The Big Picture

The vision of Ellen Wilkinson Primary School is ‘Learning to Grow and Succeed Together’. This underpins all aspects of our school community.

To ensure that as a school we are always striving for the best possible outcomes for our pupils, we have many components that fit together to creat our ethos, curriculum, pedagogy and expectations.  They have been co-created with our children, staff, parents & governors. 

Our vision of “Learning to grow & succeed together” is underpinned by our 5 values. These are then supported by the 4 foundations of:

• our curriculum & learning statements
• our pedagogy
• our behaviour expectations
• our partnerships

Our Development Plans 

To ensure that as a school we are always striving for the best possible outcomes for our pupils, a three year strategic development plan has been created.  This strategic plan is reviewed at the end of every academic year as part of the school’s self-evaluation cycle and is used to inform next steps for development. It is assumed that as the plan progresses, improvements from the previous year are maintained & embedded. The strategic plan is complemented by this School Development Plan (SDP), a shorter term more detailed operational plan extending over the course of an academic year.

The timeline for the plan is divided into 4 quarters throughout the year coinciding to link with the school Learning Fairs. These quarters are used to track progress towards each priority's success criteria (green = on track/ahead of schedule, amber = generally on track but may lack consistency, red = not on track). This can be found in Steps to Success & Evaluation.

• Quarter 1 ends …17/11/23
• Quarter 2 ends …09/02/24
• Quarter 3 ends …03/05/24
• Quarter 4 ends …12/07/24

This is done through the agreed monitoring evidence which includes a series of quarterly reports & meetings from school leaders at all levels which are evaluated by the Head Teacher, GB Curriculum Committee and ultimately the full Governing Body. 

Priorities & progress towards achieving them are shared with staff via school development display in the workroom. It is the responsibility of all staff to support development of whole school priorities in order to ensure the best outcomes for pupils

Key priorities 2023 - 2024

By the end of the academic year outcomes in all year groups should be at least in line with the outcomes the school had prior to lockdown (i.e. at or above national average in all areas). This will be challenging in some year groups due to the high levels of children with SEND and potentially fewer staff due to budget pressures. Focus will be on addressing any specific areas of under attainment (subject, aspect and/or group). This should include the continuing focus of the lowest attaining 20% (non SEND), ensuring needs are being met and the appropriate support is in place.

Curriculum redesign is embedded and further work is started to reinforce learning sequence through greater focus on securing long term recall ‘Sticky learning’. Further enhancement of experience and strengthening opportunities for the three golden strands will also take place across all curriculum areas. Music two year development will be begun and this should impact positively on pupil outcomes in this area quickly.

Review of impact of learning conversation and bespoke CPD will be used to develop and embed this approach and further suggestions from workload review considered and implemented where possible.

Mental health and wellbeing support developments from the previous year are embedded and built upon with the Carnegie Institute support and advice. The impact of Up and Out week & school created unit “How I care for me” are reviewed and amendments made accordingly. This development work is supported by ongoing feedback from surveys by all stakeholders which will be used to support analysis of impact.

JGB  links further with GB (and ideally subject leads) so pupil voice becomes a more integral part of subject development.