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Hessle High School

Headteacher Blog

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On this page you will find a weekly informative blog from Mr Groak, Headteacher.

Page 1

  • WEEK 25 - Friday 22 March 2024

    Published 22/03/24

    Sport has been heavily on my mind this week, for lots of reasons.  

    Firstly, last weekend was one of the lowest points in my time following my team, Hull FC. I have supported the club since the 1970s and believe me we have witnessed some lean times in that period. But there are few games when I have felt so disappointed and bereft of hope than last Saturday as we were hammered at home by a team who were missing several players and hadnt won a game.  

    Watching a sports team fall apart like Hull FC did is a dispiriting experience and it calls to mind so many thoughts around organisational culture, team spirit and pride – things which I am always keen to learn more about as the leader of a large school. I am proud of the culture that exists at Hessle High and know that all of my leaders work hard to maintain it. It doesn’t happen by chance and needs nurturing and developing intentionally. Clearly something is amiss within the culture at Hull FC and the solutions to the current situation will not be quick coming and there will be lots of hard work to get there. I hope that any of you that were there managed to enjoy your weekend afterwards – it certainly cast a cloud over mine. 

    This term we have had plenty of sporting success, both from our teams, and some of our individual students who take part in everything from boxing to tennis to swimming to dancing. Their successes are not always brought to our attention immediately and it is only when they become a regional or national champion that we get to hear about it. We really want to know about the interests of our students outside of school so please encourage your child to share any out of school activities or successes with their teachers and tutor. We love to celebrate this.  

    The sporting highlight then came from our Primary pupils where our Year 5 and 6 girls football team winning the Hymers College Open Football Shield on Wednesday. And well done to Clara in Year 6 who won the award as Player of the Tournament.  

    Another big event for the Hessle High Community this week was the World Down Syndrome Day on Thursday. And our wonderful girls Lara, Mia and Anya joined with their teaching assistants and other students to organise a bake sale to raise money for one of our charities ‘Downright Special’. The cakes looked delicious (I’m sure you’ll agree) and, although I wasn’t on site during break, I’m told that someone has saved me one!  

    Although today is the last day of term, there is no let up in the activity. We have hosted our friends from the Prison Me No Way organisation, who are running lifestyle workshops with all our Year 9 students. This is a well-established event and challenges our 13/14 year old students to reflect upon the risks faced by young people in the modern world. It brings them into contact with several reformed prisoners who talk about their mistakes and life journey. It is a powerful day and always a popular one with students. 

    And finally, it has also been our Sixth Form taster day for Year 11 giving them the opportunity to visit one of our partner Sixth Form sites (Wolfreton or Cottingham). For most of our year 11, their choice to stay in the sixth form is heavily influenced by the relationships they have built with Hessle teachers but there are equally attractive courses, facilities and talented teachers in our other schools too, which is the unique selling point of our Consortium College.  

    And so, a short but busy term comes to an end. After the weekend, I still have work to do so will be back in school for a few days next week. But, for the second week of the holiday, we will be in Spain. We are fortunate to have access to a house in Estepona, which is one of the most beautiful towns on the Costa Del sol, full of Spanish charm, a lovely beach and some great tapas bars and restaurants. The house has no wifi and a TV with only six channels (half Spanish and half German) so it is the perfect place to relax and unwind and spend some proper quality time with my family.  

    Whatever you are doing over the Easter holiday, I hope you find some sunshine and time to relax and thank you as ever for your ongoing support to my staff and I. 

    Mr Groak

    Headteacher

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  • WEEK 24 - Friday 15 March 2024

    Published 15/03/24

    Occasionally, one of our students will ask me, “Sir, what do you actually do? I mean, I know what your job is, but what do you.... do?” 

    When I first started in the role, I spent much of my first few weeks speaking to staff to learn more about what they felt about the school, what our priorities should be. After a few weeks, I did sometimes ask myself, ‘what else am I meant to be doing?’. It didn’t last long and soon projects, issues, incidents, celebrations and events filled my diary. Being a Headteacher is a fantastic job and a real privilege. I get to see people at their best and worst, deal with everything from the trivial and the mundane (what colour decorations do you want on the Christmas Tree?) to the life-changing and tragic, when some of our students find themselves in highly dangerous and vulnerable situations. 

    Most of the time is just moving from one place to another speaking to people and generally ensuring that everyone has what they need to do their jobs to the best of their ability. Take today for instance. It began with a morning run. I have tried this year to get my exercise in early and it has definitely helped my energy levels during the day. After a 15 minute shuffle around the streets of Willerby, I’ll get ready for work, have a coffee, chat with the kids and be in school for our Senior Leaders’ meeting at 7.45. In this 15 minute slot, we check on staff absence or events that are happening during the day, make sure that all lessons and duty points are covered and prepare ourselves for the day. At this point in the term, the team are often operating on fumes, and it is an opportunity for us to take support from each other and pull together to lead the rest of the staff. 

    I quickly check emails for ten minutes and then put my blue coat on, grab my radio and go out on duty. I’m on the main gate monitoring students arriving from 8.15 to 8.35 and this gives me the chance to wish them good morning and keep an eye on the overall safety and movement on the site at the start of the day. The entrance to our school is a mixed user environment with buses, cars and pedestrians all sharing the same space. The main mitigation to the obvious risk is a 5MPH speed limit and plenty of staff supervision.  

    As students arrive they congregate in the spaces designated for them. Year 7s on the tennis court are the ones closest to my duty point and so I get to see how they look at the start of each day; always smart and well behaved which is good to see. 

    Tutors come down to these areas at 8.30 and by 8.35, students are going into the building for their tutor period. 

    My day today has been packed with meetings and planned phone calls so I squeeze in a quick meeting with Angela, my new Operation Manager. We planned the day, discuss priorities for next week. At 9am, I met with Claire Khan, my Finance Manager. At this time of year, we are looking to set budgets for next year so we spent some time making sure that we had a good idea of likely income and how we proposed to spend it. Our school has a budge in excess of £11million but the bulk of that is spent on staff salaries. Overheads consume most of the rest so there is not a lot of discretionary spending for Headteachers. Nevertheless, staffing has to be carefully managed as a few errors can cause a big problem down the line. 

    After break duty, I spent some time on the telephone to Mrs Preston, our Primary Head of School, discussing the progress made by our Year 6 pupils in their recent mock exams. They have done well in Reading and Maths, and we were looking at some extra support we can put in place to improve their writing skills. Leading an all-through school has meant a huge expansion in my responsibility and a widening of my understanding of primary education; similarly some of the methods used to track and assess students at the High School are also leading to improvements in the primary stage. Friday is a busy day for duties so I was back on duty just before 11am for twenty minutes. A minor behaviour incident occurred which caused me to spend some time with the pastoral team sorting it out, before I was back to my office for a meeting with my Head of Sixth Form, Mr Jarman. Our Sixth form is a real strength of the school but there has been a drop in attendance recently of our Year 13s so we spent some time looking at the impact of the strategies he has put into place. This cohort were halfway through Year 9 when the covid pandemic started and faced two years of disruption during their GCSEs. Adolescence has not been straightforward for them at all but they are being well looked after and are on the brink of achieving strong outcomes before going onto their next destination which, for most of them, will be university. 

    After Mr Jarman left, I started writing this blog for ten minutes before going back on duty yet again where I also had my lunch standing up in the canteen. Fishcake, chips and mushy peas – you can’t beat it! 

    There was a twenty-five minute break between duties in which time I squeezed in another meeting, replied to some emails, approved some staff ordering, set up an agenda for a leaders’ meeting on Monday, added some messages to our weekly staff briefing and had another catch up with Angela.  

    The second lunch break gave me the chance to speak to our Year 11s, who picked up their Mock Exam Results last night at Progress evening. There were some glum faces when a few realised that they hadn’t done as well as they had hoped. But – as we always tell them – there is still time to put it right. “The best time to start revising is at the start of Year 10,” we say, “the next best time is right now!”  

    After duty, I gave a tour to a lady who has applied for a job in our pastoral centre. It is always a pleasure to show off our school and she was impressed at how quickly over 1200 young people can move around the building and settle into their lessons. Handing her over to my colleagues who were set to interview her, I headed back to my office to tie up the week. There is a staff briefing document for Hessle and Penshurst staff, which we aim to send out by close of play on Friday, this sets up the following week with key events and reminders and allows staff to get themselves organised for the week ahead so that they can switch off and unwind for two days. I write a short intro and make sure everyone else’s content is clear and concise. By this time, it is 2.50 and the first students are beginning to leave the site. I head out to bus duty to see them all off, in exactly the same place that I welcomed them six and a half hours earlier. And I wonder where the time has gone, and what exactly it has that I have done! 

    I’m not quite finished as I then go to the main hall to cover a detention duty for a colleague who is still interviewing our prospective candidate. I tend to aim to leave by 4.30 on a Friday to get in a run before seeing the kids. Tonight, I am writing this quickly before leaving a little earlier in order to pick my son up for a dental appointment. Hopefully, we will be home by 5.30 and the weekend can begin. 

    I tend not to do any work on Friday night. Instead, I might open a beer and flop in front of the TV with my wife and kids, watching The Apprentice and then possibly whichever Super League game is on TV.  

    Tomorrow, we’ll be at the MKM stadium for the Hull FC game and then spending some time relaxing on Sunday before getting ready for another busy week. 

    Whatever you are doing this weekend, find time to enjoy it and thank you for your ongoing support. 

    Mr Groak

    Headteacher

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  • WEEK 23 - Friday 8 March 2024

    Published 08/03/24

    By the time the Chancellor started his budget speech on Wednesday, the headlines had already been leaked to the extent that we all knew about the 2% reduction in National Insurance. What I was looking out for was anything that meant we would see more money for schools. 

    Working within a Multi Academy Trust provides some protection from the worst of the financial shocks that can affect schools. For example, when the energy prices soared recently it wasn't me that had to try to find that money directly and I was grateful for that and being able to focus on educational matters. 

    Nevertheless, when school funding increases are not enough to cover inflation or the teacher pay increases, which are not always fully funded by Government, then the only alternative is to make cuts. The levers for making cuts are few in schools. Since staffing costs are nearly 80% of total income, and non-discretionary overheads such as insurance, energy etc make up such a big chunk of the rest, there isn't much wriggle room. The outcome inevitably ends up being larger class sizes and the closing of unfeasible subjects which only attract small numbers of students. Or – and this saves pennies in comparison – fewer textbooks or other resources. This is the reality that we are all trying to balance and have been for years. Real terms funding for schools (accounting for inflation) has barely budged since 2010 when the expectations on schools have grown hugely. I’ve written about this before, it hasn’t changed, and this week’s budget has done nothing to address those issues. 

    Thankfully, we continue to attract high numbers of students and, following on from the confirmation of our Year 7 intake last week, I had some good news from our Sixth Form team the other day. Interviews conducted with our Year 11 students indicate that a higher proportion of them will be joining our Sixth Form next year. The Post-16 marketplace is fiercely competitive and school Sixth Forms face huge pressure from much larger specialist colleges in the area. Nevertheless, increasing numbers of our students are choosing to stay because of the trust they have in our provision; they know, like and respect their teachers, they have a choice of a wide range of subjects through our position as part of the Consortium Sixth Form College and they know that we care about them as individuals and unique young people. This recruitment success further supports the whole school as it aids in the retention of our staff who see Sixth Form teaching as part of their professional development.  

    Next week is our second Year 11 Mock Results and Progress evening in which our Year 11s will be able to receive their Exam Results Envelopes for their most recent mock exams. Once they have digested these results, they move onto their appointments with their class teachers to see what they can do next to improve their chances in the summer. Last term, we had queues out of the door at the start of the night and we hope for the same levels of engagement again next week. Thank you in advance to those parents/carers of Year 11 students that have already booked their appointments – we appreciate your support. 

    Finally, a very Happy Mothers Day to all of our mums, mothers, Step Mums, Foster Mums, Grandmas, Nanas, Step-Grandmas and even Great-Grandmas. You all play such an important role in the work that we do, caring for and supporting our children and young people and ensuring that they can focus on their learning and development when they come to school. It is greatly appreciated. 

    This weekend, I will try to strike a balance between making sure our children can pamper their mum, which will also means cooking a few nice meals, whilst also spending time with my own mum. I’m from Hull so that should be ‘mam’. We will meet up Sunday, along with my sister for some family time. 

    However you are spending time this weekend, hopefully you can share it with family and enjoy whatever fine weather there may be. Thank you for your support.  

    Mr Groak 

    Headteacher

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  • WEEK 22 - Friday 1 March 2024

    Published 01/03/24

    I write this, on Thursday evening, having just booked two tickets to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in Sunderland in May. This will mean I will see him three times on the 2024 leg of his World Tour – something I have never managed to do on any previous tour and surely a sign of my recognition that this could be the last time.  

    Even better, on the night in Sunderland, I am going with my sister. Joanna is five years younger than me, but I have always been inspired by her utter love for life. At Christmas, after a few glasses of wine, we made a pact for 2024; she would come to a Bruce concert with me. And I would go to see Pink with her (she is nuts for her). I haven’t fulfilled my half of the bargain yet, but surely will do when we get the chance. 

    When my son was a few years old, my wife and I spoke at length about when to have another child. We both have younger sisters, and we didn’t want him to miss out on the unique relationship you have with your sibling. And so our daughter came along and the relationship they have together is a joy to watch; not always the best of friends but deeply besotted with each other in their own way.  

    Of course, we see siblings and twins passing through our school all the time and it is lovely to see their personalities develop and see them looking out for each other. The sweetest moments come when a new sibling starts school in Year 7 and an older brother or sister suddenly starts to demonstrate a side to their personality which was hitherto unseen.    

    This week, we received the names of our new Year 7 intake and – of the 250 new students joining us – over 20 of them are siblings of current students. So, there will be plenty of protective big brother and sisters evident in September! 

    I have written before of the number of educational visits that my staff carry out each year and the great opportunities they provide to our students and, this weekend, we have another group of 40 students heading off to France. They left the site early Friday morning and will be back on Monday night. My wife (Head of Languages) is leading the trip and confesses that she is more worried about leaving me alone with the kids than she is about taking 40 other children to France!  

    This trip follows on the back of the most recent overseas trip for our Sixth Form students to New York as part of the joint Consortium Sixth Form College trip. Some of those students had never been abroad before and it is not an overstatement to say that those five days of independence will have been life changing for some. Whilst that group were in the USA, we also had a group of Sixth Formers heading to Stratford to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream by the RSC; another very special cultural opportunity, organised by Mr Burnett. 

    And just this week, our school was represented by our student leaders at the second annual TCAT Student Leadership Conference at Hull University. This event involved students from as young as four at our primary schools all the way up to some of our 18-year-old Sixth Formers. The theme was ‘sustainability’ and, speaking to one of our Senior Students (Joe Collins – Year 13), the event culminated in plenty of ideas for us to make our places of learning more environmentally friendly in the future. Great work by our learners and colleagues that organised it. 

    Finally, today marks the National Offer Day for Secondary Schools in England. Parents that applied for places at our school from September will begin to find out if they have been successful. By Monday, everyone should have been informed by the Local Authority and I will begin to communicate with our latest groups of families for what will become the ‘Class of 2029’ - the year that they will reach Year 11, or ‘Class of 2031’ for those that go all the way to the Sixth Form. I am delighted that we will once again be full in Year 7 and thank you for everything you do – as current parents/carers - to support us in making us such an attractive choice for parents and families to come. 

    Have a lovely weekend and thank you for your ongoing support.

    Mr Groak

    Headteacher

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  • WEEK 21 - Friday 23 February 2024

    Published 23/02/24

    One of the most worrying patterns since the pandemic has been the increase in the number of young people that are being home educated. A long time ago, this was seen as something of a lifestyle choice made by a type of parent that possessed the resources, time and wherewithal to provide a form of education that they preferred against that on offer from local schools. 

    Recently, it has become a choice made by desperate parents unable to navigate the often-complex challenges of pupil disengagement, challenging behaviour and perceived unmet needs. Rather than the actions of a parent/carer who can provide effective education at home, it is often the path of least resistance for a family in crisis.  

    Last year, it was reported that an estimated 140,000 pupils in England were home educated at some stage, and it is likely that the figure has increased further since then. Further studies show that some of the poorest areas of the country have seen the biggest increases, such as Hartlepool, North East Lincolnshire and Knowsley. There have been similar if not so great increases in our area of Hull and ER too, and we have also seen an increase at The Hessle Academy, mostly in the secondary phase at Hessle High. 

    The decision to home educate your child is a huge one and we do as much as we can to dissuade parents from doing so, unless we are convinced that the parent is able to do it at least as well as we could in school. Several meetings take place before we finally take the student off our roll as ultimately it is the parents’ decision. The Local Authority then take responsibility for ensuring that effective home education is actually taking place and it is common for students, within a few months, to return to school and usually to the place they came from. That has been the experience for us in most cases. 

    What can be done to prevent parents from feeling that home education is their only option?  

    Often the reason for the decision is a belief that the child’s needs are not being met in school and these are often linked to Special Educational Needs. Delays in securing Education Health Care Plans from local authorities often give rise to attendance problems which then lead to the decision to home educate. It is a multi-stage problem that is characterised by a lack of funding in each setting whether that be the school or the local authority. In a world where the adults are trying their best to keep children in school, happy and thriving, it usually comes down to a lack of money and staff which prompts families to make what must be a heartbreaking decision. With the young person the one to suffer the most. Sadly, the size of the problem may be hugely underestimated as there is not a single register nationally of children that are not in education. This proposal for a single register has been promised by the Government for a few years and it is supposed to be part of a Schools Bill ‘soon’.  

    I have written before about the changing ‘social contract’ that has weakened the expectation that children should be in school every day; this is a major cause of the lower levels of attendance to school since the pandemic. The home education issue is an extreme aspect of this wider problem which is going to take years, and a lot more resources, to fix. 

    ***  

    The first week of the new half term has gone quickly in a blur of activity. Our Year 11 students have now completed their Spring Mock exams and will now spend some time next week on improving practical and coursework. There are now just 9 weeks until the first ‘formal, sit down’ exam and they are determined to make the most of each of those days and hours. 

    Some of our Year 9 students and families were in school on Wednesday evening to hear about our fantastic Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, run by Miss Moore. This has been a tremendous success at Hessle since it was relaunched in 2019 and each year, over fifty students complete the Bronze Award, with some of them going on to the Silver and then Gold Awards. This contributes to our vision for developing learners with exceptional character and they also build great memories along the way too. If your child is interested in this programme, please ask them to speak to Miss Moore. 

    Finally, yesterday evening was the first half of our Year 7 Progress Evening where over 75% of parents were in school, meeting with teachers and discovering how their child was progressing in school. The increase in parental engagement this year has been really pleasing and we hope to see as many parents in school next week for the second half of the year group. 

    And then a reminder to parents/carers of students in Year 9 that our Pathways Evening takes place on Wednesday 28th February next week, starting at 6pm. At this event, you will find out more about the subjects that students will be able to select for study at GCSE. We hope to see you all there. 

    Have a great weekend and thank you for your support. 

    Mr Groak

    Headteacher

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  • WEEK 20 - Friday 9 February 2024

    Published 09/02/24

    s we reach the end of the first half of the Spring Term, I have been reflecting on what we have achieved as a school since Christmas. The first thing I always consider is how our exam groups are faring.  

    For Year 11, they are doing well. There have completed a week’s worth of Mock Exams this week and will finish them after half term. The attendance to school has been good and their attitude to their exams is really positive. We track them carefully and the data looks healthy; but of course, none of them have sat a formal exam yet nor submitted any coursework. In other words, there’s still a long way to go and nobody is complacent. Next week, some of them will be back in school, completing work and keeping their learning ticking over; their commitment, and that of the staff, is impressive and makes me very proud. 

    Our Year 13 are one of the most focused and driven cohorts we have had for many years. The vast majority already have their conditional university offers and are now working hard to achieve the grades they need. It is a pleasure to be amongst them as I was in last night’s Sixth Form Progress Meeting, where I held my own teacher conversations with the students in the class I teach. This is something I really value in my work and hope to always be able to find the time to keep teaching.  

    We’ve also been very happy with the continued improvements to behaviour, since we introduced our new behaviour policy in September and I thank you all for your support with this, as well as support with uniform standards. One area in which we continue to seek improvement is in punctuality at the start of the day. We have clear routines each morning which set the students up for the day ahead, and involve lots of PD work. If students arrive late, on a regular basis, this disrupts their preparation for the day and often causes problems later on. Punctuality is also a life skill and we see it as part of our responsibility to instil the importance of being in the right place at the right time if our students are to enjoy successful careers. It is also courteous and good manners to show up on time, wherever you are. 

    We expect all students to be on site and in their social spaces by 8.30am. At 8.31am, students sign in with our attendance officer instead and are then given a short lunchtime detention. If the school bus is later or there are extreme traffic and travel problems, then we take this into account. However, normal traffic is always busy at this time of the day and we urge everyone to set off in good time to ensure they arrive on time. Again, your support with ensuring that your child arrives into school on time each day is greatly appreciated. 

    The half term break will also mark, for us rugby fans, the start of the Super League season. As in every year, Hull FC start the season joint top and so I always enjoy this moment of optimism, which sadly doesn't usually last long! The season kicks off with a derby game at the MKM Stadium next Thursday and I shall be there with my son, and friends and their kids. My wife and daughter are heading to the in-laws in Surrey on Monday, leaving my son and I to spend some quality time together. His latest sporting obsession is darts. That suits me as I can still beat him at Darts! He has a week of sporting challenges planned for us, which includes golf (I’ll be favourite), badminton (he’ll thrash me), table tennis (him again), garden cricket (depends on the state of the pitch!) and the darts. A proper compendium of sports. “A bit like Superstars?” I said to him, referring to the TV classic of the 1980s. He looked blankly at me. At least I know what I mean. 

    Whatever you are doing over the weekend and during half term, enjoy it and hopefully the weather will begin to warm up too, with Spring not far away. 

    Thank you as ever for your support this half term. 

    Mr Groak

    Headteacher

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  • WEEK 19 - Friday 2 February 2024

    Published 02/02/24

    The invention of the printing press is widely credited to the German Johannes Gutenberg in 1436; although, as with most things, many people believe that the Chinese had already mastered the ability to print using wooden blocks, as early as the 9th Century. Whoever did it, it transformed the world and enabled the development of mass reading. 

    The ability for us to read books opened the world to us. Not only could we read about the lives of other people, but this also allowed us to learn about other lands, cultures and periods in history. By reading a book, I can discover what it was like to live on the opposite side of the world, but also in different centuries or deeper in history. The joy and fascination of reading is one of the most amazing things to have impacted human beings in our history and yet sadly it is too often taken for granted and reduced to a functional skill.  

    I have spent some of my time this week listening to children read, mostly at Penshurst – our Primary phase within Hessle Academy. There is nothing more important in our curriculum than that children can read, and our intention is that they all develop this skill as quickly as possible to open the rest of the curriculum to them all.  

    To emphasise the importance of this, reading is the first thing that all of the Penshurst children do at the start of the day and at the start of the afternoon. Our youngest readers follow a well established planned curriculum called Read Write Inc – many of you may have heard about it and it is increasingly successful in enabling the children to develop the phonic skills to begin to read fluently. 

    Phonics was introduced into UK schools through the national curriculum in the late 90s and, as a secondary school teacher, it was never part of our training or work to understand what this complicated language of phonemes and graphemes actually meant. It was only when my own children started primary school that I began to understand it and appreciated the power of learning to read in this way. 

    The staff at Penshurst are highly skilled in delivering this knowledge and early reading there is becoming increasingly strong with increasing numbers of pupils passing the Year 1 Phonics test and the proportion being well above the national average. But we’re not content until all children can reach this stage and the RWI programme is flexible enough to continue working with all children until they reach that level even if takes them a little longer than others. 

    The explicit teaching of reading continues through the school using books of increasing complexity, including ‘Who Let The Gods Out’ which I have to confess I found utterly baffling!  My daughter’s school also use this book and it became our bedtime story book for a while before Christmas. We took it in turns to read but I could not understand the plot at all. I used it as an opportunity for her to summarise the story back to me at the end of each chapter, but I confess that I was thankful when we got to the end of the book. My daughter loved it though and was delighted when she found out that it was just the first of a four-book series, the rest of which she got for Xmas. Great. 

    But I digress. At the high school, we also set out to ensure that all children can read fluently to be able to access the secondary curriculum, but we also explore the different types of reading that they do, making them aware of the difference between skimming, scanning, inferring and so on. 

    Getting teenage children to read for pleasure is the ultimate goal of our reading programme and we recognise that this is much harder to achieve now when teenagers can access so much other ‘entertainment’ on their mobile devices. Nevertheless, we still have many many avid book readers who can be found in our library at social times or just sitting, lost in a book, amid the busy canteen at lunchtime. To further encourage them and others we will soon be launching our Hessle Canon – a list of fantastic titles which we hope all our students will aim to read before they leave our school; and they will be able to borrow them – for free – from our school library to do so. 

    My current book is The Bascombe Novels; the trilogy of books written by Richard Ford about the life of Frank Bascombe, a fictional man living in America. My wife asked me what it was about when she first saw me with it (the trilogy – in one book – runs to 1200 pages) to which I answered, “it’s just about a man who starts as a sportswriter, then becomes an estate agent, then he retires. He gets married, his son dies, and he gets divorced and then he gets married again. That’s about it, really. But it's really good.” 

    “Sounds it,” she said sarcastically, “I can’t wait for it be on Netflix!” 

    Which kind of proves my point that great writing, and the ability to read patiently, can bring any story to life and hold the reader hooked.  

    Finally, thank you for your incredible support so far this term. We have seen record numbers to events involving Year 9 and 11 this term so far and your engagement and support is really appreciated by all of my staff.  

    Enjoy your weekend and thank you again.  

    Mr Groak

    Headteacher

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  • WEEK 18 - Friday 26 January 2024

    Published 26/01/24

    There has been a lot of discussion in the media in recent months about the breakdown in the ‘social contract’ between school and home which is an explanation for the lower levels of attendance seen in schools. There is no doubt some truth in this following several periods where the Government and school leaders were telling young people that they didn’t need to come into school or that school wasn’t safe for them. Whilst this seemed like the right thing to do at the time, we will probably look back on those decisions and recognise them as being mistaken. The long-term consequences on children’s mental health and educational habits will take years to unpick and resolve, a situation made worse by the fact that funding for schools to do this work was nowhere near the level that was recommended by Sir Kevan Collins, who was actually appointed by the Government to investigate. 

    Despite this, there is clearly a Venn-diagram-type relationship between those students that are struggling to attend and wider measures of health and economic hardship. It would be easy to catastrophise the situation and write off an entire generation of young people. The reality is that current national attendance in secondary schools is around 92% - about 3% lower than it was before the pandemic. And whilst this is a lot of young people nationwide, the overwhelming majority have made good adjustments and are thriving. 

    Attendance in our Years 9, 10 and 11 is not where we want it to be and we are working hard to put that right but those that are in school regularly are doing brilliantly. They have responded well to the changes in our behaviour policy and behaviour and attitudes are strong. Year 11 students in particular are showing a real commitment to doing well in their GCSEs in the summer; turnout to revision is high and over 120 of them have today enjoyed their breaktime in our sixth Form centre after receiving their formal offer to join the consortium Sixth Form on our campus. This follows over 80% attendance at the recent Progress evening and over 65% in attendance for the Success Event last week (which I mentioned in last week’s blog). 

    In Year 9, we had the best ever attendance for that year group’s parents evening last night with over 82% of parents/carers in attendance and this sets us up nicely for the Options Process, something with which the students are already engaging strongly. 

    I haven’t mentioned Year 7 and 8 but their attendance is already above the national average and they’re just fabulous! 

    This weekend is the final one of what I am now calling my ‘annual hibernation’, where I basically plan nothing and use the weekend to rest, catch up on work and get out for a run where possible. It makes for a dull January to be honest but the upcoming Spring offers plenty of reasons for optimism. The sun is shining as I speak and there is lots of laughter as the students outside organise themselves for a game of netball after school. Pretty soon, the nights will be noticeably longer, and the rugby league season starts! And here we go again. 

    Have a lovely weekend and thank you for your support.

    Mr Groak

    Headteacher

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  • WEEK 17 - Friday 19 January 2024

    Published 19/01/24

    The topic of ‘accountability’ has come up repeatedly in my work and thinking this week. Firstly, it is the theme of some work I am doing to secure my NPQEL (an executive leadership qualification for school leaders); in one of the sections, we were asked to think about how we create a culture of accountability, where people are held to account but where they also take responsibility for their actions, behaviour and crucially for their mistakes.

    Then it arose again in some collaboration work I was doing with fellow Trust Leaders yesterday, where we explored the Nolan Principles of Public Life and, in particular, how we, as school and Trust leaders, accept accountability and ensure we have processes in place to hold ourselves, and others, to account.

    Finally, after a bit of a gap, I have found my way back into watching old episodes of ‘The West Wing’ recently and was reminded of a quotation in the show which was attributed to an ex-mayor of New York who said, ‘If a sparrow breaks a wing in Central Park, I feel responsible.’

    That overwhelming sense of responsibility is something we all feel as school leaders, as we accept the presence of over 1400 young people onto our site each day, and a further 450+ at Penshurst and keep them safe and educated.

    The dual notions of accountability and responsibility I find fascinating and although the two terms are often used interchangeably, there is a difference between the two. ‘Accountability’ relates to the outcomes of the work we do, e.g. we are accountable for the outcomes of the students we teach. ‘Responsibility’ relates to the actions we demonstrate e.g. we take responsibility for providing strong teaching etc. The ability to take responsibility also depends upon having the resources and the decision-making autonomy to be able to do a job and so there is a subtle difference between the two concepts. Crucially, it is in the space between those two where frustration of school staff and leaders often exists.

    A good example relates to school attendance. We are held accountable for our attendance levels and do everything we can to encourage and promote it but ultimately the responsibility to come into school rests with the student, and parents. Similarly, we are held accountable for examination outcomes but often do not have the resources or specialist teachers to carry out our responsibilities to deliver high quality teaching and examination preparation.

    We are not alone; these kind of pressures exist everywhere and especially in public services where expectations are high, but resources low. In education, one of the biggest pressures comes from Ofsted and there has been a lot of coverage recently of the new Head of Ofsted who has started work this month. Already, he is beginning to reassure schools that Ofsted’s approach is going to be more empathetic to some of the pressures and issues I have mentioned above. Let’s hope that is the case. Closing the gap between levels of accountability and the ability to take responsibility would be a welcome way to reduce the pressure on schools, and to solving the long-term problem of recruiting and retaining teachers.

    On a loosely-related subject, it was great to see such a high turnout last night for our Year 11 Success Evening. The hall and canteen were packed whilst students and parents/carers waited patiently to speak to Heads of Department and other leaders about how best to support their child in the final weeks before the exams start. It was great to see so much responsibility being taken on all sides and a real boost for staff to see such high levels of engagement and support. Thank you to those that attended and to my staff who met with parents but who also organised and set up the event. It was great work.

    Similarly, Year 11 students have also been attending Trust-led revision classes this week, held at the University of Hull. One cohort went out on Tuesday and other goes out on Monday. Lessons had been planned collaboratively by teachers across our schools and the feedback from the students was really positive with some wishing they could do it every week! Thanks again to all who supported this.

    After a busy and cold week, I’m looking forward to a rest this weekend. I have some A Level Mock Exam Papers to mark and an outstanding list of unfinished work to complete but I will make sure there is time for rest too. I’m told by my kids that I am taking them to the cinema tomorrow afternoon and that we’re watching ‘Wonka’. I don’t object; life is much easier when I’m told what to do on a weekend.

    Whatever you are doing, enjoy it and thank you for your support.

    Mr Groak

    Headteacher

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  • WEEK 16 - Friday 12 January 2024

    Published 12/01/24

    On Tuesday morning, in my Year 11 Assembly, I talked to them about the brevity of their time left in our school and the fact that there were now just 73 school days before their first formal GCSE examination (there are now only 69!).  In fact, even that isn’t true as they are doing GCSE and BTEC assessments all the time, in the form of coursework and the like.  It is the biggest year of their lives to date but I always try to reassure them that they are not alone and surrounded by a team of staff whose job it is to help young people like them every year.  We know what we're doing, and they just need to play their part, do as they told and engage fully.  It has the potential to work spectacularly well and we will continue to reiterate the importance of taking up every opportunity that is offered to them. 

    This next few weeks is significant for Year 11 and we try to capture the work that is going on in our Year 11 Success Bulletin which is sent to parents and students each fortnight.  Here it is, for those that may have missed it or who wish to see what is coming when your child reaches that age. Next week is another big week for them. On Tuesday, some of our Year 11s will be heading to the University of Hull for a revision day, along with students of the same age across our Trust. This is the first event of its kind and demonstrates the power of collaborative working across our schools. I am sure the students will rise to the occasion and get a lot out of it. Then there is the Success Event on Thursday evening for all students and parents, where there will be range of revision material available as well as tips and advice that can help the revision. I will also speak to parents about the remaining support available in the run up to exams.  

    To that end, I must remind you of our Year 11 Mock Interview Day coming up on Friday 2 February.  this is the date each year on which only Year 11 students are in school, with other students working from home.  This gives us the unique opportunity to bring in a swathe of business visitors to provide interview and mentoring support for our year 11s, followed by an intensive target setting session with their teachers.  Above and beyond the benefits of the day, this is also a watershed for some; the day on which everything drops into place and they recognise that now is the time to really step up their preparations for the summer’s exams. 

    We have written to the students outlining what is expected of them on the day and I would like to thank all parents in all year groups for your support with this event. 

    *** 

    Whilst there is a great deal going on ‘under our noses’ each day, this is the time of year when we begin to look firmly ahead to the next year as we advance our curriculum and staffing plans, in conjunction with our colleagues in the Central Team.  This gathers pace on Tuesday when I will present our requirements for next year, teaching and non-teaching staff, and seek their support to begin our recruitment.  We must start early as it is common for school staff to be looking for new challenges this early in the year even if it means they do not actually move until September.  We have a strong record of recruiting well due in part to getting in there early and we hope it will be the same again.  That said, our numbers on roll are closing in on our capacity and so we do not anticipate being too active this year. 

    ***  

    Like most people, I watched the ITV drama, Mr Bates versus The Post Office recently.  It was a tough watch and, ironically, my wife and I finished the final episode on Sunday evening before returning to school on Monday morning.  The contrast between the chronic lack of integrity shown by Post Office leaders on TV and the enthusiasm and selflessness shown by my colleagues in school on Monday was stark.  Their commitment to plan and prepare great lessons and resources for your children was humbling.  I am very lucky to work in a sector where honesty, integrity and public service are taken so seriously.  

    The theme of Monday was through-school collaboration and so we had all our Academy staff on our Heads Lane site (including Penshurst colleagues).  This made for a great atmosphere, as secondary staff learned more about the teaching of phonics from their primary colleagues, and the primary team got to spend the morning in the Sixth Form centre, where I reminded them of the importance of their work (all the way back to when children are in nursery and reception) in developing the young people that occupy the Sixth Form centre each day.  It will not be too long before our first ‘through-school’ student reaches the Sixth Form having spent all their school life within our single organisation.  It is an exciting thought. 

    Finally, I have felt a renewed energy this week after a very relaxing Xmas and New Year break.  We were fortunate to visit Sicily for the first time over New Year and it was a wonderful experience full of great moments, such as climbing Mount Etna (at least a little way), experiencing Palermo on New Years’ Eve (not for the faint hearted) and even paddling in the sea in January.  The kids absolutely loved it, and I can confirm that I did manage to visit Vitelli’s Bar, the iconic setting for a famous scene from The Godfather Part 2.  Another thing ticked off the bucket list. 

    This is a much shorter term than the previous one but absolutely jam-packed with activity and events so high energy levels are essential for all of us to bring our best to our school, and our students. 

    Enjoy the weekend and thank you as always for your ongoing support. 

    Mr Groak

    Headteacher

     

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  • WEEK 15 - Thursday 21 December 2023

    Published 21/12/23

    Roy Wood said that he ‘wished it could be Christmas every day’.... really? Can you imagine?

    Life in a large secondary school in the weeks building to the Christmas break is less festive than you might think. Although there is a tree up and some decorations, for everyone’s sanity, we try to ensure that life goes on pretty much as normal. I used to work in an office long ago where, at the first sign of advent, normal work would be pushed to one side for the sake of parties, gift giving, quizzes and God-knows what. Productivity dived and everyone was fed up by the time they broke up on the last Friday before the Big Day and headed to the pub.

    If schools acted in the same way, the consequences don’t bear thinking about. For every child who’d quite like a bit of ‘Home Alone’ as a treat for finishing their work, there would be plenty more who would sit there, wondering why on earth they’d bothered turning up. When I was at school, ‘watching a Christmas film’ on the last day just wasn’t possible. There was one TV in the entire school, and it took two caretakers half an hour to push it from A to B on its huge trolley. With the introduction of computers on every teachers’ desk, came the temptation for them to flick a movie onto the screen during the last week of term. Headteachers, not wanting to appear like Mr Scrooge, would cite some copyright law as the reason why students wouldn’t be allowed to watch a Xmas film. And those teachers who still did so would be looked down upon by colleagues for letting their guard down.

    The reality is that schools do function better when students are engaged and challenged by their work; they feel safer in routines and less anxious if they know that their time in school is being used to good effect. So you won’t see students watching TV on the last day of this term but that is not to say that there haven’t been opportunities for some festive fun either.

    Last week I mentioned our Christmas Fair and Celebration Evening; this week I want to pay a tribute to all our students that performed in the Christmas Concert at Hessle All Saints Church on Monday evening, along with their parents and families who turned up to support us. It was a fantastic show, and I was impressed by the sheer diversity of age ranges, of instruments being played and of musical styles. The segue between the hard, politicised rock of our Consortium Sixth Form band into a choral rendition of ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’ was as inspired as it was brave. Well done, Mrs Webb!

    I am always quite nervous ahead of my reading and I try to capture the essence of our school and our students whenever I speak in the church. This reminded me of a reading I gave a few years ago when I literally read the lyrics to a song written by Nick Lowe but best known as an Elvis Costello recording, called ‘What’s so funny about peace, love and understanding.’. I love the song and am a big Costello fan (he still tours, and I would hugely recommend him – not as good as Bruce but definitely on the same page). The song is a lament to an over-cynical world where sentiments such as love and hope are sneered upon.

    Well, not at Hessle High School, they’re not. The song is an inspiration to celebrate the good deeds of our young people, of those that raise money for the less fortunate, of those who challenge themselves to perform in a school concert and those that dare to speak up for injustice through their choice of music. There’s nothing funny, or embarrassing, about peace, love and understanding. We need more of it.

    To end, despite my fondness for some of the themes of Christmas, I’m glad it's not Christmas every day. Too exhausting. But I am looking forward to the break. After the main festivities are over, we are taking advantage of the time off over New Year to have a week in Sicily. We have never been, but it looks beautiful and, with the benefit of a hire car, we are doing some exploring of the island. I am hoping to see some of the ‘Godfather’ filming locations whilst the kids are excited about going on the beach in winter (I’m not sure it’s going to be as warm as they are thinking). Whatever, I am looking forward to spending some quality time with the family after a very busy term in school.

    Whatever your plans, have a peaceful and relaxing Christmas break.

    Thank you for the support you have given to myself and my staff in 2023 and I hope that 2024 is a time of happiness and joy for you all.

    Mr Groak

    Headteacher

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  • WEEK 14 - Friday 15 December 2023

    Published 15/12/23

    Chronic underfunding, excessive workload, rising expectations. Ofsted. Mobile phones, fruit-flavoured vapes. Snapchat, Instagram and Tiktok.   

    A teacher recruitment crisis, a staff retention crisis, a crisis in public services which puts vulnerable families in a position where the only place they can turn to for support and help, is schools and teachers. Instagram, Tiktok and Snapchat. The long shadow of covid and its impact on attendance and attitudes to school. A lack of political leadership. Tiktok, Snapchat and Instagram.  

    These are just a few of the challenges you will face if you choose to become or remain a teacher in 2023. So why do we do it? 

    For events such as our Awards evening on Wednesday night. This is our annual opportunity to celebrate the very best of our school community and it was heart-warming once again to witness the special relationships that underpin the success achieved by our students. 

    Whilst some of our ‘high-achievers’ are rightly represented, we seek to reward hard work, effort and determination every bit as much as talent. Talent will only take you so far, as I told the parents and students on Wednesday. At the event, each of our subjects are represented by a member of staff who explains the reasons why they have chosen the three students nominated for each award. They then announce the winner. Most speak without notes and speak from the heart. There are some really touching messages and not a few tears. 

    One of my favourite moments came when Mrs Hall, Head of RE, explained why Alex had received her Year 11 Award for her determination to keep improving her GCSE RE grade. Alex hadn’t achieved the highest grade but her dedication to improvement had impressed Mrs Hall the most. Alex wasn’t present; it turned out that she didn't think she had a chance of winning because the other nominees achieved higher grades than her. When she found out from a friend, she came into school the next day to collect her award. And brought a bunch of flowers for Mrs Hall. Moments like this are what make me most proud of leading this school. 

    Another highlight of the week was our wonderful Xmas Fayre on Tuesday afternoon. Organised by Mrs Bourne, Head of Portia, this saw lots of students across different year groups selling a range of gifts, craft items and cakes in aid of the Downright Special charity which they have adopted for the year, and which is very close to our collective hearts at Hessle. Embarrassingly, I never had any money on me so had to borrow five pounds from Mrs Groak in order to ensure I could support them. Altogether, they raised over £500 on the night to go towards their annual charity effort.  And it was another busy night for Miss Raw, our singing coach/teacher, who performed some songs, having also done the same at our Awards Evening. Thank you to all concerned for a great whole-school event. 

    Finally, this weekend sees the wider Groak family get-together which it is our turn to host. My daughter has written a quiz and pantomime, my son is making starters and dessert which leaves me with just the main course, which will be my meatballs speciality. Not entirely Christmassy, but it is still over a week away! 

    Whatever you do this weekend, I hope it is as relaxing as the last weekend before Xmas can be and I thank you for your ongoing support.   

    Mr Groak

    Headteacher

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