Home-Grown Success

Herman the Crab, Obbi the Octopus, Sherman the Shrimp, Sheldon the Sushi (Sherman’s twin brother), Dave the Crab and Steve the Lobster are not only raising attendance at East-the-water School, they are also bringing everyone together in a shared and often comic experience. Developed as a way of rewarding good class attendance, these sea-creatures now have life of their own. Every Friday at the Star of the Week Assembly, the class in each Key-Stage with the best overall attendance is rewarded with one of these soft-toy mascots to keep for the week. Some children get to take them home overnight. Each mascot has their own greeting and the teacher who collects the mascot in front of the whole school has to use the right greeting. But that is not all. Things seem to happen to them – they are kidnapped, go wandering, are seen in the local supermarket or on the beach. Photographs are taken and shared with the school. Even older pupils in years 5 and 6 who might not find a cuddly toy at all ‘cool’ have joined in the fun. When we asked children what they enjoyed the most about school several said “our mascots”.

Strong relationships, clear and consistent communication of expectations from the moment children walk into school, reduces anxiety and promotes confidence.

It’s clear routine, clear shared rules, clear shared language … the expectations are really high, but what you’ve got sitting behind that are really, really strong relationships (Headteacher).

There is complete consistency across the board from staff in terms of the way they approach the classroom environment, how behaviours are managed, the expectations, and that’s communicated really, really clearly to all the children, which makes the classroom setting far calmer and far more conducive to learning (Parent).

All children – and their families – are welcomed at the school gates each morning, often by a cohort of school leaders and TAs. Their teacher greets them in the classroom. This not only makes for a warm and friendly start to the day, it also supports pupils who may be feeling anxious and provides an opportunity to catch up with parents and answer any queries they may have. TAs are able to let teachers know about any issues that may have arisen for individual pupils.

All staff, but especially the TAs, develop deep relationships with their pupils, getting to know them individually and building trust. This means they understand their individual personalities, strengths and preferences, and can tune into their needs when they are struggling. It is as if the children are all members of a large well-functioning family and treated with the love and understanding you would expect there. It takes time to build those relationships but the children in the school all know that they are wanted, welcomed and known.

Some of the children have real, real struggles. When you know their background, it just breaks your heart. And … they come in smiling when they see you and they settle down … And you’ve got this little thing you do with them every morning, and it’s just for them (TA)

The parents we met and those who contributed in writing were all very pleased with how the school was providing for their children, several of whom had a wide variety of special educational needs and some with less than positive experiences elsewhere. They were grateful for the flexibility, kindness and support their children received, especially in times of stress and valued the good communication. They agreed that the school was a happy community and were more than willing to tell others how good it is.

Oh, I recommend this school every day … Everyone knows I love this school. (Parent).

Kindness is basic in a well-functioning relationship, and pupils are encouraged to understand what this means and how it can be actioned, noticed and acknowledged.

I like how we have kindness boxes for if we think anybody or any classmate has been doing good in lessons or in the playground, we can write about them on the post it note and put them in the box. (Pupil)

A couple times a week, the teacher opens the box and the children go ‘oh this person’s in the kindness box. They’ve done this and they’ve done that’.. it’s used a lot. (Teacher).

For children in the early years there is a kindness tree on the wall in the classroom which serves the same purpose, with children nominated for their acts of kindness.

Conversations with older children go further, especially about the need to challenge others who are being unkind and not look as if you are going along with them. There is a ‘hero award’ for children who take on this role in support of their peers.

When you consider the history of East-the-Water – from being rated one of the least successful in the country to where it is today, the journey they have been on is remarkable. In a vibrant and inclusive culture, the children are engaged, achieving and having fun. This is not due to the context becoming any easier – It is entirely down to what has happened over the years to deliberately grow a multi-faceted approach to learning that reverses the cycle of disadvantage and where no-one gives up on anyone.

A unique feature is the extent to which the school has taken control of its own initial teacher training. They have trained for themselves only people capable of creating warm and positive relationships with children, people who like and care deeply about children, and who can teach with passion and enthusiasm; the best of their students have been recruited to jobs at East-the-Water.

Although there is strong stability and consistency throughout East-the-Water, the school is also dynamic and constantly evolving – looking for ways to be even better. Every child is known, their strengths, needs, challenges and aspirations. Every adult is passionate about making a difference and no stone is unturned to make sure this happens.

It’s all of the extra bits that the school does so well, such as the involvement with the local library, Appledore book festival, dentists etc. We moved out of the catchment area last year but will not move our boys out of school because they are happy there, which is a testament to the staff for building such a safe and fun environment. (Parent)

I like East-the-Water school because the teachers are so nice, it makes us all smile. If we don’t understand something the teachers would always help us work through it (Pupil)

I also enjoy learning because I like learning new things as a future engineer. The teachers teach us resilience and to be happy as much as we can. I never want to leave. (Pupil)

There is a real sense of parents and staff pulling together and having a pride, which they then instil in the children. And an aspiration that it doesn’t matter where you’re from, kind of like geographically, or what struggles you have, you can achieve, and that’s instilled and supported all the way. So yeah, that’s amazing. (Parent)

School should be fun! This isn’t the case for many schools, but this school – East-the-Water … IS! It has a mixture of fun learning, superb teaching, and excellent caring. This school encourages students to learn at school and home. Isn’t that great! (Pupil)

Anything’s possible if you do the right things, anything is achievable. Nothing is impossible. (Governor)

There will be much more information about this and the other nine schools in the project in the forthcoming (2027) book, Inspiring Children’s Love of Learning: Exceptional Practice in Primary Schools (Routledge).