Netherhall Summer School Provision Opening School Facilities and HAF

Netherhall School is based in Maryport, Cumbria – historically, one of the most economically deprived areas in the UK. Over recent years the school has been on a tremendous journey of continual improvement following its Inadequate judgement in the Ofsted inspection of June 2016. 

Under the leadership of its new Headteacher, Mr David Tromans, the school achieved the fastest turnaround under the Ofsted framework in place at that time in the whole northern region, achieving its first ever Ofsted Good rating in February 2018, with this judgement being confirmed by its second Ofsted Good rating in March 2023. 

Over this time period, the school’s number on roll has increased significantly from 560 students in 2016 to 850 students today – and the support of the HAF in helping to transform the school’s cultural reputation in the community can certainly be considered as a highly important factor in contributing to this tremendous success.  

As the school’s Deputy Headteacher since January 2017, I have played a central role in aiding the school’s regeneration, and one of my key areas of responsibility over the last 5 years has been to boost the number of students recruited to the school by coordinating its primary transition programme. As a result of leading this area of responsibility, I was able to access funding from the HAF from the summer of 2021 to further improve the school’s transition programme, the experience of students in this, and to significantly benefit the whole school and wider community as a result of the tremendous opportunities made available as a result of the funding provided by the HAF. 

The opportunity provided by the HAF funding has played a significant role in enabling Netherhall School to develop further its transition programme by providing a summer school to ease the transition of students from year 6–7 (with 80% of students taking up this opportunity each year), enabling a first-class start to the students’ secondary school education each September, as students have been made to feel so at ease during the summer school that they really do ‘hit the ground running’, bringing with them an enormous wave of positivity when they start school at the beginning of the autumn term. The funding provided by the HAF and also this summer by the Opening School Facilities Fund has enabled all FSM students to be able to access the provision, as they are not prevented from attending by not being able to afford the lunches on offer, while also enabling the financial resources to provide a wider range of activities to be provided to the benefit of all students attending. The additional funding offered up through the OSF project allowed us to cater for a larger number late in the day, as we knew there was demand for the additional places locally, so the financial support ensured that those wishing to attend were able to do so. 

This year students have enjoyed activities including football, netball, tennis, rounders, basketball, dodgeball, tag rugby, athletics, cricket, golf, biology experiments, chemistry experiments, physics experiments, art, reading for pleasure, creative writing, acting, music, cookie baking and pom-pom making! In reality, the funding support has benefited all stakeholders of the school, most importantly the students who have gained invaluable experiences by learning new skills and making new friends, meaning they are set up fantastically for the start of their secondary school careers, which of course also benefits students’ mental wellbeing during a crucial stage in their development. Parents have also benefited from the opportunities provided, as the provision has provided child care around their work commitments, while in terms of the overall benefit to the school, the improvement of the transition process as a result of the introduction of the summer school has seen the school attracting record numbers in recent years, with the 179 students recruited last year being the highest intake to the school in well over 20 years. 

In terms of the impact of the HAF funding to support our summer school, I have recently conducted a great deal of research into the importance of this in influencing secondary school choice as part of the dissertation I have just completed to conclude my MA in Educational Leadership with the National Institute of Teaching and Education at Coventry University. The findings were clear that the summer school provision, made possible by the HAF funding, was a highly significant factor in influencing parents to choose this school over other local options, as the amount of respect that parents gained for the staff of the school for putting on this provision in their own holiday time brought home to them how far the school’s culture really was established to go ‘above and beyond’ for the young people in the area, giving them the very best experiences possible in their secondary education. Further to this, the impact of the HAF has also meant that all SEND pupils have been able to be fully integrated unto the provision offered, while no student has missed out on the opportunity provided, as all FSM pupils have been catered for. In short then, the funding of the HAF, while proving crucial in bringing about the best possible experience for students in their transition from year 6-7, is also playing a huge role in influencing the school’s recruitment success and therefore its own overall progress, as the finances provided to the school by the huge increase in numbers recruited will cement the school’s growing strength and reputation – thus benefitting the wider community, both socially and economically, to ensure a first-class future for all. 

In terms of building on this provision for future years, we fully intend to continue to offer our 2-week summer school to support students’ transition from year 6-7, and aim to further widen the activities offered as a wider pool of teachers recruited to the school as a result of the success of its recruitment programme brings in a greater variety of skills to further benefit its students.  

Mark Bailey, Deputy Headteacher 

Case study provided courtesy of Active Cumbria