What the school wanted

Helen Brougham has been headteacher at Moorhouse Primary School since 2013. After their last Ofsted inspection in 2016, the school realised they needed to improve consistency across all subjects; there were limited means of assessing foundation subjects in comparison with core ones. Feedback from inspectors highlighted reading and writing were strong at the school, but there wasn’t a clear enough picture of other subjects, so Helen believed she could make a difference, working in partnership with Frog.

They were inspired by another local school who had improved their teaching and learning through a partnership with Frog, so they were able to go in and see how it works in practice. They liked what they saw, so in September 2017 under the guidance of Frog, they implemented the platform, making incredible progress in just six months.

“Children themselves are seeing their progress and starting to feel excited about their learning – they ask if positive comments will be going on Frog so their parents can see them. It gives a competitive edge to have Frog points to award which the pupils respond well to..”

- Helen Brougham, Headteacher

The secrets of their success
 

• A group of responsible children were given the job of ‘Frog Champions’ in school and trained up on using Frog; at a Frog session for parents, these children sat with the adults and took them through the platform.
   
• There were opportunities for Frog to come in and meet the team, and to inspire them with the endless possibilities of FrogProgress.
   
• Year 3 teacher, Kimberley Jepson was given the role of Frog Champion, which is now a Teaching and Learning Responsibility position, enabling staff to constantly adapt their assessment style, feel inspired and keep up momentum with the platform.
   
• Their ultimate goal was to make everything simple, keeping workload to a minimum and allowing teachers to easily adapt to the changes.
   
• Their approach was to roll out Frog in their core subjects, one class at a time.

“It gives teachers more of a focus on foundation subjects; I plan history and geography more closely, asking, ‘what objectives do I need to achieve this half term in this topic?.”

- Kimberley Jepson, Year 3 teacher and Frog Champion

How Frog revolutionised the way the school works

Helen successfully managed resistance along the journey to implementing a new learning platform in the school. The results speak for themselves and teachers are responding positively to the changes. They are now in a strong position: they have improved consistency across all curriculum subjects and enabled the whole school to capture evidence of children’s progress. FrogProgress has allowed Moorhouse Primary School to engage with parents, encouraging them to log on and access their child’s curriculum.
 

Frog has revolutionised the way the school works because:
 

• FrogProgress allows them to upload photos and videos as they teach, enabling them to share with colleagues, parents and children, as well as capture exemplar standards.
   
• Frog has given Moorhouse Primary School the autonomy to build a curriculum that’s right for their pupils. Through close monitoring, it has allowed SLT to eliminate repetition of content to the same classes.
   
• When teachers pass on their data for end of year transition, they are able to provide total clarity on pupils’ progress and their entire learning journey. This includes progression charts, exemplar standards and evidence of each child’s personal progress. They can also supply guidance for how a child’s outcomes can be improved.
   
• The Frog methodology has encouraged Moorhouse to monitor, standardise and moderate throughout the year. This then improves teaching and learning, helping teachers to develop their practice.
   
• They have improved parental engagement by giving parents and guardians the opportunity to access their child’s educational data, examples of progress and support materials for their input.

“Frog is truly changing the way we teach – with formative, ongoing
assessment now part of everyday life in the classroom, we are serving
our pupils the best way we can.”

- Kimberley Jepson, Year 3 teacher and Frog Champion

Helen is determined to embrace time-saving methods for her staff. Her unique methods of getting buy-in from staff, have generated a good work-life balance for the team. The time invested streamlining and developing their curriculum has paid off. So, although some legwork had to be put in at the start, with the prospect of gaining holiday and evening time back, the staff came on board.

The Frog reporting system, in particular, is one of the main time-saving aspects to teachers’ lives. Some staff members initially lacked confidence in using new technology, but through the various support systems set up by the school and Frog, they have overcome any resistance.

“When pupils move schools, we send all their reports and data through Frog charts. I’ve been approached by other headteachers who love the clarity of the format and want to know more about how we’ve produced them.”

- Helen Brougham, Headteacher