by Wahaaj with Izzah
In 2014, Bradford was named as one of 13 areas where children have a less than 50 per cent chance of attending a good or outstanding school. In that same year and in the heart of inner-city Bradford, Luke Sparkes received a very different kind of accolade. The school he founded was the first secondary free school to be judged Outstanding by Ofsted. The founding Principal of Trinity Academy agreed to speak to City Bugle about schools, food and lockdown life.
Schools in Yorkshire lag behind national average according to OFSTED. We often read schools and academies in Bradford do badly, yet you have managed to create a school of national excellence and demand for places is sky high. How does Dixons Trinity exceed, where so many other schools with pupils from a similar background struggle and even fail?
It is not just Dixons Trinity, our well-established model at Dixons has, on average, added almost a grade to every GCSE taken across our Trust, significantly closed the disadvantaged gap and made us the second highest performing Trust in the country.
Our academies serve areas of educational and social disadvantage exclusively and are designed around our most vulnerable students. We are ambitious for every child and highly inclusive.
We have tried to take the best ideas from academies, maintained schools, the independent sector and abroad. No individual element of our practice is revolutionary. Others have said that it is the way in which those ideas have been combined and embedded with rigour and simplicity that has allowed us to be so successful. We do not believe in off-the-shelf strategies or practices; there is no silver bullet. It is really about being values driven, having clear vision, focusing relentlessly on results, operating strict routines, doing the simple things well every day, and building strong relationships at all levels.
Local MPs Imran Hussain and Naz Shah have blamed austerity on underperformance of schools. Is it that simple, a case of pumping in more money?
Money does matter and the financial pressures over recent years have meant schools have had to make tough decisions and difficult choices. However, money is not the only factor – some schools were underperforming long before austerity.
I would take money off the table by ensuring all schools are funded properly and then invest in school leadership and teacher development to address the achievement gap for poor students.
And we must never underestimate the importance of crafting a great culture. Without a strong culture, more money and, irrespective of how successful it appears in design, a new strategy or innovation will be squandered. That’s why, at Dixons, culture is everything.
It would be great to hear our local politicians praise those schools in Bradford that are performing strongly and challenging the status quo. Some of the best schools in the country are based in Bradford.
How did you come up with the idea of opening a new academy?
Dixons Academies was built around the high-performing Dixons City Academy, which opened in 1990 as one of only fifteen City Technology Colleges nationally.
CTCs were the first state-funded schools independent of local authority control, a model which became the template for Labour’s academy initiative a decade later.
Always at the cutting edge, from 2012, we embraced the Free School initiative, opening Dixons Trinity and Dixons Music primary that year.
Our Trust now comprises 12 schools across Bradford and Leeds: 3 primaries, 6 secondaries, 2 all-through and one standalone sixth form. We run both new schools meeting growing demand and sponsored academies addressing educational failure.
What are you most proud of when you think about your schools?
I feel very lucky to work for Dixons and with such exceptional colleagues across our 12 academies. I’m most proud of the difference that our schools make to the lives of our student
We have integrity and are true to our mission: on the whole, all students study for the same high-value qualifications which have currency in the worlds of higher education and employment, such as the EBacc.
We have a total commitment to transforming life chances, rather than taking easier routes to performance table success. The interests of students and their learning are at the heart of all we do. I am also particularly proud to be the founding Principal of Dixons Trinity which holds the accolade of being the first secondary free school to be judged Outstanding.
Dixons Trinity attracts many visitors nationally and internationally to learn how it achieves some of the very highest results in the country.
What is the one thing you would like to improve about your schools?
As a Trust, we all share a common drive to make our schools the very best they can be. We can always do better and we try to get a little better each and every day. But is there anything specific you would change regarding secondary schools?
Dixons Trinity has always been a reflective place to work, the team are always looking to get better and always looking for areas to change or improve. Just now, leaders are looking at how the approach to homework can be refined to ensure the curriculum is remembered in detail.
What are your plans for the future?
Firstly, we want to ensure consistently high standards across our academies in Bradford and Leeds. Then, we plan to move to Liverpool and Manchester to build a North West hub and provide a Dixons education to 20,000 students across the North.
Have any of your childhood experiences influenced the way you run your schools? My most important core value is fairness. Even as a young child, I have always struggled to manage my emotions when I feel something is unfair. That’s why one of our 3 core values at Dixons Trinity is fairness and that’s why I am so committed to our mission at Dixons – to challenge educational and social disadvantage in the North.
How was Luke Sparkes as a child, teenager and would he be surprised to see where he is now?
I was fortunate to have a very happy childhood. I did well at school, but only because I worked hard. I’m not surprised that I went on to become a teacher, but I never thought that I would go on to lead a group of schools.
Has your view of teaching changed since you have had children of your own?
Having my own children has provided a richness to how I view teaching. I no longer teach, but I think it also increased my patience and understanding in the classroom. It has certainly made me better able to see things from a parent’s point of view.
Has Dixons Trinity Chapeltown maintained the high expectations that Dixons Trinity in Bradford has?
Absolutely. With only a Reception class, Year 1, Year 2, Year 7 and Year 8, in temporary accommodation, and yet to have its first inspection, there are already strong signs of outstanding practice at the academy.
Reception children made 2.5 times the progress made nationally, and in Year 1 100% of the children met the expected standard in the phonics screening check – a quite remarkable achievement. Year 7 reading ages were raised by an average of 17 months in a ten-month period. With the primary not yet three years old and the secondary under two, both phases are already oversubscribed. This is the best measure of local community support for a school and reflect a very strong reputation established in a very short time-frame.
In terms of COVID-19 your school acted fast, and plans were in place before lockdown even began to support students. Speaking to pupils from other schools we’ve noticed that many parents and pupils are complaining they are not getting the same level of support that we are having at Dixons Trinity. What steps do you think will need to be take in place, for schools to re-open after quarantine?
Firstly, we would never be critical of or stand in judgement over our colleagues in other schools. Each school has different circumstances and challenges. Dixons Trinity is a routines-driven school and we think that might have helped staff and students transition to distance learning. However, as I said before, our culture is what drives our academies at Dixons and that has been hugely important over the last few months. We all trust one another and have strong relationships – that can survive being apart for such a long time.
A question that is on all our minds, but difficult perhaps to answer right now - when could we expect schools to be reopening?
I think it is important to remember that schools haven’t actually been closed. When the rest of the country was asked to stay at home, teachers were leaving their homes on a daily basis to support vulnerable children and key workers’ children – through term time and holidays.
Last week, schools started to open more widely for some year groups. As such, Reception, Year 1, Year 6, Year 10 and Year 12 students should have some experience back in school before the end of the summer term.
As for other year groups, I think the use of a rota system to bring back more students in September is the most likely scenario.
As you are not from West Yorkshire, what do you like about it?
I will always be proud to come from Merseyside. And, as a die-hard fan of Everton FC and St Helens RLFC, I will never be able to bring myself to swap allegiance from Red Rose to White Rose.
However, Yorkshire is a beautiful and fascinating part of the country – ‘God’s Own County’ no less. As a geographer, Yorkshire’s dramatic topography is a key part of its appeal. However, I also enjoy the city life, so it’s great to live close to Leeds, which I believe is one of the best cities in the UK, and to work in Bradford, which is rich in history and culture, and has some very exciting schools.
Students of Trinity Academy follow a unique learning programme. Could you please elaborate on one of the mainstays of Trinity and talk about the purpose of the Hundred Percent books?
Our 100% books include all the Knowledge Organisers for the units of work studied across the EBacc subjects in a given year.
Knowledge Organisers are just places to put the blunt bits that impede learning happening unless they are learnt to the point of automaticity. They are your times tables. Or your Spanish verb endings. You can’t learn something new or the exciting bits that come after if, every lesson, your teacher has to remind you of those.
At Dixons, our Knowledge Organisers are mainly used for homework and to help students to ‘know stuff in service of being able to think effectively’. They can be used to ensure the ‘stuff’ is in long-term memory so this does not become an impediment in lesson.
How does it feel to be an Executive Principal of three schools?
As I said earlier, I feel very lucky to work for Dixons and with such exceptional colleagues across our 12 academies. The way in which our students and staff live our mission and values every day is truly inspiring.
What hobbies do you have under lockdown?
Outside of work and home-schooling my children, I have had very little time for hobbies during lockdown. I have tried to exercise most days though.
How difficult is it to manage three schools when the government says one thing and the teaching unions say another?
This does feel like a crucial time for our profession – a time that requires collaboration rather than discord. However hard it may be, it’s only right that we should be engaging and working positively.
What is your favourite food? And how are your culinary skills?
My culinary skills are limited, but I am lucky that my wife is a really good cook and makes great Indian food, which is my favourite.
Any specific dish that you really like?
I love lamb dishes and recipes from the award winning Dishoom restaurants.
Is there any show or movie that’s grabbed your attention but don’t you haven’t enough time watch?
I don’t have a lot of time to watch shows or movies, but I do binge on Netflix now and again.
If you were stuck on a desert island what two books would you take with you? And why?
I would have to say the two books that inspired our approach at Dixons Trinity:
Drive, Dan Pink
The Advantage, Patrick Lencion
These books sound great, if you had a choice of taking an inanimate object with you to the desert island what would it be?
If the object must not be animate or overly practical, then I would have to say a photo album: to remember my family.
What is your one single biggest regret in life?
I try not to have regrets, but I do wish I had travelled more in my 20s and 30s.
Looking back on your life, is there a moment of joy that stands out?
The birth of my 3 children.
How do you motivate yourself to run three schools?
I am driven by my values and a determination to make a difference where it matters most as well as be the best I can be.