Headington Rye Oxford case studies (65)

Impact of partnership work done in 2024 (ISC annual Census 2025)

• 12 state schools involved
• 201-500 state school pupils involved
• 50 staff hours given

Impact Statement

Music Teaching for Year 1 pupils
Our Prep School Head of Music delivers weekly music lessons to Year 1 pupils at St Andrew’s CE Primary, for which she is allocated a 2 period per week timetable remission. She works in tandem with the primary class teachers, and the headteacher has reported that the weekly sessions have helped develop teacher knowledge and confidence in music teaching, resulting in one of the teachers feeling able to start an independent recorder group. Additionally, our Prep Head of Music has led weekly sessions with a KS1 choir, and the partner school reports that the increased confidence and enthusiasm in their pupils has fed through into an increase in uptake of 30% for the KS3 choir. She has also taken the KS1 choir to perform in a local nursing home, on a trip that would not otherwise have taken place.

St Andrew’s CE Primary are aiming for the Arts Mark award, and the work carried out by our Prep Head of Music is proving crucial in helping the school achieve this aim.

Sharing Good Practice in Music Education
Our Prep School Head of Music organises and hosts termly twilight teachmeet sessions for class teachers from local primary schools, with the aim of sharing her resources and improving the standard of music teaching in these schools. During 2018 these sessions were attended by teachers from ten local primary schools, and attendees have provided feedback that describes the sessions as ‘incredibly useful’ and ‘very accessible’. Attendees have reported increased confidence and are implementing new teaching strategies and schemes of work in their schools.

National Maths and Physics SCITT
Headington is a hub school for the NMAPS programme, bringing graduates into teaching through in-school training in Maths and Physics. Our commitment is significant, with a Headington teacher being designated the hub subject leader for Physics, and the school has provided him with a responsibility allowance and timetable remission of 10 periods per fortnight. The hub leader is teaching three Physics trainees, which involves using Headington facilities to deliver training for one full day per fortnight, and he is also committed to observing each trainee once per term in their host schools.

As part of the NMAPS programme we are also hosting one Maths trainee in our Maths department throughout the year, and the hub leader is mentoring him; a process that involves 2.5 hours per week of observations, feedback and mentoring.

Additionally, as a hub school we hosted the launch week for the Physics SCITT in August. This is a 2 ½ day residential session with 15 trainees living in our boarding houses, eating in the dining room, and being taught by our hub leader in our Science facilities.

The impact of our involvement in the NMAPS programme will be felt in September 2019: 2 of the four trainees already have teaching positions in local state schools (Faringdon Community College and Wycombe High), and a third is close to securing a similar post.

The hub leader is also investing considerable time in developing and writing the Physics teaching course, which will be rolled out nationally next year to a wider network of 6 hub schools, thus potentially benefiting a considerable number of future teachers who we expect to enter the teaching profession and work in the State sector.

Young Orchestral Day
Our Senior School Music department hosts an annual ‘Young Orchestral Day’, to which pupils from a range of local primaries are invited. The day involves participation in sessions taught and conducted by 3 different Headington School music teachers and 2 different peripatetic instrumental teachers, and culminates in a performance opportunity with full technical support in our Main Hall. In 2018 the event benefited a total of 28 pupils from 9 different local primary schools.

Theatre Experience
Our Senior School Drama Department hosted 36 pupils from John Henry Newman Academy to attend a special preview performance of the winter production in our Theatre. Transport to and from the event was provided by Headington Staff driving Headington minibuses, and feedback from the pupils and teachers after the events was excellent. The class teacher reported that the pupils thought the production was ‘excellent’ and ‘really professional’, and many of them were inspired to audition for big parts in their next school play.

CAS Oxfordshire Primary Hub
Headington Prep School is a lead school within the CAS network of excellence in computing teaching. The Prep School teacher who leads the school’s Digital Strategy and is also Computing Subject Leader is a CAS Master Teacher and also a Hub Leader for the Oxfordshire Primary CAS Hub. These hubs provide opportunities for teachers to meet and promote and develop the teaching of computing. The teacher has helped set up the Oxford Raspberry Pi Jam in association with Oxford City Library.

Computing in Primaries
Our Prep School’s Computing Subject Leader has visited St Mary & St John CE Primary School to deliver a physical computing taster session for the Year 5 class. The session involved the teacher spending an afternoon out of school, and feedback from the class teacher at St Mary & St John as been very positive: “It was very useful to see the computer education ideas linked, the equipment in action, and to be able to discuss with pupils and class teachers while you led the session”.

STEM Lego Challenge
As part of our Year of STEM, our Prep School Science Leader organised a year long STEM Lego challenge in conjunction with the Oxford Centre for Innovation. The event involved Year 4 pupils from 5 local primary schools attending a series of three workshop mornings hosted at Headington School, using Headington School equipment, and led by Headington School teachers. The series of events was a great success and has led to stronger links between the primary schools and the Centre of Innovation, and has also led to plans for Headington to provide equipment and staffing for co-hosted STEM events at the Centre for Innovations new Stansfield Site in Headington.

Planetarium Workshop
St Andrew's CE Primary School used our theatre in November 2018 for a planetarium workshop delivered by Science Oxford. The primary school does not have the space or facility to host such an event so use of or Theatre was provided free of charge.

Hosting ‘NeuroScience for Teachers’ Event
As part of Brain Awareness Week we are providing New College, Oxford with free use of our Hall and lecture facilities to host a twilight ‘Neuroscience of Learning’ event. The event hosts up to 200 teachers from a range of different schools, both state and private, and provides excellent presenters giving TED-type talks about topics relevant to learning (reward in adolescents; learning through challenge and failure etc), following by a break and then a panel Q & A session. This event is hugely beneficial CDP for teachers, and the free use of our lecture facilities and technical support allows the organisers to host a larger event.

Year of STEM lecture programme
Throughout 2018 our Senior and Prep schools hosted a series of STEM lectures aimed at promoting further study and careers in STEM disciplines. Pupils from local state secondary schools were invited to attend all 7 lectures, and in total 112 pupils benefited from the offer of free places.

Cheney School - use of swimming pool
On an annual basis Cheney School is given free of charge access to our swimming pool and equipment, including boats, for capsize tests. This access allows Cheney School to induct pupils into their rowing programme without the need for travel or pool hire at another facility.

Ogden Trust
Since Summer 2018 Headington School has been the Oxford hub school for the Ogden Trust, aiming to support Physics teaching at primary and secondary level and to support students to develop Physics identity. The hub leader is a Headington Physics teacher, and she has been given timetable remission of 6 periods per fortnight to build a programme of CPD and enrichment events for the academic year 2019/20. Annual events hosted at Headington, using Headington facilities and being delivered with the support of Headington teachers and technicians, will include a KS3 challenge day for 160 state school pupils and a STEM enrichment day for 500 state school pupils from Years 6-13. Additionally, Headington will host a day of annual Primary Physics teacher training in October, using Headington facilities. The hub leader is also developing plans to work with the IB CAS coordinator to develop our Year 12 volunteering programme to include Physics tutoring. The impact of these developments is likely to be significant, with many primary and secondary pupils and teachers having the opportunity to benefit from a series of enrichment and enhancement activities.

IB CAS Volunteering Programme
Every year 40 of our Year 12 pupils studying the IB course do weekly reading and Maths tuition with 120 Year 1 to Year 5 pupils in a range of local primaries. Feedback from the class teachers is overwhelmingly positive and suggest that the activity has a positive effect on the reading age and maths confidence of the primary pupils involved.

R.A.D. Dance Exam space
We now host Royal Academy of Dance Ballet exams three per year, and in 2018 we opened the exam days to pupils from 3 local state schools. This allows candidates to be examined in a fully equipped Dance studio, with the cost of piano accompaniment and facilities hire covered by Headington School. To date 8 ballet exam candidates have benefited from this scheme.

Shakespeare Schools’ Foundation
We provide a free of charge letting for the SSF to run an annual festival in our Theatre facilities, free of charge. The SSF are given access for two rehearsal days per year and for a week of rehearsals and performance evenings. The time in the theatre includes support from our theatre technicians and exclusive use of the facility. In 2018 this directly benefited 3 local state schools, including Fitzwaryn special school.

Seconding Staff Governors
In 2018 there were 5 members of Headington’s staff actively involved in a governor role at primary or secondary level in local state schools. These arrangements benefit both Headington School and the state schools involved. For us, school leadership is developed and improved at middle management and senior leadership level, and for the state schools there are clear benefits in the sharing of education expertise and experience.