New Free School for Southend?

November 22, 2012

Our vision is to open an outstanding mainstream secondary school for ages 11-16 in Southend-on-Sea that targets students who are at risk of underachievement. Our school will be trying to reach children who may have experienced one or more of the following:

• Children who are at risk or have a Child Protection Plan
• Children with special educational needs undergoing assessment.
• Children who are subject to statutory supervision
• Children who are or have been children and young persons looked after (in public care) within a year prior to the admission date
• Children whose parents’ own abilities or circumstances are seriously limiting their capacity to provide care without the support of services
• Children who commit offences and are at risk of care or custody

Prince’s Community School will be a place where students from this list of criteria will learn alongside any other child wishing to attend our school. We want to move away from sending children out to alternative education centres, and instead take responsibility for them and all of their barriers to learning. Our school will be a place where every child is nurtured and valued, where the staff work together with students to meet each of their individual needs and offer them the support they need to be empowered to reach their potential. We want to see each young person leave the school well-rounded, confident, happy individuals, who have been developed academically and holistically in equal measure. We will ensure that extremely high standards are set and adhered to so that any child can thrive in our care.

In order to achieve this we will offer the following:

1.       Negotiated Curriculum:

Students will all follow an innovative curriculum in the following subject areas: English, Maths, Science, ICT, PSHEE, Life Skills, Sports and The Arts. All other academic subject choices will be made by the students themselves. They will devise their own learning journey by choosing from option blocks comprising of Humanities, Languages, the Arts and Technologies. We want to build on each child’s talents and invest in their development. We believe that empowering our students to take control of their education will make great steps in allowing them to become independent learners. Our aim is for every student to leave us with a minimum of 5 GCSEs, including Maths and English, at C grade or above.

2.       Smaller Class Sizes

Our class sizes for all academic subjects will never exceed twenty. In Core areas of English, Maths, Science and ICT our most academic students will have the opportunity to work in classes of ten, as will our students with the lowest abilities. The remaining classes will be mixed ability. We believe that allowing students to have more time with their educators will enable us to track and monitor progress much more intensely, as well as build positive working relationships between staff and pupils.

3.       Outstanding Teaching:

We will have robust policies and procedures in place regarding the training, development and monitoring of our staff. All our educators will have to demonstrate a proven track record of outstanding teaching throughout the recruitment process. As an Impact Learning School we will be a centre of excellence for teaching and learning.

4.       Robust Pastoral Care

Every child at Prince’s Community School will have a Personalised Pastoral Programme that they will access every week for the duration of their school career. This may include working with Counsellors, mentors, Key Workers, External Agencies, Pupil Support Officers, Peers and Staff in order to address and overcome any social, emotional, academic or behavioural barriers. Dedicated staff will oversee each child’s PPP to ensure that it is relevant for them and that they are making progress.

5.       Strong Partnerships

·         With Parents: Forming a strong home/school relationship is extremely important to us. We will aim to engage with parents and carers at every level. We recognise that we will need to re-engage parents that have themselves become disaffected with education. We will do this by offering services and opportunities for our parents, inviting them into the school regularly, communicating effectively with them, supporting them, and encouraging them to play an active role in their child’s school life. Our parents will be an integral  part of our school community

·         With the Local Community: Our students will take part in weekly Community Based projects, that may entail volunteering, work experience, fundraising and community service, We want to build partnerships with as many local businesses, organisations, charities, schools, and community groups as possible. We believe that in order to provide the best for our children we need to be working together to effect change.

·         With Each Other: It is extremely important that our staff and students fully participate in our school community. We will run school events, enrichment activities, school based projects, mentoring schemes between student peers or staff, social events, competitions, trips and visits, student council and a strong student voice.

For further information look on their website www.princescommunityschool.com