SAMUEL WARD ACADEMY TRUST The Samuel Ward Academy Trust is a partnership of schools located on the Suffolk, Cambridge and Essex borders. We share the same values, face similar issues and are geographically close enough to support and challenge each other. We recognise, however, the unique characteristics of each of the communities we work in and how they are reflected in distinctive school cultures. We encourage cultural diversity, celebrate the special qualities of each of our schools and recognise that for communities to become sustainable they must develop and grow. We are not looking for corporate solutions but a partnership that respects, sustains and supports. Our model is about creating interdependence; schools that are more self-sustaining than standalone academies, less dependent than local authority schools and more independent than schools in corporate chains. However, we do all subscribe to a set of shared values, principles and operational processes that ensure quality education for all our young people. Our central belief is that every young life is special; open to possibility, gifted with the potential to change the world for the better but also bound by the limits of their own circumstances. Our ambition is to unlock the potential of all children, remove the barriers to aspiration and ensure that all our young people succeed. Our board comprises a range of trustees from commercial, banking and the public sector. Our job, as sponsor of Sybil Andrews Academy, is to ensure that the school has the support and challenge to become outstanding. We are confident that it will.
Welcome to Sybil Andrews Academy. Sybil Andrews was an internationally successful artist, gifted teacher and determined and tenacious individual who overcame many obstacles to succeed. Our school will reflect these qualities. Based on the culture that has made Samuel Ward Academy one of the most successful schools in Eastern England, Sybil Andrews Academy will ensure success for all our pupils. Our ethos is one founded on the principle of mutual respect, a strong set of values, powerful, supportive relationships and high aspirations and ambition for all. We value honesty and integrity, stimulate creativity, foster independence and celebrate resilience. We expect everyone to be the best that they can be, and yet strive to be more. Our school aims to become outstanding as quickly as possible, will sit at the heart of local community, and be the inspiration for the people that live there because we believe that ‘the best way to predict the future‌ is to create it'. Howard Lay Chief Executive Officer
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Our Values
Our ethos is one founded on the principle of mutual respect, a strong set of values, supportive relationships and high aspirations and ambition for all.
Compassion is caring about others. It is wanting tohelp those who are hurting. Compassion is showing kindness to all people. Courage is being brave when we are scared. It is being able to do something when we feel bad or fear we might fail. Hope is knowing and wanting good things to happen. Hope is doing what we can to make good things happen Integrity is being honest. It is being trustworthy. Integrity is being true to yourself and your beliefs. Justice is making sure that we treat others and ourselves fairly. Resilience is about being able to stay strong when things go wrong. Respect honours the good things that others and we do. Respect values people and things for who and what they are. Respect honours people and things of special worth. Responsibility is taking care of the people and things that are ours. Responsibility is keeping our promises. It is doing our duty for our family, school, community and country. Wisdom is gained through learning and doing. Wisdom is knowing what to do. It is knowing right from wrong, good from bad.
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Transition
We will plan our transition activities carefully to make sure that the experience is as
The School / Years 7-8 We know that starting a new secondary school might be a daunting prospect for your child. Our experience, and a great deal of educational research, also tells us that the best way to overcome this is to make your child feel safe and secure as quickly as possible. That is why Years 7 & 8 will have their own designated area or accommodation that serves as a ‘home’ for the majority of their lessons. Called ‘The School’ it is a base from which they can then access the excellent facilities elsewhere in the school and, in doing so, enrich their learning. They also have separate break and lunch times and their own outdoor spaces.
smooth as possible.
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Belonging We also know that in order to feel secure, your child will need to feel that they belong, that they that they have opportunities to make new friends.
The School / Years 7-8 We also know that in order to feel secure, your child will need to feel that they belong, that they are known well by staff and that they have opportunities to make new friends. To ensure that this happens each pupil is given a learning coach on entry to the school, a specialist member of staff that then acts as the academic and social mentor for your child. Coaching groups are small, no more than 15, and deliberately so; pupils in small groups form new, powerful friendships quickly and so feel more at home. Your child’s learning coach will do much to help them. They will be mentor, coach and advocate. They will work with you to identify your child’s strengths and passions, the barriers to their learning and the solutions to overcome them. They will invite you into school regularly to review the progress of your child, to celebrate their successes and to plan for the future.
are known well by staff and
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We will also report home four times a year and your child’s learning coach can be contacted at any time and as the need arises. We see every pupil as an individual, and we know that high quality relationships count; after all, trust needs to be well established in order to allow for challenge and growth. Providing a learning coach for every individual is one way to ensure that we get to know your child very well indeed, and in doing so help them to realise their potential.
An opportunity for your child to discuss topical issues, and to take leadership roles with the other members of
Meeting Time
The School / Years 7-8 Your child’s day will start with Meeting Time. Run by their learning coach, Meeting Time is an opportunity for your child to discuss topical issues, engage in enterprise initiatives and to take on leadership roles with the other members of their coaching group. Meeting Time focuses on the development of oracy, thinking and teamwork. It provides an opportunity for students to engage with our values and a safe, supportive environment in which to challenge their preconceptions. As your child progresses through Years 7 & 8 they, and others in their group, will increasingly take the lead in running these sessions with the learning coach becoming a facilitator and mentor, rather than a teacher. This is how we build the capacity to learn, to lead and to work with others.
engage in enterprise initiatives their tutor group.
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The Houses
Our houses are communities in themselves and they involve all pupils
The School / Years 7-8 Your child will also join one of our four houses which they will stay in until they leave Sybil Andrews Academy. Chosen because they exemplify our values, they will involve all pupils across all year groups. Each house will have its own identity and values, and these form a focus for assemblies, Meeting Time and events throughout the year.
Belonging to a house engenders pride and a sense of belonging, provides opportunities for competition and teamwork and promotes and embeds our values. The houses also provide a mechanism for pupils from all years to connect, meet and shape their identities.
from Year 7 through to Year 13.
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A Personalised Curriculum
The curriculum that your child will follow in Years 7 and 8 is one that is designed to provide at GCSE and beyond.
The School / Years 7-8 The curriculum that your child will follow in Years 7 & 8 is one that is designed to provide a firm base for continued success at GCSE and beyond. It is also a curriculum that recognises that not every child is the same. Our Challenge Curriculum offers, in addition to the National Curriculum subjects, a greater focus on languages and critical thinking, engaging students in Philosophy and Computer Science, whilst our Broad Curriculum provides access to a full range of subjects that include English, Maths, Science, French, History, Geography, the Arts, Product Design, Food & Nutrition and P.E. For those that would benefit from additional support in English and Maths, that is also available. We will work with you to help select the right curriculum for your child, and in the process of doing so, lay the foundations for GCSE success.
a firm base for continued success
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The lessons that your child will take part in will vary in length and in terms of the types of learning that takes place. Many will involve instructional activities that will help your child develop the skills needed to recall information quickly and accurately, others will have an inquiry focus, enabling students to spend longer carrying out investigations with increasing amounts of independence. In Maths, the focus will be on mastery, the process of ensuring full and complete understanding before moving on. Some lessons will be much longer, will have a practical component and will encourage the development of skills in the Arts, Product Design and Sport, whilst our Forest Schools groups will engage with outdoor learning.
Enrichment
We believe that enrichment opportunities are an essential part of
The School / Years 7-8 We believe that enrichment opportunities are an essential part of your child’s education. That is why all children will choose from a wide range of activities that take place in the last session of the school day. The range will be vast, encompassing everything from coding to cup cake decorating, Latin to Lego and drama to dodgeball. Many of these will be taught by coaches from outside of the school. Through enrichment comes the confidence borne of trying something new, of broadened experiences and of a wider set of friendships. Enrichment encourages teamwork, competition and resilience. It also develops leadership.
your child ’s education.
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At Sybil Andrews Academy we will also have an intentional focus on the development of leadership skills, with pupils being able to take part in a wide range of opportunities that encompass School Ambassadors, Language Leaders, the Duke of Edinburgh Award and the Key Stage Forums. We will recognise and accredit the development of these skills, along with a number of others, in the MidBac Award, the completion of which requires pupils to reflect on their learning and in doing so make clear the steps that they have taken.
Ambition & High Aspirations
We believe that high aspirations underpin academic achievement
The School / Years 7-8 We believe that high aspirations underpin academic achievement and personal development. We will encourage your child to believe in their potential, provide them regular feedback, ambitious targets to reach for and careers advice and guidance to help them mould their futures. We know that this is an organic process, so your child’s learning coach will review their ambitions and progress regularly. We also recognise that many of our pupils will ultimately want to consider applying to university, but that others capable of doing so may not have thought it possible for them. Our Aspiration & Challenge Programme aims to address this, providing enrichment activities run in conjunction with a number of Higher Education institutions, including the University of Cambridge. And because we are proud of the standards that our pupils can achieve, we will publish the very best work across all subjects annually in a quality volume.
and personal development.
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Your child can expect to experience excellent teaching and
Teaching
The School / Years 7-8 Samuel Ward Academy Trust also leads a Teaching Alliance called the Suffolk Borders Teaching Alliance which Sybil Andrews Academy will benefit from. It enjoys close links with a number of outstanding training providers and offers a wide range of professional development for its teaching and support staff. This will ensure that teaching is of the highest possible quality with all our teaching staff being supported effectively and many engaging with educational research of one description or another. What this means for your child is that they can expect to experience excellent teaching and outstanding learning not only during their time in Years 7 and 8 but also as they move into the Academy.
outstanding learning.
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The Academy Students arrive in the Academy in Year 9 and start their
The Academy / Years 9-11 The move into the Academy will mark a decisive moment for your child. It is in Year 9 that they will begin a transition programme towards GCSE courses and in the process develop the skills and knowledge that they will need to take public examinations at the end of Year 11. Students arrive in ‘the Academy’ in Year 9 and start their GCSE courses when ready, having secured strong foundations for their learning in Years 7 and 8. They remain in their house, though their learning coach changes, reflecting the need for specialist advice and guidance at this vital time. The learning coach creates an individual learning plan with each member of their group, spending considerable time advising them on how best to prepare for examinations, discussing their career paths and working with other staff to ensure that they are ready for the challenges of GCSE and beyond.
GCSE courses immediately.
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Peer Support Many of the eldest students will take on the role of mentors for the new
The Academy / Years 9-11 In Key Stage 4 coaching groups will remain small and Meeting Time continues, its focus remaining on the development of confidence, literacy and leadership. Our belief that positive peer to peer relationships help our students learn means that coaching groups in Year 9, 10 and 11 will be vertical. This is a key feature of life in the Academy. Our experience at Samuel Ward Academy suggests that this has a very positive impact on all year groups, with younger students learning from those slightly older than them, whilst many of the eldest students take on the role of mentors and coaches for the new members of their coaching group. When combined with the houses, vertical coaching creates an academic family that helps your child manage the transition to GCSE’s.
members of their coaching group.
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A Broad Curriculum
Students begin to increasingly tailor
The Academy / Years 9-11 The curriculum at GCSE is complex and offers a wide range of subjects to choose from as students begin to increasingly tailor their own learning. At the core of our curriculum is a belief that the English Baccalaureate (English, Maths, Science, humanities and a language) provides the best range of experiences for the vast majority of learners, and that achieving well in these subjects will enable them to access more skilled employment The majority of students will also take an Art and a Technology subject, though under these umbrellas sits an expansive list of qualifications to suit each individual, some with a strong vocational element. More able students can also take Classics in addition to separate courses in Biology, Chemistry and Physics, whilst there are other options available to students who need additional support with Maths, English and work related learning. We have developed a strong partnership with West Suffolk College which will ensure that those pupils that want to specialise in Science, technology, engineering and maths will be able to do so.
their own learning.
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Achievement
Students will make exceptional progress from their starting points,
The Academy / Years 9-11 Standards at GCSE in our lead school, Samuel Ward Academy have, for a number of years, been in the top 10% of schools nationally and regularly have more students achieving the EBACC than the national average. The reason for this is the attention given to trying to meet the individual needs and interests of each student, as well as the outstanding teaching that will be delivered by our staff. As a result, students make exceptional progress from their starting points, no matter their ability. Ultimately this leads on to A Level success, access to apprenticeships or progression into other areas of Further Education. Our achievements will be celebrated in other ways too.
no matter their ability.
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Leadership We offer a plethora of leadership qualifications, many of them
The Academy / Years 9-11 The focus on leadership development will remain as students progress into the Academy. We will offer a plethora of leadership qualifications, many of them nationally accredited like the Junior Community Sports Leaders Award, the Duke of Edinburgh Award and Young Enterprise, as well as positions as Peer Mentors, Ambassadors, Language Leaders, Learning Leaders and more. Many of the students that engage with these schemes will also help out in our summer school, and in doing so help the next generation of students to successfully make the transition to Sybil Andrews Academy. Our students also connect with people their own age from different parts of the world. We will develop annual exchanges with other European countries and links to schools across the world as part of an educational schools programme.
nationally accredited.
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Partnership We know that real success is achieved through
The Academy / Years 9-11 We believe that a positive mind-set can make a significant difference to a learner’s sense of themselves and of what they can achieve, so we provide targeted feedback, plenty of practice and an enormous amount of emotional support to ensure that our students are ready to encounter the challenges they will face. We have a strong focus on the building of resilience and, through our programme of carefully considered examination preparation, we help our students master the techniques they will need in order to be successful. We know, however, that real success is achieved through partnership and mutual support, so we will also work with you to ensure that you feel well equipped to support your child in their learning. When students leave the Academy they will have grown in confidence, further developed their leadership skills and achieved the high quality examination results and learning habits that they need to progress. These skills will help your child to realise their ambition and they will be living proof that the best way to predict the future is to create it.
partnership and mutual support.
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Working Together
Opening the wide range of opportunities there are in the
College STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) are at the forefront of economic growth for this region and demand for these skills and knowledge from employers is ever increasing. There has never been a more important time to invest in educating our young people in STEM. We aim to inspire young people to engage with STEM and develop their skills to enter STEM careers. We will be working with outstanding vocational partners to make the link between the practical skills learnt in the classroom or workshop, to the wide range of opportunities there are in the world of work. These partners will offer industry standard facilities and training, all the way through to degree level, by highly skilled professionals who are experts in their field. By working closely with business and employers we will ensure that our training is relevant for today’s competitive world of work. STEM careers offer some of the most highly paid job roles around and our specialist provision, combined with our valuable insight into industry, will ensure that our learners are in the best position to maximise their potential.
world of work
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Sybil Andrews Academy, c/o Samuel Ward Academy Trust Chalkstone Way, Haverhill, Suffolk. CB9 0LD Tel: 01440 761511 Fax: 01440 761899 www.sybilandrewsacademy.co.uk saa@sybilandrewsacademy.co.uk