Readers of a certain age - or with a particular taste in comedy - will almost certainly remember an iconic scene from the 1979 Monty Python Film, ‘The Life of Brian’. In it, members of The People’s Front of Judea debate what “benefits” their Roman oppressors have brought them, ironically concluding, “All right - but apart from the sanitation... the medicine... education... wine... public order... Irrigation... the roads... The fresh water system... And public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?” It’s with an equal sense of irony that I therefore now pose a similarly phrased question to shape reflections on the impact of distinctive extra-curricular programmes at Park House School in Newbury; a programme that is both based on - and aims to amplify - the Olympic and Paralympic values of Excellence, Inspiration, Courage, Determination, Friendship, Respect and Equality.
So, what indeed has this approach to extra curricular provision ever done for us - specifically in relation to curriculum enrichment, students’ social, moral, cultural and leadership development and the provision of an international dimension to their learning.
That wider impact on learning – and students’ enjoyment of learning – surely couldn’t be more significant in 2018. The recent narrowing of an increasingly content-driven curriculum and examination system has further heightened the importance of providing opportunities for our young people to develop as fully-rounded individuals, engaged with their wider community and equipped with skills such as creativity and curiosity, recently identified by the World Economic Forum1 as being crucial for their future employability.
Planning Provision
2010-11 saw the convergence of two factors which were critical in shaping our values-themed approach to extra-curricular provision at Park House. First, our decision to be one of the first schools nationally to adopt Get Set2, the official London 2012 education programme, with its focus on thematic and cross-curricular learning based on the Olympic and Paralympic values. And, second, the management of our Academy conversion process and related need to both communicate our vision for the benefits of the new status and formulate an action plan for specific projects and activities that would offer wider opportunities and deliver further school improvement.
Our first step was to publish a clear statement to stakeholders explaining, in terms of each of the values, the connection between what had already made us successful as a community school and our future aspirations as an Academy. This values framework subsequently provided the basis for whole staff planning sessions, where teaching and support staff worked together in multi-disciplinary groups to discuss and develop specific projects or activities that could be ‘badged’ in relation to one or more of the values. These highly creative sessions yielded a range of innovative ideas which were then reviewed by SLT to produce a consolidated programme of values-related initiatives. In this context, our Ofsted Report of June 2012 concluded that, “a values-centred ambition for students inspired by the Headteacher and governing body drives the school’s effective improvement and its planning.”
Structurally, a further series of decisions were made alongside these planning sessions to determine how activities could be most effectively delivered. In addition to continuing the traditional approach of ad hoc after school provision, a new Enrichment programme was introduced on Monday afternoons. This was a weekly elective session, where students could additionally opt into a wide variety of clubs run by external coaches, support staff and external providers whilst teaching staff undertook ongoing professional development and planning together in department or cross-curricular teams.