If something isn’t working, it should seem obvious that continuing to do that thing over and over again in the same way would be a little foolish.

But in 2015, that’s exactly what we were doing: we were below the national benchmark for resit grades in English and maths and yet we were putting students through the same learning experiences they had been through for years in the schools system.

So we decided to change things. Drastically. At the start of the 2016-17 academic year, we split our teaching of this group of students into two different approaches.

For half of their time, the students would be learning as they always had: in classrooms with a standard approach to teaching and learning - teacher-led, lecture and practise. But for the other half of their instruction time, everything would be different: where they worked, how they worked and who they worked with.

The teaching in the “new half” was a mix of 121 support and learning online. We purchased enough Chromebooks for students to use in the sessions, and then utilised a number of online tools that would take the learners through the content. In maths, we used Hegarty Maths; in English, GCSEPod. Both platforms allow learners to watch and engage in specific, purposeful content for which they then complete assessments and receive instant feedback.

We also developed a purpose-built, in-house maths and English app on which staff could upload and share resources.

These sessions took place in new “Independent Learning Zones” - we converted old classrooms and knocked down walls to create new spaces with colourful sofas. We wanted these rooms to look as far removed from classrooms as possible.

We didn’t want staff who “taught” in these spaces, but rather staff who supported independent learning. So we recruited the posts of ILZ teaching-assistant apprentices, as well as maths and English study coaches.

The study-coach role was created to be the point of contact for students while they were in the ILZ. We wanted to ensure that we had staff in the ILZ with sufficient knowledge of maths and English specifications, and the content being delivered by teachers. They worked closely with the rest of the maths or English staff and benefited from seeing the learners with other teachers.

The ILZ teaching-assistant apprentice role was not about being a curriculum expert but assisting students when they needed quick questions answered.

The implementation went well, but there were some issues we had not foreseen. We would sometimes have more learners in the spaces than we had capacity for, as learners were attending and dropping into the ILZs for a variety of reasons: to complete maths and English activities, independent study and coursework, and to receive support to develop their study skills and digital literacy.

That meant we had to ensure behaviour was managed carefully. This wasn’t about stamping out high-level bad behaviour but instead taking a consistent approach so that students knew they were there to learn and not to use it as a social space to chill out or eat lunch. We tackled this by reinforcing expectations and emphasising the positives that the space could bring if used correctly. We had to stress the importance of undertaking maths and English work away from the one-and-a-half hours in the traditional classroom.

Another issue was that new students to college struggled with the concept of independently exploring problems and finding their own solutions to questions before asking for help from the support team. To counter this, in the second year of the project we started all our learners on a small course focused on resilience and other key skills that we felt they had not developed prior to coming to college.

And we also had to ensure that staff understood the new approach. A huge consideration for anyone wanting to innovate in a similar way should be to offer adequate professional development for staff. While this may sound simple, it is a point that’s often overlooked. For the new spaces, we ensured that existing and new members of staff had sufficient knowledge and understanding of what we were trying to achieve; we then provided them with the necessary training, guidance and support.

Overall, the approach was a success. Attendance increased and learners were asking for the spaces to be opened prior to college classes starting - and to stay open later than normal classes. We now have an increased amount of space where learners can get hold of learning support away from classroom sessions, as well as more accessible spaces in which to undertake independent study, with or without support.

In our 2018 Ofsted inspection, the regulator was impressed by the spaces and how they were being used to extend learning beyond traditional classrooms. This wasn’t the reason why we created them, but it was nice to receive vindication for the impact they were having on learning based on what inspectors had seen and heard from staff and learners.

Our maths and English GCSE results have improved: learners are now making, on average, an improvement of one grade.

We now have 20 ILZs - all embedded in each department’s own budget - that have become an integral part of the curriculum design for all subjects. We are continually reviewing the impact that the spaces are having, through learning walks and by engaging with learners to hear their views.

We are also launching a new digital passport for learners through which they will be supported to develop key independent-learning skills that we feel prepare them for the pedagogical approach that we are driving as a college.

Are changes of this size easy? No. But ultimately the goal every teacher in our college has is to see our students thrive and if this means adapting the way we do things and trying new approaches, we will do that. When it pays off, as this has, all the effort is worth it.

Steve Hope is head of independent learning at Leeds City College

This article originally appeared in the 20 SEPTEMBER 2019 issue under the headline “Knocking down walls to build up independent learning skills”