NO LIMITS is the name for the scheme at Greenhead that specifically aims to raise the achievements of boys. It is our version of the National Education Breakthrough Programme which the school bought into in 2005. Our aim is to help boys achieve their potential by working to change the systems by which we deliver teaching and manage learning. everything in NO LIMITS is about improvement.
We have successfully used a number of new strategies with the boys in the NO LIMITS groups and then shared these with other students, both male and female. Everything that the NO LIMITS team does is in small steps so that any impact can be measured. If this impact is positive we know that a particular strategies works and we will then roll it out to others.
A team of staff, both teaching and non-teaching run the NO LIMITS programme and the data from the first year shows that some significant improvement was made in:
- Attainments in GCSE and SAT's.
- Attendance.
- Event logs.
Some of the strategies first used in NO LIMITS that have now become whole school are:
- The need to "catch" boys (and girls) doing well and praise them for it.
- The appointment of an Achievements Administrator to ensure that there is recognition and celebration of progress and success.
- The chunking of coursework into blocks of time to allow "the job to be done".
- The grading of students each half term so that they know where they are at and what progress has been made.
- The sending home of postcards to celebrate achievement.
- The raised profile of a students voice on what helps and what hinders learning.
- Early intervention to resolve issues.
- Close contact with parents to raise aspiration and awareness of progression routes.