As promised in last week’s newsletter, we’re now able to share with you our school improvement plan. It is split into the red plan, which sets out our goals for academic development, and the blue plan, which focuses on social and personal development. This week we’re taking a look at the red plan.
Our red plan has five priorities which cover: curriculum, cognition, literacy, numeracy and leadership, and which can be summed up as ‘what we teach and how we teach it’. The curriculum we have developed at Myton School is based on our desire for students to see past exam results and aspire to master the subject instead. Rather than focus on a maths grade, for example, we want them to learn how to be a mathematician. Our Heads of Department are in their roles because they love their subjects and have written schemes of work to help students also love that subject.
The way the subject is taught is key: cognition. Our improvement plan draws on the latest research on how young people learn, on how information can be moved from short-term to long-term memory, for example. Dr Menezes, our ‘red’ Deputy Head, has written an article for this newsletter on this topic: Using cognitive science to focus on memory.
Underpinning our plan are the educational pillars of literacy and numeracy; the two building blocks of all learning. And finally, running through all of this is leadership. We are a big school which demands strong leadership at every level. We aim for all staff to lead their own empires, whether that is a classroom, a key stage, a department, a year group, or a larger strategic area. Furthermore, we attempt to identify and develop student leaders who can learn the appropriate skills to have a positive impact on those around them and further afield.
Next week, we’ll share with you details of our blue plan.
Mr Perry – Head Teacher
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