Head Teacher Blog 09.02.24

We have reached the end of another really busy half term. Children and staff have worked incredibly hard.

During this half term we have had an external Developmental Review arranged by ourselves as part of our continuous school improvement journey. This was conducted by a consultant and a governor. All areas of school life were looked at including the quality of education. Safeguarding, the behaviour and attitudes of the children and the leadership of the school. The subjects that were explored in the greatest depth were Reading, Writing and Science.

Following the review the school received a written report which was excellent and something to be proud of.

In the section about the quality of education the report said the following,

• “The quality of education is securely good, with some aspects which are much stronger.”
• “The curriculum is driven by a strong moral purpose that pupils deserve the very best start in life. This underpins all aspects of school life.”
• “The teaching of early reading is very well embedded, streamlined and highly effective.”
• “Careful consideration is given to those pupils identified with special educational needs, and the approach is adapted to their needs while closely following the agreed approach.”
• “Relationships were strong and expectations high.”

Pupils were spoken to during the two days and asked what they thought about things and what it felt like to be a pupil at Newhall Park. The Year 3 children were very excited by this opportunity.

“When speaking with pupils in Year 3, they explained that ‘guided reading is really helpful as it helps me with expanding my vocabulary’. They showed a good understanding of the different aspects of the guided reading sessions and spoke positively about their favourite books and authors.”

Year 6 pupils were also spoken to about the behaviour and attitudes of the pupils at this school.

“When speaking to pupils in Year 6, they demonstrated that they have developed strong and positive characters. Pupils listened well to one another and were skilled to help their peers develop their opinions. They know that their voice has the power to make a difference in their world.

Newhall Park is highly successful in its quest to develop well-rounded and mature young people of good character.”

Learning never stands still and even though the report was so positive as a school we are always looking for the next steps to improve even further. Our next step is to ensure that Science lessons have even more precision to ensure that all pupils have a secure grasp of subject-specific knowledge. My blogs over the next half term will share some of ideas of how to achieve this and what they will look like for our curriculum across school, in Early Years and Key Stage One and for all our stakeholders.

Have a lovely, safe half term and thank you for your continued help and support.