Dave Berry: Our children deserve a chance to prove how successful they can be

Just four years later, Barnsley was recognised as the most improved academy in the country and the most improved school in the Yorkshire and Humber region. How has this incredible change of fortunes come about? There’s no one single answer, though the most concise response is probably “relentless hard work” by all concerned.

Here at Barnsley Academy we have an unlimited vision for what our students can achieve. We find that if we believe in our learners, communicate that message clearly and consistently, and crucially, get them to believe in themselves too, then they do well.

We see no reason why the children of Kendray and Worsbrough Bank End, whom the academy serves, shouldn’t do as well as youngsters from other areas – it is simply a case of providing an environment where there is belief in the students’ abilities, where they are cared for, provided with excellent educational opportunities and where their aspirations are promoted and nurtured.

In the final year at the predecessor school, only 25 per cent of students were entered for GCSEs in English and maths.

With the opening of the academy, we changed that by entering everyone, immediately gaining a 90 per cent plus pass rate at any grade.

Raising the number of C+ grades has taken longer, but after four years, we saw results jump from 14 to 51 per cent of students gaining five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C, including English and maths. This summer has seen that figure rise again to 54 per cent.

It’s no surprise that we are unashamedly results-driven. No opportunity is missed to allow children to achieve the highest grades they can and, in direct support of that, after-school and holiday-time lessons are now commonplace.

Our children also care about what they achieve. This might seem obvious, but when results have been poor for so many years, raising their horizons so that a grade C is the minimum target has been a relentless drive.

Of course we also recognise that results are not the be-all and end-all, though they are an incredibly important part of what we do.

People with good results may still lack social skills or struggle to see that they have responsibilities towards others. Here at the academy, we have six simple values on display in every classroom and instead of lists of sanctions, these values form the cornerstone of our behaviour system. This year we wrote to the 67 per cent of our Sixth Form students who were progressing to degree courses at university.

It was a pleasure to reflect upon the kind of adults these young people have become. They take with them a set of values which will make them an asset to their friends, colleagues or future employers.

But while we have developed into an organisation that is results- driven and values-led, what else has helped in the school’s change of fortunes?

One driver has been our continued focus on knowing and understanding the students’ aspirations and providing opportunities for them to be nurtured and matured, which has helped underpin significant changes in attitude and attendance.

We also regularly ask our students about their aspirations, capturing their response on an assessment tracker – something that all schools now use.

This simple addition means that when opportunities arise – the Armed Forces or an accountancy firm that wishes to hold a special information event – we can ensure that those children who have expressed an interest in these areas are matched up to the relevant experience.

The same methodology is applied to ensure that work experience placements are of maximum benefit.

This whole process begins before our Year Seven students even officially start, when they each make a short personalised video highlighting their aspirations as part of a two-day “graduation” event.

This takes place at the end of August and is focused on the academy’s six values – it is such a simple idea, but one that I have not heard of many schools doing before.

It is also important to recognise the role of our sponsor, the United Learning Trust. As the largest operator of academies in the country, their support has been invaluable and we have benefited greatly from being a part of the group, sharing best practice and building on ULT’s commitment to the communities that their academies serve and their unwavering dedication to transforming young people’s lives through education. So what does the future hold for Barnsley Academy?

Once again, our ambitions are very clear. We firmly believe that there really is no ceiling on the success our students can achieve. We also believe that in terms of GCSEs, 2012 will see more than 60 per cent of our students attaining five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C, including English and maths. Beyond that, we are looking at 70 per cent.

One of the driving forces now is that each year group wants to become the new record holder and beat the previous best. These children deserve nothing less than to belong to an outstanding academy and as far as we are concerned, that is the simple answer to our success.

Dave Berry is principal of Barnsley Academy.