January 2018

January Update

The big focus this month has been the embedding of our P.D.M.U. new policy and scheme. Teachers spent a considerable amount of time developing their planners.

This month staff completed another cycle of ‘New Year, New You’. There was a particular focus on helping pupils to support their own mental health. This will be followed up in February with our teachers using ‘Children’s Mental Health Week’ as a teaching opportunity.

We also had a very useful ‘Love for Life’ workshop with parents and the Year 7 pupils to help them understand puberty. They were fantastic workshops! Pupils’ feedback was excellent.

At the beginning of January the pupils completed our annual ‘Happiness Audit’. What was very pleasing that the results were even higher than in January 2017. That made us smile!

September 2017/18 sees the fifth year of our dynamic six year school development strategy. This innovative and far ranging plan will bring our school to the next level in terms of learning and services to our community.

In this section we want to share some of our key strategic goals for the year ahead and then focus in on a few of the key innovations. Over the next year we will regularly report on what has been achieved and the new projects that we develop.

Strategic Leadership

To share good practice across the school and beyond to enhance staff development and pupils’ attainment. This will include the development and coaching of curriculum leaders;

The continued development of Shared Education with St. James’s Primary School. In particular, this will allow the schools to promote S.T.E.M. and Forest School learning as well as achieving ‘Rights Respecting Schools’ status;

To engage with community stakeholders to increase aspirations, attainment, early intervention and collaboration. This will include focused family learning support interventions.

Ethos

Implement and review a whole school wellbeing strategy;

Achieve the British Council’s International School Award by June 2018;

Use the pursuit of the Eco Green Flag, by June 2019, as a means to educate our school community to be more eco friendly.

Learning and Teaching

90+% of pupils, in both, Literacy and Numeracy will achieve as expected or above;

I.C.T. will more effectively enrich creativity, thinking skills and improve school management;