PROSPECTUS 2016 - 2017
CHARACTER CONFIDENCE CREATIVITY
CHARACTER CONFIDENCE CREATIVITY
HAZELEY VALUES
The Principal is determined to ensure that all students make the best possible progress in all aspects of their development. Ofsted 2015
Core Purpose (Our reason for existence) “At The Hazeley Academy we develop Character, Confidence and Creativity in our young people and each other so that together we can gain fulfilment by playing a positive role in our community”
CHARACTER
We have respect, integrity, loyalty, high expectations and resilience. We believe the differences amongst us make us even stronger.
CONFIDENCE We trust ourselves and each other, we relish taking calculated risks, we understand honest mistakes occur and learn from them together.
CREATIVITY We enjoy working together designing, creating and reflecting upon solutions, including how to improve ourselves and each other in so doing making our Academy a truly inspiring place.
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CHARACTER CONFIDENCE CREATIVITY
WELCOME Our vision at The Hazeley Academy is a simple one; we want all of our students to have a fulfilling education. An education which allows them to achieve the best possible set of qualifications and develop as rounded individuals who display the attributes of Character, Confidence and Creativity, fully equipped to take their place in the world. We do not simply see ourselves as preparing young people for work, but also for family life, friendships and the wider community. The Academy’s OFSTED report in June 2015 praises the clarity, ambition and commitment of all staff to this vision. As parents we appreciate how important it is to be reassured that students are socially, physically and emotionally safe. At Hazeley we achieve this through our excellent personalisation team, which is skilfully led by Senior Deputy Principal, Miss Whiteman and Deputy Principal Mr Healy. Their experienced team ensure every child is offered the personalised support they need. This work can be seen in action as you tour the academy; our frequent visitors often comment on the calm purposeful learning environment which our staff and students create and enjoy.
We do not apologise for our high expectations of both staff and students and work to ensure that all members of our community are supported to meet the challenge. We do not demand or offer perfection, however we expect everyone to truly do their very best and to keep developing to ensure that their best gets better, all of the time. We understand how important the decision of selecting a school is and hope this prospectus supported by our website provides the answers to many of your questions. Parents/Carers are also more than welcome to contact the academy reception and arrange to join a member of the senior team on one of their daily learning walks.
Thank you for your interest in The Hazeley Academy Tony Nelson (Principal)
Curriculum innovation is led by Deputy Principal, Mrs Baldwin. Her team are constantly reviewing and fine tuning our provision to ensure that our young people have access to the very best experiences both within and beyond the academy day. Excellent exam results are driven by teams of dedicated teaching staff who very much work with the students on their learning journey. Deputy Principal Mrs Williamson plays a pivotal role in this by working with our Directors of Faculty to ensure that every lesson is as good as it possibly can be.
Students’ behaviour is good. They are proud of their academy and treat all staff with respect. Ofsted 2015
Malcolm Dobell (Chair of Directors)
WHAT OUR YEAR 7 STUDENTS SAY ABOUT US
“We have new experiences every day and everyone works together as a
big community.”
“ I have had an amazing
experience so far and I have made so many new friends.”
“Hazeley allows you to make your
own decisions but at the same time everyone around you helps you
achieve your goals.”
“Hazeley allows me to display my confidence in a healthy way. It opens loads of opportunities for the future.”
“I love Hazeley because everyone
gets a chance for being selected to do something fun and great to enjoy.”
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CHARACTER CONFIDENCE CREATIVITY
THE OPEN-DOOR ACADEMY Excellent communication between the home and the academy is essential and has always been very important to us. We see this as a two-way process. It is critical should a parent, carer or student have any questions or concerns that they are raised promptly, with the right person and in the correct way. Please refer to our Communications Policy on our website for more detail. Almost daily we receive positive feedback from stakeholders. This is really important to us and it is always fed back to students, building their sense of well-earned pride in their academy. Our website: www.thehazeleyacademy.com provides a wealth of information including a weekly ‘blog’ from the Principal.
There are also many tools available to parents/carers to make life and communication that little bit easier: • Parent Pay - payment for trips and for crediting student lunch accounts (we have a cashless system in place). • School Comms - email and texting of key school messages in our aim to achieve paperless communication. • Go4Schools - a secure website that will allow parents/carers to access information on their child’s progress, attainment, behaviour and annual reports, along with information about their child’s homework.
Parent Voice offers stakeholders the opportunity to work with the senior team feeding back on key areas. Regular meetings take place each term both during and outside of core academy hours.
Teachers show good subject knowledge, have high expectations of their students and show enthusiasm for what they are teaching. Ofsted 2015
OUR CURRICULUM Faculties and Subjects The academy is organised into six faculties subject areas), each with a Director of Faculty overseeing the subjects within. The six faculties are: Core Faculties • English Literacy & Languages • Mathematics & Computing • Science Foundation Faculties Confidence (Physical Education, Life Skills, Law, Sociology, PHSE, Psychology, Health & Social Care and Law) Character (Geography, Business Studies, Philosophy & Ethics, History, Enterprise & Economics) Creativity (Art, Textiles, Dance, Drama, Media, Performing Arts, Music, Design and Technology and Catering)
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CHARACTER CONFIDENCE CREATIVITY
OUR CURRICULUM EXPLAINED Key Stage 3 (Years 7-8) Developing a foundation of Character, Confidence and Creativity in every student. Our curriculum lies at the very heart of all that we do at The Hazeley Academy. It is constantly under review to ensure that it offers a modern, inclusive, personalised and relevant provision for all learners and has the student at the heart of provision. Our staff very much focus on teaching children rather than just subjects and seize every opportunity to develop character, confidence and creativity. Our Key Stage 3 curriculum is balanced to optimise your child’s progress in the traditional subjects while also providing them with the maximum opportunity to develop. Our aim is to unlock their natural love of learning by offering a more project based and thematic style delivery that mimics the best practice seen in some of our outstanding partner primary schools.
Students are placed into ability groups during their first term with us for the core subjects of English, mathematics and science. These groups are not fixed and students can be moved into different groups depending on the progress they make. At the academy we recognise that homework is essential to help students consolidate and extend their learning. Homework,especially longer projects, promote the skills of independent learning and research. Students will typically have 6 projects a year running alongside other weekly homework. Philosophy and Ethics includes the study of the major world religions and looks at their similarities and differences. Parents have the right to withdraw their child from this lesson. In this case, an alternative programme of study and supervision will be agreed with the Principal. For all other elements of the curriculum, a full engagement is expected.
We have a 50 period, two week formal curriculum timetable and although subject to slight tweaks from one year to the next, typically over this period our students will have the following lesson allocations per fortnight. English & Mathematics
7 periods
Science
6 periods
Modern Foreign Languages
4 periods
Creative Arts (Art, Dance, Drama, Music, Catering, Design Technology)
10 periods
PE
4 periods
Computer Science
2 periods
Humanities including Philosophy and Ethics (RE)
10 periods
Relationships between staff and students are extremely good so that students can ask questions or give their views in confidence. Ofsted 2015
Key Stage 4 (Years 9-11) Embedding Character, Confidence and Creativity in our students leading to excellent examination results. For our three year Key Stage 4 programme, well-informed choice is the key to ensuring that appropriate guidance is given when the important choices are made during year 8 & 9. All students follow a common core curriculum of English, mathematics, science & core PE. Our curriculum has a strong academic focus, with most students achieving the English Baccalaureate at Key Stage 4. , However, it is inclusive by offering a range of additional BTEC vocational courses/technical award qualifications. This flexibility at KS4 allows access to a wide range of courses at KS5. Allocations (subject to review and slight changes, year on year) are as follows: Core Subjects (per fortnight) Science (many do triple award GCSEs in Biology, Chemistry and Physics in this time)
9 periods
English (many do both English Language and Literature in this time)
9 periods
Mathematics
8 periods
Core PE
4 periods
Humanities (study either History or Geography (or both)
5 periods
Modern Foreign Languages (choose from French, 5 periods German, Spanish, Italian) - a minority do BTEC IT or Sport
The remaining time is allocated to a broad variety of option subjects; most students study two of these over KS4 (10 periods a fortnight). Our Key Stage 4 (Years 9-11) structure provides maximum flexibility whilst ensuring that we deliver on those subjects most highly regarded by employers and education providers alike, with opportunity to study facilitation subjects most sought after by the top universities. During 2016/17 we will be exploring further the evolution of our KS3 & 4 curricula.
Key Stage 5 (Years 12-13) Equipping our students with the qualifications, character confidence and creativity to take on the world! Our sixth form curriculum, we believe, is second to none. The offer includes a broad range of academic and vocational courses. There is a separate prospectus for our sixth form provision - this is available to download from our website.
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CHARACTER CONFIDENCE CREATIVITY
OUR COMMUNITY AN INCLUSIVE ACADEMY We want all of our students to have access to as much of the curriculum as possible. Regardless of their starting points upon arrival we always aim to cater for all students in our community.
The Hazeley Academy is fully inclusive. One of the ways in which we seek to achieve this is by ensuring that it is physically accessible to all.
A team of specialist teachers/teaching assistants form our Excellence Department, providing in-class and withdrawal support for students who require it. We have specialist teams of support staff in the three core subjects to ensure we offer the best possible experience.
At The Hazeley Academy, we celebrate success and stretch and challenge our students who have special gifts and talents. We provide a programme of stimulating activities to encourage our students to make further progress and to help us produce leaders for the next generation.
Support is offered according to the level of need. This ranges from children who are new to English as a language (EAL), or who require minor help with literacy and/or numeracy, to those with an Education Care and Health Plan and students who are recognised as having a gift or talent.
Our Return to Learn (R2L) provision, responds to those young people facing difficulties in their lives. This team of well- trained Learning Mentors support young people with such difficulties. We also ensure that the ways in which we communicate our curriculum takes full account of the needs of all students.
All the teachers are friendly, supporting and always willing to help. Hazeley is great because you can make loads of new friends quickly. Student
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Tel: 01908 555620 Fax: 01908 508357 Email: enquiries@thehazeleyacademy.com Web: www.thehazeleyacademy.com