Introduction
The School Development Plan (SDP) is produced at the beginning of Term 2, in late October or early November. It’s a working document, very much the subject of modification and review, which aims to focus and give direction to the work of the school over the next academic year.
Content
All members of the school community have been consulted on the key priorities to be included in the SDP, through discussions during inclusive meetings involving staff and governors, including parent governors.
Monitoring
The monitoring of progress to achieve our objectives in each key priority is ongoing. However, there are two scheduled reviews; one in January and one in July, the results of which are shared with governors and staff.
Please contact the school office if you would like a copy of the complete School Development Plan but here below is a brief summary of each key priority.
Each key priority will have an action plan which is directly linked to an area for development, identified in the “Self Evaluation Summary” document. However, all intended outcomes are interlinked.
Priority 1
Raising standards in school is a continuous process: we always strive to be the best that we can be, and we want the same for our children. We want to ensure that our children have a good grasp of maths concepts, are fluent readers and enjoy writing with fluency and flair.
To do this, we have planned:
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To continue to build on the skills that children are learning through The Write Stuff to enable them to produce high quality writing;
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Monitor the children in class to enable us to put support and interventions in place immediately when they haven’t understood a concept;
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Make good use of good quality books, both in reading lessons and in the wider curriculum, to make sure that children have access to ambitious vocabulary which they understand and can use.
Priority 2
We have high expectations of behaviour in our school, and we expect children and adults to show respect to each other. However, we know that at times, doing the right thing can be a challenge, so we want to support children and their families to develop behaviours that will build positive relationships and enable us all to work together.
We will do this by:
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Developing a Relational Policy which will help us to develop a shared understanding of expectations of behaviour for learning;
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Working with children and their families to enable all children to attend school regularly;
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Continuing to train staff to help children to regulate their emotions;
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Training children to be Peer Mentors so that they can help other children at break and lunchtimes.
Priority 3
This priority links closely with Priority 2, by increasing the amount of support that we can offer to parents and carers. At Beech Green, we have invested a lot of time and resources in ensuring that staff are well equipped to support our children in both their emotional and their educational needs. We want to be able to share what we have learned with our families, to help you to be able to support your child at home.
Over the coming months, you will see:
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A Family Offer shared with you, which sets out how we can support you and your family;
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A programme of events running in the Family Tree Café which provide support and training;
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Emotion Coaching available, which will explain how we support children to manage their feelings in school, and how you can help them at home;
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More information available to you about how we support children with Special Educational Needs, and signposts to people who may be able to help you;
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A new Character Award, which links to our school values of “Achieve, Respect, Belong” and aims to instil these values in our children.
Priority 4
At Beech Green, we recognise that we are all learners: our staff are all committed to continuing their own learning and to being the best that they can be. We want to continue to support staff in furthering their knowledge and expertise by:
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Including all teaching staff in our programme of Continuous Professional Learning, where we read and share current research, observe each other teaching and try new approaches from what we have learned;
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Supporting staff in undertaking qualifications to further their knowledge, such as the Government funded “NPQ” qualifications or Masters degrees;
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Working with Governors to develop their role and helping them to have a greater impact on the development of the school.
Priority 5
It is widely recognised that a good education needs to have a solid foundation, and so we want to continue to develop the provision we have for our youngest children. The development of vocabulary is key to ensuring that our children can access learning throughout their time at school, and so we aim to support our children in developing a wide-ranging vocabulary.
Staff in the Early Years Foundation Stage will continue to use ambitious language in their teaching, through stories and in the classroom environment to help to create learners who are able to use and understand exciting language in their learning, talk and play.