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 purpose as a school, our key ‘watchwords’ for 2026-2027 are: consistency, accountability, behaviour for learning, gratitude and generosity. We will aim to meet people where they are and build together pathways, routines and structures to enable high achievement, happiness and a sense of belonging and pride. We will build:
- A safe, dignified learning environment where everyone feels valued, understood, seen and supported.
- A culture of high-achievement where we can be the best we can be.
- With respectful, kind, responsible people working together in community.
Improvement Area 1: Live our values
Strategic objective: Cultivate a safe, dignified learning environment where everyone lives our values and thrives
Improvement Area 2: Be the Best We Can Be: Quality of Education
Strategic objective: To secure above-average outcomes through effective teaching and learning; this will be done by embedding adaptive teaching strategies that challenge high-attaining students and seamlessly support Disadvantaged and SEND students.
Improvement Area 3: Evolve from a middle-school model into a secondary school
Strategic objective: To create and deliver a robust Year 9 curriculum that prepares pupils for Key Stage 4 (KS4)
Improvement Area 4: Christian Distinctiveness and Spiritual Development
Strategic objective: To deepen staff confidence in delivering spiritual education, demonstrating that Christianity is a vibrant, diverse, and global faith.
A full copy of the School Improvement Plan is available on request from school@holywellschool.co.uk