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School Development Priorities

 Key School Priorities Intent
Key School Priority 1 

 

To enhance provision to enable greater independence by :

  • Creating an implementation plan with all stakeholders. Staff use this to monitor the effectiveness of our implementation of this priority. Governors use this to hold SLT to account 
  • Leaders sharing research with the team and providing timely and relevant CPD 
  • Leaders carrying out the necessary research and actions to obtain the Inclusion Award  
  • Ensuring effective implementation through lesson study and team teaching  
  • Subject Leaders identifying the active ingredients of effective questioning and scaffolding and modelling in their subject and sharing relevant CPD to advance teacher subject knowledge to ensure high quality, inclusive teaching for all 
  • Working cohesively with our learning community by sharing our CPD training and development as a school as well as through curriculum evenings and the use of online platforms such as newsletters, blogs, Tapestry and Seesaw 
Key School Priority 2 

 

To build lifelong effective word learners by:

  • Leaders sharing research with school, providing high quality CPD, rigorous implementation planning and monitoring  
  • Supporting inclusion by consistently teaching all children the vocabulary required to access the learning using a multi-sensory approach  
  • Early intervention – Word Aware rolled out in Nursery  
  • Short, focussed interventions, when required, to ensure all children are able to access the curriculum  
  • Subject Leaders reviewing tiered vocabulary (anchor, goldilocks and step on) to talk like a Geographer/Historian and ensure successful implementation 
  • Creating subject literate learners who are prepared for future success in their next steps (Personal Development) 
  • Working alongside our learning community to raise awareness of vocabulary and how to develop our children as word learners through MHM, blogs, workshops and the website 
  • Developing Independent Word Learning Skills to ensure effective lifelong word learners – prepared for next phase of learning 
Key School Priority 3 

 

 

 

To offer comprehensive support to parents and carers, addressing the challenges arising from the cost of living crisis and other pressing needs by:

  • Reducing the financial burden on parents and carers facing the cost of living crisis by providing support and resources 
  • Expanding access to our wrap around care, to provide access to affordable, high quality afterschool care options that align with work schedules and childcare needs 
  • Providing timely assistance and a sense of community to the parents, ensuring they have access to resources and emotional support, thereby strengthening the overall well-being of our school community 
Key School Priority 4 

 

To develop and foster a culture of celebrating diversity and practising anti-racism throughout the school community by:

  • Continuing to implement our newly developed anti-racism policy for Merry Hill School 
  • Obtaining the anti-racist mark award for schools  
  • Using the Anti-racist principles, guidance and toolkit 
  • Continuing to make links with the local community leaders and encouraging them to visit the school 
  • Tracking pupil achievement of our BAME groups more closely 
  • Working collaboratively with our wider community to promote diversity and inclusion  
  • Increasing the diversity of books available in the classrooms and library  
  • Continuing our work to decolonise the curriculum and ensuring it is a true representation of our diverse society 
  • Ensuring the whole school environment celebrates multiculturalism and reflects our school vision and ethos 
Key School Priority 5 To rebuild our History curriculum for our ‘Curious Learners’ and ensure there is relevance to their lives by:

  • Prioritising the sequencing of our curriculum, tailoring historical content to the cognitive abilities and interests of our pupils 
  • Redesigning and implementing a new history curriculum which reflects the experience and context of our pupils 
  • Ensuring our curious learners become active historical thinkers and enquirers