This term has been a key term for self evaluating our school (an ongoing annual process of asking the simple questions: ‘what’s working well and even better if?’ across all areas of school life). Middle leaders have engaged their faculty teams in looking at all aspects related to:

• student outcomes
• teaching and learning
• personal development, behaviour and welfare
• leadership and management
• overall effectiveness

Each Head of Faculty has completed detailed proformas which have been shared and discussed with the senior leaders . On Monday evening of this week the Senior Leadership Team met to analyse and present key findings from all the documentation, a process which served to crystallise the strengths across our learning community and identify key next steps to support the ongoing improvement journey. Each member of SLT presented and spoke to a summary document which they had thoroughly prepared prior to the meeting. Other members of the team had also been tasked with carefully analysing all the paperwork in specific faculty areas and providing a robust peer review – asking key questions and promoting discussion across the team.

I would like to thank everyone across the school for the role that they have played this term in considering how we can all work together to make Bushey Meads School an even better school than it is already. I would also like to thank the dedicated and hardworking members of the Senior Leadership Team who have committed many hours above and beyond to supporting our middle leaders and for their time on Monday into the early hours of the evening. It was a powerful meeting and one that will serve us in good stead for the future.

A few of the more strategic ideas that were identified at the meeting are included below:

Some of the Key Strategic Actions Identified:

1. Use student leaders to create greater capacity for improvement (support for extracurricular activities, intervention and support in class and for individual students, to profile the faculty in the newsletter etc.)

2. Develop stronger curriculum pathways: extra curricular options at KS3 leading to GCSE and A level courses, offer Media Studies at KS4, use LSAs to develop a Pathway 3 curriculum at KS3 – Year 13 (Asdan Health and Fitness Award etc.)

3. Distribute leadership all across the faculty and hold leaders accountable.

4. Recruit great teachers/over staff in key areas.

5. Undertake more forensic analysis and put in place carefully planned interventions to secure progress and improvement.

6. Focus on succession planning where needed.

7. Regularly revisit the FIP and hoid ½ termly leadership meetings to look at progress and discuss next steps.

8. Conduct more targeted learning walks.

9. Arrange targeted and focus input from the Teaching and Learning Team to support improvement with marking and feedback, behaviour for learning and aspects of classroom pedagogy.

10. Improve display in the faculty with a focus on stretch and challenge, promoting female success and showcasing the achievement of people from black and minority ethnic cultures and backgrounds.

11. Ensure greater clarity of leadership responsibilities.

12. Improve extracurricular activities, trips, university links, more able trips in Year 9 aimed at potential GCSE students in the subject.

13. Improve links with industry, ex students and external speakers.

14. Focus on closing the gap and improving the attainment of high prior attaining students.

15. Developing strategies and systems to outline home learning across the academic year and secure better/more improved independent learning (using SAMLearning, other online platforms and ensuring all home learning is noted down in the Student Planner)

16. Improve engagement with parents and carers to support progress of all learners

17. Develop and utilise a greater presence of leaders in faculty areas.

18. Develop better peer assessment opportunities for students and ensure high quality next step comments.

19. Embed low stakes quizzing to aid memory retrieval.

20. Secure greater STEM and cross faculty collaborations across the school.

21. Ensure robust support is in place for all teachers when needed.

22. Hold regular post PPE surgeries with students to support greater improvement.

23. Develop further links across the Bushey St James Trust.

24. Visit other outstanding faculties and schools to gain best practice ideas.