Investors in Pupils

We are proud to have been awarded the Investors in Pupils award.

In June 2018, Cockburn School were successful in a self-validation assessment and secured a 'Proficient' Investors in Pupils accreditation and gained full accreditation with no action points for improvement. 

September 2020: IIP reps were being nominated for each form group and they are responsible for the up keep of the form folder and form board.

“Cockburn School has an abundance of talented, creative and enthusiastic students.”
Investors in Pupils Assessor

In July 2015 the Investors in Pupils Assessor wrote to our students saying:

• “You were all extremely polite, friendly and well behaved. You are obviously proud of your school and the work you are doing to make it an even better place for everyone.”
• “I was very pleased to find out about the many things the staff do to help you as they obviously work hard to make the school such a good place to be where everyone enjoys their learning.”
• “You gave me many examples of the ways you have taken responsibility for your learning, how you have supported each other and how you have contributed to the development of the school and the community.”

The assessor noted the following:

• you work together to make this school a better place for everyone and the rules, targets and rewards are very important to you
• you help and care for each other especially younger students, newcomers and visitors to the school
• behaviour is excellent and you really enjoy taking responsibility
• you enjoy coming to school and you understand how your learning will help you in the future
• your teachers make lessons interesting and you get a lot of opportunities to take responsibility for your learning
• you are very keen to achieve your targets especially relating to attendance and punctuality
• your ideas are listened to and are taken forward through the School Council
• you have a good understanding of the different roles of school staff, the finances of the school and the importance of looking after equipment and resources
• you really enjoy the various enrichments such as teams, competitions, clubs, trips and activities which you take part in
• you are rightly proud of the fundraising activity you do in supporting the Kyle Asquith foundation both for the school and for the wider community.

The full Investors in Pupils Award report features a host of strengths about our school including:

• Investors in Pupils is clearly supported by teaching colleagues and support staff alike as evidenced through a teaching colleague who commented “Students take ownership, understand school better which has impacted on their behaviour and attendance; it’s like a family almost.”
• what was abundantly clear from the School Council presentation was that students have the opportunity to make a difference at both the day-to-day, and strategic level at Cockburn school
• the importance of Attitude to Learning is not only referenced by parents but throughout the assessment day by members of the whole school community. Students also demonstrated a good understanding of the impact of attendance on learning
• the school and classrooms are particularly clean, tidy and well cared for, ensuring productive learning environments. Students recognise their shared responsibility for maintaining the expected standards of cleanliness and organisation, reflecting their appreciation of the cost of resources
• students evidently enjoy, and recognise the importance of, coming to Cockburn School. This was appropriately summarised by one student commenting “Attendance has improved, you’re investing in yourself”.
• no areas for development were identified. School should continue to work with its students on future school development and improvements and consider how the good Investors in Pupils provision can be shared with other schools.

“It was a pleasure to encounter such confident, articulate, polite and happy young people.” Investors in Pupils Award report.

Click here to go to the Investors in Pupils website to find out more.

There are 5 Key Areas for the award:

1. Learning
2. Behaviour
3. Attendance (including punctuality)
4. Classroom Management
5. Induction

There are 14 criteria for the assessment:

1. Vision statements in each class/group developed by its members, which define its aims
2. Class/group targets are developed by members of each class
3. All pupils have identified and agreed a personal target with a staff member
4. Pupils have negotiated rewards and ways to recognise success
5. All new pupils, staff and visitors have an effective induction to the class/group
6. Pupils can describe how the development of supporting adults has a positive impact on pupils, staff and the local community
7. Class/group members understand that every pupil is unique and receives support to meet their individual needs
8. Pupils understand the different roles and responsibilities of supporting adults and how they contribute to their learning and help them to achieve
9. Pupils understand their individual roles and responsibilities in the class/group and the contribution they make to the school community
10. All Pupils have the opportunity to take on additional roles and responsibilities in the school
11. All pupils feel they have the opportunity to express their opinion and have a say in decisions that affect them
12. All pupils feel listened to and effective feedback strategies are in place
13. Pupils have a financial understanding of money, budgeting and resource costs within school
14. Pupils understand the role of governance

Our focus was also on continuing to promote and raise awareness of our school charity – The Kyle Asquith Foundation – with students organising events to raise money for this worthy cause.