We make a commitment to every parent or carer who chooses to send their child to a Pontefract Academies Trust school. Our commitment:
High expectations
We have the highest expectations of our students. We expect all of our students to attend school on time every day, ready to learn and achieve. To ensure consistent application of our expectations, we ask all students to meet the following learning expectations:
- Be prepared – ready to learn,
- Be exemplary in the way I present myself – manners, pride and kindness.
- Be respectful – to others, to the environment and to myself.
Our learning expectations ensure there is an excellent classroom culture that allows all students to feel that they belong and help them to feel safe in an environment where they can thrive as individuals and as learners.
We apply our behaviour and relationships policy consistently to ensure our learning expectations are met by all students. We are positive when our students behave well but have clear systems in place for when students do not meet our learning expectations.
We have a zero tolerance of bullying, abusive or discriminatory language and violence
All adults in our schools model the positive behaviour we expect of our students. Equally, we expect our parents to reinforce these behaviours at home.
We work hard to create a culture of high aspirations throughout our school. We set ambitious targets for every student. Our aim is that every pupil should achieve above the national expectation in each phase of their learning.
An ambitious curriculum which is rich in knowledge
Our curriculum is ambitious, broad, balanced, knowledge rich and goes beyond the national curriculum.
Our Intent is ‘to provide a well-balanced curriculum for all students ensuring they build knowledge, learn new skills and gain experiences inside and outside of the classroom that helps them to be the best possible version of themselves’. We are proud that we have implemented our curriculum intent well and the impact of the curriculum is reflected in strong outcomes for students.
The curriculum is designed with a clear progression model, is well planned and sequenced so that new component knowledge and skills build on what has been previously taught; key concepts are revisited through a spiralled curriculum.
Regardless of background or prior ability, we aim to secure the best outcomes for all of our students, ensuring that our curriculum gives a solid foundation for future learning at every stage.
Quality first teaching, rigorous tracking and personalised intervention
All lessons are well planned and take into account models for best practice. Our teaching staff develop innovative and highly successful approaches to sustain students interest.
Every child in our school has their progress closely monitored to ensure that they are always meeting their, and our, high expectations. After each assessment, appropriate interventions and personalised ‘catch-up’ activities are planned where necessary.
We send reports home to ensure that parents are kept abreast of their child’s progress and inform parents/carers when necessary if any issues arise. We hold parents’ evenings to discuss pupils personal and academic progress and hold additional meetings with parents whose child is at risk of not achieving their potential.
Highly qualified staff that are motivated and well trained
We believe that the most effective learning goes hand-in-hand with the most inspirational teaching, which is why our teachers are some of the best. They are highly motivated and benefit from extensive continued professional development. This support means they deliver the very best outcomes for students, helping them to realise their potential.
First class learning environment
We understand that having the right facilities can be the difference between a good education and an outstanding one. We invest in our buildings and facilities to create an inspirational learning environment for our young people, and we have a whole host of excellent facilities to support our students to become the best that they can be.