“‘The school prioritises pupils’ personal development. Pupils engage positively in enrichment activities.” Ofsted
HEADTEACHER’S WELCOME
On behalf of The Kemnal Academies Trust (TKAT), the Governors, staff, and students, I am delighted to welcome you to Havant Academy.
At Havant Academy, our ethos of being Ready, Respectful, and Safe underpins everything we do. These principles shape our culture, guiding students to be prepared for learning, considerate towards others, and confident in an environment where they can thrive.
We believe that celebrating our differences and embracing diversity is essential to building a strong, inclusive community. By fostering tolerance and understanding, we create a safe space where every individual feels valued and respected. This commitment helps our students appreciate unique perspectives and prepares them to contribute positively to a diverse and ever-changing society.
We are committed to providing a climate where every student is known, supported, and encouraged to succeed. We believe passionately that our students deserve, and can achieve, the very best outcomes. High aspirations and expectations are central to our work, and we ensure that effort and achievement are both recognised and celebrated.
Our broad and balanced curriculum equips students with the knowledge, skills, and values they need to achieve academic success and to make a positive contribution to society. By engaging fully with their learning, our students develop the confidence and resilience to access a wide range of opportunities post-16, enabling them to lead happy, fulfilling, and successful lives.
At Havant Academy, every child matters. Each has unique potential, and it is our responsibility to nurture and develop this through excellent teaching, personalised support, and strong pastoral care. With the dedication of our teachers, staff, and governors, we provide an education that prepares our students not only for examinations, but also for the challenges and opportunities of the future.
We are proud to be at the heart of our local community and aspire to be the school of choice for all families in the area.
Miss Vicki Dillon-Thiselton Headteacher
THE HAVANT WAY
Through the Havant Way we seek to develop successful relationships while creating a culture of good behaviour: for learning, for community and for life.
We aim to build a community which values kindness, care, respect, tolerance and empathy for others and to help learners take control over their behaviour and be responsible for the consequences of it. Through encouraging positive behaviour patterns, we can promote good relationships throughout the academy community built on trust and understanding.
We believe that as students practise these behaviours, over time they become habits that positively shape how they feel about themselves and how other people perceive them.
The Havant Way reflects our three core values: Ready, Respectful, Safe
Ready - students are prepared to learn (e.g., they have the right equipment, they listen, they follow instructions).
Respectful - students show respect to themselves, peers, staff, and their environment. Safe - students act in ways that keep themselves and others physically and emotionally safe.
These values are simple, memorable and universal. They cover nearly every situation in school life - whether it's classroom behaviour, conduct in the corridors, breaktime interactions, or being in assemblies. These are our positive and clear expectations of every member of the school community.
Safeguarding
At Havant Academy we are fully committed to keeping members of our school community SAFE and promoting the welfare of the young people in our school. We expect all staff, volunteers and visitors to share this commitment. We aim to provide a caring, positive, safe and stimulating environment which promotes the social, physical and moral development of the individual child, and strives to make sure that every student in the school feels SAFE, well cared for, and able to reach their full potential. The school has an extensive, dedicated and well-trained safeguarding team who ensure that the safety and wellbeing of members of our school community are at the heart of all that we do.
“The personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education curriculum is coherently designed. Pupils learn vital age-appropriate sex and relationships education. ” Ofsted
TRANSITION
Students join Havant Academy from a wide range of primary schools, and we work closely with all of them. Our Transition Team and support staff work with both primary colleagues and students to ensure children are READY for the transition, and can settle as quickly as possible into Year 7 life at Havant Academy. We know that the transition from Primary to Secondary can be an anxious time for both students and parents/carers and that is why transition at Havant Academy starts long before students walk through the door. Our Transition framework includes the following:
• Open Evening
• Open Week to see the Academy during the school day
• Staff visits to our feeder primary schools
• Transition taster days throughout the year
• Transition week in the summer term
• Head of Year assembly at feeder schools
“Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe online. Staff are well trained and vigilant, fully understanding the importance of reporting any concerns to the relevant trained personnel.” Ofsted
CURRICULUM
At Havant Academy, we deliver an exciting, broad and balanced curriculum, which aims to provide all students with the knowledge, and skills they need to leave our school academically successful, therefore making a positive contribution to society.
We intend that, by experiencing this Curriculum, all students will be able to access the best further and higher education pathways; Apprenticeships, or the world of work, and lead successful, happy and fulfilling lives.
At Key Stage 3, students access all subjects and our Curriculum meets, and often extends beyond National Curriculum requirements, lasting for three years to ensure breadth and depth. We are ambitious in what we expect students to achieve during this Key Stage, and aspire for all our students to make strong progress with us.
At Key Stage 4, we intend that all students continue to follow a broad, core Curriculum which builds on the breadth of experience at Key Stage 3. Through our ‘Careers’ programme, students receive careful guidance to help them select their Option subjects to ensure the most appropriate education pathways post Key Stage 4.
KS4 CURRICULUM
In addition to the core curriculum, in Key Stage 4 students have the following options to study:
• History
• Geography
• Spanish
• German
• Religious Studies
• Business Studies
• Music
• Art
• Citizenship
• Dance
• Drama
• Health and Social Care
• Hospitality and Catering
• Travel and Tourism
• Sport
• Animal Care
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Our Personal Development Programme strives to ensure that every student is READY to enter the next stage of their life, irrespective of what path they have chosen. We pride ourselves on developing RESPECTFUL responsible young people with the morals and values to contribute and succeed in society.
The programme is delivered through our timetabled PSHE and Life Skills sessions, and through three annual ‘Game Changer’ Days, involving learning centred on PSHE, Citizenship, Careers and IT/Computing. Our PSHE lessons cover Health and Wellbeing, Living in the Wider World and Relationships and Sex Education.
“‘Game Changer’ Days help them learn vital knowledge about, for example, future career opportunities or team building skills.”
Ofsted
At Havant Academy, we believe good reading skills enable our students to be READY to lead a successful life. We have an ambition to create fluent readers who value reading. Reading is a core part of Academy life and we place significant emphasis on reading in subjects across the curriculum. We also dedicate specific time in the school day to reading, three mornings of each school week. During this time, students are read to by their tutors, and follow the story in their own books. The book titles have been selected in collaboration with students, so that they are age appropriate but sufficiently challenging and interesting. In addition to our classroom reading provision, we have a large and well-stocked library.
We are proud that we subscribe to the School Library Service and that means the school receives copies of the latest books as well as support with online services such as SORA, a digital platform that our students use to access reading material online. The library is open to all students before school, at break times and after school. The library provides a calm space for students to immerse themselves in the stories they love.
We encourage students to loan books from the library to take home, our dedicated library manager along with our teaching staff guide students in their reading journey. In Years 7, 8 and 9 students have dedicated reading lessons as part of their English provision. During these sessions, students explore texts under the supervision of their English teacher, and take online quizzes to enable staff to measure comprehension. We test students at least twice per academic year for their reading age so that we are able to celebrate students making good progress with their reading, identify and provide the right levels of support if needed.
For students who need additional support with reading, a tiered intervention system is in place, enabling students to catch up quickly. This ranges from classroom level support to small group intervention and 1 to 1 phonics provision where appropriate, all of which is delivered by our specially trained and experienced staff. We are proud that our students leave Havant Academy as articulate young people, confident in their reading and comprehension ability.
INCLUSIVE CURRICULUM
We are a fully inclusive school and offer a personalised curriculum providing support for the needs of all our students. This includes challenging the most able and supporting those who find learning more difficult. As part of this curriculum, we have introduced a Stellar group within Key Stage 3 for our most able students.
Academic excellence - What is the Stellar Group?
At Havant Academy, we believe in nurturing the full potential of every student, ensuring that each individual is challenged, supported, and inspired to excel. Our Stellar Group is specifically designed for students who demonstrate exceptional academic ability, intellectual curiosity, and a passion for learning.
This group provides a stimulating and enriched curriculum tailored to meet the needs of students who are working above their age-related expectations.
It offers a more rigorous and in-depth study of subjects, allowing students to engage in higher-level thinking, creative problemsolving, and independent learning.
What is different about the Stellar Group curriculum?
We believe that the ability to communicate across multiple languages is a key skill in the 21st century. This is why a central feature of the Stellar curriculum is the study of two languages starting in Year 7: German alongside Spanish.
Stellar Group students will be supported in reading a variety of texts in a range of subjects that will widen the depth and breadth of their knowledge and understanding.
Stellar Group students will attend additional workshops on a range of topics which may include: etymology, philosophy, astronomy and complete multiple projects that require independent research and group collaboration.
We want to ensure that students who are academically gifted or talented have the challenge and support they need to reach their potential.
The aim of the Stellar Group is to support students to achieve grades 7-9 at GCSE and to be well prepared for attending Russell Group Universities.
“We have had great support from the Head of Year 7 and the teachers.” Parent/Carer
The Stellar Group is open to students who:
• Demonstrate a high aptitude for academic subjects.
• Show enthusiasm for learning and a proactive attitude.
• Meet the entry criteria based on assessments, teacher recommendations, and prior performance.
• Entry assessments are conducted during the transition to Key Stage 3 or based on Key Stage 2 results. This is reviewed throughout the year.
Additional Learning Needs
At Havant Academy, we provide a tailored provision to support all students with additional learning needs. Whether it is through targeted in class support, or specialist interventions, students receive the extra support they need to succeed. If you have any further questions about how your child can be supported with us, please contact our SEND Department.
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Qualifications are very important, but our school strives to provide students with more than academic success. A growing range of curriculum and enrichment opportunities and activities enable our students to develop their confidence, individual interests and skills. Students are encouraged to participate in creative, sporting, cultural and community activities. They can join a range of sports, performing arts, STEM and creative clubs linked to the curriculum. In addition, students also have the opportunity during their time in school to take on a variety of responsibilities in a range of Junior Leader roles. These positions enable them to develop both as individuals and as members of a team. Educational visits are also a major feature of our enrichment and the school offers a busy programme of cultural and study trips including water sports, visits to museums and theatres as well as international travel to places such as Paris, Barcelona, Berlin and the Alps.
STUDENT SUPPORT
We are proud to provide a wide range of support services for our students and recognise the importance of student’s wellbeing. Students are well supported by an experienced support team who are committed to enabling students to engage positively with their learning.
We strive to forge a positive working partnership between home and school to ensure our children achieve their potential in a caring and positive learning environment.
At Havant Academy we pride ourselves on delivering effective pastoral care by an experienced team of the Senior Leadership Team, Heads of Year, SENCO, Form Tutors, ACE Team and Key Workers.
Our Form Tutors represent the primary point of contact at Havant and will deal with the majority of questions or concerns that may arise. For more serious issues, the Head of Year is there to support you and your child, both in terms of their academic progress and for any significant pastoral issues that may arise. You can contact your child’s Form Tutor or Head of Year by phone, email or letter. Our Attendance Team should be kept informed about illness, absence or any change in home circumstances to enable them to pinpoint any need for additional support. Each Tutor Group will be assigned to one of our ‘Houses’ and participate in a wide variety of House competitions throughout the year, and in particular inter-house competitions.
At Havant Academy, we are very proud to provide the TKAT ACE (A Champion for Every Child) Programme for our students.
ACE Tutors may be senior leaders, teachers, learning assistants, pastoral or support staff who are passionate about providing extra support to students to remove ‘life’ barriers to learning and engagement. They work closely with individual students in 1:1 meetings and collaboratively. This is all done in close partnership with parents and carers.
The role of the ACE Tutor is to be the advocate for students who may otherwise struggle in silence, for students who may be juggling an array of responsibilities or for students who may just need someone to believe in them. They will also liaise between teachers and parents/carers to ensure that as a team all those who play a part in supporting the student share the barriers and strategies between them to ensure our students are READY for their next steps.
ACE Tutors get to know their students by discussing how they feel about school and their learning, their hobbies and interests and their future aspirations. Once relationships are established, each student meets with their ACE Tutor, where discussions may be centred around the areas detailed here:
• Attendance
• Relationships
• Careers and goals
• Effective study habits
• Skills and hobbies
• Health
• Confidence
• Initiative
• Leadership
• Resilience
“Without a doubt, being a part of the student leadership team has had many perks, but also having our opinions heard and being able to act on them to make a change that is beneficial to all. I highly recommend that anyone passionate about making a change, really considers a role in the team, you won't regret it.”
Year 7 Student
TKAT
THE KEMNAL ACADEMY TRUST (TKAT)
We have been part of the TKAT family of schools since 2010. The TKAT ethos, which Havant Academy subscribes to, is as follows: ACHIEVING MORE TOGETHER.
TKAT is an educational Trust that respects the identity of each school, driven by the desire to add value and inspire a community of aspirational learners. The key objective of TKAT is to ensure that the life chances of all pupils in our Academies are significantly improved as a result of our educational provision. TKAT is committed to providing outstanding teaching and learning to enable all pupils to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.
“Pupils benefit from participating in enrichment activities that extend the curriculum. They enjoy participating in business and accounting club, solving puzzles, learning about animation and receiving support for revisions skills” Ofsted
