How Doncaster primary school has been transformed after becoming one of first 'free' schools

For schools right across Doncaster, the last 12 months have seen massive changes.
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The coronavirus pandemic has seen lessons switched online for large chunks of the year as lockdown alters the way the borough goes about its business.

But at Plover Primary School, in Intake, there have been much bigger changes than most.

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Year Four pupils pictured during online learning. Picture: NDFP-09-02-21-Plover 5-NMSYYear Four pupils pictured during online learning. Picture: NDFP-09-02-21-Plover 5-NMSY
Year Four pupils pictured during online learning. Picture: NDFP-09-02-21-Plover 5-NMSY
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The school was rated good at its last Ofsted five years ago, but there was concern about its performance in the local league tables.

With that background, the school on Coniston Road made a major change.

For a start, it left local authority control to become an academy. But it also became one of the first ‘free school’ primary schools in Doncaster, when it was taken over by the XP Trust, the organisation which set up Doncaster’s first free school in 2014.

Jayne Ogle took over as principal at the new academy, having previously worked at Green Top Primary in Thorne, which became Doncaster’s first free school primary school in 2017.

Year one and two children pictured with Tealight Silhouette Jars they have made as part of their Great Fire of London studies. Picture: NDFP-09-02-21-Plover 1-NMSYYear one and two children pictured with Tealight Silhouette Jars they have made as part of their Great Fire of London studies. Picture: NDFP-09-02-21-Plover 1-NMSY
Year one and two children pictured with Tealight Silhouette Jars they have made as part of their Great Fire of London studies. Picture: NDFP-09-02-21-Plover 1-NMSY
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Some of the teachers left with the change – but others stayed on and embraced a new way of working which sees the pupils learn through ‘expeditions’. These are projects which result in a tangible product using skills that are on the curriculum, rather than having subject specific lessons.

Soon after the school started bringing in its methods, the pandemic arrived. As with schools across the country, it means only a reduced number of pupils are currently coming in.

During the first lockdown, it meant they provided pre-recorded lessons online. For the current lockdown, they have switched over to live lessons.

They wanted to make sure that the pupils have some sort of get together each day. That is done with online conferencing meetings of groups they call a ‘crew’ – a collection of pupils who are put together with a teacher who tries to look after their welfare and gives them a chance to raise anything that they are worried about. It has been described as their ‘school family’, with no more than 20 pupils in each one.

Year six pupils Lacie and Mia, pictured carrying out research based learning for their project work. Picture: NDFP-09-02-21-Plover 4-NMSYYear six pupils Lacie and Mia, pictured carrying out research based learning for their project work. Picture: NDFP-09-02-21-Plover 4-NMSY
Year six pupils Lacie and Mia, pictured carrying out research based learning for their project work. Picture: NDFP-09-02-21-Plover 4-NMSY
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They also recognised some parents need support, and have had some parents in to help teach them how to access lessons online. For some, they have provided computers too. Some parents were shown how they can use video game consoles to access the lessons.

"For the lockdown in March, we did a lot of lessons that pupils could complete in their own time,” said Mrs Ogle. “Last year, we didn’t have the face to face contact. We’re proud of what we did last year, but we thought children needed some interaction with their class teacher. We recognised that some parents need supporting too. Not everyone knows about teaching phonics.”

It has meant they had 90 per cent engagement of pupils in January.

Pupils get dedicated maths and English lessons, and then move on later to work on their ‘expeditions’.

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Some of this is designed to get children away from screens, with concerns they may be spending too much time on computers.

The expeditions themselves are projects built around issues affecting Doncaster.

For instance, the school’s year five and six pupils are working on the project: “How did the coal mining industry shape Doncaster?”

To do this, they have worked up with a team who are raising money for a new plaque on a miners memorial in Armthorpe.

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The children have been helping, with sponsored events that they can do from home, like running laps of their gardens.

Youngsters are also producing poems as part of their ‘expedition’. The miners’ group hope to display one of the poems next to the memorial, so the youngsters will have something tangible from their project work. How the poem is selected has yet to be decided. One possibility is a vote by the children.

"Some of the pupils are in their last year of primary school,” said Mrs Ogle. “I want them to achieve as much as they can, but also to look back to what they did here and have fond memories.”

The school’s year three and four pupils are working on a project around the question: “Can we protect people from natural disasters?”

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It is linking in to the floods which swept Doncaster in November 2019.

Usually they would ask experts into the school to talk about the issue. This year though, those experts have had to address the pupils online.

The expert was one of the school’s employees, who lives in Fishlake.

"Listening to what happened to her was quite harrowing,” said Mrs Ogle. “But hearing about real life elements like this is really powerful.

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"They are doing poetry and artwork based around the floods, which will be put together. It will be presented to the community . We’d like to take some pupils, but that will depend on the pandemic.

"During the first lockdown, we looked at different animals, and created a big board around Sandall Beat Wood. They let us put it up there. We want to showcase work, so that it is real.”

Last summer, there was an expedition on climate change. One of the pupils wrote to Sir David Attenborough. He wrote back with a handwritten reply, and the school is proud of the pupil’s effort.

Mrs Ogle says the way of working gives teachers more flexibility. It is they who decide on the projects, and hold planning meetings before they start. But all the projects must be designed around creating a ‘product’.

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Although she feels it has been a tough year working through the pandemic, she feels it has brought the school community together and strengthened relationships with parents because of the regular contact from the school and the help it has offered them throughout.

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.

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