of literacy and numeracy strategies in the stronger results in S4 English and Maths last session.