School Improvement.

Whole-School Aims and Objectives.

What are we trying to achieve?

At Holywell, our vision is that everyone in our community chooses to “Live Life in all its Fullness” (John 10:10). Inspired by the teaching of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, we choose …

            to live our values,

                         being the best we can be

                                                       in community.

The School Improvement Plan for Holywell is designed to ensure that the vision above is realised and that we secure a high-quality learning experience for all. It has also been designed to secure rapid improvement in the areas identified in the most recent Ofsted and SIAMS inspections.

Last OFSTED inspection (SECTION 8) – 11 and 12 July 2023. The school was described as ‘A good school’. Ofsted Priorities – What the school needs to do to further improve and to secure an ‘Outstanding’ judgement:

  • Leaders need to ensure that all teachers adapt their teaching approaches to meet the needs of students with all levels of prior attainment and SEND effectively.
  • Leaders should ensure that all staff use the agreed protocols for dealing with disruptive and disengaging behaviour consistently and fairly.

Section 48 SIAMS Priorities – January 2024.  The inspection findings indicate that Holywell School is living up to its foundation as a Church school. To improve further the school should:

  • Further develop staff awareness of spiritual development in the curriculum to ensure that students are able to evaluate views on identity, meaning and purpose.
  • Extend the planned opportunities in collective worship and in RE for students to understand that Christianity is a vibrant, diverse, global faith.
  • Continue to broaden opportunities for prayer and reflection to enhance students’ experiences of spirituality.

Following a review of our school vision and our purpose as a school, our key ‘watchwords’ for 2025-2026 are: consistency, accountability, gratitude and generosity. We will aim to meet people where they are and build bridges to ensure a positive way forward. Our School Improvement Plan has been written in line with our overarching vision for all to ‘live life in all its fullness’ and four key priorities. Our 4 key areas for improvement are:

  1. To live our values
  2. To be the best we can be
  3. To work and live ‘in community
  4. Transition to Secondary

 

to live our values

  1. Further develop the Christian vision and work of the school
    1. Ensure student understanding of ‘live life in all its fullness’
    2. Members of our school community live out our core values of Respect, Kindness and Responsibility
  2. Values education at Holywell has a positive impact
  3. Values (especially the three core values) are used to underpin form groups, community time, routines and relationships    
  4. Members of our school community live out our values in relation to sustainability

 

2. to be the best we can be academically, socially and personally.

Academically: To improve outcomes for students and to further develop consistently effective teaching

  1. English test outcomes for Reading and Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling (GPAS) are above national average in Year 6 SATs
  2. The majority of students meet or exceed nationally-expected standards in Writing by the end of Year 6
  3. Maths test outcomes are above national average in Year 6 SATs
  4. All students achieve at higher levels than the previous year
  5. Disadvantaged and SEND students achieve strongly across the curriculum and their achievement is sustained over time: staff know the needs of students in their care and are highly vigilant in identifying and supporting students who face barriers to their learning; underlying causes of underachievement are analysed effectively and gaps in knowledge are quickly closed; all teachers adapt their teaching to meet the needs of all students with all levels of prior attainment and SEND effectively. Any adaptations are made carefully to avoid limiting expectations for disadvantaged students or students with SEND.
  6. Teaching is consistently effective and stimulates student thinking, understanding and learning
  7. Teachers know and consistently use/implement the components of effective teaching and learning based on high-quality research evidence; they take responsibility for their professional learning and continue to improve their expertise

Socially: To further improve behaviour for learning

  1. To establish and demand high expectations for all students’ behaviour, relationships and attitudes to learning; staff enact these expectations rigorously, in a fair and consistent way.
  2. To ensure agreed and consistent routines are enacted by all staff to enable respectful classrooms where everyone takes responsibility of everyone’s learning (NB. This addresses the Ofsted 2024 target: Not all staff apply the behaviour management system consistently. This means that some students do not meet the high expectations that leaders have of them. This, in turn, leads to leads to other students’ learning being disrupted. Leaders should ensure that all staff use the agreed protocols for dealing with disruptive and disengaging behaviour consistently and fairly.)
  3. Students who need additional help (with learning and/or behaviour) are provided with appropriate interventions by the class teacher/form tutor (or are referred for further academic and/or pastoral intervention). Interventions follow the Plan, Do, Assess, Review process and further adaptations are made where needed.
  4. Rewards support and encourage students to achieve and learn.

Personally: Everyone is safe and flourishing

  1. Students and Staff make a personal and active effort to ensure everyone thrives.
  2. All students know how to keep themselves safe (in school and outside of school) and know who can help them; students and staff are aware of the strong safeguarding practices; students and staff are courageous advocates for safeguarding individuals and use assertive, peaceful problem-solving strategies.
  3. To improve regular attendance and build relationships with families to secure this.
  4. To encourage and enable more students to participate enthusiastically in a wide range of artistic, musical, sporting and cultural activities.   

 

3. to work and live ‘in community’

All students feel welcome, valued and respected; they feel they belong within the school community

Further develop the wider community work of the school

Support all of our Holywell community in their spiritual development enabling all to flourish

Further develop staff awareness of spiritual development in the curriculum to ensure that students are able to evaluate views on identity, meaning and purpose.

Continue to broaden opportunities for prayer and reflection to enhance students’ experiences of spirituality.

Further develop and evaluate Collective Worship

Extend the planned opportunities in collective worship and in RE for students to understand that Christianity is a vibrant, diverse, global faith.

To further develop the 4-stage model of Collective Worship: Gathering, Engaging, Responding, Sending

 

4. to prepare for the development and transition of the Holywell Community to becoming a Secondary School

  1. Transition Process
  2. Buildings and Travel Plan
  3. Curriculum Development and Delivery (inc Staff Development and Training)
  4. Pastoral Development
  5. Finance
  6. Recruitment, reorganisation and retention of staff
  7. Student numbers (inc. publicity and recruitment strategy)

*Curriculum Intent: We are committed to a deep and rich curriculum that enables students: ● to achieve high standards ● to be ‘secondary ready’ ● to be independent, curious learners ● to be ready to take on challenges with an open, positive and caring approach  ● to be discerning, thoughtful members of their community ● to serve others  ● to be grounded in strong Christian values so that they can make ethical and informed choices and decisions.  We believe that the curriculum of the school:  ● should be designed to enable our children to enjoy and achieve, to grow and prosper, and to be stimulated by learning ● must look to serve the full breadth of student ability and the variety of interests and skills ● must be coherent and well planned ● must be designed, over time, to maximise the likelihood that children will remember and connect the steps they have been taught ● should be designed to develop the wider cognitive skills of analysis, evaluation, problem-solving, creativity and independence.

A full copy of the School Improvement Plan is available on request from school@holywellschool.co.uk

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