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Document No: 202 Document Owner: PH/IiP Document Approver: HB/IiP Version: 5 Date: 28/06/12 Page: 1 of 15

INVESTORS IN PEOPLE

ASSESSMENT REPORT

WASHWOOD HEATH ACADEMY



Key Information

Assessment Type Assessment

Investors in People Specialist Name June Williams

Visit Date 28/01/2014 & 29/01/2014

Assessment Enquiry Number ENQ–89666–P7G5QY

Conclusion The commitment to making the business successful and the ‘passion’ demonstrated in Washwood Heath Academy was infectious, as was the inclusive culture of coaching and support and I would like to thank everyone for sharing their experiences with me, which have been summarized in this report. It was also apparent that everyone was highly motivated and took a personal pride in achieving their targets. There was no doubt that everyone felt valued, involved and empowered to take responsibility. Having carried out the assessment process rigorously and in accordance with the quality assurance guidelines monitored by Investors in People Central England, I conclude that, Washwood Heath Academy continue to meet the Investors in People Standard at a Gold Level. Achieving Gold additional accreditation represents achievement of world class best practice and shows you are a truly cutting-edge organisation operating at the highest levels of people management practice I would like to congratulate everyone in the organisation on this tremendous achievement and wish them every success as they move to becoming a Multi-Academy. Accreditation as an Investors in People organisation at Gold level is, therefore, maintained as from 29th January 2014.

Milestone Dates

Review of Continuous Improvement Plan July 2015

Date of Next Full Assessment January 2017

June Williams Estelle Warwick-Caddoo (Support)

Investors in People Specialists



CONTENTS

Introduction Strengths of the Organisation Continuous Improvement Assessment Objectives Feedback against the requirements of the Framework Appendix 1 – Continuous Improvement Plan Appendix 2 – Assessment Results Summary



Introduction When the current Head Teacher joined Washwood Heath School in September 2005, it stood at 5th from the bottom of National Tables and 76th out of 76 in Birmingham. Now they are 8th in the country and 1st in Birmingham for the amount of value they add to the children. They are 1st for the value they add to disadvantaged children and achieved ‘Good’ in their last Ofsted Report. In 2013 they achieved Academy status and in January 2014 Multi-Academy status, which means they will be formally sponsoring a Primary School. The Head explained how during her first year 28 staff left and there were many unqualified teachers. She explained how she believes ‘strongly that development of leaders is critical’ and is promoting leadership to students as well as staff. In the last Ofsted report 95% of leaders were marked as ‘good’ or ‘better’. Over the years the school has invested heavily in training and development and now has a strong culture of coaching, learning and support. ‘Camaraderie here is a real strength. They go above and beyond’. Their ethos is that staff and students are all part of their community and their Vision is for Washwood Heath Academy to be a place:

• Where everyone, young and old, learns and achieves in an atmosphere of mutual respect, safety, support, and enthusiasm;

• Where team work and partnerships are valued and support the development of us all and the wider community;

• Where people feel welcomed, valued and empowered; • Where happy, safe, skilful, creative, caring, interested and interesting citizens for the future

are developed. This is supported by their Mission: Washwood Heath Academy strives to provide the very best for all the members of our school community through; • Motivating and enabling each and every person to achieve their potential and celebrating the

success of all; • Enabling people to develop self-awareness, confidence and respect for others; An ethos of

aspiration, quality, care and commitment to and by all; • Developing people’s skills and fully involving them in their own learning and progress; • Sustaining and developing a learning culture which will provide a broad balanced and relevant

curriculum; • Enabling each person to grow in terms of their spiritual, moral, social, physical, artistic and

intellectual development; Nurturing a positive and safe environment; • Working with parents, the local community, employers and other educational providers to develop

best practice and outcomes. ‘It’s about giving the young people a level of aspiration that they didn’t know they were capable of. It’s about living outside Alum Rock’. Strengths Many strengths have been identified throughout this report. Of particular note are:

• Open, inclusive learning culture

• Extensive learning opportunities.



• Culture of coaching & support

• Management effectiveness including an effective and involved Governing Body.

• Commitment to identifying talent and developing leadership capabilities Continuous Improvement Washwood Heath Academy is an organisation committed to continuous improvement and has demonstrated significant improvement over the years. As they are a Gold organisation, the areas for continuous improvement in this report are therefore given for consideration to support their culture rather than essential elements to be addressed. For this reason they have not been added to the Continuous Improvement Plan at this stage.

• Whilst the Academy has identified their ethos and values which relate to the ‘school community,’ they are viewed by staff as mainly focused on the students. Reviewing and clarifying the core values and what they mean in relation to the way people are expected to work would consolidate and enhance the culture of empowerment, development and continuous improvement.

• Having reviewed the values these could then be used to re-launch and promote the website as although it is currently fit for purpose it does not truly reflect the culture, passion and dedication displayed by leaders and staff.

• Whilst consultation is an integral part of the communication process, there were only limited examples people being involved in the development of the organisations strategies and designing consultation arrangements.

• It was apparent that work-life balance was an integral part of the culture, and help is on hand if people identify a problem, however it was also obvious that people were keen to go the extra mile. With this in mind, many people expressed concern over some of their colleagues’ workloads. It was not clear who polices people’s enthusiasm and desire to make a difference? It seems that people can take on a great deal of extra responsibilities. To safe guard both the individuals and the Academy, it would be worth clarifying who is checking that this isn’t getting too much? At what point is someone told that they have to make a choice either to let something in their workload go, or not take up a new opportunity

Assessment Objectives Prior to our first meeting you had worked with your previous IiP Specialist, Julie Cowmeadow, to develop a set of objectives for the assessment that link to your key strategic priorities. As a result, this assessment was planned to explore the following areas: School objectives: 1. Monitor the quality of teaching and learning - peer mentoring and coaching 2. Academy to continue as usual with the same school ethos - Managers job role descriptions, accountabilities and responsibilities 3. Impact of tracking data on standards of achievement



Specific feedback on: 1. Communication strategy - does it remain effective following change? 2. Accountability and responsibility of staff in delivering the objectives 3. Employee engagement, including contribution to the Academy Mission Statement 4. Achieving the development areas identified in the recent Ofsted inspection We also agreed at our meeting that all the additional evidence requirements of the Investors in People Framework will be covered, which have resulted in continued recognition as an Investors in People at Gold level. Feedback against the requirements of the Framework Achieving the development areas identified in the Ofsted report

• ‘From good to excellent’ The Key Priorities of the Academy for 2013 are included in the School Improvement Plan (SIP) and are designed to improve the Ofsted rating from ‘Good to Excellent’. They are: 1. Quality of Teaching. 2. Securing Good Achievement 3. Behaviour and Attendance 4. Leadership & Management Both Senior and Middle Leaders explained how there have clear performance indicators attached to them which are used to improve performance. These are monitored through the performance review process, although Middle Leaders explained that they also monitor performance through regular ‘drop in’ sessions to monitor consistency of delivery and provide informal feedback. They explained how any examples of poor performance would be picked up and addressed. An example was given of a class that were really struggling with a teacher giving rise to concerns about behaviour and results. As a result coaching training was introduced and a mentor was put in the class to support the teacher. (9.6/7) Another example was given of the teacher wanting to observe the class themselves so they could identify the issues and address them. They explained how staff performance management targets are tied into the performance of the students or, in the case of support staff, into the key elements of their job descriptions. ‘My objectives are about making sure time-keeping and attendance is achieved and behaviour is kept at a constant level’. (1.2/9/15) Monitoring and standardisation is performed by the Directors (Governors) who get 6 weekly reports. One way that ‘everyone’ is involved in improving performance is by performing ‘duties’. These could be as simple as checking students have the right school uniform on of supporting them with I-Read, which has been introduced to improve the reading capabilities of students. Everyone has been taught how to handle it and the use of phonetics. People felt that they had opportunities to contribute to plans for the academy through formal and informal team discussions, faculty meetings and whole school meetings. They were aware of the critical measures used to monitor performance which these included qualification outcomes versus predictions, attainment results, attendance and discipline. They were able to describe the input that they were making from helping individuals to improve their grades, to using the discipline policy to bring about sustained improvement in pupils behaviour, i-read sessions to improve reading, planned sports events to involve everyone, even maintenance work to ensure facilities don’t distract from learning. (6.2) ‘The focus is on student leadership…….it will empower them’. For many their personal objectives set through the PDR process linked direct to the school KPIs so there was strong individual ownership. ‘It’s like a family, we’re all working to the same goals’. ‘They go above and beyond’. ’Everything is crystal clear. Everyone knows what they’re working towards’. ‘I understand how my role fits into the SIP’. ‘Want to be an excellent school’. ’Need to get outstanding at Ofsted’. (1.20/21)



The Head Teacher explained how Social Responsibility is integral to the culture and drives the organisations strategies. She explained how it is about getting the community to sign up to the same ethos and values that are displayed in the Academy. An example of this was addressing ‘incidents’ outside the school gates at the beginning and end of the day. The school used to be the worst in the area, now they have no incidents. This brings opportunities to the school and was echoed by other Senior Leaders who described working closely with social networks, subscribing to the ‘Big Community’ and working closely with the local police. Leaders explained how the focus is to develop social responsibility in the students which they then display outside the school. The area currently has no NEETS (Not in Employment, Education or Training) amongst their school leavers because of the efforts made by the Academy. They are also focused on supporting the environment and have Eco Warriors which are part of the initiative to develop ‘student leaders’, are developing a piece of waste ground, rebuilding a playground, and grown a memorial garden for a teacher that passed away last year. The site team take the lead on this and work closely with the students. (1.10/12/16/18) Leaders and people explained that they were involved in a wide range of Charity activities and each House picked the Charity they wanted to support. They do Summer Fairs, coffee mornings, fashion shows, community celebration events such as Islamic and other cultural awareness days, which have an impact on the Improvement Plans through improving community involvement and awareness along with developing more ‘rounded’ students. They were also aware of not wasting resources, energy and recycling. Lesson plans including environmental themes. The discipline policy is seen to have had the biggest impact on the local community with pupils being far better behaved than ever before and staff receiving positive comments on this from members of the community. (1.22/25) Continuous Improvement Leaders described how they had improved their strategy for managing and developing people by reviewing and enhancing their performance management process to ensure it was fit for purpose. To ensure it was being consistently applied they also delivered performance management training to everyone involved in delivery. (10.1/2) They gave examples of using feedback gathered internally through the system via meetings, questionnaires and on the WHOODLE, along with external feedback from Ofsted, Investors in People and networking to improve strategies. (10.4/5/7) ‘I bounce ideas off people’. ‘Tweaked attendance policy’. People explained that the whole process was one of continuous improvement where their ideas were listened to and acted upon. (10.3) Everyone genuinely believed that leaders were committed to improving the way they were managed and developed. (10.13) • Impact of tracking data on standards of achievement Senior Leaders explained how their overall investment in learning and development is evaluated on an annual basis and their return on investment (ROI) is reported to the Board of Directors. As there are staff representatives on the Board this enables involvement of people and effectiveness of communication. The findings are then used to develop the strategy for the next year. (9.1/9/3) Also the Board are actively involved in Academy activities through working groups which focus on improving performance in specific areas. (9.2). Middle Leaders are directly involved through reviewing performance, reporting on progress and monitoring outcomes against SIPs. (9.10) They described how performance had improved through the range of activities which take place to support staff but mostly through the culture of empowerment and coaching. (9.11) People gave examples of how the support they were receiving both from managers and peers was having a real impact on outcomes, in particular the achievement of targets and the behaviour and attendance of students. (9.13/14)



Monitor the quality of teaching and learning - peer mentoring and coaching

• Employee engagement, including contribution to the Academy Mission Statement Senior Leaders explained how their Vision, Mission and Values were inextricably linked as they focused on ‘everyone’ achieving their full potential and drove the performance of the Academy towards their ultimate aim of being ‘the best’ based on their Key Priorities. (1.1/7/11/17). Everyone expressed a commitment to the Academy ethos and mission. They described it as: ‘Expect the best – Respect’. ‘We support each other’. ‘We are a family’. ’Valuing each other and everyone’. ‘From Head to cleaner, people are happy to be here and enjoy it’. ‘Honour, respect, support’. (1.13) Leaders explained that the overall learning and development needs of the Academy were identified during the planning round each year to ensure they support the SIP. (2.1/2) They described the Learning and Development Strategy as ‘developing leaders’. ‘All leaders, not just the senior team’. ‘This includes managers, people and students’. ‘You need to work with people to develop their potential. You need to get into it, develop it and take it to the next level’. There were many examples cited of people starting at the bottom, doing their NQT and becoming ‘Head of’ or even higher. Additionally Senior Leaders explained how they act as role models themselves and gave examples such as the 2 Associate Head Teachers were being coached and developed to enable them to run the Academy if the Head is not there. (3.10, 5.5) They are also taking responsibility of rolling out the multi-Academy status. Other examples were given of students taking the lead on supervising sports and having a leadership coach. (4.8/12) There were lots of examples of people starting in roles, receiving guidance and advice to help plan their career and then moving around the school based on their capability, ambition and achievements. ‘After doing this course my potential is really wide’. (5.11/18) Leaders described how they encourage feedback through formal and informal observations, PDRs, team meetings, plus ‘Give it a go’ week provided ample two way feedback, both between managers and peers. There were opportunities to discuss how things can be improved, make sure learning needs are met with relationships on an adult to adult basis where constructive feedback is possible. (3.9/17/25, 5.2, 8.1) They explained how they encouraged people to make the best use of their talents in a range of ways which people described as volunteering for additional responsibilities and being allowed to develop roles/projects in ways that feel appropriate to the needs of the pupils/school plus based on the interests, abilities and imagination of the individual. I identify a member of staff to share good practice each week’. (3.18/20/26) Senior and Middle Leaders described how they act as role models by coaching their people and encouraging students, this promotes team work, empowers people and creates interesting citizens for the future, which is part of the school vision. ‘I encourage them (managers) to be role models, it’s almost innate’. ‘I received an award for mentor of the month’ ‘I got an award’. (8.17) Middle Leaders and people explained how they were supported to achieve their potential both by receiving training and development but also by managers identifying their potential and encouraging them to take promotion opportunities. (8.12/13) Numerous examples were given of people starting at the bottom and raising to middle or even senior management. ‘The school invested in me’ ‘They gave me a role to develop me’. (5.11/18/19, 9.12) They also explained how they actively engage in learning and development themselves, for example the Head Teacher is an Ofsted Inspector which enables her to ‘talk confidently to staff about Ofsted, it homes my skills and is developmental for the staff’. It also enables her to keep up to date with changes and bring good practice into the school. (2.5/8/11, 5.5/6/7/8, 10.8) They explained how the Director of Innovation is a key role as they have a team of mentors. They ‘straddle’ both the curriculum and the support side of the business, dealing with any problems and or just helping people who are struggling to achieve their performance objectives. They also described how they provide learning and development opportunities such as middle leader



training built on the Chartered Leadership model around communication and innovation, to enable people to achieve their full potential. People confirmed that they were supported in personal development activities and are keen to learn and enjoy putting it into practice by enhancing their capabilities, improving their performance, which contribute to their KPIs and supporting their colleagues. (8.9/15/16/19) ‘We’ve grown our own leadership’. ‘We advertise for potential leaders’. ‘We have no inadequate Leaders here as we have a phenomenal back-up team. Ofsted rate our leadership at 95% good or better.’ ‘I’m supported constantly’. ‘You feel appreciated’. ‘If you’ve met your challenges you get a rise’. It’s opened my eyes to another side of me’. (6.16) People described how coaching was an intrinsic part of the culture and how the extensive coaching and mentoring activities, along with the learning which takes place both internally, externally and through people sharing what they have learned with each other, had created a strong team spirit, along with culture of continuous learning which has become an everyday activity where learning from mistakes and new approaches are actively encouraged. ’I can learn from my mistakes’, ‘They allow you to make mistakes and appreciate that you own up to it’. (8.11/14, 5.17/25) Middle Leaders gave examples of sharing knowledge through 1-1’s meetings, the Market Place as well as the on-going coaching activities. (2.7, 5.10, 7.10) They also described how this develops people in line with their mission and values. (5.9) They gave examples of using coaching skills to encourage people to achieve their potential through setting up peer mentoring as well as manager support, where they split into smaller teams and scrutinise the work of their peers. This can then feed into improvement plans. ’I support other members of staff to try to achieve what they want to achieve’ (5.12) ‘Someone here to always help you – good support’. ’They’re always there, emotionally as well as professionally’. (5.1/3) People described how PDRs led to discussions about learning needs which were followed up informally throughout the year and learning opportunities discussed in meetings, general conversations etc. A lot of the learning here is off colleagues and people are empowered to plan this themselves. ‘One big community, we all help each other out’. ‘The biggest help has always been the people here’. ‘Respect you for what you are’. ‘I have a great network around me’. ‘My peers support me’. ‘There’s the market place’. ’I’ve done presentations on how to give an exceptional lesson’. (2.3, 5.17) People described that there were formal learning plans from the twilight sessions and school/faculty events, they had their own formal learning, plus there were addition activities planned. In each case they could explain why this was a priority to the school and what they hoped to take from it. (2.4) Learning and development appears to be forward focused, supporting both practices and approaches that are already in place, but also as part of the implementation of change. People linked learning activities to elements of the vision: safety, respect, skilful, creative and developing the broader citizens through learning, e.g. they recognised their own learning from being able to deliver/participate in dimension days and learning about pupil lead learning form colleagues, theory and through practice. They also learned from discussions which happen all the time, in staffrooms, at meetings, in corridors. There was shared responsibility for learning, a strong focus on development and understanding of how the team can learn together and from one another. The breadth and flexibility of learning utilised also enabled managers to take individual learning styles into account and plan learning accordingly. (2.10) People were keen to develop as individuals as well as in their post which drove learning as being something of mutual interest. The quest for knowledge and learning is strong, the Academy continues to challenge itself, its staff and its pupils to continue to learn, share and grow. (2.6/12/13/14/16/17) They described how Senior Leaders inspired them through acting as role models, listening, sharing and nurturing and they in turn inspired others through emulating these actions. (5.14/15) ‘They tell you they’re not saying no, they’re saying the idea is not right at this point in time’. (7.13) and this in turn earned leaders the respect and trust of their people. (5.21) The Head Teacher is held in the highest of regards, seen as being a truly transformational leader who has turned the school around. Other SMT



were seen as a strong team, there to support the Head but also coming into their own now, Head is seen as visionary; other managers as empowering and enabling, which combined means they know what needs to be done and have the environment in which to achieve this. Figures, stats, data and information are available to all. Everyone felt involved and informed. All believed there was a strong bond of trust between the staff, and confirmed that they could call upon each other in times of difficulty. Everyone described someone as a close friend within the school. (5.22/23/24) ‘Often perception is a stronger emotion than black and white’. Senior Leader talking about valuing people’. ‘I’ve been trained and mentored all the way through’. ‘Vision and values underpins everything, it’s about our mission really’. People are motivated to improve their performance through a reward and recognition strategy which leaders described as recognising good performance and valuing contribution. People gave examples of verbal thanks and praise, mentions in meetings, e-mails, seeking someone out to give positive feedback, formal feedback and through PDRs, everyone felt valued (6.1/3/4) ‘I email people to thank them and say they’ve done a good job. Then I tell them to print it off and put it in their performance management file’. They also explained that it is linked to the business strategy by motivating people and was externally benchmarked through their IiP Accreditation, Ofsted and informal networking. (6.6) In addition to recognising achievement people can accrue additional points on their performance reviews through development opportunities or outstanding achievement which add up to giving them additional increments. (6.7) Middle Leaders explained how they ensure the benefits strategy is applied fairly across the organisation (6.9) and explained how success is celebrated at Assembly, Training Days, meetings and through the Newsletter, where learning and development activities are also applauded (6.11, 8.10) People described how successes are rewarded through social events such as BBQs and the Christmas party. (6.17) They gave examples of people recognising each other’s contribution through peer observations and sharing learning along with taking great delight in the achievement of their colleagues and expressed how they were proud of each other and what they were achieving (6.13/19)

• Academy to continue as usual with the same school ethos - Managers job role descriptions, accountabilities and responsibilities

Managers roles, accountabilities and responsibilities are clearly defined along with the capabilities they need to perform their roles. Any changes needed when the school became an academy were carefully considered and leaders are currently reviewing any additional requirements needed now they have achieved multi-academy status. (4.1/4/9) Leaders, including senior leaders, described how their own needs were reviewed through the same processes as everyone else with the Head being reviewed by the Chair of Governors and gave a number of examples. (9.4) Formal systems such as PDRs, mid-year reviews, arranged observations, ensure learning needs were identified and met, whereas team meetings, plus informal activities provided ongoing support, encouragement and stimulated discussion/creativity. (4.2/3/5/6/10/11) People felt that they received a wealth of helpful feedback, including the impact their contribution was making to performance and the overall success in terms of achievements and results, which enabled them to improve where necessary. There was a strong belief that everyone wants to improve and they can only do this through honest feedback (5.4/13/20, 9.5) ‘Academy for 2 years, no sign of change’. ‘Help if you need anything, 100%, always there for you’. Senior Leaders explained how the whole ethos of the Academy is about motivation, commitment, aspiration and involvement. The make-up of the Academy was particularly diverse and this was taken into account when developing strategies, this is particularly relevant in a multi-cultural area where the make-up of the school is 95% Muslim. (3.7/12) People across the Academy confirmed that learning



was available to all and shared so that everyone benefited. Support from SMT, Heads of Faculty, Leads, etc. was solid. People could go to leaders whenever they wanted and they would be made time. There was no suggestion of unfairness or lack of equality from anyone. Ideas were shared through the many meetings and conversations that take place formally and informally through the school day. The ‘Give it a go week’ is a great initiative where staff are encouraged to try out new ideas/approaches and others observe to give feedback on what worked, what might be tweaked, etc. For the observed this helped them develop and improve their practices; for the observer this gives them ideas to try for themselves (3.1/2.3/4/5) Everyone is treated with respect and dignity, but also as an individual. People were asked to get involved with projects and new opportunities based on their interests, although in reality often volunteered before they were asked. There was definitely a feeling of playing to strengths, with those in more disciplinary based and pastoral roles being well placed to back up and support colleagues. Leaders and people recognise the individual contribution that each of their colleagues brings and genuinely value the unique personality traits of their colleagues. ‘The ethos is that we value diversity. We are given time off to for religious involvement, we celebrate all religions’. (3.15/23/28) Equally work-life balance is a high priority. Leaders explained that they had built a culture of supporting work-life balance as they believed it supported both the organisation and the people. (3.8/13) Managers described how they made sure work-life balance solutions were effective by being flexible and supportive. (3.16) People were able to give lots of examples as to how they had been given time off and support when they needed it, flexibility around appointments, etc. There is a cover team to ensure that when teaching staff are involved in other activities or off-site the disruption to the school day is kept to a minimum policy. Everyone felt it was an integral part of academy life and engrained into the culture.(3.21/24/29) ‘Best school in Birmingham’.

• Communication strategy - does it remain effective following change? Feedback indicated that the Academy has an effective communication strategy that has not been affected by the change and people were clear what the SIP set out and their role in supporting it. They felt able to discuss priorities with their team, Senior Leaders and others. (1.6) Leaders explained that there were good relationships with Unions and that they were consulted as appropriate. This was confirmed by the Union Representatives spoken too. (1.3/5) Senior Leaders described the communication systems as through emails, the WHOODLE, performance management and the range of development session along with staff meetings and learning groups. (7.5) They explained that consultation and involvement are part of the culture and explained how, along with providing an access point for receiving and sharing information the WHOODLE also has questionnaires on it where people can voice their views in confidence, plus staff meeting are informal so people feel comfortable expressing their views which are minuted to ensure action is taken. (7.4/6) Information, learning and ideas are freely shared across the school. People rally around to offer support, insight, even counsel when people are trying to reach a decision, no-one seems to be left alone to stand or fall by their decision, there is a feeling of collective responsibility, especially when the decision will impact on pupils. They gave examples of creating a culture of continuous improvement through creating an environment where people aim for continuous improvement and are comfortable challenging at all levels. Examples were given of changes to the discipline policy, introduction of i-read, competing in the 4 x 4 challenge. 'very approachable’. ‘I always put in my views’. ‘Your job is to be open, I want people who will challenge’. ‘I’m part of a lot of decision making meetings’. ‘We can challenge’. (7.8/11/14/18)



Everyone was clear about their role, accountabilities and responsibilities along with the capabilities required for the future. They explained how these are defined through job descriptions and performance reviews. (4.4, 4.9) Effective communication is integral to this.

• Accountability and responsibility of staff in delivering the objectives Middle Leaders explained how they have key performance indicators (KPIs) which link performance to the School Improvement Plan (SIP). They explained how they compile a Development Plan from the Community and Business Plan which sits under the SIP and is reviewed regularly. (1.15, 9.10) Leaders described how this inclusive culture ensured people had the support they needed to make decisions about their own or others performance through ongoing consultation and involvement. (7.4/9) People felt empowered to make decisions, they explained how managers were there to offer support, coaching and guidance if required, but they are expected to make day to day decisions in their work, such as how to tackle behaviour issues, how to solve a problem, how to present something, developing lesson plans, etc. People are encouraged to get involved in decision making through meetings, working with colleagues, development work, etc., however once a decision has been made they are expected to be responsible for taking them forward and implement them; this may involve working as a team, undertaking a specific project or applying it in their normal duties. (4.13) Everyone felt trusted, they was aware of the responsibility that sat on their shoulders. No-one made decisions lightly, but they knew that ultimately, if they made a decision that turned out not to be the best, they were sure that they would receive back up and support in rectifying the situation and be encouraged to learn from the experience. ‘You can hold people to account without them feeling they are on the floor’. ‘We hold ourselves to account’. ‘Everyone is accountable’. (7.1/2/3/9/12/15) There was no doubt that this was a truly committed and passionate workforce who demonstrated a great sense of ownership and pride; in particular working with the children, seeing the improvements in grades and hearing positive comments about the school from members of the community. (7.16/19) Leaders explained how they make sure recruitment is fair through advertising and recruiting internally wherever possible along with have clearly defined role descriptions that attracts people with the right attitude and behaviours who will make a contribution to the vision. (3.6/11/14) People who were new to the Academy described a comprehensive Induction process, which was challenging but fair, often beginning before they took up post, plus ongoing support. People thought the approach was professional and saw that it was attracting the right people. They also spoke positively about the changes to the SMT which would enable the organisation to continue to grow and develop. (8.3, 3.22) Internal and external resources are used for learning and development. Examples of this are peer observations, training days, twilight sessions, external training and networking, along with the additional learning the Head Teacher brings into the Academy through her role as an Ofsted Inspector. (8.4/8) An example of cost-effective, innovative learning is the way people who have been on training share their knowledge with others, along with sharing good practice from networking, community work or peer observations. (8.5/8) ‘It’s about knowledge transfer and sharing knowledge’. A Masters Programme is delivered in-house for anyone that wants to go on it with support through the WHOODLE. Senior Leaders explained how they share good practice through the East Birmingham Network and the Teachers Alliance. Middle Leaders described how there is a ‘Market Place’, where the learning group run sessions on topics such as ‘How to achieve an outstanding lesson in 20 mins’ and staff choose which sessions they want to go to The next day we feed back to people who didn’t go’. They also explained how Twilight Sessions were attended by support staff as well as teachers and people were given time off to compensate if they didn’t normally work those hours. Senior Leaders described that they had created a culture where all learning is valued through making sure everyone is able to access any learning and development they need ‘It got we to where I am involved



and involved me in lifelong learning’. (8.18) Extensive examples of off the job training were also given, such as: BA Honours Degree. Additionally some training, such as safeguarding, is delivered to all staff. (8.2/6) They explained that mentoring opportunities are made available through peer observations and people supporting each other. (8.7) ‘’Each project has objectives and measurable

outcomes. Every project is a learning project, it’s of mutual benefit, we do 360° review on it’. (9.10)

The overpowering impression gained from this assessment was how everyone totally believed that this was a great place to work; partially because of the strong team spirit, the great sense of pride, the inspiration demonstrated by the leaders and their total commitment to engagement and involvement; but mostly because of the recognition that they were valued, nurtured empowered and truly making a difference. (10.15) ‘I adore my job and it’s down to the people I work with’. It’s the way they make you feel about the job you do’. ‘My passion is here’. ‘It’s a fantastic place to work’. ‘I’m loving it here’. ‘One big family’.



Appendix 1 – Continuous Improvement Plan

Business Issue - What Suggested Actions – How

Potential Benefit - Why Priority - When

Solutions/Support Available - Who



Appendix 2 – Assessment results summary

The Investors in People Framework

The Evidence Requirements

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5 � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

6 � � � � � � � � � � � �

7 � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �

8 � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 9 � � � � � � � � � � � � �

10 � � � � � � � � � �

The number of evidence requirements met is 169

Key: The Core Investors in People Standard Your Choice from the Investors in People Framework Not part of the Investors in People Framework

Washwood Heath Academy - Investors in People Assessment ...washwood.academy/.../09/...Assessment-GOLD-Report.pdf · Page: 2 of 15 Key Information Assessment Type Assessment ... to

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