This week, in my Headteacher’s Update letter, I announced the publication of the Academy’s new strategic plan.

The plan is designed to take us from September 2023 to August 2026, mapping our journey as a school over the coming three years. It is the result of lengthy and painstaking discussions with the governing body, built into the framework from the Lighthouse Schools Partnership and supported by our school improvement partner.

The plan has five aims:

1. All students demonstrate excellent behaviour, effort and attitudes to learning
2. Every student enjoys the highest quality of education
3. The personal development programme ensures that students embody the Academy’s
   vision, values and purpose
4. Leadership and management is ambitious and persistent in pursuit of our goals
5. We are fully integrated into the vision, ethos, systems and structures of the Lighthouse
   Schools Partnership to the mutual benefit of the Academy and the Trust

The plan is designed around our existing vision, to set no limits on what we can achieve; our purpose, to inspire and enable young people to make a positive difference; and our values of kindness, curiosity, and determination. It focuses on the young people in our Academy not just in terms of their academic outcomes, but how we can develop them as fully rounded individuals. We plan to focus on their personal development, their behaviour and attitudes, and their wellbeing and mental health by ensuring that they feel a strong sense of safety and belonging in our learning community.

At the same time, we are also looking to our employees. We aim to ensure that our staff are well-trained so they can be the very best that they can be in their roles. We want to focus on their professional development and their wellbeing as part of our People Strategy, so that we can continue to recruit and retain the best staff to support us on our journey.

We are also looking to our role within the Lighthouse Schools Partnership. As a new school in the trust, we have much to do over the coming years to ensure we enjoy the full benefits of being part of this wider family of schools, whilst using our expertise to further strengthen the work of the trust to the mutual benefit of all involved.

As we say in the introduction to the plan, this September marks the beginning of a new phase for Churchill Academy & Sixth Form. We are excited about the future.