We are now well into the swing of the new school year. New courses or subjects are well underway, and our new students have settled in very well. It is always such a joy to see how warmly our older students welcome and guide new students, whether than be Year 7s or any other year group.
A priority for us this year is continuing to develop Student Voice and Student Councils. We restarted School Council last year after the hiatus during pandemic. Now we will be taking the next step of Year Councils, so that there are increased opportunities for students to engage in discussions about all aspects of school life, as well as take part in the democratic process of electing their representatives to Council. As well as Student Voice opportunities such as this, we are building in frequent opportunities for student feedback in the new Wellbeing curriculum. More than any other part of the curriculum, what is studied in this area of the curriculum depends a very great deal on student requests and feedback, as well as input from families, staff and other agencies with whom we work closely.
We were delighted to welcome the new Cabinet Member for Education at MCC, Cllr. Groucott, to school this week. The main focus of his visit was to meet a wide range of students to gauge their views on the priorities of the Local Authority, as the new administration develops its overall plan for education and young people in the county. It was so impressive to see the way in which students of all ages took part in this – thoughtful, erudite and full of ideas.
Another of our school priorities is the establishment of powerful routines across the school. Led by a working party of staff from across the school, we have developed a common language for classroom routines. The commonality is important: students don’t have to recall a multitude of different approaches in different lessons, which means that they can focus on the learning. The potential anxiety that students experience around uncertainty is reduced, as they know what the routines will be. Additionally, learning time is increased as routines become embedded.
One such example that your child will now be used to hearing is SLANT. This acronym stands for Sit up, Listen, Ask and answer questions, Never interrupt and Track (i.e. look towards the teacher when they are speaking). SLANT embodies positive habits of learning that we aim to inculcate in all of our students as they grow to become more independent in their studies. The specificity of the acronym also makes it far clearer to students what is expected than a general request to ‘pay attention’, which does not give a student enough information about what is requested of them. It was particularly important to us as an inclusive school that these routines met the needs of all students, and so a particular note of thanks to the whole of the Inclusion team who were instrumental in the planning and rollout of this.
It is, of course, a Bank Holiday on Monday on the day of the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. We return to school on Tuesday 20th September.
Best wishes,
Hugo Hutchison
Headteacher
