School Improvement Plan

Noadswood 3 Year School Improvement Plan - 2021-2024

Trust Priority 1 - Quality of Education (Progress)

  • Strong progress for all our students that compares favourably with local, similar school and national averages and leaves no group falling behind expectations of progress.

 

Tangible Outcomes - Year 1

  • Students to achieve within the top 50% of schools nationally and in line with cohort expectations. 
  • Leaders to be robust in challenging gaps in achievement for vulnerable students and in challenging in school variation between departments, then supportive with strategies to help. 
  • Specific strategies to improve literacy, numeracy and to close gaps for vulnerable students reviewed regularly by team leaders with senior leaders, and impact shared with trustees. 

Trust Priority 2 - Quality of Education (Curriculum & Quality of Teaching)

An excellent curriculum where the intent, implementation and impact are embedded; the curriculum will be accessible but always affordable, ambitious and meeting the diverse needs of all learners. 

Students’ learning across the school is coherently planned and sequenced to ensure they are able to “know and remember more” thereby leading to them having the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. The quality of the curriculum will be reflected in strong outcomes for all. The breadth of the curriculum will remain a strong USP for Noadswood in the local area. Ambition for as many students as possible, for whom it is right to study the EBACC full suite of subjects, will be a focus through professional development for those teams, bespoke options talks and activities for all students in the course of the newly configured three year KS3.

High quality teaching embraces risk and challenge and does not lose sight of the ‘big picture’ knowledge. Lessons create resilient, confident, and enquiring learners who are showing a determination to improve. Teaching is carefully adapted for the needs of all. Best use is made of other adults in the classroom.

 

Tangible Outcomes - Year 1

  • All schemes of learning are consciously knowledge based and sequenced. Teachers and leaders have a research informed understanding of the curriculum and how they have designed it to meet the needs of students and provide them with the knowledge and skills that will prepare them best for modern life and lifelong learning. Leaders and teachers are confident articulating their curriculum ‘intent’ and its ‘impact’ for all learners.

  • There is a strong emphasis in the curriculum on those areas which support students in making good personal decisions and which help to keep them informed and safe in the challenging climate in which they are growing up

  • Investment in colleagues’ pedagogy and skills through our CPD Roadmap will result in lesson drop ins and observations evidencing subject specialists conveying strong subject and pedagogical knowledge. These teachers will present content clearly and in an engaging manner using varied and appropriate resources. Students will be encouraged to embrace their mistakes and learn from common misconceptions. Resilience in learning will be demonstrated in lesson and students will take more and more risks in their oracy, their writing and their work in partnership with others

  • Teachers will be confident in measuring how well knowledge has been retained. They will routinely use assessment to identify gaps in learning and then intervention to close these. Assessment data will provide Year Leaders with valuable information about key student progress. Action plans will be created, implemented and reviewed for these students from this data. 

  • Curriculum review and monitoring in History, Geography and in particular Languages (where current recruitment in to KS4 learning is low) supported by the Headteacher and senior leaders, as well as by external supportive consultants, to lead to increased take up for the full EBACC suite of KS4 courses when current Y8 choose options in 2023/24.

Trust Priority 3 - Personal Development, Attitudes and Wellbeing

Robustly implement our Pivotal Behaviour Policy, that inculcates excellent behaviours for learning, a strong sense of team and the active promotion of the values of the ‘Noadswood family’.

Support effectively and with care our students’ safety, emotional wellbeing, mental health and their self-regulation within current and developing local and national contexts, and in partnership with the students and local agencies. 

Embed strategies and programmes for student voice and leadership that enable students to drive projects of importance to them within the school and the wider local community.

Develop our onsite ‘Flexible Provision’ to include learners currently vulnerable to exclusion and/or poor attendance. 
 

Tangible Outcomes - Year 1

  • Student excellence will be promoted by weekly Star Trekking information being shared with students, parents/carers and the local community. Regular drop ins and data analysis will show consistent adherence to the inputting of information and the follow up of concerns in accordance with the policy, and stakeholder surveys will demonstrate confidence in the impact of the system itself and in high quality restorative conversations. Investment in colleague CPD in strong restorative practice will be a priority on the CPD roadmap.

  • Students say they feel safe in school and are able to discuss key safeguarding concepts. They are confident in how to report and share concerns and understand the importance of doing so. CPOMs data is used to inform strategic safeguarding CPD.

  • Half termly Multi Agency meetings will ensure that Noadswood staff and professionals across the Waterside are working collaboratively to share information on young people and families in need of support and to create targeted interventions and referrals.

  • A menu of support (ELSA, counselling, mentoring) and a programme of assemblies and tutor time input addressing areas of emotional wellbeing, co-constructed with students, will run throughout the year. 

  • A CPD programme for all colleagues around excellent classroom climate for Social, Emotional and Mental Health will run throughout the year to accompany the launch of the SEMH Resource Provision, enabling the effective inclusion of young people with SEMH needs in their lessons, measured against their specific objectives and ePraise data.

  • The school’s objectives emanating from the Diversity in Schools Audit will be met, evidencing the inclusivity of our school community and our plans to strengthen and embed this sustainably. 

  • Wellbeing Ambassadors group will extend its remit to break and lunchtime drop ins and in person/online peer mentoring, as well as to the training of ambassadors with a particular focus on anti-bullying work. Impact of the ambassadors’ work will be surveyed, reviewed and adapted accordingly. Each year group will have a range of their own student voice groups with reps from each combining to create a student leadership team, led by the Head Boy/Girl and the Senior Prefect team – students will be able to explain how their voices and ideas are heard and developed. Projects and outcomes will be identified and reviewed, and reps will meet regularly with the Year Leaders, SLT and the Headteacher so that partnership in leadership becomes embedded and impact measured.

  • Noadswood will run its own on-site small group provision, including beginning the development of outdoor qualifications and hairdressing, as well as a clear programme of work-related learning and our own alternative online programme, created and delivered by our staff and local community partners.


Trust Priority 4 - Leadership and Management

Build and embed our evolving local partnerships so that Noadswood is central to the development of excellent all-through education and support for young people and their families, and is in a strong position to play a lead role in a local, sustainable MAT.

Deepen our cultural and enrichment transition programmes to increase the impact on student progress in the curriculum, reading and oracy. 

Strategically lead, monitor and review a balanced budget, and a three-year integrated curriculum and financial plan (ICFP), that balances carefully financial sustainability for the trust with the other priorities in the plan. 

Robust, enriching Performance Management for all colleagues in which all are supported to be successful and intervention/CPD is provided bespoke to each person. 

Shore up the facilities and environment in the to enhance student, colleague and local community experience. 

Sustain our commitment to colleague wellbeing, underpinned by Noadswood’s values and key principles.
 

Tangible Outcomes - Year 1

  • A collaborative programme of CPD covering curriculum excellence, safeguarding and premises management with primary and secondary local educational partners, reviewed and impact measured both within our school and in terms of the next steps for the partnerships. A collaborative programme of multi-agency and wellbeing work with our primary and secondary partners, again reviewed and impact measured.

  • Trustees, senior and middle leaders working effectively together to maximise our capacity to embed the effectiveness of the partnerships we already work in to build excellent educational provision and services in the local community. 

  • Sustained and deepened programme of parent forums and parent/carer voice opportunities linked to all of the Trust Priorities.

  • Collaborative, whole school and bespoke CPD programme with key objectives for Year 6-7 progress measured through learning walks within each other’s schools and rigorous examination of assessment data. 

  • Budget holders and leaders will work confidently with the FM to meet strategic objectives with the use of resources, monitoring and forecasting accurately.
    Trustees will review accurate reports with respect to how resources are deployed to meet agreed objectives and will be confident in holding leaders to account/supporting them in sustaining strong ESFA compliance. 

  • Golden thread narrative between individual objectives for support and teaching colleagues and department/school strategic objectives.
    Evidence in place at all agreed review points conveying a strong sense of purpose in all colleagues around meeting objectives and engaging in professional learning to support these.

  • Safe and attractive perimeter fencing and landscaping via our successful CIF bid, improved outdoor facilities, activities and community garden in partnership with our Parent Staff Association, and strong compliance evidence in our Health and Safety audit. 

  • Staff forum, colleague surveys and trustee/colleague visit outcomes consistently implemented and reviewed. 
    CPD roadmap and directed time calendar co-constructed and reviewed by leaders and staff forum.
     


Staff Key Strands

Staff

The Individual

The Individual

Core Model

The Core Model