2. 2
Welcome back! I hope you have had a great summer break, you
are now fully refreshed and ready for the exciting challenge that
now lies ahead.
During the latter part of the summer
term, we met with most of you at one
of our Regional Conferences where
we introduced the PiXL Language of
Assessment. Associates followed up
on those Conferences with that all
important meeting about the Year 5s
going into Year 6. The feedback from
those meetings has been very positive
with many of you trying out the ideas
we suggested.
The Celebration Event on 9 July was
very special to us all in The Primary
Team, and I hope it was to those of you
who attended. I am not sure what else
anybody could have done to make life
difficult on the day. Undeterred, even if
it meant sitting on a coach for hours or
walking across London, the mission was
clear that you had to get your pupils to
the QEII Centre and you did. The many
challenges on that day just made the
event that much more special and
very unique.
What will be new for this year?
We have the changes to the National
Curriculum and the Assessment system.
All resources for the changes are with
you and I hope you are finding them
helpful. There are more resources
to be launched at the English and
from schools in the partnership.
We have Headteachers speaking from
the platform at conferences with ideas
which may be helpful to you. Some
ideas you will like, others may not be
appropriate, but the willingness to
share with others is what is significant
here. Have you an idea, suggestion or
a resource which may benefit others
in the partnership? Similarly, you
may want some support, advice or
resources from the wider partnership.
In either case we want to hear from
you. To support this we are seeking to
develop closer contacts within your
Region with details to be presented at
the Conference.
Nick Ware,
Director PiXL Primary
Mathematics Conference in November.
We aim to have all the resources for the KS2
‘mocks’ in January 2016, in readiness for
your scheduled ‘mock’ test week. Finally,
we are officially launching The Primary Edge
at our September Conference. This is a
scheme which will enable you to give formal
recognition to development of all your
pupils with regards to their personal skills.
As I said earlier, an exciting year ahead.
This year I would also like us to address
the ‘P’ in PiXL, Partnership. Partnership
can be defined in many ways, formal,
legal or voluntary. However you want to
define the PiXL Partnership, it is grounded
on shared principles and values with a
strong moral purpose. At the end of the
summer term, 203 schools had registered
with us, no doubt for their own reasons
but fundamentally because they want the
best for their pupils. How do we harness
the potential of what a 200+ partnership
can offer, collectively, for what is likely to
be more than 12000 pupils who are now
preparing for KS2 Tests in May 2016?
We have many examples already where
our partner schools have contributed
something for the benefit of the
Partnership. For example, Clued Spelling
and the possible mathematics paper 2 we
circulated during the test week all came
The Power of Partnership
We are hoping you will want to join us to introduce The Primary
Edge into your school. For this to be successful you will need a
Leading Edge Coordinator (LEC).
An exciting opportunity
for Middle Leader development
Your LEC’s role is to make sure the staff
having the right resources, support
to ensure pupils engage fully with the
programme, liaise with the Overseer for
your Region, and importantly ensure The
Primary Edge in your school follows the
guidance so that the pupils achieve the
required national standard for each award.
This could be an ideal opportunity for a
member of staff to start their career in
middle leadership.
If you have such a person you may want to
3. 3
The wider PiXL Partnership
I have had cause to focus on
family quite a lot recently and
we talk a lot about family in PiXL.
Those of you who know how PiXL has
evolved over the last decade or so will
know that we started as an organisation
focused on improving Y11 outcomes. About
5 years ago, some of our members with
sixth forms started to tell us that their main
issues in school were around Key Stage 5,
as they now felt secure in KS4. They asked
“what can we do with PiXL to improve what
happens for our sixth form?”. As we try to
respond to what our membership wants,
we piloted sixth form work with a small
group of schools and then, twelve months
later, PiXL 6 was born.
At about that time, similar voices were heard
from schools working closely with their
partner primary schools about Key Stage 2
outcomes. We responded by piloting work
with schools in Middlesbrough and Kent and
then, sure enough, PiXL Primary was born.
As with most families we have a shared set
of values and, of course, a shared history.
We share a deep moral purpose in that we
are entirely about transforming outcomes
for children and being prepared to do
whatever it takes to make that happen.
Like many families we have a shared
language: like Diagnosis Therapy Testing
(DTT), Personalised Learning Checklists
(PLCs), Level 5 leadership and so on.
We also like to come together to celebrate.
We revel in the success of each other,
we sometimes get tearful when we are
overwhelmed with pride about how the
younger members of the family are maturing
and we support each other when times
are tough. So our methodology is the same
too, leadership, the use of data to focus
on key marginals and securing insecurities,
accountability and celebrating our successes.
With the PiXL Edge we are developing
an incredibly powerful model to shape
well qualified, rounded citizens with
demonstrable attributes that will equip
them for further and higher education and
the challenges of a rapidly evolving work
place. This starts in primary school with the
development of character and culture and
those attributes that the CBI tells us that
industry needs so badly. With nearly 2000
schools in our family our potential influence
in helping shape a brighter hope and a
better future, not just for individuals but a
whole generation, is huge.
Here’s to a shared future.
Gavin Cowley,
PiXL North East Regional Leader
think about registering them for the Middle
Leaders Programme, details which have
been sent through to you. It is designed for
aspiring middle leaders who are keen to
understand and develop their skills to lead
change, how to get the best out of people
and importantly, how to ensure pupils can
get the most enjoyment and satisfaction
from their learning.
To register for the Middle Leader
Programme go to www.pixl.org.uk
LAURA
LEADERSHIP
OLLY
ORGANISATION
IZZY
INITIATIVE
RAJ
RESILIENCE
CHARLIE
COMMUNICATION
4. 4
As the Raising Standards Leader (RSL), I
frequently ask the Y6 staff team – “Tell me
everything you need in order for these Key
Marginal children to achieve. Even if you
don’t think I can get you it, ask anyway.”
Some of their needs and demands were
very challenging, but armed with their
‘Wish List’ and a clear PiXL rationale, I
discussed with our Head Teacher, the
necessary support, training, funding,
equipment and man-power required.
She never once flinched or said ‘No’.
The shared drive amongst the staff and
leaders was tangible. In 2015 we needed
15 outstanding staff to deliver after school
tuition programmes. The whole school
‘bought’ into the Year 6 requirements and
the best staff in school were approached
from Y1 to Y6 to deliver the interventions
outside of teaching hours - to ensure the
right support needed was delivered by
the right people. Staff who already had
huge work commitments put them aside
to support their Y6 colleagues – who
continuously liaised with them to ensure
the therapies were delivered to best effect.
Every teacher in our large school gave
up their PPA in SATs week to be readers,
invigilators and to ensure our children had
the access arrangements they deserved.
Finding quality time to meet, to discuss, to
track progress etc. has undoubtedly proved
difficult. Our school was approached to
support another Middlesbrough school,
struggling in the critical period of run up
to SATs - leaving us even less time available
to ensure our essential Raising Standards
meetings happened. As a solution our Year
6 staff agreed to attend evening meetings
with ‘Pizza’ as an incentive, to ensure
Raising Standards Meetings continued to
happen. Just one of many examples of
Park End staff working in partnership to do
‘whatever it takes!’
In 2014 the WHOLE of our Year 6 team attended the national PiXL Conference in London. They travelled
a return journey of 600miles. Every member of the team was there – teachers, teaching assistants
and learning support staff. Often when such CPD and training events are held, the expectation is for
‘teachers only’ to attend, but our PiXL team is made up of many very valued staff and recognition of
this fact is one of the keys to PiXL’s success at Park End. We subsequently built on this and ensured, in
our fortnightly meetings, that ALL Y6 staff were released to attend them. The best ideas came from that
‘shared approach’. The people who were delivering the therapies were there to contribute, comment
constructively and problem solve and their presence certainly enhanced our meetings.
Succession is on our minds at Park End as
part of our never ending desire to improve.
Working together to ensure the RSL role
continues and flourishes even more has
been a good opportunity to identify ‘even
better if…’
Understanding that no-one person is
responsible, but it takes a team to make
things happen, has made the whole Raising
Standards process run smoother, as all staff
(and most importantly the new RSL) share
the same moral purpose and passionate
desire to ensure our children achieve.
Julia Rodwell,
Park End Primary School
(Raising Standards Leader 2013 – 2015)
At Park End Primary School, the Year 6
team has always worked collaboratively,
with the support and guidance of the
Raising Standards Leader, to ensure that
Key Marginal children receive the best
support to raise their achievement. As
from September 2015, I am delighted to
be taking over the role of RSL and being
involved in raising standards for pupils
in Year 6, with a particular focus on Key
Marginal pupils.
In preparation for September, we have
identified Key Marginal children (with
the support from Year 5 teachers) and
we have decided on a different approach
next year, so that these pupils are given
the very best opportunities to access the
curriculum and narrow the gaps in their
learning. In addition to the current system
of streaming in Maths, the children will now
be grouped by ability for English lessons
too. This is to ensure all Key Marginal
children are receiving focused support
and that PiXL resources and PLCs are used
effectively for the right children. Supported
by experienced and committed teaching
assistants, the class teacher will teach
Key Marginal children in a small Literacy
group, followed by focused intervention
sessions, which will either be delivered by
the same teacher, or teaching assistants.
This will allow staff involved to gain in-
depth knowledge of the children and to
focus closely on any gaps in their learning
using the PLCs. We will maintain fortnightly
meetings, so that we can work together
to monitor progress and make any
necessary changes.
As a team we are looking forward to the
forthcoming year and continuing our
partnership with the PiXL team. We will
embrace any challenges ahead and work
towards providing a better future for next
year’s cohort!
Sharon Armes,
Park End Primary School
(Raising Standards Leader 2015 onwards)
Passing the PiXL RSL baton
“Working closely with the wider Y6 team, tracking
progress and providing support to colleagues.”
5. Celebrating Success 2015
5
If there was ever an occasion
to showcase the passion,
determination, teamwork and
shared vision for celebrating
the achievement of pupils of
the PiXL Primary partnership,
then July’s Celebration in the
heart of London was perfect.
You can imagine the disappointment and
dismay for the Organising Team when we
heard the news that the tube strike was
confirmed. At our most optimistic, we
could not have envisaged that the majority
of schools who were registered for the
Celebration would still travel despite hours
trapped in hot trains, buses, minibuses and
taxis and for many followed by a significant
walk to Westminster.
The school performances this year were
nothing but outstanding. What made
them even more amazing was that many
sang, danced and hula hooped without
any rehearsal. The keyboard, which was an
essential component for three acts, arrived
only minutes before the start, along with
the Rev Bazil Meade, leader of the London
Community Gospel Choir, who like many
had had a three-hour taxi drive.
Our special guest, Matt Dawson MBE who
presented the awards to the nominated
pupils even cancelled a morning engagement
so that he would be sure to arrive in time. His
inspiring presentation provided all present
with the vital components of teamwork,
determination, commitment and focus in
order to experience success in whatever we
choose to do.
Despite the challenges, the day was filled
with smiles and laughter with proud
parents/carers and staff shedding tears of
pride as they celebrated the achievements
of their children.
Thank you to those of you who attended
and we hope those of you who were unable
to join us this year will “save the date’ for
next year – Details to follow!
PiXL Primary Team
Developing the PiXL approach
Within John Ball, we have been running
PiXL for the past 3 years. This year, I made
the move from teaching Year 6 to Year 5,
and also began my new role as RSL. I knew
that due to the raised expectations, that
our Year 5s had further to go than ever and
also knew that we needed to put something
in place for them; waiting one more year
for PiXL therapies would simply be too late.
So we sat with the data back in September,
and identified our Key Marginals. No easy
task, with a new curriculum in front of us.
Trying to convert old levels to our new
assessment descriptors seemed a daunting
task. But what became apparent was
just how far they needed to go, to even
be able to access the Year 5 curriculum.
This is where PiXL came in. We decided
to run the ‘Bridging Materials’ for those
working considerably below the age-related
expectations, and the current Year 6 Level
4/5 for children who were able to access this.
Within our school, we have a plethora of
TAs who are already PiXL trained, and with
one of our lead ‘PiXL-ers’ we devised a
‘Welcome to PiXL’ induction for the new Year
5 TAs and also for our partnership school
Torridon Juniors. Allowing our TAs this sense
of autonomy is one of the reasons PiXL is so
successful for us. Each week we provide our
TA team 30 minutes to prepare for the week
and also any new TAs to the team shadow an
expert for the first half term.
So now with our newly formed team of
8, we delivered PiXL to our Year 5 cohort.
Sessions ran twice a week, with the children
only attending when they needed to. The
children loved it. The new TA team loved it,
and the children’s results soared!
Feeling confident from this success, we
sought to radicalise our Guided Reading
sessions. As a school which promotes
Growth Mindset, we allow the children
to self-select their own challenge within
lessons. What perplexed us was why
we were doing this within writing and
mathematics but not in our reading
sessions? We therefore decided to run PiXL
therapies to the whole class twice a week.
The emphasis being on a specific skill rather
than just decoding lengthy texts. Seating
the children in mixed ability partnerships
has allowed our children, who may have
previously struggled, to be modelled how
to answer specific questions.
The impact on our children has been
incredible. The pupils much prefer not
being pigeon holed into one Reading
Group all year and also the teachers have
preferred being able to work with the
whole class. We still run 3 sessions a week
whereby children are reading texts more
at their own level, but now they are armed
with the means to respond to questions,
rather than relying on the teacher to always
model and scaffold responses. This is soon
to be echoed across our partnership. To end
our year, we have also delivered the Year
5 PiXL test to the cohort, and will be using
the QLA to guide our sessions next year.
Knowing exactly where our pupils are at will
prove invaluable next year.
Our success with PiXL has largely been due
to the passion of our team, the high goals
our children set themselves, the belief that
no child’s progress should be capped, and
working honestly and productively with our
excellent PiXL associate Christina Moody.
Sophi Bettesworth,
Raising Standards Leader,
John Ball Primary School
How you champion PiXL by considering how to further develop
PiXL within your school or to seek networking opportunities?
6. 6
Our Raising Attainment Leader has
co-ordinated our programme with 2
highly experienced teachers using funding
previously allocated to our 1:1 strategy.
We are convinced that the focused PLCs and
materials available through Huddle are key
to the success but in addition “the buying
in” from the children and partnerships we
have managed to develop with parents have
also been a critical factor in the success.
The children call themselves the PiXL
children and are proud to be part of the
intervention. Teachers have managed to
engage them in such a way that they can
Fast forward thirty years and our schools
are being afforded a similar opportunity.
At the time of writing this article, having
visited most of my primary schools for
Visit 1 in this brave new world of ‘life
without levels’, one thing is very apparent;
internal assessment at primary schools is
varied, imaginative and bespoke. Schools
have taken full advantage of their recently
granted autonomy to experiment with
effective ways to link assessment, the
curriculum and learning for the benefit of
their pupils. The more challenging bit will
be to ensure that a ‘common language’
emerges that will allow meaningful
discussion about progress between
teachers, parents, pupils and schools.
As has often been stated, the effectiveness
of any data tracking system is only as good
as the quality of the data entered into the
system. If the information collected from
see the value and importance of hard work,
in relation to the big picture of what they are
trying to achieve in their SATs.
The highly focused small group and individual
work enables children who are sometimes
found learning difficult to see the progress
they are making, albeit in small steps.
Regular and detailed feedback has helped
children understand that they are improving.
We all know how these successes can build
children’s confidences. We hold termly
celebrations both to recognise the progress
and achievements children have made but
also as a thank you for their hard work.
‘the chalk face’ is valid and reliable, there
is a fair chance that progress, that elusive,
magical concept, can be captured and
analysed with confidence.
At Thorpe Primary in Peterborough, the
headteacher, Nick Guest, has developed a
model that combines internal flexibility with
rigour and it also has the advantage of being
readily accessible as an external observer.
Thorpe’s assessment meetings to closely
track pupils (or Laser team meetings),
happen at the end of each term and
include members of the senior team and
all teaching staff so that a comprehensive
dialogue can take place using all available
evidence; raw scores from tests fully
informed by the professional judgements
of all staff.
The school generates secure, rigorous
data on pupils through a combination of
Engaging parents of Key Marginal children is
a challenge for most of us. We run specific
PiXL parents’ evening appointments and
both children and school write regularly
to parents, sharing their successes and
engaging them in additional homework to
help them on the next steps. Sometimes it
has been successful, parents have accessed
vision to learn and tried really hard to
help their children at other times we have
struggled to engage.
There is no doubt that the partnership has
motivated children, they are learning to be
proud of hard work. A measure of how we
believe that children have been engaged
in the process is they have asked for
further PiXL sessions and been genuinely
disappointed that groups have come to an
end now that SATs have been completed.
How sad?
6 monthly assessment tests using QCA
papers and informed teacher assessment.
In addition to QCA tests, this year Thorpe
has used Rising Stars assessments to
give comparative data against the new
curriculum and old levels. They have taken
old 4B as the new required benchmark,
looked at conversion success in the past
when children arrive in year 6, I.e. How
many 3B readers convert to 4B in SATs.
This analysis helps them target children for
support and identify who the key marginals
might be.
These strategic assessment meetings are,
therefore, well placed to determine the
effective of all interventions (including,
but not exclusively, PiXL therapies) and to
carefully plan the next phase of tailored
approaches in the forthcoming term.
As life without levels becomes understood
and embedded, this will inevitably
become a natural part of schools’ cycle of
assessment. The power of PiXL partnerships
is that learning points from these
innovations can be shared and discussed
in a mutually supportive context, so that
the current opaqueness gradually merges
into clarity on assessment and a common
language emerges for the benefit of all
our pupils.
John Catron,
PiXL Primary Central Regional Leader
Nick Guest, Headteacher,
Thorpe Primary School
The Power of Partnership
As a school that has been involved with PiXL since 2013 we have
been delighted to see an improvement in standards, particularly
the percentage of children who arrive in year 6 at level 3C and have
converted to level 4 sometimes even level 4B.
In 1982, I began a short stint of teaching in Brisbane. New to the
state of Queensland, I was a keen NQT eager to establish myself in
what was then seen as an innovative school system in Australia.
Queensland schools had just been tasked with the responsibility
of introducing ROSBA: the Revision of School-Based Assessment;
introduced to promote a radical approach to internal assessment.
The stated purpose behind these reforms was to allow teachers and
schools greater freedom to assess pupils formatively – a kind of early
‘assessment for learning’. It seems strange to think back to those times
from our current perspective that now places so much store on a
version of pupils assessment so rooted in formal, end-of-year exams.
‘Regularly analysing data to track progress and inform practice.’
7. What got you here,
won’t get you there
PiXL Partnership
in Sutton
7
Prior to joining PiXL I attended a conference led by Nick Ware
AND I was inspired by the quote, almost the PiXL Mantra,
‘what got you here won’t get you there’. I took this back to my SLT
and we instantly made the decision to join PiXL. We are one of the
lowest funded schools and we have to make very careful budget
decisions. However joining PiXL was the best thing we ever did!
The PiXL conferences leave you feeling
inspired, with a refreshed energy that you
PERSONALLY can make a difference. They
are forward thinking and I believe a reason
that recruiting for the next year has been
so much easier. PiXL conferences don’t
only leave you inspired by the speakers, it
is also the amazing opportunity to share
best practice amongst colleagues. Tracking
the children through the use of photos, the
PiXL ‘warboard’, has completely changed
our approach and is a simple method that
everyone can follow. All new members
of staff who are joining us in September
commented on the photos and how
refreshing it was to see a school driven by
the children. This is thanks to PiXL.
PiXL constantly looks for new approaches
to engage the young children - always
reminding us of our primary purpose-to
improve the children’s life chances. There
is the opportunity to involve all of the year
6 team, English and Mathematics leads.
The PiXL conferences are energising and
inspirational, creating a number of practical
ideas to action instantly. The competitions
launched annually are open to all children
and provide opportunities for the children
to explore their own creativity.
The visits throughout the year have turned
our results around. I always think I have
thought of everything then Jane, our
Associate, comes with new ideas always
making me believe fervently that I can
make a difference. I only know what I know;
I don’t know what I don’t know. PiXL fills
that knowledge gap. You are never judged
during the visits, always encouraged and
supported. We had a number of children on
the Level 4 border. The Senior Leadership
team began to worry!! Following Jane’s visit
she highlighted how close these children
were and we just needed to keep going,
trying different techniques. SATs week came
and all but one child got their Level 4. I
believe that is due to Jane and her constant
support. We had 33% Level 5 writers last
year and we were on a three year negative
trend. We set ourselves the target of
42%. This year thanks to Jane’s support
we achieved 53% Level 5 writers. I would
not be the leader I am today without the
constant support and guidance from PiXL.
In conclusion PiXL inspires me to be
innovative, more challenging.
PiXL makes you enjoy the effort and ensures
you never stop learning. You have to work
hard. The moral purpose of every child
succeeding ensures you are not deflected
from that aim.
We have realised that PiXL is a Partnership
in Excellence – and we intend to play a
very full part in that partnership and aspire
to excellence.
Sarah Morgan,
Headteacher and Raising Standards Leader,
Danesfield School
Hackbridge Primary School joined PiXL in the spring term of
this year. We have seen our children make good progress since
joining and have started PiXL intervention work in maths with
our current Year 5 children.
We have had excellent support from PiXL
and have found that the resources have
been exactly what was needed to help
children make that next step.
The schools in the partnership are Rushy
Meadow Primary School, Green Wrythe
Primary School, High View Primary School
and Cheam Fields Primary School, so thank
you to all of them for being willing to share.
I will write an update later in the year to let
everyone know how we are getting on.
Sylvia Parker, Deputy Headteacher,
Hackbridge Primary School
8. 8
2015 Type of Conference Venue
Thursday 10th September Primary National Conference
(& Associate Briefing)
The Kia Oval, London
Monday 28th September Middle Leaders Training London
Tuesday 29th September Primary Edge LEC Training York, The Grand York Hotel and Spa
Wednesday 30th September Primary Edge LEC Training London, The Kia Oval
Thursday 1st October Primary Edge LEC Training Exeter, Sandy Park Conference Centre
Monday 5th October Middle Leaders Training York
Tuesday 6th October Middle Leaders Training Manchester
Thursday 8th October Middle Leaders Training Birmingham
Thursday 15th October Middle Leaders Training Cardiff
Friday 16th October Middle Leaders Training Exeter
Tuesday 10th November Subject Conference The Kia Oval, London
Tuesday 17th November Primary Edge LEC Training Sandy Park Conferene Centre, Exeter
Wednesday 18th November Primary Edge LEC Training Macdonald Randolph Hotel, Oxford
Thursday 19th November Primary Edge LEC Training Queens Hotel, Leeds
2016 Type of Conference Venue
Tuesday 26th January Primary National Conference
(& Associate Briefing)
The Kia Oval, London
Monday 7th March Primary Regional Conference Marriott Bristol Royal Hotel
Tuesday 8th March Primary Regional Conference The Kia Oval, London
Wednesday 9th March Primary Regional Conference MTLC at the Riverside Stadium
Thursday 10th March Primary Regional Conference Manchester, venue TBC
Friday 11th March Primary Regional Conference Peterborough Marriott Hotel
Tuesday 7th June Primary Regional Conference Royal York Hotel, York
Wednesday 8th June Primary Regional Conference The Kia Oval, London
Thursday 9th June Primary Regional Conference Venue TBC, Bristol
Monday 13th June Middle Leaders Training York
Tuesday 14th June Middle Leaders Training Manchester
Wednesday 15th June Middle Leaders Training London
Tuesday 21st June Middle Leaders Training Exeter
Wednesday 22nd June Middle Leaders Training Cardiff
Monday 27th June Middle Leaders Training Birmingham
www.pixl.org.uk
Nick Ware
Director PiXL Primary
e: nickware.pixl@icloud.com
Gill McCredie
Deputy Director PiXL Primary,
Primary Regional Leader East
e: gmccredie@hotmail.co.uk
Christina Moody
Primary Regional Leader
London and Surrey
e: christinamoody@outlook.com
Norma Newell
Primary Regional Leader North East
e: sn_newell@ntlworld.com
Catherine Hayes
Primary Regional Leader North West
e: cath.hayes@icloud.com
Charlotte Ruddell
Primary Regional Leader South East
e: charlotteruddell@hotmail.co.uk
John Catron
Primary Regional Leader Central
e: john.catron@icloud.com
Jane Guest
Primary Regional Leader South West
& West and Wales
e: janeguesteducation@gmail.com
Lara Costanzo
Primary Operations Manager
m: 07810 202 939
e: lara@pixl.org.uk
Sam Ryan
PiXL Operations and Primary Edge
m: 07717 724 231
e: sam@pixl.org.uk
The PiXL Primary team
Conferences 2015-16
