A successful bid proposal to the DfE has meant that from November 2023, Three Spires will be the lead and key Delivery Partner of the ‘Stoke-on-Trent Priority Area: raising attainment in English across KS3 and KS4’.

The project aims to support teachers to successfully embed ‘formative and summative assessment strategies’ into their teaching practice as a means to measure progress more accurately and effectively.

The programme will focus on a variety of elements that will be of interest to schools, including:

• using key skills and knowledge to underpin planning
• explicit teaching with a focus on pedagogical practice and instructional strategies
• interleaving
• oracy

Autumn 2023 – A City-Wide Effort in English Excellence

Autumn 2023 marked a significant milestone in the English PEIA project with the launch of our city-wide blind mock assessment. This initiative brought together 14 secondary schools across Stoke-on-Trent and aimed to establish a comprehensive baseline for students working toward achieving Grade 4 or 5 in their GCSE English exams.

The mock assessments were thoughtfully designed to help Three Spires identify “tricky content” areas critical for student success. These assessments focused on skills and knowledge gaps that often challenged learners at this level. Through collaboration with Chapter Education and expert English professionals, we marked, analyzed, and evaluated 3,000 GCSE mock papers from 11 schools, ensuring a robust and comprehensive approach.

Individual feedback from the assessments, tailored to each participating school, proved to be an invaluable resource. This feedback highlighted areas for improvement and equipped teachers with actionable insights to refine their teaching strategies.

In addition to the mock assessments, the groundwork for a Mastery Curriculum for Years 7–11 progressed significantly. A curriculum specialist team was formed, and audits of “tricky content” were completed. These efforts laid the foundation for CPD sessions designed to support schools in delivering the curriculum effectively.

The success of these initiatives reflected the power of collaboration and shared purpose. By uniting schools under this city-wide effort, we built a strong foundation for long-term success in English education across Stoke-on-Trent. This achievement set the stage for continued progress in the coming terms.

Spring 2024 – Setting the Foundations for Success

Spring 2024 saw the English PEIA project gain incredible momentum, delivering a series of impactful initiatives across schools in Stoke-on-Trent.

One of the highlights was the twilight CPD sessions, which provided educators with targeted professional development opportunities. These sessions focused on mastering inference techniques and exploring how writers communicate “big ideas” in non-fiction texts. Participation was enthusiastic, and attendees shared positive feedback about how these sessions enhanced their confidence in teaching challenging content.

In addition, the project introduced a SharePoint intranet that was quickly adopted by schools as a resource-sharing platform. This digital tool streamlined collaboration, enabling educators to connect, share best practices, and access lesson plans and teaching resources efficiently.

The groundwork laid during spring established a strong foundation for the months ahead. With these initiatives in place, the English PEIA project positioned itself to continue delivering excellence in teaching and learning throughout Stoke-on-Trent.

Summer 2024 – Building Momentum and Broadening Impact

Summer 2024 marked a period of growth and collaboration for the English PEIA project as its initiatives expanded to reach even more educators and students.

The twilight CPD sessions remained a key focus, with three additional sessions conducted. These explored new areas, such as structuring written content and teaching strategies for tricky concepts. Participation grew steadily reflecting the increasing engagement of educators across the city.

Another major success was the quality assurance marking initiative for Year 10 mock assessments. Ten schools participated, and teachers received detailed feedback to refine their marking accuracy, ensuring consistency and improving outcomes for students.

The summer term exemplified the project’s growth and its deepening impact, laying the groundwork for further success in the autumn.

Autumn 2024 – Embedding Practices and Celebrating Success

Autumn 2024 was a season of consolidation and celebration for the English PEIA project as schools across Stoke-on-Trent embraced and embedded the practices introduced earlier in the year.

The Mastery Curriculum for Years 10 and 11 was now being implemented in several schools. This curriculum provided structured resources to support students’ learning and mastery of challenging content. Teachers readily adopted these tools, with clear benefits emerging in classrooms.

The resource-sharing intranet became a vital hub for collaboration, with schools actively contributing materials and sharing best practices. This platform fostered a strong sense of community among educators and helped sustain the momentum of the project.

One exciting development was the introduction of the Central Youth Theatre resource, where a team of performers came into schools to act out key scenes from challenging literature plays. Rather than simply reading the texts, students were able to witness the scenes performed live, enhancing their understanding of the material. This immersive experience encouraged students to analyze both the text and the performance, honing skills like critical and linguistic analysis. By engaging with the scenes firsthand, students deepened their comprehension and participated in thoughtful discussions about language, character, and context.

Finally, the CPD sessions continued to thrive, with strong participation and positive feedback from teachers. Educators reported greater confidence in delivering complex topics and creating engaging lessons, demonstrating the lasting impact of the project’s initiatives.

As the year drew to a close, the English PEIA project celebrated the collective effort that made these successes possible and looked forward to continuing its transformative journey in the year ahead.