New school year letter from Mr Johnston

Monday 2nd September, 2024

Dear Parents and Carers,

In this letter:

• New Headteacher Introduction – Mr Johnston
• Start of Term Update – reminders, including uniform and ties
• Rewards and Consequences
• School Development Plan 2024-5
• Who do I contact? (attached with this letter)

New Headteacher Introduction – Mr Johnston

I am delighted to be writing to you as the new Interim Headteacher at Samuel Ward Academy. I very much look forward to meeting the students at the start of term and many of you over the next days and weeks. I was extremely fortunate to be able to come into school for some visits during the summer term, and to get to know the senior team, some of my new colleagues and to get a feel for the school in action.

I was previously the Headteacher at a successful school in Bishop’s Stortford, and before that was Deputy Headteacher in another Hertfordshire school having started my career teaching English in London, holding positions as Director of Sixth Form, SENDCO and Assistant Headteacher. I am married with two children who will be in Year 12 and Year 13 from the start of this term, so I know how it feels to be the parent of a child through their secondary education and public exams!

Samuel Ward Academy is a warm, welcoming school, at the heart of our community, committed to creating rich and fulfilling futures for each child. The school has well established values (ABC – Aspirational, Brave, Compassionate) which I will emphasise as central to all we do at SWA. My vision is that our students aspire to be their very best, tackle challenges bravely and work together with compassion to build an inclusive community in which each individual can flourish. I’ll be talking more about that to staff on Monday and Tuesday (Professional Development days) and then to the students in assemblies on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

Parental support and contribution are vital in this – by working together, we’ll ensure that our students can develop to reach their full potential, make a positive contribution to society and are given excellent foundations to lead enriching and interesting lives. My  expectations are unashamedly high; I expect students to demonstrate our values each day by being calm, smart, polite and considerate. In short: “aim high, work hard, be polite”. Students are entitled to a purposeful and safe learning environment. We are fortunate to be joined this term by James Chapman, the USP Behaviour and Culture Lead who will work with the senior team and all staff to revise our approach to behaviour management.

I am also joined this term by Jo Wilson, as Assistant Headteacher, and I have revised the responsibilities of the SLT, with Kev Geall (Head of School) taking responsibility for Safeguarding and Pastoral Care, and Phil Butterworth (Deputy Headteacher) overseeing Academic and Data/ Assessment matters. We are fully staffed at the start of term and I’ll introduce our new teachers and other staff over the course of the first newsletters of the year.

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During the first few weeks of term, we are aiming to have a fully refreshed school website in operation, where you will be able to find the full range of information about the school and keep up to date with the latest news. In the mean-time, I will be in touch regularly with updates and requests for input into my plans for Samuel Ward Academy.

Start of Autumn Term 2024 Reminder:

Day	Activity	Notes
Monday 2nd September	Professional Development (PD) Day 1	Staff only in school
Tuesday 3rd September	PD Day 2 and External 6th Form Enrolment Day	Staff only. External 6th Formers as advised.
Wednesday 4th September	Years 7, 11 and 12 start of term	Arrive before 8.40am and go to Muster points. There will be staff on duty to assist.
Thursday 5th September	All students attend for full school start of term
PLEASE NOTE:	For the safety of all children, please do not drop your child/ren off in the bus stop area of the car park. There is an allocated ‘Drop-off’ point in the main car park, which has been resurfaced and upgraded over the summer break. Thank you!

Uniform/ Ties:

Full uniform will be expected from the start of term. Students in Years 8-11 will be issued a new school tie by their Form Tutor during the first morning in school. A full breakdown of uniform expectations, ordering and assistance with sourcing uniform items can be found on our website: Uniform | Samuel Ward Academy

Rewards and Consequences

We have slightly amended our approach to behaviour management for the start of the new school term, in line with my message at the start of the letter; we believe that all students have a right to feel safe and not to be disturbed in their learning at school. With this in mind, all students will be given a clear and consistent message about our expectations on their first day in school. Miss Ireland, Assistant Headteacher will be leading the Student Services team, and managing the R&C approach. She will be in touch early in the new term to outline what we are doing, and asking for your thoughts on further changes and development of this aspect of school life.

School Development Plan 2024-5

I have been working with USP, the senior team and Governors to establish our new School Development Plan (2024-5) and will be referring back to the following targets through the course of the academic year with progress we are making and in consultation wherever appropriate. Please do have a read of these eight targets, and if you have any thoughts or suggestions, I would love to hear from you. Please email head@samuelward.co.uk.

The 8 objectives this academic year are as follows:

Number	Key Objectives
Objective 1	Vision and Values	SWA Vision and Values are embedded across the school so that we are an inclusive community committed to creating a rich and fulfilling future for each student.
Objective 2	Rewards and Consequences	SWA has a Rewards and Consequences system that ensures all students are able to maximise their learning.
Objective 3	Pedagogical Leadership	Teachers utilise the SWA Expert Teacher Framework (SWA8) and develop their pedagogical leadership.
Objective 4	Exam outcomes	Leadership and management at all levels ensures consistently high outcomes for all students, and student groups.
Objective 5	Develop HC6	Raise the profile of Haverhill Community Sixth Form so that it becomes the provider of choice as the only post-16 provision in Haverhill.
Objective 6	SEND Excellence	Excellence in provision for SEND students so they flourish in all aspects of school life.
Objective 7	Engagement and Belonging	Deliver an effective programme of personal development so that every child attends well, engages and feels like they belong.
Objective 8	Reading and Literacy	Reading and Literacy are prioritised as the foundation of the school’s curriculum.

May I wish you, and your children, a smooth and successful start to the academic year. Please do get in touch if you have any questions, concerns or compliments by emailing swa@samuelward.co.uk

Yours sincerely,

Tom Johnston

Headteacher