SheredesSchool Taking the lead in learning
A very warm welcome to Sheredes School We are delighted to introduce you to Sheredes School. Thank you for reading this prospectus which is intended to give you a flavour of what it is like to be a member of the Sheredes family.
I am delighted to welcome you to Sheredes School. We are very proud of our recent achievements and the progress we are rapidly making. Our ultimate vision within the next five years is to be outstanding in every area.
Quite simply, we want to ensure that ‘hand on heart’,
causes helps Sheredes’ students develop as
This prospectus is intended to give you some
we are providing the best education and that all of
individuals with the necessary skills to be responsible
important information about the school and to reflect
our students get a better deal here than they would in
and successful in adult life.
our new vision, ethos and expectations. However, it cannot replace the day to day life at the school and
any other school, no matter what their starting point. Our focus is on developing leaders of learning.
we recommend you come and see us in action and
We are a small and happy school where all of our
As such the characteristics and values that we
speak to our students and staff about our recent
students are known and valued as individuals. We
aim to instil in our students are those of integrity,
changes and the impact they are having. Visitors
believe every child can succeed in life if challenged
confidence, creativity, responsibility, resilience,
are always welcome here and we look forward to
and inspired appropriately. We therefore set
respect and sensitivity towards the needs of others.
meeting you and showing you around.
challenging targets to stretch our students to achieve
Our progress is rapidly improving and staff, students,
more than they might feel is possible. A strong focus
governors and parents are all committed to the
on an academic curriculum supported by a range of
future success of our school. We expect our students
extra-curricular activities, most notably, art, music,
to work hard and behave in an exemplary fashion.
sport, drama, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme,
With new systems in place to monitor progress and
eco-schools, International School links, House Events,
reward students, together we are committed to
Ced de la Croix
Community Service and fundraising for charitable
raising standards of achievement for all.
Headteacher
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Taking the lead in learning ‘Developing leaders’ is the key to successful organisations and ours is no exception. In an ever changing world, we recognise the need to equip our students with core leadership tools, values and passion to effectively lead their own learning, enabling them to respond to changes and direct their own future towards success. The purpose of Sheredes School is to provide a disciplined learning environment that teaches the students in such a way that they will end up understanding how to lead themselves to take on new and imaginative challenges. This will in turn help them to flourish, achieve in their exams, succeed in employment and contribute effectively to their local communities and to society as a whole.
Our belief is that ‘leadership and learning’ are indispensable to each other because we: • recognise that through developing students’ ‘personal leadership’ they will be more motivated to want to learn new things
• believe that by learning to lead ourselves; we are the architects of our own intelligence and destiny.
• believe that each of us must be willing to both learn and to lead to help us strive towards personal excellence
• know that societies of today and tomorrow need confident, self-disciplined, competent young people who have the motivation, skills and knowledge to play a leading role in their communities, at work and in their families.
• recognise that knowing how you learn and how you lead will become important employable and successful traits in an increasingly complex and changing world
Our Values: We believe it is important to instil the following core leadership values into all our students in order to enable them to develop into effective leaders of their learning. These values are ...
Taking the lead in learning 02
Have Respect for...
Take Responsibility for...
Develop a Resilient mindset in order to...
• learning, leading and achieving
• leading ourselves to become successful learners
• maintain a positive outlook, envision brighter days ahead.
• each other: valuing different views, beliefs and cultures
• setting high standards of behaviour, conduct, appearance and attitude
• stay committed to their relationships, their friendships, the causes they are passionate about
• our community: supporting activities and presenting a positive image of the school
• being independent learners and leaders, taking initiative and supporting others
• adapt and bounce back effectively when things don’t go as planned.
• the environment: keeping it clean and tidy and fit for learning
• making a positive contribution to the local community and society as a whole
• look at our failures and mistakes as lessons to be learned from, and as opportunities for growth.
• the school rules and regulations
• meeting the challenges of the future and being confident in all that we do
• learn to stay empowered, confident and committed to going after our ambitions, goals and dreams
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Teaching and Learning At the heart of everything we do is a desire to ensure that our students receive the very highest standards of teaching and learning. This is our core purpose; we want to be leaders of learning and inspire our students to have a love of learning. We believe in developing students’ capacity to learn so that they become more and more independent as they progress through the school. Students who understand how they learn and who are engaged in their subject, achieve higher levels of success. Furthermore, we feel strongly that students learn more powerfully when they lead their learning. As part of our drive to develop leaders of learning, students will be given a wide range of opportunities to deliver learning themselves and student participation in lessons is a regular feature of our work.
Most importantly, it is the strength of relationships between staff and students that allows everyone at Sheredes to succeed in their learning. We are relentless in our drive to develop high standards of education. To this end, we regularly carry out a programme of lesson observations, judging ourselves to the same standards as an Ofsted Inspection. We frequently check our marking to monitor the quality of the feedback provided and the educational dialogue which develops between teachers and students.
We have a highly trained, well motivated, dedicated staff of teachers. They devote a great deal of their time to supporting and nurturing the students. They incorporate a wide range of learning styles into their teaching and undertake regular training to ensure they consistently deliver lessons of the highest standard.
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The Curriculum Through our broad curriculum we aim to provide a wide range of learning experiences, both inside and outside of the classroom, allowing every student to achieve his or her full potential. We take great pride in being able to personalise what is offered to ensure all of our students’ interests and talents are met. Our primary focus is on developing well rounded individuals who will be able to cope with the ever changing world of work. In years 7, 8 and 9, the curriculum is designed to build upon the knowledge, skills and understanding from primary schools and ultimately prepare the students for their GCSEs. In years 10 and 11, all students continue with the essential core curriculum of English, Mathematics, Science, PE and Religious Education; nearly all students will continue to learn a Modern Foreign Language and a subject from the Humanities. Full details of our curriculum can be found in the supplementary booklet provided.
Our curriculum principles include providing a curriculum which: • is consistent with local and national requirements and personalised to meet individual needs
• helps students to be happy and secure in their learning environment
• strengthens students’ functional literacy, numeracy and ICT skills
• strengthens students’ capacity to learn by developing positive attitudes towards challenges, allowing students to think creatively, independently and rationally
• develops their leadership skills such that they take responsibility for their learning • involves setting in a number of subjects in order to deliver appropriate challenge to students of all abilities • is broad, balanced and develops core knowledge, skills and understanding • is challenging and inspiring, enabling all students to reach the highest possible level of academic success and personal growth
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• promotes self confidence, perseverance and self discipline • gives the students a sense of success through their achievements • provides a range of extra-curricular clubs that enables students to foster a love of learning and more importantly extend and challenge themselves in an area that specifically interests them
The extended curriculum We enhance our curriculum by offering our students the opportunity to take part in a wide variety of extra-curricular clubs and trips during their time at Sheredes. Many clubs run at lunchtime but some are held before school and there are also numerous after-school and holiday activities. We greatly value the education and experiences that our students gain from taking part in trips and visits and the time staff devote to making them successful. There are regular opportunities for students to undertake fieldwork, visit theatres, museums, galleries and to work with students from other schools. Large numbers participate in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. Visiting speakers – poets, authors, scientists and religious leaders also enhance teaching and learning. Every year there is an extremely popular ski trip and a sports tour to various European destinations.
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Achieving and celebrating success Recognising and rewarding achievement is central to our philosophy for success and supports our core values of respect for learning. We have a very strong reward system which celebrates all levels of success and encourages students to do their very best. We provide a termly report to parents on their child’s progress and exceptional attitude to learning is rewarded with a special letter of congratulations from the Headteacher. Throughout the year, students receive commendations for excellent work which contributes towards various levels of awards presented in year group assemblies. We also monitor attendance closely and, each term special prizes are given to students with exceptional attendance. At the end of the year, celebrating achievement assemblies are held where students receive public recognition for their achievement through a variety of awards and trophies. We invite parents to these assemblies to celebrate with us the achievements of their children. In December, a formal awards evening is held for students to receive their examination certificates and prestigious school awards. To further promote and celebrate success, staff nominate students on a termly basis for our ’Sheredes Rising Stars’ boards in each curriculum area of the school.
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The Sixth Form Our Sixth Form is the natural progression for students beyond year 11 and our aim is to help students complete their formal education before moving on to University or work. Our Sixth Form students play a unique and valuable role in the school, contributing actively to the wider life of the school community. They arrange and run various House and Charity events with younger students, demonstrating tremendous leadership and motivation. The Head Girl, Head Boy, Prefects and various House Captains all play a particularly key role in school life and competition is fierce for these positions of responsibility. Sheredes Sixth Form is open to all students who meet our entrance criteria. We offer a range of A-Level courses together with other Level 3 applied courses. This ensures there is something to suit anyone who wishes to join our Sixth Form. As students move through the Sixth Form and witness the challenges of entry into Higher Education, employment, training or gap years, they are assured of expert guidance from experienced subject staff and tutors. The Sixth Form facilities are continually being developed and improved to create different learning zones; similar to those found at the top Universities. Our aim is to create a pre-university style culture with extremely high expectations and challenges. Sixth Form life probably constitutes the best days of school at Sheredes for many students.
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Care, guidance and support Successful learning thrives when students feel safe, confident, respected, valued and intrigued. We take the welfare of each child seriously because we recognise that social and emotional wellbeing are prerequisites for good learning and high achievement. From the moment a child obtains a place at Sheredes, the process of supporting them to become successful learners within a nurturing environment begins. On entering the school, all students are members of a Tutor Group and support is provided through a year structure. This marks the beginning of a strong bond with their form tutor who will maintain an overview of each child’s academic and personal development. In the lower school, many of the lessons are taught in tutor groups to develop friendships and support networks. The form tutor is responsible for the pastoral care of each student and is supported in this role by a Director of Learning, Student Services, our Careers Co-ordinator and the school welfare team. Within these tutor groups, students experience a Personal, Social, Health and Citizenship Programme.
Our House System ensures that there are a variety of activities throughout the year. This adds the important element of competition to events and provides students with the opportunity to take pride in representing their House and to work collaboratively with students from other year groups. Our Junior Leadership Team (JLT) meets regularly and adds a significant extra dimension to the life of the school. They are responsible for advising on the development of the campus, help to appoint staff and represent the views of students at staff meetings. More importantly, they have a powerful input into learning at Sheredes where students work with staff to improve what we do in the classroom.
Our comprehensive academic mentoring, based on rigorous assessment each term, allows the tutor and Director of Learning to have a clear picture of each student’s progress across the curriculum.
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Sport and healthy lifestyle Setting and beating personal challenges and targets, working as part of a team and staying fit and healthy are core values that we develop through our a comprehensive PE and Sport curriculum. Our aim is to ensure students are fit, healthy and take pride in their appearance, and consequently strengthen their self confidence and leadership skills. We also aim to encourage students to adopt healthy lifestyles and to prosper from good habits in the future. All students follow a programme of Physical Education and Sport through to the end of Year 11 culminating in one of the following Level 2 qualifications: GCSE PE, BTEC PE, GCSE Dance or BTEC Dance. In addition, many students will also follow one of our various sports or dance leaders’ programmes and carry out significant work leading sport with younger students in our local primary feeder schools.
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Our drive to develop healthy lifestyles is enhanced further by our fitness suite and our outstanding dance provision. We have a team of dedicated and talented dance teachers and as a result we are able to offer dance at Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 and we are also able to offer both GCSE and BTEC Dance with future plans to offer A-Level Dance. Below is a chart showing the range of sporting activities at Sheredes School:
Winter
Summer
Football
Athletics
Basketball
Rounders
Netball
Tennis
We are fortunate to have our own wonderful heated indoor swimming pool which adds to the quality of provision and gives the students the opportunity to improve their swimming, life saving and canoeing ability.
Rugby
Cricket
Hockey
Dance
We also run regular sports tours for girls and boys to allow students the opportunity to compete outside their national environment.
Cross Country
Badminton Gymnastics Dance
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Partnerships and our community We believe that young people benefit most from their education when parents and schools work together in partnership. Parents/Carers We pride ourselves on having good working relationships with parents and see this as a very important part of our work. A good partnership requires transparency, honesty and clear channels of communication so that you are fully informed about your child’s learning and development. Our aim is to support parents by involving them in their child’s education and in the full life of the school. Every week, all parents receive the Sheredes Spotlight newsletter which highlights what has been happening across the school and alerts you to forthcoming events. The Sheredes Spotlight is also published on our new website which is also regularly updated and is a great source of current information. Various information and consultation evenings are held throughout the year where we get together with parents to discuss their child’s progress and how best we might be able to support them for future success.
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Sheredes School Association (SSA) Our very active SSA is extremely supportive of the school, raising considerable sums of money and enables us to purchase items which benefit the whole school community. Governors The Governing Body has a key role in setting the ethos and direction of the school. We are extremely well served by dedicated and supportive Governors who get involved in the life of the school at all levels. A current list of our Governors can be found on the school website. Community We encourage our students to contribute to the life of their local community. Volunteering is part of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and community service is an expectation of our Sixth Form. Through such activity students develops skills for life and future employability. We also hold close links with local Primary, Secondary and Special Schools. We are extremely proud of our strong and established support link with Razed Roof, which is an inclusive performing arts group for people with disabilities and learning difficulties.
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‘I feel very privileged to have been part of the Sheredes family and the friendly and caring atmosphere that is shown here. This environment, along with dedicated teachers who give up a lot of their time is one of the reasons I believe I achieved so highly in my GCSEs.’ Student (Year 11)
Sheredes School Hoddesdon Hertfordshire EN11 8JY Telephone 01992 410800 admin@sheredes.herts.sch.uk www.sheredes.herts.sch.uk