the streetly academy prospectus
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The Streetly Academy ProspectusTRANSCRIPT
valuesandachievementthestreetlyacademy
Our VisionValues and Achievement
At The Streetly Academy, our moral compass is steered by our very clear
values. Our emphasis on some traditional expectations of respect, good
old-fashioned uniform standards, and effort are fully encapsulated with
our PRIDE system, drawn from the Olympic and Paralympic Values of
Personal Excellence, Respect and Friendship, Inspiration, Determination
and Courage, and Equality. These values run through the school in
everything we do.
At The Streetly Academy we feel morally obliged to consistently improve
in everything we do. From teaching to support work, behaviour
management to leadership, working to ensure that every student, no
matter what their ability, can grow, flourish, and achieve in a safe and
stimulating environment.
Values and Achievement sit at the centre of our vision, and we expect
that every person connected to the school, parent or governor, student
or staff member, maintains the same focus.
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Our CurriculumKey Stage 3
At Key Stage 3, the curriculum is broad and balanced for
all our students. They study a range of subjects including
English, Maths, Science, ICT and PE. Beyond this core,
Geography, History and Religious Education are taught as
separate humanities to all students. Drama, Art and Music
comprise the Creative and Expressive Arts curriculum. French
and Spanish are learnt by students throughout the Key Stage.
Technology is taught through a carousel of different aspects;
electronics, food technology, resistant materials, systems and
control and graphical products. We offer Personal, Social,
Health and Citizenship Education (PSHCE) throughout the
Key Stage.
Students are divided into two equal ability bands in each year.
These bands are then set by ability in English, Maths, Science,
Modern Languages and PE. There is a high achieving set in
each band in each year in all subjects – the Alpha group. We
also create a transition group that nurtures those students
who require additional support.
Key Stage 4
We strive towards a Key Stage 4 programme that allows for
personalisation. This is achieved through student preferences,
learning styles and the range of courses on offer. These
courses are a blend of traditional GCSE’s, Applied GCSE’s
and Vocational options.
Maths, English, Science, PE, Religious Education and PSHCE
are courses that remain as a crucial part of the curriculum
throughout this Key Stage.
AssessmentAn essential part of our curriculum is the setting of student targets for
achievement over a Key Stage. These targets encourage students
to be aware of their potential and to work towards challenging goals.
The targets are based on each student’s personal achievement in
their Key Stage 2 SATs at primary school.
At Key Stage 3, targets are broken down into manageable steps
and at Key Stages 4 & 5 targets are set at the start of each course.
Progress towards targets is measured formally four times a year and,
within subjects, even more regularly. A progress report is issued to
parents and carers so that they can follow their child’s achievements
after key assessments and these reports also feed into the Parent
Portal of the FROG platform. There are regular, calendared, meetings
for students to meet with their form tutor to discuss their progress
and to set personal targets. There are additional meetings for GCSE
& Post 16 students to meet with a member of the Senior Leadership
Team to discuss vital progress towards their targets.
In addition to this, a full written report for each subject is issued
during the year. In this report there is a detailed statement outlining
what each student has studied and achieved, as well as a series of
improvement targets. Form tutors and pastoral staff also comment
on the student’s personal qualities and commitment to the school.
Parents and carers have the opportunity to meet with staff at our
Parents’ Evenings, which are always very well attended. Students
are given the responsibility of making appointments for their parents
to suit their personal needs. Parents can also contact pastoral and
subject staff throughout the year if they have concerns.
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SpecialismAlthough school specialisms are a thing of the past, we still
maintain that our commitment to our specialism is Physical
Education and Sport. Through high quality facilities (including our
new Fitness Suite and All Weather Pitch) provision and teaching
we offer a high quality programme of Physical Education and
extra-curricular activities. We are a lead partner school with the
Youth Sport Trust and have achieved ‘Gold Partner Status’ as a
result of our outstanding work.
Since 2011, we have acted as the hub site for our School Games
Organiser. This exciting development extends our work into our
partner primary and secondary schools, where we play a crucial
role in providing competitive opportunities for all students in our
region.
Our sports specialism is not just confined to the Physical
Education department but is embedded across every aspect
of school life through the Olympic and Paralympic values.
Students are rewarded for demonstrating; Personal Excellence,
Respect, Friendship, Inspiration, Determination, Courage and
Equality in every lesson, every day. We believe that these values
are transferable to all aspects of life and contribute to being a
positive, well-rounded citizen.
The Streetly Academy – a Specialist Sports CollegeWe are a successful Sports College, and this success has been
achieved through a number of strategies:
• An increase in specialist PE teachers – this has enabled us
to provide all students with two hours of high quality PE each
week. It has also enabled us to increase the amount of out of
hours activities and events our students can take part in. These
activities cater for all students, from physical recreation activities
to high level sport.
• The range of PE and Sports qualifications that are on offer
through the curriculum increases each year and all students have
the opportunity to do Sports Leadership awards, particularly in
Key Stage 4 and Post 16.
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EnterpriseThe Streetly Academy places real importance in making sure that
students are encouraged to develop the skills to be successful when
entering the world of work. Indeed, Enterprise is delivered across
the curriculum and through wider school events.
Firstly, the cross curricular delivery of Citizenship makes sure all
students are taught the important issues of financial and economic
understanding of the world they are about to enter. This deals with
important matters such as dealing with money and how to handle
budgeting.
Enterprise is also delivered in many forms in the curriculum. Lessons
are delivered with a focus to encourage those skills each student may
need to be successful in the world of work; such as team working,
taking risks, problem-solving, presenting and communicating to
people.
It is the school’s intention that through thorough use of Enterprise
skills such as these, students will develop into more prepared
employees and employers of the future.
Work Related LearningIn accordance with the QCA guidelines for delivery of Work
Related Learning (WRL) The Streetly Academy is committed
to delivering a comprehensive range of opportunities to learn
and develop skills about the work place and future career
opportunities.
Although only being obliged to deliver WRL as part of the Key
Stage 4 curriculum, The Streetly Academy has taken steps to go
above and beyond this requirement and is currently delivering
useful activities across the Key Stage 3 curriculum as well.
There are many ways in which students have the opportunity
to visit employers to gain experiences of subject skills in relation
to a particular job. Also, there are a growing number of areas
in the school that have developed links with businesses in the
local community and we are fortunate to have many employers
coming into school to get involved with project based tasks.
Along with the delivery of Enterprise Education, Work Experience
and our Annual Careers Information Evening in preparation for
students leaving the school, there are many other WRL events.
These other events include work simulations in lessons and
interview simulations to prepare students for the skills required
when leaving into the competitive field of work.
Over recent times there have been significant opportunities
offered by the school to make sure that students leave our
school with the most informed and rounded chance of success
when entering the world of work.
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Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Education (PSHCE)The PSHCE programme aims to enable students to develop
a healthy, safe lifestyle and to make informed choices
regarding personal, social and moral issues. The programme
incorporates sessions on drugs education and substance
abuse, together with sex and relationships education.
Drugs EducationSchools play a key role in providing education relating
to drugs and we aim to create a safe and supportive
environment that enables young people to develop their
knowledge, understanding, and attitudes to drugs and drug
related issues and the consequences of substance abuse.
Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) SRE is incorporated into the PSHCE programme
and is taught within a moral and values framework
which enables students to make informed choices
in their later lives.
Careers EducationCareers education and guidance is an important
element within the curriculum. We work closely with
local firms and businesses who attend a Careers
Fair to offer information and guidance to students.
Connexions and ESS-Team are organisations used
by the school which offer advice on education and
careers, playing a part in preparing our students
for their lives out of school and all Year 11 students
have an interview with a qualified adviser.
Careers education is part of the PSHCE programme
and a structured and varied programme is in place
for all year groups. A number of our students
participate in an Employability Skills Programme,
delivered in conjunction with Walsall Education
Business Partnership.
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Out of Hours As a Lead Partner School with the Youth Sport Trust, The Streetly
Academy provides many out of hours activities for students. The PE
department provides a new timetable each term in a whole range of
activities for all students. These activities range from trampolining,
dance, aerobics, fitness training, badminton and futsal.
The school has teams in football, cricket, rugby, netball, athletics,
swimming and rounders. Many more opportunities are organised
through the House system and these also range from mass
participation events to more competitive events, like the annual
school Sports Day at The Alexander Stadium.
The school organises many visits, trips and holidays throughout the
year for students of all ages. These include language visits to Spain
and France, PE visits to an outdoor pursuit centre and the Year 7
residential. Weekend visits are organised for our gifted and talented
students.
The school has an annual musical production which is the culmination
of work from the Music, Drama, Dance and Art departments.
The school also runs revision classes, booster sessions and
specialist subject clubs for students in many subject areas.
Citizenship The cross curricular citizenship programme aims to give
students the knowledge, skills and understanding to
become informed, thoughtful and responsible citizens.
We aim to achieve this by raising students’ political
awareness in addition to their awareness of moral and
social responsibilities and understanding of their role within
the local, national and global community. The Citizenship
programme promotes an understanding and respect for
diversity and an awareness of rights and responsibilities
and what these can mean in practice.
We encourage students to become involved in active
citizenship projects and our students regularly raise money
for a number of different charities.
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Special Educational Needs including Physical DisabilityOur Special Educational Needs department supports
students with a wide range of needs. The department
currently has a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator
(SENCO), Physical Disability (PD) Co-ordinator and 19
Teaching Assistants, 3 of whom are Higher Level Teaching
Assistants (HLTA’s).
The SENCO teaches the Year 7 transition group. This
group benefits from small group teaching in the basic
skills and other subjects with one teacher for 40% of their
timetable, enabling their effective transition to secondary
education.
The department is streamlined into teams (autism,
dyslexia, language skills development, physical disability,
social communication, Successmaker, to name but a
few) whereby Teaching Assistants can offer effective
interventions to support students, both within and out
of lessons. We offer supervised provision at break and
lunchtimes, and a weekly Homework Club. Our Teaching
Assistants also support educational visits. We aim to
provide a personalised education programme for our
students, and involve them in person-centred reviews.
The Streetly Academy is an Additionally Resourced Provision (ARP)
school for students with physical disability, within the Special Needs
department. We cater for all disabilities, thus enabling students
to access mainstream education, supporting both educational
and personal needs. The school buildings are accessible to all,
and our facilities include a Physio room, Personal Hygiene rooms
and specialist equipment for PE, D&T and other subjects. Also, a
number of extra-curricular activities are organised for our students.
A recent visitor commented, “I feel that the department do their
utmost for the students and truly value their individual needs, enabling
and empowering them to learn and achieve, as independently as
possible”.
If you require further information, please don’t hesitate to contact
either our SENCO or PD Co-ordinator on the school number,
extension 327.
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Pastoral SystemOn joining The Streetly Academy, students are placed in one of 9
mixed ability form groups. Students will stay with their form and
form tutor for the whole of their time in school. Each year group has
its own designated social space and students are encouraged to
take responsibility for their particular area.
Each year group is led by a Head of Year and an Assistant Head
of Year, who are responsible for the care and guidance of students
in their year group. The pastoral staff, including your child’s form
tutor, work in partnership with parents to ensure that all students
are supported in their progress. We believe in building close links
between home and school in order to minimise problems and
celebrate success.
The school is organised into 3 houses for the purpose of sports and
other competitions. The houses are:
Atlas (yellow stripe on tie)
Electra (red stripe on tie)
Maia (blue stripe on tie)
TransitionMoving from primary to secondary school is an exciting time
for most children, but we recognise that it can be a challenging
experience for some.
We aim to make the process as secure and happy as possible
and we spend a lot of time throughout the year visiting our local
primary schools to get to know students before they join us in
September.
In addition, there are occasions when primary school students are
invited in to Streetly in order to get to know the school and our
teachers and other staff.
Our induction programme is planned to enable students to feel a
part of the Streetly team as quickly as possible.
This includes:
• September Open Evening for prospective Year 6 students and
parents
• Ongoing Primary school visits throughout the year
• June Induction event for specific primary schools
• July Induction Day & Evening for all students
• September special first day for new Year 7 students
• October ‘Settling in’ Parents’ Evening
• October Residential experience
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ExpectationsRewardsAt The Streetly Academy we aim to recognise and celebrate
the achievements of all students who demonstrate a positive
attitude towards school through the Olympic and Paralympic
values. These values are recognised and students are rewarded
for demonstrating them in all aspects of school life. Through our
electronic ‘Sleuth’ system, behaviour points are collected by
students throughout the year with our top performers receiving
e-mail certificates and prizes are awarded to tutor groups at
regular intervals. Students are also rewarded at our high profile
Curriculum Awards Evenings and our PRIDE Awards Evening
which takes place at Villa Park.
AttendanceGood attendance is the key to your child’s success. We
have high expectations of attendance for all of our students
and we expect them to attend 100% of the time unless
they are ill. Our reward system recognises those with
outstanding attendance.
We ask that all parents support the school in maximising
levels of attendance. We work with an Education Welfare
Officer to support parents who may experience difficulty in
ensuring their child’s full attendance.
Parents are asked to contact the school on the first day
of their child’s absence to supply a reason for any non-
attendance.
If your child is taken ill at school, it is important that we are
able to contact you straight away. Therefore it is vital that
your child’s personal records and contact details are kept
up to date: if you change address or telephone number,
please notify the school office immediately.
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UniformWe expect all of our students to wear their Streetly uniform with
pride. Looking smart and ready for work establishes a positive
attitude to their studies.
BullyingUnfortunately, a certain level of bullying exists in all schools. However,
we believe that here at The Streetly Academy, bullying is not a
problem that the vast majority of students will experience.
We deal with any report of bullying quickly and sensitively and we
encourage students, parents and carers to let us know if they have
any concerns.
SanctionsThe Streetly Academy expects very high standards of
behaviour from all students.
Where these standards are not met, we have a scale of
sanctions which ranges from a verbal warning to detentions
and finally to fixed term or ultimately permanent exclusion as
a last resort.
We believe in working closely with parents to prevent minor
problems escalating into more serious breaches of our
behaviour policy.
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School MealsWe operate an in house cashless catering service, providing a variety
of high quality meals at breakfast, break and lunch times. The Sixth
Form can use the facilities throughout the morning as a Bistro style
service.
All meals offered comply with the current nutritional guidelines, and
we also use a software package which both calculates the nutritional
breakdown of meals and identifies allergy information.
We recognise the guidance and advice provided by various
organisations including the School Food Trust regarding healthy
eating and healthy lifestyles.
Students bringing packed lunches are catered for and can eat with
friends in the dining area.
The Catering Manager is happy to advise and give guidance on
specific dietary requirements on request.
We have a 5 star rating from Environmental Health for food safety
and hygiene.
Project StreetlyThe Streetly Academy is committed to providing
high quality leadership opportunities to all of our
students. Our Project Streetly programme was
introduced in 2011 and has grown into 13 different
groups with over 10% of the school population
leading on various projects across the school.
Teams such as the Charities team, the Community
team, the Events team, the Media team and the
Sports Leaders team plan and organise events,
provide services and initiatives that directly
affect the lives of all people associated with The
Streetly Academy and the local community. All
students can join a Project Streetly team through
a short application process and our aim is to
have all students involved and contributing to the
successful running of The Streetly Academy in the
future.
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ReadingAt The Streetly Academy we see reading as having the single
most measurable impact on the progress and achievement of our
students and as such it is a priority within our curriculum and as part
of homework set. Reading helps develop concentration, vocabulary,
an understanding of language and imagination. We ask our parents
to support us by encouraging reading at home.
‘Reading for pleasure has been increasingly recognised as not only
having a bearing on reading skills but as intrinsically important in its
impact on life chances’ (Bradshaw et al., 2010).
Homework & Learner AutonomyAt The Streetly Academy we recognise that homework is a
vital aspect of developing Learner Autonomy and supporting
the progress of our students. We also value the support of
parents in fostering this aspect of student work. Learner
autonomy is a vital skill to develop as your child progresses
through the school. The amount of homework set should
always be reasonable, but challenging in order to prepare
students for the rigors of GCSE and Post 16 education. We
use our FROG learning platform and student handbooks to
communicate homework to students and parents.
We ask parents to monitor the quality of homework your child
is doing and of course to communicate with teaching staff
about any concerns about homework being set or being done
by your child.
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Sixth FormThe Streetly Academy Sixth Form is a community of learners
enrolled on both Level 2 and Level 3 courses. A large
percentage of our population is made up of students who have
already secured success in their GCSE courses at The Streetly
Academy and who wish to continue their learning journey with
us – a relationship founded on success which we wish to see
continue. Our students benefit from modern, purpose-built
accommodation providing both study and recreational spaces,
including enhanced sporting facilities such as our Sports Hall,
Fitness Suite, Dance Studio and refurbished All Weather Pitch.
We are proud to offer over 30 courses of study within the Sixth
Form, with the majority of these being GCE A levels. Some
of these are in traditional academic disciplines – the subjects
students might have studied at GCSE – English Literature or
History, for example; others are non-traditional or vocational
subjects such as Economics, Film Studies or Forensic Science.
A separate Sixth Form prospectus is available on request.
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