Pembroke School - Goal Mapping

Testimonial by Pete Spencer, Deputy head-teacher with responsibility for Pupil Achievement, Pembroke School, Pembrokeshire, West Wales.

The school decided to undertake a large project to encourage every child in the school to raise their aspirations and aim higher.  Year 9 are at such a pivotal point of their school life I wanted them to have a clear plan for what they wanted to achieve in the future, where they wanted to be in 2 years time etc.  I wanted the school to have a purpose and I wanted this to trigger an informed options selection process.

When I discussed the Goal Mapping programme offered by LIFT International I was delighted with the idea, I was particularly impressed by the way that Brian Mayne was able to adapt the programme to meet my schools specific needs, but this was largely organisational, I decided to take the package off the peg as it fitted the children’s needs perfectly.  I was concerned that what was clearly a successful business package would translate to be equally effective with school children.  The many planning conversations I had with Brian allayed these fears.  Given that Brian was addressing the whole year group it was very cost effective and therefore I decided to take what I thought was a gamble.

The programme was superbly presented in a way that engages pupils fully throughout the day.  Not only was the material appropriate, but it was thought provoking, stimulating and most importantly effective. Every child left the day with a clear plan of where they were going and how they were going to get there.  I loved the way the children presented their final plans.  Objective achieved.

Pupils, parents and staff feedback was extremely positive and it was evident that the vast majority of pupils had benefited immensely from the day. 

The results have been dramatic, Year 9 went on to achieve the schools best ever set of SATS results, with performance in all subjects improving.  Girls performance in Maths and Science, normally a concern, improved by 30%.  The Goal Mapping programme clearly made a contribution to these improvements.

The programme’s a permanent strand in the school’s drive to raise achievement, it will be a regular feature with Year 9 groups in January.  I am certain the programme would be useful to any age of pupil.

I would recommend the programme unreservedly.

Pete Spencer

Deputy Headteacher

Pembroke School

By Pete Spencer