Sandymoor Ormiston Academy

Welcome to your academy

Welcome

I am exceptionally proud to be Principal of this wonderful school. We stand at the heart of the community and in the words of our students ‘We are a family’.

Being a smaller school, we know our students inside-out and always put them at the heart of our decisions. We work exceptionally hard to provide a student-centred, personalised, and innovative learning environment preparing our students with the character and leadership skills to lead happy, healthy, and successful futures. Being a Liverpool City Region Careers Hub, we actively support our students to pursue the career of their dreams; we instil in all of them that their dreams are within reach.

Our curriculum extends well beyond the classroom walls. We actively encourage all our students to develop their cultural learning through opportunities to travel, read, debate, participate in and achieve additional qualifications. We are firmly dedicated to our values of pride, resilience, curiosity and self-belief which emanate through our academy on a daily basis.

Every parent and carer, me included, want to know that the school their child belongs to is a safe place where they can flourish. I pledge that the most important of my endeavours is to make a deep and genuine difference in the lives of our children, now and for their future.

An united family embarking on an exciting voyage of discovery...

... inspiring excellence together.

“Where dreams are within reach”

Mrs S Jones, Principal

Mrs Sally Jones, Principal Sandymoor Ormiston Academy

Vision and Values

Ambition, Resilience, Pride and Social Action.

These are our core Sandymoor values which we endeavour to instil in all young people from the moment they join our family.

As an Academy we all strive…

n To be AMBITIOUS in our thoughts

n To become stronger through RESILIENCE

n To have PRIDE in all we do and say

n To be committed to SOCIAL ACTION

We take pride in being the school where every child believes that for them, anything is possible.

Curriculum

“The best that has been thought and said.”

We continually strive to enrich our students' experiences and offer them access to 'the best that has been thought and said'

We are proud to develop young people who believe that, for them, anything is possible. Our curriculum is designed to deepen knowledge, embed skills and strengthen character.

The curriculum is structured to ensure progression is knowledge, skills and application in each subject over a five-year journey, or two-year journey if the subject is offered at Key Stage 4 (KS4) only.

We ensure that all students have equity of access to the curriculum through adaptive teaching to meet their needs, rather than a reduction of curriculum expectations.

We place great emphasis on being ready to learn. All students (for all Key Stages) need the following equipment every day to access the full curriculum:

n Pencil and eraser

n Pens – blue, black and green

n Whiteboard pen and eraser

n Ruler

n 180o protractor

n Compass

n Scientific calculator

n Refillable water bottle

Key Stage 3 (KS3)

Our curriculum for KS3 follows the National Curriculum as its basis in all subjects, with consideration of our local context, to ensure the curriculum is knowledge rich and ambitious for all students. Students study the core subject of English, maths and science, alongside a modern foreign language (Spanish), humanities (geography, history, religious education), technology (art, design technology, food preparation, computing), PE and the arts (performing arts and music).

All students have timetabled personal development (PSHE) lessons.

Key Stage 4 (KS4)

Our curriculum for KS4 is tailored to our students interests and future aspirations. We offer a broad range of Level 2 qualifications and support students in their transition to KS4. We do not believe in narrowing curriculum options at KS4; all subjects are open to all students.

At KS4 all students also study PE, RE and personal development (PSHE) as distinct timetabled lessons.

Assessment

We want all our students to achieve the very highest levels of attainment and achievement. The purpose of assessment at Sandymoor Ormiston Academy is to generate actionable data about students – information that has meaning, is comprehensible, and is usable. Assessment allows for inferences about what students know, understand and can do. The conclusions made from assessments decide the next steps in teaching and learning.

How are assessments graded?

Formal assessments receive a percentage score of curriculum retained and applied within the assessment. This quickly identifies level of retention and application and assists in identifying and distributing post-assessment intervention resources. Despite the amount of knowledge studied in KS3, it is not deep enough to predict GCSE grades in first term of Year 10. When we give students a grade, it has to relate to learning over a longer period of time.

This means Year 10 students will also receive a percentage in their assessments until after the first set of mock exams in the summer term. After this, we then use age-independent grades (9-1) which provide a more accurate indication of a student’s likely performance in their final GCSE exams.

Types of assessment

Formative assessment takes place daily in lessons. It is integrated and ongoing, and is used to intervene, adapt teaching and tailor planning for subsequent lessons.

Summative assessment assess only what has been intended and taught in the curriculum area over a period of time. They enable staff to infer retention and application of the taught curriculum in a formal style.

It provides precise data of what a student has and has not learned, clarity if intervention requirements and prevention requirements in curriculum planning.

Independent Home Learning

We are committed to ensuring students receive bespoke packages of home learning which respond to their strengths and weaknesses. Our online platform, Seneca, does just that. Students are expected to complete at least 20-30 minutes of independent learning every evening.

Reading

“Expanding minds”

Reading is an essential skill for life. Our philosophy of Reading for Betterment places reading at the centre of our curriculum. Our aim is to nurture and inspire all students to become life-long readers.

Our curriculum actively incorporates a wealth of opportunities for pupils to read independently, read aloud and to be read to, each and every day.

n Undertake New Group Reading tests yearly to assess reading ages and to allow for adaptations to curriculum and classroom practice.

n Ensure that high quality, swift and impactful intervention is enacted for students with low reading ages.

n Read aloud within form time twice per week, from a canon of culturally rich texts. Each year group has an assigned reading list designed to expose students to text that they may not normally choose to read. This helps to develop their cultural awareness and vocabulary.

n Target vocabulary development through specific tier 3 language foci in lessons and as part of form time personal development challenges.

n Offer a variety of enrichment activities: library club, house sharing libraries, Cheshire Book Awards, author events.

Speaking

“Our voices are heard”

Oracy is to speaking what numeracy is to mathematics or literacy to reading and writing.

What is oracy?

Put it simply, it’s being able to express yourself well through words. It’s about having the right vocabulary toolbox to say what you want to say, in a way that makes sense to others.

Why does oracy matter?

Employers now rate communication skills as one their highest priorities, alongside qualifications, so the ability to express and structure ideas is more important than ever before.

Yet in some schools, oracy is given much less teaching time than literacy and numeracy – but not at Sandymoor!

The Oracy Curriculum at Sandymoor

We believe oracy deserves the same status as reading and writing –after all, all we learn to talk long before we learn to read and write.

That’s why all teachers at Sandymoor are oracy teachers. We understand how talk aids teaching, analysis and higher-order thinking across all subject areas.

Some pupils in inner-city classes contribute just four words per lesson.

Source: National Literacy Trust

We do this to, so our pupils can:

n Develop communication skills

n Increase their confidence

n Understand local, national and global issues

n Shape ideas their ideas and form questions

n Foster empathy, sensitivity and maturity

Safeguarding

“Safeguarding is everyone’s business”

If you have any concerns, please call us on 01928 571217 or email safeguarding@sandymooroa.co.uk

The aim of our Child Protection Policy is to ensure that effective measures are in place to safeguard children from any potential risk of harm.

Safeguarding team

All of our Safeguarding team are highly visible by their rainbow lanyard.

Staying safe online

The internet can be an interesting and fun place to spend time, it can also be a dangerous place if you are not sensible and/or don’t know how to stay safe online. We actively teach our students about personal security guidelines, which include:

n Never revealing personal information, about themselves or others, such as home addresses, telephone numbers, and personal e-mail addresses etc.

n Never using photographs of themselves on their web pages unless parents/guardians have given permission to do so.

n Never meeting people in person that they have contacted on the internet without a parent/guardian’s permission.

n Notify their teacher whenever they come across information that appears dangerous, inappropriate, or makes them feel uncomfortable.

n Be aware that the author of an e-mail or web page may not be the person they claim to be.

Digital Safeguarding

Safer Schools App

Access up-to-date, age appropriate guidance on staying safe, learn how to block, report and set safety settings across each social media platform.

Students

Search ‘Safer Schools’ in the app store and select ‘Sandymoor Ormiston Academy’ – click ‘Continue” and enter the digit code: 1544.

Parents

Search ‘Safer Schools’ in the app store and select ‘Sandymoor Ormiston Academy’ – click ‘Continue” and enter the digit code: 7675.

We teach our students how to keep safe online through, their personal development and computer science schemes. We ask parents to be vigilant ensuring their child is safe online; we support this via ParentMail and our social media platforms.

Medicines

If your child is required to prescribed medication, we ask that these are brought in and handed to reception with a completed form.

If a student is on prescription medication which they must take daily, we ask you keep enough in stock both home and in school. Your child should not have any medication on their person; it must be stored securely.

Character for Life

Our Character for Life programme is designed to instil our four core values (Pride, Ambition, Resilience, and Social Action) to create well-rounded students that believe, for them, anything is possible.

Our values sit within four key areas:

n Pastoral

n Curriculum

n #WeWill

n Enrichment

Our core values sit that were put together through consultation with our parents, governors and students to ensure that we all look to live by these in all that we do.

“Character allows us to flourish as individuals, and as a wider society. This is why the development of character, as well as achieving academic attainment, should be the purpose of education.”

Lao Tzu, philosopher

Sandymoor Scholar

Our Character promise through Sandymoor Scholars

Our five-year Sandymoor Scholar Journey starts from Year 7 and stretches across every year group, which includes completing landmarks that have been split into our four core values, Ambition, Resilience, Pride, and Social Action, which include activities such as attending enrichment clubs, attending trips and visits, and achieving the subject pledges.

We expect all of our students to embrace the experiences and possibilities on offer, both inside and outside the classroom, and seize the opportunities to gain additional qualifications that will set them apart!

Our Sandymoor Scholar program is looked at different points over the year and will allow our students to show all the other skills they have gained whilst a Sandymoor student.

The Building Blocks of Character

Instilling Moral Virtues through Pastoral – PRIDE

Moral Virtues are essential when making difficult decisions. To be able to respond and know what the right thing to do is something you learn as you grow and develop. Teaching students the importance of being a good person and making the right choices is a vital part of what we do.

At Sandymoor Ormiston Academy, we place great importance on our pastoral programme. Students receive 40 minutes of dedicated tutor time with a varied curriculum consisting of: assemblies, reflection on how we have shown character, inter-house competitions and reading aloud.

Through this area of Character for Life, we hope to develop articulate young people who can demonstrate moral virtues such as respect, integrity, diversity and empathy.

Students will demonstrate these values through behaviours such as being on time for school, taking an active part in inter-house events, becoming Sandymoor Champions and reflecting with honesty.

School uniform

Navy Sandymoor blazer

Plain white shirt

Navy and grey Sandymoor tartan skirt or charcoal trousers

Navy or grey socks/tights (no patterns or stripes)

Sandymoor tie

Plain black, smart shoes

A black, navy or grey school bag for equipment

Navy religious coverings

Navy hair accessories

Plain, navy V neck jumper which shows the knot of the tie (optional)

PE Kit

Sandymoor logo t-shirt (compulsory)

Plain navy blue or Sandymoor logo shorts

No cycling shorts

Plain navy blue PE leggings or tracksuit pants (optional but recommended for outdoor lessons in winter). Plain navy base layer may also be worn.

Plain navy blue, full or quarter zip training top (optional but recommended for outdoor lessons in winter). Items with the academy logo are available if you prefer.

Navy sports socks

Trainers (non-marking soles)

No hooded tops of any colour

Uniform supplier

We are exceptionally proud of how our students present themselves each and every day. Our branded uniform is exclusively available from the following supplier:

Touchline, Liverpool Road, Warrington, WA5 1AE. Tel: 01925 413777

Email: sandymoorschool@touchline-embroidery.com

Please ensure that all items of clothing and personal property are labelled with names.

House System

Our house system gives our united family a ‘home’ and a deepened sense of belonging.

Each house name has been chosen by our students to reflect our community of Runcorn:

n Brindley: the Bridgewater Canal was named after canal engineer, James Brindley, who also gives his name to our local Brindley Theatre.

n Hartree: some of the most advanced digital technology is housed in Runcorn in the Hartree Centre.

n Ethelfleda: Ethelfleda was not only the founder of the first fortified settlement in Runcorn, but arguably one of the most pivotal figures in the foundation of Mercia.

n Valdez: Dom Valdez was a truly inspirational man who we should all feel proud of. He came from humble beginnings to establish a legacy of renowned hospice care facilities in Runcorn.

By fostering mini-communities within our larger school community, students and staff form strong bonds and connections. Through our inter-house activities we aim to enrich the experiences on offer whilst injecting fun and excitement through healthy competition. In doing so, we encourage confidence and resilience when participating in events which may be outside of our natural comfort zone.

At the heart of our approach stands pupil leadership. We place great emphasis on student representation in all forms and our vibrant community supports and delivers on social action time and time again, standing tall in our local area.

We are proud of ourselves, individually and collectively.

The Building Blocks of Character

Instilling Performance Virtues through Enrichment

Resilience

Sandymoor Ormiston Academy aims to develop students’ interests in a wide range of activities beyond the classroom in order to create well-rounded, happy and healthy young people as well as supporting their character development.

There are several key character values under the Performance Virtues building blocks that we look to develop in order to support pupils in the wider world, such as teamwork, perseverance, confidence and determination.

As an academy we help build these values through:

n Curriculum-based and enrichment trips.

n Extensive Duke of Edinburgh Award engagement.

n #WeWill engagement.

n Inter-house competitions.

The Building Blocks of Character

Instilling Performance Virtues through Curriculum

Ambition

Intellectual qualities promote critical thinking, the pursuit of mind and encourage successful academic growth. Sandymoor Ormiston Academy believes instilling Intellectual Virtues within our students prepares them for life beyond Year 11 and for their future careers.

As an academy we help build these values through:

n Ambitious studies, e.g. for Religious Education & Citizenship lessons.

n Delivering high quality Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) to all year groups as part of our Liverpool City Region Careers Hub status.

n Personal development lessons, British Values & SMSC and the Just Read programme.

The Building Blocks of Character

Instilling Civic Virtues through #WeWill – Social Action

We value the importance of contributing to the wider society. #WeWill ensures our students are responsible citizens who contribute to the common good of society.

We develop these values through various initiatives:

n #WeWill Perform

n Shoebox Full of Love Appeal

n Fundraising and volunteering

n Themed days, assemblies and PSHE

n Student Voice events

n Parent/PTA forums

n Food bank links

“Social action is at the heart of everything we do as a trust, and we are thrilled to see this enter an ambitious new phase with the launch of #WeWill.”

James Murray, CEO, Ormiston Trust

The Building Blocks of Character

StuVo

We pride ourselves that we have the students at the heart of our school, and we take their opinion very seriously. We have dedicated StuVo area within the forum where our elected StuVo panel are situated and are available to support our wider community of students. The StuVo meet once a week to talk through Sandymoor’s key priorities to show and promote our core values and traits that we live by.

StuVo KS3 tuVo

Jennife

StuVo KS4 tuVo

t u V o

“Thehumanvoiceis theorganofthesoul.”

HenryWadsworthLongfellow

“ Youcan’t find your voiceif you don’t useit . ”

AustinKleon

" Whenthewholeworldissilent , evenonevoicebecomespowerful . " MalalaYousafzai

Personal Development

Personal development lessons are taught through all key stages each week. They address key areas within Personal, Social, Health, Relationship and Sex Education and equip students with the skills and understanding to make sense of the world around them, for example:

Personal Development & Citizenship

n he ega process? How migh I be man pu ated? How can cope w th g e ? How can I prepare or an n e v ew?

5 How a e amil es d e ent? Are a courtrooms he same? How can I REV EW my news? How can I deve op my res lience? How can manage s ress?

6 Wha do hea hy fr endsh ps ook ke? How am n uenced? nc Andrew Ta e Wha s body mage? How can op m se my phys ca hea th? How can dea w h d sappo n men ?

7 Wha s bully ng? What do need o know abou gangs? How migh he med a n uence how fee abou the way ook? Wha do I emembe abou essen a rs a d? How might my hea h a fect my exam per o mance?

8 What s cybe bu y ng? What shou d I know about kn e c me? How migh ega and il ega drugs a ec s us? How can den fy men ng t s and s rokes? Wha s ph sh ng?

9 How can I ake a s and when see bu y ng happen ng? What s g oom ng? Why do peop e use drugs? Wha e se shou d I know abou d ugs and a coho ? How do oans and mortgages work?

A u t u m n 2

10 s everyone rea ed equally? Wha does county nes mean? ROUND M DN GHT Ce s P ojec ) Why migh peop e use s e o ds? Wha a e he w de e fects o vap ng? Allow oss o essons o Mocks

11 Wha are s ereo ypes? Wha s ex remism? Wha does he aw say abou d ugs? What s cancer?

12 How migh peop e w th d sabil es be t ea ed? What are ha e c mes? Wha sks a e nked o drug use? How can I exam ne myse ? Do rea y need nsurance?

13 How can we dea w h rac sm? How can I share key n o ma on abou c me w h o hers? Wha s add c on? Wha parts o our bod es can be dona ed o o he s? Wha a e pens ons?

14 Wha suppo t can I of er o o he s? How can I share key n o ma on abou c me w h o hers? Shou d cannab s be ega sed? What se v ces are ava ab e to manage my hea h? How a e axes ca cu a ed?

15 What s hea h? What does ca e ne do o my body? How does Labou Ma ke n orma on he p my career? What are human gh s? Where does the gove nmen spend our money?

16 How can screent me affec my hea th? Wha are p escr pt on drugs? Wha types o obs are availab e n each ndus ry? How can we ba ance human r gh s? Wha s devo ut on?

S p ri n g 1

17 How much s eep shou d be gett ng? What are un s? Wha type o emp oyers a e here n each ndus ry? Jobs adver sed? Do have he r gh o say whateve want? Am allowed o vo e?

18 What are he bene ts o phys ca act v y? Wha are the phys ca e ec s o d nk ng a coho ? Wha do emp oyers va ue n he workp ace? Shou d my pr vacy be p o ec ed a all cos s? How can vote n a Gene a E ec on?

19 How can manage my pe sona hyg ene? ( nc germs What a e he soc a e ec s o d nk ng a coho ? He p ve no dea wha op ons to p ck o Year 10 s everyone ree o prac ce he a h of he r cho ce? s ou cur ent e ectora sys em a ?

20 How can ook af er my tee h? How can manage n uence and pressure a ound a coho ? START Ca eers Su gery How does he aw try to p o ec v c ms o FGM and GBV? How democra c s the UK?

21 s vap ng ha m u o my body? Wh ch common hea th cond t ons shou d know about? Wha does a democ a c count y ook like? How might peop e show the comm men o he r par ne ? How rea s c s pornography?

22 Wha are the phys ca changes o puberty? How can he p someone who s chok ng o who s hu ? How e se migh a coun ry be un? What are my pe sona bounda es? How can ma ure y end a e at onsh p?

S p ri n g 2

n Mental health

n Healthy relationships

n LGBTQ+

n Sexual health and puberty

n Grooming and peer pressure

n Economic wellbeing

n Tolerance and tackling extremism

n Staying safe within and beyond our community

Our programme is also responsive to particular issues within our local community, for example, knife crime, domestic violence and county lines.

S u m m e r 1

23 What happens dur ng menst ua on? What s CPR and how do de b il a o s work? Who ho ds powe n he UK? Wha s sexua harassmen ? Wha does sta k ng ook ke?

24 Wha a e he emo ona aspec s o pube y? Wha do presc p on d ugs do to my body? Wha does the Cab ne do? Wha r sks might be nvo ved n sexua ac s? Whe e can access sexua hea h se v ces?

25 How can sha e key n o mat on abou puber y w h young peop e? How do vacc nat ons wo k? What s fore gn a d? Wha o he orms o cont acep on ex st? Ca ch-up

26 How can sha e key n o mat on abou puber y w h young peop e? Shou d vacc na ons be compu sory? Wha adv ce wou d g ve o he Cab ne n an emergency? Wha ac o s migh a fect my fertil y?

27 Wha s a sk? F RST G VE Youth Soc a Ac ion Wha do hea thy, oman c re a onsh ps ook ke? What op ons does someone have f hey are pregnan ?

28 How can be sa e on and near he oad? F RST G VE Youth Soc a Ac ion Wha is consen ? Wha happens du ng pregnancy? nc m scar age FASD)

29 How can be sa e nea t a n lines? F RST G VE Youth Soc a Ac ion Wha does he aw say about shar ng nudes? A e a pa en s he same?

30 How can I be sa e around wa e ? F RST G VE Youth Soc a Ac ion Wha a e po en a s gns of abuse? How migh c zens become nvo ved n he ega sys em?

31 How can I be sa e on ne? F RST G VE You h Soc al Ac on How a e condoms used? How do cour s dec de on sen ences? (P sons ex ens on)

32 What do young carers do? Wh ch documents can he p me o keep rack o my money? Wha a e ST s? Wha s nterna ona aw?

33 Can young peop e make a change? Wha are my ghts as a consume ? Are sexua i y and gende den y he same h ng? Wha does he UK have o do w h he Commonwea th?

34 Wha s Par amen ? Is a budge ac ua y use u ? How have a t udes owards sexua

S u m m e r 2

Exams

Going the extra mile

Murray Award

In 1969 Peter Murray, OBE, founded The Ormiston Trust in memory of his sister, Fiona Ormiston, who tragically died on her honeymoon. The Ormiston Trust is one of the largest not-for-profit multiacademy trusts in England, educating over 30,000 children across five regions.

In recognition of over 50 years of service to making our communities a better place, ‘The Murray Award’ was launched across the Ormiston Academies Trust as part of a #WeWill Trust-wide initiative for youth social action.

The Murray Award recognises students, who like Peter and his family, show commitment to meaningful social action in their community. At Sandymoor Ormiston Academy, every Year 8 student will have the opportunity to gain The Murray Award through their personal development and performing arts lessons. The Silver Award will be awarded to pupils who undertake 25 hours of social action and The Gold Award will recognise those who have committed to more than 25 hours of social action.

“Taking part in youth social action supports young people to develop their character and confidence. They experience high levels of wellbeing that can help improve their mental resilience.”

Sentamu Eboracensis, Archbishop of York

The Duke of Edinburgh Award: Year 9 and beyond

The Duke of Edinburgh Award is designed to challenge young people between the ages of 14–24 to attain standards of achievement and endeavour in a wide variety of active interests – to serve their communities, experience adventure and to develop and learn outside the classroom. The Duke of Edinburgh Award helps students along the path to a productive and prosperous future. Many participants say, it’s life-changing and well worth the dedication and hard work. Achieving this award will, not only give students fantastic skills and confidence but also an edge over others when applying for college, university or a job.

“Life doesn’t naturally happen, you’ve got to get involved. What better way to do that than to do your DofE. As an employer I want to work with people who have a range of skills and can see things through.”

Deborah Meaden, Entrepreneur and Dragons Den investor

British Values

We teach the British Values of democracy, individual liberty, the rule of law, mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs, throughout our curriculum. Our academy values link closely as these are intrinsic to our goal to develop character.

We have a free and fair process for student positions of responsibility such as the school council who play a major role in communicating views throughout the academy. We run mock elections parallel with general elections and partake in visits planned to the local council and parliament.

We have clear rules and routines within our academy and students are encouraged to make responsible and respectful decisions. We enable our student body to be confident, determined and show self-belief in all they do; this is embodied in our inter-house events.

Every curriculum area within the academy has a detailed overview of how they promote fundamental British Values in their lessons.

Democracy

To embody democracy we have a free and fair process for student positions of responsibility, such as the School Council and the student leadership team, who play a major role in communicating views throughout the academy. Opportunities are taken to have mock elections parallel with general elections and we partake in local and national democracy visits to our local council and to parliament. All classes follow class rules, during lessons students are encouraged to make responsible and respectful decisions. We enable our student body to be confident, determined and show self-belief in all they do; this is embodied in our inter-house events. Democracy supports our students in developing their performance virtues by enabling their intellectual, moral and civic virtues. We teach them that they can have the ‘self-belief to fly.’

Tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs

Regular visits, themed activities and sometimes visitors, including parents, support the children’s learning about faiths and beliefs. Our Life Skills work celebrates elements of celebrations and festivals across all faiths represented within our school.

Mutual respect

Mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths and beliefs are promoted through our curriculum, Life Skills programme and our assembly and form time routines, for the whole school. However, the whole culture and ethos reflect these two British values as we embrace diversity and accept nothing less than mutual respect for each other or any individual in our academy.

Rule of law

Rule of law is embedded in our moral virtues of ‘PRIDE’ and demonstrated through the way our students choose to show ‘goodness’ in situations that require an ethical response. These are character traits where student can show their compassion, integrity and respect. These are demonstrated in shared academy ‘non-negotiables’ for staff and students, related to Assessment for Learning (AFL) in the classroom, marking and feedback by staff, and home learning. Students understand how to improve their behaviour and conduct through bespoke programmes. Clear consequences are in place when rules are broken, and in parallel ‘good’ actions are rewarded by reward points, and points really do mean prizes. We lead by example and live out this desire to “inspire excellence together”. We take pride in being the school that every child wants to remain a part of, even after they have graduated. Sandymoor Ormiston Academy has become much more than a school, it has become a family; a place of safety and warmth, and a place which will remain in the heart of our community.

Individual liberty

Individual liberty is promoted through the philosophy of every child having the opportunity to reach their potential, by creating an environment of possibilities and cultural experiences. Individual liberty suggests the free exercise of rights generally seen as outside government control and through our intellectual virtues we seek the truth. At Sanymoor Ormiston Academy we promote the importance of individual liberty through such practices as joining our enrichment activities, career planning and the options process. Students are offered autonomy over choices regarding academic pathways through the support and guidance of the careers team. We are proud to be developing the next generation of trailblazers who have a firm belief that, for them, anything is possible, that their dreams are within reach, and who are proud to be curious and creative enough to find new ways of achieving their potential with confidence. To us education is a pursuit of the mind and to this end we encourage our school community to read, to learn, to challenge and to debate in a place where everyone has a voice that is recognised.

BRITISH VALUES

AMBITION SOCIALACTION

Enrichment for All

We ensure all of our students have opportunities to build their knowledge, skills and under-standing through enrichment. Each subject area gives students the opportunity to go beyond the expected as well as offering an extensive array of enrichment clubs and events.

“Aside from activities like sports, drama and music, it may also be worth considering clubs that specifically focus on developing confidence, problem-solving and resilience – for example, debate or public speaking clubs.”

Ofsted

Learning Power

As part of our commitment to our personal development, we are proud to partner with Elevate and Votes for Schools to help our students stay safe, stay healthy and prepared for life’s opportunities.

Elevate

Elevate’s study skills workshops and seminars are designed to achieve behavioural change amongst students. It isn’t enough that students simply understand what they need to do in their study: the challenge in any study skills programme is getting students to use and apply the skills they learn. Elevate gets students using the skills from its seminars and workshops by using an integrated process that works. This will be delivered by Elevate staff and form tutors. During Year lO and Year ll, students will look at:

Study Sensei which covers utilising the syllabus to frame study, structuring and reviewing organised notes, Conceptual learning to develop deep understanding, utilising practice exam papers and Standing out through independent learning.

Memory Mnemonics which covers how to overcome reliance upon rote learning, the role of attention in memory and managing distractions, and Semantic learning techniques for higher level memorisation.

Time management which covers developing routines to balance study and lifestyle, working smart by completing high value work, utilising study groups to leverage time, and techniques for overcoming procrastination.

Ace your exams which covers highest value exam preparation tasks, fixing mistakes to ensure constant improvement, Time allocation during exam preparation, and Techniques for managing stress & time pressure in exams.

Votes for Schools

We understand that education is about more than just exam results. Our goal is to give our students the tools to engage with the world around them, think critically, and make their voices heard.

Each week, we select topics that matter most to our young people. From climate change to mental health, we cover it all, ensuring that students are engaged and informed and can talk about the issues that matter to them.

At the end of each session, students vote on that week’s topic, helping to create a national database of student voice. This data is then used to inform real-world decisions, from government policy to corporate responsibility so our students can see first-hand how their voice is impacting change.

Life after Sandymoor

We are proud to be a Liverpool City Region Careers Hub. Each of our students receive independent, personalised and individual careers advice and guidance throughout their time with us.

We work closely with Further Education and Higher Education providers as well as engaging with local businesses to offer a wide range of activities for our students, including work experience placements at KS4.

Our popular annual careers event provides students access to progression routes available to them once they leave us. Representatives for local providers are on hand to offer advice on an array of post-16 choices.

We encourage students to become part of our Sandymoor Alumni to instil the belief for all of our students that, for them, anything is possible.

School Catering

“Nourish to flourish”

School meals

An important part of our ethos is around the provision of hot, fresh, nutritious food. Every pupil has a choice of food or the option to bring in a packed lunch. Meals can be designed to meet the needs of children with specific allergies or dietary requirements.

We strongly encourage parents who have financial constraints to apply for free school meals via Halton Borough Council. If you need assistance in applying please contact us.

Drinks

Students have access to drinking water at all times, however, parents are requested to provide a water bottle. Students are not allowed to bring in fizzy drinks.

Payments

We only accept electronic payments for school breaks and meals. This process is facilitated by ParentMail which uses the highest internet security available. You will be provided with a secure online account with a unique ID and password. Payment for school trips and other incidentals can also be paid via ParentMail.

Biostore

We operate a pay as you go system using biometric fingerprint recognition for lunch and snack payments. It is your responsibility to top up your child’s account. If there are not enough funds your child will be unable to make purchases.