Headlines By James Saunders 2nd July 2021
With only two full weeks left the end of term will soon be upon us. This week we welcomed a group of visitors from an organisation called Challenge Partners. They came to review our school and the progress we have made over the last year and a bit since our last review. It was a real opportunity to recognise the great work that everyone has done over the last year. Despite facing a pandemic we have not stood still. Our visitors really enjoyed their visit. From the moment they arrived they were speaking positively about our school. The aim of the visit was to review and celebrate the progress we have made over the last year and confirm that we are moving in the right direction going forward. To that end the visit was a success. We will spend some time collating the feedback which will help to shape the details of our development plan priorities next year. The good news is that we are focusing on the right things so it will all be about refinement and the pursuit of excellence. Some things that they particularly praised included the behaviour and conduct of our learners. They were quite blown away with how lovely they all are and how articulate they are when discussing their learning and progress. They concluded that our systems were highly effective in creating a culture where everyone can thrive in lessons. Another key aspect was the work we have been doing on curriculum - what we teach and why we teach it. After speaking with our excellent team of subject leaders they were able to triangulate what they were told by popping into lessons and seeing the learners and teachers in action - this backed up the planning and vision each of them had. As a result they concluded we were running an effective school.
Next week we will be again focusing on lessons and will be getting into as many as possible to review where we are now. Whereas the Challenge Partners review looked more closely at the strategy for developing the school, triangulated through activities such as learning explorations and discussions, next week will be more about where we are now regarding our teaching and learning and will focus on learning explorations and curriculum discussions - more about what we are doing and why. We have crammed a lot into the end of term and our staff and learners are really stepping up to the challenge that will take us to the end of term. No one could ever say that things have slacked off towards the end of the year. We will return in September with a comprehensive overview of where we are and where we are heading. I am sure that many of you have enjoyed the Euros - as we look ahead to tomorrow’s game there now seems to be a little hope. It kind of mirrors our emergence from the pandemic this year. I think it was back in January that I spoke of hope on the horizon regarding the vaccination programme. I hope that many of you now have been able to access this and are feeling a little safer. I have had both of my jobs now and feel much more confident heading into the summer. So switch off and enjoy your weekend. James Saunders Headteacher Thanks to: Lead Learners— Beth Chapman, Mia Fisher, Jake Ring and Rosie Waine who met with a member of the Challenge Partners team this week.