Denbigh High School: Improving attainment, attendance and achievement

Denbigh High School: Improving attainment, attendance and achievement

“The progress of our students who undertook Company Programme surpassed all expectations. It has been a joy to witness how a group of pupils, who were at risk of becoming increasingly disengaged with school, found a new avenue for creativity and personal development via the more practical way of learning that the Programme offers. There has been a notable difference in terms of improved attendance and higher morale and engagement in the classroom.”
This is how Donna Neely-Hayes, Head Teacher at Denbigh High, summarised her school’s participation in Young Enterprise’s Company Programme.

Ms Neely-Hayes and her colleagues had identified a particular group of Year 10 students who were not achieving their potential, in fact they were at risk of permanent exclusion. Their disruptive behaviour was starting to impact others around them. The decision was made to offer them an alternative way of learning. Rather than arranging extra-curricular sessions to catch up, after much deliberation, it was decided that the students should be taken out of their modern foreign language classes and enrolled in Young Enterprise’s Company Programme.

The teachers wanted to try a different style of education, one which is more practical and hands-on, one which would hopefully re-engage the students. Company Programme offers such an alternative approach to learning. Participants create a company, including designing a logo, producing a product, calculating profit and loss and selling to family and friends.

In Denbigh’s case, the young people soon started to respond positively to this new way of learning, feeling empowered to make decisions, and working well as a team. Having previously been told what to do, many felt a new sense of autonomy, which boosted their confidence and was evident in their interactions with adults. Even their body language was more open.
The impact of the programme was tracked for each boy via both their attendance record and their attitude. Ten of the thirteen boys showed an improvement in their attendance, with one showing a nearly 9% improvement between Year 10 and 11.
Attitude was measured by the school’s behaviour policy which identified their commitment to learning in lessons and any disruptive or disengaged behaviour. It was pleasing to see 8 of the 13 gaining a higher score and one showing an impressive 29 point improvement.

Given that, prior to the programme, many of the boys had been at risk of exclusion, the fact that many of them developed their public speaking skills and financial literacy showed quite a turnaround. Being physically present in school is of course a prerequisite for unlocking further academic opportunities, especially in core subjects such as maths and English. This, in turn, can lead to better attainment. The contribution and commitment of Denbigh’s staff was key to making this experiment a success. Denbigh were familiar with Company Programme as an extra- curricular offer but bringing it into the curriculum was a learning curve and teachers were well supported by Young Enterprise. Young Enterprise worked with teachers to help them deliver the programme effectively, offering additional support in the form of bespoke lesson plans, to help engage the young people.

Although the number of pupils involved was small, the transformation of their behaviour was significant, leading other schools in the Luton area to show an interest in adopting a similar model. Ms Neely-Hayes herself has expressed a desire to expand the offering within Denbigh, so that more pupils have the opportunity to benefit from practical, applied learning opportunities, with her own recent evidence that they can re-engage young people and improve their overall outcomes. She commented:
“Although so far Denbigh has introduced the Young Enterprise scheme as a curriculum pilot, we are keen to consider how to roll this out further. We are very pleased with the results so far.”

However, the final word should go to one of the young people involved. Previously demonstrating disengagement and disruptive behaviour, he concluded:
“I don’t have time to mess around as I am too busy selling or planning my product!”