Holyhead School Prospectus 2023 - 2024

Our four pillars of Community, Care, Creativity and Character support everything we do in pursuit of increasing life choices. We teach what matters.

Thank you for your interest in Holyhead School.

We are an 11-19 Academy at the heart of Holyhead Ward, a vibrant and aspirational community with a deep sense of its own heritage and culture.

Ofsted recognised us as 'Good' in 2020, with leaders, teachers and governors committed to improving the life chances of young people. Our pupils appreciate this. There is a high demand for school and Sixth Form places as a result.

There is always a high level of interest in our work and I am very proud of the strong reputation that we have both locally and nationally.

The pages that follow explain our unique approach to the key aspects of our work. We make very deliberate choices about 'how' we educate everyone (staff and students) at Holyhead.

Dave Knox Head of School

We are a forward looking, energetic school with a commitment to continually develop our teachers so they can best support the young people whose futures we are fortunate to be entrusted with. Our mission is to Teach What Matters, a deliberate approach to give our students the best possible chance of meeting their limitless potential.

We want all Holyhead students to be able to;

• Solve problems

• Apply knowledge to the real world

• Adapt to change and be resilient to failure

• Be aware of their own thought processes and memory (metacognition)

• Be articulate and express themselves

• Think critically

We want all students at Holyhead to build confidence and resilience whilst always demonstrating kindness. We place a key emphasis on:

• Respect

• Responsibility

• Excellence

We also want them to recognise the best of human thinking and appreciate the fundamental British Values.

Here at Holyhead, we understand that the diversity, be that ethnic, socio-economic or cultural is a rich and powerful opportunity that also means every individual has different needs. We listen and respond to the needs of our community, it's a great sense of pride for us. We know, and we mean, 'really know', the Handsworth that we serve.

Handsworth is a special place of deep heritage and inclusion. Its children need care and positive role models to tell us its story, meet its challenges with optimism, pride and resilience and to shape an ambitious future. We provide a generous, broad and thoughtful education. Our classrooms and our people have a distinctive style, creative way of thinking and commitment to the highest standards imaginable.

We are not a school that prides itself on positions in league tables (although our students make excellent progress). Instead. we pride ourselves on our ability to provide Hansdworth with responsible citizens with strong character and limitless potential. We teach what matters.

There is a magic to Holyhead we must preserve and celebrate every day. We place amazing relationships at the heart of everything we do.

That's what makes us so special.

Our four pillars keep us focused on, and commited to, teaching what matters.

Part of the Central Region Schools Trust founded by the RSA

Bespoke, forward-thinking approach to CPD and Pedagogy

Broad and balanced curriculum

Emphasis on problem-solving, working collaboratively and thinking hard

Character Community

Intense focus on enrichment and high aspirations

Well developed Character Edcation - teachers of children first

Literacy and oracy at the core of what we do

Development of leaders at a all levels

Focus on self regulation and positive reinforcement

Creativity Knowledge Skills Attributes Experiences

An inclusive and diverse school community where all feel valued and involved

Active outreach work

Family values at the heart of student support

Curriculum designed to meet community needs

Care

Strong structures for student support

Focus on developing positive relationships

Well developed commitments to wellbeing and workload reduction

High focus on inclusion and equality

Commitment to Quality First Teaching

Respect Responsibility Excellence

Behaviour, Attitudes and Personal Development

We take our responsibility to shape tomorrow's citizens and employees seriously and invest much of our energy into modelling what selfleadership, self-regulation and kindness looks like. We develop a community built upon a foundation of positive relationships that we celebrate and reinforce. We know that good character supports higher levels of academic achievement and we place a great emphasis on core values around respect, responsibility and excellence. We encourage our students to be their very best now to open the doors to the future, supported by a careers and wider Personal Development programme that seeks to develop aspirations and

ambition alongside a readiness to contribute positively to the community and society as a whole.

Our approach to behaviour and attitudes prioritises students taking responsibility for their actions with staff supporting through a restorative framework, but with a certainty around rewards and consequences to promote a highly productive climate for learning.

We promote honesty, acceptance and kindness in our inclusive and diverse school because we care passionately about the individual and the collective as a school community.

Our attention to detail and relentless drive to hold each other to account means we can, and do teach what matters and students can, and do leave Holyhead as well-rounded and confident young adults.

High expectations around respect, responsibility and excellence contribute to student success and open the doors to future aspirations.

Student Support

To support our determination to promote the best learning behaviours and personal development of our students, we place a major emphasis on the role of the Form Tutor at Holyhead. As each child's 'trusted adult' the relationship between Tutors and students can underpin the everyday values and expectations we seek to build.

The Form Tutor has a central role to play in developing positive relationships. Our Tutor Groups are set in year groups, enabling us to provide age-appropriate information about careers, current affairs and how to reflect upon the learning challenges and opportunities at each stage of their Holyhead education as part of our commitment to building character and resilience through the Personal Development programme.

Each Year Group is led by a Head of Year. These non-teaching roles mean that they are accessible to students and parents/carers and can respond swiftly to issues that arise.

If you would like a discussion that is beyond the remit of a Form Tutor, their contact information is as follows:

Head of Year 7

Nikki Malcolm nmalcolm@holyheadschool.org.uk

Head of Year 10

Samantha Parker sparker@holyheadschool.org.uk

Head of Year 8

Makeda Jeffers mjeffers@holyheadschool.org.uk

Head of Year 11

Tina Edwards tedwards@holyheadschool.org.uk

Head of Year 9

Adil Khan akhan@holyheadschool.org.uk

Director of Careers

Sarah Wilkins swilkins@holyheadschool.org.uk

In support of the Heads of Year are our Student Support Vice Principals, who will oversee your child's attainment and progress:-

Mrs Marnell is Vice Principal with responsibility for Years 7 and 8 and is the School's lead on Transition and Anti-bullying.

Mrs Denny is Vice Principal with responsibility for Year 9 and is the School's Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Mr Lovell is Vice Principal with responsibility for Years 10 and 11 and is the School's Raising Standards Leader.

Alongside our Heads of Year, the Vice Principals work with our Promoting Progress Leaders to support individual students and small groups with study skills and to help remove barriers to learning.

The entire team is passionate about sharpening our academic focus, but without losing our deep commitment to enrichment, developing positive attitudes and celebrating our community.

Vice Principal

Mrs Marnell Years 7 & 8

Vice Principal

Mrs Denny Year 9 & DSL

Vice Principal

Mr Lovell Year 10 & 11

Curriculum

Our curriculum is more than the qualifications that students leave with, it's about real-life experiences and opportunities. We know that Handsworth matters and what it means to live in a place that is home to people from every corner of the world.

Our curriculum is more than the qualifications that students leave with, its about real-life experience and opportunities. We know that Handsworth matters and what it means to live in a place that is home to people from every corner of the world.

Our students are ambitious and our teachers work collaboratively to build, and continually develop a curriculum that is designed to provide the knowledge and skills needed for students to understand what it means to be a historian, a scientist or a musician.

The knowledge that we acquire must challenge us, broaden our minds and values, but it must be the best of what is available to our students.

Our students achieve fantastic outcomes in the broad range of subjects we teach as part of our subject curriculum across the Key Stages.

What do the students say?

"The best thing about Holyhead is good teaching which helps you to learn better and understand a lot. Three words to sum up Holyhead are: helpful, creative and engaging."

"The thing I like about Holyhead is that more and more students are achieving well each year, getting more 9/A* grades every year."

Curriculum

We understand the important role of the curriculum in building the character attributes to be the best we can be with an emphasis on resilience, confidence and empathy.

We also strive to provide our young people with a wide range of experiences inside and outside the classroom to enrich their understanding of their learning and the wider world.

Our curriculum is designed to Teach What Matters. It is a curriculum rooted in Handsworth and with a reach around the globe!

"Holyhead is a great school because it gives students lots of opportunities to express themselves through lessons. You learn a lot when you arrive at school each day and you have fun. There is a lot of support for students from teachers and our peers."

"Everyone is friendly and nice, it's universal and multi cultural, it's just a happy school, the teachers are here to help anytime we need them and there's always something interesting for us to do, before, during and after school hours!"

Central to our work is our commitment to enriching the curriculum.

What do the students say?

"The best thing here is that you always know what's expected of you so it makes it easier to organise your time so you can meet your targets. That's really important because it means you don't worry. Also we have a laugh.

We take part in inter-school Quizzes; whole school Spelling Bee, Football; Sports Day; and we are able to say what we think at Student Council Meetings."

At Holyhead, we believe that opportunities to develop skills beyong the classroom are essential in supporting students in their personal development. Holyhead's enrichment programme gives students the opportunity to attend a wide variety of clubs to extend their skills and develop socially or physically, as well as providing access to support for their learning in a number of subjects.

Enrichment activities include:

• Science Newspaper Club

• Social Action Club

• KS3 Boys Football

• Netball

• Green Influencers

• Dance Club

• KS4 Basketball Breakfast Club

• Maths Booster - Strive for a 5

• Girls Basketball

• Holyhead Voices

• Film Production Master Class

• Chess and Games Club

• KS4 Basketball

• Spanish Club

• Science Club

• Social Science Extended Project

• Coding Club

• Newspaper and Graphic Novel

• Humanities Film Club

• Science Aspire Initiative

• Maths Clinic

• French Club

• Dodge Ball

• Maths Lets Nail a 9

• Girls Football

• KS4 Boys Football

• KS3 Drama Club

• Trampolining Club

• Games Club

• Business and Economics Debate Club

"Some of the great things about Holyhead are - the students are like a family away from home; teachers are really supportive; there's a great working atmosphere; you can be yourself without being

intimidated; you can enjoy yourself performing at our Showcase; you can be rewarded at Presentation Evening. I don't want to leave!"

"Holyhead gave me the chance to take part in The Challenge in Year 11 - we spent a week living in Halls at Birmingham University - it was immense!"

"Pupils’ personal development has a high priority. Pupils study literature and music by authors and composers from diverse backgrounds. Visiting speakers enrich the curriculum. Pupils build their understanding of other cultures. This includes activities such as visits to the theatre. There are school trips, including ones overseas. These activities help pupils broaden their horizons."

Don't just take our word for how good our student experience is...

"At Holyhead School, leaders, teachers and governors are committed to improving the life chances of young people. Pupils appreciate this. They speak warmly of the support they receive."

Our Safeguarding Statement

Holyhead is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all its students. We believe that:

• All children/young people have the right to be protected from harm

• Children/young people need to be safe and to feel safe in school

• Children/young people need support which matches their individual needs, including those who may have experienced abuse

• All children/young people have the right to speak freely and voice their values and beliefs

• All children/young people must be encouraged to respect each other’s values and support each other

• All children/young people have the right to be supported to meet their emotional, and social needs as well as their educational needs – a happy healthy sociable child/ young person will achieve better educationally

• Schools can and do contribute to the prevention of abuse, victimisation, bullying (including homophobic, bi-phobic, transphobic and cyber-bullying), exploitation, extreme behaviours, discriminatory views and risk-taking behaviours

Holyhead School will fulfill their local and national responsibilities as laid out in the following documents:-

• The most recent version of Working Together to Safeguard Children (DfE)

• The most recent version of Keeping Children Safe in Education: Staturory guidance for schools and colleges (DfE)

• The Procedures of Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board

• The Education Act 2002 s175 / s157

• Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools Departmental Advice (DfE 2014)

Holyhead School seeks to protect children and young people against the messages of all violent extremism including, but not restricted to, those linked to Islamist ideology, or to Far Right/Neo Nazi/White Supremacist ideologu, Irish Nationalist and Loyalist paramilitary groups, and extremist Animal Rights movements.

The school governors, the Executive Principal and the Designated Safeguarding Lead will assess the level of risk within the school and put actions in place to reduce that risk. This risk assessment will be reviewed as part of the annual s175 return that is monitored by the local authority and the local Safeguarding Children Board.

A copy of the school Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy is available on the school website.

Mrs Denny

Mr Beale

Holyhead is a proud member of Central Region Schools Trust, a Trust founded by The Royal Society of Arts. Our joint mission is supporting social justice in ensuring that Holyhead is an exceptional school. In order to do this, we ensure that we foster our Holyhead Distinctive Culture by developing our people and our learning environment.

As a Trust founded by The Royal Society of Arts, we aim for our school to be a beacon of pride in the Handsworth community, developing and maintaining strong and lasting partnerships with parents, local people and organisations as well as wider Birmingham and indeed the wider world.

Ofsted

"Leaders, Teachers and Governors are committed to improving the life chances of young people."

Student Voice is very important at Holyhead. All students are encouraged to take on extra responsibilities and to contribute to the development of the school and its ethos.

Milestone Lane

Holyhead Road

Handsworth Birmingham

B21 0HN

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