About

School Improvement Plans 2020-21

We want our School to the very best that it can be for every child and family and staff member.

Our Mission Statement says it all…

God’s love is at the heart of our Catholic School family.

We show this in our respect, kindness and love for others and by treating other people as we wish to be treated ourselves.

We will encourage everyone to be the best that we can be.

Our aims are…

To guide our children to grow in the love of God and build relationships that will enable them to make a positive contribution to the school and society.

To develop an exciting, challenging and creative curriculum that produces confident and successful learners who are the best that they can be.

To develop high quality learning that enables every child to flourish, to discover their talents and be lifelong learners.

To establish a teaching and learning environment that encourages everyone to enjoy, to achieve, to be inclusive, to be healthy, and to stay safe.

To nurture a strong partnership between home and school.

To have respect and understanding for our school, our community and our world, helping our children to become responsible citizens and good role models.

and our Shared Vision is that:

Every child at St Thomas of Canterbury is special and will achieve their full potential academically, socially, spiritually and emotionally through the provision of a loving community and rich and varied learning opportunities and the highest quality teaching and learning.

Every staff member at St Thomas of Canterbury will feel valued and enabled to provide the opportunities that we want for our children and to do so as part of a loving community which has the highest expectations of and for all.

Every Governor at St Thomas of Canterbury will feel valued and enabled to act as a critical friend to the School and to be accountable for the School’s strategy.  They will play a visible role supporting all children, their parents and staff at School and in the wider community, to provide the best environment possible for learning and spiritual growth.

We are always looking to improve and our current Improvement priorities for 2020-21 are:

OVERALL STRATEGIC AIMS

  • To focus on learning and teaching

To enable each and every child to become successful learners who enjoy learning, who make good progress and who achieve. Ensuring that gaps in learning are met through rediscover and going deeper approach.

  •  To focus on the development of the whole child

To enable the children to become confident individuals who lead healthy and fulfilling lives: physically, emotionally, mentally, socially and spiritually. Ensuring that mental health impact of school lockdown and pandemic is recognised and met in a supportive and loving school environment.

  •  To focus on our Catholic ethos

To put into practice what it means to be Catholic: a community of faith rooted and centred on the person of Christ, where all live out the values of the Gospel. Where every child is everyone’s child.

  •  To focus on pupil safety

To ensure that St Thomas of Canterbury provides the safest possible environment for children to thrive and excel. With a focus on ensuring all steps are taken to minimise the impact of COVID-19.

  •  To focus on School Leadership

To ensure that the School Leadership is effective at all levels in School Improvement and meeting the needs of every child and staff member and in providing School to School support.

  •  To focus on systems and structures

To keep under review current systems and structures and plan for any necessary improvements.

  •  To focus on the best use and development of the school building, grounds and resources

To enable the best possible provision for the education of our children in a safe and stimulating environment.

 

KEY SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PRIORITIES 2020-21

The context of our Improvement Plan is to constantly move the School forward towards being an Outstanding school in every way, to ensure we are providing the best possible educational provision for the children in our care.  The most recent Ofsted Inspection of the School in 2018 confirmed that the school is Good and improving all the time.  Our aim is to be outstanding.

In order to achieve this aim and to respond to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the School improvement priorities of the School for 2019-20 are:

 

Improvement Priority 1 – Raising the bar and Closing the Gap: Improving outcomes for all children (and staff) by developing effective and successful whole school strategies for improving and protecting mental health and wellbeing, with a real focus on the return to school after lockdown – To continue to develop and embed a programme of taught strategies and habits for all children (and staff) which promote a growing resilience and healthy lifestyle by through further development and embedding of our Making S=P+A+C+E for ME initiative.

 

Improvement Priority 2 – Raising the bar and Closing the Gap: improving outcomes for all by the introduction of effective whole school intervention programmes to close gaps in learning from the COVID-19 lockdown – including all pupil groups – To introduce a planned intervention programme across Maths and English which recognises the gaps in children’s learning as a result of limited or no access to school since March 2020. This programme will develop across the year 2020-21 to respond to gaps identified by teachers in the first term and will involve all teaching and learning support staff in a coordinated and coherent intervention programme.

 

Improvement Priority 3 – Raising the bar and Closing the Gap: Ensure the best possible outcomes for all children in maths – including all pupil groups

 

Improvement Priority 4 – Raising the bar: Continue to develop a creative, continuous and consistent mastery curriculum preparing for life – To continue to develop a whole school overview of learning so that children thrive across and throughout key stages whilst also ensuring a broad and balanced curriculum that is engaging for all.

 

Underpinning each area for improvement is an unrelenting focus on improving the quality of learning and teaching across the school.

 

In every action and decision the School, the Leadership and whole community works towards the Vision for our School, living our Mission Statement and working to meet our aims.

 

Improvement Priority 1 – Raising the bar and Closing the Gap:

Improving outcomes for all children (and staff) by developing effective and successful whole school strategies for improving and protecting mental health and wellbeing

To develop a programme of taught strategies and habits for all children (and staff) which promote a growing resilience and healthy lifestyle by:

  • Developing the School’s Making S=P+A+C+E for ME resilience wheel focused on an appreciation and understanding of Belonging, Responsibility, positive growth mindset in Learning (Making S=P+A+C+E for learning), Communicating (building on Making S=P+A+C+E for talk) and Coping.
  • Full participation in the Xavier CET Mental Health Champions Initiative.
  • Greater use of outside learning spaces to encourage creativity and challenge for all learners across the curriculum.
  • Further develop pupil leadership of mental health and wellbeing across the school.
  • Engagement with parents in through website development and adult learning opportunities around mental health and wellbeing.
  • Quality CPD in Mental Health First Aid and developing further the role and access to the HSLW.
  • Continue to embed the relationship concepts of the Golden Threads to all aspects of school life.
  • Whole school focus on healthy eating choices and physical activity through Daily 10 minute Walk, whole school Wake up and Shake up before school starts each day, and targeted co-curricular activities.

Research in to mindfulness techniques and how to introduce them in to the classroom for maximum impact.

 

Improvement Priority 2 Raising the bar and Closing the Gap:

Improving outcomes for all by the introduction of effective whole school intervention programmes to close gaps in learning from the COVID-19 lockdown

– including all pupil groups –

To introduce a planned intervention programme across Maths and English which recognises the gaps in children’s learning as a result of limited or no access to school since March 2020. This programme will develop across the year 2020-21 to respond to gaps identified by teachers in the first term and will involve all teaching and learning support staff in a coordinated and coherent intervention programme.

To continue to develop teaching and ensuring improved outcomes by:

  • Identifying gaps in teaching and learning as a result of limited or no access to schooling since March 2020
  • Highest quality teaching and learning with Quality First Teaching

Targeted high impact interventions where required and constant and effective evaluation of impact on pupil confidence and progress.

 

 

Improvement Priority 3 – Raising the bar and Closing the Gap:

Ensure the best possible outcomes for all children in maths – including all pupil groups: SEND, Disadvantaged children, those with English as an additional language, Summer born children and those who are high attainers from end of EYFS/KS1

To continue to develop teaching for Mastery approach and ensuring improved outcomes by:

  • Highest quality teaching and learning with Quality First Teaching backed up by targeted high impact interventions where required and constant and effective evaluation of impact on pupil confidence and progress.
  • Continued focus on whole staff professional development in understanding and teaching a mastery approach in maths with weekly CPD led by Mastery specialist.
  • Peer to peer learning opportunities through Collaborative learning Project and through opportunities in Xavier CET.
  • Introduction of Power Maths resource.
  • Focus on times tables and raised teaching status with HT challenge each week, daily basic skills and introduction of Times Tables Rockstars.

 

Improvement Priority 4 Raising the bar:

Continue to develop a creative, continuous and consistent mastery curriculum preparing for life

Reviewing our school curriculum to ensure consistency and continuity of learning

To continue to develop a whole school overview of learning so that children thrive across and throughout key stages whilst also ensuring a broad and balanced curriculum that is engaging for all is delivered by:

  • Developing the Collaborative Learning Project throughout the school with the following aims:
    1. To build upon the children’s resilience after their return to school through Time to Talk sessions.
    2. To maximise children’s progress throughout their school life and recognise the key aspects of transition from one year to another
    3. To develop and improve the transition experience for children
    4. To further embed continuity and consistency with learning content throughout and across key stages – continued focus on understanding the learning content that has been taught in previous years with the view to revise and build upon this
    5. To recognise what influences individual children’s learning
    6. Opportunities for teachers to observe the year groups above and below
  • Opportunities for teachers to observe their year group in another school within the Xavier CET
  • Teaching and Learning Walks for all staff to participate in to gain a greater understanding of their subject throughout the school combined with dedicated reflection time and a feedback session during staff CPD
  • Specific Teaching and Learning feedback time in every staff workshop
  • Introduction of S=P+A+C+E for knowledge in the foundation subjects to ensure coverage and progression as well as focusing on what is the important knowledge to be learnt
  • Focusing on the teaching of vocabulary to enhance the teaching and learning in all subjects
  • Defining the Intent, Implementation and Impact expectations for all subjects
  • Ensuring all updates to the curriculum are planned for, following guidance and with collaboration from subject leads
  • Rediscovering and Going Deeper with our learning

To plan for and implement a contingency plan for remote learning

Underpinning each area for improvement is an unrelenting focus on improving the quality of learning and teaching across the school.

In every action and decision the School, the Leadership and whole community works towards the Vision for our School, living our Mission Statement and working to meet our aims.

If you have thoughts on how our School can improve (in any area) then please do share them with Mr Lewin!

How did we do last year?

Improvement Priority 1 – Raising the bar and Closing the Gap: Improving outcomes for all children (and staff) by developing effective and successful whole school strategies for improving and protecting mental health and wellbeing

To develop a programme of taught strategies and habits for all children (and staff) which promote a growing resilience and healthy lifestyle 

The S=P+A+C+E for ME Resilience wheel was introduced and the concepts explored through out the school each week. The Lockdown meant that it was hard to gauge the overall success but without doubt, the fact that we already had established a focus on mental health and wellbeing and had the tools available to us through the S=P+A+C+E for ME programme was a great help in working through the disruptions and anxiety caused by COVID.
Improvement Priority 2 – Raising the bar and Closing the Gap: Ensure the best possible outcomes for all children in maths – including all pupil groups: SEND, Disadvantaged children, those with English as an additional language, Summer born children and those who are high attainers from end of EYFS/KS1

Our focus on teaching for mastery in maths had progressed well through the year to the date of the lockdown. Parents found maths quite tricky in home learning and we have learnt from that. we are continuing with this focus for 2020-21
Improvement Priority 3 – Raising the bar: Develop and embed a robust PSHE curriculum to meet the needs of all our children Ensure the best possible outcomes for all children – including those with SEND, Disadvantaged children, those with English as an additional language, Summer born children and those who are high attainers from end of EYFS/KS1, with a focus on mindfulness and mental wellbeing

We want the very best for EVERY child in our school and have worked hard on developing and updating our PSHE curriculum and in 2020/21 will complete this work with the introduction of the new statutory requirements for RSE.
Improvement Priority 4 – Raising the bar: Continue to develop a creative, continuous and consistent mastery curriculum preparing for life

To continue to develop a whole school overview of learning so that children thrive across and throughout key stages whilst also ensuring a broad and balanced curriculum that is engaging for all

We travelled a long way along the journey with our curriculum and our progress was rudely interrupted by the lockdown but this will remain a focus for 2020-21!