School Mission, Vision & Ethos

Mission Statement

Washwood Heath Academy: Inspiring pupils to be exceptional by nurturing a community of hearts.

Vision

At Washwood Heath Academy, our vision is to develop happy, well-rounded young people who are fully prepared to take the next steps in their school life and life beyond school. We nurture a community where all children feel included, respected and encouraged to develop to their fullest potential. Washwood Heath Academy really  is a school for everyone.

Washwood Heath Academy’s vision centres on achieving the very best for all pupils so that they succeed academically, socially, spiritually and culturally. Our ambitious curriculum gives our pupils the powerful knowledge they need to live life to its full potential. We strive to offer all pupils access a wide range of enrichment and extra-curricular opportunities and a comprehensive personal development curriculum, which ensure that our pupils enjoy school, aim high and are inspired to be the best they can be.  We want Washwood Heath pupils to be responsible, active and respectful citizens within and beyond our beloved community. We work with our local community to ensure that our children are safe and thriving.

When we talk about The Washwood Way, it means so many things that encapsulate our ethos, vision and values for the school as a whole, and the community it serves. 

The Washwood Way is everything to us:   it is the way we dress smartly and prepare to come to school; it is the way we greet each other in the mornings and when arriving to lessons; it is the way we speak politely and respectfully to each other during the day and as we leave to go back to our families.   The Washwood Way is built on a strong ethos of care, child safety, and high expectations.   Our commitment to safeguarding our students is paramount, and all of our staff are regularly trained in the most recent legislation and school policies and procedures relating to safeguarding.  In addition to this, our HEARTS ethos delves deeper into what it means to be part of the Washwood Heath community.

To have a strong heart is to be caring, kind and respectful, whilst being strong, resilient and independent too.  To have happiness at the top of the list is a true aspiration for us here at Washwood.   Challenging and supporting our students through the struggles that they will face in their education, whilst keeping their overall happiness in our minds is paramount to ensuring the best outcomes are achieved and the wellbeing of all of our students is secured.

We know that excellence can be seen and expressed in many different ways ,so we work hard to seek out and recognise  excellence in its many forms.   Excellence is just about achieving the best exam results; it’s about being an someone who puts 100% effort into everything they do and demonstrating excellence through their behaviour,  friendship and support towards other and being proud of their school community.

We have high expectations of academic achievement for every pupil, and are developing our knowledge rich curriculum to ensure that all students have access to the knowledge and skills that they need to be successful.   Washwood Heath Academy has been awarded the Voice 21 Oracy Centre of Excellence accreditation. In school, oracy is a powerful tool for learning; by teaching pupils to become more effective speakers and listeners we empower them to better understand themselves, each other and the world around them. It is also a route to social mobility, empowering all pupils, not just some, to find their voice to succeed in school and life. 

In addition, we have a strong focus on disciplinary literacy so that every teacher communicates their subject through its own unique language, and that reading, writing, speaking and listening are at the heart of knowing, doing, and communicating Science, Art, History, and every other subject across our curriculum. 

Respect and Tolerance are two of our absolute core values, which are explored further through our Rights Respecting Schools programme.  Furthermore, we promote and practice British Values through our excellent SMSC and character curriculum.  The key characteristics of resilience and self-belief are where we believe our students gain their true independence and become ready to move on to the world with a secure foundation which will help them to achieve their goals.  We invest in developing children’s leadership skills and we have an extensive and proactive Pupil Leadership team providing pupils with a voice and lots of opportunities to contribute to improving our school.

And finally, ‘The Washwood Way’ encapsulates our high standards and expectations: smart uniform, good attendance and punctuality, behaviour for learning and positive behaviour during social times. We need a consistent approach to policies and procedures to support these high standards and expectations.

All of what we do here at Washwood draws on everything we know and believe about education.  It is what every person who walks through the doors will see.  It is The Washwood Way.

WHMAT VISION

At Washwood Heath Academy, we strive, through our vision and ethos, to achieve the core values of the Washwood Heath Multi Academy Trust.

By the time our students leave the Washwood Multi Academy Trust they will be literate, numerate confident young people with high aspirations, independent learning skills and a sense of moral responsibility.